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So, I've been playing a necromancer for a couple sessions now in my wife's Rise of the Runelords game (we're at the very beginning of Burnt Offerings, no spoilers please).
I've been a little disappointed with the ineffectiveness of my character (which, to be honest, has mostly been due to lucky rolls on my wife's part when it comes to goblin saving throws). We are only level 1, and I know wizards (especially necromancers) are nothing special at low levels. I expect to become more useful in another couple of levels.
However, I was looking for some input as to some good choices of feats and spells over the next few levels that might assist in making my wizard a bit better. Also, maybe some strategy/tactics ideas (please, no AP-specific examples; I don't want spoilers), since I've never spent much time playing a full primary caster.
We're using the PRPG Beta, but I also have access to the Spell Compendium, Complete Arcane/Divine/Warrior/Adventurer/Scoundrel, the Dragon Compendium, Book of Vile Darkness/Exalted Deeds, and a couple others.
Here's the character currently:
Elven wizard (necromancer) 1
Neutral Medium Humanoid (elf)
Senses: Listen +3, Spot +3, low-light vision, sense secret doors
Init: +4 (+4 Dex)
Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Orc, Goblin, Gnoll, Sylvan
AC: 14, touch 14, flat-footed 10 (+4 Dex)
Hit Points: 12 HD: 1d6+6 (1 Con, 1 favored class, 4 racial)
Immune: Sleep
Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +3 (+5 vs enchantment)
Speed: 30'
Melee: +1, 1d8+1 longsword, or +1 (touch), 1d6+1 (cold) grave touch
Ranged: +4, 1d8 longbow
Space/Reach: 5'/5'
Base Atk: +0 CMB: +1
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 1)
1st (DC 15)—mage armor, sleep
0th (DC 14)—detect magic, mage hand, touch of fatigue*
*Necromancy spell
Specialist school: Necromancy
Prohibited schools: Evocation, Illusion
Str 12, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 13, Cha 13
Feats: Scribe Scroll(B), Spell Focus: Necromancy
Skills: Knowledge (Arcana) +8, (History) +8, (Local) +8, (Religion) +8, Linguistics +8, Spellcraft +8
Possessions: ring (arcane bond)
As you can see, I've got some pretty decent ability scores, thanks to a 2d6+6 generation method. I've got some decent save DCs on my spells, but even with a -1 Will save, goblins seem to be making their saves 60% of the time (like I said, my DM rolls well). I do have some 1st-level necromancy spells (ray of enfeeblement, ray of clumsiness) but I've been prepping sleep instead since we've been mostly fighting groups of goblins lately.
So, suggestions? Comments? Things I shouldn't be doing? Oh, and have there been any recent changes to the way the necromancy school powers work?
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I just made 2nd level tonight, so I gain the second level wizard ability that gives me a first level necromancy spell I can cast each day.
So I have to choose 2 necro spells and one other one for this new level. My necro choices are rather limited, but the other isn't. Grease, perhaps? I'm also considering Babau Slime from the SC, to dissuade enemies from entering into melee with me.
I just made 2nd level tonight, so I gain the second level wizard ability that gives me a first level necromancy spell I can cast each day.
So I have to choose 2 necro spells and one other one for this new level. My necro choices are rather limited, but the other isn't. Grease, perhaps? I'm also considering Babau Slime from the SC, to dissuade enemies from entering into melee with me.
If you can get permission, Libris Mortis has a heckofa ton of stuff for necromancers.
Wow. I'd tell you about that crazy, powerful vampire elf necromancer in the third part of Runelords, but you asked for no spoilers. Plus, I just made that up.
I just made 2nd level tonight, so I gain the second level wizard ability that gives me a first level necromancy spell I can cast each day.
So I have to choose 2 necro spells and one other one for this new level. My necro choices are rather limited, but the other isn't. Grease, perhaps? I'm also considering Babau Slime from the SC, to dissuade enemies from entering into melee with me.
I would recommend Chill Touch as one of your choices. Works on undead too.
