Re: What is the best Pathfinder AP to Solo as Necromancer (Both RP and Mech)?

[M. Arillius]

So my fiance has picked up about half the fricking Pathfinder (1e) Adventures (and is willing to grab more) and wants to run me through one or two of them while we're locked down (and for me to run her through some). We like to run solo games all the time so this won't be anything new. I've been itching to play a necromancer through a whole campaign for pretty much the entire time I've been playing D&D. It almost happened twice, but the dreaded hiatus killed my Dwarf Necromancer and another just never got off the ground.

So I want to know what's the best Adventure Path to play a Necromancer. Specifically the undead horde variety. I've already played Rise of the Runelords but, other then that, I'm open to anything! Heck, I'm even open to modules or adventure paths from other editions or even systems (though you will be making more work for my fiance. XD)

Now this can be a bit subjective in terms of what 'best' means so I'll give some general outlines to explain what I'm looking for!

1. Roleplay - I don't want to just play a necromancer without consequence. I enjoy the roleplay, and my fiance is very good at taking Modules and Adventure Paths and adding quite a bit, but the more there is to begin with the better. A game with barely any NPC's or a real focus on story, like a dungeon delve, would probably be right out in this case. Nothing wrong with them but it really takes away the risk of being a necromancer if most of the dark and twisted things I do for power are in a dungeon where no one would notice. So any game where there's a good amount of NPC's, reoccurring or otherwise, to interact with, to get caught by, to have to deal with, would be great.

As a side note, my fiance loves 'reflavoring' as an option for stories. So instead of a straight wizard necromancer, if the story fit I could be playing a Dhampir with a bunch of thralls (some more... emancipated then others). Mechanically little would change but it means I could go from being a dark priest or wizard to some bastard noble child with a dark secret and strangely quiet servants. Could mean instead of just the usual paladins breathing down my neck, I have vampire hunters. Or maybe I'm a shaman esque character who speaks to spirits?

Whatever the case feel free to consider variations of the necromancer theme open for this part and even throw out suggestions!

2. Theme - I love when a choice I make just fits thematically. Playing a rogue for the Council of Thieves, for instance, is probably a safe bet. Playing a Paladin for Wrath of the Righteous seems like the go to by peoples recommendations. Are there any games where playing a necromancer actually fits the theme? (No spoilers please, I will definitely take you at your word.) I'm gonna guess from the Gothic Horror theme of Carrion Crown, that would fit? But unfortunately my fiance really wants to play that one herself. Sorry to take that off the table!

3. Mechanics - Being a necromancer in a story is fun. Being a necromancer in a story where necromancy is a main, or even a secondary, focus would be great. But it would all be for naught if I could really enjoy my necromancer kind of kicking butt, right? Well, at least this is something I'd like to happen. Kingmaker, judging by it's summary, appears to be perfect from a pure mechanical standpoint. I can have an army and it can be my force as I forge through those lands... My big concern is that it might be too open and not have enough RP chances, you know? Skulls and Shackles could be cool! Undead pirates do work pretty well. Whatever lets me enjoy having a horde of undead to some degree.

I'm not certain what games wouldn't allow for some use of undead armies, they are a very versatile tool, but if a module or path seems like it'd be really good or bad for the sheer numbers I'd have then please let me know!

4. Story - My fiance is a great DM and storyteller, and she's done a lot to beef up modules and adventure paths that... lacked a bit... But it would be nice not to make her do too much work on this front, if we can avoid it. So definitely a priority (albeit lower, because of aforementioned editing she can do) is how good the module is on it's own.

One final thing! I'm not really all that concerned with soloing the game, so Adventure Path difficulty is more or less not an issue. We've been soloing a lot of content for a while and have learned to adjust when something is too hard (or, admittedly, too easy).

Thank you all for taking the time to read this!