Doctor Despair
2021-01-11, 12:22 PM
The Mother Cyst line of spells has always been very interesting to me as a thematic character concept. I also appreciated the power of Necrotic Domination and how it came online a level early relative to Dominate Person while avoiding Protection from Evil and the Mind-Affecting tag. I decided to try to put together a build to play into those strengths (Versatile Dread Necromancer's accelerated casting) as well as taking advantage of the skulking cysts created as a byproduct to use every part of the animal, as it were. I considered the synergy with Reach Spell, but the metamagic was too expensive early and unnecessary later on. I was wondering if anyone had any constructive criticism or suggestions that would make the build more effective. :)
ECL
Class
BAB
Base Fort
Base Ref
Base Will
Feats
Class Features
Notes
1
Dread Necromancer
+0
+0
+0
+2
Versatile Spellcaster, Heighten Spell (Strongheart Halfling Bonus Feat)
Charnel touch, rebuke undead
There's some debate as to whether Dread Necromancers automatically gain access to their next level of spells known upon taking Versatile Spellcaster. Others disagree, stating that they are unable to cast their next level of spell until they have a spell known at that level, although I would counter that this reading suggests Dread Necromancers can never learn any new spells (as they would be unable to gain even level 2 spells without already knowing level 2 spells). With that said, Heighten Spell both resolves this debate and is useful for the build. We gain early access to our level 2 list, letting us command any undead we encounter. Spectral Hand lets us use our Charnel Touch without being on the front line, and Blindness/Deafness is certainly a significant debuff to apply at level 1.
2
Dread Necromancer
+1
+0
+0
+3
-
Lich body DR 2
-
3
Dread Necromancer
+1
+1
+1
+3
Mother Cyst
Negative energy burst 1/day
Here, we gain access to Necrotic Cyst and Necrotic Scrying. We don't have a way to subtly encyst people yet, but we can encyst folks we defeat in battle and track them. Likewise, we can encyst small animals and use them as scouts and spies; also of note is that Scrying doesn't target a living creature, but a cyst-bearer. If you encyst a person who later dies, the cyst should still be in their body, and therefore should still allow you to scry on their location. In addition, we take Necropolitan at this level and return to level 2. On that note, we can also easily afford a Living Mask (Ghostwalk, 72) to hide our undead nature, and we need never take it off. From this point on, we have unlimited self-healing via Charnel Touch.
4
Dread Necromancer
+2
+1
+1
+4
-
Advanced learning, mental bastion +2
We gain access to level 3s, so our Advanced Learning pings as a level 3 or less. We can get access to Animate Dead two levels early (from the Cleric list), or we can take Undead Lieutenant to increase the payoff for Animate Dead at level 6, or start a fight with the DM by taking Shivering Touch to use with Spectral Hand.
5
Dread Necromancer
+2
+1
+1
+4
-
Fear aura
We can now afford a Ring of Lesser Desecration (4395gp).
6
Dread Necromancer
+3
+2
+2
+5
Sickening Grasp, Skill Focus: Religion (Magical Location: Frog God's Phane), False Theurgy (Skill Trick)
Scabrous touch 1/day
A lot happens at this level. We gain natural access to Animate Dead, and Arcane Disciple lets us use it while in a desecrated area to boost the strongest creatures we can create (to 24HD if we can find such a corpse), giving us a ton of combat utility. On top of that, we gain access to Necrotic Domination three levels earlier than wizards gain access to Dominate Person. Necrotic Domination is not mind-affecting, so it is strictly superior save for the need to encyst the target first. False Theurgy also gives us the means to secretly encyst people however; using Heighten Spell with False Theurgy allows us to mask any spell as any other spell, providing they both have the same types of components. Through this synergy, we can disguise Necrotic Cyst as other spells like Remove Disease or Remove Addiction, two spells with the same components and same type of save as Necrotic Cyst. This is a major spike in power for the build as, given enough time, we can a ton of HD of Animated Dead, command 11 undead of any HD, and have as many dominated living subjects as we can stagger dominations for. Granted, we are still gated by WBL with regard to the amount of undead we can create, but Necrotic Domination will help mitigate this limitation. This level could be swapped out for a level of Incantatrix in an E6 build, but the save, BAB progression, and class features seem to favor delaying that level in a longer build.
