I've just picked this up and have mixed feelings.
On the one hand, it's a solid, well put together supplement that is easy to read and well laid out. On the other hand, it's way too generic for my tastes.
A quick summary of what it has:
Characters - A brief description of some new professions and Necromantic skills. Gravedigger as a profession made me smile.
Divine Magic - Lots of new spells, but no context in which to put them. Some of the spells are welcome and long overdue, for example Cemetary Horde or Necropolis Curse. There are Necromantic spells and Spells against the dead, so generic anti-vampire cults can get new spells.
Necromantic Sorcery - This contains new sorcery spells for creating undead and using death magic. Some of the spells are interesting - Body Jump is tailor made for what Delecti gets to do later on, for example. The spells are OK, not bad and not fantastic.
Necromantic Cults - This contains several generic necromantic cults - The Order of the Shadow Sun, The Knights Indomitable, The School of Night, Guild of Animators, Godsdeath Church and Chamberlains of the Undying King. It also has several undead-hunting cults - Bearers of the Sacred Light, Corpsetearers and Solemn Order of the Gravewatch. I'm not a big fan of generic cults, but these seem fine if that's the sort of thing that you like. There are three Necromantic Cults of Glorantha - Vivamort, Order of Thanotic Enquiry and Homago Bone Stew Cult. The Vivamort writeup has the line "Long association with vampires has given the acolyte some powers over the blood. Acolytes of Thanatar may double their healing rate." Thanatar? In a Vivamort writeup? Tut, tut, tut. These could have been better, to tell the truth and they missed out Gark the Calm, which is the Zombie God of Glorantha.
Necromancers - This contains some writeups of necromancer NPCs. They are very detailed and would be useful in any game.
Necromantic Lairs - This is a description of a necromantic Lair, but only one. It would make a good scenario hack.
Undead Creatures - In the standard Mongoose style, this has interesting Traits and lots of new Undead creatures. I'd use some of these in my games, for sure. The Corpse Tree suits Dark Aldrya and Liches are always good for a laugh. There are a lot of creatures, with numerous types of ghosts and zombies. All useful stuff for an enterprising GM.
Necromantic Items - Animated Weapons, Necromatic Blights and Necromantic Limbs & Organs, what's not to like? Lost an eye? Just pick one off a corpse and stick it in your gaping socket, it'll work just as well. These are good for any campaign.
Fear and Madness - Hard and fast rules for simulating how scary things are. No longer can players say "Oh, a zombie, they only do 2D6 damage so I can cream them", instead they can say "Oh no, one of the walking dead - aaaargh!". These rules might work, they look interesting to me. The Insanity rules ,look similar and are far less obtrusive than the ones from Call of Cthulhu, but that can only be a good thing. There are a few Legendary Abiltiies which could be usable in most campaigns. The requirements are a bit iffy (Courageous requires STR or POW 15 and Persistence 90% or higher) but it's hard to put a value on what is required for these things.
Campaigns & Adventures - A very short chapter describing types of necromantic campaigns. These are OK and have some nice ideas.
Anghara, Our Reflection - A scenario involving pretty little necromancresses. I've only flicked through it but it looks fine to me.
Overall, it looks nice, with pretty pictures of undead and beautiful scantily clad sorceresses, there are even some maps! The content is generally good but too generic for my tastes. However, those who want to use necromancy in other settings than Glorantha would probably welcome that.
I'd give it a B+.
Pity about the Thanatar Acolytes in the Vivamort cult, though ...
On the one hand, it's a solid, well put together supplement that is easy to read and well laid out. On the other hand, it's way too generic for my tastes.
A quick summary of what it has:
Characters - A brief description of some new professions and Necromantic skills. Gravedigger as a profession made me smile.
Divine Magic - Lots of new spells, but no context in which to put them. Some of the spells are welcome and long overdue, for example Cemetary Horde or Necropolis Curse. There are Necromantic spells and Spells against the dead, so generic anti-vampire cults can get new spells.
Necromantic Sorcery - This contains new sorcery spells for creating undead and using death magic. Some of the spells are interesting - Body Jump is tailor made for what Delecti gets to do later on, for example. The spells are OK, not bad and not fantastic.
Necromantic Cults - This contains several generic necromantic cults - The Order of the Shadow Sun, The Knights Indomitable, The School of Night, Guild of Animators, Godsdeath Church and Chamberlains of the Undying King. It also has several undead-hunting cults - Bearers of the Sacred Light, Corpsetearers and Solemn Order of the Gravewatch. I'm not a big fan of generic cults, but these seem fine if that's the sort of thing that you like. There are three Necromantic Cults of Glorantha - Vivamort, Order of Thanotic Enquiry and Homago Bone Stew Cult. The Vivamort writeup has the line "Long association with vampires has given the acolyte some powers over the blood. Acolytes of Thanatar may double their healing rate." Thanatar? In a Vivamort writeup? Tut, tut, tut. These could have been better, to tell the truth and they missed out Gark the Calm, which is the Zombie God of Glorantha.
Necromancers - This contains some writeups of necromancer NPCs. They are very detailed and would be useful in any game.
Necromantic Lairs - This is a description of a necromantic Lair, but only one. It would make a good scenario hack.
Undead Creatures - In the standard Mongoose style, this has interesting Traits and lots of new Undead creatures. I'd use some of these in my games, for sure. The Corpse Tree suits Dark Aldrya and Liches are always good for a laugh. There are a lot of creatures, with numerous types of ghosts and zombies. All useful stuff for an enterprising GM.
Necromantic Items - Animated Weapons, Necromatic Blights and Necromantic Limbs & Organs, what's not to like? Lost an eye? Just pick one off a corpse and stick it in your gaping socket, it'll work just as well. These are good for any campaign.
Fear and Madness - Hard and fast rules for simulating how scary things are. No longer can players say "Oh, a zombie, they only do 2D6 damage so I can cream them", instead they can say "Oh no, one of the walking dead - aaaargh!". These rules might work, they look interesting to me. The Insanity rules ,look similar and are far less obtrusive than the ones from Call of Cthulhu, but that can only be a good thing. There are a few Legendary Abiltiies which could be usable in most campaigns. The requirements are a bit iffy (Courageous requires STR or POW 15 and Persistence 90% or higher) but it's hard to put a value on what is required for these things.
Campaigns & Adventures - A very short chapter describing types of necromantic campaigns. These are OK and have some nice ideas.
Anghara, Our Reflection - A scenario involving pretty little necromancresses. I've only flicked through it but it looks fine to me.
Overall, it looks nice, with pretty pictures of undead and beautiful scantily clad sorceresses, there are even some maps! The content is generally good but too generic for my tastes. However, those who want to use necromancy in other settings than Glorantha would probably welcome that.
I'd give it a B+.
Pity about the Thanatar Acolytes in the Vivamort cult, though ...
