(The following is intended to be viewed as a Teacher (Retired 20th level Necromancy Wizard) Lecturing a group of students in a Necromancy course. It used to be called "Necromancer PSA" but upon further consideration, I felt that "Necromancy 101" was a better fit.)
(As for how the necromancer looks, l have two images in my mind when l think of them. One is the Stereotypical Wizard (Cough Gandalf Cough) in black robes with a skull pin/ Black Pointy hat with White Skulls instead of stars, and the other is HER in a Black and Red version of her dress. Why her? Well, she's the first Necromancy Wizard I ever made, though l haven't gotten to actually play them yet.)
A Side note, before we begin. I Recently created a spell that, quite frankly, should have been created long ago! I introduce you to Undead Servant, a 1st level necromancy spell that, as the name suggests, raises a single Undead Servant to do your bidding.
So you want to be a Necromancer? Great! However, there are some things you need to know and decide before you do. Some may be obvious, some may not, however l will share this knowledge regardless of your potential prior knowledge, as you can never know what others know. (Without magic or extensive spying)
Know that by undertaking this path of magic, you will likely face persecution, and mistrust, as controlling and creating Undead is considered Taboo by most. However, there are ways to mitigate this.
1: Limiting those who know of your abilities is a must. It is not recommended to bring obvious undead servants, such as a rotting corpse or a skeleton, into public spaces, such as towns. It is suggested that your undead minions get stored in an extradimensional space, such as a Portable Hole. Also, your adventuring party will quickly learn of your power, so before you use it, avoid the topic of your study, and learn if your traveling companions are accepting of our ways. If they are not, and you doubt they could come to accept you, or would harm you should they find out, leave them, as they do not deserve you.
2: Inversely, you could openly show your necromantic arts, and use them to aid the community. For example, having your undead minions act as Guards, or Laborers, or using the spell Life Transference to heal someone injured. Afterall, people won’t accept us unless we try to be accepted. There are too many Evil necromancers smearing our profession with their wicked ways.
3: Speaking of which, As you likely know, the most commonly known type of necromancer is the Evil necromancer, the type who creates armies of undead to terrorize civilians or to take over the world, all while living in a cave, crypt, or other dank dark place. Liches (Powerful Necromancers who turned themselves into undead in the search for more power and immortality) are especially known for this. One reason a large number of necromancers turn to Evil is likely because, unfortunately, the energies we draw on to animate corpses is inherently evil, being drawn from the Negative Energy Plane. At least, that’s what I was taught, and I haven’t had time to delve into how factual that actually is, so I apologize if this isn’t actually true.The last thing I want is to spread misinformation. If true however, it is theorized that the necromantic powers we wield have a corruptive effect, that taints us the more we use it, and only those with great willpower, or the blessing of a deity, can resist its corrupting effects.
4: Do Not fall to Evil, or you will be hunted down and Exterminated. It doesn’t matter how powerful you become, or how hidden or defended you think your base is, a group of Adventurers WILL Find you, and they WILL Kill you. You have been warned.
Now, with that out of the way, It’s time to know what type of Necromancer you are:
Are you a Warlock, a person granted powers from a powerful, but not divine, being, capable of using a very limited amount of spells? I Doubt it, as most Necromancer Warlocks i’ve met gain their power from a Lich, such as Acererak or Vecna. While i’ve heard “Good” Liches exist, such as in an elven city, I’ve personally never met a lich that wasn’t evil, so if you have contracted with one, l warn you not to follow in your patrons rotting footsteps, and be wary of their intentions for you. Note: Thanks to the work of Tasha, Warlock patrons are now able to provide their warlocks with the Undying Servitude Eldritch Invocation, allowing them to cast the Animate Dead spell once per long Rest. Given a long rest is 8 hours (4 for certain bloodlines, such as elves or those who have been Reborn as semi undead) and the spell lasts for 24 hours before needing a reapplication, that means that, though it will be slower than other necromancers, you will still be able to have up to 4 undead minions, if you properly time things.
Are you a Cleric, a God’s Chosen, capable of the famous Resurrection magic, the true peak of necromancy, which allows you to return someone to life, as well as summoning Spirit Guardians to swarm your enemies? Because If so, your Deity might not like that, and revoke your power…Unless they’re one of the (often evil) Deities of the Death Domain. (l know of only 5 non evil Deities of the Death Domain, and only one was Good.)
