The Ossuarium

Faction Overview

Ideology	Necromantic vampirism through corpse exploitation
Capital	The Ossuarium, the Bone Citadel beneath Mount Karath
Population	~15,000 (but expanding through resurrection)
Doctrine	We do not die. We merely pause. And then we rise again.
Playstyle	Lifesteal, corpse exploitation, resurrection mechanics, inevitable grinding
Complete Deck	View Full Ossuarium Deck (v2.0 Equipment System)

Species Origins

The Ossuarium is not a species - it is a post-Sundering phenomenon. Undeath did not exist before the Cataclysm. It emerged from the weakened barrier between life and death caused by the Void's intrusion into reality.

How Undeath Emerged: When the Theslar Engine tore open the dimensional membrane, Void energy didn't just corrupt the living - it disrupted the fundamental boundary between life and death. Necromantic magic, previously theoretical and ineffective, suddenly became practical. The first undead rose spontaneously in Year 3 when corpses near Void rifts reanimated due to chaotic energy spillover.

• Year 3: First spontaneous undead reanimations near Void rifts (uncontrolled, mindless)
• Year 10: Bonelord Karath (originally a human necromancer) perfects controlled undeath through soul binding
• Year 78: Thresh discovers The Ledger, an ancient tome that records soul contracts, formalizing necromantic economics
• Types of The Ossuarium: Revenants (intact corpses, semi-intelligent), Skeletons (tireless labor force), Spectres (incorporeal mages with unfinished business), Liches (voluntary transformation by necromancers)

The Ossuarium operates on soul economics. Thresh discovered that souls can be bound, traded, and stored in Soulstones. The undead faction is built on contracts: "Give me your soul when you die, and I'll give you what you want now." Desperate people sign these pacts every day - for food, protection, revenge, or simply survival.

Post-Sundering, The Ossuarium is growing. Unlike other factions competing for territory and resources, they simply need to wait. Every year, more living beings die. Every year, more souls flow into Karath's coffers. The Ossuarium is patient - they don't need to conquer the world. They just need to outlast it, then collect what remains.

The undead are not inherently evil - they are simply pragmatic about their condition. Death is not the end for them. It is merely a change in employment.

Lore & Identity

Bonelord Karath and his council of liches study the nature of consciousness itself. Founded 78 years after the Sundering when Thresh discovered The Ledger...an ancient tome that records every soul contract ever made. The Ossuarium views death not as an end but as a resource to be exploited.

Ossuarium Caskets are grotesque constructions of bone and necrotic energy. Ribcages form armor plating. Skulls serve as sensors. Everything that was once alive is repurposed for war. Their pilots are already dead...true corpses reanimated by necromantic threads. They have nothing left to lose.

Efficient Form Philosophy: Maximum Reduction

The Ossuarium approaches Casket piloting with cold efficiency: flesh is waste, bone is sufficient, mind is all that matters. Their pilots undergo the most extreme body modification of any faction...not as penance, but as optimization.

Efficient Form Surgery: The Ultimate Reduction

Ossuarium pilots undergo "Efficient Form"...the surgical removal of all flesh except skull and spine. What remains is:

• Skull: Brain intact (preserved in specialized fluids), eyes removed (no longer needed), jaw wired shut (no speech, communication via neural interface only)
• Spine: Vertebral column from C1 (atlas) to L5 (lumbar), with spinal cord intact for neural thread attachment
• Everything Else Removed: Arms, legs, ribcage, organs, muscle tissue...all surgically excised and catalogued for reuse
• Life Support Required: Pilot exists in nutrient vat inside Casket, sustained by necromantic fluid circulation

Why This Extreme?

The Ossuarium's philosophy is ruthlessly pragmatic:

Removed Component	Ossuarium Justification	Practical Benefit
Arms & Legs	"Threads control the Casket. Limbs serve no purpose."	Reduces pilot mass by 60%, allows more armor plating
Ribcage & Organs	"Heart, lungs, liver...all replaced by necromantic circulation."	Eliminates organ vulnerability, no internal bleeding
Eyes	"Casket sensors provide superior vision. Biological eyes are obsolete."	Pilot cannot be blinded by viewing slit damage
Jaw & Vocal Cords	"Speech is inefficient. Neural interface transmits intent directly."	Communication faster than spoken language

The Conversion Process

Efficient Form surgery is performed in The Ossuarium's Bone Citadel over a 72-hour procedure:

1. Hour 0-12: Full anesthesia. Limbs are surgically removed at shoulder/hip joints. Flesh is harvested (repurposed for bone-crafting adhesives).
2. Hour 12-24: Ribcage opened, organs carefully extracted. Heart and lungs placed in stasis (can be reused for other Ossuarium members).
3. Hour 24-48: Remaining flesh stripped from spine. Only vertebrae, spinal cord, and skull remain. Wounds are sealed with necromantic binding.
4. Hour 48-60: Pilot is submerged in nutrient vat (thick purple fluid that sustains brain function). Necromantic circulatory system connected to spine.
5. Hour 60-72: Neural threads installed directly into vertebrae (no fingertips needed...threads connect to exposed nerve clusters). Pilot awakens to their new existence.

