Death & Necromancy

Death

When a soul is born, it must sustain itself through life. It does this by:

• a) binding to a newly born mortal body and sustains through its life cycle, or
• b) float through the immortal planes and gradually grow with their energy. Souls that grow with spiritual energy become more powerful over time, becoming as immortal as the energies that support them. They usually resemble the creatures of their native realm.

The moment a mortal being dies, it’s soul can no longer inhabit the dead body and detaches at the molecular, metaphysical level. It spits out into the Ethereal Plane, just parallel to mortal Gaion. From there, it wanders or floats unconsciously (death is an extreme ordeal for a soul and usually knocks them out) until the Denowraiths find them. Souls who escape the clutches of the Denowraiths wander the Ethereal Plane, eventually drifting into the Astral Fog if they are never caught.

Death Rituals

Many cultures across Gaion have special death rituals, mostly relating to helping guide the soul to the proper afterlife. Some treat a dying creature’s still-living body in a way that temporarily keeps their soul from entering the Ethereal Plane, then properly dismissing the soul to their god or other afterlife after death via funeral/crematory. Some treat the body and participate in partial or complete cannibalism to take in the ethereal memory of their loved ones before the rest of their soul passes into the Ethereal Plane

Death Deities

1. Nohr the Cold Maiden - Devil Goddess of Winter, Tundras & Taiga. She also holds domain over forests that have functionally died or are close to it, whether naturally or by artificial means. Her presence encourages dark & undead spirits to haunt these woods.
2. Danos the Soul Father - Devil God of Soul Collection. The Denowraiths that patrol the Astral Fog (combines concepts of the Astral Sea & Ethereal Plane from DMG) in search of wandering mortal souls report to Danos. As the ultimate collector of souls, Danos has strong control over the Grand Soul Exchange (massive marketplace for devils & other traders of souls, dark energy & similar resources), and acts as the Treasury of Souls. Danos also trades souls to ??? for raw dark energy, which he trades out to necromancers in exchange for their soul (after death) or some other price.
3. Inihl the Void Weaver - Devil God (genderless) of the Void. Slowly draws all will-less souls from the Underworld to the Void Gate, which are usually picked off by devils & soul predators before they get there. Inihl converts all soul remnants that make it to the gate into raw, dark energy. This dark energy is usually released into the Void via the Void Gate (last divine piece of Denothis). However, as the largest holder of dark energy (Treasury of Dark Energy), Inihl often trades this commodity to Danos & other deities in exchange for completed souls. Inihl has a strict, cosmic code to not trade dark energy to non-deities, as it would cause imbalance from the dark energy Inihl releases into the universe.
4. ??? the Fate Mother - Devil Goddess of Natural Death & Fate. Unlike the other death deities, this goddess has no direct influence over soul collection (Danos) or dark energy conversion (Inihl). Instead, ??? oversees all causes of natural death (disease, old age, the environment, etc.) and keeps things in balance. She also governs those who partake in fate-defying magic (resurrection & genocidal spells). When one partakes in a spell that resurrects the dead (reunites a mortal soul with a new/existing body) or a spell that would destroy an undue amount of living creatures, she appears to them in a vision, giving her plenty of time to warn the caster of the consequences to their actions. If they choose to pursue, she will imbue a price (or curse) on the soul of whoever casts the spell, which will become due based on her terms.
5. Currently unnamed archdevil of undead

Undeath

Undead Bodies

Deceased corpses without a soul, can be in any state of decay so long as there is something physically present. Necromantic dark energy (sometimes referred to as negative energy) must be channelled from a necromancer or a necromantic entity/force to create one of these undead creatures. Zombies, skeletons & ghouls/ghasts fall into this category.

