Zman's Dread Necromancer Fix(3.5)

[Zman]

Here is another fix for my classes rebalance aimed at bringing the classes into Tiers 1.5-4. See my homebrew signature for details. There is also a Minor Magic Fix and other related fixes will follow.

The Dread Necromancer is Tier 3, he summons minions to do his bidding. This fix is aimed at brining him in line with my other fixes, giving him the ability to stand on his own, increasing his versatility, and fix his spell list.


Dread Necromancer

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4 th|5th|6th|7th|8th

1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Charnel Touch, Rebuke Undead|5|3

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Lich Body DR 2|5|4

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Negative Energy Aura, Advanced Learning|5|5|3

4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Mental Bastion +2|5|5|4

5th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Fear Aura, Advanced Learning|5|5|5|3

6th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+5|Scabrous Touch|5|5|5|4

7th|
+5|
+2|
+2|
+5|Lich Body DR 4, Summon Familiar, Advanced Learning|5|5|5|5

8th|
+6/+1|
+2|
+2|
+6|Undead Mastery|5|5|5|5|3

9th|
+6/+1|
+3|
+3|
+6|Negative Energy Resistence, Advanced Learning|5|5|5|5|4

10th|
+7/+2|
+3|
+3|
+7|Light Fortification 25%|5|5|5|5|5

11th|
+8/+3|
+3|
+3|
+7|Lich Body DR 6, Advanced Learning|5|5|5|5|5|3

12th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+4|
+8|Enervating Touch|5|5|5|5|5|4

13th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+4|
+8|Advanced Learning|5|5|5|5|5|5

14th|
+10/+5|
+4|
+4|
+9|Lich Body DR 8, Mental Bastion +4|5|5|5|5|5|5|3

15th|
+11/+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+9|Advanced Learning|5|5|5|5|5|5|4

16th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+10|Lich Body DR 10|5|5|5|5|5|5|5

17th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+10|Enervating Touch, Light Fortification 50%, Advanced Learning|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|3

18th|
+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+6|
+11|Lich Body DR 12|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|4

19th|
+14/+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Craft Wondrous ItemAdvanced Learning|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|5

20th|
+15/+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|Lich Transformation|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|3[/table]

Alignment: Any Nuetral
Hit Die: 1d8

Class Skills: Bluff(Cha), Concentration(Con), Craft(Int), Decipher Script(Int), Disguise(Cha), Hide(Dex), Knowledge Arcana(Int), Knowledge Religion(Int), Listen(Wis), Profession(Wis), Speak Language(Int), Spellcraft(Int), Spot(Wis), Use Magic Device(Cha)
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4+Int Modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + INT.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A dread necromancer is proficient with all simple weapons and with one martial weapon of her choice. Her choice of martial weapon is made when the character takes her first level of dread necromancer and cannot be changed.

Dread necromancers are also proficient with light armor, but not with shields. The somatic components required for dread necromancer spells are simple, so members of this class can cast dread 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 dread 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).

Spellcasting: A dread necromancer casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the dread necromancer's spell list (see page 87). Like a sorcerer, she can cast any spell she knows without preparing it ahead of time. When a dread necromancer gains access to a new level of spells, she automatically knows all the spells for that level given on the dread necromancer's spell list. Dread necromancers also have the option of adding to their existing spell list through their advanced learning ability as they increase in level (see below).

To cast a spell, a dread necromancer must have a Charisma score of 10 + the spell's level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a dread necromancer's spell is 10 + the spell's level + her Charisma modifier. Like other spellcasters, a dread necromancer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given in Table 5—2: The Dread

Necromancer. In addition, she receives bonus spells for a high Charisma score (see Table 1—1 on page 8 of the Player's Handbook).

Charnel Touch (Su): Negative energy flows through a dread 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 class level. This touch heals undead creatures, restoring 1 hit point per touch, +1 per class level. A dread necromancer can use the spectral hand spell to deliver this attack from a distance.

Rebuke Undead (Su): A dread necromancer can rebuke or command undead creatures by channeling negative energy through her body. See the cleric class feature described on page 33 of the Player's Handbook.
Lich Body: Starting at 2nd level, a dread necromancer begins her journey into undeath. The first symptom is her body's increased resilience to physical harm. She gains DR 2/bludgeoning and magic. As the dread 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.

Negative Energy Aura(Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a dread necromancer gains the ability to emit an aura of negative energy from her body at will as a swift action, harming living creatures within 5 feet of her. This burst deals 1d4 points of damage per class level. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 her class level + Cha modifier) reduces damage by half. Undead creatures within this burst are healed the same amount of hit points as the damage she deals to living creatures.

