Thaumaturgy

How Many Rituals?

The rules of Exalted aim to make thaumaturgy as multipurpose as possible, but weaker than Charms, sorcery or necromancy. An experienced magician might know scores of rituals, each designed for a specific limited purpose. Technically, a thaumaturge can use any ritual for which she possesses the proper Degree in the appropriate Art, but things aren't really that simple. Even the greatest thaumaturge cannot automatically produce an alchemical mixture he has never seen simply because he is a Master of Alchemy. Knowing the underlying theories of an Art to a particular Degree does not mean that a character instantly knows every ritual within that Degree.

Players should work with their Storyteller to decide which rituals their characters reasonably know already, and keep track of new ones learned during play. A thaumaturge character from the West would need a good reason to justify knowing the secret ritual that Eastern shamans use to harden ironwood. By the same token, why would an Eastern shaman know rituals to call storms at sea?

Common sense and character concept may be enough for players and Storytellers to decide what rituals a character may know. The need to buy separate Arts and Degrees goes a long way to keeping thaumaturgy broad-based yet limited in scope. If you want a stricter guideline (as an option), you might limit starting characters to a maximum number of rituals per Degree based on Intelligence, Lore or Occult rating. The thaumaturge then can learn more rituals as game events allow.

Through their Charms and spells, the Exalted wield power that mortals can never hope to match. Even so, mortal savants, scientists, holy men and shamans can learn minor miracles that set them above their peers. Collectively, such magic is called thaumaturgy in the texts of the First Age, and it is unique among magical disciplines in that its rituals draw upon arcane truths embedded in the natural laws and principles of Creation. Where Charms impose new states and events through Essence, thaumaturgical rituals coax the existing Essence patterns of the world to do something they are naturally prone to do, obviating the need for personal Essence expenditure. Thaumaturgy fails utterly before the spells of the Exalted, though, so any form of sorcerous or necromantic countermagic completely destroys any form of lingering thaumaturgical effect or enchantment without any backlash of scattered Essence.

The study of thaumaturgy is broken down into Arts, which are Occult specialties that deviate slightly from the usual specialty rules. A character can study as many different Arts as he wants, purchasing the same art up to three times. In order of tiered ascendance, each purchase is called a Degree: Initiate (+1), Adept (+2) and Master (+3). Learning each Degree demands a commensurately higher Occult rating, so Initiate requires Occult 1, Adept requires 3, and Master requires 5. Every ritual possible with an Art has a listed Degree requirement from 0-3. Tasks with a Degree requirement of 0 are called Apprentice-level and require only that a character have at least one dot of Occult to attempt the action. Characters cannot ever apply more than +3 specialty dice to an Occult roll no matter how many Arts they study, nor may they add Degrees to Occult rolls not pertaining to thaumaturgy (such as for a Charm or sorcery spell). Conversely, Occult specialties that are not Degrees do not add dice to Thaumaturgy- based rolls.

As an alternative to learning a full Degree, characters can learn a single Procedure, a ritual that the character has memorized by rote without understanding the underlying theory of its magic. Each Procedure costs one experience point (or three Procedures for a single bonus point during character creation). For example, a character might normally need an Adept Degree in Demon Summoning to call any species of First Circle demon from Malfeas. If the character learned a ritual exclusively for summoning blood apes, it would be a Procedure: Summon Erymanthoi. Characters can learn Procedures for any task possible with any Degree of an Art, but must have Occult 1 to learn Adept-ranked Procedures and Occult 3 to learn Master-rank Procedures. Unlike a full Degree, learning a Procedure awards no bonus dice to perform the magic. When a character wishes to learn a Degree for which he already knows subsidiary Procedures, he loses the Procedures and receives an equal number of experience points. So, a budding infernalist who has been taught to summon erymanthoi and neomah through Procedures would regain two experience points upon learning the Adept degree of Demon Summoning.

Degrees in the Arts of thaumaturgy do not have the same cost or training time as normal Occult specialties. Instead, they cost 10 experience points or 5 bonus points each. (For characters with Occult as a Caste or Favored Ability, the cost is reduced to 8 experience points or 4 bonus points.) An Initiate Degree takes one month to learn, Adept two months and Master three months. (Characters for whom Occult is a Caste or Favored Ability drop the interval to weeks rather than months.) Procedures require one week to learn (or one day if Occult is Caste or Favored.) Characters cannot learn a Degree without a tutor or an instruction manual unless they have Occult 5, in which case the training interval extends to years.

