Drow Magic. Sorcery Of Endless Night.pdf - RoseRed

BLACK CEREMONIES
ceremony. Members of other races and sexes can,
however, still be used as sacrifices. DC -5 for race or
sex, DC -7 for both.
Sub-Checks: In addition to the final DC check which
must be made to successfully carry out the ritual, at
least one participant must succeed at another skill
check each day for the duration of the casting (see
below). A sub-check must be assigned to a specific
skill and the Spellcraft skill cannot be substituted for
that skill when attempting the check. The final DC of
the magical ceremony is reduced by half the DC of
the sub-check, so, for example, a sub-check requiring
a Perform (dance) check against DC 20 would reduce
the final DC of the magical ceremony by 10.
With the Games Master’s permission, a second
sub-check can be added, at the same DC as the first
sub-check. This reduces the final DC of the magical
ceremony by one quarter the DC of the second subcheck
(a DC 20 check would reduce the final DC by 5,
for example). The second sub-check cannot be based
on the same category of the same skill as the first.
Completion Time
Once the required components have been gathered,
the minimum time required to successfully perform
the magical ceremony must be selected. Even the
simplest of rituals requires more time and effort than
all but the most complex spells and ceremonies with
particularly powerful effects can take months or more
of effort before they are complete. Choose a minimum
completion time from the list below, modifying the final
DC of the ceremony as appropriate.
Completion Time DC Modifier
One Hour +10
One Day +/-0
One Week -10
One Month -20
One Season (Three Months) -30
One Year -50
In addition to selecting a minimum time required to
complete the ritual, you must also select an associated
level of commitment to the ceremony. This commitment
determines how much effort each participant must
dedicate the ceremony – keep in mind that, no matter
how lax the level of commitment, a ceremony with a
completion time of a day or more require eight hours
of effort each day (or each day the ritual is performed)
for the time spent to be counted against the total.
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Completion Times of More than One
Year
In all but the most unusual of campaigns, the
practical limit to a ceremony which the players may
wish to cast is one year of in game time and even
that will be pushing it. Most players and Games
Masters simply do not have the patience to follow a
year long ritual through to completion and honestly
who can blame them?
It is advised that should the Games Master wish
to include ceremonies which requires decades or
centuries to complete successfully, he use them only
as background colour, or as the engine which drives
the plot for an adventure or an entire campaign. It is
further suggested that he introduce such ceremonies
only as they rush to their completion, at least if he
wishes the characters, and by extension the players,
to feel any sort of pressure to stop or complete the
ritual; after all, ten years from now is a long time
and you will be hard pressed to make players care
about long off events in an imaginary world. In other
words, if it does not affect their characters almost
immediately, players simply will not care.
With that in mind, when dealing with ceremonies
with a casting time of decades or centuries, the
Games Master should consider the DC bonus to
be equal to whatever is necessary to guarantee
the ritual’s successful completion. Character’s
actions, not the roll of the dice, should be the only
thing which dictates the outcome of such legendary
endeavours.
Lax: Participants may come and go as they please and
the ceremony can be started and stopped as often as
is wished. New participants can take the place of old
and only one final check need be made to successfully
complete the ritual. DC +10.
Standard: Participants may come and go as they please,
but the ritual must continue uninterrupted for the
duration of the completion time. New participants can
take the place of old, but only so long as the ceremony
continues without pause for eight hours a day. Only
one final check need be made to successfully complete
the ritual. DC +/-0.
Exacting: Once the ceremony is begun, participants
may not leave without spoiling the ritual and new
participants may not join the ceremony once it is
begun (except with the Games Master’s permission).
The ceremony must likewise continue unabated for the