Advanced Learning: At 3rd and every two levels thereafter(5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 17th, and 19th level), a Dread Necromancer can add a new spell to his list, representing the result of personal study and experimentation. The spell must be a wizard spell of the Necromancy school, and of a level no higher than that of the highest-level spell the Dread Necromancer already knows. Once a new spell is selected, it is forever added to that Dread Necromancer's spell list and can be cast just like any other spell on the Dread Necromancer's list.

Alternatively, the Dread Necromancer can select a spell of any school available to a Wizard with a few restrictions. For the purposes of selecting this spell the Dread Necromancer counts as a Wizard of 1/2 his level for determining what level of spell the Dread Necromancer can choose. For instance, an 11th level Dread Necromancer counts as a 5th level Wizard and can choose a 3rd level spell from any school to learn as part of his Advanced Learning.

Mental Bastion: Starting at 4th level, a dread 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 dread 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 for the remainder of the encounter.. A creature who successfully saves cannot be affected by that dread necromancer's fear aura for 24 hours. The aura stays active until the Dread Necromancer chooses to end it as a free action.

Scabrous Touch (Su): Starting at 6th level, once per encounter a dread necromancer can use her charnel touch to inflict disease on a creature she touches. This ability works like the contagion spell (see page 213 of the Player's Handbook), inflicting the disease of her choice immediately, with no incubation period, unless the target makes a successful Fortitude save (DC10 + 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 page 292 of the Dungeon Master's Guide 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 dread necromancer to deliver a scabrous touch attack from a distance.

A dread 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.

Summon Familiar: At 7th level or anytime thereafter, a dread necromancer can obtain a familiar. The familiar she acquires is more powerful than a standard wizard's or sorcerer's familiar, but it is unequivocally evil. The player of a dread necromancer character chooses one of the following creatures: imp (devil), quasit (demon), vargouille, or ghostly visage. All these creatures are described in the Monster Manual except for the ghostly visage, an undead symbiont described on page 221 of the Fiend Folio.

A dread necromancer's familiar gains the usual familiar benefi ts given on pages 52—53 of the Player's Handbook, with two exceptions. Its type does not change, and it does not gain the exceptional ability to speak with other creatures of its kind. A dread necromancer's familiar can use its ability to deliver touch spells such as its master's charnel touch, scabrous touch, or enervating touch attack. The master must use a standard action to imbue the touch attack into her familiar.

Undead Mastery: All undead creatures created by a dread necromancer who has reached 8th level or higher gain a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and Dexterity and 2 additional hit points per Hit Die.

In addition, when a dread 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 dread 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.

Negative Energy Resistance: Beginning at 9th level, a dread necromancer gains a +4 bonus on saving throws made to resist negative energy effects, including energy drain, some ability drain, and inflict spells.

Light Fortification: Starting at 10th level, a dread necromancer gains 25% resistance to critical hits; this is the equivalent of the light fortification armor special ability described on page 219 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. At 17th level, this fortification increases to 50%.

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

Beginning at 17th level, the number of negative levels a dread necromancer can bestow per day increases to equal her class level.
Craft Wondrous Item: At 19th level, the dread necromancer gains Craft Wondrous Item as a bonus feat. This helps her prepare the phylactery required to become a lich.

Lich Transformation: When a dread 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 (see page 317 of the Monster Manual). She no longer has a Constitution score, all her existing Hit Dice become d12s, and she must reroll her hit points. A dread 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.

Changes to Spell List
Add Desecrate, 2nd Level Spell.
Animate Dead, 3rd Level Spell.
Magic Circle Against Good/Evil/Law/Chaos, 3rd Level Spell.


ACF's

[Zman]

Change Log:

2-2-13
Added Duration for Fear Aura

[bobthe6th]

edit: just to explain... I really like the idea of DNs... but they tend to showcase the ways were necromancy is a pain (lots of book keeping, funky balance, minionmancy), and feel like they could be done better.

Minor thing... but the familiar always bothered me. Why not use the skeletal minion variant, with a clause that corpse crafter/undead mastery works with it.

Other things would be making a viable way to use undead from level 1. Perhapce give Summon undead a duration of 4 rounds or the DNs level, whichever is greater.

That said, have you thought about expanding Summon undead for levels IV-XI? Just to give the option of useful summoned undead at all levels.

Also, I think you might find undead a pain... what about expanding Skeletal minion as a animal companion like ability, gaining more and more minions/options for different minions.

[Zman]

Minor thing... but the familiar always bothered me. Why not use the skeletal minion variant, with a clause that corpse crafter/undead mastery works with it.

Other things would be making a viable way to use undead from level 1. Perhapce give Summon undead a duration of 4 rounds or the DNs level, whichever is greater.

That said, have you thought about expanding Summon undead for levels IV-XI? Just to give the option of useful summoned undead at all levels.

Also, I think you might find undead a pain... what about expanding Skeletal minion as a animal companion like ability, gaining more and more minions/options for different minions.

