Wizard - Necromancer Undead Master Kit Description: Undead Masters represent those Necromancers who specialize in the creation of undying minions, reveling in the thrill of creating and commanding obedient servants as their unquestioning slaves. Most do this out of a desire to create deathless legions to allow them to establish dominion over the living or simply from an obsessive fascination with the undead. These Undead Masters employ their art for their own twisted and evil ends, forcing the corrupted remains of the dead to serve their own perverse appetites for power. Because of their vile excesses and unrepentant and gruesome villainy, they are universally reviled and stamped out wherever possible in most civilized societies. On the other hand, there are those Undead Masters who see life and death as inextricably linked partners in the universal scheme, and who see allowing bodies to rot in the ground and spirits to cavort in the afterlife as pointless wastes of useful resources. In fact, some even see themselves as saviors of a sort, allowing life to continue after death and freeing the spirits of the dead from an eternity of subordination at the hands of heartless extraplanar powers. To their way of thinking, if such powers truly cared about their worshipers, they would have preserved them in life to work in the world, rather than removing them from it; thus, the powers of the planes have abrogated their responsibilities to the ordinary people of the world, and Undead Masters seek to set the balance right by reclaiming bodies and souls from oblivion and preserving them in a way that is beneficial to society. Even such would-be benevolent Undead Masters face a great deal of social prejudice (in which taboos against tampering with the dead and the afterlife are very strong) and frequently establish their own petty domains in the abandoned hinterlands, where they can recreate entire nations or legions of undead without outside interference, but some gravitate back to civilization and in some areas can even find a certain degree of public acclaim, repute, or tolerance, depending on the local culture and the actions of the Undead Master. Requirements: As a standard Necromancer, save that they cannot be of good alignment, as habitually raising and consorting with the undead can be justified for a variety of reasons but cannot be construed as a good act. Weapons & Armor: Dagger/knife, dart, staff. Special Benefits: Undead Masters specialize particularly in the creation and control of undead creatures, though they retain considerable skill in other aspects of the necromantic arts. In the hands of an Undead Master, any undead- affecting magical item (e.g., potion of undead control, shadow lanthorn) will have double normal effect and duration. In addition, they possess the following abilities: Command Undead: An Undead Master has the ability to command undead as a priest of equal level. Note that an Undead Master has no power to command creatures of the lower planes, nor any ability to turn paladins, upper-planar creatures, and the like. Create Undead: Any undead created or summoned by an Undead Masters spells will be stronger than normal, gaining 1 bonus hit point per die. In addition to creating undead through the use of magic, however, as they advance in level Undead Masters learn how to create undead through the use of dark arcane rituals that do not require spellcasting. Learning such a ritual is akin to spell research (though it is also possible to be taught these rituals by another Undead Master or to find a book of arcane lore containing the proper procedures), as if for a spell equivalent to the undead creature's level minus one (to a minimum of 1st level). Thus, the formula for creating an ordinary zombie, as a level II undead, would be considered equivalent to a 1st level spell, while the formula to produce a ghost, lich, or dracolich would be equal to a 9th level spell, as these are level X undead). Non-sentient undead created through such rituals are automatically under the Undead Master's control. Intelligent undead created in this fashion must make an immediate save vs. spell. If the save fails, the undead creature will serve the Undead Master in a friendly fashion for a year and a day and then seek to depart. Those who save immediately become free-willed but will not generally bear any ill will toward their creator. Level X undead automatically become free-willed and need not save. An Undead Master can use his or her ability to Command Undead to try to compel obedience from created undead, though this may be considered a hostile act and the undead might respond in kind if not successfully controlled. If the undead is a type that can 'procreate' by turning other creatures into undead, any 'children' of the created undead are completely free-willed and not necessarily friendly toward the Undead Master who created the undead that created them, though they can of course be controlled through magic or other means. Once a ritual has been successfully learned or researched, it can be performed as often as desired. In most cases, each procedure will produce only a single undead creature of the desired type, though a DM may allow an Undead Master to create one skeleton or zombie per level of experience with a single ritual (cf. animate dead spell), although any cost involved for preparation must be expended for each corpse that is to be raised. The cost involved in such rituals will be relative to the power of the creature being created, but can be as low as 10-20 g.p. for a single