So one of my players want to make a Dread Necromancer

[Ryuuk]

The party simply consists of two PCs (the other being a Dwarven Crusader it seems) and I'm fine with the Necro having a good number of Undead minions. I'll be running them through White Plume Mountain, so I'm letting them start at level 8.

He can technically control 64 HD worth of Undead, so I'm going to let him start with possibly 32 HD of Zombies or Skeletons, probably carried around in Bags of Holding or Portable Holes.

What would be an appropriate way of deciding what corpses he has access to? I know there's no real correct answer for this, but what would you guys rule in my situation?

[Zincorium]

Really, a bunch of 'mook' zombies are just going to get crushed in combat and slow everything down with a bunch of rolling.

What I suggest is that you look in the adventure you're running and see if there are any monsters that could also reasonably be found outside.

[Xuincherguixe]

I would say he'd have to collect his army that mocks nature himself, out of those viciously slaughtered by the party.

But that being said. He could have killed a bunch of people just to turn them into zombies ^_^.

Could have robbed a graveyard.

Snuck away with the bodies of executed prisoners? Wouldn't necessarily need to sneak away with them even. He's doing them a favor by offering to dispose of them. He could claim that he just wants to help the state out. Failing that, bribes.

Took a visit to a battlefield or two?

The trick is to find bodies of people no one is likely to care about. At the very least, cheaper bribes.

My thought though is that the player should really be the one coming up with an explanation for creating they who move yet do not breathe.

[MandibleBones]

Where's the last place they've come from? I think he'd most likely have fresh corpses, since as has been previously mentioned, mooks re-die rather quickly.

Also, check out Heroes of Battle for mass combat tips - you may need them.

[AKA_Bait]

My thought though is that the player should really be the one coming up with an explanation for creating they who move yet do not breathe.

Yeah, I would make a backstory demand at the very least. Make him create a 'favorite zombie' or something that he's had around a while.

[Neon Knight]

You really don't want to deal with the players having a zombie army. That's going to slow the game down a ton.

Instead, convince him to have one or two undead champions. A couple of advanced giant skeletons or zombies could fit the bill.

[RAGE KING!]

i agree with kasrkin.

Is there actually a class called Dread Necromancer? What book?

[Serenity]

Heroes of Horror.

[RAGE KING!]

thanks, I assumed it was forum slang for scary necromancer.

Edit: Fearsome is a better word.

[Tiki Snakes]

yeah, I'd recommend keeping the number of zombies down. Let him have one or two respectably large undead minions and anything else has to be picked up along the way.

If he does end up with an army of mooks, you could always simplify things by treating them as a swarm, effectively, perhaps?

[martyboy74]

yeah, I'd recommend keeping the number of zombies down. Let him have one or two respectably large undead minions and anything else has to be picked up along the way.

If he does end up with an army of mooks, you could always simplify things by treating them as a swarm, effectively, perhaps?

At the sizes that he's likely to be animating, it would be a mob.

That does bring up a question, though. If you kill a mob, how do you put an onyx in its mouth?

[Tiki Snakes]

At the sizes that he's likely to be animating, it would be a mob.

That does bring up a question, though. If you kill a mob, how do you put an onyx in its mouth?

I'm not familiar with the actual mechanics of swarms/mobs, mind. ;)

anyway, I'd say personally, he'd need an onyx per zombie, even though when animated, it'd be treated as a single (Mob) creature, or something approaching that. If for no other reason than the spell is specific in that the onyx has to go in the creatures mouth, right?

It does begger some questions though. What about creatures with no mouths? What about creatures with many, many mouths? >_>

[Dausuul]

i agree with kasrkin.

Is there actually a class called Dread Necromancer? What book?

Heroes of Horror. The dread necromancer is to necromancy what the warmage is to evocation, and the beguiler is to enchantment/illusion.

