LichPlease
2018-07-21, 05:45 PM
This is a shortened and cleaned up version of a previous guide I made. If you want sample builds, an in-game example, and my ramblings, go here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?561519-Lich-Please!-My-Undying-Warlock-Necromancer-Guide
This guide is for those who want to build a Warlock necromancer or those who don’t “get” the Undying Warlock and need some help. It’s not supposed to be mechanically broken but it’s fun and flavorful enough to overshadow its weaknesses.
Features:
Among the Dead – Spare the Dying, resistance to disease, and pseudo-protection from undead. I’m happy with that at 1st level.
Defy Death – I do wish this ability was once per short rest instead of per long rest but combined with Death Ward and whatever other spells or abilities you want to use, you will be very hard to kill for a caster.
Undying Nature – At this point, congratulations, you’re pretty much undead. Nothing too mechanically significant but it’s nice for when your DM enforces rules about eating and sleeping. You can find many uses for this if you think about it.
Indestructible Life – Another healing ability to emphasize to your enemies that it would be more productive for them to yield or retreat because you are just not going down. What’s better is this one actually recharges on a short rest.
Undying Patron Spells:
1st Level:
False Life – The 1st level spells are really a bad start for this Warlock, ESPECIALLY False Life. False Life is mostly STRICTLY WORSE than Armor of Agathys.
Ray of Sickness – It’s not as dramatically worse than other base Warlock spells and it’s got a good theme and feel too it, but it’s quickly outclassed by other options.
2nd Level:
Blindness/Deafness –Deafness in 5e is almost entirely useless and Blindness would almost be not worth it yet when its number of targets scales with spell level, it’s pretty alright. I take it just because I like debuffs and it’s on theme. I really wish it didn’t allow consecutive saves. Choosing this or not is pretty much all personal preference.
Silence – I know this is a great spell, but I don’t use it because I don’t want to take the chance of not allowing myself to cast spells.
3rd Level:
Feign Death – Again, 3rd level spells for the Undying Warlock are not very supportive of my argument. Feign Death seems like it would be GREAT in the right situation, but it’s a little too situational. Also, this is a ritual spell, so it can be learned through Book of Ancient Secrets.
Speak with Dead – This is great utility for advancing the plot and finding clues and is very on theme. However, if you can afford it, take the Whispers of the Grave invocation instead to cast this at-will and learn a different spell.
4th Level:
Aura of Life – Aura of Life shouldn’t be seen as some weird out of place Paladin spell that blesses your party with life giving positive energy. No. You might as well call this spell Aura of Unlife. Who needs to raise a bunch of chump zombies when you can reanimate your own fallen comrades over and over and over again. Yeah, sure you don’t have control over your team and they only come back with 1 hp each time, but whatever.
Death Ward – This spell is great. Lasts 8 hours. Requires no concentration. Take a few short rests at the beginning of the day to cast on each party member and save everyone from an instant kill or going down once.
5th Level:
Contagion - This is good. It’s great. It’s one of my favorite spells and is a lot more usable than the 3e/Pathfinder version. Will the fight be practically over by the time it takes effect? Maybe. But when it takes effect, WOW!
Legend Lore – I haven’t used it yet, but I can definitely see the potential of it if your DM isn’t stingy with information. I would have been happy with something else like Cloudkill or Insect Plague, but I’ll deal.
Base Warlock Spells:
Since a lot of spells are obviously good or useful choices no matter what sort of Warlock you play, I am only going to go over the base Warlock spells that I find particularly ideal/flavorful for a creepy necromancer build.
Chill Touch – It’s necromancy and it deals necrotic damage. What’s more is it does decent damage for a cantrip on top of preventing healing for a turn and it gives you a bit of protection against affected undead.
Poison Spray – In some ways this seems to be pretty on theme, but it only deals damage. It’s good damage, but when you’re limited on cantrip choices, it’s probably better to go with Toll the Dead.
Frostbite – There are times when I envision a necromancer having an affinity for cold damage and I like this spell because it also imposes a nice disadvantage on its victim’s next weapon attack.
