Egyptian Theban Sorcery

Lvl 1 Rituals

• Mark of Tu'At

(As modern "Theban Inscription" Ritual) In the earliest nights of the kindred, when Theban Sorcery was barely understood, this simple ritual saved many vampires from Final Death by leading them to secret havens beneath the sun-bleached stones of Egypt. With a touch of his hand and a soft word, the sorcerer can leave a mark — be it words or a symbol — in virtually any surface. The mark can be as subtle or obvious as the sorcerer wishes: a worn patch of stone in the shape of a skull, an ink marking forming an anch or a finely-wrought inscription of hieroglyphs. The more successes that are achieved on the activation roll, the larger the mark can be. As a general rule, an inscription can be up to one foot long or wide per success. The sorcerer can choose to create an allusion (such as an iconic reference to the Testament of Longinus) or a disguised image (such as a crucifix in a stretch of water-damaged wallpaper) if he wishes, requiring either an Intelligence + Academics roll (for an obvious symbol with hidden meaning) or a Wits + Academics roll (for a hidden symbol) to be made for onlookers to understand or spot the mark. The ritualist decides which dice pool, if any, is appropriate when the mark is made. (If the Storyteller agrees, other dice pools — such as Wits + Occult — may be required instead.) Finally, the ritualist may choose to penalize the necessary dice pool by a value less than or equal to his dots in Intelligence. Offering: The mark to be made must be drawn or placed on the surface to be affected. An inscription may be written onto parchment, for example, to be pressed to the desired surface later. Many early marks were simply drawn by hand, with chalk or blood, onto the surface.

• Vitae Reliquary

The character takes an ordinary object and stores an amount of Vitae in it that may be called upon later (whether as sustenance or for any other purpose that requires Vitae). Any Kindred or ghoul can call upon the stored Vitae, not just the caster, though the person using the Vitae must know that it’s there. The amount of Vitae that can be stored in the object is equal to the amount of successes the player achieves on the invocation roll, although the caster may infuse the object with less if he wishes. The Vitae to be stored comes directly from the caster’s own body. This ritual can be cast only once on the item in question. Any object can contain the Vitae, regardless of its size, though the item must be at least the size of a person’s fist. The Vitae remains indefinitely until consumed. The act of consuming the blood might involve taking it to one’s lips, or holding the item tight and willing the blood to pass from object to body. This Vitae is “neutral,” which is to say that the feeding Kindred does not subject the sorcerer to a Vinculum in this manner, though blood addiction is still a risk. Offering: The vessel of infusion itself is the offering, which is destroyed after the last Vitae is removed. The offering rumbles to dust. Prior to that point, the item functions as it normally would (a rapier may still be used to attack, a book may still be read).

Lvl 2 Rituals

• Liars Plague

The character curses her subject so that if he speaks any lies over the course of the scene, beetles swarm from his mouth. The ritual involves a contested action, pitting the sorcerer's Intelligence + Academics + Theban Sorcery against the subject's Resolve + Blood Potency. Resisting this power is a reflexive action. Offering: An insect's carapace.

• Bird of Sin

This strange ritual was one of the original collection given to the covenant in the vaults beneath Thebes, and has been linked to other ancient magical traditions of Egypt. With this ritual, the character summons forth the guilt and immorality of a subject he can see directly into the form of a shimmering phantasmal bird - often an owl, but raptors of all sorts have been cited by sorcerers through the ages. Some incarnations shed feathers like a fire sheds cinders, others have been said to be cold, hard and sharp like ice; each bird reflects the sinner, rather than the ritualist. The Bird of Sin immediately attacks the subject on the sorcerer's turn. Attacks continue for one turn per success scored on the activation roll. The bird has a dice pool equal to 10 minus the subject's Morality or Humanity for attacks; it ignores the subject's Defense. Its spectral talons and beak deal bashing damage, but can hurt only the subject of the ritual. The bird is completely intangible to all other creatures, including spirits and ghosts.The subject can will the bird out of existence with a successful Resolve + Composure roll penalized by the caster's dots in Theban Sorcery. This effort is an instant action, performed on the subject's turn. If the roll fails, subsequent attempts can be made on following turns so long as the bird remains. The action to activate this power is penalized by the subject's Resolve. Offering: A feather at least four inches long.

• Pillar of Osiris

as modern "Sanctity" Ritual

Lvl 3 Rituals

• Pharaoh's Paces

Another ritual seemingly adapted from the tombs of Egypt, Pharaoh's Paces grants the sorcerer a supernatural manifestation of an ancient royal custom. When this ritual is activated, the sorcerer is imbued with the honorary privilege of the Pharaoh: no one may touch the sorcerer (by hand or with an object) or even set sight directly upon him for the remainder of the scene. The ritual's name comes from the third effect: no one may approach within nine paces of the sorcerer. Those within nine paces immediately step away, unless doing so would cause them harm. Only those persons within direct sight of the sorcerer when the ritual is performed fall under its effects. Characters wishing to violate this arcane custom (to look at or attack the sorcerer, for example) can force themselves to do so with a successful Resolve + Presence action and a cost in Willpower. This effort of the will is an extended action with additional rolls possible every turn, provided the resisting character spends a Willpower point each turn he attempts a new roll. Willpower points spent to overcome this ritual's effects only make the extended action possible, and do not grant extra dice on any rolls. The target number of successes is equal to the successes scored in the ritual's activation action. Resisting characters can do nothing else but move their Speed while mustering the courage necessary to break through this magic. Once an onlooker has broken the spell, he cannot be made subject to this ritual again for the remainder of the scene. Anyone the sorcerer touches or makes eye contact with is instantly freed from the power of the ritual. The sorcerer can continue to activate this ritual on himself to affect new onlookers or to replace his activation roll with a second, and hopefully better, result. Successes scored on a subsequent activation roll replace those of the previous activation roll, but resisting characters do not lose the successes they have already achieved on rolls to resist the power. Offering: An article of gold, jade, or sapphire jewelry.