By Jamie Seidel

Granting the Blessings

"Ere the moon has climbed the mountain,
ere the rocks are ribbed with light,
When the downward-dipping tails are dank and drear.
Comes a breathing hard behind thee,
snuffle-snuffle through the night,
It is Fear, O Little Hunter, it is Fear!"
-- The Song of the Little Hunter, Kipling

The ability to use the Blessings is directly tied to one's Faith, as shown through the links with Piety and Grace Points. Many powers also only come available once a Knight has gained a particular level of Faith -- demonstrating the necessary degree of understanding and acceptance of God's will. But these Blessings are not granted without effort upon the Novice/Knights behalf.

Novices, during the lead-up to their Initiation, are taught the Gifts by their superiors. Which of the Gifts these are is determined by the Chapter, based on what will serve the Order the most and what Faith Level the Novice has (see Gifts, Prayers and Rituals under Character Creation). Once the Novice has been Initiated, he is then taken away and taught in secret a selection of the Order's own Gifts. Knights, during their Investiture Ceremony, receive instruction on further Blessings. These are once again chosen by the Chapter, and can be a mix of both Gifts and Prayers -- limited only by the Knights own Faith Level. Once a Knight or Novice earns a Faith Level in game-play, he becomes eligible to learn more of the Gifts or Prayers. The supplicant must approach the leader of his Chapter, usually a Knight Preceptor, petitioning him for the honour of further theological training in the nature of the Blessings. If granted, the Novice or Knight is usually sent to an out-of-the-way monastery to study the ancient Canons of the Order. Whether the supplicant learns the new powers or not is determined by a dice roll.

Take the Faith Level of the Blessing and use this to represent the number of months necessary to learn the ability. The character must then make an Intelligence + Theology roll v. the Blessings Faith Level. The number of successes represents how many weeks may be taken off the time needed.

"Instinctively I moved forward with a protective impulse, holding the Crucifix and Wafer in my left hand. I felt a mighty power fly along my arm, and it was without surprise that I saw the monster cower back. . . "
-- Bram Stoker, Dracula.

These are abilities that Knights are able to call upon at any time, instantaneously. They are generally boons that allow the Knight to be aware of and deal with the supernatural forces of Darkness. Gifts apply to all members of the Militant Orders at all times. Any member, be he novice or knight, is given these abilities as a sign of God's favour. The strength of many abilities do vary with Faith, and others may only be granted with particular Faith ratings. But they are still Gifts. Expenditure of Grace Points is often required -- though not always. Sometimes the warrior's Faith is all that he needs to empower his Will or Word with an ability. These are the only supernatural powers that a Novice has access to. Only Investiture as a Knight gives a character the status to learn the Prayers and Rituals. All of the powers outlined under White Wolf's Faith Table system are regarded as Gifts. Gifts are used at will, and only one Gifts can be used per turn.

The "*" rating before a Gift, Prayer or Ritual designates the number of Faith Levels required before that Holy Power becomes available. The numerical rating (say, 7) specifies what number of Grace Points must be expended to initiate the Power.

A knight may use this power to strengthen another mortal's will or body. It cannot be used upon himself. With the expenditure of Willpower the knight can ask for the following blessings. It must not be forgotten that a knight's blessing is but a channel of God's will. If the prayer is made in frivolous or unnecessary circumstances, it will not be granted. Willpower and Grace point expenditure still occurs.

* At the cost of one Willpower the knight may grant one Willpower for an hour.

*** At the cost of one Willpower the knight may grant one Willpower for a day.

***** At the cost of one Willpower the knight may grant one Willpower permanently.

****** At the cost of three Willpower the knight may raise one attribute by one dot for one hour (this can raise an attribute over five).

******* At the cost of three Willpower the knight may raise one attribute by one dot for one day.

******** At the cost of three Willpower the knight may raise one attributes by one dot for one month.

********** At the cost of five Willpower the knight may raise a mortal's attributes by any amount with an effect for up to one day.

