Games Where You Can Play As A Necromancer

Key Takeaways

• Necromancers in gaming offer a divisive playstyle, letting gamers embrace the dark arts or opt for traditional classes for varied experiences.
• Games featuring necromancers emphasize player choice, allowing for specialization in summoning undead armies or using dark magic strategically.
• From RPGs like Divinity: Original Sin 2 to action games like Path of Exile, necromancers in gaming can take various forms and often have access to unique abilities.

With the ability to raise the dead, necromancers often defy the natural order of the world to achieve their own goals, making them one of the most popular, fierce, and manipulative kinds of antagonists in gaming. Still, despite how most games cast necromancers in a negative light, some recognize how captivating, beneficial, and efficient their abilities are in battle by allowing players to pursue necromancy.

Since playing as a necromancer can be divisive, games that feature them generally allow players to choose how to devote their efforts and skills by including other playable classes or making necromancy a specialization. Nonetheless, these games let players raise undead armies and use necromancy as a powerful tool throughout their journeys.

Updated November 16, 2024, by Mara Cowley: The art of necromancy is not dead, and is featured in many games, old and new. The power to defy death and raise their own armies of skeletons or zombies at their fingertips is undeniably a very tempting power, and many studios understand the allure of these forbidden arts. From RPGs to strategy games to MMOs, there are countless necromancer games undead aficionados can play to scratch that itch. This article already included many fantastic games with the necromancer class, but more have been added so players can have as many games as raised minions.

1 Iratus: Lord of the Dead

Gain a Second Breath of Life to Execute Plans for World Domination

Games don’t often explore what happens to evil necromancers when their plans to spread their necrotic touch across all mortal realms are thwarted. Iratus: Lord of the Dead not only shows this, but has players step into the shoes of the Lord of the Dead himself for a second chance.

After his defeat, Iratus awakens in a dungeon. He must fight his way through it in order to reach the world of the living once more, and try to end all life again. Traversing through the dungeon and raising more new minions to add to the player’s ever-growing legion is sure to guarantee success this time around. But if not, players can always try again, from the very start of the dungeon.

2 Dwarf Fortress

Steal From Other Necromancers to Grow the Undead Powers

Dwarf Fortress is mostly known for its strategy and resource management game mode called Fortress Mode, in which the player builds settlements and does their best to keep the denizens alive and happy. However, there is another way to play, especially for those eager for more necromancer goodness.

Adventure mode ditches the resource management gameplay and instead lets players gear themselves up for a grand adventure out into the world, with some freedom of choice as to where they go and what they do. One thing players can do is take the time to learn the forbidden arts of necromancy. Doing so is no small feat, as the player will need to risk the ire of other death bringers by stealing their arcane knowledge to bolster their own. But before they know it, they will be a master of undeath, capable of raising their own armies. They will even feel the cold touch of undeath themselves, as they stop aging, and no longer need to eat or sleep.

3 Dragon Age: The Veilguard

The Death Caller Specializes in the Necrotic Arts

The latest addition to the Dragon Age series saw players taking on the role of new playable character, Rook, as they try to stop the risen gods from spreading the Blight over the world and ending life as everyone knows it. But in order to do so, they are going to need powerful skills or magic.

Those who play their Rook with more magical tendencies can tap into the power of death and necrotic energy themselves with the Death Caller specialization. Once they reach level 20, they can focus their arcane arts into this route, drawing on the life force of those around them. They can even toss that power back with explosive force that is sure to kill even hardy opponents. Though Rook cannot raise any undead minions, they can still weaponize enemies’ life forces against them, which is devastating and deadly enough.

4 Heroes of Might and Magic 3

All Slain Enemies are Fair Game to Necromancers

For gamers who don’t mind games a little more on the vintage side of things, Heroes of Might and Magic 3 might be the perfect turn-based strategy game for them. Set on the vast continent of Antagarich, seven separate campaigns all detailing the crux of the game’s plot. Players will be given ample opportunity to play from different points of view, ensuring that the story and gameplay never grow stale.

In the world of Heroes of Might and Magic 3, there are two classes with the capabilities to raise the dead: death knights and necromancers. Necromancers hail from Necropolis and their dark skills have a hefty price, as they alter the user into a lich. But with the ability to raise any opposing force they kill, their powers might just be worth the price, and who hasn’t thought of ascending to lichdom at least once?

Protect and Buff Allies With Living Death Magic

The sprawling fantasy world of Elder Scrolls made its way to an online platform in 2014, allowing players to explore the vast worlds of Elder Scrolls with their friends, teaming up to infiltrate into dangerous crypts to bag their share of gold and glory. One important factor to consider when playing an MMO is a balanced party composition. Healing, damage, tanking, and utility are all vital roles, and having at least one of each ups the chances for successful runs.

The Necromancer class can fit into multiple categories, as they are capable of dealing devastating damage, creating protective shields from the bodies of the fallen, and even reviving their allies to get them back into the fight. After all, necromancers are a healing class, in their very own special way. The amount of versatility the necromancer class offers in Elder Scrolls Online is second to none.

