Necromancer
The powers of life and death are mine to command.
Class Traits
Role: Leader. You are the master of blood and bone and spirit, skilled at both rending and repairing bodies that are, after all, only mortal. You lean toward defender or controller as a secondary role, depending on your build.
Power Source: Shadow. The understanding of death needed to forebear it requires commitment to the darker sorts of knowledge.
Key Abilities: Intelligence, Constitution, Dexterity
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, leather
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, simple ranged
Implement: Light blades, rods, wands
Bonus to Defense: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 5
Healing Surges per Day: 7 + Constitution modifier
Trained Skills: Heal. From the class skills list below, choose four more trained skills at 1st level.
Class Skills: Arcana (Int), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Endurance (Con), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Religion (Int).
Build Options: Master of Blood, Servant of Bone
Class Features: Knit Flesh, Shadow's Calling, Collegiation, Ritual Casting
While wizards may be the masters of lore and arcane knowledge, some choose instead to focus on the greatest mysteries of all - those of life and death. Drawing strength from the shadows and pursuing oft-forbidden knowledge often lends a sinister cast to the necromancers, and while it is a dark path that some pursue for selfish reasons, others hope to use the secrets they learn to better all.
As a necromancer, your are intimately familiar with death and the humours that drive the living. You may focus your studies on defying death, bringing back allies and servants from beyond the veil. Or you may study that which makes life itself, learning to control and shape it to your whim. Whatever the case, your studies require a keen mind and absolute dedication - shadow magic is notoriously unforgiving of those whose attention wavers.
Creating a Necromancer
Necromancers rely on learning - of bone, of musculature, of humours - as well as steely resolve and delicate control to work their hexes, making Intelligence of prime importance, with Constitution and Dexterity nearly as significant.
Master of Blood
Your studies focused on the humours of the body and manipulating them for desired effects. It is delicate work, so Dexterity should be your second highest ability score, after Intelligence.
Class Feature: Master of Blood
Suggested Feat:
Suggested Skills: Arcana, Insight, Perception, Religion
Suggested At-Will Powers: compel motion,
Suggested Encounter Powers:
Suggested Daily Power:
Servant of Bone
Your connection to the shadows has gifted you with the ability to animate and control a companion that you send into battle alongside your allies, distracting their enemies and making your later patchwork easier. After Intelligence, Constitution should be your highest score because it affects the durability of your minion and many of your powers.
Class Feature: Servant of Bone
Suggested Feat:
Suggested Skills: Arcana, Endurance, History, Intimidate
Suggested At-Will Powers: servant’s strike,
Suggested Encounter Powers:
Suggested Daily Power:
Necromancer Class Features
Necromancers have the following class features.
Knit Flesh
You use the Knit Flesh power to restore vigor and repair damage to your comrades, a process that takes time but can be incredibly efficient.
Knit Flesh
Necromancer Feature
At your command, lacerations and bruises heal and fade as the body rights itself slowly.
Encounter
Healing, Shadow
Minor Action
Close burst 5
Target: You or one ally in burst
Effect: The target can spend a healing surge but regains only 1d6 + your Intelligence modifier hit points. At the start of your next turn, it regains hit points equal to its healing surge value.
Level 6: 2d6 additional hit points.
Level 11: 3d6 additional hit points.
Level 16: 4d6 additional hit points.
Level 21: 5d6 additional hit points.
Level 26: 6d6 additional hit points.
Special: You can use this power twice per encounter, but only once per round. At 16th level, you can use this power three times per encounter.
Shadow's Calling
Once per round, as an free action when an ally you can see reduces an enemy to 0 hit points, you can grant that ally 1d6 temporary hit points. Increase the temporary hit points gained to 2d6 at 11th level, and 3d6 at 21st level.
Collegiation
The field of death is broad one that requires specialization - even the greatest of necromancers have never mastered all aspects of death. Most commonly, necromantic specializations are termed "Collegiations", for while formal colleges for the study are rare, a sort of underground curriculum has developed over the centuries.
Choose a method of training. The choice you make gives you several benefits and also provides bonuses to certain necromancer powers, as detailed in those powers. Your collegiation also determines one of your at-wills known.
