Umbralfox's page

Your undead are especially awesome if they're bloody (http://paizo.com/PRD/monsters/skeleton.html); this is also awesome if you can convince your DM to let you double the cost to create your undead servant for the benefits of a "Bloody Skeleton". Bloody skeletons have more HP per HD (due to higher charisma) and you can generally count on them to reform an hour after they 'die'

For a race, Tieflings (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/other-races/featured-races/arg-tieflingcan) can drop their SLA for a special ability from a list. Some DMs have that special ability rolled for, some let you pick one. The best for a necromancer, long-term, is the special ability that lets you heal from positive or negative energy. Short term you might find it useful to take the ability that lets you not need sleep (although Keep Watch is a 1st level spell that does similar). If you take item crafting feats, you'll be able to split most wealth evenly between you and an undead minion of your choice, which can be very useful.

If your DM allows it, necropolitan is a race/template that you can pick up a few levels into the game, located in Libris Mortis I believe. Tl;dr you become undead, which is obviously very useful to a necromancer. Unfortunately, it's humanoid/monstrous-humanoid only, which means you'd want to discuss it with your DM prior to you taking a race like Tiefling.

Master Specialist (Complete Mage, I think) is a 3.5 prestige class. For most specialist-types it's not fantastic; for a minion master it's very nice. At 4th level and above in it, if you cast a necromancy spell your nearby minions (and yourself, if you're undead), get your Master Specialist level as a bonus to saves and also as turn resistance (you might see how this applies, since that changed between 3.5 and 3.75. Perhaps positive energy resistance instead of turn resistance might be something you can do, or just get double your level as a save bonus to resist channel energy). At level 10 in the class, you give all undead allies within a small area Fast Heal 10, which heals 10 points of damage per round. Again, not hugely useful at that level but it does allow you to rapidly heal your undead out of combat, and in an army v army combat you might get some bonuses out of it. If you take the "extra familiar" feat from Complete Arcane/mage (I forget which) you can pick up a second familiar based upon your character level rather than wizard class level; useful if you can convince your DM to let you gain the necromancer specialist minion, and want him to level with your character rather than the wizard class. If not, the master specialist is something you'd need to avoid if you want your undead to level with you.

If you're already undead and your DM is crazy enough to allow it, the Tainted Sorcerer (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/taint.htm#taintedSorcerer) allows you to sacrifice hit points to replace costly material components, giving you very cheap/free animate dead spells. It has other benefits, but the key one for you (aside from abusing the taint-rules for spell save DCs) is the ability to animate dead for free. Work with the DM on how to balance this, because the prestige class is pretty broken. Easiest way would be to ignore using your taint score for spells, and not allowing the blood component effect to apply to spells that in 3.5 required experience to cast. You want to be undead before taking this class, though, as that protects you from the negative side-effects of being tainted.

If you're not undead, Blood Money (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/blood-money) is a spell that does similar, and a wand of lesser restoration will cure any ability damage a good night's rest won't. Similarly, the feat "Experimental Spellcaster" taken at level 5 (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/variant-magic-rules/words-of-power) can grant you the word of magic Death, which lets you animate dead for free (at range!) as a 3rd level spell. Plus, you know a power word for undeath, that's kind of neat. Debatable if this allows you to create templated undead. Still, a minion-master is only as good as his minions, and creating those for nothing more than the cost of a spell will rapidly expand how you feel about losing undead.

Your best spell might very well be a cantrip, if your DM is really open with what he allows from 3.5. There are two traits (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/magic-traits/magical-lineage and http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/regional-traits/wayang-spellhunter-minata) in Pathfinder which when combined let you reduce the cost of applying metamagic to 1 spell, by 2 levels. Cantrips in pathfinder are castable at-will, and even those with metamagic feats applied to them, as long as the metamagic net cost is 0, can be used at-will.

Apply both of those feats to a ray of frost and tack on Fell Frighten (libris Mortis) or Fell Drain (also libris mortis); the first causes anything you hit with a spell to become shaken (penalties to most checks), the second causes one negative level. At level 7 you could grab Arcane Thesis (complete arcane, 3.5) to apply both effects to the cantrip. While many folks will knee-jerk and say "an at-will negative energy attack is broken!" when you think about it, that's hardly true. Most 1 HD critters go down to the first attack that hits them, regardless of whether or not that attack was a level drain or a sword stroke or an arrow. Anything with more HD will need two (or many more) level drains to kill them, and most creatures live fewer rounds than they have in hit dice (in my experience) if they're the focus of attacks. If they're not, well... you have to be within short range to use that ray of frost, which leaves you vulnerable. Unless you manage to hit something enough times to kill it through level drain, all you have is an at-will ranged touch attack that deals 1d3+5 damage, with a stacking -1 penalty to most checks... at the cost of a feat and two traits. Most first-level Alchemists and archers can fairly consistently throw down the same amount of damage, generally for most combat encounters in a day. At later levels they rapidly go beyond the damage this cantrip will put out, but it'll never cease to be useful. My DM balanced this by giving any creature given negative levels equal to their HD by this spell a fortitude save vs. my 0-level save DC or die; they'd repeat this save any time I hit them with the drain, once they had that many negative levels.

