Call From Beyond (CFB):
The most elemental form of creating the undead, Call From Beyond compels a
thanatologically prepared corpse to rise in service to its master. A servant
created through this spell exists only a short time before the animating magic
fails, but the ritual to raise it can be done quickly, requiring none of the
laborious preparation that mark the creation of a permanent Risen. Channeling
additional power into this spell extends its duration, but care should be taken
not to mar the corpse, as each scrape will reduce the length of time the body
can be maintained.
Prerequisites: Quicken the Earth, 20th Circle.
Necrotic Reconstruction (NR):
A staple tool of apprentice and master reanimators alike, Necrotic
Reconstruction provides instantaneous mending to a servant that has not yet
outgrown its usefulness. The false healing operates by bolstering the Unlife
within forms, which in turn flares to defy any mundane wounds present. Curiously,
the spell does affect non-undead creations of Animation magic, albeit with less
potency.
Prerequisites: Butcher's Eye, Call From Beyond.
Quicken the Earth (QE):
The simplest of animation magic, this spell draws from the caster's own
lifeblood to invest motion in a constructed form. More advanced forms
can manipulate many things, but Quicken the Earth was designed for potency
even at low levels of skill and thus is very specific in purpose. It
requires a ritual letting of blood and a token amount of dirt, from which
the sorcerous magic builds a humanoid construct.
The creation is not alive, or even undead, but rather an animated body
that will blindly lash out at any around it. The ritual of creation protects
the caster from its attention, but it otherwise acts as an independent and
aggressive force until it is destroyed or the magic binding it loses strength.
The construct will also make some effort to hinder those engaging its creator,
more potent constructs doing so with greater frequency. Some speculate that
this represents the stirring of consciousness, an attempt to protect its
creator out of self preservation. Most regard this line of thinking as nonsense
and attribute the behavior to clever design on the part of the spell's
originators.
Prerequisite: 5th Circle.
Eyes of the Blind (EOTB):
Eyes of the Blind is a specialized form of the Visions of Darkness spell.
Instead of imposing a strict psychic malady on any particular target, the
Necromancer draws upon quirks of the eyes of sentient creatures by
corrupting their own body in a way that causes its location to be a blind
spot by all who view it. This corruption is not perfected, and perceptive
creatures may notice that they are missing something, or even be able to
find the Necromancer him or herself. Should the Necromancer be revealed,
the spell will alter the corruptive mutation slightly in order to reapply
the effect, but this takes some time.
Prerequisites: Obfuscation, Visions of Darkness.
Obfuscation:
The Obfuscation spell projects a psychic field that blunts the mind with a
sense of placid normalcy in all those touched by it. This draws less critical
attention to the magician, assisting him in any attempt to stay unperceived.
Petrifying Visions (PV):
The Petrifying Visions allows the caster to channel energy into their
opponents mind. If successful, the spell taps into the primal fears and
uncertainties about life that reside deep within the mortal mind. The end
result causes the victim to be paralyzed until they can reconcile and
repress what they saw.
Visions of Darkness (VOD):
A simple curse, the Visions of Darkness spell places a psychic malady on
the victim that causes their brain to believe their eyes are receiving much
less light than they are. It does not affect combat prowess, but makes a
target considerably less perceptive.
Blood Burst (BLB):
Blood Burst is the strongest and, to outsiders, the debatably vilest
spell in the Necromancer's arsenal. Requiring the caster to be bleeding
or sacrifice a portion of their life force in the casting, the end result
is a projectile of deadly incarnadine force.
Prerequisites: Vivisection, 40th Circle.
Heighten Pain (HP):
The Heighten Pain spell surrounds your opponent with a wracking curse that
amplifies the target's sense of pain, increasing the physical damage and
discomfort they suffer for a short time.
Siphon Vitality (SV):
The Siphon Vitality spell strikes your opponent with a powerful blast of
Necromantic energy. Once this energy reaches the flesh and blood of its
target, it saps the very life force from it, causing the opponent to
wither and possibly die. If this spell is fully targeted, the caster will
receive a portion of the siphoned-out energy.
Prerequisites: Acid Splash, Heighten Pain.
Acid Splash (ACS):
The Acid Splash spell conjures up an imperfect fragment of the fabled
Universal Solvent that is targeted at an enemy. While lacking the
potency or duration of the often sought alchemical ideal, the Acid Splash
spell is powerful in its own right. Each conjuration is a different acidic
solution, meaning that it can be effective against any opponent if used
several times.
