True Necromancer

[Regis_is_a_bro]

Hey all,

I've been looking at True Necromancer, and was wondering how good of a prestige class it is, and whether it's worth taking a few levels in or not.

Thanks in advance.

[eggynack]

Really really bad. I'ma just post the whole list of reasons from the necromancer handbook (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1049211). Y'know, I think I must use that handbook for this exact reason more than anything else. Neat.

Top Ten Reasons True Necromancers Are Bad

1. At 14th level, you are five caster levels behind in both classes, so if the party Fighter took Leadership, and his cohort got Leadership, he’d actually be bringing more Necromancy to the table than you. As a fighter.
2. You have to take the Death Domain as a Necromancer Cleric, which is a waste of a Domain Slot when you are trying to be good at Necromancy.
3. In the early levels, you postpone your access to Animate Dead by 4 levels.
4. At 8th level a True Necromancer can create, but not control Ghouls. A Cleric at that level can control but not create Ghouls. Guess which is better? At 11th level, the True Necromancer gets the ability to control Ghouls, and the Cleric gets the ability to create them, so there’s no point at which this is advantageous.
5. The only unique ability of the True Necromancer class is unimpressive. Desecrate is a great spell, but it’s also a second level spell.
6. True Necromancers eventually get a bonus to Rebuking – at 17th level they have a +1 bonus to their Rebuking level. But at 7th level they have a 3 level penalty to their Rebuking level. So at low levels when rebuking is good they can’t use it, and at high levels when Rebuking doesn’t matter they don’t care.
7. True Necromancers are always going to have underwhelming Save DCs. Between MAD and the fact that they are often forced to use spells that are 3 spell levels lower than what the single-classed casters can use, they’re going to be out enough Save DC that it shows. A lot.
8. As a True Necromancer you have all the disadvantages of both a Cleric (the gods can take away all your spellcasting at any time), and a Wizard (you have Arcane Spell Failure, preventing you from wearing good armor). Also, your BAB and HPs stink when compared to a Cleric.
9. Control pools from Animate Dead actually don’t accumulate between your two classes. It’ right in the spell, if you cast the spell it considers all undead you control from all castings of Animate Dead, not just your Arcane or just your Divine castings of the spell. Some people say differently, and some even quote CustServ, but when was the last time you won an argument with your DM using the line "some guy on a board said that CustServ told him....."?
10. There is almost no synergy between Cleric and Wizard Necromancy. Any synergy you desperately want to find could be replicated by just taking the Apprentice feat at first level and having some Use Magic Device. Get yourself a couple of Wizard Scrolls or something. It’s a better buy than setting 5 caster levels on fire. Smart cookies can even get the right spell effects off monsters for free, no less.

[Regis_is_a_bro]

That's what I had seen in other places, but just wanted a second opinion, thanks.

[Phelix-Mu]

It really is the kind of PrC for villains, not for players. If the guy is only onscreen for a few scenes, and is pre-buffed and has some plot kitty staffing his undead armies, not a big deal. But if you are a player and you have to be that build 24/7, that could be a problem.

That said, some flavors of cheese can make it more palatable. And, if you find Tier 1 to be too much Easy Mode, then True Necromancer (or any theurging that docks your spellcasting by more than one or two levels) is a good way to increase the difficulty while still giving yourself some interesting tools and unique flavor. Remember, not every PrC needs to be super-effective to be integrated into an interesting and fun character concept.

But if you are looking for mechanical oomph, look elsewhere.

[Person_Man]

It really is the kind of PrC for villains, not for players.

+1

There are some DM's that really care about the internal "physics" of their game world. If they want an NPC who does X, Y, and Z, they make a character capable of doing each of those things. True Necromancer fills a particular niche a DM might want, even if it's a cruddy option for a PC.

(Having said that, a couple of decades as a DM has taught me that it's a lot easier to just write down the spells I want my villain to cast, give him some attributes, statistics, and a list of items players will get if they kill/steal from him, and call it a day. But that's just me).

[Xuldarinar]

How about this?

Female Half-Drow (Mulan Human/Drow). Deity: Kiaransalee.

Dread Necromancer 4/Cleric 2/True Necromancer 5/Yathrinshee 1/True Necromancer +8

Needed Feats: Spell Focus (Necromancy), Southern Magician (http://dndtools.eu/feats/races-of-faerun--23/southern-magician--2683/), Lichloved (http://dndtools.eu/feats/book-of-vile-darkness--37/lichloved--1761/)
Recommended: Battle Caster (http://dndtools.eu/feats/complete-arcane--55/battle-caster--183/). If you allow 3rd party feats, then I recommend Lost Tradition to turn Cleric casting to Charisma.

Casts as: Dread Necromancer 15 (CL 28 [32nd for Necromancy]), Cleric 13 (CL 28 [32nd for Necromancy])
Effective Cleric level for Rebuking: 24th

Your highest level spells with be 7th with both Dread Necro and Cleric, so while you may not get the most powerful spells out there, you still have a solid selection of spells. Armor isn't as much of an issue with this build as it is with Wizard/Cleric.