D&D Universe: Necromancy

Learn what Necromancy is and what it's function is in the world of dungeons and dragons.

[Runesmith]

I cast twin spell! Merry Christmas guys.

[MuddiWasTaken]

What did the Necromancer do to fix his mid-life crisis?

He raised a family!

[cheeseyjrdude]

One of my favorite characters was a necromancer businessman. Sold zombies and skeletons as maids, farmhands, etc; raised fireflies from the dead and put them in jars to make lights; communed with demons and other beings haunting places, learned what they needed to free them into our realm, and proceeded to destroy what I could and toss the rest in the ocean. Oh, and I had a skeletal snake familiar I used as a cane.

[raver]

I'm going to play a nice little wizard, 20 sessions later, "with my undead army I'll rule the world"

[jehovasabettor]

Necromancer is just a very late healer.

[Kopenich]

"Not all Necromancers are evil" Thank you! I'm playing a true neutral necromancer in a planescape wizard game for 5e and my entire plan for the game is to just constantly subvert the player's expectations of a Necromancer.

"I won't allow the Necromancer to join us at the lodge, he can't be trusted"
*Necromancer willingly offers his arm to be severed to avoid being corrupted by somethingm then is the only one to save the party from being trapped in the Astral Sea*
"I just want to study life magic guys, leave me alone"

[partydean]

One of the things I never understood was why enchantment, the school of manipulating, controlling, and destroying someone own will is not seen as evil but necromancy, manipulating inanimate corpses is evil... (if the spell doesn't disturb the passed soul)

[MerryMaddMen]

Inspired by Puffin Forest
"I am NOT chaotic evil"
"You're a necromancer. You have a zombie slave you use for triggering traps and want to revive more zombies for slave labour"
"First of all, this is the medieval era, slavery is legal. 2nd of all, zombies have high con, and I'm going to use these zombie slaves to sell to others so farms can get more work done and more structure is built. 3rd, stereotyping much?"

[twistedblast]

These videos are so educational!My parents didn't abandon me, it was just an illusion!Now I can just raise new ones from the local graveyard!

[Grimmch-lc]

I m currently playing my first campaign, and i m playing a necromancer. He s neutral good, and sees necromancy as a way to understand life and death. He was saved by a necromancer sa a child, and she taught him magic. He sees using the dead as a way to save lives, as in:"Why sending people to die in a war when we could raise a graveyard?" I worked around the evil implications of creating undead by not making them souls i take forcefully from the afterlife, but lost fragments of souls stuck in the material plane. After they help me in my quests, i help them cross to the other side

[Bolderox]

still am of the belief you can use necromancy for "good".
the magic defines itself as "manipulating life energy"
but healing magic does the same, and that is seen as "good" but necromancy is by and large seen as "evil"

[colehowden]

According to D&D lore undead are evil by nature because they are animated using Negative Plane Energy, which comes from the evil planes. However, there used to be another creature type called deathless which were the same as undead except they were animated by Positive Plane Energy and as a result were good (or at the very least non-evil) aligned. This is why in the Forgotten Realms an archlich is a non-evil alignment.

[rossnorris]

I like his take on Necromancy, It's great to finally hear someone, besides myself and my current group, say Necromancers "tend" to be evil and not Necromancers ARE evil. The second sentiment annoys me it never acknowledges the few souls who are strong willed enough or compassionate enough to resist the pull of the selfish desire to just become the Lord of the Undead and eat the living. Thank You Runesmith. You have just become one of my favorite if not my favorite D&D channel on that statement alone.

[HeTaLiA]

Glory to glitch the Warforged necromancer who just wants forever friends

[bobfox]

I’m currently playing playing a Necromancer right now, but even though they are good in will, many see his magic as evil, so I’m currently on the run with my party.

[darkqueenfenrisulfr]

Necromancy is only forbidden cause the people on power fear the common folk making armies against them.
Enchanting is not forbidden cause they use it on their political plans and plots

[clarkside]

See! YOU get Necromancy! It's easily the most well rounded school of magic in 5th edition D&D and its become one of my favorites.

[lindarkknight]

I had a necromancer who used it to create friends. Conner was her best friend and the name of whatever the most powerful undead at the time she could raise.

[sarahdale]

I am playing a Necromancer "Hitman" in Dragon Heist right now. I have played many, many necromancers before, both super cliche and others trying to defy the stereotypes. But this one, I am having such a blast.

He's just a killer for hire that one day stumbled upon a spellbook and just so happened to have a knack for magical studies. It was his practical mind that pushed him to specialize in necromancy.

[dankim]

Half of runesmith vids: super serious voice

Other half of runemsith vids: funny haha comedian vids