necromancer/blackguard?

[kaaskeizer]

Hello, playground!

im helping a friend making a new character, he wants to play a necromancer (of some sort) but im not too experienced in making these myself.. i was wondering in any1 has any tips for a good race/class combination? he mainly wants to controll his minions around and to enjoy the slaughter. effective character lvl should be 11


-KaasKeizer

[Lord Il Palazzo]

The three main options are cleric, wizard and dread necromancer. Cleric and wizard both get enough spells per day chosen from a broad enough list that you can definitely have a necromancy focus if you want (and can have a few other utility spells on hand too.)

Dread necromancer is from Heroes of Horror and is very focused on its necromancy theme. It has a fixed list of spells known (though you occasionally get to add others) and nearly all deal with undead or debilitating opponents. It has some fun class features like a touch attack that does 1d8+level negative energy damage and buffs to all undead creatures you control while also controlling more and more powerful undead. If he really wants to play with minions, I'd recommend this one.

If he's looking to get into blackguard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/blackguard.htm) (you mention it in the title, but not the post) it would be tough from a mostly caster start. Cleric could do it the most easilly, taking the trickery domain to get hide as a class skill but doesn't get a high enough BAB until level 8. With the other classes, you'd really need levels in some other (melee) class to make qualifying easier since neither wizard nor dread necromancer reaches +6 BAB until level 12.

The problem is that blackguard gets its own (limited) spell list instead of advancing one you already had so going into blackguard would stop your friend from getting more spells (and class features) from the class he started with. If he really wants to go melee-mage, aiming for a prestige class that both advances spellcasting and gives full base attack bonus would probably be best. (Eldritch knight (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/eldritchKnight.htm) on the SRD is pretty solid, giving 9 levels of casting and full base attack bonus over 10 levels.)

[Fouredged Sword]

There is a class that does this. It is called dread necromancer. Take it 8/PRC or straight 11.

Now be some form of undead or take the feat tomb tainted. Necropolitin works well for low cost undeadness. Now you can self heal unlimited amounts and control an unreasonable number of undead.

[JaronK]

Dread Necromancer's definitely the obvious choice, but another option is Evil Cleric/PrC Paladin of Tyranny 3/Bone Knight with the Holy Mount feat. That'll make you act like a Blackguard, and you can create lots of undead. Also, you run around in bone armor with bone swords on a bone mount. That's pretty cool.

JaronK