Necromancer new player guide

This is a page for the Necromancer specific page for the Newbie Help Guide. Whenever possible, overlap with the general guide should be minimized.

Note: This guide is subject to all the standard rules involving Necromancers, including restrictions on naming secret NPCs, locations and entry methods for any guild, and generally anything spoiler. See Necromancer Policy for more details.

For details, rules, and the other pages involved, see Category:Newbie Guide Contest.

Start

First Things First

Before we get started, something needs to be emphasized. The Necromancer guild is an advanced option. It is quite possible that you will die a lot, due to circumstances outside your control. It is possible that in the process of these deaths occurring you will lose all of your gear, and be barred from using basic town services like depositing your coin, selling your loot, or getting gear from storage. This is truthfully, honestly, part of the package. It is highly recommended that you not play a Necromancer as your first character in Dragonrealms. Maybe not even your second. This guide assumes you've read the Newbie Guide, and indeed, the guild itself presumes a certain level of understanding of the mechanics of the game and the layout of the land. This isn't meant to dissuade you, but it is meant to warn you.

Necromancers can only be set to PvP Guarded, which means under the majority of circumstances, you cannot hope for GM intervention in a conflict.

Introduction

Congratulations, you've decided you want to be part of the Elanthia's most unforgiving guild! Maybe you're a glutton for punishment, maybe you harbor delusions of grandeur, maybe you just never grew out of Hot Topic. Whatever your reasons for joining the guild, the first order of business is getting you squared away with the lore behind it, as while it would be adorable to have a bunch of fledgling Necromancers running around the Crossing, cackling behind broken teeth, in flowing black capes, while twisting their oiled mustachios, perhaps while trying to tie some hapless victim to carriage tracks or telling Mr. Bond that they simply expect him to die, the guild does not condone such childish foolishness, and you will be at best simply offered to the Hounds of Rutilor to be made an example of. That hapless victim will probably kill you first though, so wise up.

The guild has loftier ambitions. To be brief, the guild is interested in liberating mortals from the yoke of mortality, an inequality held by the Immortals. To this end, Necromancers study the recently living (but now dead) to train Thanatology, which is a general method for The Great Work of Transcendence, of Immortality. However, the road is fraught with peril, naturally. Necromancers are, to put it mildly, wrong. The goal of seeking the Transcendence via hacking up the dead, via pursuing Arcane magic, it's all a doomed enterprise.

Roleplaying your Necromancer

As with all things RP, this is mostly up to the player, but it's also important to recognize that there is an extant body of lore that exists within the framework of the game, and you are not actually free to do anything you want. Necromancers are possibly the most disputed guild in the realms, so you should at a minimum, pay attention to the speeches the guild leaders provide when you join and read the information presented in the Necromancer section of this wiki.

One thing to remember is that while your character may think they are going to save the world, it's important to recognize that they effectively on the wrong side of history. There are no 'good' Necromancers; indeed, the entire guilds MO is an exercise in compromising your characters morality. Think about the sort of psychopathies required to believe that torturing innocents so long as it benefits you, or benefits others, is justified. Think about how that sort of individual would blend in, or perhaps, how they wouldn't. Think about what could motivate that sort of person to arrive at a point where their own goals are more important than the lives of others. To use a bit of pop culture; remember, what made Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates so terrifying was not that they were capable of unspeakably monstrous acts, but that they could hide in plain sight and no one would be the wiser.

In short, the character you are playing is not a pristine shining example of someone who you'd probably want to spend much time with. Many people undertake the 'hiding in plain sight' strategy, while others embrace the chaotic, twisted magics and stir trouble wherever they go. At the very least, your character should have a chip on their shoulder.

I also feel it is important to mention that your Necromancer is not an atheist. The guild, as much as even Clerics, has had direct interaction with the Immortals, and is keenly aware of their existence. All Necromancers are at least a little crazy, but no Necromancers should deny the existence of the Immortals.

Getting Started

Joining the Guild is a secret, so you may have to ask around. This is one reason the guild is considered an advanced option.