I like the idea of a Skeletal Companion instead of a Familiar. I will be making that change.

Undead from Lvl1, I'll have to think on that.

I'll look at the summons list an d see what I can do. Suggestions?

[bobthe6th]

Well, Summon undead 1 to 3 follow the pattern of size x skeliton and size x-1 zombie. I think this first is small and medium, up to large and huge. Then they switch to specific undead.

My suggestion would be a individualized summoning list (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/summonMonsterVariants.htm#individualizedSummoningL ists), selected from a list of equivalent undead for each level. If you add in the latter manuals, you could get a nice sized list.

Make the summon undead spell a conjuration/necromancy spell, and corpse crafter is like augment summon, but better.

Skelital minion could be expanded to make more minions/upgrade the minion as you level.

That+skeletal minion would be a good amount of combat necromancy I would think, so you could make animate dead and co. rituals or something.

with all that, you could start lowering the amount of casting they get.

edit: like your druid fix. Make summoning, skeletal minion, and spell casting the three to chose progressions on or something.

[Grod_The_Giant]

The fear aura still has no duration.

[Zman]

The fear aura still has no duration.

Thanks, fixed.

[Doxkid]

Isn't a DN's actual Lichhood at level 20 contested? You might want to make it a definite thing.
-----
You didn't give Charnel Touch any support. By this I mean a Lich can use their touch ability at any time they perform a melee touch attack, or even augment a natural weapon's attack with the ability.

Also, now the DN's Charnel touch an a Lich's touch are two completely different things. At level 20 you now have two touch attacks that you can't even pretend are the same, one of which has several DN abilities keyed off of it and the other paralyzes a target.

Said lich can, if they are so inclined, use both in the same round as the same action or use the Lich touch with any melee touch attack spells/abilities they possess.

Furthermore, since Charnel Touch defaults to being a standard action because "at will" merely tells you how many times you can do it per day, you are still only able to o it once despite it's language suggesting you could pair it with other actions
---
On another note, the healing aspect of a DN's touch isn't that much of a problem. If they're using it to heal themselves and allies (and not using Inflict light (from 1-5), Inflict Moderate (6-10), inflict Serious, Inflict critical (if they have Mastery of Day and Night) they are most likely not in combat.

The different between [1d8+x] and just [+x] is an average of 5 and that is not significant at all for downtime healing, so why have a difference at all? Healing shouldn't be a problem at considering that you gave DNs at-will healing through Neg energy aura.

-----

This is just nitpicking, but why doesn't your DN get class skills a lich will naturally have bonuses to? It's especially strange because you gave them more utility through making UMD a class skill.
-----
You messed up the text for the DN's DR progression. In the text you use the original progression, but your table offers the new progression.

-----

Otherwise this looks alright...but why so many advance learning spells?

It's a nice idea, but 9 is simply overkill. In their stead you could have offered a unique class feature that makes sense for DNs, or stolen something that DNs should have outright.
-
For example you could slide a Pale master's free 1/day Animate Dead SLA in at level 9 or so, upgrade it to give the option of Create Undead at 13, and finish off with the option of Create Greater Undead at 17. Maybe you could increase the number of uses per day instead.

Another option would be improving upon his Gish status in some way, but there isn't an obvious answer for that since he has built in DR, acceptable hp and a rogue's BAB.
-
On another note, you effectively gave DNs AOE fast healing equal to their class level; I like the idea of healing in combat, especially for a necromancer who is supposed to stay in the thick of melee with minions at his side, but I'm not sure on it being balanced at level 3 right after giving you DR.

Any chance of changing Scabrous touch to be more useful? It's very very strange that you have Contagion set to be once per encounter, but dropping 2 negative levels can be done every round for six rounds straight when you first get it.

As Contagion itself is only useful for Blinding sickness (50% chance of blinding the target), cackle fever (which lowers the target's wisdom and, through that, their will save) and Slimy doom (Lowers the target's Con, dropping their fortitude save) you might want to expand the disease list and increase the number of uses per day/encounter.

Contagion really REALLY should not be a more carefully regulated ability than the trick that hands out negative levels, so Scabrous touch shouldn't be treated like it was a toxic ability to the class. If you really want to restrain Scabrous touch, at least give the option of bestowing more interesting magical diseases like Mummy Rot...

[ScrambledBrains]

Why did you change the alignment from any non-Good to any Evil? I mean, I know the whole, 'Are undead good or evil' thing is a tangled web in 3.5, but I liked the thought of a neutral character using undead means to good ends.

[Zman]

Why did you change the alignment from any non-Good to any Evil? I mean, I know the whole, 'Are undead good or evil' thing is a tangled web in 3.5, but I liked the thought of a neutral character using undead means to good ends.

That was a mistake, it's been fixed. I forgot, since becoming a Alice is evil only. Thanks.


