Rituels

The ritual developed by Carle Vernet to paint unlife into a portrait has strong resemblances to the Crúac arts of Vitae manipulation. Similar to them, the Vernet Ritual requires the subject (and the painter, if they are different) to actually spill her blood to supply the Vitae for the effect, and requires an extended casting time. The ritual must be cast each night over a maximum of seven nights, through the dark of the moon.

The model for the portrait need not sit for it, and need not know the ritual for an Imago of her to be created. She must only provide (willingly or unwillingly) at least three Vitae to be mixed with the pigments to form the paint. Only the painter must know the ritual; his spilled blood, taken with a sacred or enchanted knife, does not mingle with the pigment. The painter may paint the model at any age; as far as can be determined, however, the only consideration here is the sitter’s vanity.

At any age, the Imago resulting from a successful casting begins with the Vitae painted into it. The Imago’s immediate attitude toward the model and painter varies with the degree of success (and most likely with Storyteller whim). Rumor has it that Vernet experimented with attempting to blood bond an Imago to himself by painting his own Vitae into the canvas along with the sitter; the experiment was apparently unsuccessful.

Cost: 1 Vitae every other night from the painter; at least three Vitae from the model
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Crafts + Crúac; with an unwilling model, the roll for this ritual is penalized by the model’s Resolve.
Action: Extended (six successes; one roll equals a night of painting)

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure:
The portrait is destroyed in a sorcerous feedback loop, and the model loses all budgeted Vitae at once. For example, a sitter intending to pose for an Imago with five Vitae who suffers a dramatic failure on night two loses five points of Vitae at once, even though she has already lost two Vitae over the last two nights in the nightly casting process. A really dramatic failure might create a homunculus (see p. 225 of Vampire: The Requiem) from the lost Vitae, with the closest of blood ties to, and a psychotic grudge against, the model.

Failure:
The portrait goes awry and cannot become an Imago. The portrait cannot be used as the basis of a new Imago, and all spent Vitae is lost.

Success:
The portrait continues to take shape.

Exceptional Success:
The Imago is completed that night, with one more than its full intended Vitae score. The painter can determine its initial attitude toward the model and himself. In addition, the portrait is a near-masterpiece in appearance (+1 modifier on all rolls to fascinate, attract or compel a viewer).

Suggested Modifiers
Modifier — Situation
+2 — Self-portrait.
+1 — Portrait is of a model with whom the caster has a blood tie.
+1 — Model’s native soil used in pigments.
–1 — Model is unaware of the ritual nature or existence or both of the portrait being painted.
–2 — Portrait is not being painted from unlife.
–3 — Caster has no specialty in Painting.