the black art wip

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed sapien felis, pulvinar ac bibendum in, imperdiet et libero. Nulla rhoncus mauris vel tortor elementum pharetra elementum leo vestibulum. Mauris volutpat pellentesque risus at placerat. Fusce bibendum lectus ut elit dignissim nec aliquam quam suscipit. Morbi in felis non purus tempor feugiat dictum et nisi. Vestibulum elementum libero vitae odio posuere id congue ante viverra. Suspendisse quam ligula, facilisis ac fringilla quis, facilisis nec elit. Pellentesque varius mauris nulla. Phasellus non nisi nunc, quis bibendum augue. Pellentesque mauris magna, euismod eget egestas eget, viverra at urna. Morbi a ligula enim. Quisque vel lobortis dui. In interdum elementum velit, vitae accumsan dui malesuada ut. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed sapien felis, pulvinar ac bibendum in, imperdiet et libero. Nulla rhoncus mauris vel tortor elementum pharetra elementum leo vestibulum. Mauris volutpat pellentesque risus at placerat. Fusce bibendum lectus ut elit dignissim nec aliquam quam suscipit. Morbi in felis non purus tempor feugiat dictum et nisi. Vestibulum elementum libero vitae odio posuere id congue ante viverra. Suspendisse quam ligula, facilisis ac fringilla quis, facilisis nec elit. Pellentesque varius mauris nulla. Phasellus non nisi nunc, quis bibendum augue. Pellentesque mauris magna, euismod eget egestas eget, viverra at urna. Morbi a ligula enim. Quisque vel lobortis dui. In interdum elementum velit, vitae accumsan dui malesuada ut. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed sapien felis, pulvinar ac bibendum in, imperdiet et libero. Nulla rhoncus mauris vel tortor elementum pharetra elementum leo vestibulum. Mauris volutpat pellentesque risus at placerat. Fusce bibendum lectus ut elit dignissim nec aliquam quam suscipit. Morbi in felis non purus tempor feugiat dictum et nisi. Vestibulum elementum libero vitae odio posuere id congue ante viverra. Suspendisse quam ligula, facilisis ac fringilla quis, facilisis nec elit. Pellentesque varius mauris nulla. Phasellus non nisi nunc, quis bibendum augue. Pellentesque mauris magna, euismod eget egestas eget, viverra at urna. Morbi a ligula enim. Quisque vel lobortis dui. In interdum elementum velit, vitae accumsan dui malesuada ut. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed sapien felis, pulvinar ac bibendum in, imperdiet et libero. Nulla rhoncus mauris vel tortor elementum pharetra elementum leo vestibulum. Mauris volutpat pellentesque risus at placerat. Fusce bibendum lectus ut elit dignissim nec aliquam quam suscipit. Morbi in felis non purus tempor feugiat dictum et nisi. Vestibulum elementum libero vitae odio posuere id congue ante viverra. Suspendisse quam ligula, facilisis ac fringilla quis, facilisis nec elit. Pellentesque varius mauris nulla. Phasellus non nisi nunc, quis bibendum augue. Pellentesque mauris magna, euismod eget egestas eget, viverra at urna. Morbi a ligula enim. Quisque vel lobortis dui. In interdum elementum velit, vitae accumsan dui malesuada ut.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed sapien felis, pulvinar ac bibendum in, imperdiet et libero. Nulla rhoncus mauris vel tortor elementum pharetra elementum leo vestibulum. Mauris volutpat pellentesque risus at placerat. Fusce bibendum lectus ut elit dignissim nec aliquam quam suscipit. Morbi in felis non purus tempor feugiat dictum et nisi. Vestibulum elementum libero vitae odio posuere id congue ante viverra. Suspendisse quam ligula, facilisis ac fringilla quis, facilisis nec elit. Pellentesque varius mauris nulla. Phasellus non nisi nunc, quis bibendum augue. Pellentesque mauris magna, euismod eget egestas eget, viverra at urna. Morbi a ligula enim. Quisque vel lobortis dui. In interdum elementum velit, vitae accumsan dui malesuada ut. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed sapien felis, pulvinar ac bibendum in, imperdiet et libero. Nulla rhoncus mauris vel tortor elementum pharetra elementum leo vestibulum. Mauris volutpat pellentesque risus at placerat. Fusce bibendum lectus ut elit dignissim nec aliquam quam suscipit. Morbi in felis non purus tempor feugiat dictum et nisi. Vestibulum elementum libero vitae odio posuere id congue ante viverra. Suspendisse quam ligula, facilisis ac fringilla quis, facilisis nec elit. Pellentesque varius mauris nulla. Phasellus non nisi nunc, quis bibendum augue.

