New Necromancy
New Necromancy
New Necromancy
System: The character may attempt to counter any Necromancy Ritual, Path power, wraithly Arcanoi or
even the death-related powers of mortal sorcerers and mages. The only requirements are that the power
to be countered must be used in the necromancer’s line of sight and not yet be complete when the Salt
Path is invoked.
To counter a spell, the necromancer spends a Willpower point and rolls his Intelligence + Salt Path rating
with a difficulty equal to (3+ level of target power). Each success on his roll negates one success on the
opposing caster’s activation roll. If the Salt Path user gains twice as many successes on his countering
attempt as the target did on their activation, the countered power is considered to have botched.
System: Any activation of the Murk Path requires the character to expend one Willpower and one blood
point, followed by a Manipulation + Occult roll, difficulty (activated Murk Path level + 3). The player may
choose what level of the Murk Path he wishes to activate, allowing him to affect an area smaller than his
maximum potential. Mortals within the area who witness a supernatural event must roll their Willpower
(difficulty 8) and gain more successes than the necromancer or they will be affected by the Fog.
For full rules on the Fog, consult Wraith: the Oblivion, page 241. For Storytellers without access to Wraith:
the Oblivion, simply assume that mortals with a Willpower less than 8 will ignore or entirely forget the
witnessed events. Mortals with extremely high Willpower will still attempt to rationalize the events, but will
not be completely fooled by the Fog.
● Ghostride
This ability forms the foundation of all other powers in the Ghost Path. It allows a necromancer to detach
his spirit from his body and merge it into the form, or corpus, of a wraith. While merged in this way, the
vampire experiences everything the wraith does, including pain. Without exercising some additional ability,
however, the vampire has no control or influence over the wraith; he is simply a passenger. Only under the
most extraordinary circumstances can this power be used without the wraith being aware of it, as the
spectacle of the vampire’s soul leaving his body and merging into the wraith’s corpus is quite visible and
pronounced.
New Necromancy
System: In order to force his soul into a wraith’s corpus, the necromancer rolls his Willpower with a
difficulty equal to the wraith’s Willpower. Each success is one day that he can remain attached to the
wraith. While riding inside the ghost, the necromancer’s own body is comatose and inert, especially
vulnerable to attack. Physical harm to his body will allow the necromancer to make a Perception +
Alertness roll (difficulty 6) to notice the disturbance and return himself to his body. The vampire can be
driven out of his host if the wraith suffers damage, forcing its passenger to roll Courage (difficulty based on
the severity of the damage) to stay attached in the face of the pain. Certain wraithly powers may also be
able to remove a vampire from his host.
●● Direction
While riding a ghost, the necromancer can now exert his will and cause the wraith to take a single, physical
action. He cannot force the ghost to use any of its powers, but he can make it move, grasp an object or
halt whatever it was doing. The ghost can only be forced to take ‘single’ actions, ones that are quickly
accomplished and simple in execution.
System: To issue his command, the player spends a point of Willpower and rolls Charisma + Leadership,
difficulty equal to the wraith’s Willpower. So long as the command is within the limitations of Direction, the
cannot help itself as its corpus acts under the direction of the vampire’s mind. A wraith may be forced to
fire a weapon or destroy a valued possession, or attack a target, but it could not be forced to track
someone down who is fleeing. The ability to overwhelm a wraith’s control of its own form only lasts a few
seconds and thus is restricted to instructions that can be accomplished in a single action. Wraiths cannot
be forced to take any action that will directly result in their own destruction.
System: The player spends a point of Willpower and engages in a contested Willpower roll with the wraith,
difficulty 7. If the vampire wins, he can speak through the ghost whenever he wishes for the rest of the
scene. If the ghost wins, the power fails. In the event of the necromancer botching, he is ejected entirely
from the wraith’s form.
●●●● Domination
A necromancer with this level of mastery can now fully suppress the mind of the wraith he has attached
himself to, becoming the dominant driving force within the creature’s form. For all intents and purposes,
while this power is active the vampire has taken complete control of the wraith’s corpus and may act as if it
was his own. After control ends, the wraith’s resurgence will eject the vampire from its form, but while it
lasts it affords many opportunities.
System: To gain control of the wraith he is riding, the vampire spends a point of Willpower and rolls his
Willpower against a difficulty equal to the wraith’s own Willpower. He must achieve as many successes as
the wraith has points of temporary Willpower in order to succeed. If his first roll does not accumulate
enough successes, the player can spend another point of Willpower and make another roll. As many rolls
can be made as necessary, each one costing another point of Willpower. If any of the rolls fails entirely, the
power fails. If any of the rolls botch, the necromancer is ejected from the wraith’s corpus and cannot use
any power of this Path on that wraith for the rest of the story. Assuming the necromancer manages to take
control of the wraith’s form, he has full access to the wraith’s physical traits and innate powers. The use of
wraithly arcanoi, however, requires training that vampiric necromancers lack. Further, the vampire has no
access to his own Disciplines aside from Necromancy while outside of his body. Only his connection to
death, provided by his contact with the wraith, allows him to continue practicing his dark art. This power
lasts until dawn, at which point the user is ejected from his host and returned to his own body.
System: Because wraiths are creatures with a split soul, this power must overcome both the wraith’s mind
and its Shadow in order to destroy the ghost’s identity. To begin, the necromancer spends 2 points of
Willpower and engages in an extended, contested Willpower roll against the wraith, both rolling against a
difficultyNew
of 7. The vampire must gain a total number of successes equal to the wraith’s Willpower to defeat
Necromancy
the wraith’s normal mind. Once he has done so, he must continue rolling and achieve the same number of
successes to subdue the Shadow. If at any point during the rolls, the wraith has more successes than the
vampire, this power fails. After a wraith’s mind has been destroyed, the necromancer can use any
Necromantic ability on it with an effective 5 successes without a roll.
● Bloody Feast
The first ability gained in the study of ritual cannibalism is the power to digest the meat of human bodies
and use it in place of blood. Only fresh corpses can provide such sustenance. Old corpses, where the
meat has begun to rot or is completely absent, are not suitable for this power. After the meal is complete,
only gnawed bones remain of the body.
System: The player rolls Intelligence + Medicine, difficulty 8. Each success represents one blood point
gained by eating the dead flesh. A body used in this manner cannot be the target of any further powers of
the Devouring Path, though it can be used for other necromantic purposes, provided those purposes do
not require flesh on the bones.
●● Invigoration
All souls are strongly tethered to their fleshy bodies; death does not immediately remove all such traces of
life. By consuming the flesh of a recently dead body, the necromancer ingests these remnants of the soul
and strengthens his own spirit.
System: This power functions in the same manner as Bloody Feast, except that each success allows the
character to gain one Willpower. This Willpower cannot exceed the character’s normal maximum limit.
Invigoration shares the requirement for a fresh corpse, and also the inability to use bodies for any further
Devouring Path power. This power can only be used once per night.
System: The player spends 1 point of Willpower and rolls Stamina + Occult, difficulty 8. Each success
indicates one piece of information that he has gained from his meal. Normally the Storyteller determines
what information is passed on, with a preference for information that was either of extreme importance to
the deceased or was in the person’s mind just before they died. If the player is seeking specific knowledge,
he must make a Willpower roll with a difficulty of the corpse’s former Willpower. This roll is required for
each individual piece of information sought. As with Bloody Feast and Invigoration, bodies used for this
power are useless for further Devouring Path abilities.
System: The player first chooses what Ability he wishes to gain a bonus to. Having chosen, he spends 3
blood points and 2 points of Willpower, then rolls Stamina + Occult, difficulty 8. If successful, he gains a
number of bonus dice to the chosen Ability equal to the body’s former Ability rating -3. The number of
successes dictates how long the bonus lasts. A character cannot benefit from more than one use of this
power atNew
a time.Necromancy
Bodies used for this ability cannot be used for any further Devouring Path power.
System: This power functions exactly like Hunger for Knowledge, except that it allows the character to
gain bonuses to Attributes instead of Abilities. A character can have a bonus from both Hunger from
Knowledge and Glutton’s Boon at the same time, but only one from each.
● Apparition
The Shroud is ever-present, a barrier woven into the very fabric of the world. This power teaches a
vampire how to edge closer to the line between life and death, fading away from the sight of the living. His
body becomes hazy and translucent, making it particularly easy to dismiss his presence as a trick of the
light or an oddly placed shadow. The magical nature of his existence pushes him far enough away from
sight that modern means of surveillance will refuse to acknowledge him. This can be both good and bad;
it’s hard to explain why you don’t show up on video records, after all.
System: To activate this power, the character spends a point of Willpower to nudge his body up against
the edge of the Shroud. For the rest of the scene, his Stealth rolls are at -2 difficulty against visual
perceptions and he will not show up on digital or analog recording devices unless those devices use silver-
based film.
