ABYSS MYSTISICM

1-Dot Powers and Rituals

Pierce the mask:
It is a simple fact that understanding flows from perception and darkness thwarts perception.
Most individuals incorrectly assume no answers are to be found in the dark, but that is simply
because they do not know how or where to look. This ritual resolves the first paradox, attuning a
mystics eyes to the primordial darkness even as they forsake light.

System: The mystic invokes the Obtenebration power Shadow Play and concentrates,
focusing the manipulated shadows to gather into a sphere. She holds this intangible sphere in one
hand and gazes into its depths, while her player rolls Perception + Occult (difficulty 8). Success means
the vampire permanently gains the Merit Darksight (p. 206), while a botch results in the mystic
permanently gaining Darksight as a Flaw. A failure means the Cainite fails to comprehend the lesson
and must try again another night.

Side Effect: When a vampire uses Darksight obtained from this ritual, her pupils appear to
grow in an inky stain that envelops iris and white in pure black. Those who botch this ritual obtain
blackened eyes for the rest of their unlife along with their warped perceptions.

The Shadow of Hands That Serve: Commented [KO1]: EYES OF AHRIMAN

Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 5,
This ritual summons the smallest beings that dwell in the Abyss and grants them brief Stamina 1,
Charisma 1, Manipulation 3, Appearance
existence in the material world as servitors of the mystics who invoke them. Such entities are not 0,
demons or ghosts or true spirits, but rather something else that defies comprehension or Perception 3, Intelligence 2, Wits 3
classification. All that is certain is that they hate light, hunger for life and bear a malign cognition that Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 3,
Dodge 3, Intimidation 2, Stealth 5 (In Shadows +1)
would shatter the sanity of any who truly understood it. Although the creatures summoned with this Disciplines: Obtenebration 1
ritual are harmless, they make excellent spies and are so called the Eyes of Ahriman. Willpower: 3, Health Levels: 3
Other Notes: Both types of creatures may freely
System: The vampire crushes and extinguishes a candle in his fist, suffering one level of invoke their Obtenebration without spending
aggravated damage and prompting an immediate check for Rtschreck (difficulty 4). If the vampire blood, although they must spend Willpower in
place of blood to enhance a power (such as
can maintain control, his player rolls Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 6). Botching this roll results in a lengthening a tentacle grown with Arms of
further level of unsoakable aggravated damage. If successful, however, the vampire tightens his fist Ahriman). They can fly at 30 yards per turn
until blood drips from his fingers. The blood blackens and burns as it falls, undulating and extending and are always assumed to be in shadow form as
per Tenebrous Avatar (Dark Ages: Vampire,
horrible tendrils to reclaim the wisps of acrid smoke. When the blood lands, it shrieks in pain and p. 200). They suffer no wound penalties, but
births a momentary gateway to the Abyss. Out of this brief rift emerges a globe of shadow substance the touch of fire or sunlight instantly destroys
the size of a childs hand. As the vampire opens and upturns hisburnt and bloody palm, the orb flies these creatures. Communicating with a material
being requires contact and a successful
to his hand and licks it clean with extruded tentacles. The creature endures one night per success on
Wits roll. Each success transfers one set of
the casting roll before returning to the Abyss. Until this time, it serves the vampires spoken will with related images or one emotion directly into the
unquestioning if unimaginative fervor. It can crudely communicate with material beings in images targets psyche.
and emotional impressions, but only while in physical contact. A level-two version of this ritual exists,
known as The Heart That Beats in Silence. This ritual follows the same rules and process, save that
the summoned being is twice as large and possesses greater mastery of Obtenebration, allowing it to
attack its casters foes physically. A vampire may not summon more beings through castings of The
Shadow of Hands That Serve and/or The Heart That Beats in Silence than his Occult rating.

Side Effect: None

 Weight of Shadows (RotB):
For the rest of the evening, the caster may concentrate and control naturally occurring
shadows, making them move, act, or otherwise obey the casters commands. So long as the caster
takes no other action, they may thus control any shadow that is not currently being controlled by
another individual.

