Necromancy

Necromantic Arts

Credits Contents
Author(s) Introduction 2
Gareth Hanrahan and Simon Beal Characters 4
Divine Magic 7
Editor
Charlotte Law Necromantic Sorcery 16
Necromantic Cults 23
Layout and Graphic Design
Will Chapman Necromancers 32
Necromantic Lairs 40
Interior Illustrations
Rich Longmore, Gill Pearce, Aneke Murilo, Chad Undead Creatures 45
Sergesketter, Amanda Webb & Gong Studio
Necromantic Items 74
Proofreading Fear & Madness 78
Nick Robinson
Campaigns and Adventures 83
Special Thanks Anghara, Our Reflection 85
Pete Nash, John Hutchinson, Simon Bray, Jeff
Richard and Greg Stafford Index 110

Copyright Information
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is expressly forbidden. All significant characters, names, places, items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing subject to its licence from
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This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organisations, places or events is purely coincidental.

RuneQuest is a trademark (TM) of Issaries, Inc. Produced under license from Issaries. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.
 Introduction
N
ecromantic Arts is a toolkit for making despicable and
terrifying enemies for the players in your RuneQuest
games. Material in this book can be applied to any setting using Vassals and Lieges
the RuneQuest rules, from Glorantha to Lankhmar to Elric or to An undead creature is considered the vassal of another
your own homebrewed games. creature if:
X The creature created the undead, either by using
Before we begin our examination of the grisly arts of necromancy, magic or its own abilities.
let us define some terms which will be used throughout the book. X The creature forces the undead to become its vassal,
normally by using a spell like Undying Loyalty.
Necromancers are spellcasters who can create undead creatures
and cast spells related to the manipulation of death and the spirits
of once-living beings. Necromancy is not inherently evil but very
few of its practitioners put their magic to good ends. Even those Instinctive undead are not mindless but operate almost purely on
who do not call up the dead to conquer and enslave the living tend instinct, or at best on fragmentary memories of their past lives.
to be distrusted by their neighbours. A ghoul, for instance, might be as intelligent as a living human
but its actions are dominated by its hunger for dead flesh, not its
Corporeal undead have physical bodies. Vampires, zombies, intellect. A ghost exists because it is tethered to some object or
skeletons and liches are all examples of corporeal undead and such memory from its past life, not because it chooses to stay in this
creatures can be hacked apart with a sword. Incorporeal undead world. Instinctive undead tend to have a lower INT and POW
are ghosts, wraiths and other immaterial beings. Most but not all than living creatures.
incorporeal undead are spirits.
Thanotics are undead creatures that were never alive. They are
Animated undead are those created by a spell or other magical creatures of pure undeath, beings of anti-life. While they can be
effect – if the spell is broken, they are destroyed and turn back produced with magic, most thanotics are the servants of the gods
to unliving corpses if corporeal, or dissipate into nothingness of death.
if immaterial. Skeleton and zombie servitors are examples of
animated undead. Imbued undead are filled with the energies of Finally, free-willed undead retain all of their intellect and willpower,
undeath that created them and are not dependant on an ongoing although the process of becoming an undead horror usually warps
spell. Vampires and ghouls are examples of imbued undead. the mind towards evil.

Servitors are mindless or near-mindless undead enslaved by a

necromancer or more powerful undead (such servants are called vassals
and their master is termed a liege). An animated skeleton is a servitor. What Books Do I Need?
To use Necromantic Arts, you need access to the RuneQuest
Necromatons are a specialised form of servitor and are built and II rulebook. Arms and Equipment is also required if you
programmed to fulfil a specific purpose. Undead siege engines wish to create enchanted items.
or monsters stitched together from different body parts are
necromatons. Such creatures all have INT0 and POW0.

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The Nature of Necromancy exists at their whim. A divine spellcaster is in the same situation,
so although he may not recognise it because of his faith in his god,
Life and death are two sides of the same coin and controlling one the fate of his soul after death depends on an external entity.
gives great power over the other. There are many uses for necromancy,
some more potent and dangerous than others. On one level, using Only the necromancer can exert his own will over life and death.
corpses as animated labourers is little different from using golems or Only a necromancer can win immortality from an uncaring
elementals. Many healing spells are partially necromantic in nature, universe – and it is that lure, the mastery of death, that has brought
working with dying instead of dead flesh. Other benign uses of many once-noble and wise sorcerers down the dark path…
necromantic arts including calling up or otherwise contacting the
dead as part of religious ceremonies, or even as part of respectful
scholarly inquiry. Some cultures or races may accept such forms of The Unquiet Dead
necromancy, as long as the dead are honoured and respected, even if The living burn like candles, bright and fast and hot.
they object to sorcerers marching corpses around.
The dead pass on, beyond the veil, into the realms of the gods and
Another factor is that many products of the necromantic arts are… the unknowable places.
unpleasant and dangerous, to say the least. Even the most benign
necromantic spells tend to have grisly appearances or side effects The undead linger. For the free-willed and instinctive undead,
and the majority of undead creatures hunger for the blood, flesh their very existence is painful. They have no life energy within
or life energy of the living. After the minor cantrips of animation them, only the rotting false vitality of decay. They cannot die but
and spirit summoning, the necromancer’s path takes a very dark without fresh influxes of life energy, the hunger in them becomes
turn indeed. absolutely intolerable. An undead creature denied sustenance
cannot feed on itself like a living creature can; it does not starve
Permanent alterations of the dead are rarely accepted by societies. and wither but it feels like it is feeding on itself. It is enough to
It is one thing for a necromancer to call up the spirit of the late drive any mind mad.
king to ask for his counsel in a time of war but it is another thing
entirely to put the reanimated king back on the throne as the More powerful and intelligent undead creatures have the strength
undead ruler of the nation (the king is dead… eternally unlive the and cunning to feed whenever they want and are not driven wholly
king!). The binding and controlling of the spirits of the dead is insane by their hungers but they are still twisted into cold and
rarely accepted by societies and those that do tolerate such potent inhuman horrors.
necromancy often find themselves slipping towards becoming
necrarchies (rule by the undead). The undead are drawn to necromancers. Necromancers stand in
the borderland between life and undeath and their magics can
So – given that the necromancer’s art is feared and hated by most augment and strengthen the undead. Most necromancers’ plans
people, why practice the art? Why embrace the Rune of Death involve a lot of carnage and death, which the undead can feed
and use your magical energies to create zombies and imbue dead on. Unintelligent undeath serve the necromancer with a pathetic
flesh with a mockery of life? There are other forms of magic, after devotion, like a mistreated dog attaches itself to a master who
all, and anyone with enough courage and fortitude and magic shows it the slightest bit of kindness. Intelligent undead serve the
to become a necromancer could learn instead of command the necromancer because they usually have common goals.
elements or conjure beings from the dimensions, or invoke the
powers of the gods themselves. What does the dark path offer that Hunters of the Dead
all other magic does not? The undead are a plague, a cancer, a pestilence that consumes and
leaves nothing in its wake. A conquering army will, eventually,
The answer is simple and inevitable. For all their powers, for all stop its march and be satisfied, or bandits will leave to spend
the glory and wonder of other paths of magic, they do not offer their ill-gotten gains but the undead’s hatred and hunger for the
dominion over death. An elementalist might raise up mountains living can never be sated. Worse yet, the numbers of the undead
where there was once ocean and shape cities out of imperishable grow while those of the living diminish. Undeath breeds more
crystal – but his flesh is mortal and will decay and he will die undeath and a single life-draining horror can give rise to two,
despite all his grand work. A wizard might work wonders, bringing then four, then dozens, then hundreds and thousands. All the
peace and beauty and joy to a whole world – but when his beard world would be drowned in a tide of darkness unless the undead
turns white as snow, his limbs frail as dry sticks and when his once- are beaten back into their graves as soon as they rise. Hunters and
cunning mind slows and becomes uncertain, what can he do? A slayers of the dead are the bright sword that holds back endless
summoner might make bargains with demons or other beings to entropic night.
extend his life but then he is beholden to these other beings and
 Characters
To become a necromancer requires years of training and discipline. Gravedigger: Someone has to do it. The profession of gravedigger
Even the simplest necromantic spells are challenging, and many is rarely considered a desirable one, but it is a steady job, and one
require the caster to have a deeper connection to the runes. Still, of grave importance to the community. In some towns, though,
a necromancer must start somewhere. Any of the following the gravediggers keep shovels handy to deal with freshly risen dead
professions in the RuneQuest II rulebook are a good starting as well as dig homes for the freshly fallen. Lurking around the
point for a necromancer, namely the Alchemist, Physician, Priest, tombstones at night, gravediggers often see things that they rather
Shaman, Witch and Sorcerer. would believe…

There following professions are specifically tailored for a Grave Robber: In many cultures, the dead are buried with all sorts
necromantic campaign. of finery. A noblewoman might be laid to rest wearing a fine silk
gown, her cold stiff fingers covered in gold rings. A great knight
Body Snatcher: Body snatchers specialise in a particular form of might be buried with his famous sword, or a miser’s cheap coffin
lucrative crime. They steal the newly deceased from their graves, might hide a treasure hoard of coins. What need to the dead have
selling the cadavers to physicians and scholars who wish to study of such things? Stealing from the dead might bring bad luck, but it
anatomy – a subject often forbidden by many religions. At least, is easier and (usually) safer than breaking into houses and stealing
that is what the scholars say. Body snatchers do not ask questions from the living.
about what their clients want the bodies for, just take the money
and keep quiet. Hunter of the Dead: Hunters of the dead specialise in the difficult
task of killing the dead. Every form of undead has its own unique
Dead: The character was, unfortunately, killed at some point traits and dangers. Zombies need to be hacked apart, ghosts need
to be laid to rest, vampires need to be staked and decapitated and
before the game begins, but has been brought back to life by
so on. Killing the dead is a specialised task, and hunters of the dead
necromancy. He possesses the skills and magic of the profession
are the men for that job!
he once performed, but now the character is technically a form of
imbued free-willed zombie. The character is immune to Serious
Mortician: Morticians are those who take the bodies of the dead
Wounds and cannot lose consciousness, but can still be destroyed and prepare them for interment or destruction, as is suitable for
if his head or chest location suffers a Major Wound and fails a their culture. Many serve religions of a god or gods responsible
resilience roll. The character does not heal naturally, but can have for the souls of the dead. The skills of morticians are varied, and
hit points restored by surgery or magic. range from making the dead look their best, arming them with the
correct paraphernalia for the afterlife, preserving the flesh of the
Fringe Scholar: Fringe scholars are working on some branch body or performing funeral ceremonies.
of learning that is beyond the pale for most civilised folk. A
fringe scholar might be dissecting dead bodies to learn how they Necromancer: A necromancer is someone who communicates
function, or utilising alchemical techniques to animate body parts, with the dead, or practices dark arts to control death and those
or reading forbidden and unholy tomes. To avoid discovery, fringe who have passed beyond. In cultures where necromancy is feared
scholars must be more careful and secretive than their more socially or forbidden, the student of necromancy may be heading for an
acceptable peers. early grave in more ways than one…

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Profession Cultural Background Common Skill Bonuses Advanced Skills Magic

Body Snatcher Civilised Athletics +5%, Evaluate Disguise, Streetwise
+5%, Stealth +5%,
Perception +5%,
Persistence +10%
Dead Any As Before As Before As Before
Fringe Scholar Civilised Evaluate +5%, Lore Lore (Any)
(Regional) +5%,
Persistence +10%, Sleight Select One
+5%, Stealth +5% Healing, Language (Other),
Lore (Any)
Gravedigger Civilised Athletics +10%, Drive Streetwise
+10%, Perception +10%,
Resilience +10%
Grave Robber Civilised Evaluate +10%, Select Two
Persistence +10%, Stealth Disguise, Mechanisms,
+10% Streetwise
Hunter of the Any Persistence +10%, One Select One Choose from:
Dead weapon style appropriate Lore (Any), Tracking Spirit Walking and Spirit
to your culture +10% Binding OR
Lore (Specific Theology)
and Pact (Cult or God) OR
Manipulate and Sorcery
(Grimoire)
Mortician Any Influence +10%, Insight Select Two
+10%, Persistence +10% Art (Funerals),
Craft (Embalming),
Lore (Death), Lore
(Necropolises), Oratory
Necromancer Civilised Persistence +10% Lore (Any) Choose from:
Spirit Walking and Spirit
Select One Binding OR
First Aid +10%, Influence Lore (Specific Theology)
+10%, Insight +10% and Pact (Cult or God) OR
Manipulate and Sorcery
(Grimoire)
Tomb Guard Primitive, Barbarian, Stealth +10%, Perception Select One
Civilised +10% Lore (Any), Tracking

Pick any two Combat

Styles appropriate to your
culture, receiving both at
a +10% bonus
 Tomb Guard: In places where necromancy or grave robbing is Engineering: Engineering is used when constructing non-
common, guards are set to protect the sanctity (and buried wealth) humanoid necromatons, or those of SIZ 21 or greater.
of the dead. Tomb Guards are specialised custodians who watch
for thieves or the signs of the undead. Inured to the presence of Healing: Healing includes knowledge of human anatomy, and
the dead, they fearlessly patrol necropolises and graveyards, and as such is vital for necromancers. It is used when constructing
investigate reports of strangers moving around at night, unusual humanoid necromatons, or when animating skeletons or corpses
corpses, or disturbed crypts. from disparate bits and pieces.

Necromantic Skills Lore (Alchemy): This skill can be used for the production of
animating or preserving fluids.
In addition to the usual advanced magic skills, a necromancer can
benefit from a thorough knowledge of more mundane skills.
Persistence: Persistence is a very important skill if the optional
Craft (Embalming): Embalming is used to preserving dead Fear or Insanity rules are used.
bodies, and can take many different forms. Methods include
desiccation in dry air, pickling with preserving fluids, boiling Streetwise: The streetwise skill is very handy for those who ply
in antiseptic herbs, draining and replacing blood with wax, their grisly trade in cities. If the knowledge of anatomy is studied
evisceration and stuffing with spices, etc. in the culture, or ritual sacrifice is commonplace, Streetwise can
be used to locate the trade or supply of dead bodies. Advance
Disguise: This skill can be used to disguise dead creatures and warning that a torch-bearing mob is going to show up on your
give the impression that they are still alive: doorstep is vital.

Disguising the Dead

Condition of Undead Disguise Test Modifier
Recently dead +0%
Less than one month -10%
Rotted -20%
Putrid -40%
Skeletal -80%
Corpse was an old or sick person in life +20%

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Divine Magic
Divine Necromancy is associated primarily with Death cults: both  After one week, the character starts to count as Undead for the
those who honour the dead (and so specialise in the necromantic purposes of spells and effects.
spells of contacting and aiding spirits) and those who use the dead  After one month, the character’s natural healing rate and the
as minions (generally, evil cults). Some of the spirit-related spells effects of healing spells on him are both reduced by 50%.
are given to cults that battle the undead but most anti-undead  After two months, the character no longer heals naturally.
spells are listed after the divine necromantic spells.  After three months, the character begins to rot.

Necromantic Spells Breath Out Ghost

Most of the spells in this section are intended for use by evil death Duration Seven Hours, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Touch.
cultists and necromancers.
When this spell is cast, the recipient of this spell exhales his spirit.
The spell works just like the Spirit Walking spell at rank Shaman
Animate Undead (see RuneQuest Core Rulebook page 138), with two differences.
Permanent, Rank Acolyte, Touch

This spell creates one Common zombie or skeleton from a suitable

corpse. The animated undead creature persists for a number of days
equal to the amount of total Dedicated POW in the Pact with the god
granting this spell. The creature can be rendered inert by its creator
by a simple command; or it can remain active continuously until the
Animate Undead spell is cast again to sustain its animation.

If the creature is used sporadically it must be animated for a base

period of one hour. Each hour then counts towards the total
duration of the animation.

Animated Undead obey the commands and orders of their creator

blindly and without question.

Blighted Resurrect
Concentration Special, Rank Acolyte, Touch

This spell appears identical to the Resurrect spell (see RuneQuest

Core Rulebook page 124). However, instead of bringing the target
back to life fully, it brings him back as an undead creature. This is
not immediately apparent, as the Blighted Resurrect does initially
appear to have brought the character back to the fullness of health.
Over time, the character’s true state becomes apparent.
 Firstly, the disembodied spirit may possess others, just like a
normal spirit. The spirit must still return to his body before the
Command Undead
Duration Special, Rank Acolyte, Resist (Persistence), Ranged
spell expires, or he loses one point of POW per minute he does not
return to his mortal form.
If successful, the target of this spell becomes a vassal of the caster. It
may only be used on animated undead creatures and the spell lasts
Secondly, the spirit may possess corpses. Corpses animated in this
for a number of days equal to the total POW Dedicated to the Pact
fashion have the characteristics of Common zombies but use the
for the god granting the spell.
spirit’s INT, POW, CHA and skills.

Cadaver Eternal Condemn to Undeath

Permanent, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Resist (Persistence), Ranged
Duration Permanent, Rank Acolyte, Touch
If the Persistence test is failed, the curse takes hold of the victim.
This spell gives the caster the ability to protect a corpse from
If the victim dies while cursed, then he rises as an undead creature
natural decay and rot, keeping it in its current physical state. The
1d3 days after dying, usually a Greater Zombie.
spell protects the corpse from natural forms of decay (weather,
temperature and maggots) but does nothing to stop the body
from being damaged by outside forces. Should the spell actually Corpse Vision
be dispelled, the body will begin decaying as normal. If ever used Concentration, Rank Initiate, Ranged (Special)
on an animate corpse, such as a zombie or vampire, it will not rot
any further as well. By means of this spell, the caster temporarily transfers his vision
to a zombie or skeleton. If the creature is his vassal, then the spell
has a range equal to his POW x 5 in kilometres; otherwise, it
Call Death has a range equal to his POW x 5 in metres. The caster cannot
Duration 1d6 rounds, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Ranged control or influence the zombie without using another spell. He
can be affected by spells and effects that work through vision while
This spell summons a Death spirit for the target (see page 65 for looking through the zombie’s eyes, such as the gaze attack of a
Death Spirits). Only the caster and the target can see and interact gorgon. People looking at the zombie while this spell is in effect
with the Death spirit. may be able to recognise the caster’s living eye in the corpse’s face.

This spell can be used in two ways. If the Death of a living creature
is called, then the Death immediately attacks that creature. The
Dead Counsel
Duration Special, Rank Initiate, Touch
Death will keep attacking until the target dies or the spell ends.
The caster must have the body part or other relic from a dead
Alternatively, if the spell is cast within three rounds of a creature
person with him to cast this spell. When this spell is cast, the caster
dying, then the caster can call up the Death that is in the process
temporarily gains any one skill possessed by the dead person, at a
of taking the target’s soul. If the caster can defeat Death before the
skill level equal to that the dead had in life. The caster retains the
spell ends, then the target comes back to life.
skill long enough to perform one single task. For example, with a
Lore skill, the caster can answer a single question. With a Combat
Cemetery Horde skill, the caster has the enhanced skill for one battle. With a Craft
Permanent, Rank Acolyte, Ranged skill, it lasts long enough to complete one task.

This unnatural spell calls a number of undead servitors to rise This spell can also be used to ask questions of the dead.
from their graves and serve the caster as warriors until they are
destroyed. The spell requires the caster to actually be in an area Whenever the caster makes a Skill Test using the augmented skill,
with the corpses he plans to animate and for the caster to suffer 1 there is a 5% chance that the spirit of the dead is drawn to him and
Hit Point of damage to at least two Hit Locations (the blood for may appear as a ghost and try to possess him.
the spell). The actual spell casting takes 10 minutes to perform and
a further 30 minutes for the corpses to dig their way out of their
graves if necessary. This spell creates 1D2 Common Skeletons
Deadsight
Instant, Rank Initiate, Touch
or Common Zombies to serve under the command of the caster
for each Magnitude of the spell. Because of the magical energy
This spell grants the caster the ability to see exactly what happened
required to keep an animated corpse autonomous, the dedicated
to bring about its death, from the corpse’s point of view. This
POW for this spell does not return until after the summoned
may or may not be helpful due to the nature of the death (throat
undead are destroyed.
cut from behind, hooded and stabbed and so on) but it shows an

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otherwise detailed scene from the corpse’s eyes to the caster. Every
time this spell is cast the caster sees what looks like his own death
Groaning Tongue of the Damned
Duration 5, Rank Initiate, Touch
(from the corpse’s eyes), which can cause some bodily shock. The
caster must pass a Resilience Skill Test after the vision is over or
This spell allows the target to speak to mindless undead (zombies,
suffer a level of Fatigue.
skeletons and so on). Although it does not instantly give the target
the ability to command or lead these creatures, it does allow him to
Deathcurse communicate normally with them and perhaps use the Influence
Instant, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Ranged, Resist (Resilience) skill to get them to do his bidding. Most mindless undead have no
reason to lie or hold back information as they have no concept of
The target of this spell must make a Resilience test when it is cast. what they are saying but they also do not have to stop attacking to
The Resilience test is modified by certain conditions, as per the answer the target’s questions!
Deathcurse Modifier table.
Mass Burial
Deathcurse Modifier Instant, Rank Acolyte, Ranged, Resist (Evade)
Condition Modifier
Caster has higher POW than the target –10% When this spell is cast, a grave opens up beneath one target per
Caster has lower POW than target +10% point of Magnitude. This grave is 1D3 metres deep and big enough
Caster has a connection to the target –20% for a single person (if the targets are close to each other, then the
(a lock of hair, vial of blood, cherished graves will link up into a mass grave). If the target fails to leap
personal effect) aside by making a successful Evade test, then he is buried alive.
Target is in an area Consecrated to the –40% The graves immediately seal themselves after opening, trapping
caster’s god victims inside.

The effects of the spell depend on the result of the Resilience test. Victims buried alive count as suffocating (see page 54 of the
RuneQuest Core Rulebook) and suffer one point of damage per
Deathcurse Effects round when they fail the Resilience test. A character can try to
dig himself out of the grave by squirming through the loose earth.
Target’s Resilience Test Effect
This requires a Very Hard (–60%) Athletics or Brawn test to dig
Target fumbles Resilience test The target dies. through one metre of dirt in 1D4 rounds.
Target fails Resilience test The target suffers damage to
chest equal to the total POW
dedicated to the caster’s Pact. Mimic Life
Target succeeds Resilience The target suffers 1D8 damage Concentration, Rank Initiate, Ranged
test to the Chest as he struggles to
breathe and his heart pounds. For the duration of this spell, all corporeal undead creatures within
a number of metres equal to the caster’s POW appear to be living
Target critically succeeds No effect.
creatures. The creatures appear as they did in life, so the spell
Resilience test
does not work on undead creatures that are made up of pieces of
multiple corpses. The illusion is nearly perfect but the disguised
Deathly Guardians creatures are pallid and ungainly and the illusion does not disguise
Instant, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Ranged their stench.

This spell causes a pair of Tomb Guardians (see page 70) to burst Mummify
out of the ground next to the caster. The Guardians will obey his Permanent, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Touch
commands and fight for him. The guardians last for a number of
rounds equal to the caster’s POW then crumble into dust. This spell creates a mummy (see page 52). Before this spell can be
cast, the body must be prepared for transformation into a mummy.
Ghost Prayer The organs must be removed and placed in special jars and the
Concentration, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Ranged (Special) body dried and desiccated with salts before being preserved with
spices and wrapped in bandages. This preparation requires a
For the duration of the ghost prayer, all undead creatures within Healing test and several days of work. Once complete, the body is
a number of metres equal to the caster’s POW become spirits. ready for revivification as a mummy.
Undead creatures who are already spirits are unaffected by this.
 The original soul of the body is placed within the mummy, making him. If the victim is judged to be worthy of resurrection, then he
it a free-willed animated undead. The jars containing the organs is returned to the mortal world as an undead creature of some sort
are a necessary part of the spell – if any of these canopic jars are proportionate with his worthiness. A particularly pathetic offering
broken, the mummy is destroyed. The mummy is also vulnerable might be transformed into a zombie; a high priest might be turned
to fire. The creatures are immensely strong and retain their previous into a vampire, mummy or wraith.
intelligence and skills. Mummies can even use spells but their low
POW forces them to rely on other sources of Magic Points such Open the White Gate
as sacrifices. Duration 2d6 rounds, Rank Rune Lord/Priest

Necropolis Curse The caster chants the spell, then his mouth yawns wide and his eyes
Permanent, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Touch glow with an unearthly white light as he becomes a living channel to
the dead.
The Necropolis Curse is normally only used on cities where every
single inhabitant has offended against the gods of death. To cast the When this spell is cast, the caster becomes a gateway to the spirit
spell, the necromancer must draw a sigil in the earth that surrounds world. Every round for the duration of the spell, 1d6–2 spirits emerge
the entire city and then touch the city walls. He must then either from the caster’s mouth and nose. The caster suffers a penalty of
spill 10 Hit Points worth of his blood (if the gods sanction this use 10% per spirit to all Skill Tests he makes that round. Each spirit flies
of the spell) or cut out his own heart (if he is using the curse on a off and inhabits a corpse within range, creating an imbued zombie.
city that does not merit it). If there are no corpses within range, the spirit lingers for a number
of hours equal to its POW and then vanishes.
When the spell is cast, the dead within the city begin to rise.
Freshly-buried corpses will rise as zombies, old bones as skeletons. Each round in which a spirit emerges, the caster suffers one point of
If the buried bodies have rotted away, then they rise as ghosts and damage to the head, chest or abdomen (roll 1d6 – 1–2: Abdomen,
other incorporeal undead. The dead will continue to rise even after 3–5: Chest, 6: Head). The caster also becomes fatigued when the
being killed again – a zombie might be hacked apart on the streets spell ends.
of the necropolis but it will return as a wraith a few hours later.
On average, it takes 1d6 hours for an undead creature to rise, so The zombies created by this spell become the caster’s vassals. In
six hours after the curse is first cast, every corpse buried within the rare cases, spirits powerful enough to become free-willed undead
city precincts will have risen from its grave. can come through the gate.

The only way to lift the curse is by divine intervention for the Power of Death
whole city. Duration One Battle, Rank Initiate, Touch

Necrotic Healing The caster touches an undead creature, who is infused with the power
Instant, Rank Initiate, Resist (Evade) Ranged of death, turning it into a fearsome war machine.

The magic heals wounds and injuries but the flesh remains dead. The target undead gains the following for the duration of the
spell:
This spell restores one Hit Point per point of Magnitude to all
 +1 Hit Point to all locations per point of Magnitude
locations of the target. However, if the spell heals more Hit Points
 +1 AP to all locations per three points of Magnitude
in a location than were already present (for example, a Magnitude
 +2 Strength per point of Magnitude
4 spell heals a location that has only three Hit Points remaining),
then that location becomes undead and cannot benefit from
natural healing or normal healing spells. Restful Dead
Duration Special, Rank Initiate, Ranged
Offer Life By changing soothing prayers of release and succour, the caster lulls an
Permanent, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Touch
undead creature or restless spirit. The undead’s body sags and the light
of fierce hunger leaves its eyes.
Incanting a prayer to the gods of death, the caster’s whole body is
surrounded by a whirling aura of black light. He touches a worshipper,
When cast, the target undead is suddenly robbed of its hunger and
offering that unfortunate’s soul to the gods.
hatred for the living and desires nothing more than to slink back
into the shadows. The spell keeps the undead subdued for a brief
Offer Life can only be cast on a willing target and the caster can
period. A zombie or skeleton might be subdued for a day but a
cast it on himself if he wishes. The target of Offer Life instantly
powerful being like a vampire might only pause for a minute or
dies and is transported to the realm of the gods of death, who judge

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two. If anyone makes a hostile action towards an undead under the A character slain by a weapon enchanted by Spirit-Cutting Sword
effects of this spell, the spell is broken. cannot be resurrected by normal spells.

Restful Dead is primarily used when exorcising spirits. Tether Spirit

Duration Special, Rank Acolyte, Resist (Persistence)
Restore Corpse
Instant, Rank Initiate, Progress, Touch By divine might, the caster forcibly binds a spirit to an object. Chains
of black light leap from the object and wrap around the spirit.
With a simple spell, the caster seals the wounds and repairs damage
done to a corpse. Wounds close with a sickening sucking noise and Tether Spirit can be used in two ways – it can bind a spirit to an
bones crack and snap as they fix themselves. object, or to a corpse.

Every point of Magnitude in this spell will restore 1d3 points of If used to bind a spirit to an object, then the spirit may make a
damage to an undead creature, starting with the location touched Persistence test when the spell is cast. If this test is failed, then the
and moving out from there. spirit is bound to the object. The spirit may not move further than
10 metres away from the object it is bound to and may not touch
Rot Curse or damage the object, not even when possessing a living being. The
Permanent, Rank Initiate, Resist (Resilience), Ranged spirit may make another Persistence test after a number of days
equal to the caster’s POW. If this test succeeds, the spirit is freed; if
A sickly green nimbus of light flares around the caster’s hands and then failed, then the spirit is permanently bound to the object.
leaps to the target. Flesh rots and plants wither when faced with the
necrotic power of undeath! If used to bind a spirit to a corpse, then the spirit animates the
corpse as a Resilient Zombie. If the zombie is destroyed, then the
This spell can be cast in two ways, on an area or on a person. spirit is freed. The resulting zombie looks like a normal animated
corpse, but has the ragged tatters of the spirit superimposed over
If cast on an area, it affects the area or number of herd animals it.
equal to the caster’s POW. The afflicted area or animals are
afflicted by the Rot Curse. Cows will give sour milk and give birth Withering
to malformed young, crops will fail to grow or be rotten when Permanent, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Ranged, Resist (Resilience)
harvested and so forth, making the land or animals useless.
The caster reaches out a hand and seems to suck the vitality out of a
If cast on a person, the caster must aim the spell at one of the target’s limb.
target’s damaged Hit Locations. If the spell works, then that
location cannot benefit from healing magic or natural healing. Withering attacks a single location on the target’s body, causing it
Instead, the wounds fester and rot. The target loses one Hit Point to age and shrivel. The caster must roll on the Hit Location table
from that location each day until he dies, the spell is removed, or to determine which location is afflicted. The spell’s effect varies
the Healing skill is used to amputate the cursed location (stopping depending on the location struck.
the Hit Point loss but permanently reducing that location’s Hit
Points to its current total). 1-3 - Leg: The leg’s maximum Hit Points are halved. The target’s
movement is reduced by 50%.
Spirit-Cutting Sword 4-6 - Arm: The arm’s maximum Hit Points are halved. The target
Duration 10, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Touch suffers a –50% penalty to attacks made with that arm.
7-9 - Abdomen: The abdomen’s maximum Hit Points are halved.
The caster blesses a sword or other weapon, making it more effective The target is now impotent if male and barren if female.
against both mundane and supernatural foes. 10-12 - Chest: The chest’s maximum Hit Points are halved. The
target suffers a –20% penalty to Resilience tests.
The weapon enchanted with this spell can hurt both body and 13-15 - Head: The head’s maximum Hit Points are halved. The
spirit. If the target of an attack is a living being, then the target target’s Perception is reduced by 50%. If this brings his Perception
suffers damage as normal for the weapon but also suffers an equal below 0%, then the target is blinded.
amount of temporary POW damage. Lost POW is restored at the 16-18 - Wing: The wing’s maximum Hit Points are halved. The
rate of one point per day. A character reduced to zero POW is creature can no longer fly.
slain. If the target of the attack is a spirit, then the weapon can hit 19-20 - Tail: The tail’s maximum Hit Points are halved and any
the spirit and inflicts Magic Point damage as normal. tail attacks suffer a –50% penalty to attack.
 The baleful effects of Withering last until the spell is dismissed,
removed or the caster is slain. Other Divine Magic
The spells in this section focus on protecting against and destroying
the undead.
Wrack Dead
Instant, Rank Acolyte, Resist (Persistence), Ranged
Burn Undead
Mere death is not a barrier for the gods. Divine Magic can reach across Concentration, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Touch
the veil and cause terrible agony for unfortunate spirits.
The caster blesses a fire or other light source, transforming the mundane
This spell only works on spirits. If the caster has a personal token flames into divine fire.
of a deceased person (a fragment of the body, a treasured personal
possession and so forth) then the spell’s range is unlimited. If the This spell can be cast on any mundane fire within range, such as a
caster does not have such a connection, then the range of the spell torch, candle, camp fire or even a bonfire or burning building. For
is equal to the caster’s POW x 5 in metres. the duration of the spell, any undead creature within three metres
of the fire suffers damage to all locations as if it was standing in the
If the Persistence test to resist is failed, then the spirit suffers fire. Armour worn by the creature protects against this damage but
unimaginable agonies. The spirit suffers 1d6 points of damage and natural armour does not. If the undead creature is struck with the
a 1d6 x 10% penalty to all actions for one day after the spell is cast. fire, it takes double normal damage.
While this spell can be used as a weapon against ghosts or other
spirits, it is more commonly used to torture spirits in the afterlife Bright Weapon
who offended the priest. Duration 15, Rank Acolyte, Ranged

Wreath of Undeath The priest touches a blade, which suddenly burns with a cold white
Duration One Hour, Rank Acolyte, Touch light.

An aura of darkness surrounds the recipient, lending them the horrific The weapon blessed by this spell gains a +20% bonus to attack
vitality of the undead. rolls and inflicts +2 damage against undead.

While under the effect of this spell, the recipient gains the following Courage
abilities: Concentration, Rank Acolyte, Ranged
 Immunity to fatigue.
 +10% to Resilience tests. The priest chants a prayer in a loud, clear voice, lending courage to
 +1 AP in all locations. his allies.
 Dark Sight.
 All light sources within five metres of the recipient are reduced All members of the same cult or religion as the priest within range
by one step in intensity. gain a +10% bonus to Persistence tests to resist fear-based effects.

Venerate Dead Crumble

Instant, Rank Initiate, Ranged Instant, Rank Acolyte, Resist (Resilience), Ranged

By offering up a prayer for the dead, the caster strengthens the spirit There is a flash of light and an undead creature crumbles to dust.
in the afterlife.
This spell can only be cast on mindless undead creatures. If the
This spell only works on spirits. If the caster has a personal token target fails its Resilience test, it is instantly destroyed.
of a deceased person (a fragment of the body, a treasured personal
possession and so forth) then the spell’s range is unlimited. If the Deadlock
caster does not have such a connection, then the range of the spell Duration 5, Rank Acolyte, Ranged, Resist (Persistence)
is equal to the caster’s POW x 5 in metres.
Holding his hand toward the risen dead, the caster unleashes a pulse of
The spirit is healed of one point of damage for every point of violet light that tethers them to the ground with glowing violet ropes.
Magnitude. Its POW is increased by the Magnitude of the spell
for one day per point of Magnitude. A spirit can only benefit from This spell allows the caster to knock down a number of undead
one Venerate Dead spell at a time. creatures equal to the Magnitude of the spell prone and hold them

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 For every two Magnitude, the

undead creature suffers one point
of damage to the location struck
by the caster. Worn armour does
not protect against this damage
but natural AP does.
 For every four Magnitude, the
undead creature suffers one
point of damage to all locations
other than the one struck by the
caster. Worn armour does not
protect against this damage but
natural AP does.

Legacy Binding
Duration 15, Rank Initiate, Ranged

With a word, the caster reminds the

undead of who and what they were in
life.

Undead creatures affected by this

spell suffer a –20% penalty to all
attacks they make against creatures to
whom they would have been friendly
in life. For example, a necromancer
animates the dead of a city and sends
the zombies to attack the guards. In
life, the people who are now zombies
would probably have had no quarrel
with the guards, so Legacy Binding
would affect them. However, if one
of the corpses was a thief who hated
the guards, then the zombie made
from his corpse would be unhindered
by this spell.

there for the Duration of the spell. This causes no damage to

the undead but can leave them particularly susceptible to attack.
Lifehold
Duration 15, Rank Acolyte, Touch
Although tethered, the target(s) of this spell can still parry if able
and can only attack with Unarmed attacks with a –20% penalty if
The blessed recipient of this spell is given a moment of divine grace,
a target gets too close to them. Even insubstantial undead can be
keeping him alive in the heat of battle.
tethered by this spell, as it is designed to hold any risen creature in
place.
The first time the recipient of this spell suffers a Major Injury, it
is automatically downgraded to a Serious Injury as if the recipient
Hasten Decay had spent a Hero Point to get a Glancing Blow.
Instant, Rank Initiate, Resist (Resilience), Touch

Whispering to the worms and bacteria in the undead’s rotten frame,

Peaceful Rest
Duration One Year, Rank Acolyte, Touch
the caster calls upon them to devour the corpse, cramming a century’s
worth of decay into an instant.
For one year, this corpse is guarded against necromancy.
The effect of this spell varies depending on its Magnitude:
The recipient of this spell must be a corpse. That corpse, and the
 For every Magnitude, the undead creature suffers a –5%
spirit of the deceased who owns the corpse, cannot be the target of
penalty to all attacks and skills.
a necromantic spell until the spell wears off or is dispelled.
 Revealing Light reduces the spirit’s movement to less than zero, then the spirit
is hurled in a random direction for a number of metres equal
Duration 15, Rank Initiate, Touch
to the difference between the dice roll total and the spirit’s
movement. Spirits also suffer a –40% penalty to attacks and
By running his hand through a candle or torch-flame, the caster causes
Possession attempts.
the light to reach into the spirit world.

This spell can be cast on any light source. It increases the Stink of Death
illumination shed by the light source by one step. Furthermore, Duration one Hour, Rank Initiate, Touch
the light now illuminates spirits – invisible spirits within the area
of effect are now visible, although they shimmer and are hard to The stench of the death disturbs and angers animals. By magically
perceive. enhancing the senses of a hound or other pet, the caster can track down
and destroy the undead.
Scramble Magic
Duration 1d6 Rounds, Rank Acolyte, Ranged The recipient of Stink of Death must be an animal such as a dog or
wolf. The creature gains a +100% bonus to its Tracking skill when
The caster mutters a brief spell and a chaotic froth of energy leaps from looking for undead.
his hand into an undead creature, which begins to jerk and cavort
wildly.

Scramble Magic only works on animated undead – undead

creatures that are created and maintained by an ongoing spell.
The magic animating the creature is disrupted by this spell. The
undead is effectively helpless, unable to move, attack or parry, for
the duration of Scramble Magic.

Spirit Shield
Duration 15, Rank Initiate, Touch

A shimmering halo of divine energy flickers around the recipient’s head.

This spell guards against possession by spirits. The first possession

attempt on the recipient by any spirit automatically fails, as if the
recipient had beaten the spirit in the opposed Persistence test.

Spirit Wind
Duration Concentration, Rank Acolyte, Ranged

The caster summons up a wild storm in the spirit world, driving

spirits away.

For the duration of this spell, the caster is surrounded in the

spirit world by a wild storm of howling winds. The storm has
no manifestation or effect in the mortal world. Spirits have
their movement reduced by 4d6 metres each round. If this

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Fear & Madness in Divine Magic

If the optional rules for Fear or Madness are used, then these spells may also be available in the campaign.

Blessing of Stability
Duration 15 minutes, Rank Acolyte, Touch

The caster whispers a blessing and touches the forehead of the recipient, temporarily protecting his mind against injury.

For the duration of the spell, the recipient may reduce all Insanity losses by the Magnitude of the spell.

