Any race can be a necromancer but not while possessing alchemical bonds or spells (the racial abilities are an exception since they are ingrained). The power for necromancy comes from our personal life force. This life force is known as Mana. It may be used to heal or harm other individuals, but the Necromancer may suffer for misuse of their power. The individual may take a bond or be a true Necromancer.

Necromantic Bonders will spend 10 points at creation to have a necromantic bond. This bond may only be taken at creation. The Necromantic bonder suffers no ill effects when they use up their bonds, nor can they overcast as can a necromancer.
     Bonders must take a minute to “meditate” and then call their ability aloud. There are no verbals required to cast the necromantic bond. The verbal is strictly an out of game convention to help players understand what has happened. An example would be Accelerate Healing – Bond. There is a flash of black light. Bond abilities reset at sunrise and sundown.

The true Necromancer is willing to use his own life force to cast spells. He must spend 10 points to become a novice without any useable life force (mana) or spend 20 points to be an apprentice and have 5 points of mana and a small selection of spells. This point allotment to become a necromancer may only be done at creation. The necromancer is required to build up more mana to become higher tier.
     Spell use drains the user and when a character’s manna is completely spent he becomes tired. They may talk or walk but not engage in combat (other than defend) or any strenuous physical activity for 30 minutes. Eating will halve the wait (anything equivalent to a sandwich or an apple will halve the rest but eating more will not decrease the rest further) and Increased Stamina will reduce the rest period by 5 minutes per level, but there is always a minimum of 5 minutes of rest. If a player attempts to cast a spell without enough manna he will gain 1 point for the last of his life force and then die (as if by a Killing Blow). Since the power comes from within the necromancer, there is no need for a focus.
     Mana will only be restored at sunrise and sunset.

Verbal: There is no true in-game invocation when casting necromancy. The tag line is for identification purposes only and strictly out of play. Tag lines will be the name of the spell followed by the word Necromancy. An example would be Cause Light Wounds – Necromancy. The higher the tier of the spell, the louder the verbal should be said to represent the more visible flash of light. A first tier spell should be loud enough to be heard by all parties nearby. A fifth tier spell should be shouted.

The Manifestation of magic is the glow that appears around the caster or the caster's hand. The glow in the case of necromancy is black. Packets in the hand symbolize the glow of a caster that has readied his manna to cast. A packet must be visible at the beginning of the verbal. A packet cannot be hidden in the hand and cast at the end of the verbal it must be visible during the invocation. Packets can be kept in pockets or bags, but must be visible at the time the invocation begins. Since the power comes from the life force of the caster, a focus is not required.

Necromancy and the world
     Necromancy is looked upon as evil and is considered illegal throughout the world. While the healing is beneficial, the darker side exists. Its proof is seen in the undead such as the skeletons and zombies that are often created by necromantic magic. More than this evil, Necromancers tend to go mad as their power increases. The destructive nature of Necromancy seems to overwhelm even the most benign healer and turn them into megalomaniac killers, ready to set legions of undead upon the the people they once saved.
     It is not unknown, especially in rural areas, for people to turn a blind eye to a healer, but those healers are often isolated from people. They may be “the old witch woman in the hills” or “the half mad hermit that lives in the cave.” They are not someone that would be invited to Sunday dinner. But it a world where death, disease and physical hardship is common, some will turn to any aid to save their loved ones. Different races have different views as well. Humans (from whom it is believed Necromancy started) tend to be more tolerant, while Shen are the least tolerant. But it is well known that all necromancers will eventually go mad and are looked upon with suspicion and fear at the very least. One sign of forbidden magic is often enough to have the hunt set upon the necromancer, even among humans.
     During the Chaos War, many Necromancers allied with the Fay and created armies of undead which ravaged the countryside. The war was then followed by a great purge in which any that showed the slightest sign of necromantic magic were hunted and slain. Even bonders, that do not show the same tendency to go mad, were not safe from the bands of necromantic hunters. Children that manifested any of the powers were often put to death by the hands of their own parents rather than bring this evil into the world. Sometimes even the parents themselves (especially among the Shen) were killed believing that the power, if not taught by the parent must somehow be passed on through the blood. But this did not stop the power from manifesting itself. This is one of the most fearsome things about necromancy. It does not have to be “in the blood”. Even those with no history of Necromancy in their family may succumb to this curse.
     The bloodshed threatened the very fabric of society itself as neighbor turned on neighbor, even brother against brother. What order was regained after the Chaos War was quickly being destroyed. Finally, a member of the Totekai University by the name of Sister Hope traveled the lands and preposed that those suspected of the necromantic curse should be isolated and studied so that the cause of the curse could be found, and the misfortuned victims restored to normal. The great Chiurgeries were created and any suspected of necromantic power, and those necromancers who were caught without being killed, were brought there. It was soon discovered that the actual number of those afflicted with Necromancy was much smaller than suspected. Many that had suffered the purge were indeed innocent and fear had wrought as much, if not more, death than the curse itself. Now in the Chiurgeries, Necromancy could be studied in hope of a cure and the positive healing magic could be used under the caring control of the Totekai. These became places of healing for their regions, and sometimes parties of Necromancers under the watch of one of the Totekai will be sent to areas that are heavily burdened by disease or other afflictions. These Necromancers who are working under the grace of a Chirugery can be identified by the two link chain nose piercing they wear. Yet, sometimes the screams of the mad can still be heard within those walls.
    Out of Play Note:All necromancers should be considered to have a Hunted(Everyone, 3) disadvantage (without gaining the points thereof), as anyone who finds out they are a Necromancer is likely to seek to either kill them or send them to a Chiurgery.