What It Feels Like

Pilots who undergo Efficient Form report the following experiences:

• Initial Awakening: Complete sensory deprivation. No sight (eyes gone), no sound (fluid muffles all noise), no touch (no skin remaining).
• Phantom Limbs: Brain still expects arms/legs to exist. Persistent sensation of "whole body" even though only skull/spine remain.
• Casket Integration: When connected to Casket, neural threads transmit sensation. Pilots report "becoming the machine"...Casket limbs feel more real than lost biological limbs ever did.
• Loss of Hunger/Pain: No digestive system, no pain receptors. Pilots describe it as "peaceful emptiness" or "liberating numbness."
• Psychological Effects: 40% of pilots develop dissociative identity (stop thinking of themselves as human), 20% become catatonic within 6 months, 10% request to be converted to full undeath early.

Comparison to Other Factions

Faction	Soul Sacrifice	Pilot Mobility (Outside Casket)	Philosophy
Church	Legs removed (hip)	Wheelchair, can still interact socially	Penance through suffering
Dwarves	All limbs removed	Carried by assistants, can still speak/see	Efficiency through engineering
Elves	Legs replaced with vines	Half-speed movement, living wood prosthetics	Reluctant symbiosis with nature
Ossuarium	Everything removed except skull/spine	None. Cannot exist outside Casket without life support vat	Maximum horror as optimal efficiency

The Post-Death Contract

Every Ossuarium pilot signs "The Conversion Clause":

• While Living: Pilot serves in Efficient Form, sustained by necromantic life support.
• Upon Death: Soul is harvested and bound to a Soulstone Core (used to power other Caskets or sold to highest bidder).
• Body Reuse: Skull and spine are preserved, reanimated as skeleton pilot for secondary Casket (undead operator with no salary required).
• Compensation: Pilots are paid upfront...Ossuarium offers 5,000 Credits for signing the contract (highest pilot pay of any faction).

Pilot Advantages in Combat

Despite (or because of) their extreme modifications, Ossuarium pilots gain unique advantages:

Situation	Standard Pilots	Efficient Form Pilots
Viewing Slit Destroyed	Blinded, -4 to all attacks	No effect (no eyes, uses sensors only)
Pilot Wound (trauma)	Suffer penalties (bleeding, pain)	Reduced effect (no organs to rupture, no limbs to break)
Thread Snap (nerve damage)	Excruciating pain, Grit check DC 15	Grit check DC 12 (necromantic fluid dampens pain)
Casket Destroyed (ejection)	Can survive if extracted quickly	Death within 10 minutes (life support severed, no independent survival)

Core Mechanic: Soul Harvest & Decay

The Ossuarium excels at lifesteal and corpse exploitation. Every attack drains life. Every death feeds power.

• Soul Harvest: Deal 4 damage. Recover 2 cards from discard pile (50% lifesteal). (Balance Update Oct 19: Reduced from 3 cards/75% lifesteal to 2 cards/50% lifesteal)
• Corpse Fuel: When enemy destroyed within 3 hexes, immediately recover 4 cards from discard pile. (Balance Update Oct 19: Reduced from 5 cards to 4 cards)
• Phylactery (Passive): First time each mission you would be reduced to 0 HP, instead set HP to 3 (automatic resurrection). (Balance Update Oct 19: Reduced from 5 HP to 3 HP)
• Phylactery Relic (Equipment): REMOVED (Balance Update Oct 19: No second resurrection - too oppressive)
• Decay Cards (Special): The Ossuarium does NOT add "Damage" cards on reshuffle. Instead, they add "Decay" cards (0 SP cost, discard to lose 1 SP this turn and gain 1 Heat). Slower penalty, but still a death spiral.

Ossuarium Caskets sustain themselves through violence. The more enemies die, the more HP they recover. They excel in long, grinding battles where corpses accumulate.

10 Faction Cards (Players Choose 6)

Support Units (6 Total)

Starter Units

1. Bone Thrall Swarm (2 slots)

HP: 12 (3 HP per thrall, 4 thralls) | Movement: 4 | Defense: 0

Four humanoid skeletons that can resurrect from corpse markers. Swarm enemies to surround and overwhelm. Each thrall deals 2 damage. If 3+ attack same target, deal +2 bonus damage (6 total). Leave corpse markers when killed...can be consumed to resurrect thralls or heal. Expendable and infinitely respawning.

