Ritualistic Discipline
This ancient craft utilizes detailed rituals to raise huge amounts of power. Practitioners are very rare today, and none are known with enough expertise to craft their own rituals. Thus practitioners rely on books which detail rituals that were written long ago, and it is usually a Ritualistic practitioner's greatest treasure to find new rituals. In most provinces, practice of this magic is outlawed, and practitioners must remain secretive or face severe penalties, the least of which will be destruction of all ritualistic materials.
Rituals should be crafted by the ST in the desired level of detail, but each ritual should require a certain amount of time, a certain cost of materials, and will have a certain chance of success. Often the chance of success is variable, based on the quality of materials. Thus, each ritual cost will usually have an A and a B cost -- this will give the practitioner the A or B percentage. The cost is in silver coins. This percentage will go up 6% for each rank the practitioner has in the Ritualistic skill. The effects of most rituals can be dispersed, but the ritual should be considered at 2 times the practitioner's rank when determining dispersal percentages. (If the practitioner is rank 2 and someone attempts to disperse their golem, they would have to disperse it as a rank 4 spell. See the Invocative Enchantment Discipline for more information).
Here are common Rituals. The ST should give the beginning practitioner 1d6 of them. Rituals can be found in libraries (where they are usually sealed away in archives), old book stores, or sometimes in treasure hoards. A single ritual usually requires a small book in order to show all the incantations, drawings of proper symbols, and preparation of ritualistic objects. The ST can then continue to develop new rituals for the practitioner to find. No one knows how many rituals exist.
Any ritual requires that the practitioner be undisturbed and in the same place for the duration of the ritual.
If a ritual fails its percentage, the full cost must be again paid for another attempt.
Create Golem -- Using a dead body, a statue, figurine, or other representation of a living creature, the practitioner imbues the golem with a life-force and a limited intelligence and personality. The golem will be completely obedient to its creator. See the descriptions of Golems in the Creatures Compendium for more information.
Time -- 1 day. Cost -- A 700 B 2000. Success -- A 35% B 70%.
Imbue -- The practitioner imbues an object or place with a certain magical quality. There are actually many varieties of this ritual, and each one should be considered a separate ritual. Some examples would be the Fire Imbue, or the Lifeforce Imbue. Fire Imbue uses a fire-based ritual which would, for instance, coat a blade in continual flame, or make a wand able to shoot forth balls of fire, or create a ring which would allow the wearer to make any fire in the area 'come to life' and do his or her bidding. Lifeforce Imbue could be cast upon a spring and grant it with continual healing powers. Other examples would be Lightning Imbue, Darkness Imbue, Flight Imbue, etc. Remember that each one of these is a separate ritual -- ie. a character would get only Lifeforce Imbue, for instance.
Time -- 1 day. Cost -- A 1000, B 3500. Success -- A 50% B -- 70%.
Resurrect -- Even the smallest part of a dead person, like a single hair, can be regenerated into the full person and brought back to life completely healed and quite energized.
Time -- 6 hours. Cost -- A 3000, B 5000. Success -- A 70%, B 85%.
Bind Soul -- This is cast upon a person (who need not be present, but some artifact of their person is required, such as a lock of hair), and it binds their very soul to the practitioner's command. Though not necessarily pleased with the situation, the victim will be unable to bring themselves to harm or betray the person who bound them. Indeed, they will gain health and vigor from pleasing the practitioner. If the practitioner is killed, the victim will die as well.
Time -- 1 day. Cost -- A 8000, B 20,000. Success -- A 35%, B 90%.
Alter Climate --This alters the very climate of a place for the space of one moon. The magic will move outward in all directions until it reaches the sea, and thus an entire province may be affected. This ritual is rare, and is usually destroyed by authorities whenever it is found. It can alter the climate to whatever extent the practitioner dictates.
Time -- 3 days. Cost -- A 1000, B 3000. Success -- A 50%, B 70%.
