Death and Resurrection

[Nostra 64]

The Pit of Souls

Somewhere in the Doldrums there is a pit, this pit has in the Shadowlands been carved out as the domain of an entity which draw in the souls of the dead. The majority of souls, especially the more powerful, are eventually taken here. While within the Shadowlands as spirits, arcane magic is impossible to perform, the light refuses to answer your call and your body is ethereal and cannot affect much if any change to the environment. Calling on the Shadow is effective, but cannot bring you out of the Pit nor can it be used to communicate with those still alive outside the Shadowlands.

 

The Mechanics.

■ Player spirits are always drawn into the Pit, NPCs are looser and up to the discretion of the DM. Player characters are assumed to possess 'powerful souls', relatively speaking.

■ Attempting to bring a spirit back would first mean to create a temporary breach into the Pit and call that particular spirit out. This runs the risk of releasing other souls trapped within the Pit. Creating a breach is difficult and requires someone familiar with the Shadowlands in particular or with Shadow magic in general. To create a breach for the Soul of someone trapped in the Pit to escape into the Shadowlands, a ritual must be held that requires the caster possessing something of personal significance to the deceased. This ritual is dangerous and the consequences may be dire even if successful, before it can be cast knowledge of it must be acquired. 

■ The Souls of the Dead may attempt to break out of the Pit, the mechanics of which are revealed to those who have died.

■ Communication with a (player) soul that has escaped the Pit is a ritual which requires some power (10 shards of mana or equivalent) and a DC14 Willpower check. This can only be done by Priests, Shaman and Necromancers, characters that ought to have this sort of knowledge. If several people, of those classes, work together, the DC is lowered by 1 per character successfully rolling the DC14 Willpower check. If successful the communicating players may speak a short phrase which is conveyed across the veil. The spirit may then offer a short reply. If successful the communicating players may speak a short phrase which is conveyed across the veil. After the first reply, before each new one, the casters must again succeed a DC14 Willpower Check or the connection will be severed. This ritual can only be cast once a week.

■ Resurrection is a difficult process, one must first acquire the knowledge of how to create several necessary reagents, and then of the ritual of resurrection itself. These reagents require masters of their respective crafts.