Ceremonies are rituals, generally associated with the ghosts or the dead, which Sin-Eaters can learn. These rituals do not directly use the power of the geist as much as they rely upon the Bound’s deep connection to the Underworld and its denizens. Ceremonies are all exactly that: the Sin-Eater must perform a set of specific actions and must often use specific props like iron wire or mirrors. Without both these props and actions, the ceremony cannot be performed.
Although it is possible to write down the physical steps of a ceremony, there are precious few compilations of such information. By and large, Sin-Eaters learn ceremonies directly from a teacher. Many of these ceremonies are centuries old. However, characters can update older ceremonies that better fit with the realities of modern life. For example, most ceremonies that require an image of a target have been adapted so that photographs can be used.
Each ceremony is learned as a separate Merit. Sin-Eaters can learn as many or as few ceremonies as they want. The Krewe Binding ceremony is the most widely known of the ceremonies, but many experienced Sin-Eaters know half a dozen or more ceremonies.
- För en sida som sammanfattar alla ceremonier på ett överskådligt sätt: WoD - Canon Index
Ceremony Mechanics
Every ceremony has a few features in common. All ceremonies are performed as extended rolls. The Sin-Eater begins performing the actions involved in the ceremony, and continues with the ritual until he has obtained the necessary number of successes. Unless specified otherwise, a ceremony has a target number of successes equal to 2+ the number of dots in the ceremony. Also, the greater the number of dots in a ceremony, the longer the time between rolls. The character’s Synergy rating may affect this roll (see pg. 86). If the target number of successes is reached on a die roll with five or more successes, the ceremony may be considered an exceptional success, and bestow additional benefits. These benefits don’t apply if an exceptional success was rolled earlier in the process, but the target number of successes is reached with a roll of four or fewer successes — the exceptional success must be the roll that closes the ceremony.
While most ceremonies are easy to complete, there is a consequence for failure. If a character fails the roll three times (in succession or otherwise) without successfully completing the ceremony, the ceremony fails and he must begin again. Dramatic failures are even worse, stripping away all accumulated successes and often inflicting some sort of penalty. Though a ceremony may be comparatively simple and quick, botching the observances can draw down spectral ire.
Distant Vision
Kostnad: ••
This ceremony allows the Sin-Eater to gain a brief vision of an individual. If the individual is a ghost, this ceremony reveals the ghost’s present location in either the mortal world or the Underworld. If the person is alive, then this ceremony shows the person and his immediate surroundings in the mortal world.
Performing the Ceremony: This ceremony requires a mirror or other similarly reflective surface that once reflected the face of the intended target. If the target is a ghost, then the mirror could either have reflected the person’s face in life, or some physical Manifestation created by the ghost. The Sin-Eater must also either know the individual’s name or at least a unique descriptor, such as “the tall black woman who shot at me yesterday” or “the ghost who is haunting this apartment”. The Sin-Eater stares into the mirror and eventually, images begin to form. This image is visible to other Sin-Eaters, but not to mortals. The image also cannot be photographed with anything except a camera that is also a memento.
Dice Pool: Psyche + Wits
Action: Extended (target number of 4)
Time Increment: The Sin-Eater can roll for this ceremony once every minute.
Roll Results
- Dramatic Failure: All successes are lost. The mirror cracks and clouds over, rendering it useless for this ceremony.
- Failure: No successes are gained.
- Success: Successes are gained. If the target number is reached, the Sin-Eater sees a still image of the target and the target’s immediate surroundings, much like a photograph of the target taken at the moment the ceremony was performed. The image appears as though the Bound is looking at the target from approximately 10 feet away. If desired, the Sin-Eater can cause the image to expand, so she can examine some part of the image more closely.
- Exceptional Success: Successes are gained. If the target number is reached, the image depicts motion for the next minute, much like a video image without sound.
Suggested Modifiers
+2 | The mirror was a personal possession of the target and reflected his image many times.
+1 | The Sin-Eater knows the target’s full legal name.
–1 | The mirror or other surface that reflected the image is cracked, dull, or otherwise in poor condition.
–2 | The target’s image was reflected only very briefly or partially in the mirror.
–3 | The target’s image was reflected in a pane of glass, a polished metal surface, or something else reflective that is not a mirror. This penalty can be cumulative with the one above.