You can remain awake without penalty for extended periods of time. To remain awake an additional 24 hours you must make a Willpower roll with a difficulty level of 6. Each additional day awake requires another Willpower roll, with the difficulty level increased by two each day. It is impossible to stay awake more than 3 additional days with this ability. If this roll is failed you must sleep within an hour, if you botch you must sleep within 1 turn.

By reciting a word of particular significance (such as a battle cry), a supernatural can be forced to make a Rotschreck check. For Templars, this word is likely to be "Bauseant!" (For Glory), the Teutones "Desperta ferre!" (Iron Awake) and the Hospitallers "Christi Imperat" (Christ Rules!). When using this power the knight is required to roll Charisma + Faith versus the supernatural's Humanity as the target roll. A success causes a vampire to make a Rotschreck check (using the Courage Roll Chart with a difficulty equal to the knight's Faith Level, p 199 Vampire). Others will make a Courage roll in place of the Rotschreck check.

Your mind has been finely tuned through your religious instruction. Your perception of the spiritual plane allows you to hide your mind from probing. A successful roll of Wits+Subterfuge will hide your mind from all forms of magical, psychic, and supernatural probing. This ability may be used at will and at the first inkling that probing may be going on. If the block is successful, anyone who knows of your location (such as someone who can see you) will notice a blank where your mind should be. A determined effort to probe further they must succeed in a roll of Perception+Subterfuge vs your Wits+Subterfuge. This is a resisted roll.

If you spend one Willpower point and make a Stamina+Occult roll with a level of difficulty equal to the level of the spell, ritual or Thaumaturgical Path + 2. You may instantly cancel the effect of any magic directed against you or anyone or anything you are physically in touch with.

Equivalent to the Vampiric Discipline Auspex Level One, except that this Power does not allow you to see through vampiric Obfuscate (Vampire page 93). This Power is useable at will but does not include the Auspex danger sense ability.

This Gift allows the Knight to sense when a Wyrm-tainted creature is near. It will not pinpoint the location of the creature, but will let the character know one is around. System: Perception + Occult with a Difficulty of 6. Instantaneous.

The Knight's mind becomes shut off from the effects of Domination and Presence. Any attempt to control a Knight's mind has its number of successes decreased by the number of the Knights successes in a Perception + Self Control roll, with Difficulty 8.

By concentrating for a round, a Novice is able to charge her armour with her faith. This effectively adds 2 automatic successes to the character's soak, and permits Aggravated damage to be soaked. Note. The user must be wearing armour as a focus for this power to work. It lasts for one "scene."

You can overcome pain through force of will. You may ignore the die penalties to actions from taking damage above and including Mauled. Wound levels greater than this cannot be affected as it represents loss of bodily capacity due to injury. Whatever the case, the damage is still there -- only the effects are temporarily removed. Roll Faith for the duration in turns the effects are suspended. Knights over Faith 5 can ignore aggravated damage.

The Novice/Knight channels his power into his sword causing it to glow with an eerie cold flame. This flame causes aggravated wounds to enemies of the wielder. The user must have the sword in hand and be in a combat situation to use this power. It lasts for one "scene" of combat.

By rolling Wits + Empathy versus Manipulation + Subterfuge, the Knight can tell if the Target is lying or not.

This gift can cause the subject to feel enough guilt if he lies to confess and tell the truth. The Knight must roll Charisma + Intimidate versus the Target's Willpower. Success results in the addition of the number of successes to the subject's Self Conscience pool. A botch results in a lie, but the Knight is unaware. The situation must be similar to a confession: a quiet room with just the character and subject present.

(Equivalent to the 2 point Merit, The Werewolf Players Guide, page 19). This power is only activated when the Knight specifies he wish to do so.

This conveys the ability to read at an increased rate due to specifically heightened abilities. The rate at which printed matter can be read is 25 pages per turn. This rate cannot be increased.

