by Karen Hertzberg on Sep 13, 2006
by Charabis
The Necromancer has
been a staple
of the fantasy genre almost since its inception. Whether as a
player character, or as a non-player character, we all have to admit a
certain fascination with the class. Who among us hasn't
wished
for power? The Necromancer has power over death itself, thus,
like moths to the flame, we're drawn to it.
If asked to name the one thing that typifies Necromancers in massive
multi-player games, the informed person would say, “Their
minions.” Necromancers are very rarely found without minions;
and
who can blame them? Necromancer minions are cool! Just imagine the
looks on your enemies faces when these things come running over the
hill to play.
There's just something sinfully enjoyable about slaying your enemy,
then bringing him back to fight for you. In some games, they'll be
exactly the same as they were in life. In others, they become something
completely new.
And now we have Vanguard, which seems to be taking a new approach. A
new approach called the “Abomination.” (I think it
has a
lovely sound to it, don't you?) Abominations, unlike
their predecessors in the MMOG worlds, will be customizable.
Let
me say that again. You
get to customize
your unholy monster in Vanguard; not just by grabbing some random items
or casting some obscure spell, but by grafting parts gained from other
creatures onto it. Interestingly enough the developers of Vanguard,
Sigil, are being fairly tight-lipped about the exact process, as well
as how Necros acquire these parts.
Then again, Necromancers tend to be secretive, so maybe it's
appropriate that the how-tos of building a better beast
remain
mysterious for now. One thing is sure: those of us who enjoy crafting
are getting one more thing to build. For me, the struggle when the game
comes out will be deciding what to build first!