Dark Gifts (CBN)

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: Long before Talib began to formally study the Art, Jal' and I knew that we had been kissed by Fate and could perceive things invisible to others. Many times, when we were still children, I would test my brother by placing a stolen turban in his hands, asking him to describe its owner. And he often would stare at the unwrapped linen, gradually outlining the facial features and mannerisms of a strong caravan handler or some dashingly handsome scribe.
: But as my brother grew older, his visions became darker and more frightening. Once, when I placed the purse of a young porter in his hands, my brother described a much older and frail man, who appeared to be a merchant of sorts. I laughed and told him his mysterious powers had failed him, but Talib kept staring at the small velvet pouch, and went on to describe how the older merchant had been surprised on the streets one night, while returning home from the evening prayer. In chilling detail, my brother recounted the merchant's murder at the hands of the young porter from whom I had obtained the purse in the bazaar. That night, the game stopped being fun. We never played it again.
: Talib's unusual talents continued to mature after he started learning the Art. He recoiled from cemeteries, even by daylight, for he would drown in the latent sorrow and sometimes glimpse pale shadows fluttering amidst the sepulchers. He could feel death around him, even after he learned how to shield his mind from the visions.
: One evening, after we stopped for the night at the house of our friend Salim the pearl trader, Talib woke us all at midnight with his screams. We found him mopping the azure tile floor with his linen night shirt, moaning incoherently about a river of blood and the dead woman in his bed. Of course, his bed was empty and the floor was bone dry, but our host Salim paled visibly at these word, and ushered our troubled brother into another chamber for the remainder of the evening. We learned the next morning, much to our sorrow, that Salim's wife had died in that room many years ago, bearing their first child. And for many days afterwards, the servants had labored—apparently in vain—to remove the taint of blood from the once-beautiful blue tile floor.
: —From Leyla's Lost Journal
Not all necromancers are created equal. Indeed, it would be dangerous for player characters to assume that a wizard's powers were limited simply to the spells at his or her disposal. Just as the necromancer's “average” abilities were detailed in the previous chapter, this section describes a necromancer's unusual, salient abilities, sometimes known as “Dark Gifts,” implying some connection with the mysterious evil powers that patronize black necromancy.
The necromancer's mysterious skills include a wide assortment of powers, such as dual-class-related skills, wild talents, and strange magical powers. Not all of these abilities (except the latter) require direct intervention by an evil, extraplanar power. For instance, abilities earned as a dual-classed character or gained through mental or psionic prowess are attained chiefly through individual skill and achievement.
Regardless of their origin, however, these abilities should enable the DM to generate unique NPCs that will surprise and challenge players for countless gaming sessions. The variety of possibilities is quite broad.
Given a necromancer's potential to unbalance a campaign, the DM should use the suggestions from this chapter sparingly. Not every corrupt wizard in the campaign should be entitled to a salient ability, as the adventurers would be quickly overwhelmed by encountering such potent adversaries at every turn. Only the most ambitious and pivotal characters (such as the principal archvillain) will typically attain more than one of these highly unusual attributes at a time. Use them sparingly.