Benediction

Drawn from ancient Catholic rites that predate the

Council of Nicea and from secret invocations encoded into
the New Testament, Benedictions give the witch-hunters of
the Malleus Maleficarum the righteous might to strike down
the servants of Satan that lurk in the darkness. By invoking
the name of the One True God and His Son Jesus Christ,
and by pleading for the intercession of the saints, the Malleus
Maleficarum can call down fi re from heaven, steel their
hearts against the terrors of the night and draw the poison of
demonic possession from the souls of the righteous.
Benediction rituals have no levels associated with them;
as long as a character has at least one dot of Benediction,
he may, theoretically, learn any and all
rituals by investing the time and experience
points. At character creation, he
learns one ritual per dot of the Benediction
Merit.

New Benediction rites may be purchased

at a cost of five experience points
per ritual. It takes one week to acquire a
new Benediction, and the rite can only
be gained through intense teaching and
prayer.
The activation of Benedictions
varies from ritual to ritual, but all
have the following common modifiers:

Suggested
Modifiers
Modifier Situation
-3 Ritualist’s Morality is 3 or less
-1 Ritual incorporates no overt shows of faith
+1 Ritualist is an ordained priest, monk or nun
+1 Ritualist’s Morality is 8 or higher
+2 Ritual incorporates the sacraments
+5 Ritual is performed on the appropriate saint’s feast day (see individual
Benedictions)
The Apostle’s Teachings
According to the Bible, Jesus told his Apostles to go forth
and spread the word of the faith, teaching not by forced conversion
or sermonizing, but by example: the Apostles, much
like hunters, cured the sick, drove out demons and ministered
to the people. Today, the Malleus Maleficarum holds
to those same teachings. By invoking the favor of the Twelve
Apostles, a hunter may inspire others through her own good
works, showing the spiritual rewards of virtue and rightness.
Cost: None.
Action: Reflexive.
Dice Pool: Composure + Benediction.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The hunter gains no benefit from
fulfilling her Virtue. She regains no Willpower and cannot
bestow Willpower on others.
Failure: The hunter regains Willpower for fulfilling her
Virtue but cannot bestow those points on others.
Success: Instead of regaining Willpower herself when she fulfills her Virtue, the hunter gains a
pool of Willpower points equal
to her maximum Willpower, which she may allocate to any mortal
characters in line of sight. She may give as many points as she likes
to one character, or may spread the points out to many characters,
but she cannot take any points for herself and she cannot increase
a character’s current Willpower total beyond its maximum.
Exceptional Success: As a success, but the hunter may
allocate points to herself and may increase a character’s Willpower
point total beyond its maximum. This extra Willpower
point vanishes at the end of the scene if unspent.
This Benediction is invoked as a reflexive action when
the hunter regains Willpower by fulfilling her Virtue. She
does not have to use this Benediction if she does not wish
to, but she may only use it if she has not already regained
Willpower by fulfilling her Virtue (or used this Benediction)
during the current chapter.
Suggested Modifiers

Modifier Situation
+1 Character’s Virtue is Faith
+5 Benediction is performed on June 29th (feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul)
Armor of St. Martin
In the constant battle against the minions of Satan, the
Malleus Maleficarum must stand ever ready. Since the modern
world frowns upon the wearing of riot vests by the general
population, many hunters offer their prayers to St. Martin of
Tours, the patron saint of soldiers, to watch over them and
protect them. Uttered before going into battle, the prayer of
the Armor of St. Martin has saved many hunters’ lives.
Cost: 1 Willpower.
Action: Instant.
Dice Pool: Stamina + Benediction.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The hunter’s prayers are not sufficiently sincere; not only does he not receive
St. Martin’s protection, but he also suffers a -1 penalty to his Defense for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The hunter does not gain the benefit of St. Martin’s blessing.
Success: The hunter gains an Armor rating equal to his Benediction dots. This armor does not
stack with mundane armor or other forms of supernatural armor, nor does it reduce
the hunter’s Defense. The Armor of St. Martin does not protect
against attacks that naturally inflict aggravated damage.
Exceptional Success: The hunter may spend a Willpower
point to downgrade the damage from a lethal wound to
bashing. This effect only downgrades the base damage from
the attack; it has no effect on damage that wraps around from
a full Health chart.
The Armor of St. Martin lasts for one scene.

Modifier Situation
+1 The hunter is fighting to defend helpless innocents
+5 The Benediction is performed on November 11th (feast day of St. Martin of
Tours)

Epipodian Safeguard
Satan’s servants are as subtle as they are powerful. Many
are capable of warping a hunter’s mind, forcing her to betray
her friends and allies. By invoking St. Epipodius, patron saint
of the betrayed, a member of the Malleus Maleficarum can
safeguard herself against such blasphemous arts. Through the
power of faith, her soul remains pure and loyal.
Cost: 1 Willpower.
Action: Instant.
Dice Pool: None.
Effect: By spending a point of Willpower and uttering a
prayer to St. Epipodius, the hunter gains a preternatural resistance
to mental domination, be it by spell or possession or a more
mysterious force. For the rest of the scene, she adds her Benediction
rating to any Resistance Attribute rolled to contest any supernatural
power that seeks to control her mind. This resistance
does not apply against powers that merely affect her mind (such
as a witch’s ability to conjure illusions or a demons ability to invoke
terror), only those that would control her actions (such as
demonic possession or a vampire’s dread gaze).

