Version: 0.9 (2023-10-18)
Lore of Death (Amethyst)
The Lore of
Death is the magic of mortality, endings, and the passage of time. The lore
also has some applications against the undead. The Lore of Death uses Shyish,
the Purple Wind of Magic. Magisters of this lore are known as Amethyst wizards
and are rightly feared.
Amethyst wizards
are easily confused with Necromancers, but they are a distinct group and will
take offense at being lumped together with those vile practitioners of
forbidden powers. They are also sometimes confused with priests of Morr on
account of the whole gaunt and grim mien, the battle scythes, and the billowing
robes.
Lore
Skill: Intimidate
MR1
Death’s Messenger
MR: 1
CT: Half
Difficulty: Simple (+10)
Components: A sharp knife (+5)
Range: Self
Target: You
Duration: MR minutes
Description: You gain a +10 bonus on Intimidate tests.
Deathsight
MR: 1
CT: Full
Difficulty: Simple (+10)
Components: A handful of dirt
from a grave (+5)*
Range: Self
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour
Description: You can see spirits (including Daemons, incorporeal undead, and more) normally
invisible to the naked eye. When living beings die, you can see their souls
leaving their bodies.
Swift Passing
MR: 1
CT: Half
Difficulty: Simple (+10)
Components: Two brass pennies
(+5)
Range: Touch
Target: 1 critically injured creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Description: The spell instantly kills any character with 0 Wounds who has already
taken a Critical Hit.
Souls dispatched in this way are immune to spells
that affect the dead, but the physical body is not so protected and can be
animated by a necromancer, for example.
If cast on any Undead, this spell instead forces
the target to make a WP Test or be destroyed. Mindless undead have no WP and
are automatically destroyed (but must still be hit with a touch attack).
Tide of Years
MR: 1
CT: Half
Difficulty: Simple (+10)
Components: A small hourglass (+5)
Range: Touch
Target: 1 object of Enc 75 or less
Duration: Instantaneous
Description: You cause one non-magical item to age and decay. Items of Poor or Common
Quality turn to dust. Items of Good Quality become Poor, and those of Best craftsmanship
become Common.
MR2
Final Words
MR: 2
CT: Full
Difficulty: Variable
Components: A piece of vellum (+10)*
Range: Close
Target: 1 corpse
Duration: Instantaneous
Description: You may ask MR questions of the departed soul of a corpse within Close
range. The soul is not compelled to answer truthfully (or at all, for that
matter), but you’re allowed to try to persuade, trick, or threaten the
deceased.
The spell's difficulty depends on how long the
body has been dead. Standard (+0) for the recently deceased, Challenging (-10) if
1 hour, Difficult (-20) if one day, Hard (-40) for one week, Very Hard (-60)
for a month, and Impossible (-100) for an entire year.
The spell can be cast only once on any corpse and
cannot be cast on creatures without souls, like Daemons and the Undead.
Reaping Scythe
MR: 2
CT: Half
Difficulty: Normal (+0)
Components: A walking stick,
branch, staff, or similar (+10)
Range: Self
Target: You
Duration: MR minutes
Description: A scythe of Amethyst energy materializes in your grasp.
The scythe is a magic weapon that does
1d10+8 damage, regardless of Strength, provides WS +10, and has the Fast
Quality. The scythe cannot be disarmed or harmed in any way (but it can be dispelled).
Smite Undead
MR: 2
CT: Half
Difficulty: Normal (+0)
Components: A piece of flesh or sliver
of bone taken from an undead creature (+10)*
Range: Medium
Target: 1 undead creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Description: You strike an undead creature with a magic missile that automatically
hits for 1d10+MR+WP bonus damage. T and AP apply normally.
MR3
Acceptance of Fate
MR: 3
CT: Full + Half
Difficulty: Challenging
(-10)
Components: A nail taken from a
buried coffin (+10)*
Range: Self
Target: Large AoE
Duration: MR minutes
Description: This spell causes your allies to temporarily put aside their fear of
death.
