How to Change a Battle with a Single Word (Part Three: Black Path)

Written by: Balendor on May 7th, 2025

Necromancy is viewed with disdain by most of the honorable and empathetic people of the realms. But what do they know, cowards, the lot of them. Shying away from the power to raise the dead to do your bidding. Screw your honor! The Black Path of magika is one of power and control, and those that speak ill of it are simply too weak-minded to enjoy its potential. Healing a wound is admirable, scaring your enemies is fun, but reinforcing the ranks of your forces with the freshly sundered corpse of your foes is terror incarnate. True power.

Zombie. The first spell in the Black Path's tree raises dead warriors to fight for you. Zombies make great reinforcements and meat shields for the spellcaster. To raise the best Zombie, ask the dead about their wounds before raising them. This is a vital part of a Necromancer's abilities. By strategically selecting or creating favorable wounds, like a missing leg, the Zombie can be more resilient. This will also keep you from raising weak zombies that are missing arms or have been hit by a Cripple spell and thus are legless. The caster should never just leave their minions to their own devices; they should take command and ensure they stay on task and do not wander off, leaving them open to attack from opponents.

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Lord Ion raises Westlee as his Zombie to serve as a meat shield while trying to finish off the remnants of Clan Teisus.

Seeker. Unlike the Zombie, a Seeker comes back restored to good health, can run, and speak freely. Once given a target, they will hunt them down and try to eliminate them. Of course, strong warriors make for great Seeker choices, but so do enemy magic users, and a Hunter can utilize their Arts to help dispatch those magic-using rivals. Seekers are disruptive and force opponents to make hard choices. Since only the target can wound the Seeker, outside of spells, selecting key targets like faction leadership and healers puts them in choppy waters. Those same targets can be super fun ways to inflict wounds to morale by having a faction leader hunt down their followers.

Clone. This is your ace-in-the-hole. It’s a way to cheat death, confuse enemies, or stage your comeback. By using a dead combatant as a walking phylactery, a necromancer can essentially respawn after falling, if they’re sneaky enough to retrieve the token. It demands forethought, and rewards tactical patience. Imagine watching the enemy cheer your fall, only for you to rise again at the worst possible moment, for them.

The Black Path of magika is one where cunning and hidden leadership allow players to flourish. Letting players build their own little force of puppet warriors. Being brought back to keep fighting, even if it is for a rival Faction, keeps combatants involved in the battle, letting them get more fighting in through out the day. Players who thrive on getting as much combat in per battle day tend to keep a keen eye out for necromancers floating about in the hopes of being raised.

About the writer:

Balendor is a 30 year veteran of KBA's combat system and serves as it's President. He is the Chieftain of the Clan Teisus faction and is the founding Ranger of the Order of the Silver Fox.