6 Lichdom: Battlemage

Craft Necromancy Spells With Lichdoms Spell-Crafting System

• Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
• Released: August 26th, 2014
• Developers: Xaviant, Big Moon Entertainment
• Genres: Action RPG

What is better than slinging fun spells in an action RPG? Being gifted an in-game system that allows players to craft their own spells. This isn’t wholly a unique element to Lichdom: Battlemage as other games have had such functions in place, but it is part of what makes this game so great, as it is a very in-depth and well-implemented system that allows for some truly zany and unique moments in combat.

With the necromancy sigil at hand, players can even craft their own necromancy spells for some truly unique methods of raising the dead and their uses. For those who enjoy the undead arts, Lichdom is the perfect game for them to flex their creative muscles and see what they can come up with.

7 Tales Of Maj’Eyal

Players Can Summon An Army Of Undead Cannon-Fodder

A turn-based roguelike RPG, Tales of Maj’Eyal is certainly a unique game with a necromancer class, and players will need to think tactically lest they die and have to start their journey from scratch. Players will explore this fantasy world, braving dungeons and the monsters inside as the lore is slowly revealed to them the more they play, encouraging them to keep going even if they suffer defeat after defeat.

Though players can’t raise themselves from the dead, they can tap into the darker arts in Tales of Maj’Eyal. There are over 30 possible classes in the game, with the necromancer being among one of the best. With this class, gamers can bolster their numbers and unlock powerful spells that can certainly help them survive more of the grueling dungeons in the game.

8 Warframe

One Specific Character Has The Abilities To Raise The Dead

One might not believe a game in the multiplayer shooter genre could possibly have a necromancer in it, but this is where Warframe comes in to wow everyone. In the expansive catalog of warframes, there is one who indulges in taboo arts, and he goes by the name of Nekros.

The aptly named Nekros has a number of abilities at his fingertips, one of the most notable being Soul Punch, which allows him to knock the soul out of a body and damage any enemies behind them, literally weaponizing someone’s souls against their own friends. His ultimate, however, is quintessential to necromancers, allowing him to summon fallen foes to become his minions for a duration of time.

9 The Battle For Wesnoth

Slaying Enemies Recruits Them

• Platforms: PC, Android, iOS
• Release Date: June 18th, 2003
• Developer: The Battle for Wesnoth Project, David White
• Genre: Turn-based strategy

The Battle for Wesnoth is completely free, providing an excellent turn-based strategy game for the fantastic price of $0. Players will be taken to the fantasy realm Iryda, with an expansive seventeen one-player campaigns or multiplayer maps for those wanting to share this experience with friends. A lich has raided the lands of a young Prince, forcing him to flee and find sanctuary across the sea.

Players can take on the role of necromancer class here, which is surprising considering who the primary antagonist for the majority of the game is. But there is a delicious irony in turning the Lich’s attacks against them. The necromancer focuses on magic attacks, and if they kill an enemy with these skills, they will rise once more as an undead minion.

10 The Unliving

Outnumber Enemies With An Undead Mob

• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
• Release Date: October 26, 2021
• Developer: RocketBrush Studio
• Genres: Roguelike, Adventure, Strategy

For those with a touch of RPG fatigue and in the market for something a little different on the side of their necromancer gameplay, The Unliving might just sate that specific craving. As the title suggests, players take on the role of a necromancer, imbued with the power to raise their own armies of undead minions.

Rather than playing through a story-driven campaign, players will instead be out through a rogue-lite challenge, weaponizing their undead armies against villages, mobs of enemies, and even epic bosses. With fun gameplay, and more necromantic gameplay than one could shake a skeleton at, The Unliving is another excellent entry for necromancer fans.

11 Divinity: Original Sin 2

Harm The Living And Heal The Undead

Before Baldur’s Gate 3, there was Divinity: Original Sin 2, an RPG of epic proportions that proved Larian’s impressive RPG-crafting abilities. DOS2 follows a rag-tag group of adventurers traversing across a mythical land taking on the dangerous voidwoken monsters that are drawn to those that call upon Source, an energy that magic casters can tap into to cast spells.

Players can choose to play as one of the pre-made Origin characters, or they have the freedom to make their own, deciding on their appearance, race, and class. Of course, one of the available classes is necromancer, which is unique in the way that they can heal undead with their necrotic powers, as healing spells usually inflict damage on the restless dead.

12 Grim Dawn

Imbue Weaponry With The Undead Arts

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Grim Dawn exists in an equally grim fictional land where humanity is almost all but extinct thanks to otherworldly races that wage war. The few surviving humans live in enclaves, watching their enemies for weakness so that they might strike them down and save their declining populace, honing their powers as they wait.

These powers can come in the form of necromantic spells, which were added in a subsequent Grim Dawn expansion. Though most of a necromancer’s abilities will come from weaving vitality-draining spells, they can also imbue their death magic onto ranged weaponry, adding more versatility to their kit.

