I am going to be starting a new campaign in a few weeks. We will be playing a party from Cheliax. I would like to play the above combination. In terms of being the best necromancer ever is this a good build?
I would say not. All your special undead powers scale with the base class level which is basically between 3 and 5. The only thing you really have going for you is that you have two separate caster levels' worth of create/animate dead spells.
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So which class would be better to stay in>?
Undead Lord Cleric. Wizards are inferior necromancers.
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If you want to be a necromancer take a look at THIS prestige class. It adds a lot of nice abilities for necromancers and can nab you some key spells from the arcane spell list if you are a cleric or vice-versa.
If you want to be a necromancer take a look at THIS prestige class. It adds a lot of nice abilities for necromancers and can nab you some key spells from the arcane spell list if you are a cleric or vice-versa.
I wouldn't use that PrC if you want to go cleric, as it appears to be targeted toward wizards. It gives you a weak version of channel negative energy that doesn't stack with the cleric's channel energy, and the bonus spells come late and are based on INT. Also, the PrC gives you negative energy affinity, meaning you are healed by negative energy, and harmed by positive energy. The death domain gives you the ability to be healed by channeled negative energy without being harmed by positive energy (at one level earlier than the PrC's neg energy affinity).
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So which class would be better to stay in>?
Depends very strongly on what you mean by "necromancer". If you mean a differently flavored, weaker summoner with far less versatile and powerful, but very numerous and permanent, minions, then the Undead Lord cleric is your answer.
However, if you wish to be a true necromancer, that is, a spellcaster specializing in control of life, death, decay and vitality, wizard is better by far. Ray of enfeeblement, exhaustion, sickness, contagion, blindness/deafness, the list goes on. Wizards have access to far more spells from the necromancy school than clerics.
Can't agree with NeoSeraphi more.
The Wiz/Sor spell list is just vastly superior to the Clr spell list for Necromancy options.
The base class abilities favor Clerics over Wizards, but you go a pretty significant way towards overcoming if you specialize for necromancy.
(Or, if you think you'll get to level 20, it's hard to beat the capstone ability Oracles of Death get.)
If you're looking for a pure undead army type necromancer, this was a good post for a Mystic Theurge build from a while back.
That said, I will echo NeoSeraphi and Neo2151, and suggest Wizard or Sorcerer for a real commander of life, death, and everything in between (probably Wizard so you can have the utility spells like animate dead/create undead without eating into your spells known).
Thanks so much for your time and ideas.
Undead Lord Cleric. Wizards are inferior necromancers.
I assumed you meant make undead minions. If you're going for necromancy spell user rather than undead spammer then Wizards are better, like NeoSeraphi and Neo2151 said. My bad, was thinking of the stereotypical necromancer.
What things does the oracle get?
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Full cleric spell list, albeit slightly worse because spontaneous.
He only has to focus on charisma, rather than both stats, and can still grab the Command Undead feat from a revelation; he can likewise grab a revelation to be affected as an undead creature by negative energy.
I like my oracle of bones because at level 5 he's got a DC 18 Command Undead (10 + 2 level + 4 charisma + 2 improved channel). He can't quite make his own undead yet, but if you've got any and he's fighting you, they're probably his now.
oracle of bones gets to cast animate undead at will and without paying the material cost at level 20 but is otherwise more of the save or die necromancer.
oracle of juju gets spirit vessels. you get extra hd worth of undead and any zombies you create get maximum hd. at level 20 you can do cool body swap tricks.
This information is all very helpful.
Would a necromancer fit Chelaxian Society?
Chelaxian society is rather LARGE as far as societies go, so you're bound to find a little bit of everything honestly.
As far as Chelaxian stereotypes go, they're more involved in summoning planar help rather than raising the dead.
If you get one (or more) Bone Razors from UE it will solve any (low level)minion issues the wizard may have. (IMO this item is a total bargin).
What is a Bone Razor?