7
Pale Master
+3
+2
+2
+7
-
-
If only our spell list had Animate Dead Level.
8
Pale Master
+4
+2
+2
+8
Iron Will (Magical Location: Otyugh Hole)
SLA: Animate dead 1/day
We can now create an undead creature for free once per day, providing we can find a corpse. This is significant, as creating the amount of undead we can control is starting to get exorbitantly expensive. We can also afford a Rod of Undead Mastery by the 1/2 WBL guidelines, doubling the amount of undead we can control.
9
Incantatrix
+4
+2
+2
+10
Residual Metamagic, Chain Spell (Bonus)
Focused study
Chain Spell explodes the amount of undead we can control. Residual Metamagic functions as a pseudo-reducer, letting us use Chain Spell for free every other casting (as well as the other benefits of RM). Chain Spell is, of course, also very potent in combat as well. We also get access to Necrotic Burst, letting us create Skulking Cysts to command. Their +23 hide check and +19 move silently check makes them potent spies, and their ability to encyst targets increases our ability to control living creatures.
10
Dread Necromancer
+4
+2
+2
+10
-
Lich body DR 4, summon familiar
There are a lot of powerful choices for a familiar here. Ghostly Visage is probably the ideal one, as we don't have a lot of native ways to create incorporeal undead yet, but there are other valid options.
11
Dread Necromancer
+5
+2
+2
+11
-
Advanced learning, negative energy burst 2/day, undead mastery
In addition to buffing our undead, the number of undead we can control also explodes here. With a +5 in charisma, we can now control 144HD of undead instead of 80HD, even assuming we haven't gotten any charisma-boosting items yet. We also hit Advanced Learning. Animate Dread Warrior is a decent way to cement the "limitless army" trope, and allows us to create more useful undead with class levels and intelligence. Another strong option could be Door of Decay, letting us teleport between our controlled undead. Another interesting option is "Haunt Shift," letting you turn your undead into Haunting Presences, letting you create undead-powered animated objects, such as self-propelled wagons and whatnot. One last option worth considering might be Proper State, letting us convert humanoid incorporeal undead into ghosts (with class levels); this does require us to know their previous race, class, and level, however.
12
Incantatrix
+6
+2
+2
+12
Extend Spell
Cooperative metamagic
Extend Spell, as if it were even necessary, allows us to better manage our Command Undeads and Necrotic Dominations.
13
Incantatrix
+6
+3
+3
+12
-
Metamagic effect
We can now apply Extend Spell or Chain Spell to ongoing Command Undeads or Necrotic Dominations, allowing us to, again, vastly boost the amount of undead we can control.
14
Incantatrix
+7
+3
+3
+13
Fortify Spell
-
By this point, our undead army is presumably legion, so the ability to fell powerful adventurers that can cut through our avoid our minions becomes more important. Fortify Spell will let our SoD and SoS spells cut through their spell resistance more easily.
15
Incantatrix
+7
+3
+3
+13
Arcane Mastery
Metamagic spell trigger
With Fortify Spell, we should be able to automatically succeed against CR-appropriate SR with 100% certainty by taking 10 on the check.
16
Incantatrix
+8
+4
+4
+14
-
Seize concentration
-
17
Incantatrix
+8
+4
+4
+14
Persistent Spell (Bonus)
Instant metamagic 1/day
Incantatrix allows us to apply Persistent Spell to buffs after the fact, so there are a number of interesting options here. Necrotic Empowerment is one such interesting option. Once we are done creating more living slaves and don't need to re-dominate them for the rest of the day, we can remove those spells from consideration in exchange for massive buffs to dex, int, wis, natural armor, fortitude, and hp. We also get access to Necrotic Termination, one of the best ways in the game to make sure something stays dead.
18
Incantatrix
+9
+4
+4
+15
Lifesight
Snatch spell
We can probably deal with any enemy we can see, so why not take a special sensory mode that is almost impossible for living creatures to avoid?