Distant Voices
Kostnad: ●●
The Sin-Eater can send a short message and receive a brief response from a target, who can either be living or dead. The target hears the question as if it was spoken to them and answers as they would if asked that question in person (there is no compulsion to tell the truth). Mortals targeted by this ceremony do not immediately notice that the question is coming from a disembodied voice and answer it casually, without considering the source. However, after the ceremony ends, the mortal is free to be puzzled and concerned as to the voice’s source. This ceremony can be performed in both the mortal world and the Underworld and the location of the target doesn’t matter.
Performing the Ceremony: When performing this ceremony to contact a ghost, the Sin-Eater must perform it at the site of her death, at her grave, or in a location where the ghost has appeared previously. When performing this ceremony to contact a living target, the Sin-Eater must perform this ceremony in a building the target lives or once lived in. To contact the target, the Sin-Eater sits down and writes out a message, and then allows the pen or pencil to rest in her hand or her fingers to rest lightly on the keyboard. Any response will come as “automatic writing”, where the Sin-Eater’s hand moves of its own accord to write down the response.
Dice Pool: Psyche + Presence
Action: Extended (target number of 5)
Time Increment: The Sin-Eater can roll for this ceremony once every minute.
Roll Results
- Dramatic Failure: All successes are lost. The target gets a sense that someone hostile is looking for him.
- Failure: No successes are gained.
- Success: Successes are gained. If the target number is reached, the Sin-Eater can send the target a message of up to a dozen words. The target can then send a message of up to a dozen words in response. The Sin-Eater can easily receive this message if she is holding a writing implement.
- Exceptional Success: No additional effect.
Suggested Modifiers
+2 | The Sin-Eater has spoken to the target in person. In this case, the target clearly hears the character’s voice and knows who is speaking.
+1 | The Sin-Eater is using a pen, pencil, or stationary that belongs to the target. This can also serve as the connection to the target.
–1 | The Sin-Eater does not know the target’s full name
–2 The dwelling, grave, or place of death has been seriously disturbed or modified since the target lived, died, or was buried there.
–3 | The target is living or corporeal undead (such as a vampire).
Final Vision
Kostnad: ●
There are legends that the last thing someone sees before they die is permanently imprinted upon their now-dead eyes. This ceremony allows the Sin-Eater to see this final vision. These images are always from the person’s point of view. The Bound sees exactly what the now dead person saw, no more and no less. If someone was shot in the back, all the Sin-Eater sees is the world appearing to jerk suddenly and then the ground rising up to meet the person as she fell. This ceremony only provides visual information; the ritualist cannot hear anything that was said.
Performing the Ceremony: This ceremony requires the Sin-Eater to touch the corpse and look into its dead eyes. The corpse can be no more than three days old, but even if the eyes have dried and withered or been pecked at by crows, the Sin-Eater can still use this ceremony. Even so, it can only reveal what the victim saw: a blind victim, or one who was blindfolded or in a totally dark space when she died, will show the Bound a vision of nothing but darkness. Carving out or otherwise removing the corpse’s eyes foils the Final Vision, a fact that is not lost on murderous Sin-Eaters, and a few of the cleverer ghosts.
Dice Pool: Psyche + Wits
Action: Extended (target number of 3)
Time Increment: The Sin-Eater can roll for this ceremony once every turn.
Roll Results
- Dramatic Failure: All successes are lost. The ceremony fails, providing the Sin-Eater with no information. Also, the corpse’s eyes wither and cannot be used for this ceremony again.
- Failure: No successes are gained.
- Success: The Sin-Eater sees everything the corpse did during its last turn of life. The Bound can carefully examine this image, even slow, freeze, or replay the image as desired. However, he must stare into the corpse’s eyes the entire time. Also, the ritualist sees everything exactly as the corpse did; if the corpse was nearsighted and without his glasses, all images will be blurry.
- Exceptional Success: The Sin-Eater can see what the corpse did during its last three minutes of her life. The Sin-Eater can examine and replay these images.
Suggested Modifiers
+2 | The corpse died less than an hour ago
+1 | The corpse’s eyes were covered or closed shortly after its death
–1 | This ceremony has been successfully used on the corpse previously
–2 | The corpse’s eyes have begun to decay or have been pecked by birds or eaten by insects
Finding
Kostnad: ●
This ceremony is used to divine the location of a person, living or dead. The major limitations are that the Sin-Eater must have at least a tiny piece of the target’s body. A drop of blood (at least 75% free of foreign materials such as dirt), a fingernail clipping, or even a single strand of hair will suffice. Also, the ceremony allows the Sin-Eater to locate the person, but does not provide the person’s location on a map — the Sin-Eater must physically track down the target.
