"I am where life and death converge. I bring death to the living, and life to the dead."
Class Traits
Role: Controller. The forces of life and death are yours to command. You invoke the spirits of the dead, leech life from the living, and spread pestilence among those who dare to oppose you. You lean toward either Defender or Leader as your secondary role.
Power Source: Shadow. You have gained your powers by surrendering a portion of your own life and replacing it with pure shadow energy.
Key Abilities: Intelligence, Charisma, Constitution
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather, Studded Leather
Weapon Proficiencies: simple melee, military flails, simple ranged
Implement Proficiencies: Tome, Totem, Staff, Scythe, Dagger
Bonus to Defense: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 4
Healing Surges per Day: 6 + Constitution modifier
Trained Skills: Arcana or Religion (your choice). From the class skills list below, choose three more trained skills at 1st level.
Class Skills: Arcana, Bluff, Dungeoneering, Endurance, Heal, History, Intimidate, Insight, Religion, Stealth, Thievery.
Build Options: Blight Necromancer, Dread Necromancer, Horde Necromancer
Class Features: Dark Knowledge, Necromancy Focus, Master of Death.
Corrupt. Disturbed. Tainted. The necromancer and his affinity for undeath is often misunderstood, or outright hated, by common peoples. They see necromancy as a mad perversion of life - an insult to everything living.
The necromancer disagrees. He understands the reality of the world - death is, and will not cease to be, a reality of life. There is power in it. There is mystery to it. But overall: it is eternal. Almost without fail, the necromancer is the pragmatic sort - he does what he does despite cultural or societal taboos, because it is useful.
The actual motivations for each necromancer have as much wild variety as life itself. Some find themselves called to the practice, drawn to the shadows of unlife from an early age. Others learn the art of necromancy through research and study before finally giving themselves fully to the art. Some seek to serve some noble goal, while others wield their powers toward terrible ends. Regardless of the motivations or goal, all necromancers have made the same sacrifice - pledging some of their own life to the darkness, and filling themselves with shadow in return.
With death as your constant companion, you have little to fear from life. After all, each end is simply a new beginning in a cycle you are intimately familiar with.
Class Features
Necromancers have the following class features.
Dark Knowledge
Your studies in ancient texts of anatomy, medicine, virology, and various other topics related to death and suffering have left your mind full of knowledge which others can only dream of. You have wandered to the edge of a dark precipice and stared into the abyss, and the abyss has stared back into your soul. You now command knowledge which would wither a normal mortal, using what others consider evil and profane for your own agenda.
At 1st level you choose three at-will attack powers. At least one, but no more than two, of those powers must have the minion keyword. In addition, choose one of the following options:
Death's Scholar
You gain a +5 bonus to religion checks to identify undead creatures, and resistance to necrotic damage equal to 5 + 1/2 your level. In addition, your attacks against undead creatures ignore resistance to necrotic damage equal to 5 + 1/2 your level. At level 11 you ignore necrotic resistance equal to 10 + 1/2 your level and necrotic immunity becomes resistance 25 necrotic.
Plague Bringer
You a +5 bonus to heal checks made to treat disease, and resistance to poison equal to 5 + 1/2 your level. In addition, your attacks against undead creatures ignore resistance to poison damage equal to 5 + 1/2 your level. At level 11 you ignore poison resistance equal to 10 + 1/2 your level and poison immunity becomes resistance 25 necrotic.
Unlife Master
You gain a +5 bonus to endurance checks, and your undead minions gain resistance to all damage equal to 3 + 1/2 your level. In addition, your undead minions gain a +1 bonus to all defenses. At level 11 this resistance increases to 6 + 1/2 your level and the bonuses to defenses become +2.
Necromancy Focus
You have devoted your life to the study of life and death, and now you have accumulated enough knowledge to put your work to good use. However, no man can hold within him all the profane knowledge of the ancients, and so you have been forced to devote most of your studies to a particular topic. Choose one of the following disciplines for your Necromancer to specialize in.
Undeath Focus
You have studied intensively the profane arts of Necromancy until the world of death is open to you. You can call up the spirits of those who have passed on and drive them into service in your name.
Ghost Harrier | Necromancer Feature |
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Haunting shades of the recently departed arise to torment the living.
Encounter ♦ Conjuration, Shadow
Free Action Close Burst 10
Trigger: You hit with an encounter or daily power.
Effect: Each target of the power grants combat advantage (save ends).
