Posts from Information about the NECROPOLIS faction.

Also known as: Necromancers, Undead.

Brief description: The Necromancers originated as a minor sect of Mages and developed into a powerful nation. They worship Asha in the form of a spider, her darkest aspect. At the same time, the Necromancers interpret this in their own way, placing special emphasis on death and exalting the state of the undead, to which all Necromancers belong. They study the magic of death, which allows them to live forever, and on their path to immortality, they also learn ways to control the souls of the deceased (ghosts) and ways to raise the dead from their graves (skeletons).

Sources of inspiration: Ancient Egypt (Book of the Dead), Buddhism (asceticism and rejection of the world of flesh and blood as illusory and fleeting), various sects (fanaticism, cult of the leader, desire for order, freedom from all conventional moral principles).

Colors: black, white, fluorescent (poisonous) green.

Symbolism: The Spider of Death, the Number 8: positioned vertically (Asha – Mistress of Time – hourglass) or horizontally (Asha – Mistress of Space – infinity).

Worshipped deities: The Necromancers worship Asha, the Primordial Dragon of Order, in her perverted "dead" form.

Foundations of worldview: "Embrace the void. Enlightenment can only be found after liberation from the flesh. Time is our ally, for everything that lives and will someday perish…" An unhealthy fascination with death and a fanatical attachment to all causes of death.

Country/kingdom: The Seven Cities.
Capital: None during the events of Heroes VI.

Social organization:
The Necromancers are extreme ascetics. Carnal pleasures are frowned upon, as are any forms of entertainment and celebration. Citizens prefer to speak quietly or even whisper; no one is in a hurry, and the streets do not differ much between day and night. Those who have any errands carry them out calmly and then go home, where they mainly live in childless social groups called "families," since no one has come up with a better term. Necromancers celebrate their birthdays in isolation and repentance. Procreation is generally disapproved of, as it is considered a distraction from more elevated pursuits.

Magic: The Lords of Death specialize in destructive schools of Magic with a particular fondness for Primordial Magic of Order (discovered by Sar-Ilam, the Seventh Dragon) and the elemental spheres of Darkness and Earth.
They also created their own branch of magic, which they called Necromancy.
Most of their spells consist of destruction, weakening the body, and controlling the spirit.

Necropolis Strategy: "A dead enemy is a good ally."
Necropolis generals try to buy time while weakening the enemy army and raising fallen troops from the dead, thus creating an unstoppable army.
In this regard, they can rely on several abilities that provide prolonged mass curses and "damage over time" (referring to spells like "Plague"), canceling the healing of enemy troops, and resurrecting fallen troops.

Strengths: mass curses and "damage over time," resilient troops, always neutral morale.

Weaknesses: low mobility, limited abilities for supporting their own troops.

Faction ability: Necromancy – any creature that falls on the battlefield "feeds" a special bar. The player can use it to increase the size of one of their units. A certain percentage of creatures raised in battle remains even after the battle.
Necromancers, like Mages, are rarely encountered directly at the front. They prefer to stay in the rear as command staff or support units.
The armies of Necropolis consist of countless hordes of the undead, completely obedient, immune to fear and pain, advancing wave after wave.
However, the undead are usually slow and clumsy, but their numbers cause the enemy to literally drown in bodies, and the ranks of dead enemies rise to replace their own fallen troops.
Necromancers also involve ghosts in battles for swift and precise strikes. In many ways, ghosts are for the Lords of Death what Jinns are for Mages.
As a rule, Necromancers drag out attacks for many hours, knowing full well that this is one of their main advantages. After all, their troops never tire.
Unlike most factions, Necropolis, relying on its ability to "outlast" enemies, usually does not focus on support, but rather on dealing damage.
Your goal on the battlefield should be to suppress the enemy's ability to deal more damage than your army can withstand.
Also, any support on the enemy side capable of removing and canceling your curses should become one of the primary targets for suppression.

Canonical Necropolis Hero: Necromancer (mage hero)
Most high-ranking Lords of Death choose the path of the Necromancer, masters of dark curses, Earth magic, and, above all, focus on fundamental control over time.

Bone Warriors - Bone Spearmen

Bone warriors are nothing more than dead, decayed bodies animated by the will of a Necromancer. They obey orders blindly; they are indifferent to hunger and thirst, and unknown to them are fear and doubt — all of which make bone warriors excellent servants.

Necromancers grant some bone warriors enchanted weapons and armor to turn simple cannon fodder into something more. These improved servants fight with spears adorned with vials of liquids from which the namtaru weave their webs; upon breaking, they envelop the enemy in a web.

