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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.

Invoking the Hero-God

Source Occult Origins pg. 26
School transmutation; Level 7
Casting Time 70 minutes
Components V, S, M (mixture of wine, outsider's blood, and cedar ash worth 5,000 gp total), F (primary caster must be menstruating), SC (up to 12)
Skill Checks Diplomacy or Intimidate DC 31, 2 successes; Knowledge (arcana) DC 31, 2 successes; Knowledge (history) DC 31, 3 successes
Range touch
Target up to 10 willing creatures/character level of the primary caster, all of whom must be present for the ritual
Duration 14 hours
Saving Throw Will (harmless); SR yes
Backlash The primary caster takes 2d6 points of damage and becomes host to a restless “god” spirit (see text).
Failure A random creature conjurable via summon monster XI appears and attacks all participants for 9 minutes. At the GM's discretion, the conjured creature can have the advanced template, be accompanied by additional creatures, or both.

Effect

The rituals of lost Sarkoris summoned and put to use many of their myriad “gods,” including conjuring powerful spirits into a clan's soldiers to invest them with bravery and divine grace in an upcoming battle. In this ritual, after an hour of chanting, calling down a spirit, and begging and forcing its service, the primary caster moves among those to be invested with the spirit's power, anointing the participants' foreheads with blood. The ritual infuses each anointed warrior with inhuman passion and courage, granting a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks, as well as a +4 morale bonus on saves against fear effects, but also renders them vulnerable to spells that forbid outsiders or deal additional damage against creatures of the outsider type (such as magic circle against chaos and chaos hammer). A target of this spell does not become an outsider; it simply gains a temporary vulnerability to these effects.

To maintain this spell's magic, the primary caster must host the “god” invoked within her body for the duration of the spell. The outsider scuttles beneath her flesh, causing intense pain and distraction; each round, she has a 50% chance of being dazed by the pain. When the spell's duration expires, the primary caster can eject her parasitic “god” back to its home plane with a successful Will saving throw. On a failed save, the spirit remains and continues to inflict debilitating pain until banished via break enchantment, dismissal, limited wish, miracle, remove curse, or wish. Banishing the spirit early immediately ends the ritual's effect.