Necromancers

Humanity is just another resource. Like all resources, we must not waste what we are given. The weak shall fuel the strong.

-Goronwy Siwa Willowmist

The Necromancers see themselves as pragmatic above all else, uncowed by the simple fact that death is part of the cycle of life. They believe the idea of life and death as opposing forces to be nothing more than naive sentimentality. They know everything crumbles and rots in the end, and then new life springs from that rot. Time inevitably passes, bringing both destruction and new creation to all things.
The Necromancers celebrate the growth and vibrancy of the natural world, but gives equal attention to nature’s facets of destruction, decay, and death. It finds allies and agents in the form of fungi, oozes, insects, diseases, and other unsavory aspects of nature, and it uses the power of nature actively toward the goal of advancing its own place in the world. But the Necromancers have also learned patience from nature; they are content to work from the shadows, harnessing the energy that comes from decay.
The Necromancers believe it is their time to shine. They have dwelled under the streets and under the cover of darkness for too long. Civilization has fallen. With the Fall a new freedom to celebrate the Dark was born. The Necromancers are neither surprised nor panicked by the lack of infrastructure, for they believe that all things eventually rot and die, and from this decay, new life blooms. Society is not exempt from the laws of nature.
They have sealed many of the passages leading into the undercity beneath Necropolis Proper, making their territory seem like an impregnable subterranean fortress. Within it, the Necropolis domain retains its grandeur, a mysterious and wondrous kingdom. The rare visitors who stumble into it are awed by its beauty and its aura of ancient power. Palatial architecture fills cavernous sewer chambers, and luminescent spores float through the air to shed an otherworldly light on the moss-covered masonry. Entering the Necromantic Caverns feels like stepping into a secret world of dangerous beauty.

Diplomacy

Necromancer Characters

• Alignment: Usually neutral, often evil
• Suggested Races: Tuner, Human
• Suggested Classes: Magus, Gunslinger, Infiltrator
• Suggested Archtypes: Darkslinger, Magician, Technomancer, Pathfinder
• Suggested Ladders: Survivor, Runner

Being a Necromancer might suit your character if one or more of the following statements are true:

• You’re drawn to the darker side of nature or the greener side of necromancy.
• You are drawn to sinister, creepy, or grim characters.
• You like the idea of playing a morally ambigious character.

Background: Necromancer

If your character was born and raised in Necropolis, you can choose this background instead of those listed in the Ultra Modern Redux rule book.
You are a member of a teeming horde — one small part of a sprawling organism. Just as you are part of the swarm, the swarm is part of a larger ecosystem, a never-ending cycle of life, death, rot, and rebirth. You have spent your life in the slow churn of that ecosystem, in the dark places of the world where the messy parts of existence are on display. There is little squeamishness among the Necromancers, no fear of death or taboo about the dead, just a fierce affirmation of the cycle.

• Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Survival
• Languages: Choose one
• Equipment: A Necromancer insignia, Posioner;s kit, a Fire Beetle or Spider , a set of common clothes, and 10 credits.
• Tool Proficiency: Posioner's Kit

Feature: Undercity Paths

You know hidden, underground pathways that you can use to bypass crowds, obstacles, and observation as you move through the Necropolis. When you aren’t in combat, you and companions you lead can travel between any two locations in the settlement twice as fast as your speed would normally allow. The paths of the undercity are haunted by dangers that rarely brave the light of the surface world, so your journey isn’t guaranteed to be safe.

Suggested Characteristics

Members of the Necromancers are unmistakably products of the undercity, ill at ease amid the comforts of civilization. They bring about the same discomfort in others by reminding them of death’s inevitable approach. 

Contacts

To the extent that the Necromancers acts like a single organism, you are connected to every other member in some way or another. Convinced that the rest of the world is out to get you, you find it easy to form close bonds with your fellow Necromancers, and harder to make meaningful connections with others.
Roll twice on the Necromancer Contacts table (for an ally and a rival) and once on the Non-Necromancer Contacts table.

