Mokole Rites
Sources: PGttCB 119, Mokole 89-95
| Type | Roll | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Accord | Cha + Rituals | 7 |
| Wallow | Varies (max. Gnosis) | 7 |
| Death | Cha + Rituals | 8 minus Rank |
| Mystic | Wits + Rituals | 7 |
| Renown | Cha + Rituals | 6 |
| Seasonal | Sta + Rituals | 8 minus Caern Level |
Contents
Mokole Rites
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Level 4
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Level 5
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Rank 1
Feed the Wallow (Wallow) - This rite takes a small amount of food and increases it to provide food for many.
System: The ritemaster blesses the food and divides it while performing the rite. The number of successes is the power by which the food is increased. A dinner for two would serve four if there were two successes, and sixteen if there were four successes.
(Mokole BB, p93)
Rite of the Illuminated Wallow (Wallow) - This rite is very similar to the Rite of the Opened Caern, save that Sun's light must fill the wallow with its blessing. For Midnight Suns, a night sky is appropriate to "illuminate" the wallow with darkness. Note that the ritemaster must please not only the spirits, but the sleeping elder, if there is one. The method for which these creatures can be bested varies from wallow to wallow. For example if the elder was a mancala player, playing a riotous game in the wallow's sands might illuminate a wallow of laughter, while an elder who had fought the Garou all her life might demand a much darker ritual...
System: As the Garou Caern Rite: Rite of the Opened Caern. - To open a caern, a character engages in a resisted, extended success test of Wits + Rituals (difficulty 7). The number of successes needed equals the caern's level.
The Character must overcome the caern spirit to prove herself worthy. The caern spirit uses its caern level as a dice pool. Its difficulty equals the character's Gnosis, while the number of successes needed equals the character's Willpower. The first one to garner the necessary number of successes wins.
If the character wins the test, she can add the caern's rating to her dice pool when performing actions appropriate to that caern's focus. If she loses, however, she takes wounds equal to the number of successes by which the caern beat her. A botch indicates that the wounds are aggravated. These physical and spiritual wounds are the result of a backlash of spiritual energy.
See Caern Mechanics(WW: Revised, p226) for a list of caern types, their powers, and the spirits that can be encountered near them.
(Werewolf:Revised p157, Mokole BB p93)
Rite of the Nesting Mound (Wallow) - This rite enables a mother to pile up earth and vegetation to create a protective nest for eggs. Although this is common behavior among crocodilians and monitors, the ritual version grants the eggs an extra measure of spiritual protection.
System: If performed properly, the rite keeps the eggs at optimum temperature until they hatch. The eggs will either hatch twice as quickly or twice as slowly, depending on how the mother performed the rite and built the mound; some mothers try using this rite to ensure a certain sun auspice for their children.
(Mokole BB, p93)
Save Hatchling (Wallow) - Over 90% of potential suchid Mokole and other reptiles die in their first year of life from disease and predation. This rite creates a link between parent and child, allowing the parent to know any one child's condition at any one time.
System: Once the rite is performed, the parent need only concentrate for a turn on the given hatchling and the child's relative condition (safe, in immediate danger, wounded, and so on) is revealed.
(Mokole BB, p93)
Shedding Hide (Accord) - This rite may be performed alone or in groups. It is usually done once a year. The Mokole sheds her skin over a period of days or weeks, and at the same time sheds any Dissolver-taint accumulated through toxins or through contact with Dissolver-creatures.
System: The ritemaster rolls Charisma + Rituals as usual; the difficulty is 5 plus the number of times she has been Dissolver-tainted, such as by touching fomori or vampires, eating tainted food, speaking the words of the Dissolver, and so forth. The maximum difficulty is 9. The number of successes gained indicates the number of levels of Dissolver-taint that pass away. The Mokole will begin to itch horribly as the toxin works its way up to her skin. As she scratches, her skin peels off, revealing new skin beneath. Tattoos, scars or brands usually disappear during the shedding. This rite is highly refreshing to the celebrant.
