[✗] [Magic Lore] Rh'Thoraen Necromancy

[femurlord 2514]

 

Necromancy: The Gift of Widukind

 

Necromancy is among the few primeval arts which has based itself within the mortal realm since the days of antiquity, festering as some rotting tumor within the unlit corners of the world. Those who dare to tamper with its power are the sort recanted in woeful tales and fables seldom sung, amassing great legions of undeath and laying waste to empires all in the pursuit of their own vainglory and empowerment. Those who dare to tamper with its power are the sort recanted in woeful tales and fables seldom sung, amassing great legions of undeath and crumbling empires all in the pursuit of their own empowerment. But over an age the art adopted a more subtle role, inspiring its practitioners to amass in unseen convocations, quiet and reserved as they enact their blasphemous rites, fashioning for themselves a foothold in this realm so that when the time came to rise again they would not so easily be weeded out. Now, illuminated by the flames of revelation, the necromancers and their wretched cabals have once more sought a means of expanding their fell gospel, propagating their legions of undead to pave a road for their pagan ideologies, from Promised Lord to come forth in all his glory.

 

Lifeforce and Heith-Hedran

Necromancy is powered by the esoteric substance lifeforce, the primordial energy which passively flows through all living things in an eternal cycle, unseen. From mortal men, to insects and grass, each and every creature is filled with an esoteric vitality that grants them the privilege of life. This energy cannot be created or destroyed- nor manipulated in phantoms, but rather, when a lift is at its close and all vitality has expired, lifeforce will return to a metaphysical reservoir deep below the earth to replenish itself – this wellspring is known, in abstract, as the lifebanks. 

 

Necromancers have learned to harness this raw energy to fuel their dark sorceries, rupturing the metaphysical veil which confines lifeforce to its primordial cycle and thus turning it black and malignant. Thus they may use it, not only to control the life to which it would flow, but to grant modus to things that would otherwise be dead. In the land where the veil between the lifebanks and the living realm is torn, the world is choked by the grasp of the undying. Forces of death seep into the land itself, plaguing it with famine and disease. Blackened bile seethes from the ground, arising in a culmination of tumors, cancers, and maladies on the land, before consuming the sun in a tenebrous shadow of thin, blackened haze. What’s left behind is a quasi-ethereal wasteland where fiends and ghoulish horrors flourish.  It is where death itself has become visible in the realm of men, where the esoteric residue of life can call upon forsaken souls, where one may simply reach out to pluck the damned themselves from the heavens or hells below.

 

It is the necromancers of Rh'thor that have learned to utilize the scars of this reservoir, dubbed by Rh’thoraen sects as Heith-Hedran, permitting them to conduct their soul-rending sacraments and use the power here to fuel their insidious art. Through this weakened fabric of the lifebanks, a necromancer can fuel their power here, molding vitality and life to be twisted into death. 

 

Overview of Lifeforce

 

Lifeforce varies between beings, ranging from size and spiritual energies that result in variance. Necromancers are only capable of manipulating lifeforce, unable to manipulate other manas such as ectoplasm or genus- though notably, necromancers may drain spectral beings just as any other lifeforce-containing entity, with the caveat that the euphoria gained is only half as satisfying.

 

Listed here are creatures ranging from small to large, as well as CAs that contain lifeforce- or lack thereof.

 

Entity/CA	Units of Lifeforce
Sorvians / Homunculi / Machine Spirits / Golems / Atronachs / Voidal Horrors	0
Musin / Zevnka / Small creatures, ranging from mice to house cats.	1/2
Halflings	1
Descendants / Ghosts / Eidola / Bryophytes / Anthroparions / Kharajyr / Vargs / Frost Witches/ Frost Mothers / Corcitura / Zar’eika / Tree Lord Husks / Darkstalkers/ Medium creatures, ranging up to a Descendant.	2
Lifeforce Pylons / Large creatures, scaling upwards to Ologs.	3
Wights / Palelords / Azdrazi / Zentherak	5
Tree Lord Phylacteries / Djinn	7
Gigantic creature, scaling upwards to dragons	10
Archliches	12

 

• As a rule of thumb, each mortal typically possesses 2 units of lifeforce, and will be rendered unconscious upon fully draining 1 unit. Upon draining two total 2 units consecutively, the individual will shrivel up into a dried husk and perish. 
• While lifeforce is found in nearly all living things, certain entities lack such esoteric energy, typically as a result of being animated by some other force. These include, but are not limited to, machine spirits, constructs (i.e. golems, sorvians), and Voidal Horrors. 
• Incorporeal undead still possess lifeforce just as corporeal undead do.
• Lifeforce manipulation has no unique effect on phantoms, impacting them as much as it would any other entity.
• Inversely, certain creatures possess an abundance of lifeforce as a result of magical saturation, such as Tree Lord Husks, Djinn and Azdrazi; both of which possess larger than average lifeforce pools. These creatures will state so in their respective lores. 
• The Lifeforce of animals and flora do not feed a Necromancer, only giving feelings of slight euphoria. They must garner it from Descendants in-order to count towards feeding. (see Darkening).

Stagnated Land

 

Rifts of Heith-Hedran may be opened by a coven of necromancers (see Rite of Heith-Hedran), stagnating the flow of lifeforce where it is present, as well as the land adjacent. Stagnated regions consist of anywhere that has been “touched” by the expanse of a rift of Heith-Hedran, and can vary given the size of the rift and the extent to which it has been used; the more actively a rift is employed in necromantic sacraments, the more it may incrementally grow, though some may choose to expand it simply for the sake of a greater reaching effect. 

 

Here, the land grows barren and cold; grass dies, trees wither, and animals become sickly, lying about as half-corpses just barely clinging to life. The sun may appear black or entirely consumed by clouds of a thick, suffocating haze. Aesthetic appearances of said terrain are widely open so long as they pertain to the nature of corruption/darkened land and retain no unique benefit. Pools of water within stagnated land may be poisoned and given a designated plague of the necromancer(s) choice (see Plaguecrafting), so that any who drink from it would suffer the effects of the chosen malady. Ghouls and other undead creatures may prowl the lands, able to be utilized for event purposes, though not to defend necromancers themselves. 

 

The terrain should be marked by a region message and (if possible) a mechanical alteration of blocks or biome in the terrain. The rifts used to corrupt land must be approved by ST management. Druids are unable to manipulate flora within a successfully stagnated region, as the plant life is dead; attempting to commune with stagnated flora/fauna would only result in them hearing a sort of “whimpering”, much like a wounded animal. 

 

All living mortals within this region will find themselves to develop minor flu-like symptoms such as coughs, sneezing, nausea, a “stuffy” head, etc. These effects are tertiary and have no substantial bearing on combat, and will immediately dissipate should they exit the region. 

 

Redlines:

• Ambient undead creatures present in the area have no allegiance to living necromancers (unless bound to an oculus), and are to be used for the purposes of DIY or ST-run events. 
• Stagnated land can only exist in regions adjacent to an active Rift of Heith-Hedran. 
• Stagnated land must be marked with a region descriptor, builds, biome change, etc.; poisoned/plagued pools must be marked with a sign in those lands designating who to contact for interaction. 

 

Rifts of Heith-Hedran

 

Should the one come within 50 meters of the rift itself, the following effects will begin to occur:

 

• The Individuals feel nauseated by the rank and fetid air. 
• Individuals develop coughs, sneezing, and other minor flu-like symptoms. 
• Individuals will begin to feel “stuffy” in the head, as though subject to an intense cold. Individuals begin to feel lethargic and slightly sapped of stamina (not necessarily strength).  
• The onset of psychological maladies begins: the individual will start to hear faint whispers in their mind, formless shadows may flicker briefly in the corners of their eyes, etc.
• Individuals may feel as though it becomes hard to breathe, though realistically no less air is reaching them. 
• Hallucinations grow more intense in the individual’s mind, making it difficult to focus (but not impossible). 
• Individuals will begin to develop paranoia and delusions, having a distrust of even trusted fellow company. 

 

Redlines:

• Each stage of symptoms takes place over the course of 10 sustained emotes of being in the rift affected region. Full effects would take place after roughly 20 narrative emotes within 50 blocks of the rift itself.    
• All lifeforce-bearing entities will suffer these effects, bar necromancers and undead.
• Effects of lethargy are not debilitating, but may affect combat performance. An individual would be able to act at “peak strength” but may run out of stamina about a fourth as fast as normal if performing an exhausting task; these would include running, dodging a blow, attacking with a sword, etc. 

 

Sealing Heith-Hedran

 

It is far easier to rend something than to mend it, and for a rift of Heith-Hedran to be successfully sealed, a circle of blight-healers or farseer shamans (via a blessing of Scorthuz) are required. The number of participants must be at least double the number of necromancers initially used to tear the fissure, though may be slightly more should the rift have been expanded – this is up to ST managerial discretion if needed. Artifacts curated for the intent of sealing rifts may be used to decrease the minimum threshold of participants if written into the MArt’s mechanics, though never to the point of letting a single individual seal a rift by themselves. 

 

Once the necessary number of participants is met, they may “circle” the rift and begin to seal it, pulling at the fringes of the aperture shut and binding the veil back together like suture over a wound. While this will effectively seal the rift and prevent the persistence of stagnation, corrupted land must still be purged by hand. 

 

The result sealing a rift will leave all participants afflicted with a benign form of blight that appears like a blackened rot, beginning on their hands and slowly creeping up along their flesh over the course of one IRL week. The rot makes the flesh numb as if it were experiencing ‘pins-and-needles’, making dexterous acts increasingly more difficult until the individual eventually loses proper use of corrupted areas. However, the corruption may easily be warded away by the appropriate blight-healing methods, spirit blessing or mundane herbology, though if treatment does not begin within 1 IRL week, then the scarring will be permanent, and any CAs afflicted that are fully corrupted will be officially made into their “blighted” form. 

 

Removing the rot from oneself will take three sessions (which must be at least 12 IRL hours apart), and with each session the spread of the corruption ceases and gradually recedes. 

 

Redlines:

• The number of shamans/druids needed to seal a rift is at least double the amount of necromancers that opened it; whether or not a larger rift should require more is up to ST discretion.
• The rot as a result of sealing affects all participants, though it is not deadly. Its scarring will be permanent if treatment does not begin within 1 IRL week of contracting it. 
• Healing the rot can be done with the proper herbs, druidic blight-healing, or farseer blessings; it would take three sessions, each of which cannot be within 12 IRL hours of one another to prevent spam-healing. 

Explanation

Necromancers are mortals who have harnessed the power of lifeforce: the esoteric vitality which ebbs and flows through all living things, rushing to grant animation at life’s beginning and departing when life is at its end. Generally, lifeforce exists within an unseen cycle as it springs from the earth to endow life and returns back to the metaphysical banks below to replenish, before once more returning to birth the cycle anew. 

 

Necromancers have learned to harness lifeforce by forcefully tearing it from its perennial cycle, making it assume the appearance of seething black mist which yields rot and decays what it touches. This does not mean lifeforce is a solely malevolent thing, for without the flow of lifeforce, there would be no life; grass would not grow, flowers would not bloom, men and beasts could not be born, and all things would exist in a perpetual state of stagnancy and decay, yet would be unable to die. Those who practice the occult art of necromancy are learned in the ways of manipulating that same essence, tearing it from living things so as to further their own power, for with it they spoil the land and make it wretched, deviate lifeforce to yield unnatural plagues and pestilences, and most infamously, puppet effigies of decayed flesh and bone as reanimated undead. Because of this, necromancy needs no outer forces to facilitate its use, for it is mortal in its principles, yet perilous in its employ. 

 

In addition to the powers of traditional Necromancy, Rh'thorean Necromancy oversees certain expansions and spun tales of dark and undead power, namely including the following:

 

Sorrows and Sacrilege, how Necromancy was pried from mortal hands on Atlas.

The Chronicle of Rt'horaen Necromancy, the saga of this dark art's rebirth, where in the lands of East-Meets-West, a deity of Oak returned necromancy to the living again with the prior iteration's pass into myth eras ago.

The Implications of Lifeforce, the flow and ebb of the esoteric vitality fueling this dark art.

Black Alchemy, the use of dark alchemical reagents to create malevolent tonics and vile elixirs for the purposes of rituals or their own empowerment.

 

Ordination

Necromancers are formostly servants of death, doomed to be inevitably quelled by their own craft – for the lifebanks ultimately reclaim all things back to itself, and even the necromancer is no exception. For the necromancer, fear absorbs each step, and every breath the pale visage of death looms closer. Thus, these foul occultists find themselves flocking back to their decaying havens for fear of what might transpire should they remain alone. spurning any companionship that lies beyond their dark, somber walls and deep, forgotten vaults.

 

Through the Rite of Ordainment, a newly ordained necromancer’s soul is forced to harbor a metaphysical wound which connects them to the Banks of Heith-Hedran. Thus, becoming a necromancer is irreversible by any and all means, as their soul is permanently claimed by the lifebanks. 

 

Spoiler

General Traits

Necromancers ultimately dwell in a state between life and undeath, being “alive” in the general sense of the word, but are simultaneously perpetuated in a state of pseudo-undeath similar to resonant knights of old. With the black stain on their soul, a necromancer is inherently uncomfortable in the presence of Holy power, susceptible as any other 'indentified' Darkspawn. Aurum also retains no intrinsic benefit against a necromancer. 

 

Practitioners of necromancy will outwardly age faster than regular mortals; their hair will thin and their flesh will become whiter as they grow in mastery, moving closer to death. In addition to their frail appearance, the physical strength of the necromancer is likewise degraded, as they begin to lose fat and muscle mass the more they dabble in the art. This should not make them weaker than the strength of a Voidal mage of their respective race, unless they were aged to the point of frailty. Thus, making them ineligible for wearing armor aside from Boneforged armaments. For example, a necromancer could wield a simple one-handed weapon to fend off an attacker, such as a dagger or even a short sword, although they lack the dexterity to effectively wield two-handed weaponry and would likely tire out after a few swings. Their strength also makes it impractical to wear armor (beyond thick leather or bone-forged equipment) or excessively rely on swordsmanship, with most necromancers preferring their summoning and curses instead. Additionally, as a necromancer's strength fades and the woe of ordainment sets in, the weaver becomes infertile, unable to foster any children; attempts to do so resulting in a miscarriage.

 

As they are sustained by stagnancy, necromancers are granted immunity to all natural diseases; only plagues of necrotic pestilence itself or other magical diseases may infect them. Necromancers also lack the ability to harbor lustful or passionate desires, and are unable to sexually fade-to-black under any circumstance.

 

In addition to their weakness, necromancers are ravaged by an intense craving for raw flesh and meat, as their body desperately seeks the intake of lifeforce. As they progress in mastery, a necromancer will notice even the most delectable of foods tastes like ash in their mouths, and while they may still eat to preserve their mortal coil, it will become unsatisfying and dull.

 

Those burdened by necromancy's metaphysics begin to fall under circular mental symptoms as a cruel side-effect to their vile source of power. A newly ordained necromancer will begin to suffer from numerous symptoms of  mental illness, including paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar, mania and personality disorders for example.