The ability to memorise text to the point of recitation can be extremely valuable for covert operations and special missions. It costs one point of Willpower to invoke this power and is limited to the supernatural memorisation of only one piece of work at a time. Success is based on a Will+Int roll:

1 success:	15 pages of text
2 successes:	50 pages of text
3 successes:	100 pages of text
4 successes:	500 pages of text
5 successes:	1000 pages of text

A character can see flashes of events around him while he is asleep or deep relaxation -- such as prayer. These perceptions are in the form of visions, full of images of events and things that may affect the knight. However, they are often hard to interpret. The knight may dream about any event that may have a serious impact on his existence -- at the storyteller's discretion. Roll Faith with a difficulty of 7. Each success represents one specific fact he can glean from the vision.

By making a specific and complex sign with your hands you can cause any opponent to be stunned for the next full turn. You roll Manipulation + Intimidation with a level of difficulty equal to your target's Willpower. If you succeed your target is stunned, if you fail he is unaffected. Using this ability costs one Willpower point per target you are attempting to affect with a single action. It can only be used successfully once a scene on each target.

It can only be used if the target is within 5 yards, is looking at you, and can see your hands. Non-targeted observers are unaffected. However, the Sign's effects are very subtle, and if your target or any observers fail a Perception+Alertness roll (Storyteller difficulty) they will be unaware that you did anything and are unaffected by the sign. If he succeeds the Perception + Alertness roll, he is stunned.

If you are following a target (which must be an individual), you can make a Perception+Alertness roll with a difficulty level equal to 8; each success allows you know in what direction the target is, and (very) roughly how far away for 6 hours, even if you cannot perceive the target at the time. Once this ability has worn off to use it again you must again have the target in sight. This ability only works on beings who are human, part human (like Garou), or once were human (like Vampires).

With this ability, the Knight can calm someone, make him feel safe, warm and otherwise taken care of -- even under the most dramatic of circumstances. In an adversarial position, it will calm him down to a reasonable level again. In a combat situation, it will not prevent the opponent from attacking you. However, it does produce a lack of resolve -- preventing him from spending Willpower to ensure a success. System: Roll Charisma + Empathy against the subject's Willpower if unwilling, otherwise 4.

This conveys the ability to read at an increased rate due to specifically heightened abilities. The rate at which printed matter can be read is 25 pages per turn. This rate cannot be increased.

The ability to memorise text to the point of recitation can be extremely valuable for covert operations and special missions. It costs one point of Willpower to invoke this power and is limited to the supernatural memorisation of only one piece of work at a time. Success is based on a Will+Int roll:

1 success:	15 pages of text
2 successes:	50 pages of text
3 successes:	100 pages of text
4 successes:	500 pages of text
5 successes:	1000 pages of text

The character has the ability to intervene in an aspect of a subject's life. A wayward son who is drinking too much can be spoken to -- and he will listen! The final act of will remains the subject's. System: Roll Manipulation + Empathy against the target's Willpower.

All Kindred within the character's line of sight glow with a pale light. System: Upon concentration, Roll Perception + Empathy against a difficulty of 7. Compare the number of successes to any level of Obfuscate present to determine if it is penetrated -- ie 3 successes on the roll allows the character to see through Obfuscate 3.

For we brethren of the Rosie Crosse,
We have the Mason word, and second sight,
Things for to come we can foretell aright . . .
-- The Muses Threnodie, Henry Adomsan, 1638.

Sacred formalised beseechments of God's intervention on this earth, each of these Holy Prayers calls for a specific power. If the supplicant has a great enough Faith, sufficient Grace Points and their need is just and true, then the Prayer will be answered and the Blessing granted. Only one Prayer can be used per turn, with no Gifts (even with God's Speed). Prayers are only available to Invested knights of the Orders. Novices are restricted to the Gifts.

By Simon Miles

This prayer allows a knight to break a Wraith's Fetters, dispelling them from the physical plane. This is done by Faith v Wraith's Willpower. Each success reduces the Wraith's Fetters by one. This is not an extended action.

