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TheSteelRat
2007-02-27, 10:54 PM
NECROMANCER BASE CLASS

Alignment: Any Non-Good
Hit Die: d6

Class Skills
The necromancer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). See Chapter 4: Skills for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.


NECROMANCER BASE CLASS
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th| 9th

1st|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2| Command Undead, Powers of the Dead (+1 Bonus, +5’, 1d4), Lesser Animate Dead |3|1

2nd|
+1|
+3|
+0|
+3||4|2|

3rd|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+3||4|2|1|

4th|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4| Powers of the Dead (+2 Bonus, +10’, 1d6)|5|3|2|

5th|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4||5|3|2|1|

6th|
+4|
+5|
+2|
+5||5|3|3|2|

7th|
+5|
+5|
+2|
+5||6|4|3|2|1|

8th|
+6/+1|
+6|
+2|
+6| Powers of the Dead (+3 Bonus, +15’, 1d8)|6|4|3|3|2|

9th|
+6/+1|
+6|
+3|
+6||6|4|4|3|2|1||||

10th|
+7/+2|
+7|
+3|
+7||6|4|4|3|3|2||||

11th|
+8/+3|
+7|
+3|
+7||6|5|4|4|4|3|2|1||

12th|
+9/+4|
+8|
+4|
+8| Powers of the Dead (+4 Bonus, +20’, 1d10)|6|5|4|4|3|3|2|||

13th|
+9/+4|
+8|
+4|
+8||6|5|5|4|4|3|2|1||

14th|
+10/+5|
+9|
+4|
+9||6|5|5|4|4|3|3|2||

15th|
+11/+6/+1|
+9|
+5|
+9||6|5|5|4|4|3|2|1||

16th|
+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+5|
+10| Powers of the Dead (+5 Bonus, 25’, 2d6)|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|

17th|
+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+5|
+10|6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|

18th|
+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+6|
+11||6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2

19th|
+14/+9/+4|
+11|
+6|
+11||6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3

20th|
+15/+10/+5|
+12|
+6|
+12| Powers of the Dead (+6 Bonus, 30’, 2d8)|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4[/table]


Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Necromancers.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Necromancers are proficient with the all simple weapons, excluding Crossbows. They are also proficient with all natural attacks (claw, bite, and so forth) of any creature they use their bonding power on (see below). They do not incur the normal 2 penalty to attack rolls for all bone weapons, and they do not incur the normal 2 penalty to damage rolls for bludgeoning weapons. Slashing and Piercing bone weapons, unless they were created using the Iron Bone spell, still incur the 2 damage penalty.

Necromancers are proficient with light and medium armor. Armor made of leather, hide, or bone does not incur its usual chance of arcane spell failure. However, armors made of metal incur twice the normal arcane spell failure chance. Necromancers are proficient with shields, but suffer the same benefits and penalties as regular armor. A multiclass necromancer still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.


Spells: A necromancer casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the necromancer spell list. Her alignment may restrict her from casting certain spells opposed to her moral or ethical beliefs. A necromancer must choose and prepare her spells in advance (see below).

To prepare or cast a spell, the necromancer must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a necromancer’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the necromancer’s Intelligence modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a necromancer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Necromancer. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Intelligence score.

A necromancer prepares and casts spells the way a wizard does. A necromancer may prepare and cast any spell on the necromancer spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.

Spellbooks: A necromancer must study her spellbook each day to prepare her spells. She cannot prepare any spell not recorded in her spellbook.

A necromancer begins play with a spellbook containing all 0 level necromancer spells plus three 1st level spells of your choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the wizard has, the spellbook holds one additional 1stlevel spell of your choice. At each new necromancer level, she gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new necromancer level) for her spellbook. At any time, a necromancer can also add spells found in other necromancer’s spellbooks to her own.