The Black Art

Expanded and Revised Rules for Necromancers and Necromancy in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd

Edition

Monday, 31 August 2009

By Nathan “N0-1_H3r3” Dowdell

The Black Art – Expanded and Revised Rules for Necromancers and Necromancy in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition

Nathan “N0-1_H3r3” Dowdell

II

The Black Art Expanded and Revised Rules for Necromancers and Necromancy in Warhammer Fantasy

Roleplay 2nd Edition by Nathan “N0-1_H3r3” Dowdell

OOVVEERRVVIIEEWW

Necromancy is hideously dangerous and difficult to control, unlike almost any other form of the dark and unholy arcana in the world. Unlike the sorcery of Chaos, where the fickle protection of malevolent gods shields the practitioners from the worst effects of wielding Dark Magic, or the magicks of the Skaven, whose innate tolerance for the corrupting influences of magic grants them some respite from Dhar‟s corrosive influence, necromancers lack any such protection. They must face the seething corruption of Dhar alone.

This is possible – the Druchii of Naggaroth wield Dhar without the difficulties faced by human sorcerers, though even they suffer some effects and are driven insane by the sheer force of will required to wield such a terrible and addictive power. Humans, however, lack the Aethyric finesse of the Elves, and most of those who ever attempt to deliberately wield Dhar lose most of what makes them human in the process.

With necromancers, this fate is one almost worse than death. The unique nature of their magic means that failure to properly control the vile energies is to be consumed by them, losing body and mind to the darkest forces of magic. The strongest-willed of these unfortunates linger on, but only just, leaving only a flickering ephemeral presence consumed with rage and loathing – a Wraith. While deadly, these creatures lack any semblance of the intellect, power

or humanity they may once have possessed, leaving behind a lethal, murderous spectre with an unending hatred for the living.

Yet such is not the fate of all who would wield necromancy. Quite aside from the Vampires – whose magic-fuelled nature and undying forms are essentially immune to most of the side-effects of necromancy – some necromancers do learn to wield their magic with skill and relative safety. And, while their powers are generally limited by the methods they use to shield themselves from the malignant effects of their magic, they can thrive, often as wretched and subservient vassals of a powerful Vampire

who grants them lore and protection in exchange for unending servitude.

Fewer still escape this entirely – some have power enough to truly grasp the raw power of necromancy and survive the process, becoming a

match for many Vampires in their grasp of these dark arts. Such beings are terrible and inhuman, with most having died in the process, animated only through a combination of necromantic magic and sheer force of will. Such creatures – now Liches, undead spellcasters no longer bound by the limitations of humanity – are amongst the deadliest of adversaries, and the most powerful of them can rival all but the oldest and most powerful of Vampires in terms of sheer command of necromancy.

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Necromancy is a difficult art to master for mortals, and a risky one. None survive its study unscathed, and few survive it at all... though, given the nature of necromancy, being alive is not necessarily required. Indeed, living creatures tend to struggle more with the corrosive energies of Dhar more than those who are undead, as the power they attempt to wield is inimical to life. As a result, mortal necromancers have developed a number of methods by which their fragile lives can be shielded from the ravening energies they presume to command.

Under normal circumstances, without any external influence or protection, a necromancer‟s body is harmed by the energies of Dhar that flow through and around it.

When rolling to cast a spell, a necromancer suffers 1 wound for every Casting Dice used (including Chaos Dice and the bonus die from the Dark Magic talent), plus an additional wound for any doubles rolled, two additional wounds for any triples, and three additional wounds if four of the same number are rolled. These wounds are suffered even if the spell was not successfully cast.

Example: Albrecht Mueller is a moderately powerful witch, but an inexperienced dabbler in the Dark Arts, attempting to animate the body of a small dog. He has a Magic characteristic of 2, the Dark Magic talent and rolls a Chaos Dice because of the Witchcraft talent, for a maximum of four dice. Not wanting to draw too much power, he chooses to roll only one of his Magic dice, but is



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forced to roll his Witchcraft dice and use the Dark Magic talent, for a total of 3 dice. He rolls a 3 and two 5s, and suffers 4 wounds as a result – three for the dice he rolled, and one for rolling a double. If he had rolled three 5s instead, he would have suffered 5 wounds.

This represents the harmful power of Dark Magic upon an unprotected living body. Any criticals suffered due to wounds caused in this manner are Sudden Death criticals, and also result in the character gaining a Dark Magic Side-Effect. A necromancer who dies as a result of wounds caused in this manner may attempt a Willpower Test. Those who pass linger on as Wraiths, while those that fail are consumed utterly by the energies they dared to wield.

There are ways to avoid this unpleasant consequence of using Dhar. The two most common of these are described below. Both the below techniques must be bought as Talents. The third is to simply not be alive – necromancers with the Undead trait do not suffer wounds for simply wielding Dark Magic.