Viscous Solution (VS):
Viscous Solution creates an enormous mass of viscous goo like a
floating pond, then lets it fall upon the area. The goo seems to stick
to living and sentient creatures for some reason, quickly hardening so
that it is difficult to move without spending time dealing with it. Whether
hindered or not, a thin coating of the goo remains on all victims, an odd
property of the substance causing further applications to have no effect
for a short period.
Prerequisites: Acid Splash, Philosopher's Preservation.
Vivisection:
The Vivisection spell is one of the most deadly in the Necromancer's arsenal.
The ability to flay a target with none the wiser of who cast the spell, and
even to remain in hiding after a cast, is something no other magicians have
ever been able to master. Additionally, this spell is useful on corpses to
assist in harvesting from them.
Prerequisites: Siphon Vitality, 30th Circle.
Butcher's Eye (BUE):
The Butcher's Eye spell augments one of the magician's eyes, improving
his sight beyond the limited capacity of the Immortals' own design. Under
its influence, the Necromancer gains an almost intuitive understanding of
anatomy, greatly improving his ability to butcher dead game and conduct
thanatological rituals.
Calcified Hide (CH):
Calcified Hide uses mutative magic to form a network of slightly
flexible, toughened ridges upon the caster's body. These ridges help
absorb the shock of all damaging attacks, and may even nullify minor
physical damage completely.
Prerequisite: Philosopher's Preservation.
Consume Flesh (CF):
Consume Flesh draws from the power of a ritual of consumption that
has been placed upon a corpse, utilizing it to destroy part of the
corpse in order to repair the caster. It should go without saying that
it is impossible to consume something that does not exist, so casters
should take care to leave the part of the prey they wish to utilize
undamaged.
Prerequisites: Siphon Vitality, 15th Circle.
Kura-Silma (KS):
Kura-Silma builds upon what the Necromancer has learned from the
Butcher's Eye spell. Through transfusing a kind of gaseous growth
in the eyeball, the spell effectively hones one's sight to greater
keenness. Roots of the resulting cysts are known to travel inward
to the skull, improving insight into the multiplicity of Arcane mana
with a lighter touch on the brain.
This magic once required the caster to cut open her eye in order to
bring out the enhancive cysts, a method obsoleted by advances in
transcendental patterns.
Prerequisite: Butcher's Eye.
Philosopher's Preservation (PHP):
Philosopher's Preservation furthers the improvement of the Necromancer's
nervous system that allows him, above any of his peers, to perceive
Arcane mana. This temporarily mutation considerably increases his reaction
time, granting the magician quick reflexes and almost supernatural grace
when evading attacks.
Prerequisites: Butcher's Eye, Obfuscation.
Spiteful Rebirth:
Among the most esoteric forms of transcendental magic are the dead patterns, which only those who have thrown off life may cast. Spiteful Rebirth is regarded as the most useful of this strange magic, which has the humble goal of defeating death itself.
Through Spiteful Rebirth, a Necromancer can replicate the iconic ability of liches to rise bodily from death with nothing but his own magic. Properly used, it knits together the corpse, then forces its heart to beat, nerves to flare and countless other somatic actions which resuscitate the dead from physical principles. The soul is said to "snap back" upon the restoration of life -- though this process is far from pleasant and leaves the Necromancer crippled for some time. Liches are said to gain some special benefit from this magic, but we do not know what, precisely, that is.
The seeming miraculous nature of this spell makes it the most... philosophically contentious of those we agree to teach. Some Philosophers regard it as spiritual necromancy for its treatment of the soul and steadfastly avoid its demonic taint. Others regard mastery of physical resuscitation as a vital preliminary to understanding the greater Alchemy of Flesh. If nothing else, Spiteful Rebirth is the worst possible thing to bring up in polite conversation.
Prerequisites: Necrotic Reconstruction, Consume Flesh.
Worm's Mist (WORM):
Worm's Mist is a powerful yet potentially crippling defense. The spell
mutates the Necromancer's sweat glands and pores, allowing his body to
produce a clinging, supernatural miasma. Any spell that passes through
the miasma risks coming apart at the seams, including the Necromancer's
own.
The spell is traditionally deployed near the skin, granting the caster
protection against other magicians without any chinks or flaws. While
the Necromancer's own spells are likewise hindered, that is what Risen
are for. Alternately, he may weave Worm's Mist into a shell approximately
ten feet in diameter. This allows the Necromancer to freely cast upon
himself and anyone within a melee, but grants the same courtesy to his
enemies.
Prerequisite: Philosopher's Preservation.