History Main / TheNecrocracy

* ''Franchise/{{Warcraft}}'': The Scourge and the Forsaken from ''VideoGame/WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos'' and ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' are groups of undead whose rulers are also undead, even though their origins lie in being created to serve demons. The undead of the Scourge are straight-up evil and have no free will, and were all controlled by the [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich King]] (and after the Lich King was fully destroyed in ''Shadowlands'', by individual necromancer warlords). Meanwhile, being free-willed (and more [[AntiHero morally ambiguous]]), the Forsaken have a more conventional type of government, first being a monarchy led by their founder, the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, and then, after her FaceHeelTurn in ''Battle for Azeroth'', a kind of oligarchic republic headed by the Desolate Council, formed by representatives of the Forsaken's various organisations.

* ''Franchise/{{Warcraft}}'': The Scourge and the Forsaken from ''VideoGame/WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos'' and ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' are groups of undead whose rulers are also undead, even though their origins lie in being created to serve demons. The undead of the Scourge are straight-up evil and have no free will, and were all controlled by the [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich King]] (and after the Lich King was fully destroyed in ''Shadowlands'', by individual necromancer warlords). Meanwhile, being free-willed, the Forsaken have a more conventional type of government, first being a sort of monarchy led by their founder, the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, and then, after her FaceHeelTurn, an oligarchic republic headed by the Desolate Council, formed by representatives of the Forsaken's various organisations.

while the Forsaken still retain their their living selves, and tread the line between AntiHero and TokenEvilTeammate.


''VideoGame/WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos''

The Sourge is straight-up evil, while the Forsaken

* ''Franchise/{{Warcraft}}'': The Scourge from ''VideoGame/WarcraftIIIReignOfChaos'' and the Forsaken from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' are groups of undead whose rulers are also undead (the Lich King and the Banshee Queen, respectively), even though their origins lie in being created to serve demons. The Sourge is straight-up evil, while the Forsaken tread the line between AntiHero and TokenEvilTeammate.

* ''Literature/SundayWithoutGod'' has Ortus, a city for the deceased with over a million undead inhabitants.

* The Carnifex Mundi setting in the ''Sword and Sorcery Codex'', a sourcebook for ''Barbarians of Lemuria'', has Europe become this. Instead of the Enlightment, [[GoneHorriblyWrong the invention of the printing press leads to a new dark age]]. The rich and powerful create armies of undead servants and pursue immortality through various forms of necromancy.

* The Carnifex Mundi setting in the ''Sword and Sorcery Codex'', a sourcebook for ''Barbarians of Lemuria'', has Europe become this. Instead of the Enlightment, [[GoneHorriblyWrong the invention of the printing press leads to a new dark age]]. The rich and powerful create armies of undead servants and pursue immortality through various forms of necromancy.

** ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'' has the plane of the dead. They still have slavery and some rulers have actually been dead long enough to remember when it was in fashion.

*** The half-dragon lich Erandis d'Vol, better known as simply Lady Vol, sees herself as the inheritor of the whole world. Only the Blood of Vol and the Karrnathi loyalist group the Order of the Emerald Claw truly believe her (and even then only in the upper ranks. Most adherents to the Blood of Vol aren't aware of what exactly the "of Vol" refers to, and the lower ranks of the Emerald Claw tend to think they're fighting for ''Karrnath's'' dominance over the continent).

*** [[spoiler: King Kaius I of Karrnath is a vampire, turned through a deal with Vol which fell through. He replaced his IdenticalGrandson, the real Kaius III. Almost nobody but a few trusted high-ups know this, as undead, while revered in Karrnath, don't get property rights under international law, and he would have to forfeit his crown. While he is by alignment LawfulEvil, he's the one amongst the inheritors of Galifar who has been pressing for peace. Another nation's leader, Aurala, despite NeutralGood alignment, is a warmonger.]]

