Aranaidas' Necroclone

Aranaidas' Necroclone is an advanced and forbidden spell that fractures the soul of the caster, embedding fragments into perfect replicas of their body. Unlike conventional cloning magic, this ritual does not create a mere backup—it splits the caster’s power and existence among multiple bodies, each eternally bound through an unbreakable telepathic connection.

The Ritual of Fragmentation

This spell requires an elaborate and highly protected ritual space:

• A Sanctum: A purified, glyph-warded chamber must be prepared before the spell can be cast. This Sanctum must be warded with at least 12 Glyphs of Warding, inscribed with protective necromantic sequences to stabilize the process.
• Circle of Protection: Both the original caster and each prepared Clone must stand within a separate magical protection circle, designed to prevent catastrophic spiritual failure.
• Catastrophic Failure: If the spell is cast in an unprotected space, the fragmentation process becomes unstable, with unpredictable results—including soul annihilation, planar displacement, or involuntary fusion of multiple Necroclones into a single warped entity.

The Binding of Necroclones

• Upon casting the spell, the caster determines how many Necroclones to create and divides their total levels among them.
• Each Necroclone retains a perfect telepathic link with the original caster, as well as with all other Necroclones. This connection transcends distances, planar barriers, and antimagic fields.
• If the original caster dies, their fragmented soul fully transfers into the surviving Necroclones, who then become autonomous—retaining their shared consciousness but now acting of their own volition.
• A Necroclone cannot create Necroclones, only the original caster may perform this ritual.

Soul Fragmentation Mechanics

• The caster's total character levels are divided among their original body and their Necroclones. For example, if a level 18 caster creates two Necroclones, they may divide their levels as 6/6/6, or any combination of their choice.
• A Necroclone’s fragment of the caster’s soul returns if it dies, restoring the levels assigned to it. If multiple Necroclones perish, their fragments return simultaneously.
• In simultaneous castings, the caster may perform multiple instances of this spell as long as they have the components and sufficient sanctified space for each ritual circle.

Material Components

• 12 pure black diamonds per Necroclone, acting as soul stabilizers.
• A Clone per Necroclone, created beforehand as the new physical vessel.
• An Eternal Mirror, an artifact that captures and imprints the caster’s soul.
• A Sanctum, properly warded and purified.

Limitations

• Permanent Level Division: The caster loses access to any levels split among their Necroclones unless they are destroyed.
• No Resurrection Benefit: If the original caster dies, their Necroclones become independent entities, making resurrection impossible unless at least one chooses to surrender their soul fragment.
• Exponential Cost: Each additional Necroclone requires a separate Clone, 12 additional black diamonds, and a new protection circle, making large-scale fragmentation extremely expensive.
• Autonomy Upon Death: If the caster dies, the Necroclones no longer follow their commands but will retain their original mind and memories.

At Higher Levels

This spell cannot be cast using spell slots higher than 9th level. However, Aranaidas' Notes suggest that with access to the Castle in the Fog's machinery, one could allow Necroclones to evolve into more powerful entities or even merge their fragments into a single form of immense power.

Necroclone Behavior

• As long as the original caster is alive, Necroclones act as extensions of their will, perfectly obedient.
• Upon the caster’s death, Necroclones continue their existence independently, acting based on the caster’s mind and ambitions.
• The eternal telepathic link allows instantaneous knowledge-sharing between Necroclones, making them effectively omnipresent within their collective field of awareness.