Path of the Necromancer

The Path of the Necromancer is a generic path intended for use by any spellcasting class that can create undead servants, and can be taken as a replacement for any of these classes paths or archetypes.

Insert flavor text here. Necromancers make dead things into undead things.

Spells

The following spells are added to your spell list. You must still learn, prepare, and cast them in whatever way is normal for your class.

Cantrips

Control Undead: bonus action, medium range; you take control of targeted undead creature (Cha negates). Concentration duration; can make permanent using Dominance.
Death Sight: bonus, concentration; you see through the eyes of an undead minion under your control, and establish a telepathic link through which you may command it; max range 1 mile/level.
- Reversed: Recharge 33%, swift, medium range; subject undead is blinded (Fort ends).

1st-level Spells

Dark Sanctuary: You may create a zone of "hallowed" ground, wherein your controlled minions are not subject to the control limits of your Dominance score. Total number of undead ignoring your score is based on reagents spent; must be inside your threshold; effects apply only while inside; you can't control them at all unless you are inside as well, but they will follow programmed commands.

2nd-level Spells

Transplant: Transplants a limb onto a living subject. Rules TBD

3rd-level Spells

Summon Corpse: You summon a corpse (requires sympathetic component, truename, or soul of departed). Rules TBD

4th-level Spells

Undead Lieutenant: Ritual; you imbue some of your Dominance into targeted undead creature, who then gains a Dominance score of his own, which he can use to command undead in your name (assuming you still have him in your command). Any undead the lieutenant commands do not count against your own Dominance score; you need only account for the lieutenant's Dominance cost. Your own Dominance score is decreased by 1 for each active lieutenant in your control. Lieutenants gain any Dominance-improving abilities that your own classes (but not items) have granted you; otherwise, they calculate their score normally. Undead Lieutenants cannot command other Undead Lieutenants.

5th-level Spells

Animus Blast: Single action, 20-ft cone; 10d6 cold damage. Those who are reduced to 0 must pass a Con save or be turned into undead wights under your control (subject to Dominance).

6th-level Spells

7th-level Spells

8th-level Spells

Undead Overlord: Ritual; as Undead Lieutenant, except the target can command Undead Lieutenants (but not Overlords).

9th-level Spells

Dominance

You gain bonus Dominance based on your Necromancer level. See chart for details.

Create Undead

You gain a ritual:

Create Undead: You create an undead creature. This usually requires, at minimum, a properly-treated corpse, and a number of other spell reagents. Specific components vary by the type of undead created, and its level.

Undead created through this ritual are your permanent servants. They obey your spoken commands, which they understand as if they knew your language, and have an Intelligence score of 10 (or whatever they already had, if higher).

The number of minions you may control with this ability, or any other similar ability, is governed by your Dominance attribute. (Rules TBD)

The various types of undead minions you can create are listed in this chart. It is not necessarily an exhaustive list.

Undead Type	Minimum Rank	Reagent Cost	Role	Basic Description
Reanimated	0	None	General	Same abilities as living creature.
Skeleton	1	100 gp/level	Tank	Basic, dependable guardian that can't talk back.
Ghoul	1	100 gp/level	DPS	Clever and ravenous hunter with a taste for living flesh.
Shadow	1	100 gp/level	Utility	Simple, but effective incorporeal undead.
Mummy	2	250 gp/level	Tank	Powerful, brutal, and well-preserved.
Wraith	2	250 gp/level	Utility	An advanced incorporeal with a taste for life energy.
Hemophage	2	250 gp/level	DPS	A vampire-like creature with a thirst for blood.
Abomination	3	500 gp/level	Tank	A monstrosity cobbled together from many pieces.
Entropic Reaper	3	500 gp/level	DPS	A minor incarnation of death itself.
Geist	3	500 gp/level	Utility	A murderous spirit that possesses corpses.
Bone Golem	4	1,000 gp/level	Tank	Bone Storm, Wall of Bones, Bone Spikes, siege damage.
Blee	4	1,000 gp/level	DPS	Blee
Banshee	4	1,000 gp/level	Utility	Blee
Dracolich	5	2,500 gp/level	DPS	Undead dragons shall rule the world!
Winterwight	5	2,500 gp/level	?	Yikes

Special rules on swarms:

Swarm of Death

Sometimes you want a whole slew of minions, but your Dominance attribute just won't cooperate. Thus: swarms!

