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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.

Trial of the Sixteenth Step

Source Occult Realms pg. 58
School necromancy [evil]; Level 6
Casting Time 60 minutes
Components V, S, F (a ring or amulet worth at least 5,000 gp), SC (up to 4)
Skill Checks Bluff DC 29, 3 successes; Knowledge (religion) DC 29, 3 successes
Range close
Target one creature; see text
Duration 1 week; see text
Saving Throw none; SR no
Backlash The primary caster takes 2d6 points of damage.
Failure The primary caster takes 2d6 points of force damage for each use of channeled energy being siphoned. All secondary casters take 1d6 points of force damage per use of channeled energy being siphoned.

Effect

In order to enact this ritual, the primary caster must interact with at least one creature capable of channeling positive energy to heal living creatures. This subject must have at least one use of channel energy remaining for the day. The primary caster then engages in a ritual of deception, eroding the subject’s faith and siphoning it away into the focus item. This requires equal amounts of subterfuge and religious knowledge on the part of the primary caster, who ensures the subject willingly concedes matters of faith without entirely forsaking her deity.

If the ritual is successful, the subject loses a number of uses of channel energy equal to the primary caster’s Charisma modifier. These charges are stored in the focus for up to 1 week. The wearer of the focus can release the channeled energy as a standard action to heal living creatures in a 30-foot burst centered on the wearer. The amount of damage each use of channeled heals is equal to the amount it would have healed if coming from the target creature.