Curse of Madness
Permanent, Rank Rune Lord/Priest, Ranged (special), Resist (special)

The moon shines brightly down on the victim, even in the middle of the day. The world is turned upside-down.

The victim of this spell gains Insanity equal to his INT, driving him insane. The range of this spell is the caster’s
POW in miles. The caster must possess a personal token or other magical connection to the target. The target is
allowed a Resistance test each day for seven days to resist this spell – if any one of these tests is failed, then the target
is driven insane.

If the token used by the caster is destroyed, then the spell is broken and the target regains all the Sanity taken by
this spell.

Fear Ward
Duration 15 minutes, Rank Initiate, Touch

The caster chants his spell and though nothing has visibly changed, the recipient seems oddly stronger and braver.

If the recipient of this spell falls victim to fear, then he may choose to reduce the effect of the Fear by one
category (Abjectly Terrified to Terrified, Terrified to Frozen, Frozen to Shaken, Shaken to No Effect, No Effect to
Determination). Doing so ends the spell.

Moon-Touch
Instant, Rank Acolyte, Ranged, Resist (Sanity)

A pair of thin beams of white light lances from the caster’s finger to the victim’s eyes.

If the victim of this spell fails to Resist, then he gains Insanity equal to the caster’s POW.

Restore Sanity
Permanent, Rank Acolyte, Touch

White light dances around the target as the caster murmurs a soothing spell.

The recipient of this spell loses one point of Insanity for every point of Magnitude.
 Necromantic
Sorcery
Sorcery is the most flexible and adaptable form of magic but it fallen civilisation, or carry the bones of a destroyed lich that are
suffers greatly from a lack of permanent effects. A sorcerer draws still heavy with the power of undeath.
on the energy of his own mind to power his spells and if he does not
constantly maintain that flow of energy, his spells will flicker and The Skull of Gugnir: Gugnir was a lich and necromancer who
fade. It is rare for a sorcerous effect to last more than a few minutes. conquered his homeland, slew every living thing there and raised them
Divine Magic is granted by the eternal gods but sorcery lives and all up again as his undead slaves – save one. Gugnir spared the woman
dies with the sorcerer. To create even a humble zombie by sorcery he loved and she was able to destroy the lich and bring his whole
alone, the caster would have to maintain the same spell for as long charnel kingdom of the dead tumbling down. She hurled his skull into
as the zombie existed – a terrible waste of Magic Points. There the ocean but it could wash up on any shore, carrying some fragment
is an alternative, using Enchanting to make permanent undead of the lich’s terrible power.
creatures but doing this would quickly sap even the strongest
soul. Most necromancers instead become parasites, drawing on an
external force to create undead monsters.

Therefore, necromantic sorcery falls into two distinct types – spells

that have only a brief duration and then fade and spells that compel
or bind forces to make permanent effects. A necromantic sorcerer will
need to find a source of power if he is to create long-lasting undead.

Sources of
Necromantic Power
To be a successful necromantic sorcerer, a source of power
is needed. The sorcerer will tap this power source to create his
undead minions.

All power sources are rated by their POW. The sorcerer uses
the Bleed Power spell to borrow POW points from the power
source. These POW points can be invested in sorcery spells or
enchantments that require the sacrifice of permanent POW in lieu
of the sorcerer’s own characteristic. Power sources regain one point
of POW per week.

Relics
Relics are ancient artefacts of great power, or fragments of once-
mighty entities. A necromancer might draw upon the stones of a

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Dark Places Some of the more powerful necromantic spells take longer to cast
than standard sorcery spells and have a Casting Time listed in the
Dark Places are locations that are associated with the dead, such as
spell description.
graveyards or the ruins of temples to dead gods. Especially potent
locations can be tapped for power.
Bleed Power
The Wormcaves: The wormcaves are a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the Autonomous
Sacred Hill. If, as the legends say, the Sacred Hill is the burial place of
a god, then the wormcaves are where the holy maggots crawled in and Tendrils of seething green and black energy uncoil from the caster’s
out of that divine wreck. It is said that no living man can thread the power source and slink around his hands like serpents.
twisting passages of the wormcaves and that only the dead can find the
secret chamber at the heart of the hill. This spell taps the dark energies of the necromancer’s power source,
assuming he has one. Each point of Magnitude of the Bleed Power
Spirits & Demons spell drains one point of POW from the power source. This POW
is lost instantly unless the Bleed Power spell is combined with
Necromancers can bargain with spirits and demons for power.
another spell, in which case the drained POW can be spent instead
This is not the same as Spirit Magic – instead of cajoling the spirit
of the sorcerer’s own POW.
to use its powers to create undead, the sorcerer draws raw energy
from the spirit, shapes that energy using his spells and then creates
If the sorcerer has a magical connection to his power source, like
the undead himself.
a bone taken from a graveyard or a symbol of a demon patron,
then the range of this spell is increased to the caster’s POW in
Prince Serneuth: A suave and urbane demon, Serneuth manifests as
kilometres, not metres.
an idealised version of the necromancer as a youth – young, handsome,
charming, confident. It has been prophesied that one day a human
Permanent Zombies: Manipulation (Combine), Manipulation
child will be born marked with the Rune of Death and that child will
(Targets), Bleed Power (Magnitude = number of zombies), Undead
slay Serneuth. To avoid his fate, the demon intends to ensure that no
Slave. Casting Penalty: –20%, Costs 2 MP.
child is ever born again by killing all humanity.
This rote drains POW from the necromancer’s power source and
Mass Death uses it to cast the permanent version of Undead Slave on several
Places where many souls have perished are suffused with the corpses, creating Common Zombies.
energies of death and a necromancer can tap these energies. The
potency of these places fades over time, so a necromancer must
cause fresh atrocities and slaughters to fuel his power. The Power
Body Jump
Autonomous
of such a source depends on how many died. A hundred deaths
are sufficient for Power 1, 1,000 for Power 5, many thousand for
The caster’s body goes limp as his mind leaps into that of a disposable
Power 10 and millions must die for Power 20.
undead.
The Lake of Calios: In ages past, the river was held back by a dam of
The sorcerer transfers his consciousness into a mindless undead
shining crystal and a kingdom of beauty and grace dwelt in the valley
creature within range. The undead creature must be one of the
below. One dark day, the dam was shattered and the raging waters
sorcerer’s vassals or creations. The sorcerer’s POW is temporarily
were loosed. Everyone died. Today, Calios is a grey swamp, pock-
suppressed while in another body. The Magnitude of the Body
marked with ruined towers that poke out of the mire.
Jump spell determines the sorcerer’s maximum POW while in the
undead body – for example, a Magnitude 5 Body Jump gives the
Necromantic sorcerer a maximum POW of 5 while in the body of a zombie. The
sorcerer’s own body is left behind in a trance and may be inhabited
Sorcery Spells by spirits if not defended. The sorcerer’s mind returns to his own
As with all sorcery spells, these spells are each learned as individual body when the spell ends. If the sorcerer’s body is destroyed, then
skills and combined with the various Manipulation skills to his mind is destroyed when the spell ends.
tailor each casting to the situation. Common rotes (suggested
combinations of the various Manipulation spells) are listed after While in the body of an undead, the sorcerer retains all his skills,
many of the spells. spells and intellect.
 Long Jump: Manipulation (Range), Body Jump. Costs 1MP. This
rote lets the sorcerer’s mind jump a long distance. For example,
Construct Intellect
Autonomous
a sorcerer with Manipulation (range) 30% could jump up to his
POWx4 in metres.
Gesturing with his hands, the caster sculpts a mind of shadow and
hatred and then places it in the body of an undead minion.
Brain Juice
Autonomous, Instant, Resist (Resilience), Touch This spell creates artificial minds out of sorcery. Such magical
constructs have INT and even CHA but no POW. The minds
Slime gushes out the nose of the target. can learn skills or spells, can follow orders and make decisions.
Combining this spell with spells to make undead can create
This spell liquefies the brain of its target. The brain is reduced intelligent monsters like Chattering Skulls or Necrodomos.
to a pulpy greenish-white slurry, which contains a portion of
the intellect and memories that the creature had in life. If the The mind constructed by this spell has INT equal to the Magnitude
sorcerer can collect and drink this liquid, he gains 1d6 points of of the spell and skill points equal to the Magnitude x 5. The caster
INT temporarily and gains an equal number of the highest skills cannot give a mind a skill greater than one he possesses.
possessed by the creature. For example, if a sorcerer juiced a brain
and gains 4 INT, he would also gain the creature’s four highest If the sorcerer spends a point of POW permanently, the mind
skills at the skill level possessed by the creature in life. created by this spell will not vanish when the spell’s duration ends.
However, it will be destroyed if the necromancer is slain.
This spell can be cast on a living creature but this allows a Resilience
test and the Magnitude of the spell must be equal to the target’s Deathbolt
INT. If the spell is effective, then the target is slain as its brain is Autonomous, Resist (Resilience)
pulped inside its skull.
The necromancer gestures and a bolt of coruscating black death leaps
Warrior’s Bane: Manipulation (Magnitude), Manipulation from his hand. stripping the very flesh from a foe.
(Combine), Diminish (Int), Brain Juice. Casting Penalty: –20%,
Costs 2MP. This reduces the target’s INT by the Magnitude of This spell inflicts 1d6 points of damage per two points of Magnitude. If
the spell, then kills him if his remaining INT is less than or equal the target of the spell is killed by this attack, then the target is instantly
to the Magnitude of the spell. A Magnitude 6 spell, for instance, transformed into a zombie under the control of the caster. The newly
could kill an INT 12 character. animated zombie lasts for one day per point of Magnitude.

Burning Shadows Detect Undeath

Concentration Autonomous

Concentrating, the caster makes all the shadows around him burn like The world seems to grow darker and the heart of that darkness is
banked coals. nearby…

Burning Shadows affects all dark areas within a number of metres This spell detects the strength of any Power Sources suitable for tapping
equal to the caster’s POW. The spell causes the shadows to burn, using the Bleed Power spell within range. This effect is stopped by a
inflicting damage on any creature within a darkened area. The thick substance such as metal, earth or stone that is at least one metre
damage inflicted by the spell depends on the darkness. thick. It is also blocked by Countermagic Shield, though the caster
will know the target is somewhere within range (though not its precise
Illumination Example Damage location) and that it is being protected by Countermagic Shield.
Partial Darkness Cavern mouth, within 3 x 1 point per
radius of illuminating item. round Hunting for Power: Manipulation (Duration), Manipulation
Dark Large cavern illuminated 1d3 points per (Range), Detect Undeath. Costs 1MP. By prolonging the Detect
only by embers, within 5 x round Undeath spell, the sorcerer can cover a great deal of ground when
radius of illuminating item. searching for a power source.
Pitch Black Sealed room with stone 1d6 points per
walls, cavern many miles round Dominate (Species)
underground. Concentration, Resist (Persistence)

Armour protects against this damage and the damage is applied This spell is described in RuneQuest II. Necromancers sometimes
to a different location at random each round. Creatures of fire or use Dominate Zombie or Dominate Skeleton but the Master
shadow are immune to the effects of this spell. Undead spell (see page 19) is more efficacious in most cases and is

18
 19

a more generally applicable spell. Dominate Spirit is also used in

conjunction with Evoke Ghost.
Imbue Necrotic Energy
Autonomous

Form/Set (Substance) The caster touches a living creature, filling it with thanotic energy.
Autonomous
This spell can be cast on a humanoid or an animal. The recipient of
The most common necromantic uses are the two spells Form/ the spell gains a 5% bonus to Resilience and +1 Strength for every
Set Flesh and Form/Set Bone, which allow a necromancer to point of Magnitude used in the spell and does not lose combat actions
rework a body prior to animation (the spells do not work on for suffering a Serious Wound. Furthermore, if the victim suffers a
animate creatures, even only barely animate ones like zombies or Major wound, then that location is instantly animated as an undead
necromatons). body part. If the body part is a limb, then it is instantly restored to ½
its full Hit Points; if the body part is the abdomen, chest or head, then
These spells can be used to repair damaged corpses. Coupled with the recipient becomes an imbued zombie if he fails his Resilience test.
Suppress Animation spells, it can be used to heal zombies and Undead body parts do not heal normally but can be repaired.
skeletons.
Lifesight
Graveburst Autonomous
Autonomous
The necromancer lays his hands on the recipient’s eyes, which turn
The caster speaks a word of command and a grave spills forth its milky white for the duration of the spell.
contents.
The recipient gains the Lifesight trait for the duration of the
This spell causes a grave to turn inside out and push anything spell.
buried in it to the surface. It works on mass graves too. For the
purposes of the spell, a ‘grave’ is a patch of earth that contains a
corpse of some once-living animal. The spell can also be used to
Macabre Dance
Autonomous
open coffins.
The undead twitch and leap as dark power animates their limbs.
Hide Life
Autonomous This spell only works on undead creatures. For every three points
of Magnitude (round up), the target immediately gets one extra
The caster transfers a tiny portion of his life energy to an object, which Combat Action per round.
glows with a soft blue light.
Attack, my Zombie Minions!: Manipulation (Magnitude),
When this spell is cast, the caster loses one Hit Point from Manipulation (Targets), Macabre Dance. 2MP. This spell gives
his head, chest and abdomen. Those Hit Points are magically each of its targets at least one extra Combat Action each round
stored in the target object. When the spell ends, the life returns and even an unextended spell lasts for a number of minutes equal
to the caster. If the caster has been slain in the intervening time to the caster’s POW.
but not dismembered, the returned Hit Points are sufficient to
restore to the edge of life. The caster is still severely wounded
and probably at significantly negative Hit Points but he is at Master Undead
least still alive. Autonomous, Resist (Persistence)

The target object must be of ENC 5 or less. If the object is Raising his hand, the sorcerer demands fealty from the dead.
destroyed before the spell’s duration runs out, the stored Hit Points
are lost. The caster may cancel this spell freely before its duration The Magnitude of this spell must be equal to the POW of the
runs out. undead creature, making it primarily useful for controlling
mindless undead. The creature becomes the caster’s permanent
Note that because this spell keeps the caster alive after he has been vassal, meaning that it will obey the caster’s commands (free-willed
‘killed’, it also ensures that his sorcery spells do not stop when he undead will feel loyalty towards the caster and will try to obey the
is slain. Under normal circumstances, killing a sorcerer also ends command but are not robbed of their free will or independence by
all his active spells. this spell). Mindless undead cannot attempt to resist this spell.
 If the target of the spell is already the vassal of another necromancer, the damage is fire based, it is also comprised of bone chips and
then use that necromancer’s Persistence instead of the vassal’s melting flesh, so mundane armour still protects against it. No
persistence for the purposes of resisting this spell. matter how much damage is rolled, the corpse is destroyed in the
casting of the spell.
You Will All Serve Me!: Manipulation (Targets), Master Undead,
1 MP. By adding targets, the sorcerer can claim the loyalty of This spell can be cast on animated undead but not imbued ones.
multiple undead creatures at once, but if he has the skill to turn the
spell into an area effect, then he can claim a whole crypt’s worth of Raise Undead
undeath with a single incantation. Autonomous, Casting Time One Night

Necrotic Bolt A new horror awakens under the caster’s sorcerous ministrations.
Autonomous, Resist (Evade)
This is a more potent version of the Undead Slave spell, capable
A blast of roiling shadow force leaps from the caster’s hand. Everything of creating greater undead. The creatures created depend on the
touched by it rots and decays. Magnitude of the spell, as follows.
1: Zombie of SIZ 10 or less, Necromaton of SIZ3 or less
This spell fires a blast of dark energy, which inflicts one point of 2: Zombie of SIZ 11–20, Necromaton of SIZ4–10, Strangling
damage per point of Magnitude to one location. Undead creatures Shade
are healed by an equal amount if struck by this spell, applying all 3: Zombie of SIZ 21–30, Necromaton of SIZ11–20, Necropede
the healing to their most damaged location (roll randomly among 4: Zombie of SIZ 31–40, Mummy, Necromaton of SIZ21–30
injured locations if several are equally damaged). 5: Wraith, Tomb Guardian

Bolster Undead: Manipulation (Magnitude), Manipulation If the caster permanently sacrifices POW equal to the Magnitude
(Targets), Manipulation (Combine), Necrotic Bolt, Macabre of the spell, then the creature created by this spell will not collapse
Dance. Casting Penalty –20%, Casting Time 5, 3MP. This heals when the spell’s duration ends. However, it will be destroyed if the
the undead creatures for a number of points equal to the Magnitude necromancer is slain. If the spell is cast on multiple targets at once,
and gives them at least one extra Combat Action per round for the then POW must be sacrificed for each of them.
duration of the spell.
Permanent Undead: Manipulation (Combine), Manipulation
Deathly Hand: Manipulation (Duration), Manipulation (Targets), Bleed Power (Magnitude varies), Raise Undead. Casting
(Magnitude), Necrotic Touch. 2 MPs. Having a Necrotic Touch Penalty: –20%, Costs 2 MP.
spell running gives the sorcerer a last-ditch defence but also lets This rote drains POW from the necromancer’s power source and
him quickly prop up any damaged undead. uses it to cast the permanent version of Raise Undead on several
targets.
Turn the Tide: Manipulation (Magnitude), Manipulation (Targets),
Necrotic Bolt. 2MP. Adding targets lets the sorcerer fire wildly into Ritual of the Lich
combat. If he hits living beings, then they take damage but if he Autonomous, Casting Time Seven Nights
hits his undead minions, they are healed. This is a very flexible
combination for the sorcerer who uses zombies to protect him Over the course of a long and powerful ritual, the necromancer
from enemy fighters. transforms himself into an immortal lich.

Pyreburst To cast this spell, the necromancer needs to sacrifice POW each
Autonomous night equal to the POW he will possess as a lich. As no necromancer
wants to be an impotent spellcaster for the rest of eternity, this spell
The caster turns one of the most solemn moments – the cremation of the is normally cast using multiple Bleed Power spells to transform the
dead – into a deadly weapon against his foes with a withering red gaze. necromancer into a powerful lich.

When successful, this spell turns a single corpse into a flaming The ritual takes three hours each night, during which time the
bomb that showers an area in burning debris. The corpse explodes caster must symbolically strip away his mortality. On the first
in an area equal to one metre per 5 points of SIZ (round up) of night, the caster must give up all mortal fears and doubts by facing
the corpse. Anything caught in the explosion suffers 3D6 fire- his worst fears. On the second, he must destroy his most cherished
damage distributed evenly amongst all Hit Locations. Although possession. On the third night, he must leave any cults he belongs

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to. On the fourth night, he must reject the gods. On the fifth
night, he must abandon or slay his kinfolk and friends. On the
Shadow Door
Autonomous
sixth night, he must give up his most beloved memories of life
and love – and on the last night, he must die, to rise again as an
The caster transforms a shadow into a portal that he can step
immortal lich.
through.

Sacrifice The recipient of Shadow Door may, when he next moves, teleport
Autonomous, Resist (Resilience) up to the caster’s POW in metres as long as he starts and finishes
the teleportation in an area of thick shadow.
The sorcerer drives his dagger into a victim’s chest, tapping their power.
Spirit Wrench
Autonomous

Defying the will of the gods, the caster calls back a spirit from the
afterworld.

This spell requires at least part of a corpse. When cast, it calls up

the spirit that once inhabited that body. If that spirit is already
present in this world as a ghost, wraith or other undead, then the
spirit is aware of the attempt to summon it and will normally
return to its body immediately.

If the spirit is in the afterlife and is willing to return, then it appears

as a ghost or wraith. If it is in the afterlife and unwilling to return,
then all this spell creates is a ghostling. In either case, the conjured
spirit will return to the afterlife when the spell expires.

The sorcerer may sacrifice a point of POW to tether the spirit to

the mortal world for as long as the body fragment used to summon
the spirit and the sorcerer both exist.

Séance: Manipulate (Targets), Costs 1 MP.

It is possible to cast this spell without a corpse but this requires a
séance. To perform a séance, the caster needs either someone who
knew the target in life, or a personal item of the target. He also
needs participants in the ritual casting. The participants must all
be targeted by the Spirit Wrench spell. The caster and the ritualists
must expend a total of Magic Points equal to five times the POW
of the target spirit to cast the spell.

Strip Flesh
Autonomous, Resist (Resilience)

This spell can only be cast on a helpless or unconscious victim and The sorcerer gestures towards his target and a tiny piece of skin peels
the caster must use a dagger or other suitable weapon to murder from the enemy’s flesh. Then, like a tapestry being picked apart by an
the victim. The victim takes a Major Injury to the chest and the idle child, the victim simply falls apart.
Resilience test to resist the spell is also the Resilience test to avoid
dying. If the victim dies, then the caster gains the victim’s Magic The caster must pick a Hit Location on a target when casting this
Points. The caster is limited in the number of Magic Points he can spell. The Magnitude of this spell must be equal to or greater than
gain through Sacrifice; the spell can only increase his Magic Points the maximum Hit Points of that location. If the Resilience test is
to double his normal limit. Excess points above this limit disappear failed, then all the flesh is stripped from that location, inflicting
at the rate of one Magic Point per minute. enough damage to inflict a Major Injury. Armour protects against
this spell. For example, casting Strip Flesh on a target’s head (6 Hit
Points) requires a Magnitude 6 spell and inflicts enough damage
 to reduce that location to –6 Hit Points. If the target is uninjured,
this would be 12 Hit Points. If the target is wearing a helmet
Vivification
Autonomous
(AP5), then the damage is reduced to 7 Hit Points. The damage is
inflicted at the rate of one Hit Point per round.
Stroking the dead rat, the sorcerer brings it back to life with a mere
thought.
Suppress Animation
Autonomous Vivification allows the caster to animate a dead body or body part
of SIZ up to the Magnitude of the spell.
A wave of dull green energy flows out from the caster and wraps itself
around the limbs of an undead creature. The energy sinks into the
dead creature, temporarily snuffing out its magical energies.
Whispers of Command
Autonomous
This spell only works on animated undead creatures, like skeletons
The caster whispers a brief command and his undead servants obey.
or zombies. The creature’s magical energies are temporarily
suppressed, turning them back into corpses for the duration of the
When this spell is cast, the caster can whisper a command that is
spell. When the spell ends, the undead return to ‘life’ instantly.
transmitted to one undead vassal per point of Magnitude, allowing
the caster to order his undead servants around from a distance.
Transfer Undead Power The caster can also order the vassal to speak, allowing him to relay
Autonomous messages through the dead.

The caster imbues an undead creature with his own life force.

The target of this spell must be an undead vassal of the caster.

The target may reroll any one test it makes this round.

Undead Slave
Autonomous

Animated by dark power, the corpse rises up like an eager puppet.

This spell allows the sorcerer to create a common zombie or

skeleton. The Magnitude of the spell must be equal to or greater
than the target corpse’s SIZ/3. For example, a Magnitude 4
would be enough to animate a SIZ12 zombie.

If the sorcerer spends a point of POW

permanently, the zombie or skeleton created
by this spell will not collapse when the spell’s
duration ends. However, it will be destroyed if
the necromancer is slain.

Quick Undead Horde: Manipulation

(Magnitude), Manipulation (Targets),
Undead Slave, 2MP. This creates multiple
zombies or skeletons. The trick is to ensure that
the corpses are of a roughly uniform SIZ.

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Necromantic
Cults
Necromancy is a shadow art, taught and practised in secret and darkness are seen as criminals or monsters, so too are necromancers
under cover of night. Both those who raise the dead and those despised and hunted in most civilised lands. By joining together as
who fight the undead operate in hiding and these cults must be a cult, necromancers can aid each other in hiding their experiments
discovered and sought out by those committed to their cause. and gain temporal power in the land. Necromantic cults are often
disguised as guilds of chirugeons and doctors, or as orders of
monks or gravediggers.
Necromantic Cults
Of all the magical arts, necromancy is perhaps the most likely to Secondly, some necromancers draw their power from another source,
foster the solitary genius, the self-taught artist who finds his way such as a god. Those who worship the powers of death venerate their
through experimentation and intuition. The fundamentals of grim gods with rituals just like any other divine cult.
necromancy are easy – the physical difference between a living being
and a corpse is just a little spark of vitality and it is a simple matter Thirdly, out of a desire for power. By combining their magic, a
to substitute magical vitality for the natural energies of life. Causing group of necromancers can create the mighty undead monsters and
limbs to twitch and a corpse to shamble is a simple spell compared wreak great changes on the world. Such cults are fundamentally
to summoning elementals or commanding the primal rune-forces. unstable, as each necromancer knows that in his dark soul, he has
the capacity to conquer his fellows and rule alone for all eternity.
Few necromancers take on apprentices or students. Secretly, a One night, the necromancers will turn on each other and seek to
necromancer wishes to defeat death and prolong his existence for transform their rivals into undead slaves…but until that night, the
all eternity, which is quite at odds with one of the chief reasons for combined power of a necromantic cult is nigh-unstoppable.
taking on an apprentice – to pass on one’s skills and knowledge to
the next generation, so they will not be lost when the master dies. A Several sample necromantic cults of each type are described in this
necromancer might have assistants, hunchbacked minions, pawns, chapter. In most cases, joining a necromantic cult requires that
even lesser necromancer servants but never a real apprentice. the applicant find an existing acolyte and prove his worth. Fees to
necromantic cults are rarely paid with silver or gold but with dark
Not all necromancers are wholly obsessed with their art. Some use deeds and body parts…
necromancy as another man might use a sword or poison – as a tool
to effect change. A conspiracy of noblemen might use necromancy
to raise up the corpse of the last king to lend legitimacy to their The Order of the Shadow Sun
rebellion but they are not true necromancers, merely dabblers. Necromancy as a path to enlightenment.
Such conspiracies might form cults and secret orders and pass on
the little they know of necromancy but they will never create a The Shadow Sun Brothers believe that there are two sides to reality
necromantic masterpiece. – life and death – and that there is no cause to esteem one above
the other. Existence before dying should be identical to existence
There are three reasons why true necromancers might band afterwards, only one takes place in the material world and the other
together into a cult. takes place in the spirit world. The Shadow Sun of their name
refers to the lightless spirit sun that is the theoretical counterpart
Firstly, out of fear – necromancers are mistrusted and hated by to the sun that shines by day in the mortal world. All Shadow Sun
common folk. Just as those who dabble in demonology or spells of Brothers agree on this point.
 What they do not agree on, though, is which side is corrupted for another ambitious necromancer. The Ring of Bone is active
and which one is true, or if both life and death have been twisted. across the world and defeat in one place just means they will try
Some Shadow Sun cultists believe that it is the spirit world that again elsewhere. The incredible resilience of the cult is due to the
has become corrupted and distorted by necromantic interference Middle Circle, who steadfastly hold the Ring of Bone together and
or even by the existence of the gods themselves. Others argue that ensure that there is always magic and money available to the next
it is the mortal world that has been robbed of much of its magic would-be conqueror.
and that the dead have the right of it. Shadow Suns have a great
knowledge of necromancy but it is hard to predict what a particular Runes: Darkness, Death.
cultist might do with it. Some Shadow Suns hunt down ‘renegade’
necromancers, as they believe that the necromancer’s activities are Worshippers: Monsters and evil-doers.
spiritually harmful. Others are necromancers themselves, using
their undead minions to remake the mortal world. Cult Skills: Influence, Persistence, Stealth, Streetwise.

Runes: Spirit, Harmony, Death. Worshipper Duties: Finding ways to aid the Ring of Bone;
conquering the world.
Worshippers: Philosophers, existentialists, mystics.
Cult Spells: Deathbolt, Raise Undead, Restore Undead, Whispers
Cult Skills: Disguise, Healing, Stealth, Lore (theology). of Command.

Worshipper Duties: Observing the balance between life and Special Benefits
death; exploring the nature of reality. Initiates and acolytes of the cult must pay 25% of their worldly
goods to the cult.
Cult Spells: Legacy Binding, Open the White Gate, Spirit War.
Acolytes may be ‘promoted’ to the Middle Ring when they die, to
Special Benefits serve the Ring of Bone for all eternity.
All cult members must swear an oath never to injure another
Shadow Sun member and to share lore. Breaking either oath is Runelords and Runepriests of the Bone Ring gain +10% Persistence
grounds for execution by the cult. and Resilience for the purposes of resisting spells.

Acolytes of the Shadow Sun can see into the Spirit World. The Knights Indomitable
Loyal beyond Death.
Runelords of the Shadow Sun may return from the dead if slain
but crossing from the spirit world to the mortal requires that their Many tales are told of the Knights Indomitable: how they held
original body be healed and intact and can take weeks or months. the Dawn Gate at the siege of Sevrast, how their charge turned
the tide in the Battle Against Worms, how nine knights defeated
The Ring of Bone half a thousand trollkin in the marshes near Akelbury, how they
Lords of Darkness have sworn to be faithful beyond death to their oaths and how no
matter how many knights fall in battle, the order has always sent
The Ring of Bone is a secret cult of ambitious and cruel aid to those who need it.
necromancers, dedicated to the overthrow of all civilised realms
and races and the conquest of the world. The Ring is divided If the common folk knew the truth of the Indomitable Oath, then
into three circles. First, there is the Lower Circle of initiates, they might not cheer so lustily when the knights go riding by. Barely
which is by far the largest of the three. The Lower Circle serve one in ten of the Knights Indomitable is a living man and most of
the Ring of Bone in the hopes of being promoted to the High
those are preserved like dried fruit with necromantic potions and
Circle. Next is the Middle Circle, who co-ordinate the Ring’s
activities, provide training and bind the fractious order together. sorcery. The other nine are undead, raised by necromancy to fight
The Middle Circle has a few mortal members but most are spirits, again another day. The Knights use necromancy in the defence of
ghosts or necromantic constructs who are bound to be loyal to the life and justice – but how long can they cling to their ideals as their
cult. Finally, there is the High Circle, where the leaders plan the ranks fill with grinning skeletons and armoured zombies?
strategies of the cult.
Runes: Metal, Law, Death.
In truth, the High Circle is never able to agree on anything and
few Bone Lords last long. A necromancer embarks on some grand Worshippers: Supernaturally loyal knights.
scheme – say, raising the ghosts of everyone who ever died at sea
– and uses the Ring of Bone’s resources to put his plan into action. Cult Skills: 1H Sword, Shield, Riding, Lore (Military Tactics),
He is defeated and slain, opening up a place on the High Circle Persistence.

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Worshipper Duties: Upholding the ancient oaths of the Knights house them and all that coin adds up quickly. Paying freemen is
Indomitable. even more expensive, so what is the modern entrepreneur to do
when faced with a seemingly insurmountable labour problem?
Cult Spells: Raise Undead, Restore Undead, Imbue Necrotic
Energy. Answer? Zombies!

Special Benefits Zombies! The risen dead! They are not that bright but they are
The Knights Indomitable own castles and waystations across the stronger than a horse and will toil night and day with minimal
land and members may request shelter and aid from these keeps. supervision required. The cost of a single zombie may seem high
Due to the good reputation of the knights, all members get a +10% but that same zombie will be working for your grandson 100 years
bonus to Influence tests in civilised areas. hence. They do not tire, they do not sicken, they do not complain
and the stench is easily dealt with (ask about our deals on lemon-
All members of the Knights Indomitable are given a suit of plate scented zombies!)
armour when they are initiated into the order.
Zombies! Buy one today and be assured of excellent afterlife service
from the professional Guild of Animators, an order of sorcerers
The School of Night dedicated to providing you with the best in post-mortem workers.
Rats in the walls of civilisation For a limited time, we are offering cash for corpses – we will pay
for funeral expenses and a memorial stone and you get cold hard
The School of Night is a loose association of sorcerers and scholars cash (and we guarantee that the corpse will be shipped to a distant
who study forbidden and dangerous magics. The School of Night guild-hall so you do not run into your father’s body tilling the field
is a secret, underground organisation – most instruction is done by next to your house…).
encoded letters and members meet in person only rarely and then
always in disguise. Remember, you cannot take it with you, so spend it wisely and buy
a zombie today!
Members of the School are made to swear an oath that they shall
only use their knowledge for good works and for the benefit of Runes: Magic, Trade, Death.
the living but the temptations of necromancy are great indeed and
many stray down the dark path. Worshippers: Morticians, charlatans.

Runes: Magic, Darkness, Death. Cult Skills: Evaluate, First Aid, Influence, Streetwise.

Worshippers: Scholars and ambitious necromancers. Worshipper Duties: Obtaining raw materials, making sales,
making zombies, maintaining the undead.
Cult Skills: Lore (theology), Influence, Streetwise, Healing.
Sorcery Spells: Detect Undead, Raise Undead, Restore Undead,
Worshipper Duties: Gathering books of ancient lore. Master Undead.

Sorcery Spells: Master Undead, Spirit Wrench, Vivification,

Undead Slave. Special Benefits
Unlike other cults, members of the Guild of Animators do not
need to pay membership fees. Instead, they are employed by the
Special Benefits organisation and are paid a wage commensurate with their duties.
Initiates and acolytes of the School of Night must pay their master A Guild member can expect to make a comfortable living.
in the school at least 500 silver per month to cover the cost of
tuition.
Godsdeath Church
The School of Night has a large number of potent grimoires and All Things Must Die.
scrolls that may be made available to members. Masters of the
School of Night are usually bequeathed with such libraries when The primary tenet of the Godsdeath Church is that all things must
elder members die. die – and that includes the gods.

The death of a living creature is a transformation, a release of

Guild of Animators energy into the world. It is part of a natural cycle – just as a river
Cut-Price Carrion! flows into the ocean, so does a man’s life flow into death. Those
who would resist this cycle, like foolish mortals who try to prolong
Slavery is sinful and more trouble that it is worth anyway. Slaves their lives with spells and potions, are enemies of all creation (This
die or get sick or run away and you have to feed and cloth and commandment does not apply to the undead, who have already
 passed through the cycle and are thus seen as having entered a Runepriests of the Godsdeath Church may ‘steal’ one point of
perfected state). A mass release of life energy is preferable to the POW when they kill a foe. This stolen POW can be dedicated to
slow trickle of death, so the Godsdeath church sponsors wars and any divine spell already prepared, increasing the amount of POW
catastrophes but their true aim is to slay the gods. effectively dedicated by one.

The gods are, the cult believes, sustained by their worshippers. Runelords of the Godsdeath Church may steal 1d6 points of POW
Remove the worshippers and the god dies, releasing its life energy to dedicate to their own spells from a fallen foe.
into the realm of death. One day, the Godsdeath cult will open
those divine floodgates and bring about a new age of the world. Chamberlains of the Undying King
They do this not out of cruelty, or hate, or greed but because death Bureaucrats of the Dead Kingdoms
is holy and they must do what is right. From their grey cathedrals,
the cultists of the Godsdeath solemnly and carefully plan the Many centuries ago (but within the memory of the undying king),
annihilation of all that is, to bring about all that might be when the king fell sick, poisoned by a rival courtier. Every doctor and priest
the old order is swept away. in the kingdom came to his bedside with potions, spells and charms,
with treasures and talismans and recipes for curing poison but the king
Runes: Disorder, Death. grew weaker and weaker. Then, a stranger came to the kingdom and
she went to the king’s bedside and said, ‘o king, this is the hour of your
Worshippers: Apocalyptic cultists. death and you shall never rise from this bed again as a living man.’
Cult Skills: Sword, Stealth, Persistence, Lore (specific theology). On hearing this, the king wept and all his courtiers with him, for
the king was without an heir and swords would be drawn with
Worshipper Duties: Devising methods to destroy the gods. his last breath. The stranger raised a bone-white hand and said ‘o
king, this is the hour of your rebirth, for no man need perish fruitlessly
Cult Spells: All appropriate Divine Magic Spells. under the sign of the Sleeper’. Then, using her arts, she raised up the
undying king and whispered to him the sign of the Sleeper that
Special Benefits was to be the banner of his new eternal dynasty.
Initiates of the Godsdeath Church gain 1d6 Magic Points when
they kill a foe. Excess Magic Points are lost at the rate of one per Since that day, the Dead Kingdoms have prospered. When a noble
hour. This ability can be used once a day. dies, the august necromantic order of the Chamberlains raise him up
according to his station. A baron might become a ghost, a duke might
Acolytes of the Godsdeath Church gain 2d6 Magic Points when be exalted as a vampire. The lower classes are animated as zombies,
they kill a foe and this ability can be used three times a day. although for reasons of economy the Chamberlains use controlled
releases of Baron Samethan’s Plague instead of spells in most cases.

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As more than four-fifths of the population of the Dead Kingdoms is, inside the shrine fill the whole building with burning white light, a
well, dead, the Chamberlains are the only possible route for advancement light of holy purity that no unclean thing can withstand.
among the living. The few children born in the Dead Kingdoms each
year study necromancy feverishly, hoping to attain a high noble rank Runes: Light, Law, Spirit.
before they die (and plagues grow more common with every passing
summer, as more of the peasantry rots in the hot sun). One day, they Worshippers: Holy warriors battling the dead.
will sit on the cold stone benches with the rest of the Noble Dead, or else
toil in the dusty fields with the zombie rabble but either way, they will Cult Skills: First Aid, Persistence, Perception, 1H Sword or 1H
serve the Undying King beneath the banner of the Sleeper. Hammer.

Runes: Stasis, Law, Death. Worshipper Duties: Destroying the undead, protecting the
faithful.
Worshippers: Court Necromancers in a land of the dead.
Cult Spells: Revealing Light, Spirit War, Fanaticism.
Cult Skills: Influence, Healing, Lore (nobility).
Special Benefits
Worshipper Duties: Maintaining the government and society of Initiates of the Sacred Light gain +10% to all Persistence tests.
the Dead Kingdoms.
Acolytes may inflict one extra point of damage against undead
Cult Spells: Raise Undead, Restore Undead. creatures.

Special Benefits Runepriests conjure holy fire around their fists or a weapon at the
Initiates of the order are given training in all the necromantic arts, cost of 3MP. This holy fire lasts for 15 minutes and inflicts 1d4
as well as the proper procedures for greeting an earl, saying farewell extra damage to undead creatures.
to an earl, enchanting an earl, burying an earl and greeting an earl
after he emerges from the crypt in which you buried him. Runelords may throw holy fire. Each bolt of holy fire costs 3 MP
and inflicts 2d6 damage to the location struck. The Runelord
Acolytes are always accompanied by an honour guard of up to six must make a successful Throw attack. Armour protects against
zombies or skeletons, which will be replaced if destroyed. this damage.

Masters of the order gain a +20% to Influence tests in the Dead Corpsetearers
Kingdoms. Should we fall, we fall forever!

Undead Hunter Cults In certain grim lands in the far north, beneath grey clouds
never pierced by true sunlight, the dead walk. In these lands,
To destroy that which is already dead requires luck, skill – and often,
wisdom. Many undead creatures have unique weaknesses. A vampire necromancers are more common than honest men and no grave
must be staked, an ashwalker cannot step on unburned ground, a ghost goes undisturbed for long. Unless a man is very lucky indeed, he
has its anchors and so forth. Those who hunt the dead sometimes will not go to the ancestors when he dies. Instead, his spirit will
share these fragments of lore, hoping that some half-remembered fact be tethered to his rotting corpse and he will walk abroad as an
will give another hunter an edge against the undead. undead horror.

