Necromancy

Orc necromancer

Scourge necromancer

Necromancers are mortal practitioners of death magic, commonly referred to as necromancy. Channeling their knowledge of the arcane into manipulation of the forces of life and death, these men and women were instrumental in the forming of the Scourge in Lordaeron.

Necromancers are spellcasters whose magics manipulate the power of death. In calling upon this power, necromancers risk being consumed by it — until eventually they join the ranks of the undead.Template:Cite Necromancers twist arcane magic to manipulate the power of death. Commanding the undead, generally in the service of the Scourge, they gradually take on the characteristics of the dead — hollow eyes, shambling gaits, pallid and sunken skin, foul odors and so forth.Template:Cite

Most, if not all, modern necromancers were trained by Kel'Thuzad and his agents in the Scholomance beneath Caer Darrow, otherwise known as the School of Necromancy. Amazingly, the School was never discovered by agents of the Crown of Lordaeron, and remained untouched and functional until well beyond the end of the Third War. The school contains notable figures such as the Lich, Ras Frostwhisper, as well as the headmaster of the facility, Darkmaster Gandling.

The Necromancers continue to abound in the Plaguelands. Overseeing both the spread of the Blight and the construction of new Scourge installations, necromancers are most commonly encountered within and around the ruined city of Stratholme. An elite branch of necromancers, under the command of the dark master Maleki the Pallid, refer to themselves as the Thuzadin, in honor of their lord and first of their kind, Kel'Thuzad.

The origins of necromancy date back to the First War when Gul'dan's necrolytes developed the ability to raise corpses to serve as skeleton warriors in the Horde. But Necromancers have been around since the beginning of the Nathrezim race, who were the first ever known beings to raise Undead from Night Elven corpses (as seen in the War of the Ancients novel).

A few necromancers are uncorrupted.Template:Cite

The most experienced necromancers become epic necromancers.Template:Cite

Forsaken Necromancer

The Dark Lady, Sylvanas Windrunner, realized how valuable necromancy was to their cause. Though Forsaken heal naturally, many go to priests of the Forgotten Shadow for "repairs". Necromancers can also free enslaved, mindless undead and research powerful spells that might one day return the Forsaken to life. Sylvanas knew she needed necromancers to heal, strengthen and replace her people, and she set about wooing necromancers away from the Scourge. Mainly by force.Template:Cite

Notable Necromancers

World of Warcraft
Name	Role	Condition	Magical Field
File:IconSmall Lich.gif Kel'Thuzad	Lich King majordomo. Found in the Frostwyrm Lair of Naxxramas	Killable	Frost Shadow Unholy
Thule Ravenclaw	Master of Fenris Keep	Killable	Fire Unholy File:APB Warlock Demonology.pngDemonic
Gothik the Harvester	Found in the Death Knight Wing of Naxxramas	Killable	Shadow Arcane
Heigan the Unclean	Found in the Plague Wing of Naxxramas	Killable	Shadow Nature
Noth the Plaguebringer	Found in the Plague Wing of Naxxramas	Killable	Shadow Arcane
Maleki the Pallid	Found in the Undead Side of Stratholme	Killable	Frost Shadow
Darkmaster Gandling	Headmaster of Scholomance	Killable	Shadow Arcane
Doctor Theolen Krastinov	Found in Scholomance	Killable	Physical Shadow
Morbent Fel	Leads the undead in Raven Hill Cemetery, Duskwood	Killable	Shadow Unholy
Abercrombie	Quest giver in Raven Hill Cemetery, Duskwood	Alive	Unholy
File:IconSmall Lich.gif Naberius	Raised the entire village of Kirin'Var Village, Netherstorm.	Killable	Ice
Helcular	Apprentice to Kel'Thuzad, killed while transforming into a lich in a cave near Southshore	Alive	Unholy
Dar'Khan Drathir	Master of the Scourge in Quel'Thalas	Killable	Shadow
Kormok	Found in Scholomance	Killable	Shadow Unholy
Instructor Malicia	Instructor in Scholomance	Killable	Holy Shadow Arcane
Zalazane	Occupies the Echo Isles	Killable	Shadow Nature Unholy

Lore-only
Name	Role	Condition	Magical Field
Ul'haik Hadanot	Leader of the Cult of the Damned	Alive	Shadow & Death
Pai Stormbringer	Leader of the Cult of the Damned	Alive	Shadow & Death
Diodor the Damned	Early member of the Cult of the Damned	Dead	Unknown

• Al'satt
• Abrakkar the Wretched
• Gul'zakar
• Nazaruul
• Mael Shelub
• Toren Snapjoint
• Ru'sad
• Vasilii

Necromancers in WoW can also be found guarding Ziggurats in place of crypt fiends. Without nearby corpses to manipulate, however, they lack suitable combat skills.

In World of Warcraft

Heigan the Unclean has a striking resemblance to the WC3 necromancer

Originally planned as one of the classes along with Death Knight, this did not make release.^{[citation needed]} 

Necromancers in World of Warcraft

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

• Auchenai Necromancer - Auchenai Crypts, Terokkar Forest
• Death's Head Necromancer - Razorfen Downs, The Barrens
• Deatholme Necromancer - Deatholme, Ghostlands
•  Necromancer <Cult of the Damned> - Stratholme, Eastern Plaguelands
• Outcast Necromancer - Desolace
• Thuzadin Necromancer - Stratholme, Eastern Plaguelands
• Scholomance Necromancer - Scholomance, Western Plaguelands
• Shadowy Necromancer - Hyjal Summit, Caverns of Time, Tanaris

Warcraft III

File:NcWC3.jpg

From Necromancer at Battle.net:

Though they retained their Humanity after making a pact with death, Necromancers became the most terrifying agents of the Scourge. These dark, insidious men were once thought to be aspiring geniuses by the Magocracy of Dalaran. However, their insatiable lust to delve into the secrets of the dark arts drove them to forsake their very souls. Ner'zhul, the Lich King, granted these malevolent sorcerers true power over the dead in exchange for their loyalty and obedience. The shadowy Necromancers have the power to command various types of Undead and even spread the foul undead plague as well.

• See Warcraft III Necromancer Quotes