Create Watchghost

This spell allows the caster to animate a corpse with the spirit and intelligence of its former self and bind it into service until the demise of the caster. The create watchghost spell must be cast within five years of the corpse's death. Once animated, the watchghost remains until its destruction.

During the casting, the necromancer issues the watchghost's commands. Watchghost commands cannot require more than one task. Those commands must specifically define the terms of what task the watchghost is to do, how it carries out that task and one exemption, if any, to its commanded task. For example. "You are to guard my laboratory against all intruders except for myself. Kill anything that tries to enter my laboratory." During its time of service to its creator, the watchghost's alignment is lawful, though evil or good alignments are unchanged from its former life. Upon the death of the caster the watchghost is freed from its orders and is free to roam, its original personality and mind inhabiting a powerful undead shell.

The material components are 1,500 gp worth of diamond dust, four of the caster's teeth ground to powder, and a handful of the caster's hair 1 he material components tic the life force of the caster into the commands and the service of the watchghost.

Notes: Very rare: known mostly to a few necromancers.

Watchghost: AC 1; MV 9. Fl 9 (C); HD 7+2; THAC0 13; #AT 1: Dmg 2d8; SA chill ray; SD see list. MR 25%; SZ M (6' tall): ML Fearless (19 - 20): AL any Lawful; XP 4,000

Chill Ray: Strikes to 90 feet. THAC0 6, and penetrates magical protections and barriers of less than 4th level. The victim must save vs. death magic or lake 2d12 points of damage, also lave vs. petrification or be slowed for 2d12 rounds, minus 1 round per level.

Defenses: Immune to charm, sleep, hold, poison, petrification, polymorph, death magic, and cold - based attacks: immune to turning, holy symbols, and holy water; while insubstantial can't attack but is immune to normal weapons, magical weapons inflict 2x the magical bonus only.