The Corpsetearer brothers are berserker warriors, heedlessly

Bearers of the Sacred Light throwing themselves into the fray. Neither the walking dead nor
Back, Foul Undead Fiend! the threat of death holds any fear for them. The one thing the
Corpsetearers fear is being turned into one of the undead and
The Bearers of the Sacred Light are a cult dedicated to the it is from this fear that the Corpsetearers get their name. If a
destruction of the undead. They do not serve a single deity but Corpsetearer dies, his brothers are honour-bound to destroy his
draw their members from the followers of several gods of light, body utterly, either by ripping it asunder and feeding the bones to
truth, healing and law. The charge of the Sacred Light is to burn the hounds, or with the burning boat funeral of a chieftain.
the curse of undeath from the land and its bright lantern-bearers
and holy warriors shine like falling stars as they descend into the Some weak and foolish southern dogs say that the Corpsetearers
depths of the earth to battle the risen dead. are as inhuman and monstrous as the undead that they fight and
accuse them of being cannibals or worse. Let the outsiders fear
Shrines of the Sacred Light are pyramid-shaped structures topped the Corpsetearers – when the dead come, the Corpsetearers will
with a burning lamp like a light-house. Silver mirrors and crystals be ready!
 Runes: Beast, Man, Disorder. Cult Skills: Perception, Lore (undead), Stealth, Streetwise,
Tracking.
Worshippers: Frenzied barbarians who hate the undead.
Worshipper Duties: Investigating and defeating the undead.
Cult Skills: Shield, 1H Axe, 2H Axe, Dodge, First Aid, Athletics.
Cult Spells: Detect (Undead), Second Sight, Undead Bane.
Worshipper Duties: Killing the dead; ensuring other corpsetearers
do not become undead. Special Benefits
Gravewatchers gain one Hero Point when they encounter an
Cult Spells: Scramble Magic, Shatter Bone, Stink of Death, undead creature (or indications that an undead creature is nearby).
Strength. They may not gain further Hero Points in this fashion until the
undead creature is destroyed or banished.
Special Benefits
If a Corpsetearer dies, then his body must be destroyed by other
Corpsetearers. If a Corpsetearer is severely wounded and his ultimate
fate is unclear, then he must be dismembered. If a Corpsetearer Necromantic Cults in
becomes undead, then any Corpsetearer who was with him when
he died are dishonoured and exiled from the order. Glorantha
Few cultures in Glorantha tolerate open use of necromancy.
Initiates of the Corpsetearers gain a +5% bonus to all attacks Trafficking with ghosts and honouring the dead is acceptable but
against the undead. raising up undead monsters and binding the spirits of the once-
living is beyond the law. In the barbarian belt of Genertala, the
Acolytes of the Corpsetearers gain +1 Hit Points to all locations. Humakt death-cult is opposed to all forms of undeath. Civilised
regions like Dara Happa also ban and suppress necromancy.
Runepriests and Runelords of the Corpsetearers gain the Battle In distant Vithela, the cannibal cult of Saligor practises several
Fury legendary ability for free. forms of necromancy that are tolerated but not encouraged by
the God Learners.

Solemn Order of the Gravewatch In Brithos, the people are made virtually immortal by sorcery and
When The Dead Rise, We Shall Be Waiting. so there is little scope for necromancy. It is rumoured that they
do animate their dead as skeletal servants and other stories claim
The Solemn Order of the Gravewatch is a loose association of that everyone in Brithos is actually dead and their ‘immortality’ is
those who have dealt with the undead in the past and are all too nothing more than necromantic preservation.
cognisant of the danger posed by such horrors. One zombie can
spawn dozens more; one vampire can cut a bloody swathe through Neither of the two great empires of the Second Age rely on
a city unless it is stopped dead. necromancy. It is almost unknown among the Wyrm’s Friends
– the dragonnewt cycle of rebirth that informs EWF belief has no
One must be invited to join the Gravewatchers by an existing place for interactions with the dead and EWF magic is more likely
member. This honour is usually extended after an undead to blow up undead than raise up undead. Those experimenting
creature as been slain – if the other members of the hunting party with the Great Dragon Project have dabbled in Necromancy but
acted with courage and competence, then the Gravewatcher overall the EWF has no interest in death.
reveals himself and offers them membership in the Solemn
Order. Gravewatchers are sworn to keep vigilant and to battle Among the sorcerers of the Middle Sea Empire, necromancy is
the undead wherever they arise. just another field of sorcery to study, although it is considered
a little outmoded compared to the wonders of progressive God
Gravewatchers rarely meet and have no shrines or temples. They Learning. The Order of Thanotic Inquiry specialises in contacting
are a secret order. Some Gravewatchers are obvious – a wandering and interrogating the dead and has proved useful when stealing
hunter, laden down with stakes and bone knives, with the runes of myths from other cultures. However, the illegal Order of Gark (see
Death tattooed on his shaved skull is obviously a Gravewatcher but page 57 of Cults of Glorantha, Volume II) has infiltrated the Order
a fat baker or old librarian could equally have battled the undead in the past, which led to Thanotic Inquiry being censured and
and been honoured with membership. the study of necromancy being quietly dropped from the curricula
in several universities. Research continues into necromancy at
Runes: Spirit, Truth, Death. the fringes of the Empire, in Pamaltela and in the Clanking City,
where mechanised necromancy is creating cybernetic zombies of
Worshippers: Secretive monster hunters. great power.

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Among the inhuman races, necromancy is almost unknown among

elves (who are part of the seasonal cycle), dragonnewts (who are
Initiate (Vessel) Membership
Requirements: The initiate must permit the vampire leader of
reborn) and dwarfs (who conscientiously recycle). The trolls are
the temple to feed from his blood on a regular basis.
adept necromancers, using zombies in battle. Chaos, too, makes
use of necromancy. Cults like Mallia (see Cults of Glorantha II,
Special Note: There is no fee for joining such a cult – indeed,
page 65) and Zorak Zoran (Cults of Glorantha I, page 72) also use
Vivamort cults offer shelter and power to the dispossessed.
necromancy extensively. Other cults, like Ty Kora Tak (Cults of
Gloratha I, page 56) have great authority over the dead but do not
raise them up. Acolyte (Minion) Membership
Requirements: Commanding the initiates, aiding the vampire.
The Cult of Thanatar (Cults of Glorantha II, page 98) is perhaps
the most infamous and most feared necromancer cult in Glorantha Benefits: Long association with vampires has given the acolyte
but there are other orders dedicated to necromancy, some of which some powers over the blood. Acolytes of Thanatar may double
are described here. their natural healing rate.

Despite the lack of any widespread cult that supports necromancy, Vampire (Priest) Membership
the undead are common in Glorantha. Wild magic cascades Requirements: Must be a vampire.
through the world and ghosts as well as corporeal undead appear
in places of magical power or tragedy.
Order of Thanotic Inquiry
Death is but a barrier.
Cult of Vivamort
The Blood Drinkers. The Thanotic Inquirers are a school of Middle Sea necromancy
that specialises in extracting information from the dead. The
Vivamort was a great spirit in the Underworld, a guardian of order began in Jrustela, before the appearance of the Abiding
the secret of Death and a friend to lost souls but he was gravely Book. Several would-be necromancers fled the more restrictive
wounded in the Gods’ War and feared annihilation. He sacrificed atmosphere of Seshnela to pursue their researches into death
his honour and bargained with Chaos, who gave him the power to in the wilderness of the southern isle. With the Abiding Book
bind himself to mortal flesh and sustain his existence indefinitely and the religious frenzy of the Return to Rightness Crusade, it
by drinking the blood of mortals. Vivamort was the primal vampire appeared as though Thanotic Inquiry would be swept away but
and his vile children have plagued Glorantha ever since. the sorcerers managed to carefully remove any religious content
from their spells. Necromancy was presented as just another way
The Cult of Vivamort has two purposes. Primarily, it exists to of manipulating the elements and certainly did not have anything
shelter vampires and give them access to plenty of blood sacrifices. to do with dragging souls out of Solace.
Occasionally, a worshipper is deemed worthy to be taught the
higher secrets or transformed into a vampire but out of every In the present day, Thanotic Inquiry has found its place as a tool
100 fools who come seeking immortality, only one survives long of God Learning. It is much easier to dig up some pagan burial
enough to learn the vampire’s secrets instead of being eaten. mound and ask the dead what they believe, instead of dealing
with the living, who have a terrible habit of fighting back. Some
Cults of Vivamort are often found in cities, where there is a ready Thanotic Inquiry scholars sigh and dream of the good old days,
supply of blood for the vampire priests. when they planned to call up zombies and raise armies of the
undead but such… unsubtle uses of necromancy are frowned
Runes: Darkness, Chaos, Death. upon in the current Middle Sea climate.

Worshippers: Madmen, those who fear death, vampires. Runes: Truth, Communication, Death.

Cult Skills: Stealth, Influence, Streetwise, 1H Mace. Church: Malkioneranist Wisdom Church.

Worshipper Duties: Aiding and sheltering vampires. Students: Quirky, odd sorcerers who prefer to deal with the dead
than the living; closet dark lords.
Cult Spells: Darkwall, Restore Undead, Raise Undead, Necropolis
Curse. Student Duties: Binding pagan souls and learning their secrets.

Divine Spells: Deathcurse, Ghost Prayer, Offer Life, Power of

Death.
 Student Membership Graduates of the Order may gain one Divine Magic spell by
Requirements: Standard. accessing the Saint Plane. This is identical to praying for a spell at
a temple but can only be done in the Saint Plane.
School Skills: Healing, Lore (specific culture), Influence,
Persistence. Masters of the Order may gain up to three Divine Magic spells in
the Saint Plane.
Rune Spells: Mindspeech, Detect Undead, Undead Bane.
Associated Orders and Schools
Sorcery Grimoire Spells: All common sorcery spells, all in the All Other God Learner Collective Schools: Access to Graduate-
Abiding Book, Brain Juice, Spirit Wrench, Vivification. level spells.

Graduate (Apprentice) Membership Homago Bone Stew Cult

Requirements: Successfully aid a Knowledge Band through Cannibal Necromancers
necromancy, or swear to keep the secrets of Thanotic Inquiry safe.
The Homago islanders practice cannibalism as part of their
Special Sorcery Spells: Master Undead, Raise Undead. devotions to the devourer god, the legged dolphin Saliligor.
Since the occupation of the Vithelan isles by the Middle Sea
Master (Wizard) Membership Empire, Homago cannibalism has been curtailed. First it
Requirements: Find a source of necromantic power. was suppressed, then the Jrustelans channelled the Homago’s
anthrophagus tendencies into the Homago Eating Battalion,
Special Sorcery Spells: Detect Undead, Bleed Power, Ritual of the fighting cannibals.
the Lich.
The Homago only eat the flesh of their kin, leaving the bones to
Special Benefits the priests of the Bone Stew Cult which is a shadowy power on the
islands. The Bone Stew Cult collect the remains and throw them
Students of the Order gain a +20% bonus to Persistence tests to
into their cauldrons. Prayers and magic transform the Bone Stew
resist possession.

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into undead minions. The Bone Stew Cultists are among the world’s
best necromancers in the field of creating necromatons – only the
Stir Bone Stew
Instant, Magnitude 1, Touch
machine priests of the Clanking City exceed their achievements.
Bone Stew monsters are rarely seen on the island and it is whispered
The caster stirs the boiling cauldron of bones and the dead arise.
that the priests are marshalling their forces for a rebellion against the
occupying Middle Sea Empire. The other islands in the Vithelan
The infamous Bone Stews are magic cauldrons containing boiling
chain have suffered attacks from Bone Stew monsters in the past
– the Thousand Armed Canoe and the Biting Head both wreaked water, rare herbs and spices and human bones. This spell is generally
havoc in Hanfarador and it is rumoured that the Spider of Skulls cast in concert with another necromantic spell, such as Raise Undead.
has again crawled out of the master cauldron (a natural volcanic hot Each casting Stir Bone Stew reduces the expended Magnitude of the
spring somewhere in the uplands of Homago). other spell by one. For example, a priest and five acolytes join together.
The priest casts a Magnitude 5 Raise Undead on the cauldron. At
Runes: Mastery, Luck, Death. the same time, the acolytes all cast Stir Bone Stew. The priest’s spell
works as normal but the Magnitude expended is reduced by five. In
Worshippers: Cannibal cultists. effect, the priest does not lose his Raise Undead spell and does not
need to return to a temple to pray for a new one. The acolytes will
Cult Skills: Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Healing, Influence. have to renew their Stir Bone Stew spells, though.
Worshipper Duties: Gathering bones, brewing bone stews.
Eat Flesh
Cult Spells: Restore Undead, Raise Undead, Command Undead. One month, Magnitude 5, Touch.

Divine Spells: Animate Undead, Eat Flesh, Stir Bone Stew, Breath As part of their grisly rituals, the Homago cultists eat the dead.
Out Ghost.
Eat Flesh lets the cannibal cultists gain some of the power of their
meal. Each participant in the meal may temporarily increase one of
Initiate (Bone Collector) Membership
Requirements: The initiate must gather bones from other tribes. his characteristics to the level possessed by the victim. A maximum
number of people equal to 3+the SIZ of the victim may participate
Benefits: The initiate may join in the Eat Flesh feast but only gets and the victim must be a human of Vithela. Only members of the
the scraps (the lowest Characteristics). cannibal cult are allowed join in this meal.

Initiates of Saliligor are only allowed scraps. They may increase

Acolyte (Stirrer) Membership
Requirements: Tending the bone stew. one of their Characteristics (except SIZ) to be equal to the victim’s
lowest characteristic for one month.
Benefits: The acolyte may join in the Eat Flesh feast but does not
get the choice cuts (only gets average Characteristics). Acolytes may increase one of their Characteristics (except SIZ) to
be equal to the victim’s average characteristic for one month.
Bone Chef (Priest) Membership
Requirements: Standard. Priests may increase one of their Characteristics (except SIZ) to be
equal to the victim’s highest characteristic for one month.
Benefits: Priests get the first pick of the food in the Eat Flesh feast.
A character can only benefit from one Eat Flesh spell per month.
 Necromancers
Many walk the dark path of necromancy but each one walks in
search of a different goal. A necromancer might be inspired by a
curiosity about the nature of life and death, or by fear of death,
or by a desire for revenge or conquest, or even by mercy, hoping
to use the power over death to heal. This chapter presents four
necromancers of varying levels of power, as well as their own
plots and desires that might bring them into conflict with the
Player Characters.

Harad the Cursed

Harad was always a strange child, pale and sickly and given to
wandering out in the overgrown ruins on the hillside instead of
playing with the other children of the town of Molestad or helping
his parents with their work. As he grew, his strangeness grew more
pronounced and he would often spend whole weeks off on his own
in the hills, sleeping in the ruins. Many in the town whispered
that he possessed dark powers. Some claimed that they saw Harad
talking to a spectral figure in the ruins and that he had bound dark
runes to his soul.

It was not until the harvest festival, though, that Harad’s dark
reputation caused the townsfolk to turn on him. A young woman
named Jana, a flame-haired girl around Harad’s age, was found
dead on the night of the festival and rumours quickly spread that
Harad was to blame. The young men of the village, drunk and full
of fury, tracked Harad down and carried him up the hillside to the
ruins. They kicked aside the marble lid of one of the ancient wells
and dropped Harad down into the darkness as punishment for
murdering Jana.

Harad’s body was shattered by the fall but as he crawled on broken

limbs through the bone piles in the pitch darkness, his bloody
fingers touched on runes of Death and Magic. The townsfolk
thought him evil – well, then he would show them the true nature
of evil! When he bound the runes to himself, he felt tendrils of
cold knowledge seeping through his brain. The dark path of

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Harad (Seasoned)
Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 8 1–2 Right Leg –/4
CON 8 3–4 Left Leg –/4
SIZ 10 5–6 Abdomen –/5
INT 14 7–14 Chest –/6
POW 16 (8) 15–16 Right Arm –/3
DEX 12 17–18 Left Arm –/3
CHA 7 19–20 Head –/4

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier 3–1d2
Magic Points 16 (8) Runes: Death, Magic
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +13 Skills: Evade 24%, Evaluate 29%, Influence 24%, Healing 44%, Language (Native)
71%, Lore (history) 48%, Lore (Molestad) 28%, Lore (world) 44%, Perception
30% (22%), Persistence 44% (28%), Resilience 26%, Sleight 27%, Stealth 42%,
Streetwise 25%
Sorcery: Sorcery (Book of the Undead) 63% (55%), Manipulation 68% (60%),
Book of the Undead: Body Jump, Deathbolt, Necrotic Bolt, Raise Undead

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Dagger S S 60% 1d4+1–1d2 6/8
Light Crossbow – – 52% 2d6 4/5

Equipment: Dagger, Light Crossbow, 100 silvers.

necromancy opened before him and he staggered down that road Plots
with the last of his strength. X How will Harad take revenge on the town? One option is
for his zombies to pick off the townfolk one-by-one at night,
A year has passed since that harvest festival and today a shadow dragging their victims back to the ruins to be turned into more
hangs over Molestad. Many have seen figures moving on the zombies. Another is for him to threaten the town, demanding
hillside or heard footsteps and groaning voices from below. Worse they hand over his tormentors.
yet, Jana’s grave has been torn open and the body is gone. The
young men who threw Harad down into the ruin pits furtively X Who instructed Harad on the use of his Runes? What made
glance at each other and mutter that they should have made sure the ruins in the first place? Perhaps Harad’s spectral mentor is
the wretch was dead that night. a ghost or other spirit – if so, what does the ghost want? Why
is it instructing a young necromancer?
Harad’s lair is described on page 40.
X Who really killed Jana? There is no proof that it was Harad but
Harad has eight points of POW invested in his undead minions. rumours in the town insist that he was responsible. Some say that
This POW will be returned to Harad when the undead creatures he hated her because she was everything he was not – bright, well
are slain. loved, full of joy – while others say that he was in love with her,
for exactly the same reasons. It was Jana’s death that led to Harad
Description being thrown down the pit into the lower ruins – did someone
After a year in the darkness, Harad is unnaturally pale. He is arrange for her murder? And for that matter, who stole her body?
dressed in a tattered black robe patched with burial shrouds but his Does Harad intend to raise her up as an undead horror?
boots are new and well-made (and stolen from one of his zombie’s
victims). He carries an old dagger at his belt and has a well-made X The Player Characters could be hired by the townfolk to
crossbow strapped to his back. He speaks only in whispers and enter the ruins and slay the necromancer. Alternatively, they
talks to himself. could be hired by Harad’s father to go find his son in the dark
passages below the town and bring him home.
 Battling Harad
Harad knows the ruins very well, so read up on the layout of the
lair before running any encounter with the necromancer. He will
use Corpse Vision spells to track the movement of intruders in
his domain and may also send his zombie minions to trap them.
For example, he might have his zombies block the entrance the
characters used to enter the ruins, trapping them in the dark
passages. In battle, his normal tactic is to use his resilient zombies
as a defensive line, while he fires Deathbolts from the rear. If he
can catch the characters while they are sleeping, then he may try
a Hand of Death spell but otherwise will avoid direct contact if
possible.

Jan-Quel-Jan,
the Thief of Secrets
Born of a noble family, Jan-Quel-Jan is quickly building a
reputation as a dangerous player in the intrigues of her home city.
That city is controlled by an ever-shifting alliance of guilds, noble
families and cults and a noblewoman like Jan-Quel-Jan can begin
the day as a princess in a silver palace and end it floating face down
in a canal with a cut throat if she is not quick and careful.

Like many of her fellow players, Jan-Quel-Jan has a secret edge in the
games of power and politics. She discovered a book of necromantic
lore in one of the cult libraries and has studied its secrets to her
great advantage. The city of canals is built on a lagoon and so the
dead cannot be buried below ground. Instead, the body is burned
and the mummified head is placed in one of the dozens of capotaph
crypts that are scattered around the city. These dark crypts contain
thousands upon thousands of heads, all in neat rows, looking out
through brass grills at their neighbours. Every noble house and
guild has its own private capotaph; commoners must pay to have
their heads crammed into one of the overflowing public capotaphs
(or skulleries, as they are sometimes called).
compliments freely but the intricate gears of her mind are always
Using her sorcery, Jan-Quel-Jan has learned to call up the spirits of turning and plotting; she does nothing that will not profit her.
the dead using these skulls as foci for her spells. By interrogating
the dead, she has learned secrets that other factions in the town
hoped were long buried. Her initial necromantic inquiries were in
Plots
X The characters could be hired by Jan-Quel-Jan to break into
her own family crypt, where she learned secrets that allowed her to
the crypt of a rival group and steal a particular skull. The
blackmail her relatives and ensure that she was declared heir to her
capotaphs of the noble families are always guarded by traps
great-uncle’s fortune. Now, she intends to steal skulls from other
and monsters.
capotaphs and learn their secrets too.
X Alternatively, if the characters are allied with another faction
All she needs are a few hardened adventurers and tomb robbers…
in the city, their mission could be to find out how the Quel-
Jans know the secrets of the faction. Who is the leak?

Description X Jan-Quel-Jan is not a very powerful sorceress yet and her Spirit
Jan-Quel-Jan is always dressed in the finest of clothes, as befits Resistance spell may not be enough to protect her against a
her station in the city. She is beautiful with olive skin and delicate strong ghost. If she gets too ambitious and calls up a ghost she
features but there is something calculating about her that throws an cannot control, she might be possessed by an ancient tyrant or
unpleasant cast over her face. She is quick to laugh and flirt and gives lord of the city.

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Jan-Quel-Jan (Seasoned)
Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 10 1–2 Right Leg –/5
CON 13 3–4 Left Leg –/5
SIZ 8 5–6 Abdomen –/6
INT 15 7–14 Chest –/7
POW 15 15–16 Right Arm –/4
DEX 13 17–18 Left Arm –/4
CHA 14 19–20 Head –/5

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier –1D2
Magic Points 15 Runes: Luck, Spirit
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +14 Skills: Dance 37%, Evade 31%, Influence 49%, Language (native) 80%, Lore
(heraldry) 30%, Lore (history) 30%, Lore (the city) 30%, Lore (world) 45%,
Perception 40%, Persistence 35%, Sleight 34%
Sorcery: Sorcery (Necromantic Lore) 50%, Sorcery (Tome of Transformation)
40%, Sorcery (Anti-magic) 30%, Manipulation 60%
Tome of Transformation: Diminish Size, Shapechange Human to Fish
Anti-magic: Castback, Neutralise Magic
Necromantic Lore: Brain Juice, Dominate (ghost), Dominate (human), Spirit
Wrench, Spirit Resistance

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Exquisite Rapier M L 63% 1D8–1D2 5/8
Dagger S S 33% 1D4+1–1D2 6/8

Equipment: Exquisite Rapier, Fine Clothing, Dagger, necromantic grimoire, 5,000 silver.

Battling Jan-Quel-Jan waiting for some opportunity to bring about an apocalypse. The
She is moderately skilled with her magnificent family rapier but Drowned Shrine is located below a dockside inn, in the hulk of
if Jan-Quel-Jan is in combat, then she has likely already lost. She a sunken ship now buried in the mud of the harbour. The priest
prefers to use her magic like Dominate Human to turn enemies into of the cult here takes the title the Keeper of the Drowned. The
allies. She has experimented with using Command Ghost to create current Keeper is a former pirate who nearly drowned when his
ghostly defenders but as her ghosts are tethered to their skulls, she ship was sunk in battle. While he drowned, he was given a vision
only has spectral bodyguards if she brings a skull with her. of the Godsdeath and that inspired him to struggle back to the
surface. He made a raft from the bloated corpses of his former
Her Shapechange spell comes from the same necromantic grimoire shipmates and sailed back to shore. He staggered onto a cold and
– according to the traditions of the city, dead souls swim down rocky strand and swore an oath that he would serve the cause of
the river of the afterlife in the shape of fish. Jan-Quel-Jan has Godsdeath with all his soul from that moment on. He threw all
occasionally used the spell to turn herself into a fish and swim past the trappings of his former life – his cutlass, his compass and his
the defences of rival families and her collection of exotic fish grows eyepatch – back into the ocean as offerings to death.
whenever an assassin is sent to kill her.
The Keeper has assembled a cult in the docks, composed of
desperate men, beggars, vagabonds, pirates and madmen. Some of
The Keeper his followers are initiates of the Godsdeath; others are just willing
to commit hideous acts out of lust for gold or hatred of their fellow
of the Drowned men. He has also created many undead monsters, which wait in the
The Godsdeath church has many hidden shrines and temples in sunken wreck beneath the inn, the Crossed Coin. The innkeeper,
the dark places of the world. The gods will not go easily or quietly a former sailor named Kalum, has been forcibly initiated into
into death and the Godsdeath cultists are patient and watchful, the cult – the Keeper has used the Wrack Spirit spell to torture
 the spirit of Kalum’s brother Arum and Kalum joined to prevent
further pain to his sibling’s soul.

The Keeper is patient, like the rest of his bleak church. He is

slowly building up his cult and his undead minions, waiting for an
opportunity to bring destruction to the city. One day, the storm
will break…

Tales of the Keeper

The story of the drowned man who came back has passed
into legend and many sailors tell a greatly exaggerated
version of how that pirate became the Keeper of the
Drowned Shrine. The three relics thrown into the sea as
offerings – the cutlass, compass and the eyepatch – are
said to have acquired magical powers. According to the
stories:
X The cutlass can now cut through undead flesh as
if it were nothing but seawater (+2 damage against
undead).
X The compass now points the way to the Keeper.
X The Keeper cannot see anyone wearing the
eyepatch.

Description
The Keeper of the Drowned wears a hooded robe and the
ceremonial garb of the Godsdeath when in the shrine but wears
the common gear of a fighting seaman when on the streets. He
has a fine warsword at his belt. He is a tall, gaunt figure with
long hair.

His left eye has been replaced by a necromantic Dead Eye (see
RuneQuest Core Rulebook page 157) and he wears several finger-bones
on a necklace. Each of these finger-bones comes from a different
corpse and he uses them in concert with the Dead Counsel spell.
X The fingerbone of Scurrilous Pete can give the Keeper
Streetwise 80%, Mechanisms 70% or Influence 70%.
X The fingerbone of the Black Razor can give the Keeper Sword
90% or Evade 70%. X The Crossed Coin inn is rapidly garnering a bad reputation
X The fingerbone of the Witch of the Wailing Sea can give as a haunted inn, because of the activities of the cult. The
the Keeper Common Magic 60% with the following spells: characters might be hired by Kalum to fake a haunting in
Darkwall, Hand of Death. the inn, which they will then ‘exorcise’ as publicly as possible
– but what if they dig too deep and discover the secret beneath
Plots the inn…
X The Keeper often casts his Condemn to Undeath spell on
doomed men he meets in the docks. If he comes across some X One long-term plot might be the Keeper’s attempts to raise
fool who is looking for death by getting into every tavern the sunken ship as a death hulk. He certainly has enough
brawl or gambling with throat-cutting rogues, then the Keeper undead minions to crew a warship…
places the spell upon the doomed man. A few days later, the
dead man will rise as a zombie, which the Keeper collects and X With his influence over the docks, the Keeper can inflict
binds with the Command Undead spell. The characters might great damage on a maritime city. A cargo of grain could be
be hired to find a young man who has gone missing and the tainted with a magical disease, or weather control spells could
trail leads them to the docks. summon up a great storm, smashing the harbour.

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The Keeper of the Drowned (Veteran)

Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 14 1–2 Right Leg 1/6
CON 16 3–4 Left Leg 1/6
SIZ 14 5–6 Abdomen 5/7
INT 12 7–14 Chest 5/8
POW 14 (2) 15–16 Right Arm 5/5
DEX 10 17–18 Left Arm 5/5
CHA 12 19–20 Head –/6

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Chain Shirt (AP5, –4 Strike Rank Penalty), Leather Trews (1,
–1 Strike Rank Penalty)
Damage Modifier +1D2
Magic Points 14 (2) Runes: Darkness, Death, Water, Cold
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +11 (+6 Skills: Acrobatics 39%, Athletics 44%, Boating 55%, Evade 43%, Language
when (native) 74%, Lore (Animal) 29%, Lore (the sea) 24%, Lore (World) 39%,
armoured) Perception 66% (54%), Persistence 58% (32%), Resilience 55%, Shiphandling
68%, Sing 31%, Throwing 35%, Unarmed 34%
Divine Magic: Lore (Godsdeath Theology) 92%, Pact (Godsdeath) 30%
Spells Prepared: Condemn to Undeath, Dead Counsel, Power of Undeath,
Deathcurse

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Greater Warsword M M 79% 1d8+1d2 6/10
Shield L S 40% 1d6+1d2 4/12

Equipment: Warsword, Target Shield, Chain Shirt, Dead Eye

Battling the Keeper of the Drowned weapon. Time wore on and while the world was threatened and
tormented by all manner of dangers, Vahdred Vathor was never
The Keeper is a canny foe, with a cult and many undead minions
the hero who saved the world, he was never the axis upon which
to defend him. The great virtue of Divine Necromancy is that it
destiny turns.
is very easy to create permanent undead, so he can throw hordes
of sword-fodder at intruders to wear them down. He will reserve
When Vahdred Vathor felt the chill of age in his bones and realised
the use of his Deathcurse until he is fighting within the confines of
that his reflexes were not as sharp as they once were nor his senses
the Drowned Shrine, as that gives enemies a –40% penalty to their
as keen, he decided that he must preserve himself so that he would
Resistance tests. He may also use Power of Undeath on his more
be able to save the world on that glorious day. He quested for the
powerful minions.
rune of Death and books of lore and transformed himself into a
vampire. He did this, he believes, not out of a desire for power or
Vahdred Vathor, bloodlust or fear of death but out of duty. He knows he is destined
to save the world – being a vampire means that he will be ready to
Knight of the Rune Shield do so, even if he must wait 1,000 years.
The castle of the Vathor family lies deep in the Forest of Thorns,
a wilderness of wolves and treacherous paths. Many years ago, Vahdred Vathor sustains himself by preying on the villagers who
when Vahdred Vathor was born, a runepriest came to the castle dwell in the valley near the castle. These villages are under constant
and prophesied that one day the young nobleman would save the threat from wolves and other monsters that lurk in the forest and
world. Vahdred was raised on the promise of this grand destiny; the bright sword of Vahdred Vathor is all that stands between the
he trained and studied ceaselessly, honing himself into a living villagers and the monsters. Vahdred considers the blood he takes
 Vahdred Vathor, the Vampire Knight of the Rune Shield (Master)
Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 30 1–2 Right Leg 7/9
CON 28 3–4 Left Leg 7/9
SIZ 16 5–6 Abdomen 7/10
INT 13 7–14 Chest 7/11
POW 15 15–16 Right Arm 7/8
DEX 16 17–18 Left Arm 7/8
CHA 11 19–20 Head 7/9

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: Ancestral Armour (AP7, –6 Strike Rank Penalty)
Damage Modifier +1D10
Magic Points 15 Runes: Death, Earth, Metal, Fate
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +15 (+9 Skills: Athletics 111%, Evade 62%, Influence 56%, Language (native) 76%, Lore
when (Forest of Thorns) 56%, Lore (military tactics) 56%, Lore (prophecy) 46%, Lore
armoured) (world) 36%, Perception 73%, Persistence 55%, Resilience 83%, Ride 70%
Common Magic: Common Magic 76%
Spells: Bladesharp, Fate, Protection
Sorcery: Sorcery (Undying Grimoire) 86%, Manipulation 86%
Undying Grimoire: Bleed Power, Body Jump, Necrotic Bolt, Raise Undead,
Transfer Undead Power

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Ancestral Sword 1H M L 140% 2D8 7/12
2H L L 150% 2D8+2 7/12
The Rune Shield L S 120% 1d6+1d10 5/12

Equipment: The Rune Shield, Ancestral Sword of the Vathors, Ancestral Armour of the Vathors.

as a form of tithe, a tribute to which is he entitled as the liege lord

and protector of the villages. He has become the centre of a minor
Description
The Knight of the Rune Shield wears the ornate armour of his
cult, as he sends out preachers to the villagers to collect the blood
family and always carries the Rune Shield. His transformation into
tithe and tell them that their sacrifices are meaningful, for they
a vampire has restored most of his youth, although in certain lights
ensure that the world will one day be saved.
his face looks like a youthful mask. He is dashing, handsome and
heroic and quite quite mad.
The title, Knight of the Rune Shield, comes from the magnificent
shield that Vathor carries into battle – it is marked with many
runes around the border but the central rune is the Mystery Rune Plots
that no scholar or sage can identify. Some whisper that it is the X The Knight of the Rune Shield is a relatively passive foe
Rune of Salvation or the Rune of Apocalypse. The origins of the – he intends to sit in his castle feeding on the blood of his
Rune Shield are known only to Vathor. minions until the end of the world arrives. If the characters

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wander into his domain, they may draw his wrath. An

especially brave villager could beg the characters to slay the
vampire but remember that Vathor has a cult of preachers in
every village and those who defy the vampire are punished by
exsanguination.

X Perhaps Vathor’s destiny has come and gone and he is no

longer the one who will save the world. The characters may
have to go to the castle and steal the Rune Shield – and the
world-saving destiny it represents – from the vampire.

X Alternatively, there is no prophecy and the rune-priest lied

when he convinced Vathor’s parents to turn their son into a
hero. Who was this trickster priest and what could he or she
want with an insane vampire knight who is convinced that he
is destined to be a hero?

Battling Vahdred Vathor

Going up against Vahdred in direct combat is suicidal – he was an
expert swordsman with marvellous gear before he got his STR and
CON doubled. If Vathor has time to prepare (Bladesharp 4 to give
him +20% to attacks and +4 to damage, Protection 3 for another
three AP), he is an even tougher foe. Vahdred will use his vampiric
abilities to the fullest, turning to mist when cornered. He is an
honourable foe, though, as he thinks of himself as the perfect hero.
Defeated foes may be allowed to retreat and he will not attack
without provocation. Canny players may be able to trick Vahdred
with his own sense of honour.

That said – he is a vampire and an insane one at that. Underneath his

façade of the perfect knight, Vahdred is a blood-thirsty loon. Push him
too far – say, by stealing the Rune Shield or denying that he is going
to save the world, or by accusing him of being a monster – and he will
crack and the fury of the vampire is a terrible thing indeed.
 Necromantic Lairs

Just as a sculptor needs a studio, with blocks of marble and heavy passageways beneath the hill intimately and is capable of navigating
tools and a playwright needs a theatre with stage and curtains and them all in pitch darkness. He scavenges food from cottages on the
backdrops and actors, the Dark Art too has its own particular edge of the town, or just has his undead minions capture rats,
situation and materials. Necromancers make their lairs on the rabbits and fowl from the hillside.
fringes of civilisation or in secret places – they need to be hidden
away so they are not disturbed but close enough to have a ready Harad has created eight zombie servants using the Raise Undead
supply of ‘raw materials.’ spell. His activities have all roused other dangers from the depths.

The sample lair described in this chapter is associated with the The North Hill
necromancer Harad (see page 32) but the Games Master is Even on the brightest days, it is dark and cool beneath the trees
encouraged to take the maps and locations and use them with their on this foreboding hill. The whole hill is thickly wooded but the
own hideous and bizarre creations. characters may spot the remains of ruined buildings. The hill is
only a short distance from Molestad and the nearest farmsteads are
The Ruins on the Hill less than half an hour’s walk away.
The little town of Molestad is nestled in a wooded valley. It is a
peaceful, rustic place, far from the great cities and the frontiers. Characters wandering the hillside during the day will not encounter
There are no heroes in Molestad and the name is associated more any danger except for the concealed shafts. At night, the zombie
with weaving and woodcutting than with monsters. (In short, pack roams the forest, hunting for intruders and animals.
Molestad is the Peasant cultural background.)
The ruins of the palace or fortress that once stood here are scattered
The hills above the town are covered thickly in beech and oak trees across the hill. The lower hill once had ornamental gardens and
but beneath the roots and leaf cover a keen eye may glimpse the outbuildings. The main body of the palace stood on the middle section
occasional chunk of worked stone or overgrown tomb. An ancient of the hill and it is this section that is the most thickly overgrown.
fortress or palace once stood on the north hill overlooking the town
and the outline of walls and buildings can be seen in the green shade The remains of a temple can also be found on the hill but these
beneath the trees. The people of Molestad avoid the north hill ruins are not connected to the subterranean complex. Finally, on
whenever possible – the place has an evil reputation and travellers the brow of the hill, a lonely broken tower rises above the trees.
are warned that the old ruins conceal several shafts and pits.
There are seven entrances into the ruins from the surface, marked
There is little of the former palace on the surface but the cellars as A through G on the map.
and crypts are still partially intact. Oak roots have broken into
marble tombs and some passageways have collapsed but there is A: The entrance to this tunnel is concealed behind heavy stones
still a labyrinth beneath the north hill. and underbrush. Moving the stones aside requires a Hard (–40%)
Athletics test.

Harad the Necromancer B: This steep shaft leads down to the tunnel below. It is very hard
A strange boy named Harad was thrown into one of the pits by to spot (Perception, –20%) from the surface and unwary characters
vengeful peasants from Molestad. Since then, Harad has become may fall through the undergrowth into the tunnel (Level 0:1). The
a necromancer and made the ruins his home. Harad knows the shaft is five metres deep.

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C: A shorter shaft leads down from the ruined kitchens of the 3. Storage Vault: This room contains a few items that Harad has
palace to the cellars. This shaft is clear of obstacles and overgrowth plundered from farmsteads and trade caravans, including cloth
and is the only one known to the people of Molestad. and flasks of lamp oil that can be made into torches. The trade
goods here are worth 300 silver.
D: A stone slab can be moved aside to reveal this passageway.
4. Corpse Store: Four corpses are stacked against the wall.
E: Another vertical shaft. Bats nest here during the day and fly Three of the corpses were carried up from the crypts below and
up the shaft at night to hunt insects in the forest. Characters who are withered and heavily decayed. The fourth corpse is that of
watch the movements of the bats can find this shaft. a trapper who was caught by the zombies and murdered. The
trapper’s body has a broken shortbow and a dozen arrows on it.
F: Old Well. This is a very deep shaft, reaching down into the bowels Harad keeps the corpses here until he is ready to bring them to
of the hill. It extends some 20 metres down to the crypts far below. his laboratory (Level 2).

G: At the base of the ruined tower is a rotten trapdoor that leads One zombie sits in a corner. This zombie is programmed to bring
down into the hill. fresh corpses to the laboratory upstairs. If roused, the zombie picks
up the nearest corpse (or the nearest unconscious or unmoving
H: Not an entrance to the ruins but the ancient temple here is still person) and carries it upstairs to Level 2. If the zombie is attacked,
Consecrated ground and undead creatures must make a Persistence then it fights back. The characters can use this zombie to bypass
check to enter. It can be a useful refuge for fleeing characters. the Doorman on level 2.

Level 0 5. Stairs to Level 0.

The lowest level of the complex is just a long dark tunnel. The walls
are lined with bricks and it is obvious that animals were living here 6. Collapsed Chamber: Most of this vault’s ceiling has collapsed.
before the undead moved in. The ceiling is low and the tunnel is so There is still a safe path from Room 8 to Room 1 but the rest of
cramped, giving a –10% penalty to attacks with most weapons. the room is mostly filled with debris. Any major damage to the
structure, such as an explosive spell, risks bringing down the rest
1. Tunnel Entrance: Harad has stationed a pair of zombies here, of the roof, burying anyone in the room.
with instructions to attack anyone who enters the tunnel. While
waiting for intruders, the zombies slump against the wall like It is possible to crawl through the rubble by making a Difficult
lifeless corpses. The zombies retain enough instinctive cunning to (–20%) Acrobatics test to the buried vault of Room 7.
wait until victims have walked past them, so the zombies can trap
them in the tunnel. 7. Buried Vault: This lost chamber was never discovered by Harad
or any of the other denizens of the ruins. Most of the goods stored
2. Shaft from B. here have long since rotted away but there is a very well-made scale
mail shirt hanging from a peg. This scale mail is of Greater quality
3. Stairs to Level 1. and is Light.

