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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Sorcerous Origin: Pale Master



Giegue
2018-07-25, 07:31 PM
Pale Master

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Necromancy. Few other magics inspire as much revulsion, dread...and fascination, as this black art. The ability to command the forces of death and animate shambling armies of rotting undead is a temptation that lures a many depraved individuals, and of them the Pale Master is perhaps the most foul. While Necromancy specialist wizards spend years devoted to the study of undeath, the Pale Master is an individual who seeks a quick and easy route to necromancer power. Not wanting to waste time studying musty old tomes, Pale Masters instead put themselves through the horrific ordeal or removing one of their limbs or organs and replacing it with a similar body part from a particularly powerful or corrupted undead. This depraved act grants them power over the undead comparable to the most learned wizard, but at the cost of leaving them forever tainted by their foul graft.

While most Pale Masters are twisted individuals seeking an easy route to necromantic power, there are an unlucky few who are instead given the powers of a Pale Master against their will. Many mad necromancers delight in the morbid possibilities that grafting undead body parts or undead organs onto or into their test subjects may hold, and you may have been one of these unfortunate lab rats. However, regardless of whether you sought out your powers or where given them against your will, they are fundamentally twisted and corrupting. While you may not be a villain, you constantly struggle against depraved, morbid urges that creep into your mind from the necrotic taint your graft pumps through your body. Whether you end up a tortured anti-hero or foul villain depends largely on whether or not you gain control of your dark magics, or let them control you. However, no matter your origin or outlook, you are a master reanimator who commands both the powers of both death and undeath.

Necromantic Graft

As a pale master, your magic is drawn from an undead body part or organ you have made apart of yourself at 1st level. This is typically a skeletal or zombie arm that has replaced one of your own, though it can take any form you choose. (including internal organs being replaced by undead ones, such as having the heart of a vampire in place of your own.) Regardless of the nature of your undead graft, you can learn to channel Necrotic energy from it into your touch. Whenever your Metamgic feature would let you learn a Metamagic option, you can instead learn one Pale Master touch attack. (See the “Pale Master Touch Attacks” heading at the end of this document for details on how to use Pale Master touch attacks and what touch attacks are available to select.)

Additionally, your undead graft corrupts your magical abilities, allowing you to access necromantic spells beyond the scope of traditional sorcery. When your spellcasting feature lets you select a Sorcerer cantrip or Sorcerer spell known of 1st level or higher, that spell can be chosen from all necromancy spells of levels to which you have access (from any spell list), or the Sorcerer list. Spells not normally on the Sorcerer list become Sorcerer spells for you when you select them.

Undead Cohort

Also at 1st level, you raise a personal undead minion to serve you. Choose either a Skeleton or Zombie cohort; your cohort uses the statistics of your chosen undead (as-per the Monster Manuel), except that its hit point maximum equals 1/2 its hit point maximum or 4 x your Sorcerer level (whichever is higher). Your cohort rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. During your turn, you can command your cohort and any other undead you control with a bonus action, as-per the Animate Dead spell. While it remains under your control, your undead cohort gains the gain following additional benefits:

It adds your proficiency bonus to its AC.
It always has advantage on its attack rolls.
It adds your proficiency bonus to its damage rolls.
You can surgically repair your cohort upon completing a long rest, reanimating it if it has died and restoring it to maximum hit points. As you gain Sorcerer levels you can gain stronger cohorts. At 5th level you can have your cohort become a ghoul instead of a skeleton or zombie. At 11th level you can have it become a mummy instead of a ghoul, skeleton or zombie. Only Sorcerer levels count towards this feature’s effects. (So for example, a Sorcerer 3/Warlock 2 could not gain a ghoul cohort with this feature, but a Sorcerer 5/Warlock 2 could.)

Aura of Desecration

At 6th level, the Necrotic power swelling within you bubbles out into the world around you, enhancing the undead in your presence. Undead under your control gain the following benefits as long as they remain within 30ft of you:

They increases their hit point maximums by your Sorcerer level
They use your proficiency bonus in place of their own, if higher.
They have advantage on weapon attack rolls, if they would not already.
They add your proficiency bonus to their weapon damage rolls, if they would not already.
Potent Necrosis

At 14th level you gain mastery over Necrotic energy. When you deal necrotic damage with a Sorcerer spell or Pale Master touch attack, you can add your Charisma modifier to that damage. Additionally, when an undead creature under your control would be dealt Necrotic damage by a Sorcerer spell you cast of 1st level or higher, it heals hit points equal to 1/2 the damage it would be dealt. This healing effect ignores any resistance or immunity undead yo control may have to Necrotic damage.

Lord of the Dead

At 18th level, you learn how to control more undead than other spellcasters. When you cast the spell Animate Dead or Create Undead to reassert control over undead you created, you can expend a number of sorcery points to cast it as if using a spell slot higher one level higher for each point expended.


Pale Master Touch Attacks

In addition to learning Metamagic powers, pale masters can use their Metamagic feature to learn touch attacks. As a Pale Master Sorcerer, you can can use any touch attack you know by making a melee spell attack against a single target as an action, using your Sorcerer spell attack modifier. If the attack hits, you can use a single (and no more than one at any time) Pale Master touch attack you know, spending any required Sorcery Points or spell slots (as-applicable). The touch attacks a Pale Master can choose to learn are detailed below:

Paralyzing Touch. You may spend 2 sorcery points to force the target to make a Constitution saving throw vs. your Sorcerer Spell Save DC. On failed save, they are paralyzed for 1 round, but they can make a saving throw with advantage whenever they are damaged to end this effect on themselves.

Degenerative Touch. You may spend a number of sorcery points up to 5 and deal a d8 of necrotic damage per point spent to a foe. When you do this, they also make a Constitution saving throw vs. your Sorcerer Spell Save DC. If they succeed, they take half the damage they would be dealt. If they fail, they take the full amount of damage and their hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage dealt.

Touch of Command. You can expend a spell slot of at least 8th level and cast Feeblemind as a Sorcerer spell at the level of the expended slot on the target. If it fails it’s save against this spell, you can immdeatly spend 5 Sorcery Points to have the target fall under your control as long as it is under the effects of a Feeblemind spell you cast with this touch attack.While it is under your contol it is frendly towards you and must obey you commands. You can use this feature on an already controlled undead to cast Feeblemind on it again, overriding the previous casting and re-setting it’s duration (and your control duration) as a result. You can only ever control one undead at any given time through this touch attack, though you can release one you control at any time (no action required).

Deathless Master's Touch. You may spend a number of sorcery points up to 5 and deal a d6 of necrotic damage per point to the target. When you do this, they also make a Constitution saving throw vs. your Sorcerer Spell Save DC. If they succeed, they take half the damage they would be dealt. If you slay a Medium humanoid in this way, they rise 1 round later as a zombie (using the zombie stats from the monster manuel) under your control. Unless you are at least 13th level, you can only control a number of zombies created by this touch attack equal to your proficiency bonus at any given time.


I have no idea what so ever how balanced this is, and it likely is horrendously broken in some places. Thus, I would appreciate any and all help in fixing it up and making it balanced. Thanks in advance for any help that comes my way with making this work!