Guilt never fades. It just sits in your gut like a lump of lead…

Emeveritation

Cost: 1 significant charge.

Effect: This ritual has one, fairly narrow use, but it’s a doozy. When it takes effect, the target begins to reveal the truth of a murder they have committed, in a spectacularly dramatic (and messy) manner. The unlucky target begins to literally vomit up evidence of his or her guilt that has not been elsewhere uncovered, and will continue until all such evidence is revealed. This effect can be postponed, but not resisted; the target can hold off for three seconds by making a body check at a -20% shift, for another three by making a check at a -30% shift, for another three by making a check at a -40% shift, and so on.

Once the effect begins, it cannot be stopped until it has run its course, which usually takes between 1 and 3 minutes. Needless to say, the evidence in question did not need to be swallowed by the target beforehand, nor need it be something that could conceivably be swallowed; in one instance, the ejected detritus included a machete, most of a dismembered body wrapped in a tarp, and 9 pounds of riverbed silt. No matter what it is that the target is coughing up– knives, acid, watermelons– they take no damage from this process. Of course, not taking damage doesn’t mean that this doesn’t hurt like nobody’s business; in the case of objects like those mentioned above, a rank-3 Violence check is in order. In all cases, a rank-3 Helplessness check is in order for the target.

After this process has run its course, the target feels oddly (and entirely irrationally) relieved– if they have a failed self or violence notch gained in connection to the secret just uncovered, they may erase it. (GM’s discretion).

This ritual can only recover evidence that the target is aware of and actively attempting to conceal. There is no guarantee that the ritual will leave said evidence in usable condition– those handwritten notes planning the murder aren’t likely to be legible when they’re smeared with stomach acid and mud. If you’re planning on using this to make a court case, keep in mind that ’emetic ritual’ is generally not considered an admissable evidence-gathering procedure. This ritual has no effect if the target feels no guilt over the murder; generally speaking, if a self or violence check wasn’t involved at some point, it won’t take.

Ritual Action: Harvest at least three Psychotria Ipecacuanha (ipecac) plants with your bare hands. You’re going to need the roots, so the harvesting here really just consists of ripping them out of the ground. Kill a red rooster after sunset (again, with your bare hands). Here comes the hard part: you have to make some homemade wine. Now luckily enough, ‘wine’ is incredibly loosely defined for the purposes of this ritual: anything derived from (handcrushed) grapes, with at least a little alcohol content through fermentation, will do the trick. Generally, some grape juice, a packet of baker’s yeast, saran wrap, and a radiator will do the trick. You don’t want to be drinking this stuff for fun, though, unless of course you find extreme, puke-your-guts-out-until-you-want-to-die illness fun. That sort of experience is reserved for your target.

You also need some piece of evidence for the murder in question. (Yes, this means that you have to obtain evidence to get more evidence. No free lunch.) You also need a sheet of paper where the target’s name has been written as intended for public view; in a phonebook, a newspaper article, a protest flyer, etc.

Boil together the roots, the wine, and the whole rooster (except for one tailfeather), along with as much water as you feel is necessary. When the mixture turns brown, prick your left thumb with the tailfeather (you may need to sharpen it beforehand), and allow three drops to fall into the pot. Read aloud from the page continuously and allow the mixture to continue boiling. After an hour, dip the feather in the mixture, and use it to pierce the name on the sheet. Take the pot off of boil, stop reading, and toss the piece of evidence into the mixture. Let it sit for a day. That’s when you’re ready for your confrontation. You might not want to use that pot again, either.

Confront your target with your evidence, verbally accusing them of their crime. This accusation doesn’t have to be too specific, but it should at least include some vague concept of who the victim was and how the piece of evidence you are using was involved. Once they have verbally denied these charges three times, the spell takes effect.