Song of the Prey
Level-Four Theban Sorcery Ritual
As hunters attract prey, so do vampires attract the kine. This ritual lures mortals into the predator’s lair with a subtle psychic call. The sorcerer selects a secluded location where he wants his prey to come, such as a cloistered garden or forgotten side yard, and plants there a thorny bush or tree, which is the offering for this ritual. The tree calls out to mortal minds with memories of hope and sensations of faith and awe. This song reaches out through homes and down streets, stretching as many blocks as the sorcerer has dots in Theban Sorcery.
The Song of the Prey affects wandering minds, steering folks on idle walks and vagrants with nowhere to go toward the tree with an indefinable sensation. A subject simply approaches the tree as a troubled soul approaches an open church in the middle of the night. Once in the vicinity of the tree, a subject sits down and wonders, dreams or explores old memories. While she does, she is entranced and the vampire may feed. When dawn comes, the subject is surprised to find that she’s spent the whole night thinking, dreaming or perhaps praying, and hurries off without any knowledge that she’s been attacked.
In the abstract, Song of the Prey can be used to guarantee tidy, quiet hunting. Each success earned on the activation roll yields the sorcerer one Vitae. This interpretation of the ritual is suited for use during in-between times of a story, and can be assumed to be a night’s work — while the sorcerer is doing other things, prey is coming and waiting for him at the tree he planted.
When used in the thick of a story, this ritual attracts one or more unwitting mortals for the sorcerer to use as he sees fit. The total number of mortals drawn over the course of four hours is equal to half the number of successes scored on the activation roll. When dealing with specific, established characters this ritual can be resisted with a contested action, pitting the sorcerer’s Intelligence + Academics + Theban Sorcery against a mortal’s Resolve + Composure. Mortals who resist the Song of the Prey are not steered by the ritual and do not approach the tree, though they may nonetheless dream of it. A player’s character entranced by the tree automatically awakens if attacked or otherwise surprised, but not if subjected to the Kiss with finesse. Characters may attempt to resist the Kiss as usual, but are assumed not to be surprised by it.
In the 1950s, this ritual saw some use in English cities as Sanctified gathered up homeless kine for an unknown purpose. They were never seen again. In the American South this ritual is called The Smoldering Bush.
The Song of the Prey affects wandering minds, steering folks on idle walks and vagrants with nowhere to go toward the tree with an indefinable sensation. A subject simply approaches the tree as a troubled soul approaches an open church in the middle of the night. Once in the vicinity of the tree, a subject sits down and wonders, dreams or explores old memories. While she does, she is entranced and the vampire may feed. When dawn comes, the subject is surprised to find that she’s spent the whole night thinking, dreaming or perhaps praying, and hurries off without any knowledge that she’s been attacked.
In the abstract, Song of the Prey can be used to guarantee tidy, quiet hunting. Each success earned on the activation roll yields the sorcerer one Vitae. This interpretation of the ritual is suited for use during in-between times of a story, and can be assumed to be a night’s work — while the sorcerer is doing other things, prey is coming and waiting for him at the tree he planted.
When used in the thick of a story, this ritual attracts one or more unwitting mortals for the sorcerer to use as he sees fit. The total number of mortals drawn over the course of four hours is equal to half the number of successes scored on the activation roll. When dealing with specific, established characters this ritual can be resisted with a contested action, pitting the sorcerer’s Intelligence + Academics + Theban Sorcery against a mortal’s Resolve + Composure. Mortals who resist the Song of the Prey are not steered by the ritual and do not approach the tree, though they may nonetheless dream of it. A player’s character entranced by the tree automatically awakens if attacked or otherwise surprised, but not if subjected to the Kiss with finesse. Characters may attempt to resist the Kiss as usual, but are assumed not to be surprised by it.
In the 1950s, this ritual saw some use in English cities as Sanctified gathered up homeless kine for an unknown purpose. They were never seen again. In the American South this ritual is called The Smoldering Bush.
Material Components
Offering: A living, thorn-bearing tree, bush or flower, which withers slowly as the ritual’s power fades.
Related Discipline
Level
4
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