Necromancer

**Necromancer** is a character class available to players in the *13th Age* fantasy tabletop roleplaying game ruleset. The Necromancer was introduced to the *13th Age* ruleset as a class, amongst others, in the *13 True Ways* supplement published by Pelgrane Press. Although generally reserved for a subclass or kit for a wizard character in other, similar games, those who choose to master death magic get their own full blown class in *13th Age*. The necromancer is a spellcaster class that serves as a 'controller' and damage dealer primarily and like many other mages, utilizes a grimoire of varying spells to overcome adversity.

In *WovenRealm,* Oleander is a necromancer. Utilizing the powers of death to redeem the spirits of the damned, Oleander takes advantage of the necromancy fueling her second life to slay foes and raise their corpses in service to her. Her necromantic 'gift' is also a major component of her backstory and personal narrative arc.

## Playstyle

### Role

The necromancer is primarily a 'control' spellcaster class and with being rewarded for a lower Constitution score and Constitution bolstering a character's hit point count, the colloquial gaming term 'glass cannon' is oft used by the cast to describe the necromancer. They summon an army of the dead to keep their foes at bay while utilizing deadly spells to slowly decay their enemies from the backline of combat.

### Ability Scores

Necromancers like their wizard counterparts rely primarily on their Intelligence for powering their death magic, but some of their abilities also are affected by Charisma. Compared to the other classes of *13th Age*, the Necromancer is especially interesting in that it punishes a character for having a positive Constitution modifier while also simultaneously rewarding those who choose to have a lower CON score.

### Primary Mechanics

As would be expected of the class, Necromancers rely primarily on magic surrounding the powers of death, the dead, decay, etc. Necromancers are especially good as summoners with their ability to raise personal armies of the dead to serve as disposal cannon fodder. Many other talents available to the class are intended to empower their innate spellcasting abilities. Some of their other abilities are intended to shore up the necromancer's shortcomings in terms of survivability, making them harder to kill. Outside of summoning hordes of the undead, the their spellbook contains spells that sap the life force from their still living enemies and to gain power and command over their undead ones.

### Narrative & Background

The ruleset provides a list of suggested backgrounds for a necromancer character including; failed village priest, archeologist, swamp baron, living dungeon escapee, former necromancer acolyte, death giant servitor, former mummy, reformed outlaw, resurrected Imperial hero, and burned-out wizard. Cast member Sam took advantage of the necromancer's Constitution based mechanics to help in telling a disabled story through Oleander.

## In Campaign

Oleander has mentioned to her companions that before being resurrected by Kierbeth upon dying the first time, Oleander lost her previous wizarding abilities she had spent a lifetime cultivating. In their stead, she found herself empowered with the strange necromancy that sent her away from her home in Kyir. Throughout the course of the campaign, Oleander has learned that the source of her necromancy is her lineage to the soul of St. Orianna and being infected by the blood of Blackheart. Despite their demonic origin, Oleander has continued to embrace these dark powers that fuel her unlife in both her personal quest and those of the Emerald Caravan.

## Notes & Trivia

* Necromancer's analogue to *Dungeons & Dragons* is not a stand-alone class, but instead could be any of the multitude of spellcasters, primarily Wizards or Sorcerers, who have decided to embrace the darker powers offered by the arcane. A wizard in *Dungeons & Dragons* can choose to focus on necromancy as a magic, but lacks the thematic and mechanical elements present in *13th Age'*s interpretation of the class.
* The inspiration for necromancers in fantasy comes from the practice of necromancy, which was magic involved with communing with the dead via summoning their spirits for the purposes of divination. The magic evolved into reanimation of corpses and death magic after being adapted to fantasy.
* More broadly, the idea of mages practicing witchcraft to summon the undead, master death, and fuel their immortality is a classic trope at this point in the fantasy genre. Necromancers are often villainous characters, though, as is the case with Oleander, many games provide an opportunity for nuance.
* The in setting explanation for Necromancy's affiliation with 'dark power' is through its affiliation with the occult; devils and demons. The cycle of life and death is considered a sacred thing and a part of the greater cosmic order that mortals are not intended to tamper with, with or without occultism.