RPM Rituals: Official, Semi-, Quasi- and Un-official

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Icelander

You did mention upthread, but I suspected I was still failing to properly distinguish between the numbers of necessary effects and their status as Greater and Lesser.

I was particularily struggling with whether detecting mana levels, whether they are aspected, Places of Power, any possible aspects of those places and any ley lines connecting areas of high mana and/or Places of Power, should count as one, two, three or four effects, because is it all 'presence or absence of magic' or should each rule count as a separate substance for the purposes of sensing?

One Greater effect is simple and elegant.

For the most part, RPM does complicated easily. It's the simple stuff magic does in fiction that sometimes has problems.

Also, if you want the spell to give you everything Detect with Analyzing would give, add another Greater Sense effect. Basically, as long as you succeed on the skill roll to cast the spell you learn everything about your target that those traits would tell you.

Originally Posted by Icelander

As for the Sense Threshold effect, what other information than the level of the Threshold is available from a typical Threshold?

Ward spells or other magic woven into the threshold sound pretty far removed from Path of Crossroads, which is why my writeup added Sense Magic to handle that, but, of course, you are right, a Lesser effect is far too vague to be of any use for that.

A Lesser Sense Crossroads effect would allow you to know if a threshold protected the dwelling/area/etc. at all. For this purpose, anything of TR 6 or less is basically "no threshold."

A Greater Sense Crossroads effect with a successful follow-up roll would tell you the above as well as. . .

. . . The strength of the threshold and its rating.
. . . If the dwelling was haunted or the site of demonic forces.
. . . if the dwelling was blasphemed or blessed.
. . . if it contained a genius loci spirit.
. . . if it contained a devil's gate or dimensionally weakened area.
. . . The general past of the place (if it was a happy home or the site of murder or any other number of things).
. . . If the dwelling's threshold was recently violated by mundane or supernatural forces (I'd allow a separate roll against Occultism or Hidden Lore to tell you what it was for the latter).
. . . If the dwelling is enhanced by various apotropaic items and what they are.

Add a second Greater Sense Crossroads effect to remove the IQ roll. Add a Lesser Sense Crossroads with Bestows a Bonus if you want to roll IQ, but want to do it with a bonus.

Clear as mud?