 

The most common symptoms are hallucinations, nightmares, insomnia, and higher-levels of anxiety. A necromancer will feel the inability to process moral compass; they may not see certain extreme views, such as violence, as right or wrong. Furthermore, these nightmares and hallucinations are configured around the necromancer in question: seeing family members with mangled scars, silhouettes disfigured by lifeforce, or shadows twisting around them. Attempts to establish any meaningful romanitc relationships are difficult, often apathetic to the struggles of another and only viewing their other's worth based on how they can be used, necormancers are inherently a manipulative creature.

 

 

Redlines:

 

• Necromancers’ souls are rejected by monks, meaning their deaths are PK deaths unless revived by other necromancers via the Rite of Returning, detailed further below.  
• Necromancy consumes 4 magic slots to perform. It is incompatible with any deific magics (bar Seer), Naztherak (as they cannot retain the brand), shamanism, and mysticism (their soul is already bound). Necromancers may practice blood magic, and Voidal arts.
• On becoming an Archlich, necromancy is lowered to 3 slots.
• Aging is enforced for necromancers, as lifespan is a crucial part in playing a master of death. All necromancers are held to the standard of practicing their respective race’s aging.
• Necromancers appear to age faster as they climb through their mastery.
• A 35 year old necromancer will look as though they are in their mid 70s at tier 5.
• Alchemic potions and other magics cannot be used to circumvent the effects of aging. While a necromancer could use cloning to preserve their life, each husk would still age faster than normal and eventually die, requiring the necromancer to have multiple in store.
• Necromancers shoulder a scholar’s strength.  They are capable of using weapons to defend themselves, but they cannot proficiently fight with one who has studied the blade. Their deterioration renders them incapable of championing anything more than bone-forged equipment or thick leather armor.
• This is not an ability mechanic, but an enforced roleplay mechanic. Necromancers are first scholars, it is uncharacteristic for them to be martial powerhouses who go around wearing armor and swinging Zweihanders.
• A Necromancer's seeping soul, depleting their youth and vitality in return for these deathly arts proves them incapable of retaining any alchemical alterations to their constantly deteriorating form. (i.e major Tawkin Mutations and Grafting.).
• Yet, a Necromancer is capable of retaining minor alterations to their body's, albeit distorted and withered. This requiring reapplication every 1 OOC weeks as it fails and decays with their withering being. (i.e. minor Tawkin Mutations, Grafting and Moulding.)
• In their withering, a necromancer is incapable of siring children, completely infertile and unable to FTB. Additionally, to what mental changes fester over their growth in this art, a necromancer struggles to foster any romantic relationship.
• A necromancer which dies due to casting past their lifeforce reserves is considered a suicide, resulting in a permanent PK.

Tier Progression

 

Spoiler

Players must have sufficient lessons to progress, they may not go on hiatus for four months and return Tier Five.

 

Tier One – The necromancer has just been attuned, their soul and body beginning to take on the toll of Heith-Hedran. Not only would they be left mentally unsound for a time due to the dramatic experience of their own demise, but they would also become lethargic and weary. Their hair might gray as if they had succumbed to an intense stress, whilst still maintaining the general appearance of those within their age range. The necromancer would develop a greater hunger for rawer meats, whereas other delicacies might taste more bland and leave them dissatisfied. During this stage, the necromancer may begin to draw upon their lifeforce and study the anatomy of smaller creatures; such as insects, rats, squirrels, and so forth. 

 

Tier Two – Two weeks have passed since the necromancer’s attunement, their appearance becoming more decrepit and aged as bags form under their eyes and wrinkles are borne upon the skin. They might appear more anorexic and pale, as if they were stricken by some obscure illness, as their utter craving for raw lifeforce consumes them further, driving them to consume greater quantities of raw meat. During this stage, the necromancer may manipulate their lifeforce in a more outward fashion as opposed to merely draining, and allowing them to move onto the embalming and reanimation of basic creatures scaling up to the size of a descendant child or halfling, albeit somewhat crude. At this tier, they may be taught how to more expertly weave their lifeforce, allowing them to perform the arts of Reverse Tethering and Boneforging. 

 

Tier Three – The necromancer has reached a one month period since their first immersion within Heith-Hedran, allowing its malignant touch to have seeded itself more firmly within the necromancer’s spirit, and thus tarnish the body. Upon reaching this tier, the necromancer would appear two decades older than their true age, as they are stricken by incredible insomnia, and thus fostering paranoia and irrational train of thought. During this time, the necromancer may begin to practice Fleshsmithing, as well as the creation of more durable reanimated creatures. 

 

Tier Four – The necromancer has reached the two month mark of being endowed with the gift of Heith-Hedran, their body now appearing as some infirm and decrepit thing. Whilst a mortal man in his thirties might appear as any other, a necromancer at that age may appear within their sixties or higher, strained by the lifeforce that weaves within them. Their craving for lifeforce is nigh insatiable, almost constantly present within the back of their mind as they would seek by any means to indulge in it. At this point in time, the necromancer may be marked as a master amongst the coven, soon allowing them to apply to teach new necromancers should they be deemed worthy. With this, they may be capable of leading certain rituals should they know them, and their ability to sew malediction would only grow more potent. 

 

Tier Five – The necromancer has honed their skill for four months. After passing from tier four, few physical changes ultimately present themselves, as the body of the necromancer simply continues to age. Either they shall remain in this pitiful state for the remainder of their mortal life, or perhaps they shall ascend to Archlichdom. Either way, their mind would be wracked by the ravages of age and the dark practice they dabble in, for now the necromancer has become mastered in every branch of knowledge offered by the art and may be officially granted the title of elder. With this, they may move on to teach their own prodigy within the guidance of their coven, or simply sit upon their dark secrets and hoard the knowledge for themselves. 

 

Below is a list of all Maledictions, Reanimation Modes, Rituals, and Sacraments that may be learned, as well as the subsequent tier at which they may be performed (spells) or lead (rites/sacraments).

 

Maledictions: Darkening (T1), Reverse Tether (T2), Cursing (T2), Bursting (T3), Cauterizing (T4)

Reanimation: Embalming (T2), Bonecrafting (T2), Summoning (T3), Fleshsmithing (T3)

Intercessions: Bidding (T1), Draining (T1), Returning (T2), Coagulation (T3), Cursing (T3), Pestilence (T3), Branding (T3), Continuity (T4), Petrification (T4), Heith-hedran (T5)

Sacraments: Aberrant (T4), Thaumaturge (T4), Userer (T5), Vicar (T5), Sealing (T5), Culmination (T5), Revilement (T5)

 

 

Hunger and Lifeforce Slots

Necromancers have the capacity to retain a greater sum of lifeforce than most mortals, which they may use to fuel their dark spells. However, this expanded capacity is finite, and a necromancer’s “spell slots” are proportional to one’s tier of mastery. These expanded slots do not replenish on their own, and should a necromancer expend all their excess lifeforce they would need to drain the lifeforce from other objects and people to replenish it. 

 

T1: 2 Slots + 0

T2: 2 Slots + 2

T3: 2 Slots + 3

T4: 2 Slots + 5

T5: 2 Slots + 6

 

Necromancers who spend all their excess slots and continue to cast would begin to use up their base reserves of lifeforce. Because they are still living, necromancers possess two base slots in addition to their extra ones, which will replenish over the course of one IRL day if the necromancer still lives. In the event a Necromancer is returned via the rite of Returning, their spells slots will be fully replenished. However, it is ill-advised for a necromancer to go beyond this threshold, as it would begin to draw upon their own personal lifeforce; the first of these would cause devastating fatigue and weakness akin to a Voidal mage, and using the last slot would result in the necromancer’s demise, one from which they cannot return. 

 

In exchange for the power they claim from the lifebanks, the body of a necromancer demands copious amounts of lifeforce to ensure its upkeep.

 

• As a result, necromancers must drain 1 unit every four IRL weeks if they wish to remain in their “healthiest" state. Going on six IRL weeks without draining would result in the necromancer withering away and perishing, resulting in a PK.

 

• At this point, the necromancer will be rendered “mad”, lacking focus and viciously seeking lifeforce.

 

• In such a state, the necromancer is entirely barred from casting any magics or spells save for Darkening.

 

Redlines:

• A necromancer which dies due to casting past their lifeforce reserves is considered a suicide, resulting in a permanent PK.
• Lifeforce slots passively replenish over one IRL day.
• A single descendant holds up to two units of lifeforce which may be drained by necromancers to regain lifeforce.
• A lifeforce bearing creature, fully depleted of all their units would appear shriveled and mummified.
• The Lifeforce of animals and flora do not feed a Necromancer, only giving feelings of slight euphoria. They must garner it from Descendants in-order to count towards feeding. (see Darkening).

 

 

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Maledictions

Maledictions: Darkening (T1), Reverse Tether (T2), Cursing (T2), Bursting (T3), Summoning (T3), Cauterizing (T4)

 

The earmark skills of the necromancer, by which they may manipulate lifeforce to various effects in themselves, mortals, or their reanimated thralls. 

 

Maledictions are the purposeful disturbing of lifeforce within a target, particularly with the intent of causing suffering and impairment. In order to fuel their spells, necromancers possess a number of “spell slots” proportional to their tier of mastery. Spell slots may be recovered by means of Darkening, or passively over the course of one IRL day; consuming liquid lifeforce may also fully replenish a necromancer’s slots, albeit at the cost of addiction. Because they are still living, necromancers possess two base slots in addition to their extra ones. However, it is ill-advised for a necromancer to go beyond this threshold, as it would begin to draw upon their own personal lifeforce; the first of these would cause devastating fatigue, and using the last slot would result in the necromancer’s demise. 

 

 

Unless specified otherwise, every spell or ritual consumes at least 1 spell slot.

 

Darkening - [Combative]

A perverted sign of Rh’thor, Darkening is a wicked, albeit primary instrument of necromancy which embodies the occult desire to consume. It is this testimony to darkness, passed down from heretic sects and malignant guilds, that remains a staple of the necromancer’s power, permitting them to tear lifeforce from the living and sew it among the dead.

 

Spoiler

Cantrip Darkening

[2 emotes: [1] Channel + [1] Drain]

 

A more benign use; a necromancer must manifest an abysmal aura of black haze which swirls around their hand, which they may use to manipulate lesser living lifeforms in a non-combative setting, such as a patch of grass or shrubbery, or even small animals like squirrels or birds. So long as the target is touched, or in the immediate proximity of five meters, they may steal life from it so as to leave the object withered and decayed. This grants no benefit to the necromancer save for a slight euphoria, and does nothing to replenish their energy or ability to cast. Alternatively, when at T3, the necromancer may hide the aura and perform this through skin-to-skin interactions, such as leaving an individual feeling lethargic after exchanging a handshake. 

 

Combat Darkening

Touch: [4 emotes: [2] Channel + [2] Drain]

Tether: [6 emotes: [2] Channel + [2] Travel + [2] Drain]

Scales 1 extra emotes per additional unit of Lifeforce.

 

The necromancer may also use Darkening in a more malefic capacity, capable of actively sapping the lifeforce from a descendant. This would require 2 emotes to channel the haze, before the necromancer must grapple their target victim and begin to drain their lifeforce. This feels hot needles which are pulled out from under the flesh, which may stagger the victim and cause them great degrees of pain. Over the duration of 2 more emotes, assuming direct physical touch was sustained, the victim will become gradually weaker and frailer until they are incapacitated. This first darkening would not kill them outright, though would render them unconscious and gaunt for a moderate duration until aroused, requiring a narrative day to fully recover. Should the victim be drained yet a second time consecutively, the individual would perish.

 

Necromancers who have achieved a proficiency of T4 or higher may perform draining from a distance rather than by direct touch. This requires an adequate amount of concentration and limits the necromancer’s movement to half their current speed (4 blocks per emote becomes 2); 2 emotes must be taken for the necromancer to manifest the haze, lock upon their target and weave it. So long as the victim is within ten meters of the necromancer and in line of sight, the tether would drain their lifeforce over the course of 4 emotes before rendering them fully incapacitated. This tether may snap should the target go beyond ten meters of the necromancer, or if it is severed by energy-based magics such as fire evocation, aurum, or holy magic.

 

• Touch draining requires 4 emotes total: 2 to summon the aura, and 2 to drain the victim, scaling dependent on the amount of Lifeforce units the target has.
• For every additional unit of Lifeforce the victim has, an extra emote is added.
• Tether draining requires 6 emotes total: 2 to summon the aura, and 4 to drain within range, scaling dependent on the amount of Lifeforce units the target has.
• For every additional unit of Lifeforce the victim has, an additional emote is added.
• If tether draining is interrupted in the middle of the emote count, the necromancer can resume where they left off if they reestablish connection within 2 emotes.
• This requires the necromancer to recast the initial 2 summoning emotes of their lifeforce before resuming.
• Darkening may be used to regain up to 1 spell slot per casting.
• Attempting to drain lifeforce from another necromancer to sate one’s own hunger will result in the practicing necromancer losing one unit of their own sustaining lifeforce.
• A necromancer’s draining can be disrupted if the touch of the necromancer is removed, or the tether is severed with fire, gold, holy magic, or the voidal arts.
• Mortal/Combative draining refers to the draining of any humanoid, mortal, or otherwise player-character not resistant or weak to necromancy.
• Combative draining does not wipe the memory of victims.

 

      On Spectral Undead:

 

• Darkening is capable of draining lifeforce from lesser spectral beings (ex. Phantoms, Poltergeists, Specters.) just as any other lifeforce containing entity, capable of both banishing them with the caveat that the euphoria gained is only half as satisfying, incapable of replenishing lifeforce slots.
• On half of their lifeforce is depleted, they'll be forced to become incorporeal, having their total lifeforce drained will banish them.
• Unable to benefit from using Darkening on lesser spectral beings, their greaters are another story (ex. Eidola, Palelords, Wights, Apparitions). Whereas the euphoria gained from draining is potent, able to restore Lifeforce slots.
• Darkening when used on higher spectral constructs (ex. Eidola, Palelords) requires their hardy stone carapace to be breached or shattered. A half sum of their overall Lifeforce being drained, renders them inert and incapable of any movement. Their hulkish movements incapable of being fueled in their depleted state. The euphoria gained emulates regular draining, capable of replenishing Lifeforce slots.
• Darkening when used on a higher spectral entities (ex. Wights, Apparitions) can be used to sate their hunger, replenishing Lifeforce slots.
• Both higher and lesser spectral beings/constructs of being depleted of half of their overall lifeforce, they'll be forced into incorpreality (bar Eidola and Palelords). The entirety of their lifeforce banishing them.

 

 

As a rule of thumb, each mortal typically possesses 2 units of lifeforce, and will be rendered unconscious upon fully draining 1 unit. Upon draining two total units consecutively, the individual will shrivel up into a dried husk and perish. Certain entities may have larger quantities of lifeforce which a necromancer can extract either via Darkening, or through the Rite of Draining (see Intercessions.). Darkening itself can only be used to extract one unit of lifeforce per cast, though multiple necromancers draining from the same source may fully drain it more quickly. When it comes to event creatures, this is up to the ET’s discretion. 

 

In contrast to the victim’s agony, the necromancer is granted a fleeting euphoria when draining, equivalent to a brief yet potent high which lasts for a few moments after the draining is complete. Though this does not make the necromancer any stronger or improve their physical state to any significant degree, it would be heavily addicting and drive them to great lengths the longer they attempt to go without it. Necromancers who deny themselves the act of draining will often go mad from their lack of the vital sustenance they so crave in their state, becoming weak and lethargic until they shrivel away and die.

