[PF] Necromancy and getting away with "The ultimate evil"

[Ryulin18]

Hey guys, I have come for your amazing advice and thank you in advance for helping me out with this.

My character is an old level 4 Undead lord cleric. Planning to become an undead lord 5/Agent of the grave (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/a-b/agent-of-the-grave) 5, as the campaign will most likely end just after 10th level.

Stats after age and bonuses at 4th
STR 6
DEX 8
CON 10
INT 14
WIS 18
CHA 17

Feats:
Scribe Scroll, Command Undead (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/command-undead---final), Spell focus Necro and Undead Master (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/undead-master).

My character will be playing as a healer and protector, never achieving a horde but having a select few creatures of decent HD. At level 10 I will have (5+10+4 x 4) = 76 HD of undead and can raise 20HD normally, 40HD in a desecrated area.

But my problem is roleplaying it. How do I find onyx if it is outlawed to sell? How do I hide my dead in plain sight? (I'm thinking robes and masks) as well as hiding myself and them from the obvious paladins?

[CTrees]

Well, robes and masks, or armor which covers the full body, can certainly help with hiding the undead, if you don't have good access to illusions.

For you, worrying about paladins? Undetectable Alignment is a second level cleric spell with a 24hr duration. Maybe not efficient to cast on your entire army (though wands can make this easier), but it's an easy fix for you.

Is the sale of onyx banned in your campaign? It's reasonable, though I've not encountered it as a standard illegal good. That's... more interesting, but I can't imagine there's no blackmarket. Regardless, do note the exact language of the material components requiring onyx - they're "onyx worth at least x," which would indicate that if market pressures make onyx more expensive than standard... it becomes worth more than standard, and thus you actually need less mass of the stuff. "Worth" has economic implications, after all.

[Ryulin18]

Do note the exact language of the material components requiring onyx - they're "onyx worth at least x," which would indicate that if market pressures make onyx more expensive than standard... it becomes worth more than standard, and thus you actually need less mass of the stuff. "Worth" has economic implications, after all.

YOU GENIUS! I can screw my DM right up with that! LOL :smallbiggrin:

DM "Onyx is worth 100gp a gram because of undead"
ME "Fine, I use 1/4 a gram per HD."

Would that even work? Is that just bad wording or a fantastic idea

[Darklady2831]

YOU GENIUS! I can screw my DM right up with that! LOL :smallbiggrin:

DM "Onyx is worth 100gp a gram because of undead"
ME "Fine, I use 1/4 a gram per HD."

Would that even work? Is that just bad wording or a fantastic idea

I would think that it'd be a really really bad idea. Twisting a DM's words like that rarely leads to anything good.

As for the whole Xgp worth of gem, I'd think that it'd be "baseline price" and then add in things like multipliers due to supply/trade embargo/monopoly/whatever. Magic doesn't really care what the economic price of Onyx is, it cares about having the right quantity and quality of onyx to act as a conduit for the spell.

[Akal Saris]

Reminds me of the OOTS comic (first panel): http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0677.html

As for roleplaying issues, I used a hat of disguise on myself to make my character look different in various cities. I also kept my undead out of town, rather than risk their discovery and my subsequent hanging. If you don't want to disguise them in robes, full platemail or even lepers' outfits might work as well (though you might not want them to follow you as lepers...).

You might consider buying other kinds of gems whenever you buy onyx, or buying it in jewelry form ("Oh! This black onyx necklace would be perfect for my anniversary gift!"). That should help reduce suspicions.

Also, I'd talk with the other PCs beforehand to get them thinking about how they will roleplay being in a party with a lord of the dead.