Speaker for the Dead - Spiritual Powers - Tier 1

Granted Powers

Like a Necromancer, a Speaker for the Dead studies of the dead. However, this work is usually in the pursuit of solving crimes rather than to unravel the mysteries of existence. Therefore, a Speaker for the Dead accumulates the same resistances that a Necromancer does (to disease and death magic), but at a lesser intensity.  A Speaker for the Dead gains an ability to detect nearby Undead (much like how a Gunslinger can detect illusions or a Mathematician can detect Stillpoints.  When attempting to detect Undead monsters, the range is 3// + 1// per two levels of experience. The result is range, quantity, and general power level but not the specific type of monster. For example, a Speaker might be able to report to his allies "I think there are five Undead to the east, about fifty feet away. One is more powerful than me, one is about my level, and the other three are weaker."

Special Rules for Undead Characters

An Undead Speaker for the Dead will get a percentile resistance to Life Magic and energy from the Plane of Radiance.

Undead individuals do not get sick from disease. However, the percentile "resist disease" would help the character to not become a carrier of a disease. Moreover, if the Speaker is a type of Undead that inherently carries contagion that is spread via scratch or bite, the Speaker can use this resistance percentile to protect others from accidental infection.

The range for Detect Undead is doubled for Undead Speakers.

Affect Undead - Speaker for the Dead

Special Rules if the Speaker for the Dead is Undead

As Undead characters cannot channel energy from the Plane of Radiance, they instead draw from the Plane of Shadow. This has a profound effect on their ability to affect other Undead. Rather than turning such creatures away, an Undead Speaker can bolster Undead.

For the duration of the "turning" effect, bolstered Undead will view the Speaker favorably (although they will not automatically obey the Speaker). Additionally, bolstered Undead gain a +2 to hit, +2 to damage, +2// to movement speed, and +2 to AC.

Corpse Compass

Tier: 1
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 corpse
Range: Internal to the Speaker for the Dead
Duration: 1 turn per level

Arcane Focus: An object belonging to the deceased
B-M-S Cost: 1.0

Classification: Divination

The Arcane Focus for this spell is an object belonging to the deceased. This can be an article of clothing, an ident card, or anything that the deceased has touched on a routine basis. If the focus is something deeply personal, such as a diary or signet ring, then the duration of the spell is doubled. The focus is not expended in the casting of this spell.

This spell allows the Speaker for the Dead to begin tracking the whereabouts of a missing dead body. While grasping the Arcane Focus, the object begins to feel unequivocally warm to the touch when the Speaker is facing in the direction of the body and feels noticeably cool to the touch when the Speaker is facing an incorrect direction. The spell takes into account the curvature of the world and thus will not trick the Speaker into tunneling through the planet if the body is located on the opposite side of the world.

Keep in mind, however, that the spell locates corpses. If the deceased's soul has been transferred into a new cloned body, a Construct body, or has already reincarnated, this spell will still register the target as "dead". Furthermore, the spell will yield no results if the target is still alive and in the original body (the focus gets neither warm nor cool). It can also alert the Speaker for the Dead that the deceased's corpse is off-world or in another dimension (the focus remains "cool" in all directions).

With regard to distance, the Speaker for the Dead can get an increasingly more accurate impression of distance as he/she advances in level. The precision for distance is shown below:

• Level 1 to 4: Direction + distance increments of 100 miles
• Level 5 to 9: Direction + distance increments of 10 miles
• Level 10 to 14: Direction + distance increments of 1 mile
• Level 15 to 19: Direction + distance increments of 100 feet
• Level 20 and higher: Direction + distance increments of 10 feet

Changes from the printed (book) version: This is a new spell.

Forgettable Appearance

Tier: 1

Casting Time: 3 segments

Area of Effect: 1 individual

Range: 30//

Duration: 1 day per level

Arcane Focus: Fabric swatch of any dull or neutral color

B-M-S Cost: 1.0

Classification: Protection

It is not uncommon for Speakers of the Dead to investigate crimes or other disturbing events far from the relative safety of home and other law enforcement officials. In such cases, the Speaker may not want others to remember that he was in the area, carrying out his duties. To protect their anonymity and safely continue their work, Speakers can call upon this power to become forgettable in appearance. If the target of this effect fails a save vs. sleep/charm, he will not remember any meaningful details about the Speaker of the Dead who has affected him until the duration of the effect ends. He will still remember that he encountered somebody, but he won’t be able to recall that person’s race, gender, or any other meaningful details. When the effect ends, his memory of the encounter will return to normal, although even then a very brief encounter may still produce a memory lacking in much detail.