Are you a Sorcerer, Capable of using your innate connection to magic to alter your spells effects, such as doubling the range or targeting two targets with the same spell? Because if so, unless you have a Divine Soul, i’m afraid that, though you do get some useful necromantic spells, you can not animate corpses to do your bidding, unless you kill someone with the Finger of Death. However, if you ARE a Sorcerer with a Divine Soul, you will be able to cast any spell a Cleric normally can, making you arguably the best type of Necromancer, given your access to Resurrection magic, and the ability to Twin those spells, or increase their distance. However, your biggest weakness is the fact that, unlike Clerics and Wizards, you will only be able to cast a maximum of 15 spells, meaning that, while you could focus on become the most powerful necromancer, capable of raising armies of undead and Reviving the Dead, you’re not going to be able to learn many useful spells outside of that, so be careful, and try to balance your skill set, if you’re able. I’m told that sorcerers don’t have much say on what powers they manifest. (The character, not the godly player)
If you’ve not answered yes to any of the above, then that must mean yer a Wizard! Congratulations! We are the most well known type of Necromancer, and unfortunately the cause of most persecution, given the reputation of the more nefarious members of our School of Wizardly study. While any Wizard can learn and use Necromancy spells, only those of us who delve into the secrets of undeath can truly be called a Necromancer. We’re able to steal the lifeforce from our enemies, raise an undead army much larger and stronger than most and are protected from the more devastating abilities enemy undead could use on you, and you can even turn enemy undead into your servants. And i’m not even getting into our unique and powerful spells, such as Soul Jar and Clone! Not as glamorous or acclaimed as the Clerics Resurrection spells, but these spells are must haves for any Wizard powerful enough to cast them, especially us Necromancers.
(Druids, and other spell casters not mentioned above are not worth mentioning, as they barely get any necromantic spells, especially not ones unique to them or able to reanimate the dead.)
Q&A:
Q: What are some recommended Monsters to make my Thrall?
A: You, a 14th level (Or higher) Necromancy school Wizard, will want to make a powerful undead your servant. For this, l recommend either a Mummy Lord, or if you’re strong enough to cast it, or have it as a spell scroll, l recommend casting the Feeblemind Spell on a DeathTyrant, (which is a type of Beholder), and bringing them under your thrall.
These two are recommended as they’re both able to create undead minions, which would be under your control by proxy, in addition to being powerful undead. This could also Theoretically be used on Strad, if you want to rule Berovia, though i’m not sure how long it’ll last, given the nature of that realm
Q: What makes Animate Dead/Create Undead so good?
A: Because you can use these spells to create an undead army.
At 5th level, (the minimum level one of these spells can be cast) you have two 3rd level spell slots. The following assumes you spent these days out of combat, such as during down time, and are a 5th level necromancer casting Animate Dead (https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/animate-dead)
(And remember Necromancy School Wizards gain one extra minion per casting starting at 6th level). (http://dnd5e.*******.com/wizard:necromancy) (Would link to here, but not everyone has access to necromancy wizard, and l want to be inclusive)
Day 1: Two 3rd level spell slots to create two undead minions.
D2: 3rd level spell slot to retain control over the two minions, and the second to gain a third.
D3: Just like yesterday, only your total is four minions.
D4: Just like yesterday, but now you're capped at five, as you can only retain control over a maximum of four minions per spell slot, and the second spell slot is used to control the fifth, so you can't control any more.
Now, tell me, how many minions could you get, given enough time, by casting this spell with all the spell slots you have as a level 7+ wizard? (Given you animate or reassert control over two additional undead creatures (Minions) for each slot level above 3rd, or three if you’re a Necromancy Wizard?) (Answer: Alot) (https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/wizard#TheWizardTable)
(Obviously an adventuring wizard wouldn't use ALL their spell slots to maintain an undead army, but my point stands. You can have up to four undead minions for 24 hours, with a single 3rd level spell. Sure they're weak, but if enemies target them, they won't be able to target You. And unlike a FireBall, they can be given armor and weapons to help them survive and kill your enemies.) (Magic stone is practically built to be used by them)
Q: Does Inured to Death allow things like the spell Aid to permanently increase maximum HP?
