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Occult Rituals

Occult Rituals

It’s a common belief that only those initiated in the rites and practices of arcane, divine, or psychic magic can cast spells, but this is not strictly true. Hidden within dusty libraries and amid the ramblings of lunatics lie the mysteries of another form of spellcasting—occult ritual magic. These spells are rare, coveted by both those eager to gain their power and those wishing to hide their existence. Most traditional spellcasters consider these rituals dangerous and uncontrollable, something to be avoided or used as a last resort. They fear the power these ceremonies grant to the uninitiated, as the rituals allow those with only a glimmering of understanding the ability to interact with the underlying fabric of magic.

While anyone can attempt to cast occult rituals, the process is fraught with peril. The strange and intricate incantations are often challenging to perform with precision, and failure can weaken the casters or even unleash horrors upon the world. Even when successfully performed, each occult ritual has a price—a backlash that affects at least the caster leading the ritual, and often those assisting in its performance.

Click here for the full rules on Occult Rituals.

Five-Generation Curse Source Blood of the Coven pg. 24 School necromancy [curse, evil]; Level 7 Casting Time 7 hours Components V, S, M (a sample of the victim’s hair or blood), F (a ruby worth at least 5,000 gp), SC (up to 4) Skill Checks Knowledge (arcana or history) DC 33, 2 successes; Knowledge (nobility or religion) DC 33, 2 successes; Spellcraft DC 33, 2 successes Range touch; see text Target see text Duration permanent Saving Throw Will negates (see text); SR yes Backlash All casters become exhausted and gain 1 temporary negative level. Failure All creatures that would have been targeted by the ritual gain the benefits of spell resistance (CL = primary caster’s Hit Dice) against the primary and secondary casters of the ritual until the next full moon. Effect This ritual inflicts a terrible curse upon an entire family line. The casters use a sample of the victim’s hair or blood to infuse a ruby with dark magic and a shred of their target’s soul. If successful, the ritual functions as bestow curse, affecting the primary target, as well as the primary target’s siblings, children, grandchildren, parents, and grandparents, no matter their location. Each target can resist the curse with a successful Will saving throw; success means the negative effects of the curse do not affect that individual, though they may still pass the curse on to their descendants. Children born into the curse manifest its effects and attempt their saving throws upon reaching maturity. By increasing the skill check DCs by 2, the ritual can be modified to instead affect the primary target and the primary target’s children, grandchildren, and two additional generations of descendants beyond. When cast, the ritual must specify a single condition any member of the family can fulfill to destroy the curse— this condition must be possible, however unlikely, though victims of the curse do not automatically know what condition or actions might destroy the magic. The curse remains empowered by the gem originally used as the ritual focus. Should the focusing gem be destroyed, the curse ends immediately. As such, most covens take great care in hiding and defending the focusing gems of their victims. An individual can be freed from the five-generations curse with a break enchantment or remove curse spell cast by a spellcaster whose caster level is higher than the primary ritual caster’s Hit Dice, and the curse can be removed from an entire line with a miracle or wish spell.

Five-Generation Curse

Source Blood of the Coven pg. 24
School necromancy [curse, evil]; Level 7
Casting Time 7 hours
Components V, S, M (a sample of the victim’s hair or blood), F (a ruby worth at least 5,000 gp), SC (up to 4)
Skill Checks Knowledge (arcana or history) DC 33, 2 successes; Knowledge (nobility or religion) DC 33, 2 successes; Spellcraft DC 33, 2 successes
Range touch; see text
Target see text
Duration permanent
Saving Throw Will negates (see text); SR yes
Backlash All casters become exhausted and gain 1 temporary negative level.
Failure All creatures that would have been targeted by the ritual gain the benefits of spell resistance (CL = primary caster’s Hit Dice) against the primary and secondary casters of the ritual until the next full moon.

Effect

This ritual inflicts a terrible curse upon an entire family line. The casters use a sample of the victim’s hair or blood to infuse a ruby with dark magic and a shred of their target’s soul. If successful, the ritual functions as bestow curse, affecting the primary target, as well as the primary target’s siblings, children, grandchildren, parents, and grandparents, no matter their location. Each target can resist the curse with a successful Will saving throw; success means the negative effects of the curse do not affect that individual, though they may still pass the curse on to their descendants. Children born into the curse manifest its effects and attempt their saving throws upon reaching maturity.

By increasing the skill check DCs by 2, the ritual can be modified to instead affect the primary target and the primary target’s children, grandchildren, and two additional generations of descendants beyond. When cast, the ritual must specify a single condition any member of the family can fulfill to destroy the curse— this condition must be possible, however unlikely, though victims of the curse do not automatically know what condition or actions might destroy the magic. The curse remains empowered by the gem originally used as the ritual focus. Should the focusing gem be destroyed, the curse ends immediately. As such, most covens take great care in hiding and defending the focusing gems of their victims. An individual can be freed from the five-generations curse with a break enchantment or remove curse spell cast by a spellcaster whose caster level is higher than the primary ritual caster’s Hit Dice, and the curse can be removed from an entire line with a miracle or wish spell.

Archives of Nethys

Occult Rituals

Five-Generation Curse

Effect