(Mokole BB, p89)
Level 2
Silence of the Oracles (Accord) - This merciful rite allows the ritemaster to protect a person from memories that would drive them mad. It is often used to protect survivors of torture, molestation, rape, or massacres. It allows the wounded person to live normally without going mad.
System: The ritemaster confers with the patient as she performs the rite. For each success, a memory may be sealed. The recipient will still know that his trauma occurred, but will not be injured by the memories and will be able to remember without pain. If the rite is used to aid a Derangement or Harano, the patient is allowed a scene of rational behavior for every success on the ritemaster's roll.
(Mokole BB, p90)
Last Communion (Death) - This rite enables a Mokole adept to receive Mnesis from a comrade. The two Mokole must gaze into each others' eyes, and the giver of Mnesis will speak of a memory which he or she holds, or if unable to speak, will concentrate on it. She will then breathe out the memory, and the taker will breathe it in. Once the memory is passed, the dolor has no more access to it. This rite is often used on battlefields to preserve the Mnesis of the dying, and is the only reason that so much Mnesis survived the Wars of Rage. Many highly emotional scenes have centered on Last Communion.
System: Either the donor or the recipient can be the ritemaster for this rite. If the giver is unconscious or dead, the taker can breathe in her last breath, but the Mnesis transferred will usually be confused.
(Mokole BB, p90)
Level 3
Shed the Crocodile's Tears (Death) - This rite shows a Mokole's contrition for killing a foe. The Mokole, before leaving a battlefield, weeps over the corpse of a fallen enemy (or friend). The length of time that she weeks depends on the depth of feeling involved.
System: The Mokole must expend a point of Gnosis as she enacts the rite. Success indicates that the spirit or wraith of the person involved will not seek revenge on the ritemaster. If the Mokole sacrifices a permanent point of Gnosis, then even the kin and allies of the fallen believe that the Mokole was not a crazed killer, but was only doing what was necessary.
(Mokole BB, p90)
Rite of the Stone (Mystic) - This allows the Mokole to attach a mystical stone to his body. The stone can be a belly stone, giving strength, or a skull stone, giving wisdom. A belly stone must be heavy, smooth, and properly shaped - the search for the perfect stone can last a long time.
Skull stones (carbuncles, or "dragon stones") are much harder to find, as they must also be perfect, flawless jewels. The jewel must be cut by an artisan with stone-cutting skill, then heated to searing heat, such as in Sun's fire, in a forge or in volcanic heat. The stone is then burned into the Mokole's forehead, where it is visible in Archid form (in some Mokole, it is visible in Homid form as well).
System: During the rite, the Mokole must fill the stone with Gnosis by meditating in Sun's light (save that Gnosis goes into the stone instead of into the Mokole). The stone's maximum Gnosis is equal to the ritemaster's current Gnosis. The stone is then swallowed, if a belly stone, or branded into the forehead if a skull stone. In hunting or battle, the Mokole may spend the stone's Gnosis on a one-for-one basis; belly stones add to Strength for one scene, and skull stones may add to any Mental Attribute. Once the stone's Gnosis is expended, the stone is absorbed fully into the Mokole's body.
Garou who hunt Mokole sometimes seek these mystic stones and use them to store Gnosis. In addition, when an ancient Mokole dies, her stone can be passed to a younger Mokole without losing it's Gnosis. Mnesis records more powerful stones, and sleeping elders often have a mighty stone from a past age.
(Mokole BB, p91)
Rite of Sunreturn (Seasonal) - Each winter solstice (December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, June 21 in the Southern), Sun is at his weakest. Darkness is strong as Gaia turns away from his heat and light. The Mokole usually gather at such times and perform the Rite of Sunreturn to strengthen him. The rite takes many forms among different streams: the Mokole-Membe light candles and give each other presents of cake and sweets baked in circular shapes. They keep watch all night long with songs and bonfires until Sun shows his face again. The Zhong Lung meditate, asking that the Wheel turn uninterrupted. The Makara, who call this festival Diwali, illuminate the night with lamps and burn incense to show Sun the way to come back. The Gumagan stage mock battles in which one party represents Sun and the other Darkness. Adepts among the Gumagan also enter the Dreamtime before Sunrise and face Sun's enemies, daring them to show their faces.