Infestation – I really want to like this spell because it’s gross and creepy, but it’s really bad. Then again, sometimes flavor beats mechanics. Another spell that I’d like to hear some positive input on.
Toll the Dead – This may not be my go-to cantrip for a Warlock because, duh, Eldritch Blast. However, this does some great damage for a cantrip, and it has the advantage over Poison Spray because necrotic damage is resisted less often.
Witch Bolt – Another spell I really want to like simply based on something as meaningless as its name, yet it is mostly terrible. If you want to get your Emperor Palpatine on, go for it.
Cause Fear – A necromancy control spell. I personally don’t like fear spells because I feel less in control when my enemies start running around out of range of my party. I see it as mostly a temporary solution to recover from a bad situation.
Darkness – Some necromancers like to work with shadow, so this can be justified beyond the obvious combo with Devil’s Sight.
Hold Person – If you know about Ghoul Touch, this is pretty much the generalized version of it. Maybe try to get your DM to modify it a bit to give it a range of touch in exchange for a similar effect to Stinking Cloud but with a smaller radius and you have Ghoul Touch.
Ray of Enfeeblement – I want to like this, but I think it’s been too watered down since previous versions. A monster that is using strength for attacks is probably very competent in Con. saves and since it allows consecutive saves I usually pass on this.
Spider Climb – This is great utility and easy to get creepy with.
Fear – See Cause Fear.
Gaseous Form – The scene in Bram Stoker’s Dracula when the titular character turns into a green mist comes to mind.
Vampiric Touch – A weaker Enervation with a range of touch.
Blight – I love the theme of this one, but I avoid this on a Warlock since it only targets one creature and spell slots are as limited as they are. That’s not to say this is a bad choice by any means. It’s just not for me.
Shadow of Moil – If your Undying Warlock is going with Pact of the Blade, this is pretty much a must have. This combined with Devil’s Sight (if even necessary – is this considered magical darkness?) and Armor of Agathys is awesome. Plus it’s a necromancy spell so it’s on theme.
Sickening Radiance – Mechanically, I don’t really like how it deals radiant damage and it’s not even a necromancy spell. However, the description of the spell on top of it being an AoE DoT spell that imposes exhaustion over time makes this awesome for an Undying Warlock.
Hold Monster – See Hold Person (though technically Ghoul Touch wouldn’t affect non-humanoids so….maybe don’t).
Danse Macabre – Danse Macabre is all a Warlock necromancer really needs if they want to reanimate some bodies. Yes, it is mostly worse than Animate Dead, but if you want a horde of zombies bad enough, just multiclass into Divine Soul Sorcerer and get an unnecessarily large number of undead under your control. Otherwise, learn to settle with this because it’s probably one of the most reasonable ways a Warlock should be raising the undead.
Enervation – This is a great use of a spell slot for a Warlock necromancer. Good reliable damage after it connects plus healing.
Negative Energy Flood – Again, my spells slots are too valuable for me to justify single target damage. The zombie it creates is out of your or anyone else’s control also. If you just love zombies and don’t care, go for it I guess.
Circle of Death – It’s mostly just a Fireball that deals necrotic damage, but it also has a larger radius so it can affect more enemies. However, for a 6th level spell…..it’s meh.
Create Undead – Considering, as a Warlock, your spells will stop scaling at this point, this is another spell that is primarily for those necromancers that just have to desecrate and raise all the bodies. I did find that a nice combo with this spell is Demiplane. Create some ghouls, put them in the Demiplane and just stockpile them until you’re ready to release them all. Then get out of the way because you have now unleashed a swarm of hungry uncontrolled ghouls into the world.
Eyebite – Three choices of debuffs on a different creature each turn. It takes forever to obtain, but I think this is my preference for the first Mystic Arcanum.
Soul Cage – This is evil and creepy and great utility. Definitely one of the better 6th level spell options for a Warlock necromancer. Also, you can pretty much think of this as your phylactery refill spell.