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Ghouls - Insatiable Ghouls

Ghouls are restless spirits imprisoned by magic into lifeless bodies and full of hatred for all that is living. Usually, they are uncontrollable and bring destruction wherever they go, but powerful Necromancers are capable of keeping them under control. In Erathia, turning into a ghoul is used as the ultimate punishment, whereby the soul is eternally excluded from the cycle of death and rebirth. Ghouls feed on corpses and carry various diseases in their blood and saliva.

Insatiable ghouls are trained for battle. They are more ferocious and venomous than their wild kin. When their masters — the lords of the undead from the Seven Cities — bring them to the battlefield, they often keep them on a leash, like war dogs.

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Ghosts - Wraiths

After death, all children of the Dragon Gods rise as spirits toward the moon to wait until the pointing finger of Axanar sends them to their next incarnation. But sometimes a spirit remains tied to the material world by a strong negative emotion, and a ghost appears. Using certain rituals, Necromancers can turn ghosts into their servants, obedient to any command.

An especially slow and agonizing death can lead to the appearance of a wraith. The wounds received remain forever in spiritual form, forcing them to constantly relive the agony of their demise. Wraiths are capable of transmitting this suffering to their opponent. To subdue these creatures, Necromancers magically convince them that they are the only ones capable of alleviating these eternal torments.

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Liches - Archliches

High-ranking Necromancers receive a life-extending elixir obtained from the namtaru, the sacred spider-spirits of Axanar. They add the elixir to their food, and this "treatment" turns them into "azakkus," i.e., liches. Their bodies dry up but are rid of all own fleshly imperfections. Gradually they age and over time come to resemble living mummies. A side effect of the elixir is also the coloring of the eyes a bright green.

An Archlich earns its name when it "lives" longer than its original physical shell would have allowed under normal conditions. Although nothing changes externally, internally the lich feels the moment when natural death would have occurred. When an archlich thus leaves the sacred cycle of life and death, he gains an understanding of deeper forces, some of which can be used to suck the life energy out of living organisms.

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Lamasu - Rotting Lamasu

In 512 of the Era of the Seventh Dragon, the mages of the Seven Cities created beastmen for guarding, running errands, and simply "for fun." One such experiment was the lamasu, in which they attempted to magically combine manticores and humans (selected from criminals). The resulting creatures were unstable and died quickly, as they initially contained some kind of contagion. They were considered a failure and would have been forgotten, but one of the embalmers revealed their true potential. Being a student of Necromancers, he resurrected the dead lamasu and presented them to his teachers. In undead form, lamasu became an important part of the Necromancer's army due to their strength, speed, and the spread of contagion.

Some parasites are immune to the disease carried by lamasu, and therefore create a mutually beneficial cooperation with them. The parasites feed on the remnants of what the host feeds upon, and the lamasu, in turn, can direct a swarm of parasites at an enemy, using them as a weapon. Such parasite carriers were named rotting lamasu.

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Vampires - Higher Vampires

As their power grows, liches may earn the right to approach the Spider Goddess, dying and being reborn as "ahharus," i.e., vampires. They undergo a painful ritual but receive a renewed body devoid of all imperfections. After this, they no longer need to eat, drink, sleep, or even breathe, as all their internal organs "petrify," and what flows in their veins is not blood, but sacred spider venom. This venom, unfortunately, gradually erodes them from within, and to neutralize it, vampires must regularly drink human blood.

When a vampire fully masters his powers, he begins to "age backward," and with every century of his unlife, he looks one year younger. He is then considered a higher vampire and becomes a member of the Necromancers' ruling council.

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Fate Spinners - Fate Weavers

Namtaru, or fate spinners, are emanations of Mother Namtaru, the embodiment of the Spider Goddess, who is a sacred reflection of the aspect of Axanar associated with death. They can appear either in a form combining features of a woman and a spider, or in a humanoid form with two legs and six arms. Necromancers worship these creatures and use their venom to replenish the ranks of liches and vampires. Namtaru are often encountered during the founding of a new Necropolis settlement, where they, like hive queens, form its foundation. They frequently give advice to their followers through a barely audible whisper in verse, and sometimes even in dreams. Under the protection of namtaru, the undead seek lost souls to replenish their ranks.

A fate weaver is an addition to the fate spinner intended by Axanar. Where the fate spinner unravels the thin threads of life and death that permeate the void, the fate weaver joins them into the pattern prescribed by the Spider Queen. Axanar also gave these creatures the ability, if necessary, to control the flow of time.