8. Zombie Pack: The pack of zombies wait here during the day.
Level 1 The restless undead have built a grisly nest of half-eaten bodies
These were the cellars of the palace. These are barrel vaults, with and gnawed rat carcasses in this storage vault – Harad lacks the
curved walls and ceilings. Smaller gratings in the ceiling let a little ability to fully control the zombies, so he leaves the monsters to
light in. The main danger in this level is the pack of five Resilient do as they will. Searching through the mess of carrion can turn up
Zombies. The zombies cannot stray far from each other 6d6 silver.

1. Shaft from C. This is the only entrance into the tunnels known 9. Empty Vault.
to the people of Molestad. It leads into a largely empty barrel vault.
Plants and weeds are growing in the middle of the vault, in the 10. Empty Vault. The secret passage to the crypt is concealed
little patch of sunlight that shines down through the shaft. behind a hinged stone block that can be pulled out of the wall.
There is a depression in the floor in front of the block, allowing a
2. Storage Vault: Harad keeps his food supplies here. Skinned character to reach down and get a grip on the stone to lever it out.
hares hang from a wooden beam and he also has food stolen A Difficult (–20%) Perception test lets a character spot the scratch
from outlying farms stacked against the east wall. Alarmingly, the marks on the floor tiles. Behind the block is a sloping passageway
ambient necromantic energies of the crypt have animated one of that leads to a staircase that goes to Room 2 of the Crypt level.
the skinned hares and it will jerk and dance around on its wire
hook when the characters come near.
 Level 2 4. Collapsed Vault: Any effects that cause structural damage
in this room will cause more of the vault to collapse, burying
The second level of the underground complex is Harad’s laboratory.
anyone in the room.
Here, the young necromancer experiments with new forms of
undead horrors. Harad is a self-taught necromancer, so his creations
5. Bonecarver: Harad’s greatest accomplishment thus far is the
are rough and ugly even for the undead. He sews corpses together
construction of this Bonecarver Necromaton (see page 56). The
like a bachelor darns wool socks and his knowledge of herbalism
creature stands on a plinth in this room like a bizarre work of art.
and alchemy is similarly lacking. He uses improvised tools, mixing
It moves into action if alerted by the Doorman in location 2:1 or
poisons together in rough wooden bowls or clay pots stolen from
Harad’s servants on level 3.
the outlying farms.
6. Stairs to level 3.
1. Doorman: One of Harad’s recent experiments was the creation of
his first necromaton, a doorman (see page 57). This is a rather poor
example of the necromancer’s art but the monster is programmed Level 3
to sound the alarm if it spots anyone other than Harad or one of This level of the complex is Harad’s sleeping quarters. He sleeps
the zombies. If the doorman sounds the alarm by scraping its bony here (when he manages to sleep, which is rarely more than once or
fingers off the doorframe, like nails on a chalkboard, it alerts the twice a week) and can usually be found here or in the laboratory
larger necromaton in room 2:5. below. There are three zombie guards on this level – if Harad is
present, then they wait for his command. Otherwise, they follow
2. Laboratory: In the centre of this large room is a stone slab, him wherever he goes.
surrounded by workbenches and tables. Scavenged or improvised
tools like knives, bone saws, spikes and nails lay around the 1. Zombie Atrium: Two zombie servants stand here, waiting for
benches, all covered in grisly lumps and scabs of congealed blood. Harad to command them.
The room is lit by torches and candles.
2. Harad’s Chamber: Like the laboratory below, the walls of this
Lacking scrolls or books of lore, Harad has taken to using the white room are covered with Harad’s charcoal drawings and rantings.
walls of the room as his grimoire. Notes and anatomical sketches Here, he focuses his rage on his tormentors and enemies. Portraits
are drawn on the walls with charcoal. Notable images include of townsfolk from Molestad and rambling bizarre threats decorate
his various undead creations (eight common zombies, a pack of the walls above his bed. Harad sleeps in a tangle of blankets and
zombies, a Doorman and a Bonecarver), as well as sketches of the burial shrouds from the crypts below.
monsters in the crypts and images of the rune of Death. In one
corner are surprisingly pretty portraits of a young woman, along 3. Spiral Staircase: Up to level 4. A third zombie waits here.
with delusional ramblings about plunging the world into darkness
and sacrificing his own soul to undeath. Level 4
The fourth level of the complex is home to the other two living
Lying on the slab is another corpse that Harad has not yet managed things in the complex. Dharat Greycloak was a wandering thief
to animate. and footpad, who liked to befriend travellers on the roads, then
cut their throats and robbed them while they slept. He took
3. Treasure Room. Harad found four chests in the crypts and shelter in the upper ruins and was cornered by the undead. He
has placed various items that are important to him here. All managed to talk Harad into sparing his life and the two have
four chests are locked and the young necromancer carries the become allies but not friends. Dharat has contemplated murdering
keys with him. Picking the locks requires a Difficult (–20%) Harad and stealing his magic but fears the uncontrolled undead.
Mechanisms test. Harad tolerates Dharat because the highwayman has much more
experience with combat and murder – necessary activities if Harad
The first chest contains treasure and coin taken from the is going to have his revenge on the town below.
predations of the zombies, totalling 600 silvers.
Harad has been experimenting with augmenting his ally and
The second chest is empty. Dharat has two undead parts – an arm and an eye.
The third chest contains a clay statuette, a skull, a lock of hair Dharat can usually be found in these chambers. He only wanders
and other personal belongings of the insane necromancer. through the rest of the complex with Harad, or when he has an
important reason to be down in the undead-occupied sections
The fourth chest is a trap – if opened, it releases a cloud of of the ruins. He also spends time in the ruined tower above. He
poison gas. sometimes sneaks into Molestad or to other nearby towns to spy
and to plot further robberies.

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shaft, a table and chairs, a lamp hanging on the wall and a box
containing pilfered food, like bread and cheese. Dharat’s bedroll
Robbing Caravans With Zombies is in the corner closest to the fire. The prizes of the caravan raids
Dharat’s normal tactic is to have his zombies submerge are kept here too – a chest next to the bedroll contains some 1,500
themselves at a ford in a river. There are several places silvers worth of trade goods, including bundles of silk, gold ingots
near Molestad where roads go through shallow rivers. and rare medicines.
The zombies hide underwater, then rise up and grab
the caravan guards and horses. Dharat normally brings 2. Rana’s Room: The slave girl cowers in this room when not
the pack of zombies with him. serving Dharat. There is one zombie in this room – the monster
stands in the alcove facing Rana’s bed, staring at her and ensuring
she does not try to flee.
The other unfortunate is Rana, who was kidnapped from one of
the farms to serve the two men. Harad had one of his zombies Crypt
guarding her for weeks, until she lost all hope of escape. He also The lowest section of the ruins is vastly more dangerous than the
used her as a test subject in his experiments – Rana’s left forearm upper reaches. The undead here were not created by Harad – they
has been replaced by a skeletal limb but the necromancer failed to are as old as the ruins. It was in this lightless crypt that Harad
animate it correctly and the bone arm now acts on its own. discovered the secrets of the Rune of Death and was instructed by
the spirits in the art of necromancy.
The staircase continues on to the trapdoor in the basement of the
tower G. 1. Black Well: The deep shaft F plummets into this chamber,
ending in a well of ice-cold water. The well shaft continues down
1. Common Room: This room is remarkably homely for a past the level of the crypt. In times past, the palace used this well
chamber in a ruined vault. There is a fire pit near the staircase as a source of drinking water.

Dharat (Seasoned)
Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 13 (25 in right arm) 1–2 Right Leg 1/6
CON 12 3–4 Left Leg 1/6
SIZ 14 5–6 Abdomen 5/7
INT 13 7–14 Chest 5/8
POW 10 15–16 Right Arm 5/5
DEX 13 17–18 Left Arm 5/5
CHA 6 19–20 Head 2/6

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: Chain Shirt, Leather Trews & Cap (–5 Strike Rank Penalty)
Damage Modifier +1D2 (+1D6
with right
arm)
Magic Points 10 Runes: None
Movement 4m
Strike Rank +13 (+8 when Skills: Athletics 41%/53% with zombie arm, Disguise 36%, Evade 49%,
armoured) Driving 20%, First Aid 18%, Lore (animal) 28%, Lore (plants) 38%,
Mechanisms 56%, Perception 43%, Resilience 32%, Stealth 49%, Streetwise
56%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Axe M M 108% 2D6+1 4/8
Dagger S S 76% 1D4+1+1D2 6/8

Equipment: Battleaxe, Dagger, Chain Shirt, Dead Eye, Zombie Arm.

 2. Secret Stairs: The stairs here connect to Level 1, Room 10. The 5. Guardian: A tomb guardian (see page 70) stands here, just as
staircase was cut through the rock by magic and is so narrow that it has for centuries. The unsleeping sentinel will pursue intruders
only one person can move down the stairs at a time. The stairs anywhere on this level but will not leave the crypt.
were initially used as an emergency escape tunnel but later the
natural cave below was expanded into the catacombs and crypts. 6. Armoury: Most of the weapons and armours in this ancient
armoury have crumbled into useless dust but there is a short sword
The secret stairs ends in a heavy marble door (Athletics test to with the Metal Rune engraved into the hilt here.
open) marked with the Rune of Death. If the character who opens
this door is not Rune Touched by the Rune of Death, he must 7. Treasure Room: The door into the treasure room is carefully
make a Resilience test or take 1d6 points of damage to the chest. hidden (Perception test at –20% to find it when searching). Stone
coffers contain some 3,000 silvers worth of coin and jewellery. The
3. Catacombs: These narrow passages are lined with corpses, real prize, though, are the books and scrolls that are stored here in
stacked seven or eight high in places. All the bodies have been sealed jars – a library of ancient necromantic lore…
preserved by wrapping them in some sort of strange webbing and
treating their flesh with oil. There are well over 300 corpses here.
While none of them are full zombies, the necromantic energies
emanating from the neighbouring crypt sometimes makes the
bodies twitch and shift in their slumber.

Several necropedes (see page 60) slither among the stacked corpses.

4. Buried Crypt: This large chamber was once a natural cave

but has been converted into a burial chamber and a temple to
strange gods of undeath. It is hard to tell where the work of man’s
hand stops and the natural rock begins, as the stone has flowed
like candle-wax into the shapes of pillars and spires and a black
altar in the centre.

The altar is a necromantic power source with a POW of 5.

There are five tombs in the crypt, arranged around the altar
in a cross shape. These tombs contain the remains of the
necromancers who once dwelled in the palace on the hill. Four of
the necromancers are wholly dead (or, if undead, are quiescent).
The last will manifest as a Wraith if anyone disturbs the altar
or the tombs. The Wraith desires to force intruders to become
necromancers under its tutelage instead of killing them but if the
trespassers do not bend to the spirit’s will, it attacks.

The south door is actually a double-sided statue of a woman

holding a dagger. The dagger is real and quite sharp. The statue
rotates if someone cuts their flesh with the dagger, carrying anyone
from the temple to Room 5 or vice versa.

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Undead
Creatures
The shambling parade of the dead contains an alarming variety Human skeletons are the favoured habitat for animating slime.
of horrors. The motifs of rotting flesh, grinning skulls, tattered These are a bizarre sight – skeletons stagger and lope around the
rags and the stench of the grave may be repeated over and over forests, chasing rabbits and rats and pushing rotting carrion into
with ghastly inevitability but a necromancer learns to distinguish their ribcages to be digested.
between the different forms of necromantic creations.
Animating slime cannot be effectively damaged by normal weapons.
It takes a maximum one point of damage from any non-magical
Undead Traits attack. Fire is the best method for dealing with animating slime.
These new traits are not unique to the undead – golems, for
example, might have the Animated or Imbued trait. If the slime has wrapped itself around a skeleton, use the first
set of statistics. The Hit Points for the locations of the skeleton
Animated: This undead creature’s unlife is maintained by an represent the amount of damage needed to shatter the bones and
ongoing spell. If the necromancer is slain, or the spell is removed, cut the connections where the slime has adhered to the bone. The
the creature is instantly destroyed. slime’s Hit Points are tracked separately. If the skeleton is destroyed
without the slime being burnt away or scattered, then the slime
Imbued: This undead creature is fuelled by some necromantic will quickly rebuild its home – the skeleton regains one Hit Point
energy that was infused into it when it was created. It cannot every five minutes.
be dispelled and will outlast the death of the necromancer who
made it. Necromancers sometimes cultivate animating slime. They use the
creature’s natural instincts to rebuild damaged skeletons. Slimes
Free-Willed: This creature is sentient and so may be vulnerable to also serve as useful decoys, as adventures waste their Magic Points
mind-affecting spells. casting anti-undead spells at the entirely mundane slime. The one
problem is the occasional undead skeleton that becomes infested
Life Sight: The undead creature can sense the life energy within with animating slime and wanders off to hunt sparrows and rats.
living beings. This functions like Dark Sight but only allows the
undead creature to see living beings. Life Sight makes it harder to As a mindless creature, animating slime is immune to most mind-
hide from the dead, giving the undead a +20% bonus to Perception affecting spells.
tests opposing Stealth or Disguise tests made by living creatures.
In the statistics, separate characteristics and hit locations are given
Animating Slime for the creature when it is attached to a host skeleton and when it
This vile ooze resembles a knot of human muscle tissue, all stringy is in its natural slime pool form.
and frayed, covered with a thick layer of slime. Alone, a blob of
animating slime is almost harmless, slowly rolling from place- Using Animating Slime: Animating slime can be a surprise for
to-place and feeding on vermin and carrion. The slime gains its jaded adventurers who just rely on anti-undead spells to blast their
name from its habit of wrapping around branches, driftwood or way through skeletons and zombies, or who immediately look for
ideally bone and using these items as makeshift limbs or weapons. the necromancer when they encounter an ‘undead’.
 Host Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 2D6+6 13 1–3 Right Leg 5/4
CON 2D6 7 4–6 Left Leg 5/4
SIZ 3D6 10 7–9 Abdomen 5/5
INT 0 0 10–12 Chest 5/6
POW 0 0 13–15 Right Arm 5/3
DEX 2D6 7 16–18 Left Arm 5/3
CHA 0 0 19–20 Head 5/4

Slime Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 1D6 3 1–20 Slime Pool –/12
CON 1D6 3
SIZ 2D6 7
INT 0 0
POW 0 0
DEX 1 1
CHA 0 0

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 0 Traits: Regeneration (5 HP/5 minutes), Damage Resistance (maximum one
damage
to slime from weapon attacks)
Movement 4m
Strike Rank +3 Skills: Perception 20%, Persistence 50%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Unarmed S T 30% 1D4 As for Arm

Ashwalker
Ashwalkers arise from the wreck of cities and the bloody end of sieges.
They are born of devastation and ruin. An ashwalker resembles a
burnt human corpse, its flesh blackened and tattered like old leather
and its hollow eye-sockets are filled with searing flame.

Ashwalkers can only step on burnt ground. If an ashwalker tricked

or lured onto any terrain that has not been scorched, it must make
a Resilience test or be destroyed instantly in a puff of acrid smoke.
If it passes this test, it immediately uses its Flame Wreath ability
to burn the ground beneath its feet. Ashwalkers cannot therefore
pass running water.

The creatures possess several abilities related to flame and

destruction.

Flame Projection: The Ashwalker can exhale blasts of fire. It can

deal up to five points of fire damage every round. It uses this to
scorch the ground nearby, allowing it to travel over burnt terrain.
The amount of damage needed to burn the ground depends on
the terrain:

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Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 3D6+6 17 1–3 Right Leg 3/6
CON 3D6+6 17 4–6 Left Leg 3/6
SIZ 3D6 10 7–9 Abdomen 3/7
INT 1D3 2 10–12 Chest 3/8
POW 2D6 7 13–15 Right Arm 3/5
DEX 2D6+6 13 16–18 Left Arm 3/5
CHA 1D3 2 19–20 Head 3/6

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Flame Buffet (AP3)

Damage Modifier +1D2
Magic Points 7 Traits: Dark Sight, Imbued
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +8 Skills: Perception 29%, Persistence 30%, Resilience 60%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Fiery Punch S T 60% 1D6+1D6 fire+1D2 As for Arm
Flame Gout – – Automatic Varies –
Flame Wreath – VL Automatic 1D6 x 1D3 –

One damage: Leaves, dry ground flame wreath attack, it cannot project a flame gout for another
Two damage: Grass or sand 2d4 rounds.
Three damage: Damp grass
Four damage: Mud Ash Storm: An ashwalker surrounds itself with swirling clouds
Five damage: Stone of ash and hot dust. This cloud penalises missile attacks on the
undead by –20%.
Any left over fire damage can be used in combat. The ashwalker
can spit a gout of flame up to five metres. A character targeted by Using Ashwalkers: Ashwalkers make positioning very important
a flame gout may make a Dodge test to avoid being struck. If the in a battle. If the characters stand and fight, then they will keep
Ashwalker does not move, it can use all five points of fire damage getting blasted by Fire Gouts. They can also burn buildings down
as a flame gout attack. around the characters, making for a hazardous battlefield!

Flame Wreath: Inhaling deeply, the ashwalker vomits out a huge Chattering Skull
blast of flame. This blast extends two metres from the creature, A chattering skull is the simplest necromantic construct that retains
dealing 1d6 damage to 1d3 locations on all creatures within range a fragment of its intelligence and wit. All the magical energy that
(Dodge test to avoid all damage). After the ashwalker uses its goes into the animation of a skeleton is instead channelled into

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 1D3 2 1–20 Head 5/3
CON 1D6 3
SIZ 3 3
INT 2D6 7
POW 1D6 3
DEX 1D6+3 7
CHA 2D6 7

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP5)

Damage Modifier –1D8
Magic Points 3 Traits: Dark Sight, Imbued
Movement 2m
Strike Rank +7 Skills: Influence 30%, Perception 40%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Chew Your Legs Off S T 30% 1D4–1D8 As for Head
 producing a sorcerous mind within the bony confines of the skull. blood from dead or unconscious victims. It tries to combine these
Chattering skulls have a limited intelligence and can speak, so attacks, stunning creatures that come too close, then sucking their
they are used as notebooks, grimoires, watchmen or even messages live essence out with its vampiric roots.
by necromancer. One skull might be placed in a necromancer’s
laboratory, to observe an experiment. Another might be placed on The corpse tree’s chief power, though, is to animate corpses that
a rock overlooking an approach road and ordered to chatter an are hung from its branches. A body hung from the tree will be
alarm if it spots intruders. animated as a common skeleton or zombie within one month. The
undead creatures cannot stray far from the tree and will collapse if
The personality and mind of a chattering skull are entirely the moved more than three kilometres. The tree can hold one corpse
creation of the magic that created them – the skull retains nothing per five SIZ. Necromancers use corpse trees as a method of mass-
of the living mind that once resided there, although some skulls producing zombie servants.
like to pretend they were once alive. Over time, chattering skulls
tend to become eccentric and stubborn and elder necromancers
Even though the undead that hang from its branches take one month
dismiss the things are being far more trouble than they are worth.
to ‘ripen’, corpses are partially animated as soon as they are hung
from the branches. Anyone attacking the tree will also be attacked by
Chattering skulls can learn sorcery but their low POW means they
any undead hanging from its branches. Horribly, a victim killed by
will never be especially potent sorcerers.
these zombies will be hauled up into the branches to join them. An
average corpse tree contains 1d4+1 common zombies or skeletons.
Using Chattering Skulls: Chattering skulls are one of the few
undead creatures that you can talk to and they are great fun to
If a corpse tree is not controlled by a necromancer or other
roleplay. Be as morbid or amusing as you can.
undead master, then it sends its spawn out to hunt for fresh blood.
Destroying the corpse tree also destroys all its rotten fruit.
Corpse Tree
A corpse tree is made from a rotten tree. The necromancer hollows Using Corpse Trees: Corpse trees are a disturbing image – what
out the foul core, then fills it with grave dust, bone meal and rotten player expects to be scared by a tree, of all things. They are a good
meat while chanting a suitable spell. The tree becomes an ugly, challenge for an inexperienced party, as the tree can produce many
twisted thing, gaunt and leafless and bitter and the rot spreads from
common undead without being a powerful necromancer itself.
the tree’s dying roots to the surrounding area. Despite this inner
decay, corpse trees continue to grow as they feed on blood and
some elder corpse trees are said to contain hundreds of undead. Grave Ooze
Grave ooze is a foul-smelling black slime that rises from the graves of
A corpse tree can drop dead branches at enemies who come murderers and thieves. The ooze can slither and flow with surprising
beneath its eaves. It can also poke roots out of the ground to drain speed and its jet-black colour makes it resemble a moving shadow.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR Equal to SIZ 1–3 Root 2/19
CON 6d6 22 4–6 Root 2/19
SIZ 20D6 70 7–9 Trunk 2/20
INT 0 0 10–12 Trunk 2/20
POW 0 0 13–15 Trunk 2/20
DEX 1D6 3 16–18 Branch 2/18
CHA 0 0 19–20 Branch 2/18

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Bark (2AP)

Damage Modifier –
Magic Points 0 Traits: Earth Sense, Imbued.
Movement 0m
Strike Rank +1 Skills: None

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Falling Branch H M 30% 3D6 As for Branch
Vampiric Root L VL 10% 3D6 As for Root

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Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 4D6 14 1–20 Slime –/21
CON 3D6 11
SIZ 3D6 11
INT 0 0
POW 1D3 2
DEX 2D6 7
CHA 1 1

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 2 Traits: Earth Sense
Movement 6m
Strike Rank +4 Skills: Stealth 80%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Psuedopod M L 60% 1D4+1D2+1D6
Engulf – – 50% 1D4+1D2+1D6 to 1d3 locations.
Engulf attack is only possible if the grave ooze attacks with surprise.

Grave ooze is drawn to dark, cold places, where it festers and

grows. It is hostile to all living things and kills by drawing the very
life out of the cells. The remains of those slain by the ooze appear
uninjured but are icy cold to the touch and are rotting on the
inside. Fire and bright light both repel the ooze and fire attacks do
double damage.

The ooze often slithers its way up to cling to the ceiling of a cave
or crypt and then drops down to ambush an unsuspecting foe. It
has also been known to lurk in shallow pools of water, waiting for
a victim to come by.

Icy Touch: The location struck by an ooze attack is temporarily

paralysed because of the extreme cold, reducing the victim’s
Dexterity by 1D6 per attack. Warming and rubbing the affected
areas restores health and movement.

Using Grave Ooze: Grave ooze is a hazard for adventurers in tombs

and crypts. Combine it with another danger, like a skeleton patrol,
to force the characters to fight when they are half-paralysed.

Lich
Becoming a lich is the ultimate goal of the necromancer. It binds
the necromancer’s very soul to the mortal world for all eternity,
forever freeing him from death. The necromancer will never pass
onto the afterworld – he will continue to exist in this world until
the stars go out and the world ends. He has bound body and soul
together into a single eternal form.
 Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 6D6 20 1–3 Right Leg 14/7
CON 6D6 20 4–6 Left Leg 14/7
SIZ 2D6+6 11 7–9 Abdomen 14/8
INT 6D6 20 10–12 Chest 14/9
POW 6D6 20 13–15 Right Arm 14/6
DEX 3D6+3 13 16–18 Left Arm 14/6
CHA 6D6 20 19–20 Head 14/7

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP 14)

Damage Modifier +1D4
Magic Points 20 Traits: Night Sight, Life Sight, Immortal
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +17 Skills: Influence 90%, Lore (any) 200%, Perception 90%, Persistence 150%,
Resilience
100%, Sorcery and all Manipulation skills at 120%, dozens of sorcery spells
known.

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Claw M S 80% 1D6+1D4 As for Arm

A lich begins its undeath in skeletal form but it does not always The soul of a lich is so powerful that the horror regenerates even
stay this way. Say a band of heroic adventurers enter a lich permanent sacrifices of INT, POW or CHA at the rate of one
necromancer’s keep and defeat the monster – what then? The lich point per three months. A lich cannot therefore be permanently
is immortal in the truest sense of the word; it cannot be destroyed. destroyed by, say, draining its POW to 0.
They can hack up its corpse, grind its bones into dust, seal each
individual grain of dust in an individual casket and scatter these There is no known way to destroy a lich (or, for that matter, for a
caskets over the face of the world and all they have done is bought lich to destroy itself ).
the world a little time. The lich will reform a year or a century or
a million years hence, pulling its body back together from bone Moon Hound
dust and other fragments. Elder liches are more like fossils than A moon hound is a snow-white dog that glows with a pearly
bleached skeletons, with frames of congealed darkness, stone and light. Despite the name, they can be made from any canine. The
dust. unfortunate dog must be drowned in a ditch by moonlight, then
bleached with a foul alchemical mixture as it is being transformed
into a moon hound.

Like their moon hunter masters, moon hounds can teleport by

moonlight but a moon hound can only travel by moonlight three
times per night and does not flicker in and out of existence. When

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Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 6D6 20 1–2 Right Hind Leg 2/6
CON 3D6+9 19 3–4 Left Hind Leg 2/6
SIZ 2D6+3 10 5–7 Hindquarters 2/7
INT 5 5 8–10 Forequarters 2/8
POW 3D6 10 11–13 Right Front Leg 2/6
DEX 3D6+3 13 14–16 Left Front Leg 2/6
CHA 5 5 17–20 Head 2/6

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Hide (AP 2)

Damage Modifier +1D2
Magic Points 10 Traits: Night Sight, Imbued
Movement 10m
Strike Rank +9 Skills: Athletics 90%, Evade 55%, Perception 60%, Resilience 70%, Stealth 55%,
Survival
40%, Tracking 60%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Bite S T 70% 1D8+1D2 As for Head
Claw M S 50% 1D6+1D2 As for Leg

travelling by moonlight, the hound can teleport from one patch of armour and deals double damage as the creature materialises with
moonlight to another, crossing the intervening distance instantly its blade already impaled in a target. The creatures also step into
no matter how far the jump. shadow when cornered, so that they cease to exist and can reappear
in some other section of moonlight.
Both the howl and the bite of a moon hound are magically
unsettling. Anyone who hears the howl of a moon hound must When clouds are passing in front of the moon, roll 1d20 each
make a Persistence test or suffer a –10% penalty to all attacks made round. If the moon hunter is present, then it vanishes on that
while the hound is present. strike rank. If the moon hunter is absent, then it appears on that
strike rank.
Anyone bitten by a moon hound must make a Resilience test or be unable
to see the moonlight for one month. This may turn a bright night into a The moon hunters use their mirrored shields to pursue foes
much darker one and makes moon hunters invisible to the victim. into cover. One hunter will stand outside and hold up its shield,
reflecting the silver light of the moon into the building or cave
Moon Hunter where its foes have fled. The shields can reflect moonlight up to 10
These undead creatures resemble gaunt humans with porcelain- metres and the moon hunters can create projection chains, where
white skin and are often mistaken for vampires. They carry thin one hunter reflects the light from the shield of another.
swords that shine brightly in one hand and mirrored shields in
the other. They also carry crescent-shaped daggers. Moon hunters Some tales speak of an army of champions, princes and heroes
commonly hunt in packs, accompanied by moon hounds. every one, who swore to make war upon the Goddess of the Moon
but were defeated by her and were transformed into her slaves.
A moon hunter can exist only in moonlight. When in moonlight, Other accounts claim that moon hunters are the spectres of those
the hunter is as solid and real as any living creature. If a cloud moon-touched madmen who wandered onto the moors and froze
passes in front of the moon, then the hunter vanishes. It does not to death.
go invisible or enter the spirit world – it simply ceases to be. When
the moonlight shines again, the hunter exists again. Using Moon Hunters: Like ashwalkers, moon hunters change
the rules of the battlefield and are a very unusual foe. They are
The creatures are adept at using this curious property in combat. In also intelligent enough to be recurring villains and can chase the
the round when a moon hunter appears, its first attack may ignore characters by night while giving them respite by day.
 Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 3D6 11 1–3 Right Leg 5/6
CON 3D6+6 17 4–6 Left Leg 5/6
SIZ 3D6 11 7–9 Abdomen 5/7
INT 3D6 11 10–12 Chest 5/8
POW 3D6+3 14 13–15 Right Arm 5/5
DEX 3D6+3 14 16–18 Left Arm 5/5
CHA 3D6+3 14 19–20 Head 5/6

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: Chain mail Shirt and Trews (AP5, –7 Strike Rank Penalty)
Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 14 Traits: Night Sight, Imbued
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +13 (+6 if Skills: Athletics 40%, Perception 55%, Persistence 60%, Resilience 55%, Stealth
armoured) 45%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Moonbeam Rapier M L 65% 1D8/3 5/8
Fullmoon Shield L S 40% 1D6/8 4/12

Mummy
A mummy is an undead monster spawned of a preserved, desiccated and eviscerated corpse, inhabited by the spirit or soul that resided
in the creature when it was alive.

A mummy’s body is dried, spiced and wrapped in dry cloth, making it particularly vulnerable to fire. An Ignite spell will work on any
portion of a mummy’s body. A strike with a fiery weapon, such as a sword with a Fireblade spell on it, or even a torch, will ignite the Hit
Location stuck if the damage from the fire overcomes the mummy’s Resilience in a standard opposed test.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 3D6+12 21 1–3 Right Leg 3/7
CON 3D6+12 21 4–6 Left Leg 3/7
SIZ 2D6+6 13 7–9 Abdomen 3/8
INT 2D6+6 13 10–12 Chest 3/9
POW 0 0 13–15 Right Arm 3/6
DEX 2D6 7 16–18 Left Arm 3/6
CHA 1 1 19–20 Head 3/7

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Tough Skin (AP 3)

Damage Modifier +1D4
Magic Points 14 Traits: Free-Willed, Imbued
Movement 6m
Strike Rank +10 Skills: Mummies have the same skills they possessed when alive, though the skills
may be modified by the mummy’s new characteristics.

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
War maul H L 80% 2D6+1D4 4/10
Fist S T 60% 1D6+1D4 As for Arm

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Standard healing spells are ineffective on mummy’s, though a

Repair spell will fix any damage done (in 1D10 increments).

When a creature becomes a mummy, its STR and CON are

doubled. The statistics represent a human mummy, though any
sentient creature can become one.

Mummy Dust
Every book and scroll on the topic of magical cure-all and healing
praises the power and virtue of ground mummy, prescribing it for
every illness from toothache to Baron Samethan’s Plague. Tomb
robbers dig up the buried dead of ancient days and grind them
up to sell to apothecaries, while charlatans and mountebanks fill
jars with ash or sand and sell them to the foolish. Such ‘cures’ are
useless but harmless.

Some fools have ground up the remains of undead mummies,

or collected dust from a tomb where such an undead creature
once resided. This dust carries with it the taint of undeath and
has brought death to many who hoped it would be a cure. When
a jar of undead mummy dust is opened, the dust spills out in a
choking cloud and shapes itself into a dusty simulacrum of the
mummy’s shape.

The dust attacks by clogging the nose and mouth of its victims,
using precise attacks to target the head. Each attack on the head
forces a Resilience test to avoid suffocation and a character who
fails this test suffers 1d4 points of damage to the head each round
while the dust is in contact with him. This damage ignores armour.
If the dust’s foe is too skilled or agile to be choked, then the dust
can flail and abrade flesh.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 1D6+6 9 1–3 Right Leg –/5
CON 1D6 3 4–6 Left Leg –/5
SIZ 6D6 22 7–9 Abdomen –/6
INT 1D6 3 10–12 Chest –/7
POW 1D3 2 13–15 Right Arm –/4
DEX 2D6+3 10 16–18 Left Arm –/4
CHA 1D3 2 19–20 Head –/5

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None but mummy dust takes only one point of damage from any
attack
Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 2 Traits: Dark Sight, Imbued
Movement 4m
Strike Rank +7 Skills: Evade 70%, Perception 20%, Persistence 80%, Resilience 20%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Smother E T 30% 1D4+possible suffocation As for Chest
Abrasive Dust S T 70% 1D4 As for Arm
 Necrodomo
Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 3D6+12 22 1–3 Right Leg –/3
CON 1D6 3 4–6 Left Leg –/3
SIZ 3D6 10 7–9 Abdomen –/4
INT 3D6 10 10–12 Chest –/5
POW 1D3 2 13–15 Right Arm –/2
DEX 1D6+3 7 16–18 Left Arm –/2
CHA 2D6 7 19–20 Head –/3

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier +1D4
Magic Points 2 Traits: Dark Sight, Night Sight
Movement 4m
Strike Rank +8 Skills: Evade 20%, Perception 20%, Persistence 60%, Resilience 60%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Unarmed S T 60% 1D3+1D4 As for Arm

Mummy dust is difficult to injure, as it is composed of floating dust

motes and most attacks just go straight through it, inflicting only a
Building a Necromaton
A necromaton is built from:
single point of damage on the cloud. High winds can tear the phantom
X A frame, which is the torso that will be the foundation of the
mummy apart. The dust is slow-moving and physically weak but it
monster. The SIZ of the base creature from whom the frame
can flow through the smallest hole in a barrier to get to its victims.
is taken is the base SIZ of the monster.
X Attachments, which are body parts such as limbs, heads or tails
Using Mummy Dust: Mummy dust could be the killer in a
taken from other creatures.
murder mystery – the characters deliver a relic from a tomb to an
X Upgrades, which are non-living parts like weapons.
antiquarian, who is found dead the next morning. The characters
have to find the undead dust to clear their names.
Unlike a normal creature, the AP, Hit Points and damage bonus for
each of a necromaton’s locations are calculated separately, using the
Necrodomo SIZ of the creature it was taken from.
A necrodomo is a more intelligent form of zombie, gifted with
enough wit to follow orders and even command other undead. Attachments & Upgrades
Necrodomos do not have souls and are not who they were Different body parts give different abilities:
in life but they often have some of the memories of the body’s X Arms: Arms retain any claw or unarmed attack the limb
previous tenant. Necrodomos are used as servants and overseers possessed in life and allow the necromaton to make attacks
by necromancers. They look like common zombies but tend to be with weapons. Extra arms let the necromaton wield more
much better dressed. weapons. Longer arms give the creature more reach and
therefore a higher Strike Rank.
X Legs: Legs let the necromaton move. Each pair of extra legs
Necromaton increases the creature’s movement by two metres. Longer legs
A necromaton is an undead creature that never lived. Instead, its can give extra movement and agility.
body is made up from pieces of different corpses, sewed or fused X Heads: It is possible to build a headless necromaton but
together into a single shambling monstrosity and animated using a such creatures have limited perceptive abilities. Heads retain
single spell. The simplest necromaton is the ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’, whatever Bite attacks they had in life. Extra heads let the
a humanoid undead made from the choice pieces of many corpses. necromaton look in multiple directions at once, giving it a
More complex necromatons are built for a specific purpose. The +40% bonus to Perception tests.
arms of a giant might be welded into the tusk-sockets of a zombie X Tails: Adding a tail allows the necromaton to make a Tail Lash
mammoth and the mammoth’s spine might be warped into bony attack, or to swim at its normal movement. Tails grafted from
towers and battlements to create an undead siege engine. Human other creatures retain their poisonous barbs or spikes.
skeletons might have the skulls of wolves and scythes for arms.

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X Wings: A pair of wings allow a necromaton to fly at its normal X Other devices: Necromatons built for specific purposes might
movement. Extra wings increase its flying speed. possess ribcages that close and imprison a foe, or skeletal hands
X Melee weapons: A melee weapon such as a sword or hammer at the ends of chains for scaling walls.
can be attached to a limb. Such a weapon has a +10% chance
to hit and deals +2 damage. Necromatons with grafted Skull Dog
weapons cannot be disarmed (except by literally cutting off A skull dog is a simple necromaton, composed of a human skull
the whole arm). on the body of a dog. The horrors are little more than mobile eyes,
X Ranged Weapons: Projectile weapons like blowguns, searching for intruders.
crossbows or slings can be built into the body of a necromaton.
Such weapons have a +10% chance to hit and deal +2 damage. Skull Dog Handler
Many necromancers install more exotic weapons into their Waste not, want not is the motto of a necromaton builder. These
necromatons, like gas projectors filled with poison or skull constructs put a dog’s head on a human body. The spine is bent
throwers. forward to enable the skull dog handler to bite enemies easily.

Skull Dog
Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 3D6+3 13 1–3 Right Hind Leg 5/3
CON 1d6 3 4–6 Left Hind Leg 5/3
SIZ 2D6+3 10 7–9 Hindquarters 5/4
INT 1 1 10–12 Forequarters 5/5
POW 1 1 13–15 Right Front Leg 5/3
DEX 2D6 7 16–18 Left Front Leg 5/3
CHA 1 1 19–20 Head 5/3

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Skeletal (5AP)

Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 1 Traits: Dark Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 10m
Strike Rank +4 Skills: Evade 40%, Resilience 30%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Bite S T 60% 1D4+1D2 As for Head
Claw M S 30% 1D6 As for Leg

Skull Dog Handler

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 3D6+3 13 1–3 Right Leg 5/3
CON 1D6 3 4–6 Left Leg 5/3
SIZ 3D6 10 7–9 Abdomen 7/4
INT 0 0 10–12 Chest 7/5
POW 0 0 13–15 Right Arm 5/2
DEX 2D6 7 16–18 Left Arm 5/2
CHA 0 0 19–20 Head 5/3

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP5), Leather Hauberk (AP2, –1 Strike Rank Penalty)
Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 0 Traits: Dark Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +4 (+3 if Skills: Evade 30%, Resilience 40%
armoured)

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Shortsword M S 36% 1D6/3 6/8
Shield H S 36% 1D6/8 4/18
Bite S T 26% 1D8–1D2/5 As for Head
 Bonecarver
A bonecarver is made by taking the body of an ogre, then grafting
the arms of three humans to its shoulders. Each arm is stretched
and warped and a sword is implanted into the forearm instead of a
hand. The resulting six-armed monster is an excellent swordsman,
Some necromancers even replace the creature’s head with a human
skull beneath a massive domed helmet and sew armour plating
beneath the muscles of its chest.

Bonepicker
A bonepicker is a squat necromaton, usually fashioned from the
body of a dwarf or child. The frame’s ribcage is twisted and filled
with spinning blades and knives, while its mouth is widened and
a gullet of leather is added. The bonepicker can swallow detached
limbs whole, passing them down its artificial gullet to the gauntlet
of knives below. There, the limbs and bodies are expertly stripped
of all flesh and attached muscle and the bones emerge from the
bonepicker’s stomach clean and polished a perfect bone white.
The bonepicker then transfers the clean bone to a sack on its
back. When the sack is full, the harvester drops its grisly cargo
in a necromancer’s ossuary, ready to be assembled into another
necromaton.

Bonepickers are not especially dangerous opponents, unless they

managed to grab hold of an enemy’s limb and force it down into
that hideous flesh-stripping machinery...

