Rituals

Runes & Rituals

Rituals are long lasting magical effects that Occultists and occult entities can cast on individuals or objects.

Rituals are made up of magical runes, in a specific order, which determine the effect of the ritual. Once cast, the effect of a ritual is permanent unless it is overwritten by another ritual with no ill effects - in base play, a character can only be under the effect of one ritual at once.

Rituals, their rules, and the runes that create them are poorly understood by most of the population, and knowledge of completed rituals is a mark of prestige in magical circles. Much experimentation has been done, and the individuals involved have not necessarily survived it- in response the Ministry of External Affairs has cracked down on ritual research, and knowledge of completed runes and rituals is currently patchy at best.

Runes

Runes are written symbols, created via the infusion of occult power into special ink, that can be used in the casting of rituals.

A rune has two definitions: its Rune Type, and its Effect.

Rune Type determines which part of the ritual it will effect i.e. X’s Rune Type is ‘Ritual Target’ - it determines who the target of the ritual is. Effect determines the specific effect it has on the ritual i.e. X rune’s Effect is ‘A Physical Object’ - the target of the ritual must be a physical object.

The Rune Type and Effect of some runes are common knowledge. Others are kept secret and their Type and Effects must be discovered via experimentation, or via bargaining with those who already know.

Each rune inscription can only be used once, as use drains it of magic, and must be re-charged. However, the bar provides a selection of common runes free of charge, and for a small one-time fee can copy new runes discovered in play for future use by patrons.

Casting A Ritual

Each ritual takes the form of a series of runes, laid out in the ritual circle, in the required order. The order of the runes, as well as the runes themselves, determine the effect of the ritual.

Casting a ritual requires five things: The required runes for the ritual A ritual circle An Occultist to cast it An unresisting target And an Occult Convergence

The bar provides a Runic Circle for patrons to use free of charge, but players should not expect to find one on linears unless informed otherwise.

Occult Convergences are times when the confluence of magic in the surrounding area is sufficient for rituals to take place. They are not uncommon, will occur multiple times per interactive, and will be marked by the ref team. They may also occur on Linears. Multiple rituals can be cast during one Occult Convergence, as long as the players have had time to complete the rune layout and inform a ref.

Ritual Experimentation

If the Rune Type or Effect of rune is unknown, it is possible to determine what it does via experimentation, by substituting it in a ritual and determining the effect

However this is not without risk, as incomplete or erroneous rituals can fail, or worse, produce magical backlash, harming the caster, the target, and potentially others around them

If runes are out of order, or are used in the incorrect place, backlash is likely. However, if a ritual does fail or go wrong, you will receive information from the refs on the error that caused it, allowing you to experiment further.

Commonly Known Runes and Rituals

A summary of the basics of rituals and runes have been passed from occultist to occultist since the death of the author in mysterious circumstances in 1962. A copy of the document can be found here.

Occult Entities and Rituals

Rituals require and channel magical power, and when cast by humans, are limited by the amount of magic a human body can successfully channel. Occult entities, because of their very nature, are capable of generating and channeling greater power than human casters - as such, rituals cast by occult entities may have amplified effects compared to when used by a human caster. They may also be capable of producing results with ‘incomplete’ rituals or individual runes, and in rare occasions may produce different effects entirely.