You must Meditate quietly for at least 15 minutes, and then may make a Stamina+Medicine or First Aid roll, with a level of difficulty equal to the number of body levels you have lost+2. Each success achieved on this roll restores one health level. These levels return at a rate of one per turn after the meditation is over. This applies to all forms of wounds, and the character must rest one turn per wound level.

Surgically obliterates any bonds the Knight desires to remove. Emotional ties, Dominate, Presence, etc. This effect is permanent. A Blood Bond could be weakened by this effect, but only temporarily (any number of successes will only cause the loss of 1 blood bond). System: Roll Manipulation + Leadership against the target's Willpower. Each success removes one emotional tie, mystical control or other item of emotional attachment.

By rolling Manipulation + Animalism on a difficulty of 6, a Knight may summon a flock of birds or small animals (such as rabbits, foxes etc). They begin to arrive immediately, depending on the likelihood of proximity. All those that are going to arrive will arrive within 5 minutes. If these creatures are used as a diversion, the Knight must roll Dex + Subterfuge with a difficulty of 7, supplemented by extra dice equal to the number of successes made during the summons roll. If the creatures are used in a harrying attack, a Manipulation + Leadership roll must be made, with the amount of damage inflicted equal to the successes of the summons roll. This roll can also be used for using the creatures in a search -- the number of successes x 5 is the time the animals will search.

This ability must be used within a week of the loss of a humanity point. The recipient must be mortal, willing and have confessed the nature of his sin. Conscience and Empathy are rolled by the Knight with a difficulty equal to the level of Humanity being restored.

The number of successes is the number of Humanity points returned. No more Humanity points than those that were lost can be granted. If the roll is botched, the Knight looses a piety point and must serve penance.

Here a Knight may protect a mortal from the powers of an Embrace. If the mortal is bitten by a vampire who then attempts to turn him into a Kindred, the attempt is ineffective. This is not obvious until the mortal awakes from the first sleep. The mortal will, however, be considered a Ghoul.

The Knight must roll Empathy + Occult with a difficulty of 6. The number of successes equals the number of weeks the prayer is effective.

The grace of God allows the astral auras of other being to be perceived, indicating their moods, identities and levels of hostility. This power also allows the recognition of people with True Faith, vampires and lupines. Experienced uses of aura can even recognise mortals such as the Magi and witches through the patterns of their aura.

Like the vampire Auspex Aura Perception, a knight must make a Perception + Empathy roll (difficulty 8). The Storyteller may do the roll openly or concealed. Each success indicates how much of an aura is seen and understood.

A botch produces false information.

1 success	Can only distinguish the shade.
2 successes	Can distinguish colour
3 successes	Patterns can be recognised
4 successes	Subtle shifts can be detected
5 successes	Can interpret all auras.

Use the Vampire Aura Colours chart (p159).

At this level of absolution, a knight may break the hold of a vampire's blood over ghoul whether they desire it or not. Use a resisted action roll of Faith v Willpower. The first to reach a total of 10 successes wins. A mortal, once free of the powers of vampiric blood, may make up his own mind as to his future. If the ex-ghoul deliberately seeks out its previous master, it is damned. If the ghoul is older than its natural life-span, it will turn to dust.

The old blessing "God Speed" given to departing friends has meaning to knights. This blessing is specifically to counter the celerity of vampires -- a power which gives them great advantage over most mortals. Like celerity, a knight may perform extra actions in a turn without penalty. One extra action is allowed, and the entire dice pool can be used for each action. Unlike vampires, a knight must spend 15 minutes in prayer before using heightened speed. After the prayer, a knight can wait up to six hours before God's Speed expires. The duration of active God's Speed is the equivalent of the knight's Faith rating in turns. Thus a knight with faith 7 can use it for 7 turns. The knights inherent level of Faith remains -- but Grace Points have been consumed.

By Deird'Re Brooks

The character leaves no traces for Psychometry to read. The only information available is that the item was held by a mortal. This ability extends to other means of viewing past events, such as higher Auspex levels or magic or other similar means. This prayer prevents any trace of psyche being left behind -- ie preventing Auspex 3 and similar abilities from working. A session of prayer activates the ability for 24 hours.

