Assamite Sorcery Rituals

Dur-An-Ki botches cause the ashipu to briefly become lost to the spirits from which her powers flow. The ashipu temporarily (and immediately) gains the Fugue Derangement. Assamite Sorcerers do not suffer from this effect, but all other Assamite ashipu do, as do all ashipu outside that Clan. [Rites Of The Blood -- Page 132]


[ 1 ] Horoscope

Using Babylonian astrology techniques, the ashipu can study the stars to gain insight into his enemies. To cast a horoscope of a mortal, the ashipu must know her birth name, as well as the location and the date of her birth. To cast a horoscope for a vampire, the ashipu must know both of those and also the date of her Embrace. Armed with such knowledge, the ashipu can both learn his enemy's innermost secrets and target her more effectively with his magic.

System: Each success allows the ashipu to discover one secret about the target of the horoscope, chosen from the following: Nature, primary aptitudes (i.e. Traits rated at 3 or higher), Flaws, or major tragedies from her life (or unlife). Alternatively, the ashipu may use the horoscope in conjunction with an effigy to improve the efficacy of sympathetic magic, with the successes on the ritual roll reducing the difficulty penalty applied to such rolls. However, the ashipu may not use a horoscope to reduce the dice penalty by more than his Dur-An-Ki rating, nor may he use it to reduce the penalty to less than zero.

[ 1 ] Rite Of Reclamation

All Assamites on some level accept the possibility that one night they might fall in battle. If that fateful night should come, Assamite Sorcery has provided a way that the Clan can reclaim what is rightfully theirs. By standing on bare earth under the open night sky, the Sorcerer asks for his blood to be transported back to the Mountain upon the moment of his final death. Here, under the ceremonial supervision of fellow Assamite Sorcerers, the blood becomes one with the Heartblood of the Clan, rejoining the blood of Haqim from which it is ultimately descended.

System: The effects of the ritual last until a number of sunrises pass equal to the number of successes rolled during the casting. When the Sorcerer reaches Final Death, all of his blood seeps out through his pores and is claimed by the earth, mystically transporting it to Alamut. If the moment of Final Death comes as the result of being diablerized, the would-be diablerist feels all of the blood gained from the Assamite clawing its way out of her, causing a number of lethal damage equal to the successes rolled in the casting of the ritual. It seeps through her pores and is sucked into the ground. The diablerie is still considered successful, but no blood is gained from the act, which could provoke a hunger frenzy check.

[ 2 ] Blade Of Smoke And Shadow

Ever since the nights of the Second City, the Assamites have fought against demonic forces. Mundane physical weapons normally have no effect upon such ephemeral beings, but Assamite Sorcerers have long-known the secret of enchanting a blade so that it can strike demons.

The Sorcerer first obtains an obsidian dagger with an iron handle. This may be prepared by the Sorcerer or otherwise obtained -- the significance is in the composition of the weapon rather than the method in which it is created. Next, she prepares a chamber where no light can naturally enter. This ritual must be cast in complete darkness, or it automatically fails.

The following must be present in the chamber, but can be real or depicted in any way the Sorcerer chooses: A collection of water, representing the primordial ocean, and a block of hardened clay, representing the Sumerian Tablet of Destinies.

The Sorcerer invokes the name of the Sumerian hero Marduk in any way she desires, as long as she is calling upon his aid to strike at the forces of Tiamat, the forces of chaos and darkness. While chanting, the Sorcerer lets the blade taste her blood.

After ten minutes of invocation, if the roll is successful (which also incurs one lethal damage from the bloodletting), the ritual is complete. The obsidian blade becomes completely insubstantial, leaving only the handle solid. The blade now appears as a slowly swirling column of smoke extending from the handle but generally retaining its former shape. It remains in this fashion until a number of sunrises pass equal to the number of successes rolled. Afterward, the smoke dissipates and the obsidian blade is gone forever (thus requiring a new blade to be obtained for a new casting).

System: Given that the enchanted blade is now insubstantial, it cannot be used in conjunction with Quietus powers such as Baal's Caress. However, the blade can now strike at incorporeal entities such as demons, ghosts, and spirits when they enter this plane of existence. It passes harmlessly through solid objects and flesh, and thus may be used to strike at possessing entities without damaging the host. Importantly, the enchanted blade may be used by anyone, not just the caster, and the user does not need to know Assamite Sorcery to benefit from its properties. All users do damage with the blade against demons, ghosts, and spirits as though they were fighting a normal, physical opponent.

[ 2 ] Infusion Of Kalif

This ritual is important to all ashipu who seek enlightenment, but its effects have been duplicated by a number of blood magicians from a number of schools who abuse its ancient pedigree for a baser purpose: Getting high. The ritual allows the blood magician to ritually infuse vitae into hashish so that Kindred may imbibe of it through a hookah and become intoxicated.

System: The sorcerer must obtain a quantity of hashish and soak it in a quantity of his own blood. The ratio is fairly high -- twenty ounces of hashish is soaked in one point of blood, and the process (which takes three full nights) yields only one ounce of kalif per success. The "quality" of the kalif is determined by the Generation of the vampire whose blood was used in the ritual (which need not be that of the sorcerer). Each dot of Generation increases the quality by +1, so kalif successfully infused with the vitae of a Ninth Generation vampire would have a quality of four.

To properly use the kalif as part of a Dur-An-Ki ritual, one ounce of it must be placed into a hookah along with specially prepared rosewater. After smoking for at least half an hour, the player of the imbibing character must roll Stamina + Fortitude (difficulty 6, with a dice penalty equal to the quality of the kalif used in the ritual). There is something of a "sweet spot" that the sorcerer must reach. If sorcerer fails or botches, he becomes too intoxicated to do anything more than continue to enjoy the kalif (and for many Kindred, that's enough). On the other hand, if the player rolls more successes than the character's Dur-An-Ki rating, the character doesn't get high at all and must continue smoking for another half hour interval before rolling again.