Blessed Protection of St. Agrippina

Those strong in the faith can expel demons from the
bodies of the possessed and even force them to depart from
a place, but even the righteous warriors of God must have
their secret counsels, and it does no good to banish Satan’s
spawn if they have already overheard your battle plans. By
calling upon the blessings of the virgin martyr St. Agrippina,
a hunter may create a safe space into which the creatures of
the night cannot enter. Most cells of Malleus Maleficarum
hunters have at least one member who knows this Benediction,
and whose sacred duty it is to ensure that the group’s
headquarters remains protected.
Cost: 1 Willpower.
Action: Extended; each roll represents one minute of
chanting and prayer. The Benediction may be “rushed,” reducing
the time per roll to one turn at the cost of incurring
a -1 penalty on the roll. The hunter must roll a number of
successes equal to the number of square yards the blessing’s
protection encompasses.
Dice Pool: Resolve + Benediction.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: An improperly performed ritual either
draws spirits and ghosts to the location or grants such beings a
temporary +1 to their Power when they are in the area.
Failure: No progress is made toward blessing the area.
Success: The character makes progress toward blessing
the area with St. Agrippina’s protection.
Exceptional Success: Not only is significant progress made
toward completing the blessing, but the protected area’s Strength
also gains a +1 bonus (Benediction + 1 for a general blessing,
Benediction +2 for a blessing against a specific monster).
The Blessed Protection of St. Agrippina can be a general
blessing that protects against all monsters, or it may be
custom-tailored to affect only a single unholy blasphemy, but
at greater potency. When creating a ward against a specific
creature, the hunter does not need to know the name of the
entity — an obvious designation, such as “the vampire who
killed Maria Buchenwald” or “the demon that tempted me
with wealth and power” is a sufficiently accurate description.
Specific blessings protect against only that particular being,
though. They have no effect on any other monster.
Each blessing must be tied to some sort of physical marker,
such as a fence or a line of holy water sprinkled across the
floor. If anyone or anything disturbs or makes an opening in
this physical marker, the blessing instantly ceases to function.
A character cannot bless an area that is more than 21 yards
on a side; he can protect a small house and most of its yard,
a large house or most of a warehouse, but not an entire office
building or city block. The Blessed Protection of St. Agrippina
is generally stationary; the only way to move the effect
is to move the entire structure the blessing protects. Thus, it
is possible to ward a house or even a car, but not an individual
person (wards must affect an area, and most people don’t
move the ground under their feet when they walk).
The blessing has a Strength rating equal to its creator’s
Benediction rating (or Benediction +1 for a blessing against
one particular creature) that measures its ability to keep out
Satan’s spawn. This score is subtracted from the Presence (or
Power, for a ghost or spirit) of any affected monster that seeks
to enter the area. If the entity’s Presence or Power would be reduced
to zero, it cannot enter the blessed area. Otherwise, the
creature can enter, but all of its Power Attributes (Strength,
Intelligence and Presence) are reduced by the Strength of the
blessing for the entire time the entity remains in the area. If
any of these Attributes is reduced to 0, the monster cannot
use any actions that rely on that Attribute. Monsters outside
the blessed area that attempt to use supernatural powers to affect
anyone or anything inside the blessed area are still subject
to the blessing’s Strength. Monsters within the blessed area at
the time of its casting (such as a vampire within its haven during
the day) will endeavor to flee at any cost; inability to flee
causes the monster to suffer the effects as noted above.
The Blessed Protection of St. Agrippina lasts for one full
day if it is performed to ward off all supernatural entities, or for
a week if its blessing works against a single creature. Multiple
Blessed Protections of St. Agrippina do not stack; however, it
is possible to lay a blessing against one particular entity and
one against all monsters over the same area, or several separate
blessings against different specific creatures. For example, a
Malleus Maleficarum cell actively engaged in hunting down a
particular cabal of witches might well maintain a separate ward
against each member of the cabal, in addition to a general ward
against all monsters, around its headquarters. An individual
hunter may only have a single protection active at a time, thus,
the example above requires the cooperation of the entire cell.
Although a monster may convince a mortal to remove or
damage the physical markers that keep a blessing in place, such
entities are completely incapable of affecting these physical markers
directly, even if they could normally move or destroy them.
A spirit affected by a Blessed Protection of St. Agrippina cannot
make the area into an anchor while the protection is in place. A
ward does not undo the connection between an entity and its anchor
if the rite is performed on such an object, however. The spirit
or ghost’s Power is still reduced by the blessing, but it remains in
proximity to its anchor. Such a being whose Power is reduced to
zero is forced into a sort of hibernation while the blessing is active,
becoming dormant and inaccessible.

Suggested
Modifiers
Modifier Situation
-1 The area being blessed is devoted to some profane purpose (such as a
strip club or crack house)
+1 The area being blessed is consecrated ground
+5 Benediction performed on June 23rd (Feast Day of St. Agrippina)

The Boon of Lazarus

The greatest miracle Christ performed was the raising of
Lazarus from his tomb after four days, showing himself to be
the king of all life. By invoking the Apostolic right to raise
the dead in Christ’s name, a righteous hunter can restore life
to those who have recently died.
Cost: 1 Willpower dot.
Action: Instant.
Dice Pool: None.
No roll is required to activate this Benediction; the hunter
merely touches the body of a fallen ally and commands him in
the name of Christ to rise again. The hunter may only revive a
character who has been dead a number of minutes equal to his
Benediction rating. This Benediction has no effect on supernatural
beings, and it cannot restore the undead to life. This resurrection
restores all lost Health, returning the character to full Health,
but the ritual cannot reattach missing body parts, and thus cannot
be used on a body that has been decapitated or chopped in half;
there must be enough of the target intact to maintain life.
The sheer spiritual effort of invoking this miracle costs a dot
of Willpower; even then, the resurrection is imperfect. Those who
are brought back return just a little bit...off. Any character who
is resurrected by this Benediction automatically gains a major derangement.
The Malleus Maleficarum attributes this to the shock
of witnessing the Kingdom of God, but dark rumors spread of characters
who have been subject to this Benediction repeatedly going
completely mad. Some don’t see the Kingdom of God; they see the
fiery Pit. Some kill themselves for good. Others become slashers —
or, if the stories are to be believed, something even worse.
Fortitude of St. George
Best known for his slaying of the dragon in the city of Silene,
St. George was also a Christian martyr slain by the Roman Emperor
Diocletian. He endured tremendous torments and suffering,
and the stoicism with which he bore it convinced the Empress Alexandra
to convert to Christianity as well. The hunters of the Malleus
Maleficarum venerate St. George as one of the first of their
order in spirit, if not in formal membership, and they pray to him
for the courage and strength to endure the torments of their own
struggles with the Dragon. Hunters invoking this ritual sometimes
report feeling a presence hanging over them, watching and silently
judging. Tradition holds this to be the gaze of St. George, but some
have described the presence as vaguely...other.
Cost: None.
Action: Instant.
Dice Pool: Composure + Benediction.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The hunter’s prayers go unheeded.
The spiritual shock of such a blow to her faith causes her to
lose one Willpower. If she has no Willpower points left, she
suffers a -1 to all dice pools for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The hunter’s prayers fail to balm her soul.
Success: St. George answers the hunter’s prayers, filling her
with zeal and inner strength. She gains a dot of Stamina (which
increases her Health trait by one, as well). This dot remains for
one scene. She can also go a number of days equal to her Benedictions
score without eating or sleeping, though she still must supply
her body with water. During this time, she suffers no ill effects at
the hands of fatigue or deprivation. At the end of this period, she
will fall into a deep 12-hour slumber from which she sleeps like the
dead and cannot be awakened. A character cannot benefit from
the Fortitude of St. George more than once per 24 hours.
Exceptional Success: The hunter gains one additional
dot of Stamina, even if that would take her above five dots.

Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+5 Benediction is performed on April 23rd (feast day of St. George)

The Hands of St. Luke

Grievous wounds are all too common in the hunt, and
often the injured warrior cannot be taken to a hospital. The
soldier-priests of the Hammer of Witches know that the power
of faith to heal the wounded is a greater tool than the scalpels
and drugs of the modern doctor, and so they call on St. Luke
the Evangelist to restore life and vigor.
Cost: 1 Willpower.
Action: Extended; each roll represents one minute of
prayer and laying-on of hands.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Benediction.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The injured character’s wounds are visited
upon the healer in the form of stigmata. The healer suffers one point of
lethal damage as blood erupts from his palms, feet, side and brow.
Failure: No progress is made toward healing the injured character.
Success: The injured character’s wounds begin to close
through the power of God.
Exceptional Success: In addition to tremendous progress
being made, the Benediction downgrades one aggravated
wound to lethal.
Successes rolled on the extended action go toward healing
the characters. One success is required to heal a point of bashing
damage, while two successes are required to heal a lethal wound.
The healer need not declare a target number in advance, but the
character may only make a number of rolls equal to his Morality.
In order to use this Benediction, the healer must lay at
least one hand on the injured party. Skin-to-skin contact is
necessary. If physical contact is broken, all accumulated successes
are lost and the character must begin again. A character
may not use this ritual upon himself.

Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+1 The injured character’s Virtue is Faith
+5 Benediction is performed on October 18th (feast day of St. Luke)

Sanctification of the Blessed Virgin

The enemies of the faith are manifold, and while some
may be fought with sword and gun and purifying flame, some
exist against whom earthly weapons are no avail. Ghosts, demonic
spirits and other insubstantial terrors cannot be fought
by force of arms, but rather by the strength of faith. Truly devout
hunters can invoke the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
infusing ordinary objects with the divine power of faith.
Cost: 1 Willpower (see below).
Action: Extended; each roll represents one turn of prayer.
Dice Pool: Morality + Benediction.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The object to be sanctified is shattered
by the wrath of God, and the hunter loses any Willpower cost
associated with the ritual.
Failure: No progress is made toward completing the ritual.
Success: Progress is made toward completing the ritual.
Exceptional Success: In addition to major progress being
made, the rating of the blessed item created by this ritual is
increased by one dot.
This rite allows the hunter to create a blessed item (The
World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 214). Before beginning the
ritual, the hunter must decide on the dot rating he wishes
to bestow on the blessed item he creates. Each dot requires
three successes to create, and the maximum number of rolls
is capped by the hunter’s Morality. If the hunter fails, he does
not pay the Willpower cost except on a dramatic failure.
Creating a blessed item with this rite costs a point of
Willpower. The item remains blessed for the remainder of the
scene. If the hunter desires, he may spend a Willpower dot to
infuse the item with God’s blessing permanently.

Suggested
Modifiers
Modifier Situation
-2 The item being blessed is profane or blasphemous (a porn magazine, an
image of Jesus sprayed with horse urine).
-1 The item being blessed is one of no particular religious significance (e.g., a
baseball bat or comic book).
+0 The item being blessed is one of religious significance (a Bible, rosary, etc.).
+2 The blessed item is an actual relic of a saint, such as a bone or vial of blood.
+5 Benediction is enacted on May 24th (Feast Day of Mary, Help of
Christians).

The Shepherd’s Blessing

A good shepherd knows how to watch over his flock
without disturbing it. Even the scent of a wolf can panic the
sheep, and so the shepherd must move among the herd without
being noticed. So, too, must the hunter keep his activities
shrouded from the awareness of the people he protects, and
even those who would aspire to protect him.
Cost: 1 Willpower.
Action: Reflexive.
Dice Pool: Wits + Benediction (but see below).

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: Not only does the hunter fail to conceal
himself, but he actively draws attention to his presence. People
automatically notice him and try to engage him in conversation
even when he tries to be unobtrusive, and even if he tries
to hide, those looking for him get a +1 bonus on their rolls.
Failure: The hunter is unable to mask his presence from
those looking for him.
Success: The eyes of ordinary mortals slide right off the
hunter; people unconsciously acknowledge his presence but
refuse to actually notice him, even if he’s armed to the teeth
and engaged in an act of burglary. Any overtly hostile act,
such as fi ring a gun or shouting a threat, breaks the illusion
instantly, as does speaking anything other than prayer.
Exceptional Success: As a success, but if the hunter attacks
an enemy while still under the effects of this Benediction,
the effect does not end until after the attack (meaning
the target loses his Defense).
The effects of this Benediction are automatic. As long
as the hunter continuously murmurs prayers under his breath
(meaning he cannot otherwise speak) and takes no hostile actions,
ordinary mortals simply do not see him. Even suspicious
but non-threatening acts, like hot-wiring a car or picking a
lock on a door, do not break the effect. Supernatural creatures
and mortals actively looking for trouble (such as a patrolling
cop or a private guard) may make a Wits + Composure
roll contested by the hunter’s Wits + Stealth + Benediction.
This roll is reflexive for both parties. If the hunter rolls more
successes, he remains undetected. If the observer rolls more
successes, he pierces the veil and the effect is ended for all
characters in the vicinity.
The hunter may spend a second point of Willpower at any
time to expand the effect to include a number of willing allies
up to his Benediction rating. These allies must be mortal.

Suggested
Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+5 Benediction is performed on October 24th (feast day of St. Raphael,
patron saint of shepherds).

