This Ceremony allows a vampire to bend a wraith to their will.
Prerequisite Power: Where the Shroud Thins
Ingredients: A wraith’s fetter, the caster’s vitae, an item (or threat) sufficient to damage the fetter.
Process: The vampire must be in close proximity to a wraith in order to use this power, typically through use of Summon Spirit (see p. XX). The necromancer casts a handful of their own vitae in the wraith’s direction as they hold a destructive item to the fetter (a knife, a hammer, a gun, or potentially holding the fetter over a fire) or speak threatening words that the wraith believes. The vampire and wraith engage in a contest of wills. If the vampire gains domination over the wraith, the wraith must serve as the vampire decrees, at least temporarily. If the opposite occurs, the vampire is left mentally debilitated and the fetter disappears from their grasp.
System: The vampire’s player makes an Oblivion Ceremony roll vs. the wraith’s Resolve + Composure. If they have no way of physically threatening the fetter, the player must also make a Manipulation + Intimidation roll (Difficulty equal to the wraith’s Resolve + Composure). If the player rolls more successes than the wraith’s resistance roll on their Oblivion Ceremony roll, the vampire can command the wraith to perform a number of moderately difficulty tasks (spying, research, answering questions truthfully, etc.) equal to the number of successes rolled. For every two successes, the vampire can instead command the wraith to perform a difficult task (such as attacking someone, doing something repugnant to the wraith’s sensibilities, etc.). On a critical win, the vampire can demand any action from the wraith, and it will try its best to complete the task. The wraith remains in the vampire’s service until the end of the chronicle or until it has fulfilled its master’s commands, at which point it returns to the Underworld with an eternal enmity for the necromancer. If the wraith wins the contest, the vampire suffers the margin in Superficial Health damage. The wraith then re-enters the Underworld. The compulsion placed on the wraith ends immediately if the vampire attacks them. If the vampire harms the threatened fetter, the wraith suffers between one and three Aggravated Willpower damage (depending on the importance of the fetter) and the wraith is sent back to the Underworld to be tormented by, and possibly converted into, a murderous spectre (see Vampire: The Masquerade, p. 377).