I havn't actually bought 3rd edition yet, but I've been DMing a little for about a year (Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Paranoia: High Programmers) and from what I've heard I was thinking about buying using it to run 'The Enemy Within'.

In Death on the Reik there's an oppertunity for PCs to pick up necromancy. How would you deal with that? Eliminate the oppertunity, make up some cards for it, ... Are there currently published necromancy rules?

There is a Dark Magic order card, as well as dark magic spells in Winds of Magic. I would start there.

There is also some Necromancy spell cards in The Gathering Storm (I think).

Yes there is some spells in The Gathering Storm. I will buy the Winds of Magic next week. I dont know all the magic in Warhammer, but I would think that having a necromancer in a group would be a bad thing. I guess every Priest of Morr, witch-hunter and other heros will try to kill anyone dealing with necromancy. I think people in the warhammer dont like it when people make corps raise from their graves. They make good antagonistes. But a GM can allways change the world as he see fit so the players can have fun, because that is the point. If your player will really have fun playing a necromantic and you are ok with it, go ahead. In my game, I would not allow it (I am kinda lore nazi) and I would propose other types of magic shools.

Cheers!

Funnily enough the idea of the PCs ripping each other apart really appeals to me. If you can have a Sigmarite and a priest of Ulric in the same party, or mutants, hedge wizards, elves and dwarfs or even just a completely bigoted madman in the same party a necromancer doesn't seem that far out. Why have a tension meter if you're not going to use it? Why have corruption themes if the party isn't tempted. Just a little.

Dark magic sounds like it would fulfil the same role and BTW didn't Nagash base necromancy on dark magic?

PS Having a Tolkenian speller ('dwarves') and a Warhammerist ('dwarfs') in the same party - that would be too much for me.

As I recall the book in TEW allows for picking up necromancy, but not learning any assorted spells?

In 1st edition being necromancer was a career (demonogist, elemantarist etc...), after entering the career, one still had to learn said spells, by finding appropiate grimoires.

So think it's sort of a dead-end really.

I'm with Larry.

Ultimately a priest of Ulric crowned Sigmar, and the two Cults might have some strained relations (as Sigmarites have eclipsed some of Ulric's glory) but they have the same goals in mind. Serve the Empire, fight chaos.

Necromancer? Not so much.

Have you seen the Amethyst wizards? They do some cool stuff of the same flavor without the bad. Failing a full fledged Amethyst character, you can at least draw on some spell ideas (or cards) to add to the Necromancy repertoire.

That being said, good luck!

shinma said:

Sorry, I didn't mean Sigmarites in general, I meant the Sigmarite Heresy - that only the cult of Sigmar should be tolerated and all other cults within the Empire should be ... dealt with.

Amethyst wizards are cool, but they aren't devisive.

The main reason I'm keen on the idea of the PCs getting the 'bad' magic is that it matches up so well with the Enemy Within. While they wander around getting corruption points for just breathing the warpstone laced air and trying to conceal mutation (involuntary corruption) the powers of dark magic could be at their fingertips (voluntary corruption).

Lowsow said:

Go for it. There's nothing game-breaking about it or anything.

Winds of magic includes a "dark magic" card, which is a great way to provide temptation to a PC:

It increases a Wizard's spellcasting ability, but also increases the risk of miscast. In addition, it allows access to a new set of spells. By RAW, a player in a wizard career buys the card as a talent, and can use it in place of his existing order talent. That said, you could just allow a character to enter the wizard career and choose dark magic as his talent instead of another talent.

Winds of magic also includes rules for a Mark of Tzeench, which bestows spellcasting ability on any character.

It's been strongly implied that the upcoming adventure "The Witch's Song" will include PC rules for hedge magic.