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The first steps on the dark path are often tenuous, and questions fill the mind of the
neophyte. What am I to do? What is my role? When does the killing begin? Thankfully, the
answers to these questions are simple. (Respectively: "Kill things,"
"Facilitate the killing of things," and "Now.")
Rejoice in the powers of necromancy, even if they seem weak at the start.
Level 1 Spells
Even the youngest initiate has the spells which are the hallmark of all necromancers:
a life-stealing attack, an attack which does damage over time, magical protection, and an
undead pet.
The School of the spell reflects which skill is used to cast
it: Abjuration, Alteration, Conjuration, Divination, or Evocation. Mana is drained from your
mana pool immediately upon casting the spell, even if the spell was resisted. If a spell
fizzles – and you can expect to see a lot of that until your casting skills
improve – you still lose some mana, but it is only a fraction of the total mana cost of
the spell. Cast Time is in seconds; it may not seem important now, but it's a vital piece of
information later on. Any necessary Reagents must be in your inventory to complete the
spellcasting, and (except where noted) are consumed every time the spell is cast.
| Dark Ritual |
School |
Mana |
Cast Time |
Reagents |
| Cavorting Bones |
Conjuration |
15 |
5.0 |
1 bone chip |
|
Summons a skeletal
warrior to do the necromancer's bidding. |
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This the the first of many undead pets, and learning
how to take advantage of them is one of the defining arts of necromancy. Wise use
and firm control of your undead minion cannot be overemphasized.
|
| Coldlight |
Conjuration |
15 |
2.0 |
None |
|
Summons a Coldstone to provide a pale phosphorescent
light. |
|
To provide the proper light, the Coldstone must be
held in the hand or placed in an open inventory spot – if you stuff it in a
bag, it won't help. Now, you're probably thinking that this is useless. Yes, you've
got good night vision. Yes, you'll have a much better light source soon. You could
live without this spell... but sooner or later, you'll be running through a dark
tunnel trying to retrieve your well-lit body, and you'll be happier if you can pluck
one of these things out of the air, trust me. Later in life, you should always have a
Coldstone on you if you're attempting to recover your body; if you die on the way,
it will prevent your otherwise-empty corpse from decaying quite so rapidly.
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| Disease Cloud |
Conjuration |
10 |
1.5 |
None |
|
Strikes the target for 5 disease damage, inflicts 60
disease damage over 6 minutes, and prevents the target from naturally regenerating
health. |
|
There is a long-standing debate that our disease
spells do not actually prevent health regeneration, it only appearing so
because the typical victim's health regeneration in battle (1 health/6 seconds)
happens to equal the damage over time provided by the spell. Whichever the case may
be, it can be quite useful for longer battles. It also has a fairly long range,
making it a good pulling spell.
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| Invisibility vs. Undead |
Divination |
40 |
4.0 |
None |
|
Renders the target undetectable by most undead
beings for an unpredictable length of time. |
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Note the word "most." Some powerful undead
creatures won't be fooled. Your personal pet will always be fooled, however, and will
promptly turn to dust. Also note the word "unpredictable" and plan
accordingly. If you wish to give others the benefit of this spell, they will need to
be in your group.
|
| Lifetap |
Alteration |
9 |
1.5 |
None |
|
Drains 3-5 health from the target and grants it
to the necromancer. |
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This is the first in our series of "I shall now
suck the life out of you" spells. These spells always drain a fixed amount of
health at each level of power, and the amount jumps up a little bit with each greater
level until the maximum drain is achieved. Only creatures with complete magic resistance
are immune to our drains (as long as they're not far too powerful, i.e., 7 or more levels
higher than the necromancer). Lifetaps cost too much mana to be your only form of attack, but
this spell and its kin will save your hide. The world is your snack bar.
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| Locate Corpse |
Divination |
5 |
1.5 |
None |
|
Targets the nearest corpse and turns the necromancer to
face it. If a target is selected before the spell is cast, this will turn the necromancer
towards the nearest corpse of the target (which corpse then becomes targetted). |
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If a Necromancer needs help finding their own corpse,
it's a professional disgrace. Get this one early. This is also one of the few spells
that other people occasionally need, so here's your chance to make a useful contribution
to society (if you're into that sort of thing) or mock the dead (which is much more
entertaining: "Hey, this is still fresh. Are you gonna eat this?").