This ritual allows the Knight to be able to speak and understand any single language for the duration of the prayer. The duration of the ability is about 15 minutes. It takes 30 seconds to prepare, and uses one Willpower point.

This power bestows an un-natural calm upon the Target. All difficulties to frenzy are reduced by 2. Any violent action by the Target requires the spending of one Willpower point. System: Roll Wits + Empathy against 10 minus Humanity for the Target.

The use of this prayer imposes upon the Target a higher purpose of the Knight's choosing -- though it cannot conflict with that person's personal creed. The recipient will strive for this goal, almost to the exclusion of all else. He gains 2 extra dice on all rolls that have anything to do with the higher purpose. To succeed in imposing a higher nature, the Knight must roll Intelligence + Leadership against the Target's Humanity which has been subtracted from 10.

This prayer summons to the assistance of a Knight all nearby mortals who have some measure of Christian indoctrination and/or belief. These people will be prepared to fight for the Knight's security and safety -- and will go out of their way to render assistance. Remember: this may have ramifications. System: A Knight must roll Charisma + Leadership against a difficulty of six. The duration of the guaranteed success of this prayer is equal to the number of successes. After the prayer's effect has dissipated, the supporters are likely to linger -- though less willing to risk life and limb for the knights benefit.

Through touching an object a knight may sense information regarding a person, place or event -- as long as that object bears some importance to the subject. Perception + Empathy can be rolled with a difficulty of 8. A botch indicates a false reading, although the character believes it was correct.

***** You get a vague impression of recent activities involving strong emotions involving the object or occurring in its immediate vicinity.

****** In addition to the above, a snapshot quality image of the subject can be seen in the mind's eye.

******* You can understand what the event was about and the number of people involved. If concentrating on the object's owner, information about the subject (such as age, emotional state, personality etc) can be gleaned.

******** You can clearly visualise the event or the actions of the individual for the past 24 hours.

********* You can understand the context and unspoken goings-on at the event and gain a clear insight into motives and plans of an individual the last time he was near the object. Also get a reflection of the individuals current location.

While holding eye-contact, a knight may clearly instruct a subject on a task. Complicated suggestions can be made, with either an event or a word acting as a trigger to spur action. Careful wording is vital, as the character will try to distort the spirit of the command if possible. For example, a knight may "suggest" an aggravated boyfriend should leave the room for half an hour. The suggestion cannot force a subject to do something against his innate nature. Only one suggestion can be made at a time. A knight must roll Manipulation + Leadership (difficulty is Willpower of target). The number of successes determines how well the suggestion is implanted. Less than three successes would prevent a strange-seeming command being carried out. Less than five successes results in a successful suggestion, unless it would harm the subject. At five successes, almost any command would be obeyed.

This blessing has only been granted to the Teutonic Order. It allows superior strength and physical coordination. It allows knights to oppose vampires with potence in physical combat on equal terms. Strength and ability in weight lifting, running, jumping and force are enhanced. System: The character rolls Faith with a difficulty of 6. The amount of successes adds to automatic successes on any Strength roll, with a duration of a scene.

Here a knight can potentially save a repentant vampire's soul, but not its body. Many vampires with high humanities would willingly die to escape what they have become. This drive is the basis for the search for Golconda, but the knights offer an alternative. The vampire will be dealt with humanely, killed in a method as painless as possible with great respect. Upon death, only the vampire's mortal life will be considered upon judgement day.

This ability allows you to raise any single relevant attribute to superhuman levels (equivalent to an attribute of 8 as defined in A World of Darkness: Mummy, pages 27-29) for the purpose of accomplishing a specific extended action.