True Sight of St. Abel

The servants of Satan take many guises and hide behind veils
of shadow and deception. Vampires’ images blur and shift, hiding
their depredations from the eyes of the modern world. Witnesses
to the ravages of werewolves and to the foul blasphemies of witches
are afflicted with the demons of madness and soon forget what
they saw. By calling upon St. Abel, the patron saint of the blind,
the Malleus Maleficarum pierces the protections the Devil gives
his servants and grants the hunters the gift of true sight.
Cost: 1 Willpower.
Action: Extended; each roll represents one turn of prayer
and supplication.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Benediction.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The hunter fails to entreat the saint
with humility and righteousness in his heart; every character
who would have received the benefits of the ritual is instead
subject to the Blind Tilt for the remainder of the scene.
Failure: No progress is made toward calling down the
Benediction.
Success: The hunter makes progress toward invoking the
saint’s power.
Exceptional Success: Extraordinary progress is made.
Successes on the extended action must be allocated amongst
all the recipients of the ritual’s blessing. The number of blessed
must be determined at the outset of the action, but the hunter
need not specify the exact target number of successes. He may
make a total number of rolls equal to his Morality, and must assign
one success minimum to each intended target.
For the remainder of the scene, the players of all those
blessed may roll Resolve + (successes allocated). Success indicates
that the hunters can see monsters for what they are: if
he sees a vampire, he knows it is one of the spiteful dead. If he
sees a werewolf, even in its human state, he senses the feral
and protean nature of the thing.
In addition, any normal monstrous masking effects
fail (a vampire’s reflection or image appears crystal clear,
the sight of a werewolf inspires no terror or amnesia, and
the vulgar magic of a warlock is plain to his eyes). The
effects do function even on recorded media; a hunter benefiting
from the True Sight of St. Abel will see a vampire’s
image clearly, even if that image is on a three-week-old
video recording.
Finally, any creatures (ghosts, demons, spirits) existing in the
non-corporeal state of Twilight become visible as gauzy shadows.
That said, this ritual provides no benefit against active
powers of deception or stealth (such as the Lurker in Darkness
Dread Power), only those innate traits that protect the
monsters from discovery.

Example: Brother Justin has invoked the blessing of St. Abel

in preparation for battle with a pair of shapeshifting hellhounds. The
beasts are expecting his coming, and as he bursts into their lair, one
has already taken the form of a hulking wolf the size of a horse.
Brother Justin rolls his Resolve + 3 (the number of successes allocated
to the Benediction) and rolls two successes. He is untouched by
the moon-madness that comes from seeing such a demon in its true
form, and moves to attack. Unfortunately, he has no idea the beast’s
fellow has employed one of its demonic powers to render it hidden to
mortal eyes, and is coming up behind him with a knife…

Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+5 Benediction invoked on August 5th.

Vade Retro Satana

The rites of exorcism exist in many forms across many
of the world’s religions. The Catholic Church continues to
train exorcists in the art, though they try to keep that fact
quiet. The current form favored by the Church is detailed in
the Roman Ritual and made famous by films like The Exorcist.
The Malleus Maleficarum uses that form of the rite, but generally
prefers this archaic, medieval formula attributed to St.
Benedict. It claims that the rite has a greater power than that
of the Roman Ritual, and in any case, it resonates with the
order’s preference for the trappings of the medieval Church.
Cost: None
Action: Extended and contested; each roll represents
five minutes of repeating the Vade Retro Satana; or contested
(see below).
Dice Pool: Resolve + Composure + Benediction.

Roll Results
This Benediction serves the Malleus Maleficarum in
the same way that the abjuration and exorcism actions (The
Chronicles of Darkness Core Rulebook, pp. 140) serve other
hunters. All the rules for those actions apply to the use of this
Benediction, which may be a contested action (if used as an
abjuration) or a contested and extended action (if used as an
exorcism). In effect, knowledge of this Benediction enables
the hunter to add his Benediction rating as a bonus to his
abjuration and exorcism dice pools.

Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+5 Benediction is invoked on July 11th (feast day of St. Benedict).

THE VADE RETRO SATANA

The text of the Vade Retro Satana,
in Latin, is:

Crux sancta sit mihi lux

Non draco sit mihi dux
Vade retro satana
Nunquam suade mihi vana
Sunt mala quae libas
Ipse venena bibas

The prayer roughly translates to:

May the Holy Cross be my light
Let not the dragon lead me
Step back, Satan
Never tempt me with
vain things
What you offer me is evil
Drink the poison yourself

Wrathful Sword of St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael, the general of the Heavenly Host, did personal
battle against Lucifer in the last days of the War in
Heaven. It was by Michael’s hand that the Morningstar’s
power was broken, and he was thrown down from the celestial
city into the bowels of Hell. By praying to the mighty
warrior angel, a hunter can imbue an earthly weapon with
the divine power to smite the devils that haunt humankind.
Few earthly implements can channel the divine power for
long, but for as long as it lasts, a weapon sanctified by Michael
is the most potent weapon in a hunter’s arsenal.
Cost: 2 Willpower.
Action: Instant (however, the Willpower cost must be
paid over two consecutive turns).
Dice Pool: Strength + Benediction.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The weapon is unable to channel the
divine wrath and shatters immediately.
Failure: The weapon is not imbued with the power of
the archangel.
Success: The weapon blazes with Heaven. When wielded against supernatural inflicts
aggravated damage. The weapon of aggravated damage equal to the number In addition, it
counts as a blessed equal to the successes rolled.
Exceptional Success: No additional inflicting a large amount of aggravated Despite the name,
this Benediction bless a sword. Any melee weapon, may be blessed with the power of this
Benediction last for one scene, been used to inflict a number of points of aggravated damage
equal to the number of successes rolled on the activation roll.
Once the weapon has inflicted that amount of aggravated
damage, it shatters, overcome by the divine power poured
into it. If the scene ends before the weapon has inflicted its
maximum aggravated damage, the effect ends and the weapon
is not broken. The hunter who imbues the weapon needn’t be
the hunter who uses it to incur damage.