 

Darkening Effects

 

Upon the completion of Darkening, the area touched by the necromancer/their tether would be stricken by a withering necrosis that eats away at their flesh. The victim would require immediate treatment within one narrative year (1 IRL week), whether that be through mundane medicine or alchemy,  lest they risk needing amputation to fully remove the necrosis. Treating the effects of Darkening would require an appropriate herbal balm, or Deadman’s Cure if alchemical, though holy or appropriate shamanic healing may be a viable treatment as well. The visual aspect of necrosis is immediately noticeable from when it is inflicted upon the victim, appearing as warped or scarred flesh, severe and blck eczema, an imprint of the inflictors hand, and so on – other scarred aesthetics may be adopted by the victim if they so desire. 

 

Treatment Redlines:

• Darkening treatment falls in-line with common sense. Any herb that's properties be used to stop corruption, cancers, and scarring could reasonably be used. Herbs must be lore-approved.
• Deadman’s Cure is the only viable alchemical method of treatment. 
• A Shaman and/or Paladin must be T3 or higher to successfully purge/heal the necrotic wound inflicted by Darkening.

 

Redlines:

• A necromancer’s draining can be disrupted if the touch of the necromancer is removed, or if the tether is severed by gold, fire, holy magic (bar Druidism).
• A target can still wrestle with a necromancer to break free from their darkening; they are scholars, and anyone with superior martial prowess could easily escape their grasp.
• Cantrip darkening cannot induce combative disadvantages if done preemptively.
• Cantrip darkening requires 2 contact emotes: one for channeling, and one for casting. 
• Cantrip darkening on a descendant/humanoid requires a single emote of skin-to-skin contact, as it is purely non combative and flavor.
• Combat Darkening cannot be hidden like Cantrip Darkening. Tells must be visibly emoted.
• Combative draining refers to the draining of any humanoid, mortal, or otherwise player character that is not explicitly weaker or more resistant against necromancy (i.e., epiphytes).
• Combat Darkening can be used on lesser spectral undead (ex. Phantoms, Poltergeists, Specters.) to banish them, however, it would do nothing to replenish their lifeforce slots. Although, higher spectral undead might be used to replenish a necromancer's slots.
• Upon a higher spectral undead (ex. Wights, Apparitions.) being drained of half of their overall Lifeforce slots, they'll become incorporeal. Should the entirety of their Lifeforce reserves be depleted, the spectral in question will be banished.
• Upon a spectral construct (ex. Eidola, Palelord) being drained of half of their overall Lifeforce slots, they'll become incapabale of attacking, defending or moving; totally inert. Should the entirety of their Lifeforce reserves be depleted, the spectral in question will crumble into rumble; thereby banished.
• The euphoria gained in draining higher spectral undead/constructs sates a Necromancer's hunger, replenishing their Lifeforce slots.
• A lifeforce bearing creature, fully depleted of all their units would appear shriveled and mummified.
• Does not kill the victim the first time, only renders them unconcious.
• Darkening does not consume/occupy a Lifeforce slot.

 

 

Reverse Tether - [Combative]

The Necromancer's poised wielding of lifeforce extends not to only themselves, but to what unwieldy necrotic allies surround them. At personal expense, they might lend out their lifeforce, bolstering any ally within their proximity.

 

Spoiler

[3 emotes: [2] Connect + [1] Infuse.] [1 lifeforce slot]

 

An inverse of Darkening, Reverse Tether entails the necromancer funneling lifeforce into an object or entity for the sake of either rituals or combat imbuement. Through establishing a Reverse Tether, the necromancer opens up their reservoir of dispensable lifeforce, allowing them to weave it into an object; this can be used in both cantrip and combative form, similar to regular Darkening. In non-combat, this could be used to restore life to a withered flower the necromancer had drained, so long they could maintain touch. At further levels of proficiency they can restore life in a similar fashion within a five meter radius. As it is more benign than other uses of lifeforce, and thus cantrip tethering can be used at no cost to the necromancer’s spell slots, though when used in rituals, the amount of lifeforce a necromancer must spend may vary. 

 

In combative settings, tethering requires 3 emotes to perform, to various effects based on the target. Between necromancers, tethering can be used to exchange a single unit of lifeforce at minimum, with every additional unit exchanged requiring an additional emote. Alternatively, when used on necrotic undead, tethering would grant them a brief sense of euphoria as if they had fed themselves with Darkening. If they are already sufficiently fed for that month, then the undead would be capable of exerting an additional half of their strength, as well as gain an additional half of their endurance for a duration of 4 emotes. Reverse tether has no effect on spectral undead, being unable to boost or strengthen eidola or phantoms.  Though, any necrotic undead can champion only 2 additional units of Lifeforce from any Necromancer enacting Reverse Tether, any more rendering them inert and useless for the duration of a combative emote.

 

Redlines:

• Combative or exchange effects will not occur up until the third emote. 
• Cannot be used to exceed a necromancer’s maximum lifeforce slots. 
• Tethers have a maximum range of up to ten meters. Should it be struck with gold, or fire, holy-based magics, or the maximum range be exceeded, the tether would break.  
• When used upon a living, non-necromancer, the individual might experience a gradual tingling, which eventually becomes an excruciating sting, but suffers no other adverse effects. 
• Necrotic undead will gain a maximum of 1.5x strength and 1.5x durability for a duration of 4 emotes. Every additional slot fed will double the initial duration, but not stack the effects.
• Necrotic undead may never surpass a peak Uruk in strength when bolstered by Reverse Tethering. The durability flesh and bone becomes chitin-like, capable of surviving two or three blunt strikes before cracking and shattering, though is more resilient to slash attacks. 
• Necrotic undead can only ever bear the burden of 2 extra units of Lifeforce with Reverse Tethering in a single combative encounter, anymore rendering them useless for a narrative emote.
• This can only be used up to a maximum of 8 emotes per encounter on the same target.
• The combative effects of Reverse Tether cannot increase a flesh golem’s strength or durability.
• A minimum of 1 unit of lifeforce is exchanged in combat use. Theoretically a necromancer could feed all of their lifeforce slots, albeit at the expense of their own life. 
• The combative effects of Reverse Tether are only relevant to Necromantic Undead.

 

 

Bursting - [Combative]

The defining recourse in how necromancy earned a name for its grotesque machinations lies in its manipulation of cadavers.  By inverting the process of Branding, Bursting is the crudest of these techniques that causes a corpse to bloat until it bursts forth, spewing infectious gasses to the living.  

 

Spoiler

[5 emotes: [2] Connect + [2] Charge + [1] Burst ] [3 lifeforce slots]

 

Necromancers may cause a corpse to bloat until it bursts in an brutal and infectious display of gore. After imbuing volatile lifeforce into a corpse over the course of 2 emotes, the body’s residual lifeforce will begin to reach critical mass. Upon the third emote, the cadaver would begin to noticeably swell; if it is reanimated, it will fall immobile, incapable of moving as it convulsed during the fourth emote. The fifth emote would have the body explode in a virulent expulsion of disease-ridden gore, with the size of the corpse determining its range. A small corpse, being from the size of a house cat up to the size of a halfling, will cause an explosion with a diameter of two meters, being relatively non-lethal and at most causing the vicinity to be hailed with the shrapnel of bones and mutilated appendages capable of piercing flesh that later can cause infection. The residual impact of this ability is the air of plague it leaves in its wake. If inhaled by the living, they will be stricken with immediate shortness of breath and infection of the lungs if detours are not made. 

 

Meanwhile, a descendant corpse or larger would create an explosion with a five block diameter, with victims caught in the immediate blast being moderately wounded by fragments of bone and viscera, as well as breathing in the infectious fumes. The largest corpses that a necromancer may craft are those of flesh golems, abominations of lumbering rot that may span up to the size of an Olog. These monstrous corpses may cause an explosion size of 8x8 meters, having the largest area of diseased air and gore. Those within the area may be wounded by wayward pieces of ligament and bone, causing infection if left untreated. Victims within three meters of the colossal corpse are subject to the brunt end of the force, with the blast able to push such an unlucky few two meters from the epicenter of the explosion. Those in this immediate range are subject to lethal or grievous wounds, maiming and mangling limbs from such a force, as well as inhaling the fumes. 

 

Redlines:

• Those caught in the explosion radius suffer maiming wounds based on their position to the corpse.  
• Point blank range will suffer lethal or permanent damage, while those within five meters suffer infectious wounds based on positioning to the exploding corpse.
• Small corpses are unable to cause lethal damage, but may mar, wound or render someone otherwise unconscious depending on their guile.
• Iron armor will protect the wearer from damage when at a distance, though they can still become infected by the cloud of disease unless they have some alchemical filter. 
• Shrapnel can pierce armor when at point blank range, though this will never be fatal.
• If untreated (any medical roleplay is sufficient), infection will persist and can cause pneumonia, respiratory infections, or even death within an IRL week. This is caused by receiving direct damage or by breathing in the toxic fumes while within the radius of the explosion.
• Treatments may include T3 shamanic or paladin healing, herbal, or alchemical remedies. 
• Bursting can be cast upon a non-skeletal corpse, a branded reanimation, or an active reanimation that has been prepared and reanimated, following commands until it explodes.
• Embalmed reanimations afflicted with Bursting will fall inert an emote prior to their explosion.
• The third emote is the “tell” where the corpse visibly expands. This may be delayed for narrative hours to allow for a trap to be set.
• At least 1 additional emote is required to burst flesh golems. 
• A singular emote prior to the explosion, any reanimation primed will fall inert and be unable to move. 
• Bursting consumes 3 lifeforce slots to perform.

 

Cauterization - [Non-Combative/Combative]

Derived from the vile practice of fleshsmithing and honed in the depths of Devirad, Cauterization is a more crude employment of necromancy, yet not one without its merits to the servants of death. 

 

Spoiler

[4 - 6 emotes: [2] Channel + [2 - 4] Mending the wound.] [2 lifeforce slots]

 

Cauterization is a practice of versatile use to the necromancer, whether they sew back the chest of a wounded ally, or perhaps sever appendages and only to reattach them in a merciless fashion — threading lifeforce and weaving flesh alike as if it were but needle and thread. Though this may be used as a means of sealing wounds and tearing flesh, it may also be applied to reattach lost limbs and appendages. Such employment requires the greatest amount of time and dedication, unable to be performed merely in combat as other means of cauterization might, leaving a tumorous sealant between the reattached limb and the flesh. To weave a lost limb back onto an individual requires that the limb not be any older than one IRL day, and that the ‘victim’ grants OOC consent to have it reattached, whether or not it was initially theirs. 

 

This process is nonetheless excruciating to the recipient, each quiver and motion of flesh feels as if hot needles were weaving through the skin, an acute and lingering pain which remains as a reminder of this traumatic experience.  The end-result of this taxing process is a twisted patchwork of tissue, the flesh now plagued by a vulgar scar in place of what very well could have been some life-threatening wound.

 

Redlines:

• Cauterization can only seal and stitch together flesh. Critical organ damage can only be “repaired” through surgical roleplay where a necromancer takes freshly harvested organs and cauterizes it into the body.  There does not need to be a “donor” match.
• Brain transplants or “body swaps” cannot be performed through Cauterization.
• An individual cannot die of blood loss or grievous wounds while Cauterization is being performed, as they are sustained by the necromancer’s own lifeforce. 
• This is not to say a Cauterized individual is immune to death after being ‘healed’ if the cauterization is incapable of saving them, such as having a stabbed throat or crushed lungs. 
• After being successfully cauterized, the victim will be unable to effectively participate in combat due to the amount of pain and the time it takes for their body to readjust, only capable of fleeing. This effect lasts for up to one IRL day afterwards.
• The cancerous scar left by Cauterization is untreatable even by holy magic, being both incredibly noticeable and lasting for the remainder of the individual’s life. Monk revival does not remove this unless they were to have died in the same encounter.
• Cauterization consumes 2 spell slots to perform. 

 

Cursing - [Non-Combative/Combative]

In their defiance of the natural, the necromancers bequeath grotesque invocations and anathematic weavings to sow suffering among mortal men. Though delicate in practice, the scythe of death is unforgiving, and woe to those who’ve been plagued with such misfortune as to have themselves set in the presence of he who has delved into the arts of undeath.

Spoiler

Lesser Cursing: [2 emotes: [1] Channel + [1] Curse] [1 lifeforce slot]

 

Greater Cursing: [4 emotes: [2] Channel + [2] Curse.] [2 lifeforce slots]

 

Necromancers implant corrupted and altered lifeforce into a victim, akin to the defilement in Plaguecrafting. These take the form of lesser and greater ‘curses’, which a necromancer can begin to learn starting at T2. These must be incited by touch, requiring 2 emotes to channel the lifeforce before imbuing it within the target on the second. More adept necromancers can do this more subtly and exchange the curse through a mere handshake. Upon reaching T4, a necromancer can incite the curse from a distance of up to twenty meters, requiring they maintain unbroken gaze upon the individual. When invoking a ranged curse the signs are more apparent; for example the necromancer might speak in a cursed tongue, stygian mists might leak from their hands, feet, or eyes, etc. Ranged curses require 3 emotes to apply, though the necromancer cannot move while doing so. Lesser curses last for up to 6 emotes after they are seeded into the target, consuming 1 lifeforce slot per curse. 

 

Greater curses are more non-combative, often requiring that the victim be restrained or placed in a state of unconsciousness to prevent interruption. Necromancers may incite a greater curse by summoning the black miasma of lifeforce and weaving it into their victim, causing excruciating amounts of pain that wrack the body until the curse is fully embed. The effects of greater curses take place as soon as the curse is set in, lasting for up to two OOC weeks before fading on their own. Additionally, if a cursed mortal is to conceive a child during the period of their affliction, the player may choose to have their child inherit the curse, causing a life-long affliction, or even causing stillbirth if the curse is truly severe. 

 

While a single necromancer’s curse will last for a maximum of two OOC weeks, a coven of necromancers may expand the duration of the curse by combining their powers and having additional necromancers participate in the ritual. Each additional necromancer, disincluding the first, will add two weeks onto the maximum length of the curse, with this hard-capping at six OOC weeks. Greater curses require a minimum of 2 units of lifeforce from each participant to perform, and thus are not partaken of lightly. Curses lasting longer than 2 weeks require the OOC consent of the victim.

 

Curses may be cured by various means, the most obvious being holy magic which may dispel the effects of the curse. Either paladins or shamans may purge a curse, though they must be equivalent to or greater than the tier of the one who inflicted the curse. If multiple necromancers engage in a cursing, at least half as many T5 paladins or shamans must aid in the cleansing of the curse. The only alchemical remedy that may viable dispel the effects of a curse is Deadman’s Cure. Otherwise, effects may be mitigated through mundane medicine and laborious herbal remedying, though never fully banished unless by holy magic. Below is the list of available greater and lesser curses. Applicable curses are limited to those below, though custom curses may be used via an accepted MArt. 

