As I write this, Sullla is working on a Berserker solo game, and Sofis has reported that he's playing an Oracle. Sullla wanted the Mime next, leaving the Cannoneer and Necromancer, so I picked the latter since we're still not sure how to handle the Cannoneer's ammo needs.

Naming the Red Mage took a bit of a stretch, but Necromancers are common as dirt throughout other games and mythology. Of course the Diablo series holds a central place for Realms Beyond, and it didn't take long to find Rathma, the progenitor of necromancers in Diablo 2 lore.

Unlike the Diablo 2 necromancer, Rathma has a really good set of stats there. Above-average Strength even for a caster class, average Agility, big Magic Power... and strangely very high Stamina/Vitality too. That doesn't make much sense logically, but is essential mechanically, giving the Necromancer a large reserve of hit points to compensate for his problems with healing.

As most of my readers probably know, the big drawback to the Necromancer is his permanently Undead status. Potions and cure spells have reversed effects on him in battle, damaging instead of healing. There are a few upsides: any Drain or Vampire spell targeting him will backfire, healing him and damaging its caster. And any Death spell will restore him to full life (unlife?) instead of killing him. But on the whole, working around undeadness will take some strategizing.

Frequent readers might also notice that I've been using different window colors for each character. Helps to set the mood. Sofis inspired that with his bright red windows for his berserker team. The Necromancer's outfits come in a lovely shade of royal purple, so there we go.

Here begins the tale of the Necromancer.