System: The ritemaster first oversees the preparations for the rite, which take different forms. She then participates (eating cakes, drinking rum, singing songs or similar activity) all night long. The rites difficulty is 7 for normal circumstances, 8 for a bleak winter. For each success, one of the celebrants gets one additional die to use once before the next winter solstice.
Failure means that Sun rises in a black cloud and the ritemaster loses her sun dice until she beholds her Sun sign again. A botch may be interpreted by the Storyteller to mean that Sun does not rise or that some other disaster befalls.
(Mokole BB, p93)
Level 4
Boat of the Sun (Mystic) - This rite allows the ritemaster to borrow Sun's boat for a time to transport himself and colleagues to any destination under the sun.
System: The ritemaster must behold Sun's Face, then assemble the boat's crew, who must sit as if in a boat and hold their hands as if paddling. He may take as many passengers as he has current points of Gnosis. The ritemaster declares the destination, which along with the port of departure, must be in Sun's light. He must known the destination through having been there, or through a Mnesis roll (Storyteller's discretion). He then calls out the strokes for the paddlers and enacts the rite. The difficulty is 6 for a destination that the ritemaster has seen, and 8 if he has only Mnesis to guide him. For each success, one person reaches the destination. The others are left behind. If he botches, then one passenger per roll is unharmed, but stranded between the two places.
(Mokole BB, p91)
Burn the Library (Mystic) - This rite erases memories. It is named for the day when the Library of Alexandria burned, and two Mokole were the only ones left with its knowledge. The rite was first used when Ancient-My-Enemy, a Mokole warrior, erased his mind to prevent Garou from locating his clutch.
System: To perform this rite, the player rolls Charisma + Rituals (difficulty 7) the ritemaster may name the memories that will be destroyed and then speak Unmaking Words, which are perilous to hear. The Words will seek out the memories and destroy them. For each success, one memory up to a scene long is destroyed. The ritemaster may use this rite on himself, but if the roll botches, he forgets how to perform this rite and must learn it again.
(PGttCB p119, Mokole BB p91)
The Gator's Burrow (Wallow) - As the Garou Caern Rite: The Badger's Burrow; naturally, this rite is used to protect a wallow. - The celebrant must make a successful Perception + Rituals roll against the given difficulty level. Each success enables the ritemaster (or the Wallow's Warder) to ask one question regarding a defined area, The difficulty varies with the size of the area. Failure indicates that the character sees nothing, while a botch means that the character sees what she desires to see, regardless of truth.
| Difficulty | Area |
|---|---|
| 5 | Small room |
| 6 | Ballroom |
| 7 | House |
| 8 | Acre of land |
| 9 | Small forest |
(Werewolf:Revised p158, Mokole BB p93)
Open Sun Bridge (Wallow) - This rite enables Mokole to open paths from one place another "through the heart of the sun." The Sun Bridge can be invoked when Sun's brilliance dazzles the eyes, and carries Mokole from one wallow to another. A normal means of using a Sun Bridge is to pass at sunrise or sunset, allowing the "sun path" created by the motion of light in water to serve as a highway across the world. Travel is instantaneous, or nearly so. The wallows involved must have a pool or body of water to allow passage into the Umbra. This water must be blessed with the rite at least once in living memory (not once a year as with a Moon Bridge). This means that as long as a sleeper remains who enacted the rite, Mokole can open a way through the Sun Bridge by using the Gift: Open Sun Bridge or the Rite of the Illuminated Wallow. However, to create a Sun Bridge, to decide the destination to be reached, or to ascertain the safety of the passage, this rite is necessary.
System: The participants meditate as the ritemaster performs the rite. The difficulty is 8 minus the level of the Wallow. The number of successes must equal the level of the target wallow. There need to be three more successes if no true Mokole are watching at the other end. (i.e. if a wallow destination is tended only by a sleeping elder).