Survival Skills

Necromancers are survivalists. Much of your training will be centered around this, though you will by no means want to neglect weapons and armor. Your bread and butter will be your Stealth and Evasion. Your advancement will likely be dependent on your ability to advance Evasion, Stealth, Skinning, and Athletics. You may want to pick up Locksmithing, though this will tie you creatures that drop boxes. First Aid will likely be a good choice as well to help survive wounds, and it is easy to train with PERFORM PRESERVE. Thievery is probably a poor choice, as you will generally want to avoid towns. Perception will also probably be a forerunner, though it will generally move in combat if you HUNT periodically.

Magic Skills

Being Magic secondary, your spells will be a greater asset to you than your weapons and armor. Necromancer spells are potent, though often come with limitations or draw backs. It is important to know which spells will out you as a Necromancer and which spells can be cast in town.

Any Transcendental spell if cast in town will alert the authorities. Additionally, they will all change your appearance, so anyone looking at you will know you are a Necromancer. Calcified Hide and Worm's Mist will even alert anyone in the room, so they won't even have to look at you. Any offensive spell, TM or Debilitation, will also alert the authorities.

Spells you can cast in town are Rite of Contrition, Obfuscation, Researcher's Insight (though it will be obvious to other players that you are casting it), and Eyes of the Blind.

Lore Skills

Being Lore secondary, you'll want to use combat Tactics to your advantage. You'll also probably want to pick up a craft. Alchemy is a good choice, both because it'll give you access to healing remedies, as well as poisons once they're released. Furthermore, we have a spell to buff our ability in Alchemy, Researcher's Insight.

Divine and Social Outrage

The Immortals enjoy their monopoly on Immortality and Life Creation so much that a Necromancers attempts at imitation cause Outrage. This Divine Outrage builds as a Necromancer casts Transcendental or Animation spells. If it reaches a sufficiently high level, the Immortals will take action and smite down the Necromancer. Additionally, as a Necromancer circles, the base minimum of their Divine Outrage will increase. At a certain level of Divine Outrage, the Necromancer will be unable to be resurrected by a Cleric, or healed by an Empath. Additionally, if a Moon Mage perceives them, the Necromancers affiliation with Arcane mana will be apparent. Some other guilds can also accrue Divine Outrage, though it takes a bit more effort. Additionally, as your Divine Outrage accumulates, you will eventually become an evil being, capable of being severely negatively impacted by Holy Magic. Harm Evil is an example of a Holy spell that is specifically tailored to combat evil or undead beings.

Social Outrage is a measure of how uneasy the local towns folk and authorities are. It tends to be somewhat binary; either the townsfolk don't care about you, or you're on the most wanted list. When you've been arrested, any interactions with shops, banks, gemshops, tanneries, or gear repair may result in the proprietor calling the authories and having you rearrested. This is known as a Social Outrage Spiral, and can sometimes require multiple weeks to a month of passively letting your Social Outrage to drain.

One tool to mitigate Social Outrage is the spell Rite of Contrition. There is another tool that is a secret.

States of Being

As the Necromancer progresses, they will undergo a few stages of advancement. The first stage is Forsaken. The first time you cast either Spiteful Rebirth or Call from Beyond will be a strike against you by the Immortals. The second time you cast either of those spells will be all the reason they need to forever turn their backs on you, and you they will show their indifference and disappointment in you by smiting you dead. You will also lose all the favors you have accumulated. But fear not, for now you are one step closer to pursuing the Great Work! While in OOC terms, the Necromancer character is not in danger of being lost forever if they die, not having favors makes death potentially more detrimental, as dying with no favors imparts the greatest Deaths Sting. Around this time, you may also find yourself unable to be healed by Empaths due to the Arcane corruption you've built. Becoming Forsaken will also result in the loss of all favors. While the Necromancer can mostly choose when this occurs, after a certain circle, the first action that causes Divine Outrage will result in a strike towards being Forsaken.

The next stages of 'advancement' are choices. They are Redeemed, the Philosophers, and the Perverse. Only Philosophers are currently implemented into the game.

