Alchemical Tattoo
Description: After falling beneath the Curse of Caine, the new vampire's form rejects further modifications as the body returns each day to the pattern it had at the time of the Embrace. In the halls of Elysium there regularly circulate stories of fledglings having themselves tattooed only to discover upon awakening the next evening that the expensive art work they commissioned the night before has just become a stain that wipes off with soap and water. Such stories are all too common and hold no little frustration for young vampires and smug amusement for their elders. However there are ways to modify the undead form, if the vampire is willing to endure a certain amount of excruciating pain. The key to modifying the undead form is doing enough damage or specific kinds of damage that can lead to scarification such as fire, sunlight and certain poisons or acids. This simple ritual's purpose is to mark the undead form and it combines the caustic properties of certain alchemical acids with powdered gemstones to create a magical paste capable of permanently marking the immortal form in colorful artistic ways.
The thaumaturge begins the ritual by bathing the area to be tattooed, then shaving away any bodily hair, and finally by marking out the artistic pattern with ash, paint or even a magic-marker. Then the thaumaturge mixes the alchemical acid which he distilled beforehand with powdered gemstone - chosen for coloration (for reasons as yet unknown, only true gemstones work for this ritual, if man made gems are used in the ritual, it fades after a month or so) and a point of the caster's blood. Once the caustic paste has been mixed and has set, it must be applied relatively quickly to the areas to be affected. While painting the subject, the caster must sketch out certain mystic diagrams in the air with something smoldering: a burning brand, a stick of incense, even a lit cigarette. Once the design is complete the paste must be allowed to dry and flake off on its own, unfortunately the subject will be in significant pain from the intense itching brought on by the alchemical substance and may unconsciously scratch or try to wash it off. The paste must be allowed to set a minimum of an hour, at which time it should start to peel off, along with the top few layers of the subjects epidermis. If successful, the ritual leaves behind a colorful chemical burn that will heal by the following night, leaving a beautiful new "tattoo".
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Occult against a difficulty of four (4) or five (6) if the subject fidgets. The player should also make a Dexterity + Crafts roll at a variable difficulty set by the storyteller based upon the complexity of the design to be tattooed. Obviously a botch on this ritual scars the subject for life and may well create a immortal enemy. A failure just means the caster wasted the subjects time and results in the loss of valuable alchemical ingredients that must be replaced and prepared again. If the ritual is cast successfully, the subject walks away with permanent artistic design that cannot be removed or destroyed short of the application of a more powerful discipline like Vicissitude for example.
Reference: Corporal Reservoir
Origin: Czere Ubireg
