Night of Hell
Level-Five Theban Sorcery Ritual
The sorcerer dispatches an echo of damnation to the sleeping or torpid mind of a victim he can see directly (though, traditionally, Sanctified sorcerers whisper in the ear of their victim), whether mortal or vampire. This shred of Hell explodes in the victim’s mind, unfolding into what seems to be years of anguish and suffering. The exact nature of the terrible vision depends on the victim, for it is her own hell she samples. The victim gains a severe derangement and loses all of her Willpower points as a result of the time she spends in torment. The victim’s derangement may be overcome with time (and experience points) or, if it is the exacerbation of a preexisting derangement, the Storyteller may require the victim to reconcile her troubled mind through therapy or life changes. The lower the Humanity or Morality of the victim, the more her hell is her own doing, and the harder the derangement is to be rid of.
A torpid victim ignores the normal intervals of her sleep and lays unconscious until roused. A living victim sleeps through hunger and thirst to starvation. A victim cannot free herself from the Nightmare unless her body suffers at least one point of lethal damage, at which point she comes back, screaming and terrified, to her ordinary, waking life; Kindred victims must immediately roll to resist a frenzy of fear (target successes: 10) upon waking. (At the Storyteller’s discretion, more powerful magic or psychic forces may be able to penetrate the Night of Hell and help the victim.)
The roll to activate this power is penalized by the victim’s Resolve. If the victim knows the sorcerer well, she may recognize his voice or face from her Night of Hell with a successful Wits + Resolve roll, penalized by the sorcerer’s Wits, made reflexively during the torment.
A torpid victim ignores the normal intervals of her sleep and lays unconscious until roused. A living victim sleeps through hunger and thirst to starvation. A victim cannot free herself from the Nightmare unless her body suffers at least one point of lethal damage, at which point she comes back, screaming and terrified, to her ordinary, waking life; Kindred victims must immediately roll to resist a frenzy of fear (target successes: 10) upon waking. (At the Storyteller’s discretion, more powerful magic or psychic forces may be able to penetrate the Night of Hell and help the victim.)
The roll to activate this power is penalized by the victim’s Resolve. If the victim knows the sorcerer well, she may recognize his voice or face from her Night of Hell with a successful Wits + Resolve roll, penalized by the sorcerer’s Wits, made reflexively during the torment.
Material Components
Offering: Blood or hair from the victim.
Related Discipline
Level
5