Lichtenstein
2016-10-24, 06:25 PM
Dread Necromancer conversion for pathfinder. I tried to retain as much as possible from the original class while making it compatible with Pathfinder in balance and design.
Thoughts, suggestions?
Dread Necromancer
Alignment: Any, though most lean towards evil
HD: d6
BAB: Poor
Fort: Poor
Ref: Poor
Will: Good
Skills: 2+Int
Class Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Disguise, Intimidate, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Religion), Linguistics, Profession, Spellcraft, Stealth
Weapon and Armor proficiencies: Dread Necromancers are proficient with all simple weapons as well as one martial weapon of their choice, chosen at 1st level. Dread Necromancers are proficient with light armor, but not with shields. Shields, medium armor, and heavy armor incur arcane spell failure with Dread Necromancer spells.
1: Advanced Learning 0, Channel Negative Energy, Cantrips
2: Lich Body 1, Skeleton Summoner
3: Advanced Learning 1, Command Undead
4: Lich Body 2, Undead Immunity
5: Advanced Learning 2, Spooky Scary Skeletons
6: Lich Body 3, Cruel Touch 1
7: Advanced Learning 3, Summon familiar
8: Lich Body 4, Augmented Necromancy
9: Advanced Learning 4, Enervating Touch +1
10: Lich Body 5, Undead Immunity
11: Advanced Learning 5, Cruel Touch 2
12: Lich Body 6, Enervating Touch +2
13: Advanced Learning 6, Superior Necromancy
14: Lich Body 7, Undead Immunity
15: Advanced Learning 7, Enervating Touch +3
16: Lich Body 8, Cruel Touch 3
17: Advanced Learning 8, Undead Immunity
18: Lich Body 9, Enervating Touch +4
19: Advanced Learning 9, Design Phylactery
20: Lich Body 10, Lich Transformation, Eternal Learning
Spellcasting:
Dread necromancers cast from the Dread Necromancer spell list, using Cha as their casting stat. They cast and gain spell levels as a Sorcerer, except Dread Necromancers know all the spells on their spell list.
Any summoning spell or spell like ability cast by a Dread Necromancer may only be used to summon undead or creatures with an evil allignment. Living nonevil creatures will not head the call of the Dread Necromancer
Cantrips:
A Dread Necromancer can use all cantrips listed on their spell list at will, as well as the cantrip learned from Advanced Learning 0
Armored Mage (Ex):
Dread Necromancer spells function without Arcane Spell Failure when wearing light or no armor, with no shields.
Advanced Learning:
At each odd level, the dread necromancer may learn one Necromancy spell off of any Arcane, Divine, or Psychic spell list. Regardless of the spell list the spell came from, it is considered an Arcane Spell on the Dread Necromancer Spell List when used by the Dread Necromancer. The maximum level of the spell that may be added to the Dread Necromancer Spell List is listed with the ability.
At each even level, one spell learned in Advanced Learning may be changed to another spell of the level listed or lower. (For instance, if Advanced Learning 3 is used to learn a 3rd level spell, that may be swapped at 8th level for a 2nd level spell, and may be swapped at 10th level for a 3rd level spell, but not a 4th level spell).
Channel Negative Energy (Su):
A Dread Necromancer can channel negative energy as an evil pathfinder Cleric of the same level. Additionally, instead of affecting a 30 ft radius centered at the Dread Necromancer, it may affect one touched individual (touch attack), substituting d8's for the d6's listed in the cleric ability.
Command Undead: (Sp)
a Dread Necromancer can use one use of Channel Negative Energy to affect all undead in a 30 foot radius with Charm Person, or one touched undead with Dominate Person. The undead are affected and get a save to resist as if they were living intelligent humanoids.
Skeleton Summoner:
At 2nd level, a Dread Necromancer gains the Skeleton Summoner feat
Lich Body (Ex):
At 2nd level, a Dread Necromancer embarks on the long journey to eternal undeath. The Dread Necromancer gains DR 1/(magic or slashing), as well as a 5% chance to negate sneak attack damage or a critical threat. At each even level above 2nd, the DR increases by 1 and the chance to negate extra damage rises by 5%
Undead Immunity (Ex):
At levels 4, 10, 14, and 17, the Dread Necromancer becomes immune to one type of effect, chosen from the following: Ability Drain, Disease, Death Effects, Negative Energy, Paralysis, Poison, Sleep, Stun
Spooky Scary Skeletons:
Beginning at 5th level, when an undead creature that you control deals melee damage, you can make an Intimidate check to demoralize the target of the attack as a free action. If you are successful, the target is shaken for a number of rounds equal to the damage dealt. If your attack was a critical hit, your target is frightened for 1 round with a successful Intimidate check, as well as being shaken for a number of rounds equal to the damage dealt.
