Necropolis

The Necropolis is the undead town of the necromancers of Deyja in Heroes of Might and Magic 3: native to dirt, led by Death Knights (heroes of might) and Necromancers (heroes of magic), and recruiting Skeletons, Walking Dead, Wights, Vampires, Liches, Black Knights and Bone Dragons, which upgrade to Skeleton Warriors, Zombies, Wraiths, Vampire Lords, Power Liches, Dread Knights and Ghost Dragons. It is known for Necromancy: both of its hero classes start with the skill, which raises a share of the enemies killed in each won battle as Skeletons, and the town's Necromancy Amplifier and Skeleton Transformer feed it. The official strategy guide puts it plainly: "The Necropolis is all about supporting the Necromancer and Death Knight Hero classes." It is one of the eight towns of the 1999 game, The Restoration of Erathia.

Quick facts

Sources for the table: the official guide's town chapter, pp.107-111 and 116, and its terrain table, pp.165-166.

Necropolis creatures

The numbers below are The Restoration of Erathia's, from the official strategy guide, pp.116 and 142-145: attack, defense, damage, health, speed in hexes, weekly growth of the basic dwelling, and cost. The Shadow of Death manual lists no changes to Necropolis creatures (SoD manual, pp.24-25).

"All Necropolis Creatures are immune to Poisoning attacks, and the Bless and Sorrow spells," the guide notes (p.142).

Skeletons are the creatures Necromancy raises, and the Unearthed Graves add 6 a week to the Cursed Temple (p.116). The guide says a big Skeleton stack is where the level 1 creature "really comes into its own": "Upgrade them to Skeleton Warriors, cast a couple of creature-boosting spells on them, and suddenly a 200-member Skeleton stack is incredibly powerful" (p.145).

Zombies have a 20% chance to inflict Disease, lowering the target's attack and defense by 2 for three rounds (p.142).

Wights and Wraiths fly and regenerate the top creature of their stack to full health each turn; while Wraiths are on the field, the enemy hero loses 2 spell points a round (p.143).

Vampires are never struck back when they attack; Vampire Lords also drain health, bringing dead members of their own stack back by the damage they deal. The guide calls Vampire Lords "extremely hardy creatures" and their arrival the moment when, for a Necropolis army, "things really begin to turn around" (pp.143, 145).

Liches and Power Liches shoot a Death Cloud that hits the target and every creature in the hexes around it; undead can be hurt as the main target but not as neighbors, so the cloud spares the Necropolis's own troops beside the target (p.144).

Black Knights have a 20% chance to cast Curse at Power 3 on the target; Dread Knights also have a 20% chance of a Death Blow, double damage (p.144).

Bone Dragons and Ghost Dragons lower the enemy's morale by 1, and Ghost Dragons have a 20% chance of Aging, which halves the health of every creature in the target stack (p.145). Every creature's full entry is on Creatures.

Necromancy and the undead

Necromancy is the secondary skill that defines the town (Secondary Skills). After a won battle it raises 10%, 20% or 30% of the enemy creatures killed as Skeletons at Basic, Advanced and Expert, and adds them to the hero's army (p.19). Every Death Knight and every Necromancer starts with it, at Basic or Advanced (pp.39, 49). The town adds to it twice:

• Necromancy Amplifier: in the guide's table, a "10 percent bonus to Necromancy skill of allied Necromancers" (p.116).
• Soul Prison, the Necropolis Grail building: the Necromancy of allied heroes rises by 20%, besides the +50% creature growth and 5,000 gold a day every Grail building gives (p.111).
• Skeleton Transformer: turns creatures into Skeletons in town (p.116).

The cost of an undead army is morale. An army of only undead has a morale of 0; undead mixed with living creatures give the army -1; and undead creatures and elementals always have 0 morale themselves (p.13). The guide warns that a Necromancer's troops "should all be undead to avoid the morale penalty", and that Necromancy is worth advancing only with a Necropolis "or some other supply of undead creatures" (pp.19, 48). Necromancers and Death Knights cannot learn Leadership, the morale skill, and a Witch Hut never teaches Leadership or Necromancy (pp.18, 351).

The Shadow of Death added a combination artifact built around the idea: the Cloak of the Undead King (Amulet of the Undertaker, Vampire's Cowl and Dead Man's Boots) raises 30% of the battlefield's dead as Skeletons, and with Necromancy raises Zombies, Wights or Liches instead at Basic, Advanced and Expert (SoD manual, pp.26-27; Combination Artifacts).

Necropolis heroes

The Necropolis's two classes, from the official guide (pp.38-39 and 48-49); each has eight heroes in the 1999 game (Heroes):

The guide finds the Death Knight surprisingly "extremely well-balanced", most often offered Necromancy, then Navigation, Offense and Ballistics (p.38). Necromancers are offered magic skills (Wisdom, Eagle Eye, Intelligence, Sorcery, Mysticism, Scholar) and advance Earth Magic most easily; the guide advises leaving a slot for it, since its Animate Dead and Death Ripple "leverage the effectiveness of a completely undead army" (p.48).

• Death Knights: Charna (Wights), Clavius (+350 gold a day), Galthran (Skeletons), Isra (+5% Necromancy per level), Moander (Liches), Tamika (Black Knights), Straker (Walking Dead), Vokial (Vampires) (p.39).
• Necromancers: Aislinn (Meteor Shower), Nagash (+350 gold a day), Nimbus (Eagle Eye), Sandro (Sorcery), Septienna (Death Ripple), Thant (Animate Dead), Vidomina (+5% Necromancy per level), Xsi (Stone Skin) (p.49).
• Lord Haart, a Knight in The Restoration of Erathia, returns in Armageddon's Blade as a Death Knight, a "Male Lich", whose Black and Dread Knights get +5 attack, +5 defense and +10 damage (AB manual, p.11).

