The Flame-Sealed Letter

Level 3 - Storyline Rituals

Description: Every once in a while a ritual is created, and every Tremere in the Tellurian wonders why he or she didn't think of it first. The Flame-Sealed Letter is one such ritual -- fairly simple, and exceedingly useful. With this ritual, a magus can insure that his or her written communications will remain reasonably secure -- if the Letter is stolen, it will burst into flames once it leaves a predetermined distance from its owner.

System: The Flame-Sealed Letter is a variation of standard Thaumaturgical warding, and magi who are familiar with those rituals will find this ritual similar (and, optionally, easier to learn). To cast the Flame-Sealed Letter upon a sheet of paper, a magical sigil must be drawn in the casting thaumaturge's blood on the lower left-hand corner. The same sigil must be inscribed in the center of the paper in a mixture of ash and water. The ritual can be cast on up to five sheets of paper at a time, provided the sheets are stacked one on top of another -- the ink of the sigils will bleed through the sheets, marking each.

After the ritual has been cast, the sheet or sheets that have been warded in this manner will burst into flame if they leave a three-foot radius around the casting thaumaturge's body. However, if the thaumaturge should voluntarily give the warded paper to another individual, the paper will 'remember' this person as being authorized to hold it, until the paper is returned to the thaumaturge. If this person tries to give the paper to anyone other than the casting thaumaturge, the paper will burst into flame. This ritual requires a standard Thaumaturgy role, difficulty 6 for one sheet of paper, 7 for two, and so on up to ten. With a botch, the paper will immediately burst into flames, and will have to be rewritten or reprinted.