●● Phantom Limb
Experienced necromancers can reach through the Shroud, manipulating objects on the other side of the
veil or even pulling things through. This Path does not extend so far across the Shroud, but it does allow a
kind of halfway state. A single limb, arm, head or leg, can be infused with the power of the Shroud and
rendered immaterial. Very useful if you need to reach through a wall or look through a door before stepping
inside.
System: The player spends a point of Willpower and rolls Stamina + Occult (difficulty 8) to render one of
his limbs immaterial. The effect lasts for one turn per success and cannot be ended early. Clothing or other
items attached to the chosen limb become immaterial as well, but objects merely held in an immaterial
hand will simply fall through ghostly fingers.
System: To use this power, the player spends a point of Willpower and rolls Perception + Occult, difficulty
8. A single success allows the character to use either Lifesight or Deathsight, with any extra successes
allowing a single swap between types of vision. While using Lifesight, the character can attempt to read
another’s aura with another Perception + Occult roll at the same difficulty. This ability functions similarly to
the Auspex power Aura Perception.
Deathsight, meanwhile, allows the necromancer to determine how healthy an individual is, or possibly how
and when they will die. It can also be used to detect dark magic affecting a target. As with Lifesight, it
requires its own Perception + Occult roll, difficulty 8. Only a single success is required to determine how
healthy the target is, or if they are affected by malevolent magical effects. If the vampire attempts instead
to read any Death Marks on his subject, the roll determines how accurately and with how much detail he
can divine the nature and time of the target’s impending death. Further details on Death Sight can be
found under
NewtheNecromancy
Vitreous Path power Eyes of the Dead.
System: Activating this power costs 3 blood points and takes two turns, during which the vampire’s body
becomes patched with dark mist as it fades partially into the Shadowlands. The difficulty of all attacks
made against him are increased by 1 and his soak rolls against all sources of damage but for fire, sunlight
and Faith have their difficulty reduced by 1. For as long as this power remains active, the character can
perceive wraiths and has the difficulty of all his Necromancy rolls related to ghosts or the Underworld
reduced by 1.
●●●●● Discorporation
The ultimate expression of this Path transforms the vampire into a bodiless creature of plasm, much like a
wraith for a short time, rendering him fully immaterial. However, his ties to the physical world allow him to
remain in the Skinlands instead of fading into the Underworld as a normal ghost would. He becomes
invisible and intangible, though if he wishes he can still make himself heard by other inhabitants of the
living world and his Disciplines may still affect them, even if his body cannot.
System: Becoming immaterial is a difficult process, and using this ability automatically inflicts one
unsoakable level of Bashing damage on the character. It also requires three blood points, but the
transformation is instantaneous. While immaterial, the character can walk through solid objects, is immune
to all normal methods of attack and cannot be seen, smelled or touched. He can be heard, but only if he
wishes to speak, as his movements will cause no noise since he cannot disturb the surrounding world.
Only the character’s clothing becomes immaterial with him, not any objects he happens to be merely
holding. This ability lasts for a scene, or until the character chooses to end it. Disciplines may be used
normally, but those that require physical contact will end this power, as will any attempt to touch with the
material world.
● Blood Price
The vitae of Cainites is charged with power. It was taken from the living, and concentrates not only the
power of life, but also the curse of the undead. Necromancers who follow the Usury Path can concentrate
this stolen power in a form that the dead can feed from. To ghosts, such blood is a delicious and rare taste
of the life now forbidden to them, but aside from its rush of power and extraordinary taste it has no
particular benefits and does not confer the strength of a ghoul or the Blood Bond.
System: Extraordinarily simple in its execution, this power simply enables the transfer of power from
vampire to wraith. Each point of blood fed to the wraith restores one point of temporary Pathos. This ability
will not allow a wraith to exceed its normal maximum Pathos.
●● Schadenfreude
The few wraiths who are aware this power exists will often trade almost anything to benefit from it. It allows
a necromancer to draw strength from the dark Shadow that whispers in the mind of all the restless dead.
The Shadow is deprived of its strength, the wraith indebted to the necromancer and the necromancer
empowered by the emotional energy stolen from the Shadow. An extremely attractive situation for almost
any vampire.
System: The player rolls Strength + Empathy, difficulty equal to the wraith’s permanent Angst. Each
success siphons off one point of temporary Angst. Every two such points removed from the wraith restore
one point of temporary Willpower to the necromancer. Willpower gained this way cannot exceed the
character’s normal maximum. This power can only be used on any given wraith once a month and once a
night, noNew
matterNecromancy
the target.
System: If the wraith is willing or somehow compelled to submit to this ability, no roll is required. It simply
allows the vampire to feed upon it as he would a mortal. Each level of Corpus drained will heal one level of
Bashing or Lethal damage. Three levels of Corpus can be used to heal one level of Aggravated damage. If
the wraith does resist, then the vampire must grapple with it as he would any character he was attempting
to feed from without consent. There is no Kiss involved in this power; it is literally eating the wraith and no
pleasure is created. wraiths who are not willing to submit will violently resist with all their power.
System: When faced with a Frenzy or Rotschreck roll, the player spends a Willpower and rolls Self-
Control + Occult, difficulty 6. Each success subtracts one from the difficulty of the roll to resist losing
control of himself. Further, those same successes are given to the nearest eligible wraith to the
necromancer as points of Pathos. The ‘gift’ of a Frenzy or Rotschreck is not free, of course. The wraith
also gains 1 point of temporary Angst for every two points of Pathos gained. Wraiths cannot gain enough
points of either Pathos or Angst to push them past their normal maximum amount.
System: The character grapples with his target, as he would if feeding from an unwilling victim. Each level
of damage inflicted to the wraith can be used to allow the necromancer to gain one point of temporary
Willpower or blood. As with Spiritual Healing, this ability never causes the Kiss and wraiths will
always resist its effects. Wraiths killed with this power are consigned forever to Oblivion.
● Vision of Tezcatlipoca
The simplest technique of this Path allows a necromancer to borrow the senses of his nagual. Often used
to spy upon the ghost world, this ability can be used in conjunction with the more advanced powers in the
Obsidian Path. Eventually the nagual can serve as a powerful agent in either the living world, or the
Shadowlands.
System: The player spends a point of Willpower to borrow the senses of his nagual. While using the
spirit’s senses, the necromancer’s awareness of his body is dulled. Any actions taken while rising the
senses of his nagual are at +4 difficulty. Breaking the connection to the nagual is a reflexive action. Unless
ended early, the connection lasts for a full scene.
●● Voice of Tezcatlipoca
While riding
New theNecromancy
senses of his nagual, a nahualli can now project his authority through his companion
beast. The nagual becomes his literal mouthpiece, speaking with his voice. In the ancient days of the
Aztec Empire, this ability allowed the priests and sorcerers among the undead to send messages long
distances easily, or to impress the mortal herds with talking beasts. It can serve similar functions in modern
times, and allow the necromancer to speak to his ghostly servants without calling them first to the material
world or travelling to the Underworld himself.
System: The player spends a point of Willpower and rolls his Charisma + Occult (difficulty 7). For the rest
of the scene, as long as the necromancer is borrowing the senses of his nagual, he can speak normally
through it. It is not, however, possible to use Disciplines through the Nagual without at least 5 successes
on the activation roll. Even assuming the necessary successes are gathered, only verbally-based
Disciplines can be used and they require a point of Willpower to be spent in addition to any normal costs
they would require.
System: To create a body for his nagual, the player spends three blood points and one temporary
Willpower. It takes three turns for the nagual’s body to completely solidify. For the rest of the scene, the
necromancer’s nagual takes on physical form. While in this shape, it has all the normal traits of a living
beast, except that it halves Bashing damage as if it were a vampire and has the ability to soak Lethal
damage. If the nagual’s physical body is slain, the spirit simply reforms in the Shadowlands on the next
new moon.
System: The player spends two points of Willpower and rolls his Manipulation + Occult (difficulty equal to
the target’s Willpower). Each success allows the necromancer’s nagual to control the target beast for one
hour. For as long as the nagual is in control of the beast, the animal is under the necromancer’s complete
control, following his commands just as his nagual normally would. The necromancer also retains the
ability to convey orders and understand anything the nagual attempts to communicate to him. If the
possessed animal is slain, the nagual is released and returns to the Shadowlands unharmed.
System: Absorbing the nagual into his body requires a great expenditure of power and will on the part of
the necromancer. Activating this ability costs 2 blood points and 1 Willpower. The assimilation takes two
turns to complete. Once the nagual has settled into his body, the necromancer undergoes physical
changes, becoming a hybrid creature mixing traits of human and animal forms to reflect the merged nature
of his spirit. The exact nature of these changes is determined by the species of the nagual. Some
examples are presented below, but Storytellers should tailor the exact effects of this power to whatever the
character’s nagual is.
● Jaguar: A powerful predator, the jaguar nagual enhances its master’s combat abilities. A jaguar
nahualli grows deadly talons, dealing Strength +1 Aggravated damage. His fangs enlarge, dealing
an extra die of damage on any bite attacks. The spotted pelt that his skin transforms into blends
seamlessly into dark shadows, giving a +2 bonus to Stealth.
