Theban Sorcery

Theban Sorcery consists of miraculous rituals practiced by members of the Lancea Sanctum. There is as much speculation about the origin and nature of these rituals as there are philosophical leanings among the Sanctified. No conclusive evidence exists which supports one theory over another.

• Characters must have at least one dot in Covenant Status: Lancea Sanctum in order to learn or increase Theban Sorcery.
• Characters who leave the Lancea Sanctum or lose their status retain their knowledge of Theban Sorcery, but cannot increase it unless their status is restored.
• Characters with qualifying status at character generation may spend one of their three initial Discipline dots on Theban Sorcery.
• Discipline Level: A character cannot learn a ritual whose level is higher than the level of their Theban Sorcery.
• Theban Sorcery EXP Cost: 7 EXP x New Dot
• Ritual EXP Cost: 2 EXP x Ritual Level
• A character may have an unlimited number of rituals at or below the level of his Theban Sorcery discipline, provided he has paid the necessary experience costs.
• House Rules

Process of Spiritual Attainment

In order for a ritual to be performed, it must first be discovered, identified, and then learned.

Discovery

Rituals are never invented; they are discovered when it's God's will that they should be. How this discover happens varies from instance to instance. Discovering a ritual does is not equivalent to a sorcerer knowing what it does, or being able to perform it themselves.

• Written Source: Often rituals are recorded on scrolls, in books, on tablets . . .
• Witness a Ceremony: The character might be a sanctioned observer or an eavesdropper.
• Epiphany: Inspiration often occurs as the result of some external stimuli: an event, the pattern of a blood stain, a musical performance . . .
• Divine Revelation: This could perhaps be a dream, a vision, a voice, an angelic visitation . . .
• Visitation: A divine endowment wherein the character, perhaps possessed or in a fugue state, performs an unknown ritual. This is the rarest instance of discovery, often the result of extreme stress. The character retains knowledge of the ritual thereafter. This knowledge might precede a character's ability to repeat it. For instance, under duress, a sorcerer might call down a rain of blood which ends up being a five-dot ritual, even though he only has one-dot in Theban Sorcery. This character will not be able to repeat the ritual consciously, despite remembering it, until they have five dots in Theban Sorcery.

Identification

This step will vary based on the method of the ritual's discovery. A tablet chiseled with hieroglyphics might need to be translated, where an encoded ritual might have to be deciphered. The objective, simply, is to identify what the ritual does, and how powerful it is.

• Translation: A written source might be in an ancient known or unknown language, a hybrid language . . .
• Interpretation: Rituals may require the in-knowledge or code-speak or certain sects, may be vague, ambiguous . . .
• Decoding: As a protective measure, some rituals are encrypted completely or in key sections, may require assembly, the collection of pieces, the acquisition of a decryption key . . .
• Understanding: Some rituals require research, a certain perspective, exposure to certain circumstances . . .

Learning

Mastery of the ritual for performance is the last step to attainment, an intuitive assimilation that usually corresponds to a spiritual milestone in the character's life.

• Spiritual Discipline: This might occur in the wake of a long period of fasting, study, prayer; or a single instance of charity, courage, faith . . .
• Spiritual Mentor: Most often, rituals are passed from tutor to pupil at the price of some personal favor, religious commitment, contribution to the covenant, or philosophical achievement. These, of course, are limited in scope to each specific mentor's knowledge and what they are able or willing to share.

Performing Theban Sorcery Rituals

• Willpower: All Rituals cost 1 Willpower to activate. This does not modify the dice pool.
• Offering: Every ritual requires specific components to activate it. Attempts without the proper components fail outright. Components are consumed during the process, leaving ash.
• Extended Action: Successful completion requires a number of completions equal to the level of the ritual: one success for a one-dot, two successes for a two-dot, etcetera. Each roll represents one turn of casting. Damage incurred while casting causes a roll penalty for the next turn, as do any wound penalties suffered.
• Dice Pool: Intelligence + Academics + Theban Sorcery. (Gangrel clan weakness does apply.)

Roll Results

Dramatic Failure: The ritual backfires, inflicting some aspect of itself detrimentally upon the caster.

Failure: The ritual fails. Willpower and offerings are consumed. The ritual has no effect.

Success: The ritual occurs as described.

Exceptional Success: The ritual occurs as described. In many cases, extra successes cause additional or prolonged benefits.

Allowed Theban Sorcery Rituals

The following rituals are in-play:

• One-Dot Rituals

• Blood Scourge

Offering: The vampire must slit his or her wrist with a knife, supplying at least one Vitae plus one additional Vitae for each additional lash.

Description: The vampire transform an amount of his or her Vitae into a deadly whip.