2. Grave Knight (3 slots)

HP: 14 | Movement: 3 | Defense: 3

Elite undead champion in blackened plate armor wielding greatsword. Collects Soul Counters from kills. Attacks deal 7 damage with lifesteal (heal for damage dealt). Can spend 3 Soul Counters to activate Dark Harvest (multiple effects: heal 3 HP, deal 4 damage, or grant +2 Defense). Can resurrect once if has 3+ Soul Counters.

3. Fleshcrafter (2 slots)

HP: 8 | Movement: 2 | Defense: 1

Grotesque necromancer in blood-stained surgical robes. Heals allies for 5 HP (suture wounds). Releases Plague Cloud (2 damage per turn to all enemies within 3 hexes, -1 Defense). Harvests corpses for Essence tokens. Spends 5 Essence to create Flesh Abomination minion (6 HP, 4 damage, lasts until destroyed).

Unlockable Units

4. Bone Colossus (4 slots) - Unlock: Complete 3 missions

HP: 22 | Movement: 2 | Defense: 4

Massive skeletal giant 18 feet tall constructed from hundreds of bones. Four massive arms deal 8 damage and grapple (target cannot move until they spend 3 SP or deal 8 damage). Bone Storm deals 5 damage to all enemies within 3 hexes (applies 2 Bleed). Regenerates 8 HP by absorbing corpses. Has Bone Layer system (layered armor, each layer provides +1 Defense).

5. Lich Phylactery (3 slots) - Unlock: Build Ossuary in settlement

HP: 10 | Movement: 0 (immobile) | Defense: 3

Floating obsidian obelisk containing ancient lich's soul. Immobile resurrection node. Passive 4-hex aura grants allies +1 Defense and 1 HP per turn; enemies gain 1 Decay counter per turn. Death Pulse deals 3 damage to all enemies within 4 hexes, applies 2 Decay counters, heals allies for 2 HP. Mass Resurrection can revive up to 2 destroyed allied units at 50% HP (once per battle). Any allied unit tethered to Phylactery cannot be permanently destroyed...resurrects at Phylactery's location with 5 HP.

6. Death's Herald (4 slots) - Unlock: Defeat Bonelord Karath

HP: 18 | Movement: 4 | Defense: 2

Towering skeletal reaper with enormous scythe and spectral wings. Reap attack deals 9 damage (ignore all Defense) with instant death (no death saves, no resurrections). Harvests 2 Soul Tokens per kill. Wings of Despair allows flying 5 hexes (ignores terrain), dealing 3 damage to all enemies in flight path. Final Harvest (once per battle, when HP < 8): Deal 8 unblockable damage to ALL enemies, apply 5 Decay counters, discard 2 cards from each enemy's hand, fully heal all allies, grant +3 damage to allies until end of battle.

Faction Relations

Faction	Status	Notes
Church of Absolution	WAR	Theological opposition. Necromancy is heresy to the Church.
Elven Verdant Covenant	HOSTILE	Elves view undeath as perversion of natural order.
Dwarven Forge-Guilds	HOSTILE	Necromancy offends dwarven craftsmanship ethics.
The Wyrd Conclave	NEUTRAL	Fae find death amusing. Occasional trade for rare components.
Nomad Collective	COLD	Nomads avoid Ossuarium territory. Corpse theft incidents.
The Exchange	COLD	Will trade, but only at arm's length. Very long arms.
Vestige Bloodlines	ALLIED	Both factions embrace mutation and transformation.
Emergent Syndicate	WAR	Hive-mind cannot be resurrected. Theological crisis for Thresh.

Recommended Builds

Vampiric Striker (Revenant - Scout, 6 SP)

• Equipment: Bone Scythe (6 cards), Buckler Shield (2 cards), Death Mark Sigil (3 cards)
• Tactics: Eternal Hunger (double lifesteal), Grave Robber (loot enemy gear)
• Total Deck: 29 cards (fast cycle, aggressive drain)
• Strategy: Soul Harvest every turn (4 damage + recover 3 cards). Bone Scythe provides multiple lifesteal attacks. Death Mark Sigil adds passive lifesteal (recover 1 card per turn when damaging). Fast, aggressive, self-sustaining vampire.

Corpse Grinder (Phylarch - Assault, 5 SP)

• Equipment: Flail (5 cards), Kite Shield (3 cards), Death Mark Sigil (3 cards), Repair Sigil (2 cards)
• Tactics: Undying Resilience (second resurrection)
• Total Deck: 31 cards (balanced sustain)
• Strategy: Kill enemies to trigger Corpse Fuel (recover 5 cards per kill). Necrotic Surge adds +1 card to all recovery effects. Flail provides ignore-Defense attacks. Grind enemies down through attrition.

