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®
Rules Supplement
DUNGEON MASTER ®
Guide
The Complete
Book of
Necromancers
By Steve Kurtz
ª
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Table of Contents
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Credits
Design: Steve Kurtz
Editing: Matt Forbeck
Black and White Illustrations: Karl Waller
Color Illustrations: Brom, Jeff Easly, John & Laura
Lakey, and Robh Ruppel
Cartography: Diesel
Typography: Nancy Kerkstra
PDF Conversion: Nitehawk Jarrett (n8h@wk)
Appendix 1: Common Spells
Appendix 2: Wizard Spells In the
Appendix 3: Priest Spells In the
Appendix 4: Master Index of
List of Tables
Playtesting and Review: The First Plunderers of Sahu
(Karen “Herbal Bolus” Kurtz, Peter “Captain Omar”
Schimdt, Tamiko “Al-Ho” Toland, Marketa “the Lycan-
thrope” Lillard, Jesse “Tracker” Sands), the Wyvern’s
Claw Company (Josh “George!” Gerner, Christian “the
Phantom” Tapia, Daniel “Reloader” Quaroni, Svetotzar
“Bowstring” Fung, and Abram “Godseyes” Connelly),
and Wolfgang “Necromancer King” Baur.
Special Thanks: Many thanks to Karen Kurtz for her
kind help with layout and to Tamiko Toland for thrash-
ing through the first draft of the manuscript on such short
notice. Kazerabet and I would also like to thank the fol-
lowing authors and designers, who have contributed
much to the existing body of necromantic lore, in the
form of spells, magical items, and proficiency ideas:
Wolfgang Baur, Jon Winter, Jon Pickens, Gary Gygax,
Ed Friedlander, Vince Garcia, Ed Greenwood, Nigel
Findley, Jeff Grubb, Bruce Kvam, Jeffrey Pettengill, Rich
Stump, Gary Watkins.
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Introduction
The ruins of Ysawis were cloaked by the jungle when I rediscovered the broken city walls with my first
husband, Sumulael. That was in the early years of our marriage, when my devotion to the Forbidden Arts ran
strong with the careless impetuousness of youth. We had been led to the city by disgruntled spirits, in search of a
legendary talisman. Even with our ghostly guides, the ruins of the vine-choked city were extensive, and the exact
location of our prize eluded us.
At first, when my husband and I beheld the bones of the city's former citizens, we amused ourselves by
raising the moldering remains to attend us as ghastly servants, skeletal porters, and shadowy messengers. When
the quest for the talisman yielded nothing immediately, we animated more of the city's dead to expand the search.
Before long, our new slaves uncovered royal cemeteries where the kings and queens of Ysawis had been buried for
centuries before the city's disastrous end. I remember quite vividly my delight at this discovery. With a wave of my
hand, I cracked open the tombs' monolithic stone doors, while Sumulael, cackling with wicked glee, called forth
the city's ancient royalty, commanding even the oldest of padishahs to stumble forth, wrapped in their worm-eaten
shrouds or burial robes, from the corrupted depths of the crypts and into our eternal slavery. And while the dead
gave up their age-corrupted treasures, none carried my coveted talisman.
Thus Sumulael and I raised up the inhabitants of Ysawis from their crypts and tombs to serve us. We lived
there like exiled royalty for many years, until my husband's insanity and revolting habits grew intolerable. I ended
up killing the monster, eventually, with the help of adventurers who had discovered my secluded city in the wilder-
ness. That is how I met my second husband, Talib. He was one of the explorers who assisted me in destroying
Sumulael and helped me find my long-sought talisman.
I soon came to love Talib, after a fashion. I taught him all of my hidden secrets. We were happy together in
Ysawis, rebuilding the city to its former glory. But in the end, that marriage also failed, for 1 found that you cannot
practice the Art when you are happy, nor advance in its study if you are content. So I left behind my beloved, to
write this book in solitude and focus my mind on the difficult road ahead. Come join me on this path of knowledge
and self-discovery. Let us explore the Art of Necromancy together.
—Foreword to Kazerabet's Art of Necromancy
Death is the final arbiter. It claims everyone, regardless of class or station, fame or notoriety, gentleness or
depravity. In some cultures, death is regarded as the threshold to an elevated spiritual existence or as the doorway
leading to another mortal life in a never-ending cycle of reincarnations In other societies, death is believed to be
the ultimate ending of awareness, marking complete annihilation and utter oblivion.