Blight Focus
Your studies have included herbs, toxins, and diseases which can kill or maim hundreds. Your dark hexes spread curses and plagues which torment your enemies and bring them to death's door.
Plague Harbinger | Necromancer Feature |
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You inject a little bit of venom into your most devastating attacks.
Encounter ♦ Poison, Shadow
Free Action Close Burst 10
Trigger: You hit with an encounter or daily power.
Effect: Each target of the power gains ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
Level 11: Ongoing 10 poison.
Level 21: Ongoing 15 poison.
Unlife Focus
The flipside of Necromancy is the study of how to create life out of death. You have studied the works of decried prophets and denounced masters, eking out an idea of the basics of enhancing life by sowing death. You gain the "Leech Life" power.
Leech Life | Necromancer Feature |
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Your dark magic opens a conduit through which you draw out your enemy's lifeforce and impart it to your allies.
Encounter ♦ Healing, Shadow
Free Action Close Burst 10
Trigger: You hit with an encounter or daily power.
Target: One ally in burst
Effect: The target gains temporary hit points equal your Charisma modifier and the enemy you hit with the triggering attack takes the same amount of extra damage.
Level 11: 3 + Charisma modifier.
Level 21: 6 + Charisma modifier.
Master of Death
You have long pursued rituals of great power and forbidden knowledge. You gain the Ritual Caster feat as a bonus feat and gain the Gentle Repose and Speak with Dead rituals at 1st level (see Players Handbook, pp 305 and 312). Once per day, you may spend a healing surge to ignore the component cost when casting one of these these two rituals.
In addition you gain the Animate Dead power.
Animate Dead | Necromancer Feature |
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At your command, the dead rise to stalk the living.
At-Will ♦ Implement, Shadow, Summoning
Minor Action (Special) Close Burst 5
Effect: You summon four undead minions in four unoccupied squares in the burst. Each minion has a speed of 5. Each minion has 1 hit point, and takes no damage from a missed attack. You do not lose healing surges when your minions are destroyed. You may only have four minions summoned at one time, if you try to summon any more than this number, the extra minions are not summoned. When you take a move action you may move each minion up to its speed. You may give your minions the following special commands.
Standard Action: Melee 1; Intelligence vs. Reflex; 1d6 + intelligence modifier damage and the target is slowed.
Special: You may use this power only once per round.
Implements
Necromancers with a more scholarly bent channel their power through dusty tomes containing the anatomy of undead and demonic creatures, powerful dark rituals, and similar profane knowledge. Others use a totem, a small object often made of bones, skin, or similar gruesome materials. Similar to how primal characters use totems to commune with the spirits of the natural world, Necromancers use totems to call forth and bind the spirits of the dead from the Shadowfell. Still other Necromancers use a staff, a scythe, or a ceremonial dagger as an implement for their powers. These necromancers are often more inclined to feel the blood of their enemies coat their weapons directly, rather than feeding a horde of ravenous undead.
Creating a Necromancer
Necromancers rely on Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma for their powers. You can choose any powers you like, but many necromancers choose powers that complement their Necromancy Focus.
Horde Necromancer
You are but a single mortal, but your whim can summon thousands of apostate souls to take physical form and kill on your command. You ignite the animus in corpses to raise them to unlife and stalk your enemies. A horde Necromancer needs a high Intelligence to understand the complete rituals and dark rites which must be performed to raise an army of the damned, but you also need to be Constitution in order to contain the dark power which keeps your legions of undead walking. A high Charisma may also help you negotiate with more intelligent undead, allowing you to bring them under your sway.
Suggested Class Feature: Undeath Focus
Suggested Feat: Deathless Horde
Suggested Skills: Arcana, Bluff, Intimidate, Religion
Suggested At-Will Powers: Swarming Horde, Ghastly Bite
Suggested Encounter Power: Tomb Guardian Strike
Suggested Daily Power: Ghoul's Embrace
Dread Necromancer
Instead of relying on hordes of undead, you prefer to fight with living allies. You use fear, death, and undeath to ravage your foes and bolster those who fight alongside you. To your allies you are a patient protector… to your enemies, you are a savage terror. Your attacks key off of Intelligence, so make that your highest ability score. Deception and force of will increase your ability to keep both the living and the dead under your influence, so Charisma should be your second-highest ability score. Constitution should be your third highest score, to aid in your durability.
Suggested Class Feature: Unlife Focus
Suggested Feat: Death Thane
Suggested Skills: Arcana, Bluff, Heal, Intimidate
Suggested At-Will Powers: Grave Pulse, Deathly Shriek
Suggested Encounter Power: Wraith's Touch
Suggested Daily Power: Paralyzing Dread
Blight Necromancer
The ultimate purveyor of death is plague and disease, and you have worked diligently to become the master of this primal force of devastation. with a word and a gesture you can summon horrid fevers, blisters, rains of frogs and flies, putrify water sources and pollute the land. You are a walking agent of corruption, and you use this power to further your own agenda. Intelligence should be your highest score, like all Necromancers. Constitution should be your second highest, as channeling pestilence through your own body requires you to be strong and healthy yourself. Charisma is a good third score to bolster your Will Defense.
Suggested Class Feature: Blight Focus
Suggested Feat: Master of Venom
Suggested Skills: Arcana, Endurance, Heal, Insight
Suggested At-Will Powers: Spread Sickness, Charnel Touch
Suggested Encounter Power: Wave of Vermin
Suggested Daily Power: Horrid Effluvia
Necromancer Powers
New Keyword: Minion
Attacks with the Minion keyword are made by your Undead Minions, and originate in the square of a specific minion of your choice. Unless otherwise specified, you choose only one of your existing minions to make the attack. Minion powers cannot be used if you have no Undead Minions present.
Heroic Necromancer Powers
Paragon Necromancer Powers
Epic Necromancer Powers
Paragon Paths
At 11th level you may choose a paragon path from among the options available to you. Some options are presented below:
Horde Raiser
Pale Horseman
Dread Sovereign
Reaper's Scion
Page Discussion
Where can I find the feats for the build examples?
Love this class!
Is it really necessary to have three at-wills plus the attack built into the summon? That's a lot of choices out the gate for an already complex class to track. I would drop the third at-will and the requirement of how many have the minion keyword.
Also thanks a lot, great work, I love this class!
I am pretty sure this is a typing error but the level 16 bone armor utility gives resist 50 all damage that increases by 5 each time you take damage, until the end of the encounter. Was it supposed to be resist 5 as the base rather than this, much more overpowered, version?
im planning on letting one of the adventurers i dm for play as the horde style necro, and question, does each minion have a standard action? or does the necromancer use it to allow a minion to attack?also what did that whole, keep minions under control tidbit under charisma mean? is there a special rules section i didnt see?
Thanks so much for making a (TRUE) Necromancer! Can´t thank you enough.
Unlife Focus is recommended for the Cha-secondary "dread" necromancer build. Shouldn't it call on Charisma, not Constitution?
I think it was because the flavor of the power made more sense with Con, but yeah, you're right. I retooled it a bit, and made it key off Charisma.
I was just wondering about the class feature Unlife Master. The class feature says that minions gain resist ALL 5+ 1/2 level, which seems incredibly OP against enemy 1st Level minions, which normally do 4 damage per attack, static. I think the resistance should be lowered to 3, in order to insure that the minions can't become minion-immune. Also, Unlife Master says "Increase all minion defenses by 1." Nowhere does it say what regular minion defenses are. Are they the same as the caster's, minus equipment bonuses? What are they?
Unless noted otherwise, the defenses of asummoned creature are identical to those of the character that summoned it.
Having designed and playtested my own minion utilizing class (that actually uses minions in the same way that your necromancer does), I can attest that there are a number of problems with this class feature.
The first is that it is simply possible to get too many minions out at a time. Limiting the number of minions by your Intelligence modifier works well for the heroic tier because you only get 4-5 minions at a time. By the time you get to epic tier, however, having 8-9 minions out at a time becomes exponentially more complex and difficult to balance and play (especially when you consider many of the minion powers that deal more damage the more minions are adjacent to the target). My own playtesting of this mechanic found that it's more appropriate to limit the number of minions to 4 or 5, if only to keep the battlefield from becoming painfully clustered. On this same note, many summoning powers have increased defenses, largely because they represent a risk to the summoner and a reward for attacking them. There is no such benefit or risk for these summoned minions so there is no reason beyond action denial (an inefficient action at best since it's so easy to replace them) to kill them. Giving them increased defenses simply makes it easier to generate a massive horde.
The second is that allowing the player to summon a large number of said minions per turn with a minor action (which you should likely restrict to being used once per turn to prevent a player from dropping 8 minions in the first turn, potentially completely encircling an enemy right out of the gate) provides the character with too much capability to dominate the field from the onset. It is better to force the player to summon a smaller number of minions per turn to prevent early saturation and domination of placement, especially when the only challenge to this domination is the monsters wasting attacks on minions that cost the player next to nothing (because it's not as if minor actions are used every turn anyway).
The third is that the range of the power, combined with the ability to deny movement, is an incredible tactical advantage, especially when the minions have no range limitation. An intelligent player could spend the entire fight without ever getting attacked by placing minions at max range and spending a move action to move away while forcing the minions to move up and attack (since the attacks do not have a range that limits how far away you can command a minion to attack from). The necromancer could easily maintain a 30 square distance from any real combat while being fully functional and still have a sizable screening force in between himself and his opponents. Situations like this are simply not balanced and end up trivializing combats.
The fourth is that the standard action attack damage is too powerful. Remember that you're already giving necromancers 3 at-will attack powers, one of which has to have the minion key word. By giving the minion a default standard action, you are giving all necromancers a *4th* at-will attack power that deals more damage than any controller at-will attack power with a range greater than that of most at-will attack powers (which are generally range 10). Another problem with it is that it does not fit with the general context of a controller (i.e. control or AoE instead of pure single target damage). It would fit better to have the standard action have lower damage and a control effect attached.
The fifth is that opportunity actions on horde type monsters are *inordinately* powerful, especially when they have control effects. If you place one next to each enemy on the field (not that difficult considering it is burst 20 and you get 4 of them per turn), you can, from the first turn, without ever actually attacking the target, deny the ability of the target to move appreciable distances or make ranged attacks. It also slows down combat because you are threatening so very many squares. It's for this reason that threatening reach for players is so uncommon: it's way too powerful.
In summation, Animate Dead needs to be brought in line heavily.
To prevent dominating the field from the very beginning, the range needs to be restricted to a close burst 5: force the necromancer to get into a risky position before being able to summon his hordes.
To prevent egregious bookkeeping and battlefield saturation problems, restrict the number of minions that can be on the field to 5.
To prevent abuse of movement mechanisms, have any minions that end their turn more than 5 squares from the necromancer be immediately destroyed.
To prevent the minions from dealing too much damage and controlling enemies too well without circumventing the economy of actions, change the effect of the standard action to "1d6 + Int mod damage and the target is grabbed", and remove the opportunity action entirely (remember, of course, to have the standard action damage increase to 2d6 at 21st level).
Finally, to prevent mass placement of minions, it should be explicitly mentioned that the power can only be used once per turn.
Remember that it is intended to be a class *feature*; not a class *replacement*. It is not intended to supplant everything else that the character would normally do. It should be intended to supplement the actions of the necromancer or provide a springboard for the other powers of the necromancer to leap from.
I agree with all counts. Go ahead and change it all if you want.
Ok, I've been long absent, but I've been running a campaign, and I've been getting a big complaint from one of my players: it just doesn't feel like he's a necromancer. 4-5 zombies just doesn't feel like enough. Sure, at heroic tier, I could argue he's just not talented enough yet. But here's an idea: do we have to be self-consistent with our summoning mechanics? What if we also create daily summoning powers that create Huge (and later Gargantuan) swarms? I think that can really drive home the idea. A large field of undead, packed too tightly to try fighting through. To avoid reworking the class, it would have to work alongside the minions. But it's an idea.
If your player wants to control a massive horde of undead, he needs to go back to 3.5e. A small cadre of [insert preferred undead minion here] should be sufficient for a "heroic" necromancer; use only what's needed, when it's needed. Gigantic hordes of walking dead are for the villainous version.
I could easily see powers such as that working out well. The best way to implement it would be to have the power create a zone that you can move around. If you want to allow it to be "killable", we would just need to allow the conjuration to be attacked, either destroying the zone in its entirely after a certain amount of damage is reached or simply having damage reduce the size of the effect in question.
It's not untoward to have player necromancers controlling hordes of zombies, especially since player necromancers are not necessarily going to be good (evil campaigns are quite possible and very fun). If your player is perturbed that he doesn't get to control a vast horde, you can simply explain that he does in fact have a vast horde, but he can only bring in the 4-5 in combat that he regularly animates to prevent anything from happening. Simply change the cosmetics from creating new zombies from local corpses every time you summon to dragging in "reserve" zombies to fill in the area.