Looking for Necromancy Ideas

[Wolfwood2]

During city creation for a camapign I'm going to be running, the players decided that necromancers and necromancy-related stuff should be a big Aspect (literally) of the campaign.  In fact, a City Theme is, "Necromancers' Playground".[1]  So to accomodate, I want to come up with a lot of interesting variants on necromancy and how it might be used.  Non-obvious stuff, neat tricks, goals for necromancers, and that sort of anything.  Anything to stretch beyond the basic raising of human zombies.  Ideas are welcome!

Other things going on the city (Pittsburgh) are a major (and successful) war campaign by the Winter Court to crush Summer.  Also, the White Court has deep roots in the city and are known to be in an uneasy alliance with the necromancers.  Red Court doesn't seem to be around.  Character aspects that should also be played into:

1) One PC is a priest with True Faith and an Aspect, "My Mother is a Necromancer".  Obviously I can have fun with that.

2) One PC is a White Court Virgin (despair), so ideas on how the White Court and the necromancers cooperate would be good.

3) One PC is the illegitimate son of Hermes, and the player is interested in Hermes' role as 'guide for the dead' and has taken the Ghost Speaker power.

4) One PC is an aging (or rather non-aging) ex-rock star who sold his soul to Hermes years ago and is now assigned to watch over Hermes' son and do whatever else he's ordered to.  (His Trouble is 'My Debt is Due'.)

One idea I already had is to build off the idea of zombies requiring a beat to make music potentially very important in necromancy.  Like, if you build music beyond a basic drumbeat into your necromantic spells, you can get some amazing effects.  This would play into the former rock star's character concept.  (I am not particularly concerned with following Dresdenverse canon here.  I prefer cool over Harry's idea of what necromancy can do.)

(1) If you're asking where the Wardens are in all this, they're around but operating under some hindrances.  The Wardens (and the White Council) is highly distrusted in this city, and they get completely stonewalled in attempts to track down necromancers.  Nobody will talk to them voluntarily.  Again, please no setting arguments about how the White Council wouldn't allow that or anything.  This is the city the players built, so that's how it works.

[bitterpill]

I have always thought the end point of necromancy seems to be transcendence, Kemmler wanted to become a god by becoming a being of immense personal power but another way would to create your own version of life. Now a child created by dark magic but possessing innocence and the potential for good would be a nice problem for you true believer.

[Mal_Luck]

2) Off the top of my head I can see the Despair eater resurrecting the recently deceased to continue to taunt their mourning loved ones... perhaps hoping to provoke them into committing suicide.

[DFJunkie]

One idea would be for Pittsburgh's Necromancers to earn the cover they're getting from the Council.  I would suggest having at least one faction of Necromancers that sees it in the same light as Kumori: as a beneficial practice that allows humans to achieve power over death for positive ends.  Given what a poor job the Council does protecting minor talents from the depredations of supernatural predators if your local Necromancers are willing to help why wouldn't you support them?

In the game I run the Seattle Underground is controlled by the Court of the Leper King, an ancient, powerful, mostly insane human Necromancer and freeholding lord.  The Council has issued specific orders to leave the Leper King in peace (stop reading if you play in my game)

(click to show/hide)

because in 1350 he performed a rite similar to the Darkhallow, and consumed the massively powerful spirit responsible for bringing the Black Death to Europe.  If he dies, the spirit gets released. In other news he may have been Kemmler's first teacher, I'm still mulling that one over

The Senior Council is aware of this fact so they leave him alone.  Feel free to steal him, or something like him, if you want.

[Bruce Coulson]

Harve Hathaway, Necromantic Hitman.

Has someone managed to kill someone close to you and get away with it?  Maybe they had a clever lawyer, or maybe it couldn't be proven?  You want vengeance, something the Law won't allow?  Call Harve Hathaway, Necromantic Hitman!

Harvey has found a way to gain power, use necromancy, and have people pay him.  Harvey uses a ritual to resurrect the deceased, and send them after their killer.  Harvey's sense of morality means he will ONLY send such an entity after a genuine murderer.  (He'll certainly use entropomancy against people, if the cause is just, though.)  As a result, Harve has a lot of favors owed to him in the mortal community; a few are owed by some very powerful people.