 

Lesser Physical Curses:

• Mild Sensory Impairment: slight loss of vision (blurred, darkened but not blind), hearing (muffled but not entirely dead), touch (numbness like pins and needles), taste, or smell. 
• Slight Vertigo or Vomiting: induces nausea that may make it somewhat difficult to balance oneself, and can cause dry-heaving or vomiting that can disrupt focus-intensive actions like casting. 
• Mild Lethargy: achiness spreads throughout the target's joints and limbs, reducing their movement by a fourth of what it originally was (8 blocks becomes 6; 4 becomes 3, etc.). 
• Mild Skin Disorders: eczema, warts, boils, blisters, etc., may manifest along the skin of the target, irritating them and giving them the impelling urge to scratch them. 
• Lesser Migraines: target is overwhelmed by a serious migraine which would make it impossible to focus or cast any magic for its duration, and causes vision to become slightly blurred. 
• Sudden Aging: target’s visible age is raised by 25% of their current age, making their hair white and wrinkles manifest, their joints ache, and their strength equivalent to what it would be at the time (a “fit” human in their 60s would still be “fit”, but fit according to the standard of a 75 year old). 
• Nosebleeds: moderately intense nosebleeds will begin to occur, potentially making the individual slightly dizzy and light-headed though hardly enough to render them unconscious. 

 

 

Lesser Mental Curses:

• Mild Hallucinations: shadows dance in the corners of one’s eyes, seeing splotches of blood/wounds where there are none, hear disembodied whispers from no discernable source.
• Mild Delusions: target becomes infatuated with a certain belief (decided by the player), that may cause them to act or behave with delusions of grandeur, unusual, and/or benign natures.
• Mild Anxiety: target is overwhelmed by intense anxiety and fear; this may encourage (though not force) the character to flee or hesitate in their attacks or actions. 
• Mild Mania: target is consumed by mania, in which their moods rapidly fluctuate, making it difficult to focus and causing unpredictability in their actions. 
• Arrogance: target becomes consumed by arrogance and brashness; they may be reluctant to follow orders or obey a command in the manner directed, instead taking their own divergent path. 
• Altered Perceptnio: Perceiving the world brighter or darker than it is, superficially when it comes to lighting (this cannot ever fully blind one), but also by interpreting emotional/societal events. 
• Mild Paranoia: target becomes increasingly disinclined to trust others at face value, even from close friends or superiors. 
• Grim Thoughts: target become consumed by the belief that their life is without purpose, grim, or monotonous; in extreme cases they may be driven to end it (of their own full volition). 

 

Greater Physical Curses:

 

• Osteoporosis: target’s bone structure weakens and grows more brittle, making it difficult to exert fully physical force lest their bones snap from the strain. 
• Impotence: target cannot produce any children for the duration of the curse, nor can they harbor the lustful or passionate desires that would otherwise drive such. 
• Enfeeblement: target’s muscle mass diminishes, which would leave them sapped in strength by a “tier” and saps them of their full strength; ‘knight’ strength becomes that of a sedentary individual’s, while a ‘sedentary’ individual’s would become that of a void mage. This cannot go below Voidal weakness. 
• Loss of Sense: target completely loses a single sense of the necromancer’s choice (sight, touch, smell, taste hearing), making it inaccessible to them for the curse’s duration.
• Severe Lethargy: target will be limited to only half of their original stamina threshold, making it difficult to perform strenuous activities and causes a lingering sense of bodily fatigue. 
• Migraines: target has trouble concentrating with painful headaches, bright light and loud noises lead to greater pains and desensitization
• Constant Hunger: target is never satisfied when consuming food, leading to engorging and glutenous acts.
• Severe Arthritis: target has joint and ligament pain in their fingers and toes, with grabbing smaller items growing increasingly difficult and painful. (this does not make them immobile, only agonizing to move.). May be remedied with Saffvil.

 

Greater Mental Curses:

 

• Depression
• Paranoia
• Unnatural urges of cannibalism, especially around loved ones
• Sleep paralysis 
• Memory loss
• Auditory visual hallucinations
• Anxiety
• Maniacism
• Extreme arrogance or pride
• Sudden urges to harm loved ones
• Psychosis or distortions of reality
• Delusions 
• Dementia

 

Redlines:

• Aging could never be used to kill someone by bringing them above their maximum racial limit; it would cap at what would be their maximum age just before death. 
• Targets of distanced cursing must be able to hear the chanting/invocation of the necromancer, meaning you cannot curse someone sixteen meters away and be speaking in #quiet. 
• This range cannot exceed #talk distance, or twenty meters.  
• Lesser Maledictions will only slightly affect combat, never being fully capable of incapacitating or fatal blows. For example, a sensory impairment would make one’s vision blurry or cause floaters in their eyesight, though it would never cause full-on blindness. 
• A necromancer can only move as fast as a brisk walking pace (3 blocks) whilst summoning a curse by touch, with dodging or running breaking the spell; pain will also disrupt the cursing. 
• Ranged cursing makes the necromancer fully immobile so long as it is being performed, save for ritualistic dancing or other aesthetic movements.
• Greater curses require at least 4 emotes to perform both in and out of combat. If done while combat is occurring, the necromancer cannot be actively fighting while invoking the curse. 
• Curses are never fatal outright, though greater curses can be rather disabling and cause regular day-to-day tasks to be significantly more difficult. 
• That said, curses may never force an individual into suicide or death, but may subtly push one closer to these options on their own full accord.
• Should the target escape the necromancer’s grasp while casting, the greater curse is broken.
• Summoning of curses, especially those done from a distance, should always be clearly emoted and telegraphed. Examples of tells are chanting hexings in blackspeech, lifeforce spilling from fingertips, the skin of the necromancer growing pale as black mist seeps from their pores, etc.
• Lesser Curses consumes 1 lifeforce slot, while Greater Curses consumes 2 lifeforce slots per use.

Summoning - [Non-Combative/Combative]

In their proficiency over lifeforce, a necromancer harbors the capability of reanimating unprepared corpses cradled in the earth or scattering the battlefield to enact their whim. This inversely can extend to the living, where upon congealing their lifeforce, which they may inflict a brand that'll be activated in the event of a Victim's untimely death.

Spoiler

[3 emotes: [2] Channel + [1] Infusing Lifeforce.] [2 lifeforce slots]

Scales an emote per four blocks of distance between the corpse and Necromancer.

 

Summoning consists of awakening unprepared corpses for use in combat, typically when a necromancer does not have any embalmed reanimations accompanying them. This may be done either direct touch, or from distant incantation. To reanimate by close contact, the necromancer must directly touch, or at least be within a single meter of a deceased corpse; the corpse may be a descendant, humanoid, or animal, and may be raised over the course of three emotes. Alternatively, necromancers may raise corpses which lie up to five meters away from them over the course of four emotes, with one emote added for every additional four blocks of distance between the corpse and the necromancer. Up to two undead may be reanimated simultaneously. Once the unprepared corpse has been reanimated, the necromancer must maintain their full gaze upon it, unable to move at more than a walking pace lest it fall apart. Reanimated corpses will persist until they are destroyed or the necromancer’s connection ceases, with an unprepared reanimation consuming liturgy slots proportional to their size. The corpse may be puppeteered from up to twelve meters of the necromancer, wherein after this point the reanimation will move even more crudely and soon crumble over the course of the next two emotes. For aesthetic purposes, one might also have some rotting house-servant or shambling rat for a pet, these also limited strictly to non-combative interaction. If they are not bound to a slot when combat begins, they will simply crumble away or depart the battle, unable to interact with the conflict whatsoever.

 

Branding:

[3 emotes: [2] Channel + [1] Infusing Lifeforce.] [2 lifeforce slots]

 

As a necromancer's prowess can reanimate the fallen, this inversely can be applied to any who still walk and take breath - at least for the time being. Any Necromancer might embellish a 'brand' unto a person by touch. Taking three whole emotes, two of which spent to channel their lifeforce requiring the entirety of their attention. the third dedicated they must touch a living person, as along as it is in contact with skin or light cloth, thick armors and hides protecting from the necromancer's enthralling. The funneled lifeforce acts as an invisible battery, reanimating them in the event of their death.

 

The site retaining the brand would be awash with a slight numbing sensation, though nothing visibly to be deciphered, only felt. There are no other effects caused by this brand outright, lasting the duration of a combative encounter before fading, its true purpose applied in the event of the affected's untimely demise. After their death, a total of one emote is needed for the corpse to shamble to a rise. Thereafter this corpse functions as a summon, requiring the Necromancer's full attention to retain them while also occupying a lifeforce slot.

 

Brand Redlines:

• Branding on a living individual requires two emotes of charging lifeforce, a third where direct touch on skin is required to set the brand.
• Hides and plate armor protect against the touch branch, but light cloth will not.
• This brand has no effects outside of a slight sensation upon anointing, unnoticeable thereafter.
• This brand comes into effect in the event of the branded Player’s death, reanimating them in the next emote as a combative summon.
• A necromancer may only use branding when not in use of their oculus, following all redlines of the normal summoning spell.
• This brand loses its effect after a combative encounter.
• Branding is unusable on undead or likewise spectral/holy or soulless creatures.
• Should the branded be drained of their lifeforce by darkening, the brand would expire. Branded individuals must be culled by other means in order to raise them from death.

 

For further information regarding unprepared reanimations, see Cadaverous in the Simulacra.  

 

Redlines:

• The necromancer must have access to a deceased corpse, either immediately in front of them or in the general vicinity below. In the case of the latter, a necromancer may only summon corpses in regions that would make reasonable sense, such as a graveyard or an ancient battlefield; you would not be able to summon undead from the ground in a stone castle. 
• The commands capable of being carried out by a summoned reanimation must be simple, generally only two-three word statements, such as “attack Jim” or “defend me,” they will simply stand deaf to anything complex such as “write a letter to the Duke of Adria.” (Reference Reanimation, Commanding.)
• Necromancers must maintain focus while piloting unprepared reanimations. Should they experience pain or attempt to cast other spells, the reanimations will fail.
• Summoned undead cannot be larger than the size of an orc (if descendant) or a direwolf (if quadrupedal). You cannot summon flesh golems or olog sized undead. 
• A necromancer may only utilize up to two summoned undead simultaneously.
• Summoning cannot be performed in the event a Necromancer has lifeforce slots occupied by an active Oculus controlling other reanimations. They may only do so when their oculus is broken, stolen, left behind or otherwise not on their person.
• A summoned corpse is only a shell, unable to assume or disclose memories of who or what they were.
• With summoned undead, other spells/magics cannot be used unless particularly designated. 
• Once a summoned undead fails or is otherwise defeated, they will crumple into heaps of bone and ash, incapable of being used again.
• Upon a Necromancer stepping out of a 12 meter proximity to the summoned corpse, they will crumple into heaps of bone and dust.
• Summoning cannot be learned until at least T3.

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Reanimation

Reanimation: Embalming (T2), Bonecrafting (T2), Fleshsmithing (T3)

The power from which Necromancy derives its name: the revival of the dead in order to serve their wicked living. It is by reanimation that a necromancer may feign life within corpses and cadavers, creating their own faux children born of undeath in the dark, secluded places of the earth. The practice is tedious, and men so bold as to call themselves necromancers must go about weaving bone as if it were clay and flesh as though it were thread, for to the heretic lots of Rh’thor this is an art, and with it even the dead are made anew with a perverted perfection in mind.

 

Spoiler

Oculus

To effectively command their undead, necromancers require the use of an oculus: a focus which allows them to channel their lifeforce and weave it between themselves and their reanimation(s). The relic consists of a lifegem imbued uniquely bound to the necromancer, its dark properties fostering an air of anxiety and despair in mortals who gaze upon it. 

 

While all necromancers rely on this relic, novice necromancers will require their teachers to aid them in the creation of their first oculus. To create an oculus, a lifegem must first be manifested and may be carved or chiseled depending on the preference of the necromancer – though it may also be used simply as is. Once made, the necromancer must cast Reverse Tether upon the oculus, causing it to take on the color of the necromancer’s aura and signaling that it has been fully bound. The oculus may be embedded within necklaces, scepters, crowns, amulets, and the like, permitting the necromancer to wield it through an object that appears more inconspicuous than casually carrying about some enigmatic and foul orb. 

 

In order to maintain their connection with their reanimations, necromancers must allocate some of their spell slots, with the number of allocations allowed based on their proficiency. Lifeforce slots correspond with the maximum number of reanimations one can have, up to a maximum of 2 slots utilized. So long as these slots are filled, they may not be used to cast spells without the reanimation being released and crumbling away. 

 

• One small ‘corpse’ takes up half a slot, capped at the size of a house cat.
• One moderate ‘corpse’ takes up a slot, capped at the size of a grown descendant.
• One massive ‘corpse’ takes up two slots, this scaling up to the size of an Olog.

 

Redlines:

• Only one oculus can exist for a Necromancer at any given time. This also means that no other necromancer may make use of another necromancer’s implement. 
• Reanimations will always have obvious tells which allude to the necromancer’s work. This may be anything from a swathe of black haze which churns maliciously about the necromancer’s hand, or perhaps a phosphorescent glow in the eyes of the summoner which simultaneously looms within the back of a reanimation’s empty skull. Either way, it is clear and distinctly dark in nature.
• An oculus need only be made once to be considered valid. If the necromancer binds or unbinds undead to or from their oculus after it is made, ST need not sign it again; however, it is recommended the necromancer keep evidence of their roleplay on hand should ST call upon it for investigation. 
• A necromancer may only ever have four cat-sized reanimations, two descendant-sized reanimations or one flesh golem active and bound to their oculus.
• Any reanimated corpse cannot be commanded for 2 emotes when doused in fire enough to engulf their body. 
• If animations are using any kind of specialized weaponry, such as a bow or a diseased boneforged item, they must have those items in their own inventory to represent such.

 

Commanding

Reanimated undead are granted basic senses, and even a more basic intellect; capable of heeding simple, one to three word commands such as “attack”, “take his sword”, “kill him”, “defend me”, etc. These actions will be performed in the same emote commanded, so long as they are able to be heard by the reanimation directly; otherwise leaving the undead to wander aimlessly should they go without orders. More complex orders such as “build a barn” or “find Uthrandl” would be received with confusion, with the undead servants striving to do what little lies within their power and just that; their best. Furthermore, undead may only be commanded within a twenty-meter range, save for entasked reanimations resurrected for aesthetic purposes.

 

While considered independent summons, necromancers cannot draw upon other magic(s) while controlling reanimated undead in combat, though they may use Darkening, Reverse Tether, Cauterization, and Bursting. Though they suffer no penalty to movement (unless casting one of the above maledictions), a necromancer must be careful not to move faster than their undead can, nor can they risk potentially engaging in hand-to-hand combat, lest their oculus be destroyed and the undead become feral without its presence. 