• Zombies & Skeletons: reanimated corpses of any deceased creature. These zombies & skeletons are reanimated with dark energy by a necromancer or necromantic entity. They have no free will or drives of their own, only to serve as mindless puppets to their creator. Once the dark energy is fully expended, the corpses will simply collapse unless reanimated again. While only meager amounts of dead matter are required for reanimation, the body will only be as functional as physics allow (a decapitated head can't walk, a skeleton can't use it's left arm if it's been ground or blown to dust, etc.).
• Plague Zombies: corpses of once living beings reanimated by a necromantic plague, usually caused by a powerful necromancer or a necromantic immortal. This dark energy generally sustains them for a few days to a week, after which they would fall inanimate. However, they can sustain themselves by consuming the flesh of living beings and converting their energy into the dark energy they need.
• Soul Zombies: mortals whose souls have been eaten by a demon, devil or other dark spirit/creature. The surviving body acts like nothing more than an animate husk doing whatever it’s creators command of it
• Ghouls & Ghasts: undead creatures that act like plague zombies, but are instead created naturally when a deceased body absorbs the dark energy of undeath over time, eventually rising as a corrupted, fully undead entity. These are usually found in Darthalheim or locations riddled with necromancy. Ghasts are longer-lived ghouls that gain limited intelligence, able to lead other ghouls.

Undead Spirits

Departed souls who have reentered the material plane through a variety of methods. Oftentimes, a soul's ability to escape the Denowraiths and reenter the mortal realm is due to the circumstances of their death, consequences of their karma in life, or some other magic. Banshees, ghosts, wraiths, shadows, & other incorporeal undead fall into this category. The magic of undeath permanetly taints the soul; if a being is bound for an afterlife other than the Underworld and is bound/brought back to the mortal realm in this way, they are permanently unable to access their former deity's afterlife.

• Ghosts
• Banshees
• Shadows
• Wraiths

Lesser Undead

Oftentimes a combination of undead spirits & bodies, at least in their methods of creation and presence of a soul. Vampire spawn, mummies & revenants fall into this category. The magic of undeath permanetly taints the soul; if a being is bound for an afterlife other than the Underworld and is bound/brought back to the mortal realm in this way, they are permanently unable to access their former deity's afterlife.

• Vampire spawn: victims of a vampire that the former chooses to turn into one of them
• Wights: made when a deceased soul pleads with a death deity for unlife in exchange for eternal war on the living,
• Mummies: made when dark priests channel the negative energy directly from their deities
• Revenants: an undead spirit whose drive for revenge on the one who wronged/killed them allows them to reenter the mortal plane and inhabit an undead body

Greater Undead

Usually requires negative energy directly from a death deity, or a specific, powerful force/circumstance occurs to create them (ex. death knights). Vampires, liches, demiliches, mummy lords, death knights, death tyrants fall into this category. The magic of undeath permanetly taints the soul; if a being is bound for an afterlife other than the Underworld and is bound/brought back to the mortal realm in this way, they are permanently unable to access their former deity's afterlife.

• Vampire:
• Lich:
• Demilich:
• Mummy Lord:
• Death Knight: Formed when an oathbreaker paladin doesn't atone before dying
• Death Tyrants:

Divine Undead

Greater undead beings that have ascended to power rivalling that of archdevils, demon lords, & even gods.

Undeath Spells

Daidrin spells:

• Create Lesser Undead: 7th-level Daidrin spell, Action. Requires a living body to willingly (or unwillingly) undertake the ritual. Using the blood of an undead accepted by the volunteer (or forcibly injected/ingested when their HP is reduced to 0), the volunteer/victim is transformed into an undead humanoid or near-humanoid (ex. Giant) by converting enough of its existing soul energy into the necromantic fuel it needs. The volunteer takes a permanent -2 to Intelligence and Wisdom scores, gains resistance to necrotic damage and immunity to poison and being poisoned, but is otherwise unchanged. They can communicate with other undead and they will not be hostile towards them unless directed by their master. While this undead has more autonomy and sentience than other undead in their master’s ranks, they are still tied to the will of their master like they are in the Create Undead spell. However, this undead cannot make the saving throw to be free of their master’s control, and can only be free by destroying themselves.
• Create Greater Undead: Daidrin spell, Action. Range: Touch. The user can utliize the powerful rites, rituals and/or circumstances required to create a greater undead creature. For creatures such as vampires, mummy lord, death knights & death tyrants, the caster simply prepares the necessary ritual and draws upon the knowledge & power of the scepter to cast with success. For the most powerful greater undead (liches & demiliches), the caster must make an Arcana or Religion check to call upon the dark powers (arcana) or deities/fiends (religion) necessary to find this heavily guarded knowledge (DC 30). If successful, the caster learns the secret rites & rituals of lichdom for the duration of the casting period. So long as the caster performs said rites within the circle created around the scepter, they will be successful and do not require outside assistance.

Dnd 5e spells:

• Animate Dead: 3rd-level necromancy
• Summon Undead: 3rd-level necromancy
• Negative Energy Flood: 5th-level necromancy
• Create Undead: 6th-level necromancy
• Finger of Death: 7th-level necromancy

Resurrection Magic

DnD and other RPG systems allow for the resurrection of the dead. Due to the various deities and fundmanetal forces surrounding death & the soul, magic surrounding resurrection is mystically regulated based on its power and effects.

Instant Revives

This type of magic has the least restrictions. Since many of these spells require the creature to be dead no longer than a minute, the Denowraiths usually would not have enough time to claim the soul before its revived. Therefore, so long as neither the Denowraiths nor another entity have claimed their soul already, this can be cast no problem.

Instant Revive examples

• Reviviy (3rd level): 5e spell

Temporary Soul Manipulation

This type of magic has some restrictions, but mainly based on whether the soul is still intact or not. When a spell does not permanently remove a soul or its essence from its afterlife, or manipulates living souls that have not crossed over to an afterlife, it can be cast without violating any mystical laws. However, the soul will have to have survived its initial transfer to the afterlife and thereafter. If the target is a player character and has not already played out a post-death adventure, the player may have to roll a save or two related to an immediate threat to their soul to determine if they are intact or not. If the target is a creature/NPC, the caster rolls 3d100, then takes the average of the three. If this average is above 50%, the soul is intact and the spell succeeds. If below 50%, the soul has been destroyed or claimed.
If the user casts a spell that permanently damages, corrupts or destroy the souls, they will be haunted with nightmares for 1d4 days from each soul they distorted. The nightmares will be based on the parts of the soul that were corrupted/destroyed, remembered as ethereal echoes before releasing naturally into the Astral Fog.

