Necromancer

[Draige]

I was thinking back to my pre mud days of Tele arena, remember that game? Anyways what would you guys think of a necro class that drains health and mana through direct attack spells and or room attack spells like from TA?

[scratacorn]

Woot! a fellow TA player!
I personally perfered my rouge back in the days of TA playin.
wow, that was a long time ago. But I still have the game and play it from time to time when i get bored

[DeathCow]

I'm not sure if this be its own class or a mage specialization.  :p  same difference really.  I'm certainly not opposed to it.

[The Crazy Animal]

I guess it would depend on how much it shares in common with mages..

If all that it shares with mages is leach heals then I would think it should be its own class.

[Draige]

well if i remember right (been ten years) the necromancer deals in poison spells, plague spells, dark energy spells, and the main spells were draining health and giving a certain percent to themselves. I remember how overpowered mine was, i had like 3000 hp and i could do a storm spell for like 20,000...hhmmm maybe that was the one i editedm but you get the idea ehehhe...

[The Crazy Animal]

Hmm.... Personally I think if they were to fit in as a prestige type of class than I think they would be a good option for evil priests. "Not saying that you need to be evil after you become a necromancer but it might make for a good plot for becoming one."

Reasons being: A priest deals with life and a necromancer deals with death. Both classes exist within the same theme but at opposite sides of the spectrum. Sure theres a little more involved but its a starting point. I also think they share a bit in common with mmud's druids so maybe they could be one of those overlapping type prestige classes where two different classes can end up in the same end prestige class.

At any rate I they should have control undead and summon undead type spells too.. Maybe they should have a Necro-drain too so they can drain heal or mana steal from undead type creatures too.

TCA

[DeathCow]

Necromancer=not a priest.

[Valentine]

?
I beg to differ...necromancers are very often priests...Death Priest being the most common title.

Actually, a necromancer would best fit as a sub-class under the cleric heading.

[The Crazy Animal]

I can't see it really fitting under a cleric... I'm just curious why would it fit under a cleric?

[Valentine]

The short answer is "because TSR said so"....excerpt from the Book of Necromancers follow...

  "Since ancient times, scholars and priests have devoted their entire lives to studying, explaining, and revering the final chapter in human life. For some individuals, however, death has become an obsession, a source of magical power, or even an object of religious adoration. These beings are necromancers, and they are universally feared and loathed as the purveyors of unremitting evil.

  According to popular myth, the necromancer practices vile and forbidden arts. He is the macabre sorcerer who roots about in graveyards, searching out moldering components for his obscene spells. She is the evil priestess who calls upon restless, tormented spirits of the long-deceased, seeking their immortal arcana. In their dark and secluded lairs, the mute undead, the monstrous familiar, and the ravening fiend serve the necromancers in their ghoulish endeavors. In the literature of fantasy and horror, the necromancer is usually portrayed as the consummate villain.

  Yet there is another side to the necromancer and the death priest. Consider the compassionate ghost-hunter who lays tormented undead to rest, or the dutiful priest of the Dead who helps guide spirits on their eternal voyage to the netherworld. Necromancers can also have a constructive and positive role in the campaign."


Necromancers can be wizards who have studied death, yes, but more commonly they are clerics who worship death. They receive their power from one of several gods--Gods of the
Dead, Murder, Pestilence, Suffering, and Undead.

So, you can have a wizard who has necromatic tendencies, or a cleric who has truly become a necromancer. Most the necromancy spells you'll find are granted to priests, which (in my head anyway) means it'd be much more interesting to use the cleric side of necromancy than the wizard side. Not that I think necromatic spells should be left out for wizards, they just shouldn't be considered Necromancers.

[The Crazy Animal]

I still don't get ya. I see mention of priest/priestess, wizards, ghost-hunters, scholars, sorcerers but no mention of clerics until you mention them after the hightlighted text..

[DeathCow]

tsr=cleric=priest.

[Valentine]

What he said...

Sorry...cleric and priest are interchangeable in my head.

[The Crazy Animal]

Ok, I guess I just don?t see eye to eye with TSR... Even though I do understand that synonym wise cleric is just another word for priest.

This is how I look at it:
I look at priests as being casters
I look at clerics as being a dual class type Caster/Fighter
Same with Mage and Warlocks one is a single class type the other is a dual type..

Looking at the text that you provided I think there should be options for most maybe all of the classes that live under the banner of mage and priest magic. This would be done by offering a general Necromancy magic style magic that they can learn. Of course, this magic style would need to conform to the basic mmud styling of 1-3 magic ratings. Each Of the Necromancy prestige classes would then also need to have their own take on the base necromancy magic style something that integrates their class style with their magic style.

Necromancers: insert standard death worship text here?.

Priest = Necromancer
Cleric = Dark-Chancellor
Missionary = Dark-Minister
Paladin = Dread-Knight

Pseudo-Necromancers: These power hungry occultists study the forces of entropy, using alchemy, transfiguration, and reanimation, to grasp the secrets of the forbidden art. Their magic spawns from their grisly attempts to control the minions of the undead. Unlike the priestly worshipers of death who received their power through their worship this power is, taken by methods of spying, torture, murder, and pure trial and error.

Mage = Dark-Magus
Warlock = Dark-Enforcer
Gypsy = Death-Stalker
Wardancer ?If they get in the game? = (maybe) Plague-Dancer

TCA

[DeathCow]

im inspired by the joining of the 2 classes..... i like muliple origins