Storyteller's Option: Lay and Secular Ritualists
The Sanctified strictly and ferociously guard their miraculous secrets, but they also know that small, carefully revealed glimpses of power can secure Allies, lure in converts, and frighten enemies. The sorcerer who blesses the knives and axes of non-Sanctified Allies is remembered as a valuable supporter and a dangerous foe, but to secure his aid again you must first do something for him… or the covenant.
In desperate times, The Lancea Sanctum may teach a non-Sanctified vampire one of the covenant’s Theban rituals without demanding the student to formally join the covenant. Perhaps the last of the city’s Sanctified must send a pack of unaligned vampires across hostile territory with a message for a foreign Prince and have agreed to protect The Message and the messengers with dark miracles. Perhaps the Sanctified armor their new mercenaries in a bloody miracle in exchange for one more dangerous mission. Whatever the rare cause may be, a Sanctified sorcerer can share the covenant’s rituals with characters lacking Covenant Status or even dots in Theban Sorcery with this optional rule.
The non-Sanctified character acquiring the secret miracle pays double the normal experience point cost to learn a Theban Sorcery ritual of that level; because only the lowest-level rituals are ever shared with outsiders, the cost is therefore typically 4 or 8 experience points — double the standard cost for a • or •• ritual. Once learned, the character rolls only Intelligence + Academics to activate his contraband ritual (since he has no dots in Theban Sorcery). Offerings must be made and Willpower points must be spent as usual. A character can learn only one Theban Sorcery ritual in this way, no matter its level, unless the Storyteller decides otherwise.
If a non-Sanctified character is given a ritual and then, later, joins The Lancea Sanctum and properly learns Theban Sorcery, the ritual he already knows becomes just one more in his repertoire. [Matt, this next “sidebar” is meant to be a onepage spread, ideally facing the start of the new rituals immediately thereafter. If that’s not possible, it’s more important that this spread be its own, self-contained page. (Is there such a thing as a one-page spread?) I’m using headers other than <sbx>, though, because it shouldn’t actually be formatted like a sidebar. Confusing enough?]
In desperate times, The Lancea Sanctum may teach a non-Sanctified vampire one of the covenant’s Theban rituals without demanding the student to formally join the covenant. Perhaps the last of the city’s Sanctified must send a pack of unaligned vampires across hostile territory with a message for a foreign Prince and have agreed to protect The Message and the messengers with dark miracles. Perhaps the Sanctified armor their new mercenaries in a bloody miracle in exchange for one more dangerous mission. Whatever the rare cause may be, a Sanctified sorcerer can share the covenant’s rituals with characters lacking Covenant Status or even dots in Theban Sorcery with this optional rule.
The non-Sanctified character acquiring the secret miracle pays double the normal experience point cost to learn a Theban Sorcery ritual of that level; because only the lowest-level rituals are ever shared with outsiders, the cost is therefore typically 4 or 8 experience points — double the standard cost for a • or •• ritual. Once learned, the character rolls only Intelligence + Academics to activate his contraband ritual (since he has no dots in Theban Sorcery). Offerings must be made and Willpower points must be spent as usual. A character can learn only one Theban Sorcery ritual in this way, no matter its level, unless the Storyteller decides otherwise.
If a non-Sanctified character is given a ritual and then, later, joins The Lancea Sanctum and properly learns Theban Sorcery, the ritual he already knows becomes just one more in his repertoire. [Matt, this next “sidebar” is meant to be a onepage spread, ideally facing the start of the new rituals immediately thereafter. If that’s not possible, it’s more important that this spread be its own, self-contained page. (Is there such a thing as a one-page spread?) I’m using headers other than <sbx>, though, because it shouldn’t actually be formatted like a sidebar. Confusing enough?]