Necromancy
Necromancy
Classification: Specialization
Parent School: Animation Class
Necromancy is the universally reviled black art of animating corpses using artificial mana structures or bound spirits. While civilians often use the term interchangeably with Soul Magic, technically "necromancy" refers only to the creation of undead.
Specialization Rules
This is an advanced Specialization. To learn Spells (Powers) in this field, a mage must use their dot-purchase selections from the Animation Class skill track. Furthermore, specific spells within Necromancy will explicitly require a secondary prerequisite (such as 1 or 2 dots in collateral Schools) to simulate the mixed-matrix required to cast them.
Progression
Acquiring dots and Powers here requires deep dedication. The spells are extremely potent but narrowly focused.
Example Powers
| Tier | Example Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Corpse Preservation | Halts the decay of a biological corpse indefinitely, keeping it fresh for future rituals. |
| Tier 2 | Animate Skeleton | Animates a basic skeletal construct to follow simple physical commands and perform menial labor. |
| Tier 3 | Corpse Puppetry | Takes direct control of a fresh corpse, allowing it to move and fight with some of its original reflexes. |
| Tier 4 | Life Drain | Rips the life force from a living target to heal the caster or empower an undead minion. |
| Tier 5 | Army of the Dead | Animates and commands a large horde of undead simultaneously, sustaining them with a complex ambient mana matrix. |
Lore Deep Dive
The Truth of the Undead:
True, naturally occurring undead are exceptionally rare and almost exclusively take the form of incorporeal ghosts. The shambling corpses, skeletons, and zombies that most people associate with necromancy are entirely artificial creations. Mechanically speaking, a zombie is simply a biological golem—a construct of flesh and bone animated by a bound soul.
The Process:
Creating corporeal undead is not a quick combat spell. It requires significant alchemical preparation to treat the corpse so it doesn't immediately rot away and can handle the strain of magical animation. Once the vessel is prepared, the necromancer must use Soul Magic to rip a soul out of the afterlife (or a living victim) and forcibly bind it into the corpse to power the animation matrix.
Mindless Servants:
Because the soul is enslaved purely as a battery and engine for the corpse, these undead retain none of their original personality or true intellect. They are completely mindless. As a result, they feel no pain, do not bleed, ignore severed limbs, and are entirely immune to Mind Magic.
Design Boundaries
Necromancy CAN:
- Animate biological matter (corpses, bones) into tireless, fearless servants.
- Preserve flesh and halt natural decay indefinitely.
- Utilize bound souls as an infinite power source for the undead construct.
Necromancy CANNOT:
- Resurrect the dead (the original mind is gone; it is just a puppet).
- Be cast in a split second during combat (animating a new undead requires hours of alchemical and ritual prep).
- Be practiced legally. It is a kill-on-sight offense in almost every civilized nation.