Death
Death:
Drain Spirit
Plague
Death
Raise the Dead
Activate Dead
Command Dead
Control Dead
Suspend the Dead
De-activate
Animate Dead
Age the Dead
Become Dead
Curse Living
Dispell the Dead
Drain Life
Escape Death
Haunt
Imbed Lifeforce
Life Holders
Steal Life
Preservation
Protection vs Undead
Putrefy
Repair Dead
Repel Living
Slay Living
Spirit Forms
D Lich
D Sacrifice
D Speak with Dead
D Wraith
D Deaths Memory
D Deaths Stand
D Animate Dead
D Slaying
D Warriors
D Celebrate Death
D Return to the Grave
D Deaths Protection
D Deaths Touch
D Raise Dead
D Resurrection
Necromancy in its normal form is merely the study of death and the dead, along with powers to manipulate the dead and death. Necromancers tend to have a fascination with death, and some eventually become obsessed with it. This can lead them to taking up the Ritual of Immortality (Escape Death) and becoming Greater Necromancers (or Skull Lords etc). Taking this ritual is considered evil and an abomination before most gods, in particular the Death God. Creatures who go this far have long ago lost their humanity.
Normal necromancers can in fact be normal members of society, if a little reclusive and perhaps not socially popular. In some cultures they are powerful members of society, usually feared but occasionally respected. Many practitioners of magic will find themselves dabbling into some necromancy as some of the spells are very useful.
There are three major forms of Dead; Zombies, Skeletons and Undead. A Zombie retains most of its flesh and weight and is normally fairly recently dead. A Skeleton is what a Zombie becomes once it has lost 50% of its body, this will normally happen within 30 days of the creature dying (see Preservations however). A Skeleton is considered to have a Body value equal to its size in hexes. An Undead creature is one created by a Greater Necromancer or by a follower of the Dark Lord.
DEAD VS UNDEAD. The Dead are the remaining bodies of creatures that have died and their spirits have passed to the Plain of Limbo. Their bodies are merely the material husks of what was once a living being. When brought to “life” a dead body has a pseudo spirit placed within it, actually a replication of the Necromancers own spirit. This pseudo spirit does not have all the capacities or skills of its creator, but it does have a simple intelligence and the ability to perform tasks.
When a Necromancer gives an instruction to his dead servants they are in fact passing the needed skills from their own spirit to the dead copy. At anyone time however the dead servant can only have the last given skills in memory (like a program). Note however that the base pseudo spirit will contain copy of the basic skills of living and surviving (a basic operating system). A dead servant that is released from its creators control without being deactivated will retain its basic skills and the last skills it was given, and will be able to operate on an instinctive level. It will however have a greater desire to perform its last given skill, sometimes over and over (ala the broomsticks in the “Sorcerers’ Apprentice”).
The dead can be killed by destroying the integrity of their bodies, either by physical attacks or by other means. Remember they are not alive and so are vulnerable to certain other forms of attack that the living are not.
Undead are creatures that have refused to accept their deaths, in one fashion or another their spirits remain on the material plain and become “corrupt”. They may or may not keep their material bodies depending on their powers or the manner of their creation. Their bodies are however dead, the heart is not beating and blood does not flow. Only the will of the spirit will keep the body operating in a parody of the living. Undead always hate the living, and will always seek to destroy them. Many undead require the living to survive, eating their spirits to maintain their own existence. A Vampire is a classic example of this. Undead are not always easy to kill, after all they have learned how to survive death once already.
NECROMANCERS . A Necromancer is skilled in using the Dead, and the following spells. They may also have some ability with the Undead. The mage themselves however are still living and because of this they are able to create dead servants by duplicating their own life spirit. Necromancers cannot cast level four Necromancy spells, which are the realm of the Greater Necromancers.
GREATER NECROMANCERS. These are Necromancers who have become Undead, rejecting the natural order and adopting the ways of the eternally damned. Because they are now dead they can no longer use their own spirits to create dead servants. Instead they must use the life force of others, corrupting them and binding them to service. As an Undead they gain greater affinity for controlling other Undead, they suffer no penalty to spell castings. They also gain the extra advantage of being able to cast all necromantic spells against Undead. Where ever it says Dead they can now include Undead.
