This is the art of necromancy, the study of death, decay and Undead . It is often considered evil, and indeed often is, but some good people learn death magic in order to know more of the enemy. Of course, the temptation is always there.
Many necromancers become pallid, ill-smelling or even physically mutated by their delving into death. These mutations may make the sorcerer a pariah, but they rarely affect his abilities directly. Backlash causes a cadaverous appearance, making normal social interactions almost impossible for the rest of the session (c.f. TerribleForm).
This schtick is somewhat related to Enhancement, and many necromancers learn to control their own bodies to a great degree.
Animate Dead
You can animate corpses to become simple servants and guardians, lesser Undead such as skeletons or zombies. You need corpses, and a properly purified graveyard (see Summoning) prevents animation.
The difficulty of the effect is the highest skill or attribute of the undead. The Outcome is the number of creatures animated. Each lasts for a session, but you can only have a number of lesser undead equal to your Sorcery when moving about. In a prepared position, such as your stronghold, you can keep a great number of creatures about permanently.
AddInclude make a bestiary
Skeleton
Attributes: Bod 3, Chi 6, Mnd 7, Ref 10
Skills: Powers 11
Creature: DamageImmunity: impaling, influence, life.
Limitations: Alien, Dark Form, Supernatural Creature
Weapons: Club +3/6
Zombie
Attributes: Bod 10, Chi 6, Mnd 2, Ref 3
Skills: Powers 12
Creature: DamageImmunity: influence, life; InevitableComeback.
Limitations: Alien, Dark Form, Supernatural Creature, Tool Ignorant
Weapons: Slam +1/11
Ghoul
Attributes: Bod 7, Chi 6, Mnd 4, Ref 6
Skills: Creature Powers 13, Intimidation 12
Creature: Powers; DualAttack (paralyzing claws); ElementalAttack: Paralyze
Limitations: Alien, Dark Form, Dependency (eat flesh), Supernatural Creature
Attacks: Claws +4/11 + paralyze 10
Awaken Undead
You can ritually create a named major Undead creature. This requires a corrupt or vengeful soul willing to animate a dead body. The usual way to find these is by speaking to the dead. Somebody killed by Death Curse or ritually sacrificed can also be turned into an undead, but must often be coerced into service.
The power of a creature thus created depends on the power of the being while it was alive. Generally, they get Powers equal to their highest skill while in life, DamageImmunity (life) and a few other creature Schticks. They may well lose a few points from other skills, and about half of the Schticks they had in life. Those who have been dead a long time generally transform more radically.
Blight
Cause an area of land to become incapable of sustaining plant life. Once cast, it slowly kills all plant life existing in the zone and prevents any new vegetation from growing for the duration of the effect. The effect cannot kill animal life, but any small creatures living within the area of effect usually die or move away from lack of food.
The area affected is a diameter equal to your Sorcery action result times the number of Magic points spent times ten meters. The duration is until next spring. It is otherwise similar to the reversed effect of Fertility's Germination.
Barrenness
You can make someone sterile, and prevent milk production and menstruation in females or semen production in men. The difficulty is the target's Constitution (or Dodge, if aware of the effect), and the duration one day per point of Outcome. With a Magic point you can make the duration a year and a day.
Command Undead
You can invoke your will on an Undead creature, forcing it to obey spoken instructions. You must be able to see the Undead ; the undead must be able to hear you. If the Sorcery check is successful against its Powers, the undead must obey the letter of your instructions to the best of its abilities for a number of Sequences equal to the Outcome. If you spend a Magic point, the undead must obey for a period equal to the Outcome in hours.
Death Curse
This is similar, but not identical, to Bane. AddInclude ?
You must prepare this effect for a specific victim in advance, spending two Magic points doing this. Select whether you make the victim vulnerable to your death magic or to a specific, ritually prepared weapon. As soon as you wound him with death-related magic or the specially-prepared weapon, he suffers from the Death Curse. This is a slow effect, that does not have any effect during the combat but which will, in time, kill the victim.
The target now is very difficult to heal. All attempts to recover WoundPoints have a difficulty equal to your Sorcery, and only the Outcome reduces the victim's Wound Points. Each day, you are allowed a Sorcery roll against the target's Constitution, and the Outcome is damage the target takes. This will make him weaker and weaker, killing him in the end.
The way to remove a Death Curse can often be a mini-quest in itself, though killing you is the surest way. Healing performed by an attuned character at a Feng-Shui site or with the correct cure will remove the Death Curse. See Divination: Remove Curse.
Life Drain
You can steal life essence from a dying target. The dying includes unnamed characters recently put out of the fight and named characters who have failed a DeathTest. Make a Sorcery roll against his Willpower, if successful, you can use one of the effects below on him. His condition worsens by one point. You can do this only once to each dying target. You can give the benefits to someone else whom you touch, if desired.
If he volunteers, you get three picks and his condition worsens by three steps.
The effects below are similar, but not identical, to the BloodDrain. AddInclude.
Chi
You gain one of the victim's unspent Fortune or Magic points. Has no effect on characters who currently have no Fortune points.
Life
Recover Wound Points equal to his Constitution score.
Youth
You become younger, removing a number of years from your apparent age equal to his Charisma minus your Magic. You never grow older by underestimating his Charisma.
Life Link
You can tie up a portion of someone's life force in an object. As long as this object is safe and sound, he has a bonus equal to your Magic on all DeathTests, and your Sorcery AV is used to try and save him if he should fail a Death Test. This is in addition to normal healing, and has no adverse side effects. If the object is ever destroyed, he must make an immediate Death Test with a difficulty equal to your Sorcery AV.
Crafting a life link demands a helpless victim, or one that agrees to your demands. It is often used upon resurrected and/or animated servants. You can make a Life Link to yourself.
Resurrection
This is a highly questionable effect, and may not be allowed in your campaign world. Check with your DM before trying to use it.
You can actually raise the dead, restoring them to life. This is a very harrowing and taxing experience, and not lightly undertaken. If the GM desires, it can involve an actual quest to the nether regions, though you can send someone else on this quest. Otherwise, it involves a spiritual quest in opposition to the powers of death itself. In this case you or your champion must win a spiritual combat against the victim, in which you each do damage equal to your Charisma +2, soaked using Willpower. The highest action value is used in this combat, but no Schticks or special abilities.
If you win, your target is brought back to life, and can be nursed back to health just as if he had failed a death test but been saved. His time on earth may be limited, and his fate twisted; there are often another price to pay as well. If he wins you are probably close to death yourself.
Summon the Dead
You can summon and speak to the spirits of the dead. The difficulty is the spirit's highest Action Value from when it was alive. This is similar to the Commune variant of Summoning: Invocation.
Spirits of the dead can only be summoned if the sorcerer has some kind of link to the spirit. This can be either a part of the dead persons body, a beloved object or a descendant or beloved of the dead person who is present. Spirits of the dead tend to be very self-centered. They care only about the things closest to themselves, family, personal belongings and about their reputation.
As the dead gradually lose interest in life or are reincarnated, it grows increasingly difficult to summon them over time. A person that died contentedly and at peace might be impossible to summon after but a few hours, while those who have urges tying them to this earth linger on for hundreds, even thousands of years. Many religions, especially those with a specific concept of the afterlife, make their devotee's spirits harder to summon. Some actually makes it easier, typically those who like to preserve or mummify corpses or who believe the spirit maintains an eternal tie to the body.
Speak with Undead
You can communicate with any Undead you encounter. This should be role-played, but with this effect you can use your Sorcery Action Value in place of your Charisma for such dealings. Be warned that many undead cannot be reasoned with, however, as the have DamageImmunity: Influence.