Editing LeviathanTempest:RitualsDevelopmentPage (section)

=== Step Two: Worship ===

After the player has chosen the Ritual's effects and factors the next step is to determine what the ritual requires. What profane acts are necessary to perform the ritual, and what omens will predict it's success or failure. 

==== Task Points ====

A ritual requires the time and effort of the Cult. Such resources are scarce, for cultists also have jobs and lives that demand their attention. Or at least they should, if the Leviathan wants to stay under the radar. The basic cost is one Task Point per dot of the Ritual. A codified ritual halves this number (round up).

==== Sacrileges ====
The rites and worship of the Tribe are terrible things. They incorporate bronze age ideals of power and dominance, life becomes the toxic fecundity of the Tribe. Performing a Ritual often requires the participants to betray their sense of self and their ethics. Mechanically speaking every Ritual is a Tranquillity disruption of seven minus the Rituals dots. Yet the Tribe don't have to perform horrific rites, with time and effort (or rather, the Cult's time and effort) it is possible to find "ethical alternatives". Virgin sacrifice, well there's virgins everywhere, but an black bull with pure unblemished skin, that's kind of rare. It would take time to find one. In practice what this means is that every additional Task Point spent upon a Ritual can increase the Tranquillity level by one. The Storyteller may allow the Leviathan to personally track down the supplies needed instead of spending Task Points.

Not all cultists are willing to kill for their god. Assume that a cult will happily perform anything with a Tranquillity rating above (5 - Zeal). Committing worse acts will require the Leviathan to bully their cult into compliance: Roll Presence + (Persuasion or Intimidation) + Zeal – (The Zeal required for the cult to agree). A Leviathan who frequently persuades his Cult to perform hideous rituals should expect to see his Cult's Zeal rise. When measuring if a cultist would be willing to sacrifice themself treat Zeal as two dots lower, however asking cultists to sacrifice each other incurs no penalty.  Leviathan's rarely need the sacrafice to be willing, and anyway, with the wake no one is ever really agreeing of their own free will.

==== Portents ====
The fetters of geometry and time held the Progenitors lightly, their descendants may sometimes feel a connection to the movement heavens and earth. At no time is this expression stronger than when working the most abstract of their powers. 

All rituals have portents, moments in time and space which aid or oppose the ritual. Most Leviathan's have a unique style to their Rituals, they find a core of genuine Eldrich Lore and transform it into the product of a Tribal culture that never was, and creating a custom system of portents is a good way to give a token mechanical difference to individual styles. When designing portent systems do not worry about trying to make each Leviathan's portents equally permissive, instead focus on creating systems that are true to the charachter and adjust the exp cost of rituals and eldrich lore to maintain balance. 

===== Sidebar: Signs and Symbols =====

Here is a simple system for portents you can use. Every ritual consists of two auspicious and ominous portents, one from the sea and one from the stars. Each auspicious Portent that shines upon a Ritual gives +2 to the dicepool. However each ominous Portent gives a -2. If both auspicious Portents and neither ominous Portent are true then the dice pool also gets 9again however attempting a Ritual when both ominous Portents are true without the security of either auspicious Portent degrades a normal Failure into a Dramatic Failure.

* High Tide: A High Tide is used whenever the Leviathan is directly using his powers or enhancing his own strength. 
* Flood Tide: A Flood Tide is favourable when the Leviathan is granting a blessing to others, most commonly her Beloved. 
* Ebb Tide: An Ebb Tide grants fortune when the Leviathan is placing a curse upon others, or granting a blessing saner individuals would consider a curse.
* Low Tide: A Low Tide blesses any Ritual designed to weaken the Leviathan who performs it, it is rarely an Auspicious Portent

*Mercury signifies social interaction.
*Venus signifies love.
*Mars signifies conflict and danger.
*Jupiter signifies business and wealth.
*Saturn signifies death and failure.
*Uranus signifies change.
*Neptune signifies mental disease.
*Pluto signifies rebirth.