Necropolis

Necropolis is the undead faction of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era: the Necromancers' Guild of Shadowspire, led by vampires, whose heroes start with Necromancy and raise the fallen into Skeletons, Wights, Liches, Dread Knights and Vampires. Unfrozen's first FAQ listed it as "Necropolis (Undead and Vampires)" (Unfrozen, Aug 30, 2024), and it was the first faction revealed, in a video on Halloween, Oct 31, 2024 (Unfrozen). After feedback Unfrozen rebuilt it and showed it again on Feb 2, 2026 with new Dread Knights, a new town and a new Necromancy. It has been playable since the demo of Oct 9, 2025. All six factions are compared on Factions; how to play it is on Necropolis Guide.

Quick facts

Lore

Unfrozen told the Necropolis story as an interview between its scholar Kelarr and the necromancer Khel (Devlog #4, Nov 15, 2024). Khel calls necromancy "the applied science of death", rooted in alchemy more than magic, which began when a mage first came back as a lich in Enroth. The Necromancers' Guild works worldwide but its branches are autonomous; in Jadame it acts as a support network. Its strongest chapter sits in Shadowspire in eastern Jadame, which "is actually ruled by vampires": its head is the vampire Lord Thant, a researcher of Nightshade Magic favored by "the legendary Nosferatu Korbu". Khel himself belongs to a branch in the isles of the Ifarine Sea, and the young vampire Galthran, "freshly bitten", experiments with transforming skeletons and seeks power apart from the Guild. Shadowspire is also the name of Jadame's largest volcano, dormant (Devlog #3). Religious necromancers follow the Moon faith or its offshoot, the Path of Dark, which sets them against the Sun clerics of the Temple.

The town

0:09 The first town, shown in the Halloween reveal of 2024 as a black tower under a green sky, was replaced: Unfrozen's post of Jun 13, 2025 first showed the new Necropolis town screen (Unfrozen), and the full update reveal of Feb 2, 2026 invited players to "fortify your new and improved Necropolis" and ride out with "the new Dread Knights" (Unfrozen). Dwellings named in the patch notes include "Quiet Pavilion" (tier 2), "Kennel" (tier 3) and "Tomb of Warriors" (tier 6) (Patch #11, Jul 6, 2026).

0:09 The rebuilt town opens Unfrozen's update reveal video of Feb 2, 2026: a dark gothic city of spires and green-lit halls along a glowing green river, followed by the recruitment screen with the seven dwellings' creatures. The same video introduces its heroes as Necromancers and Death Knights, among them Milossa the Golden, Artorius Veritas, Marl, Lord Rufus, Onkos, Bulwark and Laura.

Creatures

Every tier has a base creature and two alternative upgrades, named as in Unfrozen's patch notes (beta notes, Oct 15, 2026). The whole bestiary is on Creatures.

1:08 The 2024 reveal video presents the lineup tier by tier, from the Vampire, Vampire Lord and Vampire Scholar to Skeletons, Wights, Undead Pets and the Graverobber, each fighting skeletons on a dark field with a few lines on its role. Some names have changed since: the tier 3 upgrades were then the "Bargeist" and the "Armoured Hound", today the Barghest and the Armored Hound.

The Steam store page describes vampires and liches as "deadly but fragile" and the Graverobber as a unit that summons Skeletons (Steam). The Dread Knight model was replaced before launch to look closer to Heroes 3 and Heroes 4 (Devlog #15, Apr 24, 2026). The Vampires heal by "Vampirism", which the Oct 15 beta raised from 50% to 66.6%.

Faction skill: Necromancy

40:06 Necromancy is the Necropolis faction skill (FAQ Part 2). In its current form, from Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026), a victory raises fallen enemies as undead of the same tier, the base version by default (tier 1 becomes Skeletons, tier 2 Wights), paid for from a reserve of necromantic energy of 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 at Basic, Advanced and Expert; the battle results window lets you bank energy instead. It has been redesigned twice since the first plan of 2024, and the full history, costs and laws are on Necromancy. The Necromancer hero class has an elite class, "Chronomancer", which since Patch #11 refills the hero's energy every day. The creator Turin's guide of May 5, 2026 points out the energy bar beside the hero's mana and movement: every model raised spends from it, and it refills over time.

Faction Laws

35:52 Unfrozen's laws devlog named two Necropolis laws: armies that ignore the morale penalty for mixing units from different factions, and Necropolis heroes that always fight on their native terrain (Devlog #14, Dec 5, 2025). Its image names them: "Death Equalizes All" and "Terra Mortis". The patch notes add "Free Death", "Return to the Soil", "Death's Presence", "Bloodthirst" (more Vampirism), "Black Death" (over-time damage), "Laws of the Immortals" (Law points from towns), "Gifts of the Afterlife", "Terror and Dread", "Elite Dread Knights", "Elite Liches" and five "Animate Dead" laws that add necromantic energy or Necromancy power (Patch #11; beta notes). How laws are earned is on Faction Laws.