Cruel Touch:
At the levels 6, 11, and 16, a Dread Necromancer learns one Cruelty as the Antipaladin special ability. One cruelty may be applied on top of Channel Negative Energy of either form. Adding a cruelty to a use of Channel Negative Energy requires a Swift Action in addition to whatever action it would normally take.
Summon Familiar:
At 7th level, the Dread Necromancer gains a familiar as a wizard of their level with the feat Improved Familiar. The familiar must be evil aligned, or a small or smaller animal with the skeleton template. Skeleton animals keep their mental stats as if they were living, and retain all skills and abilities, for instance a skeleton chameleon could camouflage itself and a skeleton bird could fly. As a standard action, any touch spell or spell like ability the dread necromancer has may be loaded into the familiar (expending the use of it for the Dread Necromancer). The familiar can then use the ability once as its own touch attack. Note that the familiar can use the touch attack version of Channel Negative Energy (even with a cruelty) but not the area-effect version. The familiar counts as a summoned creature for all abilities that treat undead you control as summoned creatures.
Augmented Necromancy:
At level 8, the Dread Necromancer gains the feat Augmented Summoning. For the purposes of this ability, undead that you create count as summoned creatures.
Enervating Touch:
Beginning at 9th level, the Dread Necromancer becomes more adept at draining enemies of levels. The Spell Enervation gains a bonus to its save DC equal to the specified bonus at 9th level and every 3 levels thereafter. This ability also works for any other level drain abilities the Dread Necromancer may acquire.
Superior Necromancy:
At level 13, the Dread Necromancer gains the feat Superior Summoning. For the purposes of this ability, undead that you create count as summoned creatures and the spells that create them count as summoning spells. This means that a spell that raises a zombie from a corpse, for instance, now produces two zombies. Each of these creatures has the same abilities in game mechanics as a regular zombie, but their appearance is twisted and horrifying as each of them is made of only half the pieces they are supposed to, ribs and intestines ripped apart to create makeshift limbs and palms and toes substituting for jaws and teeth
Devise Phylactery:
At 19th level, the Dread Necromancer gains the feat Craft Wondrous Item. If you already have this feat, gain another item creation feat for which you qualify. The Dread Necromancer begins researching and gathering ingredients for the creation of their phylactery. The process involved may consist of evil necromantic rituals, alchemical equations, or whatever other process you devise as a player. There are no set ingredients, and no foul acts that are required for every phylactery (though it could be a vital ingredient, if that is part of the process you devise).
Phlactery Secrets: At 20th Level, the Dread Necromancer finishes devising the process for creating their phylactery, and may begin construction. Once they have done so, the Dread Necromancer understands the full implications of the transformation into a Lich and, depending on the path they are walking, discovers one of two dread secrets of the phylactery. Each of these secrets requires the Dread Necromancer to perform a mutually exclusive ritual, and once chosen, the choice is permanent:
[I]Lich Transformation - At 20th level, the Dread Necromancer may use the phylactery they have created in a ritual of their own design to become a lich, adding the Lich pathfinder creature template. The ritual varies with each individual, but is invariably profane and foul, and unquestionably evil. After the Dread Necromancer has become a lich, the Dread Necromancer may apply Advanced Learning as if they had just reached a new even level. After using Advanced Learning this way, the Dread Necromancer cannot apply it again for 1 week. Strictly speaking, there are no in-game alignment restrictions for choosing this path, but a good or even neutrally aligned individual who chooses this path should have a damn good explanation, or perhaps it truly is an evil personal weakness in an otherwise decent being. Whatever it takes to become a lich, it is morally and ethically wrong to do so.
Lich Hunter - Some, even among the most experienced necromancers, cannot bring themselves to debase themselves and others with the ritual necessary to become a lich. They either decide that it is not that important to live forever, or that they will just have to find a less distasteful way of obtaining immortality. These individuals have the option of performing a different ritual with their phylactery, of the player's design. The Dread Necromancer's phyactery becomes a Bonded Object familiar like the wizard option. With this familiar, the Dread Necromancer may treat the phylacteries of liches as if they were the spellbooks of wizards, and learn spells from them in the same way. The Dread Necromancer records the spells to their phylactery the same way a wizard records a spell to their spellbook. The Dread Necromancer must have their pylactery on their person in order to cast the spells learned this way. If the Dread Necromancer's phylactery is destroyed, the consequences are the same as if their spellbook was destroyed. Obtaining the phylactery of a lich is dangerous, and a Lich Hunter carrying around several phylacteries will have to deal with several liches, since the liches can only be permanently killed by destroying their phylacteries. If killed nominally, the lich will slowly regenerate in the vicinity of its phylactery. The Lich Hunter may of course attempt to continuously destroy the lich bodies or control the liches.
