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[Mithras]

Since the purge of your mother’s childhood there have been no necromancy in the kingdom of Kingdom of the Madruirs. Knights of the holy orders and priests hunted necromancers down in the warren like streets of its capital. Wizards roamed the countryside with groups of armed men searching for the slightest sign of black magic. The artefacts of power were found and destroyed. Those practitioners that survived did so by giving up all connection to their magic or fleeing across the borders, though most of those who did fell prey to the suspicion riled up amongst the commoners. King Michelet swore that his country would be free from the influence of the dead and, with the help of sage advisors and strong sword arms, he has managed to keep his oath so far. Though now he grows old and the resolve of his heir in this matter is untested.

Of course, you know this, you know that communion with the dead is punishable by death. Why do you follow the path of the necromancer despite this consequence? (You can elaborate on this option but you don’t need to)

[ ] You have lost someone or something and necromancy is the only way to get it back
[ ] You hunger for power and you know that necromancy is power
[ ] You fear the certainty of death so much that you are willing to risk execution  for the chance to stave it off forever
[ ] You believe this path will have the most righteous outcome
[ ] Something else

You know too that all artefacts of dark magic must be turned in and destroyed as soon as they are found. Their power corrupts and most have a cunning intelligence. Yet one has found its way into your possession, it speaks to you, tells you of the power it could grant you and offers to teach you the magics you need to accomplish your goals. What is it?

[ ] A tome of dark spells (Favours spells that summon corporeal undead, helps to understand the theory of necromancy, occasionally reveals pertinent knowledge)
[ ] A dagger (Favours spells that harm and weaken others, wishes to see others bearing the mark of its wounds, steals power from those it wounds and pays a portion of that power to you)
[ ] A stave (Favours spells that strike enemies at a distance, gathers power from environment and deeds which it uses to fuel its own magic)
[ ] An altar (Favours spells that effect the environment, craves the sacrifice of the living, aids in the casting of greater spells than your ability should enough blood be spilled)
[ ] A familiar (Favours spells that summon and control the incorporeal undead, acts independently, interacting with others as well as yourself, holds loyalties to a greater power)
[ ] A chisel (Favours spells that bind incorporeal undead within artificial vessels, seeks to create and to destroy the greatest creation of others, makes shaping materials supernaturally easy)
[ ] A tattoo (Favours spells that bind incorporeal undead within living vessels, gives you strength, healing and the ability to change yourself, wishes to spread over the masses of the living)
[ ] A sword (Favours spells that effect emotions and loyalty, seeks the fear, subservience and death of others, destroys supernatural protections)

You know to that your actions will not only effect yourself and your future but those around you. As you are young you have had little time to develop your profession, still what is your current job?

[ ] A member of one of the city’s criminal organisations
[ ] A night watchman
[ ] An acolyte studying for priesthood
[ ] A craftsman
[ ] A mage’s apprentice
[ ] A catcher of rats
[ ] The leader of a gang of urchins
[ ] A gravedigger

Finally, what is your name and gender?


(Hey guys this is my first attempt at one of these, hopefully it’ll live and be fun. Just to be clear, I will be taking the most popular choice from each option rather than the most popular entire character as the latter is too likely to lead to draws)

[Mithras]

Spoiler: Basic mechanics (click to show/hide)

 The mechanics are simple, should the outcome be in doubt roll a d6 equal to a relevant skill (if no skill applies then roll d4) and compare it to a roll depending on the difficulty or opponent’s skill, apply bonusses or maluses as appropriate. If yours is higher, you do what you intended and vice versa. If you roll the highest number possible the result explodes, roll a second dice two sizes higher (d4 goes to d6 while d12 goes to d14) and use the best result.

If you do not succeed you can spend resources one on one to increase your result. When casting spells spend mana, when doing anything else spend will.

You regain 1 will and 1 mana per day. Mana can be regained through other methods such as the ritual shedding of one’s own blood or the ritual killing of others. Will can be regained through acting in accordance with your ambition.

Spoiler: The city of Lotin (click to show/hide)

 The mage district: A small closed of area within the temple district which is primarily composed of mages’ towers and businesses which profit mainly form the patron of mages.

The temple district: a large mass of sprawling temples dedicated to the gods of the pantheon of this city, these gods are not jealous and people worship based on need and preference, though some temples are small and in decay whilst others are grand and rich. Also contains the barracks for the order of paladins.

