Vedhin
2013-10-29, 07:07 PM
...will break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Because the Truenamer sucks.
As I was looking through Shining South, the spell Sticks and Stones caught my eye. It's a Cleric and Sorcerer/Wizard spell that creates a 2 HD humanoid skeleton that lasts 1 round/level. Now Summon Undead has been doing this since level 1, but there are a few features that set this spell apart. First, it's a Necromancy spell. Second, it actually animates the undead. Third, the skeleton comes with a wight's energy drain (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/wight.htm#) (I assume that the energy drain works with all natural attacks, not just slams, as the skeleton lacks slams).
The question is: what can be done to optimize this spell? A 2 HD skeleton is mediocre by the time you get this spell, but the energy drain is pretty nice.
I've come up with a few ideas so far:
It specifically says a "2 HD humanoid skeleton", so I should be able to choose any humanoid. It does specify Medium size. Lizardfolk, for example, gain a bite attack, allowing up to three negative levels per round.
Because it actually creates an undead, the Dread Necromancer class feature and Wizard ACF that create enhanced undead ought to work, along with the various Corpsecrafter feats.
As I was looking through Shining South, the spell Sticks and Stones caught my eye. It's a Cleric and Sorcerer/Wizard spell that creates a 2 HD humanoid skeleton that lasts 1 round/level. Now Summon Undead has been doing this since level 1, but there are a few features that set this spell apart. First, it's a Necromancy spell. Second, it actually animates the undead. Third, the skeleton comes with a wight's energy drain (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/wight.htm#) (I assume that the energy drain works with all natural attacks, not just slams, as the skeleton lacks slams).
The question is: what can be done to optimize this spell? A 2 HD skeleton is mediocre by the time you get this spell, but the energy drain is pretty nice.
I've come up with a few ideas so far:
It specifically says a "2 HD humanoid skeleton", so I should be able to choose any humanoid. It does specify Medium size. Lizardfolk, for example, gain a bite attack, allowing up to three negative levels per round.
Because it actually creates an undead, the Dread Necromancer class feature and Wizard ACF that create enhanced undead ought to work, along with the various Corpsecrafter feats.