Brother Battle Rituals
Soul’s Vessel
(Level 1, Passion + Stoic Body, P, prolonged, 1W)
One of the core teachings of Brother Battle is the perfection of the physical body as the instrument of action in the service of the Pancreator. This rite aids the theurge by adding three to the goal number of all non-combat rolls involving physical traits (running, jumping, lifting, etc.).
Rightfully Guided Hand
(Level 2, Faith + Fight, Shoot or Melee, LG, temporary, 1W)
By calling on the Pancreator to steady her hand when under fire, a theurge may add the victory points from casting this rite to the goal number of her combat skill rolls.
Note that this may only be applied to the combat skill used to cast this rite (Fight, Shoot or Melee), usually the Brother’s favored weapon. (If the rite is successful, the character will receive a minimum of at least one victory die, regardless of the number of successes rolled.)
Armor of the Pancreator
(Level 3, Faith + Dodge, LG, prolonged, 1W)
This rite is identical to the level 3 Orthodoxy rite, except that the Brother Battle version can be expanded to include bulkier armour which has been Sanctified or Consecrated.
Righteous Fervor
(Level 4, Passion + Vigor, L, one act, 1W)
Brothers Battle monks are renowned for their discipline and loyalty. The Rite of Righteous Fervor intensifies their already legendary stoicism, allowing a Brother to resist all temptations, persuasions, fast talks, etc., that would sway him from his duty. During casting, the Brother declares his duty (“No harm shall come to the bishop under my watch,” or “I shall safely deliver the writ to the Heirophant on Byzantium Secundus.”). If the casting is successful, the Brother is immune to any mental or social obstacles which would hinder his duty (such as the orders of the bishop to step down from duty, the knavery of the Decados marquis, the lamentation of a peasant to get her trapped brother from under the fallen ox-cart, etc.). In addition, he receives +3 to his Perception to notice possible physical obstacles (cutpurses, Decados assassins sneaking through the crowd, etc.).
While the Brother Battle dedication is to be admired, it should be noted that fervored Brothers can become quite callous to pleas for help if they seem to hinder their duty. If they do refuse such pleas while fervored, they must confess their guilt within a week after the rite’s effect has ended. Otherwise, they risk gaining Hubris.
Liturgy of the Wrathful Host
(Level 5, Passion + Charm, LP, sensory, prolonged, 1W)
This passage from the Omega Gospels is read to Brothers about to go into combat so that their hearts may be filled with the fire of their holy cause, whatever it may happen to be. For the next span, the victory points from the reading may be added to the goal number of all listeners’ rolls involving Faith or Passion. The Liturgy takes about 10 minutes to read, and the range of this effect is not extended by PA systems or long-distance communications. Characters under the effect of the Liturgy may not Incite Passion or employ Steady Hand.
Smiting Hand
(Level 6, Faith + Vigor, LG, instant, 1W)
Using this rite to channel the force of the Holy Flame through his limbs, a Brother may strike down his foes with righteous power. The victory dice from casting this rite may be added to the Brother’s fist, kick or melee weapon damage — in addition to normal damage from the weapon and the goal roll’s victory dice. (If the rite is successful, the character will receive a minimum of at least one victory die, regardless of the number of successes rolled.)
Fearsome Majesty
(Level 7, Passion + Impress, LG, sight, prolonged, 1W)
This rite causes fear of the Pancreator to clutch the heart of the target. The target may take no action for that turn, and for the rest of the span suffers a penalty to all initiative and goal rolls equal to the victory points of the rite. The number of targets may be doubled with each additional Wyrd point spent. This rite cannot be cast upon someone under the influence of the Prophet’s Censure or Tortures of the Damned.
Oath of the Shieldmates
(Level 8, Extrovert + Empathy, LGP, sensory, prolonged, 1W)
Similar to the psychic power Sympaticus (see the Psyche Path), this rite allows a Brother to band his comrades into an elite fighting unit. He can easily communicate with, or feel the emotions of, chosen targets, allowing the formation of a telepathic network among non-theurgic characters (all information must flow through the Brother who cast the rite, non-theurgic targets may not communicate directly, except through normal channels). However, use of this rite actually makes it harder to manipulate or control these targets (-4 on all rolls to do so). Not just any target can be chosen, however. It must be a shieldmate — someone who has pledged loyalty with the Brother to a common cause and has been subject to the Prophet’s Holy Blessing ritual with him. This most often includes other Brothers, but boon traveling companions can be included as can those to whom the Brother owes duty or loyalty.
Salutation to Zakhayelos, Lord of Hosts
(Level 9, Passion + Impress, LGP, 1W)
This exceptionally rare and powerful rite, a closely guarded secret of the order, enables a theurge to contact and summon to the physical world one of the “bodiless powers of the Empyrean,” the strong and warlike intelligence known as Zakhayelos. According to Eskatonic doctrine, Zakhayelos rules in the Fifth Emanation from the Celestial Sun, among the ranks of the Imperitories.
Zakhayelos is the pure embodiment of all the military virtues to which the order aspires: strength, courage, discipline, a perfect understanding of strategy and logistics. As with all of the Empyrean powers, Zakhayelos will almost never take direct physical actions, such as fighting alongside the troops, but, as a being of nearly limitless capabilities, can act in ways both grand and subtle to tip the scales of victory in the Brothers’ favor. Zakhayelos has been known to aid the order with signs and omens that reveal enemy positions and tactics, or to bolster troops with substantial (but temporary) increases in characteristics, or to appear in the sky above Brother Battle armies, displaying its most fearsome form to the enemy. When taking a visible form, Zakhayelos will most often appear as a tall noble knight clad in shining, elaborately decorated armor, wielding a flaming sword and a mirrored shield emblazoned with the Church symbol.
Many outside the Church claim that such “angelic beings” are merely mass hallucinations called up from the minds of believers by the theurge, and that they do not really exist. But they rarely make such claims in public.