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 2D6+15 22 1–3 Right Leg –/5
CON 2D6+2 8 4–6 Left Leg –/5
SIZ 2D6+6 13 7–9 Abdomen 6/6
INT 0 0 10–12 Chest 6/7
POW 0 0 13 First Right Arm –/3
DEX 2D6-4 3 14 Second Right Arm –/3
CHA 0 0 15 Third Right Arm –/3
16 First Left Arm –/3
17 Second Left Arm –/3
18 Third Right Arm –/3
19–20 Head –/5

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Breastplate (AP6, –2 Strike Rank Penalty)

Damage Modifier +1D4
Magic Points 0 Traits: Dark Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 6m
Strike Rank +2 (0 if Skills: Evade 15%, Resilience 45%
armoured)

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Warsword M M 68% 1D8+1D4 6/10
Bonecarvers may make up to six attacks per Combat Action.

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Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 4D6+3 17 1–3 Right Leg 5/4
CON 1D6+6 9 4–6 Left Leg 5/4
SIZ 1D6+6 9 7–9 Abdomen 5/5
INT 0 0 10–12 Chest 5/6
POW 0 0 13–15 Right Arm 5/3
DEX 1D6 3 16–18 Left Arm 5/3
CHA 0 0 19–20 Head 5/4

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP5)

Damage Modifier +1D2
Magic Points 0 Traits: Dark Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 4m
Strike Rank +2 Skills: Evade 10%, Resilience 25%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Claw M S 40% 1D4+1D2 As for Arm
Grab M S 20% 0 As for Arm
Sawmouth S T 100% 3D6 As for Head
A Bonepicker must make a successful Grab attack before it can use its Sawmouth attack.

Doorman
A doorman is made by spreading the bones of a human skeleton across a whole door. The hips become the hinges, the hands grip
tightly to the frame to keep the portal shut and the head sits in the middle, watching for intruders or guests. Doormen necromatons are
sometimes equipped with weapons like crossbows or acid sprayers, or can trigger pit traps or alarms.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 3D6+3 14 1–5 Frame 10/30
CON 2D6 7 6–18 Door 10/30
SIZ 1D6+12 15 19-20 Head 5/5
INT 0 0
POW 0 0
DEX 1D6 3
CHA 0 0

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP5)

Damage Modifier +1D2
Magic Points 0 Traits: Dark Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 0m
Strike Rank +2 Skills: Resilience 70%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Slam E T 30% 1D6+1D2 As for Door
 Mighty War Necromaton
This undead siege engine is made from pieces of mammoth, giant
and wyvern. The arms of giants are attached to the tusk sockets,
allowing the monster to tear down walls and gates. The tusks
themselves are moved to the centre of the skull, becoming a bony
mandible capable of cleaving an armoured knight in two.

The wyvern’s tail at the rear becomes a siege weapon, hurling rocks
like a springal or spraying gouts of acid or poison from its barbed
tip. The wide back of the mammoth bears more siege engines
and fortifications. The hollow rib cage is filled with hundreds
of skeletons and zombies and the hinged ribs spread wide when
the enemy’s walls are breached, loosing their grisly cargo on the
defenders.

A war mammoth can hold one skeleton for every five points of SIZ.

Flying Zombie Giant

A flying giant grafts the tattered wings of a dead wyvern onto the
animated bones of a giant skeleton. All the giant’s flesh and skin
is removed from the bones before the animation process by acid
bath or beetles, to ensure the resulting frame is as light as possible.
The wings replace the giant’s arms, so the necromaton is unable
to wield weapons normally. To overcome this, the necromaton is

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 10D6+33 68 1–2 Right Hind Leg 5/16
CON 2d6+10 17 3–4 Left Hind Leg 5/16
SIZ 10D6+30 65 5 Tail 5/9
INT 0 0 6–7 Hindquarters 5/17
POW 0 0 8–9 Forequarters 5/18
DEX 2D6 7 10–11 Right Front Leg 5/16
CHA 0 0 12–13 Left Front Leg 5/16
14–15 Left Arm 5/13
16–17 Right Arm 5/13
18 Mandible 5/13
19–20 Head 5/16

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP5)

Damage Modifier +2D12
Magic Points 0 Traits: Formidable Natural Weapons, Dark Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 12m
Strike Rank +4 Skills: Evade 15%, Resilience 60%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Trample H S 50% 5D12 As for Leg
Mandible H T 55% 3D12, hits two locations As for Mandible
Punch H L 60% 1D4+2D12 As for Arm
Stinger H L 40% 1D6+2D12+poison As for Tail

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Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 9D6+21 52 1–3 Right Leg 3/18
CON 6D6+21 42 4–6 Left Leg 3/18
SIZ 9D6+18 49 7–9 Abdomen 3/19
INT 0 0 10–12 Chest 3/20
POW 0 0 13–15 Right Wing 5/8
DEX 1D6+1 4 16–18 Left Wing 5/8
CHA 0 0 19–20 Head 3/18

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Tough Hide (AP3), Wyvern Hide (AP5)
Damage Modifier +2d12
Magic Points 0 Traits: Formidable Natural Weapons, Dark Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +2 Skills: Evade 20%, Resilience 50%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Stomp L S 30% 2d12 As for Leg
Spike L S 45% 1d8+2d12 As for Head
fitted with iron-shod boots so it can step on and kick enemies Despite being robbed of their skulls, the dozen or more skeletons
while flying. Ambitious necromancers have also been known to in the spineworm can fight perfectly well. Commonly, they carry
add a long bone spur to the giant’s skull, like an absurdly long and shields and swords, alternating which side they carry their shield
sharp beak, allowing the necromaton to stab enemies by thrusting on down the length of the wyvern. The wyvern head can bite and
its skull at them. snap at foes but the common tactic for this form of necromaton is
for the skeletal warriors to fight while the wyvern head is held high
Spineworm above the battlefield, scanning for greater dangers.
A spineworm is a truly freakish sight, being composed of the spine
A spineworm can make up to three sword attacks per opponent
and skull of a wyvern attached to a dozen or more headless human
per Combat Action and gets three free parry attempts.
corpses. Each vertebra in the wyvern’s long spine is matched to
the neck of one of the skeletons, creating a disturbing hybrid
Using Necromatons: Necromatons are the shock troops and
that resembles nothing so much as a festival dragon that has been
siege engines of an undead army. Use them to show how bizarre
stripped of all flesh.
necromancy can be.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 4D6+15 26 1–2 Skeleton 5/6
CON 1D6+6 9 3–4 Skeleton 5/6
SIZ 4D6+12 26 5–6 Skeleton 5/6
INT 0 0 7–8 Abdomen 5/8
POW 0 0 9–12 Body 5/9
DEX 1D6+3 6 13–14 Skeleton 5/6
CHA 0 0 15–16 Skeleton 5/6
17–18 Skeleton 5/6
19–20 Head 5/7

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP5)

Damage Modifier +1D12
Magic Points 0 Traits: Formidable Natural Weapons, Dark Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 6m
Strike Rank +3 Skills: Evade 25%, Resilience 30%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Short Sword M S 50% 1D6+1D12 6/8
Target Shield L S 50% 1D6+1D12 4/12
Bite M T 40% 1D10+1D12 As for Head
 Necropede hastily back to its ambulatory lair. Some skeletons have been found
Adventurers and tomb robbers learn to dread the scuttling sound containing dozens of necropedes of varying size.
of the necropede. These insects are often found in close proximity
to the undead, as they lay their eggs in the dead flesh of corpses Necropede Poison: POT35, Immediate, Full Effect: –4 penalty to
and zombies. Necropedes are usually between two and four feet opponent’s DEX, Duration 3d10 minutes.
long and are bleached white in colour. Their chitinous heads look
alarmingly like a tiny skull. Using Necropedes: Necropedes make a simple battle with skeletons
or zombies more interesting and are nicely freakish to alarm the
Necropedes have a potent poisonous bite that paralyses its victims. players. Some players will not blink when you describe a rotting
For the small vermin that a necropede normally preys upon, this corpse lurching towards them, its skeletal hands outstretched to
poison is strong enough to freeze the doomed rat in place, while claw their eyes out – but stick a many-legged bug on its shoulder
the necropede eats a few choice parts (generally, the eyes and lips) and those same players will be screaming ‘kill it! Kill it dead!
and lays its eggs in the wounds. However, necropedes are often Agh!’
encountered in a bizarre symbiosis with skeletons and other
undead. The necropede takes up residence within the undead Rat King
creature, crawling around inside its ribcage or skull. In combat, Rat kings are said to be unusually large and intelligent rats, as big
the necropede scuttles out and coils around the skeleton’s arm, as a cat or even a dog. They are the acknowledged masters of the
striking at any living foe that the skeleton attacks. If the skeleton rat folk, ruling over invisible kingdoms beneath the floorboards
kills its enemy, the necropede rushes out, lays its eggs, then scuttles and in the hollows of the walls of man’s cities. The chittered

Dice Average 1–3 Rear Segment 2/3

STR 1D6+6 9 4–6 Segment 2/3
CON 2D6 7 7–9 Segment 2/3
SIZ 1D6 3 10–12 Middle Segment 2/4
INT 1 1 13–15 Segment 2/4
POW 1D3 2 16–18 Segment 2/4
DEX 3D6+3 14 19–20 Head 2/3
CHA 1D3 2

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Tough Hide (AP2)

Damage Modifier –1D4
Magic Points 2 Traits: Earth Sense
Movement 6m
Strike Rank +8 Skills: Evade 30%, Resilience 20%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Sting S S 30% 1D4–1D4+poison As for Head

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 1D4 2 1–2 Right Hind Leg 1/4
CON 3D6+3 14 3-4 Left Hind Leg 1/4
SIZ 1D6 3 5-6 Tail 1/3
INT 3D6 11 7–9 Abdomen 1/5
POW 3D6+3 14 10–12 Chest 1/6
DEX 2D6+6 13 13–15 Right Arm 1/3
CHA 2D6 7 16–18 Left Arm 1/3
19–20 Head 1/4

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: Thick Fur (AP1)

Damage Modifier –1D8
Magic Points 14 Traits: Dark Sight
Movement 6m
Strike Rank +2 Skills: Evade 60%, Perception 50%, Persistence 40%, Resilience 40%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Bite S T 45% 1D4–1D8+disease As for Head

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commands of these rodent majesties are obeyed without question sent to investigate a nest of rats, who discover the rats are led by an
by their subjects – a single squeak from a rat king can send 10,000 ambitious rat king…
rats charging into the attack, spending their lives without a second
thought. Rat Ghoul
The origin of rat ghouls is a mystery even to the necromancers
Most rat kings have no greater ambitions than keeping their petty but it is theorised that over long dark years in vermin-infested
domains intact, slaying fearsome cats and siring whole dynasties catacombs, something of the rats’ spirit becomes entangled in
every year (fortunately for humanity, rat princes and princesses are the ghoul. Rat ghouls are hunched, snaggle-toothed monsters, a
born once in every few thousand births) but some have harboured rotten parody of a human corpse covered with patches of matted
greater desires. Rat kings have brought down whole cities by fur, trailing a wormy tail of loose skin behind them. The creatures
spreading disease and devouring food stores. Some brew poisons in are notoriously difficult to control using conventional magic and
the sewers; others ally themselves with necromancers or even learn their somewhat greater intelligence – or, more accurately, stronger
the black art themselves, to better conquer their two-legged foes. survival instincts – means they are often found leading packs of
The position of court necromancer to a rat king is not the proudest common ghouls.
of titles but from this shadow court a necromancer is guaranteed
an endless supply of corpses fresh from the rat war. The best way to deal with rat ghouls is to bargain with them instead
of trying to force them to obey – the creatures can be kept happy
Most rat kings are too proud and paranoid to fight for themselves, with enough bones to gnaw on and enough marrow to suck.
preferring to send huge swarms of rats into the fray but there are
stories of rat kings armed with little lances and armour of polished A rat ghoul can enter a killing frenzy instead of the blood chilling
bone, riding into battle atop tamed dogs... howl of ordinary ghouls. When in a killing frenzy, the ghoul gains
a +6 bonus to Strike Rank, +1d4 damage and +20% to all attacks.
Rat King’s Evil: Delay 1D3 Hours, Pot 70, Full Effect: 1d4 damage A killing frenzy lasts for 1d4+1 rounds.
to all locations, –4 to POW.

Using Rat Kings: The best monsters are ones the players can Rot Ghoul
talk to and negotiate with as well as fight and rat kings bring The first and most obvious sign of a rot ghoul’s presence is the
common vermin up to that level. They are a terrifying foe in an unbearable stench. A rot ghoul is the final degeneration of the
urban campaign – the Player Characters might be town guards ghoul, a shambling leprous monster that sheds skin and drools

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 4D6+6 11 1–3 Right Leg –/5
CON 3D6 13 4–6 Left Leg –/5
SIZ 2D6+6 11 7–9 Abdomen –/6
INT 3D6 11 10–12 Chest –/7
POW 3D6 11 13–15 Right Arm –/4
DEX 3D6 11 16–18 Left Arm –/4
CHA 1D6 3 19–20 Head –/5

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour:

Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 11 Traits: Poison, Imbued
Movement 10m
Strike Rank +11 Skills: Athletics 80%, Evade 60%, Persistence 70%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Claw M S 80% 2D4 As for Arm
Bite S T 50% 1D6+1D4+poison As for Head

Ghoul Venom: Delay 1d4 rounds, POT22, Full Effect: Paralysis, Duration 1d10 hours or until healed.
 cranial fluid as it skulks through the tunnels. Worms eat its flesh
and clouds of flies and insects surround it but it keeps moving,
driven by a hunger for slaughter that death cannot quell. Rot
ghouls know they have only a short time before they collapse into a
pile of rotten bones and so they desperately try to devour as much
flesh as they can before that inevitable fate catches them.

Any wound made by a rot ghoul is automatically infected. This

infection reduces healing (both natural and magical) by half and
penalises Resilience tests made to resist the effects of Serious and
Major Injuries by –25%.

Rot ghouls can also squirt a jet of tainted blood, spittle and bile
from their rotten mouths and noses. Those in combat with the
ghoul when this happens must make a Dodge test or be struck.
This taint erodes the flesh, dealing 1d4 points of damage to all
locations (armour reduces this damage as normal). Those slain
by this attack become normal ghouls 1d3 days after dying. A rot
ghoul can only spray once every 1d6 rounds.

Using Ghouls: The ghoul’s ability to paralyse victims means that

the monsters adopt a divide-and-conquer strategy – instead of
killing a foe when he is paralysed, a ghoul pack will turn on the
next uninjured foe, then the next, until all their enemies are frozen
in place… and then the banquet can begin!

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 3D6 11 1–3 Right Leg –/4
CON 2D6 7 4–6 Left Leg –/4
SIZ 2D6+6 13 7–9 Abdomen –/5
INT 1D6 3 10–12 Chest –/6
POW 1D6 3 13–15 Right Arm –/3
DEX 3D6 11 16–18 Left Arm –/3
CHA 1D3 2 19–20 Head –/4

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 3 Traits: Dark Sight, Imbued
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +7 Skills: Athletics 40%, Evade 40%, Persistence 60%, Stealth 10%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Claw M S 80% 1D4+1D2 As for Arm
Bite S T 60% 1D6+1D2+poison As for Head

Ghoul Venom: Delay 1d4 rounds, POT22, Full Effect: Paralysis, Duration 1d10 hours or until healed.
Foul Spray Automatic 1d4 to all locations

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Skeletons All skeletons have AP5 (skeletal) in addition to any worn armour.
Skeletons are not quite as strong as zombies but they do have two major A common skeleton is destroyed when its head, abdomen or chest
advantages for the discerning necromancer. Firstly, they are much is reduced to a negative Hit Point total equal to its maximum
longer lasting. Zombie flesh rots over time, with a commensurate positive Hit Point total.
reduction in the zombie’s ability to move. After a few years, the average
zombie is tripping over its own dangling intestines or covered in mould Skeletons have a score of 0 for INT, POW and CHA, as they
and flies. Skeletons, by contrast, will last for centuries. have no intelligence, will or personalities of their own. As such,
attempts to control a skeleton’s mind or influence its personality
Secondly, zombies stink. will automatically fail. Skeletons are also immune to fatigue,
disease and poisons.
To make an animated skeleton, the sorcerer must prepare the Skeletons are immune to damage from weapons that cause impaling
skeleton, stripping it of flesh and ensuring that all the major critical hits, though an attacker’s damage modifier will still cause
bones are present. Some necromancers prefer to wire the skeletons damage on a successful hit.
together, to make it easier to animate. Others use magic alone to
hold their creations together. A skeleton has the same Movement the creature had in life but as
a skeleton it cannot fly or swim.
Common Skeletons Greater Skeletons
These piles of animated bones move in a disconcerting jerky way, Greater Skeletons are made from creatures of SIZ16 or bigger but
somewhere between a string puppet and an insect. Common are otherwise identical to normal skeletons.
skeletons can be created from the corpse of any humanoid or small
animal, up to SIZ 15. The following statistical changes take place
upon a creature when it is zombified: Spirits
STR +0
Daughter of Winter
Daughters of winter are undead spirits of elemental cold,
CON Reduced by 2D6, minimum 1D6
manifesting as beautiful maidens with icily beautiful features,
SIZ No Change
dressed in thin white shifts like grave shrouds. They were never
INT Reduced to 0
alive. They are the literal chill of death, things of entropy and
POW Reduced to 0
winter and decay given form by the dreams of mortals.
DEX No Change
CHA Reduced to 0
Daughters of winter appear in the mortal world in places of extreme
cold. Sometimes, if the coming season is especially cold, they travel
A skeleton’s chance to hit with any weapon or Unarmed attack is
equal to its current DEX x 5. with the first snowfall, dancing along the edge of the course of

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 2D6+6 12 1–3 Right Leg 7/3
CON 1D6 3 4–6 Left Leg 7/3
SIZ 3D6 10 7–9 Abdomen 7/4
INT 0 0 10–12 Chest 7/5
POW 0 0 13–15 Right Arm 5/2
DEX 3D6 10 16–18 Left Arm 5/2
CHA 0 0 19–20 Head 5/3

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP 5), Leather Cuirass and Hauberk (AP 2, -2 Strike
Rank Penalty)
Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 0 Traits: Dark Sight, Night Sight
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +5 (+3 if Skills: Athletics 30%, Evade 45%, Resilience 25%
armoured)

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Longspear L VL 36% 1D10+1 4/10
Shortsword M S 36% 1D6 6/8
 winter. When they appear, daughters of winter are drawn to people
and places that would normally survive the cold. They seek out
strong men and hardened travellers, they seek out well-provisioned
inns and warm-walled homes and they attempt to destroy them.

When a daughter of winter is present, the temperature drops

noticeably. Sometimes, images of the daughter’s face appear in the
frost caused by her cold aura. A daughter of winter cannot attack
without manifesting and becoming visible; when manifested, she
can be injured by normal weapons but takes minimum damage
from any such attack.

Daughters of winter prefer to work through lies; a daughter might

lure a hunter away from his bright campfire by seducing him and
leading him on a chase across the snows, or one might take a room
in an inn and open all the doors by night, letting the heat out and
the cold in.

If a daughter of winter possesses a victim, the incredible cold of

the spirit has a swift effect, causing him to lose one Hit Point per
location every 10 minutes. His skin becomes cold and pale to the
touch.

Folk traditions insist that a daughter of winter can be warded off

by throwing either a newborn baby or a stranger out to die of
exposure. Other stories insist that if a hero is strong enough to
warm the heart of a daughter by making love to her, then she will
reward him with supernatural powers. Both tales are often told by
a pretty girl in the common rooms of an inn where travellers gather
to escape the cold weather outside.

Using Daughters of Winter: These spirits work well as a minor

‘side quest’ while the adventurers are travelling.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR – – 1–20 Spirit –/17
CON – –
SIZ – –
INT 3D6 11
POW 3d6+6 17
DEX – –
CHA 3d6+6 17

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier –
Magic Points 17 Traits: Spirit, Dominant Possession, Life Sight
Movement Fly 34m
Strike Rank +14 Skills: Disguise 80%, Evade 40%, Influence 60%, Perception 60%, Persistence
60%, Resilience 50%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Icy Touch S T 60% 1D4 –

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Death
A death spirit appears as a figure swathed in a tattered black cloak,
its face completely hidden by the shadows of the cowl and it carries
a scythe or sword in one hand. Death spirits appear for an instant
when a living creature dies to collect its soul. They are rarely seen,
even by those who can perceive the spirit world. A seer might
glimpse a Death out of the corner of his eye but these spectral
messengers are elusive and swift.

On rare occasions, or through the intercession of powerful magical

forces, it is possible to meet one’s death and defeat it, winning a
second chance at life.

A death spirit is unique to each creature – at the end, we must all

meet our death alone. A death has INT and POW exactly equal to
those of the creature it comes to collect. The statistics are for the
death of a human

A blow from a death spirit’s weapon inflicts 2d6 damage to most

creatures but brings instant death to the creature it is destined to
collect.

Ghost
Ghosts are spirits of the unquiet dead. Some are conjured up by
magic but most spirits of this sort either refused to go on to the
afterlife, or else returned from beyond the veil because something
tethers them to the mortal world. A ghost might linger here to
avenge a murder, or to protect its bones from being desecrated, or
just to protest at the pain of its death. Every ghost has an anchor: a
person, place or object that holds the ghost to this world.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR – – 1–20 Spirit –/11
CON – –
SIZ – –
INT 3D6 11
POW 3D6 11
DEX – –
CHA 2D6 7

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier –
Magic Points 11 Traits: Spirit, Life Sight
Movement Fly 22m
Strike Rank +9 Skills: Evade 50%, Perception 100%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Scythe L VL 100% 2d6 or Special –
 Ghosts usually attack by possessing victims; if that fails, then X Cold Aura: The area around the ghost is icy cold. Characters
they strike with icy-cold claws or other spiritual weapons. Not within a numbers of metres equal to the ghost’s POW must
all ghosts are immediately hostile but even the best-tempered make a Resilience test or be at –10% to all actions while near
and kindest ghost is very, very far from mortal conceptions of the ghost.
sanity. The returned dead are not the same people they were in X Fear: The ghost can make a Fear attack, forcing the victim to
life. They are obsessed with whatever their anchor symbolises for make a Persistence test or be terrified. Fear can only be used
them and cannot tolerate the vagaries and weaknesses of the living. when the ghost becomes visible, once per combat.
A ghost knight might uphold the tenets and commandments of
his order with rest or hesitation and would be incapable of pity Fear Effects
and understanding. A ghost mother might obsessively protect her
Target’s Persistence Test Effect
living child, warding off all dangers but be unable to let the child
Target fumbles Persistence Victim instantly suffers enough
go even for an instant. All ghosts are monomaniacs.
test Hit Point damage to its Chest
to cause a Major Wound, as its
A ghost’s anchor has singular power over the ghost. Spells cast by
heart stops.
or at the anchor penalise the ghost’s Resistance tests by 50%. If the
anchor is a person or an object, then the anchor counts as having Target fails Persistence test Victim flees in screaming
the spirit bane property when interacting with that ghost. For terror for a number of Combat
example, if a ghost is anchored to a painting, then the ghost can Rounds equal to 20 minus
touch that painting and the painting could be used as a weapon its POW (minimum of one
against the ghost. Ghosts cannot move further than POW x 10 Combat Round). Victim will
metres from the anchor. not engage in combat unless
forced to and will use the Run
If an anchor is destroyed, then the ghost begins to dissipate, losing Combat Action whenever
one Hit Point per round. If hostile, the ghost enters into a frenzy possible (unless a faster mode of
when its anchor is destroyed. While in a frenzy, the ghost gains egress is available).
a +20% bonus to all its attacks and Resistance tests against its Target succeeds Persistence Victim is shaken and disturbed,
supernatural abilities are penalised by –20%. Commonly, a ghost test suffering a –20% penalty to
also gains an extra supernatural power when frenzying. all Skill Tests for a number of
Combat Rounds equal to 20
While the ghost’s anchor exists, the ghost possesses the Recurring minus its POW (minimum of
trait. one Combat Round).
Target critically succeeds Victim is unaffected by the
Supernatural Powers Persistence test spell and cannot be affected
Ghosts have been known to exhibit a range of supernatural abilities. by further Fear attacks for a
A minor ghost will have only one of these powers; especially potent number of Combat Rounds
shades have five or six (Use the ghost’s POW/5 as a guide). equal to its POW.

X Dominant Possession: The most common power for a ghost, X Spellcasting: Ghosts can use Common Magic and Sorcery
this allows the ghost to possess a foe as per the rules in the when dead.
RuneQuest II. X Nightmares: The ghost can project nightmares onto anyone
X Covert Possession: Few powerful ghosts have Covert who sleeps near its anchor. Victims of nightmares must make a
Possession, as the risk of being carried away from their anchor Persistence test. If they fail, they gain no benefit from sleeping
is too great. Still, a covert possession lets the ghost subtly affect (no reduction of fatigue or restoration of Magic Points).
the actions of their host – the ghost can increase or decrease X Bizarre Environment: The ghost can alter the environment
any roll made by the host by an amount equal to the ghost’s around itself, causing blood to run down the walls, torches
POW, after the dice have been rolled. For example, a POW10 to burst into flame or be snuffed out, creating strange sounds
ghost could add or subtract 10 from its host’s rolls. and smells, food to rot and so forth.
X Ghostly Weapon: The ghost has a spiritual weapon that deals X Hallucination: The ghost can cause the area around the
normal damage for a weapon of that type. This is still a spirit anchor to partially enter the spirit world. It then shapes that
attack, so it bypasses mundane armour. section of the spirit world to resemble how it was when the
X Telekinesis: The ghost can affect material objects within a ghost was alive, filling it with lesser spirits twisted into the
number of metres equal to its POW as if it had Strength equal shades of the once-living. To those who enter the area, it is
to its INT. like stepping back in time – a ruined castle is suddenly full of

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servants and courtiers, a burnt glade is suddenly green and alive Ghostly Child
again. Because of its spiritual component, this hallucination This is the spirit of a child who was unjustly murdered. The poor
is effectively ‘real’ to the victims. Spells like Spirit Block can creature is incapable of understanding that it is dead and must be
counter the hallucination. encouraged to move onto the next life. Its tether is a child’s toy that
X Seal: The ghost can trap foes. If a ghost uses its Seal power, it loved in life, covered in dried blood.
then the characters are unable to go further than the ghost’s
POW x 10 in metres away from the anchor. A character can Ghostly Horror
break through the seal by sacrificing 1d4 points of POW This is the ghost of an evil madman who was refused to enter the
permanently but it is generally easier to find the ghost’s anchor afterworld because he feared that he would be called to account for
and destroy or bargain with the creature. his many brutal crimes. His tether is an old well, where he threw
X Possess Lesser Beings: The ghost can possess unintelligent the bodies of his victims when he lived.
creatures like vermin, animals or simple undead. The ghost
can possess a number of creatures whose total INT is less than Ghostling
the ghost’s total POW. Not all souls are powerful enough to become ghosts. Sometimes, a
particular weak soul is unable to wholly come back across the veil.
Characteristics: Ghosts have a wide range of INT, POW and In other cases, it is possible for a ‘shell’ of spirit to be thrown off by
CHA but normally possess the same scores they did in life. a traumatic event, creating a sort of spiritual echo of a soul. Such
beings are termed ‘ghostlings’ by necromancers. Ghostlings are
Using Ghosts: Ghosts make great ‘puzzle monsters’ – defeating little ghosts, half-ghosts, undead spirits without the strength and
them in combat is pointless, because they just recur again and integrity of full-fledged ghosts. These are the vermin of undeath,
again. Instead, the characters need to work out what the ghost’s little wisps of anger or pain with a few fragmented memories.
anchor is and what has kept the ghost in the mortal world. Ghostlings are incapable of doing anything more than rattling a
Perhaps they need to find out what ancient wrong angered the few chains or creating unnatural cold spots and are rarely anything
ghost and right it, or more simply, they have to find the anchor more than a weird nuisance.
and destroy it.
Ghostlings cannot attack normally but have one ghost ability.
Ghostly Watchman
This ghost is the keeper of a castle, a guard who has remained Using Ghostlings: Ghostlings are background flavour, not a
faithful beyond death. It is anchored to a rusted lantern that hangs significant danger. Use them to hint to the players that they are
in the centre of the ruins. getting closer to the real threats.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR – – 1–20 Spirit –/7
CON – –
SIZ – –
INT 1D6 3
POW 2D6 7
DEX – –
CHA 2D6 7

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier –
Magic Points 7 Traits: Spirit, one ability like Bizarre Environment, Possess Lesser Creatures,
Covert Possession and so on
Movement Fly 14m
Strike Rank +5 Skills: Perception 20%, Persistence 20%
 Ghostly Watchman
Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR – 1–20 Spirit –/12
CON –
SIZ –
INT 10
POW 12
DEX –
CHA 9

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier –
Magic Points 12 Traits: Spirit, Ghostly Weapon, Seal
Movement Fly 24m
Strike Rank +10 Skills: Evade 30%, Perception 45%, Persistence 32%, Stealth 30%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Ghostly Shortsword M S 60% 1d6 –

Ghostly Child
Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR – 1–20 Spirit –/16
CON –
SIZ –
INT 8
POW 16
DEX –
CHA 15

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier –
Magic Points 16 Traits: Spirit, Telekinesis, Bizarre Environment
Movement Fly 32m
Strike Rank +12 Skills: Evade 28%, Persistence 36%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Ghost Touch S T 15% 1D4 –

Ghostly Horror
Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR – 1–20 Spirit –/14
CON –
SIZ –
INT 16
POW 14
DEX –
CHA 12

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier –
Magic Points 14 Traits: Spirit, Dominant Possession, Fear, Possess Lesser Beings
Movement Fly 28m
Strike Rank +14 Skills: Evade 50%, Persistence 60%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Knife S S 60% 1D3

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Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR – – 1–20 Spirit –/26
CON – –
SIZ – –
INT 3D6+6 16
POW 4D6+12 26
DEX – –
CHA 4D6 14

Combat Actions 4 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier –
Magic Points 26 Traits: Spirit, two or three other ghostly powers (commonly Seal, Ghostly Weapon
or Fear).
Movement Fly 52m
Strike Rank +15 Skills: Evade 80%, Lore (Spirit World) 60%, Persistence 80%, Stealth 60%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Spectral Sword M L 75% 1D8 –

Wraith
Wraiths are spirits like ghosts but are fuelled by hatred of the living,
not by a connection to an anchor. Wraiths exist purely to destroy.
A wraith resembles a ghost but is always twisted and distorted,
as if its appearance was being warped by the sheer passion of its
eternal fury.

Using Wraiths: Wraiths are a deadly foe. Spirits are normally

content to attack indirectly, using possession or just pure fear but
wraiths just charge in and start tearing at the very souls of their
enemies.

Strangling Shade
A strangling shade is a pair of floating hands, usually skeletal,
that appear in the night to murder enemies of the necromancer.
The hands must move in concert (and if the strangling shade is
looked at with a spell that allows the caster to see invisible things,
then a wavering stick-thin humanoid shade can be seen between
the levitating hands). Their small size allows the hands to sneak
through windows and avoid sentries, creeping up on their victims
to strangle them as they sleep.

Strangling shades are immensely strong and if they grab hold of a

victim’s throat, they begin to crush it with alarming ease. If a shade
hits with its strange effect, the damage it inflicts is cumulative – it
deals 1d4 damage in the first round, 2d4 in the second and so
forth. A missed, non-precise attack on a strangling shade that is
gripping a victim’s throat has a 50% chance of hitting the victim
instead. (Roll 1d6 – 1: Left Arm, 2, Right Arm, 3–4: Chest, 5–6:
Head).

Strangling shades do not usually use weapons but they do

sometimes pick up daggers or clubs if one comes to hand.
 Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 4D6+6 20 1–10 Right Arm –/8
CON 3D6 11 11–20 Left Arm –/8
SIZ 4 4
INT 1D6 3
POW 2D6 7
DEX 2D6+6 13
CHA 1D3 2

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier 0
Magic Points 7 Traits: Life Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement Fly 14m
Strike Rank +8 Skills: Evade 60%, Stealth 60%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Claw M S 70% 1D4 As for Arm
Weapon – – 50% By weapon By weapon
Strangle S T 30% 1D4 to head, cumulative. As for Arm

Using Strangling Shades: If the characters have foiled a forge it with magic and temper it with the blood of innocents.
necromancer’s plans without slaying the necromancer, then send Make a tomb guardian and it will watch over you for all eternity.
a Strangling Shade after them to extract revenge.
Tomb guardians are tireless and eternal. Rust may dull the once-
Tomb Guardian bright sheen of burnished armour and bones may yellow with
To make a tomb guardian, begin with a suit of armour. Gird the age but the guardian’s vigilance can never be diminished. The
skeleton of a great warrior in this armour, then fill the gaps between guardians are relentless – once given a command, the only way
corpse and steel with ground bones and dust from forgotten tombs; to stop a guardian from carrying it out is to destroy the creature
completely. A tomb guardian regains one Hit Point every 10

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 6D6 22 1–3 Right Leg 11/7
CON 6D6 22 4–6 Left Leg 11/7
SIZ 3D6 11 7–9 Abdomen 11/8
INT 2D6 7 10–12 Chest 11/9
POW 4D6 14 13–15 Right Arm 11/6
DEX 2D6+3 10 16–18 Left Arm 11/6
CHA 2D6 7 19–20 Head 11/7

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Skeletal (AP5), Plate Armour (AP6, –9 Strike Rank Penalty)
Damage Modifier +1D4
Magic Points 14 Traits: Dark Sight, Life Sight, Recurring, Imbued
Movement 4m
Strike Rank +9 (0 if Skills: Perception 30%, Persistence 70%, Resilience 80%
armoured)

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Great axe H L 58% 1D12+2+1D4 4/10

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minutes, regardless of how damaged it is. Even a guardian that has

been torn limb from limb and had its bones scattered to the four
winds will reform after a few days.

There are two ways to permanently destroy a tomb guardian.

Firstly, if the creature is temporarily destroyed (by reducing its
head, chest or abdomen to more than –7, –9 or –8 Hit Points
respectively), then a spell like Neutralise Magic can be applied to
dispel the magic that created the tomb guardian. Alternatively, if
the tomb guardian is sealed into a coffin or sarcophagus of its own,
then the creature can find rest there and crumbles to dust.

Using Tomb Guardians: With their high AP and their sheer

toughness, Tomb Guardians are a very hard foe to destroy. Putting
a tomb guardian in the path of most adventuring parties will force
them to take an alternate route or use clever tactics to outmanoeuvre
the slow guardian.

Undead Dragon
Raising an undead dragon is one of the masterpieces of the
necromancer’s art (the others, according to tradition, are becoming
a lich and learning the Tongue of the Dead). These rotting titans
are as powerful as a living dragon but instead of the searing flame
that burns in the belly of the beast, undead dragons breathe out
shadowy clouds of pure death. A creature struck by an undead
dragon’s breath suffers damage as normal but this damage comes
from the life leaving his body.

Dice Average 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 20D6 70 1–2 Tail 10/22
CON 10D6+30 65 3–4 Right Hind Leg 10/22
SIZ 10D6+30 65 5–6 Left Hind Leg 10/22
INT 3D6 11 7–8 Hindquarters 10/23
POW 4D6 14 9–10 Forequarters 10/23
DEX 2D6 7 11–12 Right Wing 10/21
CHA 3D6 11 13–14 Left Wing 10/21
15–16 Right Front Leg 10/22
17–18 Left Front Leg 10/22
19–20 Head 10/22

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Rotten Dragon scale (AP 10)

Damage Modifier +3D12
Magic Points 14 Traits: Breathe Death (4D6, 1/hour), Dark Sight, Formidable Natural Weapons,
Night Sight, Animated or Imbued
Movement 12m, 20m
when flying
Strike Rank +9 Skills: Athletics 120%, Influence 50%, Persistence 180%, Resilience 120%,
Tracking 110%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Weapon Skill Damage AP/HP
Bite E L 105% 1D10+3D12 As for Head
Claw E VL 75% 1D8+3D12 As for Leg
Tail H VL 70% 1D20+3D12 As for Tail
 Zombies Creature
Zombie
Human
Zombie
Trollkin Zombie Wolf
A zombie is the simplest form of undead creature – a shambling,
rotting animated corpse. They are easy to create, as all the STR 3D6+12 (22) 2D6+12 (19) 3D6+12 (22)
muscles and sinews of the living creature are still present. All the CON 1D6 (3) 1D6 (3) 1D6+3 (6)
necromancer needs to do is animate this dead flesh like a puppet SIZ 3D6 (11) 1D6+6 (9) 2D6+3 (10)
or imbue a little unlife into the rotting tissue. There is no artistry INT 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2)
to creating a zombie. POW 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2)
DEX 1D6+3 (7) 2D6+3 (10) 2D6+3 (10)
Common Zombies CHA 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2)
Common zombies are the lumbering horrors commonly
encountered by adventurers. They can be created from the corpse Zombie Zombie
of any humanoid or small animal, up to SIZ 15. The following Creature Human Trollkin Zombie Wolf
statistical changes take place upon a creature when it is zombified: 1–3 Right Leg -/3 Right Leg -/3 Right Hind Leg
1/4
STR +12 4–6 Left Leg -/3 Left Leg -/3 Left Hind Leg
CON Reduced by 2D6, minimum 1D6 1/4
SIZ No Change 7–9 Abdomen -/4 Abdomen -/4 Hindquarters 1/5
INT Reduced to 1D3 10–12 Chest -/5 Chest -/5 Forequarters 1/6
POW Reduced to 1D3 13–15 Right Arm -/2 Right Arm -/2 Right Front Leg
DEX Reduced by 1D6 1/4
CHA Reduced to 1D3 16–18 Left Arm -/2 Left Arm -/2 Left Front Leg
1/4
A zombie’s chance to hit with any weapon or Unarmed attack is 19–20 Head -/3 Head -/3 Head 1/4
equal to its current DEX x 5. Zombies never attempt to Dodge
and can inflict 1D4 points of damage with their bite (unless the
Zombie Zombie
pre-animated creature’s bite was stronger).
Creature Human Trollkin Zombie Wolf
Weapon Unarmed Unarmed Bite 50%
Impaling weapons of any kind only do half damage against
Skill 35% 50%
Zombies. This includes damage from the attacker’s Damage
Modifier. Arrows and crossbow bolts are even less effective; such Damage 1D3+1D4 1D3+1D2 1D6+1D4
weapons inflict only 1 point of damage per hit (after penetrating
any armour, of course). Blowguns are utterly useless against a Combat 1 2 2
Zombie. Even if a blowgun dart penetrates the Zombie’s armour, Actions
it will do no damage against the Zombie itself. Strike Rank +5 +6 +6
Movement 4m 4m 6m
A common zombie is destroyed when its head, abdomen or chest Traits Dark Sight, Dark Sight, Dark Sight,
is reduced to a negative Hit Point total equal to its maximum Night Sight Night Sight Night Sight
positive Hit Point total. Armour None None Rotting Fur
(AP1)
Greater Zombies
Greater Zombies are created from the corpses of larger creatures, Infectious Zombies
such as giants or bears. They can also be made from the bodies Hungry Zombies devour the flesh of living beings, especially the
of humans and other small animals. Greater zombies are much brains. Their bite carries with it a deadly plague that turns its
stronger and more resilient than common ones but require a victims into more hungry zombies. Hungry zombies always have
correspondingly greater investment of magic. a Bite attack that deals 1D3 damage +their Damage Bonus and
infects the victim with the plague.
STR +6, plus another 1d6 per 3d6 points of Strength possessed
by the living creature Zombie Plague
CON Reduced by 1D6 Type: Magical
SIZ No Change Delay: 1D4 hours
INT Reduced to 1D3 Potency: 75
POW Reduced to 1D3 Full Effect: –1D4 CON. If the victim is reduced to 0 CON, he
DEX Reduced by 2D6 rises as a hungry zombie.
CHA Reduced to 1D3
Movement Halved

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Zombie Sea Resilient Zombies

Creature Zombie Giant Zombie Bear Serpent A Resilient Zombie cannot die or be incapacitated. The only way
STR 12D6+24 (66) 4D6+21 (35) 10D6+36 (71) to ‘kill’ one is to literally destroy the entire body. While a zombie
CON 5D6+18 (33) 1D6+6 (9) 3D6+21 (29) will not regenerate, even severed parts of the zombie will still move
SIZ 9D6+18 (49) 3D6+15 (25) 6D6+15 (33) and fight as well as possible – a severed hand will grasp, a severed
INT 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2) head (if the mouth is not sewn shut) will bite and so forth. Each
POW 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2) Hit Location of a zombie must be brought to its negative Hit Point
DEX 1D6+3 (6) 1D6 (3) 1D6 (3) equivalent in order to destroy it utterly.
CHA 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2) 1D3 (2)
A severed body part retains whatever Hit Points it had. Its STR is
halved.
Zombie Sea
Creature Zombie Giant Zombie Bear Serpent
The following are the body parts for a resilient common zombie.
1–3 Right Leg 2/17 Right Leg 2/7 Tail 4/13
4–6 Left Leg 2/17 Left Leg 2/7 Hindbody
Body Part Head Arm Leg
4/14
STR 11 11 11
7–9 Abdomen 2/18 Abdomen 2/8 Hindbody
CON 3 3 3
10–12 Chest 2/19 Chest 2/9 Forebody 4/14
SIZ 3 3 4
13–15 Right Arm 2/16 Right Front Leg Forebody
2/7 DEX 3 6 6
16–18 Left Arm 2/16 Left Front Leg Head
2/7 Creature Head Arm Leg
19–20 Head 2/17 Head 2/7 Head 4/13 1–20 3 HP 2 HP 3 HP

Creature Zombie Giant Zombie Bear Zombie Sea Creature Head Arm Leg
Serpent Weapon Skill Bite 15% Unarmed 30% Kick 30%
Weapon Unarmed 30% Bite 15% Bite 15% Damage 1D3+1D4 1D3+1D4 1D3+1D4
Skill
Damage 1D3+3D12 1D8+1D10 1D6+1D4 Combat Actions 1 1 1
Strike Rank +3 +5 +5
Combat 1 1 1 Movement 2m 4m 2m
Actions
Strike Rank +5 +3 +3 A zombie can be both Infectious and Resilient, or Greater and
Resilient, or any combination thereof.
Movement 10m 10m Swim 10m
Traits Dark Sight, Dark Sight, Dark Sight,
Night Sight Night Sight Night Sight
Armour Rotten Hide Rotten Fur Rotten Scales
(AP2) (AP2) (AP4)
 Necromantic Items

Necromancy is not limited to the animation of whole corpses.

