DESCRIPTION

This exhausting ritual lures and traps a soul to provide a permanent animating force for various constructs such as steam golems, clockwork scullions, and advanced animated objects.

This ancient ceremony provides an alternative to living sacrifices to acquire an animating soul for the construct. The caster must first construct the host shell of an appropriate size for the construct. Once done, casting this spell over the shell creates a powerful lure for loose souls, such as incorporeal undead or other spirits.

There is no guarantee that a soul is near enough to be lured into the shell. Each time the spell is cast there is a 20% chance that a free soul is close enough to be affected by the spell. This chance increases by 2% per rank of Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (religion) the caster possesses, to a maximum of 90%. Nearby souls may make Will saves to avoid being lured into the shell. Only after the soul has entered the construct does its true peril become clear. At that point, the soul makes a second Will save to avoid being forever bound as a subservient guardian creature.

Once the soul is bound, the guardian creature is animated and has all of the normal abilities for a guardian of its type. It is also bound to the will of its creator, can understand his commands, and must obey them.