The castle: a self-contained fortress which houses the small professional guard, the kings court, the court magicians and the lodgings of some of the more prestigious noble houses.

The walls: a clean and pleasant neighbourhood where most skilled craftsmen live, the night and day watches are based here.

The market: a large square which holds a market two times a week, most of the buildings of civic governance are nearby along with the townhouses of every noble house able to afford one. It is the best patrolled part of the city

The old sewers: these still serve to deliver water to and from the city, though many tunnels are in disuse and the haunt of cat sized rats and the dispossessed.

The slums: Some inside and some outside the walls, with secret connections through it. Poor quality housing for unskilled workers and those who of a criminal bent, untouched by the night watch accept in occasional patrols along with the temple to keep necromancy rooted out.

The graveyards: beyond the walls but well-tended by gravediggers from the outer slums.

[flazeo25]

Something else(Vengeance for being betrayed by all those you trusted the most)
A Sword
A mage’s apprentice

Liliana Arcues (Female)

[Doubloon-Seven]

Something else (With mindless skeletons and zombies doing manual labor, the living can focus on learning things and creating a better world. Self-Advancement, in a way.)
A Tome of Dark Spells
The Leader of a Gang of Urchins

Naleen Muldraun (Male)

[TopHat]

[X] You hunger for power and you know that necromancy is power
[X] A tome of dark spells
[X] A mage’s apprentice

No preference on the name.

[MonkeyMarkMario]

[X] You hunger for power and you know that necromancy is power
[X] A tome of dark spells
[X] A mage’s apprentice

+1

Naleen Muldraun (Male)

+1

[stabbymcstabstab]

[X] You hunger for power and you know that necromancy is power
[X] A tome of dark spells
[X] A mage’s apprentice

+1

Naleen Muldraun (Male)

+1

+1

[Mithras]

You are Naleen Muldraun, you are 16 and you seek power. You realised at the age of 8 that the means to better your life as the third child of poor labourers apart from an apprenticeship to a mage, who rarely cared for background, choosing to focus less on aptitude. With this goal in mind and understanding that there were at most a score of mages in the entire city you studied hard and applied yourself, by the age of 10 you were apprenticed to Arbus the Sage, one of the six independent mages in the city. You have been studying under him since.

Arbus is a kind old man, who has sacrificed skill in magic for knowledge. The man lives in a tower which contains several libraries, the simplest of which you have access to for free study. He spends his time researching old and forgotten magics simply for the purposes of knowing and you spend most of your time as the point of communication between and the outside world. He does do his duty in educating you and is quite proud of your aptitude, however his expertise in the theoretical limits the speed at which you can control the true means of power, you have been allowed to learn only the most basic cantrips so far, a pace of education he seems content to carry on with. Still aside from the few hours of teaching time you are given freedom to do what you will and go where you need to outside the tower so long as the tasks Arbus’ has set are complete.

You are completing one of these tasks, fetching a scroll from Arbus’ basement library, when you find the tome. You are leaving with the scroll when a heavy book with black leather bindings falls from the shelf. You hold the lantern up to read its cover, and see only indecipherable symbols. Curiosity sated you pick it up to put it back, a light jolt runs through your arm and you drop the book in surprise. Looking again at the cover you find you can now read the text.

“The Path to Power.”

Curiosity piqued you open the book and begin to read, it is unlike the tomes you have read so far, the style seems almost conversational, as if the book has been written with you in mind.

“You will know by now that magery is not a true path to power, even when your teaching is complete your power will be limited. You know that magic is the negotiation with the spirits caused by the existence of all things naturally occurring which ends in a spending of mana in payment for the spirit asserting itself on the world. This book outlines a second path made possible by the unique properties of human beings. Natural spirits are by definition simple creatures that can only be convinced to do what it is within their nature, they are incapable of such action. Human’s thanks to their ability to imagine create spirits within them based on their personalities and the thoughts and feelings others have towards them. These spirits are trapped, gestating until the moment of their hosts death when they are freed as souls, intelligent and capable to affect the world in the way they will, given a suitable source of mana. Thus while magery is akin to the training of dumb beasts, necromancy is the dominion over thinking people with the inherent power that implies.”