The Redeemed are those who have realized the error of their ways, and turned their backs on Transcendental Magic and pursuit of the Great Work. They are effectively recovered Necromancers, though the call of their previous lives is never far from their minds. Society may or may not recognize their decision to become Redeemed.

The Philosophers represent the Necromancers everyone joins in the beginning. They are scholars who believe they are pursuing the Great Work, for the good of all mortals. A few mortals will have to die in the process, naturally, but what is the cost of a few innocents in the face of greatness?

The Perverse are those who have grabbed the full scope of power Necromancy entails, at great cost to their souls. Their power has grown immensely, though they may not be in control of it anymore. All Liches are Perverse.

Avoiding Justice

All Necromancers are shunned by society, and should be keenly aware of the prevalence of the law wherever they are, via the JUSTICE command. If you are somewhere the law keeps an eye on, using most Necromancer spells will be spotted by a wary populace, and guards will be dispatched to deal with you. Additionally, anytime you are within the borders of a town, any adventurer can ACCUSE you of Necromancy, which subjects you to a check against how long you've been in town (the longer the worse), how Charismatic you and your accuser are, and if you foolishly have any Necromancer buffs visible (this would be most unwise). If you fail this check, you will be arrested or killed on the spot. Towns are not for Necromancers; this is a mostly lonely existence, remember that. If you pass the check, your accuser may not accuse you again for a while, but your chances of being accused successfully by someone else are increased.

While you are in justice zones, a hidden timer will start. As this timer increases, the probability of someone successfully accusing you goes up. The timer can be drained, at a slower rate than it accumulates, by spending time outside of justice zones. Having Rite of Contrition up will prevent the timer from increasing, though you may still be successfully accused.

Avoiding Detection

It's also worth mentioning that evading detection from PCs may be an important task for Necromancers, particularly younger Necromancers. Know which spells will alert a PC to you being a Necromancer (see above), and what actions can out you. If someone looks at a pile that has been COLLECTed, the appearance of the pile will indicate the guild the collector belongs to. This is meant to be a fluff bit of cuteness, with no real game impact, though it will out a Necromancer. Additionally, Necromancers will masquerade as a given guild, either Moon Mages, Warrior Mages, or Rangers, depending on how their mana affiliation appears before it appears as Arcane. This means that a Moon Mage who attempts to PERCEIVE the Necromancer will initially only see Lunar, Elemental, or Life mana, which can be to your advantage. They will also, however, detect any spells on you, so if a Moon Mage is in the area, make sure you don't have any Arcane spells up.

To that end, it might be worthwhile picking up a few sorcery spells from the guild you are pretending you are. It's one thing to claim to be a Ranger, it's another entirely to cast Compost. If you want to convince people you are not a Necromancer, act the part.

Now, that said, there are a few things to be aware of. Firstly, Moon Mages, as mentioned, can PERCEIVE mana and spells on you. Once you detect as Arcane mana, casting Rite of Contrition will rehide your mana type. Clerics can detect that you don't have any favors, and again, Rite of Contrition will make it appear as though you have a few. Finally, Empaths can detect Necromantic taint on you, so be sure to set your DEMEANOR to reserved to Empaths to prevent them from touching you. It's important to note that Rite of Contrition may fool a Cleric or Moon Mage into thinking you aren't a Necromancer, but it is not in any way shape or form actual protection. If a Cleric casts Harm Evil on you when are susceptible to it, Rite of Contrition will not change the outcome!

Finally, be aware that some guilds have guild specific styles that may be used against you. Rangers have a secret handshake, so if a Ranger shakes your hand, the gigs up.

Signature Guild Abilities

First amongst the tools available to us include the ability to heal our own wounds by magically consuming the bodies of their recent victims. This is done with the spell Consume Flesh and later, with Devour. Additionally, a Necromancer can self-resurrect, forcing their beaten body to mend to the point of sustaining life with Spiteful Rebirth. The latter, it should be mentioned, is one of the spells that will start garnering the attention of the Immortals and leading the Necromancer to become Forsaken.