A: Since this isn't Temp HP, but rather your MAX HP being increased, since your MAX HP can't be lowered, when the spell ends, RAW, you'd keep the new HP MAX, and since the spell duration is over, the spell can be cast again, and again, for Infinite HP! However, l doubt the gods (DM) would actually allow this to happen. (I’d make the Aid spell stay in effect until you die, at which point, since you have no HP (As opposed to 0HP), your HP is reset to its base value. Since you can’t be affected by more than one casting of the same spell at a time, you can’t be affected by this spell again until you die (And are revived).)
Inured to Undeath: Beginning at 10th level, you have resistance to necrotic damage, and your hit point maximum can't be reduced.
Aid: Each target's hit point maximum and current hit points increase by 5 for the duration (8 Hours) (+5 HP per spell slot above 2nd,) (+20 HP every 8 Hours, if using a 5th level spell slot).
A recount of a conversation I overheard (Read in the comments of a YouTube video):
P1: Feeblemind is an excellent combo with command undead. As long as you can make it fail the Feeblemind save, you've basically already gotten the undead permanently under your control. Only downside is that you give up the potential of any speaking abilities and spellcasting of the undead in question, but almost anything else will still work with it.
P2: Feeblemind ends in 30 days if the save is successful, which you want. The repeating CHA save from Command Undead is, if and only if they fail the save while having the INT at the time of action of 12 or higher.
Wait 30 days, assist on their save, and feeblemind's effect ends. They no longer are capable of doing saves of Command Undead because their initial INT was lower than 11 at the time of the action and can therefore speak and cast spells normally.
P1: That's an interesting interpretation and it can even work thematically. Could imply that you're removing what semblance of a conscious mind was in the undead creature and replacing it with a more loyal servant.
I think it has enough wiggle room in the wording that the DM can interpret it one way or the other.
P2: Alternately if they (DM) don't agree, just keep feeblemind up.
A Collogue (XXXGammaRay) has recently brought to my attention the spell "Create Magen". Having read through the notes on it, l have to agree that, though not a necromantic spell, is similar enough, and useful enough, to deserve mention. For the cost of a vial of quicksilver worth 500 gp and a life-sized human doll*, you can create a servant loyal to you, or at the very least, obeys your commands without question. And unlike our non necromantic brothers, we can cast this spell with no risk to ourselves thanks to being Inured to Undeath, given you're HP Max is normally reduced by 1-3 points, depending on the Magen.
As for what a Magen is, here is a page from the Encyclopedia Creatureica, not to be confused with the more publicly known, "Monster Manual". https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Magen (*the "intricate crystal rod worth at least 1,500 gp" was not mentioned because it is not consumed)
Additionally, l apologize for not mentioning it earlier: While the Animate Dead spell is good for raising a bunch of corpses to do your bidding, it is not advisable to send them away from you for long, as you need to reassert control every 24 hours, otherwise they become wild undead, and a wild undead is a Evil undead, and a Necromancer who lets their Reanimated Minions out of their control is a Bad Necromancer, and those who do it frequently, or willing, are considered Evil Necromancers, and I'm sure you remember what happens to them.
If you wish to create undead to preform long range missions, or to stay somewhere long term while you're away, it is recommended to use the spell Finger of Death, as when it's used to kill someone, it creates a zombie that is permanently under your command. While not as powerful as four ghouls for the same level spell slot with Create Undead, That's a zombie that can till a field or whatever all day every day while you're adventuring, where as you'd need to be able to return to those 4 Ghouls every day to maintain control over them.
As for the Previously mentioned use of Command Undead to "keep undead as a pet" as my aforementioned college put it, while I agree that it would be much more useful to take out a powerful enemy undead (Which l would like to point out would be done to said "Pet" in the first place), i'd like to remind you (Pretending they're attending my lecture, maybe as a co lecturer or something? Idk.) that while the "Wish-Simulacrum engine" is a very powerful combination, it is only accessible to wizards of 17th level or higher, and thus not accessible to the 14th level wizards who just unlocked the ability to Command Undead, who would, in my opinion, be better off using the ability to have a powerful "Pet" to aid in killing enemies, as if they managed to get it under their control, they have a loyal pet forever, while if they didn't, they can't use the ability on that creature ever again, and if they already have a "Pet" under their command, that "pet" becomes Wild again (thus another enemy to deal with) and would need to be killed, or put back under your command, which would take another action. So in total, you would have wasted two actions, and best case scenario, you're right back where you started with your "pet", and worst case, you're getting yelled at for unleashing another powerful enemy onto the battlefield, when you could have been dealing damage, or buffing/debuffing. As a certain Armorer Artificer once said "Not a great Plan". (In my opinion).
