mikestrauss
Squire
This is a topic that comes up every few years, and I got into a bit of a Facebook discussion on it recently, so I thought I'd raise it again.
Is necromancy actually worth risking the harsh penalty? Should necromancy be better than it is since it is required to be illegal (with a death penalty) in all chapters?
Personally, I think it is underpowered for its consequences and will present my reasons why (spell by spell).
Cause <X> / Chaos Storm / (Chaos Blade)
The purpose of these spells is to cause damage. There are LOTS of ways to cause damage in Alliance, so it isn't really worth risking death just to cause damage. The other benefit is that these spells ignore armor, but this basically only has PvP usage, since most NPCs don't wear armor. Chaos Blade basically runs afoul of the same problem.
Disease
The only thing this spell does is prevent running. It should be a "Mystic Force" spell in my opinion and even then it would still rarely be memorized.
Desecrate
One of the few good arguments for necromancy, except for the fact that it isn't instantly ended by almost any spell in the game. It can be a life saver, and admittedly the next life saving spell of this sort is basically Prison, but it is just a little too easy to negate (body damage, binding above pin, etc.).
Help Undead
Unless you control the undead, healing them is not a good idea. Will talk about rituals in a bit, though.
Control Undead
This is one of the two great arguments for necromancy. In the right module, this spell basically is auto-win. But you would never be foolish enough to use it in a wave battle and it has no PvP potential. In my opinion, this is pretty much the standard which all necromancy should try to live up to: nearly game breaking in the right circumstance.
Wither Limb / Drain
These are both shutdown spells and Drain is, unquestionably, one of the top shut down spells in the game. But even though drain is the other great necromancy spell (in my opinion) it still isn't notably better than other shutdown spells at or near this level (Confine, Paralysis, Prison). And Wither Limb is a step down and one of the practical effects can be duplicated by simply webbing the target and cutting off their limb.
Create Undead
This spell is more of a customer service spell than a utility spell. I see it used more often to send a dead PC stuck behind the lines to a place where they can be revived than as a meaningful offense. The problem is the zombie created is simply too darn weak, especially for a 7th level spell.
Rituals
Rituals are actually quite good, but there are LOTS of overpowered rituals in the game and the non-necromantic ones don't put a death sentence on your head. Unfortunately, unlike every NPC BBG ever, you can't meaningfully use rituals to create an army of undead (because of resource cost and because you need to provide your own NPCs -- plot might be generous and help with the latter).
Overall, I'd like to see necromancy adjusted to be closer on the power curve to Control Undead, so that choosing to be a necromancer is ACTUALLY a choice where you can risk death for "awesome power". As it is now, you pretty much just risk death in order to flaunt the authorities.
-MS
Is necromancy actually worth risking the harsh penalty? Should necromancy be better than it is since it is required to be illegal (with a death penalty) in all chapters?
Personally, I think it is underpowered for its consequences and will present my reasons why (spell by spell).
Cause <X> / Chaos Storm / (Chaos Blade)
The purpose of these spells is to cause damage. There are LOTS of ways to cause damage in Alliance, so it isn't really worth risking death just to cause damage. The other benefit is that these spells ignore armor, but this basically only has PvP usage, since most NPCs don't wear armor. Chaos Blade basically runs afoul of the same problem.
Disease
The only thing this spell does is prevent running. It should be a "Mystic Force" spell in my opinion and even then it would still rarely be memorized.
Desecrate
One of the few good arguments for necromancy, except for the fact that it isn't instantly ended by almost any spell in the game. It can be a life saver, and admittedly the next life saving spell of this sort is basically Prison, but it is just a little too easy to negate (body damage, binding above pin, etc.).
Help Undead
Unless you control the undead, healing them is not a good idea. Will talk about rituals in a bit, though.
Control Undead
This is one of the two great arguments for necromancy. In the right module, this spell basically is auto-win. But you would never be foolish enough to use it in a wave battle and it has no PvP potential. In my opinion, this is pretty much the standard which all necromancy should try to live up to: nearly game breaking in the right circumstance.
Wither Limb / Drain
These are both shutdown spells and Drain is, unquestionably, one of the top shut down spells in the game. But even though drain is the other great necromancy spell (in my opinion) it still isn't notably better than other shutdown spells at or near this level (Confine, Paralysis, Prison). And Wither Limb is a step down and one of the practical effects can be duplicated by simply webbing the target and cutting off their limb.
Create Undead
This spell is more of a customer service spell than a utility spell. I see it used more often to send a dead PC stuck behind the lines to a place where they can be revived than as a meaningful offense. The problem is the zombie created is simply too darn weak, especially for a 7th level spell.
Rituals
Rituals are actually quite good, but there are LOTS of overpowered rituals in the game and the non-necromantic ones don't put a death sentence on your head. Unfortunately, unlike every NPC BBG ever, you can't meaningfully use rituals to create an army of undead (because of resource cost and because you need to provide your own NPCs -- plot might be generous and help with the latter).
Overall, I'd like to see necromancy adjusted to be closer on the power curve to Control Undead, so that choosing to be a necromancer is ACTUALLY a choice where you can risk death for "awesome power". As it is now, you pretty much just risk death in order to flaunt the authorities.
-MS