19
Incantatrix
+9
+5
+5
+15
-
Instant metamagic 2/day
-
20
Incantatrix
+10
+5
+5
+16
Twin Spell
Improved metamagic
As a capstone, why not double spells?
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/overlordmaruyama/images/e/e9/Overlord_EP03_104.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/300/height/300?cb=20150723093453
ECL
Class
BAB
Base Fort
Base Ref
Base Will
Feats
Class Features
Notes
1
Dread Necromancer
+0
+0
+0
+2
Versatile Spellcaster, Heighten Spell (Strongheart Halfling Bonus Feat)
Charnel touch, rebuke undead
There's some debate as to whether Dread Necromancers automatically gain access to their next level of spells known upon taking Versatile Spellcaster. Others disagree, stating that they are unable to cast their next level of spell until they have a spell known at that level, although I would counter that this reading suggests Dread Necromancers can never learn any new spells (as they would be unable to gain even level 2 spells without already knowing level 2 spells). With that said, Heighten Spell both resolves this debate and is useful for the build. We gain early access to our level 2 list, letting us command any undead we encounter. Spectral Hand lets us use our Charnel Touch without being on the front line, and Blindness/Deafness is certainly a significant debuff to apply at level 1.
2
Dread Necromancer
+1
+0
+0
+3
-
Lich body DR 2
-
3
Dread Necromancer
+1
+1
+1
+3
Mother Cyst
Negative energy burst 1/day
Here, we gain access to Necrotic Cyst and Necrotic Scrying. We don't have a way to subtly encyst people yet, but we can encyst folks we defeat in battle and track them. Likewise, we can encyst small animals and use them as scouts and spies; also of note is that Scrying doesn't target a living creature, but a cyst-bearer. If you encyst a person who later dies, the cyst should still be in their body, and therefore should still allow you to scry on their location. In addition, we take Necropolitan at this level and return to level 2. On that note, we can also easily afford a Living Mask (Ghostwalk, 72) to hide our undead nature, and we need never take it off. From this point on, we have unlimited self-healing via Charnel Touch.
4
Dread Necromancer
+2
+1
+1
+4
-
Advanced learning, mental bastion +2
We gain access to level 3s, so our Advanced Learning pings as a level 3 or less. We can get access to Animate Dead two levels early (from the Cleric list), or we can take Undead Lieutenant to increase the payoff for Animate Dead at level 6, or start a fight with the DM by taking Shivering Touch to use with Spectral Hand.
5
Dread Necromancer
+2
+1
+1
+4
-
Fear aura
We can now afford a Ring of Lesser Desecration (4395gp).
6
Dread Necromancer
+3
+2
+2
+5
Sickening Grasp, Skill Focus: Religion (Magical Location: Frog God's Phane), False Theurgy (Skill Trick)
Scabrous touch 1/day
A lot happens at this level. We gain natural access to Animate Dead, and Arcane Disciple lets us use it while in a desecrated area to boost the strongest creatures we can create (to 24HD if we can find such a corpse), giving us a ton of combat utility. On top of that, we gain access to Necrotic Domination three levels earlier than wizards gain access to Dominate Person. Necrotic Domination is not mind-affecting, so it is strictly superior save for the need to encyst the target first. False Theurgy also gives us the means to secretly encyst people however; using Heighten Spell with False Theurgy allows us to mask any spell as any other spell, providing they both have the same types of components. Through this synergy, we can disguise Necrotic Cyst as other spells like Remove Disease or Remove Addiction, two spells with the same components and same type of save as Necrotic Cyst. This is a major spike in power for the build as, given enough time, we can a ton of HD of Animated Dead, command 11 undead of any HD, and have as many dominated living subjects as we can stagger dominations for. Granted, we are still gated by WBL with regard to the amount of undead we can create, but Necrotic Domination will help mitigate this limitation. This level could be swapped out for a level of Incantatrix in an E6 build, but the save, BAB progression, and class features seem to favor delaying that level in a longer build.
7
Pale Master
+3
+2
+2
+7
-
-
If only our spell list had Animate Dead Level.