zombie or skeleton to 10-20,000 g.p. for lich or dracolich creation (DM's discretion for exact costs). The time required for such a ritual will likewise vary but may range from a few hours to raise a skeleton or zombie to several days to create higher undead. Each ritual learned counts against the maximum number of spells that an Undead Master can learn of each level. Each time he or she learns such a ritual, the normal chance for insanity (or other form of affliction) that accompanies learning new Necromantic lore must be checked. In addition, if he or she learns the procedure for creating any sort of sentient undead creature, the chance of insanity or affliction should be doubled. Most non-evil Undead Masters learn only one or two rituals low-level, often styling themselves as a 'Zombie Master' or 'Lord of Bones' and restricting themselves to animating corpses into unliving automatons. Nether Knowledge: As a standard Necromancer, save that his or her Necrology proficiency will improve by 1 for every two levels of experience (rounding up). In addition, when learning Necromancy spells that are specifically devoted to creating, controlling, summoning, or otherwise directly affecting the undead, an Undead Master gains double the normal bonus (i.e., +30%) to his or her chance to understand the spell. Because they are so familiar with the undead and their strengths and weaknesses and how to use magic to compensate for them, undead creatures suffer a -1 saving throw penalty against any spell cast by an Undead Master (which is cumulative with the normal save penalty for an Undead Master's Necromancy spells). Their saving throw bonus vs. negative energy attacks applies vs. any undead special attack form (though not to spells cast by undead or similar effects not intrinsically a part of their undead nature). Speak with Undead: As a result of their study into the undead and their nature and history, at 5th level Undead Masters gain the ability to speak with undead at will. This ability allows the Undead Master to communicate with any sentient undead creature even if he or she does not speak a language that was known to the deceased individual in life. Note that this creates no compulsion in an undead creature to obey, but simply allows clear communication. Special Hindrances: Undead Masters focus much of their attention on the study of undead and the use of magic and ritual to deal with them. In fact, ritual forms so much of a part of their practice of magic that they must increase the casting time of all spells by 3; this does not affect spells with a casting time of 1 round or more. In terms of dealing with undead creatures, the special skills of an Undead Master replace a standard Necromancer's ability to Influence Undead. In addition, because they prefer to send their deathless minions to fight for them rather than entering combat directly, an Undead Master gains only a single weapon proficiency at 1st level and never gains additional weapon skills thereafter. Undead Masters lose some of their magical flexibility due to their devotion to the study of the undead. Thus, they gain only Minor FOS in the Realms of Lore and Enchantment. In addition, when attempting to learn any spell outside the Realm of Necromancy, they suffer a -20% penalty to their chance to understand the spell (rather than the normal -15% penalty). Undead Masters otherwise suffer the normal restrictions and hindrances of necromantic study, including the dangers of tapping negative energy, a progressively cadaverous appearance and a disturbed personality that tends to adversely affect reactions, and the chance of insanity (or other affliction) each time they learn a new piece of necromantic lore. As noted above, the chance of insanity or affliction is doubled when they learn the ritual for creating any type of sentient undead creature. Special Note: If the DM is using the optional "Dark Gifts" for Necromancers, he or she should consider checking the chance of insanity or affliction each time an Undead Master performs an undead creation ritual, in addition to the initial check when the ritual is learned. Bonus Proficiencies: Necrology Required Proficiencies: Ceremony/Ritual, Reading/Writing Preferred Proficiencies: as a standard Necromancer ***DISCLAIMER*** As with all postings by me of classes or races, it should be noted that portions of the information contained herein were inspired by or derived from information in published works of TSR, Inc., and may contain references to those works, quotations or passages of text (especially in the area of 'Character Description', where applicable sections from TSR works were often carried over more or less intact into my campaign world), or particular powers or abilities invented by TSR staff writers. No relationship with TSR, Inc., is to be implied by this use, nor is any attempt being made to solicit profit or remuneration of any kind. I have read the TSR Online Policy document, and have tried to accommodate the stipulations contained therein. In instances where I have lifted an essentially complete class or race without significant alteration, I have not included these in my postings but instead have inserted a reference to the appropriate D&D sourcebook for those curious in including it in their campaign. Only variations that include a significant component of original work, alteration, or reformulation (including the compositing elements from various TSR sources into new combinations) of have been included in this set of postings. Jason Eric Nelson < tjaden@u.washington.edu >