 

Redlines:

• Undead must be commanded verbally (unless one is an Archlich). This may be done in any language, but must be within hearing range (up to 20 meters) of the target and the commanded undead. However, if the undead is behind a wall or there is an obvious path blocking the necromancer from communicating with their reanimated creature, they will remain inert. 
• At the start of combat, up to 3 of a necromancer's total 8 spell slots may be filled by reanimations at T5.
• If an oculus is destroyed, bound undead will enter a frenzy and cannot be controlled, attacking the closest target without relent, including the necromancer should they be close enough. 
• An Oculus must be visible and exposed to open air to be used. 
• Undead minions follow the command immediately of their master, allowing the necromancer to command them to stop, attack or halt in the same emote where they perform the action.
• If two animations are following the necromancer at once they will both enact the order simultaneously.
• Without a command, the undead minions will simply meander aimlessly around their master.
• Different undead may pursue different orders but are limited to the best of their abilities as nigh brainless, automatic undead.  They possess basic senses and may process information as a golem, albeit the more complex the task the more likely they are to fail. “Pin her down,” or, “take his sword,” function as simple, easy tasks including single word commands such as, “kill,” or, “dig,” versus much more difficult tasks that would require assistance, multiple zombies, or is simply impossible such as, “find Ulthrandl,” or, “build a barn,” wherein the minions will attempt their best and just that: their best.
• Reanimations outside of flesh golems can only move a maximum of eight blocks per emote in combat scenarios.
• If animations are using any kind of specialized weaponry, such as a bow or a diseased boneforged item, they must have those items in their own inventory to represent such.

Embalming

The process of embalming is one which may be practiced by even the youngest fledglings of the necromantic cabal, commencing their journey in tampering with undeath. Though there is no particular timeframe in which this process is to be performed, it does require the utmost focus of the necromancer performing it, performed in a location where the necromancer has easy access to the variety of the tools involved in the preservation of the dead, as well as seclusion and concentration. Embalming is a tedious practice and the reaches of a necromancer’s application in the field are dependent on their own proficiency. Upon fully embalming the cadaver, the necromancer weaves their stagnating lifeforce into the cadaver and causes it to undergo a pseudo-petrification that allows the corpse to be more held-together. 

 

Novice necromancers are limited to diminutive applications, sanctioned to the treating of relatively uncomplex creatures such as wolves, bears, deer, and other entities smaller than the average humanoid. These reanimations are relatively crude, and are unlikely to be effective against something as a trained soldier. Yet what they lack in prowess they make up for with their natural capabilities.

 

However, with time and experience, the necromancer may partake in more intricate embalmings, now capable of constructing more preponderant cadavers and corpses. These reanimated corpses may be like that of descendants, retaining strength at most akin to whatever it was prior to its death — spare some durability lost due to their decaying forms. These creatures may wield heavier armor and weapons to little obstruction, though are still restrained by intelligence and the commands they may follow. At even later levels of proficiency, a necromancer may yield cheap and expendable skeletal cadavers which they may bind respectively; dexterous, though frail. These must have their bones bound by tendons, leather, flesh and hinges in order to retain their form, lasting until the skeletal minion falters in combat and is thus reduced to a pile of remains. Due to their expendable nature, skeletal reanimations may occupy only half a slot each.

 

Prepared reanimations do not consume spell slots, but rather occupy them - making the slot unusable so long as the reanimation remains bound to their oculus. Necromancers may choose to either dismiss the construct to use the slot, or regain it once the creature is destroyed. Should the necromancer have no lifeforce left to sustain their  reanimations, the construct will crumble away. 

 

Redlines:

• Prepared corpses may only be created preemptively in non-combat. When applied or used, they must be in the active company of the necromancer, and cannot be ‘summoned’ from elsewhere.
• With the largest type of corpse utilized, a necromancer may only have one flesh-golem-sized undead, two descendant-sized undead or four cat-sized undead accompanying them at maximum. 
• Necromancers must have their oculus while piloting prepared reanimations. The reanimations may persist through pain or wounds, though should the necromancer’s oculus be destroyed, they will quickly turn upon their master, or whatever is closest in their vicinity. 
• For more information regarding embalmed reanimations, see Cadaverous in the Simulacra. 

Fleshsmithing

Fleshsmithing is a unique extension of reanimation, allowing a necromancer unprecedented amounts of creativity in their manipulation of death. By saturating mounds of flesh with lifeforce, the tissue would become soupy and soft, allowing it to be easily manipulated by hand. An extensive understanding of anatomy is necessary in order to yield even a crude creation, though after much trial and error an adept necromancer might be able to create their own custom cadavers to reanimate as undead thralls assuming they are capable of reasonable autonomy. Custom reanimations may have additional teeth, multiple squirming appendages, razor-sharp talons protruding from their fingers, etc. This requires a delicate balance, as too many out-of-place additions will cause the reanimation to falter and reduce it to no more than a useless heap of mumbling goo; even the most expertly crafted of fleshsmithed creatures will still bear numerous unsightly deformities. With each additional limb past the normal 2 arms and 2 legs, the same amount of strength must be shared with each additional limb. A monster with 4 arms would have each arm working at 50% of a normal descendant’s strength, with each additional limb resulting in weaker strength individually.  Though, a combative reanimation can only ever bear a maximum of 6 overall appendages,  superseding this would find any and all extra appendages limp and useless outside of non-combative use.

 

The guile of a necromancer in their rudamentary application of flesh and bone they've learned to transmute one with the other, creating veins and viscera from marrows and vice versa through employing their own lifeforce. Alternatively, necromancers may also choose to create pseudo-sentient objects out of flesh, such as an umbrella, a jacket, or book-binding. These objects bear no true intellect, and simply emit unintelligible sputtering, groans, and screams, and bear little self-autonomy: an umbrella or book may open and close itself, but a jacket will not hover through their air or move around. Also, a necromancer is capable of transmuting dead flesh into bone and vice versa when employing their own lifeforce.

 

Custom reanimations are still limited to the previously outlined summoning proportions, with the largest of these being Flesh Golems: meaty amalgamations, of up to Olog proportions, which require extensive amounts of periodic upkeep. Anything larger than that of an Olog would require multiple necromancers to come together and perform a ritualistic fleshsmithing over the course of many narrative days, or even weeks, and submitting a MArt detailing the mechanics of the custom creature (see Sacrament of the Aberrant). 

 

The process of fleshsmithing overall is a tedious process, requiring utmost concentration from the necromancer and thus necessitating it be performed somewhere in non-combat and away from prying eyes. 

 

Redlines:

• Only dead flesh and bone and be fleshsmithed. 
• Attempting to fleshsmith living flesh results in Cauterization, as described in Maledictions. 
• Bone and flesh can be transmuted via a necromancer employing their lifeforce, without the cost of a lifeforce slot.
• To make a fleshsmithed corpse, creature, or flesh golem, one must have an equivalent amount of gore. An olog sized flesh golem cannot be wrought by the corpses or two small children.
• Fleshsmithed creatures are limited to imagination so long as they are supported by some animal or humanoid shape found in nature, as well as adhere to the following criteria:
• Creatures cannot exceed the strength of their living counterparts. An undead hound would only be as strong as a living hound, albeit more enduring due to its inability to feel pain. 
• Creatures will only be able to have (8) limbs in total or extra appendages crafted onto their body via flesh smithing. For each pair of limbs attached, the creature will lose a tier of strength. For example, a Golem’s Olog strength would be dimmed to an Orc’s should it possess 4 arms or more.
• Creatures, without a MArt, cannot exceed the size and strength of an olog if humanoid, or direwolf if quadrapedic. They are only half as agile as they would be when living.
• Fleshsmithing can only be performed in non-combative circumstances.
• For more information regarding flesh golems, see the Simulacra. 

Boneforging

Like flesh, cartilage and bone may be ‘smithed’ by the necromancer through weaving their lifeforce, before carving and sculpting the morbid element to produce cheap armaments that compare to iron in their durability — though these remain far more brittle than most plating or mail when used in something such as armor, shattering from only a few substantial blunt hits. Furthermore, bonesmithed blades will often be unable to retain their form against weapons or armor of greater durability, cracking after only a few strikes and eventually shattering. This makes boneforging more apt for creating daggers or spear tips to attack on the end of a weapon rather than the creation of such a large weapon itself. But the true strength of this artifice lies in the fact that it can be imbued with curses and plagues by a necromancer, allowing them to inflict the imbued malediction upon wounding a mortal with a cursed boneforged weapon. 

 

As for armor, in addition to being cheap to produce, another benefit of bonesmithed armor is that it is relatively lightweight. Because of this, necromancers are capable of equipping bonesmithed armor without it at all inhibiting their casting ability. Of course, the armor cannot be imbued with plagues to effectively curse a mortal, but it provides a substantial alternative to chain or leather armor in a pinch. While this armor may be more effective against slash and puncturing attacks, it will quickly succumb after a few heavy or blunt hits. Whereas a sword might take three or four strikes to gradually crack and eventually break apart the armor, heavy weapons such as a mace or greataxe can easily shatter it in a single blow. 

 

Performing boneforging requires the necromancer to be in a relatively quiet and focused environment in non-combat, such as a dungeon or lab. Regular bonesmithed weapons and armor may merely be signed by the necromancer who made them, unless imbued with a plague, in which case they would require ST approval. 

 

Redlines:

• Bonesmithed weapons and armor have durability no greater than that of iron/chain. 
• Bonesmithed armor is as light as leather or chain, but may only survive about two or three blunt strikes before cracking and shattering, though is more resilient to slash attacks. 
• Bonesmithed weapons are unable to puncture anything greater than leather, and will crack and shatter upon harsh contact with steel, making it rather ineffective for swords.
• Only lesser maledictions or plague may be placed upon bonesmithed weapons.
• Any mortal bones may be used, although if the bone used is from a particular lore creature that might grant it special effects (i.e. draconic bones), it would require ST signing regardless.

 

The Simulacra, a compendium of all that is raised as undead by a necromancer and his coven, from knights and magi of old to the terrible and primordial Archlich. 

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Plaguecrafting

Plaguecrafting: Plaguing (T1)

In pursuit of the “Infinite Malady” — an affliction that harbors every type of disease simultaneously — plague doctors and necromantic pathomancers have besought numerous means to bring about great suffering upon men. Though no such devices exist within the realm of men, this foul pursuit gave birth to many other dark and deathly afflictions that may appeal to the necromancer’s fancy, thus allowing them to instill terror and misery within the living. Through weaving their own corrupting lifeforce, necromancers may exploit life to become twisted and vile, divorcing it from its natural function to instill these dark maladies. Woe to the man who hath killed a necromancer’s mercy, but vengeance to the tribe that wrought the ire of death.    

 

Spoiler

Necromancers may learn Plaguecrafting, or ’pathomancy’, at any point in their studies so long as they have learned to manipulate lifeforce. These plagues are the result of twisting lifeforce to foster afflictions within food, drink, flesh, and even imbuement into bone weapons via boneforging. The effects of plagues last for up to two IRL weeks before eventually dispersing, though they may be treated and their symptoms mitigated via alchemical or medical means — the Deadman's Cure in particular is a viable means of purging these afflictions entirely. Likewise plagues may be cured by shamanic healing, targeted by both witch doctor healing and latauman blessing. Note that the intent of these is to inflict suffering, and seldom will the pathogen cause the victim to die unless they go without any treatment whatsoever and are predisposed to succumbing to illness. The applicable diseases are listed below, though custom diseases may be submitted via MArts:

 

• Leprosy: A disease with more social implications than its physical ailment, a Necromancer’s affliction of Leprosy covers the face, arms, and legs in hideous, disfiguring sores. Skin will rot at the ends of fingertips upon the nose, and throughout patches on the body. The bulbous growths reach maturity after a few narrative days and are incredibly uncomfortable. Without properly treating the wounds after they occur, it can leave intense scarring that remains even after the passing of the plague. 
• Influenza: A more rudimentary disease, Necromantic Influenza (also known as the Flu) itself causes lethargy and intense coughing and sneezing. In the latter stages, one’s bones can feel brittle and glass-like from the intense fevers if gone completely untreated, often leaving them confined to a bed. 
• Darkbite: Among the more cruel afflictions is a black necrosis that can cover an entire extremity such as one of the hands or feet. Over its incubation period, the necrosis will cover a single hand or foot and make it appear as if it has been severely afflicted with frostbite. The extremity itself will feel a constant, stinging numbness for its duration, as if it had “fallen asleep”, making movement more and more difficult over time. Should the proper treatment not be administered to the affliction over its duration, often the only remaining treatment is amputation outside of holy healing. 
• Fleshtwist: Native to to the disease craft of a venerable Gravelord rather than the Rh’thoraens, Fleshtwist is surmised as a culminated inhumanity the former necromancers were once capable of. Fleshtwist is a sinister blue-yellow rash that covers the arms and legs, operating by compelling an intense itchiness on the skin. At the latter stages of the disease, the skin begins to blister and peel off rather abnormally, leaving behind raw wounds that can give way to further infection. 
• Benign Tumors: The failed efforts to cause slow,  agonizing deaths led to the development of benign cancer capable of inflicting large, bulbous formations beneath the skin. Though nonlethal, the tumors inflict an agonizing degree of pain, swelling up and becoming quite noticeable under the flesh; oftentimes they will debilitate the victim’s movement depending on where they  form. 
• Bubonic Plague: A truly horrible experience, a necromancer’s variant of the Bubonic Plague causes the formation of blistering and festering welts under the arms and near the upper thigh. Once afflicted, a person also experiences feverish chills and an ill-induced feeling of nausea and lethargy.
• Advanced Pathomancy: Only the most adept necromancers are capable of creating their own diseases through experimentation. Around the same severity of the other types of maladies, these afflictions are nonlethal and are capable of being cured through medicinal, alchemic, or magical means, or otherwise last upwards of two narrative years.

 

After being inflicted, whether by touch, consumption, or wounding, the individual will notice the subtle onset of the plague’s symptoms within the coming narrative days. By the second IRL day, the symptoms would have fully matured and the character would likely be moved to seek treatment if they can. As the duration of the illness draws to a close, assuming it has not been purged, the symptoms would slowly recede before vanishing over the course of one to two IRL days, though, depending on the plague type, scars may still remain if they had not been treated during the duration of the curse. 

 

Administering the plague in the form of food or drink requires two emotes for the necromancer to subtly weave the pestilence into the object in the form of a black mist. If a consumable item is made and then distributed it does not require ST signing, but should still adequately detail information regarding the plagues effects; infusing a curse within a boneforged weapon, however, does require ST signage. 

 

When treating these afflictions, it is important to note that unless removed by deific purging or even druidic healing, these plagues are the result of deliberately twisted lifeforce — divorced from the general flow of nature. As such, while medical and herbal remedies (outside of druidic empowerment) may somewhat soothe the pain and minimize long-term adverse effects, the affliction will usually remain until it goes away on fully its own, incentivizing the individual to seek active means of remedying the plague in-roleplay. 

 

• Effects of an affliction will last for up to two OOC weeks, though a player may opt to retain the plague for longer, or even permanently should they wish.
• Plagues can only be transferred via water sources, food, or directly from a necromancer but can be added onto boneforged weaponry to afflict another with the same plague. 
• Alchemic, herbal, or medicinal remedies can mitigate the symptoms of a plague, though only druid blight healing, shamanic purging, or Deadman’s Cure can fully remove it before the duration expires. 
• These treatments should be reasonable and proportional to the plague in question. 
• It is up to the necromancer inflicting the plague to inform OOCly the victim of its effects. 
• Necromantic pestilence will not spread to other individuals on its own, unless multiple individuals all inherited it from the same source (i.e. drinking from a tainted well). 
• Inflicting large-scale disease requires multiple necromancers in a ritual (see Rite of Pestilence). 
• A necromancer can begin learning pathomancy at any tier. 
• Any plagued consumable item or plagued boneforged tools requires an ST signature.
• Any plague can be cured via holy magic that allows purification of darkspawn boons. For example, paladin magic.

