We all know Necromancy is the school of squick, or at least has thus far been defined that way. Above and beyond the fact that the granted powers of dark necromancy are far superior to those available to those tiny few who try to follow the Paths of Light, the spell selection available for Dark or Grey necromancers is probably ten times that of Light Necromancers. Some claim the entire school is irrevocably tainted. This despite the fact that one of the very first spells a wizard specializing in necromancy learns is the cantrip Disrupt Undead, which utilizes positive energy to harm undead creatures.
This isn't a problem unique to Pathfinder. D&D 3.5 was very nearly as bad, although it did have a few spells like Healing Touch (a spell in the BoXD that was in every respect the opposite of Vampiric Touch). 2nd Ed was somewhat better, but not by a great deal.
Perhaps this is only natural. Probably many of those with the inclination to heal become divine casters, who are certainly better at it. However, I thought I'd share some of the spell ideas I had for anyone else attempting to play an unoptimized good necromancer.
I'll start with two spells in the same general tradition as Healing Thief and Toxic Gift. I got the idea for them when my necromancer PC visited a version of fantasy India and it occurred to me that with its emphasis on life and death and curses, Necromantic magic is very much the magic of fate and karma.
I would be very interested in what others think of their balance and playability.
Wound Refusal (Necromancy) 3 [karmic]
Range : Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Components : V, S
Duration : Instantaneous
Casting Time : 1 immediate action
Area of Effect : Caster and one other creature
Saving Throw : Will yes; Spell Resistance: yes
By casting this spell, the mage retroactively redirects some or all of the hit point damage he or she received from a single attack (of any type, physical or magical) earlier in the round of casting and transfers that damage to the target, who must be the being or creature directly responsible for dealing that damage to the mage, with a limit of 1d4 hit points damage/caster level transferred to a maximum of 15d4 hit points at 15th caster level.
A save vs. Will is allowed to the target and, if successful, the spell fails and the mage’s injuries remain. The attack in question need not have been directed solely against the mage; damage from area of effect spells (e.g., fireballs) is acceptable. Further, multiple instances of damage from the same source (e.g., 2 arrows fired using the Manyshot feat, 5 Magic Missiles, or 3 rays of the same Scorching Ray spell) count as single attacks so long as they are simultaneous. However, indirect damage from an attack (e.g., damage taken from a fall suffered because the mage was pushed off a ledge) could not be returned to the pusher as that damage would be caused by hitting the ground, not by the push, although damage from the push itself (if any) could be returned. Damage suffered by traps is also incapable of being returned by this spell.
The amount of damage returned is neither decreased nor increased by any damage reduction, immunity, or vulnerabilities possessed by the target versus the specific attack form that inflicted the damage. Any concommitant effects such as poison, sickness, or ability damage are not transferred with the hit point damage, but remain with the mage. Note that despite the speed of this spell, if the mage takes more hit points of damage in an attack than she currently possesses, she may not use this spell to return that damage before losing consciousness unless she has the Diehard feat or an equivalent ability (e.g., ferocity).
Share Fate’s Burden (Necromancy) 5 [karmic, good]
Range : Touch
Components : V, S
Duration : Instantaneous
Casting Time : 1 standard action
Area of Effect : Caster plus one other living creature wounded or killed within the last round
Saving Throw : Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance: yes (harmless)
By casting this spell upon a target who has been wounded or killed within the last round, the mage shoulders some part of that target’s fate, retroactively redirecting some or all of the damage from the wounds taken upon herself. The mage takes up to 5d8 points of damage + 1 point per caster level of any amount of damage received in the round of casting or the round before, to a maximum of the amount of damage that was inflicted. The mage may elect to redirect somewhat less than the potential maximum by specifying a lower caster level (so long as the caster level is sufficient to cast the spell), but the 5d8 is fixed. If the damage redirected is sufficient to restore a dead target to life, that target does not receive a negative level but is treated as if she had not died (although said target will still most likely be prone and heavily wounded). It is possible for a mage to kill herself by the use of this spell, although this does not affect the spell’s success or failure regarding the target. The mage is not giving her hit points to the target, but instead taking the target’s damage, although in most cases the distinction will be academic.
Further, if any of the damage redirected was from an attack associated with a Fortitude save that had the potential to inflict a condition (e.g., a snake’s poisoned bite), the target is enabled to reroll his or her saving throw (if it was previously failed), but the mage casting Share Fate’s Burden is obligated to make said Fortitude saving throw as well (albeit with a +4 bonus) or suffer the same condition, even if the recipient of Share Fate’s Burden made his or her save and even if the attack was an area effect against which the mage had already made a save for herself.
The amount of damage redirected is neither decreased nor increased by any damage reduction, immunity, or vulnerabilities possessed by the target versus the specific attack form that inflicted the damage, although any Fortitude saves vs. conditions may be affected by such variables.
Note: After this spell is cast, the caster is counted as a target of the original attack(s) and thus may cast the spell Wound Refusal (if it is in her list of prepared or spontaneous spells) in an attempt to redirect some or all of the damage redirected back to the originator of said attack(s).