The Oath of the Awliyah
Otherwise known as the Oath of Welcome Return, this is a mutual oath sworn between two members of the Invictus before one departs from the domain. The nomad preparing to undergo the journey swears that he will return by a certain night, and the vampire remaining in place likewise swears that when the nomad returns, he will be made welcome. Swearing the oath is more expensive for the Kindred who remains in place, and is thus considered an unsurpassed demonstration of good faith and friendship.
The terms of the oath are written out in the blood of both swearing Kindred. Both halves of the written contract remain red and fresh unless violated — if the nomad fails to return and has not met Final Death, his half turns black. If he is not made welcome upon his return, the other half does the same. If one of the two Kindred suffers Final Death, the blood writing on his half of the document turns to ash, flaking away and leaving only a faint impression.
The terms of the oath are written out in the blood of both swearing Kindred. Both halves of the written contract remain red and fresh unless violated — if the nomad fails to return and has not met Final Death, his half turns black. If he is not made welcome upon his return, the other half does the same. If one of the two Kindred suffers Final Death, the blood writing on his half of the document turns to ash, flaking away and leaving only a faint impression.
Effect
To invoke this oath, both Kindred must bleed into prepared vessels and dip pens in the Vitae, writing their halves of the contract within minutes — before the mystic substance reverts back to ordinary blood. The vampire who remains in the domain then spends one Willpower point to activate the contract.
For every success on the activation roll, the vampire who remains behind grants the nomad one bonus die to be applied to any situation that may threaten the nomad’s ability to return as promised. Each time one of the bonuses is used, it disappears and cannot be used again. The bonuses can be applied in any combination: all at once, one at a time, or otherwise divided.
If the nomad fails to return by the promised date and time, all of the remaining bonuses disappear.
Example: Before embarking on a journey between domains, Jalaal of Taifa swears an Oath of Awilyah with his sibling, Umar, promising to return within two months. Both Kindred sacrifice a point of Vitae, and Umar spends a point of Willpower to activate the contract. Umar’s player scores six successes on the activation roll, creating a pool of six bonus dice for Jalaal to access over the course of his travels. His player uses a +1 bonus on a hunting roll when pickings get slim on the road, a +3 bonus to a Survival roll when looking for shelter in an unfamiliar domain and a +2 bonus to his Initiative roll when a strange vampire chases him out of the territory.
For every success on the activation roll, the vampire who remains behind grants the nomad one bonus die to be applied to any situation that may threaten the nomad’s ability to return as promised. Each time one of the bonuses is used, it disappears and cannot be used again. The bonuses can be applied in any combination: all at once, one at a time, or otherwise divided.
If the nomad fails to return by the promised date and time, all of the remaining bonuses disappear.
Example: Before embarking on a journey between domains, Jalaal of Taifa swears an Oath of Awilyah with his sibling, Umar, promising to return within two months. Both Kindred sacrifice a point of Vitae, and Umar spends a point of Willpower to activate the contract. Umar’s player scores six successes on the activation roll, creating a pool of six bonus dice for Jalaal to access over the course of his travels. His player uses a +1 bonus on a hunting roll when pickings get slim on the road, a +3 bonus to a Survival roll when looking for shelter in an unfamiliar domain and a +2 bonus to his Initiative roll when a strange vampire chases him out of the territory.