Necromancy [Language-Dependent, Arcane]
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: 10 ft
Target: One dead creature
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute/Power point
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text
Spell Resistance: No
Minimum Power Points: 7
XP Cost: 1/Power point
You grant the semblance of life and intellect to a corpse, allowing it to answer
several questions that you put to it. The corpse's knowledge is limited to what
the creature knew during life, including the languages it spoke (if any). Answers
are usually brief, cryptic, or repetitive. If the creature's was opposed to
you in life, the corpse gets a Will save to resist the spell as if it were alive.
You must concentrate on maintaining the spell (a standard action) in order to
ask questions at the rate of one per round. A question is answered by the power
during the same round. You may ask one question for every 2 Power points expended.
Unasked questions are wasted if the duration expires.
You can cast this spell on a corpse that has been deceased for any amount of
time, but the body must be mostly intact to be able to respond. A damaged corpse
may be able to give partial answers or partially correct answers, but it must
at least have a mouth in order to speak at all.
This spell does not let you actually speak to the person (whose soul has departed).
It instead draws on the imprinted knowledge stored in the corpse. The partially
animated body retains the imprint of the soul that once inhabited it, and thus
it can speak with all the knowledge that the creature had while alive. The corpse,
however, cannot learn new information. Indeed, it can't even remember being
questioned.
This spell does not affect a corpse that has been turned into an undead creature.
Restriction: as an arcane spell, only arcane spellcasters can
learn and cast this spell. This spell must be cast at night.