Blight of Wrath

Ritual Rank 8 [Blight]

Potency: 40

Components: 9 humanoid sacrifices + 3 Assistants

Focus: A stone altar stained with blood dedicated to a Deity or other divine entity that embodies wrath.

Cost: 2 Karma, 5 Resolve Burn

Prep Time: 9 days

Cast Time: 1 hour

Caster Considerations: A Cleric with the Wrath Sphere increases the starting Rank of the blight by 1.

Location Considerations: If the location is the site of a battle or similar massacre where 88 or more people have died, increase the starting Rank of the blight by 1.

Description: Performing this ritual requires 3 assistants with 4 or more ranks in Ritual Casting. You and your assistants must torture the sacrifices over a period of 9 days. The torture must be excruciating and constant or the ritual will fail. You must chant over the altar while your assistants slay the sacrifices, three at a time, letting blood soak deep into the stone of the altar. At the completion of the final sacrifices, the final verse fills you and your assistants with incredible rage. A hate filled battle takes place until only one of you survives. If your efforts are worthy, the Blight of Wrath takes hold.

Increasing the Blight (see Blights for more information): The rank of the blight can only be increased by sacrificing humanoids that have been tortured for 9 days prior to sacrifice. As the altar soaks up their blood, the influence of the blight increases. Increasing the rank by 1 requires sacrificing 25 creatures per current rank of the blight (i.e. 25 to increase from 1 to 2, then an additional 50 for Rank 2 to 3, etc).

Minor Effect: Crops begin to rot from the inside out. Creatures of animal intelligence (Intelligence of 5 or less) become aggressive and attack at random. Intelligent Creatures in the area (Intelligence of 6 or more) become particularly aggressive, increasing their Hate disposition towards all creatures by 2 and imposing a -8 penalty to Tolerance. Races of creatures that are already aggressive by nature tend to seek opportunities for battle and bloodshed.

Major Effect: Creatures in the area with a Will score equal to [10 + Blight's Rank] or less are driven mad with hate and become Enraged, fighting and killing any creatures they come in contact with, including their own allies (even families). They are considered to have Hate 5 for all creatures and automatically fail Tolerance checks.

Removing the Blight: The divine connection to the altar must be removed, with a Deconsecrate or similar ritual. Additionally, a heartfelt prayer must be said over the altar, forgiving the blight's creators and the Deity for all the deaths committed.