Warding Cippus
The ancient Egyptians prized stelae carved with the figure of the infant Horus trampling on crocodiles and strangling serpents or scorpions in his fists. Such statues - called cippi - served as amulets to repel these harmful creatures and, more generally, all the malign forces of the world. The Followers of Set still craft these cippi on rare occasions. Setites seldom use figures of Horus in their magic, but the power of an enemy is still power.
This enchanted stela protects against spirits, not material animals. A consecrated cippus bars all but the most powerful or determined demons of Duat from its proximity. The Tremere possess several Warding Cippi, and chantries compete for their possession in regions where Setites are strong. The special cost of manufacturing a Warding Cippus in these latter nights ensures that the Tremere never have enough to go around.
System: Spirits of Duat cannot approach within 100 feet of a Warding Cippus. If they try, the vanish back to Duat.
No special conditions apply to the carving of the cippus. Enchanting the stela requires several hours of prayers, exorcisms with sand and water, incense, and bathing the stela in honey, beer and the blood of a crocodile, an asp and crushed scorpions. At the end, the magician lets the rising sun burn his hand to ash while it rests upon the cippus. Completing the final prayer while burning off one's own hand costs a point of permanent Willpower. Note that this also means taking one health level of aggravated damage. The Warding Cippus works by itself from then on, continuously. Some Warding Cippi are thousands of years old.
