Piranhas Devour the Kraken

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual targets a fleet. The character who controls the target personal resource must be present throughout.

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

Effects

The fleet gains a significant bonus to its effectiveness when it takes a campaigning action (usually supporting an Imperial navy). This temporary bonus increases the effective fighting force of the fleet by 100, the equivalent of 5 normal upgrades.

The character who controls the fleet experiences a short-lived roleplaying effect that persists for at least ten minutes: You are filled with boisterous energy, and feel as if you can take on the world. It's equally easy to break into a raucous song, challenge someone to a bout of fisticuffs, or suggest a drinking contest.

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

If the owner of the resource does not attend the next event, then any additional production provided by the resource is still added to that character's inventory.

Additional Targets

This ritual can affect additional fleets belonging to characters in the same banner. Each additional fleet increases the magnitude by 15. The character who controls each fleet must be present throughout the ritual.

Description

This ritual was codified for the Autumn Equinox 385YE at the Lyceum, under the guidance of the Dean, Palaphon Ankarien of Urizen. It was based on work performed by Carlos of the Navigators of Virtue of Highguard. The ritual was originally called Wayfarer's Call to Arms, expressing a desire to see the Highborn embrace a lost legacy of maritime endeavour. During the codification, however, the Dean of the Lyceum Palaphon Ankarien decreed that it would be renamed Piranhas Devour the Kraken - perhaps wishing to conjure the image of a number of smaller fleets swarming around an enemy navy and picking it apart.

The name has proved slightly controversial. Piranhas are not unknown to Imperial citizens, but they are not native to the Empire. These fresh-water fish live in the warm rivers far to the west, on that far-off continent where the Sumaah Republic lies. Some of the critics of the ritual's new moniker are concerned about the symbolism of a freshwater fish being used for a ritual that will, presumably, primarily be cast on vessels venturing into deep sea waters to fight the Grendel.

As a Summer ritual, it fills the ships' captain and crew with vigorous, boisterous energy, and helps ensure their vessel receives good winds when engaged in tight manoeuvers. It doesn't particularly help them to fight alongside other ships as such – that would be much more resonant with a ritual created in the Realm of Autumn. Some of the more superstitious magicians at the Lyceum express concerns that the imagery, and potentially the resonance, of the new name is at odds with how it works and what it does – and that this might conceivably have a deleterious effect on the enchantment it produces

Performing the Ritual

The ritual enhances a fleet, its crew, and its vessels using the connection to its captain. Symbols representing the fleet, the camaraderie of the crew, and the ships themselves are often used – flags in particular may serve as the focus of the ritual. Invocation of paragons and exemplars of Ambition, Pride, and Courage resonate well with the ritual as does calling on the name of Rhianos, Regent of the Eternal Sea. The Runes of Victory and Discovery also have resonance with this ritual.

Other elements that resonate well with the ritual are girding the target with a mantle representing their leadership, the singing of traditional sea songs, and anointing the hands, brow, or feet with salt water.