True Resurrection

True Resurrection

9th-rank - Wizard Spell: Necromancy Priest Spell: Death

Casting Time: 1 hour

Range: Touch

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: V, S, M

Materials: a Diamond pendant worth at least 5,000 gp, and a 20,000 gp gem or other finely-crafted receptacle

Auditory Sensory Effects: Very Loud

Visual Sensory Effects: Huge

Olfactory Sensory Effects: Very Strong

Casting Perception Mod +5

Effect Perception Mod +10

Choose a dead humanoid with Intelligence and Wisdom of 4 or greater and at least one class level of 18 or higher, within 5 feet. The target must have recently died -- within 1 minute of this spell's casting. The creature cannot already be undead.
During casting, you place a piece of magnificent jewelry worth at lest 5,000 gp on the corpse, and place the gem or finely-crafted receptacle within reach. Hissing purple and black aura gradually gathers in both of your hands and billows around the target's corpse in a massive vortex and the receptacle as you touch them, filling the area with the stench of death. When the spell is cast, the target's soul is transferred into a gem or other finely-crafted receptacle worth at least 20,000 gp, and it animates its former body through the jewelry as an undead creature.
The newly-created undead possesses all memories and faculties it had in life and can use all of its skills and abilities in addition to terrifying new undead powers. Depending on its original class, a humanoid raised with this spell may become a uniquely powerful Grimknight, a Mummy Lord, or a Lich.
Whatever form it takes, a resurrected creature experiences a burning rage at being kept in existence, and a desire to destroy all natural life. When this rage is layered on top of sophisticated skill and intellect, it is capable of crafting ambitious plans and marshaling significant resources to take grandiose revenge.
In addition to formidable powers, undead created with this spell are almost indestructible. If the creature's body is destroyed at a future date, it reappears 12 hours later in the exact form as when it was first created, but retaining its memories of all events that have transpired up until the moment of its body's destruction. The only way to permanently destroy a creature created by this spell is to destroy the soul receptacle, an extremely resilient item with AC of at least 20, at least 30 hit points, and a damage threshold of at least 3.
Wizard: The only valid target is yourself, and the final piece of the casting ritual is to drink a Potion of Poison, instantly slaying yourself. You immediately rise as a lich as described above.

At higher ranks: