Dark Necromancer (3.5e Class)

Necromancer

I AM OP OF THIS CLASS, DO NOT CHANGE PLEASE. DO NOT EDIT, DO NOT ALTER. I HAVE PUT IT BACK TO THE ORIGINAL AS I INTENDED IT TO BE, WHICH WAS TO IMPROVE UPON THE SRD DREAD NECROMANCER CLASS FROM HEROES OF HORROR PUBLISHED IN 2005. IT HAS BEEN OVER 14 YEARS SINCE IT BEGAN AND THANKS TO PEOPLE'S UNWANTED ALTERATIONS, IT LOOKED NOTHING LIKE THE ORIGINAL CLASS. CREATE YOUR OWN NECROMANCER CLASS AND POST IT, BUT PLEASE LEAVE THIS ONE ALONE. THANK YOU.

*This is a stand-alone class, and does not allow for multi-classing, or prestige class levels. If a character takes levels in another class, or takes a prestige class, they lose all gained abilities of this Dark Necromancer class, including spell-casting. Additionally the Dark Necromancer has limitations. Unlike other spell-casters, the use of wands is prohibited. A Dark Necromancer cannot use any scroll which isn't on his list of known spells, not even with a Use Magic Device skill check.*

A Necromancer is a person who uses sorcery, especially to reanimate dead people or to foretell the future by communicating with them.

“	Chapter 1: How to properly use a shovel.	”
—The Book of the Dead

Making a Necromancer

Dark Necromancers violate and destroy enemies with vile magic and raise undead minions to support themselves and their parties. Capable of many different tactics, from ranged caster, horde-controller, or melee combatant, the Dark Necromancer can fulfill several different roles in a party or function capably as a solo champion of Undeath.

A Necromancer's strengths are in bolstering undead, summoning or raising undead minions to serve them without question. A dark necromancer is similar to other arcane spellcasters such as wizards, sorcerers, bards, or warmages. She does not learn spells as quickly as wizards do, nor have access to such a great variety of spells, but she excels at her primary repertoire - necromantic, evil, and fear-related spells. She is a combat caster, with more resilience than a wizard or sorcerer and a definite emphasis on combat-oriented necromantic spells.

Dark necromancers have much in common with wizards, particularly specialist necromancers. They often join associations of wizards or sorcerers, where such groups exist, in order to acquire more spells. Paladins and clerics of good deities dislike dark necromancers, nor do druids hold any fondness for them. Other character classes are able to work alongside dread necromancers, particularly if their own goals or methods are equally unsavory

Of the standard races, humans are most likely to become dark necromancers. They seem by nature to be more preoccupied with death than longer-lived races, and hence more apt to drift into a necromantic career. Elf dark necromancers, while rare, are not unknown, and a few half-orcs inherit a morbid interest in death and gore from both sides of their lineage.

Among other races, dark necromancers are most common among the githyanki and the drow. The githyanki actually hold dark necromancers in high esteem, while drow society shuns them - more because they dare to worship deities other than Lolth than because of any real revulsion toward them and their practices.

Not all dark necromancers are evil, although the best of them could easily be described as evil-tolerant. No dark necromancer can have a good alignment. Performing evil acts is a basic feature of the class, but some dark necromancers manage to balance evil acts with good intentions, remaining solidly neutral (most PC dark necromancers fall into this category).

The gods of good and light do not tolerate dark necromancers among their followers (even good-aligned death gods such as Osiris). Most dark necromancers worship Wee Jas, Vecna, or especially Nerull, while some worship even darker gods, whose names are mentioned only in whispers, or fiendish lords such as Orcus. Other dark necromancers are completely impious, seeking personal power in order to establish themselves as gods, rather than offering worship to any other deity, no matter how foul.

