The Ledger of Names Beneath
A gravekeeper's ledger of forbidden rites promises to return the dead to usefulness, though every page seems to remember a different owner.
Spellbook · Exiled gravedigger and unclean spellcaster · Level 6
The Ledger of Names Beneath
A gravekeeper's ledger of forbidden rites promises to return the dead to usefulness, though every page seems to remember a different owner.
Ex librisVesper HeddUnclean necromancy
At a glance
Level
6
Exiled gravedigger and unclean spellcaster
Spells
8
8 cantrips, 2 signature
At the table
A margin note
Plot hook
Spells
8 spellsCantrips
8- One corpse appears recently dead and gives no obvious sign of decay or life. It remains inanimate; the spell does not disguise wounds or deceive close inspection.
- Duration
- Until the next sunrise
- Target
- One corpse
- Components
- A spoken name and a pinch of grave dust
- Save or attack
- Caster makes the normal DR12 Presence test to cast
- Higher levels
- No scaling; this is an original Mörk Borg-compatible rite.
- Source
- Original Creation
- Ask a corpse one brief question about events it witnessed in life. The corpse answers in a whisper if it can, but may be confused, deceitful, or unable to speak.
- Duration
- One minute
- Target
- One corpse with a mouth or other means of communication
- Components
- A black thread tied around one finger
- Save or attack
- Caster makes the normal DR12 Presence test to cast
- Higher levels
- No scaling; this is an original Mörk Borg-compatible rite.
- Source
- Original Creation
- A corpse, bone, or skull emits a sickly green light sufficient to illuminate a small room. The light is visible through cracks and is not sunlight.
- Duration
- One minute
- Target
- One corpse or bone
- Components
- A tooth from a dead person
- Save or attack
- Caster makes the normal DR12 Presence test to cast
- Higher levels
- No scaling; this is an original Mörk Borg-compatible rite.
- Source
- Original Creation
- A splinter of bone darts from the caster's hand at one visible target, dealing damage on a hit.
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Target
- One visible creature
- Components
- A drop of the caster's blood on the grave-nail
- Save or attack
- Caster makes the normal DR12 Presence test to cast; target makes the usual defense test if applicable
- Damage
- damage to the caster
- Higher levels
- No scaling; this is an original Mörk Borg-compatible rite.
- Source
- Original Creation
- One human corpse twitches into crude motion and follows a single simple command, such as crawl, point, or drag. It has no judgment and cannot make attacks.
- Duration
- One minute
- Target
- One intact human corpse
- Components
- A pinch of the target's hair, blood, or burial earth
- Save or attack
- Caster makes the normal DR12 Presence test to cast
- Higher levels
- No scaling; this is an original Mörk Borg-compatible rite.
- Conditions
- Unease
- Source
- Original Creation
- The caster senses the direction of the marked creature while it remains within the same region. The spell does not reveal its identity, condition, or exact location.
- Duration
- Until the next sunrise
- Target
- One living creature whose blood or hair the caster possesses
- Components
- A name written in ash on the caster's palm
- Save or attack
- Caster makes the normal DR12 Presence test to cast
- Higher levels
- No scaling; this is an original Mörk Borg-compatible rite.
- Conditions
- Marked
- Source
- Original Creation
- A skeletal hand thrusts from nearby earth or rubble and grabs one creature's ankle. The target is held in place until it breaks free or the spell ends.
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Target
- One creature standing near earth, rubble, or a grave
- Components
- A strip of burial cloth wrapped around the caster's wrist
- Save or attack
- Caster makes the normal DR12 Presence test to cast; target resists with the usual test at the referee's discretion
- Higher levels
- No scaling; this is an original Mörk Borg-compatible rite.
- Conditions
- Held
- Source
- Original Creation
- A nearby corpse exhales a dreadful imitation of its final breath. One living creature that hears it is overcome with fear and loses its next action.
- Duration
- One round
- Target
- One living creature that can hear the corpse
- Components
- A coin placed beneath the tongue of a corpse
- Save or attack
- Caster makes the normal DR12 Presence test to cast; creatures unaffected by fear may resist at the referee's discretion
- Higher levels
- No scaling; this is an original Mörk Borg-compatible rite.
- Conditions
- Frightened
- Source
- Original Creation
In the margins
4 notes
DiaryThe dead do not rise for love. They rise because the earth has run out of room.
WarningThree knocks beneath the coffin lid means the occupant is listening. Four means it is hungry.
FormulaDraw the circle with grave dust, not ash. Ash remembers fire; dust remembers names.
DiagramSketch of a jawbone, a nail, and a thread tied in a loop. The label reads: 'Keep the name inside.'
The book itself
The book smells of wet earth, lamp oil, and old pennies.
Its marginal symbols resemble grave markers, but the names beneath them change overnight.
In Mörk Borg, spells do not have levels or tiers. The tier field is set to 0 for every spell, and these are original creations rather than canonical scrolls.
The caster
Unclean necromancyVesper Hedd
Studies: Grave rites, corpse-work, and the keeping of namesManner: Soft-spoken and exacting, she treats the dead with more courtesy than the living.Focus: A brass grave-nail worn on a cord, which she taps against the book before each rite.Quirk: She pauses to correct the names of the dead, even when nobody else can hear the mistake.Wants: Find the corpse whose name has vanished from every grave marker, before the thing wearing that name finds her.Vesper was a cemetery keeper in a plague village. When the dead began speaking through the soil, she answered, and the village burned her chapel rather than hear what they said.
The book
A narrow, swollen codex bound in funeral leather, with iron clasps shaped like clenched fingers. Its pages are stitched from burial shrouds and stained with black salt; several leaves whisper when turned.
Its wards · GM only
About the book
FormatFuneral codex
ThemeNecromancy
Written by aExiled gravedigger and unclean spellcaster
Caster level6
SystemMörk Borg
Plot hooks
1A noble family hires Vesper to raise their ancestor, but the corpse insists it was buried under another name.
2The codex has begun adding fresh pages in the handwriting of a dead companion, who asks to be found before the next new moon.
3A village's graves are empty, and the only trail leads to a bell tower where the codex's iron clasp is ringing by itself.
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