Necromancer roleplaying ideas.

[DAJUSTIFIER]

Hellooooo fellow NERDS! First time poster long time lurker. So, I'm in a new party (a elven rogue/fighter, human monk, & a half-Orc cleric). All are neutral or good, I'm a half-Drow Dread Necromancer (CE). The world in which we operate is nearly magicless. All magic is controlled by those in power, or at least desired to be. I have cast a few spells covertly those have been relying on my charisma skills. I would like to hear from you all, what sinister schemes of manipulation can be thought up. As of yet I have passed myself off as an exotic wine merchant (bribes a pud to mix all their booze together and pass it off as something new), established a pact to marry the local Count's daughter to gain influence, fixed a few street fights, and planted a few seeds of a death cult within the young nobles. We are heading out with a ranger escort to rid a temple of an undead presence 2 weeks to the north. No one in the party knows that I'm evil, a caster, let alone a Necro. If desired I can keep you all in the loop as to our exploits. Thank you all!

[MurderHobo]

One thing that comes to mind is that you can summon monsters/undead, give them a delayed order, run into town yelling for your company to come and help, thereby also getting the townsfolk's attention, you and said party battle the 'rampaging monsters' saving the town, become local heroes, reward. A twist you can throw in is to have your summons attack a particular party member... maybe one you suspect might be encroaching on your identity, that is your evil-caster self... hopefully they will kill or disable this party member therefore removing a threat to you. :3

[DAJUSTIFIER]

One thing that comes to mind is that you can summon monsters/undead, give them a delayed order, run into town yelling for your company to come and help, thereby also getting the townsfolk's attention, you and said party battle the 'rampaging monsters' saving the town, become local heroes, reward. A twist you can throw in is to have your summons attack a particular party member... maybe one you suspect might be encroaching on your identity, that is your evil-caster self... hopefully they will kill or disable this party member therefore removing a threat to you. :3

Indeed I've thought of that. I should have stated that I just made lv4, so summons stick around for 24 secs, I have thought about employing that to slit the NPC ranger's throat while he sleeps. Eventually I will have to let my class be known I have speech prepared for that "I celebrate life and death is but a part of life" sort of thing. I took the Mother Cyst feat & have considered implanting that in the cleric and NPC ranger. Thank you for sharing btw.

[BlackOnyx]

...I have thought about employing that to slit the NPC ranger's throat while he sleeps. Eventually I will have to let my class be known I have speech prepared for that "I celebrate life and death is but a part of life" sort of thing. I took the Mother Cyst feat & have considered implanting that in the cleric and NPC ranger. Thank you for sharing btw.

Fitting thematically, but do be mindful (if you weren't already) of your fellow party members & their enjoyment of the game. Some degree of subterfuge can be enjoyable, but actively killing off/mind controlling team members (and sometimes certain NPCs) can lead to bruised relationships with fellow players.


Many DMs (& some players) have issues allowing evil PCs as is; be careful not to add to the stigma surrounding them. Remember, evil PCs can have friends & family too.


If possible, I'd recommend trying to incorporate or "turn" your allies to your side rather than threatening or injuring them outright. It's a team oriented game, after all. That said, if you all went into this campaign knowing that PvP would be allowed, or if the DM is working with you as a "mole" character of sorts, it's a different story.


If you *do*, however, decide to turn on your fellow members, I'd at least try to make it somewhat sporting. Declare your intent and face off against them somewhat fairly (or give them the chance to run) rather than killing them in their sleep/spamming them when their guard is down.


Outside of those warnings, though, a few things I've enjoyed about playing a necromancer PC (a human cloistered cleric):


- The spell Haunt Shift from Libris Mortis (Clr 5, Sor/Wiz 5):

The spell allows you to transfer undead of/under 8HD into objects, essentially creating constructs that don't detect as undead. Our current party vehicle is actually a carriage powered by the essence of a brown bear skeleton.


- Roleplaying relationships with undead npcs/creatures under my influence:

My character has been traveling with a slaymate he named Serena for some time now. He frequently spends his free time playing with her (she's currently haunt shifted into a doll) and teaching her about the world.


- Implementing anything from the Book of Vile Darkness:

Fantastic book if your DM grants your PC access to it. A lot of fun spells, creatures, & mechanics to play with.


- Puns & wordplay:

"...inside you find the skeletal remains of a brown bear."

"...so you're saying they're bare bones, then?"

[DAJUSTIFIER]

Fitting thematically, but do be mindful (if you weren't already) of your fellow party members & their enjoyment of the game. Some degree of subterfuge can be enjoyable, but actively killing off/mind controlling team members (and sometimes certain NPCs) can lead to bruised relationships with fellow players.


Many DMs (& some players) have issues allowing evil PCs as is; be careful not to add to the stigma surrounding them. Remember, evil PCs can have friends & family too.


If possible, I'd recommend trying to incorporate or "turn" your allies to your side rather than threatening or injuring them outright. It's a team oriented game, after all. That said, if you all went into this campaign knowing that PvP would be allowed, or if the DM is working with you as a "mole" character of sorts, it's a different story.


If you *do*, however, decide to turn on your fellow members, I'd at least try to make it somewhat sporting. Declare your intent and face off against them somewhat fairly (or give them the chance to run) rather than killing them in their sleep/spamming them when their guard is down.


Outside of those warnings, though, a few things I've enjoyed about playing a necromancer PC (a human cloistered cleric):


- The spell Haunt Shift from Libris Mortis (Clr 5, Sor/Wiz 5):

The spell allows you to transfer undead of/under 8HD into objects, essentially creating constructs that don't detect as undead. Our current party vehicle is actually a carriage powered by the essence of a brown bear skeleton.


- Roleplaying relationships with undead npcs/creatures under my influence:

My character has been traveling with a slaymate he named Serena for some time now. He frequently spends his free time playing with her (she's currently haunt shifted into a doll) and teaching her about the world.


- Implementing anything from the Book of Vile Darkness:

Fantastic book if your DM grants your PC access to it. A lot of fun spells, creatures, & mechanics to play with.


- Puns & wordplay:

"...inside you find the skeletal remains of a brown bear."

"...so you're saying they're bare bones, then?"

I confess at first I was like "Yeah fella I know all of that, duh!" Then I realized that you would have no way of knowing that I'm not a selfish, sinister dummy. Yes, I agree and abide by all of that. I opted for an evil half-drow Necromancer to be a unique challenge. Again magic is all but banned, I have alignment twisting speeches planned. What I was more hoping for is less than violent trickery among my team, the endearing sort. Though for all else, I would cancel out little.

[BlackOnyx]

I confess at first I was like "Yeah fella I know all of that, duh!" Then I realized that you would have no way of knowing that I'm not a selfish, sinister dummy.

Ha, thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt there (and apologies if it came across as preachy). Glad to hear we have another classy, principled necromancer out there in the multiverse.

I opted for an evil half-drow Necromancer to be a unique challenge. Again magic is all but banned, I have alignment twisting speeches planned. What I was more hoping for is less than violent trickery among my team, the endearing sort.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Looking forward to hearing more stories of your exploits.