The rituals connected with Necromancy are a hodgepodge lot. Some have direct relations to the paths; others seem to have been taught by wraiths themselves, for whatever twisted reason. All beginning necromancers gain one Level One ritual, but any others learned must be gained through in-game play.
Casting times for necromantic rituals vary widely; see the description for particulars. The player rolls Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 3 + the level of the ritual, maximum 9 ); success indicates the ritual proceeds smoothly, failure produces no effect, and a botch often indicates that certain "powers" notice the caster, usually to her detriment.
Level 1 Rituals
Call of the Hungry Dead (Level One Ritual)
Call of the Hungry Dead takes only 10 minutes to cast and requires a hair from the target's head. The ritual climaxes with the burning of that hair in the flame of a black candle, after which the victim becomes able to hear snatches of conversation from across the Shroud. If the target is not prepared, the voices come as a confusing welter of howls and unearthly demands; he is unable to make out anything intelligible, and might well go briefly mad.
Circle of Cerberus (Level One Ritual)
The necromancer bathes, fasts and abstains from all physical comforts and pleasures, most especially sensual ones, for a night. Then she dons well-maintained, high-quality robes or other clothing. She draws a circle on the floor in a place of safety. She may then proceed to use other necromantic powers, confident that her protection against ghosts and spirits has been enhanced. Each success subtracts two from the difficulty of all rolls the player must make to resist any attempted harm or influence on the part of a ghost, Spectre or a spirit, so long as the necromancer remains inside the circle. Treat any botches scored while attempting to use necromantic paths as failures instead.
Minestra Di Morte (Level One Ritual)
The Necromancer obtains a piece of a dead body and simmers it in a pot with half a quart of vampiric vitae. To this stew, the Necromancer adds rosemary (for remembrance), basil (the funerary herb) and salt (the alchemic principle of clarification). After bringing the concoction to a full boil, the Necromancer eats it. If the ritual is successful, the caster can learn whether )or if) an individual became a spirito or spettro after death. Unfortunately, this information can be learned only about the person from whose body the "stew meat" was taken. If the roll to activate this ritual is successful, the character discovers whether the subject of the grisly rite became a wraith or spectre after death, or if indeed she became either. The blood component is sent progressively through the ritual: If the Necromancer takes the blood from another Kindred, she doesn't become partially bound from drinking it, nor does she add a point to her blood pool. Similarly, if she uses her own blood, her pool decreases by a point but does not increase when she consumes the soup. Necromantic vampires without the Eat Food Merit can't keep the soup down, but can still use the ritual and gain the information.
Ritual of the Smoking Mirror (Level one Ritual)
Named for the chief Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, this ritual allows the Necromancer to use an obsidian mirror to see as ghosts do. By gazing into the mirror's ebony depths, the Pisanob may discover an object's flaws, assess the general health of mortals or even read a being's aura. At the start of the ritual, the Kindred decides which of the ritual's two aspects she will use -- she may not use both at the same time. With lifesight, the Necromancer may read auras as if she had the level two Auspex power, Aura Perception. Deathsight, on the other hand, grants the Necromancer the ability to see wraiths and the Shadowlands. It also shows the stain of oblivion on the living, which a knowledgeable Necromancer may use to diagnose and study illnesses, damage or disabilities from which a target may suffer with a successful Perception + Medicine roll *diff.4 to 8, depending on the ailment's nature). At the storyteller's discretion, the Kindred may make a similar study of an inanimate object's flaw and how to repair them, if that object has a strong link to either life- or death- energies (such as a murderer's knife or a mindow box used to grow healing herbs). To perform the ritual, the Necromancer grasps an obsidian mirror that has had its edge sharpened so that it cuts into the flesh of whoever takes hold of it. As the Vitae flows onto the mirror's surface, it allows the mirror's reflective powers to bridge the worlds of the living and the dead, much as it allows the Necromancer herself to do. IF the Kindred wishes Lifesight, she calls upon the power of Tonatiuh, HE Who Goes Forth Shining. If she wishes Deathsight, she calls upon Mictlanteotl, Aztec god of the Underworld. The player then rolls to activate the ritual as normal (Intelligence + Occult, diff 4). If successful, the Necromancer may view the world as a wraith does via the reflective survace of the mirror for a scene. On a botch, the vampire may well invoke the ire of the deiteis upon whom she calls, with disastrous results.
Rape of Persephone (Level One Ritual)
A team of surgeons trained in the unpleasant ways of Necromancy performs an elaborate operation on a freshly dead or well-preserved corpse. From the cadaver's dead tissues, they create up to seven new penises, vaginas or other sexual apparatuses. The necromancer engages in intercourse with the corpse's new genitalia. He may then subtract two from the difficulty of all necromantic magic - except those targeting ghosts, Spectres or spirits- for the remainder of the night. If a number of necromancers perform the ritual together, they may freely trade willpower points between one another for the rest of the night. During this time, one participant may experience the tactile sensations of another by concentrating for a few seconds and spending a point willpower, regardless of the distance between them. No more than seven necromancers can perform the ritual together.
Eldritch Beacon (Level One Ritual)
Eldritch Beacon takes 15 minutes to cast. The material component is a green candle, the melted wax from which must be collected and molded into a half-inch sphere. Whoever carries this sphere, whether in his hand or in a pocket, is highlighted in the Shadowlands with a sickly-glowing green-white aura. All wraithly powers affect this individual with greater ease and severity (Storytellers using Wraith: The Oblivion should apply a -1 difficulty to all Arcanoi affecting the bearer of the beacon). The sphere retains its power for one hour per success on the casting roll.
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Subject: Necromantic Rituals Level 1 
Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:16 am
