Necromancer: Spells from PHB only, way to Trap/Infuse Souls into Undead?

[Nikushimi]

Hey there, I am currently playing a Wizard Necromancer in a campaign and our DM wants us to build strictly out of the book. At least for level 1.

Archetypes/Subclasses can be chosen from other books once you reach there, but when I asked about spells I was told to only choose from the PHB.

So, I am attempting to create a thematic caster based around undead, undeath, and all around kinda creepy. My character isn't evil, more neutral, but he cares about those that have passed and has an obsession with bringing back the living.

His ultimate goal is to find an answer as to how to reshape a body and preserve it. To bring back what was lost. I know such things as Resurrections and True Resurrections exist, but those are Cleric Spells iirc.

So, I am looking for something that possibly can return a soul to a body or bind a soul to a body. Perhaps even something that can prevent a corpse from rotting, or even showing that it's rotted at all. A way to imitate life basically.

Something like a homunculus would be a really good example (not the DND creature with wings, but like from Full Metal Alchemist). I just don't know all the spells that well, or if there even is anything like that in the PHB or if it's something that the DM would have to homebrew into the game.

Thanks for the help.

EDIT: Btw, I mentioned level 1 in the first sentence, but anything that can possibly be obtained from now to level 10 would be appreciated. If it can only be done above level 10, then unfortunately it won't be useful in this campaign, but could be useful for the future so I'd still appreciate to hear about it, but the focus would be for between levels 1-10. Thanks.

[Unoriginal]

Well there is the Clone and the Magic Jar spells.

Arguably Imprisonment too.

Simulacrum is the "imitating life" spell par excellence.

[Eldariel]

Well there is the Clone and the Magic Jar spells.

Magic Jar in conjunction with True Polymorph in particular (this way the target can be anything). There's also Shapechange and True Polymorph options that can kinda do this (e.g. turn the soul [in some entrapped capacity such as soul coin or soul gem] into Revenant and have them possess the body you'd want them in).

As for not rotting, Gentle Repose is a second level ritual that does exactly that. Resurrection-type effects can also be accessed through Wish as well (though not True Resurrection, that remains the domain of the divine). Greater Wish can also probably do just "bind soul to body".


Honestly, most of the time this is going to involve 9th level spells, though you can get some limited options on level 11 with Magic Jar. For preserving bodies though, level 3 will do.

EDIT: Zombies and Skeletons probably don't have souls but Created Undead like Ghasts, Wights or Mummies might. Ghouls...hard to say. They're available on character level 9. That's one option. As long as animation blocks resurrection (don't remember if that's the case in 5e but it used to be for aeons at least), you can argue the soul is at least somehow linked to the reanimated body and thus you could argue the animated dead is the original person in some way.

[Valmark]

Before level ten? Uff, that's hard for a wizard of this theme.

Some similar stuff would be False Life (use necromantic energy to bolster your vitality) and Gentle Repose (Preserve a corpse to stop decaying, undeath and allow it to be resurrected more easily).

Also look into the Mark of Warding race- gives you access to Death Ward, which can kind of be refluffed to look like you keeping the person's soul in the body.

Otherwise you'd need to look into multiclassing, I believe.