Learning Spells and Tier Advancement
     A novice Necromancer knows no spells. An Initiate will know 2 spells of their choice and will have 5 mana with which to cast these spells. These spells manifest themselves, coming as a curse upon the victim. Sometimes a parent or relative may have shown signs or even tried to “teach” necromantic powers to the character, but the power will often come even without this learning. None know why it comes to those it does, we can only take pity on them and try to prevent them from pursueing this dark path.
     In order for the player to advance to the second tier, at least 2 more spells of the first tier must have manifested themselves (only three spells per tier total are required for advancing after the second Tier). It is also required that the character has reached the required number of mana and paid the CP point requirements to advance. A character normally cannot manifest a new spell unless the character has observed it being cast. A casual observation may require several viewings before Plot will allow the character to proceed. A more formal “showing” may be required to learn more advanced spells, but a character cannot be “taught” a spell and even the most detailed instruction may not result in the spell if it is not in the character’s nature. On the other hand, great need may allow a spell to manifest temporarily even if it is beyond the caster’s tier, but the physical and emotional effects could lead to a quicker onset of madness or even death. This could even result in the permanent loss of spells or mana.
     It is also known that necromancy breaks down the body of the caster. One cannot subject the body to the rigors of focusing life force into a usable energy form and not pay the price. This is often shown in the rotting of the flesh of the Necromancer (And must be displayed with makeup) and seems to start with pealing of skin and eventually loss of teeth, hair and even some body parts. Madness also seems to increase as the necromancer becomes more powerful. Someone must be mad to let their body rot out from under them while becoming more powerful. While sensory and protective spells seem to do little, it has been learned that some people have died from casting those spells that seek to physically harm others. This is another reason for the Totekai to watch these poor unfortunates that seem driven to use this abomination of magic. It is known that some have reached the third tier of magic on their own because the undead that these individuals seem driven to create and plague society with. But these are mad individuals outside of the care of the Chiurgeries. It is known that in order to cast spells of the 2nd tier or higher, the caster is required to cut themselves so the life force flows freely into the world. As there are no sane Necromancers above the 2nd tier in the chiurgeries, not much more is known.
     Spells marked in red are specifically forbidden and will bring the wrath of even the most enlightened of the races. Death is still the official penalty for the use of Necromancy in the civilized lands.
     Notes on out of play requirements to advance or learn spells. Necromancy is a character driven magic. The spells and power are specific to the personality of the character. Do not expect your character to gain healing (especial above 1st tier) if he is a power hungry bastard. On the other hand, a loving healing type should not go looking for damaging spells. In game, a power might be granted on a temporary basis if the player can justify the power is appropriate to the personality of their character, can demonstrate suitable exposure to the spell and an idea of how the spell works. This is obviously going to be different for different players. Obviously, this justification must be demonstrated to plot on at least a verbal level but there is no guarantee this will be allowed. To maintain the spell, justification must be submitted in writing at the end of the game and submitted in the packet with IBGA form and checkout sheet. Learning a spell or advancement will require the use of an IBGA action to represent the necessary practice and meditation to properly develop the spell. Attempts to learn more than one spell at a time will more than likely result in failure. The best method for advancing as a necromancer is to keep Plot informed through either email, PM or post on the forums as to exactly what your character is doing and thinking in his approach to necromancy.

