Necro Portals RPG
N9PRPG
Thomas P. Walton
Necro Portals
By Thomas P. Walton
2016
Prepared by Thomas Walton for Nine Portals RPG
The infinite void is the ultimate potential for creation, manifestation, and the birth of new universes. Of all universes none is so dreadfully feared by the mortal races than the infamous Necroverse.
The Necroverse exists as a quasi universe, a sort of virtual world laid over the realm of the dead. In this verse the necromancers elite reigns supreme. However, this Necroverse is not independent of other worlds. Rather, all mortal realms provide the necessary foundation for which the Necroverse is built upon.
Spanning infinite realms of man and beast is a network of portals which allow for the necromancers to enter and exit the lands of the living at will. Hidden in the tombs of kings or in the shunned necropolises or in the graveyards of modern cities are the gates to the Necroverse.
In this infamous volume, we will explore the realm of mankind's most dreaded enemy, the undead. As a matter of course, this tome of evil fantasy will serve as a manual for game masters to map the Necroverse, plot necro portals in strategic locations, and route teleportation across various maps.
The peak of your darkest fantasy gaming experience is limited only by your imagination.
The Lore of Necro Portals
From the essential salt of the dead, a mixture of stone, bone, and sometimes various metals, are combined to create the arch for the entrance to the infamous realm of the undead wizards. The Necroverse must feed from the world of the living, or its magical framework will collapse into the world of the true dead.
Once there existed the great kingdom of Gaia Saar, which was ruled by the wise and gifted seer King Futharion. It was in the south peninsula of Futharion's kingdom where the necromancers first revealed themselves to the men of Gaia Saar. This peninsula was named Talos. In ancient Talos the wizards of Alu guarded a wealth of ancient knowledge concerning the portals of the original and primordial world before Futharion's ancestry set a throne upon Gaia Saar. The vorpal technology of lord Gygatherion, Futharion's father, was the very power which destroyed the cyborg invaders of Emperor Veximus. However, the interruption of a new player on the battlefield destroyed the entire world. That player is the necromancers elite.
It is rumored by the sages throughout ancient Erin and the realms of Medieval Europe that the necromancers came first from Egypt, having been the ancient arts of the pharoah to practice divination with the dead. As the old world of Egypt crumbled into ruins, largely abandoned by the indigenous peoples of that part of Africa, the Greek wizards preserved bits of this ancient art of necromancy, and greatly innovated the the practice into their very own system of spells and hexes. Yet, there was another race which came from someplace beyond the earth, and of which was a species mutated and horrible to look upon. These beings taught new necromantic arts, and combined a sort of bio wizardry, or splicing technology, allowing their followers and initiates to grow new appendages, breathe under water, and resist the harsh cold of outer space.
In and throughout the ancient world these beings were bred and wedded to mortals, creating the first hybrid race of the necromancers elite. As they were so tremendously feared as outsiders to the growing nations around Greece, the necromancers fled to the isle of Hydra, and some to the land now known as Switzerland, and Finland. The Swedes waged war against their unfavorable neighbors for a time. The family of necromancers was reduced to smaller numbers, and their inability to breed lead them to seek out new and more dangerous arts.
Via a dark sorcery and super technological breakthrough in teleportation, the necromancers divided their dwindling numbers p, moved across Europe and Asia, and plotted their portals as a network which would one day allow their eventual takeover of the world.
In the graveyards across countless city states, and in the hidden tombs of long forgotten kings, and on the shunned fields of ancient battles, the necromancers hid their portal entrances from mortal eyes. These Necro portals formed a network through which necromancers could travel the world, particularly through the underworld.
Then came the discovery of the Necroverse. A quasi reality or virtual layer of reality fixed between the realms of the dead and the living. This universe became a hub for the evil undead emperor, Virulus.
Virulus taught the necromancers the art of undead magic. In turn, the necromancers worked with the minions of Virulus to create the first new race of Necro golems. This became the legions of cyborg zombie mutants who would guard the invisible doors to the Necroverse.