Performing the Ceremony: The Sin-Eater must tie the portion of bodily material in a small cloth bag on the end of a string. The Sin-Eater must then spin slowly in a circle while holding the string in one hand. Eventually, she feels the string begin to pull. This ceremony can be performed as often as desired, such as to triangulate the target’s location. Locating a corpse, an imprisoned captive, or anyone else who is stationary is fairly easy using this ceremony. Locating a living person who is moving around can be exceedingly difficult. This ceremony cannot be used to locate a ghost, only a living or a dead physical body. The Sin-Eater need not know the target’s name, wanting to find the person to which a spot of blood or a lock of hair belong works just as well.
Dice Pool: Psyche + Stamina
Action: Extended (target number of 3 for locating a corpse or 6 for locating a living target)
Time Increment: The Sin-Eater can roll for this ceremony once every half hour.
Roll Results
- Dramatic Failure: All successes are lost. The string attracts the attention of ghosts and begins pulling in random directions. The bodily remnant loses its connection and cannot be used for this ceremony again.
- Failure: No successes are gained.
- Success: Successes are gained. If the required number is reached, the Sin-Eater feels a pull on the string. The direction the string pulls provides the character with the direction of the person, or their corpse. The strength of the pull gives a rough idea of how far away the target is; the stronger the pull, the nearer the target. As long as the Sin-Eater holds onto the string, she continues to feel this pull. This pull continues for 5 minutes per success rolled.
- Exceptional Success: Successes are gained. If the number of successes exceeds the needed number by five or more, the ritualist continues to feel the string pulling in the correct direction for the next hour. Also, the Sin-Eater knows more clearly if the target is a few dozen yards, a few miles or a few tens, hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Suggested Modifiers
+1 | The Sin-Eater has several different types of physical connections to the target, such as having both a few hairs and a fingernail clipping.
–1 | The pieces of the target are old, worn, or decayed.
–3 | The target is living or a corporeal undead (such as a vampire).
–3 | The Sin-Eater is attempting to use several connections to the target at once and at least one of these connections is a piece of someone else.
Krewe Binding
Kostnad: •
This ceremony sits at the heart of Sin-Eater culture. It allows a group of Bound to found a new krewe and a Sin-Eater to join an existing krewe.
Performing the Ceremony: The ritual requires a place associated with death, like a graveyard, morgue, or crematorium, for optimal success. Each founder cuts a palm, doing one point of lethal damage and spilling a quantity of blood, and lies down to enter a communal death-like trance. There they establish the channel, one part receiving revelation and one part establishing their own ethos. Only a single member need actually know this ceremony, but all founding members must perform the same actions. To join an existing krewe, the new member must be led by an existing member, who is the only one who need know the ceremony. The new member formally accepts membership in the krewe, cuts her palm for one point of lethal damage, and enters into a vision of the krewe’s channel.
Dice Pool: Psyche (or Psyche + Presence)
Action: Extended (target number of 6 to found a krewe or 3 to join an existing krewe)
Time Increment: The Sin-Eater can roll for this ceremony once every 10 minutes if founding a krewe or once a turn if joining a krewe.
Roll Results
- Dramatic Failure: All successes are lost, and the rite is tainted. The Sin-Eater can never join the particular krewe. Sin-Eaters attempting to found a krewe must add, subtract, or replace a member before they can perform the ceremony again.
- Failure: No successes are gained.
- Success: The Sin-Eaters successfully found a krewe or the Sin-Eater successfully joins the krewe. See Founding a Krewe (pp. 179-184) for further information.
- Exceptional Success: No additional benefit.
Suggested Modifiers
+1 | The Sin-Eaters ingest intoxicants or hallucinogens immediately before the ceremony.
–2 | One or more of the individuals joining feels coerced into joining.
–3 | A Sin-Eater joins or attempts to found a krewe for the express purpose of harming or betraying it.