Only a number of successes greater than zero but equal to or less than the character's Dur-An-Ki rating allow for him to reach the ecstatic state required to properly use kalif in further rituals. If the proper number of successes are rolled, the character enters a state of heightened awareness in which Dur-An-Ki is easier to perform. For the rest of the scene, the difficulty of any roll related to Dur-An-Ki paths or rituals is reduced by an amount equal to half the quality of the kalif.

[ 3 ] Blood And Bane

Prerequisite: Sabbat Al-Aziz Assamite

This Assamite Sorcery ritual is native to the lineage of Al-Aziz, and only known to these Sabbat practitioners. It is said that the first member of this lineage created it to assist in her flight from the Mountain of Alamut, and taught it to her childer thereafter. It is a corruption of the ritual "Infusion of Kalif".

This ritual constitutes a powerful hex, causing its target's spirit to deteriorate slowly while under the effect of this spell. Other magical casters can feel when this ritual is in effect, and receive instinctive knowledge of the general direction and distance to the caster.

System: The Al-Aziz must spend an hour in ecstatic dance, chant, and meditation. Using the birth name of her victim and a small token belonging to that individual -- a lock of hair, or some item of personal significance -- she targets her spell upon that person. The caster must make a Wits + Occult roll (difficulty 7). For each success, she reduces the target's level of Thaumaturgy in their primary path by one dot. The effects of this ritual lasts until the next sunrise, or until the caster releases the spell or is destroyed.

[ 3 ] Bound By Oath

Mithra is the Zoroastrian angelic deity of oaths and covenants. By recreating his legendary bull-slaying, Assamite sorcerers can confer his blessing on an operation against a single target.

First, the Sorcerer ritually cleans an underground chamber and positions a bull which will be sacrificed. The Sorcerer and participants gather over the bull and chant the name of a single target for one hour. Each participant then smears a point of their own blood on the blade of a two-handed sword. In unison, the participants chant the target's name one last time and the Sorcerer plunges the blade deep into the throat of the bull to complete the ritual. As one, the participants kill the bull, and as one, they vow to kill their target.

Not all the participants need to know the ritual in order to take part, only the presiding Sorcerer. In order for the ritual to be cast, it must have at least two participants and no more than seven.

System: When the participants make an attack in unison against the selected target, a number of them (equal to the successes achieved in the casting) can propel themselves up the initiative order to act one round before the target. For example, four Assamites are attacking a target. The target acts on initiative 10, but three of the Assamites roll initiatives of 9, 9 and 7 respectively. Two successes were achieved in the casting, allowing two of the three stragglers to act on initiative 11 instead. The third remains on their original initiative order. The ritual only grants its benefit if all of the participants (including the Sorcerer) actively engage their target at the beginning of the combat.

In addition, each participant in the combat has a bonus (equal to the successes in the casting) to any Alertness rolls for that scene. The effects of the ritual last until the following sunrise, or until the end of the first combat against their target, whichever comes first.

[ 3 ] Bull Of Heaven

In imitation of the rituals supposedly used by the goddess Ishtar when she prepared the great Bull of Heaven to face Gilgamesh, this ritual allows the ashipu to enchant and command an animal to do its bidding. The result is similar to the Animalism power Subsume the Spirit.

System: The ashipu must drink from the animal while simultaneously feeding it blood. One point of blood is sufficient for any animal smaller than a man. Three points is required for any animal larger than man-sized, up to the size of a bull. Animals larger than cannot be used for this ritual. Upon receiving the blood, the animal immediately becomes a ghoul, gaining one dot of Potence and one dot of either Fortitude or any other Discipline possessed by the ashipu which does not require sapience (such as Dominate or Dur-An-Ki). For the remainder of the night, the ashipu can reflexively direct the animal at will and see through its senses while retaining his normal awareness of his surroundings.

[ 4 ] Directing Ahriman's Lance

The ashipu must fashion a sympathetic connection to a target out of a talisman small enough to be swallowed. Then, she must swallow it, wait an hour, and then cut the talisman out of her own belly. Other sorcerers may assist in this undertaking, which inflicts a minimum of two levels of unsoakable lethal damage on the one performing the ritual. Until the next inauspicious night, any Kindred who holds the talisman will find that the spirits bless his efforts to kill the target.

System: To determine how long the ritual lasts, the ashipu must first use the Horoscope ritual against the target or, if the birth date and death date of the target is unknown, he may cast a horoscope for the assassin who will wield the talisman. In the latter case, only that assassin may benefit from the talisman's properties, but in the former case, anyone can use the talisman. When Horoscope is used in conjunction with this ritual, the talisman will function for a number of nights equal to the successes rolled for the Horoscope. During that time, any roll made by the bearer of the talisman which bring him closer to killing the target benefit from a difficulty reduction equal to the successes rolled for this ritual.

[ 5 ] Seeing With The Sky's Eyes

By meditating on the universe, the sorcerer can look down on his enemy with the eyes of Heaven. The ashipu must enter an ecstatic trance. Then, he must concentrate on an individual by studying an effigy of her. The effigy must incorporate at least a recent photograph of the target, if not something with a stronger connection. This ritual cannot be achieved with just the target's name (see Principles of Sympathy and Contagion on pages 133 - 135 of Rites of the Blood).

System: Each success allows the player to ask one question about the target's current location and activities.