Suggested Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+5 Benediction performed on September 29th (Michaelmas)

The Casting Out of Witches

The legend goes that St. Patrick cast the snakes out
of Ireland, but Ireland never had snakes to begin with.
What he did was cast out the Pelagian heresy, a heresy
that rejected “original sin”—a heresy supposedly driven
by a secret cabal of Gnostic mages.
This Benediction attempts to recreate—on a smaller
level—the “casting out” of heresies. In this case, it’s
used to cast out witches and mages, primarily, though it
has effects on other monsters, as well.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Extended (each roll is equivalent to ten
minutes’ worth of prayer; the target number of successes
is equal to five times the hunter’s own Benediction
score).
Dice Pool: Presence + Benediction
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The hunter’s voice is seared
by damning flame; he loses his voice for the next 24
hours.
Failure: The chanted prayer fails to conjure any
meaningful effect.
Success: Those monsters within a given range of effect
(according to the hunter’s Benediction score, as below)
are compelled to flee. They may fight to stay, but in
doing so must take a cumulative -1 penalty per minute
(maximum -5 dice). Witches are more deeply affected,
and must spend a Willpower point to even consider remaining
in the area of effect.
Benediction Score Area of Effect
• 50 yards
•• 100 yards
••• 500 yards
•••• 1 mile
••••• 10 miles
This only takes effect once the hunter has completed
the prayer ritual (i.e. received the proper number of
successes). Once in effect, it lasts for one hour.
The monsters will go out of their way to flee the radius
of effect, even going so far as to incur minor (bashing)
damage to do so. The power manifests to the targets as a
sickly, greasy, impure feeling—waves of nausea, dizziness,
headaches. (The Storyteller may require a Wits + Composure
roll to even realize that they’re being supernaturally
compelled before allowing the monster a chance to
counter it with a Willpower point and/or a penalty.)
Exceptional Success: As above, but the duration is
doubled (two hours).

Visions of St. Colette

The Saint Colette was granted visions of future events by the Lord. And by dint of his Holy
mission the Malleus Maleficarum agent may be granted these as well.
And while the visions flood his mind and prevent him easy rest, it is a small price to pay for the
guidance of The Lord.

Once per game session, the Malleus Maleficarum agent can use this Benediction ability to gain
a supernatural insight concerning a question or topic. Activating this ability requires at least one
hour spent in sleep, prayer or an activity exclusively focused on accessing an altered state of
consciousness.

Cost: None, but the scenes associated with the visions prevent the character from regaining a
Willpower point from the next night’s rest.
Action: Instant.
Dice Pool: Composure + Benediction. The Storyteller should roll in secret so the player doesn’t
know if he is receiving useful clues or meaningless imagery.

Roll Results
Dramatic failure: A nightmare. The character can interpret
it any way he wants, but it probably leads to more
trouble than solutions.
Failure: Meaningless images.
Success: One or more clues (one per success), although
they must be interpreted.
Exceptional success: One or more clues (one per success),
and a suggestion about their interpretation provided
by the Storyteller.

The information conveyed is hidden behind allegory,

symbols and archetypes. The visions rarely answer
questions directly, typically relying on symbolism, allegory and imagery
to convey information. A priest seeking a specific
person’s location wouldn’t see his address, but landmarks
nearby could lead the way: a river, a tower or even the face
of a man walking by at dusk. The answer has the potential
to resolve the problem. It’s a tool for the Storyteller to help
drive events of the story, not the answer on a plate.

Peace of St. Joseph

Joseph of Arimathea demanded that Pontius Pilate hand
over the body of Christ after His execution to gave Him a proper
burial. Laying the dead to rest is an important part of the
Malleus Maleficarum’s work, even if the “dead” in question are
usually mobile, predatory, and require immolation before the
ceremony. This Benediction saps the vigor from dead flesh, no
matter what force animates it.
NOTE: Remember, Prometheans are not undead. They
are living beings that are typically made from dead flesh. When
that is the case, this Benediction will work on the Created.
However, it suffers a -3 modifier.
Action: Instant and contested
Dice Pool: Presence + Benediction vs. Stamina + Potency

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: If the hunter suffers a dramatic failure,
his prayers to St. Joseph go unheeded. Unfortunately, the hunter
has still forged an unfortunate connection to the target. If
the target creature attacks the hunter during the next scene, it
receives a +2 to whatever attack or power it uses.
Failure: No effect on either the hunter or the creature.
Success: If the hunter’s player rolls more successes than
the creature’s, whatever magic or force animates the creature is
muted. The creature suffers a penalty to Initiative, Speed, and
any Physical actions equal to the hunter’s Benediction rating
for as long as the creature remains within 30 feet of the hunter.
Regardless, the effects of the Benediction end with the scene.
Exceptional Success: As above. Additionally, if the hunter
is removed from the creature’s presence, or is killed, the effects
persist for the rest of the scene.

Saint Collen’s Clarity

Saint Collen was a Welsh monk renowned for his dedication
to protecting those around him from supernatural threats.
Legends claim he was invited to dine with the fairies in Arcadia,
and after refusing three times, finally accepted. The fae
king welcomed Collen into a rich castle, where he was waited
upon by an army of servants, and led to a feast table heavy with
all manner of food and drink. The king promised the monk
delights no man had ever tasted before. Collen was not so easily
fooled, however, knowing that those who dine with the fae
are doomed into their service. He prayed for protection against
the fae’s deception and sprinkled holy water over everything,
whereupon the fairy illusions dissolved, revealing bare tables,
empty halls, and the fae king sitting all alone on his hard wooden
throne.
Note that on the day of Saint Collen’s Feast, May 21st, any
successes with this Benediction are treated as exceptional.

Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Wits + Benediction

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: Not only is the hunter unable to pierce
the supernatural illusions in the area, but his ability to accurately
perceive the world around him is diminished. For the
remainder of the scene, all Investigation dice pools, or attempts
to discern truth from lie, are made at a -2 penalty.
Failure: No effect.
Success: For the remainder of the scene, supernatural powers
that affect the senses have no effect on the hunter. Invisible
creatures appear clearly to him, fae miens are revealed, and any
glamour that makes an object smell, look, sound, or feel different
than its true nature does not affect the hunter protected by this
Benediction. The illusory powers still exist — the hunter is simply
able to perceive the truth, and is not affected by falsehoods.
Exceptional Success: The effects of this Benediction last
for a full day.