Pass On
Kostnad: •
This is one of the most important, but least understood ceremonies used by Sin-Eaters. When they have resolved their various anchors, many ghosts naturally pass on to their “Final Reward”, whatever this may mean. All that Sin-Eaters truly know is that these ghosts vanish forever. However, some ghosts remain in Twilight or the Underworld, unable to depart on their own. With this ceremony, a Sin-Eater can cause willing ghosts whose anchors have all been resolved to “pass on” peacefully to whatever destiny awaits them. Some Bound are surprised to learn how simple this ceremony is — but all of the most difficult work of helping a ghost pass on has been done beforehand.
Performing the Ceremony: This ceremony can only be performed in the Underworld, and only on a ghost that has resolved its anchors and is ready to “pass on,” to a hopefully better fate than the Underworld. Sin-Eaters can threaten, bribe, coerce, or even attempt to mentally control a ghost into agreeing, but the ghost must assent. The Sin-Eater must have a piece of the ghost’s body or, at minimum, a photograph of the ghost when she was alive or one of the ghost’s personal possessions. The Sin-Eater talks to the ghost, telling it to prepare itself. Then, she sets fire to the lock of hair, photograph, or other physical connection to the ghost. As the item burns, the ghost gradually fades away.
Dice Pool: Psyche + Presence
Action: Extended (target number of 9)
Time Increment: The Sin-Eater can roll for this ceremony once every minute.
Roll Results
- Dramatic Failure: All successes are lost. The ghost develops a new anchor, causing it to haunt the mortal world or a desire to cling to existence in the Underworld. Until the ghost’s anchor or desires have been dealt with, it cannot be subjected to this ceremony again.
- Failure: No successes are gained.
- Success: Successes are gained. If the target number is reached, the ghost understands where and why it must go, and gradually fades away to an unknown fate.
- Exceptional Success: Successes are gained. If the target number is reached on this roll, the ghost fades away to its final reward with a word of thanks. The Sin-Eater who performed the ceremony regains a point of Willpower due to the spiritual power of this event.
Suggested Modifiers
+3 | The ghost purposely helped to resolve its anchors in order to pass on.
+1 | The Sin-Eater helped the ghost resolve some of its anchors.
–1 | The Sin-Eater does not possess either a piece of the ghost’s body or a photograph of the ghost.
–3 | The ghost has been threatened or coerced into undergoing this ritual.
Speaker of the Dead
Kostnad: •
Many Sin-Eaters take it upon themselves to help ghosts finish things left undone. They tie up loose ends and resolve the ghost’s story. But some messages cannot be passed on by a stranger. This ability allows the Sin-Eater to provide the ghost with a conduit, if only for her voice. She can speak through the Sin-Eater, and the words she utters come out in her own living voice. The Sin-Eater’s appearance does not change (though they might be able to use the Caul to approximate the ghost’s silhouette), but that does not matter, for the speaker may not be seen.
Like Orpheus, the mortal cannot look. It is acceptable for the Sin-Eater’s silhouette or otherwise obscured form to be seen, but if the recipient looks closely enough to see the Sin-Eater’s features, the ghost’s voice is lost in the wind. Using a telephone to contact the recipient mitigates this risk, but they are far, far less likely to believe the voice really belongs to their lost loved one in this age of digital manipulation than they are if they hear the warm tones in person.
Some ghosts, unable to help themselves, use the opportunity to harass or frighten a target of their anger rather than contact a loved one. The Sin-Eater cannot predict what the ghost will say through him, but if the conversation takes a turn he isn’t comfortable with, he may pull the plug at any time.
Performing the Ceremony: The Sin-Eater simply takes the ghost’s hand and concentrates on relaxing and letting go of his voice, giving it up to the ghost for one scene or until the Sin-Eater chooses to end the effect, whichever comes first.
If the recipient does look and cause the ritual to end early, the Sin-Eater is unable to act as a conduit for that ghost for 3 days.
Dice Pool: Psyche + Manipulation
Action: Extended (target number of 3)
Time Increment: The Sin-Eater can roll for this ceremony once every turn.
Roll Results
- Dramatic Failure: The Sin-Eater loses his voice for the rest of the scene.
- Failure: Nothing happens.
- Success: The shade’s voice emits from the Sin-Eater’s mouth.
- Exceptional Success: There is no additional affect for exceptional successes.
Suggested Modifiers
+2 | The recipient is a knowing participant in the séance.
