While the above nodes do give a general idea about Necromancers and their field of magic, I feel it is not completely detailed enough. Of course, the term is easily explained: Necromancers are people who deal with magic involving the deceased. The root of the word is 'Necro' which means black or death. According to Websters College Dictionary, a Necromancer contacts spirits to predict the future. However, like my other node about the Grim Reaper, I shall go in more depth about the lore and magic of the Necromancer.

Strictly and rationally speaking, there is no proof that Necromancy exists. However, they have a long history and their mysterious power can fascinate many, especially Goths. Their ability to harness the power of death and decay is certainly impressive, even if not very attracting.

Necromancers are in effect, Wizards. They are said to be male only (but there is talk about female Necromancers in some very credible accounts) and are not to be confused with Undertakers, Embalmers, Morticians, Warlocks, or Graveyard Wardens...although they may interact with them more than with others.

The Necromancers as we know today (the kind portrayed in games like Diablo or Warlords, are part of European/Norse legend. They are shown sometimes as lone wizards, corrupted by the easy, yet costly power of Necromancy...and sometimes as an entirely secret Brotherhood. They were mostly confined to the Dark and Medieval ages although some still exist today, but their magic is easily confused with that of Witchcraft. One thing remains straight, Necromancers interact with corpses, and some are practically corpses themselves. Their magic includes raising dead armies, invoking ghosts, resurrecting corpses for brief periods of time, asking ancient spirits for knowledge, sapping the life force out of living things, and healing. They are efficient in convoking, summoning, animating, binding, healing, and other spiritual/physical skill. Their mental skill leaves something to be desired. Their defensive spells include summoning dead from their graves to hold a person in place, raising skeletons to serve as personal bodyguards, and creating an illusion of darkness around them. They can be helpful in their knowledge of reanimating dead tissue, increasing bloodflow, and other general arts of healing, and they can be utterly devastating and deadly when they summon armies, create zombies, drain life force, and command the forces of death and coldness.

While Necromancers aren't always entirely evil, their magic is and most likely forbidden by Christianity and other major religions. The art is not directly linked with the Devil but treads dangerously near. Powerful wizards can control the magic but lesser ones can become corrupt by the power. Skilled and patient ones will learn to harness the power of death, while a brash youngster may trade in his own life in learning the arts of taking another. Unsuccessful Necromancers (or sometimes too successful) end up becoming liches, death mages, or wights.

"They're probably the ones you'd be most likely to see in the graveyards with a shovel, and least likely to invite to your fancy dress ball. While all wizards know the potency of dead things, and have a certain familiarity with certain 'bits', the necromancer is the only one who enjoys the company of the dead." Terry Pratchett.