Examples of actions are: "rescue the people from this burning building", "fast-talking the suicidal maniac out of setting off a nuclear weapon", "convince this crowd to take action," "find any computer record of this woman," etc. You can perform no other action until your Heroic Action is complete (if forced to interrupt a Heroic Action, the attribute enhancement does not apply to the performance of any other actions). This ability can only be used when the desired action can be attempted immediately. To perform a Heroic Action, you must spend all Willpower points but one. The enhancement lasts as long as is necessary to complete the action, but for no longer than one scene. When the action is complete, you roll your one remaining Willpower die (difficulty level of 8) to remain conscious.

This is an extremely important blessing, considering knights and novices are mortals. While the blessings of God's Gifts and Prayers assist in humanity's combat against the Kindred, it does not remove their mortality. With the expenditure of One Willpower a knight may heal health levels of suitable mortals. Those with low humanities, who have been excommunicated or are otherwise condemned by god will receive no benefit from the act -- though the knight will still lose the appointed number of Grace Points. Healing Hands cannot be used more than once per day, per wound.

***** Raise the health level of a mortal by one level per 2 Grace Points expended. One Willpower point must be expended per use.

******* Raise the health level of a mortal by one level per 1 Grace Point expended; restore one level of aggravated wounds per 2 Grace Points. One Willpower point must be expended per use.

Strengthens existing positive bonds (love, friendship) and causes those who are neutral to be better disposed to those around them. System: The roll is made using Charisma + Empathy. The number of successes indicate how long the effect lasts. It will make enemies neutral and open to diplomacy.

By the use of this prayer a Knight may raise a subject's Humanity by forcing him to confront his sins. The target of the prayer is put into a stupor, his mind wandering in a dreamscape. The target's sins personify themselves as demons in this dream world, attacking and tormenting him -- exposing the horror of his past actions. If the target is able to emerge victorious from this dream conflict, one point of Humanity can be restored. If the Target fails, a further point is lost.

System: The Knight must touch the target, using his Humanity + Faith versus his target's Willpower. The number of successes equals the number of "humanity checks" the target must make. Upon the action, the target enters a dream state and must endure a heightened conscience. To determine the effects of his dream conscience, the target must make a Perception + Conscience roll against a difficulty of his Humanity subtracted from 10. The number of Perception + Conscience rolls made is determined by the number of successes the Knight made. Each "successful" role on behalf of the target increases his Humanity by 1.

"Templars are supposed to have been learned magicians, rich and powerful not so much because they were well endowed with Church estates as because they enjoyed a hidden knowledge and hidden practices"
-- Murdered Magicians, Templars and their Myths

Includes items such as Holy Water (aggravated damage, Faith roll made from the Faith of the user, not the consecrator, with the number of successes being the amount of health loss to the target).

A normal item, such as a sword, can be blessed and given particular abilities and powers permanently. Rituals can also prepare a knight for battle, can excommunicate a being from receiving the benefits of God's grace, and give the rites of Holy Absolution to a repentant vampire. Rituals only need to be understood by one member of the group conducting it. The initiator of the Ritual must contribute the highest number of Grace Points toward enacting that ritual.

The right to learn a Ritual can only be earned through game play, or be awarded to ranking knights at the discretion of the storyteller.

With this ritual, the supplicant may speak with someone who has died. Roll Intelligence + Occult (diff. is targets willpower) -- the caster needs 2 successes for the prayer to work. The ritual must be held within 10 ft. of the corpse. If trying to contact a wraith, the caster must be in that wraith's haunt -- the body is irrelevant. However, the spirit must also be willing and attached to a Fetter. If the spirit is not trapped, it has already ascended (or gone to the other place).

The presence of at least 15 Faith Levels is needed in a half-hour ritual to create a warding against evil. Thus, knights would be able to establish a room-sized ward to protect themselves from the umbral planes and repulse anything with evil intent -- including Ghouls, Vampires, Lupines, Wraiths and Mages.

This ward will remain in place for as long as at least one of the casting knights is there -- with no maintenance. Once the knights leave, the ward will dissipate within half an hour. This ward encompasses a sphere of 10m radius. Its effect is as a malleable barrier: anything attempting to penetrate it must make a Willpower roll with a difficulty of 9.

