Acheron's Inner Sanctum
Practices
Stamina 1
1- Command Seal - Marks powers specific to caster making it harder to undo them by any one else. Seal must be broken before power can be dealt with.
2- Targeting Proficiency - any and all missiled or targeted spells from any path get +1 HB per ace precision.
3- Mortus Presence - Shadows fall and spread over an area to drain energy from those the shadow is cast upon. Drains strength and stamina by -1, -1 per ace, and damages.
Stamina 2
4- Gravedigger's Lock - Locks a door, chest, tome, seals an area, etc. with a necromantic field of negative energy, draining life from and decomposing any who overstep locked boundary unless selected to be excluded by commands. -1 HP, stamina and strength per ace, +MA damage. Power = LoD of lock or seal.
5- Curse Reaver - Removes even very powerful curses from selected subject with critical power.
6- Temple of Healing - transfer any select target to Acheron's Temple of Healing and then recall them from the temple at will.
Stamina 3
7- Hellish Retaliation-When enraged, the power of Acheron's flame is called into the flesh, doing no harm to the Magus, while anyone, but those selected not to be affected, who touches them is inflicted with hellfire. if Magus has claws and or fangs they are also imbued with this fire. Hellfire burns with a cold so bitter that it blisters one from within to without, and degenerates victims rapidly. 25% HP damage per day. There is only one antidote for Hellfire. (Water from the River of Souls in Acheron must be drunk. It tastes like death and causes severe nausea and vomiting to most but cures Hellfire).
8- Soul Net - Captures dead subject's soul and holds it within a spatial sphere.
9- Beast Master - Command of beasts that Magus summons, up to 1 beast, +1 per ace. See Bestiary for beasts called.
Stamina 4
10- Gateway to Acheron - Magus can at any time open a gateway into a lair in Acheron reserved for their use and take refuge there, or take others there, but they cannot venture into Acheron beyond this lair unless they have right of passage.
11- Curse of the Dragon's Eye - Subject is cursed with visions of being horrifically tortured. -1 Constitution per ace per day if Constitution check fails. Loss cannot exceed check of 5.
12- Invoke Demonic Gang Attack - Up to 1 Demons, +1 per ace are summoned to attack a selected target. See Bestiary for demons called. Levels cannot exceed +1 per success. Demons may turn on Magus when he attempts to send them back to Acheron if the Mage's Willpower rolls fail against the Demons' Willpower rolls.
Stamina 5
13- Curse of Atlas - The spirit of Arioch is invoked to lay this curse and expects a gift of treasure or a feast in return. Subject feels as if burdened with a tremendously oppressive weight, their breath becoming labored, motions very sluggish, eventually collapsing to their knees under the invisible weight of their curse. Curse drains all physical and mental checks by -1 per ace per day cursed until all checks are at 5. If Arioch (level 36) is displeased with his offering he will manifest in the flesh, revoke the curse, and attack the invoker to leave the magus on the edge of death.
14- Ring of Pigmy Demons - Pigmy demons are summoned in a tight formation around target and while laughing and chattering maniacally they leap in randomly to bite and tear at victim with sharp claws and teeth, and stab at them with daggers, growing more and more frenzied until it is an all out attack, and demons cover the victim, in a frenzied quarrel to devour the victim. 1 quarrel, +1 quarrel per ace. (see Pigmy Demons in Bestiary)
15- Invoke Curse of the Leper - Causes decomposer, starting with extremities, fingers, toes, nose, then arms and legs etc. Spell endures until the curse is revoked and damages every day until death results.
Stamina 6
16- Invoke Curse - Selected Victim is inflicted with a curse as called with called effects and antidote. Demons can also be invoked to curse a subject (use any curse at current or lower level from curses spell book).
17- Fanatical Bondage - When target is touched by magus and given a command under this path, a glowing azure tattoo of a chain appears around their throat and subject begins to obey the command and continues to labor until they drop from exhaustion. Command is always one of physical labor or exertion and depletes stamina = AR per turn. Subject will rest and then repeat this cycle of labor until magus retracts the bondage or it is shattered or neutralized by another. Power vs. Willpower to resist.
