Masque of the Blinded Weaver

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual targets either a character or an item which must be present throughout.

This effect is neither an enchantment nor a curse, but a shroud.

Effects

This ritual can target a person or item. It conceals all bonds to and from the target and makes it difficult to gather any information about the target with divination magic.

• The detect magic spell (or similar incantation or item-use) will provide only the information that the target is under the effect of a Night ritual, and the magnitude of the effect.
• Any ritual that tries to divine information about the target must be of the same magnitude or greater to penetrate the obscurement. Otherwise the only information it can gather is the presence of a Night ritual effect and the magnitude.

When cast on a character, they experience a roleplaying effect: they occasionally see odd shapes in their peripheral vision which, when looked at closely, are revealed to be other mundane items (a coat on a chair might appear to be a seated stranger until it is looked at directly), or tricks of the light.

When cast on an item, divination will reveal whether the item is bonded or not, but cannot discover any further information, such as who the item is bonded to.

Information about the Masque of the Blinded Weaver enchantment is obscured at the magnitude of the ritual.

Any magician who contributes to this ritual can see any of the bonds connected to the target without difficulty; this ability does not extend to a character who is targeted by the ritual unless they are also a contributor.

The effect of the ritual lasts for a year (until the start of the Profound Decisions Empire event four events from now).

Additional Magnitude

You may choose to create a more powerful effect, which is harder to penetrate or remove. You may increase the magnitude of the ritual by any amount.

Removing the Shroud

The shroud can be penetrated by any divination magic of sufficient magnitude, but this does not remove it. It can be removed prematurely by the performance of Piercing Light of Revelation, provided the magnitude of that Day ritual is at least twice the magnitude of the shroud.

Description

The Night Realm is a realm of secrets; this ritual draws on that theme to protect a person or an object from divination. The ritual is most effective at preventing prying seers from discovering what items a person is bonded to, or preventing them from discovering who is bonded to an item. As with most concealment effects, the ritual lasts for a full year meaning that most crafted items will have lost their enchantment (and any attendant bonds) by the time the enchantment ends.

In the past the ritual has been used for a number of underhand purposes. During the Freedom Heresy for example several heretics used it to conceal their connection to sects associated with the forces anarchy from divination through Ties that Bind, and it has also been used occasionally by assassins to obscure evidence of their connection to weapons such as the Scorpion's Sting. These uses have led to the ritual being viewed with suspicion in many quarters, but there is nothing illegal about a desire to pursue privacy from snooping magicians.

This ritual makes it difficult to perceive bonds, but a magician or artisan can always connect new bonds to the item, and may be able to cut existing bonds. The problem comes when a character is the target; the inability to determine which bond is which usually means that all their bonds need to be cut before they can be confident they have cut any single bond.

Common Elements

Things that enhance themes of secrecy, concealment and privacy are common elements with this ritual. Ritualists are often masked, cowled or veiled; the ritual is often performed in darkened areas; mirrors may be used to confuse and reflect divination, or symbolic shears, knives or scissors used to 'sever' the bonds that are to be concealed. The target is often shrouded beneath a cloth if it is an item, and some ritualists further obscure a character targeted by the ritual by blindfolding either the person or themselves.

The rune Diras is commonly evoked with this ritual; scenes of confusion and misdirection involving an item, or the power of The Wanderer may also be included.