Lastly, on the topic of the "Permeant Aid" exploit, l was reminded of the fact that the Spesific rule overwrites the Generic rule, so by that logic, since the spell specifically says the HP gain only lasts for the duration of the spell, despite our Max HP being unable to decrease thanks to being Inured to Undeath, the HP gained by this spell would still vanish when the 8 hours are over. While that doesn't quite sound right to me, I'll trust that what they say is correct, as l am not a expert on that spesific subject, and magic can be quite unpredictable at times.
In my first lecture, l mentioned the Lich. I Feel that it is time to delve deeper into that topic, as some of you seem interested in it. (No one asked, but I wanted to.)
A Lich, as I previously mentioned, are powerful Necromancers who turned themselves into undead in the search for more power and immortality. How did they turn themselves into undead you may ask? Well, l don't know the specifics, as l consider those who become liches Idiots, for reasons i'll get to, but from what l understand, they preform some profane ritual to sever their soul from their body, and seal it inside a object known as a Phylactery.
This is different from using the spell Soul Jar, as that spell severs your control over your body, and lets you possess others, while the Lich retains control over their rotting corpse. The Lich can reform as long as their Phylactery is intact, while the Soul Jarred wizard dies if their host body dies while their Soul Jar is more than 100 feet from them and they're unable to return to their original body.
Now, you may be asking "Why do I think Liches are Idiots?". Well, the answer is fairly simple. They give up their "humanity", and for what? "Immortality"? PHAh! I know it's often easier said than done, but you just need to destroy the Phylactery, and they'll be gone forever! Besides, once you're skilled enough to cast 9th tier magic, it's easy to become practically immortal! Just use Wish every day for a week in your Demiplane to cast Clone, and you have several backup bodies. Sure you'll need several copies of your equipment, but at that point that should be simple. Heck, you could probably just Wish for Immortality! Though personally I'd keep the clones, which can let you return to a younger version of yourself, and maybe wish to never physically age. Immortality sounds great, but honestly, from what I've been told, it's more of a curse. Think about it, if you couldn't die, you'd be in pain forever if you were trapped in a volcano or at the bottom of the ocean. And eventually, you'll get existentially Bored. You'll get tired of existing, but you can't die, so you're forced to continue existing, until your mind shuts off from boredom (highlight with mouse to read spoilers for jojo part 2) (Like Ultimate Kars, a brain dead statue floating through space forever)
And Let's not forget that A Majority of Liches are Evil Undead, and adventurers will seek them out to slay, and l know some of my Necromantic Collogues have used the afore mentioned Feeblemind Command Undead trick on some of them, so l honestly don't see the value in becoming a Lich. Especially since if they don't regularly feed on the souls of humanoids, they'll literaly lose their minds, becoming mindless.
However, it is said that there is a small group of Non Evil Liches, known as Archlichs. However, l have never, to my knowledge, met one, so l can not confirm or deny their existence as more than rumor. For More information on Lichs, please turn to Chapter 7 of your Encyclopedia Creatureica.
Also, Should any of you wish to have a example of a Good Necromancer, other than myself, I recommend going to the Library, as the WebtoonPublishing Company published a excellent Piece of Pro Necromantic Literature, Called "The Lone Necromancer". (Click and Drag over text to read spoiler)
(The way the story seems to be progressing, The protagonist should soon meet a example of a Lich, or at the very least, a Evil Necromancer.)
Recently, l helped capture a duo of Evil Necromancers, and their apprentice*. THIS is a recording of the memories extracted from them that was used as evidence of their crimes. I Show you this memory because, though l do not condone their actions, their recount of how the "Animate Dead" spell works is very informative. In addition, while l was at the hearing, l overheard some interesting conversations, which l will share below. (Best l got, might edit it later if l think of something better.)
"GregTom2" gave some interesting notes about the spell.