System: This ritual only allows the caster to control natural shadows, not shadows created by
Obtenebration. Shadows controlled by the caster can gain or lose a small amount of size (thus a
womans shadow could be made look like a mans, but a dogs shadow could not). Only one such
shadow may be controlled at a time. The Storyteller is the arbiter of what kinds of shadows are
simply too large for this power to affect (such as the shadow of a skyscraper). The effects of this
ritual last until the next sunrise.

Side Effect: Shadows are drawn toward the caster, and when not controlled, will attempt to
move toward from her, even to the point of bending against the light. The caster gains the Flaw Eerie
Presence (with the above descriptor) for the duration of this rituals effects. (V20, p. 495).

Light within Shadow (LotC):

One of the first powers a savant of darkness learns is the ability to see in darkness. Using this
ritual, the mystic summons up a ball of shadow and stares into it for so long that her eyes
permanently attune themselves to the dark.

System: Upon successful casting this ritual, the Lasombra summons into her hand a sphere of
pure shadow. As she stares into the sphere, she makes a Perception + Occult (difficulty 8) roll. If the
roll is successful, she permanently gains the Controllable Night Sight Merit (see p. 122). If they fail,
they may try again the next night, but if they botch they permanently gain the Uncontrollable Night
Sight Flaw (p. 123).

Side Effect: Whenever the vampire uses her new vision, her eyes become disturbing inky
black pits of shadow. If she has no control over her sight, her eyes will always look like this.

2-Dot Powers and Rituals

Transubstantiation of Essence:
Supplanting her accursed blood with the substance of the Abyss, a mystic may devour the
shadow essence to accelerate her healing.

System: The mystic devotes a full turn to meditating; her player spends one Willpower point
and rolls Stamina + Occult (difficulty 8). A botch inflicts one level of aggravated damage. For every
success rolled, the vampire may spend one blood point to heal two levels of bashing or lethal
damage. For the purposes of this unholy healing, the vampire may even surpass normal generational
limits on blood expenditure. The Abyss takes its due, however. Whenever the vampire feeds, the
Abyss consumes the blood until it has taken a total number of points equal to twice the number of
health levels healed. No blood actually enters the vampires system until the cost is paid in full.
Moreover, this ritual cannot be used again until the Abyss receives its toll and never more than once
per night.

Side Effect: The taint of the Abyss never fully leaves a vampires blood after casting this
ritual. As a result, the mystics vitae thereafter has an unnatural darkened hue. This effect is purely
cosmetic, though few sights are more disturbing than the ebon tears of a weeping Abyss mystic, save
perhaps the horrors that make her weep.

The Heart That Beats in Silence: Commented [KO2]: HEART OF SILENCE

Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5,
(bkz: Eyes of Ahriman) Stamina 1,
Charisma 1, Manipulation 3, Appearance
0,
Feed the Darkness (RotB): Perception 3, Intelligence 2, Wits 3
Abilities: Alertness 3, Athletics 3, Brawl 3,
For the rest of the evening, the caster may feed through the touch of an Arm of the Abyss. Dodge 3, Intimidation 2, Stealth 5 (In Shadows +1)
Any Flaws or other issues the caster naturally suffers are still in effect: The Arms absorption of blood Disciplines: Obtenebration 3
can be excruciatingly painful if the caster has the flaw Grip of the Damned (V20, p. 495), all feeding Willpower: 5, Health Levels: 5
Other Notes: Both types of creatures may freely
restrictions still apply, and so forth. However, the Arm of the Abyss leaves a deep, black bruise on the invoke their Obtenebration without spending
subjects body that looks similar to the mark of a feeding leech, rather than the tell-tale sign of a blood, although they must spend Willpower in
vampires fangs. place of blood to enhance a power (such as
lengthening a tentacle grown with Arms of
System: The caster must spend fifteen minutes in contemplation at the beginning of the Ahriman). They can fly at 30 yards per turn
and are always assumed to be in shadow form as
evening, chanting in Abyssal tongues and calling upon the spirits of the Abyss. The effects of this per Tenebrous Avatar (Dark Ages: Vampire,
ritual last until the next sunrise. p. 200). They suffer no wound penalties, but
the touch of fire or sunlight instantly destroys
Side Effect: While the casters body contains any vitae gained through the use of this ritual, these creatures. Communicating with a material
her blood is a dark, blackish color. This causes notable dark streaks where her veins and arteries are being requires contact and a successful
Wits roll. Each success transfers one set of
near the surface of her flesh. related images or one emotion directly into the
targets psyche.
Claiming the Dark (LotC)
This ritual allows the caster to merge with the shadows, drawing the power of the Abyss into
herself. However, the cost for this power, as always, is blood.