The other ability is commanding up to two creatures to fight by your side, a zombie which is created with the spell Call From Beyond, and a Construct (sometimes called a Mudman) created from the spell Quicken the Earth. Call from Beyond will resurrect a recently slain creature as a zombie, and these zombies can be immensely powerful, able to equip weapons and armor to make them even more potent in combat. The strength of a construct or zombie is determined by your skill in TM, and both will train your TM as they fight for you.

Additionally, Necromancers have access to the games only 'fire from hiding' TM spell, Vivisection. When cast from hiding, this spell will allow the Necromancer to remain hidden, and will receive a bonus to hit based on the Necromancers Thanatology and Stealth. This can be an extremely potent weapon against a foe that has lower Perception than your Stealth, and since Necromancers are Survival Primary, that should be everyone but Thieves and Rangers. Incidentally, only Thieves and Rangers have a 'fire from hiding' ability similar to Vivisection.

The ability to self heal and self resurrect make a Necromancer very independent, and they have to be; once they reach a certain point, they cannot be healed by Empaths, and cannot be resurrected by Clerics. Additionally, Necromancers are the only guild that are capable of having two pets out at once, which are the most powerful player created pets.

Training Thanatology

When you first start, the only ritual you know is PERFORM PRESERVE. This will train Thanatology and a First Aid, albeit slowly. It will only train if the creature presents a challenge. Until you unlock PERFORM ARISE, training Thanatology will be kind of a pain. if you're up to the task, you can pick up the spell Butchers Eye, which will boost Skinning and Thanatology, and train on more difficult critters, assuming you can kill them of course.

Be aware that PRESERVE and ARISE do not appear suspicious to observers, but HARVEST will produce a chunk of material, which will immediately alert anyone to the fact that you are a Necromancer doing horrible things to a corpse.

More information on rituals can be found at Necromantic Rituals.

Getting Started

You may have already looked at the Necromancer skill placement, and noticed that they are Survival Prime, Lore and Magic Secondary, and Weapon and Armor Tertiary. To this end, you will forever have a difficult time moving weapons and armors, while Evasion and Stealth will most likely be your most potent allies in combat. The strength of your zombies and constructs are determined by your skill in Targeted Magic, so always keep the skill moving. Against a like circled opponent, you will lose in a contest of weapons. Weapons and armor are good to train, but will not be your strongest tool.

Once you've joined the guild, you need a belt knife, which will allow you to PERFORM various rituals, as well as skin your enemies. A good first spell to pick is Obfuscation, though you may also want to pick up Acid Splash. As a good first early goal is to be able to train all your magics without needing classes, a perfectly valid spell progression may be Heighten Pain (Debilitation), Acid Splash (Targeted), Obfuscation (Augmentation), and then pick up Gauge Flow (Utility) and Manifest Force (Warding). These five spells will allow you to train all your magics.

Another valid spell progression would be picking a set of goals, for example, having Consume Flesh at 15th, to allow self healing, and Spiteful Rebirth at 30th. While you may wish to avoid using your Transcendental buffs initially, Philosopher's Preservation and Ivory Mask are useful to have while hunting.

Now What?

The first order of business now is getting out of town! All of the spells within the Necromancer spellbook may be recognized by more experienced magic users, which would out you as a Necromancer. Be smart, keep your wits about you, and stay under the radar. Do not cast your Necromancer spells in town. Do not train your magics by casting Necromantic spells in front of people. When in doubt, type JUSTICE to ascertain if you are in a justice zone.

Stat Training

For stats, a good first goal is getting everything to 30. This will give you a good base. Next, you'll probably want to keep Reflex high, as dodging enemies will be easier than surviving getting hit and let you stay in combat longer. Discipline will improve your ability to hide and your ability to target spells, as well as help in your Debilitation contests. Don't let any stat fall too far behind at first, until you have a better understanding of what they all do.

Starting Gear

What weapons and armor you train is up to you, but initially sticking to lighter choices would be optimal. Small Edged and Small Blunt, Light Thrown and Bows all make good choices. The obvious choice for stealth and low hindrance armor is Cloth or Leather, though you can swap Chain or even Brigandine if you're not training stealth at the moment.

(more to come)