Through use of this Ceremony, a vampire can raise a corpse or group of corpses to perform simple, single or repetitive tasks.
Prerequisite Power: Ashes to Ashes
Ingredients: A human body (or multiple bodies), a small concoction of blood, phlegm, and bile.
Process: After applying the concoction to the corpse or corpses and performing the Ceremony, the affected bodies animate into a form of false life. They follow a single command from the vampire, providing it’s simple and the corpse is physically capable of performing it, such as “sweep the floor,” “hold this door shut,” or “walk around the house perimeter.” They have no ability to think or calculate, so conditional or complicated commands such as “attack the next person to walk through this archway,” “drive this car,” or “build a shack” do not work. They may be directed towards a specific target for attack or other action if the necromancer points at them.
System: The player makes their Ceremony roll and upon a win they raise a number of corpses equal to their Oblivion rating, or the number of bodies they have prepared (whichever is lower). A critical win doubles their Oblivion rating for the purpose of determining corpses raised. The mindless corpse’s animation ends when it is destroyed or it concludes its task. These corpses do not defend themselves from attacks, and decay as normal; the Ceremony does not grant them any form of immunity to the elements or time. MINDLESS CORPSE Standard Dice Pools: Physical 2, Social 0, Mental 0 Secondary Attributes: Health 4, Willpower 0 Exceptional Dice Pools: Intimidation 4 If all it takes to get a wraith’s attention is to interfere with their fetter, why learn a Ceremony to call it? Wraiths cannot pass through the Shroud without a Ceremony pulling them through, or without one of their own powers allowing the same. In some rare cases, wraiths are grateful for the summoning as it enables them to escape aggressors on their side of the Shroud. Just as in vampire society, wraiths do not always make for best friends just because they’ve shared a communal experience of death. Special: Mindless corpses take Superficial and Aggravated damage in the same way as vampires, except they are immune to sunlight. They cannot heal or mend damage, and rot at least one Superficial Health damage each day. They cannot be mentally dominated or influenced as they are bound to their master. They do not react to motion, words, or interference from anyone but their creator. Mindless corpses may always contribute to Teamwork (see Vampire: The Masquerade p. 122) for menial labor such as digging, lifting, or pushing even if they lack Skills. General Difficulties: 2/1