How the Necroverse is Organized
Each necroportal entrance is paired to either another door exiting to a cemetery, opening to a hidden chamber, or some other shunned vestige. There are greater portals which open directly to the Necroverse, but this are rare and well hidden. Most portals open to the nexus.
The nexus is a series of dark corridors, typically the under halls of catacombs, which cross one another in a series of enigmatic mazes. It is within the nexus that adventurers will discover hubs between portals to the outer world and the deeper underhalls. In the darkest corridors of the nexus exist the greater doors to the Necroverse.
Residents of the Necroverse
Within the Necroverse there are many necropolises. These cities belong to the lords of the undead, and are home to the legions of vampire intelligences therein.
As to the necromancers elite, they reside in their own dark towers or black pyramids at the edge of most cities of the dead. These dark wizards tend to avoid the true undead, and require a lifestyle free of distraction to perform their endless research in the dark arts of biomechatronic necromancy.
Operation of Necro portals
The portals which open to the nexus of dark hubs, underhalls, and to other places of the dead, are typically invisible. These portals are detectable as a barely visible shadowy substance. Spirits can pass through these portals freely. Living or undead creatures must wait for the portal to become active, or activate the portal depending upon the design of the builder of the portal, and his intended functioning.
A portal made visible will typically have an arch made of bones, salt crystals, earth from the grave, or stonework. Metal necro portals do exist, but these are much rarer to find. A pendulum will typically be hung under the arch for a portal which operates at certain times. When the portal begins to become active, the pendulum will oscillate.
In order to make a Necro portal visible one must either detect the portal with a spell, or have some means of seeing invisibility. If additional adjurations exist, such as illusion spells, wards, charms, or traps, then these additional obstructions must be declared in the master document by the game master.
There are a number of means for detecting invisible portals.
A pentacle or medallion which allows one to see the invisible world can be worn to see the portal. A remove illusions spell can reveal the true form of a disguised portal. Say for instance, a slab of stone, a tombstone, headstone, or a withered tree in a graveyard are all possible disguises for a Necro portal.
Casting the Remove Illusion spell can reveal the portal.
A Detect Evil spell will simply give the magician a sense of the general direction of an open portal. Throwing sand into the air can reveal the contour of a portal arch (If the portal is a physical construct).
Traversing the Portals
Not all Necro portals are for human travel. There are those portals through which only the spirit can traverse. Thus, some portals exist for the sole purpose of summoning a gate through which demonic spirits or vampiric intelligences can enter our physical world. However, a magician casting an astral projection spell can leave his or her body, and essentially enter the spirit portal. If the portal closes, the player character is trapped in the realm where the portal open ended to. The human body will lose 1d4 life points per day without the astral body.
Most Necro portals allow for human teleportation.
When entering the threshold of a physically constructed Necro portal, the character is impartial to the external world. That is, the humanoid form takes on the form of a shadow just as he or she is coming under the arch. The player or non-player character is declared an unhittable target. This means that no projectile can hit or harm the character under the arch entrance of the portal. Melee weapons will hit if the attacker is also shadowed by the archway. In the latter case, both characters are impartial to the physical world, and each will take on the properties of a shade while under the arch of an active portal.
A flat surfaced portal, like that of an oval shaped mirror, does not have an arch. The character standing next to this portal can be attacked by ranged or melee weapons. However, touching the portal energy vortex with a finger, hand, head, or foot will make the target character impartial to the physical world, and thus unhittable.
Some Necro portals can manifest on the material plane by the will of an outsider. However, the point in space/ time must be within a place where such power is strong, and the barrier between worlds is weak. Thus, portal rangers and clerics of good alignment will often cleanse an area after destroying Necro portals. Failure to banish evil residue may result in a potential future breach in the fabric of space/ time at such unclean or unhallowed vicinities.
Other means of creating a Necro portal include spell casting or technology, sorcery or super science.
A necromancer with the required skill can cast a Necro portal spell. This spell is included in the Portals Manual ebook, under spells for necromancer elites.
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