1) The human skeleton weights only about 15 kg. You could carry a couple of those with you wherever you go. If you "tetris" it properly, you could even fit them in a chest so that the townspeople don't freak out,
2) If you lock that chest, you could pre-animate your skeletons that you carry with you. It gives you a contingency plan if you fail to be present at the right time of the day to use a spell slot to keep control of your 4 skeletons, as they will still be contained.
3) No one said you had to use a spell slot to keep control of 4 skeletons. Once your box is full, you very well could just start working on another box of skeletons and leave the now neutral-evil-uncontrollable skeletons in the box. Just because you don't control them doesn't mean they can't be an asset in a fight or act of heinous terrorism. That way, no one will think of giving you reasons to commit heinous acts of terrorism.
4) It can take longer than you would think to bump into 12 full sets of human bones. Get started early. Sure, your party might think you're a little weird for using invisible servant to scratch and quicklime the flesh off every bandit that pisses off your barbarian, but as soon as you hit level 5, you'll be ready.
5) No other spell in the game gives you 4 actions per turn-per-spell-slot-for-24-hours without requiring concentration. It literally is broken. It's like they didn't care to balance the spell at all. It just breaks the action economy.
6) A wand of magic missile does not require a spellcaster level to use. If you can make them or can buy as many of them as you want, every skeleton can deal 3d4+3 per turn. At level 5, that's 36d4+36 (average 126) per turn for a bonus action that doesn't take your concentration. It always hits. There's no saves.
7) Skeletons can wear robes, gloves and masks, even armor if needed. If you use minor illusion, you can make your voice sound like it's coming out of one of them. That way, your enemy takes 126 damage per round not-counting your own actions, while guessing which mage to attack.8) Skeletons don't need to eat, sleep, drink, or even breathe. They don't require light to perform their task, and don't get sunburned either. They have an int. of 6 and can perform some basic tasks if ordered to. They don't require a wage and don't unionize. Whilst it takes a bonus action to give an instruction, they can all follow a different one. If you set them on a simple task like working looms, mining, or laboring the ground, you can make products that are so abundant and so far below market averages that you can crash any local economy in a matter of months.Have fun.
And another said "Remember to Reanimate S.M.A.R.T: S: Skeletons M: MakeA: AmazingR: ReanimatedT: Teammates."
(shameless self promotion) For those interested in playing a necromancer, I'll link to my posts exploring playing them in different ways, part 11 listed but it has links to the previous 10 parts.
I am your God and Master a GM, who dabbles in necromantic wizardry on the side.
If you want to raise an army, the best way to do it is to spam Finger of Death and Create Magen. Animate Dead and Create Undead should not be used to create a standing army, as these minions will turn on you the moment you stop feeding them spellslots, and they should instead be used as a temporary sacrificial force (throw them into the frontline meat grinder; have them storm the walls during a siege; have them stay behind as a rearguard during a retreat). You want absolute control over your minions, so your minions should be unconditionally loyal, and those that are not unconditionally loyal should be cast aside and preferably elimintated after they have fulfilled their purpose. Finger of Deathzombies are fairly weak, so I recommend using them as a labor force rather than a fighting force, and have your fighting force consist of yourvariousMagens. If you want to use both in your army, you can use your zombies as a fascade and screening force to lower unsuspecting enemy's guard before surprising them with a much more competent force of Magens.
By the same token, I do not recommend using Command Undead to keep undead as a pet. I would use Command Undead more offensively to neutralize dangerous hostile undead and then destroy them. If you want a powerful pet, I suggest casting Simulacrum; once you are high enough level, you want to abuse the Wish-Simulacrum engine and build a Simulacra army of yourself. And once you have a Simulacra army of yourself, you can really abuse Command Undead to its fullest potential and take down beings like Strahd by spamming the Commant Undead ability to crush their free will and then annihilate them.
As for Inured to Undeath and Aid, specific overrules general, and Aid is more specific in terms of how long its HP maximum lasts, compared to Inured to Undeath that just says HP maximum cannot be reduced. The best use of Inured to Undeath is to abuse Create Magen.
You make some very interesting points. Thank you for coming to my lecture, l might have to ask you to join my next one as a speaker! (Doubt there will be a next time, but as we all know, Role play is fun)
Edit: Just replied to your comment as a edit in my post. Incase it's not clear, l mean no offence or disrespect, i'm just roleplaying a Necromancy wizard giving a Lecture on the subject.
(I might as well fully lean into the role play too!)