I'd say nothing but regular human corpses, and don't give him too many of those--maybe 8, tops. If he's willing, I would also suggest dividing up the army among the other players so they can all control some; that way the dread necro isn't taking up 80% of the combat time.

[FireSpark]

I always figure that if you're wanting to have an army of minions at your back, then you're going to do all the work that's involved with it. Tracking their stats, actions, etc. And it definately pays to look over Heroes of Battle for how to run unit-based combat.

[Starbuck_II]

Heroes of Horror. The dread necromancer is to necromancy what the warmage is to evocation, and the beguiler is to enchantment/illusion.

I'd say nothing but regular human corpses, and don't give him too many of those--maybe 8, tops. If he's willing, I would also suggest dividing up the army among the other players so they can all control some; that way the dread necro isn't taking up 80% of the combat time.

I don't see an Ogre or Orc as impossible. Ogres maybe 1 or 2 zombies.

Make 2 to 3 Orc Skeletons: Archers with Mighty bows (for Strengh bonus)

Best part is the DN's ability to Augment them when created by +4 Str and Dex and +1 hp/HD.

[BCOVertigo]

One of my players is a Dread Necro who employs the bag of holding trick for his normal skeleton mooks while keeping any animated mounts, special undead or his pet Slaymate out and walking about with him.

He's been decent enough to refrain from busting out a skeletal army every fight and usually just holds to some summoned undead that fit the situation and himself, possibly with the Slaymate.

Anyways the Dread Necro is a fun member of the party. His favorite group tactic is Fell Animated Cloudkill since many of the party members (through no actual planning) have those stupid necklaces that protect them from gases and wrap them in clean air. Necklace of Adaptation I think.... Since the group has been fighting in a few larger scale battles this has been highly effective as a wall versus low level groups.

[JellyPooga]

On a similar note to the OP, to DM's out there:

What do you grant, if anything, in the way of Commanded Undead to Neutral/Evil Clerics that Rebuke/Command Undead? Obviously, it's not an issue for 1st level Clerics, but as starting level increases, the chance that s/he'll have burned some Undead ass into eternal servitude by channelling negative energy becomes pretty certain (pending background).

In response to the OP: make the decision based on the character in question...a human dread necro who's been raising corpses from graveyards surrounding/in a big city will most likely have a plethora of human (and other humanoid, depending on cultural stuff) corpses, but little in the way of big monsters like dragons or trolls. On the other hand, an exiled elven dread necro, who's been lurking in the mountains for the past 50 years is unlikely to have many humanoids as mindless minions, but may well have a giant or ogre or two and maybe even something exotic, like a hydra or hippogriff.

[Kurobara]

I always figure that if you're wanting to have an army of minions at your back, then you're going to do all the work that's involved with it. Tracking their stats, actions, etc.

The main problem is that everyone else has to sit through it too. It's kind of a pain. (I'm in a game right now where our Ultimate Magus has commanded three skeletal dire badgers and a skeletal tiger, and our Bard/bunch of dips has a charmed dire badger. Rounds take a looooooooooooong time.)

[Dausuul]

The main problem is that everyone else has to sit through it too. It's kind of a pain. (I'm in a game right now where our Ultimate Magus has commanded three skeletal dire badgers and a skeletal tiger, and our Bard/bunch of dips has a charmed dire badger. Rounds take a looooooooooooong time.)

Exactly. It's not about who does the work, it's about who has to sit around bored while the work is being done. Distributing the minions among the party lets everyone participate.

[Skyserpent]

I believe a Hydra Skeleton is usually one of the most badass ways to control undead. If he can somehow get ahold of one of thems he'd be pretty much set. That's a whole mess of bite attacks...

[Ramza00]

Giants
Former Warriors (grave robbing or the great prison idea from above)
Hydras
A scout or two (such as rats)
Mounts

make the undead you grant him theme based and memorable such as granting them special roles in the party.

Don't get him lots of low level zombies, give him a few big guys it will be a big difference later.