18- Eater of Souls - (Soul Eaters ONLY) An eater of souls can breathe the souls of others into their body to convert that soul into energy. Range 6 feet, damages, damage and drains double with physical contact. -1 Stamina, MA level, PA level, Strength, and WP, -1 per ace. When victim dies their soul is consumed on death, whereof their vital energy feeds the soul of the Magus, and what remains of their victim's spirit becomes a wraith under their command. Magus can summon these wraiths at will. Magic classes become death wraiths. Magus gains +1 Life (HP, Strength, and Stamina) permanently per soul eaten. Adjust total HP accordingly.
18 (b) - Demonic Endurance - Target gains +5 stamina and strength, +1 per ace briefly when casting this spell.
Stamina 7
19- Restore Memories - restores altered or erased memories
20- Beloved of Acheron - Owed to having the Morning Star's favor, Magus can communicate with the Morning Star and request the presence of a demon, devil, or dark angel at any given time, from any place. Choose from Acheron NPC Guide.
21- Invoke Curse of the Ancients - Immortal target is reduced to a frail mortal's strength, a mortal is reduced to an infant's strength. Adjust all checks appropriately and submit to player of affected character. Power vs. Base Level of targeted character. Frail Human
o Checks: 9 on all physical checks, 0 on fortitude. Infant Checks: 4 on all physical checks, 0 on fortitude.
Stamina 8
22- Harness Memories - Captures select (normal power) or all memories (crit) of a subject in a photonic sphere which Magus can peruse until sphere is dispelled.
23- Beast of Burden - Subject is morphed into a burrow or nag laden with heavy sacks of grain in cloth enchanted that it cannot be torn, while an unbreakable bottle of water dangles in front of the beast's face from a pole and rope. The beast appears in the badlands vast desert as the transformation occurs. The badlands is a plane that lies between Morashtar and Acheron's Receiving Grounds, which can be accessed from northern An Morendor through the dangerous black caverns of Shadow Mountain. A powerful, dangerous, and ancient planar gold dragon (level 40) guards the gateway which bridges the plane between the mountain and the badlands. if killed on the upper world, the dragon sinks into the spectral plane where it reconstitutes, and returns five days later to guard the gate again. Power vs. Base Level or Strength of target.
24- Mental Fortress - Protects a mind from tampering and acts as an immunity.
Stamina 9
25- Guardian Warding - Guardian Weave is invoked and using select commands a ward is created within subject to protect them against specified effects. Ward acts as contingency and is triggered by opposing effects.
26- Memory Erasure - Select Memories to be erased, up to +1 memory erased per success. Full erasure can only occur on a crit. Full erasure vs. save. Power vs. Constitution.
27- Abominate Distemper - Target suffers rabid state of gloom and doom and is unable to function other than to retreat and sit down muttering and hissing, incoherently at times, about being doomed. State of paranoid delusion which consumes them with morbid and terrified thoughts. -1 Constitution, Charisma, Logic, and Willpower per success if spell succeeds. Called duration at current level.
Stamina 10
28- Gateway to the Sprawl - Victim is sent and sealed in Acheron's Metropolis, a high tech, super polluted, high rise city known as the Sprawl. Everyone is a hard core criminal element, wicked clubs are common. Slaves are bought and sold like candy in the Sprawl. Power vs. Strength to break away from gate plunge.
29- Overlord of Kindred - Ability to scry, summon, seize and capture, command the will, and break past mental barriers of anyone who is born of Magus's blood line, whether as a child or a sired progeny.