(Mokole BB, p93)
Walking in Your Footsteps (Mystic) - This rite enables a Mokole to follow those who have gone before her. The ritemaster locates the footsteps of a past Mokole; these may be the day before, a hundred years before, or be fossilized. However, the footsteps must be visible. As the Mokole enacts the rite, she stands in the footsteps of the ancestor and calls for the ancestor's aid. If successful, the forebear's ability is passed on.
System: In addition to the ordinary roll, the ritemaster must make a Mnesis roll or have a remembrancer make one for her, in order to know what the ancestor did, or could do. The Storyteller makes this roll and keeps the result secret. If the rite is a success, one Ability owned by the ancestor, including Mnesis, is made available to the ritemaster for the duration of the story. However, if the Storyteller determines that the Mnesis roll failed, or that the ancestor did not have this ability, then another attribute possessed by the ancestor, such as arthritis, could come to the ritemaster. If the roll is a botch, the number of 1's rolled is the number of permanent points lost by the ritemaster in an area of the Storyteller's choice.
(Mokole BB, p91)
Level 5
Rite of Anamnesis (Mystic) - This rite enables a Mokole to communicate Mnesis to another directly. The Mokole who wishes to do so can pass on visual impressions, thoughts and feelings. However, the communication is imperfect.
System: The remembrancer and the subject must share one of the teacher plants of Gaia (a hallucinogen). The subject automatically takes one health level of damage from the noxious drugs. The remembrancer must succeed in a Mnesis roll to find the desired memory, and then make a Gnosis roll against a difficulty of the Subjects Willpower. In the case of non-Mokole subjects, the difficulty is 9. The number of successes determines the extent of memories communicated. In unusual cases, the rite can be performed more than once on the same person, resulting in one person with vast amounts of Mnesis. The memories of lost clutches and bloodlines have been saved this way. However, if one person receives the Mnesis of more people than he has points of Willpower, then he will almost certainly become insane. The Mnesis given may be passed on to the descendants of the recipient as with any other Mnesis
(Mokole bb, p92)
The Bones of Time (Death) - This rare rite is known to a few Mokole of the Americas and China. It allows a ritemaster to retrieve Mnesis from remains of the dead, including "dragon's bones", fossil dinosaurs and similar items. To enact the rite the ritemaster must caress the remains while chanting the Song of Bones, which lasts for many hours if all its cantos are sung. Other Mokole sometimes dance as an accompaniment to the ritemaster's song.
System: The ritemaster rolls Charisma + Rituals as usual, difficulty 7 (if the remains are mutilated, such as a lizard-skin coat, the difficulty is 9). When the Song is done, the Mokole may enter a Mnesis trance for one day. He may then add the number of successes gained on the rite to his Mnesis roll. The Storyteller will determine what memories could be gleaned - the dragon's bones of Chinese medicine shops or the dinosaur fossils of the Smithsonian might possess some interesting memories indeed. Any number of Mokole may attempt to gain memories from the bones, but if more try than the ancestor's Gnosis score (or more than one, if the ancestor was not Mokole), the remains will crumble.
(Mokole BB, p91)
Citadel of the Dragon (Wallow) - Through chanting that helps her dig into her Mnesis while guiding a group of artisans, this rite allows the ritemaster to direct the carving of stone structures with images of the Dragon Kings. These images are so horrific that they tap into the terror that the Mokole cause in mammals. This rite once allowed Mokole to construct stone citadels hidden from mankind.
System: To perform the ritual, the ritemaster must make a Charisma + Rituals roll, and the least talented of the artisans must make a Dexterity + Crafts roll (substituting Expression or Repair if the Storyteller prefers), the difficulty being 7. The Storyteller will determine the number of successes needed depending on the size of the structure: a small shrine will take fewer days than a castle. If the rite succeeds, the building will cause the Delirium.
Unfortunately, Mokole know that fear engenders hatred, and occasional hunters are strong-willed enough to fight instead of fleeing, especially if they attack at night when the stones cant be seen clearly.