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One of the most common ways for necromancers to protect themselves is to channel the malefic energies into corpses instead of directly through their own bodies. However, a cadaver can only be subjected to so much abuse in this way before it simply ceases to be.

A necromancer may use any corpse or mindless undead he can touch as a focus for his magic. If a mindless undead is used, it must be one under the necromancer‟s own control. The wounds normally suffered by the necromancer are instead suffered by the corpse or undead creature. If, at any point, a corpse or mindless undead creature is reduced to 0 wounds by this ability, it will immediately and irrevocably be destroyed, consumed in moments by shrieking green-white flames and any leftover wounds will be suffered by the necromancer as normal.

For the purposes of this ability, inanimate human-sized corpses are considered to have 6 wounds, while larger or smaller corpses will have proportionately more or less wounds.

Needless to say, a necromancer using this technique requires a ready supply of corpses to hand, and while this isn‟t too hard for some necromancers, it does tend to be difficult to use while fleeing from the authorities...

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Shyish, the purple wind of magic, is heavily associated with death and mortality. It stands to reason, then, that it can be associated with necromancy. Many of the more skilled and/or more educated mortal necromancers choose to wield the power of necromancy through a protective „layer‟ of Shyish, using the purple wind as if a pair of gauntlets against the deadly power of Dhar.

A necromancer may attempt to shield himself from the damage caused by wield Dhar by wreathing themselves in the energies of Shyish. This requires a half action and a Channelling Test, and must be done immediately before casting a spell, in the same way as a normal Channelling action – a Ward of Shyish is too taxing to maintain for more than a few moments, and must be gathered anew with every spell the necromancer attempts. If the Channelling Test is successful, then the necromancer suffers no wounds from attempting to cast the subsequent spell.

Obviously, this technique can be used anywhere, at any time, and isn‟t as dependant on having a supply of corpses on hand... but equally, it is time-consuming, and wreathing yourself in magic is a sure-fire way to make you a big obvious target for any Wizards in the vicinity...

NNEECCRROOMMAANNTTIICC SSPPEELLLLSS

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Necromancers, like others who wield Dhar, pay a price for their power. The power of their magic ravages their bodies, leaving lasting scars. Whenever you cast a spell using Dark Magic that results in Tzeentch‟s Curse, you are at risk of a side-effect. If you get doubles on the percentile dice when resolving the curse, you also suffer from a side-effect. Roll percentiles again on the following table to see what happens. You can gain each side-effect multiple times, and effects are cumulative. For example, each time you gain Debilitation, you reduce your Toughness Characteristic by 1d10%.

Note that the below expanded table is specific to users of Necromancy who gain side-effects. For an expanded table for Chaos-worshipping and other Dark Magic users, refer to page 210 of Tome of Corruption. Where a degree of variation exists in a given side-effect, the GM should ensure that the results are thematically appropriate to a Necromancer.

When a character with the Undead trait gains a side-effect, any roll of a double will not produce the result rolled. Instead, such rolls result in the Cadaverous Appearance side-effect. Those who sacrifice their lives for power can rarely maintain the façade of life for long.



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Roll Result

01-05 Allergy 06-10 Aura of Death 11-15 Aversion 16-20 Cadaverous Appearance 21-25 Character Flaw 26-30 Corpulence 31-35 Debilitation 36-40 Disfigurement 41-45 Disgusting Habit 46-50 Disturbing Presence 51-55 Emaciation 56-60 Hobbled 61-65 Madness 66-70 Odd Visions 71-75 Palsy 76-80 Rotting 81-85 Stench 86-90 Unnatural Appetite 91-95 Vulnerability 96-00 Weakness

Allergy You have an allergy to a common material, like leather

or fur. When in contact with it, you take a -10% penalty to your Weapon Skill and Agility Characteristics. If you roll this side-effect more than once, you either gain a new allergy or your existing one becomes more severe.

Aura of Death All plants wither when you are within 4 yards (2

squares). This extends to equipment that derives from plant materials, worsening craftsmanship by one step.

Aversion You develop an aversion to a common element of

daily life such as light, water, or the crying of infants. When forced to be around it, you suffer a -10% penalty to your Willpower and Fellowship Characteristics. If you roll this side-effect more than once, you eight gain a new aversion or your existing one becomes more severe.

Cadaverous Appearance You begin to look like a corpse. At first, you simply

grow pale and develop rings around your eyes, but eventually you become indistinguishable from a real cadaver. You suffer a -10% penalty to your Fellowship in all social situations, but gain a +10% bonus on Intimidate Tests.

Character Flaw You develop an irritating character flaw, like excessive

arrogance, selfishness or an unseemly obsession with death. Permanently reduce your starting Fellowship Characteristic by 1d10%. If you roll this side-effect more than once, you either gain a new character flaw or your existing character flaw becomes more severe – either way, your Fellowship Characteristic is reduced by a further 1d10%.