Temporary Soul Manipulation examples

• Soul Claw (2nd level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action. You shroud your hand (or a projection of it with a range of 10 ft) with the souls of the departed & dark energies of the Ethereal Plane. The more souls drawn from a 60 ft AoE, the stronger your attack. Make a melee spell attack. Damage is 3d6 necrotic damage initially, plus 1d6 per recently departed soul (multiple can be channeled into the attack, but the modifier is added once at the end), and the souls can be retained for the next attack if they are not all expended. Once a soul is used in this way, it is permanently damaged; any functional remnants wander the mortal plane as an incomplete soul until the Denowraiths claim it, or is destroyed entirely. The user rolls a d4 to see if the soul (4) survives completely, (3) partial corruption and/or destruction, (2) significant destruction and/or full corruption, (1) total destruction.
• Soul Vine (4th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action, concentration until the vine runs out. You draw upon recently departed souls in the Ethereal Plane and conjure them into a whip, which can then be used to attack or grapple opponents. The whip has a range of 20 ft and can hit all opponents within a 5 ft line of each other in range. does 4d8 necrotic damage when no one within 60 ft have died in the past minute, then 2d8 for each soul drawn into it. If they grapple an opponent successfully, they deal 4d8 necrotic damage & 1d8 necrotic per subsequent turns they are grappled. They take half the initial damage and are not grappled if they succeed on their saving throw. Souls can be drawn into the vine if the individual has been dead for no longer than a minute; otherwise, the Denowraiths claim the deceased souls and take them to their afterlife. If you kill a target with the Soul Vine, their soul is drawn into the vine, allowing the whip to make one more attack within 10 ft. Once a soul is used in this way, it may be permanently damaged ; any functional remnants wander the mortal plane as an incomplete soul until the Denowraiths claim it, or is destroyed entirely. The user rolls a d4 to see if the soul (4) survives completely, (3) partial corruption and/or destruction, (2) significant destruction and/or full corruption, (1) total destruction.
• Toy Souldiers (4th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action. The caster commands all the recently deceased souls in a 60 ft AoE (centered on self or point of your choice) to attack any targets within the AoE. Each soul gets one attack; 1d20+5 to hit and 2d6 necrotic damage. Once they strike, the spirits are collected by the Denowraiths and taken to the afterlife.
• Necrotic Whispers (5th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action. The caster calls upon the departed souls within the Ethereal Plane and channels their darkest desires, regrets, & emotions. They then recount these horrific thoughts into a target within 30 ft that can hear them or has a brain/consciousness to process them. The target makes a Wisdom or Charisma saving throw, and upon failure takes 8d8 necrotic damage and has disadvantage on Wisdom & Charisma saving throws until the start of the caster's next turn. If the campaign uses corruption rules, failure by 5 points or more incurs 1 corruption point to the caster, instead of the temporary disadvantage. Targets who succeed on the throw take half damage and are otherwise unaffected by the whispers.
• Dead Line (6th level): Daidrin spell, Action. You mark an individual that you can see within 80 ft (or covered by Spatiosense) as if they were a dead soul wandering the mortal plane. On cue, a swarm of 1d8 Denowraiths appear to claim the targets soul. Each gets one attack, 1d20+6 to hit and 2d8 necrotic damage. If the target is reduced to 0 HP by any of these attacks, they die and their soul is taken to the afterlife by the Denowraiths.
• Haunted Forest (7th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action, range: 100 ft AoE. Lasts for 1 hour or until the caster dies. The caster creates a semi-real hallucinatory terrain of a dark, haunted woodland in a 100 ft AoE of themself. For the duration, this region counts as a forest and/or the Underdark for the purpose of terrain-based benefits. In addition, 1d6 incorporeal undead and/or zombified woodland beasts spawn within the illusion, hidden in various spots within the AoE. On the initial cast, the caster can choose to be hidden anywhere within the illusion that they could move to during their turn, requiring an Investigation check against their spell save DC to be discovered. On the caster's turn, they can choose to have any number of the hidden undead attack anyone within their respective reach or movement speeds. While the spell is active, the caster can use a Bonus Action to hide within the illusion, using the same rules as previously for where they can hide. If the spell is dispelled by an appropriately leveled Dispel Magic spell or another magical/antimagical effect, such as a Beholder's eye ray, all conjurations and hiding spots are dispelled/compromised with it.
• Soul Swap (7th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action, range 15 ft. You reach out through the Ethereal Plane to grasp at two souls within range. Make a melee spell attack. Any targets that are unwilling must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell attack or forfeit their soul to the swap. The two souls switch places in the Ethereal Plane; for example, if one was inside a living body & the other was in an object, they would switch places and reside in the respective recepticles. Some objects & creatures, such as a lich's phylactery or a creature that has extensively manipulated their own soul, would have advantage on this saving throw.
• Soul Recall (7th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action, concentration up to 1 hour. The caster calls the departed soul of someone they are very familiar with, as in they have personally met (physically or through mental projections/illusions, etc.) and bonded enough to connect beyond the land of the living. If the target is unwilling, they can make a Wisdom saving throw against the caster's spellsave DC, resisting the spell entirely upon success. If they fail the saving throw or choose not to make one, they will return to the mortal realm as an phantom of their former self, with all the stats, abilities and equipment they had in life that the caster would've known about. Once the spell ends, the soul will return to the afterlife they were pulled from, unless it is otherwise stopped or tampered with. If the soul is dropped to 0 HP by any attack/spell/effect dealing necrotic damage, it is permanently destroyed.
• Soul Reform (8th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action.
• Soul Tether (8th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action.
• Soul Removal (9th level): Daidrin & Warian spell, Action