Fiacre’s Staff / Benediction of the Rose

Saint Fiacre could reportedly turn fallow earth with
the end of his staff and have it come to life as if tilled and
gardened by a skilled hand. Other eyewitness accounts
say he commanded boulders to move out of his way and
off the grounds of his garden. This gift has since been
refined into a weapon. The folklore of a wooden shaft
through the heart forcing the damned to slumber or
fall to dust finds root because vampires are a rejection
of the natural order and God’s will. The touch of life is
so accursed to them that contact with same is a terrible
burden. The Staff of Saint Fiacre as a Benediction takes
this aversion further to a degree that the abomination is
rejected by all of God’s unspoiled creation.
Historically, Saint Fiacre banned women from his
parish. Accordingly, access to this Benediction has long
been forbidden among female members of the Malleus
Maleficarum. While some within the Church still resist
the more enlightened times of the modern world, women
are no longer forbidden from achieving Status within
this conspiracy. In an effort of compromise, there exists
a version of this rite refined by the Brides of Christ and
other female parishioners aligned with the Shadow Congregation.
This version is known as the Benediction of
the Rose after Saint Rose of Lima, whose dedication to
Christ (as well as her love of tilled earth) was reportedly
profound and unrivaled. The effects are the same and
any and all changes are cosmetic at most.
Any object or material blessed with this Benediction
may be used to cause harm to vampires and specifically
can be used to pierce the heart with the same rules
and effects as a wooden stake. Objects that work best
include unforged iron, unalloyed metals, unprocessed
wood, plant life and un-quarried stone. Those items are
not quite as common as they were in the old days, and
modern practitioners find cut stone and mildly refined
materials to still be effective, if less so. An old fashioned
fire poker, a marble urn, or pewter cane might suffer a
penalty to the blessing but still effective. (Items made to
serve as weapons to begun with cannot be blessed by this
Benediction.). The item must still be sharp and sturdy
enough to perform the act of staking or being used as a
weapon. Blessing the object necessitates praying over it
while using it to disturb any form of earth, even if the
dirt is found in a window box or sandbag. It is, of course,
altogether preferable to stay as true to the image of Father
Fiacre or Sister Rose overturning God’s own soil.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Stamina + Benediction

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The Benediction backfires and the
user find herself rejected by the very objects she intended
on using. She takes one point of lethal damage as the item
creates an intense heat the user cannot bear to handle.
Failure: The invocation falls upon deaf ears and
the selected object gains no benefits.
Success: Items blessed by this Benediction ignore
penalties for being used as improvised weapons and, in
addition, gain a bonus on attacks against vampires or
other forms of undead. The bonus is equal to successes
gained on the Benediction roll (maximum of +5). This
lasts for the remainder of the scene.
Exceptional Success: As above; as a rather strange
addition, lethal wounds caused by the blessed item often
sprout flowers—roses, most commonly—only a few
turns after the damage has been done.

Suggested
Modifiers
+5 Fiacre’s Staff is performed on August 30 (Feast Day of Saint Fiacre)
+5 Benediction of the Rose is performed on August 23 (Feast Day of Saint
Rose of Lima)
-2 Item is made of processed material

La Langue Des Saints

Vampires are quite familiar with the art of lies. Their
every interaction with the living world is one grand deceit,
a profound masquerade where behind every mask
waits another mask. However, no lie escapes God’s sight
and behind every lie is the dark seed of guilt. By invoking
Saint Francis de Sales, hunters of the Malleus Maleficarum
have found a way to ensure that seed grows into a
tangle of catharsis among the lowly and the wretched.
A great peacemaker, converter and diplomat, Saint
Francis has become a patron of confessors. By calling upon
his name, the hunter can command the truth of vampires
or similar abominations. Saint Francis himself guides the
tongue of the foul target and all who are near can be sure
the next answer it provides will be without deceit.
By spending a turn in prayer, the practitioner
points and commands his target to speak true before
God. The vampire must answer the hunter as truthfully
as possible. Questioners should be careful to word
their queries wisely. The undead are as accomplished
at lying as the Devil himself.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Instant and contested
Dice Pool: Composure + Benediction versus target’s
Resolve + Subterfuge

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The Benediction backfires.
Saint Francis has found deceit in the heart of the practitioner
and taken offense to her demand for truth.
She can tell no lies for 24 hours.
Failure: No effect; the vile creature may continue
to twist the truth as it pleases. The practitioner may try
again at an increased cost of 2 Willpower.
Success: The vampire is compelled to answer a
number of questions equal to the number of successes
the hunter gained over the target. Only the hunter may
speak the questions, for only the hunter is possessed of
Saint Francis’ Benediction. Also, note that “truth” is a
bit flexible—if the vampire believes that he did not kill
his last victim (even though reality says otherwise), then
the vampire will answer according to what he genuinely
believes. Truth is relative to the speaker.
Exceptional Success: As above, but now the creature
also gains a mild derangement as if it has just lost a point
of its Morality. Overwhelming guilt assails the monster.
Storytellers should note that this could provide an inroad
toward rehabilitation of the creature, should the
hunter decide to attempt it. The creature may endeavor
to reclaim some of its lost Morality if urged to do so.

Suggested Modifiers
+5 Benediction performed on January 24 (Feast Day of Saint Francis of
Sales)
+2 Target is Catholic
+1 Practitioner is canonized
-1 Target is not a vampire
-2 Target’s Morality is 7 or above

Song of Daniel
Lambs lying among lions—that is the promise of God’s
Paradise and the power behind this Benediction. History
is full of accounts and images of the Saints walking among
wild beasts unharmed. Perhaps the most well known is
that of Daniel in the lion’s den where playing a simple
song caused the beasts to lie down, refusing to harm him.
Blaise, Vitus, and many others have used some form of
this hymn throughout history and it survives into these
modern nights. Vampires and other creatures are sometimes
said to have the soul of a beast lurking inside them,
and this Benediction aims to soothe that savage spirit.
It is highly doubtful this Benediction is the same song
Daniel used; this hymn is no less effective, however. Hunters
of the Malleus Maleficarum over the centuries have used
it not only to calm animals in their presence but have also
discovered that it can quite literally soothe the savage beast
within vampires, werewolves and other raging beasts.
When sung, the Song of Daniel spreads an air of
calm over the wildlife surrounding the practitioner. This
may be used to approach a specific creature, or let her
move through nature without disturbing the local fauna
and draw unwanted attention to herself. Beyond that, this
Benediction may be used against vampires or other creatures
suffering frenzy or similar states (see Night Stalkers p. 163) to bring
clarity back to their mind and a small peace to their soul.
Cost: 1 Willpower against animals; 2 Willpower
against creatures
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Charisma + Benediction – the highest
Resolve score of potentially-affected creatures

