Wizard - Necromancer Description: Necromancers are those wizards who have developed a fascination with life and death that frequently borders on the obsessive. Whether through a fascination with death or by attempting to harness negative 'unlife' energy, Necromancers have elected to delve into the great unknown, seekers of answers known only to the dead and often hopeful searchers in the quest for immortality. Many have let fear of their own death overwhelm them and seek to learn all they can of death in order to attempt to avoid its eventual embrace. While for some this is merely an academic interest about the true nature of life and death, others want to attain some form of immortality for themselves and may go so far as to seek out intelligent undead (liches in particular) to attempt to learn their secrets. The researches and spell use of Necromancers frequently lead them to run-ins with law enforcement authorities and cultural taboos, but for most Necromancers the importance of their research takes precedence over such petty concerns. Regardless of their professional motivations, Necromancers are typically brooding, humorless, and withdrawn. Casual acquaintances may consider them cold, hostile, or even insane (and many Necromancers do in fact become insane through the course of their harrowing and mind-wrenching research), but those who befriend a Necromancer may come to know him or her as a caring, complex individual whose emotions run deep but are generally kept deeply hidden. A Necromancer can be a valued and trustworthy companion, but they are also prone to bouts of depression (usually a result of learning so many hidden secrets of the true nature of life and death) so extreme that it becomes difficult for him or her to interact with others to any meaningful degree. Befriending a Necromancer will try the patience of even the most understanding character. Since most Necromancers greatly prefer solitude to companionship and silence to conversation, it is hardly surprising that few form close friendships. Rarer still are Necromancers who wed, though they will occasionally wed another Necromancer, taking a certain solace in the understanding that they share regarding the nature of their profession (and often merely cohabiting with little social interaction, each pursuing their own research and projects and going for long stretches at a time without seeing one another). Continual exposure to forces associated with death and the undead can have a corrupting effect on wizards with even the slightest natural inclination toward evil. Consequently, the number of evil-aligned Necromancers far outweighs those of other alignments; in fact, neutral-aligned Necromancers (with respect to good and evil) are actually more rare than good-aligned Necromancers, since usually only those truly dedicated to the cause of good can withstand the constant lure of incipient evil that lies just beyond the immediate veil of Necromantic study. Most good-aligned Necromancers are unshakable in their determination to confront and extinguish evil by turning its own power against it, and they will happily join like-minded individuals to undertake missions against evil. In fact, their knowledge of some of the hidden secrets used by the powers of darkness makes them valuable allies against evil and virtually fearless against the worst horrors evil has to offer. Requirements: Necromancers use the Wizard advancement table and have four- sided hit dice. Necromancers use a Wizard's THAC0 and saving throw tables. Necromancers begin with 1 weapon and 4 non-weapon proficiencies, and they gain one weapon and two non-weapon slots every six levels of experience. Though they most often tend toward evil, Necromancers may be of any alignment but must have scores of at least 15 in Intelligence and Wisdom and 12 in Constitution. Only humans, tieflings, drow elves, and half-drow can become Necromancers. Weapons & Armor: Like other wizards, Necromancers cannot wear armor or use shields. Necromancers are limited to the following weapons: axe (any), blowgun, chain, dart (any), knife/dagger (any), scimitar, scourge, scythe, sickle, staff, or whip. Magical Philosophy: The Primary Field of Study for this class is of course Necromancy. Students of the art of Necromancy delve into dark secrets and often forbidden lore in their quest to understand and control the forces of life and death. A character must be of very strong will to succeed at these studies and not be drawn wholly into the dark side (and many of strong will nonetheless succumb to the temptations of the dark powers). Necromancers command a variety of powerful spells, though they are not always useful in large-scale battles. Necromancers are at their best in confrontations with single enemies and with undead creatures. In addition to their Primary FOS in Necromancy, the studies of a Necromancer tend to focus on learning about and manipulating the world and their environment through the application of magical energy. These studies encompass Major FOS in the Realms of Conjuration, Enchantment, Lore, and Sorcery. Because they focus on the thoughts and hearts of living beings and false reality (avoiding the harsh truth of life and death), Necromancers shun spells of Illusion. They also avoid Elementalism spells, as they are seen as irrelevant to a Necromancer's studies, which 'bypass' the elemental planes and focus on the axis of the Positive and Negative Material Planes bracketing the Prime Material, plus the connection of the Prime to the Outer Planes where the spirits of the dead reside. Special Benefits: Necromancers are highly knowledgeable about matters of life and death and the magical