Infernal Compact
In their two-front mystic war against their former brethren in the Order of Hermes, and the Tzimisce koldun, a few desperate or foolish Tremere have bargained with demons for power. Although the clan officially decries infernalism as a blasphemy of the "diabolical" Salubri, regents often look the other way so long as tainted thaumaturges prove useful and keep quiet about their studies. For the time being, only those incautious fools who give their allegiance to Hell or betray the clan risk immediate destruction if discovered.
This ritual is the means by which a thaumaturge can pledge a part of his soul to a greater demon in exchange for accursed power. The caster first traces a circle of glyphs and astrological signs with a foul paste made from an innocent child's heart and the soil of a heretic's grave. The sorcerer then begins a complex invocation from the moment he awakens at sunset until the stroke of midnight. If successful, the circle glows with obscene fire and a powerful demon appears at its center. The creature may look however monstrous and terrible it chooses, though most prefer the form of a well-dressed mortal with a single unnatural feature, like golden cat eyes or delicate clawed fingers. Once conjured, the demon may step outside of its circle, although it cannot attack or leave the summoning vampire's presence. It happily negotiates with the caster using guile, flattery or threats as it deems appropriate. It will not serve the sorcerer in any way except in fulfilment of a pact, and immediately returns to Hell if attacked. Otherwise, the demon remains until dismissed or dawn arrives.
System: The caster completes the ritual as described. The player rills Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 8). On a failure, the glyphs burn to stinking ash and the ritual is wasted, but nothing else happens. A botch means the sorcerer inadvertently opens an actual portal to the infernal realm and suffers injury, possession or even destruction at the hands of an enraged demon. If the ritual succeeds, a demon appears and bargains for the vampire's soul. Honey-tongued thaumaturges can occasionally make better deals, acquiring power in exchange for human sacrifice, defilement of holy relics or similar acts of malefic devotion. Storytellers should not feel compelled to let a would-be infernalist off this easy, however, and should certainly raise the price every time the sorcerer returns for more "free" power. If the demon wants nothing or the price is too high, the caster can offer his soul in trade. Every dot of Road the caster forsakes from his maximum rating converts into one dot of Discipline, Thaumaturgy path or Attribute or three dots to distribute among abilities or backgrounds. For example, a thaumaturge who pledges three dots can never have a road rating higher than 7. Disciplines obtained through this ritual always manifest as corrupted in some way: infernal Creo Ignem (The Lure of Flames) creates a baleful green or stinking sulfurous fire, while infernal Obtenebration might permanently stain the user's eyes inky black. Backgrounds obtained with this ritual do not manifest immediately, arriving via amazing twists of fate and coincidence at the rate of one dot per week. Such Backgrounds invariably result from the suffering (or death) of another. Once an infernalist pledges his first point of Road, he can never reach Golconda. Casting this ritual at all requires a degeneration check (see Dark Ages: Vampire, p. 267) for any vampire not following the Path of Screams (see Road of Sin).