● Owl: An owl nahualli undergoes a more radical transformation than many; his arms becoming
vast, feathered wings that allow him to fly at his normal running pace. He also gains perfect night
vision, ignoring all darkness-related visual penalties and increasing his visual Perception pools by 2
dice. The owl form is also smaller than the normal vampire, only half his regular size, allowing him
access to some places he would not normally fit.
New Necromancy
● Dog: Considered a psychopomp by the Aztecs, a dog nahualli is closely tied to the boundary
between life and death. His canine eyes allow him to see both the living world and the
Shadowlands with perfect clarity and ease. The dog shape also increases the necromancer’s
Perception score by 4, conferring superhuman olfactory and auditory acuity. Aztecs considered
dogs to be unclean creatures, and the bite of a dog nahualli often carries disease with it.
● Spasm
A simple, uncontrolled surge of necromantic power directed into a corporeal undead momentarily disrupts
the animating forces of the victim. Suddenly unable to control their own body, the undead is sent into
convulsions as their dead limbs twitch and writhe.
System: The player spends a point of Willpower and rolls his Strength + Occult (difficulty equal to the
target’s Willpower). Each success applies a -1 penalty to the target’s next action as they are wracked by
uncontrollable tremors and seizures.
●● Marionette
A more focused application of necromantic control over the dead allows for specific actions to be forced
upon an undead body. Asserting his own will over that of the body’s owner, the necromancer can
manipulate his victim’s body into taking a single physical action such as throwing a punch, swinging a
sword, pushing a button, or even leaping from a high balcony. Only actions that are certain to end in death
will provoke a strong enough surge of will to wrench control of the body back from the necromancer.
System: The player spends a point of Willpower and engages in a contested Willpower roll (difficulty 6 for
both) against his target, who must be within his line of sight. If the necromancer wins, his degree of
success determines how effectively the action is carried out by the victim’s body. One success may simply
result in a jerky, uncontrolled attempt to fulfill the command, whereas three or more successes will garner a
smooth, natural action performed as elegantly as if the body’s owner was doing it himself of his own free
will. Should the action result in direct, significant harm to the victim, it will automatically fail as self-
preservation instincts interfere with the magical control. The victim’s Nature does not play into this, as they
are not performing the action themselves. Their body is being physically hijacked by supernatural means.
System: The player spends two Willpower and rolls his Willpower (difficulty equal to the target’s Stamina
+3). Each success removes one point of Chi, Blood or Pathos from the target’s pools. This power has no
effect on zombies or other forms of corporeal undead that have no resource corresponding to those listed
above. The points burned through this power must be used to power some effect such as increasing
Physical Attributes, healing damage or other innate powers. They cannot be used to fuel Disciplines or
Arcanoi. The points spent can ignore normal per-turn spending limits.
System: To activate this ability, the player spends two points of Willpower and rolls his Willpower (difficulty
8). Each success allows the necromancer to control a single target within his sight. This power functions
with the same limits as Marionette.
New Necromancy
●●●●● Puppet Mastery
The most dreaded power of this Path, and for many vampires one of the most dreaded powers known, this
ability allows a necromancer to take complete control of another undead for a full night. For as long as the
necromancer maintains his concentration, the victim is a prisoner in his own mind, screaming helplessly as
his body walks and speaks under the command of another’s will. The fact that the victim is fully aware
during the entire ordeal and will remember perfectly what he did can lead to complications for the
necromancer.
System: To gain full control of another undead’s body, the necromancer must first deplete the target’s
reserves of Willpower to ensure that control cannot be wrestled back at an inopportune moment. The
player spends a point of Willpower and then engages in a contested Willpower roll with his target (difficulty
6 for both). Each success the necromancer gains over his victim removes one of the victim’s Willpower
points. Only if the necromancer fails, botches or the victim manages to break line of sight will the contested
roll end. Once all the victim’s Willpower is drained, he can no longer keep control of his body. The
necromancer can then dictate each and every action the body takes for the rest of the night, even forcing
his target to speak if he wishes. While maintaining such control, the necromancer’s entire attention is
absorbed and he cannot take any actions aside from directing his victim. If at any time he wishes to take
an action himself, he breaks his connection with the target, setting them free. None of the victim’s
Disciplines are available to the necromancer controlling him except for passive effects such as Potence
and Fortitude.
● Weather
An infusion of entropic energies will cause rust, mold and lichens to grow rapidly on an object, making it
harder to use. More delicate objects, such as fabric or paper, may begin to disintegrate or dry rot rapidly.
Only the most extremely fragile items can be destroyed by Weather, though unless restored by careful and
possibly professional care, they may well be ruined.
System: The player spends a blood point and touches the object to be infused with decay. No roll is
required and there is no resistance. This power is too primitive to release enough energy to affect animate
beings, large objects or buildings. The biggest targets that can be Weathered are approximately the size of
a grown man. Any task attempted using a tool affected by Weather is at +2 difficulty and extremely delicate
or sophisticated items like computers or books are rendered unusable until repaired.
●● Polish
Learning to accelerate decay is only one facet of the knowledge required to master the energy of entropy.
It can not only be infused into objects to hurry the return to nothingness, but also siphoned off. Removing
the entropy that suffuses objects naturally over time will peel back the years. Rust falls away, cracks heal
themselves, faded markings become vibrant and dust vanishes into nothingness. Items that have been
damaged by force or violence cannot be repaired with this ability, nor can those that have been so
decayed by age and nature that they are no longer intact.
System: After touching an unliving object no longer than a grown man, the player spends a blood point to
strip away its entropy. He rolls his Stamina + Occult to safely dispel the entropic power. Failure inflicts one
automatic level of Bashing Damage to the necromancer, but a botch inflicts converts the damage to
Aggravated as the power of Oblivion is drawn into his body and ravages it. Objects affected by this power
have any penalties to their use from their age or condition removed and function as if newly made. Their
Resources value may also increase if applicable.
●●● Obliterate
A massive surge of entropic power, focused into an item will accelerate decay to such a rate that the
affected object simply appears to sift into dust. Even metals like steel and gold will corrode away
unnaturally as the power directed against them shatters the rules of the normal world. Entropy itself will not
be denied. Unlike Weather, this ability is not limited by the size of its target. Instead, the necromancer can
continue to draw and focus entropic power for as long as he wishes... or until he loses control.
System: Once the player has selected his target, the Storyteller should decide how many health levels’ the
object has.
New A small, delicate item like a smart phone may only have a single health level, where a car
Necromancy
might have fifteen and a tank might have fifty or more. The player touches his target, spends a blood point
and rolls his Willpower. Each success destroys one of the target’s health levels, reducing the affected
material to dust or rust. If the item is not destroyed with one application, the player can spend more blood
to make further rolls. Each roll costs one blood point. If at any point the roll fails, the power ends. If the roll
botches, each 1 rolled inflicts an automatic level of Aggravated damage to the necromancer.
●●●● Restoration
Even the barest scrap of an item reduced to ruin by the passage of time and accumulation of age can be
restored if the proper energies are channeled into and out of it. The current theory explaining this power
suggests that items retain a ‘memory’ or ‘pattern’ of their whole and proper form, even after age has turned
them to scraps and dust. By removing the entropy that has disrupted the pattern and providing energy in
the form of vitae to fuel regeneration, the necromancer can return almost anything to wholeness.
System: The player spends a blood point and then rolls his Willpower (difficulty 6). The number of
successes required is determined by the Storyteller, based on the size, complexity and condition of the
object. A small object that retains most of its parts and general shape might be only need 3, but an
extraordinarily complex and degraded object like a Mayan codex aged into nothing but a lump of organic
paste may require 20 successes or more. If the item is not regenerated with one application, the player can
spend more blood to make further rolls. Each roll costs one blood point. If at any point the roll fails, the
power ends. If the roll botches, each 1 rolled inflicts an automatic level of Aggravated damage to the
necromancer.
●●●●● Consignment
Ultimate mastery of destruction is not simply scouring an object from the world, but casting it into the next.
By expending a prodigious amount of power, a master necromancer can use lesser skills to destroy an
item so thoroughly it creates a ‘ghost’ of the object. These items are of immense value to the restless dead
as they are the only variety of material goods available in the Underworld that are not forged from souls.
The ability to create Relics can come in extremely handy as a negotiation tool, or for necromancers that
often visit the Shadowlands themselves.
System: When an item is destroyed through the use of Weather or Obliterate, the necromancer can opt to
spend two additional blood points and all his remaining Willpower, which must be at least four points, to
cast the object into the Shadowlands. As it crosses the Shroud, the sheer amount of magical force imbued
into it transforms it into a Relic.
● Darkened Vision
The most basic application of death power against animate bodies causes the body to undergo a physical
near-death experience. The victim’s blood becomes sluggish and their vision darkens, tunneling down
before going entirely black. Even the gifts of the supernatural cannot completely defeat the power of the
Shadowlands. Abilities that enhance senses or grant night vision can merely mitigate the curse levied by a
necromancer.
