Wisdom of the Balanced Blade

Latest revision as of 18:48, 11 March 2024

Rules

Winter Magnitude 6

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. The ritual targets a single character or item which must be present throughout and, in the case of an item, close enough to touch. It can also be performed to target the immediate area surrounding the ritualists.

Effects

The ritual reveals information about any and all curses on the target person, place, or thing. It is most often used on a character or item that is present, but can also be used in an area that is under a curse such as that created by Naeve's Twisting Blight, provided the contributors are in that area.

When completed the ritual answers some or all of the following questions about each curse that is present on the target:

What does this curse do? How does it work?
How long will it last if nobody intervenes?
How can the curse be removed?
Will anything make the curse worse?
Where has this curse come from? This will usually indicate a general source rather than a specific one - "an eternal" rather than "the eternal Sorin" or "a spirit" rather than "the King at the Crossroads". If the source is a ritual, it will reveal the realm and magnitude. If the source is a spirit, it may reveal the strength of exorcism required to remove it.

The magic that analyses the curse can be stymied by shrouds or masks of greater magnitude. In this case, it always reveals the realm and magnitude of the shroud, and whether there is any information that can be discerned by Wisdom of the Balanced Blade.

The divination function of the detect magic spell will indicate if there is information that can be found with Wisdom of the Balanced Blade - which is usually a clear sign that the target is cursed in some way.

Additional Magnitude

You may increase the magnitude of the ritual to penetrate more powerful shrouds or masks.

OOC Note

The ritual is least useful when used to analyse the effects of ritual curses that are in Imperial lore. It can be used in a territory under the effect of a curse to determine details of that effect. This effect cannot be achieved by performing the ritual at the Anvil regio - attempts to do so simply provide information about the Anvil regio and any magical effects on Casinea.

Description

While many Winter magicians are adept at identifying the effects of curses that are part of the wider body of Imperial lore, this ritual helps analyse a curse whose details and potential counters are unknown. It may be used to divine the details of a curse that has come from an eternal, from the rituals of a barbarian magician, or from more esoteric sources - it can discern the details of curses inflicted by malign spirits, as well as those brought down by less understood means such as broken oaths or vile transgressions.

The ritual has some similarities to Bright Lantern of Ophis, but it only analyses curses - while the Bright Lantern cannot analyse curses at all. Sometimes the information it provides requires some interpretation. For example, it might discover that a certain farmer has become cursed, and that the provenance is "their own dark deeds" and that the curse can only be removed by "atonement" - what precisely that may mean will require further investigation. Usually, the information is much more straightforward - a curse is due to the actions of someone else, and the method of dealing with it may be difficult but clearly understood.

When used to study a curse placed by an eternal, the ritual rarely reveals the precise eternal involved - usually it will simply provide the realm. This is not always the case - some eternals seem to want their involvement in a situation to be clear, especially those of the Winter realm. Likewise, when providing information about how a curse might be lifted it is just as common to learn that a "powerful supernatural creature such as an eternal" might lift a curse as it is to determine the precise eternal capable of doing so.

The ritual is sometimes called (Grandmother's/Grandfather's) Appraising Eye.