Oh, and while Wish-Simulacrum is a very powerful combo, due to its power to warp reality, it may incur the wrath of extremely powerful entities called God Masters who weave the very fabric of reality and fate itself. God Masters are a fickle bunch, so it would be prudent to read some tea leaves or send a quick prayer to your god or patron to see how far such entities would allow you to warp reality.
Quite Right. The Gods are a fickle lot, and it's never a good idea to get on their bad side. Why, just last week, l was walking about town, and saw some adventurers dicking around (messing around like jerks, nothing sexual) when suddenly several boulders manifested out of nowhere, and crushed each of them into a bloody paste, before vanishing.
On a (Fake cough) unrelated note, i'd like you to meet my new flesh golem assistant, Stuart. (say hello Stuart) (The humanoid pile of flesh and bone shards waves.)
(The following is intended to be viewed as a Teacher (Retired 20th level Necromancy Wizard) Lecturing a group of students in a Necromancy course. It used to be called "Necromancer PSA" but upon further consideration, I felt that "Necromancy 101" was a better fit.)
(As for how the necromancer looks, l have two images in my mind when l think of them. One is the Stereotypical Wizard (Cough Gandalf Cough) in black robes with a skull pin/ Black Pointy hat with White Skulls instead of stars, and the other is HER in a Black and Red version of her dress. Why her? Well, she's the first Necromancy Wizard I ever made, though l haven't gotten to actually play them yet.)
A Side note, before we begin. I Recently created a spell that, quite frankly, should have been created long ago! I introduce you to Undead Servant, a 1st level necromancy spell that, as the name suggests, raises a single Undead Servant to do your bidding.
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So you want to be a Necromancer? Great! However, there are some things you need to know and decide before you do. Some may be obvious, some may not, however l will share this knowledge regardless of your potential prior knowledge, as you can never know what others know. (Without magic or extensive spying)
Know that by undertaking this path of magic, you will likely face persecution, and mistrust, as controlling and creating Undead is considered Taboo by most. However, there are ways to mitigate this.
1: Limiting those who know of your abilities is a must. It is not recommended to bring obvious undead servants, such as a rotting corpse or a skeleton, into public spaces, such as towns. It is suggested that your undead minions get stored in an extradimensional space, such as a Portable Hole. Also, your adventuring party will quickly learn of your power, so before you use it, avoid the topic of your study, and learn if your traveling companions are accepting of our ways. If they are not, and you doubt they could come to accept you, or would harm you should they find out, leave them, as they do not deserve you.
2: Inversely, you could openly show your necromantic arts, and use them to aid the community. For example, having your undead minions act as Guards, or Laborers, or using the spell Life Transference to heal someone injured. Afterall, people won’t accept us unless we try to be accepted. There are too many Evil necromancers smearing our profession with their wicked ways.
3: Speaking of which, As you likely know, the most commonly known type of necromancer is the Evil necromancer, the type who creates armies of undead to terrorize civilians or to take over the world, all while living in a cave, crypt, or other dank dark place. Liches (Powerful Necromancers who turned themselves into undead in the search for more power and immortality) are especially known for this. One reason a large number of necromancers turn to Evil is likely because, unfortunately, the energies we draw on to animate corpses is inherently evil, being drawn from the Negative Energy Plane. At least, that’s what I was taught, and I haven’t had time to delve into how factual that actually is, so I apologize if this isn’t actually true.The last thing I want is to spread misinformation. If true however, it is theorized that the necromantic powers we wield have a corruptive effect, that taints us the more we use it, and only those with great willpower, or the blessing of a deity, can resist its corrupting effects.
4: Do Not fall to Evil, or you will be hunted down and Exterminated. It doesn’t matter how powerful you become, or how hidden or defended you think your base is, a group of Adventurers WILL Find you, and they WILL Kill you. You have been warned.
Now, with that out of the way, It’s time to know what type of Necromancer you are:
Are you a Warlock, a person granted powers from a powerful, but not divine, being, capable of using a very limited amount of spells? I Doubt it, as most Necromancer Warlocks i’ve met gain their power from a Lich, such as Acererak or Vecna. While i’ve heard “Good” Liches exist, such as in an elven city, I’ve personally never met a lich that wasn’t evil, so if you have contracted with one, l warn you not to follow in your patrons rotting footsteps, and be wary of their intentions for you. Note: Thanks to the work of Tasha, Warlock patrons are now able to provide their warlocks with the Undying Servitude Eldritch Invocation, allowing them to cast the Animate Dead spell once per long Rest. Given a long rest is 8 hours (4 for certain bloodlines, such as elves or those who have been Reborn as semi undead) and the spell lasts for 24 hours before needing a reapplication, that means that, though it will be slower than other necromancers, you will still be able to have up to 4 undead minions, if you properly time things.
