Dreams in the Witch House

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual requires a map of the target territory.

Effects

Visions and Dreams
The vision provided by Dreams in the Witch House, created as it is by Night magic, is always couched in symbolic terms. It is hard to predict exactly what it will include, but as with Signs and Portents the events it describes will usually be related to ongoing events important to people attending Anvil. The more people that are being effected by a situation, the more likely it is that the Dreams in the Witch House will touch on it - this ritual tends to be less useful for small-scale matters that only effect a few dozen people.

This means that it is likely to touch on ongoing plots involving the territory, especially those discussed in Wind of Fortune, or on the presence of any campaign armies.

At the completion of the ritual the contributors receive a vision that reveal information about a territory, as if asking the question "What things of note are going on in this territory?". It provides impressions and intuitions as to the situation in the territory, focusing on the "vibe" or atmosphere there. It can be especially useful if there is a crisis, such as a military invasion, taking place there.

Each contributor receives a similar vision. These visions are always couched in symbolic terms, similar to those provided by Signs and Portents, and provide an impression as to major events or situations taking place in the territory. They may also give hints as to the current objectives of military forces in the territory. It generally provides a degree of insight into the attitudes of the local population, or significant outside influence on the territory.

The vision often becomes more opaque and chaotic the more things are going on in the territory, especially when there is more than two sides involved in a conflict. A "side" in this case does not always mean campaign armies - it may include information about the attitudes of the local population or significant outside influence on the territory for example.

The actions of player characters during an event may cause this information to become obsolete, or may cause the vision provided by the ritual to change.

If the territory is under an effect that obscures information such as Drawing the Penumbral Veil, this spell can only penetrate it if it has been performed with a magnitude at least equal to that of the enchantment. Otherwise only the presence, Realm and magnitude of the effect are revealed. If there is something in the territory that has been obscured by a ritual such as Vale of Shadows, the ritual may reveal the presence of the ritual, or suggest the presence of hidden forces, but it is by no means certain,

Additional Magnitude

You may increase the magnitude of the ritual in order to pierce more powerful rituals of concealment.

OOC Elements

You must let a referee know at least an hour in advance that you plan to perform this ritual, and what the target territory will be will. This gives us time to ensure there is an appropriate vision available. You can also email plot@profounddecisions.co.uk before the event to let us know if you plan to target a territory on Friday evening, but you must still let a referee know at least an hour in advance that you intend to cast it.

It is very important to understand that the information derived from this ritual may be subject to change based on what player characters do during an event.

As with several other divinations, there is no guarantee that the ritual can be used at a sanctioned event. When it can be cast, it provides visions about what is happening in the local area rather than the territory as a whole (which is beyond the remit of a sanctioned event). Before performing this ritual at a sanctioned event you should check with the organisers whether casting it will have any effect; signs and Portents or rituals such as Shadowed Glass of Sung are likely to be more useful in general.

Description

The ritual was developed under the guidance of the Dean of the Lyceum, Simargl the Empty One of the Circle of Zulgan-Tash. It continues the Dean's fascination with dreams, impressions, symbols, and invading the thoughts of other living beings.

While it may prove useful in helping Imperial generals determine their strategy for the coming season, the visions it provides are sometimes easy to misinterpret. It's real value lies in getting a feel for the situation in a territory, or insight into the feelings of the civilian populace or the soldiers active there. It may provide hints to the strategic goals or objectives of an enemy force, but only in terms of what the majority of the soldiers feel at that moment, rather than the specific agendas of their generals. It also has some ability to reveal the presence of otherwise "invisible" forces in a territory sometimes giving hints as to the presence of a spy network, espionage ring, fifth column, or even a powerful sect or monstrous force. Unfortunately, it's impossible to predict exactly what the vision will contain, and as wrly pointed out by Ophelia von Tassato Regario, who helped adapt the methods of targeting the ritual's magic using a map of the territory, the absence of something from a divination ritual should never be taken as proof that the thing is not there.

Some scholars at the Lyceum questioned the usefulness of this ritual when compared to Eyes of the Sun and Moon. They were largely ignored as the applications are obvious – while the information is transient and hard to interpret it may provide insights into the aims of forces in a territory, perhaps even giving an impression of the longer-term goals of enemy nations, and sometimes warns of developing problems before they manifest. The information is subject to change, however, as the situation in the territory changes. In volatile territories, especially those where the Sentinel Gate allows Imperial heroes to intervene, the visions provided by Dreams in the Witch House may shift and change in response to the outcome of those actions.

When the ritual was codified, Ophelia von Tassato Regario also expressed some interest in seeing what would happen if the ritual were performed on Brocéliande or one of the other Navarr territories that contain a vallorn. Experimentation has shown that the ritual often provides disturbing visions of the powerful, alien force that the vallorn represents, and has occasionally in the past given an early warning that the creature is shifting in its slumber and about to become more active. Similar experiments elsewhere, such as with the territory of Spiral and it's Black Plateau, have proved likewise illuminating and confusing by turns.

In the end all that is certain is that the visions make sense if one can intuit how to interpret the images and sensations they provide; that anything happening on a large scale is likely to contribute to the content of those visions; and that like the Night realm itself events in the mortal world are often volatile and subject to sudden and dramatic shifts

Common Elements

This is a divination ritual, and often involves runestones or cards as well as the map which serves to target the magic. Mirrors, crystals and other reflective surfaces are often involved, set up around the map and used to focus the attention of the contributors.

As a night ritual, it is also appropriate to include the consumption of specially prepared food, drink or mild narcotics allowing the contributors to more easily achieve a trance-like state.

Symbols connected to the enemy armies, or to the territory, are also helpful as would be tokens that represent various emotional states or military goals. The ritual is often performed in doors.

The rune Diras is a classic complement to this ritual, being connected as it is with secrets. It is also appropriate to evoke Gralm or Ull to represent the influence of chance and destiny. In dramaturgy, the character of the Witch is very appropriate (in an early casting, Ophelia Von Tassato Regario portrayed the witch as courtesan who seduced secrets from an enemy general). The evocation of the virtues of Wisdom or Vigilance is sometimes used (especially, given the Varushkan inspiration for the ritual, in the shape of virtuous animals).