Heroes

0:19 The reveal video introduced the faction's heroes as Necromancers and Death Knights: King-of-Kings, Guildmaster Klastor, Shadespinner Oona and Funerella as Necromancers, Kel'Ghul as a Death Knight. Necropolis heroes named in Unfrozen's patch notes include Marl, Laura and Lord Rufus (spell specialists), King-of-Kings (a diplomat), Bulwark (a damage specialist), Tarius and Funerella (who gain Necromancy power with level), Zam, Adahn, Ethric, Guildmaster Klastor, Shadespinner Oona and Kel'Ghul, who starts with Dread Knights (Patch #8; Patch #11). Unfrozen's art devlog shows a redesigned Ethric the Mad, a character from Might and Magic 6 (Devlog #15). Picks for every faction are on Best Heroes.

Changes since the reveal and in patches

• Feb 2, 2026: the faction update: new Dread Knights, a new town, and a Necromancy rebuilt around the enemy's strongest stack (Unfrozen).
• Patch #7 (May 21, 2026): Necromancy turned on by default for Necromancer heroes (Unfrozen).
• Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026): Necromancy can raise any tier; tier 2 growth up from 16 to 19 and tier 3 from 13 to 14 a week; Dread Knights and their upgrades down from 100 to 80 health; tier 7 Vampirism up from 40% to 50%; "Bloodthirst" weakened.
• Patch #13 (Aug 20, 2026): the Pestilent Lich's "Death's Embrace" got a longer cooldown and higher cost, and specialist heroes' weekly growth bonus fell from 2 to 1.
• Public beta (Oct 15, 2026): alternative upgrades rebuilt: the Wraith gains "Gates of Afterlife" (summons Wights), the Barghest "Double Strike", the Merchant of Death and Kennelmaster passives that speed up Skeletons and Undead Pets, the Pestilent Lich "Plague Aura", the Sanguine Lich "Last Spark" and the Hollow Reaper "Paralyzing Dread"; tier 2, 3 and 4 growth trimmed by one (beta notes). These are beta-only as of Oct 21, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Necropolis faction in Olden Era? Necropolis is the undead faction of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, the Necromancers' Guild of Shadowspire ruled by vampires, with Skeletons, Wights, Liches, Dread Knights and Vampires. It was the first faction Unfrozen revealed, on Oct 31, 2024.

What is the Necropolis faction skill? Olden Era's Necropolis heroes start with Necromancy, which raises defeated enemies as undead of the same tier after a victory, paid for with necromantic energy. Since Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026) it can raise units of any tier.

What are the Necropolis units in Olden Era? Olden Era's Necropolis fields Skeleton, Wight, Undead Pet, Graverobber, Lich, Dread Knight and Vampire at tiers 1 to 7, each with two alternative upgrades.

What are the Necropolis faction laws? Unfrozen's examples of Necropolis laws in Olden Era are "Death Equalizes All" (no morale penalty for mixed factions) and "Terra Mortis" (Necropolis heroes always fight on native terrain); others add necromantic energy, Vampirism and creature upgrades.

Who leads the Necropolis in Olden Era's lore? In Olden Era the Shadowspire chapter of the Necromancers' Guild is headed by the vampire Lord Thant; Unfrozen's lore also names the ambitious young vampire Galthran and the necromancer Khel of the Ifarine Sea isles.

Sources

• FAQ, Unfrozen, Aug 30, 2024
• Devlog #3: On Lore and Subjectivity, Unfrozen, Oct 20, 2024
• Necropolis Faction full reveal (Happy Halloween!), Unfrozen, Oct 31, 2024
• Devlog #4: On Necromancy and the Necromancers' Guild, Unfrozen, Nov 15, 2024
• FAQ: Part 2, Unfrozen, Dec 6, 2024
• Important Update Regarding Early Access, Unfrozen, Jun 13, 2025
• Devlog #14: Gameplay Mechanics pt. 3: Faction Laws, Unfrozen, Dec 5, 2025
• Necropolis Faction Update - Official Full Reveal, Unfrozen, Feb 2, 2026
• Devlog #15: How and Why We Chose the Artstyle of Olden Era, Unfrozen, Apr 24, 2026
• Patch #7: Removing Abuses and Improving Campaign, Unfrozen, May 21, 2026
• Patch #8: Skills Rework, Balance Pass & Exploit Fixes, Unfrozen, Jun 1, 2026
• Patch #11: Necromancy Update, UI Tweaks and Balance Changes, Unfrozen, Jul 6, 2026
• Patch #13: The Mysterious Island, Unfrozen, Aug 20, 2026
• BETA Patch: Balance Update - New Damage Formula, Smarter AI & New Creatures, Unfrozen, Oct 15, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era on Steam, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Necropolis Faction full reveal (Happy Halloween!), Unfrozen Official, Oct 31, 2024 (video)
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era - Necropolis Faction Update Official Full Reveal, Unfrozen Official, Feb 2, 2026 (video)
• Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Necropolis Faction Beginners Guide, Turin, May 5, 2026 (video)