 

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The Apocryphynium

Inherited by each generation of necromancers, the Apocryphynium is a tainted compendium of forgotten scrawlings and forbidden lores, each hand to which it passses furthering its iniquity. The knowledge contained within such a volume pertains to that of necromancy’s most intrinsic practices, deeply revered and passed from each timeworn master to budding apprentice; entailing each and every rite and reagent of the necromantic which might allow one to further empower their black craft. Any individual who inherits this deposit of the occult, no matter their mastery,  is obliged to expand upon it, sustaining it further so that future generations might know — recalling that which eternally binds them.

 

Dark Reagents

The Apocryphynium details most known reagents of the dark craft, each of which hold some mechanical use or contain latent power that is necessary to enact the path of the occult.  This knowledge, shared with acolytes of necromancy and added to by their masters, is commonly known throughout practicing covens and often reproduced several times over, allowing them to employ its wisdom in rituals and rites.

 

Spoiler

Some rituals require particular reagents of ingredients which must be provided prior to the rite’s taking place, whether a simple preservative, to the relic of a fallen saint. For the most part, these do not require direct Story Team oversight or signage unless otherwise stated, and many are merely collected on the necromancer’s own by either player events or simple roleplay interactions with other players. When used in any ritual, reagents must be represented by a physical item that is accordingly renamed and described, and when used in a particular ritual or rite, must be presented to the ST accordingly. 

 

Black Lifedust

By performing the Rite of Coagulation and creating a lifegem, then pouring out its contents before grinding and shattering it into a thin powder, one would yield Black Lifedust. This dust appears darker than ash and soot, and is finer than grains of sand, seeming to gently tug at one’s very lifeforce upon mere touch. Because it requires an approved lifegem to create Black Lifedust must also be ST signed. 

 

Lifegem

These objects hold the durability of tempered glass, able to be shattered, carved, or chipped in order to release the flowing lifeforce that lies within, or to merely destroy this contemptible manifestation - and merely the touch of its rigid surface is enough to incite a tingling unease, as if the very gem tugged at one’s own lifeforce. How might employ such a cursed trinket is ultimately up to them, though often it is applied in the creation of a necromancer’s Oculus — it is nevertheless a horrifying artifact to behold. This requires ST signage. 

 

Liquid Lifeforce

An esoteric and baffling substance which has come to be known by many names: the Waters of Life, Liquid Ambrosia, and others. Alas, they could not be more mistaken, for the true nature of this black reagent is one which begets death and despair within the imbiber, yet never true life. This raw, unbridled essence, should it be consumed, tastes as raw ambrosia upon the tongue, granting the imbiber a sense of clarity and fulfillment alien to their wretched state. However, though briefly relieving, the consumption of this essence would lead the consumer to overindulge, fostering an addiction for the fell ambrosia, and thus plunging them into madness as they scramble ravenously to acquire more — each brief satisfaction demanding an even greater increment of lifeforce in order to appease a thirst that can never be appeased. This requires ST signage.

 

Mortal Blood

The Blood Magi of the First Age were privy to the secret powers woven into the blood of the descendants, that the genus they harbored could be used to fuel their own malicious machinations. Though unable to draw upon the true power of blood by means of their art alone, necromancers are able to use it in a variety of their rites, particularly those involving the reconciliation of the living and the dead. However, because the blood of the necromancer is fraught with malignant lifeforce, such a catalyst can only be procured from those who harbor regular and untarnished blood. As the reagent is merely the blood of a descendant, it needs only the player signature of the descendant from whom it is acquired. 

 

Hag's Blood

Though necromancers are not capable of true blood magic, they are capable of drawing upon the lifeforce in the blood of specific magical entities. Witches and hags, those who have resorted to bargaining patrons and devils for power are gifted with sorcerous blood needed in dark sacraments. The reagent is capable of being bled from the veins of any Voidal Mage, Naztherak, or Frost Witch, requiring only a player signature from the Hag in question.

 

Infernal Salts

Though a mere suffusion for demonic delicacies, this ingredient is of particular value to necromantic cabals. Scourged by hellfire and torment, the salts of Moz Strimoza embody the unyielding power of flame, reconciling the vigorous flicker of ember with the oppressive languor of undeath, thus yielding a truly terrible flame revered by ancient necromancers as a manifestation of abyssal might. As the reagent is merely salt bathed in rakir, it requires only the player signature of the Naztherak who created it.

 

Draconic Remains

Creatures of legend, one does not hunt dragons without being wary of the risk. Valued for many reasons among scholars, necromancers in particular hold dragonflesh in high esteem for its resilience when acted upon by copious sums of lifeforce. A high draconic creature ranging from Hydras, Wyrms and Drakes or higher can yield a proper bounty, malleable to a necromantic cabal's whim. To obtain this reagent, a coven of necromancers must consult the ST and organize an in-depth eventline to seek out the remains and possibly retrieve them. These are not easily found, and an official endorsement must be obtained from an ST manager, as well as their signage of the remains. 

Redlines:

• The apocryphynium can be brought into the game to justify bridging gaps in knowledge if all teachers ever go inactive, provided the Story Team lore members agree to such.  In extreme scenarios, it can be utilized to self-teach in order to revive the magic (should it ever go inactive).

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Thaumaturgy

Though infamous in their ability to weave death and decay, a necromancer is nothing without the aid of their coven.  From the creation of the lich to damning cities to disease, necromancers are cunning and powerful in groups. Their affinity for working together to achieve great power is only rivaled by the coven politics of hierarchical backstabbery.  

 

Intercessions

Intercessions: Bidding (T1), Draining (T1), Returning (T2), Coagulation (T3), Cursing (T3), Pestilence (T3), Continuity (T4), Petrification (T4), Sealing (T5), Heith-hedran (T5).

Severed from the living, the dead and those who command them have none to turn to save for their brethren, with the vile agents of death congregating in both meager covens and vast assemblies of their own fallen ilk. United, these wayward sorcerers form mighty and baleful circles which may perform innumerable feats of darkness and undeath, from ordination upon acolytes, to mastery over the fabrics of life and death itself in heinous, blasphemous fashion. Yet they must all be wary, for even amongst their own kin they only rival to their power remains within the coven itself, imperiled by the apostates and serpents which are drawn to these impious assemblies — and one must fear not to anger their accursed servants, for the dead do not forget.

 

Spoiler

 

Unless specified otherwise, every intercession consumes at least 1 spell slot.

 

A necromancer may participate in any ritual at any level of prowess, though cannot lead rituals until they have achieved the proper tier. Do note that certain rituals’ effects may vary based on the proficiency of participants.

 

Rite of Draining

In their zeal, the woesome servants of death perpetually seek to acquire the primordial element of lifeforce, using it to fuel their ignominious rites. Two necromancers may thus work in tandem to forcibly siphon the lifeforce of a victim in a more ceremonious fashion than Darkening. The process would be excruciating to the recipient, knocking them into an unconscious daze following the rite which prevents them from recalling what occurred beyond brief fever-dreams that yield no true wisdom of characteristics pertaining to the event; this means they will be incapable of recalling exact faces, locations, or other particular details that were tied or lead up to the event of their draining. The victim may have vivid flashes of fleeting blurs of recollection, however none of these will be clear enough to allow the victim to recall people and/or places related to the event. The lifeforce that is distilled from this rite manifests in the form of a vaporous liquid, though alternatively the product may be directly imbued into a pylon if one is present nearby.

 

Requirements:

• A living player-character with lifeforce. 

 

Redlines:

• Two necromancers may conjure forth their abyssal aura to force half of the overall lifeforce of their victim out in liquid form, causing a lapse of memory to envelop their psyche. 
• The necrotic effects brought about are the same as those inflicted by Darkening. 
• Liquid lifeforce is considered a ‘rare’ material and thus requires ST signature to be valid. This is the only viable method by which liquid lifeforce may be procured. 
• If the raw lifeforce were to be drunk, it will taste as raw ambrosia and begin a lifelong addiction.
• This is the only method to acquire liquid lifeforce.

 

Rite of Bidding

The reach of the necromancer’s influence is inexplicably vast, reaching from the mere Ebrietæs to the clockwork realm of Garumdir, the Craftsman God, or even the esoteric realms of the ancestral spirits, allowing them communion with the long passed. This sacrament may be invoked by one or more necromancers gathered before a worthy vessel, most often some bygone or neglected corpse to house the spirit. Once called, the vessel will animate but will be incapable of participating in combat, for the vessel is only meant to be a mode of communication. Though there is no theoretical limit on how long the spirit may linger, they are oftentimes rageful and volatile, both them and the forces of nature acting against this necromancer in this heretical rite. This requires that the necromancer make a great effort to maintain the seance, particularly if the tether or sacrifice employed is a weak one ill-fitting of the spirit. Whoever played the character of the spirit must grant OOC consent and should reprise their role for the communion. 

 

Requirements:

• A humanoid skeleton or corpse.
• Black Lifedust

Redlines:

• A necromancer beseeches a deceased soul within the soulstream, binding them to a husk or cadaver for purposes of communing with them. The soul must be that of a deceased, PK’d character.
• The original roleplayer of the character must reprise their role for the seance. The player must be a deceased, PK’d character who’s player has granted OOC consent for them to be contacted.
• Summoned souls cannot teach alchemy, magic, or other feats without expressed ST consent, nor can they relay knowledge pertaining to the events of their death. 
• Necromancers may not commune with their own past characters. 

 

Rite of Returning

Because the soul of the necromancer is warped forever by the touch of the lifebanks, they are placed in a unique limbo between both life and death, and as such the Wilven Monks do not deign to revive them. Since most practitioners will encounter death at some point in their practice, whether by rioting mobs or merely their own reckless abandon, necromancers are wholly reliant on their covens in order to be returned from death. The ritual requires two other necromancers to assemble before a corpse-worth of flesh and summon the deceased’s soul into the newly-made body. Fallen necromancers may call out to their brethren where scars of Heith-Hedran are thin, soliciting them to perform the ritual and return them to the living — though this cannot be used in any way to acquire details regarding the event of their death. As long as the necromancer is denied return, their soul remains lost to the lifebanks and the character is effectively shelved. 

 

Requirements:

• A corpse worth of flesh and bone. 

 

Redlines:

• Two necromancers may return one of their fallen necromantic brethren by amassing a corpse-worth of flesh. 
• There is no time period, and is considered a soft-shelf until revived by two necromancers. 
• Whispers of dead necromancers can only inform living necromancers that they are in need of revival, and cannot reveal any information pertaining to the nature of the event of their death. 
• Necromancers killed by suicide or old age cannot be returned. 

 

Rite of Coagulation

While the Rite of Draining might manifest raw lifeforce in pure liquid form, dilution of the substance alone may not bear the necessary potency demanded by certain rites. Thus, necromancers often make recourse to a more archaic material. Known to ancient occultists as ‘Lifegems’, these loathsome crystals embody lifeforce in its most refined form and formant, a truly powerful relic amongst the cabals of death. To manifest a lifegem, two necromancers must gather themselves in one place, before each funneling forth a single measure of their esoteric lifeforce and pooling it together, before molding it in their hands. Over the course of the rite, whilst muttering fevered incantations and deplorable words, the lifeforce would congeal into a single onyx jewel, just barely larger than that of a closed fist — a lifegem in all its deplorable glory. Alternatively, a single necromancer may come before a lifeforce pylon, and assuming that it harbors at least three units of pure, filtered lifeforce, they may opt to manifest the foul lifegem on their own. 

 

Requirements:

• Two necromancers each with at least 1 unit to spare. 

 

Redlines:

• Two necromancers, or merely one when before a suitable lifeforce pylon, may pool 2 units of lifeforce. This coagulates into a lifegem, a churning mass of a life once held.
• The creation of a lifegem necessitates three measures of lifeforce, either from three necromancers, or from a suitable lifeforce pylon. If the pylon does not possess the required amount of units, then the rite will not work and the gem will desolidify mid-formation. 
• Lifegems are considered a ‘rare’ material and thus require ST signature to be valid.

 

Rite of Cursing

Instead of inflicting a malediction by means of touch or incantation, more subtly-intentioned necromancers may weave their desired curse into a trinket or handheld object, whether that be a monarch’s crown, a magi’s ring, or even mundane cutlery. Even limbs and sensory organs may be cursed and cauterized back onto their host, permeating a wretched blight upon its host. Truly anything may be cursed, so long as it is of reasonable size and is unaffected by holy magics; a crown may cause impotence as to prevent the birth of an heir, or an axe that fosters a desire to eat human remains. 

 

The creation of a cursed relic requires only one necromancer at minimum, though multiple necromancers may participate to grant the curse greater effect; this would consume 1 unit lifeforce per participant, whether that be one, or five. The curses placed on relics are limited to those listed above, and each object may be imbued with up to two curses: one lesser curse, and one greater curse. Imbuing more than two curses, or imbuing a unique curse, would require a MArt. 

 

How quickly the curse is incited depends upon how frequently they use the trinket. Generally, most effects will become evident after a few narrative hours of interacting with the cursed object, and the longer and more frequently it is used, the more the symptoms will deepen. After two to three days of having no contact with the cursed relic whatsoever, the individual will recover from its effects unless they opt for it to be permanent. 

 

To destroy the cursed object, one need only destroy it as one would its physical counterpart. However, trinkets often carry sentimental value to the wearer, as they are often directly given by a necromancer who wishes to prey upon their weaknesses; a king whose crown is cursed may wish to have the curse removed rather than destroy the sign of his sovereignty. Thus, a Paladin of T4 or higher may remove a curse from an item. Should more than one necromancer have contributed to the creation of the relic, then the number of holy mages required to purge it must be equal to the number of necromancers who made the relic. 

 

Requirements:

• A trinket, talisman, or object to be imbued. 

 

Redlines:

• Cursed objects require a mechanical representation with a description fully relaying the effects of the curse. The item must also be ST signed to be valid. 
• The effects of Cursed trinkets adhere to all redlines of regular curses. 
• Imbuing a relic with curse(s) not listed previously would necessitate a MArt. 
• A limb or sensory organ that is cursed requires OOC consent from the person receiving the cursed limb.
• Cursed limbs may be specialized, allowing for eyes that see illusions of dark figures, or cursing an arm to constantly shift and twitch.

 

Rite of Pestilence

Woe be to those who garner the vice of a necromancer, for their covens may harness pestilence to reap the harrowed fields of decaying kingdoms and bastions alike. By gathering a mass of lifeforce, whether in the form of lifegems, sacrifices, or the presence of a suitably filled pylon, two or more necromancers may spread disease across the land: from fields of grain being withered away, to entire lakes that subside the nearby populace with bitter and plagued water. This is done by the necromancers twisting the lifeforce and then dispersing it, causing a lesser wound in the lifebanks that causes life to stagnate and sicken; with every necromancer added to the circle, the influence of the ritual would grow. Living mortals who remain in this tainted land receive flu-like symptoms upon breathing in the stagnant air, similar to those encountered when in proximity to a Rift of Heith-Hedran. After a two or more narrative hours in the presence of the afflicted land, individuals might develop benign tumors to little effect beyond discomfort. Those who consume the plagued substance, whether that be food or drink, are then wracked with whatever plague has been planted within the chosen substance. It should be noted that the diseases can only be harbored in things already capable of sustaining life, such as a field of crops, a body of water, or even nearby animals, whether they be wild or tame. 

