Games with the Best Necropoli

[Puukko]

I'm interested in what RPGs have the best cities/dungeons of the dead, the kind where each floor presents worse undead horrors than than the one before it, where you can be sure to fight liches and undead dragons. It doesn't have to be strictly exclusively undead, but that should be the prevailing theme, and it should have more than just bog standard walking bones.

My two examples come from JRPGs and neither quite fit the bill, but they're close enough. First one is Bitterblack Isle from Dragon's Dogma, which is equal parts filled with demons and mythological creatures as it is with the undead, but you do wade through gutters of infested flesh, hunted by cursed rotting dragons and the literal Reaper while fighting liches, so it does get pretty high scores. Second one is the Necrohol from FF12, which is a former city of glory, now abandoned and half sunken with (rather lame) liches abound, but again mostly filled with minor demons and malfunctioning constructs, so it only gets a B- on the bone scale.

 

[Citizen]

Cant beat the undead opera

 

[Goromorg]

Not exactly necropoli, but Diablo 1&2 as well as Path of Exile have pretty cool tombs and ruins filled with undead.
Dark Messiah has city of necromancers and a proper necropolis with ghouls, vampire knights, liches and even undead cyclops and a skeletal dragon.

 

[Dr Skeleton]

Most of the first act in Icewind Dale 1 takes place in a vale with crypts full of undead. It's low level so no dragons, but it has skeletons, mummies, ghasts, shades, undead mages, different kinds of wights etc.

 

[V_K]

Ultima 8

Spoiler

 

[ShaggyMoose]

I agreed with the above, but honestly it was more demon worship than undead...

 

[laclongquan]

Might and Magic 8 Day of Destroyer.

IT has Shadowspire map, in which there are several undead-theme dungeons, and a City of Shadowspire which is full of vampire citizens (trainers).

 

[fantadomat]

Cant beat the undead opera

Ahhh it looks like a fucking carnival,but the music is good. MM3 Necropolis is a lot better visually,it is not cringy.

Puukko
If you want dungeons,well MM6 and MM8 does have some great undead dungeons. Corlagon's estate,Tomb of Ethric the mad and Castle Darkmoor are all great dungeons!

 

[Dorateen]

Death Knights of Krynn is a veritable ode to fighting against the undead. One highlight is when the party gets to visit the village of Dulicmer, which is a mirror to the town Cerberus only filled with undead. They go about their existence in a charade of the living, which included undead children playing in the streets, senseless farming activities and raising zombified poultry. The mayor of the village turns out to be a lich, and the party has to even find its phylactery before the lich can be truly destroyed.

This was a well done area with appropriately creepy atmosphere.

 

[circuit breaker]

Mask of The Betrayer, specifically, the Scriptorium had a nice, necropolis-y atmosphere.

 

[Lilura]

Buried Ruins in Swordflight Chapter I. It's 99.99% undead, and I can't think of any low level crawls that are its equal.

It's a meatgrinder dungeon with puzzles, secrets, tough combat and an emphasis on resource management. It also features a point of no return, forcing the player to push on.

Two of the toughest enemies do not need to be fought.

MotB's Death God's Vault is good for epic levels, but it's too easy.

 

[BANANA CONDUCT]

Necropoliae*

 

[V_K]

but honestly it was more demon worship

In more sense than one.

 

[JarlFrank]

Buried Ruins in Swordflight Chapter I. It's 99.99% undead, and I can't think of any low level crawls that are its equal.

It's a meatgrinder dungeon with puzzles, secrets, tough combat and an emphasis on resource management. It also features a point of no return, forcing the player to push on.

I don't even like NWN but that's a genuinely great tomb crawl.

 

[North Gibraltarian Dog]

Necropoliae*

Necropolis is a greek word. I don't know if Necropolis was a usual latin term ever. I know romans used coemeterium or sepulcretum, or something as ad sepulturae.

In english the correct plural seems to be necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis or necropoli


https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/necropolis

 

[Ulfhednar]

Durgan’s Battery and Concelhaut’s tower from Pillars 1 White March expansion is an atypical undead smash and grab midlevel campaign. Undead dwarves and their animated constructs and a lich and his apprentice s. Best part of that game.

 

[Incendax]

Most lich fights make me weep. They make liches into bags of HP that cast spells, instead of the cunning and intelligent enemies they should be. Granted, there is always room for stupid or impulsive liches, but the number of well presented liches in games is really low.

 

[BANANA CONDUCT]

Necropolis is a greek word. I don't know if Necropolis was a usual latin term ever. I know romans used coemeterium or sepulcretum, or something as ad sepulturae.

In english the correct plural seems to be necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis or necropoli


https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/necropolis

I rate this post as racist and would like you to know I do not appreciate it one bit

 

[Butter]

Not Grim Dawn. I think Malmouth was even a better necropolis than the Necropolis.

 

[Zed]

naxxramas, world of warcraft

 

[deama]

I guess you can always make your own in dungeon keeper.

Doesn't grim dawn have that dlc that adds some necromancy city?

 

[mohrg]

Pool of Radiance RoMD: huge city full of undead, (draco)liches included. The game has its detractors, but for me the ambientation is unique.

 

[zapotec]

RAvenloft the stone prophet and Wizard & Warriors.

The first dungeon of the 2nd game i wrote is a nice crypt plus an asylum for plague victims?

 

[laclongquan]

Most lich fights make me weep. They make liches into bags of HP that cast spells, instead of the cunning and intelligent enemies they should be. Granted, there is always room for stupid or impulsive liches, but the number of well presented liches in games is really low.

In BG2, with SCS mod, lich start of with a barrage of defensive spells, then summon fallen deva, and dragon breath, and comet. If you are under level for that, you might as well run away since Fallen Deva can hit hard, hit often, and vorpal hit is knocking you down like free beer mugs.