Necromancy/Demon-servitude in HQ?

[Doyce]

So I'm getting ready to run an almost-one-shot of Well of Souls as an introduction to Heroquest (though not Glorantha -- I've divorced it from the setting, basically, though the basic flavor of Seshnelia is still there), and the idea that one of my players has for a PC (absent any knowledge of system) is that he's the youngest son of the ailing Eustef -- Guilbert and Hugo's younger, bookish brother.

He basically thinks Guilbert is unworthy, Hugo is monosyllabic, and wants the seat of rulership for himself...

... oh, and Sister Josette's hand in marriage, if it's not too much trouble.

He describes himself as doing "some good magic... enough to keep people off my back" and "dark magic, to get things done -- things like necromancy, maybe, or summoning demons to do my bidding, et cetera."

Okay. A nice demon servant is easy enough with Sidekick... maybe even a few lesser ones as followers...

But... well, all I have to work with is the Heroquest rules, so I'm a little stumped on where to start with something like Demonology or Necromancy -- near as I can tell, there's no examples of even bad guys with walking dead at their beck and call.  I thought perhaps spiritism might fit the bill, but not sure how, and obviously some kind of Sorcery would be best.

(One of the other players is doing an Inquisitor-style knight of the Order of Gerlant, riding in to root out heresy... HEH.)

I'm not tied to Seshnelia as the source of this magic -- the guy could have been sent abroad for his education to... well, wherever gets the job done.

So... thoughts?  Ideas on where I might look for something to use as a starting point for a homemade School?

[Donald]

He describes himself as doing "some good magic... enough to keep people off my back" and "dark magic, to get things done -- things like necromancy, maybe, or summoning demons to do my bidding, et cetera."

Okay. A nice demon servant is easy enough with Sidekick... maybe even a few lesser ones as followers...

But... well, all I have to work with is the Heroquest rules, so I'm a little stumped on where to start with something like Demonology or Necromancy -- near as I can tell, there's no examples of even bad guys with walking dead at their beck and call.  I thought perhaps spiritism might fit the bill, but not sure how, and obviously some kind of Sorcery would be best.

Raising the dead and summoning demons are both sorcery in Glorantha so that fits perfectly. There will certainly be a grimoire for each of them. What's a bit iffy is that a younger son would be able to do either with any reliability. The starting character is a wizards apprentice, see HQ page 162.

So... thoughts?  Ideas on where I might look for something to use as a starting point for a homemade School?

I don't know if there's any HQ stuff done on Delecti the Necromancer but a search on that might throw up something to help.

[Doyce]

Okay, what I sketched out last night (or early this morning, I forget), was a corrupted school-within-a-school -- you've been sent off to the Church-supported Lordly Advisory School, but you fall in with a sort of secret "Skulls"-type society within the school itself.

I wrote it up in Glorantha terms, below.  Note that my personal impression of Wizardry is that is an entirely secular magic system that has been coopted by the Church through political influence and the fact that they're willing to fund the Schools.  Granted, a school can block off a student who leaves a school access to nodes -- that's just magical physics -- but IMC a lack of true believe in the Church has no effect on one's ability to cast Wizardry spells.  (Conversely, Liturgists and Orderlies actually need Faith.)

School of the Darkened Way (corrupted Rokari Wizardry)

Abiding Book  (this provides camoflage to the student, and hey, there's some useful spells in there, notably...)
* Aid my Master
* Banish Demon
* Calm Boar
* Exert Will
* Focus Attention
* Hurt Foe
* Listen Intently
* Read Unclear Script
* Recognize Demon
* Resist Cold
* Resist Fire
* Run Quickly
* Speak and Be Understood
* Track Thief

Black Way Grimoire
* Convince Superior
* Create Shadow
* Hide item
* Overcome Rival
* Preserve Darkness
* Walk Unseen in Shadow

Dark Servants Grimoire
* Call Daimon Servant
* Chastise Broo
* Command Darkness Daimon
* Command Messenger Daimon
* Command Trollkin
* Command the Walking Dead
* Raise the Walking Dead


-----

Note that with the exception of the commanding and raising of the dead, there's really nothing overtly WRONG with the school (chastise Broo is really just a specialized 'attack chaos' spell) -- there's a lot of shady stuff going on, but most of it really comes down to Application -- I can see where someone from this school, loyal to the King, could be one of the most trusted and well-respected servants of the crown.

I can also see where a member of this school could be ... a very bad person :)

[MikeSands]

That all looks fair enough, but I'd question a couple of the spells in the Black Way Grimoire.

"Convince Superior" and "Overcome Rival" - I can easily see both spells being developed in this sort of school, but not them being written down and certainly not in a standard grimoire.

I mean, would *you* give your apprentice in the dark arts a spell that gave them power over you?

However these spells could well appear in a pamphlet circulated amongst students at the College of Black Arts...

[Doyce]

The way I'd envisoned it, there aren't technically superiors within the active, studying membership in the hidden school... it's sort of one big evil study group, funded by alumni. :)  The spell's meant to keep the officials of the *real* school from looking too closely at certainly late-night study groups :)

I see your point about Overcome Rival, though. :)