Ritual Addendum: 2002

Plot Committee has discretionary authority over Ritual

Success:
Please note, that a local plot committee reserves the right to step in at any time
during the course of a ritual and assign plot effects and resolutions to a ritual being
cast by a player or non-player character.

Consuming Components in the Ritual Circle at the Time of

Casting:
If there are more components in the casters possession then are needed to cast the
ritual the ritual caster can chose which are consumed as long as she meets the
component requirements of the scroll for the ritual she is casting.

The Cost of Spell Crafting a Ritual:

The cost of Spell Crafting a ritual can be values other then 2 reagents, sometimes
certain rituals will cost only one reagent to spell craft.

Dead individuals may not be the targets of a ritual:

A ritual cannot be cast upon a target that is dead, and in their 5-minute death count
unless specifically indicated on the ritual scroll. Attempting to cast a ritual upon a
person who is in their death count will cause the ritual to not begin. In individual
becoming dead during the course of the ritual causing the ritual to fail, and
immediately causes an automatic backlash. In this regard a target would respond
No Affect if they were the recipient of a Dragon or Shadow Magic spell when in the
Dead state.

Optional Rule: Multiple Casters

Two or more ritual casters may participate in the casting of the same ritual.
Participants all working to cast the same ritual are recognized in two specific
categories, the primary and the Secondary Caster. Only one caster may be a Primary
Caster, and any additional casters participating in the ritual are designated as
Secondary Casters.
IMPORTANT:
A Primary Caster must have at least a 1 in 10 chance to successfully complete the
ritual, BEFORE the difficulty reduction of any Secondary Casters is added.
In order to participate in a ritual as a Secondary Caster, you must have the same
aspect as that of the Primary Caster. For example, a Primary Caster who is of the
celestial aspect can have Secondary Casters who are of the celestial aspect aid them
in casting their ritual. A Secondary Caster may not be of a different aspect, and still
aid in the casting of the ritual.
In order to participate in a ritual as a Secondary Caster, the caster must have at least
1 level of the skill formal magic. Any levels possessed by the Secondary Caster

beyond one level of formal magic does not impact on the success of a jointly cast
ritual. This must be verified by the ritual marshal prior to the casting of the ritual for
all individuals who which to aid the ritual as a Secondary Caster.
Each Secondary Caster aiding in the casting of a ritual adds one level of formal magic
to the Primary Casters formal magic levels. A Primary Caster may have one
Secondary Caster aiding them in the ritual they are casting for each level of formal
magic they possess. Secondary Casters do not cancel out the maximum 9 in 10
chances to successfully complete the ritual.
A flaw or backlash is always encountered on a die roll of 0, so Secondary Casters can
never improve the odds of a ritual success to greater the 90%. If more individuals
wish to participate in the ritual but cannot further improve the odds of success they
may participate. Such individuals however are still subject to the risks and
restrictions of being a Secondary Caster as listed in the next paragraphs.
A Secondary Caster is under the same restrictions of actions as a Primary Caster with
some exceptions. A Secondary Caster however is not bound personally to have the
ritual scroll and components in their possession. The Secondary Caster does not
have to see or read the ritual scroll in question to provide aid during a ritual. The
Secondary does not have to touch the target when the ritual casting begins. The
only manner in which a Secondary Caster can harm or hinder a ritual is by causing an
automatic backlash in some manner, they cannot magically alter, increase difficulty,
or suddenly withdraw their support once a ritual as commenced.
If the Primary Caster is subject to any flaws and backlashes encounters, the
Secondary Casters are subject to the same effect as if they were the Primary Caster.

Conducting the Ritual:

In order to successfully complete a ritual the ritual caster must be in a circle of power
and have the following things available to him or in his possession:
Ritual scroll that they have at least a 1 in 10 chance of successfully casting without a
flaw or backlash.
A valid Circle of Power of the their aspect. (Earth casters for example may not start a
ritual in a celestial circle)
All of the required components needed to cast at least the lowest level ritual from the
chosen ritual scroll.
A valid target for the ritual.

A formal caster cannot start a ritual if:

They do not have a ritual scroll.
The do not have the components listed on the ritual scroll for at least the lowest level
ritual they intended to cast.
Are not in a Circle of Power.
Are not in a Circle of Power of their aspect.
Do not have at least 1 in 10 chance of successfully casting the ritual in question,
without Secondary casters.
Cannot read the scroll for some reason, such as inadequate light.
Do not have the current ability to cast battle magic and use game skills.
If their target is dead, in the midst of their 5 minute count.
A caster must immediately declare the target once they begin the ritual. Failure to
declare the target within 30 seconds of beginning the ritual results in an automatic
backlash. This declared target becomes the target for the ritual.
Once a player states the words BEGIN RITUAL CASTING the ritual is actively being
cast. The player must be able to see the ritual scroll they are casting from at all
times during the course of the ritual. The player can furthermore not conduct any
other actions other than those required in the ritual scroll. Allowable actions include
for example casting spells to place into an item, but would not for example allow first
aiding someone in the circle. If a disallowable action occurs during the course of the
ritual then the ritual immediately fails.