System: When casting this ritual, the vampire cuts herself open with a knife and draws the
surrounding shadows into her own body. The process takes an hour and is very painful, subtracting
two dice from any rolls the Cainite makes for the duration. After this torment, the vampire makes a
Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 8) to hold the power of the shadows inside her. If she fails, the
shadows escape her, and if she botches, the shadows take a blood point for each 1 rolled as well. If
she succeeds, her skin turns dark and her eyes become black. All her physical attributes rise to the
level of their Obtenebration if they are lower. Obtenebration powers up to level three are used at -2
difficulty, and the blood point cost for Arms of the Abyss is halved. This augmentation lasts for as
long as the vampire desires. Unfortunately, upon rising from slumber each night, the vampire in this
condition must pay an additional blood point cost equal to their Obtenebration rating. Should she fail
to do so, she returns to normal. In her augmented form, she is also more vulnerable to sunlight and
takes triple damage from it. Her Appearance also drops by one point while empowered.

Side Effect: Should the vampire spend more consecutive days in this form than her highest
Virtue, her skin begins to darken permanently, in a similar way to elder Assamites.

3-Dot Powers and Rituals

Drinking the Blood of Ahriman
By drawing the shadow essence of the Abyss into himself and fusing it with his blood, a
mystic who knows this ritual may undergo a frightening transformation.
 System: The mystic summons a Nocturne and cuts her palm with a knife that has never
tasted blood. Chanting softly, the mystic flicks blood into the Nocturne, drawing its hunger into her
wound. The shadow melds into the palm, traveling through the veins to suffuse the vampires entire
form. This painful process takes half an hour. During this time the vampire is at 2 dice from the cold
agony of the fusion. At the end of the ritual, the vampires player rolls Manipulation + Occult
(difficulty 8). Failure means the fusion is unsuccessful and the shadow escapes to the Abyss. A botch
means the shadow drinks one blood point per 1 rolled before departing. Success causes the
vampires skin to darken noticeably and her eyes to become the impossibly inky black of the Abyss. In
this augmented state, all Physical Attributes lower than her Obtenebration rating rise to that level.
All Obtenebration powers up to level three receive a 2 difficulty, and the blood cost to grow or
expand an Arm of Ahriman is halved (rounded up). The voidaugmented vampire must spend a
number of blood points upon awakening each night equal to her Obtenebration rating. Failure to pay
this surcharge immediately revokes the transformation. In addition, the vampires shadowy form
takes triple damage from sunlight and her Appearance drops by one dot while this ritual is in effect.

Side Effect: Once a vampire spends more consecutive days in spectral form than her highest
Virtue, the darkening of her skin becomes permanent. This resembles the darkening of an elder
Assamite andgrows more pronounced the more frequently the mystic casts and maintains this ritual.

Calling the Hungry Shade

Extending his mastery of the Abyss beyond The Heart That Beats in Silence, a mystic who
knows this ritual may call forth an actual Hungry Shade into a circle of blood. Such entities are
incalculably malicious and resent attempts to bind them into service. If they break free of the magic
that enslaves them, they do not hesitate to drag the errant Cainite to the Abyss or tear him asunder
on the spot.