Most apprentice necromancers will start out small and work their
way up. One might animate a pet cat or rat, or create a crawling
hand that inches its way blindly around the laboratory until the
spell wears off. Such petty magics are dismissed as useless by some
necromancers but others develop the skill to create more potent
items, such as the ones described here.

There are three types of item unique to necromancy.

X Necromantic Weapons: These are blades and other weapons

made of flesh and bone. An animated sword might have rows
of teeth along the blade and bite at enemies. A necromantic
helm might be a skull with living eyes that watches for danger
and chatters a warning when it spots a foe.
X Necromantic Blights: Poisons, diseases and other vile
concoctions made with necromancy.
X Necromantic Limbs: Animated limbs of dead flesh fused to
the living.

All three types are made using the Enchanting Ritual spell (see
Arms and Equipment). POW taken from a willing donor or from
a sorcerous power source can be used instead of the enchanter’s
POW.

Animated Weapons
Each weapon lists the modifier to the Enchanting test to create
them, as well as any supernatural properties.
Grasping Shield (Simple, +20%)
Bone Dagger (Difficult, –20%) A grasping shield is a normal shield with a complex pattern of arm-
This bone dagger drips with dark magic. If the dagger is used to bones across it. Three or more skeletal hands are arranged on the
deliver the killing blow to an enemy, the enemy rises as a Resilient rim of the shield. For every point of POW invested in the shield,
Zombie vassal of the dagger-wielder within 1d6 rounds. The the shield gains +1 AP, +2 HP and a +5% bonus to Parry attempts.
dagger can only animate one corpse at a time per point of POW Furthermore, if the user of the shield gets a critical on a Shield
invested in it. For example, if five points of POW are invested in test, then the bony hands grab the weapon – make an opposed test
the dagger, then it can animate five zombies at once. If the dagger between the attacker’s Weapon skill and the defender’s Shield skill.
is destroyed, so too are the zombies. If the defender wins, the attacker is disarmed.

Requisite Spell: Zombify or Raise Undead. Requisite Spell: Vivification or Zombify.

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Soul Cloak (Normal, +0%) Potency: 78

Full Effect: 1 Hit Point damage to all locations; all characteristics
A soul cloak is a grey, shifting robe that may be worn over other
other than SIZ suffer a –2 penalty. If the Head, Chest or Abdomen
clothing. For every point of POW invested in the cloak, the cloak
suffer a Major Wound while the victim is diseased, the victim’s
gives 1AP that only applies to attacks from spirits.
dead body will reanimate as a zombie within 2d6 hours.
Requisite Spell: Spirit Block or any similar spell.
Bone Infection (Magical, Difficult –20%)
Eye Circlet (Simple, +20%) Skill: Lore (poison)
Requisite Spell: Imbue Necrotic Energy
An eye circlet is a ring of eyes preserved in cold jelly, which is worn
Ingredients: Fungi from the underworld, iron nails.
like a crown. The Eye Circlet gives a +10% bonus to Perception
for every point of POW.
A skeleton infected with Bone Infection has a reddish stain on
its teeth and finger-bones. The vile poison can linger on a bone
Requisite Spell: Vivification of Zombify.
for months or years but if it comes in contact with living flesh,
it instantly becomes active. If the skeleton makes a successful
Tooth Sword (Normal, +0%) Unarmed attack, then the poison described may infect the victim.
The hungry tooth sword bites at enemies when it hits them. If
the damage die for the sword rolls its maximum (a natural 6 for a Bone Infection Poison
short sword, a natural 8 for a war sword), then roll that damage die Vector: Smeared.
again and add it on. Swords that roll multiple dice (like the 2d8 Delay: Immediate.
for a great sword) may reroll if either die is a natural maximum. Potency: 50
The dice can be rerolled a maximum number of times equal to the Full Effect: –2 Con penalty, 1d3 damage to location struck.
POW invested in the sword. Duration: 2d10 minutes.

Requisite Spell: Touch of Death.

Flesh-Eating Plague
(Magical, Hard -40%)
Necromantic Blights Skill: Lore (poison)
The best known of these Blights are the Lych’s Bane Brew and Requisite Spell: Rot Curse
Baron Samethan’s Plague, both of which have become common Ingredients: Rare herbs costing 10,000 silver.
knowledge among poisoners and dark alchemists. The other
blights described here are rarer but no less potent. This fearsome plague rots its victims from within, eating away
their skin and leaving nothing but bone. It is a slow-acting plague
To make a Blight, the necromancer needs the appropriate skill but very hard to cure. A victim of the flesh-eating plague cannot
(generally Lore (alchemy) or Lore (poison)), the requisite spells overcome the plague by making successful Resilience tests. At best,
and various magical ingredients. Preparing a Blight takes several he can only stem the progress of the disease. Only amputating the
days of work. affected body part or magical healing can stop the plague.

Baron Samethan’s Plague Flesh Eating Plague

Vector: Touch
(Magical, Hard –40%) Delay: 1 hour
Skill: Lore (alchemy) Potency: 100
Requisite Spells: Zombify, Touch of Death Full Effect: 1 Hit Point of damage to infected location. If the
Ingredients: One pint of royal blood, earth from a graveyard, infected location is reduced to 0 Hit Points, the disease moves onto
initial victim. an adjacent location.
The plague requires a living victim to serve as an incubator for
the virus, who will also be its first victim. Those who are slain by Grave Mould (Magical, Easy +20%)
the plague rise as uncontrolled zombies. Baron Samethan’s Plague Skill: Lore (alchemy)
is a risky but potent method of creating many zombies – the Requisite Spell: Graveburst
plague zombies carry the disease and so it can swiftly spread over a Ingredients: Common moss.
wide area. However, as the inventor of the plague discovered, the
zombies are uncontrolled and may turn on their creator. This alchemical preparation creates a large handful of grave moss
seeds. When scattered over an area, the moss only takes root and
Baron Samethan’s Plague grows on places where bodies are buried. One handful of seeds can
Vector: Touch cover an area one kilometre in diameter. The colour and thickness of
Delay: 2d6 hours the moss varies depending on the condition of the buried corpse.
 Lych’s Bane Brew (Magical, Normal +0%) Rot Gas
Vector: Inhaled
Skill: Lore (poisons)
Delay: Immediate.
Requisite Spell: Touch of Death
Potency: 30
Ingredients: Dust from a lich, wetslag root.
Full Effect: Lose one Combat Action.
Duration: Instant.
The name of the venom is something of a misnomer – any foolhardy
adventure who believes that this brew will affect an immortal lich
is likely doomed. Lych’s Bane Brew is used by undead assassins to Scab Crystal (Magical, Hard –40%)
weaken and disorientate foes. Skill: Lore (alchemy)
Requisite Spell: Bleed Power, Form/Set Shadow
Lych’s Bane Brew Ingredients: Necromantic power source.
Vector: Ingested or smeared.
Delay: Immediate. Scab crystals are created by necromantic sorcerers by bleeding
Potency: 55 power from a source of dark energies. To create a scab crystal, the
Full Effect: 1 Hit Point damage to all locations, –4 to STR and sorcerer must bleed one point of POW from a power source. This
DEX. creates a scab crystal with 1d6 Magic Points in it, which he can use
Duration: 1d10 minutes. to fuel his own spells.

Poison Gas (Hard, –40%) Necromantic Limbs &

Skill: Lore (poisons)
Requisite Spell: None. Organs
Ingredients: Alchemical components costing 800 silver. To attach a necromantic limb, a character must first remove the
living limb, then sew the animated construct onto the stump. It
Poison gas must be stored in clay jars or other containers when is possible but difficult, to disguise a necromantic limb as a living
produced. The noxious fumes are a virulent green colour and burn one and a character who is obviously partially undead will suffer
the throats, eyes and lungs of victims. A character in a poison Charisma penalties in most societies. Necromantic limbs can also
gas cloud will suffer the effects of the poison each round until he reduce the user’s CON, DEX or POW, as dead flesh is not as
moves out of the cloud. One preparation of poison gas can fill a healthy or supple as a living body.
cube five metres on each side.
Creating a necromantic limb requires a Healing and an Enchanting
Poison Gas test, as well as the Raise Undead or Vivification spell and the
Vector: Inhaled expenditure of one or more POW. If the Healing test is failed when
Delay: Immediate. installing the necromantic appendage, it ruins the limb or organ
Potency: 30 and can have dire consequences for the test subject (for example,
Full Effect: 1 Hit Point damage to all head and chest. if you are attempting to replace a minion’s heart with an animated
Duration: One minute. heart, the minion is not going to survive the procedure if you fail
the Healing test. However, for a necromancer, ‘death of a minion’
Rot Gas (Normal, +0%) and ‘opportunity’ are synonyms!)
Skill: Lore (poisons)
Requisite Spell: None Animated Organs (Difficult, –20%)
Ingredients: Rotting flesh By replacing living organs like the lungs and heart with more
resilient undead ones, a necromancer can become much more
Rot Gas is an entirely non-magic concoction used by necromancers. resilient. A character with Animated Organs only suffers Major
The foul stench of rot gas sickens foes and the fumes are also Wounds to the Abdomen or Chest unless he suffers enough
flammable. Rot gas is prepared from rotting flesh and it is possible damage to bring his Chest or Abdomen to a negative Hit Point
to brew rot gas from zombies. A character in a rot gas cloud will total twice that of its starting Hit Points and gets a +10% bonus to
suffer the effects of the poison each round until he moves out of Resilience tests.
the cloud. One preparation of rot gas can fill a cube five metres on POW Cost: 2
each side.

If a rot gas cloud is exposed to a naked flame, the gas explodes,

Dead Eye (Normal, +0%)
A character with a milky-white dead eye gains the Life Sight ability
dealing one point of damage to all locations of all creatures within
at the cost of a –10% penalty to Perception.
the cloud.
POW Cost: 1

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Evil Hand (Difficult, –20%) Skeletal Arm (Normal, +0%)

An evil hand must be taken from the fresh corpse of a dead man Replacing an arm with a skeletal appendage is not especially
and enables the wearer of the hand to use one skill possessed by difficult, just unsightly. The skeletal arm has Hit Points equal to
the dead man. For example, a dead hand from a swordsman with a the character’s normal arm minus two and has a natural AP5. A
1H Sword skill of 90% would give its wearer an effective 90% 1H circular brass plate on the character’s shoulder stump marks the
Sword. Each time the augmented skill is used, there is a 5% chance division between raw bone and living flesh.
that the spirit of the hand possesses the wearer for 1d6 hours. POW Cost: 2
POW Cost: 3 Charisma Penalty: –4
Requisite Spell: Dead Counsel or Spirit Wrench.
Zombie Arm (Easy, +20%)
Exoskeleton (Difficult, –20%) A zombie arm is an even easier prospect than a skeletal one. Why,
By implanting bone plates and extra ribs, a necromancer can it can even be created in situ – just cut the arteries feeding the
fortify a living minion until it is nearly as tough as a skeleton. The living arm and wait for it to die, then animate it! A zombie arm
drawback is the reduced mobility caused by the sheer mass and has an effective Strength equal to the wearer’s normal Strength +12
inconvenience of having three redundant spines and 60 ribs. The and the wearer’s Damage Bonus and skills should include this extra
beneficiary of this upgrade has their natural AP increased by +3. strength for attacks and Skill Tests made with the zombie arm.
POW Cost: 1 POW Cost: 1
Dexterity Penalty: –9 Charisma Penalty: –4
Dexterity Penalty: –2
Hidden Heart (Hard, –40%)
Through necromancy, it is possible to remove one’s heart and Zombie Brain (Difficult, –20%)
hide it away. A character with a Hidden Heart only suffers Major Replacing a living brain with a zombie one is a tricky operation and
Wounds when his Head, Chest or Abdomen suffer damage effectively kills the subject. However, putting a rotting brain inside
sufficient enough to bring it to a negative Hit Point total twice a living body allows the necromancer to (temporarily) command
that of its starting Hit Points and cannot be killed by other spells the actions of the living body using spells like Undying Loyalty
or effects except for those that utterly dismember or destroy the – the zombie brain can be affected by spells that specifically target
body. He also gains a +10% bonus to all Resistance tests except the undead.
for Dodge tests.
POW Cost: 1
The necromancer must touch his heart at least once per month to Intelligence: Reduced to 1d3
maintain the connection between his body and his life force. The Power: Reduced to 1d3
necromancer automatically fails Resistance tests against spells cast Charisma: –10
by someone holding his heart.
POW Cost: 4
 Fear & Madness
In the average RuneQuest campaign, the characters are brave and must make a Persistence test, opposed by the enemy’s Fear score.
heroic adventurers and while they may be scared or disturbed by A Fear score is given as a number just like the POT of a poison or
the bizarre or horrific monsters they battle, any psychological disease.
damage is left up to the individual player to roleplay. However,
in a campaign centring on horror and the undead, it may be A Fear test should be made whenever the characters face something
appropriate for the characters to suffer the effects of madness out of the ordinary for them. Early in their careers, a band of
and terror. outlaws ambushing the characters on the road might be enough
to justify a Fear, while legendary characters can stare down a
There are two distinct sets of rules in this chapter. The Fear rampaging dragon without blinking.
rules cover sudden shocks and supernatural terror, which might
make the characters break in combat and run away. The Madness The Fear test is made at the start of an encounter.
rules describe a character’s slow descent into madness through
encounters with sanity-blasting horror. In a game in which just Both the character and the Games Master roll against Persistence
the Fear rules are used, characters will seem more vulnerable and and Fear, respective. Results are described on the following table.
human but over the long term, a character will not be greatly If both get the same result, then whichever rolled lower has their
damaged by his adventures. In a game where just the Madness result downgraded to the next lowest result.
rules are used, a character’s mind may slowly be damaged and
even a hero who seems healthy and physically undamaged may Abject Terror: If the character’s CON is less than 10, then he
become a raving madman. If your players relish the idea of playing must make a Resilience test or suffer a heart attack, dealing 2d6
characters that are most likely doomed to horrible fates, then use damage to his chest. If his POW is less than 10, then he must
both sets of rules. make a Persistence test or be temporarily insane, unable to recall
the encounter in anything but the vaguest terms. He also suffers all
the effects of being terrified.
Fear
Especially dangerous or vile monsters or hazardous situations can Terrified: The character flees in screaming terror for a number of
terrify a character. If a character is faced with such a danger, he rounds equal to 20 minus his POW (minimum of one round).

Fear Critical Fear Success Fear Failure Fear Fumble

Persistence Critical Determination Determination Determination Heroic Bravery
Persistence Success Shaken No effect No effect Determination
Persistence Failure Roll 1d6: Roll 1d6 No effect No effect
1–2: Frozen 1–4: Shaken
3–6 Terrified 5–6: Frozen
Persistence Fumble Abject Terror Terrified Roll 1d6 No effect
1–4: Shaken
5–6: Frozen

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Frozen: The character freezes and is unable to move or act for

a number of rounds equal to 10 minus his POW (minimum of
one Combat Round). If the character is attacked or injured in any
way, then he snaps out of this trance. When the trance ends, use
the other result on the table (Shaken or Terrified, as appropriate)
unless the danger has passed.

A character may make an Influence test to shout at a frozen

character. If successful, the frozen character becomes Shaken.

Shaken: The character is shaken and disturbed, suffering a –20%

penalty to all Skill Tests for a number of rounds equal to 20 minus
his POW (minimum of one Combat Round).

Determination: The character is shaken but has the edge of

adrenaline and terror, gaining a +10% bonus to all Skill Tests for a
number of rounds equal to his POW.

Heroic Bravery: As determination but the character also gains one

Hero Point.

Special Cases
X Feh, I’ve Faced This Before: If the character’s modified
Persistence skill is higher than the Fear score, then he can elect
not to roll.
X Group: If the character is part of a group and is not
outnumbered, then he may add +10% to his Persistence.
X Outnumbered: If there are more enemies than allies present,
increase the Fear rating by +10.
Adric rolls a natural 01 – a critical! Consulting the previous table, the
X Already Injured: If the characters have already suffered
result is Determination. For the next few Combat Rounds, Adric has a
damage and exhausted their magic points or are fatigued,
+10% to his Skill Tests as he rides the edge of his fear.
increase the Fear rating by +10.
X Ready: If the character is armed or has magic ready, then he
Bara rolls a 30 – a success. Both she and the wraith succeeded but
may add +10% to his Persistence.
the wraith rolled higher (40 vs 30). Bara’s result is downgraded to a
failure. Cross-referencing her failure with the wraith’s success means
A character may spend a Hero Point to ignore the effects of a Fear test.
that she will either be shaken or frozen. She rolls and gets a result
A character under the effects of a Fanaticism spell is immune to Fear.
of Frozen. Bara is held in place, her eyes wide and glittering in the
torchlight as the wraith slithers towards her.
Example: Three adventures – Adric, Bara and Connell – are exploring
a tomb. All three are armed. Adric notices that one wall in the crypt
Conell rolls a 99 – a fumble. He is terrified and abandons his friends
is weak and can be smashed through. He slams his shield into the
to run blindly in the direction of the exit.
crumbling stone and dozens of bricks fall away. The stink of foul air
wafts through the chamber.
Adric will have to face the wraith alone, unless he can somehow snap
Bara out of her freeze. When the freeze ends, Bara will still be Shaken
Bara lifts her torch and tries to illuminate the newly revealed room.
when fighting the wraith.
The light from the torch drives the shadows back in most places but one
tomb remains stubbornly dark. Suddenly, the darkness flows towards
the trio – the characters have uncovered the resting place of a wraith! Calculating Fear
The following numbers are a rough guide – certain monsters
Fear test time. The Wraith has a Fear of 90. All three adventurers have should be given especially high or low Fear ratings. For example, a
a Persistence score of 30% and they get +20% for being in a group Broo is not that much more dangerous than a Duck in combat but
and being armed. The Games Master rolls for the Wraith and gets a the Broo have the reputation of being horrific, disgusting defilers
40 – a success. who torture, rape and eat their foes.
 they are especially well armed or armoured, +10 to +20 if they
have magical or supernatural abilities, +10 to +20 if the situation
Fear Ratings for Monsters is especially terrifying (battling skeletons in a dark crypt is very
Here are suggested Fear Ratings for monsters in this different to battling a skeleton).
book and the RuneQuest II Rulebook.
Supernatural Foes (spirits, demons, dragonkin, magical
Animating Slime: 30 Brown Bear: 30 attacks): Fear 50+, +20 if the creature is immune to mundane
Ashwalker: 60 Broo: 60, 80 for a pack of attacks, +20 if the creature has powerful magical abilities like
marauding broo. possession, +20 if the situation is especially terrifying.
Chattering Skull: 20 Centaur: 40
Corpse Tree: 70
Grave Ooze: 50
Dark Troll: 60
Dragon: 150
Insanity
Necromancy and horror go hand-in-hand – the mortal mind creaks
Moon Hound: 50 Duck: 10 and breaks under the strain of dealing with death and the horrors
Moon Hunter: 70 Dwarf: 10 of undeath. Characters who look too deeply into the darkness will
Mummy Dust: 70 Elf: 10 be changed and scarred by their experiences.
Necromaton: 30 to Giant: 80
100 Insanity is offered as an optional system: Games Masters should
Necropede: 20 Great Troll: 70 use it only if they wish to represent the effects of insanity through
Rat King: 30 Griffin: 60 game mechanics.
Rat Ghoul: 50 Horse: —
Rot Ghoul: 50 Lion: 40 X Insanity is measured on a rising scale from zero to INT x2.
X Insanity points are gained for experiencing disturbing,
Daughter of Winter: Manticore: 60
shocking events. A few examples follow, with Insanity Point
70
values.
Ghost: 75 Skeleton: 40
X Each Insanity point represents an erosion of the will, a loss of
Ghostling: 50 Trollkin: 20 grip on reality and how one deals with it. When the number of
Wraith: 90 Unicorn: 10 Insanity Points reaches a level greater than half the character’s
Strangling Shade: 60 Wolf: 20 INT (round up), that character receives a temporary insanity
Tomb Guardian: 80 Wyrm: 80 determined randomly or chosen to fit the situation.
Undead Dragon: Wyvern: 70 X Temporary insanities are usually minor aberrations of character
150 that compound over time; but they can be relieved. When the
Zombie: 50 Insanity Points fall below half INT, the temporary insanity is
removed. See Restoring Sanity.
X When the total Insanity Points exceed the INT characteristic,
another insanity is gained and the character is considered
Mundane Situations (cliffs to climb down, pits to jump over, permanently insane but still able to function. At this point
blazing building): Fear 10–30, depending on the risk of injury, temporary insanities become permanent.
minus the difficulty of the task. For example, if it is a Simple X When Insanity reaches INT x2, the character is a gibbering
(+20%) test to jump over a pit, then the Fear rating of the pit lunatic, unable to do anything beyond drool, rave and rock to
should be reduced by 20%. and from like a baby. Sometimes not even that. The character
then passes to the Games Master for future control, perhaps
Mundane Foes (other humans, common monsters like trollkin): coming back to haunt adventurers as a screaming, insane,
Fear 10–30 if they seem hostile or dangerous, +10 if they are nemesis in future adventures.
bigger than average, +10 to +20 if they are especially well armed X Insane Insight. A curious side effect of insanity is the enhanced
or armoured, +10 to +20 if they have magical or supernatural perception of the supernatural world. Every Insanity Point
abilities. acts as bonus to Perception and Lore skills when trying to
understand the supernatural or sorcerous.
Note that it is possible for both sides in a battle to terrify each
other. Insanity manifests itself in many ways. From small, physical things
such as tics or panic attacks, through conditions such as obsessive
Horrific Foes (undead, bizarre monsters, creatures of chaos): compulsive disorders and paranoia, until it finally reaches suicidal
Fear 30–50, +10 if they are bigger than average, +10 to +20 if or homicidal proportions.

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Insanity Checks his Insanity to 0. If the character’s Insanity score is more than his
INT, then he can only reduce his Insanity back down to be equal
Whenever a character encounters some creature or event that is
to his INT.
so far removed from everyday expectations, check for Insanity
by making a Persistence test. If the test succeeds, the character is
able to mentally handle the situation and no Insanity Points are
accrued. If the test fails, Insanity Points are accrued as directed
New Legendary Abilities
These new legendary abilities should only be used in games which
by the following table. If the test is a critical success, no Insanity feature the Fear or Madness rules.
is gained. If it fumbles, then double the Insanity gain. Characters
who immediately turn and flee from a monstrosity or horrifying
situation do not gain any Insanity Points Courageous
Requirements: STR or POW15 or higher, Persistence 90% or
Games Masters may rule that some circumstances are so terrible higher
Insanity is gained even when the Persistence check is a success. Hero Points: 8
Note, however, that casual violence and death does not generally
attract insanity and that characters can become inured to horrible You are immune to all mundane fears. Magical fear, such as spells
sights and deeds. or the psychic effects of certain monsters may still affect you but
you have a +20% bonus to tests to resist them.
Samples of Insanity
Use this table to generate random temporary insanities or create Death Seeker
new ones to fit specific situations. Some of these insanities may have Requirements: Any one Weapon skill 90% or higher
game effects, such as making certain skills, such as communication Hero Points: 6
or perception tests, difficult. Apply an appropriate modifier where You put your faith in your weapon, not yourself. You may use
this is the case. And, although a particular condition might appear your Weapon skill instead of your Persistence for the purposes of
to be transitory, such as speech loss, it will reoccur every time there Fear tests provoked by enemies but not against those provoked by
is another gain of Insanity Points. mundane dangers.

If both the Fear and Madness rules are being used, then a character Death Wish
who is Frozen or Terrified gains Insanity equal to 1/20 of the Requirements: Persistence 75% or higher
enemy’s Fear rating and a character who is Abjectly Terrified gains Hero Points: 6
Insanity 1/10 of the enemy’s Fear rating. You throw yourself into the fray against the dead. Whenever you get a
result of Determination on the Fear table, you gain one Hero Point.
Example: Let’s return to the unfortunate trio of Adric, Bara and
Connell. All three have a Sanity of 25 and have just encountered a
wraith (Fear 90).
Hardened
Requirements: POW 15 or higher
Hero Points: 8
Adric was unaffected by the wraith and gains no Insanity for seeing
You may reduce all Insanity gains by half, rounding down.
the wraith.
Bara was shaken and also loses no Insanity.
Connell was abjectly terrified and gains 1/10 of the Fear score (9 Restored Sanity
Insanity!) Conell has only INT 8, so he is now permanently insane but Requirements: Persistence 50% or higher, Insanity greater than
is still a playable character. INT
Hero Points: 8
Gaining Sanity You have managed to overcome the traumas of madness. You are
no longer mad but you still may not reduce your Insanity score to
Characters can restore their sanity in three ways:
less than your INT.
X Hero Points: A character may spend one Hero Point to
remove one Insanity Point.
X Victories: When the characters complete an adventure, Strength of Faith
they lose zero to three Insanity, depending on how well they Requirement: Lore (specific theology) 50%, Acolyte or higher in
performed and whether or not the evil was defeated. a cult
X Magic: Several spells can cure madness. Hero Points: 4
You cling to your faith fiercely. You may use your Lore (specific
A character can only regain a certain amount of sanity. If a theology) skill instead of your Persistence skill when making
character’s Insanity score is less than his INT, then he can reduce Insanity checks.
 Situation Examples Insanity Gained
Witness a weird and disturbing event Unexpectedly discovering a corpse 1
Witness a horrible, unnatural death Torn apart by a monster 1D3

Encounter a hideous undead creature for the Zombie pack, ghost 1D4
first time
Deeply traumatic and unsettling event Being trapped in a crypt with a horde of undead; haunted by 1D6
a hostile spirit, being part of an unholy ritual, learning a Rune
like Death or Chaos.
Significant assault on your sanity Excommunicated from your cult; betrayed by your allies; 1D8
possessed by a hostile spirit, attacked by a vampire.
Things man was not meant to know Encountering a powerful undead horror; being raised as an 1D10
undead horror; reading certain books of forbidden lore.
Horrors beyond horror The End of the World 2d10

1D20 Insanity
1 Become sullen and withdrawn.
2 As for previous but also unable to speak for 1D6 hours.
3 As for previous but absolutely refuse to believe what has just been witnessed.
4 Become angry and confused – lashing out verbally or physically at anyone who tries to help or sympathise.
5 Weep uncontrollably for 1D6 hours; peer into the dark abyss of the soul.
6 Develop a deep aversion or fear to the circumstances of the encounter (fear of darkness, fear of enclosed spaces and so
forth).
7 Experience panic attacks during stressful situations: loss of breath, thumping heart and so on.
8 Unable to sleep properly; disturbed by nightmares and flashbacks which then haunt the waking hours.
9 Develop a nervous tic or twitch. This becomes progressively more pronounced the longer this temporary insanity lasts.
10 Develop a deep paranoia, phobia or mania related to the circumstances.
11 Voices in the mind continually speak to the character, suggesting bizarre actions. Unable to distinguish the voices from
real people.
12 Become completely uncommunicative and obsessive over trivial things, immediately believing that everyone and
everything is either an enemy or conspirator in some unknown plot.
13 Develop an irrational fixation on a particular person or object: either love or hated. Pursue that fixation vehemently and
to the exclusion of everything else.
14 Develop obsessive/compulsive disorder. Make incessant lists; cannot wear certain colours; must constantly wash or
bathe; cannot enter rooms with a lock and so forth.
15 Swing from one emotional extreme to another for no apparent reason; weeping one moment and laughing maniacally
the next – especially during times of stress.
16 Rave and scream against the world, unable to act in a rational way for 1D6 days
17 Take utter pleasure in cruelty and the suffering of others. Inflict tortures and torments whenever possible; verbally at
first but later physically...
18 Develop suicidal tendencies. Place oneself in positions of extreme risk.
19 Develop murderous tendencies: someone, loved-one or foe, must be hurt somehow.
20 Drool and gibber, awaiting the arrival of the Lords of Chaos to claim the soul.

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Campaigns &
Adventures
Necromancy is one of a Games Master’s best friends, right up there god? One useful trait of undead is that there is usually a lynchpin like
with chaos, insanity and tentacled gods from the dawn of time. It is a necromancer or a banishment ritual that can be the centrepiece of
a flexible, atmospheric and exciting source of peril and danger for the campaign. All the characters need to do is slay the necromancer/
adventurers. Just think about what you can do with necromancy: perform the ritual/break the god’s altar to stop the dead.
X Necromancy can show up anywhere – you cannot have an army
of orcs invade the capital city without a lot of groundwork What does the necromancer want? The motivation of the villain
in your campaign and if they do, then everything will have will colour his actions.
changed because of the invasion. By contrast, a necromancy
cult in the sewers can provide all the threat of an orc invasion Is he driven by a desire for revenge on the living? If so, will he
with their zombie horde but when your players thwart them, use especially horrible monsters, or plagues, or will he enslave his
all the undead just crumble away. Undead require a lot less defeated enemies as zombies?
‘infrastructure’ than other monsters – you do not need to
worry about how an army of zombies is fed, for instance. Was the necromancer wronged in some way? Is there something
X Undead vary greatly in powers and abilities. Beginning he wants? Is he an exiled noble, or a madman driven out for his
characters can fight zombies and skeletons; powerful blasphemous experiments? Does he think of himself as evil?
experienced characters can battle vampires and liches but all
the way, they are fighting undead. There are few better long- Is the necromancer interested in learning the true nature of death, or
running villains than a necromancer. is necromancy merely a means to an end? Is he an obsessive sorcerer-
X Better yet, undead keep coming back to plague the players. If scientist, or is necromancy just the tool that came to his hand?
a lucky critical kills a major bad guy, then he can return from
the grave more powerful than before. You can even bring back How is the necromancer connected to the Player Characters? Has
dead Player Characters as villains. he enslaved one of their dead relatives? Does he threaten their
X The undead are atmospheric. From the subtle horror of a homes? Is one of the characters possessed by an evil spirit and only
vampire stalking its prey to the overwhelming panic of being biding his time before he betrays the rest?
trapped in a city full of zombies, the undead are appealing
and memorable villains. Rotting corpses, elegant pale death- Necromantic Adventures
princes, shadowy wraiths, shambling golems – there is a lot of Adventures involving the undead generally fall into one of these
variety to play with. categories:
X The best villains are ones that you can talk to. Vampires, liches X Tomb Robbing: The characters go into a dungeon or ruin
and ghosts can all engage with the players in banter and evil that is haunted by the undead.
villain speeches. X Investigating the Ancient Evil: The characters have to
X Undead can also be tragic. Ghosts trapped by the trauma uncover the secrets of some elder civilisation or cult, which is
of their deaths, or an undead knight forced to serve a not as dead as they thought it was.
dishonourable lord make for excellent roleplaying fodder. X Rise of the Ancient Evil: Some ancient civilisation or army of
the undead is coming back. The characters need to stop it.
The Making of a Necromancer X Monster of the Week: The characters have to battle an undead
Where do the undead in your adventures come from? Were they raised monster – a town is attacked by a ghoul pack, the characters
by a necromancer, or an ancient magical curse, or by the will of a dread need to slay the guardian of a treasure.
 X Murder Mysteries: Some force – a vampire, ghost or other Here are nine ideas for undead-centred campaigns.
recurring undead monster – is killing people. The characters
need to find it and destroy it. 1. Generic RuneQuest – Monster Hunters: The characters are
X Undead Tools: Some necromancer or other villain is using specialist monster-hunters who hunt and kill the dead. They stake
an undead creature to accomplish something – an assassin vampires, slay necromancers, exorcise ghosts and so forth. One
using Strangling Shades, a plague carried by Rot Ghouls and character might be the scholar who learns about the undead,
so forth. another is the hunter who tracks them down, another might
specialise in magic. The key to such a campaign is to have a chain
In each case, consider the following questions: of clues in each adventure that leads to the undead. If the characters
X Who were the undead in life? Do they retain memories of confront the monster directly, they will lose – instead, they need to
what they once were? What brought them back? How do they investigate and gather information before battling the horror.
feel about being undead? How do they feel about the living?
X What classic undead images and tropes can you use? Do not 2. Generic RuneQuest – Rise of the Dead: The dead are coming
be afraid of clichés – evoke horror movies and novels if you back. All of them. Every corpse in the land is a zombie; ghosts
can. Have the characters trapped in a farmhouse surrounded throng the streets. Anyone the characters kill rises again. Soon,
by zombies; have mobs of peasants with burning torches and everything in the world will be killed by the undead. What do the
pitchforks attack the necromancer’s castle; the vampire feeds characters do? This campaign starts off conventionally but over the
on young noblewomen and speaks in a thick accent. Part of course of their first few adventurers, the characters discover that
the joy of roleplaying games is putting your players in the role something very strange is going on…
of the protagonists of favourite novels and movies and seeing
how they would deal with the situation. 3. Generic RuneQuest – We’re All Dead: The game begins with
X In which novel and interesting ways can you use the undead? the characters being dug out of their graves. They are all undead
Reverse the last question – what new spin can you put on classic creatures, animated by their necromancer master. In the first stage
monsters? Vampire assassins? Zombie monks, who wander the of the campaign, they are slaves but later they break free and get to
countryside moaning prayers and warnings about the end of wander the world, adventuring.
the world? How about a cult who deliberately murder each
other in ways designed to turn them into ghosts? 4. Pirates: The Aztecs were masters of necromancy and the Spanish
X What interesting roleplaying encounters, investigations or conquistadors captured their secrets. Cortez the lich-king now
rules the mainland with a bony fist and while he is still an ally of
fight scenes can you work the undead into? Try to come up
Spain, the undead ruler intends to keep the secrets of necromancy
with a dramatic or atmospheric way to introduce the threat
to himself. A few pirate captains are determined to steal Cortez’
of the living dead in each adventure. Instead of having a pack
magic and break his monopoly on death…
of skeletons just sitting in a room in a dungeon, perhaps the
skeletons could build themselves from piles of bones in an 5. Samurai: An evil wizard is using necromancy to bring the
ossuary? Or the skeletons could be crawling along the ceiling honoured dead back to life. How do the characters stand against
like white spiders, using the lightness of their bone frames to their own ancestors?
their advantage? Or perhaps the characters first encounter the
skeletons without realising the nature of their foes – several 6. Vikings: It’s Ragnarok and a small band of Vikings must
nobles in a city have died and the characters trace the common somehow battle their way to Hel’s domain to stop the drowned
factor in the deaths to attending a theatre play. The characters dead from rising!
investigate the theatre and find the cast lying backstage in full
costume…then they lurch into hideous life… 7. Glorantha – Ikankos City Watch: The city of Ikankos is ruled
X How will the characters defeat the undead? Just hacking their by a parliament of ghosts. In such a city, a necromancer with the
way through the ranks of undead is dull, so force the players power to bind and command spirits could rule from behind the
to come up with more exciting and innovative plans. Perhaps scenes, so the use of such magic is strictly forbidden. The characters,
the only way to stop the undead is to slay the necromancer, or both living and dead, are secret agents of the ghost parliament
steal his power source, or undo the ancient curse, or atone for commissioned to hunt down and destroy necromancers.
whatever ancient wrong is causing the dead to rise. One of the
great virtues of the undead is that the characters cannot solve 8. Glorantha – the Well of the Underworld: The characters find
the problems by just killing everyone… a well that goes down… and down… and down… and down…
past earth and Underearth, all the way down to the shadowy land
of the dead, the Underworld. What wonders and magic await
Necromantic Campaigns them in this dark region and what happens if the great powers of
If your whole campaign revolves around the undead, then you can the Second Age discover this secret route into the Underworld? For
use the rules in the book to the fullest. Give each necromancer that matter, who dug that deep well?
and undead a different style or theme. One necromancer might
specialise in necromatons, skeletons and other bone-related spells; 9. Eternal Champion: Some necromancer is digging up the
another might command spirits; a third might work primarily corpses of past incarnations of the Eternal Champion and sending
with disease-magic. them out into the multiverse as part of some nefarious scheme…