You are of course fascinated, this book seems to know exactly what you want and how to give it to you, you turn pages forward looking for the spells of power it promises only to find the writing undecipherable again. Turning back to the first page you see that the text has changed, now outlining the directions for a spell which binds the spirit of a corpse or skeleton to that corpse or skeleton, raising it up as undead. At the bottom is a note.

“Prove your dedication to the path of power by finding a corpse and raising it. Given your situation you may want to raise something small, the souls of animals can have intelligence and power so long as a human has given meaning to the creature in life. Fresh corpses hold the strongest souls, though dead fresh is stiff and slow, remove the meat if you want to raise something swifter. Return when you have done this task and I will show you more.”

While this prospect is exciting, you need some time to think, you stash the book in your quarters where Arbus rarely ventures, and complete your day’s chores, thinking about your next move.

What do you do next? Mechanics and a layout of the city have been added in the post above.

Spoiler: Naleen Muldraun (click to show/hide)

Health: 10/10
Mana: 10/10
Will: 5

Skills:
Competent Magical Theorist (d8)
Competent Mage (d8)
Novice Necromancer (d6)
Proficient Scholar (d10)
Novice Handyman (d6)
Novice Negotiator (d6)

Items of import (ask about what else you might have that makes sense):
The Path to Power (+1 to summoning corporeal undead)
3 gold coins worth of coinage

Relationships:
Arbus the Sage (your mentor): Trusting, he has worked with you for many years and so trusts your capabilities and has insight into your character.
Bral the Labourer (Your father): Doting, he cares for all her children but has a special place in her heart for the son who will make something of himself even if he sees you rarely.
Ta the Labourer (your elder sister): Cordial, you still have contact with Ta who wants little from life, though she has always been wary of the lust for power she saw in you.
Jia the night watchman (your elder sister): Good, you two share the same drive to better yourselves you both recognise that in each other and respect it.
Ifeus the star mage: Unknown, she is an independent mage with whom Arbus corresponds with most often as such you have run some delivery’s to and from her tower
Valo apprentice to Apras the fire mage: admiration, Valo and Apras are in the employ of the temple. Valo is a couple of years younger than you and holds your magical knowledge in awe.
Cai apprentice to Didor the Druid: Rivalry.  Cai and Didor are in the employ of the kingdom. Cai is about your age and she has a drive similar to yours, this has led to a sporting rivalry which has allowed you to pick up some practical magecraft and her to be schooled in more theoretical matters.

Spells:
Bind Corpse: Creates a skeleton or zombie servant of varying power. The power depends on the soul’s strength and the skill with which you cast the spell.
Cost 1 Mana.
Difficulty d4+number of bound undead servants.

Arcane Shield: Creates a shield which deflects the actions of spirits of a certain type.
Cost 1 Mana.
Difficulty d4+number of active shields

Detect Magic: Allows you to see the spirits in an area, determining their numbers and movement
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4

Message: Compels the wind to carry something roughly the size and shape of a parchment a considerable distance
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4


Slow blood: Thickens the blood of a living being, rendering it sluggish and eventually unconscious
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4 or relevant skill

Vicious Growth: Accelerates and controls the growth of a nearby plant
Cost 1 mana
Difficulty d6

Light: Forms a ball of dim light that can be controlled for a while, will momentarily blind someone if summoned in their face.
Cost 1 mana
Difficulty d4

 

[Doubloon-Seven]

Ask Arbus why people decide to become mages, in terms of what they want to do with magic, and what they normally do once they are skilled in it.

[Mithras]

You decide to check on Arbus who is busy translating the script on half of an ancient vase in one of his laboratories. Arbus is a short thin man in a worn robe and his mid-fifties. He looks up from his work and greets you, smiling. There is a brief discussion about Arbus’ work before he settles down to your lesson, you have been learning to form and strengthen rock. The difference between magery and necromancy makes itself obvious here, you’ve been trying to get this spell to work for a couple of months and you feel like you are no better at getting the earth to move than when you started, on the other hand the necromantic spell you’ve read once hums in the forefront of your mind, you know that you need just speak the words, make the gestures and spend the mana and your will would be done. Frustrated you ask Arbus why mages choose their paths. He considers for a while before answering.

“I wager you will have noticed now that we are different to those who don’t practice magic. I think we do because we have a drive, something that connects us to the world, take Ifeus for example, she adores the light of the stares, you can tell she would rather be up there than down here, though she is old enough to have been a mage in the time you could walk amongst the stars with magic.”