Finger of Death – Aww yeah! I know the logic of my judgement of this spell is very unsound since I have never actually used it and it is a single target damage spell which I have already stated I avoid, but this is a lot of damage and you may possibly get a zombie permanently under your control. If your DM is giving you a lot of downtime and you can find enough victims, this is a great way to build an army of undead.
Power Word Pain – It’s not a necromancy spell, but as I have said, I find that any debuff that makes your opponent miserable is still on theme. I really hate consecutive saves on spells at this high of a level, but it is what it is and overall this is pretty damn good.
Demiplane – See Create Undead.
Feeblemind – Another great debuff, especially against any casters that rely on intelligence or charisma . Also, it has a duration that may as well be permanent for most enemies you’ll be fighting.
Maddening Darkness – Flavorful for the same reason as Darkness, but it also acts as an AoE DoT. Definitely worth a consideration.
Astral Projection – I always saw this as more akin to a conjuration teleportation spell. It’s necromancy but I’m just not feeling it. If anyone can come up with a legit creepy use for it let me know.
Power Word Kill – Another single target “damage” (really just instant kill) spell. It’s surprisingly not necromancy and it’s technically not a debuff (though death is kind of the ultimate debuff) but when it works…..
Invocations:
Again, I’m going to go ahead and skip over all the invocations that are easy choices or have great overall utility but lack the proper theme. That cut’s it down to three invocations.
Sign of Ill Omen – Bestow Curse is another spell that I think would be broken if it was simply put on the Warlock spell list. I would love for it to be just another spell known because I think it is thematically the perfect spell for every Warlock, but once you’ve gotten to the point of no longer needing to concentrate on it, having access to at least 2 castings every short rest would become maybe a bit too powerful. Level 9 is a good time to take this as you will be casting it as a 5th level spell. Try to use it wisely on the biggest monster of the day. When it lands and when used correctly, it is devastating.
Whispers of the Grave – See Speak with Dead. This makes it at-will.
Cloak of Flies – I mainly like to choose this just for the creepy grossness of it but advantage on intimidate and DoT in your immediate area is cool too.
Multiclassing:
Barbarian – Barbarian + any caster class = probably a bad idea. If you do it just right though, you may have one of the most durable characters.
Bard – Honestly, I think Lore Bards can make decent necromancers all on their own and splitting between Bard and Warlock probably wouldn’t be very synergistic beyond both being charisma casters.
Cleric – I don’t see much of a point to dip into Death Cleric or any other cleric. Death Clerics seem to focus mainly on necrotic damage and the Warlock is dealing enough damage on its own and already has plenty of access to necrotic damage. Plus, casting stats are going to make this multiclass MAD.
Druid – Another MAD multiclass that has to split between casting stats. Also, until they make the Circle of Spores Druid official (I can’t wait!) I see very little to no point to this multiclass.
Fighter – This is great to dip a few levels into if you’re going with the Pact of the Blade. In fact, this combination makes the Oathbreaker Paladin somewhat obsolete.
Monk – Way of Shadow? Way of the Long Death? I don’t know. If you want it bad enough, I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work.
Paladin – I know some people love their Paladin/Warlock combo but I just don’t care for it. It’s probably my disdain for Paladins in general. Oathbreaker can be a great one to multiclass into, but as I said before, dipping into Fighter is probably just as good if not better.
Ranger – I’m not even going to try to make any sense of this combination, but if you want to do me a favor, go for it. I’m always up to hear how someone could pull off a seemingly impossible/horrible concept. Gloom Stalker maybe?
Rogue – I haven’t ever actually written up a character based on this idea but….. an assassin who murders off entire communities with disease and undeath without anyone suspecting them? Definitely seems more like an NPC villain concept.
Sorcerer – For a necromancer, I have the Divine Soul Sorcerer in mind. If you still don’t know about it, look up coffeelock. This combination is broken enough that WotC may as well just give the Warlock Animate Dead, Bestow Curse and whatever other spell that would be busted with the Warlock’s short rest recharge at this point.
Wizard – Not as synergistic as the coffeelock and a bit MAD. The Wizard however has access to so many spells, this could definitely be worth it. Plus, since I’m pushing the Undying Warlock, your wizard may now actually get access to Contagion (yet another small issue I have with 5e).
