Necromancers are evil wizards who specialize in the art of death. Not known for their powerful direct damage spells, Necromancers are designed to take back life from the attacking party. In EverQuest, all Necromancers are equipped with a pet, which is a Skeleton who is usually just about as strong as you are.
I think it would be cool to be a necromancer in real life.
Necromancer is a common name for wizards using magic that is related to death. The most typical interpretation of this is to make them able to anime dead as skeletons, zombies, ghouls, wights and other icky creatures. However, it is not they only thing they can do. Although necromancers are typically thought as evil (likely because they mess with the dead; that's a Bad Thing. The reason for this, essentially, is that corpses are unhygienic, no matter what excuses religions offer), necromancy can also mean its opposite, messing with life; helping life is blocking death, so healing spells could be as well necromancy. At least, this is the interpretation used in Baldur's Gate.
Also, the possible offensive spells they possess are almost always about cold and death and such, for obvious reasons.
Strictly and rationally speaking, there is no proof that Necromancy exists. However, they have a long history and their mysterious power can fascinate many, especially Goths. Their ability to harness the power of death and decay is certainly impressive, even if not very attracting.
Necromancers are in effect, Wizards. They are said to be male only (but there is talk about female Necromancers in some very credible accounts) and are not to be confused with Undertakers, Embalmers, Morticians, Warlocks, or Graveyard Wardens...although they may interact with them more than with others.
The Necromancers as we know today (the kind portrayed in games like Diablo or Warlords, are part of European/Norse legend. They are shown sometimes as lone wizards, corrupted by the easy, yet costly power of Necromancy...and sometimes as an entirely secret Brotherhood. They were mostly confined to the Dark and Medieval ages although some still exist today, but their magic is easily confused with that of Witchcraft. One thing remains straight, Necromancers interact with corpses, and some are practically corpses themselves. Their magic includes raising dead armies, invoking ghosts, resurrecting corpses for brief periods of time, asking ancient spirits for knowledge, sapping the life force out of living things, and healing. They are efficient in convoking, summoning, animating, binding, healing, and other spiritual/physical skill. Their mental skill leaves something to be desired. Their defensive spells include summoning dead from their graves to hold a person in place, raising skeletons to serve as personal bodyguards, and creating an illusion of darkness around them. They can be helpful in their knowledge of reanimating dead tissue, increasing bloodflow, and other general arts of healing, and they can be utterly devastating and deadly when they summon armies, create zombies, drain life force, and command the forces of death and coldness.
While Necromancers aren't always entirely evil, their magic is and most likely forbidden by Christianity and other major religions. The art is not directly linked with the Devil but treads dangerously near. Powerful wizards can control the magic but lesser ones can become corrupt by the power. Skilled and patient ones will learn to harness the power of death, while a brash youngster may trade in his own life in learning the arts of taking another. Unsuccessful Necromancers (or sometimes too successful) end up becoming liches, death mages, or wights.
"They're probably the ones you'd be most likely to see in the graveyards with a shovel, and least likely to invite to your fancy dress ball. While all wizards know the potency of dead things, and have a certain familiarity with certain 'bits', the necromancer is the only one who enjoys the company of the dead." Terry Pratchett.
According to www.dictionary.com: nec·ro·man·cy 1. The practice of supposedly communicating with the spirits of the dead in order to predict the future. 2. Black magic; sorcery. 3. Magic qualities.
Necromancers are an age old myth dating back to the days of Cleopatra and her Egyptian Empire (one of the earlisest documented practises of Necromancy is The Witch of Endor). Necromancers, put simply, are people who practise the art of Necromancy. I shall cover the areas where the above nodes have left open.
Each aspect increases in evil, and depending on the alignment of the necromancer, were not all followed. For example, a truly evil Necromancer would do all three, whereas a Necromancer only seeking to extend his life without regard to karma, would carry out the first two only. Most necromancers would not be truly evil, and hence most only carried out the first aspect. All three procured bad karma as they were inherently evil practices, and they were only done for personal gain. Hence a necromancer could not be good, but they could be only mildly evil (or Chaotic Neutral if defining by D&D alignments).
Physical Description: Once powerful wizards, these secretive men deck themselves with a long, horned skull and flowing orange robes with piping of the teams colours, and carry a forked staff that glows yellow when casting their spells. Their attack is a hurled bolt of death, greenish and trailing vapour.
Requirements: Built at: Temple of the Damned, requires: Halls of the Dead, allows: Skeletons
Spells and Abilities: Necromancers start out at Novice rank with the powerful but disabled autocast spell, Raise dead, which turns a nearby corpse in to two Skeleton warriors that last for 40 seconds. This time limit can be further extended by 15 seconds through the Temple upgrade Skeletal longevity. Necro's also gain the adept spell of Unholy frenzy, where a traget unit increases its attack rate by 75% but takes 4 HP damage for 45 seconds. At Master rank, Cripple becomes available. Cripple makes a unit/hero, for 30/5 seconds move 75% slower, reduces it's attack rate by 50%, and causes 50% damage reduction! It has quite accurately been descrived as the UBER slow spell, and can make even the strongest army as weak as kittens, or creeping that much easier.
Gameplay: Necro's are some of the most popular troops in Warcraft III. Teamed up with a meat shield, they can create an instant army out of almost nothing - ANY deaths that occur become two more tenacious warriors for you! However, their usefulness is greatly extended when you use all three spells in unison - cripple your enemies, frenzy your troops and make skellies out of their corpses! Used in conjunction with Banshees, they make potent (if under-skilled) spellcasters. Traditionally starting with Ghouls, but can work surprisingly well with the larger, tougher Crypt fiends, where the natural transition is abominations. Try a few of their other spells - you'll be surprised!
<<< Gargoyle -- Necromancer -- Skeleton >>>
Nec"ro*man`cer (?), n.
One who practices necromancy; a sorcerer; a wizard.
© Webster 1913.
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