Dance of the Dawnflower Dervish
TransmutationTransmutation spells change the properties of some creature, thing, or condition.
Ritual Level 8
- Casting Time
- 80 minutesRituals take far longer than spells to perform — typically 10 minutes per ritual level, and sometimes hours or days. The ritual fails if its casting is interrupted.Spell rule: Casting Time ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Components
- V, M (a flask of blessed sunflower seed oil worth 100 gp for each caster and a potion of cat’s grace), F (a masterwork scimitar made from rose gold worth 5,000 gp), SC (at least 1, up to the Charisma modifier of the primary caster)V (Verbal): Spoken incantations, often chanted by all participants throughout the casting.M (Material): Physical substances consumed by the ritual. Costly components are listed with their price.F (Focus): A prop used but not consumed by the ritual — it can be reused.SC (Secondary Casters): Additional casters who aid the primary caster; the required count appears in the components line as "SC (…)".Spell rule: Components ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Range
- touchHow far the ritual's effect reaches from the primary caster, measured like a spell's range.Spell rule: Range ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Target
- primary and secondary castersHow the ritual is aimed: a Target (specific creatures or objects), an Effect it creates, or an Area it covers. "Target or Area" means the ritual uses either, at the casters' choice.Spell rule: Aiming a Spell ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Duration
- 1 day (D)How long the ritual's effect lasts once completed — from instantaneous to permanent. A trailing "(D)" means the primary caster can dismiss it.Spell rule: Duration ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Saving Throw
- Will negates (harmless)If the ritual allows a save, this lists which save and its effect. A ritual's save DC is usually fixed by the ritual rather than derived from a caster's ability.Spell rule: Saving Throw ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Spell Resistance
- yes (harmless)Whether a creature's spell resistance can block the ritual's effect (Yes/No).Spell rule: Spell Resistance ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
Skill ChecksThe heart of a ritual: during the casting the primary caster (and sometimes assistants) must succeed at the listed skill checks. Each entry gives the skill, its DC, and how many successes are required. Failing a check can trigger the ritual's Failure entry.Casting Occult Rituals ↗
| Skill | DC | Successes |
|---|---|---|
| Acrobatics Acrobatics You can keep your balance while traversing narrow or treacherous surfaces. You can also dive, flip, jump, and roll to avoid attacks and overcome obstacles. View on Archives of Nethys ↗ | 30 | 3 |
| Knowledge (religion) Knowledge You are educated in a field of study and can answer both simple and complex questions. Like the Craft, Perform, and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of different specialties. Below are listed typical fields of study. View on Archives of Nethys ↗- Arcana (ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols, constructs, dragons, magical beasts) - Dungeoneering (aberrations, caverns, oozes, spelunking) - Engineering (buildings, aqueducts, bridges, fortifications) - Geography (lands, terrain, climate, people) - History (wars, colonies, migrations, founding of cities) - Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids) - Nature (animals, fey, monstrous humanoids, plants, seasons and cycles, weather, vermin) - Nobility (lineages, heraldry, personalities, royalty) - Planes (the Inner Planes, the Outer Planes, the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, outsiders, planar magic) - Religion (gods and goddesses, mythic history, ecclesiastic tradition, holy symbols, undead) | 30 | 2 |
| Perform (dance) Perform You are skilled at one form of entertainment, from singing to acting to playing an instrument. Like Craft, Knowledge, and Profession, Perform is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Perform skills, each with its own ranks. View on Archives of Nethys ↗Each of the nine categories of the Perform skill includes a variety of methods, instruments, or techniques, a small sample of which is provided for each category below. - Act (comedy, drama, pantomime) - Comedy (buffoonery, limericks, joke-telling) - Dance (ballet, waltz, jig) - Keyboard instruments (harpsichord, piano, pipe organ) - Oratory (epic, ode, storytelling) - Percussion instruments (bells, chimes, drums, gong) - String instruments (fiddle, harp, lute, mandolin) - Wind instruments (flute, pan pipes, recorder, trumpet) - Sing (ballad, chant, melody) | 30 | 3 |
BacklashHarm or strain the casters suffer simply from performing the ritual, regardless of whether it ultimately succeeds.Casting Occult Rituals ↗
The primary caster takes 2d6 points of damage and all casters are exhausted.
FailureWhat goes wrong if the ritual's skill checks fail — often dangerous, ranging from wasted effort to summoning a hostile creature or worse.Casting Occult Rituals ↗
All casters cannot be targeted by any beneficial spells from the conjuration (healing) school (such as cure light wounds) and cannot touch a scimitar for 1 year (this is a curse effect, and can be removed with remove curse or similar effects).
Description
This ritual must be cast at dawn beneath the open sky on the Material Plane. The ritual must be performed at a site of Sarenite worship (such as a dervish house, shrine, or temple of Sarenrae) that has hosted active worship services for at least 52 consecutive weeks. The primary caster holds aloft the rose-gold scimitar, and the secondary casters stand around him and begin spinning in place. The primary caster recites 23 verses from Sarenrae’s holy text, The Birth of Light and Truth, taking a sip from the potion of cat’s grace between each stanza. After the last verse is completed, the secondary casters whirl around the primary caster, each anointing the rose-gold scimitar with blessed sunflower seed oil. Upon the successful completion of the ritual, all the casters are filled with the spirits of dervish heroes, becoming faster, stronger, tougher, and more skilled in combat. Each caster gains a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution; a +2 dodge bonus to AC; and a +2 sacred bonus on all saving throws. The caster’s base attack bonus is equal his character level (which may give the caster multiple attacks). If the caster’s base attack bonus is already equal to his character level, he gains one additional attack at his highest base attack bonus when making a full-attack action. In addition, any scimitar wielded by a caster is treated as if it has the keen weapon special ability. In exchange, each caster temporarily loses his ability to cast spells, save for those from the conjuration (healing) school.Finally, once during the duration of the ritual, each caster can activate a whirling dance on the battlefield as a standard action. While dancing, the caster gains the effects of a displacement spell and can use the Spring Attack and Whirlwind Attack feats as if he possessed them without meeting their prerequisites. This dance is a supernatural effect and lasts a number of rounds equal to the primary caster’s character level.
Each caster of the ritual can individually choose to dismiss the ritual’s effects for himself.