8
Pale Master
+4
+2
+2
+8
Iron Will (Magical Location: Otyugh Hole)
SLA: Animate dead 1/day
We can now create an undead creature for free once per day, providing we can find a corpse. This is significant, as creating the amount of undead we can control is starting to get exorbitantly expensive. We can also afford a Rod of Undead Mastery by the 1/2 WBL guidelines, doubling the amount of undead we can control.
9
Incantatrix
+4
+2
+2
+10
Residual Metamagic, Chain Spell (Bonus)
Focused study
Chain Spell explodes the amount of undead we can control. Residual Metamagic functions as a pseudo-reducer, letting us use Chain Spell for free every other casting (as well as the other benefits of RM). Chain Spell is, of course, also very potent in combat as well. We also get access to Necrotic Burst, letting us create Skulking Cysts to command. Their +23 hide check and +19 move silently check makes them potent spies, and their ability to encyst targets increases our ability to control living creatures.
10
Dread Necromancer
+4
+2
+2
+10
-
Lich body DR 4, summon familiar
There are a lot of powerful choices for a familiar here. Ghostly Visage is probably the ideal one, as we don't have a lot of native ways to create incorporeal undead yet, but there are other valid options.
11
Dread Necromancer
+5
+2
+2
+11
-
Advanced learning, negative energy burst 2/day, undead mastery
In addition to buffing our undead, the number of undead we can control also explodes here. With a +5 in charisma, we can now control 144HD of undead instead of 80HD, even assuming we haven't gotten any charisma-boosting items yet. We also hit Advanced Learning. Animate Dread Warrior is a decent way to cement the "limitless army" trope, and allows us to create more useful undead with class levels and intelligence. Another strong option could be Door of Decay, letting us teleport between our controlled undead. Another interesting option is "Haunt Shift," letting you turn your undead into Haunting Presences, letting you create undead-powered animated objects, such as self-propelled wagons and whatnot. One last option worth considering might be Proper State, letting us convert humanoid incorporeal undead into ghosts (with class levels); this does require us to know their previous race, class, and level, however.
12
Incantatrix
+6
+2
+2
+12
Extend Spell
Cooperative metamagic
Extend Spell, as if it were even necessary, allows us to better manage our Command Undeads and Necrotic Dominations.
13
Incantatrix
+6
+3
+3
+12
-
Metamagic effect
We can now apply Extend Spell or Chain Spell to ongoing Command Undeads or Necrotic Dominations, allowing us to, again, vastly boost the amount of undead we can control.
14
Incantatrix
+7
+3
+3
+13
Fortify Spell
-
By this point, our undead army is presumably legion, so the ability to fell powerful adventurers that can cut through our avoid our minions becomes more important. Fortify Spell will let our SoD and SoS spells cut through their spell resistance more easily.
15
Incantatrix
+7
+3
+3
+13
Arcane Mastery
Metamagic spell trigger
With Fortify Spell, we should be able to automatically succeed against CR-appropriate SR with 100% certainty by taking 10 on the check.
16
Incantatrix
+8
+4
+4
+14
-
Seize concentration
-
17
Incantatrix
+8
+4
+4
+14
Persistent Spell (Bonus)
Instant metamagic 1/day
Incantatrix allows us to apply Persistent Spell to buffs after the fact, so there are a number of interesting options here. Necrotic Empowerment is one such interesting option. Once we are done creating more living slaves and don't need to re-dominate them for the rest of the day, we can remove those spells from consideration in exchange for massive buffs to dex, int, wis, natural armor, fortitude, and hp. We also get access to Necrotic Termination, one of the best ways in the game to make sure something stays dead.
18
Incantatrix
+9
+4
+4
+15
Lifesight
Snatch spell
We can probably deal with any enemy we can see, so why not take a special sensory mode that is almost impossible for living creatures to avoid?
19
Incantatrix
+9
+5
+5
+15
-
Instant metamagic 2/day
-
20
Incantatrix
+10
+5
+5
+16
Twin Spell
Improved metamagic
As a capstone, why not double spells?
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/overlordmaruyama/images/e/e9/Overlord_EP03_104.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/300/height/300?cb=20150723093453