Whenever a character uses an Art, the ritual requires exotic occult ingredients that are consumed, destroyed or otherwise made useless as part of the magic. The Resources cost of such ingredients is typically 0 for Apprentice effects, 0 to 1 for Initiate, 2 to 3 for Adept or 4 to 5 for Master. Reduce these costs by 1 if a character has access to a major metropolis where such goods may be obtained or if the ingredients in question are native to the area. Increase the required Resources cost of a ritual by 1 (to a maximum of 5) if the ingredient can be found only in the opposite direction of Creation (such as when a Southern thaumaturge performs a ritual requiring rare glacier lichens that grow only in the Far North). Using superior or unique ingredients, such as those that would qualify as exotic ingredients for the purposes of artifact creation (see p. 133) add one to three bonus dice to a ritual casting (depending on their appropriateness). Characters must also have a laboratory, workshop or sanctum full of reusable tools in order to practice thaumaturgy reliably, with a Resources cost of 1 for Apprentice rituals, 2 for Initiate, 3 for Adept and 4 for Master.

Exalted and other Essence users have a distinct advantage when wielding thaumaturgy, as they can directly power rituals with their own spirit instead of coaxing motes from bizarre formulae, blood and reagents. For every two motes spent, reduce the total Resources cost of a ritual by one dot. Such expenditure does not obviate the need for ritual behavior, just ritual ingredients and tools. For example, an Adept-level ritual with a disposable Resources cost of 2 and reusable Resources cost of 3 would cost an Exalt 10 motes to eschew those materials entirely. Furthermore, every ritual requires that a thaumaturge spend one Willpower point at the final moment of casting. Exalted cannot substitute Essence for this cost. When multiple thaumaturges trained in a Degree or Procedure work together to cast a ritual, use the limited cooperation rules rather than full cooperation.

Oadenol's Codex

Savants classify thaumaturgical rituals into 11 Arts, each of which constitutes its own Occult specialty: Alchemy, Astrology, the Dead, Demon Summoning, Elemental Summoning, Enchantment, Geomancy, Husbandry, Spirit Beckoning, Warding and Exorcism, and Weather Working. Most of the Arts have existed in one form or another since before humanity existed. Three were created after the Primordial War: the Art of the Dead, the Art of Demon Summoning and the Art of Elemental Summoning. Rituals within an Art share common elements. If one knows several rituals within an Art, others become easier to learn. A thaumaturge who learns a single Procedure, and stops there, may never make these connections. Once she learns multiple related Procedures, she can piece together the principles of an Art. The Degrees of the Arts express how well a thaumaturge understands those principles.

Rituals within an Art share common elements. If one knows several rituals within an Art, others become easier to learn. A thaumaturge who learns a single Procedure, and stops there, may never make these connections. Once she learns multiple related Procedures, she can piece together the principles of an Art. The Degrees of the Arts express how well a thaumaturge understands those principles.

Rituals on this page are divided according to their Arts and are presented in the same format as the sample rituals from Exalted Core Rulebook. To recap:

Name (Minimum Degree, Attribute, Difficulty, Casting Time): Effect.

Any special considerations, such as unique tools, expenditures or non-standard dice rolls, are described along with the Effect. Some rituals' names use "Wild Card" forms such as Summon (Species) or Ward Against (Creature). These entries represent groups of rituals with similar effects and game mechanics, such as Ward Against Elementals, Summon Demons, and so on. The standard classes for thaumaturgy are Beasts, the Dead, Demons, Elementals, Exalted, Fair Folk, Gods and Humans. The (Species) term means that a ritual affects a particular sub-class within these broader classes, such as Summon Erymanthos or Beckon Solar Exalted. Characters with an appropriate Degree can learn rituals that affect all members of a single class; isolated Procedures can only affect a single subclass. Many of these rituals, however, can be learned as part of at least two Arts. A Ward Against Demons, for instance, could be learned either as part of the Art of Demon Summoning or the Art of Warding and Exorcism.

The Art of Alchemy

Magical Material Refinements

The Procedures that smelt moonsilver, orichalcum, starmetal and soulsteel are all part of the Art of Alchemy. See Smelting Procedures.

The greatest of all First Age alchemists was almost certainly the Twilight Caste Tarim, who surpassed thaumaturgical mastery of the Art and devised a means to condense the shaped Essence of sorcery into physical formulas. Thaumaturges cannot match the might of Tarim's creations, but the Art nonetheless produces miraculous feats.

Alchemy combines aspects of pharmacy, metallurgy and other Crafts that combine and transform different ingredients. The "rituals" of the Art—which alchemists often call formulas—take place in a laboratory stocked with equipment as mundane as a mortar and pestle or as exotic as the occult mirrors used to smelt orichalcum.

As well as commonplace techniques such as boiling and crystallizing, alchemists employ strange operations such as calcination, rubification and insufflation. An alchemist may combine herbs, minerals and animal parts into magical medicines transform lead into gold, or even grant mortals some of the inherent qualities of the Exalted. In addition to the Occult Ability, alchemy requires knowledge of diverse living and unliving substances, so an alchemist needs at least Lore 2 to gain a Degree, and Lore 4 to become an Adept. For most formulas, the practitioner must have at least one dot in Craft (Water) for each Degree, unless that procedure is a healing one, in which case it requires at least one dot of Medicine per Degree. Some formulas might require dots in other Crafts, instead. Unless otherwise indicated, assume that a formula requires Craft (Water).

