Little Death

Little Death

Mystic

Proficiency [Willpower]

800 hours

Counts as two skills at character creation

Double learning difficulty

Requires: Preservation and four additional spells from the Grave, Murder, &/or Reanimation groups

This spell allows you to leave a willing victim 'only mostly dead' for a moment, and then bring him or her back to life. Any long duration mystic effects or disease will generally expire when the target does, who then can be safely brought back from the precipice of darkness. The killing part is easy—the subject slips into a quiet sleep and then stops breathing—but keeping them from slipping away and bringing them back is difficult. The skill check must exceed 20 for this spell to be successful. This is stressful on the subject's body as well; a system shock check must be successfully made to avoid slipping into a coma and dying from this ritual. Fortunately, every point above 20 on the skill check adds 5% to the victim's system shock. Upon returning fully to the land of the living, the target has but a single maximum life point, but is free of what ailed her. Note that most poisons will still be quite active in the body even after death—the process is chemical, so death does not cure it. Some diseases are still problematic, especially those that damage indirectly via toxic by-products; in these cases they resemble a poison more than a disease.