This ritual restores lost Faith to a willing individual's soul. The recipient must be willing and requires the expenditure of one Willpower point from each of the ritual's participants. When the ritual is completed, the recipient will gain one point of Faith. This is limited to restoring lost Faith, and cannot be used to grant new levels.

This Ritual must only be used in the most dire of situations, with clear benefits to the church. Through the Ritual, a volunteer Knight may be "charged" with the Health and Grace of his colleagues. This Ritual works on the combat team level -- though its initiator must be a Preceptor in rank or higher.

The team must gather in a place -- usually Holy ground -- and join in prayer for six hours. At the completion of this time, the volunteer is "charged" with the combined value of available Grace Points for the group. The volunteer will also benefit from the merit Luck. In this primed state, a volunteer may "buy" Attributes with the excess Grace at a cost of 2pts Grace per "dot." Extra Health boxes may also be purchased at a cost of 4 Grace per box. The remaining Grace -- or all of it if desired -- can be used to ensure plenty of Gifts and Prayers are at hand.

Such "priming" is more than a mortal's mind or body can handle. Thus, the condition can only be maintained for as long as the colleague members of the ritual are able to remain in constant prayer -- sacrificing their strength to contain their abilities within one mortal body. The transference of power will remain only for as long all contributing knights remain in prayer, equal to the lowest Stamina of the group converted to days.

One point of Willpower must be spent for each day of the Ritual also. If any of the contributing knights are killed or interrupted, the transference is broken. Once the transference is ended -- for any reason -- the volunteer must make a Stamina roll versus a difficulty of 10. If he fails, he will fall into a coma -- such has been the strain of the supernatural priming. If observed with Auspex or Psychometry, the volunteer radiates a blinding white light. At the termination of the Ritual, all knights will be drained entirely of Grace, and lose three health levels.

A truly repentant vampire can be saved from its fate, and be returned to a normal life. This is the dream of many vampires, as they realise physical immortality is true hell. But, like Golconda, it is incredibly difficult to obtain. As described in the chapter Ministering to Vampires, the repentant vampire must be presented to a full Chapter of knights with the Grand Masters in attendance. The vampire may ether be restored to mortality or it can remain as it is. If mortality is restored, the ceremony must not be interpreted as a forgiveness of sins. The newly restored mortal's soul is yet to be judged -- it has simply been given another chance at life. The effect is to remove all Vitae related supernatural powers and limit stats to the mortal maximum five.

A full Chapter of senior Knights may bring down the curse of excommunication upon any mortal, Kindred or other. Many of the curses within excommunication already apply to vampires, but would be new to mortals. Holy Ground resists their presence, plants wilt at their touch. The ecclesiastic blessings have no effect, nor do the benefits of Holy Powers such as Bless and Comfort. Whenever the excommunicated one is near one of Faith, he is beset with guilt and loses a point of Willpower for the duration of the scene. Holy Ground will reject him -- in the same way it does Vampires. When dealing with God's children, the excommunicate has the effects of their Charisma and Manipulation reduced to only one. Only true repentance and sorrow can convince the Chapter to revoke the curse, which must use the same level of Faith Points and Grace Points as the initial ceremony.

A Chapter of Knights can band together to bless an Item with True Faith. The rating of the object will be equivalent to the total Faith Level of the attending Knights divided by 10. Therefore, 12 Knights amassing 80 Faith Levels can grant an object with 8 Faith Levels. The purpose must be real and necessary. Remember, God does not look kindly upon wasting his Blessings if other means suffice. This power includes the production of Holy Water, St George's Oil, etc.

By Chris Plaice

The Knights invoke this power by pouring water into a chalice or goblet. They then recite a prayer in unison over the water for about 15 minutes. Anyone drinking from the chalice is healed of normal damage or aggravated damage. The chalice provides enough healing fluid to heal Faith + Medicine (difficulty 6 against normal wounds, difficulty 9 against aggravated damage) levels of damage. This Graal water may be decanted into small airtight glass phials and issued among the knights as part of their medical kit. One chalice may fill 4 phials.