Race
As noted in the PHB, of those races open to player characters, only humans may normally
specialize in the Dark Art. Compared with other demihuman races, humans have by far the
shortest life span and are hence more likely to be concerned (or in the case of
necromancers, obsessed) with death. Indeed, many human societies have revolved
around a preoccupation with death and the afterlife, and one might argue that
the study of necromancy was instigated by certain humans to help prolong their
own lives. Other demihuman races, such as the elves and dwarves, have such long
lives that death (of natural causes, at least) is usually a much less pressing
concern. However, as we shall see in Chapter Two, this rule can be relaxed for some of the monster races when creating
powerful NPCs to challenge a high-level party.
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