(For those who accept the Alternate Spellbook Variants suggested in the Complete Arcane, I would suggest having Necromancers be able to record spells onto bones and play a game of “casting the bones” for an hour to regenerate spells. Consider that a single hand contains 27 bones, at least 10 of which are large enough for use as a spellbook in my approximation.)

Spontaneous Casting: A necromancer can channel stored spell energy into Lesser Animate Dead, Command Undead, or to activate a Spelllike ability, as often as allowed by the creature’s description and the character’s spell slots.

Command Undead (Su): A Necromancer has the power to affect undead creatures by channeling his power to Command Undead, similar to an Evil Cleric’s, but must expend one of his highest level spell slots to do so. A 7th level Necromancer must expend a 4th Level spell slot to Command Undead, and cannot use a 3rd Level spell slot. If no spell slots are available, the character is unable to use this power. A Necromancer does not have the power to Turn or Rebuke undead as a Good or Evil Cleric can, only Command.

A Necromancer can use command undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier, so long as sufficient spell slots are available.. A Necromancer with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion) and 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (arcane) gets a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.

Lesser Animate Dead (Su): A necromancer can channel stored spell energy into nearby corpses and skeletons to animate them temporarily, turning them into Undead Skeletons and Zombies, as a standard action. This ability is treated as a spell with the range of touch, and can be effected by Metamagic abilities.

The Necromancer must expend a spell slot to use this ability. The Necromancer can animate up to 2 HD per level, up to 4 HD per level of the spell slot expended, whichever is lower. Therefore, a 5th Level Necromancer can convert a 3rd Level spell slot into necromantic energy, but can only animate 10 HD of creatures. A Necromancer cannot store energy if not enough HD of monsters are present, and any excess HD are lost at the end of the Necromancer’s round.

When using the spell, the character must select whether the Skeletons and Undead to be created will be Undead Servants or Undead Fighters. A necromancer can create some of each with an individual casting of Lesser Animate Dead. An Undead Servant lasts for 1 hour/level, while an Undead Fighter lasts for 5 rounds/level. At the end of this duration the energy sustaining them fades, and they fall to the ground. If additional spell energy is used, they can be reanimated if they were not completely destroyed. They retain damage sustained during their previous animation.

Undead Servants can follow you, or they can remain in an area, and perform any single task you command. The servant can perform only one activity at a time, but it repeats the same activity over and over again if told to do so as long as the spell duration lasts. It has the physical attributes of either a Zombie or a Skeleton. It can’t perform any task that requires a skill check with a DC higher than 10 or that requires a check using a skill that can’t be used untrained. The servant cannot attack in any way; it is never allowed an attack roll, even to defend itself. While it can be ordered to pick up a helpless individual, any resistance causes the servant to drop the individual.

Undead Fighters can follow you, or they can remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific kind of creature) entering the place. They remain animated until they are destroyed or the spell’s duration ends. (A destroyed skeleton or zombie can’t be animated again.)

Skeletons: Unlike Animate Dead, the corpse must have minimal flesh on it for it to become a Skeleton. Otherwise, it is only able to be turned into a Zombie (see below).
Zombies: A zombie can be created only from a mostly intact corpse. The corpse must be that of a creature with a true anatomy.

Powers of the Dead (Su): Instead of spending energy on an attempt to Command Undead, the character can chose to become closer to them by merging a preserved body part with his own body to gain some of its powers. This can be done by either adding an additional limb, or by merging it with his own limb, which adjusts its size to the size category of the necromancer. A Necromancer can use Powers of the Dead a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier, shared with the Command Undead ability.

The Necromancer gains a number of abilities related to the type of the creature whose limb it was before. A maximum of 6 limbs can be merged or added at any one time, regardless of level. The effects last for a total of 5 minutes per level of the necromancer.

Number of Abilities Per Bonded Limb

Animals, Humanoids, Monstrous Humanoids, Giants, Aberrations: 2 Abilities
Magical Beasts, Fey: 3 Abilities
Dragons, Outsiders: 4 Abilities
The Following Types and Subtypes are not available for the Union with the Dead power: Undead Type, Ooze Type, Plant Type, Elemental Type, Construct Type, Swarm Subtype, and Incorporeal Subtype.


