The Book of Umbra

The book turned out to be a Dark Arts Book written by the Necromancer Umbra.

The content of the book are on the Beholder's Eye, Necromancy, and Occult Rituals along with many dark spells.

## **The Beholder's Eye:**

One of the Seven Ancient Colors of Magic is Yellow. Yellow is the color of Light.

### **Illumination can mean two things:**

1. Light that comes into a room, that shines on something, etc.
2. Knowledge or understanding.

It is said that the eye of the beholder grant one who gazes into it grate knowledge.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

## **Necromancy:**

The magical field of Necromancy is one of eight schools of magic recognized in Pneumanor. It derives from one of the seven ancient magics, black or death magic. It is sometimes referred to variously as the **dark arts** or **death magic**.

Necromancy deals with the manipulation of the essential life force which infuses all living things. Its darker aspect is the creation and control of undead creatures.

**Materials:**

A number of (apparently) naturally occurring materials have necromantic properties.

* Blood

* Lazurite

### **Necromancers:**

Wizards who specialize in necromantic magic are known as **necromancers**.

The dread and feared necromancer commands undead and uses the foul power of unlife against his enemies.

#### **Power over Undead (SU)**

You receive Command Undead or Turn Undead as a bonus feat. You can channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier, but only to use the selected feat. You can take other feats to add to this ability, such as Extra Channel and Improved Channel, but not feats that alter this ability, such as Elemental Channel and Alignment Channel. The DC to save against these feats is equal to 10 + 1/2 your wizard level + your Charisma modifier. At 20th level, undead cannot add their channel resistance to the save against this ability.

#### **Grave Touch (SP)**

As a standard action, you can make a melee touch attack that causes a living creature to become shaken for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your wizard level (minimum 1). If you touch a shaken creature with this ability, it becomes frightened
 for 1 round if it has fewer Hit Dice than your wizard level. You can
use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.

#### **Life Sight (SU)**

At 8th level, you gain blindsight to a range of 10 feet for a number of
rounds per day equal to your wizard level. This ability only allows you
to detect living creatures and undead creatures. This sight also tells
you whether a creature is living or undead. Constructs and other
creatures that are neither living nor undead cannot be seen with this
ability. The range of this ability increases by 10 feet at 12th level,
and by an additional 10 feet for every four levels beyond 12th. These
rounds do not need to be consecutive.

### **White Necromancers:**

Most necromancers are foul, twisted individuals obsessed with corruption
 and death. A few, however, embrace the knowledge that true necromancy involves tapping the powers of life as well as those of death and unlife. These enlightened few are known as white necromancers.

White necromancers are arcane spellcasters who study the mysterious
connection between life and death. They do not walk the same evil path
as traditional necromancers, or dark necromancers, as white necromancers
 call them. Instead, white necromancers honor the dead and seek to aid
the living. They have a deep and profound understanding of life’s
eternal cycle—the necromantic triad—which makes them potent healers as
well as powerful spellcaste

## **Necronomicon: Book of the Dead**

I Umbra have recorded here all my knowledge in the Dark Arts. In this I am pleased, but at lass I have fail. For I was not able to unearth that most unholy book. That book which is bound in flesh and written in blood. At last if I could only gaze onto those most foul spells and recite those immoral incantations before I leave this plane of existence.

It is not I however who is destined to posses the Necronomicon. For I believe that one who is greater then I will own Book of the Dead and woe upon you all who stand in his way.

## **Casting Occult Rituals**

Before performing an occult ritual, the primary caster must assemble and ready all the components needed as well as any secondary casters. Some occult rituals require the casting to occur at a specific time or place; attempting to cast such rituals at a different time or a substandard location is nearly impossible.