Alchemical formulas that add to Attributes or Abilities count as dice added by Charms. Most alchemy cannot affect spirits or the dead. Some formulas do not affect the Exalted, especially those designed to temporarily give mortals Exalted characteristics. Unless otherwise specified, the effects of an alchemical formula typically last for one scene. Drinking or applying an already prepared alchemical mixture is generally a miscellaneous action.

Alchemical Touchstone (0, Perception, 1, one action): When expertise at Lore isn't enough to identify a substance, an alchemist can rub it against a specially treated ceramic plate—a touchstone—and glean clues from the streak left behind. Other “touchstones” are fluids dripped on an unknown substance. Each alchemical touchstone detects the presence or absence of a single substance or property, such as jade alloys, Wyld-taint or snake venoms. Compounding a touchstone may take days, but once made it can be used quickly. A touchstone stays usable for a season.

Life's Little Luxury Blends (0, Intelligence, 1, one hour): Numerous minor formulas lie within the alchemist's grasp. She might concoct such things as deodorant, superior cleaning agents, dyes that resist fading or trick powders that foam when introduced to alcohol or vinegar. Storytellers should consider other similarly innocuous formulas. Each formula is a separate Procedure.

Blood-Staunching Compress (1, Intelligence, 3, one hour): Bandages steeped in this compound automatically cause a wound to stop bleeding, and wounds wrapped in these bandages do not re-open unless the character's player botches a combat or Athletics roll. The compound retains its potency for one year, unless used. Requires Medicine.

Draught of Blessed Respite (1, Intelligence, 2, one hour): This potion lets its user get a full night's sleep under nearly any circumstance. A half dose, mixed with wine, puts the imbiber into a half-sleep for four hours. During this time, the user can function if necessary, though all of her dice pools involving Perception, Wits and Dexterity are halved (and that's after Excellencies and other Charms). Every full hour of this state counts as two hours of sleep.

Each use of this formula creates five doses, which retain their potency for three years. Blessed Respite addicts people who use it more than (Stamina) times in a week. Use the Wyld Addiction rules from Exalted, page 288, substituting references to the influence of the drug for that of the Wyld, and using a difficulty equal to (half the doses taken during the week). Requires Medicine.

Eagle's Eye Potion (1, Wits, 3, one hour): This preparation grants preternaturally clear sight, giving one extra die to all vision-related Perception rolls. The effects last for five hours. Other potions exist for other senses: Fox's Ear, Bloodhound's Nose, Exquisite Chef's Palate and Blind Courtesan's Caress Potions for hearing, smell, taste and touch respectively.

Hero's Recovery (1, Intelligence, 3, one hour): This potion's effects last for half a day per dot of Stamina the recipient has. During this time, a mortal recovers from injuries as an Exalt does. Serious injuries may require more than one dose over the course of recovery, but mortals cannot stand more than (Stamina) consecutive doses without doubling their healing times instead. Requires Medicine.

(Type) Venom-Allaying Draught (1, Intelligence, 2, one hour): Each of these draughts is a different formula, specific to a particular poison or venom. Once applied, it allows a mortal's player to make a (Stamina + Resistance) roll to resist a toxin at the same difficulty as though the character were Exalted. These antitoxins retain their potency for five years. Requires Medicine.

Wound-Cleansing Unguent (1, Intelligence, 1, two hours): If a patient is treated with this unguent after surgery, his player does not need to roll for infection unless the surgeon's player botched. Dressing wounds with it reduces the difficulty of rolls to resist infection by 1. The unguent retains its potency for a decade if carefully stored or 90 days on an unused bandage.

Age-Staving Cordial (2, Intelligence, 3, one hour): The alchemist brews a dose of age-staving cordial (see Exalted, p. 378).

Ardent Embrace Resin (2, Intelligence, 2, one hour): Despite its romantic name, this formula is a lethal weapon. The recipe creates a goo that bursts into flame on contact with air or water, and sticks to whatever it touches. It is typically used by packing it into fragile vials or capsules and throwing it at an enemy. If it hits, the enemy suffers environmental damage equal to a bonfire (see Exalted, p. 131) for the next minute.

Final Vengeance (2, Wits, 3, one hour): Final Vengeance is a powerful painkiller and euphoric. Used mostly by fanatics and assassin cults, this mixture causes the user to ignore all wound penalties and receive automatic success on all Valor checks (whether he wants to succeed or not) for one scene. When its effects end, the user's Stamina drops to 1; he regains one dot per day of complete rest. While his Stamina is reduced, all healing takes place at half normal rate and non-magical methods cannot increase this.

