Necromancy

Necromancy is one of the three schools of Magic. It is commonly practiced by members of the Necropolis Sect - Necromancers and Vampires especially. It allows it's wielder to ressurrect the dead and command then, seep life off of others and, craved above all - attain immortality. Most Necromancers are Sect Elves and specialize in one or more aspects of Necromancy, such as spirit control, Vampire creation or other dark arts.

Ressurecting the dead has its own rules - for one, the longer something has been dead, the more mindless it becomes when it's ressurected, and for two - the walking dead may go skeletal and become Mage Spawn, which are not under control of the necromancer initially. This is because the soul of the dead is still in the corpse's body and it may take control of it's vessel once more when brought back to life.

Because a person cannot be taught necromancy - one is simply born with a talent for raising the dead - the first step to evaluating potential students lies in the Wands of Reanimation. Even the most unimpressive student should be able to "wake up" a corpse, even if it tries to eat its reanimator shortly thereafter.

## Usage

Usage of necromancy is wide and varied, from being able to boil blood to disfigure living beings beyond recognition with a simple spell.

* Zombies are created by necromancers en masse and are one of the easier types of beings that a necromancer can conjure. Rule of thumb - the longer a corpse has been rotting, the more mindless will be the zombie ressurrected. Using spells intended on creating zombies on living beings, however, produces unexpected results which can be seen in Grave Robbers - they become stronger physically but also rot away and gradually transform into hunchback monstrosities.
* Bone Golems are created by master necromancers by making a construct out of all kinds of bones - this makes it so that the golem doesn't go rogue (or skeletal, in reference to the mage-spawned Skeletons) and murder it's creator. This is done so that all the spirits inhabiting the golem are in constant struggle, never able to maintain control for long.
* Screeching Terrors are ghastly creations of Necromancy, stitched from the flesh of multiple beings and used as shock troops by the Sect.
* Magical attacks will not work on an alert necromancer, but even an exhausted one can quickly revive by using vampyric spells to devour the life force of one of his servants.
* A necromancer can willingly transform themselves into a zombie through a ritual to attain thousand years of life in exchange of losing all their powers - Goltusep was known for being one of the few necromancers who underwent this ritual. Zombies created this way retain their sentience.
* By binding a ghost to an animal bone and creating a Wand of Curses, necromancers can use the spirit to torment an opponent with an unrelenting series of painful pinches and distracting jabs.
* Flesh Golems are the most repulsive of Sect creations, made by the same method that Bone Golems are but with flesh instead of bones and with added Regeneration, making the end result very tough to kill.
* A necromancer can bind a warrior to its armor, making the victim unable to take it off. In the process, the target bleeds from every pore - since this is the same process by which Uhlrik Chargers are created, one can assume where the red tint of their armor came from.
* By linking oneself to a magic mirror, a necromancer can become immortal and near-invulnerable - Liches and Kings of the Dead are made in such a way. If the mirror is destroyed, however, the linked wizard is instantly killed.
* A Skeleton Spear is a deadly weapon of the Necropolis Sect. There is much necromantic energy bound to this weapon. It reaches into the body of its victims, killing the tissue as it goes, consuming the struck. As antithetical as it sounds, the Skeleton Spear is actually alive, with undead energies infused therein.
* Tormented Souls are Mage Spawn spirits enchanted by a Necromantic spell that drives the creature completely mad. As a result, it kills anything that gets in its way.

## In tabletop

Necromancy is a damage-related combat special ability represented by a black square with an X in it.

### Mage Knight Dungeons

This warrior can bring an eliminated friendly figure back into play. (Optional) Use this ability to return a figure friendly to this warrior to the game. Activate this warrior, but he has 0 speed points for the turn, may not make an attack and may not be in a square adjacent to an opposing figure. Choose one of the eliminated figures that is friendly to this warrior. Click its combat dial to the starting position; if the figure is a member of the Hero faction, click its combat dial to its level when eliminated. Roll 1 six-sided die and turn the figure’s combat dial a number of clicks equal to the result as if you were applying damage. If the stat slot does not show three skulls, place the figure in the dungeon in a square adjacent to this warrior. Figures with Zombie or Skeleton in their names return to the dungeon at full strength.

### Mage Knight 2.0

Give this warrior a special action. It cannot be in base contact with an opposing figure. Reanimate one of your eliminated figures (except a multiple-dial or titan figure), and turn its combat dial to the starting marker. Roll one six-sided die. On a result of 1–3, turn the reanimated figure’s combat dial clockwise a number of times equal to the result. If three skulls are not showing in its stat slot, place it in base contact with this warrior. On a result of 4–6, remove it from the game. Do not turn the combat dial clockwise for reanimated figures with the words Zombie or Skeleton in their names; they always return to the battlefield with their combat dials at their starting markers.

***Necropolis Sect***

1. ↑ https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-2.0-Card-Set-Items.pdf
2. ↑ https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-2.0-Card-Set-Items.pdf
3. ↑ https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-Lore-Expansion-Lancers.pdf
4. ↑ Mage Knight Stolen Destiny #1
5. ↑ https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-Lore-Expansion-Whirlwind.pdf
6. ↑ https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-Dungeons-Special-Abilities-Card-Version-2-2002.pdf
7. ↑ https://www.mageknight.net/wp-content/uploads/Mage-Knight-2.0-Special-Abilities-Subfaction-Abilities-Card-2003.pdf