Immortal Fortress (Bonelord - Heavy, 4 SP) - Campaign Only

• Equipment: Mace (5 cards), Tower Shield (4 cards), Death Mark Sigil (3 cards), Reinforced Plating (3 cards), Phylactery Relic (3 cards, campaign-only)
• Tactics: Undying Resilience, Bone Armor
• Total Deck: 36 cards (maximum survivability)
• Strategy: THREE resurrection mechanics (campaign only): Phylactery (resurrect at 5 HP), Phylactery Relic (store 5 cards, resurrect once), Undying Resilience (resurrect at 10 HP). Tower Shield + Reinforced Plating + Bone Armor = massive defense. Literally cannot die. Not legal in casual/arena play.

Strategy Notes

Strengths: Best lifesteal in game (multiple cards recover HP), resurrection mechanics (Phylactery + Undying Resilience = 2 lives), corpse exploitation (gain resources from enemy deaths), inevitable grinding (outlast through constant healing), minion summoning (action economy advantage with Thralls and Abominations).

Weaknesses: Reliant on dealing damage to heal (if prevented from attacking, cannot sustain), weak to burst damage (must kill enemies to recover, can't prevent initial hits), Decay cards slow late-game (multiple reshuffles = multiple Decay cards), minions are fragile (Thralls die easily, 1 HP each), requires kills to function optimally (Corpse Fuel, Bone Armor trigger on deaths).

Early Game (Turns 1-3): Soul Harvest every turn (consistent lifesteal). Position aggressively...need to hit enemies to heal. Don't waste Phylactery resurrection early (save for late-game).

Mid Game (Turns 4-6): Kill weakened enemies to trigger Corpse Fuel (5 cards per kill). Summon Thralls if using Raise Dead (meatshields buy time). Stack Bone Armor if taken (each kill = +1 permanent Defense).

Late Game (Turns 7+): Phylactery triggers automatically (first death = resurrect at 5 HP). Undying Resilience triggers next (second death = resurrect at 10 HP). Decay cards accumulate (2-3 reshuffles = 2-3 Decay cards in deck). Eternal Hunger doubles lifesteal (recover massive HP per hit).

Schisms & Renegade Sects

Like all powerful factions, The Ossuarium has fractured over theological disputes about the nature of undeath. These Schisms enable mirror matches...Ossuarium vs Ossuarium, necromancer vs heretic. Both sides pilot the same Caskets and wield necromantic power, but their philosophy differs profoundly.

Version 3.0 Optional Rules

The Ossuarium has unique interactions with the three new v3.0 optional mechanics systems:

Dice Pool Advantage System

Ossuarium pilots work normally with the Dice Pool system. Positioning and necromantic abilities can grant Advantage (roll 3 Attack Dice, take 2 highest). See Dice Pool Advantage Rules.

Taint Exploitation System

Ossuarium pilots thrive on Taint as an offensive resource:

• Already Dead: Corruption Save is 5+ instead of 4+ (undead are very resistant to Engine corruption - they're already dead)
• Decay Aura (Passive): Enemies within 3 hexes gain +1 Taint per turn (Ossuarium Caskets radiate necromantic corruption)
• Soul Harvest: Spend 2 Taint Markers, recover 3 cards from discard pile (weaponize corruption for card advantage)
• Corruption Immunity (Variant): Some Ossuarium pilots are completely immune to Corruption (they cannot be mind-controlled or mutated - they're already abominations)

Ossuarium pilots treat Taint as fuel for necromancy. Decay Aura makes them powerful force multipliers - enemies near Ossuarium Caskets accumulate Taint rapidly, enabling offensive exploitation. See Taint Exploitation Rules.

Pilot Grit System

Ossuarium pilots are IMMUNE to Grit Checks (Already Dead):

• No Wound Cards: Ossuarium pilots don't use the Pilot Wound deck at all
• Decay Card System Instead: When Pilot Damage occurs, add 1 "Decay" card to Casket HP deck instead of flipping Wound (see Ossuarium faction rules)
• Philosophical Justification: "We died once. What's one more wound?" The Ossuarium pilots cannot be permanently injured - they just decay faster
• Trade-off: Immune to permanent Pilot injuries (Shattered Hand, PTSD), but accumulate Decay cards faster than living pilots reshuffle normally

This makes Ossuarium pilots mechanically immortal from a Pilot perspective - they can never "die" from Pilot Wounds, only from Casket HP depletion. However, Decay cards make their HP deck progressively more useless. See Pilot Grit Rules.