Corpulence You experience a sudden increase in body weight. No

matter what you do, you just can‟t seem to lose it. Increase your weight by +20% each time you gain this side-effect. For every two times you gain this result, you also permanently reduce your Agility Characteristic by 1d10%.

Debilitation As a result of a mild sickness, such as a wracking

cough or a weakened constitution, you permanently lose 1d10% from your Toughness Characteristic.

Disfigurement You gain a repulsive disfigurement of a random part

of your body as determined by the hit location chart. This can be anything from unsightly sores to scaly skin, to a growth of fur. Unless you disguise the disfigurement, you suffer a -10% penalty to your Fellowship Characteristic in all social situations. If you roll this side-effect more than once, you either gain a new disfigurement or your existing one becomes more severe.

Disgusting Habit You develop a disgusting habit. It can be anything

from only being able to defecate in public to eating only raw flesh or drinking blood, to vomiting after every meal. Permanently reduce your Fellowship Characteristic by 1d10%. If you roll this side-effect more than once, you either gain a new disgusting habit or your existing habit becomes more severe.

Disturbing Presence Your aura becomes so malignant that children and

animals refuse to go near you, and you suffer a -10% penalty to your Fellowship Characteristic in all social situations.

Emaciation You can no longer keep weight on your body, giving

you a gaunt, sickly appearance. Reduce your body weight by 20%. For every two times you gain this side-effect, you also permanently reduce your Toughness Characteristic by 1d10%.

Hobbled One of your feet twists painfully, reducing your

Movement Characteristic by 1.

Madness Gain 1d10 Insanity Points.

Odd Visions



V

You are afflicted with terrifying visions that might involve all those you see appearing dead and decayed, or vile maggots swimming through flesh. Though you know they aren‟t real, it‟s sometimes hard to distinguish between reality and hallucination. Gain 2 Insanity Points, and you take a -10% penalty to all Perception Skill Tests.

Palsy You become prone to periodic fits of shaking. At the

start of any stressful situation (combat, a verbal confrontation, etc), you must make a Will Power Test or suffer a fit that lasts 1d10 rounds. During the episode, you take a -10% penalty on your Agility, Intelligence, Will Power and Fellowship and can only take half actions each round.

Rotting You leave bits of yourself wherever you go. Your skin

is corrupted, splitting, and weeping, though somehow your condition does not seem to get any worse (nor does it seem to improve). Reduce your Fellowship Characteristic by 1d10%.

Stench You develop a most unpleasant odour. For each

instance of this side-effect, it takes one application of perfume to mask the stench for a day. If you had gotten stench three times, for example, it would take three applications of perfume a day to hide your smell. When

your smell is noticeable, you take a -10% penalty to your Fellowship in all social situations.

Unnatural Appetite You develop a hunger for the unspeakable. This could

include Human (Elf, Halfling, etc) flesh, dung, blood, rotting food and just about anything a cruel GM can devise. When confronted with the object of your desire, you must succeed on a Will Power Test or break out your pewter spoon and get to work on cleaning your plate. Whilst this has no appreciable effect on the character, if witnessed whilst in the act of feeding, you take a -10% penalty to Fellowship Tests made to interact with any witnesses. Each time you gain this side-effect, you either develop an additional craving, or the difficulty to resist feeding worsens by one step (Average to Challenging, Challenging to Hard, and so on).

Vulnerability You are susceptible to a particular common

substance, such as flour, wine, ale or vomit. If this substance comes into contact with your skin, you immediately catch fire. See Fire in WFRP page 136. Each time you gain this side-effect, you develop an additional vulnerability.

Weakness You permanently lose 1d10% from your Strength

Characteristic.

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Necromancy has always relied on rituals for its true power; the spells of Vampires and Necromancers engaged in battle are merely exertions of will upon the undead, crude but brutally effective in their method. It is the power beyond that, the skill and insight needed to enact the great rituals of the Books of Nagash and the Liber Mortis that truly define the greatest of Liches, Necromancers and Vampires.

A sampling of necromantic rituals can be found in Night’s Dark Masters. This section provides an expanded selection of necromantic rituals, covering a variety of desired effects and terrible consequences.

Doom Defied Type: Dark

Arcane Language: Magick

Magic: 3

XP: 500



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Ingredients: A lock set within a miniature carving of a stone archway, a key engraved with the symbol of a raven, which must fit the lock, the birth coins of thirty children born within the last year, the skull of the priest of Morr who performed the caster‟s dooming, the hands of a grave robber, and a pint of blood taken from a hanged murderer no more than an hour after his execution.

Conditions: This ritual must be cast at the site of the caster‟s birth, on the anniversary of his dooming. This ritual may only be performed by a character with the Dark Lore (Necromancy) or Dark Lore (Nagash) talents.