Thoughts, suggestions?
Dread Necromancer
Alignment: Any, though most lean towards evil
HD: d6
BAB: Poor
Fort: Poor
Ref: Poor
Will: Good
Skills: 2+Int
Class Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Disguise, Intimidate, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Religion), Linguistics, Profession, Spellcraft, Stealth
Weapon and Armor proficiencies: Dread Necromancers are proficient with all simple weapons as well as one martial weapon of their choice, chosen at 1st level. Dread Necromancers are proficient with light armor, but not with shields. Shields, medium armor, and heavy armor incur arcane spell failure with Dread Necromancer spells.
1: Advanced Learning 0, Channel Negative Energy, Cantrips
2: Lich Body 1, Skeleton Summoner
3: Advanced Learning 1, Command Undead
4: Lich Body 2, Undead Immunity
5: Advanced Learning 2, Spooky Scary Skeletons
6: Lich Body 3, Cruel Touch 1
7: Advanced Learning 3, Summon familiar
8: Lich Body 4, Augmented Necromancy
9: Advanced Learning 4, Enervating Touch +1
10: Lich Body 5, Undead Immunity
11: Advanced Learning 5, Cruel Touch 2
12: Lich Body 6, Enervating Touch +2
13: Advanced Learning 6, Superior Necromancy
14: Lich Body 7, Undead Immunity
15: Advanced Learning 7, Enervating Touch +3
16: Lich Body 8, Cruel Touch 3
17: Advanced Learning 8, Undead Immunity
18: Lich Body 9, Enervating Touch +4
19: Advanced Learning 9, Design Phylactery
20: Lich Body 10, Lich Transformation, Eternal Learning
Spellcasting:
Dread necromancers cast from the Dread Necromancer spell list, using Cha as their casting stat. They cast and gain spell levels as a Sorcerer, except Dread Necromancers know all the spells on their spell list.
Any summoning spell or spell like ability cast by a Dread Necromancer may only be used to summon undead or creatures with an evil allignment. Living nonevil creatures will not head the call of the Dread Necromancer
Cantrips:
A Dread Necromancer can use all cantrips listed on their spell list at will, as well as the cantrip learned from Advanced Learning 0
Armored Mage (Ex):
Dread Necromancer spells function without Arcane Spell Failure when wearing light or no armor, with no shields.
Advanced Learning:
At each odd level, the dread necromancer may learn one Necromancy spell off of any Arcane, Divine, or Psychic spell list. Regardless of the spell list the spell came from, it is considered an Arcane Spell on the Dread Necromancer Spell List when used by the Dread Necromancer. The maximum level of the spell that may be added to the Dread Necromancer Spell List is listed with the ability.
At each even level, one spell learned in Advanced Learning may be changed to another spell of the level listed or lower. (For instance, if Advanced Learning 3 is used to learn a 3rd level spell, that may be swapped at 8th level for a 2nd level spell, and may be swapped at 10th level for a 3rd level spell, but not a 4th level spell).
Channel Negative Energy (Su):
A Dread Necromancer can channel negative energy as an evil pathfinder Cleric of the same level. Additionally, instead of affecting a 30 ft radius centered at the Dread Necromancer, it may affect one touched individual (touch attack), substituting d8's for the d6's listed in the cleric ability.
Command Undead: (Sp)
a Dread Necromancer can use one use of Channel Negative Energy to affect all undead in a 30 foot radius with Charm Person, or one touched undead with Dominate Person. The undead are affected and get a save to resist as if they were living intelligent humanoids.
Skeleton Summoner:
At 2nd level, a Dread Necromancer gains the Skeleton Summoner feat
Lich Body (Ex):
At 2nd level, a Dread Necromancer embarks on the long journey to eternal undeath. The Dread Necromancer gains DR 1/(magic or slashing), as well as a 5% chance to negate sneak attack damage or a critical threat. At each even level above 2nd, the DR increases by 1 and the chance to negate extra damage rises by 5%
Undead Immunity (Ex):
At levels 4, 10, 14, and 17, the Dread Necromancer becomes immune to one type of effect, chosen from the following: Ability Drain, Disease, Death Effects, Negative Energy, Paralysis, Poison, Sleep, Stun
Spooky Scary Skeletons:
Beginning at 5th level, when an undead creature that you control deals melee damage, you can make an Intimidate check to demoralize the target of the attack as a free action. If you are successful, the target is shaken for a number of rounds equal to the damage dealt. If your attack was a critical hit, your target is frightened for 1 round with a successful Intimidate check, as well as being shaken for a number of rounds equal to the damage dealt.