Another way to keep enemies off of you would be Summon Undead I.
If you try to keep an undead bodyguard, transmutation spells can be useful to enhance them.
3rd level you should take Command Undead as one of your spell choices and Craft Wondrous Item as your feat. Make an item of Command Undead as soon as you can.
Your GM may be unhappy with you after you do this: If you have undead under your control and you want to have a few of your banned school spells memorized, the undead are released. You can use your item to get them back under control for a few days. Then you can drop the banned school before the expiration and renew your control with your necromancer power. Doing this with a wand is better because you have more charges to work with.
Get yourself an extra set of clothes and equipment (with a closed face helm) for a warrior. You get an undead humanoid under your control you can dress it up, equip it, and have an untiring bodyguard. You can use Prestidigitation or other spells to keep it fresh or at least fresh smelling until you are ready to replace the bodyguard.
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Damn, my original post was eaten by the post monster...attempt #2:
I would recommend Chill Touch as one of your choices. Works on undead too.
Sounds good, but I have some questions about how the spell works, which I think I'll break off into a separate thread. Mainly, can I touch a single target multiple times?
Another way to keep enemies off of you would be Summon Undead I.
I've already got that in my spellbook, just haven't cast it yet because 1 round/level summoning spells blow hard at 1st level.
3rd level you should take Command Undead as one of your spell choices and Craft Wondrous Item as your feat. Make an item of Command Undead as soon as you can.
Good idea, I'll remember that one.
If you have undead under your control and you want to have a few of your banned school spells memorized, the undead are released.
I was under the impression that the necromancy school power just raised the undead limit for whatever effect you were using (i.e. animate dead) from X HD/level to 8 HD/level. So, if you prepared a prohibited spell, you would only lose control of undead that were over the X HD/level limit.
Or does it work differently than I thought it did?Wow. I'd tell you about that crazy, powerful vampire elf necromancer in the third part of Runelords, but you asked for no spoilers. Plus, I just made that up.
*shakes fist* KAAAEEYOOOOSSSSS!!!
I'd say keep going with Sleep for a while longer; your DM's luck can't last forever! Grease and Silent Image are good, too.
One thing, though: usually I don't bother with Mage Armor before I get 2nd level spells. I settle for a combination of running away (vs. melee attackers) and dropping prone (vs. ranged attackers) and praying not to get hit (vs. all attackers). It usually works for me. :-)
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I'd say keep going with Sleep for a while longer; your DM's luck can't last forever! Grease and Silent Image are good, too.
One thing, though: usually I don't bother with Mage Armor before I get 2nd level spells. I settle for a combination of running away (vs. melee attackers) and dropping prone (vs. ranged attackers) and praying not to get hit (vs. all attackers). It usually works for me. :-)
With the necromancer's grave touch ability, I have a decent melee attack. If I only have one spell left, I might as well cast Mage Armor and help out by flanking with the rogue or barbarian. I've got a high Dex that gives me AC 14, and Mage Armor bumps it up to 18. You're right that there are generally better things to do with that 1st level slot, though.
If I prep Chill Touch, I'm going to be doing melee, so Mage Armor might be useful. If I'm prepping ranged spells like Sleep or Ray of Enfeeblement, I'll choose something other than Mage Armor.
Of course, necromancers tend to have a large number of touch-range spells, and the grave touch ability compounds this. With my high Dex and large number of touch spells, I'm thinking about Weapon Finesse as my 3rd-level feat. Good idea, or bad?
If I ran out of 1st level spells, I'd be just as happy casting cantrips like Daze or Acid Splash instead of getting up-close-and-personal with the bad guys. But then again, my wizard PCs are probably just cowards. :-)
I definitely think that 2 Sleep spells are better than 1. And you can even buy a few in scroll form; as you point out, 1st level enemies often have pretty poor saves, so DC 11 isn't that bad.
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I definitely think that 2 Sleep spells are better than 1.
I should've mentioned before that my DM uses spell points, so if I prep Sleep and Mage Armor, I can cast Sleep three times and ignore MA if I want to.