 

Requirements:

• Two or more necromancers capable of weaving plagues.

 

Redlines:

• Two or more necromancers, one of which must be at least T3, may come together to weave a chosen plague on larger-scale, simultaneously tainting the surrounding region in the process. 
• Every subsequent necromancer added to the ritual, as well as the level of their skill, would add to the compounded range of the chosen plague’s effects. Though there is no concretely defined standard, discretion is required; three T3 necromancers will not be able to corrupt an entire forest, though a three T4 necromancers along with an Archlich may.
• Performing this ritual will at the very least require 1 unit of lifeforce from each necromancer who participates. Plaguing larger areas of land will require significantly greater quantities of lifeforce, which add onto the base requirement from each necromancer. 
• While tainting a small field or a well would not require PRO consent (30x30) , a ritual seeking to encompass a vast amount of a particular region requires their approval (anything above 30x30). 
• The plague applied is limited to those listed under Plaguecrafting or detailed in an accepted MArt, and no more than one may be applied to a particular region at once. 
• Standing in the plagued region alone will never cause significant harm to a mortal, though over time the adverse effects would become increasingly uncomfortable to them. 

 

Rite of Continuity

The advent of a necromancer’s death is a relentless threat, looming above their head like a black sword, and although a necromancer may flee to their brethren to escape such a torment if inflicted before it is due, resurrection alone cannot stave the advance of a necromancer’s age. Thus, to ensure that their deplorable missions not be adjourned, whilst not yielding entirely to the bondage of true undeath, a necromancer may augment their lifespan beyond its natural breadth, albeit at a great cost. In essence, a necromancer desiring to have their life prolonged must have a vital organ removed from their body by two fellow T4 necromancers via cauterization, with that organ then being preserved via Infernal Salts and laid to rest in a canopic jar. Once the organ is removed and preserved, the two acting necromancers would bind the lifeforce of the target necromancer in a singular loop; causing them to lose access to one slot of life-force as a result. This, in turn, will allow for the target necromancer to live for an additional fifty years, whilst also making them immune to perishing from any wounds to that particularly removed organ.. The organs which may be removed include the stomach, lungs, and liver in no particular order; on the fourth performance of this rite, the necromancer would have every other organ removed save for the heart and brain, reducing them to just two lifeforce slots. Should a necromancer who has undergone the Rite of Continuity be made into a Darkstalker or Archlich, they would regain the use of all their previously locked lifeforce slots. 

 

Requirements:

• Two or more necromancers capable of performing cauterizing.
• Infernal Salts.

 

Redlines:

• Two T4 necromancers remove an organ from another necromancer, preserving the organ in Infernal Salts. This may add an extra 50 years to the lifespan of the weaver, able to be done up to four times, with each consecutive time locking one of the necromancer’s maximum lifeforce slots.
• The loss of a lifeforce slot means that the slot cannot be used in any ritual, liturgy, or malediction following the performance of this rite. Each time a necromancer undergoes this rite, they will lose yet another successive slot, eventually leaving them at their initial two. 
• The brain and heart are the only two organs that ultimately cannot be removed. This means that a fully continued necromancer can still die from bleeding out or a wound to their head.
• Immunity to organ wounds only applies to organs that have been removed by the rite. A necromancer who has only had their stomach removed would still die from a wound to the lungs. 
• The removal of lungs, while allowing a necromancer to potentially be immune to drowning, does not make them immune to the pressure of depth nor the inhalation of toxic poisons; they are still very much mortal. 
• This rite can be used to prolong the body of a necromancer for up to a max of two-hundred years; though that does not mean that their mind will necessarily be preserved as well. 
• Though their body will be “preserved”, they will still age physically according to the time span. At the fourth attempt of this rite, the necromancer would essentially be rendered a walking corpse. 
• Undergoing this rite is to be detailed in a comment on the necromancer’s MA. 

 

Rite of Petrification

Through the gathering of three or more of a single cabal, three or more necromancers may take a living mortal and bind them before a Rift of Heith-Hedran alongside a pure lifegem. Weaving their malignant lifeforce at the cost of 1 unit per participant, the gem would be ‘awakened’, encasing the sacrifice in amber-like material so as to preserve its mortal coil. This preservation turns the mortal’s body into a sort of reservoir for storing large measures of lifeforce, referred to henceforth as “pylons”. Pylons can take on numerous aesthetic forms based on the favor of the necromancers who formed them; one may appear as merely a hovering monolith of sable crystal, while another might look like a withering and wart-ridden tree which contorts to reveal the frozen terror of the victim that formed it. Pylons as these will emanate a terrible, anxiety inducing aura, inspiring both terror and awe in both necromancers and mortal men alike. In addition, pylons serve as dampeners of the veil between the Banks, creating a stagnant area proportional to the units of lifeforce that have been stored within it, whether as living sacrifices or deposited by the necromancers themselves. 

Entire networks of these pylons can be formed alongside a Rift of Heith-Hedran. The first pylon must be placed within fifty meters of the Rift, at which point it would serve as an anchor for other pylons to connect to. Other pylons in the same network can thus be placed throughout the land and expand the stagnating influence of the rift to which they are bound, although the maximum distance between pylons is limited to that of an adjacent region for the circuit to be able to connect and the stagnance to spread.

Due to their nature as batteries expanding the Rift of Heith-Hedran’s influence, a Pylon shelters the latent Lifeforce granted from birth and their attachment to the Banks, allowing them to be alternatively used to sustain their Coven. Any established Pylon might be drained ritually or  regularly, at most ever naturally yielding 4 counts of Lifeforce before crumbling away. Though, im their nature to shelter unused lifeforce, if imbued by a necromancer, a Pylon is capable of retaining a total of 10 Lifeforce.

Requirements:

• A living Descendant sacrifice.
• Two Necromancers capable of Reverse Tethering.

 

Redlines:

• Two necromancers may come together to create a “lifeforce pylon” by offering a mortal sacrifice within the radius of a Heith-Hedran rife. These pylons store lifeforce offered to them by draining rituals for later use, while simultaneously stagnating the land around them.  
• Aesthetically the pylon is open to take on numerous aesthetic forms, so long as the chosen form pertains to a theme of death, decay, and stagnancy. You will not find a benevolent tree with flourishing leaves, nor a golden pillar which reflects a warm and inviting light.
• Pylons must have a physical representation present in the world with a sign that details its passive aura of unease and anxiety. The structure also should be approved by an ST.
• These must be within the 50 meter radius of a Heith-Hedran rift to be created. This is not hard-line, but should still be within the reasonable vicinity of one, such as in a lair.
• These must be within the 50 meter radius of a Heith-Hedran rift to be created. This is not hard-line, but should still be within the reasonable vicinity of one, such as in a lair.
• The 10 units of Lifeforce stored within the Pylon must be denoted on the sign, any ritual draining or otherwise must be notified to ST, requiring an update to the sign itself. In the event it is fully depleted, it will crumble away into ash, incapable of any further use until another is erected.
• Pylons, upon creation, possess 4 units of Lifeforce.
• Should the original rift, the heart of the pylon network, be destroyed or sealed, all pylons within that network would crumble and fail unless another rift was present to preserve them.
• Lifeforce can be drawn from pylons for the sake of performing rituals or forming lifegems, though raw liquid lifeforce cannot be acquired by draining a pylon.
• Pylons may be purged with holy magic, a shaman farseer’s blessing. Druidic blight healing would only serve to mend the stagnant land or the rift which powers it, but not the pylon itself.
• Pylons which act as an extension of a rift cannot be used for the sake of Sacraments; necromantic Sacraments must still be performed at an authentic Rift of Heith-Hedran. 

Rite of Sealing

When faced with rebellion and tyranny from undying men, there is but one option: the Sacrament of Sealing.  Unable to truly destroy those who have risen in immortality against the agents of oblivion, a coven’s onlychoice is to imprison the dead in their own eternal bodies, banished to purgatory and encased in metal or stone. Thus, four or more necromancers, one of whom must be T4, may come together to seal away an Archlich or Darkstalker, locking them in a fashioned tomb or prison; this may be almost anything, from an iron maiden or chain-bound coffer, to a vast pyramid hidden beneath the sand. The lead ritualist may appoint the undead to be freed at a certain time, or simply be sealed indefinitely, though were the undead to be freed prior to the established time, they may go about playing their CA again as normal. Undead who remain in this state often foster an eternal enmity and disdain for those who seal them away, plotting their revenge in the deep, dark depths of wherever they had been sealed. Forever awake, forever bound, woe to the deadmen who draw the ire of their makers, for it is only at their mercy or hapless chance that they be freed from their prison. 

 

Requirements:

• A tomb.

 

Redlines:

• The Sacrament of Sealing soft-PKs a Darkstalker or Archlich, locking them away in a tomb of some sort, such as an Iron Maiden, a chain-wrapped coffer, or even some type of grand pyramid. 
• The lead ritualist can specify a time limit of the soft-PK or have it be indefinite. This does not require OOC consent.
• The sealed undead can be unsealed at any time and freed if their tomb is broken, the sealed CA then may resume playing their character again.
• Sealing does not require OOC consent from the victim, but is required if the being is to be placed in an extra-dimensional plane or somewhere that cannot be easily traversed to, such as a blood rift.
• If a CA is sealed somewhere that cannot be accessed mechanically (i.e. map change, blood rift), the Story Team may be consulted to plan a private event whereupon the CA may be freed.
• This cannot be used on non-necromantic undead such as: phantoms, siliti or other non-necromancy based undeads. 

 

Rite of Heith-Hedran

Parabolic in nature, the Heith-Hedran is a great, aberrant darkness brought about by sorcerers and necromancers deigning to toy with material nature and breach that which is revered. This interstice between the heavens and the damned chokes that which is living, the very forces of death seeping from the godless abyss, plaguing the land with famine, disease, and nihility. From the combined efforts of an elder alongside three of their most powerful necromancers, this veil between the lifebanks and the mortal world may be sundered, allowing a coven to utilize the power of the rift for more nefarious sacraments. 

 

These fissures, once opened, expel unprecedented surges of raw and unruly lifeforce necessary for the empowerment of the dead. In addition, due to the damage sustained by the ephemeral veil, life would be unable to pass between the mortal world and the Banks, causing the surrounding terrain to be engulfed by the effects of stagnancy. Within these regions, the sky would darken, light consumed by clouds of shadow, as the heavens are marred by storms of black lightning and screeching thunder. Mortals who enter these regions would experience the creeping onset of benign sicknesses the longer they stayed, and those foolish enough to remain there for prolonged periods of time would develop mental degeneration as well, thus inheriting numerous mental and physical afflictions. With every use of the rift, whether that be by rite, ritual, or merely necromancers seeking to broaden its expanse, the stagnation grows, and the rift would further solidify like a malignant tumor in the earth. This can be expanded even further should the coven employ a pylon network, thus enabling them to consume vast swathes of land with blight. There are no theoretical limits to its boundaries, assuming that the consent of the region’s PRO is given; if the region is wild, then the necromancers must default to the permission of the Story Team to corrupt the region. 

 

Though the land may be purged for a time, the only true solution to banishing the blight is to seek its source, that is, the reservoir which perpetuates the cycle of agony. Both druids and shamans alike may banish the deplorable structure should they find it, though would need to be of mastered proficiency, the number of them required directly correlating with the number of necromancers responsible for its formation. 

 

Requirements:

• Four necromancers capable of Darkening.
• Mortal Blood.
• Black Lifedust.

 

Redlines:

• Four necromancers or more, one of which must be T5, may conjure a rift of Heith-Hedran in the lifebanks, allowing them to perform Black Sacraments within the region.
• When living, non-necromancers in immediate proximity to these rifts can at first experience minor tertiary effects, such as sneezing and coughing, as well as a non-debilitating sense of lethargy. Over time these effects can become more severe, but can never cause death on their own. 
• Initially, effects are minor, having little effect on combat or focus and subside quickly after leaving the region. Remaining for prolonged periods of time causes them to become more severe, and thus may force on to seek medical remedy even after leaving. 
• The torn veil itself will expand no further than fifty meters without another overlapping, unless there is a reservoir in the vicinity by which the power of the rift may be amplified via a Lifeforce pylon..
• All rifts should be designated with  an appropriate build, as well as approval by the Story Team. 
• All rifts should be in a designated area with reasonable mechanical accessibility - it should be equivalent to Wight Phylacteries or Paladin Reliquaries.

 

 

---

 

Black Sacraments

Sacraments: Aberrant (T4), Thaumaturge (T4), Usurer (T5), Culmination (T5), Revilement (T5), Vicar (T5)

Though through intercessory rites necromancers may indulge in malignant corruption, such rituals are far inferior to the true power harbored by its art. The Black Sacraments are what truly grants necromancy its notoriety, enabling covens to convene in droves to bring about terrible feats, namely those which foster, nurture, and empower the undead. And whereas generations of necromancers once thought themselves to hold dominion over death, it was inevitably revealed that those mortals who toyed with lifeforce harbored a more particular role, and that death had in fact made servants of them.  

 

Spoiler

 

Unless specified otherwise, every Black Sacrament consumes at least 1 spell slot.

 

A necromancer may participate in any Sacrament at any level of prowess, though cannot lead rituals until they have achieved the proper tier. Do note that certain rituals’ effects may vary based on the proficiency of participants.

 

Sacrament of Ordainment

 

A feat only accomplished by an elder; the ordination of a necromancer is the essential rite of passage for any would-be aspirants of the occult, granting them the capacity to reach mastery over life and undeath. To do this, a necromancer with a valid TA may plunge the initiate into a state of near-death at a rift of Heith-Hedran, before tearing back the spirit of the initiate and closing shut the wound used to slay them. The acolyte necromancer may now put up an MA and begin learning under the elder necromancer's tutelage. Necromancy takes up four magic slots to perform, though upon becoming an Archlich it is lowered to three. Once a descendant becomes a necromancer, there is no means of reversing the slots consumed. 

 

Requirements:

• A necromancer with a valid TA. 

 

Redlines:

• Once one has learned necromancy, it cannot be unlearned except through Story Team lore intervention.
• Undergoing Ordainment marks the necromancer as having a black soul for the purposes of other magics or events.
• Ordainment requires OOC consent of the would-be student and can only be conducted by those with a TA and an empty student slot.
• The would-be student drops all non-compatible magics after the process transpires.

 

Sacrament of Revilement

To be made a necromancer was a power once limited to the innermost circles, seldom encountered among men. Now, as the propagation of necromancers became evident, and with such terrible power in the hands of each coven, the threadbare ties of brotherhood amongst necromantic cabals are just barely maintained by mutual fear. A conniving few joined forces, threatened by the increasing numbers, they pioneered a ritual to sever a necromancer’s binding to the Heith-Hedran; tearing from them their chance to rebel. To disconnect a fellow necromancer, an elder necromancer (T5) must come together with three adept (T4) before a Rift of Heith-Hedran. They may present the one whom they are disconnecting before the rift, and the two assisting necromancers may then perform cauterization upon the victim, as the elder would reopen the wound and seal the target’s access to the lifebanks in excruciating fashion, before resealing the wound. Upon being disconnected, a former necromancer would lose all their capacity for the magic, and would no longer need to adhere to the strict PK and revival clause. However, their soul, still marred by interaction with the lifebanks, would be unable to heal, permanently locking the four slots which they had dedicated to the art. And although the art itself may be stripped from the individual, the previous life of the necromancer is far too traumatic an experience to truly forget, often resulting in a deeply maddened man.  

