How to build: A Necromancer Cleric

[Dimcair]

Evil Campaign:

Choices to be made:

Race
Domains/sub-domains
(archetypes?)


For now just the first 5 levels, but it should not be a dead-end. If you have one lying around I'd be thankful for you to post it.

/edit: CHA>WIS>CON>INT>DEX>STR? Do I need charisma that much or is it more like Cha=Wis>Con>etc./

[Coidzor]

What do you want to do?

Melee along with a few Bloody Skeletons? Hurl spells while your Fast Zombies bring the pain?

Having Command Undead is nice but nonessential. The basics come baked into the class for any cleric who can cast Animate Dead.

[Dimcair]

Aside from raising the army: Support the frontline, we have quite a strong one so I won't be going much into melee if avoidable.

/edit: i was thinking about the deity Lamashtu, pick Madness and one additional of her domains, any suggestions? I'd say either Trickery or Evil. Which has the better spells? -> or am i gimping myself by not choosing the death domain?

/edit 2: for stats i thought 10/10/16/10/16/16 (human), point to note: we get 2 extra skill points per default.

[Florian]

That´ll probably run down to a regular Reach/Bad Touch Cleric build.
I´d actually go for Nethys and aim at the Exalted PrC for the third domain, meaning Rune, Magic and Destruction. Besides that, I´d actually go for channeling and also pick up Channel Smite and Versatile Channeling along the way. Suli would be a good base race then.

[avr]

Trickery is a great domain. Picking up the Death domain is not at all necessary to use undead.

[Geddy2112]

Since you have the ability to channel neg energy and spontaneously cast inflict spells, you should consider a way to be healed by neg energy. You can be a damphir, which will boost your charisma and make you a good channeler, or take the death domain and maybe undead subdomain. At level 8 you count as undead for neg energy, and at level 1 with the undead domain you can touch things to make them count as undead to heal your allies.

Don't take the undead lord archetype, it is not worth losing a domain over.

If you plan on using your channel as an AoE blast against the living, consider the selective channel feat so you don't end up hurting your allies. Command undead is a very solid feat so you can grab some freebies in addition to making your own. Eventually you want undead master as a feat as well. If you end up blasting neg energy into the living, improved channel is worth a look.

Cleric's have all of the undead spells you need before domains, so take whatever floats your boat. Trickery has an absurdly good spell list and amazing domain powers. Madness is okay, and evil is solid in an evil campaign where you are likely to be fighting goody goods. Lamashtu also has the strength domain, and while good, your build is not really set up for it. Chaos has some good buff/debuff potential depending on which subdomain you choose. I think trickery and evil are best for your build (if you wanna worship Lamashtu)

Urgathoa has death and magic as domains, and is the patron deity of undead if you wanna go that route. Both deities have awesome favored weapons you can carry just in case, and you can use a longspear for reach if you wanna support that way.

[Psyren]

Does it have to be Cleric? Oracle of Bones would get you all the same spells and most of the same fluff, but be SAD instead. Then you can go Dhampir for stat synergy and the ability to heal yourself and your minions with your inflict spells.

[yodafett77]

Long time OoTS reader, first time poster. :)

I found this thread, because I'm actually looking at building a Necromancer for a PF at home campaign, and one of our regular GMs for PFS recommended a Cleric build, but I'm also interested in the Oracle of Bones that Psyren mentioned.... But was does the 'SAD' acronym mean? I'm not piecing that one together... lol

[Psyren]

Long time OoTS reader, first time poster. :)

I found this thread, because I'm actually looking at building a Necromancer for a PF at home campaign, and one of our regular GMs for PFS recommended a Cleric build, but I'm also interested in the Oracle of Bones that Psyren mentioned.... But was does the 'SAD' acronym mean? I'm not piecing that one together... lol

"SAD" stands for Single-Attribute Dependent. It means getting your spellcasting and other class features to depend on the same attribute, so that you can pump that attribute without neglecting the ones you need to stay alive (Constitution and Dexterity) and it allows your character to be effective even if your campaign is using average or low attribute rolls/points.

The opposite is "MAD," or Multiple-Attribute Dependent, and refers to classes that need good scores in multiple attributes or else they end up handicapped. Monks are a good example because they need everything except Charisma and possibly Intelligence (but few people like dumping Intelligence and playing a dummy.)

To bring all this back to the Oracle - in 3.5 and Pathfinder, usually classes that let you control undead need Charisma to do so - it sets the value of their control pools and how effective their negative channeling/rebuking is. But if you're a cleric or a necromancer wizard, you need wisdom and intelligence in addition to Charisma. Meanwhile if you're an Oracle, you're using Charisma for everything and so you can be very effective at controlling strong undead (or undead in large numbers.) Normally Oracles don't get channel energy, but the Oracle (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/oracle) of Bones (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/oracle/mysteries/paizo---oracle-mysteries/bones) gains a power (revelation) called "Undead Servitude" that lets them channel negative energy.

[yodafett77]

Fantastic explanation, thanks! :elan:

[yodafett77]

so, would a decent 1st level Oracle of Bones, with a 20 point buy, be:
Race: Dhampir
Stats:
Str 9
Dex 14 (12 +2 racial)
Con 10 (12 -2 racial)
Int 12
Wis 14
Cha 18 (16 +2 racial)

Feats
Spell Focus in Necromancy
(take Undead Master at level 3)

Traits
Deathspeaker
Numerological Gift

0 level spells:
create water
Detect Magic
Light
Read Magic

1st level spells:
Inflict Light Wounds (auto-add feature for Oracles)
Cure Light Wounds
Decompose or Restore Corpse?

Revelation
Raise the Dead or Undead Servitude (1st)
Take Undead Servitude at level 3

Curse:
Tongues