by Lars
Dealing with the dead has always been viewed as morbid and immoral by the masses. Their own fear of death fills them with loathing of the bodies of those they once loved, and often of their souls as well. The few individuals who has cast that yoke off their shoulders, and have no reservations about confronting death on its own terms, are ostracized from society and labeled sick or worse.
Among vampires, the practice of Necromancy is abhorred almost as badly as by mortals. Though physically dead themselves, very few are willing to take advantage of their unique situation to probe the mysteries of the death that they avoided when they became immortal. Perhaps confronting the spirits of the departed reminds them that they are not as immortal as they think.
The vampiric arts of the dead were first explored by the antediluvian Ashur, who taught his childer the secrets he learned. Their lore was mainly concerned with the physical aspects of death, which was quite natural, considering that they themselves were walking corpses. But when a man named Augustus Giovanni was embraced into the clan, many things changed. The Giovanni were more interested in the souls of the deceased, and quickly became masters at summoning and interacting with the restless dead.
Lately, a number of bloodlines have developed who are skilled in Necromancy. One of these, the Samedi, are rumored to have been taught by the Giovanni, but the rest are supposed to have come from within the Sabbat. Some think that the Sabbat include several Cappadocian elders, who have instructed these bloodlines in the arts of death, others think that the Sabbat have developed their Necromantic skills themselves.
Necromancers
The primary practitioners of Necromancy are the Giovanni clan, along with the Samedi, Kiasyd, and Nagarajah bloodlines, and many sinister vampires outside these groups seek the secrets after death.
The study of Necromancy was in fact the primary reason the Giovanni founder was embraced. Their manipulation with lost souls has helped them scrape together much of the power they possess, along with their wealth. Despite the Giovanni being the original creators of the Discipline, they rarely see the aesthetic or scholarly side of it, instead using it to further their own political goals.
The Samedi are often used as particularly horrifying assassins because of their mastery of Necromancy. With Obfuscate and Thanatosis they can reach their target and do the required damage, and following the actual murder, either torment or enslave his spirit. This fact, coupled with their macabre appearance, make them even more reviled and feared than the Giovanni. They see Necromancy in a more philosophical light than the Giovanni, and it is considered a sign of age and wisdom to study it.
The mysterious Kiasyd use Necromancy almost unknowingly, being more in tune with the spirit worlds than most other vampires. Speaking with the dead is natural and droll for these enigmatic beings. For the cannibalistic Nagarajah, Necromancy is the cornerstone of their existence, as both Enoch and Oblivion with all its mystery lie beyond the Shroud separating the quick and the dead. The Ash path is often studied as a Nagarajah’s primary path instead of the Sepulchre path, as this, more than the other paths put together, holds the key to the Underworld.
Body Preservation, level 1
When cast over a fresh corpse, less than 24 hours dead, this ritual stops decay and putrefaction for a year and a day, after which normal decomposition sets in. One of the components is two blood points of vampiric blood, normally the caster’s own, poured into the corpse’s mouth. The ritual takes half an hour to complete.
Sepulchral Beacon, level 2
This ritual allows the caster to sense the last place the Shroud has been breached within his vicinity. It reaches about 500 meters, and will reveal someone’s death or the use of Arcanoi or Necromancy Paths, as well as any other effect that may have disturbed the barrier between living and dead. Once located, to the necromancer the location of the breach glows with the black light of Oblivion. The more time has passed since the event, the weaker the light glows, indicating the approximate hour. The ritual takes about an hour to perform, and requires the caster to inhale bone dust into his withered lungs. This ritual can be performed in both the Shadowlands and Skinlands.
Warping the Morbid Visage, level 3
The Necromancer invoking this ritual is able to change a corpse’s facial features to correspond with that of his own. The caster has to remove the body’s tongue, and keep it on his person for as long as he wants the ritual to be in effect. Following the invocation, after letting his hand glide over its features and closing its eyes, the face of the corpse warps to mimic the face of the Necromancer. The process of invocation takes fifteen minutes.
Any change to the caster’s face while the ritual is in effect will affect the corpse also. Samedi sometimes use this ritual to hide the identity of their victims, as well as a gruesome calling card.
Strength of Rotten Flesh, level 4
Favored by the Giovanni, this grisly ritual increases the power of the Necromancer’s undead servants. Preparation for the ritual, which usually takes around three hours, requires the caster to remove the skeleton from an initially living human. The flesh and tissue must be burned within a circle made from the bones, as the right incantations are uttered over the funeral pyre. The rite itself takes an additional hour, and can only be performed in the Necromancer’s haven (somewhere he has slept at least three days in a row).
All zombies created by the Necromancer temporarily gain a point of Potence and two points of Fortitude. The duration of the effect depends on the number of successes gained on a roll of Manipulation + Thanatology (difficulty 7) during preparation. The ritual lasts one week per success.