Necromancy for Bards - Mixing Class Features Without Multiclassing?

**Dlkpi** · 2014-09-22, 12:35 PM (ISO 8601)

I've got a player who's playing a bard. His character is something of an academic, and wants to start studying necromancy. So I'm looking for a good, balanced way for him to dip into a little bit of necromancy without completely nerfing his character (he's already one of the weakest characters in the party, and multiclassing would make things even worse).

Right now, the idea I'm playing with is to have him start substituting some of his bard class features for some of the perks from the Bones oracle mystery, and maybe giving him access to a few necromancy spells from the cleric or wizard spell lists as he continues to level up. But I'm not quote sure how to do that in a way that keeps things balanced.

If I wanted to give him enough oracle class features that he's too powerful, I could also force him to take only the drawback of one of the oracle curses (empowering oneself through necromantic rituals comes with a price, after all). But again, I'm having trouble finding the right balance.

I'm also wondering about what spells to give him access to. He's level 8 now - if I give him limited access to necro spells as if he were multiclassing, I'm concerned he'll be chronically underpowered. I do want this dip to make him slightly more powerful... I just don't know how far to go.

I guess I'm searching for something that's a happy medium between gestalting the two classes and multiclassing - maybe like some sort of custom archetype.

**Hanuman** · 2014-09-23, 01:21 AM (ISO 8601)

It's PF so award hero points and AP if he is lagging behind.
Ask him WHY he wants to go into necromancy so you can better facilitate that directly.

**DoomHat** · 2014-09-23, 02:29 AM (ISO 8601)

Why not just replace his normal spell list with the arcane necromancy list and allow him to use his inspire class feature on friendly non-intelligent undead?

That way he's still in all ways a bard but one who's song calls forth the unquiet dead.

Not a Necromancer, Necro- meaning death, -mancer meaning diviner, but rather a Necrocantor! A Death Singer!!!

All told that's pretty metal, and doesn't require a whole lot of fine tuning on your part.

**Milo v3** · 2014-09-23, 03:33 AM (ISO 8601)

Dirge Bard archetype from Ultimate Magic is based around necromancy.

**Hanuman** · 2014-09-23, 06:09 AM (ISO 8601)

This is starting to sound very close to a class I'm working on.

Necrodancer

It wouldn't be suitable for your situation though.. it's not strictly a bard flavor.

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