System: A mystic may initiate this ritual any time between dusk and midnight. To begin, the
vampire stands at the center of the intended summoning area and slits his left palm. He then turns
counterclockwise in silence with bloody hand outstretched to drip a circle of blood. Next he steps out
of the circle, taking care to drip no more blood outside its edge. He then begins a whispered chant of
invocation as he prowls around the circle in a spiral that winds slowly inward. Multiple Abyss mystics
who know this ritual may assist and usually do, circling equilaterally apart from one another in
synchronous steps. The total number of participating mystics cannot exceed the highest Occult rating
in the group. Make an extended Intelligence + Occult check (difficulty 6) for every mystic involved,
rolling once per hour of chant without looking at the dice. The Storyteller should privately keep track
of the total number of successes amassed and permit players of the participant mystics to continue
as long as they like until an hour before dawn. A botch from any mystic reduces the number of
accumulated successes by five. When the mystics choose to resolve their processional litany, they
stop and turn to face the center of the circle. Each speaks a syllable of summons in perfect unison
and their players spend one point of Willpower. It is at this moment that the air tears asunder and a
Hungry Shade rises in the blood circle.

The statistics of each summoned Hungry Shade vary. Each success in casting generates three
bonus points that may be used to generate its statistics according to the costs listed on p. 129 of Dark
Ages: Vampire... The shade begins with a rating of zero in all traits except Obtenebration and may
not have Backgrounds, Virtues or a Road (as it has no need of such Traits). Health levels cost two
bonus points each and the creature never sufferswound penalties. It can also store more Willpower
than its permanent rating for a cost of one bonus point per additional point of capacity and begins
with a full pool. None of the shades traits may exceed the rating of the highest Obtenebration score
among the participating mystics. The only exceptions are Obtenebration (begins at five dots; cannot
exceed a rating of eight), permanent Willpower (can equal double the highest casters
Obtenebration), total health levels (up to twice the shades permanent Willpower) and temporary
Willpower capacity (no upper limit). The shade may possess only the following Disciplines, or rather
analogous powers: Celerity, Fortitude, Obtenebration and Potence. The shades default state is
immaterial as per Tenebrous Avatar, so its version of that power allows it to solidify for a turn at the
cost of one Willpower point. The shade can see in all darkness, natural or otherwise. It regains one
point of Willpower for every blood point consumed or health level of damage inflicted, and all its
attacks (including Arms of Ahriman) inflict aggravated damage. It has no blood pool and does not
need to spend blood to activate Obtenebration powers but substitutes Willpower to augment
shadow effects or use Celerity. The shade suffers aggravated damage from sunlight and fire and
soaks like a vampire when materialized. It cannot speak but may telepathically communicate at will
in images and emotions with any sentient being it can see.

Once the Hungry Shade is built according to the number of successes rolled, the player of the
lead mystic makes an opposed roll of Willpower against the sum of the shades two highest
permanent traits other than Willpower (both rolls at difficulty 4). The vampire receives one extra die
per assisting mystic. If the vampire wins, the shade must serve him faithfully in all endeavors for a
number of nights equal to his Willpower. This duration may be extended by one night per point of
fresh human or vampire blood immediately fed to the monster. It is not possible to increase the
duration of servitude after the ritual ends, though it is believed that more powerful summoning
rituals may exist for such purposes.

If the shade wins the contest of wills, it may freely attack the mystics and usually does,
though some have been known to flee the area and wreak havoc elsewhere or even return to the
Abyss without incident. A freed shade may remain in the physical world as long as it desires, although
it loses points of Willpower equal to its Obtenebration rating each dawn. If it runs out of Willpower,
it can no longer bear separation from the Abyss and returns home through the closest shadow.

Side Effect: None