System: Selecting a target in his line of sight, the player spends a blood point and rolls his Willpower
(difficulty equal to the target’s Stamina +3). If the roll is successful, the target is afflicted with the curse of
blindness, increasing the difficulty of all vision-based Perception rolls by 4. If the target activates a power
like Heightened Senses or Eyes of the Beast, the two powers cancel each other out. No benefit is gained
from their improved senses, but no penalty is applied to their normal rolls. The curse lasts for the rest of
the scene.
●● Sap Strength
More vulgar necromancers can achieve similar results by withering limbs or causing age to accelerate in
an unnatural race to the grave. The followers of the Wasting Path inflict weakness and confusion by filling
the mind and body of their victims with the chill power of death.
System: After touching his target and spending a blood point, the necromancer rolls his
Willpower
New(difficulty equal to the target’s Stamina +3). If the roll is successful, the target’s Stamina and Wits
Necromancy
are both reduced by 3 for the rest of the scene. Supernatural beings have some innate resistance to this
power: their Attributes cannot be reduced past 1. Mortals are not so fortunate. If the target’s Stamina is
reduced to 0 in this way, he collapses, unable to take any physical action. Should the victim’s Wits be
reduced to 0 the effect is similar: a catatonic state where only the most instinctive reactions (running from
danger, etc) are possible.
System: The necromancer must touch his target to inflict his curse. He then spends at least one blood
point and rolls his Willpower (difficulty equal to the target’s Stamina +3). Every two successes increases
the difficulty of all the target’s Stamina rolls, including soak rolls, by 1 for one night per blood point spent. If
the difficulty of a roll would exceed 10, it instead requires one additional success per extra difficulty past
10.
Vampires affected by this power have difficulty animating their undead bodies while the energy of death
itself courses through them. It requires an additional blood point to awaken on any evening they are
cursed.
System: The player chooses a target in his line of sight, spends two blood points and rolls his Willpower
(difficulty equal to the target’s Wits +3). One success prevents the target from spending any Willpower for
the rest of the scene. Three successes blocks the victim’s access to his Willpower for three days, while five
successes prevents spending Willpower for a full week. The target cannot gain Willpower while this ability
affects their minds, but they can still lose it if they are affected by abilities that drain Willpower.
System: Calling forth Oblivion requires a full turn of concentration, after which the necromancer spends
two points of Willpower and rolls his Stamina + Occult (difficulty 8) to control the power he has summoned.
If he fails, the power vanishes and his attempt is wasted. If he botches, he automatically suffers the effects
of this power himself, with each 1 rolled counting as a success. Should the power be successfully
summoned and controlled, it is released into the intended victim with a touch. Once inside them, it begins
sapping their reserves of Willpower and supernatural power. Each turn the target suffers this effect, they
lose 1 point of Willpower and 1 point of vitae, Chi, Pathos or other similar resource. The effect lasts for one
turn per success. If all the target’s Willpower and power reserves are drained before the effect ends,
Oblivion begins to devour the target’s flesh. Each extra turn inflicts a level of unsoakable Lethal damage on
the target.
● Haunting Cry
The simplest power of the Gaunt Path is simply a klaxon, a silent reverberation sent through the fabric of
the Veil New
that attracts any nearby specters. There are rumors that specters are attracted to the energy given
Necromancy
off by necromancers, or the horrific rituals performed by undead sorcerers. True or not, the Haunting Cry
almost always gains the attention of at least one specter.
System: Issuing the Cry requires a Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty 8) and the expenditure of a Willpower
point. Each success attracts the attention of a single specter. The difficulty may be lowered if the
necromancer is in a particularly haunted location such as a graveyard or battlefield. Areas that would not
normally be home to specters, such as consecrated church grounds and peaceful rustic meadows may
actually raise the difficulty.
●● Narrow Window
A great weakness in ghostly servants is that only the most powerful and talented among wraiths can reach
across the Shroud to harm or hinder the physical world. With a surge of power, a necromancer can rip a
small tear in the Shroud, allowing a single specter to enter the material world. The opening is brief, and
when it closes the specter allowed through is pulled back to the Shadowlands.
System: The player spends 2 blood points and rolls Strength + Occult (difficulty 8) to open the portal into
the Shadowlands. As long as there is a specter on the other side, possibly lured there by a Haunting Cry, it
will be pulled through. While in the living world, the specter remains immaterial and unable to interact
directly with solid matter, but its powers are fully effective against material targets and even mere the
appearance of a horrific, ghostly figure can be used to the advantage of a cunning necromancer. The rift
remains open for 1 turn per success, after which it closes and the specter is sucked back through.
●●● Bystander
Possibly the most vital power of the Gaunt Path, this ability wards a single person against spectral
attention by shrouding them in a confusing miasma of dark power. The shroud is uncomfortable and
disorienting, but it is one of the only ways to avoid attack by specters who have crossed into the living
world or are using their powers to reach beyond the Shroud. No power is foolproof, however, and some
whisper that when necromancers most need their wards, they have found themselves defenseless as the
wards suddenly evaporate under spectral attack.
System: The necromancer cuts himself and paints 1 blood point worth of vitae onto the forehead of his
target. He can choose to use this power on himself, but he cannot use it on more than one person at a
time. After painting on the blood, he rolls Wits + Occult (difficulty 7). If successful, the target becomes
invisible to specters and largely immune to their powers. Any attempt by a specter to perceive or affect the
warded target is at +4 difficulty. This effect lasts for a scene, or until the blood is wiped away. For as long
as it is in effect, the target cannot gain Willpower via any means as the dark energy around their bodies
unnerves them.
System: This power functions the same way Narrow Window does, except that at the end of the portal’s
duration the specters that have passed through are not returned to the Underworld. Instead they remain in
the material world until they run out of resources. Each day in the living world strips 1 point of Corpus and
1 point of Angst from the specters. They cannot regain either as long as the are in the living world. After
losing either all their Angst or Corpus (whichever comes first) the specters will be cast back into the
Labyrinth, possibly to be consumed by the Void.
System: Summoning a Plasmic costs at least 3 blood points and requires a Strength + Occult roll (difficulty
10). Only a single success is required to call forth one of the alien things. These horrific beasts manifest in
the living world with a partially physical body, allowing them to interact with solid matter. Any supernatural
powers they have are fully functional as well. Plasmics are immune to Bystander and often attack
indiscriminately once summoned. They can remain in the physical world for one minute per point of blood
New Necromancy
spend to summon them, after which they collapse into a puddle of ooze. No one knows if summoned
Plasmics ‘die’ or if they simply return to the Underworld, shedding their temporary bodies to do so.
The Storyteller should assign whatever statistics he believes required, but may wish to reference the
Plasmic examples of Wraith: the Oblivion, demons from Dark Ages: Vampire or the Vozhd and other flesh-
beasts of the Tzimisce.
● Chattel
The necromancer can form his blood and power into simple material objects. Only items with no moving
parts and small enough that they could be lifted by a grown man can be created at this stage of mastery.
System: To create an item, the player spends 2 blood points and rolls Willpower (difficulty 7).
●● Material
Having advanced further towards mastery, the necromancer is now able to fashion complex items with
moving pieces such as firearms, vehicles and even computers.
●●● Eternity
Items crafted from memory and emotion alone do not last forever in the Underworld. Entropy wears away
at them, eventually grinding them down to nothing. Only those items forged out of souls or crafted by
sorcery truly last forever. The stolen life that powers the unnatural magic of Necromancy can fill both
requirements. By expending additional blood when invoking his creations, a necromancer can ensure they
will last until claimed by the Void itself.
System: Simply spend 2 additional blood points when activating any of the first four levels of this Path to
make the Artifact created permanent.
●●●● Animation
Creating living beings for use by ghosts would be impossible, but trained adepts of this Path can create
animated simulacra that fill the functions of living servants, guards and pets. Such creations cannot
possibly be mistaken for true organisms: they always appear as moving statues or other forms of artificial
representation such as flying clay pigeons, moving marble statues, or walking suits of armor.
System: The player spends 5 blood points and rolls Willpower (difficulty 7) to create the simulacrum. It
must be between the size of a toad and a bull and cannot have any magical powers. Crafting Artifact
griffons or dragons requires far more potent magic. Such creations are able to understand commands, but
have no free will and cannot act without instructions. The Storyteller should determine their traits based on
the closest animal or human template appropriate. Equipment for the simulacra such as weapons and
armor must be fashioned separately.
●●●●● Treasure
Not only can a necromancer create ‘ordinary’ items for his wraithly servants or allies, a talented master of
the Reliquary
NewPath can fashion truly magical items. He has learned to imbue his own dark abilities into the
Necromancy
items he creates, or even emulate the powers of wraith-crafted Artifacts. This power must be used
carefully, lest the necromancer invest too much power in his creations and find his own soul being merged
into the items he fashions.