(Mokole BB, p94)
Rite of the Eidolon (Mystic) - Mnesis is powerful: it is a direct exerise of the Mokole's purpose as the Memory of Gaia. The Rite of the Eidolon allows the images (eidolons) contained in Mnesis to take shape. It is different from the Shadows by the Fire Light gift in that the image is not merely "backdrop"; it is as real as the mind of the remembrancer who imagines it.
System: The rite may be performed alone or by a group. The ritemaster goes into a Mnesis trance, focusing on a person or thing of the past (such as an Egyptian inscription, African statue or a long lost ancestor) and meditates for a number of hours equal to his Mnesis score (which must allow him to behold the period of history that the eidolon is from). He then spends one Gnosis to materialize the eidolon for one scene. to preserve it for another scene, he must spend another Gnosis point. The number of successes on the rite roll is the number of things that the eidolon is capable of:
| Successes | Eidolon's Strength |
|---|---|
| 1 | The eidolon is visible as a vague outline to observers. |
| 2 | The eidolon can be seen clearly. |
| 3 | The eidolon can answer questions by nodding, shaking its head, or gesturing, but cannot speak. If the image is of a non-living thing, it can be seen clearly enough to answer any questions about its appearance and is three-dimensional. |
| 4 | The eidolon can speak in response to a question, but cannot say anything that the remembrancer does not already know. |
| 5+ | The eidolon can access the deepest recesses of Mnesis and can speak as if it were the living thing it once was. If an object, it can be touched and handled as if real. |
Note that the eidolon is a memory, not a ghost. It does not come from the Shadowlands and it probably does not know any cosmic secrets. The storyteller can allow this to become a voodoo-like 'summoning' with dark implications if he wishes to do so, or allow it to be a glimpse of lost glories.
(Mokole BB, p92)
Rite of Lost Dreams (Mystic) - This rite allows any person to be lowered into the Sea of Shadows with the express purpose of regaining memories that have been lost on account of a whole clutch being destroyed. The person who goes does not have to be Mokole. This is more than just a dangerous form of Mnesis; it allows the recipient to make those memories a part of them. In a sense, it brings a dead clutch back to life. The reasons for doing this are varied, but are always serious; this rite is a deadly affair.
System: The ritemaster first summons spirits of War and Time, who will accompany the quester. The ritemaster must find some way to compensate them. The Storyteller should keep track of the spirits and their nature and powers. When being lowered into the Sea of Shadows, the subject of the rite will first fall blindly into the Abyss. If all goes well, the spirit guides will protect the subject from the ravenous Dead who lurk there. This wont prevent them from vainly clawing, screaming and threatening the subject. They can also offer to grant him favors, offering to "spare" him from harm. They are usually lying, of course. Occasionally, a powerful monstrosity may come along, and unless the quester can climb out of the Abyss very soon, he will probably die, as he will have to fight the attacker without being able to see it. He will also risk losing his mind from the madness that these infernal beings carry from fear. If you have Wraith: The Oblivion, use the rules for Specters. Otherwise, assume that the attackers are Dark Umbral spirits roughly equal to the traveler in power. If he passes these spirits, then he goes into the Sea of Shadows itself.
If the subject goes deep enough into the Sea, he will experience some part of the memories sought, and will incorporate them into himself. As such memories would otherwise be lost, this is one of the most honorable feats a Mokole can perform.
(Mokole BB, p92)
Rite of the Sleeping Dragon (Mystic) - This rite enables the ritemaster to send another into the Sleep of the Dragon; the effects are much like those of the Gift of the same name.
System: The ritemaster must lay the sleeper down and cover her (in mud, in a hill of stones, in a mummy case, etc.) while reciting the Chant of the Dragon. If the sleeper resists, the difficulty is her Willpower. The sleeper can be awakened by being moved or touched, or by a condition set up by the ritemaster. The ritemaster can use this rite to put himself to sleep.