Shapeshift -- A freshly dead creature (not more than 3 days dead) is needed, and the ritual allows the practitioner to assume the shape of the dead creature as it was when alive. This destroys the body of the dead creature completely. The practitioner can shift back and forth from his or her natural form to the assumed for a total of 1d20 times (the ST should roll and keep the number secret). Then the form is lost. The shape-shifted practitioner will get all natural abilities of the assumed form. In the event that the ritual fails, the same dead entity can be used again, as long as it is not more than three days dead.
Time -- 4 hours. Cost -- A 900, B 2300. Success -- A 60%, B 85%.
Farseeing -- By means of this ritual, the practitioner can scry into the future, past, or present. They can focus on a place, a person, or an object, even if the location is unknown. The practitioner can hear sounds as well, and even cast spells through the scrying device (crystal ball, mirror, or pool of still water).
Time -- 2 hours. Cost -- A 400, B 700. Success -- A 80%, B 98%.
Great Heal -- This spell has been successful at curing all diseases save fully infected lycanthropy. (This is usually marked by the first change of the victim.) Diseases are wiped away, old wounds are healed, scars disappear, rotted teeth grow strong, toxins are eradicated from the system, and all traces of ill health are wiped away.
Time -- 4 hours. Cost -- A 200, B 400. Success -- A 70%, B 90%.
Geas -- This powerful spell is placed upon a person as a forbiddance. Whatever action the caster wishes, such as not setting foot upon a certain province, not speaking certain words, or not eating certain foods, is denied the victim. The victim feels an overwhelming sense of foreboding every time they even consider denying the geas. If they still choose to deny it, they will be struck with a succession of woes, often beginning with blindness, and ending, a few days later, with a horrible and virulent disease which is quite resistant to curing. Bad luck will follow them ever after if they manage to survive the illness. The ritual is first done, and then the practitioner must confront the victim and utter the forbiddance aloud.
Time -- 7 hours. Cost -- A 800, B 4000. Success -- A 35%, B 85%.
Mass Curse/Blessing -- This spell sets a curse or blessing on a massive area -- about twenty round leagues. The curse will set plagues into effect, create drought and bad hunting, and poison water sources. Insects will abound, and rats will begin to breed with frenzy. The blessing will tend to make the area disease-free, will cause crops to be bountiful and hunting to be good, and will grant overall prosperity as the norm. The effects last for a full year.
Time -- 14 days. Cost -- A 4000, B 10,000. Success -- A 45%, B 75%.
Gateway -- By means of the Gateway, the practitioner opens a portal to either another place upon Carador, or to another realm, such as Lorenai or the Astral. The only realm unavailable to it is Kaelum. The practitioner can then step through and conduct whatever business they have at the new location. Gateways are permanent until dispelled by the caster.
Time -- 1 day. Cost -- A 2000, B 3000. Success -- A 65%, B 80%.
Astral Projection -- This allows the practitioner to leave their body and move with greater speed over the realm of Carador. They can pass through walls, under the water, or anywhere else they desire. The practitioner is invisible, and can only observe. The effects last for as long as the practitioner remains outside their body -- it should be remembered that their body remains in stasis wherever they left it.
Time -- 3 hours. Cost -- A 100, B 200. Success -- A 70%, B 90%.
Manifest Destiny -- This potent sorcery selects a victim, of whom the practitioner must have an artifact (a lock of hair, etc.) The practitioner decides a destiny for the victim regarding their life, their financial future, their love future, or any other aspect of their life. Events are then set in motion which will make the destiny occur within a moon to a year (at the caster's choice). The victim must make catastrophic changes if the destiny is to be avoided. The practitioner must confront the victim and state their destiny to them.
Time -- 1 day. Cost -- A 1000, B 3000. Success -- A 70%, B 90%.
Soul Bane -- This spell inflicts the victim with a terrible 'disease' which affects their very soul. The victim will steadily weaken, and modern healing methods, including Gifted healing and Necromancy, will not turn the tide of the bane. Great Heal will. The victim weakens over a period of a moon, and thereafter dies. The practitioner must have some artifact of the victim, such as a lock of hair.
Time -- 1 day. Cost -- A 700, B 1200. Success -- A 50%, B 70%.