Consequences: The caster becomes closer to death, his body weakening as it succumbs to the power he failed to control. Until the next time Mannslieb and Morrslieb are both full, your Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Strength, Toughness, Agility and Movement Characteristics are all halved.

Casting Number: 27

Casting Time: 12 hours

Description: You are imbued with the power to cheat death. You remain living for the moment, but should you die at any point in the next year, you will return from the dead the next time the sun sets as an undead creature, gaining the Fearless and Unsettling talents and the Night Vision and Undead traits. Additionally, you gain 4 wounds and your initial Toughness increases by 5%, while your Fellowship is reduced by 5% as your body becomes inured to pain and your mind becomes increasingly distant from the petty matters of the living.

Final Breath of Van Damneg Type: Dark

Arcane Language: High Nehekharan

Magic: 2

XP: 300

Ingredients: A handful of dust from a crypt, an item symbolic of the caster‟s birth (in the Empire, this would be his birth coin, but other cultures would have different items), the shells of a hundred dead dung beetles, and the caster‟s life and blood.

Conditions: This ritual may only be performed by a character with the Dark Lore (Necromancy) or Dark Lore (Nagash) talents. In order to contribute enough blood to the ritual to fulfil the required list of ingredients, the caster is reduced to 0 wounds and begins to die as the ritual starts.

Consequences: The caster fails to bind his soul to his now-dead form, and the energies unleashed take their toll. The caster‟s body is reduced to dust and his spirit is blasted with raw power, shredding its sanity and stripping it of power. All that remains is a Wraith, angry and vengeful.

Casting Number: 16

Casting Time: 1 hour

Description: The caster‟s body dies, and yet retains its vigour. His soul is trapped within it, never to leave. He is, and will be until his destruction, a Liche. He gains the Fearless and Unsettling talents and the Night Vision and Undead traits. Additionally, he gains 4 wounds and his initial Toughness increases by 5%, while his Fellowship is reduced by 5% as his body becomes inured to pain and his mind becomes increasingly distant from the petty matters of the living.

Knowledge of the Dead Type: Dark

Arcane Language: Magick

Magic: 2



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XP: 200

Ingredients: The fresh or preserved brain of one whose knowledge is desired, thirteen pages of parchment made from human skin, a copper rod no less than four feet long, a solution of salt and water into which a pint of blood of the same species as the brain has been poured.

Conditions: The ritual must be cast under an open sky, during a storm, at a place higher than any other within five miles, be it a tower, a hill or mountain, or the top of a castle or mansion. The caster must have the Dark Lore (Necromancy) or Dark Lore (Nagash) talent. If the brain is fresh (its body died less than an hour ago), the caster gains a +3 bonus to cast this ritual.

Consequences: The essence of the dead, drawn forth from the brain, fills the caster‟s mind with nonsense and conflicting memories before dispersing. The caster gains 2d10 insanity points, and will not regain wounds naturally until the next time Mannslieb is full, such is the stress placed upon body and mind. Finally, that brain cannot be used again for this ritual.

Casting Number: 17

Casting Time: 1 hour

Description: As lighting is drawn down, it reinvigorates the dead brain and forces it to remember once more, divulging those memories to the caster. While such knowledge will not last forever, it can linger for quite some time. Select a number of skills possessed by the brain‟s original owner equal to your Magic Characteristic. For a number of Mannslieb‟s cycles (from full moon to full moon, approximately 25 days) equal to the first digit of your Intelligence Characteristic, you gain a +30% modifier on all tests made using that skill, and may use it even if untrained. After this time, the bonus is reduced to +20%, which once again lingers for a number of Mannslieb‟s cycles equal to the first digit of your Intelligence Characteristic, at which point the bonus is reduced to +10% for a final number of Mannslieb‟s cycles equal to the first digit of your Intelligence Characteristic. For example, a Necromancer (Magic 2) with an Intelligence of 48% can select two skills from the dead brain used for this ritual, granting him a +30% bonus on the use of these skills for 100 days, a +20% bonus for the next 100 days, and a +10% bonus for the final 100 days, after which point the ritual‟s effects are ended. At GM‟s discretion, a caster of this ritual can also recall select memories from the brain‟s former life with a successful Intelligence Test, but these memories will rarely be complete or entirely accurate.

Might of Nagash Type: Dark


Magic: 3

XP: 300

Ingredients: The blood of thirteen children, drawn from them when Morrslieb is full, five tallow candles made from rendered human fat mixed with bone dust, three drops of a Vampire‟s blood, and the skull of a priest of Morr.