System: After creating an Artifact with the first or second power of this Path, the necromancer can spend 2
points of Willpower and rolls Stamina + Occult (difficulty 8) to imbue it with a magical power. He can grant it
any level 1 or 2 Discipline power he knows, or any level 1 or 2 Arcanoi power known to a wraith willing to
demonstrate the power during the creation of the Artifact. Once a Discipline or Arcanoi has been imbued
into the Artifact, any wraith that holds the Artifact can activate that power as if they had knowledge of it.
Disciplines that normally require vitae are instead fueled by Pathos. At the Storyteller’s discretion, this
power can also fashion any Artifact that would be ranked 1-3, but has effects outside those of Disciplines
or Arcanoi.
Botching the roll for this power siphons off a Permanent point of Willpower.
● Bone Talons
The necromancer expends a small amount of power to rot away the flesh on his fingertips, revealing razor-
sharp bones that he can use to slice deep into anyone that stands against him.
System: The player spends 1 blood point and the bones of his fingers extend into talons that deal Strength
+ 1 Lethal damage with a simple Dexterity + Brawl attack. Such attacks have a difficulty of 6, but do not
have an Accuracy bonus.
●● Rictus Grin
Peeling back the skin of his lips and gums, the necromancer bares his fangs in a terrible flash. Under the
influence of this power, a vampire’s fangs extend into vicious weapons that can tear away gobbets of flesh
with a mere swipe of the undead warrior’s head and a snap of his jaws.
System: To activate this power, the player spends 1 blood point. When making a bite attack with his
enhanced fangs, the character does not have to have first tackled, held or clinched his target. He can
simply make a Dexterity + Brawl roll (difficulty 6) with an Accuracy bonus of +1. The enhanced fangs deal
Strength +2 Aggravated damage.
System: When the character takes damage to his flesh, that is damage that doesn’t remove a limb or
otherwise destroy his bone structure, he can opt to spend a Willpower point to “shed’ up to three Health
Levels of Bashing or Lethal damage. The affected flesh melts off the vampire’s body. Health Levels “shed”
in this way are considered healed, but the vampire’s Appearance is reduced to 0 and the sight of him
causes mortals to flee in terror unless they succeed on a Courage roll (difficulty 8). In order to restore his
flesh, 3 blood points must be spent to regrow the lost flesh. The cost of regrowing flesh does not change
based on how many Health Levels have been “shed”, but a vampire can only “shed” 7 Health Levels worth
of flesh before he runs out and becomes a walking skeleton, unable to use this power again.
System: The player spends at least 1 blood point to create the bone armor. The armor’s soak rating is
equal to the total number of blood points spent. No matter how much blood is used to create the armor, its
innate resilience allows the necromancer to soak all forms of damage with his complete Stamina +
Fortitude pool.
●●●●● Fleshless Warrior
Having utterly
New mastered
Necromancythe powers of bone and battle, the necromancer sheds all his flesh and becomes
a skeletal Knight. Animated by magic and blood, his bony form needs no tendons, sinews or muscles to
move, no eyes to see and no tongue to speak. He moves across the battlefield as a ghastly reaper as
blows glance off his hardened bones and strike through his empty cavities.
System: The transformation takes two turns and requires 3 blood points. Once transformed, the
character’s Bone Talons (if present) deal Aggravated damage. All melee attacks against the vampire are at
+1 difficulty and all ranged attacks are at +2 difficulty as his attackers must struggle to hit bone rather than
have their blows pass through empty space. He also becomes resistant to Lethal attacks, halving all such
damage after soak. In exchange, his brittle bones are more vulnerable to blunt attacks; he loses the
normal vampiric ability to halve Bashing damage. Bullets fired at the Fleshless Warrior are considered to
inflict Lethal damage, which is halved. Lastly, without his flesh, sinew and blood, many Discipline powers
are no longer effective against the transformed necromancer.
● Accord
This ability allows the necromancer to form a compact with a wraith, holding both of them to a set of rules
for as long as the wraith is sharing the necromancer’s body. Each party must agree to all the terms, but
once the pact is established, it cannot be violated or altered for as long as the wraith remains in the
vampire’s body.
System: No roll is required to form the pact, but both the vampire and the wraith must spend a point of
Willpower to seal their bargain. This power must be activated prior to using any other Cheval Path power. If
the wraith and the vampire do not want to re-negotiate, they can simply resume an earlier set of terms by
mutual agreement. Any action that would break the terms of the agreement by either party requires a
Willpower roll (difficulty 8) and automatically ends any active Cheval Path powers instantly.
Accord is binding on all segments of both the vampire and the ghost: the rules apply even if the vampire
Frenzies or if the wraith’s Shadow takes control.
●● Partager
Having formed an understanding with one of the Restless Dead, the necromancer is now ready for the
next step: becoming a vessel. This power allows the vampire to extend a free invitation to any wraith
willing to agree to make an Accord. If it accepts, the wraith can enter the necromancer and use his body as
its own, granting it physical agency in the lands of the living. Many wraiths would literally kill for such a
chance.
System: No roll is required and there is no cost beyond the required activation of Accord. While the wraith
is riding him, the vampire retains full awareness of what happens and may eject the wraith at any time with
a simple Willpower roll (difficulty of the Wraith’s Wits). The wraith uses his host’s Physical Attributes and
Appearance, but its own traits for everything else. Without further Cheval powers, the wraith has no access
to his own or his host’s supernatural powers while riding the necromancer. The wraith may remain inside
his host until the sun rises, or the effect is ended by the vampire.
System: The vampire rolls Stamina + Occult, then spends a blood point, while his wraithly ally must
donate a point of Passion. Each success creates a single dose of ghost milk. Any wraith who drinks the
fluid will gain 1 point of Passion per dose ingested. The wraith also treats the Shroud as 1 level lower for
the nextNewday after drinking ghost milk. For a similar time, the necromancer and the drinker can see each
Necromancy
other even across the Shroud and communicate via line-of-sight telepathy. To benefit from these boons,
the wraith must have formed an Accord with the vampire. Otherwise, the ghost milk is simply a tasty treat.
●●●● Unité
A far more powerful bond than initiates of the Cheval Path are capable of, this power allows the
necromancer and the ghostly passenger to easily swap control back and forth, each taking control when
most advantageous. With this more potent binding, the powers of the ghost are able to reach into the living
world through the necromancer’s body.
System: The necromancer spends a blood point, then he and his wraithly ally both roll Wits + Empathy
(difficulty 6). The lower number of successes is taken. For that many turns, control of the vampire’s body
can freely pass from its owner to the ghost and back as a reflexive action. While the wraith is in control, it
can now access its own Arcanoi and other powers. No matter how many times control shifts, only a single
activation of Accord is required.
●●●●● Mélange
The sharing between ghost and necromancer becomes more than simply allowing the spirit control of a
physical body. The two entities merge together, blending into an almost-seamless whole for a short time.
Drawing on the strengths of both the restless dead and the blood-drinking vampire, such a creature is
fearsome to behold.
System: In addition to activating Accord, the necromancer must spend 1 blood point and the wraith must
spend 1 point of Passion. They both roll Wits + Empathy (difficulty 6). The lower number of successes is
taken. For that many turns, the two act as one entity. Whenever they must make a roll, they choose from
the highest of their scores in relevant traits, no matter which partner those traits belong to. Further, the pair
has full use of both individual’s supernatural powers. Some trace of the wraith’s intangible nature remains,
even in the living world. By taking an automatic Health Level of lethal damage, the bound pair may become
immaterial for a single turn, avoiding attacks or walking through walls.
● Diagnosis
By studying the build-up of entropic energies in their patients, even initiates of the Vigil Path can determine
how close to death they are.
System: The player scrutinizes his target for a full turn, then rolls Perception + Medicine (difficulty 6). As
long as even a single success is obtained, the necromancer learns how many Health Levels of damage
the target has taken. If at least three successes were rolled, the type of damage taken is also revealed.
With five or more successes, the necromancer learns of any diseases afflicting the target.
●● Deaden Pain
By impeding the function of nerves in the body with an infusion of chill power, the necromancer shields his
patients from pain. Some have even reported being able to walk on shattered bones and fight with terrible
wounds. There may be more than simple anesthetic to this power. Those who have felt the chill energy
course through their bodies report that it is an extremely unpleasant sensation, leaving them
uncomfortable in their own skins.
System: After laying hands on his subject and spending a point of Willpower, the character rolls
Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty equal to the target’s Stamina). Each success negates one point of wound
penalties for the rest of the scene. For the same duration the subject of this power is completely unable to
regain Willpower, their mind unbalanced by the alien sensations in their flesh.
System: The character touches his target and rolls Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty 7) to direct the dark
power. Each success on the roll wipes out one fungal, parasitic, viral or bacterial condition affecting the
subject. Magical diseases or infestations can also be purged, but they require three successes each. For
the rest of the scene, the subject has a -1 penalty applied to all their rolls for each condition removed with
this power. If the necromancer botches his roll, he inflicts one Health Level of Lethal damage to his subject
for each 1 rolled.
