Pure Necromancer (5e Subclass)
Pure Necromancer
A pure necromancer embraces death in the quest for immortality. Becoming more and more undead as she progresses, she is truly a master of death. She is considered undead, and unholy. A pure necromancer is healed by negative energy, and harmed by positive energy. She does not eat, drink, or sleep.
Making a Pure Necromancer
Alignment: Any evil
Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | Spells per Day | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Fort | Ref | Will | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Charnel touch, rebuke undead | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Lich body DR 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Negative energy burst 1/day | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Advanced learning, corpse crafter, mental bastion +2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Fear aura, resilience | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Scabrous touch 1/day | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Lich body DR 4, summon familiar | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Advanced learning, negative energy burst 2/day, undead mastery, undeath | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Energy resistance | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Create flesh golem, light fortification 25% | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Lich body DR 6, scabrous touch 2/day | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Advanced learning, enervating touch | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13th | +6/+1 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Negative energy burst 3/day | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14th | +7/+2 | +4 | +4 | +9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15th | +7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Lich body DR 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Advanced learning, scabrous touch 3/day | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17th | +8/+3 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Enervating touch, light fortification 50% | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Negative energy burst 4/day | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19th | +9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Craft wondrous item | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20th | +10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | Advanced learning, lich transformation | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) |
Class Features
You make up for lower health with a wide array of special abilities, including a touch attack that uses negative energy to harm your foes. This attack increases in strength and gains additional effects as you gain levels. A pure necromancer has a spectral hand, as the spell, that is always active. This hand can be used to deliver all her touch attacks, provided she succeeds on a ranged touch attack roll. Because many of your abilities rely on your entering melee, you are proficient with light armor and have the ability to cast your spells while wearing light armor. You also gain a resilience to damage that wizards or sorcerers do not possess.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A pure necromancer is proficient with all simple weapons and with one martial weapon of her choice. Her choice of martial weapon is made when the character takes her first level of pure necromancer and cannot be changed. Pure necromancers are also proficient with light armor, but not with shields. The somatic components required for pure necromancer spells are simple, so members of this class can cast spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. In addition, if a pure necromancer wears medium or heavy armor, or uses a shield, she incurs the same chance of arcane spell failure as any other arcane caster if the spell in question has a somatic component (and most do).
Spells: A pure necromancer casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the pure necromancer's spell list. Like a sorcerer, she can cast any spell she knows without preparing it ahead of time. When a pure necromancer gains access to a new level of spells, she automatically knows all the spells for that level given on the pure necromancer's spell list. Pure necromancers also have the option of adding to their existing spell list through their advanced learning ability as they increase in level (see below). To cast a spell, a pure necromancer must have a Charisma score of 10 + the spell's level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a pure necromancer's spell is 10 + the spell's level + her Charisma modifier. Like other spellcasters, a pure necromancer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given in Table 5—2: The pure Necromancer. In addition, she receives bonus spells for a high Charisma score (see Table 1—1 on page 8 of the Player's Handbook).
Spell list
1st—Bane, bestow wound, cause fear, chill touch, curse water, deathwatch, desecrate, detect magic, detect undead, doom, gentle repose, hide from undead, inflict light wounds, preserve organ, ray of enfeeblement, summon undead 1, undetectable alignment
2nd—Animate dead, blindness/ deafness, boneblade, command undead, clutch of Orcus, darkness, death knell, false life, ghoul touch, inflict moderate wounds, scare, summon swarm, summon undead 2
3rd—Bestow curse, contagion, crushing despair, grim revenge, halt undead, inflict serious wounds, ray of exhaustion, speak with dead, summon undead 3, vampiric touch
4th—Death Ward, dispel magic, enervation, evard's black tentacles, fear, giant vermin, inflict critical wounds, phantasmal killer, poison, summon undead 4
5th— Blight, cloudkill, dimensional anchor, dispel magic; greater, fire in the blood, inflict light wounds; mass, insect plague, magic jar, nightmare, oath of blood, planar blinding; lesser, slay living, summon undead 5, symbol of pain, undeath to death, unhallow, waves of fatigue
6th— Acid fog, circle of death, create undead, eyebite, geas/quest, harm, inflict moderate wounds; mass, planar blinding, song of discord, symbol of insanity, vile death, waves of exhaustion
7th— Control undead, destruction, finger of death, harm; greater, inflict serious wounds; mass, symbol of death, trap the soul
8th— Create greater undead, horrid wilting, inflict critical wounds; mass, plague of undead, power word kill, weird
9th— Energy drain, harm; mass, imprison soul, wail of the banshee
Charnel Touch (Su): Negative energy flows through a pure necromancer's body, concentrating in her hands. At will, but no more than once per round, she can make a melee touch attack against a living foe that deals 1d8 points of damage, +1 per four class levels. This touch heals undead creatures. A pure necromancer can use the spectral hand spell to deliver this attack from a distance.
