The Thief and the Necromancer

The Necromancer

When you were young, you were taken by a notorious necromantic cult and bound by enchantment into their service. You were useful to them: unflinching and eager, fearing neither the rigors of the stilling-room nor the dread of the charnel halls.

As you grew, though, you discovered the limits of the sorcerous binding laid on you. With the help of your ghostly tutor, Goerne, you broke the seal on your mind and fled your masters.

By chance you met and made a friend, a thief and street performer, restless and, like you, hungry for a life of achievement. You’ve taken together in mutual amity, and now you pursue your own ambitions and seek your own power far from the cult's reach.

The Thief

You're a street performer, an acrobat and tumbler. You know the sleight of the furtive knot, the sleight of the fourth stone, and the sleight of the filch. You know how to summon an attentive crowd from a purposeless throng of duty-doers, fish-catchers and laundry-beaters. You know the blows of the dispellers’ sticks and you know to flee a labor gang.

You were raised by a cruel and demanding family, forced to perform tricks and antics in the street for small coins — and when the coins were too few, forced to steal.

One day: enough! You met and made a friend, a necromancer as restless and ambitious as you. With your friend you slipped your family’s reach, departed their accustomed routes, and set out for better fortunes in other cities.

Let the world beware of what you will accomplish together!

The Game

You're friends, one a gifted necromancer, the other a thief and street performer. You've both escaped bad situations and you've thrown in together to take on the world.

To play The Thief & the Necromancer, you need two volunteer GMs (or more than two, it's fine) to play against you. You each have your booklet of rules, which you're responsible for knowing and bringing into play for yourself.

Each session that you play is an episode in your adventure together: a new place you arrive, new people you meet, new dangers you face, new opportunities to pursue your ambitions. You can play as often or rarely as you like, and you can call upon the same volunteers, or different ones, every time you play.

System & Dice

The Thief & the Necromancer uses a dice pool version of Powered by the  Apocalypse's moves. Here they're called exertions, and they describe how  you exert yourself to get things done:

• You can exert your empathy to study and understand someone.
• You can exert yourself with grace & calm to disarm a situation
• You can exert yourself physically against the mass and momentum of an uncooperative or unsensible thing.
• You can exert yourself violently against an enemy.

...And so on.

When you exert yourself, roll a number of 6-sided dice and count the  4s, 5s, and 6s as hits. Each hit you roll gives you an option, a chance, or a better outcome.

Content Warning

Content warning: Moderate fantasy violence. Moderate fantasy horror, including necromancy, undeath, body horror, magical enslavement, questions of interpersonal loyalty, and questions of personhood.

Suitable for adults, young adults, and teens.

The Files

Free Downloads: Download the printouts here.

The Thief and the Necromancer - Printouts (pdf) contains the pages you'll need to print in order to play. Print two copies of the Volunteer's Guide and the Bestiary, for your two volunteers, and copies of the thief character sheet and the necromancer character sheet for yourself and your friend.

The Thief and the Necromancer - The Thief eZine (pdf) is the digital version of the thief player's rulebook.

The Thief and the Necromancer - The Necromancer eZine (pdf) is the digital version of the necromancer player's rulebook.

The Thief and the Necromancer - The Thief - Plaintext (txt) and The Thief and the Necromancer - The Necromancer - Plaintext (txt) are the plaintext versions of the game's two rulebooks.

The Zine

The Thief and the Necromancer is the fourth issue of the Wizard's Grimoire zine series. Other issues include:

The Wizard's Grimoire: You're a conjurer, scholar, rogue, and minor wizard, and you've come into possession of an ancient and powerful grimoire. Will it see you to triumph and the achievement of your every ambition, or will you destroy yourself in the pursuit?

The Barbarian's Bloody Quest: A wizard murdered and enslaved your people. Now you're on a bloody quest for revenge. Let all wizards beware!

The Last Adventure: You’re dead, once a hero, but now old, alone, and dead in the land of death. Will you answer the calling voice? Will you seek the sup of oblivion? Or will you end your last adventure on your own terms?

The Wizard's Library: A collection of three 1st- and 2nd-level spellbooks for use with the Wizard's Grimoire or the Thief & the Necromancer. By studying them, unlocking their secrets, and mastering the dangers within, you can follow in the footsteps of the great and the wise!