MET LARP SRD

The Auctoritas Ritae Sabbat

Source: https://vamp.bynightstudios.com/vampire/library/theauctoritasritaesabbat

A common paean among the Sword is "By Caine, the Regent, and the Ritae." Those three things are the heart of the Sabbat, even as Jesus, the Pope, and the Sacraments are integral to the Catholic Church. Through the ritae, the sect reveres Caine and fosters loyalty. The ritae are proof of Caine's messianic nature, celebrations of the vampiric state, and weapons in the war against the Antediluvians. The Church of the Dark Father practice 13 sacred "High" or Auctoritas Ritae and a large number of "Low" or Ignoblis Ritae. The 13 modern Auctoritas were confirmed at the Synod of Hounds in 2009. These are the Binding, the Blood Bath, the Blood Feast, the Creation Rites, the Fire Dance, Games of Instinct, the High Holidays, the Monomacy, the Rite of Contrition, the Sermons of Caine, the Vaulderie, the War Party, and the Wild Hunt.

The ritae are a unique form of vampiric magic, powered both with blood and faith. The Auctoritas draw their power from faith in Caine. If a disbeliever participates in a ritae, so long as she respects the ritual and does her part, the faith possessed by other practitioners can make up the difference and allow the ritual to succeed.

All ritae require at least three participants, and the individual performing the rite must possess the Rituals background (and know the specific ritus to be performed). Ritae are not Thaumaturgy, but they are blood magic, and thus affected by powers and effects that resist or counter blood magic.

System: Performing any ritus requires at least three members of the Sabbat and takes a minimum of five minutes. The primary ritualist must be faithful to the rite's precepts, possess the correct abiding status to perform the ritus, and know the specific ritus via the Rituals background.

Once the participants have gathered, casting a ritus proceeds as follows:

• If all characters participating in the ritus are truly faithful, the ritus is automatically successful.
• If one or more participating individuals do not have faith in the precepts of that ritus, the invocation may fail. The individual performing the ritus must make a static challenge using her Mental attribute + her level of the Rituals background versus a difficulty rating of 25.
• If more than 25 percent of a rite's participants are unfaithful, the ritual automatically fails.

System Rules

The Binding

"Of my own free will and accord, I, (name), son/daughter of Caine, reject the Antediluvians and dedicate myself to their destruction. I swear my soul to the Sabbat, and damn all those who stand against us. Hear me, brothers and sisters! Your enemies are my enemies. Your victories, my victories. Your blood, my blood. So shall it be, until the end of all things." — The Oath of the Sabbat

Held each year on Winter Solstice, this rite constitutes a formal renewal of a vampire's oath of allegiance to the Sabbat.

System: For a month following the Binding, vampires who participate are treated as though they have 1 less Beast trait when testing for frenzy.

The Blood Bath

Solemn and erotic, the Blood Bath is the ritus to formally ordain a vampire, elevating her to a clergy position within the hierarchy of the sect.

The Blood Feast

The Blood Feast is a ritual feast of humans, representing the transubstantiation of Caine into the first vampire.

System: Each point of Blood consumed during a Blood Feast has the mystic potential of 2. Therefore, a vampire can hold twice as much Blood when that Blood is consumed in a Blood Feast. This effect lasts for three nights, or until all the blood consumed at the Feast has been utilized. You must have the Sabbat status Sacrosanct to initiate this ritus.

Contrition

The newest of the Auctoritas, this ritus allows a humiliated or failed sect member to atone for her actions. The penitent gathers in a public location along with her Priest, the aggrieved, and the aggrieved's Priest. The penitent must state the deed for which she intends to make amends. Thereafter, the penitent's Priest will assign an appropriate task, to be fulfilled within three nights.

System: If a vampire performs the Rite of Contrition and succeeds, she is forgiven her failures and grievances, and all negative status she possesses is removed. If a vampire attempts a Rite of Contrition and fails, she is stripped of all status, forced to step down from any positions, and cannot gain status for three months or six games thereafter.

The Creation Rite

"Eternal, not immutable. If you don't learn how to change, then you're already deader than those fucks in the ground." — Gumborrash Giorgi, Clan Tzimisce, Pack Priest

The Creation Rite is a formal and sacred ritual performed after a fledgling vampire has proven herself to the sect, has been educated, and is ready to be Initiated.

The Fire Dance

The Sabbat believe that vampires should revel in their undead nature, proving their courage against the vampiric bane of fire.

System: Characters who participate in a Fire Dance are fortified against fear frenzy for three nights. All fear frenzy tests are treated as though the participant has 1 less Beast trait. Vampires who refuse to participate receive the negative status trait Cowardly.

Games of Instinct

Games of Instinct can take many different forms, but each is designed to strengthen and hone a vampire's skills.

System: A vampire who successfully completes a Game of Instinct receives an additional Physical attribute focus that lingers for the next three nights.

The Sermons of Caine

The Sermons of Caine preserve the lessons of the Book of Nod and are used to teach prominent portions of vampire history or Sabbat theology.

System: A vampire who participates in the Sermons of Caine receives an additional Mental attribute focus, which lingers for the next three nights. To perform a Sermon of Caine involving non-faithful participants, the difficulty is 15 instead of the standard 25. A Sermon of Caine does not automatically fail unless more than 50% of the participants are not faithful.

Source Book: MET - VTM - Core Book