Munificent Antivenin (2, Intelligence, 3, one hour): This powerful elixir can negate even the deadliest poisons, though it does not repair damage already done. Once ingested, the antivenin purges all poison from the user's system. The poison sweats from his skin and is vomited forth violently, painfully rendering the user Inactive for 5 ticks per dose of poison in his system. Afterward, the subject is fatigued, suffering a -2 internal penalty until he can rest for at least four hours.

Philtre of Desire (2, Intelligence, 2, one hour): These potions inspire emotional reactions in the desired target. One version gives the imbiber a two-die bonus to Performance, Presence and Socialize rolls made against the victim. Another version reduces the imbiber's Mental DV by 2, making Social attacks easier. Creating a philtre of this type normally requires an arcane link to the victim as part of the formula, although this can be ignored at the price of a +1 difficulty. For +2 difficulty, a philtre can be brewed that gives bonus dice to the imbiber's Social attack rolls against any target. Botches while using a philtre increase in severity, leading to decades-long hatred or all-consuming jealous obsession. Once created, these philtres retain potency for only a month.

Tiger's Heart Elixir (2, Wits, 3, one hour): This elixir emboldens the spirit and drives away fear and doubt, giving the user +1 Valor for all purposes for the rest of the scene. Other formulas boost Compassion, Temperance and Conviction.

Valiant Warrior Formula (2, Wits, 2, one hour): This formula appeals to mortal soldiers who wish to compete with great heroes. For one day after its use, the user is no longer treated as an extra. She has the full complement of seven health levels, can spend Willpower for bonus successes or through Virtues, counts 10s as two successes, requires damage to be rolled and is capable of stunts.

Deathlord's Breath (3, Intelligence, 4, 20 hours): The alchemist brews a dose of Deathlord's Breath. A ghost cannot cross a line of this magical dust unless its player succeeds at a Valor roll at difficulty 3; hungry ghosts cannot even try unless some entity of greater power compels them. The barrier of dust retains its potency for one month, after which the difficulty on the Valor roll falls by one per week until the powder is spent. When it touches the living, however, Deathlord's Breath acts as a slow but deadly toxin (Damage 7L/day, Toxicity 4L, Tolerance —/—, Penalty -3). Worst of all, a person slain by Deathlord's Breath doesn't stop moving: his body becomes a zombie (see Exalted, pp. 314-315), while his lower soul becomes a hungry ghost (see Exalted, pp. 317-318). Deathlord's Breath is illegal in the Realm and most civilized countries. The toxin remains potent for decades.

8-Scream Devil Powder (3, Intelligence, 4, one hour): The alchemist brews a dose of 8-scream devil powder (see Wonders of the Lost Age, p. 74).

Heavenly Transmutation Processes (3, Perception, 7, one hour per Resources 4 quantity of final material): The alchemist masters the secrets of turning base materials into more noble ones. He can turn lead into gold, pig iron into finest steel and pale, flawed corundum into rubies. Each process is a different Procedure. Transmutation takes about one hour per unit of material (one hour minimum) and results in half as much total material, with a final value of Resources 4. An alchemist cannot make more than one unit of final material at a time.

Internal Alchemy (3, Stamina, 3, two miscellaneous actions): Mastering this technique enables the character to create another alchemical thaumaturgy formula he has mastered using his own body. Casting this ritual requires one miscellaneous action spent consuming the requisite materials and one miscellaneous action spent processing them inside the thaumaturge's body. If the alchemist is successful, he is affected by the formula he created. Botches result in the caster being poisoned (default to coral snake venom if the Storyteller doesn't feel some other poison is more fitting). Using Internal Alchemy costs 1 Willpower in addition to that required by the other formula. Requires Medicine.

Seven Bounties Paste (3, Intelligence, 4, one hour): The alchemist brews a dose of seven bounties paste (see Exalted, p. 378).

Sweet Cordial (3, Intelligence, 4, one hour): The alchemist brews a dose of sweet cordial (see Exalted, p. 378).

Wind-Fire Potion (3, Wits, 4, one hour): Soldiers who have used it say this potion makes them as quick as the wind and ferocious as fire. Commanders are careful with its use, though, because it makes people harder to control and can have serious side effects. For one scene, the mortal user gains +1 die to all actions involving her Physical Attributes, Wits and Valor, but loses one dot of Compassion, Temperance and Intelligence. Furthermore, the imbiber no longer counts as an extra (see Valiant Warrior Formula). Heroic mortals gain two additional -4 health levels.

Once the potion wears off, the positive effects go away, but the negative effects remain for an equal number of scenes. Wind-fire potion can addict someone who uses it more than once in a month. Use the Wyld Addiction rules from Exalted, page 288, substituting references to the influence of the drug for that of the Wyld, and using a difficulty equal to (doses taken during the month + 2).

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