Ritual of Darkened Silence

The Ritual of Darkened Silence starts with rendering the recipient of the ritual being symbolically immobilized, blinded, and deafened for the three-day duration of the ritual. Customarily this is done by putting the recipient in an sarcophagus, but binding the limbs and using a blindfold and earplugs can work (but give disadvantage on the Dark and Dangerous Magic check). Using a coffin and actually interring the recipient gives advantage on the Dark and Dangerous Magic check.

The ritualist is allowed to see and move to perform the ritual, but does not speak.

At the end of the ritual, the recipient’s eyes cloud over with milky film and ears stop up with wax (enough wax that it oozes continually for the duration). The recipient of the ritual is for all practical purposes blind and deaf… but gains clairvoyance, as the spell, for a number of weeks equal to the ritualist’s caster level. The recipient must make a Dark and Dangerous check at the end of the ritual, and if the DDM check fails the consequences last the entire duration, if possible (GM will likely need to adapt so they make sense).

The clairvoyance effect acts as normal, except it lasts for weeks. It costs an action to move the sensor, so keeping in step means moving only every other round (move, move sensor, move, move sensor), or moving at half speed. Fighting via clairvoyance is done at disadvantage due to the unusual point of view. If the sensor is out of range (120 feet) the subject can instinctively call it closer, but the sensor still moves at only 30 feet per action. The subject can call the sensor to appear immediately, but must make a DDM check.

Most of these limitations go away within a week. Seven days (minus Intelligence modifier) of practice gives the subject time to adapt. The subject can keep the sensor near enough to act as normal vision and hearing, when moving at normal rates (walking and even running, but not jumping off a cliff) and no longer suffers disadvantage when fighting. Separation effects do not change.

After this adaptation has been done once, it only takes hours rather than days if subject to this ritual again.

Specific Dark and Dangerous Results

  • If an enraged creature is summoned, it does not attack. Instead, it possesses or haunts the recipient, perverting the information received.
  • If a random spell is cast, it probably happens once. The spell might be extended to plague the recipient for the entire time.

Variations

None known at this time.

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Developer Notes

Inspired by a character in the Discworld books who could look into the future, and was thought to be blind ‘now’, until she realized that if she shortened her foresight close enough it could be usable.

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