I hope you enjoyed this guide. Thank you for reading.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?561519-Lich-Please!-My-Undying-Warlock-Necromancer-Guide
This guide is for those who want to build a Warlock necromancer or those who don’t “get” the Undying Warlock and need some help. It’s not supposed to be mechanically broken but it’s fun and flavorful enough to overshadow its weaknesses.
Features:
Among the Dead – Spare the Dying, resistance to disease, and pseudo-protection from undead. I’m happy with that at 1st level.
Defy Death – I do wish this ability was once per short rest instead of per long rest but combined with Death Ward and whatever other spells or abilities you want to use, you will be very hard to kill for a caster.
Undying Nature – At this point, congratulations, you’re pretty much undead. Nothing too mechanically significant but it’s nice for when your DM enforces rules about eating and sleeping. You can find many uses for this if you think about it.
Indestructible Life – Another healing ability to emphasize to your enemies that it would be more productive for them to yield or retreat because you are just not going down. What’s better is this one actually recharges on a short rest.
Undying Patron Spells:
1st Level:
False Life – The 1st level spells are really a bad start for this Warlock, ESPECIALLY False Life. False Life is mostly STRICTLY WORSE than Armor of Agathys.
Ray of Sickness – It’s not as dramatically worse than other base Warlock spells and it’s got a good theme and feel too it, but it’s quickly outclassed by other options.
2nd Level:
Blindness/Deafness –Deafness in 5e is almost entirely useless and Blindness would almost be not worth it yet when its number of targets scales with spell level, it’s pretty alright. I take it just because I like debuffs and it’s on theme. I really wish it didn’t allow consecutive saves. Choosing this or not is pretty much all personal preference.
Silence – I know this is a great spell, but I don’t use it because I don’t want to take the chance of not allowing myself to cast spells.
3rd Level:
Feign Death – Again, 3rd level spells for the Undying Warlock are not very supportive of my argument. Feign Death seems like it would be GREAT in the right situation, but it’s a little too situational. Also, this is a ritual spell, so it can be learned through Book of Ancient Secrets.
Speak with Dead – This is great utility for advancing the plot and finding clues and is very on theme. However, if you can afford it, take the Whispers of the Grave invocation instead to cast this at-will and learn a different spell.
4th Level:
Aura of Life – Aura of Life shouldn’t be seen as some weird out of place Paladin spell that blesses your party with life giving positive energy. No. You might as well call this spell Aura of Unlife. Who needs to raise a bunch of chump zombies when you can reanimate your own fallen comrades over and over and over again. Yeah, sure you don’t have control over your team and they only come back with 1 hp each time, but whatever.
Death Ward – This spell is great. Lasts 8 hours. Requires no concentration. Take a few short rests at the beginning of the day to cast on each party member and save everyone from an instant kill or going down once.
5th Level:
Contagion - This is good. It’s great. It’s one of my favorite spells and is a lot more usable than the 3e/Pathfinder version. Will the fight be practically over by the time it takes effect? Maybe. But when it takes effect, WOW!
Legend Lore – I haven’t used it yet, but I can definitely see the potential of it if your DM isn’t stingy with information. I would have been happy with something else like Cloudkill or Insect Plague, but I’ll deal.
Base Warlock Spells:
Since a lot of spells are obviously good or useful choices no matter what sort of Warlock you play, I am only going to go over the base Warlock spells that I find particularly ideal/flavorful for a creepy necromancer build.
Chill Touch – It’s necromancy and it deals necrotic damage. What’s more is it does decent damage for a cantrip on top of preventing healing for a turn and it gives you a bit of protection against affected undead.
Poison Spray – In some ways this seems to be pretty on theme, but it only deals damage. It’s good damage, but when you’re limited on cantrip choices, it’s probably better to go with Toll the Dead.
Frostbite – There are times when I envision a necromancer having an affinity for cold damage and I like this spell because it also imposes a nice disadvantage on its victim’s next weapon attack.
Infestation – I really want to like this spell because it’s gross and creepy, but it’s really bad. Then again, sometimes flavor beats mechanics. Another spell that I’d like to hear some positive input on.
