With the coming of the Rise of the Necromancer pack, we’d like to highlight some of the interesting lore and history behind these enigmatic and secretive spellcasters. Shrouded in mystery and hailing from a far and strange land, these ‘Priests of Rathma’ are mistrusted at best and hated by most, but is this ill will warranted?
1. Priests of Rathma
Necromancers hail themselves as the Priests of Rathma, but who's Rathma? He was one of the original Nephalem of Sanctuary, born to Inarius and Lilith. Rathma had an innate ability to manipulate life forces, and he passed this knowledge onto the first Necromancer, Mendeln. All Necromancers since have studied these teachings and have become powerful spellcasters able to control souls. They can wield the power of life and death itself. Rathma’s pragmatic outlook on existence became the foundation of one the Necromancers’ guiding principles, the Great Cycle of Being, where life and death are merely different states that flow into one another instead of being a linear path.
2. They Know the Truth
At the end of the great conflict known as the Sin War, the forces of Heaven and Hell made a pact to keep the world of Sanctuary off limits from either side’s influence. In keeping with this pact, the memories of the Sin War, as well as the knowledge of the existence of Heaven and Hell, were purged from the minds of almost all humans on Sanctuary, with one of the few exceptions being the original Necromancer, Mendeln. All Necromancers know of Heaven, Hell, and humanity's true origins as Nephalem. Whereas humanity is only now beginning to understand their true heritage and power, the Necromancers have known all along. It is these facts that fuel their core tenant to the maintain a principle they call ‘The Balance.’
3. All Things in Balance
The Balance is a philosophy all Necromancers hold. It states that humanity should be free from the machinations of both Heaven and Hell so that the denizens of Sanctuary can choose their own fate. Humanity should not be manipulated as pawns in the Eternal Conflict, and it falls to the Necromancers to protect the world from the threats most people don’t even know exist. Necromancers will often roam the world to combat demonic invasions or angelic intrusions so that the rest of humanity can grow and evolved at their own pace, free from outside influences.
4. A Secretive Cult
Necromancers are entrusted with some of the most guarded secrets of Sanctuary, and this led the original founders of the cult to seek out seclusion from the rest of humanity. Ultimately, the Necromancers founded a subterranean city hidden in the eastern jungles of Kehjistan to practice their own style of magic, far away from the prying eyes of rival clans and the judgement of others. The secrets of their home are so well guarded that not even scholars such as Deckard Cain know much about this city. Even its name is still shrouded in mystery.
5. Not As Evil As You’d Think
While most societies on Sanctuary view the manipulation of the dead as evil, Necromancers are far removed from such moral ambiguities. They see necromancy as just another tool in fighting the true evils of Creation, the forces of Hell. Death isn’t as final to a Necromancer as it is to others, as life and death are just different parts of the Great Cycle of Being. To a Necromancer, summoning a spectre to rip the soul from his foes is no different from a Sorceress conjuring a fireball to defeat her enemies.
Now that some of the mysteries surrounding the Necromancers have been revealed, we hope that you’re as excited as we are about their inclusion into Diablo 3. Don’t forget the new class is only one piece of the Rise of the Necromancer pack coming later this year, in addition to the new portraits, cosmetic items, two character slots, and two new stash tabs that you’ll unlock with its purchase. The Rise of the Necromancer will be released alongside all the free content in Patch 2.6 which is set to include Challenge Rifts, new monsters, and the new Shrouded Moors, Temple of the Firstborn, and Fractured Realm zones.
Neinball (@NeinballGamer) is a content creator for Diablo Fans and a horadrim in training. Whether he's relaxing on Zegema Beach, fighting servants of the Corpse-God in the 41st millennium, or quelling Rebellions in the Outer Rim, his passion always brings him back to slaying Demons in Sanctuary.
6. They cost 5-50$
LUL
Post more content like this, The story and lore in the game is quite vast, and makes for a decent read.
No mention of their white hair!
hopefully within the few months we will get some answers to how much it will cost
They reside in an underground city. With little to no sunlight I presume. Melanin production, triggered by UV exposure, would be low which is the key ingredient to skin, eye and hair pigmentation. Albinism or more likely leucism in this case, going by the art, may be commonplace. And compounding those genetic expressions would be their isolated society and limited gene pool.
In all seriousness I agree with Solbera. Seeing bits of lore show up every now and then is nice if it's content related. Just something different. Kind of late at this point but definitely keep it in mind.
"addition to the new portraits, cosmetic items, two character slots, and two new stash tabs that you’ll unlock with its purchase"
I have never been so hyped for content! Just kidding, I am playing PoE now. A game where 10x the content comes for free this summer
How much will necromancer pack costs? Any ideas for the amount of $ that we must pay for this DLC?
actually a quality post.
Good work!
dont know how much it will costs because they wont tell it before it comes out
hais... we are the balancers between good and evil... oh, btw, we only fight evil..
because.. you know... the forces of good cant cause harm.. rite?
post contradicts itself every other paragraph.. :/
The forces of good (or the High Heavens) had actually kept to their word of not trying to influence Sanctuary (heck most of 'em wanted to wipe out humanity and be done with it.).
Tyrael was probably the only member of the High Heavens to actually take action that affected Sanctuary, during the events before Diablo 1 (forming the Hordadrim), Diablo 2 (assisted player characters with information, gateway to both Pandemonium and Mount Arreat, as well as the destruction of the World Stone), and finally Diablo 3 (By this point Tyrael had left Heaven's Ranks).
In short: The High Heavens rarely did anything that would affect the Balance especially in comparison to the Forces of the Burning Hells.
No where in my previous comment did I say that the High Heavens were good overall or true saints, I even said that a majority of the Angelic forces wanted to see Sanctuary destroyed.
Nor did I say anything about Tyrael or any other character in the Diablo Franchise to be a true noble. I merely said that in accordance to the Balance, the High Heavens hardly touched Sanctuary in comparison to the Burning Hells.
Simple as that.
Just gonna say though, I wouldn't use gameplay features like looting or rifting as evidence to describe a character's morality...
I like this. Great read! Would love more posts about lore. Necromancers is the heroes Sanctuary deserves, but not the ones it needs right now.