Since ancient times, scholars and priests have devoted their entire lives to studying, explaining, and rever-
ing 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 priest-
ess 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 consum-
mate villain.
Yet there is another side to the necromancer and the death priest. Consider the compassionate ghosthunter
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.
This book is devoted to exploring both aspects of necromancers and death priests. We explore their varied
roles as not only villains, but also as healers, mentors, and patrons. These spellcasters are among the most com-
plex, versatile, and powerful characters available in the ADVANCED DUNGEONS& DRAGONS® game. This
tome reveals all of their secrets and powers so that you - as the Dungeon Master (DM)—can bring these master
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wizards and priests to life for the players under your care.
How to Use this Book
The Complete Book of Necromancers has been designed for DMs who wish to create complex and memo-
rable spellcasting foes for their unique campaigns. The book is divided into three main sections, each of which the
DM may read separately, in any order. The chapters within each individual section should be taken in sequence.
They contain introductory material (such as Kazerabet's foreword) which may be read to players, serve as inspira-
tion for adventure hooks, or used in any other way which helps add a further dimension of realism to the campaign.
The first four chapters are devoted to the necromancer nonplayer character (NPC). Chapter One discusses
the rules for creating a basic wizard necromancer as a separate and independent sub-class, starting from the basics
outlined in the Player's Handbook . It explores five new kits—the Archetype, Anatomist, Deathslayer, Philosopher,
and Undead Master—each with a different role for the campaign. Chapter Two extends the powers of a necroman-
cer by adding dual classes, psionic Wild Talents, and special powers from the patronage of dark gods. We also
discuss some undead or monstrous variants of the necromancer to challenge the most powerful (or foolhardy)
groups of adventurers. Chapter Three discusses some of the harsh sacrifices that necromancers must make if they
wish to pursue the Forbidden Arts. In Chapter Four, we greatly expand the school of Necromancy, discussing both
the beneficial and harmful aspects of the Art.
The next section is devoted to the death priest: the clerical equivalent of the necromancer, who has been
given far too little attention in the past. Unlike the wizard, who studies death, the death priest fervently worships it.
These clerics belong to distinct priesthoods, each with unique roles, granted powers, spells, and goals for the
campaign. Chapter Five explores five of these necromantic priesthoods who serve the Gods of the Dead, Murder,
Pestilence, Suffering, and Undead. Chapter Six expands the necromantic priest sphere, providing many more
spells for the distinctive necromantic priesthoods.
The final section of the book builds the necromancer and death priest into leaders and active participants in
the campaign. Chapter Seven fleshes out a necromancer's entourage with students, henchmen, familiars, and undead
minions. Chapter Eight discusses their primary tools, including deadly poisons, necromantic magical items, and
books of forbidden lore. Chapter Nine details the Isle of the Necromancer Kings, providing the DM with adven-
ture hooks and introductory scenarios for a campaign. This chapter also includes the descriptions of seven detailed
NPCs who can be used as examples and easily dropped into an existing campaign. Finally, the Appendices contain
tables, indexes, and a reference list to help the DM gather necromantic material together from other sources.
Necromancy and the PC
In general, the material presented in this tome is for the Dungeon Master's eyes only. The necromancer put
forward herein is a maverick—he or she operates by a set of nasty rules that are completely beyond the realm of
most "normal" player characters. These rules must be kept strictly hidden from the players, even if they are ada-
mant about portraying a necromancer.
The most obvious hindrance for a PC necromancer is alignment. While some practitioners of the Art have
a scrupulous code of ethics, the number of benevolent necromancers is deplorably rare. At the very least, the
majority of necromancers should be considered rigidly neutral. The large remainder of necromantic practitioners
are profoundly evil.
Necromancer PCs will face moral challenges from the onset of their career, starting probably with their
mentor. Consider Talib, an example of a good and heroic necromancer (highlighted in a number of the chapter
introductions and presented in detail in Chapter Nine) . Before poor Talib the Apprentice was permitted to advance
to 1st level, his Master forced him through a brutal initiation by drugging his food, tying him down to a cold stone
altar, and sacrificing him to the Goddessof Murder. Using a ring of spell storing from an allied death priest, the
Master then raised Talib back from the dead (no hard feelings) to see if his potential pupil had the requisite strength
of body and mind to practice necromancy. Since he survived the ordeal, Talib only lost a point of Constitution, the
first small price for the privilege of practicing the Art.
Obviously, the young Talib fled his Master at the earliest opportunity. However, whenever he needed to

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