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All Thaumaturgy rituals have ratings. Dark Thaumaturgy rituals, while an infernal type of blood magic, follow many of the same rules as standard Thaumaturgy rituals are found in V20, page 230. The ritual’s rating is the lowest level of Thaumaturgy (or Dark Thaumaturgy) a vampire must have before attempting to use it. For example, a vampire must have mastered the third level of Thaumaturgy as a basic require-ment before performing the Felis Negrum ritual. Also, like other Thaumaturgy rituals, Dark Thaumaturgy rituals must

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be learned before they can be used. Generally, the higher the level of the ritual, the longer it takes to study it, though the aid of demons can speed up the process.

Dark Thaumaturgical rituals require a successful Intelligence + Occult roll, for which the difficulty equals the level of the ritual + 3 (to a maximum of 9). Only one success is required for a ritual to work, but some spells may require more successes or have variable effects based on how well the player rolled. Should this roll fail, the spell may simply have no effect, or the Storyteller may come up with an interesting side effect.

Should the player botch the roll, her vampire has failed the ritual in such a way that she has incurred the wrath of her demonic lord. The effects of botching are at the discretion of the Storyteller, but they should be severe and have a long-term effect on the Corrupter. Maybe the vampire’s managed to anger a new denizen of Hell who tries to use her to attack her demonic master. Or, perhaps the Corrupter has accidentally revealed herself to be an infernalist to all vampires within a specific radius based on her location.

Unless mentioned otherwise, rituals require five minutes per level to cast. For more on Dark Thaumaturgy Paths see Rites of the Blood (pp. 167 - 170).

Level One Rituals

Curse of Oedipus

The Curse of Oedipus completely blinds the vampire’s target. It requires the thaumaturge to light a stick of heavy incense, the smoke from which is believed to mystically cloud the target’s vision.

System

This ritual blinds a single target. The caster does not need to see or be in the presences of the victim in order for it to work. The thaumaturge does, however, have to know the target’s name and appearance. The Curse of Oedipus goes into effect for a number of hours equal to five minus the target’s Stamina.

Level Two Rituals

Video Nefas

The caster entreats demons to answer his questions, revealing occult secrets or unraveling complex mysteries. Most demons are not omniscient, however, and this ritual’s effec-tiveness is limited by the demon’s knowledge. Video Nefas has no visible or discernible effect, which makes this a favorite amongst Corrupters. Vampires with Auspex might detect the shadowy outline of an imp or homunculus whispering into

the dark thaumaturge’s ear. In order for this ritual to take effect, the caster must break a dried bone in half.

System

The number of successes accumulated on the roll determines the extent of the information the demon must reveal. The caster may ask only one question of the demon, but he may cast this ritual as many times as he wants.

This ritual turns the thaumaturge or another individual into a black cat. The thaumaturge must burn the whisker of a black cat, or the skin of a white cat, and inscribe the sub-ject’s name on a piece of glass in her own blood.

System

If the infernalist uses Felis Negrum on herself, she can change back into a vampire at will. If used on a ghoul, the spell lasts only 24 hours. If used on another vampire, the spell lasts for 12 nights minus one per permanent point of Willpower the victim possessed at the time of the transformation.

A target may resist the effects of Felis Negrum either con-sciously or subconsciously, by winning a resisted roll against the dark thaumaturge’s Willpower. This ritual requires the caster to spend one blood point. The subject acquires all Traits — including Mental Attributes — of a cat for the duration of the transformation. Cat Traits are found in V20 on page 389.

Level Four Rituals

Plague’s Secret Domain

Plague’s Secret Domain causes the victim to become “sick at heart.” The subject loses interest in his regular activities or maintaining his personal appearance, and he eventually sees no reason to continue his life or unlife, falling into torpor or chronic depression.

The infernalist must perform the ritual in front of a smok-ing censer, which she extinguishes with freshly spilled mortal blood at the ritual’s completion.

System

The effect of this ritual lasts for 24 hours. For every success above 2, another day is added to the victim’s depression. Whilst the victim suffers from Plague’s Secret Domain, the dark thaumaturge may continue performing the ritual to add more time to their affliction. If the ritual continues for 10 days, the victim enters torpor if he is a vampire, and will commit suicide if he is mortal.

In order to activate this ritual, two blood points are required. They must be taken from a “donor” other than the dark thaumaturge.