He pauses, looking up to the second story of this room’s library and the histories of magecraft with a sort of longing look.

“Of course nowadays magic is not what it was, she uses the properties of the stars to send messages across half the world instantly for those that can pay and clothe people in moonlight illusion, changing them for a night. It keeps her in a living so she can spend the rest of her time charting stars. The likes of Apras and Didor are more direct. Apras uses fire as a weapon, I don’t know why he came to the craft, but I have heard stories it would seem she enjoys the sound of skin crackling in fire a little too much. And Didor, well Didor is perhaps the best of us, what reason does a man need to learn the power to make fields grow where he walks and to tame herds of wild beasts with a word, he does it because he thinks that is what does the most good I think.

He changes the topic for a while, explaining his work on the spell scroll on the pottery. It is part fo a complex spell that builds a servant of earth, water and fire to expedite the keeping of records on pottery. He explains that apart from the missing information the spell is probably impossible now because asking the spirits to cooperate with each other is asking too much of them in these days. He hopes to find the missing forms of words and hands that gave the spirits their complex instruction. He doesn’t speak of why he became a mage but the enthusiasm with which he explains his project makes it seem obvious. He encourages you to try to summon stone again, and with another failure he finally returns to the topic you broached.

“I’m afraid I don’t know why the new generation chose to take up the craft. It is much diminished now, perhaps if you are curious about what life you wish to aim for you could go and ask the other apprentices? It might help you find the direction you are looking for.”

Lesson over, you have three hours of daylight to yourself.

Spoiler: Naleen Muldraun (click to show/hide)

 

Health: 10/10
Mana: 10/10
Will: 5

Skills:
Competent Magical Theorist (d8)
Competent Mage (d8)
Novice Necromancer (d6)
Proficient Scholar (d10)
Novice Handyman (d6)
Novice Negotiator (d6)

Items of import (ask about what else you might have that makes sense):
The Path to Power (+1 to summoning corporeal undead)
3 gold coins worth of coinage

Relationships:
Arbus the Sage (your mentor): Trusting, he has worked with you for many years and so trusts your capabilities and has insight into your character.
Bral the Labourer (Your father): Doting, he cares for all her children but has a special place in her heart for the son who will make something of himself even if he sees you rarely.
Ta the Labourer (your elder sister): Cordial, you still have contact with Ta who wants little from life, though she has always been wary of the lust for power she saw in you.
Jia the night watchman (your elder sister): Good, you two share the same drive to better yourselves you both recognise that in each other and respect it.
Ifeus the star mage: Unknown, she is an independent mage with whom Arbus corresponds with most often as such you have run some delivery’s to and from her tower
Valo apprentice to Apras the fire mage: admiration, Valo and Apras are in the employ of the temple. Valo is a couple of years younger than you and holds your magical knowledge in awe.
Cai apprentice to Didor the Druid: Rivalry.  Cai and Didor are in the employ of the kingdom. Cai is about your age and she has a drive similar to yours, this has led to a sporting rivalry which has allowed you to pick up some practical magecraft and her to be schooled in more theoretical matters.

Spells:
Bind Corpse: Creates a skeleton or zombie servant of varying power. The power depends on the soul’s strength and the skill with which you cast the spell.
Cost 1 Mana.
Difficulty d4+number of bound undead servants.

Arcane Shield: Creates a shield which deflects the actions of spirits of a certain type.
Cost 1 Mana.
Difficulty d4+number of active shields

Detect Magic: Allows you to see the spirits in an area, determining their numbers and movement
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4

Message: Compels the wind to carry something roughly the size and shape of a parchment a considerable distance
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4


Slow blood: Thickens the blood of a living being, rendering it sluggish and eventually unconscious
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4 or relevant skill

Vicious Growth: Accelerates and controls the growth of a nearby plant
Cost 1 mana
Difficulty d6

Light: Forms a ball of dim light that can be controlled for a while, will momentarily blind someone if summoned in their face.
Cost 1 mana
Difficulty d4

[Doubloon-Seven]

Just before we are to go to sleep, head outside, and hide a rat's body (preferably skeletal, to avoid stench) in a pouch, and hide it into your room. After Arbus goes to sleep, carefully raise the skeleton.

