Fires of Pluto

Rotes by Craft / Tradition -M20 - Ostanes' Statistics

Description: Pluto or more accurately Plouton was one of several euphemistic names for Hades, described in the Iliad as the god most hateful to mortals. As god of the Underworld, Hades had complete control of his realm, granted to him when he drew lots with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon at the end of the war with the Titans. But while Hades was not an evil god by definition, neither was he popular as his realm served as a reminder to all humanity of their most certain end. Apparently the gloom of his realm precluded having lovers, and Hades is best known for his kidnapping of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. While the abduction is a sad story, it also served to explain the changing of the seasons and to link the Olympian pantheon with the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Beginning around the 5th century BC, the Greeks began referring to Hades as Pluto (Ploútōn) as a euphemistic way to avoid speaking his name aloud, thereafter more elaborate names of the same genre came into common use. Epithets like Agesander and Agesilaos describing Hades as the god who carries away all, but Hades was also referred to in positive terms, perhaps to ward off any anger or ill attention on the part of the god for the speaker. Terms like Zeus Katachthonios and "giver of wealth" came into common use as honorifics, not just to appease Hades, but to make him a more positive deity and by the time of the Roman Empire he also received a priestess, which was not previously practiced in Greece.

The important thing here is that the speaking of Hades 'true name' became a taboo action, for it was believed first in Greece and then throughout the Roman Empire that speaking the true name of Hades aloud could bring bad luck, poor harvests, sickness or even death. With the power of this taboo, the classical mage could summon forth all sorts of blights, curses and malice towards a particularly hated foe or even do so for a paying client. In the modern world, the power of this taboo name is still potent and with this rote can be channeled to conjure Barrow-flame, or the cold flames of the Underworld which are a manifestation of Oblivion.

The rote can be used in a couple of different ways. Since barrow-flame originates in the Underworld, it is an ideal weapon to used against wraithly targets without drawing paradox. The performance of the ritual might garner the mage unwanted attention, everything from raised eyebrows to police custody and admission to an insane asylum, but it carries no paradox. In this circumstance, the classical mage combines spheres of (•• Entropy, •• Spirit) to conjure the cold fire of Oblivion in the Underworld only and this manifestation is invisible to the residents of the mundane world. On the other hand, if the mage needs to use the fires of the Underworld on the earthly plane, then he combines the spheres of (•• Entropy, •• Spirit, •• Prime), wherein Prime allows for the manifestation of barrow-flame in the living world; this secondary use of "Fires of Pluto" carries serious paradox as not only does it summon unearthly fire without an apparent and rational source, but the fire itself is cold and manifests the fear of death in all mundane people who observe it.

Origin: Ostanes

Instruments: Varies (Pankratios = Knuckle-bones, poetry or prayers of the Eleusinian Mysteries and if using Prime, his breath)

Casting: The classical mage can summon forth the fires of Oblivion by chanting a prayer to Hades in Ionian Greek and speaking the god's true name aloud. In dangerous and difficult times, the mage may fast-cast this ritual by simply speaking Hades' true name aloud and manipulating his instruments appropriately.

System: The mage rolls Arete at a difficulty of 6 if using just (•• Entropy, •• Spirit) or a difficulty of 7 if using (•• Entropy, •• Spirit, •• Prime). In the Underworld, barrow-flame attacks the corpus of wraiths, but on the material plane it instead attacks the target's willpower. The rationale behind this lies in the idea that willpower represents the soul of the target. When a target is attacked with barrow-flame, they roll their corpus or willpower to soak the damage. Barrow-flame is handled as a form of damage in Wraith the Oblivion -- pg.234. The mage's successes should be divided between the size of the conflagration (area of effect), the level of damage inflicted (1-3) and the difficulty to soak. For simplification and because the wraith chart for barrow-flame copies the vampire chart for fire -- see either The Lure of Flames the thaumaturgy path or pg.297 of Vampire the Masquerade V20. In either case, should a wraith botch his soak roll, then he or she is permanently maimed in some way or should a living person botch the willpower soak, then they are libel to become deranged.

Paradox: Hades is a stern and unforgiving god and if his name is called too often or if the mage in question is observed, then that individual takes on additional paradox as befits the situation.