System: The necromancer touches his target, spends 1 blood point and rolls Intelligence + Medicine
(difficulty 7). This power lasts for one turn per success. While the effect is active, the target’s soak rolls are
at -2 difficulty and their Bashing soak is doubled. Mortal targets gain the ability to soak Lethal damage.
Further, for as long as the dark power surges through the subject’s body, they are utterly immune to
infection by disease.
System: After touching his target, the necromancer spends 2 blood points and rolls Intelligence +
Medicine (difficulty 8). Each success cures one level of Bashing or Lethal damage. Damage healed in this
way continues to inflict its associated wound penalties until the next sunrise.
● Ephemeral Awareness
The most basic skill of the Smoke Path is simply being aware of the Restless Dead. Unlike the ghostly
vision offered by other varieties of Necromancy, this sensitivity is more general and intuitive. While his
awareness is sharpened, the necromancer can sense the presence of wraiths around him, instantly home
in on any use of wraithly powers and even tell if wraiths frequent the location where he stands.
System: There is no cost or roll required to activate this power. The player simply notes that he is
activating it, and for the rest of the scene he gains an uncanny awareness of the dead. While he cannot
see them directly, he is able to sense their presence in his immediate vicinity with a reflexive Perception +
Awareness roll (difficulty 5), and automatically knows if any wraiths use their powers around him. He can
also sense if wraiths have passed through his location in the recent past with a simple Perception +
Awareness roll (difficulty 7).
●● Salt Line
By marking an opening with his blood, the necromancer creates an almost impenetrable barrier to the
dead. Even wraiths riding in living or dead bodies, or temporarily immaterial, cannot pass through such
wards. These wards work both ways, preventing entrance... or escape.
System: The necromancer spends a single blood point to mark the passage he wishes to bar, and rolls his
Charisma + Occult (difficulty 6). Any wraith attempting to pass through the marked opening must get
double the necromancer’s successes on a Willpower roll (difficulty 6). Any wraith that succeeds shatters
the line, sending a mental alert to the necromancer. Salt Lines last until the first dawn after their creation.
●●●● Exorcism
Occasionally used to free a wraith from compulsions or bindings holding them, the far more common
application of this ability is to drive unwanted ghosts out of a location or even a possessed body.
System: To release a ghost from bindings, the necromancer simply speaks aloud to the ghost for a single
turn, then rolls his Charisma + Occult (difficulty 8). Each success shatters one effect currently afflicting the
ghost, such as Command Soul (Sepulcher 3) or Haunting (Sepulcher 4).
If used as a true exorcism, the roll is instead made against the Wraith’s willpower. Any success at all casts
the wraith out of the current location, or banishes them from a living body they have possessed. Exorcised
wraiths cannot return to the place or person they were removed from for at least one month.
System: The player spends two points of Willpower and rolls his Charisma + Occult (difficulty 8). If
successful, the strength of the local Shroud increases to 13 for one day per success. If your Storyteller is
not using rules for the Shroud, instead this should be treated as a +6 difficulty to any attempt by the
Restless Dead to view, interact with or affect the living world in any way at all.
● Plague Casting
The first step in manipulating plagues required extensive familiarity with the agents of sickness. A
necromancer quickly develops a heightened sensitivity to the presence of disease in those around him.
Often it only takes a single glance to see who is infected and who is healthy.
System: The player simply rolls Perception + Medicine (difficulty 6). Each success allows him to determine
if one person in his line of sight is infected by disease or healthy. Additional successes can be dedicated to
any person that registers infected, each one granting further information about their condition such as what
infection they carry and how far it has progressed.
●● Mercy of Shopona
The Orisha responsible for inflicting disease is also the Orisha responsible for curing them. Drawing on his
power to send a surge of necromantic power through his subject, a practitioner of this Path can slay the
diseases within his own body or in anyone he touches.
System: After touching his subject, the necromancer spends a blood point and rolls Intelligence +
Medicine (difficulty 7). Each success purges the target of one disease. Additional successes can be used
to render the subject immune to a single cured disease for one month per success.
System: After choosing his target and fixing them with a dire stare for a full turn, the necromancer spends
a point of Willpower and two blood points. His player then rolls Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty of the
target’s Stamina +4). If he succeeds, his target is infected with one disease of the necromancer’s choice,
so long as the necromancer has either been infected by that disease, or cured a case of it using Mercy of
Shopona.New Necromancy
●●●● Breath of Sickness
This level of near-mastery of Shopona’s Touch confers the ability to spread and cure diseases far more
effectively than before. No longer does the necromancer have to deal with single subjects, he can exhale a
cloud of dark power that either scours away plagues or plants the seeds of epidemics.
System: By spending an additional Willpower point for each extra target he wishes to affect, the
necromancer can use either Mercy of Shopona or Shopona Stumbles upon multiple targets at once. The
difficulty of Shopona Stumbles used on a group is determined by the highest Stamina among the chosen
victims.
System: The necromancer can have ingested the tainted blood at any point, so long as it remains in his
body when he activates this power. After spending the tainted blood point, he rolls Stamina + Medicine
(difficulty 7). If successful, he can transmit the enhanced plague through the use of Shopona Stumbles, or
through contact with his bodily fluids. Anyone exposed to contaminated vitae can roll their Stamina
(difficulty 8) to avoid infection, but they must gain more successes than the necromancer did. The infected
can also spread the disease via their own fluids for as long as they are affected, though the difficulty to
avoid secondary infection is only 6 and secondary infections last half as long.
Those infected suffer catastrophic versions of the base diseases’ regular symptoms, as determined by the
Storyteller, for a number of days equal to the necromancer’s successes. The true effect of the plague,
however, is the loss of 1 dot of Stamina per day. Vampires can heal such Stamina loss as if it was an
Aggravated wound, but mortals have no such defense. A mortal that drops to Stamina 0 dies, while a
vampire is thrown into Torpor.
● Grim’s Trail
One of the most important abilities for any necromancer is finding useful corpses. Like the dreaded Black
Dogs of myth, the vampire can track down the dead near him. A single sniff of the air will lead the
necromancer to the nearest corpse, or simply allow him to identify how many bodies are nearby and what
condition they are in.
System: Whether using this power to locate a corpse or perform a census of bodies, the player rolls
Perception + Occult (difficulty 6). If attempting to locate the nearest useful body, the degree of success
correlates to how clear a path he is given to follow to the corpse. In the event the player simply wants to
know how many bodies are nearby, each success reveals one corpse and its current physical condition
(fresh, rotten, skeletal, etc) within one mile per success.
●● Forensic Touch
With a simple touch, the necromancer surveys a corpse. He can sense how far it has decayed, find any
foreign bodies within, catalogue its wounds and even determine where it has been. Some necromancers
use their skills to turn a profit on cold cases, others simply prefer to know more about the dead people
they’ll be enslaving.
System: After touching the body he wishes to study, the character rolls Perception + Medicine (difficulty 6).
Each success reveals one fact about the physical condition of the body. If the player chooses to make his
activation roll at difficulty 7 instead, he can also learn facts related to the environments the body was in
prior to and following its death.
System: To restore a corpse to wholeness, the necromancer must have at least 50% of the body’s original
mass. He then touches the corpse and spends 2 blood points. There is no roll required, but the body takes
1 turn for every 10% of its original mass missing to reform. Once reformed, the body will not decay
naturally and will show no marks or wounds. It appears perfectly healthy, though completely dead.
System: To activate this ability the player rolls his Perception + Occult (difficulty 7) and touches the corpse
from which he wants to gather information. Each success allows him ask the Storyteller one question
about topics the deceased could reasonably have had knowledge related to in life. Particularly vital or
complex questions may require additional successes.
●●●●● Bequeathal
A true master of the Clay Path can salvage more than flesh, bone and memories from the dead. He has
learned how to unlock the aptitudes and prowess once available to a living person by stealing it from their
corpse. The strength of the dead adds to the necromancer’s own, temporarily granting him inhuman
abilities.
System: Stealing the traits of a corpse requires physical contact for a full turn, after which the player
spends a blood point and rolls Stamina + Occult (difficulty 8). For one turn per success, the highest rated
Attribute and Ability that the deceased possessed is halved (rounded down), then added the the
necromancer’s own scores in that Attribute and Ability. If the deceased had multiple traits at the same
level, the Storyteller decides which traits are passed to the necromancer.
• Shroudsense
The first step of mastery in the Chthonic Path is to gain an understanding of the Shroud. All the other
powers of this Path rely on being able to detect weak points in the barrier between the living and the dead.
Shroudsense also allows the necromancer to feel the layers of the Underworld while travelling through the
lands of the dead.
System: There are two functions of this power. This first requires no roll and simply allows the character to
sense the strength of the Shroud in his immediate vicinity by spending a point of Willpower to attune
himself to the power of death.