Each spell will have reference information listed before the definition.

Delivery type – this defines how the spell may be cast.
Touch – means that the caster must actually touch the recipent of the spell with a packet in the caster's hand.
Packet – the caster must strike the target with a packet. These spells could be touch cast if the caster has the permission of the target. Packet colors are specific to elemental types as follows:

• Beradai – Air – Light blue
• Human – Fire – Red
• Shen – Metal – Yellow
• Denzorali – Earth/Stone – Brown
• Jenisari – Water – Dark blue
• Illuthian – Wood – Green
• Necromancy – Black
• Fairy/Empathy – White (it is invisible except in battle)

Duration – This is how long the spell's effects last and varies from spell to spell. Some are listed in times such as minutes or hours. Some are listed as "SS or SR", which means they will last until sunset or sunrise unless used or activated (such as a ward which is gone once used, specifics are in the spell description if it is needed). Some are LOS (line of sight) and the spell will note either target’s LOS or the caster’s LOS. These spells are in effect for as long as the Line of sight is maintained. Some spells have a COUNT listed. This is a one-one thousand, Two-one thousand, etc., count that is to imply seconds going by. The count should be slow (a second is longer than most people think) and the guides will give a demonstration at the beginning of each game, if requested. Some durations may be instant, such as a bolt or arrow attack. The spell lasts the time of the packet toss and strike. These last spells need to be cast with in a 2 count of the verbal.

Area of Effect – This is the area the spell covers. It may be given in PACES, this means a normal pace which is about 3 feet. The pacing starts from where the caster is standing. Those on the edge of a pace are affected by the spell. Target means the area of effect is the target of a point or packet spell. The area of effect may list a range or distance that the spell can go from the caster or object of casting. Packet spells are as far as the packet can be tossed. Point spells usually have a 2 pace range. The Area of Effect may also be listed as "AOE". This is an spell that results in multiple packets being thrown to cover an area.
All AOE spells are given a specific number of packets, usually depending on their circle. A third circle AOE spell will typically have 3 packets and so on. Some spells will allow the caster to increase the number of packets thrown by spending additional influence. These spells will specify this in their description. For example Jar the master wood alchemist (4th circle, 30 mana) casts mass entangle. Since it is a 3rd circle spell, it defaults to having 3 packets. For each additional 1 mana Jar pumps into the spell, he gets an additional (1) packet, as specified in the spell description. So if he dumped all of his mana into a single casting he would get 30 packets, total, to throw.
When an AOE spell is cast all the packets must be thrown at the same time. The packets may be thrown in any fashion as deterimined by the caster, as long as they leave the hands at the same time. The caster can either throw with one hand or both, as long as all packets are thrown at the same time. Packets from an AOE spell may be physically avoided or Dodged as any other packet, but each packet must be treated seperately. AOE spells may also be Counterspelled. A single Counterspell will nullify any number of packets that strike a single target, but no more than one Counter may be used by a single caster against a given spell. For example, if a Mass Entangle is thrown with a total of 6 packets, and three packets hit Thor the fighter and three packets hit Jar the wood alchemist. Thor must burn three Dodges to avoid the effect of the spell, while Jar can expend a single Counter Spell to prevent the spell from effecting him or Thor, but not both.

Casting Time – Most spells are instant which means they are cast within the 2 count of the verbal. Some spells may have counts or times listed.

Cost – This is the amount of influence points used to cast the spell.

Type – Most spells are either Battle or Enchantment. This distiction has bearing on the Create Solutions skill. Some spells are defined as Ritual. This special class of spells must be cast with a Guide present and usually require a Lay Point.