Necromancy is one of the most taboo forms of magic in Thedas, nearly akin to the reputation of blood magic because of its association with the dead - this is true even in the recentDragon Age: The Veilguard. While it isn’t outright outlawed in most of Thedas, it’s so socially taboo that most mages avoid it, and most Circles don’t teach the practice. Despite this,Dragon Age: Inquisitionoffers the specialization to the Inquisitorby bringing a necromancer to teach the Inquisitor and Dorian, one of the Inquisitor’s companions, specializes in the school.
One of the locations featured inDragon Age: The Veilguardis Nevarra, with Nevarra’s Mourn Watch being one of the main factions represented. The player character, Rook, could possibly have the Mourn Watch as their background, and Emmrich, one of the companions, is a Mourn Watch mage. This seesDragon Age: The Veilguard’s necromancy specialization see some significant changes that improve greatly onDragon Age: Inquisition’s version of necromancy, both mechanically that make the specialization easier and more intuitive to use, but also makes necromancy align more closely toDragon Age’s necromancy lore.
Necromancy in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is Expanded Thanks to Nevarra
Unlike necromancy in other media,necromancy inDragon Agedoes not bring the dead back to life, or raise the undead in the form of zombies like inSkyrim. Instead, low-level spirits, such as wisps, possess a corpse. Nevarra practices necromancy as a part of its funerary rites because of their beliefs that once a soul passes through the Fade, it displaces a spirit in the Fade. In compensation, they offer the deceased’s corpse as a home for the displaced spirit. Nevarra’s Mourn Watch has charge over the dead in the Grand Necropolis, where they ensure the dead are respected.
As a part of their duties, the Mourn Watch mages have specialized their magic into control over the forces of life and death, particularly in regard to necrotic magic. While Necromancy inDragon Age: Inquisitioninvolved summoning spirits, theDeath Caller specialization inDragon Age: The Veilguardhas a more nuanced approach to necromancy. Rather than raising undead by summoning spirits, a Death Caller Rook instead manipulates the forces of life and death in their enemies, channeling death itself into enemies to cause damage, or pulling life from them to heal themselves.
The Necromancy Build is Intuitive and Slays
Thekey ability of the Death Caller, The Crypt’s Herald, is one of the most powerful inDragon Age: The Veilguard, as it both drains enemies in an area of life to heal Rook, then immediately deals a massive amount of damage to those enemies. Rook is completely invulnerable, cannot be interrupted, and can move while casting The Crypt’s Herald, making it perfect to use while fighting most enemies, including high dragons and enemies that block most forms of attacks.
TheDeath Caller and necrotic abilities from the Mourn WatchinDragon Age: The Veilguardare an improvement onDragon Age: Inquisitionsimply because of the sheer variety of spells, the level of damage they do, how few enemies have resistance to necrotic damage, and because of how the class expands on the lore of the Mourn Watch and necromancy in general. And, while the aspect of summoning spirits in battle has been reduced, it’s been exemplified in other areas ofDragon Age: The Veilguard, such as in Emmrich’s companion quests and conversations, and Mourn Watch faction quests.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
Enter the world of Thedas, a vibrant land of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities – steeped in conflict and secret magics. Now, a pair of corrupt ancient gods have broken free from centuries of darkness and are hellbent on destroying the world.Thedas needs someone they can count on. Rise as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. Be who you want to be and play how you want to play as you fight to stop the gods from blighting the world. But you can’t do this alone – the odds are stacked against you. Lead a team of seven companions, each with their own rich story to discover and shape, and together you will become The Veilguard.