Requirements:

• Four necromancers capable of Cauterization. One necromancer (T5) possessing a TA in Necromancy.
• The rogue Necromancer to-be disconnected.

Redlines:

• One elder necromancer (T5), and three other adept (T4), may sever a fellow necromancer’s connection to the lifebanks, effectively disconnecting them from the art of Necromancy. Any elder necromancer may lead in the ritual, so long as they have a valid TA in Necromancy. 
• This is chaos disconnection amd coveted by few. There is no set code or clause for disconnection outside of whatever cultural boundaries may be set in roleplay, though there still needs to be valid RP reasoning.  
• Following disconnection, the mortal necromancer can be revived at CT once again.  
• Former necromancers have four of their five magic slots permanently locked upon being disconnected, unable to invest them into any other magic.
• Undead practitioners of necromancy, such as Archliches, cannot be disconnected. For means of expelling a wayward undead, see the Sacrament of Sealing.
• Former necromancers have four of their five magic slots permanently locked upon being disconnected, unable to invest them into any other magic.
• This sacrament can only be done in a place where Heith-Hedran has been established.

 

Sacrament of the Aberrant

There exist monoliths of death, fashioned and amalgamated from mountains of flesh to walk the plane once again; these are true behemoths of undeath. At least five necromancers are required in order to undergo the immense task of creating a behemoth undead, forging the creature from entire mounds of carcasses, viscera, and gore. These behemoths may be anything: skeletal hydras, lumbering mountains of flesh, or megalodons fashioned from the bodies of perished sealife, only the imagination of the coven is the limit. 

 

Once the structure of the behemoth has been fully formed, in order to complete the rite the necromancers must create a massive lifegem to act as the oculus, bringing it to life before a Rift of Heith-Hedran. This crystal will store the lifeforce of the behemoth, and allow for the coven to command it to their will. With the oculus and vessel forged and ready, the necromancers may combine their reserves of lifeforce before the rift, imbuing it into the behemoth vessel before conjoining it to the oculus — thus bringing it to terrible fruition. The body of the behemoth would require immense upkeep, necessitating four or more counts of lifeforce each week. Failing to achieve this intake will result in the creature’s flesh to begin falling off, the behemoth degrading and eventually crumbling back into a heap of lifeless biomass after the second week. 

 

Requirements:

• The massive cadaver of a creature. 
• A sizable lifegem.

 

Redlines:

• Behemoths constitute anything larger than a flesh golem (olog sized undead), requiring a MArt to create. They are generally to be used as event creatures, rather than typical undead thralls.  
• The sacrament requires at least five necromancers to perform, with one at least being T4. 
• Behemoths require a weekly upkeep of at least 4 counts of lifeforce, or the biomass of two descendant bodies a week. Failure to achieve this results in the behemoth crumbling upon the second week. 
• The purpose of these creations is to have use for the purposes of events, warclaims (providing the other party consents OOCly to such), or any other Story Team sanctioned purpose.
• The MArt should include screenshots of roleplay creating the creature, how many necromancers are capable of controlling it, obtaining necessary reagents, and OOC and IC purpose.
• This sacrament can only be done in a place where Heith-Hedran has been established.

Sacrament of the Usurer

From a time of yore the fabled days of Devirad lived endless knights of Xion caught between the stagnant realms of life and death. Purposed to be the puppets and undead slaves of the coven, so is their forging one of deception and dread- as who would willingly give themselves to such a grim existence.

 

A vessel that is worthy to house a resonant knight must be found, whether living or not. The unwilling soul must be bound and shackled to the realm, making the cadaver it inhabits its prison. This is done by inscribing runes and glyphs in the black tongue upon the body, and applying ground aurum or a dusted lifegem to prime the corpse for a new soul. A whole descendant is needed, culled to drain their life essence into the primed cadaver as their own soul is used to beckon another. Should a heinous coven opt to use a living person as the vessel for a Darkstalker, they must simply carve the runes and hexes into the skin and muscle of the living. Requiring a scar of Heith-Hedran to weaken the barrier of life and death, the rite must be done near an active rift as to allow free passage of potential souls. With the corpse fully prepared, a tier four necromancer and three of his acolytes must draw forth their lifeforce, funneling it into the soon-to-be darkstalker. The body is forced into faux-life, as the soul clambers from the depths of Heith-Hedran to rejoin its mortal vessel — tricking the damned. As the darkstalker is first awakened, a trinket of their life must be shown and presented, enwreathed in lifeforce to cauterize itself spiritually as a grim reminder of a life once had.

 

Requirements:

• A humanoid corpse or skeleton. 
• An affection of the resurrected.

 

Redlines:

• This Sacrament requires a necromancer that is tier four to lead, and three other necromancers to support them.
• A Darkstalker can either come from a PK’d character, reprised by the original owner who has OOCly consented to the ritual.
• Necromancers that partake in this Sacrament cannot perform or aid in a new Sacrament of the Usurer for 1 IRL month.
• Upon completing the Sacrament, the Darkstalker would put up a CA as proof of their creation.
• Being made a Darkstalker holds the player accountable to all outlined mechanics in the Simulacra. 
• This sacrament can only be done in a place where Heith-Hedran has been established.

 

Sacrament of Culmination

The ascension of an undead to its fullest potential is something which the Archliches or a T5 necromancer joined by two other necromancers may bequeath, allowing them to harbor greater power than that which their reanimated coil would previously have allowed. Many immortal warriors undergo the trials and tribulations which tradition would demand, and yet few succeeded in truly rising to that fabled seat. To make a Regressed Darkstalker into a Paramount, an Archlich, alongside two other experienced necromantic companions, must gather before a Rift of Heith-Hedran and charge a lifegem with the corrupting essence of Heith-Hedran, making the lifeforce within it malignant and vile. This lifegem may then be used upon the Darkstalker, as the two necromancers weave the black substance into the anointed regressed, which the Archlich would then bind to their reanimated spirit. This is excruciatingly painful to the undead, causing their derelict form to be fully empowered by Heith-Hedran, and thus fully ascend to the rank of Paramount at the cost of eternal hunger. 

 

Requirements:

• A darkstalker who has become Regressed.
• A lifegem.

Redlines:

• Upon being made Paramount, the Darkstalker player would inform the ST, who would make a comment on their CA designating that they had ascended. 
• Being made into a Paramount grants the Darkstalker access to all Paramount-locked abilities. 
• This sacrament can only be done in a place where Heith-Hedran has been established.

 

Sacrament of the Vicar 

A sacrament foreign to all but the most adept of necromancy, it is seldom taught how one becomes an archlich — even among elder necromancers — for its implication and risk to the entirety of the coven. Only an elder necromancer who has garnered the full support of their coven can advance to this stage, as becoming an archlich requires absolute coordination down to every subordinate. Wherein, a cabal of four Necromancers, led by an accompanying elder necromancer endeavors to ascend the would-be Archlich.

 

An archlich may only be created where the veil of Heith-Hedran is the weakest, first requiring the Sacrament of Heith-Hedran to have cursed the land. Unlike the creation of Darkstalkers, the vessel of an Archlich must be prepared well in advance; the body must be meticulously fleshsmithed from the bones of a deceased dragon, bathed in ground lifedust, with black lifeforce being woven into the marrows to animate the creature and allow the terrifying and raw powers of Heith-Hedran to flow freely. The appointed necromancer must then imbibe the Philter of Heith-Hedran (outlined further in Black Alchemy), before being sacrificed where Heith-Hedran is present, placing their faith in the abilities of their coven. Careful as not to allow the wrong soul into the body, the accompanying necromancers must reach through Heith-Hedran and rend forth the one sacrificed, forcing their soul into the death-forged corpse, where they are born again as undeath incarnate. These creatures do not bear phylacteries as they did in ages of old, for their soul is intrinsically tied to the lifebanks and the binding power of the Heith-Hedran which had made them manifest. 

 

Requirements:

• Black Lifedust.
• Philter of Heith-Hedran.
• Dragon Bones.
• Hag's Blood.

 

Redlines:

• If the Sacrament is interrupted the would-be archlich must PK.  They may be brought back following 3 narrative months if a successful attempt of the ritual is completed at that time.
• This Sacrament requires six necromancers to conduct: two tier five necromancers, one who will lead the ritual and the other who will become the archlich, and four other necromancers to support them.
• Upon completing the Sacrament, the Archlich would put up a CA as proof of their creation.
• Being made an Archlich holds the player accountable to all its mechanics outlined in the Simulacra. 
• This sacrament can only be done in a place where Heith-Hedran has been established.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Purpose

Three years  ago, during the Lore Games, Dardonas returned necromancy to the lore stage, something unexpected under Flamboyant’s notorious scrutiny. Unfortunately, the harsh criteria and simplistic demand of that era caused there to be many oversights and a lack of clarification regarding core concepts in the lore. However, the lore set a seemingly wonderful precedent for what necromancy roleplay should revolve around: the use of necromancy to empower individuals as a coven. The underlying problem with this though was that, while it allowed for more group oriented roleplay, the roleplay was solely limited to interacting with other necromancers. There was not really a tangible way for common players to interact with the magic outside of perhaps being drained or used as a sacrifice; and, as mentioned before, the administration at the time of the lore’s passing made it difficult to explore new concepts regarding interaction. 

 

Undead CAs also received a noticeable overhaul, particularly Darkstalkers. As they stood in the previous lore, Darkstalkers were very shallow in terms of what they could do — and whereas Archliches and Draugar had other means of giving themselves purpose and application within the coven — Darkstalkers were little more than knight errants serving at the behest of their necromancer. Most had little reason to log on outside of feeding, and were limited in the amount of encounters they could have. Security remedied this in one of his additions, and it helped encourage their independent progress dramatically. Thus we incorporated those concepts, as well as added on a bit more, to encourage Darkstalker roleplay outside of service to the coven.  

 

Overall, the intent of this lore is to expand the means by which players can interact with the lore without necessarily being themselves a necromancer, as well as encouraging the users of the magic to seek out individuals who are willing to serve as thralls or cultists — truly giving it the amount of interaction it needs to thrive as a community and a concept. 

 

We have plenty of expansions and additions planned for the future of this magic, but for now we hope to set this foundation as a means of achieving those additions without being restricted by the vague, and at times incoherent, lore with which we’ve had to work with for the previous three or so years. 

 

Citations

Rh’thoraen Necro Hub

Ancient Necro Lore

Denied Necro I

Denied Necro II

Zarsies’ Fourth Gen Necro

Credits

 

femurlord (Co-writer)

Sorcerio (Co-Writer)

Security (Co-Writer)

Dardonas (Old Gen. Writer)

Slic3man (Support)

Lockages (Support)

Megavoltar (Support)

Angmarzku (Support)

Christ2man (Consultation)

Lhindir_ (Consultation)

Squakhawk (Consultation)

The Necro Community (Consultation & Support)

The Player Community (Consultation)

 

Changelog:

Spoiler

• Clarified 'energy-based magics' under Tether Draining
• Switched reanimation spell slots from 3, to 2. Not allowing a Flesh Golem to be used alongside any other reanimation.
• Clarified in Combat Darkening it requires half of a Creature/Descendant's overall lifeforce units to be depleted, should they bear more than 2
• Specified minor Tawkin Mutations, Grafting and Moulding can be used on an Ordained Necromancer
• Linked Sorrows and Sacrilege and Rh'thoraen Necromancy's origin.
• Added means for the apocryphyium to be wielded should all teachers or the magic itself goes inactive.
• Added a Disconnection Sacrament.
• Added the ability for reconnection on Disconnection Sacrament.
• Specified how Darkening interacts with different forms of Spectral Undead.
• Fixed contradictions to Disconnection.
• Placed Summoning in Maledictions, while also returning a mechanic from current Necromancy. Live Branding.
• Adjusted redlines to be aligned with what is written outside of them.
• Specified redlines in Oculus, noting what sized creatures can be active and how many.
• Re-added Draugar.
• Removed a Necromancer's ability to foster children, any romantic relationship, or ERP.
• Major Reformatting.

 

 

[wowj 2870]

whats this nerd shit

[Aengoth 2883]

whats this nerd shit

[warlord of filth 7723]

erm

[Child Neglecter 2163]

 

 

necromancers when the necromancer is necromancing and the necro is mancing

[Lhindir_ 3439]

Ostromir smiles from the beyond

[ClassyDryad 1734]

Druidic blight healing would probably take only one session (as it heals worse forms of corruption than caused by the rift closure in one use) but it also should be specificed it only works on cas like epiphytes and tree lords, not other descendants.

[creamynoteblock 2469]

[megavoltar 1128]

Where's iblees?

[Aengoth 2883]

1 hour ago, ColonelClassy said:

Druidic blight healing would probably take only one session (as it heals worse forms of corruption than caused by the rift closure in one use) but it also should be specificed it only works on cas like epiphytes and tree lords, not other descendants.

[Benjikhei 696]

 

[Samler 1048]

Got halfway through and I have some questions; Energy based magic (fire evocation being an example), is that only fire evocation or would it also work for air/water/ice/earth/life? 'Obviously' abjuration wouldn't work as per lore. Unless you want it work of course, but then it needs a specific menthion (no need, only asking for clarification)

And I am confused about the whole flesh golem thing, it states multiple times 'max 2 slots can be spent', but then underneath in Command's redlines, it states 3. Is this a typo or is there something I just understand wrong? :)

And how would darkening go in regards to CAs with more life force? To use Olog and Azdrazi as examples.

The way I read it; Necromancer casts darkening, makes a full drain cycle (1 life force point), Olog [3] / Azdrazi [5] is uncouncious and can now be drained extra times untill potential death.

It makes sense to me that it's how it works on decendents [2], but on the other CAs? I also could be reading that wrong.

All in all, I have little experience with necromancers and that sort of thing, as an outsider I noticed little changes from what I read, but I will believe you that there were big changes for the invidual players.

[TreeSmoothie 4959]

* casts Impotence on all elven settlements *

[ClassyDryad 1734]

Reading through it more, limiting farseers to just those who can use blessings of Scorthuz and also requiring twice the number of people to purge it as those who made it is literally a basically a nearly impossible task for current shamans, let alone when spirit pacting gets fully implemented. I struggled to gather even five farseers of the right tier in the past to close one, so I'm not sure how anyone would expect to close one if you needed 8-10.

[Damnit_Delmar 1147]

9 hours ago, femurlord said:

. Because of this, the presence of holy magic would only make them uncomfortable, though it would not outright harm them as it would darkspawn.

 

Feel like this is a very odd thing to add, considering how necromancers are made and our connection to the Heith-Hedran. There is a lot I have read, and a lot of personal critiques I've got with the rewrite. All in all, it feels very bogged down with mechanics, and lacking in the lore department. 

 

Though I will applaud on the Heith-Hedran interactions, one of the few things I like with this rewrite.