And you can even buy a few in scroll form; as you point out, 1st level enemies often have pretty poor saves, so DC 11 isn't that bad.
You'd think so, but these damn goblins keep making their saves, and that's versus a DC of 15! They should only have a 20% success rate, but so far it's been more like 60%. The dice gods apparently favor goblins.
I definitely think that 2 Sleep spells are better than 1.I should've mentioned before that my DM uses spell points, so if I prep Sleep and Mage Armor, I can cast Sleep three times and ignore MA if I want to.
Oh....that's different, then! I still think that the best way to make up for a bad save-or-die success rate is through volume, volume, volume. :-)
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With a necromancer, you simply must have Spectral Hand. Due to thee inordinatly large number of touch spells you get, it's nice to deliver them at range.
Yes. Next level, Command Undead and Spectral Hand.
Weapon Finesse is an acceptable option as there are some necromancy armoring spells later on.
Necromancy armoring spells? Explain.
Don't forget, as you level up, there is one first level spell that will always be handy. Ray of Enfeeblement. It's remarkable how much weaker an enemy tank is with -4 to hit and -8 on damage. Plus it effectively removes Power Attack from their abilities.
Really, it is only a little weaker than Enervation, a fourth level spell. And it's a touch spell, something fighters have issues dealing with at all. Just remember that multiple shots do not stack.
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Ray of Enfeeble never goes out of style. When you've got a couple of levels under your belt, you use the one-two punch of RoE with Ray of Exhaustion. Drop an opponents STR by 12 or 14 points, and watch them collapse under the weight of their own gear. Brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.
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Don't have my Spell Compendium handy. Necromancy spells that provide benefits in combat. Death Armor and Death Dragon spring to mind, but I'm pretty sure Death Dragon is clerical, and Death Armor only deals damage to ememies that hit you.
Aha, yes. You are correct on all counts, sir. However, those are the only necromantic armor spells I see.
Don't forget, as you level up, there is one first level spell that will always be handy. Ray of Enfeeblement. It's remarkable how much weaker an enemy tank is with -4 to hit and -8 on damage. Plus it effectively removes Power Attack from their abilities.
Well, yes it's handy, but the save DC doesn't scale- wait, what's that? RoE doesn't allow a save? How could I have missed that?! Sign me up!
Really, it is only a little weaker than Enervation, a fourth level spell. And it's a touch spell, something fighters have issues dealing with at all. Just remember that multiple shots do not stack.
However, they do stack with effects like Chill Touch, which cause actual damage instead of penalties.
Since I have access to the Spell Compendium, I can also cast Ray of Clumsiness, which is exactly like Ray of Enfeeblement except that it affects Dexterity. It would lower AC instead of damage. Which do you think is more useful?
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As a general rule, I'd go with RoE over RoC. You want to reduce damage dealt over AC that you have to overcome. That said, there are some deffinite times to go with RoC, such as the ememy spellcaster peppering your party with Touch and Ranged Touch attacks. Lower his Dex, and you can cut his attack bonus by half or more. Or that Weapon Finesse rogue dancing all over the battlefield, lowering his Dex means he does a lot less damage as well. Why not carry one of each? But if you have to choose, I'd choose RoE.
For feats, I would think long and hard about Weapon focus (rays) and Precise Shot (which will require Point Blank Shot).
Ray specialists (necromancers often are IMO) need to be able to aim at their target. You will already have to deal with cover (isn't there a feat in the Beta to help with cover?) for a -4, if your target is in melee, that is another -4 (so your target has that plate armor +8 AC somehow).
There is a Summon Undead X spell? Get Extend Spell and Augment Summoning (and beg for the Ashbound feat from the Eberron Campaign Sourcebook!). Also, isn't there a feat like Rapid Summoning in the CotCT Player's Guide?
Necromancy rays can get a lot from Empower Spell (note that there has been a lot of debate on the boards on the actual amount that gets multiplied by 150 % (1d6 or 1d6+1 per 2 CL???) and on wether or not the penalty affects carrying capacity).
