What are Arcane Necromancy's strengths?

[Trekkin]

I'm trying to put together a Necromancer in 3.5, and it occured to me to look into Wizard, but all the things listed for Wizard in the handbooks I've found say that it's not as good as cleric necromancy vis a vis minionmancy and leave it at that. I'd rather not go minionmancy, as I've found it slows down play, so I'm trying to figure out just what Necromancer wizards do that makes them Necromancers, because it sounds like whatever the thrust of the class is, it's a good one.

I know this is a bit of a vague question, but if, say, a Conjurer could be summed up as a battlefield controller and summoner, or if an Evoker could be called a blaster, what is a Necromancer?

[MesiDoomstalker]

I'm trying to put together a Necromancer in 3.5, and it occured to me to look into Wizard, but all the things listed for Wizard in the handbooks I've found say that it's not as good as cleric necromancy vis a vis minionmancy and leave it at that. I'd rather not go minionmancy, as I've found it slows down play, so I'm trying to figure out just what Necromancer wizards do that makes them Necromancers, because it sounds like whatever the thrust of the class is, it's a good one.

I know this is a bit of a vague question, but if, say, a Conjurer could be summed up as a battlefield controller and summoner, or if an Evoker could be called a blaster, what is a Necromancer?

Ray debuffs, negative levels, save-or-die death effects.

[Calanon]

Ray debuffs, negative levels, save-or-die death effects.

This and the occasional skeleton human shield.
In terms of team position the Necromancer can if played correctly be all of thee above if played properly :smallsmile: however chances are your mostly going to be BFC or Debuff

[Grendus]

Arcane Necromancy is basically the debuff school. It has some real winners like Ray of Enfeeblement, Kelgore's Grave Mist, Enervation, etc, but the general consensus on Necromancy is either go big or go home - either specialize in it or ban it. If you're already committed to it, though, Arcane Necromancy is a fine playstyle. Your job is to turn the big, threatening enemy into a tiny, terrified enemy with penalties in all his stats and half his starting hit dice.

[Silva Stormrage]

If you want both minion mastery AND debuff you can go dread necromancer and get best of both worlds :smallbiggrin:

But yes arcane necromancy is notable for being worse than clerics in minion mastery but having debuff and save or die/lose spells.

The one word answer is debuffer.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

You're not going to be casting necromancy spells exclusively, so you can still do whatever any other wizard can do, you'll just have more necromancy spells prepared than normal. After that it really just comes down to what necromancers are better at than other specialists.

Minionmancy is first on the list, and consider that Command Undead (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/commandUndead.htm) automatically gives you control over mindless undead, which can be useful in combat, especially with (a lesser rod of) chain spell. While enchantment can turn opponents against each other, necromancy turns undead minions against their masters without even allowing a saving throw.

Ray spells like Ray of Enfeeblement, Ray of Exhaustion, and Enervation can be extremely useful. Consider picking up split ray and even metamagic school focus to hit multiple targets with those, or to hit the same target twice. An Enervation metamagic specialist using arcane thesis can kill powerful opponents in a single shot without even a saving throw, before most characters even have access to any save-or-dies. It also has Waves of Fatigue/Exhaustion, which make decent no-save debuffs if you want to get that close without hiding behind a line of undead minions who happen to be immune to its effect.

Sadly, that's about it. There are fear effects, but those are even less reliable than enchantments. Nearly every necromancy-based prestige class and alternate class feature revolves around minionmancy, so you'll be better off looking for more generic prestige classes. I would actually recommend going with a generalist or even a sorcerer instead, and pick only what necromancy spells you'd want to use. A sorcerer can even get the necromantic bloodline feat from Dragon Compendium, which gives him an extra necromancy-themed spell known at every spell level, in addition to the specific necromancy spells you can pick. If you want to play A Necromancer then you're best bet is to go with minionmancy, otherwise play a caster who just really likes certain necromancy spells.