Souriin’s plans have met with concern from some of the other Lords of Rotan. In one letter to Souriin, the famed bard Damalanthas Quithas wrote:

Souriin, although you have embarked on this task with a set mind, should you follow through with this deed, your reputation and the great things you have achieved will lie in ruins.

Progress has been good during the first six months of the project. Significant numbers of undead troops have been stockpiled in key locations, several new spells have been developed and many of the group’s other research projects are nearing breakthroughs.

Deathwatch Isle
The home of Project Deathwatch is one of the remote Bird Islands, now called Deathwatch Isle. On the island are several rudimentary buildings which house the members of the Project.

Undead caches
As well as building up an army of undead on Deathwatch Isle, the group also has four hidden caches of skeletons in North Ivrea – three near the city of Feroll and one on the island of Tilloniti.

Each cache consists of fifty skeletons, ten armed with explosive runes. The skeletons are well hidden in natural caverns sealed with multiple empowered fire trap spells.

The Army of the Dead
Souriin considers the human body to be an all-terrain vehicle of note, and the basic goal of Project Deathwatch is to combine the arts of necromancy and alchemy to create an undead army capable of carrying a volatile chemical mixture into battle.

The first phase of the Project has focussed on skeletons, which will carry the highly flammable mixture in their skulls. At a later stage, zombies will be added to the army, and in this case, the mixture will be contained in their stomachs. The exact formulation of the chemical mixture is under continuous review, although the skeletons in the caches in North Ivrea were primed with an early version of the mixture.

The undead units are inscribed with minor fire runes programmed to trigger under certain conditions (if the unit is damaged, for example). This rune ignites the chemical mixture, triggering an explosion. This form of attack works equally well against both machinery and personnel. Junior members of Project Deathwatch are trained both to raise the required undead and to place the rune. Work on the chemical mixture is conducted primarily by Souriin and Gramm.

The Summoning
Preparations are currently underway for a specialised controlled summons. As an experiment, the group intends to summon a more intelligent form of spirit – not an undead creature, but one which is native to the shadow planes.

Souriin knows that a place he refers to as the plane of shadow exists, since he has visited it during the course of his adventures. Most of the research undertaken by the senior members of the Project is focused on the nature of that place and the local inhabitants. When the research has been completed, an attempt will be made to entice such a creature using a summoning spell. The members of Project Deathwatch are under strict instructions not to attempt this without Souriin himself present.

Spells
Project Deathwatch has developed or re-discovered several spells:

Bone Shambler Reconstitute Dead Souriin’s Firebones

Souriin's Rite of Shadow-Wisp Summons Souriin's Ritual Gestalt

Politics
Souriin has decreed that all of the Project’s discoveries are to be shared equally, and all knowledge and research is to be made available to all of the project’s members. The entire group discusses potentially dangerous areas of research. When necessary, a vote is taken – a two-thirds majority is needed to block a specific direction of research. Souriin – as the Project’s leader – has a veto vote on any decision, but even he may not overturn a unanimous vote of the other members of the Project.

Of late, some of the students have been growing restless. Their research is useful, but many of the Project members have their own agendas and many seek revenge for past wrongs. In order to keep this situation from spinning out of control, Souriin has arranged for a special area to be prepared on the island. 

The area is approximately 500’ x 500’ and the edge is demarcated by a picket fence. In this area, students undergo rigorous combat testing. One student is tested each day. The test lasts no more than fifteen minutes, but is carefully prepared before by three others.

The mage is tested for all kinds of monster encounters. Usually the scenario is created with illusions, but to make it more real, monster summoning is sometimes used so that the student is never sure what he or she faces. Students have to use all resources available to them to pass these tests, including real offensive spells. Some of the students have been hurt during their tests, but this has just made them more determined. So far, everyone on the Island approves of this.

People
Souriin Draco, also known as the Raven Mage, is one of the foremost students of magic in the region. He is best known for his work in establishing magical institutions in Ivrea, including the famous University of Craft and Thought. For many years, he has travelled the length and breadth of Ivrea with his adventuring companions – the Lords of Rotan. As might be guessed from their name, this group also serves as the city of Rotan’s protectors. Fairly recently, the Lords learned of a massive threat to the continent from the north, where hordes of arctic trolls move inexorably south. Souriin founded Project Deathwatch as a defence against the coming trolls, even though some of his companions opposed the idea. The motivations of the Raven Mage remain obscure to the other members of the project, but in allowing them to join the project, Souriin has offered many of them an opportunity to escape their former lives. The group thus displays a sincere loyalty to its leader.

So far, Souriin has collected eleven other spellcasters to make up Project Deathwatch. Six of these have been with Souriin since the first few months of the project. Finnigan, Jandar and Makor are more recent additions, and Elistair and Enyaki are very new recruits. There is a persistent rumour within the members of the project that Souriin intends to eventually grow the group to twelve, in order to be able to perform a ritual requiring thirteen necromancers. None of the other members of the group has had the courage to approach Souriin about this rumour.
 

Astra of Mistlewood Distar of Helmfront Elistair Insando Elmythra Olgasdottar Enyaki Felon Tardan

Finnigan Morman Gramm Eddar Jandar Ter'Faan Makor Reginald Tasseman

Treasures and inventions
Souriin and the other Project members have collected or developed a number of items related to the Project:

Death servant scroll Enyaki's static tube Lich potion

Nocturne Logica Rod of Withering