I don't fully understand the dread necromancer please help

[djwood]

If I take ghostly visage does its abilities apply to me? does it lvl up? and the DC for its fear does it increase?


the advance learning, how does it work? do I need to go find scrolls? or can a spell caster teach it to me ?

how does rebuke undead really work? peopel have so many versions of it!

whats the difference from anime undead and create undead?


can I take graveyard keeper as a profession?


what, why and how does one desecrate?

how do you know how many undead you can control? (how many HD can a lvl 8 DN with 18 in CHA)

let's say I have enough to control a boneyard (page 89 in libris mortis) would I need to collect 8000 bones? or do I summon it?


that's about it haha thank you in advance !

[ZamielVanWeber]

If I take ghostly visage does its abilities apply to me? does it lvl up? and the DC for its fear does it increase?
Yes. It grows as a familiar normally grows. Only if its relevant stats (HD and Charisma IIRC) go up. Its HD don't actually increase as it levels though.


the advance learning, how does it work? do I need to go find scrolls? or can a spell caster teach it to me ?
Pick a necromancy spell of the appropriate level. It is yours, no if ands or buts. No work is needed your part or anything.


how does rebuke undead really work? peopel have so many versions of it!
Only 2 versions, turn and rebuke. Rebuke Undead (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/specialAttacks.htm#turnOrRebukeUndead)


whats the difference from anime undead and create undead?
Animate Dead (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/animateDead.htm) creates zombies and skeletons. Create Undead (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/createUndead.htm) creates much more powerful undead.


can I take graveyard keeper as a profession?
Yes. I would not recommend putting skill points into it but you can.



what, why and how does one desecrate?
Desecrate (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/desecrate.htm) is a spell. Arcane Disciple (Undeath) is the easiest way to get it added to your spell list. It requires Wis 12 if you go that route.


how do you know how many undead you can control? (how many HD can a lvl 8 DN with 18 in CHA)
That is (4+4)X8 = 8x8 = 64 HD of undead.


let's say I have enough to control a boneyard (page 89 in libris mortis) would I need to collect 8000 bones? or do I summon it?
You would just need to find a boneyard and make your rebuke undead check to control it. If you wanted to make one there are no rules for their creation so you would need to work it out with your DM.

[Deophaun]

Ghostly Visage: This follows the rules for familiars found in the PHB. So no, it doesn't level up. But it does gain the use of your skill ranks, and yes, the DC for its fear increases because it uses your HD to adjudicate effects dependent on HD. (Same thing with turning).

As long as it is also bound to you, you will get the symbiont benefits.

Advanced Learning: You gain your fourth level and you pick any wizard or cleric necromancy spell of a level you can cast and add it to your list. No scrolls or teacher required.

Rebuke: Exactly as a cleric's. Although there is a dysfunction here because the class doesn't actually convert DN levels to Cleric levels for this purpose, but just pretend it does.

Animate vs. Create: Animate dead turns dead corpses into zombies and skeletons that are automatically under your control. At DN 8, you gain undead mastery, which lets you control 4+Cha/DN level zombies/skeletons created through Animate Dead. Create Undead lets you create more powerful creatures, some are listed in the spell description, and others are described in the monster entry (like the corpse creature in the Book of Vile Darkness). You do NOT control these creatures automatically. You need to either command them through your rebuke ability (and note: this is a different control pool than you get with animate dead) or through a spell.

Profession: Sure, why not? Well, because it's a waste of skill points, I guess. All that profession does is tell you how much of a paltry sum of gold you make doing it. (well, for things that aren't seafaring, anyway)

Desecrate: Well, it's tough for you to desecrate, because that's an oversight in the class. Basically, you're going to need to UMD a scroll or wand, or get a magic item. You want to desecrate an area with a permanent altar to your diety of choice, and then use animate dead/create undead in the area to give those resulting minions a permanent bonus to HP.

Quantity of Undead: This is based on your caster level for animate dead, and cleric level for the purpose of rebuking. Animate dead tells you exactly how many HD you can control. At DN 8, this will get modified by your Undead Mastery. It is important to note that Undead Mastery sets the quantity to your DN level, not caster level. So if you multiclass or PrC out, that pool stops growing. For commanding undead, read this first (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/specialAttacks.htm#turnOrRebukeUndead).

Boneyards: You can't make them. They're "naturally" occuring undead. You would have to find one and cast command undead or pump your cleric level up to 34 (or use various other shenanigans) to make one your thrall.

Well, let's see how I do with the ninjas.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Well, let's see how I do with the ninjas.

Not bad actually and you caught that I badly misremembered the HD on boneyard.

[OldTrees1]

How do you know how many undead you can control? (how many HD can a lvl 8 DN with 18 in CHA)

This is the fun part.

1) Animate Dead
Everyone controls 4 x Their caster level in Hd of undead via Animate Undead. But Dread Necromancers also control a bonus Cha modifier x Their class level in HD of undead via Animate Undead.

So that is 4 x 8 + 4 x 8 = 32 + 32 = 64HD of skeletons and zombies

2) Rebuke Undead
Rebuke Undead lets you control your Class level in HD of undead. However these can be any undead (not just mindless skeletons).

So that is 8HD of intellegent undead.

3) Command Undead (the spell)
You may have noticed a neat 2nd level spell on your spell list. Each casting allows you to control 1 mindless undead (say a 5HD skeleton) for a number of days equal to your caster level. (Chain Spell Metamagic has an interesting interaction here)

So that is 8 mindless undead per 2nd level slot that you reserve aside for only casting Command Undead.