Necromancers (Non-Pagan)

---

This article is about the Necromancers as seen in Sosaria, Britannia and on Serpent Isle. For other uses, see Necromancers (Disambiguation).

---

Necromancer
Necromancer (Ultima I manual)
First appearance:	Ultima I
Last appearance:	Ultima VII Part Two

Sosarian, Britannian and Serpent Islander necromancers (sometimes necromages) are magicians specializing in the magic of death, specifically how they might cause and control it. Such enchanters readily fall to wickedness when tempted with it, and could once be found plaguing the landscapes of ancient Sosaria during the time of Ultima I, having allied themselves in great numbers with Mondain.

Description

Necromancers are sometimes the subject of suspicion although some necromantic practices are regarded as more sinister than others. A mage who speaks with the dead is less likely the incur the displeasure of outsiders than those who reanimate the dead. Such practitioners are responsible for plagues such as the animate skeletons that haunt Britannia and there is little doubt that mages thus inclined may opt to take on the mantle of lichedom.

Lore

“	The Necromancer is a mage whose specialty is the practice of the arcane arts that pertain to the dead. Practitioners of such a morbid specialty were naturally drawn to the foul Mondain as jackals are to the carrion of the plains. – from The First Age of Darkness (Ultima I)

Notable Examples

• Horance: While better classified as a liche within the context of Ultima VII, this Skara Braean magician's control over the dead indicates that he may have existed as a necromancer in the days before his transformation.
• Vasculio: A famed necromancer of Moonshade who eventually escaped execution for his crimes by transforming himself into a vampiric revenant; appears in Ultima VII Part Two.

Trivia

• An illustration for the necromancer only appears in the manual for the original Apple II version of Ultima I.

See Also

• Ultima I monster data
• Liche