Level Five Rituals

Close the Ways

The infernalist who performs this ritual does not do so lightly, for it is much more difficult to undo Close the Ways than it is to call it down. While this curse does not necessarily kill a target, it does deluge her with a tide of terrible misfortune. To perform the ritual, the caster extinguishes 14 flames with his bare hands, naming his intended victim with every doused flame.

System

A successfully cast ritual brings untold bad luck to the victim. This means that any success will cause an automatic botch to the victim’s rolls for a specified period of time. Treat this botch as a “ghost” 1 on die rolls, as if the victim always had an additional 1 turn up. Thus, if the subject rolled no successes but no 1s, he would still botch, as the “ghost” 1 turned his failure into a botch. Likewise, if the victim’s rolls garner any successes, subtract one for the “ghost” 1.

The duration of Close the Ways is as follows:

The caster must sacrifice two points of permanent Willpower when enacting this ritual, to stave off the Rötschreck of the flames and to bring the curse down upon her victim’s head. This curse may be broken only by the dark thaumaturge invoking it, and to do so she must cut off her own left hand and spend two more points of permanent Willpower.

Into the Inferno

Into the Inferno allows the caster to step into Hell itself. Why any Corrupter would want to willingly walk into the fiery inferno is unknown, but some captured infernalists

have claimed there are great rewards for those who face their masters directly — including powerful profane artifacts and secret lore. To enact this ritual, the caster must wash an entire wall with the blood of child sacrifices; the wall then becomes the portal into Hell.

System

This ritual requires 24 hours to cast, during which the dark thaumaturge must remain fully awake. At the end of the ritual the portal will open, and it will remain so for a number of hours equal to the caster’s Willpower.

Though anyone may walk through the door into Hell, the denizens of Hell may not escape through this portal into the mortal world. They may, however, attempt to deny exit to any vampires who have invaded their realm of eternal torture.

Variable Level Rituals

Call Forth the Host

A favored ritual amongst all Corrupters, Call Forth the Host draws a demon or tortured spirit from the Inferno into the earthly plane. The creature appears through the power of the ritual and follows the thaumaturge’s instructions to the letter.

While this is a favored ritual, most demons resent being summoned and ordered around in this way. They may return later of their own volition to torment the would-be sorcerer, and always seek to subvert the dark thaumaturge’s commands by exploiting weaknesses in their instructions.

Demons take many forms, though they may generally disguise themselves to walk unnoticed among humankind. For this reason, the caster must know the precise, true name of the demon she wishes to summon for this ritual to take effect.

System

This ritual requires one hour per level to perform. For example, summoning an imp takes only one hour, while summoning a shade takes three. The summoned demon serves the thaumaturge for a number of hours equal to 10 minus the level of the ritual. By way of example, an imp would serve the caster for nine hours while a shade would serve for only seven.

During this period of servitude, the demon may not harm the caster, and it must follow her exact instructions in a lit-eral fashion. When the duration of servitude expires, the demon vanishes in a puff of sulfur and returns to Hell. It may, however, return of its own accord later to even the score.

For some Corrupters, it’s not enough to bring forth a demonic entity from the depths of Hell. Bind the Interloper allows a caster to force a demon that was summoned by another dark thaumaturge into his own servitude. This allows the new caster to command the demon as if he summoned it himself.

In order for the dark thaumaturge to snatch a demon from another infernalist, the caster must secretly negotiate with the demonic entity in order for it to effectively switch masters. Some tactics may include promising a bounty of souls to the demon as payment, creating a ritual that allows the caster to broadcast the demon’s true name, which is more powerful than many of its common names, or the sacrifice of a valuable object or commodity like the vampire’s blood that supersedes the original caster’s offering.

System

The ritual’s level varies depending on the potency of the entity being bound. (See the table for Call Forth the Host). Bind the Interloper requires 10 minutes per level to perform, and Corrupters should expect that the original caster will likely vow to take revenge.

As with Call Forth the Host, the dark thaumaturge must know the demon’s name. However, the caster must achieve more successes on the roll than the original summoner accumulated when she first summoned the demon. Should the binding succeed, the demon serves the dark thaumaturge for the remainder of its servitude period, without beginning a new one. This demon may also return to punish the dark thaumaturge for forcing it into servitude, and may even pit both summoners against one another.