Normally, if you create more than one undead of a given type, they are tracked (and dominated) separately. However, you may choose to combine multiple undead into a swarm.

A swarm of undead is considered a single creature.
- As such, it may take only one standard, one swift, and one move action per round.
- All creatures must stick together at all times.
- The swarm occupies an area based on the number of component undead:
  - 2-4: minion size +1
  - 5-8: minion size +2
  - 9-16: minion size +3, etc...
- The creature has swarm traits:
  - Immune to single-target debilitations, loss-of-control, and death effects.
  - If constituent creatures are Tiny or Diminutive, gain Resist 50% (all weapons).
  - If constituent creatures are Fine, gain immunity to weapons.
  - Suffer Vulnerable 50% (all area effects)
  - If constituent creatures are Tiny or smaller, may occupy the space of Medium or larger foes. (Normal rule about space, just repeated here for clarity)
The swarm's Hit Points increase by 25% for each extra creature beyond the first.
The swarm's damage increases by 25% for each extra creature beyond the first.
- This applies to non-HP damage, such as ability damage.
- This applies to debilitating effects augmenting attacks, such as disease stacks on strike. In that case, each extra minion adds 25% of the number of stacks as the base creature.
The swarm's slot cost, for the purposes of Dominance, is equal to that of the base creature, +1 per extra creature in the swarm.

Creatures may be freely added to or removed from a swarm.

Pocket Monstrosity

You can make mini-undead and store them in your pocket for later retrieval.

The effect is similar to Temporal Stasis -- the minion experiences no time while in your pocket, and cannot be effected by anything except dispelling or disjunction, which ends the stasis effect.

Any minions who are in stasis do not count toward your Dominance limit.

Necrogenesis

You can create unique undead, or add new traits to existing undead.

To create an undead, first choose one of the base classes: guardian, skirmisher, artillerist, brute, controller.

There are five categories of ability: general, offense, defense, utility, and class-specific. Each ability has a point score. The total point cost of all abilities chosen must not exceed 1 per Necromancer level. Furthermore, the cost of any individual ability taken cannot exceed your Necromancer rank.

Once statted out, the new undead is a template, not a real creature. You must still create it using Create Undead. The cost to do so is determined by the total point cost (for now, just assume that 5-9 = rank 2, 10-14 = rank 3, etc).

General Abilities

(x) Custom Power: Gains a custom power of rank x as an innate spell-like ability.
(x) Incorporeal: The creature gains incorporeal traits. Melee attack converted into touch attack, inflicting shadow damage. Various levels:
- (1): Creature is incorporeal, but cannot fly or phase through walls.
- (2): Can fly and phase through up to 5' of solid matter.
- (3): Is naturally ethereal; can manifest as a rank 2 incorporeal.
(1) Large: Large size.
(1) Small: Small size.
(1) Feat: Gain a Feat.
(1) Skill: Gain training in one skill (max ranks).
(2) Huge: Huge size.
(2) Tiny: Tiny size. etc...

Offensive Abilities

(1) Disease: Each melee attack inflicts one stack of a chosen Witch disease.
(1) Ability Damage: Each melee attack inflicts 1d3+1 damage to a chosen ability score. Stacks to increase damage: 1d4+2, 1d6+3, 1d8+4, 1d10+5. Can also stack to add multiple ability score types.
(2) Energy Drain: Each melee attack drains 1 level. Can increase by 1 point to add +1 level.

Defensive Abilities

(1): Toughness: Gain +50% Hit Points. Stackable.
(1): Resistance: Gain Resist 50% to a chosen type. Can take multiple times, but like types do not stack.
(3): Immunity: Gain Immunity to a chosen damage type. Not Holy.

Utility Abilities

(1) Speed: Increase base speed by 100%. Can stack with itself.
(2) Fly: Gain flight at same speed as walking speed.

Class-specific Abilities

(Guardian 1): Taunt: r33 sw mr; taunt (We).
(Skirmisher 1): Sneak Attack: +100% damage when attacking with Combat Advantage.
(Controller x): Spells: Learns a spell from any list of rank x. All spells known must be of the same list.