If melee is something to look at, get Spectral Hand (with the point system, you can use it as you see fit) and get Enlarge Spells to double the range of your rays or of Spectral Hand.
DW
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Since I have access to the Spell Compendium, I can also cast Ray of Clumsiness, which is exactly like Ray of Enfeeblement except that it affects Dexterity. It would lower AC instead of damage. Which do you think is more useful?
Lowering a creature's strength-based accuracy and damage is going to be great for the (usually) single target that the creature is hitting with it's melee / natural weapon attacks. Lowering his dex-bonus-derived AC bonus is going to help *everyone* who is aiming at him this round (including your own ability to hit him next round with another ray, or a longbow attack, which, as an elf, will be one of your strongest attacks as a 1st level wizard). The bigger the party (or the more individual attacks they are making, in the case of higher BAB, Flurrying or Rapid Shot-types), the more of a 'plus' that turns into every round.
Note also that wizards can research new spells. If the selection of spells available in the PHB and / or Spell Compendium don't blow up your skirt with their effectiveness or utility, check out any of the dozens of other options available for necromancers in books like Libris Mortis (WotC), Heroes of Horror (WotC), Book of Vile Darkness (WotC), Relics & Rituals (S&S), Relics & Rituals 2 (S&S), Hollowfaust: City of Necromancers (S&D), Necromancy: Beyond the Grave (Moongoose), Secret College of Necomancy (Green Ronin), Arcane Mysteries: Necromancer's Legacy (Mystic Eye Games), Spells & Spellcraft (Fantasy Flight), Spells & Magic (Bastion), the Complete Book of Eldritch Magic (Malhavoc), etc. or any of the dozens of 'netbooks' available over at ENWorld. There's no shortage of stuff out there, and *some* of it is overpowered, but a lot of it is balanced against core options. As 'researched' spells that your DM allows on a case by case basis, he doesn't have to worry about allowing in 'everything from the Book of Vile Darkness,' for instance, and getting bushwacked by something unbalanced that he didn't see at first, and he's got the built in balancing factor of making the character *pay* for the spell, instead of just handing out options like candy. (And, with the cost factored into the equation, it's even acceptable for a 'researched' spell to be a little bit better than expected, since it's not a 'free powerup.')
Of the above books, the Necromancy specific ones (from Mongoose, Green Ronin and Mystic Eye Games) are the best-suited for this sort of thing, although there is also some good stuff to be found in Relics & Rituals 2 and the WotC sources mentioned.
Note that you don't have to use any of those spells as written either. In the process of 'researching' them, the DM can rule that your character can develop the spell, but it's going to work like X instead of Y, either buffing it up, or toning it down, as appropriate to the balance of the game.
Most conditions in the DMG Condition Summary chapter, such as fatigued, shaken, etc. are suitable to be inflicted by Necromancy magic. Higher level spells would spread these effects over an area, so that the 0 level Touch of Fatigue could evolve into a Ray of Fatigue, then a Cone of Fatigue or Burst of Fatigue that affects as good sized area by 3rd level or so. Charnel stenches or body-wracking pain magics could inflict Sickened or Nauseated conditions, at first to a single target, via a Ray, perhaps, then later into areas, creating a Necromantic variation on Stinking Cloud or Power Word Pain.
Many body *enhancing* transmutation effects could also be tweaked into Necromantic effects. Instead of 'Bull's Strength,' the caster imbibes the blood of an animal renowned for it's physical strength (a bull being the obvious choice!) and gains 'Vampiric Strength,' which acts exactly the same, but causes his eyes to flare red for the duration and his skin to grow pale. At the end of the spell, he is treated as fatigued for the rest of the encounter, as if he'd just Raged, as the Necromantic energies take their toll on his physical body, temporarily supercharging it, at a later cost. The same thing could apply to Dexterity (Shadow's Swiftness) or even Stamina (Stolen Lives), with penalties afterwards, as the body is being forced to 'burn itself out' via these necromantic forces, but otherwise acting as the standard Transmutation 'buffs.' Darkvision becomes 'Eyes of the Dead,' and your eyes seem to wither away and be replaced by glowing red embers floating in empty sockets, like the 'eyes' of a Lich. A Necromantic version of Animate Objects forces necromantic energies to animate even objects that were never living bodies, such as tables or suits of armor. The curtains slither around your foe and attempt to choke the life from them, while the bear-skin rug roars and rears up to bite at their feet, temporarily given an unnatural semblance of life.