energies that reside within both states. Necromancers receive the following standard Wizard abilities: - Have the option to leave any or all 'spell slots' open rather than memorizing spells immediately after rest. Such spell slots can then be used later in the day by reading and memorizing a particular spell from the Necromancer's spellbooks at the time it is needed (requiring the normal 10 minutes per spell level) and then casting it, allowing for greater flexibility but leaving him or her without a prememorized, ready-to-cast spell in that slot. - Receive bonus spells (and/or have a spell failure chance) based on their Intelligence score as a Priest would for a high Wisdom score; these bonus spells must be selected from the Realm of Necromancy. - Research and create spells and magical items. - Scribe spells onto scrolls beginning at 6th level, provided appropriate spell inks can be bought or manufactured and the Calligraphy proficiency is known. Special Note: A DM who owns the Complete Book of Necromancers may wish to consider allowing Necromancers of 9th level or above to obtain up to three 'dark gifts' or special abilities as part of their studies into the forbidden arts. These powers are described in detail on pgs. 28-33 of that book. A similar set of 'dark gifts' is described in the Ravenloft boxed set as part of the 'enticement' involved with Ravenloft Powers checks. In addition to these standard abilities, they gain the following skills unique to their class: Influence Undead: When confronting intelligent undead creatures, a Necromancer can attempt a Charisma check with a bonus equal to his or her level and a penalty equal to the undead's level/type (e.g., a ghoul is a Level III undead creature, so would apply a -3 penalty to the check). If this check is successful, the Necromancer is able to temporarily pacify the undead and prevent them from attacking, at least long enough for the Necromancer to explain him- or herself or offer some sort of bargain to the creature. Any hostile action on the part of the Necromancer or his or her allies is likely to immediately void such cessation of hostilities and precipitate immediate attack by the undead. When dealing with unintelligent undead, Necromancers obviously cannot negotiate with them, but they can attempt to take command of them for 1d6 rounds plus one round per level of experience. Such an attempt is automatically successful if the undead are not under the control of another being, but a Necromancer also has a 5% chance per level of experience of being able to temporarily wrest control of unintelligent undead away from their creator for 1d6 rounds. In either case, once the duration of control expires the undead return to their previous condition (i.e., either uncontrolled or to the control of their previous master). Regardless of the situation, a Necromancer can attempt to pacify or calm an intelligent undead creature or control an unintelligent one only once at any given level of experience, regardless of whether the attempt is successful. A Necromancer also cannot attempt to pacify or control more than one intelligent undead creature of 1d4 unintelligent undead creatures for every level of experience (e.g., a 7th level Necromancer could pacify up to 7 ghouls or wights or up to 7d4 skeletons or zombies). Nether Knowledge: Necromancers are highly expert in the magical and mundane arts of Necromancy. They are so well-versed in the habits, strengths, and weaknesses of undead creatures of all types that they gain free knowledge of the Necrology, and they do not suffer the standard -4 penalty to their proficiency score. In addition, they gain a +1 bonus to their proficiency score for every three levels of experience (rounding up). Because they are so jaded in matters of life and death, they are never subject to fear caused by undead creatures (including fear-type spells used by undead spellcasters). Likewise, since they frequently must work with toxic substances or rotting corpses, Necromancers also gain a +2 bonus to saves vs. poisons and disease. In addition to this mundane knowledge, Necromancers gain a +15% bonus to learn spells from the Realm of Necromancy. When researching new Necromancy spells, a Necromancer should consider such spells as one level lower than their true level when determining cost, difficulty, etc. Necromancers gain a +1 bonus for every five levels of experience (rounding up) vs. all forms of death magic or necromantic or negative energy attacks. They also apply a -1 penalty to the saving throws of targets of their Necromancy spells. In addition, all Necromancy spells take effect as if the caster was one level higher than his or her true level when cast by a Necromancer. Once per day, a Necromancer can focus the negative energies at his or her command and cause a Necromancy spell to take effect at 1d4 levels higher than his or her actual level. Note that this bonus is instead of the normal +1 casting level bonus, not in addition to it. Special Hindrances: In most civilized societies, Necromancers are at best mistrusted and shunned and at worst hated, feared, and even hunted down when their profession is known. Those who limit their spellcasting to 'white necromancy' (primarily divinations, necromantic protections, and anti-undead spells) can generally get by without official sanction even in highly lawful and good societies. Those who venture too far from this path into questionable areas (e.g., animating dead corpses as skeletons and zombies) or out-and-out use of necromantic 'black magic' (e.g., offensive necromantic spells such as vampiric touch and finger of death) are likely to run afoul of the law if their indiscretions