Theban Inscription
Level-One Theban Sorcery Ritual
In the earliest nights of the covenant, when Theban Sorcery was barely understood and the Sanctified were surrounded by enemies both living and undead, 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, a rough rust stain symbolizing the Spear of Destiny or a finely-wrought inscription of Aramaic words.
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.
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.
Material Components
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.
Related Discipline
Level
1