Necromancer backstories

xGhost91x

Those of you who have made a necromancer character...what's your story?

My Dunmer magicka dps is a member of House Telvanni who seeks power at all costs.

My Imperial tank is an ex-Legion Zero heavy who seeks to use the necromancy he learned to combat the very beings that taught him.

TheShadowScout

I have a altmer necromantrix who may or may not be a distant relative of Mannimarco, and had to flee her homelands because of her hobby, to seek refugee with the pact and a secluded place to get into her research without the villagers always coming after her witrh torches and pitchforks...

I have a imperial wannabe knight who could only gain acceptance with an order of tomb guardians, learning necromancy en passant and still trying to be honorable and chivalric even if he is more likely to be seen as dour and intimidating...

I have an albino-ish argonian grave robber who often tries to scare away people by pretending to be a ghost, then robbing the freshly interred, sometimes animating them to cover of his dastardly deeds, but generally has a somewhat decentr heart beneath all the pretending to be eeeeevil shell...

And those are mine.

TigressCreed

Mines the recreation of this guy; https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Arondil

VaranisArano

"Necromancy isn't illegal when its done to humans and beasts. I'd never desecrate a Dunmer that way!"

Strangely enough, the town guards don't listen to my necromancer's protests. He's a Dunmer, a former slaver for House Dres who traveled to Elsweyr in hopes of finding some Khajiit laborers who want to emigrate to Vvardenfell. He's not having much luck with that, and that was before the dragons showed up...

Hu-Rikan

My Necromancer is an ancient Argonian Vampire of the Veeskhleel tribe (or the precursor to them) who also worships Hermaeus Mora (plus the Hist and Sithis). He was accidentally awakened from his tomb by members of the Cyrodilic Collections organization. After seeing the current condition of his people he decided to dedicate his efforts towards restoring his their dignity and glory, while positioning himself to become ruler of a new empire in which Saxleel are the dominant race.

Iccotak

My argonian necromancer was once a healer and a woman

Her husband was critically injured by a mysterious spell in action during the Three-Banner War

none of the magic she knew, nor any healer, would work. Things got desperate. She met with an Argonian who gave her forbidden knowledge of argonian necromancy practices.

She returned to her homeland with her husband. There she learned what she could about forbidden Argonian rituals from other tribes. Eventually she attempted to use a ritual with Hist sap that would exchange the life of her Egg to bring her husband back to life.
Sithis punished her. Not only did she lose her husband and egg, but her form as well. She became a He and Sithis placed him as a Death Guardian. One that used their powers to maintain the balance between life and death. Taking care to guide the spirits, place grave stakes, and other needs of the Hist.

His name is Thithil - the argonian word for Egg.

Sephyr

Mine's an emissary of a cult that also worships Hermaeus Mora that seeks knowledge at all costs. Even if it means resurrecting the dead to get that knowledge. He has his own plans however, often straying from the cult to work on his own projects and tinkering with the dead/undead. Definitely fun at necro-parties.

TheNuminous1

I used the maormer skin with a dunmer oracle eyes approach. Made him a tribal shaman looking sea elf. Taught necromancy by the sload. Would be a waste not to take use of all the dead the ocean provides.

Aikoda

Mine is a Breton (Reachmen) who left the Bloodthorn Cult, believing that if they allied with the Daggerfall Covenant, they could claim the western lands of Skyrim as their own and be able to maintain them as an equal member of the Covenant.

tinythinker

I generally have trouble with even window dressing backstories in MMORPGs. Only one character (a minor one in my interest/play list) ever had the outlines of an identity suggest itself - the necromancer I made for the Elsweyr drop. Laelia Annaeus. I think this is because she is an Imperial sometimes taken for a Redguard (this was suggested by her appearance, which was fun to make). She identifies however as Imperial (since that was what I chose under race selection). Given this, it's easy to imagine a bit of potential personality. Raised and trained in Cyrodiil, she favors that part of her heritage. She's an Imperial's Imperial, inspired by her friends and family. She entered Imperial service with the goal of rising as far as possible.