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The target is enraged instead.
Area animals view the invoker as a threat and respond
with an immediate fight response. Smaller creatures, like
rodents, are likely to break off and flee in short order, but
larger creatures and predators will need to be repelled.
Vampires or other similarly enraged creatures targeted
with this Benediction are not calmed and the hunter
becomes the sole focus of their supernatural rage.
Failure: The Benediction has no effect and animals
will behave and respond normally to the hunter’s
presence. Monsters remain in frenzy and will
need to be turned away through other methods.
Success: The hymn takes hold of the heart of the
beasts. Animals in the area are calmed and will let the
hunter pass without thought of fight or flight. Vampires
or other out-of-control creatures will find themselves
subdued by a supernatural peace overcoming them (see
“Frenzy,” p. 163). In addition, the hunter gains bonus
dice (equal to successes) on any Animal Ken rolls (for
animals) or Social rolls (involving cowed monsters). This
Benediction’s area of effect is equal to twice the hunter’s
Benediction score in yards. It lasts for one full scene.
Exceptional Success: For the remainder of the scene,
any animals or creatures must expend one point of Willpower
per turn of attack unless they are defending themselves.

Suggested Modifiers
+5 Song of Daniel performed on February 3 (Feast Day of Blaise)
+1 Vampire in frenzy of fear
-1 The animal is a predator/target is a werewolf
-3 Vampire in fight frenzy

Loyola’s Fire
This Benediction—allowing one to never be far
from God’s light—is named and credited to the Saint
best known for bringing the light of the Church to dark
places. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus
(better known in modern nights as Jesuits), was a knight
before coming to the cloth and often found himself in
dark places in need of shelter, warmth, and light.
By invoking the name of Saint Ignatius, the hunter
may imbue an object with his blessing and cast a holy
light through the darkness. This light illuminates all as
if through a crack in Heaven. Its glory is such that the
undead cannot suffer to be in its presence.
This prayer is uttered over a cross or similar holy object.
It is possible to perform the Benediction with the
power of the practitioner’s faith alone, but at a penalty.
The primary purpose of this Benediction brings a very
real illumination to the surrounding area that the unnatural
dead cannot abide. Despite the obvious utility of
this “secondary” feature of the Benediction, it remains
technically a side effect. Practitioners calling on Ignatius
without need of his light will find it significantly more difficult
than those followers truly wandering in the dark.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Resolve + Benediction

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: No light radiates outward, but
the one performing the Benediction becomes apparent
to any and all supernatural fiends within yards equal
to three times the practitioner’s Benediction score. It’s
as if the hunter is standing in the open on a clear day;
this carries through walls or other obstructions.
Failure: Loyola’s light is not made manifest.
Success: A light is cast from the object (or the performer’s
hand if no object was available) in a radius
equal to three times successes gained in yards. Vampires
must succeed upon a Resolve + Composure roll or suffer
from a frenzy of fear (p. 163). Ghosts, zombies, and
other undead react similarly to the light even if they
otherwise do not suffer from frenzy. Any creature thus
affected will do whatever it can to escape the light—
often fleeing until it tires. For every turn spent in the
light, the creature loses one point of Willpower (for
vampires, this may appear as the blood drying within
their bodies—flesh grows tight, even desiccated).
Exceptional Success: As above. In addition, those
caught within the light suffer a point of lethal damage.
Suggested Modifiers
+5 July 31 (Feast Day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola)
+2 Blessed object (i.e. sacred reliquary)
+1 Religious or other appropriate object (i.e. normal Bible)
+1 Pitch black
-1 No object
-2 The area is lit
-3 Profane object (i.e. pornographic magazine)

Mantle of Orleans
This Benediction is associated with Jeanne
D’Arc, the young French woman famously besieged
by visions of Heaven. Unable to ignore the
Lord’s call to arms, she waged a military campaign
that helped save France near the end of the One
Hundred Year War. Wrongly condemned for heresy
by the politicians of the time, Saint Jeanne has
posthumously been cleared of all charges, and beatified
and canonized in short order. She serves as
an inspiration to women in the church and all who bear
arms in the name of God. It is no surprise that the Malleus
Maleficarum have come to hold her in such high regard
when it comes time to raise the standard of war. Specifically,
this Benediction invokes her glorious success under
Heaven in lifting the siege of Orleans in only nine days.
This prayer blesses the practitioner’s brothers in arms as
they battle unholy forces. The companions of the practitioner
receive a blessing that guides their blows and turns
aside their enemies’ attacks in turn. In the course of the
prayer, the hunter invokes Margaret of Antioch, Catherine
of Alexandria and Michael the Archangel to aid in battle
as they once graced Saint Jeanne.
She must remain in prayer for every turn she wishes
to continue issuing the blessing. For every turn the practitioner
remains in prayer, members of her cell gain bonuses
to all combat rolls and attributes (i.e. Defense, Initiative).
This doesn’t necessitate rolling or expending Willpower
every turn, only the act of prayer itself. If interrupted (she
is otherwise stopped from speaking or is attacked, for instance),
the Benediction ends. She may not attempt to use
this Benediction again until 24 hours have passed.
Cost: 2 Willpower
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Benediction

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The practitioner and her cell are
besieged by visions of the Archangel Michael standing
in Holy Judgment. The cell suffers a -1 penalty to all
combat related rolls and -3 to their Initiative for the remainder
of the scene. The Benediction is over and the
practitioner may not continue the prayer or try again
for one full turn of the moon (28 days).
Failure: The invoker’s prayer fails to be heard and
the cell gains no benefit or blessing.
Success: The Benediction is successful and other
members of the cell gain the following benefits: +1 to
Defense, +1 to all combat-related rolls, +3 to Initiative,
and +3 to Speed. These bonuses last for as long as the
hunter prays (maximum one full scene). Note that the
hunter using this Benediction does not gain these benefits,
and may do nothing except pray if she hopes to
keep up the blessing. Those in the cell gaining these
benefits must be within 50 yards of the praying hunter.
Exceptional Success: As above, but the cell now
gains +2 to combat-related rolls.