Cruel Touch:
At the levels 6, 11, and 16, a Dread Necromancer learns one Cruelty as the Antipaladin special ability. One cruelty may be applied on top of Channel Negative Energy of either form. Adding a cruelty to a use of Channel Negative Energy requires a Swift Action in addition to whatever action it would normally take.
Summon Familiar:
At 7th level, the Dread Necromancer gains a familiar as a wizard of their level with the feat Improved Familiar. The familiar must be evil aligned, or a small or smaller animal with the skeleton template. Skeleton animals keep their mental stats as if they were living, and retain all skills and abilities, for instance a skeleton chameleon could camouflage itself and a skeleton bird could fly. As a standard action, any touch spell or spell like ability the dread necromancer has may be loaded into the familiar (expending the use of it for the Dread Necromancer). The familiar can then use the ability once as its own touch attack. Note that the familiar can use the touch attack version of Channel Negative Energy (even with a cruelty) but not the area-effect version. The familiar counts as a summoned creature for all abilities that treat undead you control as summoned creatures.
Augmented Necromancy:
At level 8, the Dread Necromancer gains the feat Augmented Summoning. For the purposes of this ability, undead that you create count as summoned creatures.
Enervating Touch:
Beginning at 9th level, the Dread Necromancer becomes more adept at draining enemies of levels. The Spell Enervation gains a bonus to its save DC equal to the specified bonus at 9th level and every 3 levels thereafter. This ability also works for any other level drain abilities the Dread Necromancer may acquire.
Superior Necromancy:
At level 13, the Dread Necromancer gains the feat Superior Summoning. For the purposes of this ability, undead that you create count as summoned creatures and the spells that create them count as summoning spells. This means that a spell that raises a zombie from a corpse, for instance, now produces two zombies. Each of these creatures has the same abilities in game mechanics as a regular zombie, but their appearance is twisted and horrifying as each of them is made of only half the pieces they are supposed to, ribs and intestines ripped apart to create makeshift limbs and palms and toes substituting for jaws and teeth
Devise Phylactery:
At 19th level, the Dread Necromancer gains the feat Craft Wondrous Item. If you already have this feat, gain another item creation feat for which you qualify. The Dread Necromancer begins researching and gathering ingredients for the creation of their phylactery. The process involved may consist of evil necromantic rituals, alchemical equations, or whatever other process you devise as a player. There are no set ingredients, and no foul acts that are required for every phylactery (though it could be a vital ingredient, if that is part of the process you devise).
Phlactery Secrets: At 20th Level, the Dread Necromancer finishes devising the process for creating their phylactery, and may begin construction. Once they have done so, the Dread Necromancer understands the full implications of the transformation into a Lich and, depending on the path they are walking, discovers one of two dread secrets of the phylactery. Each of these secrets requires the Dread Necromancer to perform a mutually exclusive ritual, and once chosen, the choice is permanent:
[I]Lich Transformation - At 20th level, the Dread Necromancer may use the phylactery they have created in a ritual of their own design to become a lich, adding the Lich pathfinder creature template. The ritual varies with each individual, but is invariably profane and foul, and unquestionably evil. After the Dread Necromancer has become a lich, the Dread Necromancer may apply Advanced Learning as if they had just reached a new even level. After using Advanced Learning this way, the Dread Necromancer cannot apply it again for 1 week. Strictly speaking, there are no in-game alignment restrictions for choosing this path, but a good or even neutrally aligned individual who chooses this path should have a damn good explanation, or perhaps it truly is an evil personal weakness in an otherwise decent being. Whatever it takes to become a lich, it is morally and ethically wrong to do so.
Lich Hunter - Some, even among the most experienced necromancers, cannot bring themselves to debase themselves and others with the ritual necessary to become a lich. They either decide that it is not that important to live forever, or that they will just have to find a less distasteful way of obtaining immortality. These individuals have the option of performing a different ritual with their phylactery, of the player's design. The Dread Necromancer's phyactery becomes a Bonded Object familiar like the wizard option. With this familiar, the Dread Necromancer may treat the phylacteries of liches as if they were the spellbooks of wizards, and learn spells from them in the same way. The Dread Necromancer records the spells to their phylactery the same way a wizard records a spell to their spellbook. The Dread Necromancer must have their pylactery on their person in order to cast the spells learned this way. If the Dread Necromancer's phylactery is destroyed, the consequences are the same as if their spellbook was destroyed. Obtaining the phylactery of a lich is dangerous, and a Lich Hunter carrying around several phylacteries will have to deal with several liches, since the liches can only be permanently killed by destroying their phylacteries. If killed nominally, the lich will slowly regenerate in the vicinity of its phylactery. The Lich Hunter may of course attempt to continuously destroy the lich bodies or control the liches.