Alignment: Any non-good

Starting Gold: 3d6 gp x10

Starting Age: Wizard

Table: The Dark Necromancer

Hit Die: d6

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Spells per Day
		Fort	Ref	Will		0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Tomb tainted soul, Charnel touch, Rebuke undead	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Lich Body DR 2	4	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Channel negative energy 2D6	4	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Advanced learning, mental bastion +2	4	6	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Fear aura	4	6	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Scabrous touch 1/day	4	6	5	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Lich body DR 4, Skeletal minion	4	6	6	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	Advanced learning, Channel negative energy 3D6, Undead mastery	4	6	6	5	3	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Undead resistances	4	6	6	6	4	—	—	—	—	—
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Light fortification 25%	4	6	6	6	5	3	—	—	—	—
11th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Lich body DR 6, scabrous touch 2/day	4	6	6	6	6	4	—	—	—	—
12th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Advanced learning, enervating touch	4	6	6	6	6	5	3	—	—	—
13th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Channel negative energy 4D6	4	6	6	6	6	6	4	—	—	—
14th	+7/+2	+4	+4	+9	Mental bastion +4	4	6	6	6	6	6	5	3	—	—
15th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+9	Lich body DR 8	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	4	—	—
16th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	Advanced learning, scabrous touch 3/day	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	3	—
17th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	Enervating touch, light fortification 50%	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	4	—
18th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Channel negative energy 5D6, Undead resistances	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	3
19th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Craft wondrous item	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	4
20th	+10/+5	+6	+6	+12	Advanced learning, lich transformation	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Class Skills (4 + int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Skills: Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Planes) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of dark necromancers.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Dark Necromancer is proficient with all simple weapons and one martial weapon of their choice. The choice of Martial Weapon is made when taking the first level of Dark Necromancer and cannot be changed.

They are proficient with light armors, but not with shields.

Spells: A dark necromancer casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the dark necromancer’s spell list. Like a sorcerer, he can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. When a necromancer gains access to a new level of spells, he gains spells as a sorcerer does. The somatic components required for the dark necromancer's Necromancy school spells are simple, so members of this class can cast necromancer spells while wearing light armor, without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. She still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells derived from other classes. In addition, if a 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).

To cast a spell, a dark necromancer must have a Charisma score of 10 + the spell's level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a dark necromancer's spell is 10 + the spell's level + her Charisma modifier. Like other spellcasters, a dark necromancer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is same as a Sorcerer. In addition, she receives bonus spells for a high Charisma score (see Table 1—1 on page 8 of the Player's Handbook).

Spells:

0—arcane mark, disrupt undead, detect magic, touch of fatigue, ghost sound, prestidigitation

1st—Bane, bestow wound, cause fear, Chill Touch, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Doom, Hide from Undead, inflict light wounds, ray of enfeeblement, and summon undead I, Undetectable Alignment

2nd—blindness/deafness, command undead, Darkness, death knell, desecrate, false life, gentle repose, ghoul touch, inflict moderate wounds, kelgore's grave mist, Scare, spectral hand, summon swarm, summon undead II

3rd—crushing despair, death ward, inflict serious wounds, halt undead, ray of exhaustion, speak with dead, summon undead III, vampiric touch

4th—animate dead, bestow curse, black tentacles, contagion, dispel magic, fear, inflict critical wounds, poison, phantasmal killer, summon undead IV

5th—blight, cloudkill, greater dispel magic, fire in the blood, mass inflict light wounds, insect plague, magic jar, nightmare, oath of blood, lesser planar ally, slay living, summon undead V, undeath to death, unhallow, waves of fatigue

6th—acid fog, circle of death, create undead, eyebite, animate dread warrior, geas/quest, harm, mass inflict moderate wounds, planar binding, waves of exhaustion

7th—awaken undead, control undead, destruction, finger of death, greater harm, mass inflict serious wounds, power word blind, song of discord, vile death

8th—create greater undead, horrid wilting, mass inflict critical wounds, power word stun, symbol of death, veil of undeath,

9th—energy drain, imprison soul, mass harm, plague of undead power word kill, wail of the banshee

Tomb Tainted Soul (Sp): At 1st level, the dark necromancer gains the Tomb-Tainted Soul feat as a bonus feat

Charnel Touch (Su): Negative energy flows through a dark 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, restoring 1 hit point per touch, +1 per four class levels.