Harve doesn't think of himself as evil, or that necromancy is wrong.  Harve is righting wrongs, and necromancy is just a very effective tool.

[Sanctaphrax]

Not sure if this helps, but I've written stats for a number of necromancers and zombies. You can find them in the Generic NPCs thread. (It's in the Resources section.)

Reply #59 is a generic necromancer.
Reply #30 is a Senior Council level lich lord.
Replies #135-169 include a number of unusual undead.

There are also some ghosts on that thread, if you're interested.

[wyvern]

One character I toyed with for a while: A paleontologist with a necromancy-focused minor talent, dubbed "Talks-To-Raptors" by some indian tribe near one of his dig sites.  He doesn't have the power to actually raise a zombie dinosaur; instead, he gets abilities like Echoes of the Beast, or ritual spells that call up spectral animals that can be used as scouts and the like.  Technically, he's not even a lawbreaker, since he doesn't deal in human death or ghosts - though that's more a matter of accident than intent on his part.

I eventually rejected using the guy as a PC, but he'd fit right in as a minor NPC.  A sample plotline where he'd get involved might start off with, say, some necromancer who heard about the whole Sue incident, and went looking to steal a dinosaur skeleton for nefarious purposes...

[Wolfwood2]

Not sure if this helps, but I've written stats for a number of necromancers and zombies. You can find them in the Generic NPCs thread. (It's in the Resources section.)

Reply #59 is a generic necromancer.
Reply #30 is a Senior Council level lich lord.
Replies #135-169 include a number of unusual undead.

There are also some ghosts on that thread, if you're interested.

Thanks.  Wow, even #59 is an incredible powerhouse.  What would a schlub weekends-only necromancer look like?

[Sanctaphrax]

Well, he won't have Kemmlerian Necromancy. That requires full wizard powers, and so that's nine refresh before refinements. Then there's two more refresh for Fifth Lawbreaker, which means that a Submerged character heads straight for NPCdom.

He probably won't be raising human zombies either, because human zombies are pretty lethal. I'm thinking that he'd only use animal zombies, and that he'd have no powers except for Ritual (Necromancy).

If you like, I can make a 4-refresh taxidermist necromancer for you.

[devonapple]

If you like, I can make a 4-refresh taxidermist necromancer for you.

To get those animal remains posed *just right*?

[bibliophile20]

To get those animal remains posed *just right*?

"They look so lifelike..."

[Sanctaphrax]

You've got the idea.

Anyway, in thinking about how to go about making this guy, I more or less came up with a full set of stats. So instead of waiting to be asked, I'm posting the taxidermist necromancer now:

Necromantic Taxidermist (On The Beach)

High Concept: Necromantic Taxidermist
Other Aspects: It's Just A Hobby, Does His Own Drumming, Technically Not A Lawbreaker
Skills:
Good: Discipline, Craftsmanship
Fair: Performance, Lore
Average: Resources, Conviction, Scholarship, Survival, Investigation
Stunts:
Taxidermist (Craftsmanship): +2 to Craftsmanship when using it for taxidermy. Remember that taxidermy can disguise zombies as living things.
Powers:
Ritual (Necromancy) [-2]
Total Refresh Cost:
-3
Refresh Total:
1

[MacShidhe]

Anyway, in thinking about how to go about making this guy, I more or less came up with a full set of stats. So instead of waiting to be asked, I'm posting the taxidermist necromancer now

There's a really dirty trick here if he hasn't killed anyone, read any minds, controled any minds, or transfomed anyone he hasn't broken any of the Laws of Magic.  He's just really really creepy.

[devonapple]

if he hasn't killed anyone, read any minds, controled any minds, or transfomed anyone he hasn't broken any of the Laws of Magic

Yet.  With great power comes great blahdiblahdiblah. Definitely potential for a Fall, especially if someone approaches him with sufficient incentive, the way Harry leans on Butters for medical care.

[MacShidhe]

Yet.  With great power comes great blahdiblahdiblah. Definitely potential for a Fall, especially if someone approaches him with sufficient incentive, the way Harry leans on Butters for medical care.

Yep, and now the questions become, "Did the PCs cause the fall or are they just witnesses to it?" and "Can they prevent it?"