Putting zombies to rest as a necromancer?

[1Forge]

Would it be fair if I allowed my groups necromancer to "put the dead to rest"? the idea is necromancers can raise zombies but that dosnt always fit every necromancer and we have a paladin, so I was thinking maybe the spell could be reversed? You'd target one zombie and roll vs the enemy necromancers spellcasting modifier while expending one use of the raise undead spell (forgot the name) on a success the creature falls apart on a fail it had disadvantage on its next attack. Would that be fair?

[MaxWilson]

Would it be fair if I allowed my groups necromancer to "put the dead to rest"? the idea is necromancers can raise zombies but that dosnt always fit every necromancer and we have a paladin, so I was thinking maybe the spell could be reversed? You'd target one zombie and roll vs the enemy necromancers spellcasting modifier while expending one use of the raise undead spell (forgot the name) on a success the creature falls apart on a fail it had disadvantage on its next attack. Would that be fair?

Sure, sounds fair but kind of underpowered.

I'd probably make up a custom ability for him in place of Undead Thralls. Call it Dispel Undead. Allows you to target one undead creature within 30' and unbind the necromantic energy which keeps it together. It makes a Constitution save at advantage and, on a failure, dies.

[MrConsideration]

I think so. For the loss of third-level spell it seems fair to destroy outright a CR 1/2 creature.

Applying it to tougher undead creatures seems unbalanced - especially considering the limitations of Turn Undead's ability to smush undead. Noone should be able to unravel a Vampire or Death Knight.

[Silavor]

Clerics already have this as a core class feature. It's called Destroy Undead. Starting at 5th level, undead that fail the saving throw on your Turn Undead channel ability get un-made from existence if they're below a CR threshold.

Edit: nevermind, I realized this is talking about a wizard Necromancer, not a Death domain cleric.
Still, their Destroy Undead ability might give a useful framework for how to unmake undead using the various necromancer spells.

[1Forge]

Clerics already have this as a core class feature. It's called Destroy Undead. Starting at 5th level, undead that fail the saving throw on your Turn Undead channel ability get un-made from existence if they're below a CR threshold.

but do necromancers get this? I feel it would fit especially if they're more of a witch doctor type that does good with their unnatural abilities.

[burninatortrog]

I think the best way to do this would be to replace the necromancer's Grim Harvest and Undead Thralls features with Turn Undead and Destroy Undead from the cleric class. Something like this:

Turn Undead (Replaces Grim Harvest)
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to turn undead. As an action, you can force each undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.

A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

After you use this feature, you must complete a long rest before you can use it again.

Destroy Undead (Replaces Undead Thralls)
Starting at 6th level, when an undead fails its saving throw against your Turn Undead feature, the creature is instantly destroyed if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold, as shown in the Destroy Undead table below.

In addition, after you use your Turn Undead feature, you can use it again after completing a short or long rest.



Wizard Level
Destroys undead of CR...


6th
1/2


8th
1


11th
2


14th
3


17th
4

[Slipperychicken]

There's a much simpler way of putting the dead to rest: Let your paladin wail on them until they go back to death.