Dead Man's Hand

Level V Rituals

Description: The houngan takes a rag stained in the blood, sweat or tears of the intended victim. She takes a freshly severed human hand (which can come either from a corpse or a living “donor”) and closes it around the rag. As the hand decomposes, so does the victim. His flesh bloats, turns gray and then green, then starts to slough off. The victim’s brain remains fresh until the very end, so he can see the maggots writhe in the putrescent rack of meat that once was his healthy body.
The houngan makes the standard roll and spends two blood points for each point of Stamina possessed by the victim. The victim loses health levels according to the timetable below. Only the removal of the rag from the hand can stop the process. If this happens, health levels return, also according to the chart below.

Health Level.....Time Until Next Loss

Bruised..............12 hours

Hurt...................12 hours

Injured...............6 hours

Wounded...........3 hours

Mauled...............1 hour

Crippled.............30 minutes

Incapacitated.....12 hours

Mortal characters who suffer more than 12 hours of incapacitation die, while Kindred who remain Incapacitated for more than 12 hours succumb to torpor.

Reference: BM 113