Public Agenda

To raise humanity from the ashes of the Fall.

History

Toutatis Su'en Allaway's interest in necromancy, and his eventual transformation into a lich, shaped the course of the factions activities and gave birth to its philosophy of embracing death as part of nature’s cycle.

The weak shall fuel the strong.

Founding Date

25SE

Leader

Goronwy Siwa Willowmist

Leader Title

Litch Lord

Founders

• Toutatis Su'en Allaway

Location

Necropolis

Related Traditions

• Day of the Dead

Related Ranks & Titles

• Litch Lord

Controlled Territories

• Conclave
• Dark Lore
• Necromantic Caverns
• Necropolis
• The Fabrigia Institute

Manufactured Items

• Necromantic Charm

Related Items

• Necromantic Charm

Notable Members

• Goronwy Siwa Willowmist
• Toutatis Su'en Allaway
• Valli Bhumi Haught

Related Species

• Tuner

Related Historical Events

• 25SE
  Founding of the Necromancers
• 25 SE
  Founding of Necropolis

General Biases

These are the biases that members of this faction typical hold.

Positive Biases

They favor those who are magically inclined. This bias triggers for any character that has a Vigor score of 8 or more.

Negative Biases

They dislike those who are not magically inclined. This bias trigger for any character that has a Vigor score of 7 or less.

When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad.
Being and non-being create each other. Difficult and easy support each other. Long and short define each other. High and low depend on each other. Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go. She has but doesn’t possess, acts but doesn’t expect. When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.

-Tao Te Ching (Translator Stephen Mitchell, Year 1988)

The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.
It is always present within you. You can use it any way you want.

-Tao Te Ching (Translator Stephen Mitchell, Year 1988)

Allies

The Dark Path

100

Necromancers

100

Most of the Necromancers are also members of the Dark Path.

Allies

Necromancers

100

Death Guard

100

Many within Necropolis consider the Death Guard an extension of the Necromancers rather then a seperate faction.

Neutral

Necromancers

0

Tinkers

0

Neutral

Necromancers

0

Wranglers

0

Enemies

Necromancers

-50

Druids

-50

The Necromancers are those who embrace death while the Druids are those that embrace living. They have a conflict in their core belief system that often makes them in opposition to each other within the political arena.

How Do I Fit In?

As part of the Necromantic Swarm, you are a specialized instrument of the greater body. Your orders, when you have such, come from the Litch Lord by way of the Death Knights, who carry their messages throughout the faction. The swarm relies on you to advance the greater good by protecting some part, however small, of its teeming existence. That responsibility doesn’t mean you’re indispensable; your eventual death is part of your purpose and function, too, and you’ll be replaced even as your body provides nutrients to further the swarm’s growth.
A classic adventuring role for a member of the Necromancers involves crawling through dungeon-like environments — the sewers and ancient vaults of the undercity — in search of treasures left behind by the dead. Sometimes you might be sent to find a specific item believed lost in a dangerous part of the undercity. At other times, you could be asked to collect samples of a specific fungus, retrieve a body floating in the muck of the sewers, or bring back whatever booty you can to help fill the swarm’s coffers.

Rank and Renown

Every member of the Necromancers has its place, and every role is important to the proper functioning of the faction. The weak will fuel the strong and together they will crush those who oppose them. Those who are considered strong and powerful advance through the ranks and are given additional priledges within the faction. They are seen as conductors. Those who are weak remain within the lower ranks and are conducted towards the greater purpose of the faction. Nothing is wasted.
At the start of your career with the Necromancers, the Litch Lord and the Death Knights have no way to distinguish you from the masses of others who perform a similar function. If you receive instructions from the Death Knights, the orders are directed toward you as part of a larger group. But as you perform your duties well, the leadership begins to notice you and you are lifted above the swarm to higher ranks of leadership.