are discovered. The consequences can vary greatly based on the culture and its laws, but exile is often the best a 'criminal Necromancer' can hope for; hanging is not at all unusual in such cases. Necromancers focus deeply upon the study of their art and suffer a -15% penalty to learn spells outside the Realm of Necromancy. A more important factor of note, however, is that their frequent association with the powers of death has noticeable and deleterious effects upon their physiology and psychology. All Necromancers begin to take on a gradually more cadaverous appearance, with their skin becoming cool, pallid, and eventually a leprous white in color. This progressively more horrific appearance, combined with the fell reputation of Necromancers, results in all Necromancers suffering a reaction penalty of -1 for every two levels of experience (rounding down). At the DM's discretion, this penalty may not apply with respect to certain evil races or cultures in which Necromancy is embraced rather than shunned. Delving too deeply into the forbidden arts of Necromancy is also quite hazardous to a Necromancer's sanity. Every time a Necromancer learns a new spell from the Realm of Necromancy, he or she has a 1% chance per level of the spell of going temporarily insane (DM's discretion as to type, though there are useful suggestions in Player's Option: Spells & Magic (pgs. 87-91), Complete Book of Necromancers (pgs. 42-43), and the 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide). The chance of insanity should be doubled if a Necromancer actually researches a necromantic spell. If he or she researches the process for creating a necromantic magical item, the sum of the levels of all necromantic spells involved in creating the item should be combined to represent the chance of insanity following such research. Once research has been completed, however, there is no additional chance of insanity involved in the actual creation of such an item. It must be noted that the possible incidence of insanity has no effect on whether or not research itself would be successful. This madness will last for 3d4 days, during which the Necromancer may be catatonic, psychotic, paranoid, or generally disturbed in whatever fashion the DM feels appropriate. In addition, at the conclusion of this period of madness the Necromancer will permanently lose a point of Wisdom. At the DM's option, instead of insanity he or she may substitute any sort of physical or spiritual taint, affliction, compulsion, or curse that comes upon the character as he or she reaches too deeply into 'secrets man was not meant to know'. For an extra- creepy effect and to provide a unique flavor for Necromancers and the price of their studies, the DM should consult Player's Option: Spells & Magic (pgs. 84- 85), the Complete Book of Necromancers (pgs. 39-43), or in the Ravenloft boxed set (under 'Ravenloft Powers Check') for examples of such afflictions that might result from study of such dark and forbidden lore. If this alternative is used, it is the DM's option as to whether contracting such an affliction will result in the loss of a point of Wisdom (in certain circumstances, loss of a point of Constitution or Charisma might be more appropriate). Special Note: If the DM opts to allow PC Necromancers to receive 'dark gifts', as described in the special note under Special Benefits, he or she should apply the chance of insanity or affliction with each new spell he or she learns cumulatively. Thus, eventually a PC Necromancer with a 'dark gift' will become insane or suffer a dark affliction of some sort, as the percentile chance will continue to increase with each new bit of knowledge gained until it reaches 100%. Once a Necromancer suffers insanity or affliction, the chance 'resets' to 0% and begins to accumulate again the next time the Necromancer learns a new piece of necromantic lore. As a final note, while most wizards at some level draw upon the power of the Positive Material Plane as one of the basic empowering forces for their spells, the peculiar nature of Necromancy and studies into the nature of death lead Necromancers to draw upon the powers of the Negative Material Plane instead (or in addition to Positive energy or other magical power sources). This negative energy provides the unique abilities of a Necromancer, but it also is naturally hostile to all life (including the basic life force of any mortal Necromancer; of course, undead Necromancers need not worry about this). As a result of channeling negative energy in their spellcasting, a Necromancer must attempt a save vs. breath weapon every time he or she casts a spell. Failure results in suffering 1 point of negative energy damage per level of the spell being cast. If the save is successful, all of the negative energy has been channeled into the spell without harming the caster. A Necromancer's saving throw bonus vs. negative energy attacks applies normally to this save (and in fact should be doubled when saving to avoid damage when casting Necromancy spells, because they are much more efficient in channeling the negative energy used by a Necromancer) as do any other save bonuses that would apply vs. death magic or negative energy attacks. Bonus Proficiency: Necrology Required Proficiencies: Reading/Writing Preferred Proficiencies: Anatomy, Ancient History, Artistic Ability (usually carving or sculpture, generally using bone), Astrology, Calligraphy, Chanting, Ceremony/Ritual, Healing, Herbalism, Language (Ancient), Medicine, Monster Lore, Night Vision, Omen Reading, Planology, Religion, Research, Spellcraft, Spirit Lore, Surgery ***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 >