Path of Enchantment

By Anthony Dubuc (cybermage@offratel.nc)

Description

This path, as its name suggests, allows its practitioner to enchant items in order to empower them with a bit of magic.

This path was created in the Middle Ages by a French Magus embraced by a Tremere (In reality a Salubri sorcerer masquerading as a Tremere) who wanted to create the same magical items he had created in life, but this time, without vis!

Each level of this path allows the sorcerer to empower the desired item with a power (ritual, discipline, other path of thaumaturgy, werewolf gift, changeling cantrip, but not true Magick, hedge magic, arcanos, and Hekau path) of an equal level.

For example, if a magus wish to empower a pair silver armlets (a pair if he wants to have the power in his two arms) with Potence 3, he needs to have, at least, the Path of enchantment at 3 or more.

First of all, the Sorcerer needs the item he wants to empower. This item must be perfect and hand made (thus the sorcerer must have resources 4+, and the artist who makes the item must achieve 25 success on a sustained Dexterity + Craft roll without ever botching, doing 1 roll every day.

When the sorcerer has the perfect item, he must prepare it for all the magic he will receive, thus performing the following fifth level ritual:

Ritual of Magical Opening

(level five ritual)

This ritual magically prepares the future magic item for the ongoing enchantment. First, the Magus must know the type and level of the power he will put in the object. The sorcerer must then put the object in a basin of pure material; the material depends on the type of magic:

• Pure silver for garou related magic.
• Pure iron for changeling cantrip.
• Pure gold for disciplines.
• An ivory basin scored with some orichalcum for thaumaturgy paths and rituals (you need to have alchemy 4 + to make the orichalcum).

Each of these basins can be re-use by the sorcerer as long as they remain pure (otherwise the magic item maybe cursed).

The Magus then casts the spell over the item, making a sustained Intelligence + Occult roll (difficulty of 8), needing as many successes as the level of the power, doing one roll per hour without any botches.

Once the item has been successfully prepared, the caster then adds a number of blood points equal to the level of the power to be installed.

If the enchanter wishes to add some customizations, refer to the following table for the exact quantity of blood to add at the base of the power level:

Customization	Base
Can be used more than once per day:	+ (power level / extra use)
Usable only by certain people (Magus choice):	+ 3
Just needs a mental command to work:	+ 5
You need to do some gestures to make it work (it should take at least 1 turn to activate the item):	- 1 (there is a minimum of 1 blood point to spent)
The magic works all the time (only for non-offensive magic and subject to the Storyteller's whim):	Multiply the base number of blood points by 20

The Magus can only use blood "donated" by someone who has mastered the power to be installed. So, a garou must be rank 5 and know the gift or rite, a vampire must have the discipline at level 5 and a changeling must have five in the art and the realm of the desired cantrip.

Path of Enchantment

He then has to successfully use the Path of Enchantment, spending a blood point and rolling his Willpower versus a (3 + level of path use) difficulty (only one success is necessary but if the character botches, the item has o good chance to be cursed).

*	You can put a level one power into a properly prepared item.
**	You can put a level two power into a properly prepared item.
***	You can put a level three power into a properly prepared item.
****	You can put a level four power into a properly prepared item.
*****	You can put a level five power into a properly prepared item.

Furthermore, you can put more than one power into the desired item (just add the different level of power to calculate the difficulty). You must have all the necessary blood (can't use the same blood for two or more powers) and make a different path roll for each power.

Then the Magus must lock the power inside the now magical item (or else, he will see the magic fade after one use!) by performing another fifth level ritual:

Sealing the Power

(level five ritual)

This ritual is used to definitely seal the power inside a new magical item, enabling the use of the power installed without the fading of its magic. The caster must enact the ritual immediately after putting the power inside the item by rolling Intelligence + Occult (difficulty of 8) needing as many successes as the level of the power, doing one roll per hour without any botches.

Notes on the Customizations

If the caster did not take any customizations concerning the number of uses, the power can only be use once per day.

If the caster did not take any customizations concerning the activation of the power (through a mental command word or some gestures (all the two while touching the item)), people can only access the power after saying a Verbal command word while touching the item.

In the case the Magus wishes to put more than one power inside the item, he has to define the customizations for each power.