23. Necromantic Magic

Necromancer School

Pierce the Shroud (Bone Dart, LoS, 10)

• This spell fires a small, sharp shard of bone. The spellcaster makes a +5 shooting attack against any figure within line of sight and 12”. This does not count as a magic attack.

 
Grasp of the Dead (Bones of The Earth, LoS, 10)

• A skeletal hand reaches out of the ground and grabs the target’s ankle. The figure may not take any move actions until it escapes. Any form of magic movement, except the Leap spell, allows a figure to escape the hand; otherwise, the only way to escape is to fight the hand, which has Fight +0, Health 1. If the hand takes one point of damage, it vanishes, and the target is free. Other figures in base contact may attack the hand or give a support bonus. If the hand wins the fight, it does damage as normal. This spell may only be cast against a target that is standing on the ground. Large creatures are unaffected by this spell. The maximum range for this spell is 18”.

 
Soulshackle (Control Undead, LoS, 12)

• The target undead creature must make an immediate Will Roll with a Target Number equal to the Casting Roll. If the roll fails, the undead creature becomes a temporary member of the spellcaster’s warband. This control lasts for the rest of the game or until the spell is cancelled. The spellcaster may spend an action to cancel this spell. A spellcaster may only control one undead creature at a time.

 
Mark of Dread (Curse, LoS, 8)

• The target suffers -2 to all die rolls. At the end of each turn, the target may make a Will Roll with the Target Number equal to the Casting Roll (at -2, of course). If successful, this spell is cancelled. Curse cannot be cast on a figure already suffering the effects of a Curse spell.

 
Grave Bind (Mind Lock, LoS, 12)

• The target of this spell becomes immune to Mind Control and Suggestion spells for the rest of the game, and any current Mind Control spells on the figure are cancelled. The figure gains +2 Will for the rest of the game.

 
Summon (Raise Zombie, Out of Game (B)/ Touch, 10)

• The spellcaster adds one zombie (page 193) to their warband as a temporary member. If the spell is cast before the game, the zombie can be deployed normally. If it is cast during a game, the zombie appears in base contact with the spellcaster. A warband may only have one raised zombie at any one time. If the zombie is killed or exits the table, Raise Zombie can be cast again to create another.

 
Awaken the Barrowkin (Revenant, Out of Game, 14)

• A revenant is a relatively common undead creature, created when a fragment of a person’s soul remains trapped in their own corpse. While the revenant retains some of the intelligence it had in life, it loses all personality, purpose, and drive, becoming a slave to the spellcaster who created it. This spell may be cast after any game in which a soldier in the spellcaster’s warband has been killed. After selecting a dead warband member, the spellcaster makes the casting roll. If the spell succeeds, the soldier is reanimated as a revenant and may fight in the next battle. The revenant has all of the same stats it had in life, with the exception of Will, which becomes +0. The revenant is undead and is subject to all spells, magical items, or other rules that target or affect the undead. It continues to wield the same weapons and wear the same armour that it did in life, even if these items were magic. If the revenant’s health reaches zero during a game, it rolls for survival just like any other soldier. However, if this results in death, the spellcaster may attempt to cast Revenant again after the game. If successful, the soldier returns to the warband at full Health, ready to fight in the next game. Each revenant continues to count as a soldier in the warband, but there is otherwise no restriction on the number of revenants that can be included in a warband. Revenant may not be cast on undead (except Revenants), constructs, or demons.

 
Rune Break (Spell Eater, LoS, 12)

• Casting this spell causes the spellcaster to immediately take 1 point of damage. When this spell is cast, it cancels the effects of a single casting of any one spell currently in play. This spell cannot unsummon a creature, but it can cancel the control of a creature.

 
Grave Leech (Steal Health, LoS, 10)

• The target must make an immediate Will Roll with a Target Number equal to the Casting Roll. If failed, the target immediately loses 3 Health and the spellcaster regains 3 Health. The spellcaster gains 3 Health, even if the target had less Health than that remaining. This may not take the spellcaster above their starting Health. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs. A spellcaster may target a member of their own warband – if they do, however, the target immediately (and permanently) leaves the warband and is treated as an uncontrolled creature for the rest of the game.

 
Wither Heart (Strike Dead, LoS, 18)

• This spell targets a figure within 8”. The target must make a Will Roll with a Target Number equal to the Casting Roll or be immediately reduced to 0 Health. All figures may empower their Will Roll to resist this spell, even non-spellcasters. The spellcaster immediately loses 1 Health upon attempting this spell (even if it is cast successfully), in addition to any loss incurred by failure or empowerment. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.