Master of Blood
Your studies have focused on the motion of fluids in the body, and you understanding that all creatures are no more than the sum of their parts - humours acting in concert to give the appearance of free will.
You gain the following abilities:
- The Mind is Stronger: You gain a +1 bonus to your Will defense.
- Unresponsive Limbs: Once per round as a free action when an ally would provoke an opportunity attack, you can prevent one enemy from taking any opportunity actions until the end of the current turn.
- At-Will Attack Power: You gain the Compel Motion power. You can choose a second at-will attack power as normal.
Servant of Bone
You are one who has studied the motion of the body and come to find that simple impulses are easy to fake even when the spark of life has moved on.
You gain the following abilities:
- Animated Servant: You gain an animated companion. For many necromancers this is an animated corpse, preserved and animated via shadow magic. Others, especially necromancers who choose to function in societies that condemn the animation of dead, create special constructs from stone and rock, akin to lesser golems - though even so, they are still animated with the same dark magics. Your servant can use any weapon in which you are proficient. When you use a power with the Animated keyword, it originates from your companion.
- At-Will Attack Power: You gain the Servant's Strike power. You can choose a second at-will attack power as normal.
Ritual Casting
You gain the Ritual Caster feat as a bonus feat, allowing you to use magical rituals.
About Necromancer Powers
Many necromancer powers have the Animate keyword, including powers that have "animate" as part of the range. These powers treat your animated companion's space as the origin square for the power, so "melee animate weapon" means you can target a creature within reach of your animated servant’s weapon. Your animated servant can use any weapon in which you are proficient, in addition to its unarmed strike. If a power has both the Animate and Implement keywords, then it uses the weapon wielded by your servant for damage, proficiency bonus to attack, and nonmagical properties, but your implement’s enhancement bonus and magical properties, as applicable.
- Collegiation Powers
- Level 1 At-Wills
- Level 1 Encounters
- Level 1 Dailies
- Level 2 Utilities
- Level 3 Encounters
- Level 5 Dailies
- Level 6 Utilities
- Level 7 Encounters
- Level 9 Dailies
- Level 10 Utilities
Collegiation Powers
Animate Servant
Necromancer Collegiation Power
You gather together shadow magic and use it to infuse a corpse or material of similar size with unlife, moving and acting at your command.
At-Will
Animate, Implement, Shadow, Summoning
Short Rest Action
Melee touch
Requirement You must not have an existing animated companion.
Target One corpse or inert material of similar size
Effect: You infuse the target with shadow life, animating it as your animated servant. The servant lasts until you dismiss the magics binding it together or it is destroyed. The animated servant has a speed of 6, and can move any time you take a move action. It has a +2 bonus to AC and a +2 bonus to Fortitude, and deals 1d4 damage with a +2 proficiency bonus with weapon attacks.
Servant’s Strike
Necromancer Collegiation Power
Your animated servant strikes out to distract foe, causing its attack to falter.
At-Will
Animate, Implement, Shadow
Standard Action
Melee animate weapon
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] damage, and the target takes a -2 penalty to its next attack roll before the end of your next turn.
Special: You may use this attack as an opportunity action originating with your animated servant.
Compel Motion
Necromancer Collegiation Power
Influencing the body to take a quick action is simple - a quick surge of shadow power, and an ally moves to take an opening only you saw.
At-Will
Implement, Shadow
Standard action
Ranged 10
Target One ally
Effect: Choose one of the following effects:
- The target makes a melee basic attack against a creature of your choice.
- You slide the target three squares.
Level 1 At-Will Powers
Bile Seepage
Necromancer Attack 1
You twist something vital inside your target and it falters when it next tries to act.
At-Will
Implement, Poison, Shadow
Standard action
Ranged 10
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d8 + Intelligence modifier poison damage.
Effect: One ally adjacent to the target gains a power bonus to defenses against the next attack by the target equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Bloody Transfusion
Necromancer Attack 1
You strike with a razor-thin sliver of shadow energy, capturing the blood spilled to faciliate an ally's remedy.