Speakers are wise to note that this ability does not grant them invisibility, nor does it make the target forget the passage of time. For example, if guards are under orders to shoot anyone who enters a certain area, casting this on them will not protect you because they are not concerned about the details of who they are shooting. Similarly, questioning a suspect for an hour and then casting this power on them still means they spent a long time talking to somebody they cannot remember, which may prove suspicious enough to provoke a response, such as the target leaving town in fear. This power is meant to protect the Speaker when he is investigating dangerous adversaries by concealing his identity and turning chance encounters with opponents into forgettable events.

If the target of this spell is of mixed biological status from the Speaker (i.e., one is living and the other is Undead, or vice versa), the casting cost is 1.5 BMS. The Speaker for the Dead can affect additional targets as he/she ascends in level.

• Levels 1 to 4: The Speaker can affect one individual.
• Levels 4 to 9: The Speaker can affect two individuals.
• Levels 10 to 14: The Speaker can affect three individuals.
• Levels 15 to 19: The Speaker can affect four individuals.
• Levels 20 and higher: The Speaker can affect five individuals.

Changes from the printed (book) version: This is a new spell.

Image of Life

Tier: 1
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 corpse
Range: 1//
Duration: 1 round per level

Arcane Focus: A magnifying glass
B-M-S Cost: 1.0

Classification: Divination

The Arcane Focus is a magnifying glass. If the object in question was owed by the deceased, the spell duration is doubled. The focus is not consumed in the casting of this spell.

Changes from the printed (book) version: This is a new spell.

Intuition Boost

Tier: 1

Casting Time: 4 segments

Area of Effect: Self

Range: Internal to the Speaker

Duration: 1 turn per level

Arcane Focus: None

B-M-S Cost: 2.5

Classification: Divination

Speakers for the Dead are known for their unusual abilities and thorough, perceptive nature. Many of them soon develop a form of vigilance that resembles a sixth sense that guides and protects them to a limited degree; once this power is mastered, they can call upon it at will, though only for a limited duration. While under the effects of this power, the Speaker for the Dead gains a +1 bonus to all initiative rolls and to all skill checks made to locate an object or person of importance in their current quest or investigation. In other words, this spell will aid the Speaker in his/her job/quest/investigation, but not his/her hobby. So Sixth Sense might give a Speaker a +2 on a Perception check when lifting fingerprints off a glass, it won't give the Speaker a bonus when writing a poem or finishing a landscape painting.

• Levels 1 to 4: The Speaker gains +1 to initiative and +2 to job/quest/investigation-related checks.
• Levels 5 to 9: The Speaker gains +1 to initiative and +3 to job/quest/investigation-related checks.
• Levels 10 to 14: The Speaker gains +2 to initiative and +4 to job/quest/investigation-related checks.
• Levels 15 to 19: The Speaker gains +2 to initiative and +5 to job/quest/investigation-related checks.
• Levels 20 and higher: The Speaker gains +3 to initiative and +6 to job/quest/investigation-related checks.

Changes from the printed (book) version: This is a new spell.

Mark of Guilt

Tier: 1
Casting Time: 1 segment
Area of Effect: 1 person
Range: Touch
Duration: Until dismissed or dispelled

Arcane Focus: None
B-M-S Cost: 3.0

Classification: Benedictions

Sometimes the guilty go free, and sometimes the punishment is insufficient for the crime. And thus, the Speaker for the Dead may resort to the Mark of Guilt to achieve at least some measure of justice.

To use this spell, the Speaker for the Dead must speak the name of the crime victim while at the same time touching the perpetrator on some area of bare skin (this can be a hand, face, forearm, etc.). Speakers often use a handshake, however, to transmit the Mark of Guilt. Once the Mark is in place, the area of skin deepens to a purplish color over a period of several days, akin to a "port wine stain" birth mark. The color does not wash off or fade. Moreover, certain professions -- namely Speakers, Gunslingers, and Paladins -- will intuitively know that a person carries the Mark of Guilt, even if the area of skin is concealed (say, with a glove or a scarf, or whatever).

For those outside of law enforcement, the Mark causes subtle changes in how the perpetrator is perceived. The bearer of the Mark is inherently seen as less trustworthy, less "warm", and less friendly (even if the Mark bearer is trying to accomplish all three.) Moreover, when the Mark bearer speaks, the person on the other end of the conversation will inherently interpret what the Mark bearer says in the most negative possible way. Marked persons often find that their restaurant reservations have been mysteriously cancelled, or that their shoes come untied at inopportune times, or that they can never seem to keep track of their keys. Essentially, nothing ever goes quite right for the Marked person. The spell doesn't cause any real measurable changes in terms of combat, but it does lead to a noticeable reduction in the quality of life of the person marked by this spell.

This spell is reversible. The Speaker for the Dead can always terminate the Mark at any time. For instance, if the marked person truly repents, or if it turns out that the Speaker marked the wrong person (i.e., new evidence exonerates the target), the Speaker can dismiss the curse by act of will. Alternatively, the Mark of Guilt can be removed by a Gunslinger (using the reverse of Mark of Law) or by any other character class that employs spells equivalent to Remove Curse. Of course, the Game Master will assign appropriate penalties for success when using cross-class curse removal techniques.

The Speaker for the Dead can also use the reverse of Mark of Guilt to remove curses cast by other character classes. However, this application has an exceedingly narrow scope: the curse must have been cast in response to a perceived failure of the criminal justice system, and the target must be repentant. Likewise, another Speaker can remove the Mark of Guilt if the casting Speaker was simply wrong (mistakes happen) or is deceased.

Changes from the printed (book) version: This is a new spell. 

Speak With the Dead

Tier: 1
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 person
Range: Touch
Duration: Special (as long as it takes to ask questions)

Arcane Focus: The corpse
B-M-S Cost: 2.0

Classification: Divination

While one might assume that Speak with the Dead would provide instant solutions to all murders, there are numerous reasons why this is not so. First, the dead body has to be found. If the deceased is chopped up into little pieces and spread out in different locales, Corpse Compass will not work and thus the body will not be available for Speak with the Dead. Second, the murder victim has to actually know who committed the crime. For example, a person who was poisoned might report feeling ill after a meal but would not necessarily know who is responsible. Someone who is shot in the head from behind would not be able to identify the killer. Someone who is run down by mounted rider late at night might be able to report that the killer is a man or a woman but not much more. Finally, the moments leading up to actual death may have been so violent and disturbing that the spirit simply doesn't remember.

That said, the spirit might actually be able to say, "Joe Dokes shot me in the face during that bank heist". Luck certainly plays a factor in communing with the dead. In the latter event, the next part would be catching joe Dokes and backing up the deceased's claim with tangible evidence.

Changes from the printed (book) version: This is a new spell.

Staff of Subdual

Tier: 1

Casting Time: 3 segments

Area of Effect: 1 blunt melee weapon (often a staff)

Range: Touch

Duration: 1 round per level

Arcane Focus: The weapon targeted

B-M-S Cost: 2.0

Classification: Combat

Speakers for the Dead are often called upon to bring criminals back alive. However, their quarry often will not go willingly and instead will usually put up a fight. Fortunately, Speakers are prepared for such eventualities; they can call upon their sense of duty to enhance their own weapons to subdue lawbreakers without killing them. When this power is invoked, the melee weapon touched gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage. The damage inflicted during this interval is temporary and recovers at the rate of one point per turn once the spell ends. The target falls unconscious for an hour once his or her hit points fall to zero or less. Against Undead opponents, being incapacitated in this way will usually trigger a "regenerative slumber", which lasts up to four hours. Speakers often use this power with their octagonal staff of office, which they usually carry, though it can work on any blunt melee weapon.

• Levels 1 to 4: The staff gains +1 to hit and +1 to damage.
• Levels 5 to 9: The staff gains +2 to hit and +2 to damage.
• Levels 10 to 14: The staff gains +3 to hit and +3 to damage.
• Levels 15 to 19: The staff gains +4 to hit and +4 to damage.
• Levels 20 and higher: The staff gains +5 to hit and +5 to damage.

Changes from the printed (book) version: This is a new spell

Tower of Will

Tier: 1
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: Cylindrical volume with 5'' radius and 10' height
Range: Centered on the Speaker for the Dead
Duration: 1 turn per level

Arcane Focus: None
B-M-S Cost: 2.5

Classification: Protection

Given that the Speaker for the Dead often deals with spirits, it is natural that members of this profession have developed a resistance to hostile spirits and the vengeful dead. Once the Speaker for the Dead casts Tower of Will, the Speaker (and any ally within the area of effect) gains a +2 to any defensive Willpower actions (such as in spirit combat or resistance rolls). Moreover, the Tower provides an effective empathic resistance of E20 (again, defensive only). The tower itself is visible as a faint shimmer. The Tower moves with the Speaker for the Dead.

Changes from the printed (book) version: This is a new spell.