D: [sum] minutes

After a 10-minute nighttime ritual where you dig a pit into which is poured wine, fragrant herbs, and the blood of a sacrifice slain with a bronze knife, you call out to the spirit of a dead person. Roll 1D6 + [dice]:

1. You are dragged to the underworld.
2. The spirit is now a ghost bound to this place.
3. It’s the wrong spirit!
4. The spirit is going to sometimes lie.
5. The spirit is angry at you and will demand a trade.
6. The spirit is answers truthfully…
7. … and stays an extra 1D6 minutes.
8. Or higher. The ghost is permanently raised, and can be given one command.

Your roll is modified by these factors:

• Died within a week: +1
• Has unfinished business here: +1
• You know its true name: +1
• You know personally: +4
• Is angry at you: −3
• You only know vaguely who it is: −3
• The target was a magic user: −3

Following the consultation, if desired, you may follow the ghost in katabasis to the land of the dead, along with any number of willing companions, though an easy path of return is not guaranteed.

occult + consult

adapted from Wonder & Wickedness and Coins & Scrolls