Casting an occult ritual requires at least 10 minutes per ritual level and sometimes as long as 1 hour per ritual level. One of the casters—either the primary caster or a secondary caster who the primary caster specifies—attempts one of the skill checks required by the ritual every 10 minutes of the casting, unless the ritual takes 1 hour per caster level, in which case the caster attempts the check every hour of the ritual. These checks cannot benefit from the aid another action, and the caster attempting the check can't take 10 or take 20, even if she has an ability that would normally allow her to do so when threatened or distracted. Furthermore, because of the specific procedures of ritual casting, mundane equipment that grants bonuses on skill checks can't usually increase the caster's bonus on the checks required by the ritual, unless the GM allows it. Bonuses on the skill checks required for the ritual that are granted by feats, spells (with enough duration to last throughout the casting), traits, and magic items usually apply, at the GM's discretion. The primary caster decides the order in which the various skill checks are attempted, but the GM rolls for the checks and tracks the progress of the ritual casting in secret. Once a ritual casting begins, it must be performed to its completion unless it's disrupted by outside influences or fails.
The primary caster leads a ritual's casting, often with the aid of a number of secondary casters. Secondary casters can be indispensable to the ritual's casting even when they're not taking an active role in ensuring its success. Unless stated otherwise in the ritual description, secondary casters must be within 100 feet and line of effect of the primary caster and each other during the entirety of a ritual's casting.

If a ritual allows the participation of secondary casters, in such cases, the ritual's Components line includes "SC" ("secondary casters") as an entry, immediately followed by a parenthetical that details any maximum or minimum number of secondary casters required to cast the ritual. If a ritual description has no secondary caster entry, that ritual does not permit the assistance of secondary casters. While secondary casters can help by attempting the skill checks the primary caster assigns them, their chief purpose is to aid in the ritual's casting. If a ritual's casting is aided by at least four secondary casters, all casters gain a +1 bonus on all skill checks attempted as part of casting the occult ritual. This bonus increases by 1 for every four secondary casters beyond four (up to a maximum bonus of +5 for 20 or more secondary casters).
To cast an occult ritual, the primary caster must learn the ritual's secrets (see Discovering Occult Rituals). Secondary casters can assist in the casting without fully understanding the intricacies of the ritual.
Since it is possible for those lacking the ability to cast arcane, divine, or psychic spells to cast rituals, variables that would normally rely on caster level (such as range and spell resistance) use the character level or total Hit Dice of the primary caster instead. This is the case even for a ritual caster who has the ability to cast spells. Characters with a caster level gain a +1 bonus on skill checks to cast a ritual, and this bonus increases by 1 for every 5 caster levels they possess (to a maximum of +5 at caster level 20th) as their understanding of the fundamentals of magic grows.

It's difficult to disrupt a ritual. Casting a ritual does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and the casters can pause the ritual to engage in combat or take other actions—though not without consequences. For each round an occult ritual is paused in this way, the DC of all the ritual's subsequent skill checks increases by 1. For practical purposes, a ritual is successfully disrupted when its casting is paused for more than 1 minute or any of the casters are incapacitated, killed, or moved more than 100 feet from (or out of line of effect of) all other casters.

If more than half the skill checks for an occult ritual are successful, the ritual succeeds, and the primary caster (and the secondary casters if specified) experiences the ritual's backlash before the ritual's effect occurs. The DC for a saving throw against a ritual's effects (if applicable) is equal to 10 + the ritual level + the primary caster's Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma bonus (whichever is highest).

If the casters fail half of the skill checks required for an occult ritual (rounded down), the ritual ends, the casters also experience the ritual's backlash, and the failure consequences occur. The consequences of failure are detailed in each ritual's description.

### Tapping into Ley Lines

A primary ritual caster with the ability to cast spells or use spell-like abilities can tap into a ley line within 30 feet by performing a simple ritual that takes 1 hour per 2 caster levels of the ley line. At the end of the ritual, the primary caster must succeed at a Spellcraft check (DC = 15 + the ley line's caster level) to attune herself with the ley line. If she fails, she can try the attunement ritual anew. On a successful check, the primary caster and any secondary casters gain a +1 bonus on skill checks to cast an occult ritual using the ley line, provided they remain within 30 feet of the ley line. This bonus increases by 1 for every 5 caster levels of the ley line, to a maximum of +5.

This form of attunement can be broken in the standard ways described in Using Ley Lines.

## **Rituals:**

### **Avoidance Ward**

**School** enchantment (compulsion); **Level** 4

**Casting Time** 40 minutes

**Components** V, M (a piece of rowan wood charcoal), F (a small silver mirror worth 50 gp)

**Skill Checks** Knowledge (dungeoneering) DC 30, 3 successes; Spellcraft DC 30, 1 success

**Range** touch

**Target** one dungeon door

**Duration** 8 hours

**Saving Throw** Will negates (harmless, object); **SR** yes (harmless, object)

**Backlash** The caster takes 4d6 points of damage.

**Failure** The target door swings open and cannot be closed by the caster by any means short of a *limited wish* for 24 hours.