Suggested
Modifiers
+5 May 30 (Feast Day of Saint Jeanne D’Arc)
+2 Holding a blessed item (a sacred banner, a sanctified sword)
-2 Distractions (loud noise, trembling ground, the combat is going on inches
from the hunter’s face)

Saint Agathius’ Call

Saint Agathius of Byzantium is one of the Fourteen
Holy Helpers, or Auxiliary Saints, and among
their number is the patron of soldiers. Scourged and
beheaded after terrible torture for refusing to renounce
his faith, a hunter knowing Saint Agathius’
Benediction can draw upon a measure of that saint’s
resolve. The hunter empowers himself in the martyr’s
role, drawing the attention and ire of an attacker so
that his companions may live unmolested.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Presence + Benediction

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The hunter prays, but answers
are not forthcoming. He suffers a -1 to all dice pools
for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The hunter does not gain the benefit of
Saint Agathius’ blessing.
Success: The hunter shines as if lit from within.
Those wishing to attack the character’s cell see the
hunter as the perfect choice, the only possible one to
attack. Anyone with Morality (or equivalent trait) 6
or below who wishes to attack a member of the cell
must spend a point of Willpower in order to attack
anyone other than the hunter using this Benediction.
If the attacker wanted to strike at the hunter anyway,
this power has no further effect.
Exceptional Success: Though they strike at him,
the hunter is protected by his higher calling. The
hunter’s Defense is increased by 1 until this effect
ends.
Saint Agathius’ Call lasts for one scene.

Suggested Modifiers
+1 The hunter is a Soldier by Profession.
+1 The hunter possesses the Giant Merit.
+2 The hunter has the highest Strength of his cell
+5 The Benediction is performed on May 8 (feast day of Saint Agathius of
Byzantium)

The Miracle of Gadarene

Even many non-Christians know the story of
Jesus and the Gadarene demon. While traveling
through the region of Gadarene, Jesus came across a
man that was possessed by demons. Christ compelled
the demons to speak their names and the demons replied
that their name was Legion. Jesus then forced
the demons out of the man and into a herd of swine,
which then threw themselves off a cliff.
Cost: None
Effect: Mechanically, Cast into Swine works in
the same way as “Vade Retro Santana” (see Hunter:
The Vigil, p. 162) except that the focus of this Benediction
is on the exorcism and consequent binding of
spirits. To perform Cast into Swine, the hunter must
have a general idea of the nature of the spirit he is
working against. The hunter then procures an animal
that is either metaphorically or literally the opposite
of that nature. In the case of violent spirits, the hunter
could choose a dove, which is traditionally a symbol
of peace. The exorcism is performed as usual with the
animal close at hand. When the spirit is driven from
the body of the possessed, it is forced into the body of
the animal and bound there. The opposing nature of
the animal keeps the bound spirit in check and denies
the spirit the ability to direct the actions of the animal.
Members of the Malleus Maleficarum place the
animal in seclusion until they can decide on a more
permanent solution. If the animal dies, as a result of
natural causes or violence, the spirit is freed.

The Binding of St. Amabilis

Amabilis of Riom served as a cantor at the church
of St. Mary at Clermont. Revered as the patron saint
against (among other things) demonic possession and
wild beasts, his image is that of a bishop listening to
an angel playing music. The brethren of the Malleus
Maleficarum have found the invocation of the saint’s
name works to weaken the demonic possession purportedly
responsible for werewolves.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Presence + Benediction
Effect: By spending a point of Willpower and invoking
the name of St. Amabilis, the hunter seeks
to limit the superior regenerative properties of werewolves
by binding the demons that possess them
through the power of holy song. When working this
Benediction, the hunter sings a wordless song of celestial
praise that affects any werewolf that can hear
it. The song is beautiful regardless of the normal capabilities
of the singer and fills the hearts of his friends
with peace. The hunter only needs to succeed on the
instant roll once, but must keep up the singing. While
he is concentrating on singing, the hunter may not
attack, may only move at half his normal Speed, and
his Defense is halved (round down). Any distractions
that might cause a lapse in concentration (a werewolf
biting him, for example) require the hunter to
succeed at a Resolve + Composure roll to maintain
concentration.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The invocation is uttered
without sufficient belief and the Benediction fails.
This leads to a minor lapse in faith and all Benediction
rolls suffer a -2 penalty until the hunter is able to
receive the balm of confession.
Failure: The binding fails.
Success: For as long as the hunter concentrates, any
werewolves that can hear the song lose their unnatural
regenerative abilities and heal no faster than regular hu-
mans. While the music continues, werewolves may not
heal themselves or each other by any means.
Exceptional Success: The above effects continue
for 24 hours even after the hunter stops concentrating.

Suggested Modifiers
-3 Performed in a noisy area
+5 Performed on All Saint’s Day (November 1)
+2 Performed on holy ground +2.

Revelationes Coelestes
The Malleus Maleficarum puts forth that magic, like
tainted blood, is a “pollution.” Historically (and bound to the
misogyny of the early order), the menstrual blood of a woman
was seen as corrupt in this way, tainted with vile energies. St
Birgitta of Sweden would not let her nuns ever touch altar
cloths with their bare hands for this reason. It was through
her “celestial revelations” (which gives the name of this
Benediction) that the conspiracy conjured this prayer, which
attempts to highlight the “pollution” of witches through an
expression of unwilling blood-letting.
Cost: 1 Willpower
Action: Instant
Dice Pool: Resolve + Benediction

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The hunter suffers intense sinus pain
and a nose or mouth bleed. The sinus pain incurs no wounds,
but for the remainder of the scene he suffers -3 dice to all
rolls.
Failure: The prayer falls on deaf ears.
Success: Any witches within a radius equal to fi ve times
the hunter’s Benediction score in yards suddenly bleed — one
may bleed from the nose, another from the mouth or eyes,
while a female witch might have her menses early. This causes
them no wounds, but any witch affected suffers -2 dice to all
rolls for the remainder of the scene.
Exceptional Success: As with success, but the penalty to
the witches is now -4 dice.

Suggested Modifiers
+5 The Benediction is performed on July 23, St Birgitta’s feast day
-2 The hunter performing the Benediction is already bleeding