[TopHat]

Hmm, an animal which a human has given meaning to. Are there any old, buried, family pets that we know of?

[Prophet]

PTW.

[Mithras]

You spend the time between your lesson and nightfall considering your options. Rats are an obvious choice, while rat catches scour the streets and sewers for them and take their corpses to sell at the office for hygiene corpses can still be found in the seedier parts of town, and there are enough cats that you could probably find one that’s just caught a rat or something, the risk there is that the rat might never have had human emotion attached to it before, you intuit that the simple experience of scaring a person as it ran across the light would give the rat enough of a soul to raise a very week undead. A rat catcher who has begun to personalise their prey would also work for this purpose, you could probably buy a corpse or two for cheap (each rat is worth two copper pieces when turned into the offices for hygiene), if you could find a rat catcher who’d be willing to sell them without asking too many questions. Alternatively, you could find a live rat, the emotion of the rat being your first subject might be enough to imbue the soul with some power before they body was killed, on the other hand you’d have to find and kill a live rat, this isn’t really within your skill set, though detecting magic might allow you to find an area that was particularly infected by rats if you sought out spirits of disease, darkness, scavenging and the like.

You give thoughts to family pets, of course they have much more potential to be viable subjects. And many families, especially in the slums have a ratting cat or terrier. Unlike human bodies which are buried in the graveyards these animals tend to be buried under the floors of the houses. Your family has seen a couple of nameless ratting terriers and a small cat you named Spot buried under the floorboards, you could easily exhume these, though your elderly father and two sisters might want to know why, due to their work at least one is usually in the house, though you could probably visit when they were likely to be asleep (a couple of hours after dawn, during labouring hours). You could also break into any other home in the slums and hope for the best in terms of occupants.

Are there any other options you would like to consider?
Which option would you like to choose?

Spoiler: Naleen Muldraun (click to show/hide)

 

Health: 10/10
Mana: 10/10
Will: 5

Skills:
Competent Magical Theorist (d8)
Competent Mage (d8)
Novice Necromancer (d6)
Proficient Scholar (d10)
Novice Handyman (d6)
Novice Negotiator (d6)

Items of import (ask about what else you might have that makes sense):
The Path to Power (+1 to summoning corporeal undead)
3 gold coins worth of coinage

Relationships:
Arbus the Sage (your mentor): Trusting, he has worked with you for many years and so trusts your capabilities and has insight into your character.
Bral the Labourer (Your father): Doting, he cares for all her children but has a special place in her heart for the son who will make something of himself even if he sees you rarely.
Ta the Labourer (your elder sister): Cordial, you still have contact with Ta who wants little from life, though she has always been wary of the lust for power she saw in you.
Jia the night watchman (your elder sister): Good, you two share the same drive to better yourselves you both recognise that in each other and respect it.
Ifeus the star mage: Unknown, she is an independent mage with whom Arbus corresponds with most often as such you have run some delivery’s to and from her tower
Valo apprentice to Apras the fire mage: admiration, Valo and Apras are in the employ of the temple. Valo is a couple of years younger than you and holds your magical knowledge in awe.
Cai apprentice to Didor the Druid: Rivalry.  Cai and Didor are in the employ of the kingdom. Cai is about your age and she has a drive similar to yours, this has led to a sporting rivalry which has allowed you to pick up some practical magecraft and her to be schooled in more theoretical matters.

Spells:
Bind Corpse: Creates a skeleton or zombie servant of varying power. The power depends on the soul’s strength and the skill with which you cast the spell.
Cost 1 Mana.
Difficulty d4+number of bound undead servants.

Arcane Shield: Creates a shield which deflects the actions of spirits of a certain type.
Cost 1 Mana.
Difficulty d4+number of active shields

Detect Magic: Allows you to see the spirits in an area, determining their numbers and movement
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4

Message: Compels the wind to carry something roughly the size and shape of a parchment a considerable distance
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4


Slow blood: Thickens the blood of a living being, rendering it sluggish and eventually unconscious
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4 or relevant skill

Vicious Growth: Accelerates and controls the growth of a nearby plant
Cost 1 mana
Difficulty d6

Light: Forms a ball of dim light that can be controlled for a while, will momentarily blind someone if summoned in their face.
Cost 1 mana
Difficulty d4

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

Let's try and pay a rat catcher for a live rat. If he asks, say we are trying to mutate it.