The Necromancers' Miscellany

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Background
Over the centuries, many necromancers have lived, died, unlived, been destroyed, and some have even persevered to this day. Given the complex nature of Necromantic studies, most of these meddlers in the natural order of things kept copious notes, and some of them even 'published' their best works - albeit privately for the benefit of their own students or as an aid to memory.

Over time, books, loose pages of research notes, and sometimes just the names of these Necromancers, would be passed down through history.

This Miscellany contains a partial listing of extant tomes, popular spells, and notable necromantic figures of the past whose names are often referenced by those studying the dark arts.

OOC Information

This is an incomplete list, formed from books mentioned in Guild RPs past and present, and will be updated as Guild RPs progress. The accessibility of some books may also alter based on the decisions of the Guild Hierarchy. Please note that although these works may be restricted, this does not prevent those who do have access from sharing aspects of these works with promising students.


Part I - The Black Library

Many tomes and treatises on the subject are made readily available to new members of the guild. Some are kept restricted to the more advanced and trusted students. A few are kept secret from all but the highest echelons of the Necromancer's guild.

At the same time, many works of varying quality still lie hidden away from curious eyes in vaults and safes, guarded by House Mahara and protected from decay by the very entropic energies their author's had played with.

Here then, for the benefit of the students of the Necromancer's guild, is an incomplete index of some of those tomes still extant.

Unrestricted Access

    • "Obituaries" by Anabaster
      Anabaster is/was a reclusive vampire who, due to a highly refined sense of schadenfreude, chronicles the interesting ways in which 'immortals' and the powerful 'die'. Not for him were the back-alley stabbings and mundane shuffling off of mortal coins: Anabaster records the passing of people who, for example, turned themselves inside out through a miscarried ritual. His tome is an encyclopaedia of grotesque and horrendous deaths covering an expanse of two centuries. A copy of Anabaster's works was recovered by Valentin, who uses it as a way to research the stupid mistakes made by his predecessors in the dark arts, and thereby hopefully avoid making the same errors himself.
    • "A Scholarly Approach to the Arcane" by the Wizard Jenkins
      This is a beginners introduction to general magic, not specialized in necromancy. The work can however help Novus Morior in understanding the mental approach to learning magic. The language is simple and designed to be easy to understand. It contains a curriculum of 12 basic principles.
    • "Proin Nisl" by Eclestorias
      'Symbol Magic' is a text on the construction of ritual and sigil arrays and should help a Novus Morior to gain a better understanding of all the individual bits that go into one. The treatise also remains popular with the higher ranks, as it also helps an advancing Necromancer learn how to customise a ritual array.
    • "Treatyfe on Sorcerouf Engraving" by Artemesius
      A text on basic ritual circles. It was a popular text in its time, as it contains numerous simple ritual circles suitable for new apprentices to the dark arts. Of interest to some is information contained within on using stored blood as a catalyst to boost the power of a ritual circle. However, it is generally agreed that the methods advocated in this longwinded old tome are generally outdated and frequently show an inefficient transfer of power compared to other recorded approaches and very limited versatility in the sigil arrays described
    • "Strategem Sarcerum" by Morlious
      A beginner's text on Carnology dismissed by more experienced practitioners for its numerous misconceptions.



Restricted Access: Accessible to Thanadule and Above

    • "Exploratione Occulta Velum", volumes one through three, by Trianse
      'Exploratione occulta velum' translates to 'exploration of the hidden veil', and relates to powers beyond the scope of the physical world. This is where advancing Necromancers will find information on how to channel power from other planes.
    • "Torments: a Glossarie" by Mad Malazin
      A theoretical treatise on phobomancy, ill-suited for those with little to no experience in the art.
    • "Ruminations on the disruptions of mental fortitude in lesser beings" by Alcorin
      Another theoretical treatise on phobomancy, but with a bias towards torture and the psychological domination of prisoners.
    • "Van Zechter's Visceromancy" - by the eponymous Van Zechter
      A tome on Visceromancy, where the theory expounded is sound, but the practical elements show an amateurish approach, and is thus largely ignored by advanced practitioners.

Forbidden: The black list of black books

These tomes are either never let out of their owner's sight, or only shown to those that the owners permit to access. Some texts are considered too dangerous to let out into the world.

Part II: The Sorcerous Glossarie

The names and descriptions of spells frequently referred to or used by Necromancer's Guild Members today.

    • Vandon LeRouge's "Crimson Chains"
      A sorcerous sigil-based binding which slowly drains a prisoner of its life essence to fuel its own magical restraints . Originally developed centuries ago as a simple but effective method of torture, it is common knowledge within the Guild that the spell has since been modified and further developed with numerous variations by Thanadule Valentin.
    • Ulrich Heinholtz' "containment circle for minor elementals"
      What it says on the tin: Handy for the lesser elemental nuisances one may accidentally summon or come across. Don't just hold them, Heinholtz them.
    • Zorestra's "Elemental Banishing"
      (Described in Eclestorias' treatise, but Zorestra's actual works on summoning and banishment currently remain lost)
    • Valzhari's "Circle of Expulsion"
      Reputedly a powerful spell of banishment for supernatural creatures belonging to a different phase of existence (soulbound undead, elementals, etc). Deeper research would show this to be an incomplete spell - records show Valzhari died when he tried it and failed. How he died, however, was not recorded. Although a basic summary of this spell exists in readily accessible tomes, the original research notes accompanying Valzhari's failed ritual have yet to be found, making this ritual a risky prospect at best.
    • Dragichnyev's "Umbral Occuli"
      This shadowbinding spell causes up to three umbral eyes to form on shadowy tendrils.
      The eyes respond to shifts in the umbra/shadows, and transmit sensory information from each eye to the user in greyscale tones. Use of this spell takes practice and dedication, as having one's mental awareness split between normal vision as well as the awareness of three different perspectives on the state of the surrounding umbral fabric can very quickly drive a person insane if they do not slowly acclimatise themselves to it over a lengthy period of time. However, those who use it after years of practise tend to think a bit strangely, and their umbral magics often tend towards the eccentric.
    • Zamaluke's "Arcana of Living Torment"
      An archaic and obscure reanimation ritual known for the ease with which one could get it wrong, and the amount of energy used: i.e lots of energy for little result. Speculation has it that the entire workbook this was taken from was a cruel punishment by Zamaluke on his inept students in expectations of its inevitable theft. Perhaps not so strangely, Zamaluke's works are a favourite of the Lich Lorkain in his subtle crusade to cull the weak and useless Novus Morior from the herd. Lorkain may in fact be the only one who has a full copy of Zamaluke's writings.
    • Artemesius' "Circle of Minor Revivification"
      A simple re-animation ritual good for minor undead shamblers up to the size of a large dog, child, or small pony. Not so good if you want the newly raised things to do much of anything other than shamble around pathetically and drop bits all over your carpet.

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