Summon the Dead (Strange Powers)

[Egyptoid]

Here's the power description:

 

An otherwise low-key wizard in a supers setting has done some research, and put otherwise

unrelated factoids together, and has stumbled upon the Key to Death's kingdom.

 

He can call up spirits of the dead, raise the dead, speak with dead, etc.

 

Death is amused by this, and allows him to play with his new toy.

Mainly because it amuses her that this fellow has casually found

the power so many have sought fervently before.

Also , if someone like Thanos was bugging Death constantly,

she would allow our wizard to use the power just to tick off Thanos.

 

 

Here's how I envisage the power working:

 

1} Raise the Dead:

This resurrects a person. Either the body or a possession of the person is needed as a focus.

Also, karmically speaking, this is only done for two basic reasons:

A} give a good or heroic person a second chance on life.

B} give a neutral or borderline evil person a chance at redemption.

(or give a young person a ticket back into life when it was cut short)

It should not done to make minions, or raise evil people to continue their misdeeds.

Campaign Side Effects happen if this is misused, or done lightly.

 

So if you have the body:

- I see a Summon Correct Spirit plus Healing with Resurrect option.

& If you have no body:

- I see the same summon plus a Major Transform (earth into new body)

These have been defined elsewhere, esp. in Fantasy Hero.

The difference I am proposing is even more Side Effects if the magic skill roll is failed.

Like a chart to see who or what is summoned instead.

[Egyptoid]

2} Speak with Dead

a three part compound power

+ 12d6 Mind Scan Spirit class of minds +6 ECV to find a specfic spirit.

+ 8d6 Telepathy Spirit Class of minds to communcate with them.

+ 12d6 Mind control Sprirt class of minds to make them answer your questions.

 

This has the same karma responsibilities as the other.

You shouldn't call up dead thieves just to ask where the gold is buried.

The spell should be used to clear the names of the innocent,

or solve murders, or find the lost or hostages, learn why the macguffin, etc.

 

Also, what about weird side effects if this magic skill roll is botched?

Talk to wrong guy, allow demonic influence, swap minds with spirit, etc.

[Egyptoid]

3} Summon the Dead:

 

Now this is the truly weird one of the three. The idea here is to use the dead as helpers.

Work with me here as several assumptions about death and afterlife must be made....

 

IE: the super-villain The Wrecker is dead. Our hero summons up the Wrecker (temporarily)

and commands him into some situation. like rescue people form a fire, or knock out

these agents robbing a bank, or help me fight crime this evening.

 

Analysis:

The wizard brings up the Wrecker, and uses him to do good deeds.

This a reasonably real Wrecker, has all his skills, armor, and his crowbar, etc.

He is not resurrected, he will vanish again into the afterlife at the end of the power's duration.

The proper karma usage is : our wizard summons non-good people, and uses them to do good deeds.

Again, self-enrichment, revenge, or other petty uses incur side-effects.

Also, the deceased do not mind this treatment: because 20 minutes fighting on earth is still

magnitudes better than the torments or nothingness of the afterlife they earned.

Also, that 20 minutes working on earth reduces their sentence, hastening the time

they can get out of Hell or equivalent, and get into Limbo or Purgatory or something better.

 

Also, you would not do this to a good person, since they are in a better place, and have

laid down the burdens of earth.

 

Now here on this summon is where the most heinous side effects will happen on a botch.

Summon something huge, or wrong, or quliphothic. Or even summon a random wrong villain,

or accidentally summon a hero, or summon a useless normal whose last name rhymed with Wrecker, etc.

 

And this a flexible power, the wizard could summon one 350 point villain for example,

or ten 50 point evil agents, and use them as a squad of crime fighters temporarily.

 

What say you ?

[Lucius]

Let me try this

 

The Key: Multipower, 90-point reserve

 

 

 

 

 

Raise the Dead: Summon 450-point Deceased Sapient Being (90 Active Points); 3 Charges which Recover every 1 Week (-1 3/4), Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Character May Take No Other Actions, -1 1/2), OAF Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; Part of deceased's body or an object closely associated with them; -1), Antagonistic Uncontrolled (Not bound to the Summoner in any way; cannot be compelled; -3/4), Requires A Roll (12- roll; Jammed; -3/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Conditional Power Must be justifiable in that deceased "died too soon" (As in, before their chance at redemption, before completing their life's work, etc.; -1/2), Incantations (Call the deceased by name; -1/4), Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4)

 

 

 

 

 

Command the Damned: Summon 350-point Deceased Evil Being, Friendly (+1/4) (87 Active Points); 1 Charge (-2), Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Character May Take No Other Actions, -1 1/2), OAF Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; Part of deceased's body or an object closely associated with them; -1), Side Effects (Side Effect always occurs whenever the character does some specific act; Abusing the Power will bring an appropriate punishment; -3/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Side Effects (If Persuasion fails, deceased will probably follow their evil inclinations; -1/2), Incantations (Call the deceased by name; -1/4), Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4), Requires A Roll (Skill roll, -1 per 20 Active Points modifier; Usually Persuasion. Should grant a bonus (the Summonee is already better off than they were a moment ago.); -1/4), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4)

 

 

 

 

 

Speak with the Dead: Contact: The Whole Afterlife (Contact has extremely useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity), Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Turn or more to reset, Misfire; Normal Contact rolls require time, access to a phone or some way to communicate with the contact, etc. ; +1/4), Organization Contact (x3) (23 Active Points); Side Effects (Failing the Contact roll means the wrong spirit contacted - but the querant may not realize that.....; -1/2) 14

 

 

 

Hypothesis: I can paste from the clipboard only after typing something?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary ate my scientific methodology

 

 

 

 

[Egyptoid]

good Lucius.

 

 

also I forgot to say, part of the impetus for this power was the extremely loose definition of the word Death in the marvel universe.

so we were postulating a PC who had these powers, and was sought out once a month to bring some good guy back to earth.

[Cassandra]

First you have to define the Dead. Are they ghost, or zombies? Does any dead person do, or are you looking for a specific individual?

 

The Summon power is fairly straight forward if you're trying to talk to an specific dead person. Cost can be lessened by adding a Focus (an object that belonged to the person), Incantations and Gestures (for the spell), Concentration (A natural). and Extra Time.

 

Zombies can be designed and purchased as Followers. You might want to buy some Mind Control (only against Zombies) and maybe some Transformation in order to turn your enemies into Zombies, perhaps through a Focus (Zombie Dust).

 

[death tribble]

Just look up Takofanes as well