BASIC NECROMANTIC SPELLS.
II - Raise The Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
This is the starting spell for all necromancers, this spell is cast on a dead body and binds that body to the Necromancer, allowing them to then manipulate and control the dead being via the following spells.
The Dead will never attack their creators unless they have become Renegade.
To be useful a dead body must be fairly intact, sufficiently intact structurally (not including soft tissue) that it is a viable form. Dead creatures that have lost several limbs, or its head, are not viable. Nor is a limb in itself a viable dead being. The definition of viable is left to the discretion of the GM, noting however that organs and such are NOT essential to a dead being. Viability is based around usefulness really.
A necromancer may raise as many dead bodies as they wish, but can only Activate a number equal to their MIND char at any one time. They may have a large number of corpses Raised and lying around waiting to be Activated. Once a body is has been raised it must then be Activated.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
NNEECCRROOMMAANNCCYY
I - Activate Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
This spell is used to activate the dead body that has been raised by the necromancer. The spell imbues the body with a pseudo life force drawn from the casters own life-force. Undead necromancers must use stored life-force that they have taken from others, as their own no longer works, having become corrupt.
Once activated the dead being is “alive” for the purposes of the Necromancer. The GM should make this roll in secret, if any 1’s are showing on a successful roll then the Dead is flawed and may turn renegade at some future date. The first time anyone casts a necromantic spell on the Dead that fails will result in the creature becoming Renegade. This means it has become insane and will no longer respond to its creator. It will attempt to perform its last task remorselessly, even seeking out ways to perform it. Gradually it will pervert the task in some evil fashion of the GMs design.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
Command Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Self
Touch
High
The Dead can be given a specific order to perform a task and it will then attempt to complete that order. The dead does not have to be active for this purpose but obviously won't do anything until it has been activated.
Material Component:
1. Command of upto 5 words.
2. Command of upto 10 words.
3. Command of upto 20 words.
4. Command of upto 30 words.
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
II - Control Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Event
Self
Touch
High
This spell creates a telepathic link between the Necromancer and the targeted dead servant, allowing the Necromancer to take complete control of that servant. The Necromancers own body will slump to the ground whilst this power is used. If the controlled body is destroyed whilst the Necromancer is present then they return to their own body with a Stun effect. Whilst in control of the servant they may use all the mental powers they own but use the physical abilities of the servant. Note that Spell Casting is a mental skill, but that FAT to power it is a physical quality, and the dead have no FAT usually.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
II - Suspend Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
Used to place dead into storage. The servant is preserved in its current form until the spell is cancelled. The spell can be cancelled by the caster at anytime, instantly. Any Commands current are lost. Basically it is returned the state it would have had it just been Raised.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
I - Deactivate
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
An active dead is deactivated, returning to its true dead form (all Necromantic spells are wiped).
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
I - Animate Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Event
Other
Touch
High
This is a cheap form of creating dead servants for a short period of time. The animated dead can be given a single 10 word order and will then attempt to complete it to the best of their ability (which wont be much), then they return to their normal dead status. They are merely toys but fairly handy ones.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
OTHER NECROMANTIC SPELLS.
I - AGE
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
This spell is used to age the target dead servant so that it becomes a skeleton.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
II - Become Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
24 hrs
Self
Touch
High
The caster takes on the characteristics of being dead for the duration of the spell. The duration is set by the caster at the time of casting but cannot be longer than 24 hours. Only magic will be able to detect that the caster is not dead, and even then the viewer must still make a successful MIND roll (base 8) to detect it.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
II - Curse Living
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
BodyTouch
High
The victim of this curse will be marked permanently with a mark that Dead and Undead can see. This will result in these creatures being more effective against the cursed, adding 1 to all their attack rolls to the favourable.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
III - Dispell Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Self
Touch
High
The Necromancer can destroy renegade or enemy dead servants. This has no effect against Undead.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
IV - Drain Life
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
24 hrs
Other
Touch
High
The victim of this spell must agree to it, or be helpless to prevent it. The Necromancer will drain the life force from the victim and use that life force to keep itself alive or to power a number of dead servants. This spell takes 24 hours to complete, disruption at anytime causes the spell to fail. The victim is dead at the end of it.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
IV - Escape Death
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
7 days
Self
Touch
High
This is a complex ritual where the caster converts themselves into an Undead creature, denouncing the normal cycle of life and death. The ritual must be cast under a dark moon and takes 7 days to complete. If disrupted the caster is slain. At the end the caster will become an Undead appropriate to their power.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
III - Haunt
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
The Necromancer can capture the spirit of a just died creature (5 mins) and bind it to the locality as a ghost (qv).