Isn't a DN's actual Lichhood at level 20 contested? You might want to make it a definite thing.

I didn't realize it's contested. I suppose it could say gains template.
-----
You didn't give Charnel Touch any support. By this I mean a Lich can use their touch ability at any time they perform a melee touch attack, or even augment a natural weapon's attack with the ability.

I drastically increased its damage.

Also, now the DN's Charnel touch an a Lich's touch are two completely different things. At level 20 you now have two touch attacks that you can't even pretend are the same, one of which has several DN abilities keyed off of it and the other paralyzes a target.

Said lich can, if they are so inclined, use both in the same round as the same action or use the Lich touch with any melee touch attack spells/abilities they possess.

Furthermore, since Charnel Touch defaults to being a standard action because "at will" merely tells you how many times you can do it per day, you are still only able to o it once despite it's language suggesting you could pair it with other actions

And these things existed in the base class. The Litxh can stack his Touch attacks, another bonus of lvl20.
---
On another note, the healing aspect of a DN's touch isn't that much of a problem. If they're using it to heal themselves and allies (and not using Inflict light (from 1-5), Inflict Moderate (6-10), inflict Serious, Inflict critical (if they have Mastery of Day and Night) they are most likely not in combat.


The different between [1d8+x] and just [+x] is an average of 5 and that is not significant at all for downtime healing, so why have a difference at all? Healing shouldn't be a problem at considering that you gave DNs at-will healing through Neg energy aura.

What are you talking about? Most is base. Yes, NEA can be used to heal clase undead at will, and the DN could heal them even faster if he chooses.

-----

This is just nitpicking, but why doesn't your DN get class skills a lich will naturally have bonuses to? It's especially strange because you gave them more utility through making UMD a class skill.

Well, I didn't feel like giving them so many class skills was necessary, and I believe the Lichs bonuses are necessarily improve skill, but innate talent.
-----
You messed up the text for the DN's DR progression. In the text you use the original progression, but your table offers the new progression.

Thanks, will fix.
-----

Otherwise this looks alright...but why so many advance learning spells?

Increased Versatily is good.

It's a nice idea, but 9 is simply overkill. In their stead you could have offered a unique class feature that makes sense for DNs, or stolen something that DNs should have outright.
-
For example you could slide a Pale master's free 1/day Animate Dead SLA in at level 9 or so, upgrade it to give the option of Create Undead at 13, and finish off with the option of Create Greater Undead at 17. Maybe you could increase the number of uses per day instead.

Another option would be improving upon his Gish status in some way, but there isn't an obvious answer for that since he has built in DR, acceptable hp and a rogue's BAB.

It's less about Gish, and more about Durable and reliable Touch Attack if needed. Move in, Charmel Touch, NEA and soak damage
-
On another note, you effectively gave DNs AOE fast healing equal to their class level; I like the idea of healing in combat, especially for a necromancer who is supposed to stay in the thick of melee with minions at his side, but I'm not sure on it being balanced at level 3 right after giving you DR.

No I didn't, not until 20th level as the DN is not Undead.

Any chance of changing Scabrous touch to be more useful? It's very very strange that you have Contagion set to be once per encounter, but dropping 2 negative levels can be done every round for six rounds straight when you first get it.

Improved its base usage over stock. And it stacks with Charmel Touch.

As Contagion itself is only useful for Blinding sickness (50% chance of blinding the target), cackle fever (which lowers the target's wisdom and, through that, their will save) and Slimy doom (Lowers the target's Con, dropping their fortitude save) you might want to expand the disease list and increase the number of uses per day/encounter.

Contagion really REALLY should not be a more carefully regulated ability than the trick that hands out negative levels, so Scabrous touch shouldn't be treated like it was a toxic ability to the class. If you really want to restrain Scabrous touch, at least give the option of bestowing more interesting magical diseases like Mummy Rot...

I didn't retain Scaberous Touch, but increased its total usage especially when you first acquire it.

[bobthe6th]

Tomb tainted soul or necropalitan, easy ways to get healed by negative energy. There is a reason the DN is known for free out of combat healing.

[ScrambledBrains]

That was a mistake, it's been fixed. I forgot, since becoming a Alice is evil only. Thanks.

No problem. :smallsmile:

[nonsi]

Negative Energy Aura(Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a dread necromancer gains the ability to emit an aura of negative energy from her body at will as a swift action, harming living creatures within 5 feet of her. This burst deals 1d4 points of damage per class level. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 her class level + Cha modifier) reduces damage by half. Undead creatures within this burst are healed the same amount of hit points as the damage she deals to living creatures.


I wouldn't say this one's game breaking, but if you intend on using this DN, consider the possibility that this is gonna gonna get old and tedious real fast.
I'd suggest replacing it with something that carries a bit more kick, but is limited in usage.