Question on Summoning Rules

[Michael S. Miller]

I ran my second session last night, and it went very well. I'm still trying to get a handle on all the different NPCs I have to play, but that's primarily getting familiar with the characters.

My question refers to pages 86 and 87 of the main book.  The description of Summoning says that the modifiers come from the repition of tries and sacrifice of a human or animal. The chart on p 86 & at the back of the book mentions drugs, but not sacrifice. There's no mention of this on the errata page, so I'm a bit confused? What can enhance a summoning roll?

Thanks,
MSM

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Michael,

I'll run down some of the best things to consider for Summons bonuses ... often a big deal, considering the subtractive role of Humanity, which puts dice at a real premium.

1) Don't forget possible rolled-over victories from the Contact role.

2) Role-playing bonuses, all the way - the usual rules. Anything the player adds, comments on, or acts out. Even when someone in the group goes "Cool!" or "Eew!"

3) Sacrifice: the rules for this are on p. 87, in the paragraph about Summoning. The victim's Stamina or Will (whichever is higher) is used for the bonus. [If you have Sorcerer & Sword, much more sophisticated rules are used for full-blown necromancy.]

4) As for any of the rituals, add 1 die for taking a really long time, 8 to 24 hours.

Best,
Ron