Toll the Dead – This may not be my go-to cantrip for a Warlock because, duh, Eldritch Blast. However, this does some great damage for a cantrip, and it has the advantage over Poison Spray because necrotic damage is resisted less often.
Witch Bolt – Another spell I really want to like simply based on something as meaningless as its name, yet it is mostly terrible. If you want to get your Emperor Palpatine on, go for it.
Cause Fear – A necromancy control spell. I personally don’t like fear spells because I feel less in control when my enemies start running around out of range of my party. I see it as mostly a temporary solution to recover from a bad situation.
Darkness – Some necromancers like to work with shadow, so this can be justified beyond the obvious combo with Devil’s Sight.
Hold Person – If you know about Ghoul Touch, this is pretty much the generalized version of it. Maybe try to get your DM to modify it a bit to give it a range of touch in exchange for a similar effect to Stinking Cloud but with a smaller radius and you have Ghoul Touch.
Ray of Enfeeblement – I want to like this, but I think it’s been too watered down since previous versions. A monster that is using strength for attacks is probably very competent in Con. saves and since it allows consecutive saves I usually pass on this.
Spider Climb – This is great utility and easy to get creepy with.
Fear – See Cause Fear.
Gaseous Form – The scene in Bram Stoker’s Dracula when the titular character turns into a green mist comes to mind.
Vampiric Touch – A weaker Enervation with a range of touch.
Blight – I love the theme of this one, but I avoid this on a Warlock since it only targets one creature and spell slots are as limited as they are. That’s not to say this is a bad choice by any means. It’s just not for me.
Shadow of Moil – If your Undying Warlock is going with Pact of the Blade, this is pretty much a must have. This combined with Devil’s Sight (if even necessary – is this considered magical darkness?) and Armor of Agathys is awesome. Plus it’s a necromancy spell so it’s on theme.
Sickening Radiance – Mechanically, I don’t really like how it deals radiant damage and it’s not even a necromancy spell. However, the description of the spell on top of it being an AoE DoT spell that imposes exhaustion over time makes this awesome for an Undying Warlock.
Hold Monster – See Hold Person (though technically Ghoul Touch wouldn’t affect non-humanoids so….maybe don’t).
Danse Macabre – Danse Macabre is all a Warlock necromancer really needs if they want to reanimate some bodies. Yes, it is mostly worse than Animate Dead, but if you want a horde of zombies bad enough, just multiclass into Divine Soul Sorcerer and get an unnecessarily large number of undead under your control. Otherwise, learn to settle with this because it’s probably one of the most reasonable ways a Warlock should be raising the undead.
Enervation – This is a great use of a spell slot for a Warlock necromancer. Good reliable damage after it connects plus healing.
Negative Energy Flood – Again, my spells slots are too valuable for me to justify single target damage. The zombie it creates is out of your or anyone else’s control also. If you just love zombies and don’t care, go for it I guess.
Circle of Death – It’s mostly just a Fireball that deals necrotic damage, but it also has a larger radius so it can affect more enemies. However, for a 6th level spell…..it’s meh.
Create Undead – Considering, as a Warlock, your spells will stop scaling at this point, this is another spell that is primarily for those necromancers that just have to desecrate and raise all the bodies. I did find that a nice combo with this spell is Demiplane. Create some ghouls, put them in the Demiplane and just stockpile them until you’re ready to release them all. Then get out of the way because you have now unleashed a swarm of hungry uncontrolled ghouls into the world.
Eyebite – Three choices of debuffs on a different creature each turn. It takes forever to obtain, but I think this is my preference for the first Mystic Arcanum.
Soul Cage – This is evil and creepy and great utility. Definitely one of the better 6th level spell options for a Warlock necromancer. Also, you can pretty much think of this as your phylactery refill spell.
Finger of Death – Aww yeah! I know the logic of my judgement of this spell is very unsound since I have never actually used it and it is a single target damage spell which I have already stated I avoid, but this is a lot of damage and you may possibly get a zombie permanently under your control. If your DM is giving you a lot of downtime and you can find enough victims, this is a great way to build an army of undead.
