A magician who considers his manabolt to be a means of 'shattering a target's soul' can produce some nasty signature effects and lingering traces. > True, but a subjective judgment has some actual weight in matters of magic. The characterization of some spells as вЂњnecromanticвЂќ is largely a subjective one. Likewise a mana spell that pours damaging energy into a targetвЂ™s aura is no more вЂњnecromanticвЂќ than a spell that explodes a ferrocrete wall. One is not more вЂњnecromanticвЂќ than another. A manipulation spell is a manipulation, whether it manipulates dead flesh or unliving matter. The only вЂњnecromantic spellsвЂќ are those that users and armchair magical experts choose to define as such. It is a loosely organized collection of spells, rituals, enchantments and theories having to do with spirits and the dead. In truth, necromancy is not a вЂњschoolвЂќ of magic or even a branch of magical organization as many think. Literally, necromancy is the вЂњmagic of the dead.вЂќ For most modern magical theorists (those who do no scoff at the mere mention of necromancy) the term has been extended to cover a wide and disparate range of magic, from the souls/spirits of living beings to the summoning of the dead to animating corpses and even the investigation of the so-called вЂњundeadвЂќ and вЂњdemons.вЂќ If anything, itвЂ™s only intensified it, creating new ways for metahumanity to explore the questions of life and death and adding fuel to the fire in the form of ghosts, zombies, vampires and the magical arts of necromancy. The Awakening has done nothing to end the debate on the nature of death and the existence of some kind of life-after-death existence. All human cultures have wondered what lies beyond the veil of death, what awaits us on our final journey? Those questions have led to the development of numerous arts that attempt to learn more about the mysteries of death and the dead, to honor the spirits of those who have gone before us and, perhaps, to secure the afterlife or even immortality for those who follow the advice of the people in the know. Questions of life and death have long been a focus of metahumanityвЂ™s quest for enlightenment. Take a look, because it explodes some of the popular notions of 'the blackest art' and introduces some valuable information you might need the next time a Johnson wants you to collect a handful of graveyard dirt by the dark of the moon. This is necromancy, the magic of the dead: of spirits, souls and undead.

Chummers, check out this latest on some of the deepest and darkest magics on the streets and in the shadows of the Sixth World.

Shadowrun free spirit character