A dark necromancer can use the spectral hand spell to deliver this attack from a distance.

Lich Body (Su): Starting at 2nd level, a dark necromancer begins her journey into undeath. The first symptom is her body's increased resilience to physical harm, giving her damage reduction. She gains DR 2/bludgeoning and magic. As the dark 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.

Rebuke Undead (Su): A necromancer can rebuke or command undead creatures by channeling negative energy through his body, as a cleric of equal level.

Skeletal Minion: A necromancer that achieves level 7 gains a Skeletal Minion (a human warrior skeleton, as described on page 226 of the Monster Manual). Obtaining this minion takes 24 hours and uses up magical materials that cost 100 gp.

This creature is a loyal servant that follows the necromancer's commands and accompanies her on adventures if desired. If the skeletal minion is destroyed, the necromancer suffers no ill effects and may replace it by performing a ceremony identical to the one that allowed her to obtain her first servant.

The skeleton has a number of Hit Dice equal to the necromancer's class level. Add one-half the necromancer's class level to the skeleton's natural armor bonus. Add one-third of the necromancer's class level to the skeleton's Strength and Dexterity scores.

Channel negative energy (Su): At 3rd level, a necromancer can channel negative energy that both deals damage to living creatures and heals undead creatures, including the Dark Necromancer. Channeling negative energy causes a burst that affects all creatures (either undead or living) in a 30-foot radius centered on the Dark Necromancer. The amount of damage dealt or healed is equal to 2d6 points of damage at 3rd level, 3D6 points of damage at 8th level, 4D6 points of damage at 13th level, and 5d6 points of damage at 18th level. Creatures that take damage from channeled energy receive a Will save to halve the damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the necromancer's level + the necromancer's Charisma modifier. Creatures healed by channel energy cannot exceed their maximum hit point total—all excess healing is lost. A necromancer may channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. This is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A necromancer can choose whether or not to include herself in this effect.

Advanced Learning (Ex): At 4th level, a dark necromancer can add a new spell to her list, representing the result of personal study and experimentation. The spell must be a cleric or wizard spell of the necromancy school, and of a level no higher than that of the highest-level spell the dark necromancer already knows. Once a new spell is selected, it is added to that dark necromancer's spell list and can be cast just like any other spell she knows. If a spell is both a cleric spell and a wizard spell, use the lower of the two spell levels (when different) to determine what level the spell is for a dark necromancer.

Undead Mastery (Su): All undead creatures created by a necromancer who has reached 4th level or higher gain a +4 Profane bonus to Strength and Dexterity and 2 additional hit points per Hit Die (this stacks with the corpsecrafter feat). In addition, when a dark 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).

Similarly, when a dark 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.

Undead Resistances (Su): At 9th level, a necromancer gains additional qualities of a Lich. The Dark Necromancer gains resistance to Cold and Electricity 5. These resistances increase to 10 at level 18. Additionally, at 9th level, a dark necromancer gains a +4 bonus on saving throws made to resist negative energy effects, including energy drain, and some ability drain.

Mental Bastion (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a dark necromancer gains a +2 bonus on saving throws made to resist sleep, stunning, paralysis, poison, or disease. This bonus increases to +4 at 14th level.

Fear Aura (Su): Beginning at 5th level, a dark 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. A creature who successfully saves cannot be affected by that dark necromancer's fear aura for 24 hours.

Scrabrous Touch (Su): Starting at 6th level, once per day a dark necromancer can use her charnel touch to inflict disease on a creature she touches. This ability works like the contagion spell, inflicting the disease of her choice immediately, with no incubation period, unless the target makes a successful Fortitude save (DC 10 + 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 Disease for details.

Activating this class feature is a swift action. The effect lasts until the dread necromancer makes a successful charnel touch attack. The spectral hand spell enables a dark necromancer to deliver a scabrous touch attack from a distance.

A dark 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.