Mechanics: Blood Scourge does lethal damage, it's dice pool equal to Strength + Weaponry + the number of lashes created, and lasts a number of turns equal to the number of successes at invocation.^[1]

• Vitae Reliquary

Offering: The vessel itself is the offering, destroyed after the final Vitae is extracted.

Description: The vampire stores an amount of Vitae in an ordinary object for future use.

Mechanics: The Vitae comes directly from the caster's own body, and can be cast only once on any particular item, the amount not limited by the size of the item. Vitae can be extracted by any vampire by touching the item to their lips or willing the blood to pass from the object into their body.^[2]

•• Two-Dot Rituals

• Curse of Babel

Offering: An animal or person's tongue.

Description: This ritual leaves a target unable to communicate, their speech coming out in indecipherable tongues, their handwriting appearing as drivel, typed messages appearing as gibberish.

Mechanics: The target must be within earshot when the ritual is cast. The ritual lasts one hour per success at invocation.^[3]

• Liar's Plague

Offering: A whole, uncrushed insect's carapace.

Description: This curse causes beetle's to swarm from the target's mouth anytime he or she lies, for the duration of the scene.

Mechanics: Liar's Plague is a contested action: The caster's Intelligence + Academics + Theban Sorcery vs. the target's Resolve + Blood Potency/Advantage. Resistance is reflexive.^[4]

••• Three-Dot Rituals

• Blandishment of Sin

Offering: A piece of paper with the target's name written on it, which must be burnt in the target's viewing.

Description: The target receives increased damage the next time they're harmed.

Mechanics: This action is contested, reflexively: the caster's Intelligence + Academics + Theban Sorcery vs. the target's the target's Resolve + Blood Potency/Advantage. The target is unaware of the spell's effect: the next instance of incoming damage is upgraded by one degree--two bashing become two lethal; three lethal become three aggravated.^[5]

• Malediction of Despair

Offering: A lock of hair from the target.

Description: The caster curses the target with regard to one specific action; the next time the target engages in that action, a chance roll is made on their behalf instead of their normal dice pool.

Mechanics: This action is contested, reflexively: the caster's Intelligence + Academics + Theban Sorcery vs. the target's Resolve + Blood Potency/Advantage. The curse remains in place for 24 hours, or until its effect occurs. If the target suspects the curse, they may roll Composure + Resolve at the price of one Willpower. If that roll generates more successes than the initial successes of the curse roll, the curse is lifted.^[6]

•••• Four-Dot Rituals

• Gift of Lazarus

Offering: A communion wafer which is to be placed beneath the deceased's tongue.

Description: Reanimate a corpse, without slowing or stopping its decay.

Mechanics: The corpse is reanimated for a number of nights equal to the number of successes during the spell's roll. The vampire who performs this ritual has command over the corpse, and may pass that command to another vampire. Absent command, the corpse will not act. For each day the corpse had been dead, the Storyteller subtracts one point from an attribute of their choice. Additionally, for each successive day, the Storyteller may do the same. Rolls made with an attribute at zero automatically fail. The corpse cannot heal and receives damage as is it would have in life. A corpse remains active until its rightmost health box is filled with aggravated damage.^[7]

• Stigmata

Offering: A crucifix.

Description: The target spontaneously and miraculously suffers the five wounds of Christ.

Mechanics: The caster's activation roll is penalized by the target's Stamina. The target must be within eyesight when the spell is cast. They bleed from both wrists, both feet, and the side. Mortals take 1 Lethal/turn from blood loss while Kindred lose 1 Vitae/turn and then 1 Lethal/turn when out of Vitae. Vampires in this condition are likely to frenzy. Stigmata lasts a number of turns equal to the number of successes rolled at casting.^[8]

••••• Five-Dot Rituals

• Transubstantiation

Offering: One drop of liquid gold.

Description: The casters transforms one object, substance, or target into something else.

Mechanics:The object must be smaller than the caster, and within arm's length. The caster transform any substance into something of human or above intelligence. The objects reverts at sunrise, and may be affected by whatever happened to it during its transformation. If the target of the spell is a player, the action is contested, reflexively: caster's Intelligence + Academics + Theban Sorcery vs. target's Stamina + Blood Potency/Advantage^[9]

• Wrathful Judgement

Offering: One of the caster's eyes or hands, plucked out or cut off; the caster suffers 2 Lethal damage.

Description: Turn the Vitae in target's veins into fire.

Mechanics: The caster must be able to see the subject. If the caster has one of the target's significant possessions or part of the target's body (hair, fingernail, . . .), the spell may be cast from anywhere in the world. For each point of Willpower spent after the initial, the spell does one point of aggravated damage to the target. This spell only works on Vampires and Ghouls. The roll is penalized by the target's Stamina.^[10]

Notes