Are you a Cleric, a God’s Chosen, capable of the famous Resurrection magic, the true peak of necromancy, which allows you to return someone to life, as well as summoning Spirit Guardians to swarm your enemies? Because If so, your Deity might not like that, and revoke your power…Unless they’re one of the (often evil) Deities of the Death Domain. (l know of only 5 non evil Deities of the Death Domain, and only one was Good.)
Are you a Sorcerer, Capable of using your innate connection to magic to alter your spells effects, such as doubling the range or targeting two targets with the same spell? Because if so, unless you have a Divine Soul, i’m afraid that, though you do get some useful necromantic spells, you can not animate corpses to do your bidding, unless you kill someone with the Finger of Death. However, if you ARE a Sorcerer with a Divine Soul, you will be able to cast any spell a Cleric normally can, making you arguably the best type of Necromancer, given your access to Resurrection magic, and the ability to Twin those spells, or increase their distance. However, your biggest weakness is the fact that, unlike Clerics and Wizards, you will only be able to cast a maximum of 15 spells, meaning that, while you could focus on become the most powerful necromancer, capable of raising armies of undead and Reviving the Dead, you’re not going to be able to learn many useful spells outside of that, so be careful, and try to balance your skill set, if you’re able. I’m told that sorcerers don’t have much say on what powers they manifest. (The character, not the godly player)
If you’ve not answered yes to any of the above, then that must mean yer a Wizard! Congratulations! We are the most well known type of Necromancer, and unfortunately the cause of most persecution, given the reputation of the more nefarious members of our School of Wizardly study. While any Wizard can learn and use Necromancy spells, only those of us who delve into the secrets of undeath can truly be called a Necromancer. We’re able to steal the lifeforce from our enemies, raise an undead army much larger and stronger than most and are protected from the more devastating abilities enemy undead could use on you, and you can even turn enemy undead into your servants. And i’m not even getting into our unique and powerful spells, such as Soul Jar and Clone! Not as glamorous or acclaimed as the Clerics Resurrection spells, but these spells are must haves for any Wizard powerful enough to cast them, especially us Necromancers.
(Druids, and other spell casters not mentioned above are not worth mentioning, as they barely get any necromantic spells, especially not ones unique to them or able to reanimate the dead.)
Q&A:
Q: What are some recommended Monsters to make my Thrall?
A: You, a 14th level (Or higher) Necromancy school Wizard, will want to make a powerful undead your servant. For this, l recommend either a Mummy Lord, or if you’re strong enough to cast it, or have it as a spell scroll, l recommend casting the Feeblemind Spell on a DeathTyrant, (which is a type of Beholder), and bringing them under your thrall.
These two are recommended as they’re both able to create undead minions, which would be under your control by proxy, in addition to being powerful undead. This could also Theoretically be used on Strad, if you want to rule Berovia, though i’m not sure how long it’ll last, given the nature of that realm
Q: What makes Animate Dead/Create Undead so good?
A: Because you can use these spells to create an undead army.
At 5th level, (the minimum level one of these spells can be cast) you have two 3rd level spell slots. The following assumes you spent these days out of combat, such as during down time, and are a 5th level necromancer casting Animate Dead (https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/animate-dead)
(And remember Necromancy School Wizards gain one extra minion per casting starting at 6th level). (http://dnd5e.*******.com/wizard:necromancy) (Would link to here, but not everyone has access to necromancy wizard, and l want to be inclusive)
Day 1: Two 3rd level spell slots to create two undead minions.
D2: 3rd level spell slot to retain control over the two minions, and the second to gain a third.
D3: Just like yesterday, only your total is four minions.
D4: Just like yesterday, but now you're capped at five, as you can only retain control over a maximum of four minions per spell slot, and the second spell slot is used to control the fifth, so you can't control any more.