+1 | The recipient is at the ghost’s graveside.
–1 | The recipient has seen the Sin-Eater in the last hour.
–2 | The Sin-Eater has already had negative contact with the recipient.
Övriga
Cigarette Dawn — Ask questions of the Living about the Dead — BotD pg. 70-71
One Last Song — Help a companion live the last moments of it's life to the fullest — BotD pg. 71
Reverse Bargain — Create a Sin-eater by forcing a Geist to enter the corpse of a human. The newly created Sin-eater have 1 point of synergy, 3 dots of manifestation and 3 keys. — Geist 243
Faces in Smoke — Reveal the image of the dead in Cigarette Smoke — BotD pg. 71-72
Lifting the Scales — Allow a mortal to perceive Twilight and ghosts with Ghost sight and giving them the power of Death Stains. — Geist 154
Listening to the Spectral Howl — Allow a sin-eater to find a particular type of ghost with a map. The type of ghost may be, by example, a ghost in need of vengeance, in need of protection, etc. — Geist 155
Message from Beyond — Passes on Messages from a Ghost to intended Target — BotD pg. 72-73
Mortis Mask — Falsify the cause of death of a corpse (A drowned corpse may look like he's been shot by a gun instead) — Geist 155
Plasmic Manifestation — Create a plasm "thing" that take the look of the ghost and allow it to communicate with the livings. — Geist 156
Spectral Photography — Capture pictures of ghosts on a place suspected of hauntings — Geist 157
Dead Voices on Air — Capture a ghost, even one in the twilight, on still or moving film. — Geist 157
Dedicate Charm — Associate an appropriate Key with the Threshold of an un-Dedicated Charm (Memento 1) — Geist 158
The Devil's Bargen — Transfer time from one person to another, with horrific side effects. — The House Always Wins 4
Finding the Crossroads — Divine a nearby location at which someone will soon die. — Geist 159
Funerary Tools — Create an item to use in Twilight, with possibility of taking it to the Depths — BotD pg. 73
Lemure’s Lure — Make a location highly attractive to ghosts, likely causing a temporary haunting of the area. — Geist 159
Loosen the Coil — Temporarily allow a mortal to project as a ghost. — Geist 160
Moment of Absolution — Receive explanation of why an Anchor is an Anchor. — BotD pg. 73-74
Plumbing the Depths — See memories of bonded Geist; must continually roll to avoid gaining derangement while searching. — Geist 161
Quicken the Dead — Bind a ghost to a body, creating a zombie. — Geist 161
Reading the Echoes — Can get impressions from the past history of an object. — Geist 163
Warding Circle — Enchant a circle to be impervious to ghosts, and potentially other supernatural creatures as well. — Geist 163
Bind Anchor — Create an Anchor for a ghost, even one currently in the Underworld — Geist 164
Danse Macabre — Reminds participants of their own morality. Could create Ghosts in the Underworld without anchors — BotD pg. 74-75
Ghost Drinker — Drink either the Ghost's knowledge or it's power. Gain truthful yes/no answers or a bump to Physical Traits — BotD pg. 75
Ghostly Guardian — Bind a ghost to one of it's Anchors as a protector — Geist 164
Mending the Mortal Coil — Heal a target of wounds at the cost of plasm. — Geist 165
Warding the Household — As Warding Circle, but potentially for an entire building. — Geist 165
Crash the Gates — Transform body into an open Avernian Gate connected to a random point in the Depths. — BotD pg. 76
Create Deathly Passage — Open or reopen an Avernian Gate — Geist 166
Dumb Supper — Makes the Twilight and material worlds one and the same for all ghosts in a given room, for a short time, allowing conventional interaction. — Geist 166
Fetter’s Binding — Bind a ghost to it's last Anchor as a Fetter with one of it's Numia (Memento 3) — Geist 167
Sepulchral Gateway — Allows entry from one Avernian Gate and exit through another, without passage through the Underworld. — Geist 167
Spectral Captivity — Binds a ghost inside a room or container, from which it has no power to escape. — Geist 168
UnBinding — Sever a geist from a Sin-Eater, ending the bargain; causes significant discord. — Geist 244
Wings of the Moth — Binds a ghost to a body, effectively returning them to mortality, for one week; at the end of this time, the new body is killed again, and one of their anchors is destroyed. — Geist 169