If your DM really loves you, you might even ask if you can create a cantrip prior to game start, built upon the ray of frost chassis, targetting living creatures only and dealing negative energy damage instead. It'd be the anti-living necromancy cantrip that the necromancy school currently lacks, and more flavorful than simply spamming an evocation cantrip. This is especially useful if you go master specialist, because then you do have a necromancy spell useful every round of combat.

If the DM allows you to take flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) you should definitely do so, there are a few feats worth taking. The above-mentioned metamagic feat is a good one, and Extra Traits could let you start off with some bonus cash with the Rich Parents trait (which might be beneficial if you need to outfit your undead guard, or spend 500g to research a custom cantrip). Undead Empathy is a decent feat as well, though not much use until you can fake being undead yourself. It's an Eberron-specific feat that lets you use diplomacy on mindless undead, and gives a bonus to diplomacy versus intelligent undead.

Because channel energy is based upon charisma you'll probably want a decently high stat in that, especially since as a necromancer you might often rely upon charisma-based skills to dissuade people from hassling you. It also stacks nicely with the Authoritative Vestments (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services/toys-games-pu zzles#TOC-Authoritative-Vestments) which work for you because as a necromancer, you can channel negative energy. See if you can have those folded into the silken ceremonial armor (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/armor/silken-ceremonial-armor) for a wicked-looking light armor you can use without spell failure. This is especially awesome if you have Undead Empathy, because then you could insta-diplomacy most undead you come across, instead of simply commanding them with your channel energy.

At Fame 20 (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateCampaign/campaignSystems/reputa tionAndFame.html) you can pick up the Initiate title; this is one of many ways to get intimidate or diplomacy as class skills, depending upon who you initiate with; there are many other ways (feats, traits, etc) to do this too.

I'm also a fan of using Fearsome armor (Drow of the Underdark, 3.5), a +5000gp enchantment for armor which gives you +5 intimidate, counts as being armor spikes for your armor (which can be awesome-looking on robes), and lets you intimidate/demoralize as a move-action. If you stack that with Fell Frighten, you can render a creature shaken; taking Imperious Command (also Drow of the Underdark, 3.5) causes any creature you demoralize to count as "cowering" for a round. Combining all of this, you can easily lock down an enemy through sheer terror for a round or two, more if your Fell Frighten can cause already-demoralized foes to be Afraid. t Fame 20 (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateCampaign/campaignSystems/reputa tionAndFame.html) you can pick up the Initiate title; this is one of many ways to get intimidate or diplomacy as class skills, depending upon who you initiate with; there are many other ways (feats, traits, etc) to do this too.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons/magic-weapon-special-abil ities/cruel is a nice enchantment to put on a weapon your primary minion uses; that, or an amulet of mighty fists (+1, with the +1 being Cruel weapon) causes the creature's attacks to synergize with your ability to cause creatures to be shaken. Anything your minion hits that you've already demoralized, causes that enemy to be sickened.

Dragon 312 (the first dragon magazine published by Paizo!) has a few feats, most of which suck compared to Corpsecrafter line from Libris Mortis. They are in fact the basis for that feat line from Libris Mortis, and credited as such in the credits page of the book. One does stand out: Graveborn Warrior. You can give undead you create 1 feat at generation, for a slightly higher control cost. If you can use Undead Empathy upon those undead, with your DM's permission you can create a bunch of mindless undead with a feat that grants skill points and put those points into various Professions, such as Profession: Soldier, Profession: Farmer, and Profession: Construction. Then use your diplomacy powers to have those uncontrolled undead work on projects you instruct them in during the day (fortifications, a tower, army patrols... whatever your evil necromancer wants his dolls to do), before using diplomacy to send them into your storage shed for the night. Dragon magazine isn't allowed by most DMs, though! So that's something to bear in mind.

Other feats to consider: Fell weaken is a nice metamagic feat once you have arcane thesis, if you don't have other feats to take. Anything hit by your cantrip also takes a (non-stacking) -4 to strength. Similarly, wizards can pick up Arcane Discoveries as feats (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/wizard/archetypes/paizo---wiz ard-archetypes/arcane-discoveries), ask your DM if you can research a couple to take the place of the 8th level dread necromancer's ability (add charisma bonus to character level for determining maximum HD of undead in your pool) and also see if you can do the same for the Spirit Vessels revelation from the oracle Juju mystery, though that'd be a harder sell (max HP for undead, multiply caster level by 6 for undead HD pool).