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
III - Imbed Life Force
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
The caster embeds an active Life Holder into a dead servant. The servant then becomes a fully aware creature with all the skills and abilities of the creature trapped in the Life Force Holder. The new creature will be completely subservient to the Necromancer and telepathically linked. The creature will count as a Familiar for all purposes, except that the Necromancer can have as many as they can create. It will not count against the limit of their servants.
The single draw back however is that if they roll a 1 in the casting roll (the GM should do this in secret) then there is a flaw in the procedure. At every time the Necromancer instructs the Servant to kill, or destroy, another the GM should roll 3d6. If the roll contains a single 1 then the creature completes the instruction then turns on the Necromancer and tries to kill him. If two 1s are rolled then the creatures turns on the Necromancer immediately. If three 1s are rolled the creature is able to launch a MIND attack against the Necromancer and if successful swaps bodies, becoming the controller. A life force holder can be embedded over and over, it is not harmed by its physical bodies destruction.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
III - Life Holders
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
This creates small life force holder used in conjunction with the Steal Life spell. The holder must be a gem of value equal to the victims MINDx100 silver BC or the spell fails. Once a life force is within the gem it will glow very faintly, and close examination within will reveal a dark smudge at the centre of the gem. If the Life Holder is ever returned to contact with its original, still living body, then the spirit will return to the body
immediately. If the gem is destroyed then the Life Force dies with it.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
IV - Steal Life
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
24 hrs
Other
Touch
High
This spell requires 24 hours to complete. The target must be willing or helpless to prevent it. The victims spirit is removed from their body and transferred to a Life Holder. Their old body falls into a coma when the spirit is taken and usually dies in a number of days equal to its BODY value. The Life Holder can then be embedded. GN: you cannot steal the life force of an Undead or Dead, they do not have any.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
II - Preservation
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
This spell permanently preserves the body condition of the dead servant, allowing their material form to become rubbery and resistant to damage and wear. It allows Zombies to remain Zombies, rather then become skeletons.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
II - Protection
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Event
Self
Touch
High
+1 to all rolls vs dead or undead.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
II - Putrefy
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
This spell converts a zombie into a skeleton, even if it was Preserved.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
II - Repair Dead
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Perm
Other
Touch
High
Allows limbs and body parts to be replaced onto dead servants if available, restoring them to their previous condition.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
III - Repel Living
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Event
Other
Touch
High
Living creatures cannot move into Contact with the Necromancer without passing a CHAR roll against them, using MIND values. This test can only be tried once per spell. If passed then it has no effect at all.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
IV - Slay Living
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Event
Self
Touch
High
The spell converts a weapon into a Weapon of Slaying. Anyone suffering damage from such a weapon must make a BODY roll using a base value equal to 12 less the number of wounds just suffered. Failure means they lose an extra 3d6+3 wounds immediately. Such a weapon turns black and icy (mist will fall off it), clearly obvious to all who behold it.
Material Component:
#
Successes
Failures
1
2
3
IV - Spirit Forms
Cast
Active
Dur
Target
Method
Nature
Level
Event
Event
Self
Touch
High
This allows the Necromancer to assume a spirit form similar to that of a wraith. The form exists on the material plane and cannot leave it normally. It will be like a fine mist and can pass through anything not air tight. It can be harmed by magical attacks, including weapons, but nothing else, strong winds will have no effect. The mist converts back into the physical form of the caster at the end of the spell. Whilst in this form however the caster cannot do anything except cast spells (Mind casting if used) or like powers that do not require anything except thought.
Material Component:
#
Successes