Path of Duat

To use the Path of Duat, the magician must carry a talismanic gem of black onyx carved with the image of a mummified man--the form of Sokar, the god of Duat. A few minutes before using the path, the magician smears the talisman with a drop of her own blood as an offering to Sokar and whispers a short prayer. Except for the last power, the effects last as long as the magician concentrates upon maintaining it. This means the magician cannot engage in any violent physical activity, or employ other path or ritual magic. The character can, however, use passive amulets. None of the Duat powers cost blood points. The magician relies upon her blasphemy-shrine's power.
Difficulty increases if the lector-priest does not catch the victim's attention using the darkly glittering talisman on the turn when she initiates the magic. The Path of Duat can affect any victim that the magician can see with his own eyes. Once the magician can no longer see the victim, it ends.

1 • A Sending of Serpents
Through this power, the magician makes her victim hallucinate about snakes. The victim starts by seeing a single asp slithering nearby. No matter what the victim does, the snake comes closer. If he runs, another snake drops down before him or slithers from beneath the furniture. If he attacks the snake, it vanishes but another serpent takes its place. Before long, more serpents appear, and one manages to coil around his body...Although the snakes look real and deadly, they never actually bite. They can only frighten the victim. Other people, of course, do not see these phantom serpents and might assume a frightened victim is on drugs or has lost his mind.

2 • Darkness of Duat
The dead in Duat exist in darkness, relieved only by the nightly passage of the ship of Ra. This power casts the darkness into a victim's eyes, rendering him blind. The victim also hears the soft lapping of the River of Death as it flows through the Underworld. The victim sees nothing as long as the magician concentrates upon her.

3 • Suffocation of the Tomb
Along with their other torments, the dead in Duat cannot breathe or speak. The "Opening of the Mouth" funerary ritual was meant to deliver the deceased from this unhappy condition. Through this power, a magician renders a victim as breathless and mute as the dead. For a mortal this can be deadly if the magician persists long enough, for vampires it would be no more than minor annoyance.

4 • The Narrow House
The dead in Duat rest in coffins that open only when the sun-God Ra makes his nightly appearance. At this level, the magician makes her victim feel that he is trapped in coffin, unable to move. A successfully paralyzed victim can take no action at all as long as the magician concentrates upon her, unless the her player spends a Willpower point. In that case, the victim can act for that single turn. This power affects vampires, other corporeal supernatural entities and wraith, but not other sorts of spirits.

5 • Consignment to Duat
The ultimate power of this path sends the victim's entire consciousness to Duat. For a mortal, this means death. For a vampire, it merely means torpor--but since the victim is at the magician's mercy, in all likelihood Final Death soon follows anyway.
Costs one Willpower point. The victim, feeling himself die, can also expend Willpower to stay active for another turn. The victim's player spends another Willpower point each turn to keep the character alive (or undead). To survive the attack, the victim needs some way to break the magician's concentration or escape her line of sight.
Torpor induced lasts the normal duration set by the victim's humanity or Path of Enlightment rating--barring further action by the magician.

Thaumaturgy