Rebuke Undead (Su): A pure necromancer can rebuke or command undead creatures by channeling negative energy through her body. See the cleric class feature described on page 33 of the Player's Handbook.
Lich Body: Starting at 2nd level, a pure necromancer begins her journey into undeath. The first symptom is her body's increased resilience to physical harm. She gains DR 2/bludgeoning and magic. As the pure necromancer increases in level, this DR increases in effectiveness, to DR 4 at 7th level, DR 6 at 11th level, and DR 8 at 15th level.
Negative Energy Burst (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a pure necromancer gains the supernatural ability to emit a burst of negative energy from her body, harming living creatures within 5 feet of her. This burst deals 1d4 points of damage per class level, changing to 1d6 at 10th level. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 her class level + Cha modifier) reduces damage by half. Undead creatures within this burst are healed the same amount of hit points as the damage she deals to living creatures. A pure necromancer can use this ability once per day at 3rd level, and one additional time per day for every five levels she attains beyond 3rd (2/day at 8th level, 3/day at 13th level, and 4/day at 18th level). Starting at 8th level this burst also heals the necromancer. At 10th level the burst changes from a d4 to a d6.
Long Life: At 3rd level a Pure Necromancer's body slows the aging process. She now lives four times the normal lifespan for her race.
Corpse Crafter: A pure necromancer gains Corpse Crafter as a bonus feat at 4th Level.
Advanced Learning (Ex): At 4th level, a pure necromancer can add a new spell to her list, representing the result of personal study and experimentation. The spell must be of the necromancy school, and of a level no higher than that of the highest-level spell the pure necromancer already knows. Once a new spell is selected, it is added to that pure necromancer's spell list and can be cast just like any other spell she knows. If a spell is of multiple schools or types, use the lowest of the spell levels (when different) to determine what level the spell is for a pure necromancer. A pure necromancer gains an additional new spell at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level.
Mental Bastion: Starting at 4th level, a pure necromancer gains a +2 bonus on saving throws made to resist sleep, stunning, or paralysis.
Fear Aura (Su): Beginning at 5th level, a pure necromancer radiates a 5-foot-radius fear aura as a free action. Enemies in the area must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 her class level + her Cha modifier) or become shaken, panicked, or paralyzed with fear (players choice) for 1d4 rounds. A creature who successfully saves cannot be affected by that pure necromancer's fear aura for 24 hours.
Resilience: Starting at 5th level a pure necromancer gains immunity to poison and disease.
Scabrous Touch (Su): Starting at 6th level, once per day a pure necromancer can use her charnel touch to inflict disease on a creature she touches. This ability works like the contagion spell (see page 213 of the Player's Handbook), inflicting the disease of her choice immediately, with no incubation period, unless the target makes a successful Fortitude save (DC10 + 1/2 her class level + her Cha modifier). The DC for subsequent saving throws to resist the effects of the disease depends on the disease inflicted; see page 292 of the Dungeon Master's Guide for details. Activating this class feature is a swift action. The effect lasts until the pure necromancer makes a successful charnel touch attack. The spectral hand spell enables a pure necromancer to deliver a scabrous touch attack from a distance. A pure necromancer can use this ability once per day at 6th level, twice per day at 11th level, and three times per day at 16th level.
