Necromancer Prestige Class - Grave Shepherd


Homebrew and House Rules


This isn't exactly a homebrew, it's more taking a couple of existing prestige classes (one Paizo, one 3pp) and throwing them into a blender. Basically, this is Agent of the Grave minus the preparing for the character's undeath, plus the non-plague or feast related bits of Lord of the Dead. I've also changed the alignment restriction from Any Evil to Any Non-good so as to exclude white necromancers. Posting here to see what other people think.

Grave Shephered
Requirements:
Alignment: Any non-good

Must be able to animate dead without the aid of items, either via a spawn ability or by casting animate dead or a similar spell.

Skills: Knowledge Religion 5 ranks, Knowledge Arcana 5 ranks

1st +0 BAB +1 FORT +0 REF +1 WILL
Inspired necromancy, lich’s touch, unholy fortitude

2nd +1 BAB +1 FORT +1 REF +1 WILL
Undead manipulator
+1 level of existing class

3rd +1 BAB +2 FORT +1 REF +2 WILL
Negative energy conduit
+1 level of existing class

4th +1 BAB +2 FORT +1 REF +2 WILL
Spawn mastery, Negative Energy Affinity
+1 level of existing spellcasting class

5th +2 BAB +3 FORT +2 REF +3 WILL
Cheat death, Secrets of Death
+1 level of existing spellcasting class

Inspired necromancy (Ex)
When determining the maximum number of Hit Dice of undead he can control with spells like animate dead, a character counts his Grave Shepherd levels twice. This ability does not factor into how many undead he can create with a single casting of a spell. Thus, a cleric 7/Grave Shepherd 3 would be able to control 52 Hit Dice worth of undead with animate dead.

Lich’s touch (Su)
At 1st level, the Grave Shepherd becomes a conduit for negative energy and the chill powers of death, allowing him to make a melee touch attack dealing 1d6 points of damage from negative energy per level of the Grave Shepherd class he attains. This ability allows him to heal undead minions, and himself upon attaining Negative Energy Affinity at 4h level. He can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma bonus.

Unholy Fortitude (Su)
At 1st level, the Grave Shepherd can tap into his conviction and bolster his health. Starting with the hit points he rolls for gaining his first Grave Shepherd level and every time he gains a level in any class thereafter, the character may choose to add either his Constitution bonus or his Charisma bonus to the number of new hit points he gains for that level.

Undead manipulator (Ex)
At 2nd level, the Grave Shepherd gains great insight into the minds and necromantic forces controlling undead creatures. A Grave Shepherd’s spells and spell-like abilities with mind-affecting effects treat undead creatures as their original type. Thus, an Grave Shepherd can use charm person against a humanoid zombie or confusion against a horde of skeletal champions.

Negative energy conduit (Ex)
At 3rd level, a Grave Shepherd bolsters undead around him. As a standard action, an Grave Shepherd manifests an aura identical to the desecrate spell, except this foul aura has a duration of 10 minutes per level. An Grave Shepherd can use this ability once per day. In addition, any undead the Grave Shepherd creates is treated as having been created within the area of a desecrate spell.

Spawn mastery (Su)
At 4th level, whenever a Grave Shepherd would create a free-willed undead, that undead is instead under the Grave Shepherd’s control. A Grave Shepherd can control up to 4 HD of undead per Grave Shepherd level in this manner. Excess undead are free-willed unless previously controlled undead are released.

Negative Energy Affinity (Ex)
At 4th level, the Grave Shepherd, while still technically alive, is healed by negative energy and harmed by positive energy, as if it were an undead creature. If the Grave Shephered is already undead, this ability grants no additional benefit.

Cheat death (Ex)
At 5th level, if a Grave Shepherd is ever slain or destroyed, he rises as if affected by raise dead 1d4 hours after its death. This affects even destroyed undead, but not a creature that has been dismembered or had its body destroyed.

However, escape from death is fleeting. A creature restored in this manner will simply drop dead after 2d6 days, unless otherwise restored to full life. The GM should roll this secretly, so the Grave Shepherd does not know how much time remains. A raise dead or similar spell will restore a living creature to life. Undead creatures, such as a lich, can replace a destroyed phylactery. As most undead cannot be restored to life (or unlife), they will be destroyed when the effect ends.

Secrets of Death (Ex)
At 5th level, an Grave Shepherd gains new insights into the dark arts of necromancy. At the time he gains this ability, the character may add a number of necromancy spells that are not normally a part of his class’s spell list to his spell list. The number of spells that the character may add is equal to his Intelligence modifier. For example, an Grave Shephered with levels of wizard might choose to add spells like death watch, inflict critical wounds, and slay living to his spell list, while an Grave Shepherd with levels of cleric might choose to add spells such as enervation, magic jar, and vampiric touch. An Grave Shepherd may choose to add spells he cannot yet cast—this does not allow the Agent of the Grave to cast spells of a higher level than he normally could, but rather merely grants him access to those spells when he reaches the level required to cast them.


I would suggest editing the prereqs line to remove ambiguity on "items." This allows Item-bonded wizards, clerics, occultists and probably others into this option.

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