Moon Rites are a type of Rite from Werewolf: The Apocalypse. They were first introduced in the Bastet Breed Book and are exclusive to the Bastet.
Overview[]
These magical rituals can only be performed beneath the glow of Seline and the vault of Ahu. Moonlight is an essential part of all of the following rites, so each of them occurs outside after sundown. Although cloudiness won't prevent the rite, it'll make performing it a bit more difficult (ass 1 to the difficulty, add two if it's raining, unless the rite conjures a storm). Bastet often choose full-moon phases to enact such rituals; the strength of Seline makes the rites easier and more powerful.
Moon Rites invoke the power of the Bastet patron, strengthening their ties with her and infusing them with her essence. All Moon Rites have mystical effects; tales of them have colored human folklore and superstition for millennia. These are the most sacred rites of all; anyone caught spying on them will be hunted down. This punishment is rarely necessary; Moon Rites evoke such power that non-Bastet - including wizards and other shapechangers - feel distinctly uneasy and physically sick. All spies must make Stamina _ Enigmas rolls once or twice during the ceremony or freak out (the difficulty is 5 + the level of the rite). The effects of the breakdown depend on the spies and the Storyteller, but include insanity, uncontrolled nausea, total panic (as the Delirium) or phantom pains. Vampires and werewolves have been driven to frenzy, while sorcerers have fallen into Quiet as a result of peeking at Moon Rites. Bastet elder, of course, know what such signs betray, and the worst fate - being ripped apart by angry claws - often follows a spy's discomfort.
List of Moon Rites[]
- Level One[1]
- Rite of Warding - A simple precaution taken around any site of importance, this rite is typically performed before the guests for a taghairm arrive. By calling up spirits, securing the corners and entrances of the site and charging the safety of the area to Seline, the Bastet sets up an "alarm system" which bars the site against lesser intrusions and alerts the ritespeaker against greater ones.
- Level Two[2]
- Rouse the Sleeping Spirit (Rite of Spirit Awakening) - As the Garou Mystic Rite.
- Rite of Summoning - As the Garou Mystic Rite.
- Level Three[3]
- Bind the Spirit-Fetish (Rite of the Fetish) - As the Garou Mystic Rite.
- Rite of Claiming - This mystic secret proclaims the foundation, or transferal of a Den-Realm. To do this, a Bastet travels across his territory on foot, marking the boundaries with scratches, urine and other forms (graffiti, incantations, blood, etc.). When the circuit is completed, the werecat performs the rite in the place where he began, and binds himself to the essence of the place. From then on, the area is his Den-Realm, and he may do what he wants within it. Occasionally, Den-Realms exchange hands; some upstarts take lands from dying elders, while others receive old friends' territory for safekeeping. This rite is still essential to becoming one with the land; until it's performed by the new owner, it's just another hunting ground. Sometimes, a dying elder will pass the rite along to the newcomer as a gesture of respect. If the Den-Realm has been ripped from her hands, however, the old owner's not likely to help the thief. Although Den-Realms may be expanded by performing this rite again, no werecat can keep more than one separate Realm. Fewer still would give up their lands without a fight. The Den-Realm is the cat's true home, and until she dies, it remains a part of her.
- Level Four[4]
- Eater of the Dead - The Bubasti alone command this rite, a vile punishment reserved for oathbreakers among their tribe and thieves from outside it. By calling to Sobk, the Egyptian crocodile lord, and elder Bubasti sends the soul of the offender into a labyrinthine spirit realm deep within the ground. Here (they say), the victim is stalked by Sobk, who pursues him, corners him, judges him and may consume his soul. Once a transgressor is caught, the shadowcats bind him for the rite. During the ritual, the offender's tongue is ripped out, his eyes are seared and his ears are plugged up. Special wrappings, prepared in sandalwood oil and honey, are wound around the cat from toes to forehead. Then his head is struck off, followed by his limbs, and the whole mess is burned in an oven prepared for the rite. This ceremony, horrifying in itself, sends the cat's soul to the tunnels of Sobk to be judged. The chase begins as the cat, now whole again, rips out of his bandages and flees into the tunnels. The Eater of the Dead pursues the soul for what seems like weeks, until he finally corners the cat. Biting off each limb in turn, he judges the soul of a golden scale. If the punishment so far is ruled enough, the soul is freed to its final journey. If Sobk doesn't like what he sees, he devours the offender forever.