Recent-Death Revives

This type of magic has restrictions based on whether the soul is still intact or not. Since these souls have only recently departed, often within the past 10 days, it may not be as ingrained into the death cycle. However, as is with Soul Manipulation, the soul will have to have survived its initial transfer to the afterlife and thereafter. If the target is a player character and has not already played out a post-death adventure, the player may have to roll a save or two related to an immediate threat to their soul to determine if they are intact or not. If the target is a creature/NPC, the caster rolls 3d100, then takes the average of the three. If this average is above 50%, the soul is intact and the spell succeeds. If below 50%, the soul has been destroyed or claimed.

Recent-Death Revive examples

• Raise Dead (5th level): 5e spell

Long-Dead Revives

This type of magic has the most restrictions. In addition to requiring the soul to be intact (see rules for Recent-Death Revives), resurrecting a creature with these spells falls under divine jurisdiction. Once the ritual is cast, the god of fate will appear to the caster and anyone involved in the ritual. The god tests their understanding of their potential actions through RP, and if they are deemed unworthy, they must roll a spellcasting attack against DC 25-30 (based on how badly they fuck up the conversation). If they fail, the spell fails. If they crit fail, the spell fails and cannot be cast again for 7 days. If they pass or are deemed worthy, the god orders to choose a specific person/creature to sacrifice as price for their ritual, with strings attached:

1. They do not have much time to choose an individual and cannot leave the vision-conversation to research; they must choose off of their own minds, on the spot. Only the caster can give the answer, but the others may assist them in choosing. If no answer is given, the god will choose a soul at random.
2. The individual will be immediately claimed by the god’s power and sent directly to the Underworld, even if their soul was due to another afterlife or being claimed by other beings.

Once chosen, the god will allow the ritual to succeed and end the life of the target. The first time the caster and all who participate in the ritual take a Long Rest after a successful cast, they will experience a vivid dream that flashes through the life of the creature their ritual killed, right up to their moment of death. Every few nights afterword, they will have vivid dreams of their adventures in the Underwolrd, up to the moment that outside visual is cut off or the soul is destroyed

Long-Dead Revive examples

• Resurrection (7th level): 5e spell
• True Resurrection (9th level): 5e spell

Forbidden Necromancy

There are some necromancy spells and rituals that are considered so powerful & reality-bending, they cannot be cast by mortals. Only a deity, powerful immortal, or indiviudal using the Daidrin Gaiostone can cast these spells.

10th-level

1. Death Gate: Daidrin spell, Action. Basically the Gate spell, but specifically opens up a portal to the Underworld or an afterlife of the caster’s choosing. The gate draws dead souls from the other side to our world, manifesting as whatever undead they were on that side.
2. Space Magnet (not necromancy, moving to other list): Daidrin spell, Action. The user telekinetically reaches into space and teleports the nearest chunk of loose debris or object it can find to a point in the atmosphere that the caster has previously or can currently see/sense. The object cannot be a planetary body or moon with a stable gravitational axis, but the caster can roll a spell attack against an appropriate DC (chosen by the DM) to break a piece off. Once in the atmosphere, the debris will crash into the appropriate location, dealing appropriate damage to all in the AoE who fail a Dex save, or half upon success. The damage & AoE will depend on the debris (ex. Comets & meteors would deal hella damage, while an asteroid or planetary chunk might be apocalyptic.)

Type

Metaphysical