#### **Effect**

The caster begins by placing a mirror on one side of the door and writing occult symbols on the other side of the door that conform to one type or subtype of creature on the ranger's favored enemy list. Upon completion of the ritual, creatures of the chosen type or subtype cannot open, touch, or even magically manipulate the door by any means (with no save or spell resistance applicable). A dungeon door can have only one avoidance ward at a time.

### **Breach the Veil of Dreams**

****School****conjuration (creation); Level 6

****Casting Time****60 minutes

****Components** V, S, M**(incenses burned in a bowl filled with grave earth, a bottle of wormwood wine for each caster), F (an ornate silver and mithral key worth 5,000 gp), SC (up to the Intelligence modifier of the primary caster) ****Skill Checks**** Knowledge (arcana) DC 32, 3 successes; Knowledge (planes) DC 32, 3 successes ****Range**** touch ****Duration****instantaneous; see text ****Saving Throw****none; SR no ****Backlash****The primary caster takes 2d6 points of damage and becomes exhausted. ****Failure****An animate dream appears at the site of the ritual and attacks the casters. At the GM's discretion, the animate dream may have the advanced template, be accompanied by fellow animate dreams, or both.

#### ****Effect****

This ritual must be cast at night on the Material Plane. The casters drink the wormwood wine and begin chanting the incantation as the incense burns. The casters mix the ashes with the grave earth and use the mixture to draw a threshold with a keyhole. They then insert the key into this door as the incantation is completed. Success indicates the casters pass through the portal and enter a random location on the Dimension of Dreams.
If the casters wish to return to the Material Plane from the Dimension of Dreams, each must succeed at a DC 35 concentration check to do so. This is a full-round action that doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity. The DC of this check is reduced by 1 for every 2d6 points of damage the traveler willingly takes from psychic and physical trauma as part of the full-round action (this damage can't be reduced in any way). If successful, the caster is transported back to the site of the ritual's casting of the Material Plane. The casters can try again if they fail their concentration checks. A caster can use her character level + her Charisma modifier as her bonus on the concentration check if she isn't a spellcaster or if that value is higher than her usual concentration bonus.

### **Call Beyond the Veil**

**School** conjuration (calling);
**Level** 6
**Casting Time** 60 minutes
**Components** V, S, F (either an object once possessed by the spirit or entity called, or the name of the spirit or entity called), SC (up to 8)
**Skill Checks** Diplomacy DC 31, 2 successes; Knowledge (religion) DC 33, 3 successes; Knowledge (planes) DC 33, 1 success
**Range** primary caster
**Effect** call on the spirit of a single deceased creature or a psychic entity
**Duration** concentration of the primary caster
**Saving Throw** Will negates; **SR** no
**Backlash** All casters become exhausted and gain 1 temporary negative level (DC = 16 + primary caster's Charisma bonus to remove after the first day).
**Failure** All casters gain 1 permanent negative level and are exhausted until that negative level is removed.

#### **Effect**

The primary caster attempts to compel the spirit of a specific individual or a psychic entity to manifest from its final rest or extraplanar location. Unwilling spirits or entities can resist the summons by succeeding at a Will save. If a spirit or entity succeeds at the saving throw, it doesn't manifest, but the ritual is still considered a success. Spirits or entities that fail or forgo this save are summoned into the primary caster's body, where they speak by way of the caster's voice, which takes on an otherworldly timbre. Though the spirit or entity speaks through the primary caster, it has no further control of that caster's mind or body, and can't use any spells, spell-like abilities, or even purely mental supernatural abilities it may have. It must leave the primary caster when that caster ends his concentration. While the spirit is speaking through the primary caster, the secondary casters can ask it questions at a maximum rate of 1 question per round (regardless of the number of secondary casters). The spirit or entity speaks in a language it knows or knew while it was alive, and can refuse to answer questions or attempt to deceive its questioners and the primary caster using Bluff. It is not otherwise beholden to the ritual casters.