The second power requires a Perception + Occult roll (difficulty 7) to reach out and feel the Shroud in an
extended area, searching for the weakest point within one mile per success. Once located, the
necromancer knows how far and in what direction the weak point lays. This ability can also be used to
locate holes, called Nihils by Wraiths, in the Shadowlands that reach into a deeper, darker layer of the
Underworld called the Tempest.
•• Stygian Compass
In the depths of the Underworld, a great storm-tossed sea called the Tempest dominates the landscape.
Without proper guidance, it is easy to become lost forever in the sunless waves and howling winds. This
power grants the necromancer a limited ability to navigate through the Tempest to safe paths known as
“byways”. By itself, this power grants no knowledge of where the byways lead or the geography of the
Tempest. That must be learned via other means.
System: Whenever your character is in the Tempest, he can find his way to the nearest byway or safe
haven by rolling Wits + Survival, difficulty 7 (or difficulty 8 in particularly harsh or confusing conditions). 1
success gives a vague sense of "that-a-way," where as five successes gives the necromancer exact
directions.
••• Worn Gateway
New
There are weakNecromancy
points in the Shroud, places and times where the worlds of the living and the dead are
very, very close. At these times and places, it is easy to pass from one to the other. This ability allows a
necromancer to step across the Shroud when it is naturally thin. The stroke of midnight, Friday the 13th,
Halloween, Dia de los Muertos are all times when the Shroud becomes thin. It also thins in graveyards,
slaughterhouses, battlefields and other sites of death.
System: To step across the Shroud, the necromancer must expend a point of Willpower and roll Stamina +
Occult, difficulty of (the Shroud -1). 3 successes are required to fully transmigrate to the Shadowlands
reflection of his current location; fewer successes dump the necromancer into the Tempest. A botch may
send the necromancer into the Labyrinth itself.
System: To gain sustenance from the Tempest, the character rolls his Willpower, difficulty 8. Each success
counts as one "Tempest Point" gained. These points can only be used to rise from sleep each night and for
no other purpose.
While any Tempest Points remain in a vampire’s body, all his Virtue rolls are at +1 difficulty from the roiling
emotional energies inside him. Additionally, each night that the vampire has Tempest Points he must roll
Willpower (difficulty 7) to avoid a temporary Derangement that lasts until the Tempest energy is purged
from his body. Botches on the Willpower roll may cause the Derangement to become permanent.
System: This power must be activated while in the Shadowlands and standing near a Nihil. Just before
stepping into the Nihil itself, the necromancer spends 1 Willpower and 3 blood points. He is then plunged
into the Tempest and must begin the process of navigating to his destination. The navigation process is a
series of Perception + Occult rolls (difficulty 8). The Storyteller determines how many total successes are
required to reach the chosen destination. Somewhere only a few dozen miles away may just require 5
successes, but a few hundred miles may require 20 successes. To use the Tempest to cross oceans could
require 100 or more successes. Each navigation roll represents one hour of effort. If a roll botches, it
indicates that the necromancer has attracted the attention of specters or other unpleasant denizens of the
Tempest. At any time, the necromancer can opt to stop his travel and try to escape the Tempest on his
own, but doing so has its own risks. If all goes as planned and the necromancer gains the successes
required, he finds another Nihil waiting for him, one that will return him to the Shadowlands reflection of his
intended destination.
• Memoriam
Spirits are fueled by emotion, and the primary source of their strength are the memories that bind them to
the world of the living. Knowing the Passions that a spirit clings to can give the necromancer a great deal
of sway over the ghost. This power allows a necromancer to divine the Passions of a wraith by gazing
intently into its spectral eyes.
System: To use this power, the character must be able to see the ghost in question. The player rolls
Perception
New + Empathy, difficulty equal to the spirit’s Wits + Subterfuge. Each success allows the
Necromancy
necromancer to learn one emotional tie that the wraith has to the living world. The information is general by
default (“love for my son”), but extra successes can be used to gain more detail if desired.
•• Eulogy
By speaking to a ghost and reminding her of her past deeds and memorable events in her life, the
necromancer may either bolster or weaken the spirit. Reminding the ghost of her finer qualities and
exploits will grant the spirit sustenance, while expounding upon the ghost’s vices or mistakes can fuel the
dark side that all wraiths have: the Shadow.
System: The Necromancer must know the spirit’s name, and at least one event in the ghost’s life that he
can base his speech upon (such memories may be gained through the Memoriam power). It requires only
a single turn of speaking to invoke this power, after which the player rolls Manipulation + Empathy
(difficulty 7). Each success allows the necromancer to infuse the wriath with positive or negative emotional
energy, harvested from the power of his own vitae.
Eulogy may only be attempted on a given spirit once per scene, regardless of the success of the attempt.
A botch means that the necromancer cannot use this power on that particular spirit for the remainder of the
story.
System: This power can only be used on wraiths that the character can see. Once he has chosen his
target, the player spends 1 point of Willpower and rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge with a difficulty equal to
the wraith’s (Stamina + Empathy). This roll is only required if the wraith is unwilling to enter Slumber. As
long as the necromancer succeeds, his target falls into a deep sleep that lasts 1 hour per success. During
the sleep, the wraith rolls its own Willpower and regains as many health levels as it gained successes.
•••• Lamentation
Passions form the basis of a wraith’s existence, defining their reasons for clinging to existence in the face
of their own death. They are the most ‘alive’ part of a wraith and, therefore, change over time as the wraith
evolves and death moves on. A necromancer who has reached this degree of mastery may reshape the
emotions and obsessions of a wraith, manipulating its Passions for his own ends. He cannot destroy or
create new Passions, but he can twist the wraith’s existing Passions that his has learned through the
earlier powers of this Path.
System: Once a Passion has been identified, the necromancer must spend at least three turns speaking
with the wraith, manipulating it into seeing the Passion in a different light or understanding why that
Passion leads to the new one. After the vampire finishes speaking, his player rolls Manipulation + Empathy
with a difficulty equal to the wraith’s Willpower. Slight modifications of Passions may only require 2 or 3
successes, but completely re-writing a Passion would require at least 5. These changes in Passions wear
off after a number of days equal to the necromancer’s Manipulation. Botches on this power make the
wraith immune to all future uses of compulsion or manipulation effects from the necromancer for the rest of
the story.
System: Activating this power requires the expenditure of 1 blood point and 2 Willpower, and for the
necromancer to lay hands on his target. If by some means the necromancer convinces a wraith to willingly
be the subject of this ability, there is no roll required. The player simply selects one of the wraith’s Passions
and that Passion is destroyed, forever. Should the wraith resist, however, it engages the necromancer in a
contested Willpower roll, difficulty 6. If the wraith wins, it retains its passion. If the necromancer wins, the
Passion is destroyed. Further, a wraith that unwillingly loses one of its Passions also loses all of its
temporary
New Willpower.
Necromancy
The Pyre[j] Path (Way of the Goblin Flame)
The Pyre Path allows the necromancer to call forth the soulfire of the underworld, burning his foes, be they
physical or spectral in form. There have been reports that the Asian vampires possess blood magic similar
to this path, allowing them to summon forth strange, blue fire. The efforts of the della Passaglia Giovani
culminated in distilling this Path from scraps of knowledge and rumors, after studying the Cathayan arts
and observing the constantly-active soulforges of the Dark Kingdom of Jade for decades.
• Corpse Candle
The necromancer infuses entropic energy into an object in the Underworld, causing it to catch flame. The
ghostly flames burn in both worlds, providing a brief source of illumination. The fire burns normally,
centered on whatever object was set alight by the power.
System: Spend a blood point. If the necromancer already has some means of seeing objects in the
Shadowlands, then no roll is necessary. Otherwise, activating this power requires 3 successes on a
Perception + Alertness roll, difficulty 6. For one minute per point of Perception the vampire possesses, the
targeted objects burns with ghost-fire. It illuminates an area equivalent to a small room on both sides of the
Shroud.
The torch-fire is very real to ghosts and other beings in the Underworld. Such creatures suffer 1 health
level of aggravated damage each time they pass through the ghostly fire. The flames do not burn
individuals in the living world.
•• Nether Light
This spell allows the necromancer to view nearby ectoplasm by faintly kindling a small bit of emotional
energy into a soft radiance from beyond the shroud of death. The light appears as a small ball of blue-
white flame that hovers near its master. When the necromancer evokes the Nether Light, any entity in the
underworld that is composed of plasm will begin to glow visibly, even across the Shroud in the living world.
System: To invoke Nether Light, the vampire must expend a blood point and roll Perception + Occult
(difficulty 7). All ectoplasm becomes visible within a radius of 3 yards for one turn per success. Ghosts with
stealth-related powers may confound the Nether Light. The wraith receives a Wits + Stealth roll, opposed
by the Necromancer’s Perception + Occult roll. If the ghost succeeds, it remains invisible.