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Anghara,
Our Reflection
This scenario explores many of the themes found in Necromantic is a small, walled affair called Morat and was once a Melnibonéan
Arts. It can be set in Glorantha, Elric’s Young Kingdoms, citadel that outgrew its station and became a walled city in the
Hawkmoon’s Tragic Millennium or even Lankhmar. Some Young Kingdoms’ infancy. Anghara’s father was a staunch supporter
suggestions on using these different settings are included. of the Lords of Chaos, particularly Mabelode, who seems to have
connections with the old past of the region. Anghara has forsaken
Although the bulk of the scenario is self contained, it can form all that, cleaving to the Lords of Law and Miggea, Duchess of
the basis for a complete campaign based around the necromantic Dolwic.
transformation of Anghara. Anghara can be renamed to fit
individual campaigns – as can any of the Non-Players Characters
found in this scenario – but the cast list should remain more or
Hawkmoon
Queen Anghara rules over the isolated country of Moravin, part of
less as written. The scenario gives a huge amount of scope for
the larger realm of Shekia. Her father was Granbretanian – a Grand
political intrigue, desperate fights, strange cult rituals and, of
Constable of the Order of the Lion who conquered the lands and
course, the possibility of an Undead Apocalypse. What is more, the
made himself king. Queen Anghara is not, however, a lover of the
Adventurers will be at the heart of the action and even, perhaps,
Dark Empire: despite her heritage she has rejected the wearing of
its instigators.
masks and the attentions of Londra. She cuts an isolated figure in
this area but the people she rules love her.
Read the scenario carefully and decide how, and to what scale, it
will fit with your campaign. Some suggestions for integrating it
into Glorantha, Elric, Hawkmoon or Lankhmar are as follows; but,
with some work, this could also form an excellent backdrop for a
Synopsis
Anghara is a ruler: a queen, a princess royal or a duchess. She is
Deus Vult campaign. much-loved; the people are devoted to her and her counsellors
openly acknowledge her wisdom, patience and expertise in
Glorantha matters of state. Foreign dignitaries adore her: many have been the
Duchess Anghara rules over the Moraysin Duchy, a small outpost proposals of marriage and many have been the suitors who have
of the God Learner Empire on the edge of Fronela. Her father come to her palace to attempt to woo her. All have failed. Anghara
was part of the dynasty that once ruled much of western Loskalm is not for marrying. She is devoted to her god/goddess and her
when it was part of the empire but now the Moraysin Duchy is people. She refuses to devote herself to any one man. Anghara is a
self contained – although it contains great wealth plundered from woman of duty, stability and single-mindedness. To marry would
Loskalm in decades past. The main city of the duchy is Moray; a be to share and thus dilute her power, leaving her kingdom or
hardy God Learner city dedicated to Saint Mor, an acolyte of Saint province weak. Anghara is the Kingdom.
Hrestol who committed self-martyrdom to achieve a rapid ascent
to Solace and Joy. Anghara is dying. Only her most trusted adviser, Lord Segaeis
knows this and he weeps nightly for her plight. In secret he has
Elric summoned physicians, sorcerers, mystics, shamans, witches, witch-
Countess Anghara is a Dharijorian noble who rules the province doctors and every conceivable kind of healer to find the cause of
of Morathorn, territories in the far west of Dharjor and far from Anghara’s condition and its cure. All have failed. Prayers, magic,
the rule of the Pan Tang controlled capital, Gromoorva. The city talismans, poultices, potions: none have been able to cure her. Lord
 Segaeis, bereft, has seen to it that none of those who have visited
Anghara will ever tell of what they know. Her weakness cannot Beginning the Scenario:
be known; must not be discovered. Not one of the summoned
healers, priests or magicians has left Anghara’s palace. Their
Rook
Rook carries out the dirty, unpalatable work of Lord Segaeis quietly
corpses are walled together in the bowels of the building, their
and efficiently. He is a spy, a murderer, a torturer, a kidnapper, an
wine or food poisoned, or their throats slit by Segaeis’s shadowy
extortionist. He is also utterly, utterly loyal to Segaeis and Anghara
chief agent, Rook.
and is merely a conscience-free tool and weapon of state. He is the
best there is. Anghara’s realm and rule might be bright and glorious
The last one to attempt a diagnosis and cure was a seer from a
but it is built on darkness: Rook is the heart of it.
distant land who undertook a brief HeroQuest or Dreamquest. He
returned with desperate news. ‘It is fate, my Lord Segaeis. Nothing
It is Rook who recruits the Adventurers. They might have worked
more. Fate’s tapestry deems Anghara will die before she reaches
for him before or he might simply know of their deeds and
middle age. Nothing can change that. That is why all cures fail.
reputation. He might not know of them at all but it is his job
That is why all magic is impotent. She must die. Perhaps the gods
to be aware of all men and women of competence, skill, bravery
have plans for her in the afterlife: perhaps the mortal world will
and cunning and, when he needs their services, to engage them.
profit more without her. I do not know. All I can tell you is that
He brings the Adventurers together via whatever means are most
she must die.’
appropriate: letters, messages, summons through contacts and
agents… but bring them together he does.
But Lord Segaeis has never been one to bow to the schemes of
gods or higher powers. Enemies clamour at the realm’s frontiers:
One thing the Adventurers do not know is that Rook serves Lord
barbarians and other, more sophisticated foes press against the
Segaeis directly. Rook is scrupulous in that regard. He is careful
borders and will attack at the first sign of weakness. Anghara must
to conceal all evidence regarding their relationship. To all, Rook
live. Somehow. In some way. Segaeis does not seek immortality
is simply a wealthy, if somewhat dubious, man of means with
for Anghara; but he does seek continuity and stability. Her father,
contacts somewhere in Anghara’s council (and there are plenty
Hynrais, was a butcher and a warmonger who brought the realm
who use men such as Rook – although only one man can afford
to the brink of chaos and destruction. Those days must not return.
and control the real Rook).
Nor must the republicans and power-seekers who would flood into
the vacuum left by Anghara’s death.
Rook arranges a meeting at a gloomy manor house or villa
several miles outside of the city. The gardens are overgrown; the
The seer, before he died, mentioned one glimmer of hope;
building has not been occupied for many years, although it is not
something Lord Segaeis has seized upon in desperation. ‘You
dilapidated. It is a place of shabby, fading elegance, crying out for
have heard the stories, I am sure, of the Sisters of Mercy,’ he said.
a careful owner. Rook uses this house for many things: briefings,
‘They have studied death in all its forms, worship the goddesses
interrogations, imprisonments and executions. The cellar – or
associated with it and have control over death and its dominions.
rather those rooms hidden behind the cellar’s false walls – are not
Turn to them, the duchesses of necromancy. Only they can cheat
places a sane or pure mind wishes to contemplate.
what fate wants most.’
Rook meets the Adventurers alone. He has had servants prepare
And so Lord Segaeis has done just that. He has spent months
a meal and bring wine and then dismissed them. He briefs the
gathering every last scrap of information about this shadowy cult,
Adventurers as they eat (the food is not drugged or poisoned; it is
the Sisters of Mercy. He believes he knows their location. Now
of good fare).
he is ready. He has gathered to him the Adventurers who will be
tasked with finding the Sisters of Mercy and seeking their aid: he
‘The barbarians of the wastelands press ever closer into our territories.
will make any bargain to prolong Anghara’s rule and cheat death.
They have quested for powerful spirit allies and found them. Their
He will reward the Adventurers highly for their work.
great shaman has aroused some ancestor ghost that supposedly ate
an entire army in some obscure myth. He vomited up the bones that
But time is running out. Anghara’s life is ebbing. She has only a
became the barbarian tribe. Horse-shit, if you ask me, but this is what
few, short months. She can no longer rise from her bed without
I have heard. It matters not. What is certain is that the barbarians
considerable aid and her weight-loss is astonishing. Her courtiers
have some powerful magic to hand and it must be stopped. That is my
and counsellors are beginning to doubt the deceits Segaeis spins.
job and therefore it becomes yours. No normal magic will neutralise
The Adventurers must work fast.
whatever the barbarians command. We need something stronger.
Something unique.
A kingdom is at stake.

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indicates the map with a contemptuous gesture. ‘I am certain the

map can be relied upon. What lies in and around this forsaken
place is for you to discover.’

The Adventurers can attempt to negotiate with Rook over their

reward or equipment but there is little need. Drawing on the
purse of Lord Segaeis means money is of no object. However if
the Adventurers start making outrageous demands (beyond those
of reasonable equipment, rations, mounts, weapons and so on),
Rook’s expression darkens: ‘Do not cross or push me,’ he warns.
‘Do not think yourselves so indispensable that you may make
demands upon my nature. I know people who will come for you
when you least expect it and make demands of you that you will
not want to experience…’

Otherwise, Rook has whatever the Adventurers request brought

from the city by dawn of the next day, when they are supposed to
head off. They may take the map and successful Lore (Regional)
or Navigate rolls put the characters on the right path towards the
lonely vale where the Sisters of Mercy dwell.

Location of the Valley

The possible location of the Sisters’ valley depends on the campaign
setting. Some suggestions are:

Glorantha
Charg Mountains of eastern Fronela; the Grey Mountains of Erigia
in northern Peloria.
‘My sources tell me that an obscure cult of priestesses, the Sisters of
Mercy, can help and will help for a price. I do not think this is horse- Elric
shit. My sources are impeccable. You are to find their temple and The hills and mountains north-west of Dharijor, on the far border
deliver messages I have had prepared. You are to convince them that of the Vale of Xanyaw.
our realm needs their help. You will have much to offer by way of
bargains. You are to bring back whatever magic it is they have that Hawkmoon
will slay this bone-vomiting barbarian ancestor spirit. Fail, and Sweet Carpathian Mountains.
Anghara’s reign fails with you.
Lankhmar
‘If you succeed, you can name your reward: land, money, magic… it The northern mountains of Lankhmar’s continent.
will be yours. For now I will give you 1,000 in silver and whatever
equipment you require. Draw-up your list. Let me have it by dawn.
Then you will leave. This map shows your destination.’ On The Road to
The map scroll Rook unrolls across the table is hand-drawn and Lho-where
quite recently so: there is no antiquity to it. It shows a mountainous Games Masters can scatter whatever encounters they wish for
landscape cut by a wide river. To the river’s north is a city of some the Adventurers but otherwise the journey towards the valley of
kind nestling in the foothills of the mountains. South of the the Sisters is uneventful. After three days of travel the landscape
river is wasteland. Lore (Regional) rolls give the Adventurers the becomes hard and bleak; after five days the going is steep and
impression that the location is some distance north of Anghara’s arduous as the Adventurers have to negotiate narrow passes
realm and is certainly not an area they have ventured to in their between the foothills, climb upwards to gain bearings and then
own travels. Rook confirms the place they seek, where these Sisters descend on the other side of sparsely wooded hills. There are no
of Mercy occupy an obscure city a good 10 days’ travel from their settlements, save one: the hamlet of Lho, which is on the very edge
present location. The journey can be done on horseback. ‘This of the Sisters’ territory, south of the river. It is not marked on the
valley where the Sisters hide is a secret they have kept from spies map and comes as a (perhaps welcome) surprise to the Adventurers
and explorers,’ Rook says. ‘It took magic to reveal this.’ And he as they see the lowly cabins nestling in a clearing in a small forest.
 The hamlet of Lho is home to the Lho clan – an extended, years to free ourselves of the last curse! We will not labour for
considerably in-bred, family that hunts the forest and cuts wood another century!’ He will not elaborate on what this curse was but
from the plentiful trees. Their buildings are made from black mention of the Sisters makes him and his boys aggressive. They do
stone and roofed with brackens and mosses. There are nine or ten not care that the Adventurers are better armed and armoured than
buildings of a similar style clustered near to an off-shoot of the themselves.
river, smoke rising from the chimneys of the houses. The people of
Lho are superstitious, fearful creatures; all illiterate, all uneducated After the Adventurers have left Lho, Lho-High sends his four boys
save for in the ways of the lands surrounding their home. They and a further two to follow the Adventurers, ambush them, rob
number around 60 and have a distinct facial similarity; enormous them, kill them and bring the bodies back to be eaten. The Lho
noses and thick, bushy eyebrows. Compared with the Adventurers people eat whatever they can get and the curse they laboured to be
they are extraordinarily ugly. They also do not care for strangers. rid of was cannibalism – a trait that, unfortunately, they have not
They offer no hospitality and expect nothing in the way of civility. lifted. They eat their own dead and are quite happy to eat dead
They remain in their houses whilst the Adventurers pass by but if strangers.
the characters linger, the Head Man, the Lho-High, accompanied
by his four strapping, bear-like sons, come to investigate. The Lho boys know the woods, trails and hills intimately. Their
Stealth skills reflect this. They also rely on their slings and spears,
‘We want no trouble,’ Lho-High says. ‘This is a local settlement. thrown, to bring-down the Adventurers from range. They will
For local people. There is nothing for you here.’ fight until two of their number are seriously injured or killed, the
rest fleeing. If the Adventurers display any kind of magic, then
Lho-High can be persuaded to provide fresh water and a little they fight for a single round and then flee en-masse.
food, if an Adventurer succeeds in an Influence roll. Offering
money to help supplement the request adds +10% to the skill; if
the Adventurers offer equipment, especially weapons or armour, Lho Boys
then the roll is an automatic success. The four sons of Lho offer Savage primitives and cannibals. They rely on ranged weapons to
undisguised and avaricious stares at what the Adventurers are disable their opponents and then charge-in with spears and axes. All
carrying. six Lho Boys have the same statistics but use different fighting styles.

If the Adventurers ask anything about the Sisters of Mercy, Lho- If any of the Lho Boys are killed and searched, the Adventurers
High recoils in shock and anger: ‘Do not invoke their name here! come across necklaces and crude talismans made from human
Do not bring their curse down upon Lho! We laboured for 100 bones (knuckles, teeth and so on).

Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 16 1–3 Right Leg 1/7
CON 16 4–6 Left Leg 1/7
SIZ 16 7–9 Abdomen 2/8
INT 6 10–12 Chest 2/9
POW 11 13–15 Right Arm –/6
DEX 11 16–18 Left Arm –/6
CHA 4 19–20 Head –/7

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Hide shirts and jerkins with bear skin coats. –2 Armour Penalty
Damage Modifier +1D2
Magic Points 11 Traits: Cannibals
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +7 Skills: Athletics 60%, Brawn 75%, Evade 40%, Perception 50%, Persistence 43%,
Resilience 55%, Stealth 85%, Survival 40%, Tracking 85%

Combat Styles
Spear and Shield 60%, Axe and Shield 55%, Thrown Axe 45%, Thrown Spear 55%, Sling 70%

The Lho Boys can throw their Wood Axes to a maximum range of 5 metres

Weapons
Type Size Reach Damage AP/HP Range
Short Spear M L 1D8+1D2 4/5
Round Shield L S 1D6+1D2 3/12
Wood Axe M L 1D6+2+1D2 3/8 5m
Sling L — 1D8+1D2 1/2 200m

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If the Adventurers flee the Lho Boys, they follow at a distance for
2D3 hours, attempting to take the Adventurers unawares, before
The Bridge of Bones
Made from the spines of two colossal beasts, the Bridge of Bones
giving up and returning home.
is a perilous route at best. The spines arch steeply over the water
and the surface of the bridge is made from hundreds of ribs lashed
The Ancestral Gate onto the main arches with what appears to be human hair. Horses
At the edge of the territory the Lhos consider their own is a line refuse to cross the bridge, even though it is wide enough to take
of withered tree stumps, where the forest thins and gives way to two animals travelling side-by-side.
the bleak moorland that leads to the river and thence to the valley
of the Sisters. There are 20 tree stumps, each no more than six Walking across requires Athletics rolls at a –20% penalty (or
metres high. Each has been carved into the resemblance of a Lho Acrobatics, if any Adventurer has the skill, at no penalty). Any
villager: thick heads, big noses and a single chiselled line of wood characters that have Ship Handling as a skill negate the Athletics
representing the eyebrows. The faces have no eyes; the mouths are penalty as crossing the bones is not unlike scaling yardarms or
downcast. Evaluate rolls or other appropriate skills determine that rigging. The roll needs to be made twice; once to reach the mid-
the carvings are at least a century old, if not more. They represent point and once to reach the far side. Failing the roll results in the
the ancestors of the Lho clan – those who angered the Sisters of character falling through a weak-spot in the bridge and into the
Mercy and were cursed with cannibalism. water below: a Swim roll at –10% is then needed to swim to the
nearest bank.
The spirits of the ancestors are clinging to the posts and crave
human flesh. Anyone physically touching the wood is subject to If Perception rolls are made successfully, a small clay pot is spotted
a Discorporation attack which brings the soul to the Spirit Plane by the arch of the bridge on the southern side – which is the side
where the ancestor tries to eat the victim. If the target beats the the Adventurers approach from. The pot is moss-covered but
ancestor in Spirit Combat the ancestor is not killed but is compelled visible. It does not contain anything but if any Adventurer deposits
to answer one question truthfully and honestly – which it will do. either a coin, small article of equipment or some food into the
pot before crossing, he avoids the attentions of the Bridge Keeper.
If questioned about the Sisters of Mercy the reply is on the Any Adventurer who fails to make a donation is challenged by the
following lines: Bridge Keeper on reaching the far side and before stepping onto
the river bank.
‘The Death Sisters tried to take the men-folk of Lho as husbands
but the men refused. The Sisters were angry and compelled the The Bridge Keeper built the bridge and lives in the frigid waters
men to eat the flesh of the dead for 100 years in penance. We are beneath it. It counts footsteps going across and senses donations
hungry still and will be hungry for ever more, because we were the made to the pot. It accounts the two measures together and
first to refuse.’ challenges anyone who does not make a contribution. Their ribs
and hair are used to repair the bridge.
The ancestors can accurately answer any questions relating to this
scenario (but only answer one question) on a successful Insight The Bridge Keeper splashes out of the water and takes-up position
roll. Afterwards they fall silent. at the northern end of the bridge barring anyone who has not made
a donation from stepping off. Anyone who has done so is allowed
Lho Ancestor to pass unmolested. He makes this challenge:
INT 12, POW 15, CHA 4
Skills: Discorporate 85%, Insight 95%, Spectral Bite 75% ‘All my hard work, unappreciated? All my time, insulted? You may
either return and make a small donation, or you can pay with your
life, ribs and hair!’
The River
The river cuts a deep and sluggish gash through the landscape, Stingy adventurers therefore have a choice: return back the way
running from the north-east to the south-west. It is cold and slow- they have come, incurring a further two more skill rolls to cross
moving but a successful Lore (Regional) or other appropriate skill the Bridge of Bones and make a donation of anything into the pot,
roll notes that it contains many fast and treacherous eddies and sub- or fight the Keeper.
currents that would make swimming across it extremely dangerous
(–60% to Swim rolls). The land around the river is coarse and The Bridge Keeper
rocky; on the far bank – the river is 50 metres wide – the terrain is An immense, primitive, troll/ogre-like humanoid with no fear and,
loose shale that rises up into the foothills. like the Lho people, a cannibal. Facially he has some similarities
with the Lho primitives: hirsute and with a massive nose – but
Following the southern bank to the east for an hour brings the otherwise he is a bulky, twisted monster that likes to eat those who
Adventurers to the Bridge of Bones. Following it to the west for an do not contribute to the bridge’s up-keep voluntarily. Several skulls
hour brings them to The Ferry Woman. Or the Adventurers can hang from the leather belt he wears around his considerable waist
attempt to ford it with skill and/or magic. and his jerkin appears to be made from tanned, human skin.
 Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 20 1–3 Right Leg 1/7
CON 14 4–6 Left Leg 1/7
SIZ 20 7–10 Abdomen 3/8
INT 9 11–12 Chest 3/9
POW 11 13–15 Right Arm 1/6
DEX 11 16–18 Left Arm 1/6
CHA 3 19–20 Head 1/7

Combat Actions 2 Typical Armour: Wiry or thick hair/fur. Human skin jerkin (–2 Armour Penalty)
Damage Modifier +1D6
Magic Points 11 Traits: Night Sight
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +8 Skills: Athletics 30%, Brawn 55%, Evade 25%, Perception 30%, Persistence 43%,
Resilience 55%, Stealth 25%, Swim 90%, Unarmed 55%

Common Magic 35%: Bludgeon 2

Combat Styles
Club 55%, Sling, 40%, Unarmed 40%

Weapons
Type SIZ Reach Damage AP/HP Range
Giant Club L L 1D10+1D6 6/10
Sling L — 1D8+1D6 1/2 200m
Fists M M 1D6+1D6 As for Arm

The Bridge Keeper is allowed one chance before encountering the other side, he is waiting for them with his club, which will
his first victim to cast Bludgeon 2 on his club, raising its combat have had a successful Bludgeon 2 cast upon it. The punt requires
percentage to 65% and Damage to 1D10+2+1D6. In a fight he a successful Boating skill roll to propel successfully at a Movement
always tries to avoid striking the chest or head, aiming blows at the equal to the punting character’s STR divided by 2; if the roll is
abdomen and limbs (if he gains a Choose Location manoeuvre). failed then the punt proceeds at a speed of no more than one metre
He does not want to ruin valuable hair or break useful ribs or per round, giving the Ferry Woman plenty of time to ready more
spines. rocks and cast Multimissile on them.

The Ferry If her price is met, she allows the Adventurers to board the punt
and then pushes the boat out into the waters at a careful, steady
To the west is a crude hut made of piled stones close to a rickety
pace. Whilst the Adventurers load onto the boat, she takes some
jetty made of bones and lashed together with what appears to be
of the stones from the walls of her hut and places them by her
human hair. A large, wide punt is moored at the jetty. It can take punting station to act as ballast. Once she reaches the mid-point
all the Adventurers and their equipment but not their mounts. she begins to curse and appears to be having trouble with her large
and pendulous breasts, which are getting in the way of her punting.
As the Adventurers approach the Ferry Woman emerges from the She brings the boat to a halt, steadying it by anchoring the long
hut. She is the Bridge Keeper’s wife, mother, sister and grandmother. pole she uses to propel it to the side of the craft and fast into the
She resembles the Bridge Keeper but has an enormous pair of base of the river. She hopes that one of the Adventurers will come
flaccid, dangling breasts that she keeps out of the way by throwing to her aid. If one does, she thanks him and then asks him to move
them across her shoulders. She is more intelligent than her one of the ballast stones a little further forward.
husband/son/brother/grandson but far more treacherous.
The stone is enchanted with a spell that attaches it to the character’s
Her price for ferrying people across the river is some small donation hands. The Adventurer is allowed a Resistance roll against
of food, coin or piece of equipment. Anyone attempting to steal Persistence to avoid the magic (in which case the stone merely feels
the boat incurs her wrath: she takes stones from the hut and pelts warm). If the spell works, then the stone cannot be dropped or
the fleeing Adventurers with them from the shore. Her aim is thrown for 5 minutes. While carrying the stone the Adventurer is
remarkable. She also lets out an ear-splitting scream which attracts considered as Overloaded (page 59 of the RuneQuest Core Rulebook
the Bridge Keeper to the east: by the time the Adventurers reach Encumbrance rules).

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The Ferry Woman lashes out with her Unarmed skill at the When hurling rocks at people the Ferry Woman attempts to
encumbered character. The target should be allowed an Evade cast Multimissile on every second rock hurled. She takes aim at
roll to anticipate the attack but if the Ferry Woman succeeds, whoever is doing the punting first, concentrating attacks on that
the Adventurer is knocked out of the punt and into the water, character. If she manages to overwhelm the Adventurers, such that
where the stone takes him straight to the bottom (with drowning she can tackle them without the need for distance, she swims into
occurring as per page 54 of the RuneQuest Core Rulebook). The the water and uses Unarmed to try to drown them.
Ferry Woman or her husband/son/brother/grandson will swim
down to reclaim the body later, using it for a feast.
Into the Valley of the
This attack is likely to prompt retaliation from the Adventurers. If so,
they need to be reminded that the punt is not a stable fighting platform. Shadow of Death
In any case, the Ferry Woman vacates the punt, throwing herself into Across the river the landscape becomes exceedingly ragged. Sharp
the water and diving deep to evade attacks of any kind. She can make scree lies everywhere and plant-life is confined to mosses and
it safely back to her hut swimming underwater – perhaps pausing to prickly gorse in ugly clumps.
capture any Adventurer thrown into the water as she does so.
After a day’s trudge, the Adventurers reach the valley where the
The Ferry Woman Sisters of Mercy dwell. They approach from the south and crest
An immense, primitive, troll/ogre, similar in appearance to the a ridge that looks down into the narrow, gloomy, valley below.
Bridge Keeper but clearly female. Her hair is long, matted, tangled The Sisters’ of Mercy’s temple is clearly visible: a vast, crumbling,
and lice-riddled: characters coming into physical contact with her forlorn mausoleum built on a grand scale. Death and shadow
stand a 45% chance of catching lice which make the scalp itch clings to the place. Spirit Magicians entering the Spirit Plane find
so badly that all skills suffer a –5% penalty until the sufferer has themselves surrounded by death spirits and spirits consigned to
either found a cure or had his head shaved. purgatory, awaiting their final judgement.

Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 18 1–3 Right Leg 1/7
CON 14 4–6 Left Leg 1/7
SIZ 19 7–10 Abdomen 1/8
INT 12 11–12 Chest 1/11*
POW 13 13–15 Right Arm 1/6
DEX 14 16–18 Left Arm 1/6
CHA 2 19–20 Head 1/7

*An additional 2 HP are gained for her huge, leathery, pendulous breasts

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: Wiry or thick hair/fur.

Damage Modifier +1D6
Magic Points 11 Traits: Night Sight
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +13 Skills: Athletics 65%, Brawn 50%, Evade 40%, Perception 53%, Persistence 44%,
Resilience 45%, Stealth 25%, Swim 90%, Unarmed 55%

Common Magic 45%: Mobility 2, Multimissile 2

Combat Styles
Thrown Rock 85%, Unarmed 55%

Weapons
Type SIZ Reach Damage AP/HP Range
Rock M — 1D4+1+1D6 8/8 15m
 cairns made from the same scree as the slope. The cairns are regularly
spaced. Each represents the dead husband of a Sister of Mercy.
What Is the Temple? Digging beneath a cairn even just a little way reveals the bones and
Here are some suggestions for what the temple is – or on the Spirit Plane the Dead Husbands wait, patiently, forlornly, for
was – and what the Sisters of Mercy are, in different another to join them, sitting beside their piles of stone.
settings.
True sunlight never penetrates the valley: it is always shrouded in
darkness and shadow, the sky above never more than a grey veil.
Glorantha
Animal life does not exist here: only the Sisters of Mercy.
The temple is an off-shoot of the fearful city of
Alkoth in Dara Happa. It was created from the tip
of Shargash’s spear which he drove into the Monster The Temple of the Sisters of Mercy
of Shadow during the Great Darkness. The tip broke The Sisters of Mercy are a necromantic order that believe life to be
against the monsters bones and was later fashioned an illusion and death the only true reality. In life, deception is the
into the temple as it currently is. As a creation of norm; in death, all is true and transparent. It is thus a state to be
Shargash it is a gateway to Hell itself and the Sisters of welcomed and a state for the wise.
Mercy are a sect loyal to both Shargash and Gorgorma,
approaching worship of both through the Death The Sisters of Mercy are eight in number and all are biologically dead.
Rune. Any Adventurer with Lore (Dara Happa), Lore Such is their devotion to their faith and the powers of Death they
(Shargash) or Lore (Gorgorma) realises the significance have come to occupy a state of Undeath on this world: they are, in
of the place immediately. effect, Liches. They control the kinds of necromantic magic explored
in Necromantic Arts and they seek to ensure that the living understand
Elric and embrace death, rather than trying to avoid it, fear it or shun it.
This is a mausoleum built to house the family of some
Melnibonéan noble from some point in the last 10,000 The Sisters continually require living husbands to maintain their
years. Its architecture is suitably bizarre and distinctly presence on the physical world. Of course, living bodies eventually
Melnibonéan in character. wear out and die and the cairns outside the temple mark the 80 or
so husbands who have been before. It has been a long time since
The Sisters of Mercy are a sect of the Death Bringer the death of the last husband and the Sisters of Mercy require new
cult of Chardhros, venerating him as the consort of ones. Any male Adventurers will do.
Xiombarg. They do not follow the beliefs of the full
Chardhros cult, having developed their own over Marrying a Sister of Mercy is not the dreadful fate that might
considerable time. Any character associated with a be suggested. Although the Sisters are dead, they are not evil.
Chaos cult or the Death Bringers recognises much They do not seek to kill or harm the husbands; their purpose is
of the imagery and symbolism on display around the companionship and entertainment. The Sisters cannot leave their
mausoleum. valley: the husbands help make eternity pass.

The Sisters also need something else: no one in their number is a

Hawkmoon leader and they require such a leader who will be their spokeswoman
As for Elric. However, the gods of Chardhros and
when the Lord of Death finally comes to acknowledge the Sisters’
Xiombarg are completely unfamiliar to the people of devotion. This need will be used as a bargaining tool as the
Tragic Millennium Earth and the names should mean Adventurers become more aware of Lord Segaeis’s schemes.
nothing to them. This is clearly some strange sect
of sorcery that may pre-date the Tragic Millennium
although it may have some connections with the Dark
The Sisters’ Servants
The Sisters are served by the dead. Necrodomo (see page 54)
Empire (it does not – despite the masks).
servants obey every command the Sisters issue, shuffling around,
providing a macabre form of hospitality and tending to the
Lankhmar Adventurers’ needs. The Necrodomos – and there are eight, one
The temple is a temple to Death and the Sisters of for each sister – are always on hand, standing close by the Sister
Mercy serve Death directly as immortal agents upon each serves without question. The Nectodomos are those the
the earth. Sisters liked and could not let go – but could not, for one reason
or another – marry.

Descending to the temple takes an hour, negotiating the scree-slope If the Sisters are attacked, even though they are indestructible, the
that occasionally slips beneath the feet, making the going slow but Necrodomos fight to protect their mistresses. Each Necrodomo
not hazardous. At the base of the slope the temple looms ahead, has the average statistics given on page 54 of the Undead Creatures
reached via a long, straight causeway flanked by carefully prepared chapter.

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Arriving at the Temple

The Sisters are well aware of the presence of anyone who crosses
the river and enters the valley long before they arrive. As the
Adventurers make their approach three of the Necrodomos
shamble from the temple’s main entrance and pause before it,
waiting for the Adventurers to get closer. When they are within
a few metres the Necrodomos beckon with their rotting fingers
clearly indicating that the Adventurers are to follow. They are not
armed and will not attack. If any Adventurer chooses to attack
one of them, they offer no defence. If cut down or destroyed, all
the Sisters automatically treats the one who did the killing with
disdain: he will not be chosen as a husband but will be chosen as a
replacement Necrodomo.

The Necrodomos lead the Adventurers through the temple and

into the Inner Sanctum. Here the Sisters occupy a high-backed
throne of wood each, seated in a circle, facing in towards each
other. At the centre is a ninth throne, empty. The Necrodomos
take up their places behind each chair to await a fresh command.
In the centre of the circle formed by the Sisters is a pool, filled with
an oily black substance. This material is magical and radiates a
distinct energy that can be immediately sensed by anyone capable
of detecting magic.

Meeting the Sisters of Mercy

The Sisters are curious creatures. Each wears an elaborate, stylised,
incredibly ornate full-face mask and head-dress over the head.
The hands and arms are wreathed in silver gauntlets, their feet in
boots of a similar style and their bodies fully covered by gowns of
a different colour for each Sister. The Sisters are known by their
colour: the Red Sister, the Blue Sister, the Green Sister, the Yellow
Sister, the Grey Sister, the Lilac Sister, the Black Sister and the

Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 21 1–3 Right Leg 14/7
CON 21 4–6 Left Leg 14/7
SIZ 13 7–9 Abdomen 14/8
INT 28 10–12 Chest 14/9
POW 26 (14 Dedicated to Pact) 13–15 Right Arm 14/6
DEX 13 16–18 Left Arm 14/6
CHA 13 19–20 Head 20/7

Combat Actions 4 Typical Armour: Ossified Bone. Plate Masks. –4 Armour Penalty
Damage Modifier +1D4
Magic Points 12 Traits: Night Sight, Life Sight, Immortal
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +17 (+17) Skills: Influence 90%, Insight 95%, Lore (Death) 200%, Perception 90%,
Persistence 150%, Resilience 100%

Common Magic 100%: Frostbite, Mindspeech 6, Spirit Bane 6,

Pact (Death God) 100%

Divine Spells: Animate Undead x2, Blighted Resurrect x2, Cadavar Eternal x2,
Deadsight, Mimic Life x3, Offer Life x3, Restful Dead x2
 White Sister. The gowns are threadbare and stink of age but are And, despite their different personalities the Sisters are in 100
ornate and clearly of quality, despite their appearance. The Sisters percent agreement on everything: what they display to the
are careful not to reveal their flesh, which is ossified in the manner Adventurers is merely a reflection of how they have become after
of extremely old liches and if any Adventurer attempts to touch or 1,000 years of immortality.
remove a mask, then the Sister’s Necrodomo intervenes.
The Sisters of Mercy use magic to counter any attacks and direct
The Sisters have similar statistics and magic but different their Necrodomos to provide the physical violence. They do not
personalities. They are as follows: use any close combat skills themselves. Their favoured tactic is to
direct Frostbite spells at those who might assault them.
Red Sister
The Red Sister is passionate and speaks warmly and sensually, Speaking With The Dead
commenting on an Adventurer’s looks, wit and likely prowess in Assuming no attacks upon first meeting, the Adventurers are
bed. She seeks to flatter and arouse. greeted by the Sisters who all rise in unison. Black Sister addresses
the Adventurers on behalf of all the Sisters: ‘One of your number
Blue Sister must speak for you all. Welcome to this, the House of the Merciful
The Blue Sister is cool and distant, allowing her voice to trail off as Dead.’
though she is bored with proceedings. Her gestures are dismissive
and vague. It does not matter who is chosen to speak for the Adventurers. The
Sisters survey the others and engage in conversation anyway, acting
Green Sister according to their characters. However, they allow the Spokesman
The Green Sister is contradictory and scheming. She disagrees with to convey whatever message he conveys (Rook’s lie concerning
everything her sisters say or suggest and tries to concoct schemes the destruction of the Great Barbarian Ancestor spirit) listening
aloud, inviting the Adventurers to become conspirators – although whilst he does so. Then follows an opportunity for all the Sisters
all the other sisters can hear exactly what she says and plans. to engage each Adventurer in banter and questioning along the
following lines:
Yellow Sister
The Yellow Sister never speaks but communicates via sign language What God do you worship? Why?
and head gestures. The others understand her perfectly.
Should I reveal to you how many years you have left before the merciful
Grey Sister release of death?
Grey Sister has no opinions one way or another. She cannot decide
what is the best course – save for the finality and truth of death. I know how [significant other] died. I can call their spirit. Shall I do
so?
Lilac Sister
Lilac Sister is playful and coy, giggling morosely and averting her I see you have much pain in your heart. Come, let us take that from
gaze when looked at. you and give you blessed mercy…
Black Sister Ah, but you are a handsome one are you not? A lover, too. There is
Black Sister acts as the spokeswoman for the Sisters. She is much love on the Other Side of the Veil. Let me take you there and
forthright, truthful and blunt to the point of being insulting. show you…
White Sister Finally though, the Black Sister plays her trump card.
White Sister is the counterpoint to Black Sister. She is elusive,
deceiving and unfailingly polite. ‘A fine tale you told us, because a fine tale was told to you. A ruse. A
deceit. You come here to seek our magic but not defeat a mighty foe: to
The Sisters speak in a hollow, echoing tone that is somewhere defeat the mightiest foe of all – Death.
between a human voice and the echo caused by calling into a
canyon. With their masks (the eyes are black holes; no pupils can Death is coming to claim fair Anghara. Nothing can prevent its
be seen within) they are immune to Insight rolls that might try to progress. She will die soon and this is why you have been sent to us.
determine their motivation or underlying nature. Others believe that we can save her from death; or, at least, prolong her
life so that your realm’s glory can continue.
Despite this nature, the Sisters of Mercy do believe in the mercy of
death. To them, the travesty of life brings only pain and suffering. And we can. And we shall. But there are conditions… Listen very
Death, the final, absolute mercy, is the preferred way of things because, carefully, mortals…’
in death, all is equal and the true nature of the gods can be perceived.

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The conditions the Sisters of Mercy stipulate are straightforward. of Mercy will not offer their help again. Although they will come
to take their Queen…
First, they want a husband each. The husband must be young but
worldly; intelligent but unambitious. He must be the opposite of
the Sister’s personality. The Adventurers may propose themselves Returning to the Realm
and are welcome to do so, if any fit the bill (and the Sisters are The Adventurers may be able to circumnavigate the Lho settlement
diverse enough so that there should be a match somewhere). The but they must still cross the river again, first. If the Bridge Keeper
Adventurers will need to determine the character of each Sister or the Ferry Woman have been killed, then this is easier, perhaps. If
through discourse, questioning and listening. they have not, then they remember any slight, any provocation and
any assault that went before and act accordingly, seeking revenge
A natural question will be what being a husband entails; the answer against the Adventurers and looking for the best ways of killing
is thus: ‘A ceremony, and then companionship. No harm will befall and eating them.
him. No curses, no injuries and death will come naturally as time and
fate dictates. Perhaps we shall be lucky and find a husband who is Circumnavigating the Lho hamlet still involves crossing Lho
already immortal. The husband must stay here, with us. Lie with us. hunting territories and there is a chance that more of the Lho
Entertain us. He will have living companions in the shape of the other Boys, intent on revenge or capturing the Adventurers, set traps
husbands, but We will become His World, and He Ours.’ or attempt further ambushes. Much depends on what went on
beforehand.
The second condition is as the Black Sister describes: ‘We need a
Queen. A Queen who will be One of Us. A leader and teacher. Your
Queen will suffice. We will keep death from her brow for eight years In My Time of Dying
– one for each of us – and then she shall be called to us and made the On their return to Anghara’s realm, all is as it was. The Adventurers
Queen of Mercy, to reside here for eternity and to greet the Lord Death are to make their way to the mansion where Rook briefed them.
when he comes to claim us, to become his wife, mirroring the husbands Rook knows of their arrival back in the city before the Adventurers
of the living realm we have taken. For Death must mirror life, always, can make any form of contact and he is waiting for them at the
but a perfect reflection, free from pain and anguish…’ manse.