Power Word Pain – It’s not a necromancy spell, but as I have said, I find that any debuff that makes your opponent miserable is still on theme. I really hate consecutive saves on spells at this high of a level, but it is what it is and overall this is pretty damn good.
Demiplane – See Create Undead.
Feeblemind – Another great debuff, especially against any casters that rely on intelligence or charisma . Also, it has a duration that may as well be permanent for most enemies you’ll be fighting.
Maddening Darkness – Flavorful for the same reason as Darkness, but it also acts as an AoE DoT. Definitely worth a consideration.
Astral Projection – I always saw this as more akin to a conjuration teleportation spell. It’s necromancy but I’m just not feeling it. If anyone can come up with a legit creepy use for it let me know.
Power Word Kill – Another single target “damage” (really just instant kill) spell. It’s surprisingly not necromancy and it’s technically not a debuff (though death is kind of the ultimate debuff) but when it works…..
Invocations:
Again, I’m going to go ahead and skip over all the invocations that are easy choices or have great overall utility but lack the proper theme. That cut’s it down to three invocations.
Sign of Ill Omen – Bestow Curse is another spell that I think would be broken if it was simply put on the Warlock spell list. I would love for it to be just another spell known because I think it is thematically the perfect spell for every Warlock, but once you’ve gotten to the point of no longer needing to concentrate on it, having access to at least 2 castings every short rest would become maybe a bit too powerful. Level 9 is a good time to take this as you will be casting it as a 5th level spell. Try to use it wisely on the biggest monster of the day. When it lands and when used correctly, it is devastating.
Whispers of the Grave – See Speak with Dead. This makes it at-will.
Cloak of Flies – I mainly like to choose this just for the creepy grossness of it but advantage on intimidate and DoT in your immediate area is cool too.
Multiclassing:
Barbarian – Barbarian + any caster class = probably a bad idea. If you do it just right though, you may have one of the most durable characters.
Bard – Honestly, I think Lore Bards can make decent necromancers all on their own and splitting between Bard and Warlock probably wouldn’t be very synergistic beyond both being charisma casters.
Cleric – I don’t see much of a point to dip into Death Cleric or any other cleric. Death Clerics seem to focus mainly on necrotic damage and the Warlock is dealing enough damage on its own and already has plenty of access to necrotic damage. Plus, casting stats are going to make this multiclass MAD.
Druid – Another MAD multiclass that has to split between casting stats. Also, until they make the Circle of Spores Druid official (I can’t wait!) I see very little to no point to this multiclass.
Fighter – This is great to dip a few levels into if you’re going with the Pact of the Blade. In fact, this combination makes the Oathbreaker Paladin somewhat obsolete.
Monk – Way of Shadow? Way of the Long Death? I don’t know. If you want it bad enough, I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work.
Paladin – I know some people love their Paladin/Warlock combo but I just don’t care for it. It’s probably my disdain for Paladins in general. Oathbreaker can be a great one to multiclass into, but as I said before, dipping into Fighter is probably just as good if not better.
Ranger – I’m not even going to try to make any sense of this combination, but if you want to do me a favor, go for it. I’m always up to hear how someone could pull off a seemingly impossible/horrible concept. Gloom Stalker maybe?
Rogue – I haven’t ever actually written up a character based on this idea but….. an assassin who murders off entire communities with disease and undeath without anyone suspecting them? Definitely seems more like an NPC villain concept.
Sorcerer – For a necromancer, I have the Divine Soul Sorcerer in mind. If you still don’t know about it, look up coffeelock. This combination is broken enough that WotC may as well just give the Warlock Animate Dead, Bestow Curse and whatever other spell that would be busted with the Warlock’s short rest recharge at this point.
Wizard – Not as synergistic as the coffeelock and a bit MAD. The Wizard however has access to so many spells, this could definitely be worth it. Plus, since I’m pushing the Undying Warlock, your wizard may now actually get access to Contagion (yet another small issue I have with 5e).
I hope you enjoyed this guide. Thank you for reading.