Texts of Execration

The Necromantic Library of Phineus -x- Level One Rituals -x- Level Two Rituals -x- Level Three Rituals -x- Level Four Rituals -x- Level Five Rituals

Description: In the ancient Mediterranean world it was common to inscribe lists of enemy names on pottery and to ceremonially break the ceramic containers in tombs and temples to sympathetically weaken those enemies. In one very unique case, an Egyptian sorcerer inscribed the names of his Nubian enemies on the skull of their dead proxy; in one fell swoop, he transformed a commonplace curse of hedge magic into the far more potent art of necromancy. This ritual is dedicated to that long dead Egyptian necromancer for his genius and as emulation is the highest form of praise, we follow in his footsteps by repeating his beautifully elegant rote. If this ritual is cast successfully, then the victims are assaulted by the spectral visage of their former friend, colleague, lover or relative; even better, each victim sees his own evil ghost and no other, so the group of victims will be hard presses to believe one another. Of course, everyone else will think the victims have gone mad, are on drugs, or worst of all, think they are doing it for attention.
Origin: This ritual is based on ancient execration rites from Egypt, but its elegant simplicity allows any necromancer to emulate it, regardless of culture or style.
Ingredients: The skull of a dead individual associated in some direct fashion with the individuals the necromancer wants to curse.
Casting: The ritual can only be cast in a cemetery, tomb or a temple dedicated to a chthonic deity. The ritual begins with the necromancer siting cross-legged in the center of his chosen site, he invokes the true names of the evil dead, one for each of his enemies. Then he makes an offering of his blood to the evil dead, commanding them to seek out and torment his enemies through the visage of their former companion represented by the skull. Upon the skull of their former companion, the necromancer writes the names of his enemies in his own blood. If he is successful, each bloody inscription is absorbed into the skull and disappears. As long as the skull continues to absorb his blood, the necromancer can continue to curse additional individuals. When the skull ceases to absorb blood, the necromancer immediately stands up and yells Vengeance is Mine! and smashes the skull beneath his foot.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Rituals at a difficulty of six (6). The ritual take ten minutes to cast for each victim the necromancer wants to add to the execration and for each specter invoked, the necromancer must sacrifice one blood point; thus, each success on the casting represents another victim afflicted. If the caster botches, then he becomes the subject of the curse - even so, he won't immediately notice as the skull will continue to absorb his blood. In fact, he probably won't realize anything is wrong until he is low on blood and becomes the victim of a specter wearing the face of the deceased. If the necromancer fails, then he wastes a lot of blood, but he can try again later. If the ritual succeeds, then each success equates to another specter dispatched to torture another enemy. While under the curse, the victims are at a +1 difficulty modifier for all actions, for the remainder of the night due to spectral harassment.
Reference: This rite is based on the level one necromancy ritual Evil Eye and I consulted the Thaumaturgic Path of Curses on pages 78-80 of Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy for the effective strength of the curse.