Conditions: The ritual must be cast so that the mid-point is at midnight (so you must start at 11pm and finish at 1am), by a character with the Dark Lore (Necromancy) or Dark Lore (Nagash) Talent who has either the Aethyric Armour or Blessed Weapon Lesser Magic spells. The caster must spill his own blood during the ritual, suffering 2 wounds (ignoring Toughness Bonus and Armour) from the injury.

Consequences: The dead are enraged by the caster‟s presumption and he is ravaged by their spectral onslaught. He will awaken 2d10 hours later having suffered a damage 8 hit ignoring armour. In addition, he will gain a single Necromancy side-effect, as described earlier in this supplement.

Casting Number: 24




VIII

Description: The caster‟s body holds within it a vast surging tide of dark energy that struggles to escape in every spell he casts, a faint echo of the true power of The Great Necromancer. Able to call upon much greater power than normal, the caster's Lore of Necromancy and/or Lore of Nagash spells are greatly enhanced. To cast an enhanced spell, you must take a Channelling action, but this does not confer its normal bonus - rather, the character channels to control the power that rages within him. If this is successful, then the caster may apply the following effects to the spell:

The range of the spell is multiplied by 10.

Any effect based on the caster's Magic characteristic is doubled

Any effects based on a random dice roll are doubled.

Further, while the ritual‟s effects remain, the caster‟s range for controlling Undead is increased to 1 mile.

The effects of this ritual last a number of days equal to the caster‟s Toughness Bonus, at which point they fade and the ritual must be attempted again to regain the benefits.

Power in Death Type: Dark

Arcane Language: Varies (the original was written in High Nehekharan, but copies exist that have been translated into Magick)

Magic: 3

XP: 600

Ingredients: Two pounds of Warpstone, the blood and bones of a dozen pious men, a bowl of clean water taken from a sacred place, tainted by five drops of blood from one who has defied death (Vampire‟s blood is commonly used here) and scorpion venom (the species of scorpion does not matter).

Conditions: This ritual must be cast within an abandoned temple which has become tainted by Dhar, on either Hexensnacht or Geheimnisnacht. The caster must have the Dark Lore (Necromancy) or Dark Lore (Nagash) Talent in order to attempt this ritual.

Consequences: The energies you attempt to harness are too much for you to control, and they leave your body in ruins. You immediately suffer three Damage 4 hits, ignoring Toughness Bonus and Armour. Further, an immediate Catastrophic Chaos Manifestation takes place.

Casting Number: 28

Casting Time: 13 Hours

Description: You die, and are reborn in death. Where other Liches may simply be undead spellcasters, you are an avatar of death, your cadaverous form suffused with energy and made stronger and more powerful than it could ever have been in life. You gain the Night Vision, Terrifying and Undead traits, and the Fearless talent. Additionally, you gain 4 wounds and your initial Toughness increases by 5%, while your Fellowship is reduced by 5% as your body becomes inured to pain and your mind becomes increasingly distant from the petty matters of the living. Finally, you become immune to attacks from any source which is not magical or blessed in nature, and may select a single Blood Gift trait from the sourcebook Night’s Dark Masters.

Ritual of Awakening Type: Dark




IX

Magic: 4

XP: 1000

Ingredients: The recently-dead corpses of a hundred humans, a pound of Warpstone, and the vestments of a priest of Morr (or similar god of the dead; in ancient Nehekhara, this would have been Usirian) soaked in, and still wet from the blood of a child.

Conditions: The ritual must be cast under an open sky, in a land tainted with Dhar, by someone with the Dark Lore (Nagash) or Dark Lore (Necromancy) talent, on a night when Morrslieb is full. The true version of this ritual exists only in the Books of Nagash, and may only be learnt and cast from one of those books, or a fragment taken from one of them.

Consequences: The power the ritual unleashes is vast and without control, invoking the ire of those gods who watch over the dead. The caster suffers an immediate Necromancy side-effect and 2d10 wounds ignoring Toughness Bonus and Armour (using the Sudden Death Critical Hits table if applicable). Should he survive, he will find his power over the dead curtailed by the divine wrath called down upon him. He is reduced to Magic 0 (and if an Undead spellcaster, is rendered comatose while at Magic 0), and will regain a single point of his Magic Characteristic each time Morrslieb is full until he has regained his full strength.

Casting Number: 33


Description: The dead awaken. Every corpse within 10 miles of the caster is immediately animated in service of their new master, and while this ritual remains in effect, the number of undead he may control at any one time is multiplied by 10, while the range of his control is increased to 10 miles. This zone of animation remains in effect so long as the caster is not truly dead, and thus moving to a new place will cause new undead to rise, as will people dying within the area of effect, who will awaken in undeath 1d10/2 rounds after their death. Humanoid and human-sized creatures will be animated as skeletons or zombies, depending on the state of their bodies at the time, while wolves and large dogs will be animated as Dire Wolves and horses will be animated as Nightmares. Should more corpses exist within an area than the caster can control at once, he may as a Free Action choose which to animate and which to leave behind as corpses. The moment the caster becomes truly deceased, the ritual‟s effects end, though if he is brought back from death within 24 hours, the ritual‟s effects will resume from that point onwards.

