Creation of a Soul Jar allows a thaumaturge to trap the soul of a dying person, usually in preparation for nefarious purposes. The ritual may be performed upon an individual who is actually dying or who is merely trapped in a deathlike state (a vodoun bocor uses poisonous powders to achieve this state). The mystic must touch the subject throughout the ritual and must have a physical object ready to receive the soul.

The performer must overcome the victim’s will to successfully complete the ritual. Roll Presence + Intimidation in a contested, extended action against the target’s Resolve + Supernatural Advantage. Each party seeks to accumulate a number of successes equal to the other’s Willpower dots. If the performer achieves that total first, the victim’s soul leaves his body and becomes a ghost with a single anchor (see “Anchors,” World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 209): the physical object chosen by the caster. If the subject achieves the total successes first, his soul goes wherever it normally would. If the victim is truly dying, the soul passes on or it might become a ghost over which the mystic has no hold. If the victim’s deathlike state is temporary, his soul hovers over his body until signs of life resume. If the ritual fails, it cannot be recast on the same target until at least 24 hours have passed. Of course, a dying subject may have escaped his fate by then.

This ritual allows a thaumaturge to gain a certain degree of power over the dead, and over the living as well. The caster knows the single anchor of the ghost involved, and probably has physical possession of it. This standing allows the performer to control the ghost’s behavior to an extent, without further magic, but powerful thaumaturges may also use Evocation (ghosts only) to gain more direct control. A person who returns to life from a deathlike state without a soul suffers from the loss. A living body that’s lost its soul is easier to possess, and spirits or ghosts using the Possession Numen gain a +2 bonus. So long as the thaumaturge is careful to not let the original soul ever possess its own body (which ends the power of Soul Jar and frees the soul to live in its original body), the living soulless body remains subject to manipulation. Each week that a character’s soul is absent, he loses a dot of Morality. Once his Morality is reduced to one dot, this process of erosion applies to his Willpower dots. Once his Willpower dots drop to zero, the soulless one becomes practically catatonic, shuffling through life by force of habit, if at all. A character with zero Willpower is also treated as having zero Resolve and zero Composure. If a person ever regains his soul, the dots he lost from Morality and Willpower return at a rate of one per day, beginning with Willpower.

Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation versus Resolve + Supernatural Advantage (extended and contested roll)
Minimum Successes Required: Opponent’s Willpower
Ritual Length: One hour
Duration: Indefinite (permanent unless somehow reversed)

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure:
Something goes wrong. If the thaumaturge has created other Soul Jars, perhaps one of those ghosts is set free. A ghost might suddenly discover that the caster himself has become one its anchors. The dying person might become a free ghost set upon revenge, having the caster and its own body as anchors (plus perhaps its gravesite and the site of its murder).

Success:
The ritual works as normal. A Soul Jar is considered a supernaturally Enhanced Item for purposes of its Durability, which means it can resist aggravated damage. Exceptional Success: The ritual works correctly, and the Soul Jar gains an increase of +1 Durability.

Suggested Equipment: Thaumaturge personally crafted Soul Jar object (+1), victim believes in Soul Jars and ghosts (+1)

Possible Penalties: Victim has a Morality higher than 7 (–1 per dot over 7), victim was ready to die (–1), Soul Jar object inappropriate (–1 to –3), dense urban area or modern laboratory (–3), city suburb or modern industrial building (–2), small town or village or empty shopping mall (–1)

Ritual Details: The caster places the Soul Jar in close proximity to the dying individual. Victims may be painted with white makeup to resemble the dead, and may even be ritually buried. Literal rites for the dead are often given as part of the ceremony.

Drawback: A ghost created by Soul Jar is likely to seek revenge on the caster.