Light Fortification (Ex): Starting at 10th level, a dark necromancer gains 25% resistance to critical hits; this is the equivalent of the light fortification armor special ability. At 17th level, this fortification increases to 50%.

Enervating Touch (Su): When a dark 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 dark necromancer can use the spectral hand spell to deliver this attack from a distance.

Beginning at 17th level, the number of negative levels a dark necromancer can bestow per day increases to equal her class level.

Craft Wondrous Item (Sp): At 19th level, the dark necromancer gains Craft Wondrous Item as a bonus feat. This helps her prepare the phylactery required to become a Lich.

Lich Transformation (Su): When a dark necromancer attains 20th level, she undergoes a hideous transformation and becomes a lich. Her type changes to undead, and she gains all the traits of the undead. She no longer has a Constitution score, all her existing Hit Dice become d12s, and she must reroll her hit points. A dark necromancer need not pay experience points or gold to create her phylactery.

A dread necromancer who is not humanoid does not gain this class feature.

Ex-Necromancers

A Necromancer that doesn't want to sustain his link to the negative energy cannot gain levels in the Necromancer class and loses all special abilities and any spells from the necromancy school of magic.

Campaign Information

Playing a Necromancer

Religion: Dark Necromancers usually worship Nerull, the god of death. They may also worship Vecna, Wee Jas or Hextor. Necromancers who worship Nerull are particularly ill-tempered, as Nerull supports his subjects slaughter, and provokes them to go on killing sprees to boost the undead militia they've created. Orcus is also a popular choice. Necromancers worshipping Orcus are usually adept at shifting planes of existence, and sacrificing in the name of their deity.

Other Classes: Dark necromancers have much in common with wizards, particularly specialist necromancers. They often join associations of wizards or sorcerers, where such groups exist, in order to acquire more spells. Paladins and clerics of good deities dislike dark necromancers, nor do druids hold any fondness for them. Other character classes are able to work alongside dark necromancers, particularly if their own goals or methods are equally unsavory.

Combat: Capable of many different tactics, from ranged caster, horde-controller, or melee combatant, the Dark Necromancer can fulfill several different roles in a party

Advancement: This is a stand-alone class, and does not allow for multi-classing, or prestige class levels. If a character takes levels in another class, or takes a prestige class, they lose all gained abilities of this Dark Necromancer class, including spell-casting. Additionally the Dark Necromancer has limitations. Unlike other spell-casters, the use of wands is prohibited. A Dark Necromancer cannot use any scroll which isn't on his list of known spells, not even with a Use Magic Device skill check

Necromancers in the World

“	Oh, a graveyard. How.... delightful.	”
—Guk, Goblin 5th level Dark Necromancer

A practitioner of vile and forbidden arts, the dark necromancer roots about in graveyards, searching out moldering components for her obscene spells.

Dark necromancers often have some tragic experience in their early lives that marks the beginning of their fascination with death, undeath, and the power of necromancy. She might have been the sole survivor of a terrible massacre, hiding somewhere while she watched her family, friends, and neighbors cut down, or perhaps forced to hide in a pile of corpses in order to escape the soldiers who razed her village. Other dark necromancers experience some supernatural connection to a long-dead civilization or a single notable figure of the ancient past. She might have been haunted since childhood by strange dreams in which she muttered phrases in some forgotten language, waking with the compulsion to investigate dusty ruins in search of arcane lore.

Not all dark necromancers are evil, although the best of them could easily be described as evil-tolerant. No dark necromancer can have a good alignment. Performing evil acts is a basic feature of the class, but some dark necromancers manage to balance evil acts with good intentions, remaining solidly neutral (most PC dark necromancers fall into this category).

Necromancer Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (History) or Knowledge (arcane) can research Necromancers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

DC 10: Dark Necromancers are adept at animating and summoning undead, and many necromancers are skilled at causing disease and plague.

DC 15: Dark necromancers root about in graveyards, searching out moldering components for their obscene spells. They call upon restless, tormented spirits of the dead, seeking their arcane secrets.

DC 20: Dark Necromancers have learned the secrets to becoming a Lich, effectively gaining immortality.

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