101 Subterranean Spells (Absorb Undead Spellpower) is now available.

101 Subterranean Spells is now available!
 Illustration by Marek Rakuč

Absorb Undead Spell Power
School: Necromancy; Level: Cleric/Oracle 7, Sorcerer/Wizard 7, Witch 7
Casting Time: 8 hours
Components: V, S, M (the skull of a slain undead spellcasting creature and 2,000 gp per spell level of crushed gems; see text), DF
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous

Mixing the crushed gems with other powders, you draw a circle around a powerful symbol of transfer-ence on the ground. After the symbol is completed, you sit inside the circle, on the symbol of transference, and pulverize and consume the skull. Once this ritualistic casting of absorb undead spell power is complete, you permanently acquire one spell, up to 6th level, from the spell list of the undead spellcasting creature whose skull you pulverized and consumed. You may acquire a spell normally unavailable to you; if you do, it is treated as though it were one level higher. You can only absorb a spell that you knew the creature was able to cast. The skull of the vampire, lich, or other spellcasting undead must be consumed no more than one week after that creature was slain.

If you are a cleric, witch or wizard, your spells per day for the level of spell you’ve absorbed increases by one, but that slot can only be used for casting the absorbed spell and you cannot cast the absorbed spell with another slot. If you are an oracle or sorcerer, your spells known increases by the one spell you’ve absorbed, and you gain one spell slot per day of that level, from which you can only cast the absorbed spell.

If you cast this spell again, the spell you gain replaces the one you acquired previously.


The costs involved with absorb undead spell power are significant and the limitations should be sufficient to prevent exploitation. However, it’s entirely appropriate for the undead creature whose skull is consumed by this spell to have had allies who are interested in retrieving the power that the caster has stolen. If a particular campaign is structured so that a skull cannot be acquired or acquired in time, choose another suitable device for that component. For example, if vampires turn to ash in your campaign if they’re staked, then the collected ash could replace the skull as the component.