You and all your allies within the AoE count as
having the Fearless talent for the spell's duration.
Corpse Flesh
MR: 3
CT: Full
Difficulty: Challenging
(-10)
Components: A bandage taken from
a patient who died of his injuries (+10)*
Range: Self
Target: You
Duration: 1 minute
Description: Your skin takes on the toughness of mortified flesh. Any Critical Hits against
you are reduced by a number of levels equal to your MR.
Any Fel test you take is halved for the duration
of the spell as you look and sound more dead than alive.
Steal Life
MR: 3
CT: Half
Difficulty: Challenging
(-10)
Components: A vial of blood from the same race as the target (+10)*
Range: Close
Target: 1 living creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Description: You suck the life essence of a target within Close range and use it to
heal yourself.
Unless a successful WP Test is made, the target
loses 1d10 Wounds, regardless of Toughness Bonus or armor. You are healed of as
many Wounds as you inflict. If you already have your full amount of Wounds, you
don’t gain any more (though the target is still damaged).
Steal life does not affect Daemons, the Undead,
or other non-living targets.
Ward Against Abomination
MR: 3
CT: Full
Difficulty: Challenging
(-10)
Components: A piece of a cemetery fence (+10)*
Range: Self
Target: Small AoE
Duration: Concentration
Description: As long as you concentrate (Attack action) and do not move faster than a
slow walk, undead creatures must make a WP test to cross the boundary of the Large
template. Mindless undead have no WP and will automatically fail this test.
If you force an undead into a position where it
must cross the boundary, such as by walking toward it, it automatically passes
the test (even if it has no WP).
MR4
Death’s Door
MR: 4
CT: Full
Difficulty: Difficult (-20)
Components: Vial of embalming
fluid (+10)*
Range: Self
Target: Large AoE
Duration: MR minutes
Description: Your power over death is such that you can briefly delay the inevitable.
If slain during the spell’s duration, those
affected can take a half action (such as attacking) on their normal Initiative
before dying. As soon as the action is resolved, death beckons.
If cast by someone with MR 5, the affected get a
full round before dying.
The Icy Grip of Death
MR: 4
CT: Full
Difficulty: Difficult
(-20)
Components: A thorny rose stem
(+10)*
Range: Long
Target: Large AoE
Duration: Indefinite
Description: Targets must make a WP test or be Stunned for 1 round. Stunned targets must
make a new test on their next turn, or they will remain stunned for another
round.
This spell only works on targets that can be Stunned,
so don’t use it on undead, daemons, or huge creatures.
Youth’s Bane
MR: 4
CT: Full
Difficulty: Difficult
(-20)
Components: Ivy taken from the
grave of a priest (+10)*
Range: Close
Target: 1 living creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Description: You cause the target to age years in a matter of seconds. The target
must make a successful WP test or permanently lose 1d10 from S and T.
Whilst it affects animals, youth’s bane has no
effect on Daemons and the Undead. Similarly, it does not affect items and
natural materials such as food, plants, leather, etc.
MR5
Banish the Undead Horde
MR: 5
CT: Full
Difficulty: Hard (-40)
Components: A vial of pure Shyish, blessed by a High Priest (+15)*
Range: Medium
Target: Large AoE
Duration: Instantaneous
Description: All undead within the
AoE are instantly destroyed unless they make a successful WP test. Undead that
are not destroyed take 1d10+5 Wounds instead, ignoring T and AP. Note that
mindless undead have no WP and are automatically destroyed.
Black Wind of Death
MR: 5
CT: Full
Difficulty: Hard (-40)
Components: An egg-sized amethyst
taken from the tomb of an undead lord (+15)*
Range: Long
Target: Large AoE
Duration: Instantaneous
Description: All living creatures in the AoE suffer 1d10+5 Wounds, regardless of AP
and T. The lost Wounds cannot be healed by magic, and a character brought to 0
Wounds by this spell immediately dies.
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