Common Elements

This ritual usually involves carefully examining the target. Active divination may take place, often with runestones or cards. Other, more exotic, methods of diagnosis might be used as well such as observing if the presence of the target has any effect on a lodestone, or on fresh milk; letting droplets of their blood, phlegm, or sweat fall into fresh water or cream; or getting the target to throw a handful of runestones or sticks, or spatter blood onto a hide covered in runes, and observing the results. Lenses might be used to examine the target; lights used to make their shadow move; and mirrors used to catch their reflection. The rune Irremais is commonly invoked, as are the names of wise paragons and exemplars, folk heroes, or the eternal Wise Rangara.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 ===Performing the Ritual===
-{{Casting time|2}} The ritual targets a single character or item which must be present throughout and, in the case of an item, close enough to touch. It can also be performed to target the immediate area surrounding the ritualists; this allows examination of curses that effect a space or [[territory]].
+{{Casting time|2}} The ritual targets a single character or item which must be present throughout and, in the case of an item, close enough to touch. It can also be performed to target the immediate area surrounding the ritualists.
 ===Effects===
+The ritual reveals information about any and all [[curse|curses]] on the target person, place, or thing. It is most often used on a character or item that is present, but can also be used in an area that is under a curse such as that created by [[Naeve's Twisting Blight]], provided the contributors are in that area.
-The ritual reveals information about any and all [[curse|curses]] on the target. It is most often used on a character or item that is present, but can also be used in an area that is under a curse such as that created by [[Naeve's Twisting Blight]].
+When completed the ritual answers some or all of the following questions about each curse that is present on the target:
+* What does this curse do? How does it work?
+* How long will it last if nobody intervenes?
+* How can the curse be removed?
+* Will anything make the curse worse?
+* Where has this curse come from? This will usually indicate a general source rather than a specific one - "an eternal" rather than "the eternal Sorin" or "a spirit" rather than "the King at the Crossroads". If the source is a ritual, it will reveal the realm and magnitude. If the source is a spirit, it may reveal the strength of [[exorcism]] required to remove it.
-When completed the ritual provides the following information about each curse that is present:
+The magic that analyses the curse can be stymied by shrouds or masks of greater magnitude. In this case, it always reveals the realm and magnitude of the shroud, and whether there is any information that can be discerned by Wisdom of the Balanced Blade.
-* It determines the realm and magnitude of the effect
+The [[detect magic#Divination|divination]] function of the [[detect magic]] spell will indicate if there is information that can be found with Wisdom of the Balanced Blade - which is usually a clear sign that the target is cursed in some way.
-* It determines what the effect does, and provides details of how it works.
-* It reveals any remaining duration.
-* It reveals any conditional effects, or any special methods that exist for removing the effect; it may suggest specific rituals that can remove the curse, or a general class of effects that might be appropriate.
-* It may provide information about where the curse has come from (a ritual or the supernatural abilities of an Eternal, for example).
-Some of these effects are similar to those provided by [[detect magic]] but unlike that spell, ''Wisdom of the Balanced Blade'' can penetrate effects designed to stymie or confuse divinations such as [[Incantation's Mystic Mask]]. The ritual must match or exceed the magnitude of any concealing effect on the item to penetrate it; otherwise the only information the ritual will reveal is whether the item is bonded or not; that there is an obscuring effect; and the magnitude and Realm of that effect.
 ===Additional Magnitude===
 You may increase the magnitude of the ritual to penetrate more powerful shrouds or masks.
+===OOC Note===
+The ritual is least useful when used to analyse the effects of ritual curses that are in Imperial lore. It can be used in a territory under the effect of a curse to determine details of that effect. This effect ''cannot'' be achieved by performing the ritual at the Anvil regio - attempts to do so simply provide information about the Anvil regio and any magical effects on Casinea.
 ==Description==
+While many Winter magicians are adept at identifying the effects of [[curse|curses]] that are part of the wider body of [[Imperial lore]], this ritual helps analyse a curse whose details and potential counters are unknown. It may be used to divine the details of a curse that has come from an [[eternal]], from the rituals of a barbarian magician, or from more esoteric sources - it can discern the details of curses inflicted by malign spirits, as well as those brought down by less understood means such as broken oaths or vile transgressions.
-While detect magic is fairly effective at determining the effects [[curse|curses]] that are part of the wider body of [[Formulaic ritual#Imperial lore|Imperial Lore]], this ritual helps analyse a curse whose details and potential counters are not commonly known. It is most often used to divine the details of a curse that has come from an [[Eternals|Eternal]] or a barbarian magician.
+The ritual has some similarities to [[Bright Lantern of Ophis]], but it only analyses curses - while the Bright Lantern cannot analyse curses at all. Sometimes the information it provides requires some interpretation. For example, it might discover that a certain farmer has become cursed, and that the provenance is "their own dark deeds" and that the curse can only be removed by "atonement" - what precisely that may mean will require further investigation. Usually, the information is much more straightforward - a curse is due to the actions of someone else, and the method of dealing with it may be difficult but clearly understood.
-The ritual is even more effective than [[Bright Lantern of Ophis]] when it comes to discovering the details of a magical curse, and may sometimes offer some guidance as to where to find something that can remove or counter a specific curse may be found.
-''Wisdom of the Balanced Blade'' is effective when performed to analyse a curse on a person or object, but it can also be used to gather information about a cursed area. In this case, however, the magicians must be within the area or able to target something obviously effected by the curse. For example, analysing a curse that causes all the trees in a forest to bleed would require the ritual to be performed within touching distance of one of these trees.
-Rituals that examine curses on [[territory|territories]] from a disatnce are referenced in numerous places, but currently the closest ritual in [[Formulaic_ritual#Imperial_Lore_and_the_Ritual_List|Imperial lore]] is [[The Eye of the High Places]]. It is possible to weave [[spontaneous magic]] to analyse a curse from a distance in a similar way. Such an effect would require a map of the target territory, and would require the magic to be worked in a strong Winter [[regio]] - although there would be no requirement for the target territory to be part of the Empire.
+When used to study a curse placed by an eternal, the ritual rarely reveals the precise eternal involved - usually it will simply provide the realm. This is not always the case - some eternals seem to ''want'' their involvement in a situation to be clear, especially those of the Winter realm. Likewise, when providing information about how a curse might be lifted it is just as common to learn that a "powerful supernatural creature such as an eternal" might lift a curse as it is to determine the precise eternal capable of doing so.
 The ritual is sometimes called (''Grandmother's/Grandfather's) Appraising Eye''.
 ==Common Elements==
-This ritual usually involves carefully examining the target. Active divination may take place, often with runestones or cards. Other, more exotic, methods of diagnosis might be used as well such as observing if the presence of the target has any effect on a lodestone, or on fresh milk; letting droplets of their blood, phlegm or sweat fall into fresh water or cream; or getting the target to throw a handful of runestones or sticks, or spatter blood onto a hide covered in runes, and observing the results. Lenses might be used to examine the target; lights used to make their shadow move; and mirrors used to catch their reflection. The rune [[Irremais]] is commonly invoked, as are the names of [[Wisdom|wise]] [[Paragons and Exemplars]], folk heroes or the [[Eternals|Eternal]] [[Wise Rangara]].
+This ritual usually involves carefully examining the target. Active divination may take place, often with runestones or cards. Other, more exotic, methods of diagnosis might be used as well such as observing if the presence of the target has any effect on a lodestone, or on fresh milk; letting droplets of their blood, phlegm, or sweat fall into fresh water or cream; or getting the target to throw a handful of runestones or sticks, or spatter blood onto a hide covered in runes, and observing the results. Lenses might be used to examine the target; lights used to make their shadow move; and mirrors used to catch their reflection. The rune [[Irremais]] is commonly invoked, as are the names of [[Wisdom|wise]] [[paragons and exemplars]], folk heroes, or the [[eternal]] [[Wise Rangara]].
 [[Category:Winter Ritual]]
 [[Category:Rituals]]