Necromantic Spells

I have an idea for a necromancer, just curious if I understand the rules correctly:

My Necromanctic Bonisagius wants to be able to bind ghosts in portable items, then carry said possessed items with him and be able to release them in combat to help him fight.

He has the following spells:
Aura of Enobled Presence AM5. Easier to deal with Ghosts if they respect you
Aura of Rightful Athority AM5. This allows him to see to that the Ghost will obey
Coerce the Spirit of the Night AM5. This allows him to force the ghost to do as he says
Lay to rest the Haunting Spirit AM5. destroy Ghosts or send them on to the afterlife
Swords of Silver and Moonlight HoH:TL (Page 140). Allows me to arm my ghosts to affect the natural world
Voices from Hollow Places HoH:TL (Page 140). This spell binds a ghost in an object or place.
Whispers of the Black Gate AM5. This spell binds a ghost in an object or place.

So now i have a way to talk with ghosts, and to either threaten or convince them, should they want to seek afterlife or attack me, I can defend myself and sed them back to whatever place they wish to go.

But I want to have a spell after I use Voices from Hollow Places HoH:TL (Page 140). I was thinking of a spell that allow me to free them and make them serve me for a while before they get free.

I was thinking in the line of

Call the Bound Ghost
Rego Mentem Level 30
R: Touch, Duration: Sun, target. Ind
base 15 (+1 Touch, +2 Sun)

This spell allows you to pull said ghost out of an object in which they were bound by the Voices from Hollow Spacesearlier and have them serve me for the duration of the spell then they will be free to roam as they please.

maybe put in a Perdo requisite to have the ghost destroyed afterwards, if the ghosts without me forcing it, to leave for its afterlife.

What do you think?

Hmmm I'm not really sure. "Voices from Hollow Spaces" uses the Ring duration so I'm not sure the spirits can leave unless the magus symbolically breaks the circle that keeps them confined and if that is done they ought to be freed immediately.

As for your custom spell, I believe Rego Mentem Base 5 would be sufficient - (If you don't know, "Voices from Hollow Spaces" was errata'd down to that level @ atlas-games.com/arm5/arm5errata.php). Other than that, however, your spell is fine, but also in effect a Sun-duration version of "Coerce the Spirits of the Night".

Perdo-ing a ghost gets rid of it. It's not a 'resolution and on to afterlife' scenario, since there's a huge theological and theoretical debate to be held about what aspect (if any) a ghost represents of the person it once was. Certainly its soul is unaffected, but the soul has probably already gone on to its reward/punishment at death anyway.

Personally I would avoid a 'control then destroy' spell. If you're in the business of controlling ghosts you'll have arcane connections enough as it is, and from there simply remote-detonating the ghost is easy enough.

It also depends on the style of necromancy you're going with. If you're going for flat-out control, why limit yourself to a sun-duration control spell? Why not push for longer, or use something like the spell binding mystery to make the control spell effectively permanent? And if you're not, then maybe instead invest in bargain and leadership and just rely on the fact that your magus is personable?

Not until Judgement Day, even Purgatory is a recent invention.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Purgatory
"Medievalist Jacques Le Goff defines the "birth of purgatory", i.e. the conception of purgatory as a physical place, rather than merely as a state, as occurring between 1170 and 1200."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_sleep
"The Sacred College of Cardinals held a consistory on the problem in January 1334, and Pope John conceded to the more orthodox understanding. His successor, in that same year, Pope Benedict XII, declared it ex cathedra doctrine that the righteous do see Heaven prior to the final judgement."

Just a couple of ideas for a more sinister method:

  • Obtain an arcane connection to the ghost, I assume you don't want to hunt for the ghosts, but would like to have amply supply provided by your agents.
  • Summon the ghost, to your ghost-imprisoning warded cell, where you can dedicate the necessary time to properly catalog their unique powers and capabilities as it is fit to a Bonisagus.
  • Torture your newly acquired ghost, making sure you are building up killing-level anger / frenzy. You are a Necromancer at the end of the day, even your Sodales shall know from the underworld screams coming from your lab. It is also quite a good deterrent from anyone to enter your Lab.
  • When you are sure your ghost would attack and given the chance even kill you... you go ahead and imprison your killer-ghost to a portable place.
  • Before releasing your quite angry ghost, you just have to turn his attention to someone else. A nice MuMe 10 (Base 2, +1 Touch, +3 Month) - Making a major change in the ghost's memory: who has tortured him. Using only a +2 Sun might be a bit risky, if you cannot summon / imprison back your incorporeal henchman.

Suddenly you have a guided assassin, hard to kill and ready to chop at your target.

  • or you can MuMe Base 4 - Completely change his emotion from want-to-kill you to want-to-protect you.

Our Saga's necromancer has found it quite tricky to find a good ghost, who is ready-to-kill for his new master, whatever way we had looked at it, a perfectly designed ghost you can use as an assassin / guard / soldier is to be considered as a minor virtue.

I would say there are couple of methods how you can obtain ghosts ready to fight for you.

  1. Groom them while they live. The old soldiers, your shield grog, etc...
    Pro: almost guaranteed success,
    Con: limited supply; and to consider how hard it is to explain to your trusted friends what the heck you are going to do with their ghost. Quite easily the best way to have your a revolt in your Covenant.

  2. Find the right ghosts, like Roman Legionaries heading home. Any warrior who is not baptized... not as easy as it sounds. All previous Necromancer went this road and collected whatever they could already.
    Pro: easy to make a deal with them
    Con: eventually you have to keep the deal: 'Help the Legionaries to get to Rome's Pantheon' or 'Help their descendants to get the land promised to them, when they finish their service (praemia)'.

  3. Use whatever ghosts you can obtain. Lot of try and errors, meaning seasons invested until you find the right one.
    Pro: easiest to obtain an any-ghost
    Con: how to convince them to serve you, not to flee at the first moment or turn against you when you given them a weapon.

  4. Disturb a consecrated christian grave
    Pro: easy to find
    Con: you get an angry ghost and eventually serious unwanted attention from the church.

  5. Criminals, outcasts and heretics the local priest denied the proper burial rights
    Pro: well suited for your aggressive tasks
    Con: not to be trusted and prone to rebel as my necromancer has just found out the hard way

Or you can create Ring spells that make a ghost HAPPY...bribing them into serving you with the promise of actually recalling joy in their hell of an afterlife. A forceful demonstration might be necessary, but it should be tempting to most of your tormented spirits. Place their corpse in a semi permanent ring and let them chill until needed.