The Sable Sacrament: A Sorcerer's Guide to Eternal Majesty

A forbidden tome of eldritch rituals for sorcerers seeking undeath.

Tome Description

The Sable Sacrament is an accursed and blasphemous tome, bound in ancient, dried flesh, its sinews sewn together with threads of silvered hair stolen from dying prophets. The pages are brittle yet unnervingly warm, each inked with a mixture of abyssal ichor and the sacrificial blood of a thousand slain spellcasters. The glyphs and passages shift subtly, whispering secrets only the most depraved minds can endure.

The book exudes an aura of necrotic energy, draining the light from any chamber it resides in. Merely opening it without the proper protections forces the reader to make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw, suffering 4d10 psychic damage and gaining a level of exhaustion on a failure. Those who read its cursed pages hear the rasping laughter of forgotten sorcerer-kings, whose souls are bound to the tome for eternity, ever eager to lure another into their wretched fate.

The Sable Sacrament is not a guide for wizards, who meticulously prepare and study their path to lichdom. It is a dark miracle, a bastardization of arcane tradition, allowing a sorcerer—one born of raw, unshaped magic—to rip themselves from the cycle of life through sheer willpower, self-mutilation, and unholy bargains.

The Process of Sorcerous Lichdom

Unlike wizards, who gradually prepare and craft a phylactery, a sorcerer must endure seven profane transformations, each one reshaping their very essence, forging their soul into an unbound phylactery rather than relying on an external object. This process takes 77 nights, with each ritual forcing the sorcerer deeper into madness and despair.

Each transformation requires rare materials, ritual sacrifices, and a complete rejection of one’s mortality. If the sorcerer fails even a single step, they are instantly annihilated, their soul shredded and consumed by the abyssal entities that watch hungrily.

The Seven Profane Transformations

1. The Blasphemy of Breath (Night 1–11)

"Your lungs are shackles. Cast them aside, and you shall speak the language of the grave."

The sorcerer must cease breathing entirely. They are required to drown in cursed waters, imbibing a blackened elixir made from the ichor of an elder vampire.

The body adapts unnaturally, lungs withering into shriveled husks, yet the sorcerer continues to speak and function. Their voice echoes unnaturally, carrying whispers of the dead.

If successful, they lose all need to breathe. However, they suffer 2d10 necrotic damage daily as their mortal flesh begins to decay.

2. The Binding of Hunger (Night 12–22)

"To hunger is to submit to life. The dead do not yearn, and neither shall you."

The sorcerer must consume only ashes—the burnt remains of other spellcasters—while fasting from all food and drink.

Each day, they take 1d6 Constitution damage unless they make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. If they fail three times, they starve and perish.

Upon success, they become immune to starvation and thirst, but they develop a permanent aversion to the taste of food, suffering nausea when exposed to the scent of cooking flesh.

3. The Hollowing of the Flesh (Night 23–33)

"Your body is a vessel. Let it wither, and you shall transcend."

The sorcerer must bathe in a cauldron of necrotic bile, flayed skin, and powdered bones for ten nights while chanting the names of all those they have slain.

Their skin becomes paper-thin, taking vaguely translucent qualities, and their body begins to feel weightless. They gain resistance to nonmagical weapon attacks but vulnerability to radiant damage.

4. The Severing of the Soul (Night 34–44)

"One soul is but a candle in the abyss. Let yours shatter into a thousand screaming flames."

The sorcerer must create seven soul-shards, each representing an aspect of their mortal self (Memory, Fear, Passion, etc.).

These shards must be fed to undead, consuming their essence, or buried in cursed earth.

Upon completion, they become immune to divination magic, but their soul is now a fragmented thing, making resurrection impossible.

5. The Invocation of the Unseen (Night 45–55)

"The dead are not blind. Their gaze shall be yours."

The sorcerer must gouge out their own eyes beneath the light of a blood moon, replacing them with obsidian spheres soaked in ghoul ichor.

They lose their natural sight but gain truesight up to 60 feet, allowing them to see into the Ethereal Plane and perceive invisible creatures.

6. The Bargain of the Forgotten Gods (Night 56–66)

"No lich is born alone. A dark covenant must be struck."

The sorcerer must offer their heart to an eldritch entity—perhaps Orcus, Vecna, or an unnamed force from the Far Realm.

Their heartbeat ceases, their blood turns black, and they must complete a task dictated by their patron.

They gain spell resistance but are bound to their patron’s will, periodically suffering horrifying visions.

7. The Final Banishment (Night 67–77)

"Your mortality clings to you like a parasite. Cast it into the void."

The sorcerer must die by their own hand in an unhallowed place, while chanting their true name backward.

If performed correctly, they rise within 1d4 hours, transformed into an undead Sorcerous Lich.

If performed incorrectly, their soul is destroyed, and they are lost to the void forever.

The Final Result

Upon completion, the sorcerer becomes a Sorcerous Lich, a being of immense necrotic power. Unlike a wizard’s lich, they lack a physical phylactery—their very essence is now their own phylactery. If destroyed, they will reform in 1d10 days unless their fragmented soul is hunted down and obliterated.

They no longer age and require no sustenance.

They gain necrotic resistance, immunity to exhaustion, and the ability to cast spells without components unless they require gold costs.

However, their mind slowly deteriorates, suffering hallucinations and whispers from their fragmented soul shards.

Final Notes on the Tome

The Sable Sacrament is one-of-a-kind. No copies exist, and it is zealously guarded by the undead remnants of those who failed the ritual.

Destroying the book is nearly impossible—if burned, it regenerates from the ashes within 24 hours unless a wish spell or divine intervention is used.

Merely possessing the tome attracts liches, demons, and desperate sorcerers, all seeking its forbidden knowledge.

This book is not a guide—it is a death sentence or an ascension. Only the truly depraved, reckless, or desperate would dare attempt its rituals.