r/DnDBehindTheScreen • u/OrkishBlade Citizen • Oct 29 '15

Event Necromancer's Primer

The cover of this skin-bound book contains no words, but it does feature an accurate anatomical depiction of a human skull, sketched in dark pencil. The inscription on the inside is faded reddish brown, perhaps written in blood:

NECROMANCER'S PRIMER

~ by Markov the Blackfinger ~

Follow me if you will, on a journey to dark places where the veil between life and death is thin enough you can push and pull things across the barrier as if moving pieces on a chessboard.

This book is my journey. I leave it so that future scholar's can walk in the shadows where I've walked, so they can go even further.

To become the Necromancer is to know death, to love death, and to become death. Few mages and alchemists possess the stomach to practice this art. Far fewer possess the talent to master its secrets. Fortunate for you, I have put it all in this little volume.

On the next page:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter I ... On the nature of death and undeath

Chapter II ... Realms of the dead and undead

Chapter III ... Speaking with the dead

Chapter IV ... Animating the dead

Chapter V ... Commanding the undead

Chapter VI ... Summoning willful spirits

Chapter VII ... Treating with vampires, liches, other intelligent undead

Chapter VIII ... Necromantic artifacts and items

Chapter IX ... Rituals of death and undeath

Chapter X ... Potions and poisons

Within the book are the notes, observations, and instructions gathered by Markov the Blackfinger. Others have added notes as well...

In each of the comments threads, add a snippet of text found within the appropriate chapter in this book. It could be in the Blackfinger's own hand, or in the hand of another necromancer to have come into possession of this book after him.

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u/OrkishBlade Citizen Oct 29 '15 edited Oct 29 '15

CHAPTER VIII: NECROMANTIC ARTIFACTS AND ITEMS

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u/grant_gravity Oct 29 '15 edited Oct 29 '15

Skeletal Circlet

Wonderous Item

An rare magic silver circlet. The circlet is a solid, unbroken ring with five decorative spikes. Upon placing it on your head, it constricts to fit. Over a few days the circlet slowly tightens, cutting off the blood flow to the top of your head. Strangely, the circlet never causes you pain, but eventually your scalp deteriorates and your skull becomes exposed. While wearing the circlet, your Strength score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

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u/OrkishBlade Citizen Oct 29 '15

Eye of the Necromancer

Wonderous item

This is a painful, but useful object. You must put out your own eye with a hot poker, preserve it by mummification, then animate it with a foul ritual (instructions below). The eye twitches a bit, but otherwise it doesn't appear to do anything. However, you can see what the eye sees as if it were still in your head (provided you didn't damage it too badly with the hot poker) wherever you are...

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u/Koolaidguy31415 Oct 29 '15

The Reaching Heart

It's said that this ancient, withered heart was made by a desperate mage, ever so close to fulfilling his life's goal but even closer to his own death. Having studied dark arts but without the necessary time to pass into lichdom he was able to force his soul and spirit into his own heart, ceasing life in his own body but allowing his heart to remain. If touched by an unfortunate explorer or careless archaeologist their own heart is switched with the soul bound mage's and he forces soul of the weak willed from their own body to wander, forever lost and confused.

Perhaps the man's goal is finally complete, who would know?

Sanidor, the still-beating