13 World Of Warcraft

Can Raise The Dead And Inflict Evils Upon The Living

Blizzard’s MMORPG has endured many long years and still enjoys a thriving player base to this date. In World of Warcraft‘s fantasy world, people can play as humans, elves, gnomes, orcs, shamans, druids, demon hunters, or even the undead-raising death knights.

Azeroth has endured many evils done by necromantic magic, but that doesn’t stop players from dabbling in the dark arts should they wish. They will gain the powers to bring about festering diseases, harness dark shadows to damage what they touch, and raise those who died to be their mindless thralls. World of Warcraft players who tap into this magic will gain great power but will be saddled with an unsavory reputation.

WoW
does not technically have a necromancer class, but death knights can fulfill the role since they can raise the dead. Warlocks also have life drains.

14 Baldur’s Gate 3

Communicate With The Undead To Uncover Information

Larian’s hit RPG based on the famed TTRPG Dungeons and Dragons comes with a plethora of options for players, allowing them to choose their appearance, race, class, and subclass. Among the standard fare of wizards is the Necromancer subclass, a Baldur’s Gate 3 wizard that isn’t afraid of tapping into some darker magic and raising minions to do their bidding.

Necromancers in Baldur’s Gate 3 have access to necrotic magic that drains the vitality out of victims as well as the ability to communicate with the dead and raise them from their graves as mindless thralls.

15 Arcanum: Of Steamworks And Magick Obscura

Players Can Harm Or Heal With Necromancy

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a high-fantasy steampunk role-playing game known for its complex character builds and immersive world where magic and technology go hand in hand. To make their character a necromancer in Arcanum, players will need enough willpower to learn abilities from the Necromantic Black or White Spell Colleges.

While Black Necromancy involves skills more commonly associated with necromancers, such as summoning spirits, raising the dead, and draining life energy, Necromantic White spells help heal wounds, prevent the poison from spreading, and otherwise restore life force. Still, no matter what kind of necromancer players wish to be, Arcanum provides them with ample time to appreciate its world and story.

16 Guild Wars 2

Gain Vitality From Death

In the free-to-play online multiplayer game Guild Wars 2, choosing a character’s profession is an important decision since each class comes with its moveset, passive abilities, and equipment requirements. With nine different classes available, including necromancer, the game has something to offer everyone.

Necromancy is one of the most welcoming professions in Guild Wars 2. Every nearby death provides them with the life source they need to use their unique skills, making them a powerful and destructive force, even when working alone to complete quests, explore the world, or enjoy events.

17 Dragon Age: Inquisition

Utilize The Dark Arts To Instill Fear And Drain Life

In Dragon Age: Inquisition, necromancy is a specialization available for mage inquisitors after reaching Skyhold. Among other abilities, it allows players to spread panic, use fallen enemies to their advantage, and temporarily revive themselves as a spirit in battle while waiting for a more strategic time to heal.

Although necromancy can’t be used by rogue or warrior inquisitors, fans of Dragon Age: Inquisition‘s other classes can experience the specialization’s power by adding Dorian to their party and switching to him during battle. As the Inquisition’s resident necromancer, Dorian uses the magic others would prefer to avoid to support the Inquisitor’s ideals.

Summon Familiars Or The Undead

Unlike other Elder Scrolls games where necromancy was outlawed or otherwise limited, Skyrim marks a shift in the series by allowing players to become necromancers as part of the Conjuration skill tree. At first, players will only be able to conjure familiars or raise zombies from the dead to help them in battle. However, as they develop their magic, Conjuration will empower them to summon more formidable allies.

For those who decide to master its techniques, Skyrim Anniversary Edition makes necromancy a more powerful tool by adding new grimoires, accessories, and spells to the game.

19 Warcraft 3: Reign Of Chaos

Weaken Enemies And Bolster Allies

As a predecessor to World of Warcraft, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos is renowned for its compelling story about a prince named Arthas as he tries to save his kingdom from a lich’s plague and falls into madness, prompting uneasy alliances between other races.

Considering their role in the plague and Arthas’ downfall, necromancers are just as essential to Warcraft 3‘s plot as they are to its gameplay. They may be vulnerable to flying units, but in battle, necromancers can be unmatched forces of destruction for players with ample resources to help manage their units’ mana and summons effectively.

20 Path Of Exile

Transform The Undead Into Bombs

Often considered a spiritual successor to the Diablo series, Path of Exile is known as one of the best action role-playing games available. With hundreds of ways to customize a character’s active and passive abilities, comparing the seven main classes with their specializations, or Ascendancies, is essential.

In Path of Exile, necromancy is aligned with intelligence and witchcraft, but it is considered one of the best and most well-rounded Ascendancies for players to enjoy. With the proper build and supplies, necromancers can raise formidable armies or set the world ablaze with the power to turn the undead into bombs. Either way, mastering their abilities makes them an impressive force to be reckoned with.