It's pretty simple to explain almost anything you want through the current effects of Necromancy, as the school is already a hodgepodge of Conjuration (summoning undead), Evocation (calling up negative planar energies), Enchantment (fear magics) and Transmutation (physical debuffing) spells. Unlike, say, Evocation, Necromancy is a catch-all for 'creepy' magic. Take any spell, including a *healing* spell, make it 'creepy' (needles of bone and sinew animate and stitch up wounds, causing them to 'rot in reverse,' life-force is wrenched and flows like blood from the caster to the recipient, etc.) and you've got a Necromancy spell.
Best of all, the option to research new spells is core. It's not even a horrible cop-out. It's part of the game, albeit one often overlooked, as it requires more DM adjudication than making a blanket statement like, 'Yeah, you can use the stuff in the Spell Compendium, but not Third-Party stuff.' If your DM is willing to work with you even a little bit, you can have your Necromancer throwing a 'spray' of colorless life-leaching forces that leaves it's targets bleached and pale, as if cast in shadow, that acts mechanically *exactly* like Color Spray, but uses negative energies to drain and shock and stun the bodies of those afflicted, and is called 'Shadow Spray.' Brand new 'necromancy' spell, right there in the PHB, with only some flavor text swapped around to 'make it creepy.' Instead of bright colors blinding it's targets, 'shadows cling to their eyes, leaving them unable to see.' Po-tay-to. Po-tah-to. Same deal-io.
Want a Necromantic version of Animate Rope? Fine, don't use Hemp, use a rope made from sinew (such as catgut), and then it's perfectly on theme for it to be animated by necromantic energies, being formerly part of a living animal.
Want a Necromantic version of Mage Armor? Skeletal Armor causes your bones to painfully grow up through your skin, covering you with plates of bone that give the appropriate bonus for the appropriate duration. Same effect, but 'creepy.' Or it could animate actual bones and cause them to assemble around your body into a form of exoskeleton, as if you had animated a skeleton and were walking around inside of it. A higher level version of this 'Skeletal Armor' might enhance your physical abilities, making it Mage Armor + Bull's Strength, as the necromantic energies animating this 'skeleton armor' also can support weight and lend force to your blows, sharing the strength of the skeleton with your own physical strength, like Iron Man's armor. At some point, you could take it to 'ludicrous speed' and have a bone colossus assembled around yourself that makes you look like a mad necromancer version of Ripley, from Aliens, in her powered exo-loader, only made of bone and sinew. (That would likely be a 5th plus level spell, 'though!)
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If the selection of spells available in the PHB and / or Spell Compendium don't blow up your skirt with their effectiveness or utility, check out any of the dozens of other options available for necromancers in books like...the Complete Book of Eldritch Magic (Malhavoc), etc.
Ah! I own the BoEM! Thanks for reminding me of that! I'd forgotten...
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Don't forget, as you level up, there is one first level spell that will always be handy. Ray of Enfeeblement. It's remarkable how much weaker an enemy tank is with -4 to hit and -8 on damage. Plus it effectively removes Power Attack from their abilities.
Really, it is only a little weaker than Enervation, a fourth level spell. And it's a touch spell, something fighters have issues dealing with at all. Just remember that multiple shots do not stack.
I agree I use Ray of enfeeblement on fighters constantly... and they become extremely feeble to my whims before they are utterly destroyed!
LOLI love that Ray, as I like Scorhing ray, ray of exhaustion, etc.
Cheers!