Initiation Rite for Potent Magic: Ghosts +9 (Target: 18)
The rite of the fifth degree is surprisingly tame compared to the other rites of the Disciples of the Worm. Any initiate offered the chance to progress beyond this stage is now a trusted and senior member of the cult. This requires at minimum a Disciples of the Worm Lore of 6. The nature of the deepest mysteries of the cult and its final goal – mastery over life and death itself – are revealed to the initiate, and they are given access to the secret places and libraries of the cult. They are also permitted to know the identity of members outside their cell. Much of this is merely confirming what someone with a 6+ in Disciples of the Worm Lore already suspects.
From here on everything is aimed towards preparation of the mind and soul for the ultimate transformation into a living ghost. Once this process begins the initiate will be irrevocably separated from the world of flesh, but increasingly potent in matters of the spirit.
Many delay at this stage for a while. This is usually allowed by the cult, but too long a delay will cause suspicion about the initiate’s commitment. Such suspicions inevitably prove fatal if left too long.
Once the initiate is ready they will be provided with the initiation script. Once they complete this step they will become a senior mystagogue of the cult. Because of this they are required to self-initiate to prove their mastery of the cult’s lore. This may, in practice, require a cult lore ability higher than the minimum amount needed for this step, depending on their presence score.
The initiate must prepare a potion and ritual space. The materials required are not especially rare, but the process is complex and no guidance is provided. Setting up the intricate rite correctly requires mastery of the cult lore. The initiate drinks the potion and activates the rite, which if prepared properly will draw out their spirit, locking them into a state between life and death. This grants the virtue Minor Potent Magic: Ghosts and the major flaw Major Deleterious Circumstances (Living Target) (see below). ( Major ordeal +9 )
Major Deleterious Circumstances
Major, Hermetic
All your magic totals are halved under certain common circumstances. This can be your state, such as sober or uninjured, the target of the magic, such as living things or elemental matter, or the place where you are casting the magic, such as on land or outdoors.
This is identical to Deleterious Circumstances except for the likelihood of the circumstance happening. It should be significantly more restrictive than the minor flaw version. The flaw Environmental Magic Condition is equivalent to this flaw.
Major Deleterious Circumstances (Living Target)
Major, Hermetic
Your magic is noticeably weaker when used against living beings apart from in matters of the mind. Any effects beside Mentem and Vim ones targeting a living plant, animal, or person have their casting total or lab total halved. Effects targeting non-living matter from these forms (e.g. wood, corpses, leather etc.) are unaffected.
Initiation Rite for Spirit Familiar +6 (Target: 18)
The rite of the sixth degree calls for the ritual sacrifice of the initiate’s familiar. As with the fifth this degree must be self-initiated. This is a dark and deeply traumatic act that tests the commitment of the initiate to the limit. As in the fifth rite there is no great complexity here – the ordeal lies in the whether the magus has the will to carry out the act. (The initiate sacrifices something of great and symbolic value +6)
If the initiate has no familiar an alternative script is available. In this case the initiate must find a willing, living, sacrifice. This must be a person or intelligent animal – beasts with only cunning cannot willingly take part. The sacrifice must be entirely willing to sacrifice their own life in service to the initiate and must be of significance to the initiate – a close companion, lover, family member, or similar. The victim is killed in a special rite which mimics (to a much lesser degree) the process of creating a living ghost. The result is that the deceased sacrifice always leaves a ghost, which must be bound as the initiate’s new familiar to complete the rite (the initiate can be considered to already have the mystery virtue for this step). (The initiate sacrifices something of great and symbolic value +6)
Unwilling or unable to complete the standard scripts, some choose to invent their own scripts for this mystery instead. This is considered generally acceptable – one cannot have reached the sixth degree without earning a modicum of trust.