Spectral Entourage Type: Dark


Magic: 3

XP: 400

Ingredients:

Conditions:

Consequences:

Casting Number:

Casting Time:

Description:



X

NNEECCRROOMMAANNTTIICC CCAARREEEERRSS

DDrreegg

The least practitioners of necromancy are commonly referred to as „Dregs‟ by more powerful examples of their kind, and they are often employed as scurrying assistants for necromancers, much maligned and ill-treated by their masters. The typical duties of a Dreg are fetching, carrying, repairing damaged corpses, stealing new corpses, and similar menial tasks. Their servitude is made only vaguely tolerable by the faint promise of power that comes with it, and the potential to become like those who mistreat them so.

Not all Dregs are the menial servants of necromancers, however. Some are wretched dabblers in unholy lore, having found a knack for making dead things dance like puppets. Most such petty necromancers do not survive long, either consumed by their pursuit of power beyond their grasp, or hunted down and killed for their blasphemous deeds. Those who do survive often gain in power and become true necromancers, and a very real threat to those around them.

Career Entries: Barber-Surgeon, Bone Picker, Grave Robber, Hedge Wizard.

- Dreg Advance Scheme -

Main Profile

WS BS S T Ag Int WP Fel

- - - +5% +5% +10% +10% +5%

Secondary Profile

A W SB TB M Mag IP FP

- +2 - - - +1 - -

Skills: Channelling, Drive or Trade (Apothecary), Heal or Torture, Intimidate, Magical Sense, Perception, Search

Talents: Flee!, Dark Magic, Hedge Magic, Petty Magic (Necromancy), Resistance to Disease or Strong-minded.

Trappings: Dregs rarely have an abundance of possessions, but most will have a few trinkets and tools. A small cart, for ferrying things – often corpses – to and from their master or their own experiments, and a collection of filthy blades, saws and needles, variously for patching up holes in corpses or making holes in the living are both commonly found on many Dregs.

(Hand-cart, crude surgical implements, ragged clothing)

Career Exits: Charlatan, Grave Robber, Necromancer, Outlaw, Vagabond, Zombie

NNeeccrroommaanncceerr

A true necromancer is a grave threat, not because of the power he wields – for there is much power yet unachieved by such mortals – but because of what he represents. Necromancers represent a desecration of the natural order, a blasphemy against the power of the gods and a perversion of the fundamental notions of life and death.

A necromancer‟s power grows erratically from meagre beginnings, and strains against the confines of their mortality, burning at their souls and poisoning their bodies. Few of them ever progress beyond this state, dying as wretched and enfeebled corpses and often cursed to linger as impotent spectres or even terrible wraiths, a far cry from the immortality many seek in necromancy.

necromancers, as with Dregs, often serve more powerful undead, often as apprentices or indentured servants to Mortifactors, Liches and Vampires, who feed them scraps of lore or command them to transcribe fell rituals and vile grimoires, themselves copies of copies of Nagash‟s original works. From this lore, they hone their own abilities and seek a way to become more than what they are.

Career Entries: Dreg, Warlock

Special: You must have gained at least one Insanity Point before entering this career.

- Necromancer Advance Scheme -



XI

Main Profile


+5% - +5% +10% +10% +15% +20% +5%

Secondary Profile


- +3 - - - +2 - -

Skills: Academic Knowledge (Necromancy), Channelling, Common Knowledge (any one), Drive or Ride, Gossip or Intimidate, Heal or Torture, Magical Sense, Perception, Read/Write, Speak Arcane Language (Magick or High Nehekharan), Trade (Apothecary or Embalmer)

Talents: Corpse Shielding or Ward of Shyish, Dark Lore (Necromancy), Fast Hands or Very Resilient, Lesser Magic (any two), Meditation or Mighty Missile, Menacing or Surgery

Trappings: necromancers possess little, often for reasons of safety – the fewer things they own, the more easily they can escape retribution without losing something valuable. Tools for their work and experiments are typically kept close, as are patched-together collections of obscene lore scavenged from their masters‟ libraries or scribbled down from memory. Beyond that, few necromancers are without a few corpses to serve them, their power grown sufficiently that they can maintain control over more of the undead than they could before.

(A collection of necromantic lore in a scroll case or book, Trade Tools (Apothecary or Embalmer), 3 zombie slaves)

Career Exits: Grave Robber, necromancer, Outlaw, Scholar, Zombie

MMoorrttiiffaaccttoorr

Mortifactors are the true dream and nightmare of necromancy. Terrible and powerful, their command over the undead is now so familiar to them that they can do so as easily as breathing. A Mortifactor is a figure of dreadful implications for most, and an ideal to be achieved by lesser necromancers, having conquered the limitations of their mortal existence in one way or another and achieved vast power in the process.

