Rituals
This is the game of the occult. Of otherworldly, magic, dark pacts, possession… and rituals.
Where you often confront your rivals not on the battlefield but within a magic circle. You do not wield a sword but a sacrificial dagger. Where the injured are not bleeding from gunshot wounds but from dark power surging through their veins.
Rituals gather more power and are more specific than other magical undertakings. No matter if they are a result of a single Vessels will, or massive group undertaking.
In this chapter we will outline and explain how rituals are constructed and played.
Ritual size
A ritual can involve a single character, or multipölay characters or npc- Generally the more participants the more power and precision can be mastered in the ritual. But the risk of catastrophic failure also increases with the number of participants. A typical group ritual have three to seven participants, and extremely few rituals have more than nine.
Solitary or paired rituals is also common if a Vessel wants to achieve something outside of their normal sphere of competence, but doesnt pack as much power as the larger rituals.
Rital stages
Most rituals have four distinct phases. Planning, preparation, execution and closing
Ritual planning
This is the stage where you both in character and out of character design the ritual, define what you want to archive with it, what material componentes it needs, what the risk are and what functions are needed during the ritual
Ritual preparation
This is a stage and a move that define how the characters prepared themself before the ritual. Dramaturgically it is to build tension and give the ritual scene more weight.
Ritual execution
This is the main phase of the ritual. When the main goals od the ritual should be archives. The execution moves are about the results of the ritual. The move during this stage will use either Vision or Power. Whichever of those are use the other trait will be used during the closing stage. If you used Power for this roll, Vision will be usef for the closing move.
Closing
The closing stage of the ritual is about ending things and what side effects the characters cause and carry with them after the ritual It is about side effects and whar the price the character will pay for their actions.
‘
—
Planning
When planning the ritual have the pöanning discussion as your characters but have the Ritual sheet available and record your choices. When you are choosing functions needed during the ritual, steer to as many roles that would make the scene most interesting, which might be too few or too many for the characters to cover.
What is the goals of the ritual?
Chose as many as feels true.
- To gain knowledge
- To exorcise
- To summon
- To damage
- To bind
- To empower
- To create
- To destroy
- To bind
- To archive something else……………
- To archive something else……………
What material components does the ritual need?
- A specific place
- A specific time
- An artifact
- A sacrifice
- Something of nature
- The elements
- An aspect of death
- An aspect of life
- Blood
- Flesh
- Bones
- Darkness
- A word
- A song
- A dance
- A object link to target
- Nothing
- Other…..
- Other….
- Other….
What functions are needed during the ritual
- Scrying - Someone to seeking information
- Anchoring - Someone to anchor and stabilize the ritual
- Sacrificing - Some to give up or endure something
- Succumbing - Someone who will bear the worst side effects
- Empower - Someone who will channel power o charge the ritual
- Protecting -Someone who is responsible for fending off attacks
- Harming- Someone who is to assaults a target
- BInding- someone who binds or releases the target of the ritual
- Summoning - Someone who calls something into the circle
- Linking -Someone who holds together aspects of the ritual
- Leading - Someone who gathers the unified will
- Communing - Someone who speaks for the group
- Other ………
- Other………..
What are the risk during the ritual, and why?
- To unleash
- To be bound
- To give into Hunger
- To lose oneself
- To be destroyed
- To destroy
- To die
- To kill
- To be possessed
- To forget
- To be changed
- To decent into madness
- To burn out
- To be seen
- To ve captured
- To be lost
- To be torn asunder
- To be stolen
- Other…
- Other…
Of course there might be risks the characters know nothing about. These are just the risk they expect.
Preparation
Before the ritual characters prepare individually.
What do you use to prepare for the ritual?
Pick 2, and if time is short pick 1. Effects are for the execution and cloning moves
- Blood and pain (+1 Power)
- Ritual cleaning (+1 Vision)
- Meditation or prayer (+1 Vision)
- Drugs and ecstasy (+1 Power)
- Movement and exercise (+1 power)
- Sex (+1 power or vision)
- Sacrifice (+1 power or vision)
- Nothing (-1 to power or vision)
- Recovery scene
- Seek out a place of power (+1 Power or vision)
- Ask an entity for assistance
Describe how it is done.
The GM may ask as many if these and other question as they like
- Which one of your Truths is most present when you prepare?
- Do you doubt the wisdom.if the ritual?
- What do you fear?
- What excites or temps you in the ritual?
- Which one of the other participants will you most rely on?
- Are you willing to die to archive your goals?
- What is running though your mind during the preparations?
Execution of the ritual
Describe how they gather for the ritual and play out what is done. During the scene will make a ritual execution move, using either Vision or Power. The move can either be one of the characters playbook, or based on their function during the ritual. Suggested function moves are listed below.
The execution phase is about if the goals of the ritual is archived and what happens during the ritual.
If you roll the Power stat during the execution phase, you will roll Vision during the closing phase and vice versa. This is because doing a ritual ypu have to give ypur all. You will have to use both all of your raw power, and do it with as much clarity and precision you can muster.
Make the execution moves in the order that makes sense. Play the scene to the point where the characters try to end the ritual. Then enter the closing phase
Closing the ritual
A ritual calls up tremendous powers and weakens the veil between the natural world and the supernatural. A ritual is a liminal state, where everything balances on the edge of a knife.
Closing a ritual is about consequences, the side effects, what price the character will pay and what happens after the ritual.
During the closing of the ritual each character will make a supernatural closing move. The move will use the opposite supernatural stats as the Execution move.
The closing the ritual moves can be from the characters playbook, or from thor function during the ritual
Ritual function moves
Scying
Execution
To gain knowledge beyond human reach roll Vision:
On a 10+: You will be given a vision of what you seek and more then you sought
On a 7-9: You will see a vision of what you sought but something will also look into you
On a 6- The power is to much. You cannot control the vision they will slood you and you mind will be laid open
Closing
To withdraw from the visions roll Power:
On a 10+ Your mind will chose 1.
On a 7-9 chose 3
- Your Hunger surges and you must slake it
- You lose your grip on reality
- You take 2 mind harm
- You will be hit by random flashes
On a 6- Your soul is laid bare and you unable to close your mind
Empowering
Execution
To channels or draw enough power to the ritual roll Power.
On a 10+ chose 1
On 7-9 chose 2
- The powers are too much for your body. Take 2 harm
- The power surges through the others they all take 1 harm
- The power overflows and destroy things around you
- The raw power attract and entity
On a 6- …power is a dangerous thing
Closing
To let go og the Power roll Vision
On a ten + you get all
On a 7-9 chose 2
- You remain conscious
- You let go of the power within you
- You ground the power in your surroundings
On a 6- you burn out. You cannot use any supernatural power until you roll a double on some roll or have had two recovery scenes.
………… More functions and moves