- Level Five[5]
- Call the Four Winds - Cats are renowned masters of the weather. While many Gifts reflect this talent to a small degree. Call the Four Wings affects weather patterns across whole sections of a country. Unlike many rites, the Call demands the presence of five Bastet. One leader, the ritespeaker, decides what changes to request and begins the ritual. The others take the roles of the four corners of the earth and invoke the powers of each of them in turn. The ritespeaker acts as a center, and stand amid the others in a prepared circle, channeling their power. As the rite progresses, the power builds until the circle is swept through with elemental force. Spirits swirl screaming past the ritespeaker, who sends them up into the sky to bind the clouds and invoke the werecats' will. In time, storms gather or disperse, rain comes, winds rise, blizzards begin, tempests rage or calm.... A whole range of weather effects, from dust storms to squalls, can be evoked with a pride of cats, this rite, and a knowledgeable leader.
- Rite of Nine Lives - The secret knowledge granted by Seline to the wisest of her children allows them to literally return from the dead. This rite, which may only be performed once in a werecat's life, allows her to return from the dead as many as eight times before her spirit departs for good. To begin, the werecat sets aside a ritual space outside and calls upon Seline's favor. After mixing a bit of blood, water, spit and fur in a bowl, she holds the bowl up to the moon and chants the rite. Once finished, she drinks the broth and hopes for the best. Seline will be the final judge as to whether the cat survives her death or not.
- Wishing Waves - By yowling, spitting and dancing around a lake or sea, a werecat can stir the surface into waves. Ceilican who drowned their enemies this way give rise to tales of witches who danced with cats to create storms at sea. Although this tribe claims to have originated the Rite, the Bubasti say otherwise. In their stories, Bast herself taught her children to wreck invaders on the Nile, and supposedly used it to punish Pharaoh Snefru II, who persecuted her kind.
Gallery[]
Rage Card[]
References[]
- WTA: Werewolf Players Guide, p. 159
- WTA: Bastet, p. 118, 120-122
- WTA/cMET: Laws of the Wild: Changing Breeds 1, p. 202-205
- WTA: Players Guide to the Changing Breeds, p. 74-75
- Rage CCG: Hellcats (Call the Four Winds)
^ Level 1
| Rite of Claiming | Werewolf Players Guide | Pg. 159 |
| Rite of Warding | Bastet | Pg. 121 |
| Rite of Warding | Players Guide to the Changing Breeds | Pg. 75 |
| Rite of Warding | Laws of the Wild: Changing Breeds 1 | Pg. 203 |
^ Level 2
| Rouse the Sleeping Spirit | Bastet | Pg. 118 |
| Rite of Summoning | Bastet | Pg. 118 |
^ Level 3
| Rite of the Fetish | Werewolf Players Guide | Pg. 159 |
| Bind the Spirit-Fetish | Bastet | Pg. 118 |
| Rite of Claiming | Bastet | Pg. 121 |
| Rite of Claiming | Laws of the Wild: Changing Breeds 1 | Pg. 203 |
^ Level 4
| Bubasti: Eater of the Dead | Bastet | Pg. 121 |
| Bubasti: Eater of the Dead | Laws of the Wild: Changing Breeds 1 | Pg. 203 |
^ Level 5
| Call the Four Winds | Bastet | Pg. 121 |
| Call the Four Winds | Laws of the Wild: Changing Breeds 1 | Pg. 204 |
| Rite of Nine Lives | Bastet | Pg. 121-122 |
| Rite of Nine Lives | Laws of the Wild: Changing Breeds 1 | Pg. 204-205 |
| Wishing Waves | Bastet | Pg. 122 |
| Werewolf: The Apocalypse Rites | |
|---|---|
| Garou and Fera Rites | Accord · Age Role · Ahadi · Astrological · Caern · Dark Umbra · Death · Frontier · Hengeyokai · Minor · Mystic · Punishment · Pure Ones · Renown · Seasonal · Wyld |
| Fifth Edition Garou Rites | Common · Legendary · Social |
| Kinfolk Rites | Accord · Caern · Homestead · Milestones · Minor · Punishment · Renown · Ritual of Sacred Rebirth |
| Unique Fera Rites | Ajaba - Ananasi: First · Triumvirate · Viskr - Bastet: Kuasha · Moon · Need · Taghairm - Corax - Gurahl - Kitsune - Mokolé - Nagah - Nuwisha - Ratkin - Rokea |
| Rites of the Lost Breeds | Apis - Camazotz - Grondr |
| Wyrm-Corrupted Fera Rites | Blood Rituals · Defiler Kings · Buzzards · Histpah |
| Miscellaneous Rites | 7th Generation - Fomori - Miscellaneous Rites |