System: Spend a blood point and roll Wits + Occult, difficulty 7. Every two successes on the roll inflicts
one level of Aggravated damage to any spirit in the necromancer’s sight. To properly aim the Spirit Burn
attack, the necromancer must be able to see the target either using a power to see across the Shroud, or
by existing in the Shadowlands himself.
•••• Soulfire
Through this power, fires of the Underworld can be called into the living world. This attack can be directed
against wraiths, but most sorcerers find it far more effective against the living as the ghost fire is invisible in
the living world. The victims of such fires suffer agonizing, but mysterious attacks. Their blood boils and
internal organs crisp, but no flames are seen and no smoke emerges from their bodies. Only those able to
see into the Shadowlands, or possibly those very skilled in sensory talents like Auspex, can perceive the
ghostly fire surrounding a screaming mortal victim.
System: Summoning these flames costs a blood point, and requires a roll of Wits + Occult (difficulty of the
local Shroud). The fires appear anywhere in the necromancer’s line of sight. On the first turn, the target
takes one dice of aggravated damage per turn. On subsequent turns, the target suffers half of the damage
that he suffered the previous turn (round down). The victim does have a chance to save themselves: a
successful Willpower roll (difficulty 8) can reduce the post-soak damage of the fires by 1. The victim can
make a Willpower roll for each turn that the fires burn him.
System: To forge a wraith, the necromancer must grasp its corpus in his hands, which burst into flame.
However the contact is achieved, the player then spends 2 points of Willpower and one blood point. The
wraith and the necromancer engage in a struggle: the wraith’s Stamina + Brawl against the necromancer’s
Strength + Occult, both at difficulty 6. If at any point the wraith has more total successes than the
necromancer, it breaks free. If the wraith fails to free itself, it starts to melt. Each net success gained by the
necromancer is one permanent Willpower point that the wraith loses. When the wraith loses all its
permanent Willpower, it is reduced to nothing but raw plasm. The resulting mass is roughly one cubic foot
per point of Willpower the wraith originally possessed. The remains can then be shaped normally with a
Dexterity + Craft roll, difficulty determined by the availability of proper tools and the complexity of the object
desired.
Schools of Necromancy
Major Schools
These four schools are thriving practices in the Modern Nights
Western (Giovani)
The most common and expansive school in the Modern Nights, Western Necromancy focuses on the
spiritual and draws heavily from Roman traditions. Despite many of its trappings, the practitioners are
primarily secular, using religious traditions in a pragmatic manner. Authority is the keystone of the
paradigm: Wraiths are considered tools and manipulated ruthlessly. Intimidation, force and punishment are
used to keep souls in line with the necromancer's demands. Some of the more exotic Paths studied by
Giovani branch families such as the Ghiberti and the della Passaglia have been modified by the Venetians
in order to comply with the Western paradigm.
Knowledge of the Classical school of Necromancy formed the foundation of the Giovani practices, but
much of that lore has been discarded since the destruction of the Cappadocians. It was considered unwise
to wield too openly the powers and abilities of their expunged forebears during the early nights of the Clan.
Such practices were put on hold to avoid drawing the ire of the former allies of the Cappadocians, many
were simply never picked up again. Some of the elders of the Giovani still remember these older Paths,
but tradition has set in and they are rarely taught to neonates.
Unique Paths
● The Usury Path
● The Smoke Path
● The Requiem Path
Shared Paths
● Western Necromancy has access to all non-unique Paths
Unique Paths
● The Cheval Path (Abambo Dance)
Shared Paths
● The Sepulcher Path
● The Ash Path
● The Bone Path
● The Grave Path
● The Blight Path
● The Salt Path
● The Gaunt Path
● The Wasting path
Unique Paths
● The Shadow Path (Walking the Shadow World)
● The Scourge Path (Shopona’s Touch)
Shared Paths
● The Ash Path
● The Bone Path
● The Cenotaph Path (Path of Abombo)
● The Haunting Path
● The Salt Path
● The Corpse Path
● The Gaunt Path
● The Wasting Path
Indian (Nagaraja)
Based on the practices of an ancient sect of Mages called the Chakravanti, this school of Necromancy is
practiced exclusively by the flesh-eating vampires of the Nagaraja bloodline. As mortal mages they
experimented with a type of magic known as necrosynthesis, oriented towards blurring the lines between
the living and dead. When their research ended in the entire group transformed into aberrant vampires, the
Nagaraja were not deterred at all. The Indian school of Necromancy continues to focus on the Shroud and
how to manipulate the Shadowlands. The arts concerned with the physical body are neglected, aside from
a few rare examples of power based on manipulating the balance of life and death within the vampiric body
itself. Hindu practices still have a significant influence on the trappings and rituals of the Nagaraja, but they
have left behind almost all traces of religion. Their thousands of years of undeath and their insatiable
hunger for human meat have left the Nagaraja with a vicious attitude towards both the living and dead.
Unique Paths
● The Iron Path (Binding the Hungry Ghost)
● The Ebony Path (Ebon Mantle of Authority)
● The Vitreous Path (The Hand of Kali)
Shared Paths
● The Ash Path
● The Cerement Path
● The Salt Path
● The Ghost Path
● The Gaunt Path
● The Murk Path
● The Corpus Path
● The Chthonic Path
Minor Schools
Time has not been kind to these schools of Necromancy. Their practitioners have either been driven extinct
or their numbers are so few that they teeter on the edge. The Chinese and Aztec schools have a decent
population of existing practitioners, but they are so closely intertwined with the Giovani that the Western
Paradigm of the main Clan threatens to overwhelm the native traditions of the smaller families.
Classical (Cappadocian, Lamia)
The progenitor of the Western School, but entirely focused on the physical aspects of death instead of the
spiritual. The school draws heavily from Greco-Roman philosophy, medieval medicine and the Abrahamic
religions. It displays a slightly more religious bent than Western Necromancy, but only slightly. It is still at its
core a pragmatic study of forces instead of a religious experience.
New Necromancy
Unique Paths
● The Bile Path (Path of the Four Humors)
● The Cadaver Path (Cadaverous Animation)
Shared Paths
● The Grave Path
● The Cerement Path
● The Blight Path
● The Mourning Path
● The Salt Path
● The Corpse Path
● The Vigil Path
● The Clay Path
● The Withering Path
● The Rust Path
Unique Paths
● The Harrowing Path (Torment of Duat)
● The Reliquary Path (Treasures of the Tomb)
Shared Paths
● The Ash Path
● The Cenotaph Path
● The Salt Path
● The Bone Path
● The Chthonic Path
Aztec (Pisanob, Tlacique)
The death magic of the Aztecs was robust and powerful, practiced under the auspices of the skeletal God
Mictlantecutli by his dedicated priests. The vampires of Central America enjoyed vast power, fueled by the
blood sacrifices of the mortal herds, and their magicians held places of great honor and power. When the
Spanish came, their vampiric instigators overwhelmed the natives just as happened among the living. The
last scraps of Aztec Necromancy belong to the Pisanob Giovani, but their ties to the Venetians have
eroded away most of the uniqueness and flavor of the ancient traditions. Only a handful of Rituals survive,
but there are rumors of a single Path known only to the very oldest and most reclusive of the Pisanob
elders. Even softer rumors suggest that the Pisanob have allies from their ancient culture, the last
surviving Tlacique. These few dozen blood mages, once the leaders among the vampires of the Flayed
Lands, may also remember some of the Necromancy of the Obsidian Kingdom.
Aztec Necromancy focuses on journeys to the Underworld and ensuring that the dead are keep satisfied
and placated so they will not visit harm upon the living. Very few of the powers of Aztec Necromancy
concern the flesh of the dead, and those that do are often meant to give temporary homes to restless
souls. Generally, Aztec Necromancy focuses far more on Rituals than Paths, but many of those Rituals
were lost forever with the Spanish conquest.
Unique Paths
● The Obsidian Path (The Way of the Nahualli)
Shared Paths
● The Sepulcher Path
● The Ash Path
● The Bone Path
● The Salt Path
Chinese (Della
New Passaliga)
Necromancy
The youngest and least developed of all the Schools of Necromancy, Chinese Necromancy is known only
to a handful of the della Passaglia Giovani. Though the Portugese trader family has been in Beijing for
many decades, the intransience of the native undead and the xenophobic hostility of the ghosts that inhabit
Yellow Springs have limited the development of new Paths and Rituals. The practices and techniques of
the Kuei-Jin and other East Asian supernaturals remain largely unknown to the Giovani.
Clan Giovani itself is another barrier to the development of a true school of Chinese Necromancy, since the
Italians demand that the young family of traders and scholars must send all their knowledge back to
Venice. At the same time, the della Passaliga are pressured to learn the Western techniques and powers,
leaving very little in the way of a culturally distinct tradition among the Cainite necromancers of China. Only
one Path has been developed by studying Yellow Springs and its inhabitants: the Pyre Path. Even this
unique development was immediately reported to Venice and quickly converted to the more standardized
format of Western Necromancy.
Unique Paths
● There are no Unique Paths known to Chinese Necromancers
Shared Paths
● The Pyre Path