Brick-by-Brick Solitude

Cost: 23m
Target: Area

Revealing an open palm to his "audience," the necromancer flicks his hand to pull a fan of ghostly playing cards from his anima. He throws them with abandon, but each card floats to settle into a ring around him. With the last word of the spell, the cards dissolve, and the occult runes on them expand to a radius of (Essence x 10) yards around the caster. The glittering, violet runes intangibly pass through walls and other mundane obstacles, but ghosts find their circle a barrier stronger than soulsteel. This ward moves with the caster and lasts for one scene—typically enough for one combat or one forced march through Stygia.

Any ghosts caught within the ward's area when it is cast are shoved outward to the boundary. No ghostly powers can break it. Ghosts cannot make close combat attacks against the caster, and even their ranged attacks lose half their successes before reaching the necromancer. Likewise, the character can only attack ghosts at range.

Although the caster can use this spell to push through crowds of ghosts, the spell does not repel them outside its border or increase the character's Strength. If he encounters a determined mob of ghosts—unlikely, considering his status as a powerful necromancer—he cannot push through more than (Strength x 3) ghosts.

This spell may be used in war. Casting it in long ticks, the necromancer may ward an entire unit of Magnitude (Essence + 2) or less. Any ghosts in that unit are forced out. Whether they then become an independent unit is up to the Storyteller.