Then the Emperor disappeared and necromancers started showing up. Following her ambition and curiosity, she went along with the changes - to play the game with the new rules. Knowledge is power, and you have to be in the game to see the board. This angle avoids the "she was forced" angle wherein she had to play along solely to survive. That was true, but she was also motivated to continue climbing the ladder of success and to arm herself with power and knowledge that would give her an advantage no matter how things played out. This gives the character more agency than excuses.

At this point however, the fuzzy image that popped into my head of who this character is less clear after that. Two possibilities suggested themselves:

The first (no favorites, random order) is that she would have continued her rise in power in the Worm-riddled Imperial government and military if she hadn't been betrayed by another ambitious individual. This lead to her arrest and her execution as a sacrifice to Molag Bal. Arriving back on Nirn, she decided that High King Emeric and his Daggerfall Covenant was the best bet for the Empire she knew to be restored. Besides, she still has relatives in Alik'r, even though she isn't close to them. She still has the same goals, only now she will help drive out the Daedric forces and position herself to be a key figure in the restoration of the Empire. This version of the character would likely be a tank, leading troops into the heat of battle, or a fierce damage dealer removing an obstacles to the future she is willing into being. She isn't worried about accumulating or dwelling on regrets or hesitating to restoring and being a new architect of the Empire. The faster she can help end the war, the better. If using undead as fodder on the battlefield means fewer casualties among the living and a quicker resolution to the Three Banners war, so be it.

The second is that while learning and practicing some basic principals of Necromancy, she gained some profound insight into the workings of life - the cycle of birth and death, of growth and decay, of decline and renewal. Not as grand as mystical vision sent by the gods, not as mundane as logical conclusion to a series of logical propositions, it was more of an intuitive realization and awareness resonating with her heart and mind. As each spellcaster brings their own personality and desires into their magic, their exploration and discoveries can follow unique lines. This intuitive awareness suggested that even the cosmos itself operated on the same principles, and that the stereotypical use of necromantic magic is a foul pittance of the greater potential. Yet everyone seems locked into a quick and dirty power-grab kind of use, hence to gateway to greater things still lies in mastering those lesser spells first. And survival as well. This version of the character would likely be in a healer/support role, looking to explore and utilize her powers for more than just violence and intimidation. A vision of an Empire healed and elevated beyond what most could dream of by the wisdom and insights she has glimpsed drives her forward.

The second version would have an especially intrigued view of Vastarie, for example, while the first would have a great deal of respect and empathy for Abnur Tharn.

Ilsabet

@tinythinker

I like your first idea a lot. That's someone with a strong personality, clear motivations, and an integrated connection to what's going on in the world. I also always like to see an explanation for how the Vestige got sacrificed, and betrayal is a solid narrative hook.

I think you've got some good ideas to work with here.

Ilsabet

Oh I guess I might as well answer the original question.

My Dunmer stam necro is an ace treasure hunter who became desensitized to undeath during her decades of dungeon delving, and ultimately turned to using the dead for backup to keep herself alive. The Worm Cult tried to recruit her, but when she turned them down they decided to just harvest her soul instead.

My Breton mag necro was a member of the Worm Cult, but was considered expendable enough to be used as a sacrifice. She has a very pragmatic (and slightly sociopathic) view of her trade, and considers both the living and the dead to be little more than tools. Now that the Cult has cut her loose, she's free to pursue her own goals, and she really doesn't care what anybody thinks of her preferred methods.

tinythinker

Ilsabet wrote: »

@tinythinker

I like your first idea a lot. That's someone with a strong personality, clear motivations, and an integrated connection to what's going on in the world. I also always like to see an explanation for how the Vestige got sacrificed, and betrayal is a solid narrative hook.

I think you've got some good ideas to work with here.

Thanks. The second one has the same strong personality, but is seeing a bigger personality and is more likely to be an adventurer in the typical RPG sense because of the desire to gain more knowledge and experience with the power she is seeking to understand and control. Not sure how her personality concretely plays into this.

Either way, that character is waaaaaaaaay down on the playlist. I wasn't trying to come up with a background for her, it just suggested itself based on how I designed the character in the creation screen. She was more of a "I guess I should make a necromancer since it comes with the chapter" character.