Hardened Flesh:At 6th level the pure necromancers skin hardens and is able to reflect more blows. She gains +1 point of natural armor bonus. This bonus increases to, +2 at 12th level, and +3 at 18th level.
Summon Familiar: At 7th level or anytime thereafter, a pure necromancer can obtain a familiar. The familiar she acquires is more powerful than a standard wizard's or sorcerer's familiar, but it is unequivocally evil. The player of a pure necromancer character chooses one of the following creatures: imp (devil), quasit (demon), vargouille, or ghostly visage. All these creatures are described in the Monster Manual except for the ghostly visage, an undead symbiont described on page 221 of the Fiend Folio. A pure necromancer's familiar gains the usual familiar benefi ts given on pages 52—53 of the Player's Handbook, with two exceptions. Its type does not change, and it does not gain the exceptional ability to speak with other creatures of its kind.A pure necromancer's familiar can use its ability to deliver touch spells such as its master's charnel touch, scabrous touch, or enervating touch attack.
Undead Mastery: All undead creatures created by a pure necromancer who has reached 8th level or higher gain a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and Dexterity and 2 additional hit points per Hit Die. In addition, when a pure necromancer uses the animate dead spell to create undead, she can control 4 + her Charisma bonus HD worth of undead creatures per class level (rather than the 4 HD per level normally granted by the spell). Also, she can animate 2 + her Charisma bonus HD worth of undead creatures per class level (rather than the 2 HD per level normally granted by the spell) Similarly, when a pure necromancer casts the control undead spell, the spell targets up to (2 + her Cha bonus) HD/level of undead creatures, rather than the 2 HD/level normally granted by the spell.
Undeath: Starting at 8th level, a pure necromancers type changes to undead, she gains all traits of the "undead" subtype. She does not become immune to critical hits, nor does she lose her Constitution score.
Energy Resistance: Beginning at 9th level, a pure necromancer gains a +4 bonus on saving throws made to resist energy effects and cure spells.
Light Fortification: Starting at 10th level, a pure necromancer gains 25% resistance to critical hits; this is the equivalent of the light fortification armor special ability described on page 219 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. At 15th level, this fortification increases to 50%.
Craft Flesh Golem (Ex): At 10th level, a pure necromancer may stitch up corpses into the form of Flesh Golems. She must make a DC13 Heal check and have least 6 bodies on hand, She must also have 500gp worth of bindings to bind the bodies together. She must spend an hour per body on the golem and after the work is complete, she has a flesh golem. For every 2 bodies used above the original six, the flesh golem has an additional hit die. The flesh golem counts as an undead in addition to a construct.
Enervating Touch (Su): When a pure necromancer reaches 12th level, she gains the ability to bestow negative levels when she uses her charnel touch attack. Each day, she can bestow a total number of negative levels equal to one-half her class level, but no more than two negative levels with a single touch. The saving throw to remove the negative levels has a DC of 10 + 1/2 her class level + her Charisma modifier. Activating this class feature is a swift action. The effect lasts until she makes a successful charnel touch attack. A pure necromancer can use the spectral hand spell to deliver this attack from a distance. Beginning at 17th level, the number of negative levels a pure necromancer can bestow per day increases to equal her class level.
Craft Wondrous Item: At 19th level, the pure necromancer gains Craft Wondrous Item as a bonus feat. This helps her prepare the phylactery required to become a lich.
Lich Transformation: When a pure necromancer attains 20th level, she undergoes a hideous transformation and becomes a lich. She gains all the traits of the undead (see page 317 of the Monster Manual). She no longer has a Constitution score, all her existing Hit Dice become d12s, and she must reroll her hit points. A pure necromancer need not pay experience points or gold to create her phylactery. A pure necromancer who is not humanoid does not gain this class feature.
Ex-Pure Necromancer
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Epic Pure Necromancer
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Bonus Feats: The epic gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic bonus feats) every levels after 20th.
Epic Bonus Feat List: .
Pure Necromancer Starting Package
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Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.
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Campaign Information
Playing a Pure Necromancer
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Pure Necromancer Lore
Characters with ranks in can research to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
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Pure Necromancer in the Game
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