Crumbling Flesh and Withering Limbs

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual targets a character, who must be present throughout. The target character must possess the magician skill.

This ritual is an enchantment. A target may only be under one enchantment effect at a time.

Effects

Twice each day during the duration of the enchantment the target can call CLEAVE with a rod when they hit a target, following the rules for a heroic skill.

The effect lasts until the start of the next Profound Decisions Empire event.

Additional Targets

This ritual can affect additional characters from the same coven. Each additional character increases the magnitude by 6. Additional characters must be present throughout.

Description

This ritual allows a magician to channel destructive, painful magic through their rod. The spell blasts flesh and twists bone, leaving a limb useless and crippled or immediately incapacitating a target with an agonizing burst of pain if it strikes the chest or belly. The rod needs to strike reasonably exposed flesh, but the magic penetrates heavy clothing and light armour with ease. The effects of the withering cleave can be treated in the same way as a blow from a sword or axe.

As with Kimus' Glaring Eye, the magic of this ritual can be used by a magician in armour because they are not actually casting a spell when they invoke its power. For a ritualist with no other useful incantations, this can prove moderately useful on a battlefield as long as they select the right moment to strike with their withering strike. Even magicians with useful battlefield magic can still find this enchantment useful however; it gives a powerful strike when used at the right point in a battle, and is certainly enough to deal a crippling blow to an enemy magician.

Sometimes this ritual is named Sorin's Chastising Touch, evoking that eternal's philosophy of learning and strength through suffering. Some scholars believed the name referred to a more potent version of the ritual that allowed additional uses, and was used by certain tyrannical magicians to inflict crippling injuries on recalcitrant minions. This theory proved to be correct with the inclusion of the actual Sorin's Chastising Touch into Imperial lore during the Spring Equinox 385YE.

Common Elements

This ritual almost always involves the target's implement in some fashion. Sometimes the rod is anointed with noxious preparations, sometimes magician and rod alike are marked with the rune Kyrop which symbolises weakness. Invocations involving old age, disease and sickness are included.