Burning Blade
This potent ritual allows the Thaumaturge to temporarily enchant a melee weapon to inflict terrible wounds. Superior versions of this ritual have recently been developed, although they are still rare. Weapons enchanted with this ritual glow with an aura like pale green fire unless sheathed.
System: This ritual only affects melee weapons. The caster must cut the palm of his hand using the weapon (or a sharp stone if the weapon has no edge); the player spends three blood points. This process inflicts one level of lethal damage that cannot be soaked, although it may be healed normally. If this ritual succeeds, the weapon automatically inflicts aggravated damage for a number of strikes equal to the successes rolled. The wielder cannot choose whether a strike inflicts normal or aggravated damage in order to conserve the magic, although the weapon must actually hit an animate target to use one of the successes. Multiple castings of Burning Blade do not "stack" for multiple strikes. Once all the successes have been used, the enchantment ends. The magic also ends a the next new moon. If a wooden weapon enchanted by this ritual stakes a vampire, the victim suffers two levels of aggravated fire damage per turn for a number of turns equal to the remaining successes. This burning effect depletes all magic from the weapon.
As noted previously, at least two greater versions of this ritual exist: Blazing Shaft is a Level-Three ritual that follows the same rules, save that it enchants arrows and other projectiles. Enchanted missiles retain their magic for only one attack, although each success scored in casting also adds one die to the weapon's damage. The Level-Five ritual Unquenchable Flame of Mars also follows the same general rules as Burning Blade. However, the magic requires 20 successes at difficulty 8, accumulated over a one-month ritual exactly like Blood Phylactery (See p. 175). (Enchant Talisman) If the requisite successes are accumulated, the melee weapon retains its enchantment indefinitely. Talismans of Mars glow with crimson flames when wielded, and always inflict aggravated damage, although they burn no more fiercely when staking vampires.