6:44 The Remake's gameplay overview names Galthran, "the Necropolis commander" who "forges skeletons into unstoppable legions". In the 1999 game Galthran is a Death Knight whose specialty raises the attack and defense of his Skeletons and Skeleton Warriors with every level after the first, and who starts with three stacks of Skeletons (Prima, p.39).

Buildings and how it plays

The Necropolis's own buildings, from the guide (p.116): the Cover of Darkness regenerates the shroud around the town, hiding it from enemies; the Necromancy Amplifier and Skeleton Transformer serve Necromancy; the Unearthed Graves add Skeletons. The guide says building the dwellings is "light on Crystal, Gem, and Sulfur consumption, but is Mercury greedy", and the Ghost Dragon also costs mercury (p.116). It also counts the Necropolis, with the Tower, among towns "difficult to build when resources are scarce" (p.5). General building advice is on Town Build Order.

In battle, the guide says low-level Necropolis armies "are slow and lack a ranged attacker", so they should pick fights carefully until they mass numbers or reach Vampire Lords. Fully built, "the Necropolis upper levelers [are] one of the game's toughest teams", and "a gang attack led by a Ghost Dragon, followed by the Power Lich and Dread Knight, has a very good chance of eliminating even the toughest opponent stack" (p.145). More on fighting is on Combat.

8:20 Quick Save's town ranking puts the Necropolis first of nine, "my favorite by far", for its undead look and for Necromancy, whose steady stream of raised Skeletons "keeps your army a threat even after a heavy loss"; it also praises the Vampire Lords, Dread Knights, the Ghost Dragon's aging attack and the Skeleton Transformer. That is Quick Save's opinion; the official guide calls the Necropolis upper levels "one of the game's toughest teams".

The Necropolis in the campaigns

0:02 The Necropolis is the town of Deyja. In The Restoration of Erathia, Deyja's necromancers arranged the assassination of Catherine's father, King Nicholas Gryphonheart, and raised him as a lich, but he seized control of Deyja, and Catherine allied with some necromancers to destroy him (Wikipedia). The evil campaign Long Live the King follows Deyja: its scenario Season of Harvest asks for 2,500 Skeletons within three months, and Corporeal Punishment for the defeat of the Death Knight Mot (p.322). In Song for the Father, the Necromancer Nimbus must reach Highcastle with the Statesman's Medal, against undead led by "the resurrected body of King Gryphonheart" (p.331). The Shadow of Death, a prequel, is the rise of the Necromancer Sandro, who sets the puppet king Finneas Vilmar on Deyja's throne; his campaign Rise of the Necromancer has him gather the Cloak of the Undead King and the Armor of the Damned (SoD manual, pp.4-5, 15). The full stories are on Campaigns. The Remake's reveal trailer opens on the king's death: "The great king of Erathia is dead. And the enemies of the kingdom are scrambling to feed on its remains."

The Necropolis in the Remake

7:45 Ubisoft's key art for the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Remake puts a hooded skeleton in front, and Ubisoft says "from day one, players will have access to all factions" (Ubisoft on Steam, Aug 27, 2026). It has not shown the Necropolis town or listed changes to Necromancy or the undead, as of Oct 21, 2026. Its gameplay overview promises the campaigns in one continuous story with new cinematics, in which players "confront the dark ambitions of Sandro the Necromancer".

Frequently asked questions

What are the Necropolis units in Heroes 3? In Heroes of Might and Magic 3 the Necropolis recruits Skeletons, Walking Dead, Wights, Vampires, Liches, Black Knights and Bone Dragons, which upgrade to Skeleton Warriors, Zombies, Wraiths, Vampire Lords, Power Liches, Dread Knights and Ghost Dragons.

How does Necromancy work in Heroes 3? In Heroes 3, Necromancy raises 10%, 20% or 30% (Basic, Advanced, Expert) of the enemy creatures killed in a won battle as Skeletons; the Necromancy Amplifier and the Soul Prison Grail building raise it further.

Why is undead morale low in Heroes 3? In Heroes 3 undead creatures always have 0 morale, an all-undead army has 0 morale, and mixing undead with living creatures gives the army -1, so Necropolis heroes keep their armies undead.

Can Necromancers learn Leadership in Heroes 3? No: in Heroes 3, Necromancers and Death Knights can't learn Leadership, according to the official strategy guide.

What is the best Necropolis creature in Heroes 3? The official Heroes 3 strategy guide singles out the Vampire Lord as "extremely hardy" and names the Ghost Dragon, Power Lich and Dread Knight as "one of the game's toughest teams"; it also praises massed, upgraded Skeleton Warriors.

What is the Necropolis Grail building in Heroes 3? The Necropolis Grail building in Heroes 3 is the Soul Prison, which raises the Necromancy of all allied heroes by 20% on top of +50% creature growth and 5,000 gold a day.

Sources

• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, Prima Publishing, 1999, pp.5, 13, 18-19, 38-39, 48-49, 107-111, 116, 142-145, 165-166, 322, 331, 351
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death user manual, The 3DO Company, 2000, pp.4-5, 15, 24-27
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade manual, The 3DO Company, 1999, p.11
• Heroes of Might and Magic III, Wikipedia, revision of Oct 19, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake news, Ubisoft on Steam, Aug 27, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake - Gameplay Overview Trailer, Ubisoft, Aug 26, 2026 (video)
• Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake - Reveal Trailer, Ubisoft, Aug 25, 2026 (video)
• Heroes of Might and Magic III: Ranking the Town Factions, Quick Save, Jun 7, 2018 (video)