Post by Phsycodelic on Oct 11, 2016 21:50:50 GMT
Akhu: Ushabti
Followers Of Set
Followers Of Set
A Lector Priest obtains the body of someone who has been buried in accordance with traditional ancient Egyptian practice (which is increasingly difficult in the modern nights) and desecrates the corpse, thus plunging the deceased's soul into eternal torment while it resides in Osiris's dominion of the Western Lands. This serves a multitude of purposes. The soul in eternal torment disrupts the hold of Osiris on his afterlife dominion by showing the power Set commands in his followers. This blow against his ancient enemy pleases Set, and he channels his power to the Lector Priest. This show of Set's power, furthermore, exposes the lie that is Osiris's promise of eternal life in the Western Lands a little more; these dead shall not find paradise; they find only an eternity of torment.
The Book of Going Forth by Night is an inversion of The Book of Coming Forth by Day, commonly known as the Book of the Dead. Just as the shackles that bind the unbelievers will be corrupted and ultimately destroyed, revealing to them the truth of Set, the structure of Setite rituals are corruptions (or perversions) of ancient Egyptian practices. These rituals make their targets more susceptible to the corruption and manipulation that is ultimately for their own good.
Ushabti derives its name from the figurines crafted for the tombs of the wealthy and powerful in ancient Egypt. It was believed that such figurines would come to life in the Underworld to serve their masters as laborers or playthings. Each application of this Path creates a different ushabti, and each ushabti can only be activated once. The sorcerer must forge the figurine from wax or clay mixed with a point of blood. Then, he must carve Egyptian words of power onto the figurine before bathing it in honey and beer. Activating a figurine requires the sorcerer to spend a point of blood and speak an incantation, and the player rolls Willpower to determine whether the ushabti activates. If it does, the figurine expands into a life-sized, animate figure that obeys the sorcerer's will. In the case of a botch, in addition to the normal effects, the ushabti will activate but will be hostile to the sorcerer.
Activated ushabti have Attributes and Abilities determined by the level of the path used to create them. The sorcerer may not grant an ushabti Abilities she does not have nor Ability ratings higher than her own. The successes on the Willpower roll determine how realistic the activated ushabti is. However, the successes applied to "realism" can never exceed the path rating used. Thus, only an ushabti created with Gift of Khnum (Ushabti 5) can be indistinguishable from a living creature.
| Successes | Result |
| 1 | A crude thing obviously made of wax. |
| 2 | As realistic as a well-made waxwork or a china doll. |
| 3 | Lifelike enough to fool a casual viewer (difficulty 6 to detect as fake). |
| 4 | Extremely lifelike (difficulty 8 to detect as unreal). |
| 5 | Indistinguishable from a living creature. |
Once activated, the ushabti endures for one lunar month, but this can be extended indefinitely at a cost of one point of blood per additional month. However, this assumes that the ushabti remains within its master's haven and does not interact with mortals. If those conditions are broken, the ushabti will degrade into nothingness within an hour. A sorcerer can craft an ushabti for use by another, but doing so costs him one Willpower.
Setite Sorcery botches, regardless of school, cause the sorcerer to acquire an intense photophobia. When exposed to extremely bright lights, the sorcerer must roll for Rötschreck against a difficulty of (4 + the sorcerer's Path rating). Setite lector-priests do not suffer this effect. [Rites Of The Blood - Page 132]
[ 1 ] Laborer ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 164 )
The ushabti can be a human or an animal. It is mindless and obeys all orders from its master. It has two dots in each Physical Attribute, one dot in each Mental Attribute, and no dots in any Social Attribute. It has no Abilities.
[ 2 ] Servitor ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 164 )
To the Laborer, add three additional Attribute dots. None can be applied to any Social Attribute, and no Mental Attribute can rise above 2. Add two dots of non-combat Abilities.
[ 3 ] Guard ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 164 )
To the Laborer, add six dots of Attributes and four dots of Abilities. Guards may have Social Attributes, but no Social or Mental Attribute may exceed 2, nor can any Ability.
[ 4 ] Overseer ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 164 )
To the Laborer, add nine dots of Attributes and six dots of Abilities; no Social or Mental Attribute may exceed 3, nor can any Ability.
[ 5 ] Gift Of Khnum ( Rites Of The Blood - Page 165 )
The ultimate expression of this art, the Gift of Khnum (the legendary creator of humanity according to Egyptian lore) allows the sorcerer to create what is effectively a living body, either as an obedient slave or as a ready-made vessel for a wraith or a spirit. The character who activates the ushabti decides which, although the latter option requires her to have a compliant wraith or spirit handy.
To the basic Laborer, add 12 dots of Attributes and eight dots of Abilities. The ushabti gains the Virtues, Humanity, and Willpower of a starting vampire. It is sentient but emotionally bound to the one who activates it as if by a blood bond. This is true even if a spirit or wraith possesses it. Each use of Gift of Khnum costs two Willpower points at the time of activation, and the player may spend additional Willpower points to gain automatic successes on the activation roll. An ushabti created with this Path does not degrade unless someone actively challenges its identity and persuades it that it is not real. Absent proof of its own unreality, the ushabti is effectively immortal.