Many Mortifactors are Liches, undead spell-casters who have forsaken mortal life for an eternity of undeath in the manner of the Priests of ancient Nehekhara and Great Nagash himself, their desiccated forms now foci for Dhar and fonts of unconstrained necromantic power. Perhaps more terrifying, however, are those who become Mortifactors and remain amongst the living, for theirs is a will to live and dominate that cannot be extinguished. Whether alive or undead, Mortifactors spend their time seeking greater and greater sources of necromantic lore and conducting horrific experiments with a mind to perfecting their knowledge and ensuring their immortality, for though they are architects of death, they are not yet its masters.

Career Entries: Necromancer

- Mortifactor Advance Scheme -

Main Profile


+10% - +10% +15% +15% +25% +35% +10%

Secondary Profile


- +4 - - - +3 - -

Skills: Academic Knowledge (Magic), Academic Knowledge (Necromancy), Academic Knowledge (any one), Channelling, Heal or Intimidate, Common Knowledge (any two), Gossip or Ride, Magical Sense, Read/Write, Speak Arcane Language (Magick or High Nehekharan), Speak Arcane Language (Daemonic or Arcane Elf), Speak Language (Nehekharan or Classical), Speak Language (any two)

Talents: Aethyric Attunement or Meditation, Corpse Shielding or Ward of Shyish, Fearless or Mighty Missile, Lesser Magic (any two), Menacing or Unsettling, Ritual (any two necromantic)

Trappings: Mortifactors accumulate trappings as they wander the world, acquiring relics and scrolls and tomes pertaining to their life‟s work and its ultimate goal. Even the least of their number has a small library of scrolls and codices containing accumulated necromantic lore, perhaps even a third- or fourth-generation transcription of one of the Books of Nagash or the Liber Mortis if they‟re particularly fortunate. Ancient treasures stolen from barrows and crypts or the massive tombs of ancient Nehekhara are also common. Beyond that, no Mortifactor would be complete without a legion of the undead at his beck and call, serving his every whim.



12

(Four or more grimoires of necromantic lore, two magic items, horde of the dead)

Career Exits: Undying One

UUnnddyyiinngg OOnnee

If necromancers are slaves to death, then the Undying are its masters. The Undying are collectively those necromancers who have achieved to one degree or another, their ultimate goal – immortality. Their command over the dead is matched only by the most studious of Vampires, surpassed only by Nagash himself.

Most of the Undying are Liches, for just as few Necromancers achieve the power and focus needed to become Mortifactors, few Mortifactors survive long enough to unlock the secrets of necromancy and become truly undying.

That is not to say that they cannot be slain, for even beings such as these for whom the ages are irrelevant are susceptible to blade and arrow and spell, but their might makes even death in battle unlikely and their will may still be strong enough to come back even from such a demise, though this would be extremely difficult and would leave them weak for many centuries. It is a far better fate, however, to endure centuries of weakness than to suffer a true death. It is thankful, then, that there are so few Undying in the world and that their ambitions are often mutually exclusive, preventing their cooperation.

Career Entries: Mortifactor

- Undying One Advance Scheme -

Main Profile


+15% - +10% +20% +20% +35% +40% +15%

Secondary Profile


- +7 - - - +4 - -

Skills: Academic Knowledge (Magic), Academic Knowledge (Necromancy), Academic Knowledge (any two), Channelling, Heal or Intimidate, Common Knowledge (any three), Magical Sense, Read/Write, Speak Arcane Language (Magick or High Nehekharan), Speak Arcane Language (Daemonic or Arcane Elf), Speak Language (Nehekharan or Classical), Speak Language (any three)

Talents: Aethyric Attunement or Fearless, Corpse Shielding or Ward of Shyish, Frightening or Unsettling, Lesser Magic (any two), Ritual (any four necromantic)

Trappings: An Undying One possesses an immense library of necromantic lore, his libraries overflowing with his own notes and those of others, and may even contain a copy of some of the vilest examples of such lore (the originals being beyond the reach of all but the most fortunate of such individuals), along with numerous relics collected over the centuries or even wrought by his own power. The legions of the dead are his to command, and his lair is vast and nigh-unassailable.

(Thirteen or more grimoires of necromantic lore, four magic items, immense horde of the dead, isolated lair)

Career Exits: Immortality or Death



XIII

NNEECCRROOMMAANNTTIICC CCRREEAATTIIOONNSS –– RREEVVIISSEEDD UUNNDDEEAADD CCRREEAATTUURREESS

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