Necromantists specialize in the creation and commanding of the Undead, and often command a dangerous mob of unpleasant servants and have dark powers or cast deathly spells.

Necromantism is mechanically built around a combination Skill, Follower, and Powers model, as described below.

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Skills

• Knowledge Skill: Undead: this Skill represents academic knowledge of different types of Undead, their strengths and weaknesses, where they might be found, and so forth.

• Power Skill: Necromantism (EGO): this Skill includes knowledge of how to channel the dark forces required to create and maintain Undead creatures.

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Followers

To be considered a Necromantists, a character must have at least one permanent Undead servants that they have Bound to themselves and thus they are exceptionally loyal. Generally speaking, though a Necromantist can take control of pre-existing Undead that are not already Bound to another master, typically as a matter of practicality the Undead they control are things that the Necromantist has themselves created to suit their purposes and thus they potentially might be unusual.

If the Necromantist is killed, the Binding that they have used to chain their Undead servants to themselves results in them dissipating or becoming inert. However if the Necromantist manages to rise again through their dark arts or some other means their servants will also be reconstituted / reactivated and will seek to return to the Necromantist by the most direct means possible.

A Necromantist can empower their Followers to remain animate after their own death if they so choose; to do so the Necromantist must pay an extra 5 character points (treated as an Adder) per Follower that can remain animate after their own demise. This might be done for a variety of reasons, including having a Follower follow a plan of action that will return the Necromantist to life, to guard the Necromantist's body or treasures, and so forth.

This is represented mechanically by using the Follower Perk.

The player of the Necromantist is encouraged to come up with interesting servants and have a role in their design, however the GM has ultimate veto rights over all write ups.

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Automatons

It is assumed that Undead Followers bought as Automatons which are destroyed can be replaced "off screen" given suitable time and raw materials.

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Example Follower Undead

• Undying: This type of Undead is created by Binding a freshly deceased (within an hour) sentient or creature. Mechanically, they are represented by a character or creature write up with the Corporeal Undead Package applied (with the "Less Obvious" option). Undying retain the intelligence and abilities they had in life and can pass as living humans in most conditions, making them favored servants. However, they cannot heal themselves and do not bleed, thus if they suffer damage their ability to pass as living is compromised. A Necromantist must have a separate Healing based power to repair a damaged Undying.

• Flyblown: This type of Undead is similar to an Undying, but are more powerful. In addition to the Corporeal Undead Package, they also have maggot-based pestilential power. Hideously disgusting and largely mindless, Flyblown are of limited usefulness, but they excel at sowing death.

• Carrion Feeders: A disgusting Undead fiend that eats corpses and grows larger and stronger for a time. Possessed of the cunning and intelligence of a hungry wolf, they are not tool users and attack in bestial fashion, but are quite canny and a clutch of them will employ pack tactics.

• Corpse Golem: Not actually Undead, this is an animated construct (mindless Automaton) that is pieced together with body parts from different animals and people.

• Gland Eater: A corporeal Undead that eats the adrenal glands of Humans, which grants them a temporary boost of physical might and dexterity. Malevolently intelligent, Gland Eaters can use tools if they choose to, though they prefer their natural claws and fangs to weapons, and their skin is as hard as plate mail so they eschew armor as well. The can speak, though their distorted mouths and throats grant their speech a horrifying distortion.

• Strife Wraith: A ghostly incorporeal Undead which is weak and impotent in its default state, but temporarily grows in power with exposure to unpleasant emotions such as fear, hatred, anger, and the like.

• Soul Sucker: An incorporeal Undead that emanates a fearful aura that incapacitates their victims by sheer terror. They suck the soul out of their paralyzed victims through their eyes and mouth, a process which takes less than half a minute.

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Necromantic Powers

Necromantists have the options of taking one or more Necromantic "themed" Powers. They may purchase these powers outright, or put them into an Elemental Control or one or more Multipowers. They may not use a Variable Power Pool for Necromantic Powers. All Necromantic Powers must at a minimum take RSR: Necromantism, even if it is sufficiently modified as to yield a net -0 Limitation.

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Summon

At the GM's discretion Necromantists can take one or more Summon based Powers that raise or create Undead as well if they so choose. However, as a groundrule, Summon can only be used to bring Undead into play using setting-established write-ups without modification. Undead Followers on the other hand are personalized and can even be unique. Thus if a setting defines Skeletons, Zombies, and Ghosts as the types of Undead that exist, then those are the only things that Summon could be used to bring into play, whereas a Follower Undead might be a Spectre or a Mummy (etc).

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Endurance Reserve

A Necromantist may take an Endurance Reserve for their Necromantic Powers if they like.

However, they may not spend more than 1/20th of the characters total points on it (rounded in the characters favor). Thus if a character were 150 points they could spend no more than 150 / 20 = 8 points on their Endurance Reserve; this could be for 50 END and 3 REC, 30 END and 5 REC, or any other combination adding up to 8 points.

In a more powerful setting, the GM might ease this restriction to a 1/10th ratio, or lift it altogether.

Magic Systems