Treat magic items / armor that was in that slot as if the creature was using Wild Shape. (Ex If the Necromancer bonds with a bear’s claw, his Gloves of Dexterity become nonfunctional.)

Abilities Available:
(Note – See Rich Burlew’s Polymorph spell description for some restricted abilities, including but not limited to Damage Reduction.)

• Natural Weapon: Maximum Damage cannot exceed that of the animal’s natural weapon, using the character’s strength attribute for the damage bonus. Remember, the natural weapon must be part of the limb bonded.
• Special Attack: A single special attack is gained per Ability. Logical restrictions apply, including those listed in the Polymorph Article I.
• Special Qualities: A single special quality is gained per Ability. Special qualities that produce a spelllike effect, such as the Blink Dog’s Blink special quality, are treated as a SpellLike Ability on the Necromancer’s Spell List, even though the spell does not have to be on the Necromancer’s list to gain this benefit. Logical restrictions apply, including those listed in the Polymorph I article.
• Racial Attribute Bonus: A single attribute bonus is gained per Ability.
• Racial Skill Bonus: A skill bonus for a single skill is gained per Ability.
• Take 10 on Racial Skill Check: One skill can be taken 10 on per Ability.
• Natural Armor: The maximum benefit provided by the Union with the Dead is only ½ the creature’s natural armor bonus. So, for a natural armor benefit of +4, a creature must be used who had a natural armor of +8 or above. Always round down.
• Racial Feats: A single racial feat is gained per Ability. However, the character must meet all prerequisites. Feats gained from this ability can be used as prerequisites. Feats from character levels are not available by this power. Weaponrelated Feats should only apply to natural weapons.
• Spell-like Abilities: Access to a creature’s spelllike abilities requires two Abilities. However, to actually cast them, it requires the Necromancer to spend a spell slot of equal level to the ability to be activated. If the spell is also on the Necromancer’s spell list (not including lists from other classes), then it can be activated by using a spell slot of one level lower. Save DC is equal to the Necromancer’s for a spell of the normal level, or the monster’s original Save DC, whichever is lower. The ability can be used as many times per day as the creature normally was able, and cannot exceed that limit regardless of the number of bonds used.
• Movement Bonus: Speed is added to the character’s base speed for this enhancement. However, if another movement type is used that the character does not possess (Fly, Swim), then the character’s speed is equal to half their base speed.
• Secondary Attack: This is generally gained from additional limbs.


The DM should feel free to limit abilities to the type of limb that is used in this process. A list is provided below with some examples. Remember that increasing the number of limbs a creature has automatically uses up the Secondary Attack ability if it is not for movement speed. DM’s should feel free to limit a character to no more than 2 Secondary Attacks. (Ex A pair of wings does not incur this penalty, but a Necromancer cannot add 4 sets of arms to his body, though 2 would be allowed.)

Generally speaking, the character cannot merge with a limb that is above his size category, or below it by more than 2 categories. Note that the limb’s size category is of importance, not the actual monster itself. Smaller monster limbs can be used in groups to increase their size category (several snakes tied together, or weasel skins sewn into one, or a collection of raven wings). Larger monsters could only require part of their limbs to function properly. A scale or a single claw from a large enough creature could meet the size requirement. (the leg of a Large creature could be turned into a club, or the femur of a huge creature turned into a Staff). Overall, please use logic in selecting appropriate size of limbs for use with this power. A butterfly’s wing cannot be used to grant flight abilities, and the skull of a Colossal beast can be used as a room, not a helmet.