At-Will
Implement, Shadow
Standard action
Ranged 10
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d4 + Intelligence modifier damage, and an ally adjacent to the target can make a saving throw with a +5 power bonus, but if the ally succeeds you gain the effect. You can save against it at the end of your turn as normal.
Chill Blood
Necromancer Attack 1
The blood flowing through your enemy's veins slows and becomes sluggish, hindering their responses.
At-Will
Cold, Implement, Shadow
Standard action
Ranged 10
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d6 + Intelligence modifier damage, and the target cannot make opportunity attacks until the end of your next turn.
Cold Ire
Necromancer Attack 1
A delicate touch of shadow magic, and your foe finds his eyes drawn toward a target of your choice, frozen in place.
At-Will
Cold, Implement, Shadow
Standard Action
Ranged 10
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. AC
Hit: 1d4 + Intelligence modifier cold damage and the target takes a -1 penalty to attack rolls until the end of your next turn.
Effect: The target is marked by an ally adjacent to the target until the end of your next turn.
Leech Essence
Necromancer Attack 1
Trained eyes can see the stream of life flowing from your foes, into your servitor, and then out to your allies.
At-Will
Animate, Healing, Implement, Shadow
Standard Action
Melee animate weapon
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] + Intelligence modifier damage, and your animated servant gains temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier.
Effect: Your animated servant takes damage equal to your Constitution modifier, and one ally within 3 squares of your servant regains the same number of hit points. This damage cannot be prevented or reduced in any way.
Preparatory Strike
Necromancer Attack 1
Your animated servant might lack the finesse of a trained warrior, but it can set up a target for a brutal attack.
At-Will
Animate, Implement, Shadow
Standard Action
Melee animate weapon
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] + Intelligence modifier damage and the next ally to strike the target can either deal additional damage equal to your Constitution modifier or knock it prone.
Vitality Exchange
Necromancer Attack 1
Working carefully, you collect the life lost by your ally's attack and use it to provide them with strength.
At-Will
Implement, Necrotic, Shadow
Standard action
Ranged 10
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: Intelligence modifier necrotic damage, and one ally within 5 squares of the target can make a basic attack against the target. If the attack is a hit, the ally gains temporary hit points equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Level 1 Encounter Powers
Level 1 Daily Powers
Backbiter
Necromancer Attack 1
Shadows veil the eyes of your foe, making provocations seem to come from within its own flesh.
Daily
Implement, Necrotic, Shadow
Standard action
Ranged 10
Target One creature
Attack Intelligence vs. Will
Hit: The target is affected by your curse (save ends). Until the curse ends, whenever the target is hit and takes damage from an attack, it makes a basic attack against itself. The curse cannot take effect more than once each turn.
Brush with Death
Necromancer Attack 1
The stench of death fills the air as you summon a burst of necrotic energy, searing your enemies and clinging to your allies. While there is a price to pay, you ignore that for the moment and embrace the strength of the grave.
Daily
Implement, Necrotic, Shadow
Standard action
Close burst 5
Target Each enemy in burst
Attack Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d4 + Intelligence modifier necrotic damage and the target gains vulnerable 2 to all damage until the end of your next turn.
Effect: You and each ally in the burst gain resist 2 and a +2 bonus to AC until the end of the encounter, but cannot regain hit points. Any ally may end this effect at any time as a free action.
Master of Death: The vulnerability is equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Sacrificial Lunge
Necromancer Attack 1
Seeing an attack too late to stop it, you command your servant to ignore caution and leap on the blade. Meanwhile, you infuse it with an exhausting gas that roils around the attacker, sapping the creature's strength and hopefully preventing another such attack.
Daily
Animate, Implement, Poison, Shadow
Immediate Interrupt
Melee animate weapon
Target The triggering enemy
Trigger An enemy adjacent to your animated servant makes an attack roll against an ally
Attack Intelligence vs. AC
Hit: 3[W] + Intelligence modifier poison damage and the target is weakened (save ends).
Miss: Half damage, and the target is weakened until the end of your next turn.
Effect: If the target is still alive, the triggering attack hits and is a critical hit against your animated servant instead of the original target.