Rituals of Alhazred
Latch-Star
The Latch-Star resembles protective star-in-circle signs found across folk magic, Pagan and Wiccan pentacle traditions, and the Lovecraft-adjacent occult imagination of the 1920s United States, but its post-Calamity use in Alhazred is practical survivor craft.
A silver coin is already a small silver circle. When marked with the Latch-Star, fixed in place, and activated by the correct rune, it becomes an immobile ward for 24 hours.
At the end of the duration, the silver is consumed.
Warding Form
When the star is contained inside the circle, the Latch-Star protects what is inside the warded radius.
This is the common survivor use:
- Camps
- Bedrolls
- Sickbeds
- Doorways
- Windows
- Cellars
- Temporary shelters
Affected supernatural creatures suffer Pressure to enter, perceive into, attack through, or exert influence through the boundary.
Binding Form
When the star extends beyond the circle, the Latch-Star protects the outside world from what is inside the circle.
Binding is specialized and dangerous. It is used for graves, jars, locked rooms, wells, cursed objects, corpses, and contained entities.
Binding does not work on a single coin without extra material, because the star must extend beyond the silver circle. It requires added silver, linked coins, inlaid wire, engraved plates, or another prepared boundary.
Binding is not automatically evil, but using it on living beings, unwilling souls, or human minds is widely treated as black magic.
Silver Pressure
Ward Pressure is based on the silver consumed.
| Coin | Pressure | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Silver dime | +1 |
24 hours |
| Silver quarter | +2 |
24 hours |
| Silver half dollar | +5 |
24 hours |
| Silver dollar | +10 |
24 hours |
The ward does not create an absolute wall. It makes crossing, reaching, perceiving, or influencing through the boundary harder for affected supernatural forces.
Common Rule
Survivors teach the simple version:
- Star inside: shelter.
- Star outside: prison.
- Broken circle: do not trust it.
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