Walking War Machine

Cost: Varies
Target: One undead creature or necromantic automaton

Uncanny as ghosts and zombies are, they do not inspire as much sheer terror as the undead siege engines employed by the Deathlords. A necromancer can create these horrors with this spell. and a suitable supply of corpses. Necromancers also call this spell Iron Reanimation.

The character must first construct (or oversee the construction of) the monstrosity, with an extended (Intelligence + Medicine) roll to represent the labor of cutting and stitching together the bodies. The Storyteller may also ask for suitable (Intelligence + Craft [Varies]) rolls if the construction involves wood or metal bracing, built-in blades, alchemical treatments or other unusual construction techniques. The difficulty of the roll depends on the size and complexity of the weapon. For instance, a spine chain (see Exalted, p. 315) calls for one success per two segments of its body. Animating the monster then costs four motes per success required to create it. Walking war machines serve their creator to the best of their limited intelligence.

A skilled necromancer can craft a nigh-limitless range of war machines. Full descriptions of the options fall beyond the scope of The Black Treatise, but the spine chain is a good standard for their power. See The Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol. IV.The Underworld for descriptions of other horrors in the Deathlords' arsenals.