(Mokole BB, p92)
Gumagan Rites
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3 |
Level 4
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Level 5 |
Level 1
Djunggawon (Renown) - This rite of Renown is a rite of passage for Kinfolk and Gumagan. It takes place when they are young. The mob will assemble at a waterhole or sacred site. The men (for a boy) or women (for a girl) go off together. They then tell the child about the Gumagan and the spirits of the Dreamtime. The rite involves body art: painting, circumcision, or the removal of one tooth. For Kinfolk, this is the moment at which the adolescents become adults. The Gumagan usually pass from the ceremony to their great trance in which they dream their Archid form.
System: Men and women who bear the scars of this rite will be recognized by anyone else who is also initiated this way, and receive an extra die on Social rolls with any native people of Bandaiyan. Thereacter, they may learn the rituals and songs that they are in line to inherit from uncles, aunts, and other elders.
Suchids perform this rite as well, but the Mokole themselves initiate the young one by biting them.
(Mokole BB, p94)
The Oknanikilla - The Gumagan, Australia's native Mokole, originated this rite and allowed their allies, the Bunyip, to share it. It is performed alone. The ritemaster, who must be a gravid female, makes a long journey along the "paths of the ancestors" (songlines) to an oknanikilla, a place where a totem has manifested. Usually this place will be a wallow, or it once was one. (Of course, many oknanikilla are now wallows of the egg-smashers). The totems give special favor to anyone born in their sacred sites.
System: After performing the rite, the mother-to-be spends one or more Gnosis points, and lays her eggs or gives birth on the site. She remains there until the eggs hatch (if suchid) or until she is able to walk after the birth (if homid). The number of Gnosis spent is the number of additional dice that the child may roll, when an adult, when trying to call the totem of the sacred place.
(Mokole BB, p94)
Songs of the Dreamtime - This rite is associated with spirit songs. The ritemaster must sing the song for a place (such as a songline) or a thing (such as a tjurunga; see below). He is then able to use the songline to travel or read the memories of the ancestor, usually via the Gifts of the Gumagan.
System: The roll is Manipulation + Rituals, difficulty 6. However, to learn the rite, you must inherit the rite.
(Mokole BB, p94)
Rank 2
Into the Waterhole (Death) - This rite allows the soul of a dead person to be free. The body is disposed of by exposure, cremation or burial. The ritemaster then sings and dances and burns the dead person's possessions while calling their name. The soul passes on into a waterhole to be reborn, and does not haunt the living any more. Most souls welcome this rite. Some, frighteningly, do not...
System: Like other Rites of Death, the roll is Charisma + Rituals.
(Mokole BB, p94)
Rank 4
Tjurunga - This Rite enables a Gumagan to put some of their Mnesis into a carved and painted board, a tjurunga. The Mnesis can be accessed by anyone who knows the spirit songs.
Gumagan mobs often trade tjurunga. This is a common way to establish alliances and unify the people. The hereditary owners of tjurunga are very choosy about whom they exchange them with, or at least they used to be. Tjurunga are exchanged across thousands of miles among mobs who know each other well.
There are said to be three tjurunga left which were made by the Bunyip before they perished. No one knows where these mystic spirit boards are located, but the Gumagan are looking for them. They hope to find them before the European Garou do.
System: The ritemaster must sacrifice a point of permanent Gnosis and carve and paint the board during the rite. The tjurunga is then stored in a sacred cave or other such place. Anyone seeking to read it must sing and make an Expression + Rituals roll, difficulty 7. The number of successes is the number of memories that emerge.
(Mokole BB, p94)
Zhong Lung Rites
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Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
Level 4 |
Level 5
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Level 5
Shedding Bones - This powerful rite allows the Zhong Lung to prolong his life. He must first prepare a medicinal potion of herbs to restore the balance of yin and yang. This takes some time. He may also engage an herbalist to make it for him. He will then identify his weakest and oldest bones, and push them out through his skin. As he does so, his youth returns to him.
System: As the rite is performed, the Zhong Lung must sacrifice a permanent point of Gnosis to grow a new bone for each bone expelled. For each point of Gnosis thus sacrificed (and each bone renewed), five years of physical age return to the ritemaster. The cast-off bones are valued by wu-magicians, herbalists, and paleontologists.
(Mokole BB, p95)