** Later volumes would expand on Khelt's history and hierarchy. Founded (and [[{{Egopolis}} so named]]) by [[BenevolentMageRuler Queen Khelta]], the first ever {{necromancer}}. Each undead monarch chooses a successor from the nation when the magic reanimating them starts to fade (said searching can take centuries). With conversation into a RevenantZombie either being an EmergencyTransformation (as with Feohep) or done at the end of a natural lifespan. Some monarchs also have their friends turned into revenants too, serving as advisors or viziers.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''':

** It's strongly hinted that the Immortal Emperor of Cathay (''Warhammer's'' China) is either a powerful but benevolent Vampire or Liche (it is known that the first vampire gave one of the heirs the elixir that makes you one to settle a debt millennia ago). There's so little detail given about the place that it could just as easily be an actual dragon.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* A number of democratic countries have systems where if candidates die during election campaigns, their names remain on the ballot and their parties can select a new person to fill their positions if they win.
** The most celebrated recent example was in 2000, when Missouri governor Mel Carnahan, who was killed in a plane crash three weeks before, won the US Senate election against the incumbent senator. This marked the first time that a sitting US Senator was defeated by a dead person. His widow was appointed to fill his seat.
** Four dead people have been elected to the UK Parliament: Thomas Higgins (North Galway, Irish Parliamentary), who died during vote-counting at the 1906 General Election; Noel Skelton (Scottish Universities, Scottish Unionist), who died of cancer three days before results were declared in 1935; and coincidentally two deaths during the 1945 campaign: Sir Edward Campbell (Bromley, Conservative) and Leslie Pym (Monmouth, Conservative). The convention in the UK in the case of a candidate dying before election is for a by-election to be formally held but for no candidates other than the dead person's party replacement to stand.
* Incan rulers were mummified upon death but were not buried - instead, they were still considered to be an active part of the affairs of state. They were still expected to attend important functions and offer votes on state matters via relatives and servants who acted as spiritual interpreters. Since rulers left their titles to their heirs but were considered to keep their wealth for themselves, these interpreters often wielded considerable money and power. As far as we know this is a purely metaphorical example and the mummified kings were just regular dead people; except for the MummiesAtTheDinnerTable aspects, the system functioned similarly to cases of modern tycoons who establish powerful private foundations in their will.
* There have been jokes that Algeria under President Abdelaziz Bouteflika became a Necrocracy after he continued his already-decades-long rule despite being visibly debilitated following his stroke. Such comments intensified after Bouteflika announced he would be [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring running for another term in 2019]], with many Algerians seeing this as a ploy by [[TheManBehindTheMan the country's secretive elite]] to remain in power. Following mass protests, Bouteflika was forced to resign and he died two years later.
* UsefulNotes/NorthKorea was referred to as a necrocracy by Creator/ChristopherHitchens given the quasi-deificication that Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il have received following their deaths in 1994 and 2011, respectively. The elder Kim is still the "Eternal President" and official head of state and the younger is "Eternal General Secretary of the Party." Whether Kim Jong-un will receive similar treatment after his death is unknown.
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*** The lordly and aristocratic Von Carsteins embody this trope most: in their homeland of Sylvania, they rule openly as feudal lords over the terrified inbred peasantry. Technically, since the Vampire Wars five centuries ago, Sylvania is now a part of the Imperial province of Stirland, but the count of Stirland's officials have long since learned never to go there asking for taxes and the like, so it is still effectively ruled by its vampiric masters. A similar arrangement applies to the Bretonnian city of Mousillon.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': The undead King Igos Du Ikana still rules over his dead kingdom from his palace long after it was destroyed. His subjects now consist only of skeletal warriors and mummies. The Ikana military is still intact and led by Captain Keeta, a giant skeleton. His soldiers generally want to take leave of the oath they swore him so they can pass on. After Link clears the Stone Tower and kills Twinmold, the curse binding the dead to Ikana Canyon is lifted, allowing them to finally pass on.