Rank 1: Student

• Prerequisite: Renown 1 or higher in the Necromancers.

As part of education and training, students of the Dark work under supervision. They are expected to perform service for both the faction and Necropolis as a whole. Students of the Dark study and work to memorize the spells of their chosen Path so they may work their way through the Dark Sequence. They also provide assistance to the Initiates. In this way, they learn what that role involves. As they progress through their education, they are given tasks by the Initiates who then supervise them while they work.

• You gain access to the Fabrigia Institute and are given a Necromancer Insignia.
• You gain access to Necromantic Caverns.

Rank 2: Initiate

• Prerequisite: Renown 3 or higher in the Necromancers, Vigor score of 8 or more.

You have completed the required education offered at the Fabrigia Institute and formally join the ranks of the Necromancers. You understand enough of the basics that you are now trusted to be given assignments.

• The path cost for the Path of Death is 0 for you and you may choose one of the root spells without paying its cost.
• You gain access to the Dark Lore.
• You gain one additional contact from the Necromancer contact table listed under the background section.

Rank 3: Apprentice

• Prerequisite: Renown 5 or higher in the Necromancers, Vigor score of 8 or more.

You have distinguished yourself from the mass of your peers. The Litch Lord might not know your name, but they know that a member of your group is reliable and effective, and Death Knights single you out for specific missions.

• You receive a Necromantic Charm.
• You may choose an additional Path of Death tier 1 spell without paying its cost.
• You gain one additional contact from the Necromancer contact table listed under the background section.

Rank 4: Dark Mage

• Prerequisite: Renown 10 or higher in the Necromancers, Vigor score of 10 or more.

When you reach this level of renown in the Necromancers, the Litch Lord knows your name and appreciates that you can be relied on to help fulfill the faction’s objectives. Thanks to this prominence, you can get away with begging a favor from the factions higher ranking members. You can ask a Dark Mage to help you with a task that benefits the Nercomancers. The creature is not obligated to help you, but it holds you in enough esteem to at least consider it — in exchange for the promise of a favor in return.

• You may choose a Path of Death tier 2 spell without paying its cost.
• You gain the ability to purchase Dark Gear from the Necromancers.
• You gain one additional contact from the Necromancer contact table listed under the background section.

Special Rank: Shadow

• Prerequisite: Renown 15 or higher in the Necromancers, Vigor score of 10 or more.

Having achieved considerable renown within the faction, you can choose to become a member of the Shadow. The Shadow often serve as stealthy bodyguards, lurking out of sight until some danger threatens their wards. The Shadows are also sent out as assassins or burglars to further the faction's goals.

• You are given a Combine Rifle.
• You gain one additional contact from the Necromancer contact table listed under the background section.

Rank 5: Death Knight

• Prerequisite: Renown 25 or higher in the Necromancers, Vigor score of 12 or more.

Your value to the faction is clear. The Litch Lord regularly calls on you to perform tasks for the faction and to share your insights. You can be sure that anything you say will pass quickly to the ears of the Litch Lord.

• You may choose a Path of Death tier 3 spell without paying its cost.
• You are given a Giant Riding Lizard for a mount. Use the stat block from the D&D 5e Monster Manual.
• You gain one additional contact from the Necromancer contact table listed under the background section.

Rank 6: Litch Lord

• Prerequisite: Renown 50 or higher in the Necromancers, Vigor score of 14 or more.

You are eligible to fill the role of the Litch Lord, the highest rank within the Necromancers. You can attain this position only if the previous Litch Lord has died or stepped down. Becoming the Litch Lord requires you to claim the position and maintain your title against any challengers. It isn’t unusual for competing claims among would-be Litch Lords to be resolved by combat … or assassination.

• You may choose a Path of Death tier 4 spell without paying its cost.
• You gain one additional contact from the Necromancer contact table listed under the background section.
• You are given a Fatal Volley.