Maximum Benefits of Power of the Dead By Level
{table=head]Level|Skill, Attribute, or AC Bonus |Speed Bonus|Natural Weapon<br>Damage

1st – 3rd |
+1|
+5 ft|
1d4

4th – 7th |
+2|
+10 ft|
1d6

8th – 11th |
+3|
+15 ft|
1d8

12th – 15th |
+4|
+20 ft|
1d10

16th – 19th |
+5|
+25 ft|
1d12 or 2d6

20th |
+6|
+30 ft|
2d8[/table]
• Skills, Attributes, and AC Bonus can be increased by +1, speed can be increased +5, and the natural weapon die size can increase by 1 category with Two Abilities being used.

Example Body Parts
Arm / Tentacle
Hand / Claw / Talon
Feet / Claw / Hoof
Leg / Tentacle
Horn
Wing
Tail / Stinger
Eyes / Ears
Skull / Jaws
Ribs / Plates / Hide
Organs

Example Uses of Powers of the Dead
1. A Black Bear Claw could be strapped to an arm, taking the magical item place of a one glove, pair of gloves, or pair of gauntlets on the hands when activated. A 5th Level Necromancer decides she wishes to draw upon the strength of the bear, as well as use its natural claws. Checking the black bear’s statistics block, which gives a Racial Strength modifier of 8 and a 1d4 Claw attack. Therefore, the Bonded Claw gives +3 Strength and +1d4 Natural Weapon (Claw) from the list, less than the 1d6 maximum allowed on the list.

2. An Old Red Dragon is killed and its hide used for Dragonhide Breastplate is constructed. A 12th Level Necromancer acquires it, and uses his Powers of the Dead on it. First off, the +5 Armor AC bonus is removed, as the armor is now a part of the Necromancer and is nonfunctional. Any magical enhancements on the armor are now cancelled unless it has the Beastskin armor feature. The Necromancer selects Natural Armor Twice and SpellLike Abilities (which counts as two abilities). The Necromancer has a maximum AC bonus then of +5 (+4 Max at Level 12, +1 for using Two abilities), but that requires a +10 Natural Armor on the Old Red Dragon (+27 Natural Armor). The Suggestion spell is not on the Necromancer spell list, so it requires the normal spell slot level. The end result is a +6 AC and access to the Suggestion spell 3 times/day at the cost of a 3rd Level of Higher Spell Slot.

TheSteelRat
2007-02-27, 10:59 PM
Accidently posted prematurely, was just making sure formats were right for posting.

This is my first post in this forum, so kinda curious as to what kinda of feedback I'd get. Will be posting the spell list I came up with a little later. Combines a limited selection of Wizard spells, most of which are from the Necromancy section or are modified to suit it. Druid spells are used with basically the conversion that bone = wood. Ironwood becomes Ironbone.

Overall I think the main question on my mind is this - Is the class as written above too powerful? My intention was to have the "Powers of the Dead" and the "Lesser Animate Dead" be 1st level abilities, instead of the usual offset of a few levels between significant powers. (Ex - Druid's 1st lvl animal companion & 5th lvl wildshape)

jlousivy
2007-02-28, 02:19 AM
I like the flavor of the class but it has too many good things going for it.
Everything is better than any of the other arcane spellcasters except for a potential spell-list. If there was a single thing that jumped out at me is the armour.
Powers of the dead..... I feel that munchkins could potentially obliterate this ability

Duke Malagigi
2007-03-01, 06:24 PM
If you want to make necromancer base classes for evil or at least non-good characters, then checkout this online excerpt from The Complete Book of Necromancers, Chapter 1: Necromancers (http://gctm.free.fr/add/necromant/necromancers.html#New%20Necromancer%20Wizard%20Kit s) for inspiration. You could also check on Umbrasa Gravelands conversions of those kits into 3rd edition variant classes here (http://greyhawkonline.com/pitsofevil/v2/YaBB.pl?num=1139635405/0#0). Some of them would be appropriate for good aligned characters too.
Just my two cents.

ArmorArmadillo
2007-03-01, 08:25 PM
Look up Dread Necromancer from Heroes of Horror. It is really well done.