So the conditions are clear: find the Sisters husbands and bring He listens carefully to their tale. His reaction depends on what the
them a Queen, specifically Anghara. In return, she will gain eight Adventurers did. If confronted about deceiving them, his response
more years of life before being called to occupy the ninth throne is one of wry amusement: ‘What of it? We are all pawns in a greater
amongst the Sisters and to become a bride to the Lord of Death. game. You were deceived a little: if you wish to make something
of that, feel free. But I will not be threatened. You do not want to
make me – or who I work for – angry.’ Insight rolls at this juncture
Agreeing to the Terms show Rook is in a serious mind: his eyes show it. Rook is a very
All the Adventurers need to do is agree to the terms. They can take dangerous man.
as long as they want: the Sisters have all of eternity. They will be
given somewhere to rest and water to drink but nothing to eat:
there is no need for food amongst the Sisterhood. When they are If the Sisters’ Offer Was Accepted
ready, they can return to the Sanctum and give their answer. Rook betrays no emotions. He rises from the table. ‘You will wait
here until I return. I must confer with others.’ And with that he
If they agree, then the Sisters tell the Adventurers to return to their departs.
realm. There they must find the eight husbands; then they must
bring the husbands and Anghara back to the temple so that the The Adventurers are kept waiting for an entire day. Servants are
necessary rituals can be completed. sent to tend to them; food, wine, women if they want them. They
may ponder on the question of husbands for the Sisters. Rook
Any Adventurer that volunteers to become a husband is appraised would make an excellent husband for Lilac Sister…
by the Sister he is most suited to wed. He must remain here now,
whilst the others return to complete the conditions. When Rook returns he is not alone. With him, dressed so as to
be incognito, is Lord Segaeis. The Adventurers may know him
(Insight or Lore rolls will determine if they do, and if so, what they
Rejecting Them know). His face is ashen. Rook arranges for him to be seated in the
If the Adventurers reject the conditions, then the Sisters fall silent. Great Hall and the Adventurers are made to recite their adventures
The Adventurers are free to leave and will not be molested. They from the beginning. When they tell of the Sisters, Segaeis questions
must return to Rook and somehow explain what they have done. them very closely, exploring every avenue within the conditions,
Rook will not be pleased – and certain events have occurred in the returning again and again to the nature of the deal. After several
Adventurers’ absence that may cause them to rue their decision. hours of this, he tells the Adventurers something.
What is more, their decision is irreversible: once rejected the Sisters
 ‘Our beloved Anghara died two days ago, in her sleep. I have kept Sisters, taking with them Anghara’s body. Before he leaves, Rook
this news from the entire court. Only I, Rook and now, you, know makes contact with assassins he knows: the Adventurers are to pay
that she is dead. News of her death, were it to leak-out, would the ultimate price for their failure.
mobilise those who would seize power. Anghara has no heir. Many
will try to impose their will and bring about the old chaos. What happens to them is beyond the scope of this scenario. They
may try to make amends in some way but Rook does not tolerate
‘These Sisters though, offer a chance of life – even at a heavy cost. failure. It may be many weeks before the assassins strike and the
In the eight years she would be granted, we can scour the world assassins will be cunning in their work. The Adventurers may have
for a way of making that a permanent arrangement, so she will to flee very far to escape Rook’s vengeance…
not become the Queen of these ghastly necromancers. So we must
follow-through and make good on their conditions – for now. Of course, Rook and Segaeis will fail if they take Anghara’s body to
Husbands we can find; that,’ he points at the Adventurers, ‘is your the Sisters. The Sisters will keep it and bring Anghara back to life
job. The reward is your lives. I should have you killed for what you as a Queen of Undeath. Rook and Segaeis become either husbands
know but I will not. You will find one half of the Sisters’ bargain or Necrodomos; the Adventurers may never know…
and I will make arrangements for Anghara’s body to be smuggled
from the palace and taken to these Sisters. You will accompany us.’ Rook
By this, it is clear he means that he, Rook and the Adventurers, A gaunt man in his forties, Rook is notable for his wide face, doleful
along with the husbands, will make the return trip to the Valley eyes and shock of curly black hair that creates a long, unruly mop
of Death. flopping down to his shoulders. He dresses in monochrome: white
shirt, black trousers and boots and a dark grey waistcoat. His only
If the Sisters’ Offer Was Rejected nod to colour is the scarlet sash he wears around his waist, which
Rook stiffens when he hears the news. ‘And on what authority holds his daggers and anchors the scabbard of his long, thin sword
did you reject this offer? Were my instructions not clear? You were to his side. Rook rarely smiles. His air is one of utter competence;
TOLD to bring back the necessary magic…’ one gets the feeling that there is nothing he is not capable of
doing. He also has innumerable contacts across the city, as befits
Rook dismisses them. There is no reward; no thanks. He and Lord the arch servant of Lord Segaeis and he can call upon any number
Segaeis will make their own trip to the valley to negotiate with the of assassins, thieves, spies and other mountebanks to do his, or his

Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 12 1–3 Right Leg –/6
CON 12 4–6 Left Leg –/6
SIZ 15 7–10 Abdomen 1/7
INT 17 11–12 Chest 1/8
POW 12 13–15 Right Arm –/5
DEX 18 16–18 Left Arm –/5
CHA 15 19–20 Head –/6

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: Linen padding worn beneath shirt. –1 Armour Penalty.
Damage Modifier +1D2
Magic Points 12 Traits: None
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +18 (+17) Skills: Athletics 65%, Brawn 30%, Culture (Own) 60%, Evade 75%, Evaluate
80%, Insight 85%, Lore (Regional) 70%, Perception 85%, Persistence 75%,
Resilience 68%, Sleight 70%, Stealth 78%, Streetwise 110%, Unarmed 90%

Common Magic 40%: Befuddle, Bladesharp 3, Co-ordination 2, Fate 2

Combat Styles
Longsword and Main Gauche 115%, Thrown Dagger 110%

Weapons
Type SIZ Reach Damage AP/HP Range
Dagger S S 1D4+1+1D2 6/8 10m
Longsword M L 1D8+1D2 6/12
Main Gauche S S 1D4+1D2 6/7

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lord’s, bidding. His chief skill is in, as he calls it, facilitating but
equally Rook is an amoral murderer and torturer in his own right Husband Hunting
– although he easily justifies his nature in his service to Anghara The scenario, from this point on, assumes that the Adventurers
accepted the Sisters’ terms and now have the task of finding suitable
and the Realm.
husbands. This is no easy task for several reasons:

Lord Segaeis  The men must be young but worldly, intelligent but
Segaeis is the chief counsellor to Anghara. A cunning man in his unambitious.
sixties he is completely loyal to both ruler and realm and will do  They must not know who they will be marrying but convinced
anything to protect both – including murder, if that is required. to undertake a long journey north: think of the reaction when
His mind is capable of processing facts, situations and solutions they see their brides.
with frightening speed although he makes little show of his  Eight men must be found who match the distinct personalities
considerable intellect. Segaeis will use people as he sees fit: the ends of each Sister and be paired with the Sister who has the
justify the means; but he is not, in reality, a cruel man. Although opposite traits.
he has much blood on his hands, he does not care for suffering  Lord Segaeis orders Rook to have the Adventurers watched
and ensures a rapid despatch. Where cruelty is necessary to extract during their search. If they breathe a word about the death of
information, he leaves such duties to Rook and concerns himself Anghara or the true nature of their quest, they are to be killed.
only with the outcome. Segaeis commands the entire machinery The Adventurers, of course, will be fully unaware of this.
of state and can bend it to do his bidding. This makes him the real
power behind the throne, although he has coached Anghara to be Lord Segaeis can help make the task somewhat easier. First, he can
her own, decisive woman, gently guided where necessary. Segaeis offer documents and money that will entice likely candidates into
has few years left to him. His heart is failing but he intends to believing they will be undertaking a great diplomatic service for
ensure that Anghara’s glory will perpetuate before he dies. their realm.

Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 9 1–3 Right Leg –/4
CON 6 4–6 Left Leg –/4
SIZ 14 7–10 Abdomen 1/5
INT 20 11–12 Chest 1/6*
POW 15 13–15 Right Arm –/3
DEX 7 16–18 Left Arm –/3
CHA 16 19–20 Head –/5

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: None.

Damage Modifier +0
Magic Points 15 Traits: None
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +14 Skills: Athletics 22%, Brawn 20%, Culture (Own) 110%, Evade 35%, Evaluate
120%, Insight 120%, Lore (Court) 120%, Lore (Logic) 99%, Lore (Regional)
95%, Perception 90%, Persistence 80%, Resilience 38%, Sleight 60%, Stealth
28%, Unarmed 25%

Common Magic 80%: Bearing Witness 4, Becalm, Demoralise, Detect Enemy,

If Lord Segaeis is used in Glorantha as a God Learner then he has the following Sorcery skills:

Sorcery (The Kaiis Grimoire) 75%: Enhance (INT), Intuition, Telepathy

*Any strike that takes Segaeis’s Chest location to 0 Hit Points forces Segaeis to make an immediate Resilience roll. If the roll fails he suffers a heart
attack, losing all Combat Actions, being unable to move and suffering an immediate 1D10 further damage to his Chest.

Combat Styles
Dagger 75%

Weapons
Type SIZ Reach Damage AP/HP Range
Dagger S S 1D4+1+1D2 6/8 10m
 Second, he can use his contacts at court to identify likely potential for the Adventurers and is somewhat perplexed when the Death
husbands. Some suggestions for these candidates are provided card keeps cropping up.
here, along with guidelines on their suitability.
‘Strange… still. Death doesn’t actually mean death. It actually
Otherwise the Adventurers have to undertake this task for means a great change; a shedding of the old and the emergence of
themselves. They will need to hunt in every tavern, inn, whorehouse, the new. My, how exciting…’
counting house, guild hall and palace foyer to find who they seek.
It will take time: 1D2 days for each potential husband. Gaus the Blunt
A surly, burly dark-haired youth who speaks only when he has
The process can be roleplayed through in its entirety. Or, it can be something to say and says it plain and straight. He is careful not to
abstracted. If using an abstraction the process is as follows. insult but sees no reason to hide his feelings or conceal the truth,
as he sees it, from people. He is the direct opposite of anyone who
 Roll 1D8 to determine how many days its take to locate a engages in florid descriptions. He is intrigued by the real nature of
candidate. the truth and is keen to discover such secrets.
 One Adventurer must be assigned to convincing him.
 Roll 1D8 to determine which Sister he will be a match for: ‘I speak as I find. I believe directness to be a virtue. I can see you
don’t like that. Tough. Take it or leave it, but deal with it and spare
1. Red Sister me any tears. I can’t stand tears.’
2. Blue Sister
3. Green Sister Surrel the Shy
4. Yellow Sister A plain, red-haired man who is cripplingly shy in the presence of
5. Grey Sister women; stuttering, stammering and unable to make eye contact.
6. Lilac Sister He is nevertheless a sharp man who understands metaphysics and
7. Black Sister enjoys engaging in topics concerning the nature of life and death.
8. White Sister
‘Umm.. ah, oh.. erm… ummm… no, please, really, I, er… But
 Make an Insight roll to ensure that the candidate is a good you see, I… No. I mean yes. I mean…’
enough match. If the roll fails, then a further 1D8 days is
added onto the time taken.
 Make an Influence roll to convince the candidate to accompany Jadd the Charmer
the Adventurers. This roll is opposed by the candidate’s The opposite of someone shy, retiring and coy, Jadd is a ladies’
Persistence which, if a random value is needed, is 3D20+20% man through and through. Though not especially handsome he
(for an average of 52%). If the Adventurer wins the opposed has a way with women of all kinds and flattery flows from him like
test, then the candidate is convinced. If the contest is lost, ambrosia. He finds all women attractive; he enjoys flattering them
then the search must begin again. and provoking a reaction.

The time taken can be cut-down to half a day per husband; but if ‘My word, where’s the chariot? I mean, you did just roll-in from
this is done, Insight and Influence rolls suffer a –40% penalty as heaven, didn’t you? I say, that dress suits you so well… it clings
corners are cut and judgements jumped to too rashly. in… all the right places. I mean, only a god could cut a dress like
that and only a goddess could wear it…You are a goddess aren’t you?
Well, count me as one of the devoted, anyway…’
Potential Husbands for the Sisters of
Mercy Cravid the Verbose
The following characters can be located by the Adventurers or Why use one word when 20 are available? Cravid is well-read
introduced to them by Lord Segaeis. If the latter, Segaeis has duped and likes to display his command of vocabulary and verbiage. He
them into thinking that they will be undertaking a diplomatic can talk for hours, always in complex sentences and always with
mission of the gravest importance that will honour Anghara. He the most complex, pretentious words he can muster. Language
has been careful to select men who are not overly ambitious but intrigues him. He is the exact opposite of the silent type.
dutiful, nonetheless. It will be up to the Adventurers to decide
which Sister each man would be suited to marrying. ‘Consequentially, and therefore irrefutably, the circumstances
would seem to pertain – nay, surely are fixed, the very epitome
Serjedny the Fair of stasis – to a transcendental pseudo-philosophy with a distinct
A striking, blond man in his early twenties, Serjedny is gregarious and unique meme capable of defying only the most insouciant
and witty, decorating his phrases with flowery metaphors. He is of interrogators. I say, where are you going? I haven’t reached a
the direct opposite of anyone plain-speaking and concise. He is conclusion at this juncture…’
deeply interested in magic and is a student of the tarot and all
manner of other divination techniques. He offers to do a reading

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Guy the Imploring

Guy is hopelessly lacking in self-confidence and requires
constant reassurance. If he does not receive it he
assumes he has done something wrong, caused
offence or insult, and consequently is a Bad Person.
He is the antithesis of confidence.

‘Crumbs, I did it again. I’m sorry. No, it was my

fault. I didn’t mean to… you don’t think badly of
me do you? I’d hate that… I’m a good person, but
sometimes I say these things and don’t know where
they come from… You were enjoying my poem weren’t
you? I mean, before I… Oh please forgive me! I couldn’t stand
it if… No, I’m not crying… Well, just a little. That’s weak isn’t it?
You think I’m pathetic, don’t you?’

Lounds the Assertive

Lounds is a small, intense man that knows how to make his
presence felt. He is assertive to the point of rudeness: dogmatic to
the point of being irritable. He is convinced he understands what
is true and false and considers it a challenge to be proved wrong.

‘I know it’s this way. I have proof. I have calculations. I have the
evidence. Your arguments fall apart under scrutiny and here’s how.
No, that’s rubbish. Junk. This is how I know it’s this way. Flawless, Typical Bodyguard/Thug
you see? I have spent months checking this. I know its right.’ The men Rook has hired are surly, lascivious men who are an
assortment of highwaymen, thieves and rapists. They have been
Blayr the Agreeable paid well for their services and will defend the caravan as directed
Blayr agrees with everything. He has no opinions of his own. It but cannot be trusted to do much else. They are interested in the
is far easier to adopt someone else’s position than to create one’s Adventurers, because they plainly know more than they and will
own. He is the exact opposite of someone decisive, dismissive and take opportunities when camp has been made to try to inveigle
opinionated. from them information about where they are going, what they
will find and what the carriage contains. If the Adventurers start
‘I agree. Its exactly as you said. Because… well, it is. I agree. A to speak with loose tongues, the ever-watchful Rook breaks-up the
hundred percent. What was that? Well, I agree with that too. Yes, conversation and fires acidic warning glances at the Adventurers.
undoubtedly. Does it contradict? Ha ha… well, I’d have to agree If any of the thugs do manage to learn something before Rook
with you there…’ can break things up, then that bodyguard mysteriously disappears
during the night. The rest know better than to ask further questions
and only Rook knows what has happened to him…
Return to the Valley
Having assembled eight potential husbands, the Adventurers, Rook rides behind the entourage, so he can see all that is coming
together with Rook, Lord Segaeis and a band of six bodyguards/ and how everyone is arranged: the Adventurers ride at the front and
thugs Rook has hired to act as additional muscle, set-out once between them and the carriage the husbands ride. The Adventurers
again for the Valley of the Sisters. are responsible for the husbands’ safety.

The entourage includes a carriage, drawn by a team of horses. A third wagon forms part of this unlikely caravan. This carries
Segaeis rides in the carriage and no else is permitted to enter it two large boats that are capable of carrying Adventurers, husbands,
at any time and under any circumstances. Within the carriage is bodyguards, Rook, Segaeis and Anghara’s casket. Segaeis has no
a casket and within the casket is the carefully preserved body of intention of negotiating the river by either the Bridge of Bones
Anghara, dressed in a simple white shift, her face devoid of make- or the Ferry Woman’s punt. In fact, the intention is to cross the
up and her hair arranged in a simple style. The bodyguards Rook river several kilometres further west of the Ferry Woman’s hut
has hired have instructions to defend the carriage at all costs and avoiding the ogre-trolls altogether. So, too, will the village of Lho
they ride around it in close formation. be avoided.
 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP
STR 12 1–3 Right Leg 2/5
CON 12 4–6 Left Leg 2/5
SIZ 10 7–10 Abdomen 2/6
INT 11 11–12 Chest 2/7
POW 12 13–15 Right Arm 2/4
DEX 14 16–18 Left Arm 2/4
CHA 9 19–20 Head 2/5

Combat Actions 3 Typical Armour: Leather. –3 Armour Penalty

Damage Modifier +0
Magic Points 12 Traits: None
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +13 (+10) Skills: Athletics 40%, Brawn 40%, Evade 45%, Perception 70%, Persistence 40%,
Resilience 40%, Ride 60%, Streetwise 70%

Common Magic 30%: Bladesharp 2, Co-ordination 2, Speedart 2

Combat Styles
Sword and Shield 75%, Ranged Weapons 70%

Weapons
Type SIZ Reach Damage AP/HP Range
Longsword M L 1D8 6/12
Target L S 1D6 4/12
Heavy Crossbow H — 1D10 4/8 150m

These precautions mean that the return journey may be largely The brigands can be driven-off if they appear to be losing after two
uneventful. However Games Masters may, if they wish, bring back rounds of combat. However if any of the husbands are killed, Rook
a Lho ambush (the primitives have extensive lands and know of is furious: he will be looking to one of the Adventurers to take the
anyone coming through the territory), or have further relatives of fallen husband’s place, or one of the bodyguards to fulfil it.
the Bridge Keeper and Ferry Woman working the river at whatever
point the entourage crosses. These are also wildlands and there is a Malevolent Undead
chance of other attacks: some suggestions are…
The presence of the Sisters in the region acts almost like a magnate
for undead creatures. Residual power from the pacts the Sisters
Brigands made to become what they are has seeped into the landscape and,
3D6 Brigands are lying in wait for the entourage as it makes its occasionally, the dead animate or wandering undead from far-off
way through either woods or a secluded valley before reaching the parts are drawn to the bleak hills surrounding the valley searching
river. The Brigands have similar statistics to the Bodyguards/Thugs for some kind of release. The Sisters do not offer it. If an Undead
described earlier. At the Games Masters’ discretion these may even be
encounter is chosen, use one of the following:
men known to Rook’s thugs who have colluded with the bodyguards
to rob the caravan. Otherwise, the brigands simply want as much
loot as they can take killing whoever they need to in the process. Zombie Wolves
A dozen wolf corpses, killed by the Lho, skinned and left to rot,
The Adventurers are expected to defend the husbands and the have animated and formed a pack. They now mindlessly roam
bodyguards the caravan. The brigands split into two wings to through the outer reaches of the Lho territory preying on whatever
launch attacks at both targets, believing the husbands to be wealthy crosses their path. All twelve zombie wolves have the same statistics.
nobles. Rook rides around the entire melee slashing with his sword They fight to the very last.
and daggers.

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 101

Dice 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 22 1–2 Right Hind Leg 1/4
CON 6 3–4 Left Hind Leg 1/4
SIZ 10 5–7 Hindquarters 1/5
INT 2 8–10 Forequarters 1/6
POW 2 11–13 Right Front Leg 1/4
DEX 10 14–16 Left Front Leg 1/4
CHA — 17–20 Head 1/5

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: Toughened, rotting muscle

Damage Modifier +1D4
Magic Points 2 Traits: Dark Sight, Night Sight
Movement 10m
Strike Rank +6 Skills: Athletics 40%, Evade 35%, Perception 80%, Persistence 33%, Resilience
32%, Stealth 55%, Survival 40%, Tracking 60%

Combat Styles
Bite and Claw 50%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Damage AP/HP
Bite M T 1D8 As for Head
Claw M M 1D3 As for Leg

Ilolumen the Wraith single individual before waiting for the next night. Ilolumen targets
When the Sisters came to this region, perhaps 1,000 years ago, they the bodyguards first, then the husbands, then the Adventurers.
had to first depose the incumbent sorcerer, Ilolumen. His death was
vastly unpleasant and he manifests now as a lonely, vengeful wraith One thing that might be interesting to throw into an encounter
intent on destroying the Sisters and those who serve them. As the with Ilolumen: the wraith encounters the corpse of Anghara
Adventurers serve the Sisters, they are liable to a night-time attack. during his attacks and falls immediately in love with her. If she can
be reanimated by the Sisters then Ilolumen will become her loving
Ilolumen’s tactic is to follow the entourage on the Spirit Plane and
servant (much to Lord Segaeis’s disgust)…
then materialise on the mundane plane at night and attack one,

Dice 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

INT 16 1–20 Spirit –/26
POW 26
CHA 14

Combat Actions 4 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier —
Magic Points 26 Traits: Spirit, Fear.
Movement Fly 52m
Strike Rank +15 Skills: Discorporate 75%, Evade 80%, Lore (Spirit World) 60%, Persistence 80%,
Stealth 60%

Combat Styles
Spectral Sword 75%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Damage AP/HP
Spectral Sword M L 1D8 —
 A Dead Queen, Walking also follow. Should the Adventurers decide to use force to assist the
husbands then the following happens:
To cross the river the carriage must be left behind and Anghara’s
casket unloaded from it and carried. This is the first exposure the  Rook will fight them. Nothing must be allowed to threaten
husbands or the bodyguards have had to something other than Anghara’s resurrection. The bodyguards side with Rook, too
what they were expecting. Anyone asking what the casket contains scared to do anything else.
is simply told: ‘The body of a hero. We are to ensure its burial in
accordance with great deeds.’  The Necrodomos also fight to protect the promised husbands.
If the Nercodomos look like additional assistance is needed
The bodyguards, husbands and Adventurers have to take turns (because the husbands also fight back, leading to a large
carrying the casket. With six people at a time to do it, it is not melee) then the Sisters mentally summon 1D4+8 of the Dead
heavy but is certainly tiring. Fatigue tests will be needed by the Husbands, awaiting at their cairns, to lumber-in and join the
time the entourage reaches the temple. fight to ensure that the Living Husbands go through with their
fate. The Dead Husbands are treated as Resilient Zombies (see
The return to the temple is a sombre affair. As the entourage page 72 of the Undead Creatures chapter) with the statistics
progresses up to the temple building, the Sisters animate each of on the following page
the remains of their previous husbands in salute for the arrival of
the new Queen. The stones of the cairns flanking the processional The Necrodomos, Dead Husbands and Rook fight until the
shift and shudder as the bones and petrified remains of the old resisters are subdued and the Living Husbands can be carted-off to
husbands creak and crack their way through the earth, forming elsewhere in the temple to await the preparation of the Marriage
an 80-strong honour guard. Lifeless heads turn to follow the Ceremony. The Adventurers, if they flee, are allowed to go but
procession. The bodyguards are horrified and Rook has difficulty will be hunted down by Rook, via his assassins, as soon as possible
controlling them: make a Persistence roll for each. If successful, so that they cannot spread the truth of what they know. The
the bodyguard keeps his mind on his duties but is plainly terrified bodyguards are immediately ordered to follow the Adventurers and
of the animated dead. If the roll fails, roll 1D6 to determine his kill them before they can leave the region; however the chances are
actions: that the bodyguards, terrified, will simply flee themselves.
1–2: Flees screaming into the night, never to be seen again. If the Living Husbands are freed by the Adventurers, thus
3–4: Sinks down and sobs, his mind broken by the weight of thwarting Rook and Segaeis, then the Sisters of Mercy direct their
what exists here. The man is completely mad. magics, and more of the Dead Husbands outside the temple, to
5–6: Screams in rage and lashes out with weapons, striking kill the Adventurers. They also tell Segaeis, in no terms that he
heads from the Dead Husbands. The Adventurers can can argue with, that the deal is null and void: Anghara’s corpse
try to restrain him but also face his attacks. The Dead is theirs’ now and will become Queen of the Dead – but will not
Husbands do not resist or retaliate, but, every wound return as Anghara. Segaeis and Rook will subsequently use all
inflicted on a husband appears as a scar, on the same means necessary to hunt-down and kill the Adventurers for their
place, on one of the Living Husbands… this terrifies all perceived treachery.
the husbands that have been brought to the Sisters.

The Necrodomos do not come to greet the entourage. They are Raising the Queen of the Dead
waiting with their mistresses, in the Sanctum of the temple. As The Sisters of Mercy will have their Queen no matter what; the
the entourage enters, the Black Sister commands that the casket be only additional element is whether or not they keep the rest of
placed in the centre of the circle formed by the Sisters. the bargain and to grant Anghara eight more years of life. That
depends on them securing their husbands, too. What happens
Next, the Black Sister asks if the husbands have been brought: this if the husband part of the deal falls-through or is challenged is
is the first time the eight men have heard anything about marriage described in the previous paragraphs. This section describes the
and especially in such a dreadful place and to such dreadful raising of the dead Anghara.
creatures. The Necrodomos take one husband each and, firmly,
fully resisting any attacks made, lead the eight husbands out of the The Sisters command that Anghara’s body is removed from the
Sanctum to be prepared for their wedding. casket and placed in the empty throne at the centre of their circle.
Segeais is reluctant to do this but tells the Adventurers and Rook
At the Games Master’s discretion, the husbands may make pleas to do it anyway.
to the Adventurers, Rook and Lord Segaeis to help them: the pleas
certainly fall on deaf ears as far as Rook and Segaeis go; black looks Once the body of Anghara is positioned, head slumped forward,
from two men at the Adventurers, if they try to aid the husbands, in the throne, the eight Sisters of Mercy rise and, linking hands,

102
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Dead Husbands (Resilient Zombies)

Dice 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 23 1–3 Right Leg –/4
CON 4 4–6 Left Leg –/4
SIZ 13 7–9 Abdomen –/5
INT 2 10–12 Chest –/6
POW 2 13–15 Right Arm –/3
DEX 7 16–18 Left Arm –/3
CHA - - 19–20 Head –/4

Combat Actions 1 Typical Armour: None

Damage Modifier +1D6
Magic Points 2 Traits: Dark Sight, Night Sight
Movement 4m
Strike Rank +5 Athletics 35%, Persistence 16%, Resilience 44%

Combat Styles
Unarmed 50%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Damage AP/HP
Unarmed S T 1D3+1D6 As for Arm

Dead Husband Body Parts

Body Part Head Arm Leg

STR 11 11 11
CON 3 3 3
SIZ 3 3 4
DEX 3 6 6

Hit Location Head Arm Leg

1–20 3 HP 2 HP 3 HP

Hit Location Head Arm Leg

Weapon Skill Bite 15% Unarmed 30% Kick 30%
Damage 1D3+1D4 1D3+1D4 1D3+1D4

Combat Actions 1 1 1
Strike Rank +3 +5 +5
Movement 2m 4m 2m

begin to chant an incantation which is a combined modification a fatal heart attack but the Adventurers can see him groan, slump
of the Offer Life spell (see the Divine Magic chapter). The spell to his knees and pitch forward with laboured breathing. Rook
works as it should: from the dark eye-hole recesses of the Sisters’ watches impassively.
masks, a black, oozing plasma flows out, down and around the
throne. A hideous stench fills the air. Segaeis cries out, clutching The ooze engulfs Anghara. After a few minutes it starts to
his heart: by the time the ritual is complete, he will have suffered disappear, being absorbed by the corpse. As the last traces dissolve
 to Anghara’s pallid flesh the body stirs, the head raises and looks Sisters, led by Anghara, will raise an army of the dead to come to
up. The eyes are sunken, the mouth thin but there is life within. make the Dominion of Mercy: a realm of the dead – a necropolis
Lord Segaeis utters his last words: ‘My Queen… You Live!’ – centred upon Anghara’s old realm.

And Anghara, Queen of the Dead utters her first words, speaking Anghara, Lich Queen is a dreadfully powerful creature. Immortal
in a tone similar to the echoing, distant voice of the Sisters: ‘Aye, and invulnerable she commands a host of terrifying Divine
my Lord. If you call this life. You have served me well. Know Magic drawn from the Lord of Death. She becomes a magnet for
Mercy at last.’ necromancers all over the world, who realise that a new force of
Undeath has been released. The Sisters of Mercy can now assume
And Lord Segaeis breathes his last, his life energy flowing from his their true mantle, as High Priestesses of the Death Cult and prepare
body as a black stream to be absorbed by Anghara. the way for a kingdom of absolute death.

Anghara’s colour begins to change, becoming more life-like, In her new form Anghara remembers her old, mortal life but the
although her eyes are distant and hollow. The Sisters rise as one powers she now commands and her exalted position as Queen
and hail their Queen. Anghara accepts the proclamation. She is of the Dead, has corrupted her entirely. If the bargain has been
now Anghara, Lich-Queen of the Realm. If the bargain has been kept she will return and rule over her old realm but with dreadful
maintained, she has eight years during which she will continue her consequences: see Eight Years of Mortitude.
rule of the realm; if not, she will remain here, as chief of the Sisters
of Mercy, awaiting the arrival of the Lord of the Dead. If the deal has not be honoured and Anghara becomes Queen of
the Sisters immediately, she remains here in waiting for the Lord of
Anghara, Lich-Queen Death’s instructions: these will come in 1D4 years – instructions to
The transformation Anghara has undergone betroths her to the mobilise all the dead and to create a realm of death on earth.
Lord of Death (whoever that may be: Shargash or Chardhros, for
example). She retains 10 POW to fuel Magic Points but the bulk Naturally enough Queen Anghara reveals none of this. She now
of her soul is now the possession of the Lord of Death and he will has complete and utter contempt for the living but is not so foolish
come, in time, to claim her as his bride. When that happens, the as to display that and give away her hand. Whilst the Sisters intone

Value 1D20 Hit Location AP/HP

STR 24 1–3 Right Leg 14/7
CON 25 4–6 Left Leg 14/7
SIZ 10 7–9 Abdomen 14/8
INT 21 10–12 Chest 14/9
POW 30 (20 Dedicated POW) 13–15 Right Arm 14/6
DEX 19 16–18 Left Arm 14/6
CHA 22 19–20 Head 14/7

Combat Actions 4 Typical Armour: Magically enhanced skin

Damage Modifier +1D4
Magic Points 10 Traits: Night Sight, Life Sight, Immortal
Movement 8m
Strike Rank +20 Skills: Influence 110%, Insight 99%, Lore (Lord of Death) 200%, Perception 90%,
Persistence 150%, Resilience 120%, Unarmed 95%

Common Magic 100%: Countermagic 6, Countermagic Shield 6, Demoralise,

Hand of Death

Pact (Lord of Death) 110%:

Divine Spells: Amplify x2, Animate Undead x2, Blighted Resurrect x2, Cadavar
Eternal x2, Deadsight, Eclipse, Mimic Life x3, Offer Life x3, Restful Dead x2,

Combat Styles
Unarmed 95%

Weapons
Type Size Reach Damage AP/HP
Claw M S 1D6+1D4 As for Arm

104
 105

If the Adventurers choose to flee, Anghara is

as good as her word and she does not pursue
them but does not protect them from Rook,
who may still attempt to have them killed.
Rook, having seen true power now – the
power of Death – seeks to ally himself with it.
As Anghara’s direct champion, he will gain the
kind of lich-power Anghara and the Sisters of
Mercy have attained in time.

If the Adventurers choose to serve Queen

Anghara, see Eight Years of Mortitude for
what can happen and how a campaign can be
further developed.

Eight Years of
Mortitude
Anghara returns to her realm to rule it as she
has done for the past 10 years; but she does so
without Lord Segaeis, her most trusted adviser
at her side. His body is brought back, as Rook
arranges and given a state burial. However
some additional opportunities for adventure,
concerning Segaeis’s funeral are as follows:

 Although a state funeral, Segaeis does not

lie in state for three days before the funeral
ceremony.

 The usual undertakers who would prepare

a body for a funeral are not appointed:
Rook alone sees to the task.

her name over and over again, Anghara, in her new form, stands,  Some weeks later, reports from the court filter out that
comes down and strokes the body of Segaeis, her most loyal someone who looks like Segaeis has been seen in and around
counsellor. ‘He will receive a state burial,’ she says in her hollow Anghara’s private chambers.
voice, ‘just as he deserves.’
Segaeis’s reward for being Anghara’s loyal servant in life is to become
If Anghara is to return to the realm, she instructs Rook (whom she her loyal servant in death, too. He is raised as her Necrodomo
seems to know and he, perhaps surprisingly, kneels before her as whilst Rook takes on all the court duties Segaeis once held. Rook
her new, most loyal servant) to make it so that she can return in is not popular with the other counsellors and he moves to have all
secret and resume her old duties as though she is recovering from of them dismissed, reducing the Privy Council to one person only:
an illness. Rook is only too happy to obey and Anghara dismisses himself. Some ministers who oppose Rook openly mysteriously
him immediately. To the Adventurers she says the following: disappear. The others fear for their lives and fall silent. Perhaps the
Adventurers are approached, or challenged, over the truth.
‘Rook will kill you or have you killed. You know too much. You have
a choice: flee now and flee far so that he cannot find you. Keep silent In the course of the next eight years, Anghara begins to put in place
tongues in your heads and I will not look for you either. her preparations for the Ascent of the Lord of Death’s dominion
in the following ways:
‘Or, give me your allegiance and become my counsellors. I shall rule in
death as I did in life and you shall be rewarded with powers you could  The existing cults or churches are persecuted and hounded-
never have comprehended. I shall protect you from Rook and, in turn, out by agents and troublemakers hired by Rook. Perhaps the
you will help our realm become even more glorious than it already is. Adventurers are involved. In their place, temples to gods such
Our enemies shall shudder!’ as Shargash and Gorgorma, Chardhros and Xiombarg are
 established. Cults obsessed with death become predominant. to amuse their masked wives who take up the positions of
These changes are subtle, happening over years rather than High Priestesses of the Death Cult throughout the city. One-
being outright purges. But the changes are profound, by-one the husbands die or, finding a way of contacting
nonetheless and will be noticed by outside agencies. the Adventurers, beg for death. To deliver this mercy the
Adventurers will need to find a way of tackling the Sister who
 Open war is declared on the barbarians that threaten the owns the husband; each is a powerful lich. It will not be easy.
northern territories. Anghara’s armies find their ranks swollen
by mercenaries Rook hires. On returning, victorious, from the The Day of the Dead
battles soldiers tell of further allies – undead allies – rising It will eventually become known that Anghara is preparing the
from the ground behind the enemy to lay waste to them. way for the Lord of Death. The Adventurers can prevent this from
happening only by destroying Queen Anghara and the Sisters of
 Anghara’s appearances in public become less and less frequent Mercy. This may require HeroQuests or other, powerful magics
as her appearance becomes ever more cadaverous. After four and allies. Games Masters should develop these details as necessary.
years she is not seen in public again, Rook providing all Rook, of course, stands in their way, commanding his assassins,
communication on her behalf. The Adventurers may be hired murderers and mercenaries to act against those who would oppose
to perform a variety of tasks Rook wants to see done: all will Anghara. As the end of the eighth year of Anghara’s undead reign
be nefarious; all to do with the Lord of Death’s return. approaches, a great plague sweeps the city, killing two thirds of
its population. After eight days, the dead begin to walk, rising
 Concerned nobles flee the realm and raise the alarm in from their mass graves and funeral pyres, flocking to Anghara’s
neighbouring countries. Champions are sent to discover what palace where she welcomes them as the honoured subjects they are,
became of Anghara the Glorious and why she is now being flanked by Rook and the Sisters of Mercy. Behind here, a looming,
referred to as Witch-Queen and worse. Rook is considered the terrible shadow, intangible but unmistakable, is the Lord of Death
cause of this corruption but the truth is, as the Adventurers himself, Anghara’s husband.
know, far more sinister. They too may become targets and if
they somehow manage to let the rest of the world know what The survivors of the plague are rounded-up and executed, to be
has happened to Anghara – what took place with the Sisters of raised as undead eight days after their passing. By the beginning
Mercy – they may be persuaded by others to lead assassination of the ninth year after Anghara’s transformation, her realm is a
attempts against Rook and the Lich Queen. necropolis, its citizens the walking dead; a loyal army that will go
to spread the Lord of Death’s dominion, Anghara as their Battle
 After six years the Sisters of Mercy descend down to the city Queen and the Sisters of Mercy their Battle Priests.
accompanied by their husbands. The men the Adventurers
delivered unto them are shadows of their former selves. They The Day of the Dead is upon the world.
live, but their spirits are sapped and broken. They live only
Unless the Adventurers can somehow stop it…

106
 Index
Animated Weapons 74 Ghost Prayer 9 Pyreburst 20
Animate Undead 7 Godsdeath Church 25 Raise Undead 20
Animating Slime 45 Graveburst 19 Rat Ghoul 61
Ashwalker 46 Grave Ooze 48 Rat King 60
Bearers of the Sacred Light 27 Groaning Tongue of the Damned 9 Relics 16
Bleed Power 17 Guild of Animators 25 Restful Dead 10
Blessing of Stability 15 Harad the Cursed 32 Restore Corpse 11
Blighted Resurrect 7 Hasten Decay 13 Restore Sanity 15
Body Jump 17 Hide Life 19 Revealing Light 14
Bonecarver 56 Homago Bone Stew Cult 30 Ring of Bone 24
Bonepicker 56 Imbue Necrotic Energy 19 Ritual of the Lich 20
Brain Juice 18 Insanity 80 Rot Curse 11
Breath Out Ghost 7 Jan-Quel-Jan, the Thief of Secrets 34 Rot Ghoul 61
Bright Weapon 12 Keeper of the Drowned 35 Ruins on the Hill 40
Burning Shadows 18 Knights Indomitable 24 Sacrifice 21
Burn Undead 12 Legacy Binding 13 School of Night 25
Cadaver Eternal 8 Lich 49 Scramble Magic 14
Call Death 8 Lifehold 13 Shadow Door 21
Cemetery Horde 8 Lifesight 19 Skeletons 63
Chattering Skull 47 Macabre Dance 19 Skull Dog 55
Command Undead 8 Mass Burial 9 Skull Dog Handler 55
Condemn to Undeath 8 Mass Death 17 Spineworm 59
Construct Intellect 18 Master Undead 19 Spirit-Cutting Sword 11
Corpse Tree 48 Mighty War Necromaton 58 Spirits 63
Corpse Vision 8 Mimic Life 9 Spirits & Demons 17
Courage 12 Moon-Touch 15 Spirit Shield 14
Crumble 12 Moon Hound 50 Spirit Wind 14
Cult of Vivamort 29 Moon Hunter 51 Spirit Wrench 21
Curse of Madness 15 Mummify 9 Stink of Death 14
Dark Places 17 Mummy 52 Stir Bone Stew 31
Daughter of Winter 63 Mummy Dust 53 Strangling Shade 69
Deadlock 12 Necrodomo 54 Strip Flesh 21
Deadsight 8 Necromantic Adventures 83 Suppress Animation 22
Dead Counsel 8 Necromantic Blights 75 Tether Spirit 11
Death 65 Necromantic Cults in Glorantha 28 Tomb Guardian 70
Deathbolt 18 Necromantic Limbs & Organs 76 Transfer Undead Power 22
Deathcurse 9 Necromaton 54 Undead Dragon 71
Deathly Guardians 9 Necropede 60 Undead Hunter Cults 27
Detect Undeath 18 Necropolis Curse 10 Undead Slave 22
Dominate (Species) 18 Necrotic Bolt 20 Vahdred Vathor,37
Doorman 57 Necrotic Healing 10 Venerate Dead 12
Eat Flesh 31 New Legendary Abilities 81 Vivification 22
Fear 78 Offer Life 10 Whispers of Command 22
Fear Ward 15 Open the White Gate 10 Withering 11
Flying Zombie Giant 58 Order of Thanotic Inquiry 29 Wrack Dead 12
Form/Set (Substance) 19 Order of the Shadow Sun 23 Wraith 69
Ghost 65 Peaceful Rest 13 Wreath of Undeath 12
Ghostling 67 Power of Death 10 Zombies 72

110