Allowable Actions include the following:

Casting spells into an item as indicated on the ritual scroll.
Utilizing skills from the formal caster or a willing person to store a skill into an item.
Read/Write is an allowable skill.
Formal Ritual Casting is an allowable skill.

The following actions or circumstances will cause the ritual

to result in failure and Automatic Backlash:
Actions involving the Circle of Power that cause Automatic Backlash:
Circle of Power is entered while ritual is conducted by means other than Spirit
Walk, Spirit Recall, or Resurrection.
Circle of Power representation is not properly set up as per Circle of Power
spell rules prior to the beginning of the ritual.
The circle expires.
Attempting to cast an additional formal magic ritual in the same circle, while
another formal magic ritual is being cast. (This includes attempting to cast
two rituals from the same scroll at the same time, and two different ritual
scrolls being used)
Actions involving Skills that cause Automatic Backlash:
Formal Caster (Primary or Secondary) becomes unable to cast battle magic or
use game skills.
The target, caster (Primary or Secondary), or anyone in the circle once the
ritual has started, leaves the circle during the casting of the ritual.
The caster (Primary Only) attempts to cast a higher-powered ritual and does
not have at least a 1 in 10 chance of successfully casting the ritual without a
flaw or
backlash.
Formal Caster (Primary or Secondary) conducts any action involving the use
of a Nero game skill other then what is specifically indicated in the ritual
scroll or considered an allowable action.
Actions occurring to or caused by the Ritual Caster that cause an
Automatic Backlash:
The ritual caster (Primary or Secondary) is hit by any weapon or packet
attack even if that attack would not in any way harm them.
The Formal Caster (Primary or Secondary) activates a magic item.
The Caster (Primary Only) does not touch the target when the ritual begins
within 60 seconds of the starting of the ritual.
Formal Caster (Primary Only) selects a target for the ritual that is invalid
according to the ritual scroll.
The target of the ritual becomes Dead (in their 5 minutes count) during the
course of the ritual.
Target of the ritual is destroyed before the ritual is completed.
Actions involving Components and Ritual Scroll that cause an Automatic
Backlash:
The caster (Primary Only) attempts to cast a higher-powered ritual and does
not have the required components.
If any of the components or the ritual scroll are destroyed by some means
before the end of the ritual.
Formal Caster (Primary Only) casts a ritual with an expired component
Formal Caster (Primary Only) fails to follow instructions specifically on the
ritual scroll.
Formal Caster (Primary Only) cannot read the ritual scroll at some point
during the ritual for any duration longer then 5 seconds. (Lack of Light,

something placed over the ritual scroll, loses line of sight with the ritual
scroll)
Formal Caster (Primary Only) loses possession of the ritual scroll or any of the
components in such as way as he loses sight of the ritual scroll or the
components.
The ritual scroll or ritual components leave the circle of power during the
ritual.
The Formal Caster (Primary Only) fails to follow additional requirements of the
ritual listed on the ritual scroll are not met.
If an automatic backlash occurs, a die roll is made upon the backlash list.
Any ritual that suffers an automatic backlash is assumed to immediately fail.
All catalysts and reagents are consumed in a ritual that suffers an automatic
backlash.
The use of any other skill is considered a disallowable skill, unless specifically
instructed on the ritual scroll.

Role-playing a ritual:
Players are of course encouraged to role-play their ritual casting in a nonoffensive manner that is not insulting to anyones religious beliefs. This
makes the rituals more fun and individual and gets people into the roleplaying moment of being a magician of great power.

Logistical Ramifications of the Ritual Conducted:

Once you have completed your ritual the Ritual Marshal will need to award
you either a Temporary Tag for the Ritual conducted, resolve Flaws and
Backlashes you accrued, or make sure the Ritual effect is carried out. (By
informing the plot committee or conducting the results herself)

Awarding a Temporary Tag:

Your logistics Staff should have pre-generated Temporary Magic item tags
available to their ritual marshals. This allows the Ritual Marshal to write down
what rituals you have conducted and indicate that a permanent tag should be
awarded at the end of the weekend or at the beginning of the next event.
The tag should indicate the target of the ritual, the specific rituals in question,
etc. This should be signed by the Ritual Marshal, and followed up with your
Logistical Staff or Rules Staff at the end of the weekend. The spells cast into
the item if relevant, should be the tags used for the first set of charges for
the item.

Awarding Flaws and Backlashes:

A Ritual Marshal might not be awarding you a positive affect, but may instead
be awarding you with a negative aftermath of a ritual gone wrong. In some
cases effects suffered by Formal Casters are written on player cards, or in
rare cases immediately put upon the Formal Caster. (Example Formal Caster
resurrects)

Formal Casters are expected to role-play out and resolve their Flaws and
Backlashes without complaint for the duration listed on the ritual scroll.
Some local campaigns may wish to generate a plot effect or encounter based
on your ritual go awry, this is left to the discretion of the local campaign.