30- Dead Realms Creation - Cast Dead Realms spells, create dead realms curses, artifacts and items, summon the Living Dead, raise the dead, spectral ascension, summon and create Living Dead monsters. (see Living Dead in bestiary for Living Dead and their powers)
Stamina 11
31- Crystal of Souls - Summons a crystal from Acheron's Chamber of Souls and with a select command, the soul of a dead subject is captured and sealed into crystal and cast into the Chamber of Souls inside the crystal. Countless other crystals are strewn and heaped in this vast chamber, and the only escape is for Lucifer to call on a specific crystal and free the soul held within.
32- Echo Obliteration - Destroys memory and soul echoes to prevent any memories from being restored and to make resurrections impossible without using powerful time spells.
33- Gateway to Arcador: gate which opens on the main square of Acheron's city of vampires.
34- Temple of the Eternal Flame - a gateway which delivers Magus to Acheron's most powerful temple. All powers succeed at critical force, with +4 levels as called in this temple, unless a botch or failure occurs. On a failure; the eternal flame backlashes with level 44 critical damage to Magus. On a botch, critical damage is doubled and often deadly.
35- Artifact Creation - All artifacts must have a critical or unfavorable consequence which a specific action triggers. Call power of artifact, effects on bearer, and what catalyst triggers the consequence. MA roll=Power of Artifact and Level used to create artifact defines the artifact's active level if additional rolls are needed.
Stamina 12
36- Arch-Lord of Acheron - Create wards, spells, scrolls, artifacts, items, enchanted weapons, creatures, and commands, gate to any location in Acheron but private lairs and havens.
37- Legionnaire of Acheron - Gain one legion of (1000) minions to command, plus one additional legion each level gained from this point. Minions can be spirits, demons, devils, vampires, dragons, or other dark kinds. War Pack or Condensed War Games Guide is required to play armies.
38- Summon Elite of Acheron - summon a powerful demon, devil, dark angel, vampire, wraith, lich, or other dark kind to aid or protect target. Refer to Bestiary or Acheron NPC Guide for character type and its powers. Magus should take care not to anger those summoned.
39- Chosen Form - Magus takes a chosen immortal form that they can shift into at will. Select any form from Bestiary. Form has levels and powers of Magus, even if it is an animal form, but has all physical and inborn abilities of form selected, with fortitude and regeneration of 10, +1 per ace, and immortality. For permanent forms, Use this power and roll only once (re-rolls allowed) and attain up to 1, +1 per ace chosen forms.
40- God of Acheron - Ascension into a deity of Acheron as a demon, devil, vampire, wraith, lich, dark angel, avatar, or other dark kinds. Gods must commit to a specific cause which contributes to Acheron to become a god. Gods get +4 levels of power in this path or any path level 40 is reached in. Gain further legions at cost of 10,000 XP each. Gods of Acheron attain a palace in Acheron (designed to player's standards) which god can ward as called using what powers they have. Wards have no effect on the ruling deity of Acheron or its regent.
Information
This path can only be attained if the Morning Star endows one of his followers, advocates, or sired acolytes with the knowledge of this path. He only ever endows it to his most faithful and loyal advocates or acolytes. It is a rare path and a GM must call what characters can take it. Only one character in a table top campaign should have it. Immortals alone can have the full path, while mortals, even long lived or quasi-immortal sorts can only learn it as a limited path. All dark angels have this path and only Soul Eaters can have the power of Eater of Souls in this path..
For Limited Path:
Either select one spell from each stamina field, or the first spell in each stamina field.
Note:
Not all of Acheron's own are evil. Many in fact are helpful, or act as guardians. They do have different ideas about things, and there are no true good, or good aligned in Acheron, rather they are neutral, chaotic, lawful, evil, or a mixture of these alignments. There are a few chaotic good among them as well, but they are rare and as good as their intentions get, albeit they do respect and treat one another well, and all obey Acheron's laws if they know what is good for them, unless certain lines are crossed. Others on the other hand are pure evil, thus it is dangerous calling on demons unless one is careful and alignments (familiar or known creatures) are selected. If Acheron's Game pack has not been purchased, GM can improvise and design Acheron and its lords as she/he sees fit until that game either becomes available or is purchased.