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| Minor Shielding |
Abjuration |
10 |
2.5 |
None |
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Provides the necromancer with an extra 6-10 maximum
health and 3-8 armor class. |
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Here's the first of another line of spells. As with
many spells, the effects increase as you gain levels until the maximum effect is
reached. Unless you're feeling completely safe (and I know that I never do) you'll
want to keep your best shielding spell up at all times.
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| Reclaim Energy |
Conjuration |
5 |
2.5 |
Summoned Pet |
|
Banishes the necromancer's summoned pet and returns
a portion of the mana used to summon it to the necromancer. |
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Your pet needs to be your target, and it needs to be
within the range of the spell. It's easier and faster to tell your pet to get lost, but
if your pet isn't responding to commands for some reason, this can be handy. At lower
levels you probably won't notice the amount of mana you get back; later, it becomes
much more worthwhile.
|
| Sense the Dead |
Divination |
5 |
2.0 |
None |
|
Targets the nearest undead being and turns the necromancer
to face it. |
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This is a handy thing, and any necromancer worthy of
the title should be able to do it. The spell ignores your own pet and the pets of
other necromancers like yourself. It's useful when you're on the hunt for bone
chips, and it's a fine way to keep your Divination skill in shape.
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| Siphon Strength |
Alteration |
5 |
1.5 |
None |
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Drains 5-10 strength from the target and grants it
to the necromancer. |
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Anything that makes the enemy weaker and you stronger
is a good thing. You may or may not notice any difference in the target's combat
ability, but the personal strength boost is nice. The effects are rarely resisted.
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Tactics
The neophyte necromancer, with little experience in the use of spells and a limited pool
of mana, has a fairly narrow range of tactics available.
Melee Solo
When your weapons and your raw strength (aided by your twisted magics) are enough to
finish off your victims, indulge in some personal bloodspilling. Even though our physical
attacks are quickly eclipsed by our magical arts, it is important to engage in melee once
in a while. This builds both offensive and defensive skills; offensive skills are convenient,
but defensive skills will keep you alive.
If you have the chance, familiarize yourself with a variety of weapon types. You never
know what sort of grim tools you'll run across in the future.
You won't be able to melee solo for very long. Enjoy it while you can.
Melee with the Dead
One of the joys of necromancy is our ability to summon up a bony warrior to fight by our
side. It makes the killing go faster, it makes you look necromantic, and it can provide
you with a window of safety should you need to retreat. There's really no better time to
start learning how to command your undead pet.
At this level, your companion is fairly brittle. Be sure that he's not taunting, and be
at the forefront of the fight.
Hunting Grounds
Familiarize yourself with your home town; begin by making your way to the necromancer's
guild and handing in your recruitment note to the guild master listed. Once that's done,
head out and begin your killing spree.
Gnomes will begin by finding the Mines of Malfunction, which are in the deepest parts of
Ak'Anon. First find the main merchant area, which holds the Forge of Defiance, the large pyramid
which contains the bank and many vendors, and the meddling bard. Cross the bridge which goes over
the river and make your way down the sloping path. Once there, follow the right-hand wall; you'll
pass the large underground falls, go through a corridor, pass some machinery, and stumble down an
incline. About halfway down that incline is the square metal door which marks the entrance to the
Mines. Go through the door and turn left. The Dark Reflection necromancer guild is before you.
Once you've acquired your Dark Gold Felt Robe, leave Ak'Anon and make
your way into Steamfont. Follow the mountains to the left or the right for a good killing ground,
you won't need to go far at all.
Morty's Bloody Trail
Long ago – and that's not an exaggeration, trust me – I began to keep a journal of my
hunting grounds. It begins here. Not terribly interesting at the start, but there it is.
Level 1
My rampage of death began in Steamfont, like nearly all other gnome necromancers. Since killing
gnome skeletons results in a falling out of favor with the Dark Reflection, I left those alone.
(Note: I believe that this has changed, as the Dark Reflection no longer concerns itself with
the wandering dead of Steamfont. They were, shall we say, an interesting experiment.)
Level 2
I was still killing things in Steamfont, there being no particular reason to move on.
Level 3
I remained in Steamfont, taking down a slightly wider variety of things. I had a short period
of freelancing in the Mines of Malfunction, but I found that to be troublesome.
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