Now, tell me, how many minions could you get, given enough time, by casting this spell with all the spell slots you have as a level 7+ wizard? (Given you animate or reassert control over two additional undead creatures (Minions) for each slot level above 3rd, or three if you’re a Necromancy Wizard?) (Answer: Alot) (https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/wizard#TheWizardTable)
(Obviously an adventuring wizard wouldn't use ALL their spell slots to maintain an undead army, but my point stands. You can have up to four undead minions for 24 hours, with a single 3rd level spell. Sure they're weak, but if enemies target them, they won't be able to target You. And unlike a FireBall, they can be given armor and weapons to help them survive and kill your enemies.) (Magic stone is practically built to be used by them)
Q: Does Inured to Death allow things like the spell Aid to permanently increase maximum HP?
A: Since this isn't Temp HP, but rather your MAX HP being increased, since your MAX HP can't be lowered, when the spell ends, RAW, you'd keep the new HP MAX, and since the spell duration is over, the spell can be cast again, and again, for Infinite HP! However, l doubt the gods (DM) would actually allow this to happen. (I’d make the Aid spell stay in effect until you die, at which point, since you have no HP (As opposed to 0HP), your HP is reset to its base value. Since you can’t be affected by more than one casting of the same spell at a time, you can’t be affected by this spell again until you die (And are revived).)
Inured to Undeath: Beginning at 10th level, you have resistance to necrotic damage, and your hit point maximum can't be reduced.
Aid: Each target's hit point maximum and current hit points increase by 5 for the duration (8 Hours) (+5 HP per spell slot above 2nd,) (+20 HP every 8 Hours, if using a 5th level spell slot).
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A recount of a conversation I overheard
(Read in the comments of a YouTube video):P1: Feeblemind is an excellent combo with command undead. As long as you can make it fail the Feeblemind save, you've basically already gotten the undead permanently under your control. Only downside is that you give up the potential of any speaking abilities and spellcasting of the undead in question, but almost anything else will still work with it.
P2: Feeblemind ends in 30 days if the save is successful, which you want. The repeating CHA save from Command Undead is, if and only if they fail the save while having the INT at the time of action of 12 or higher.
Wait 30 days, assist on their save, and feeblemind's effect ends. They no longer are capable of doing saves of Command Undead because their initial INT was lower than 11 at the time of the action and can therefore speak and cast spells normally.
P1: That's an interesting interpretation and it can even work thematically. Could imply that you're removing what semblance of a conscious mind was in the undead creature and replacing it with a more loyal servant.
I think it has enough wiggle room in the wording that the DM can interpret it one way or the other.
P2: Alternately if they (DM) don't agree, just keep feeblemind up.
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Edit 1 (Second lesson?):
A Collogue (XXXGammaRay) has recently brought to my attention the spell "Create Magen". Having read through the notes on it, l have to agree that, though not a necromantic spell, is similar enough, and useful enough, to deserve mention. For the cost of a vial of quicksilver worth 500 gp and a life-sized human doll*, you can create a servant loyal to you, or at the very least, obeys your commands without question. And unlike our non necromantic brothers, we can cast this spell with no risk to ourselves thanks to being Inured to Undeath, given you're HP Max is normally reduced by 1-3 points, depending on the Magen.
As for what a Magen is, here is a page from the Encyclopedia Creatureica, not to be confused with the more publicly known, "Monster Manual". https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Magen (*the "intricate crystal rod worth at least 1,500 gp" was not mentioned because it is not consumed)
Additionally, l apologize for not mentioning it earlier: While the Animate Dead spell is good for raising a bunch of corpses to do your bidding, it is not advisable to send them away from you for long, as you need to reassert control every 24 hours, otherwise they become wild undead, and a wild undead is a Evil undead, and a Necromancer who lets their Reanimated Minions out of their control is a Bad Necromancer, and those who do it frequently, or willing, are considered Evil Necromancers, and I'm sure you remember what happens to them.
If you wish to create undead to preform long range missions, or to stay somewhere long term while you're away, it is recommended to use the spell Finger of Death, as when it's used to kill someone, it creates a zombie that is permanently under your command. While not as powerful as four ghouls for the same level spell slot with Create Undead, That's a zombie that can till a field or whatever all day every day while you're adventuring, where as you'd need to be able to return to those 4 Ghouls every day to maintain control over them.
As for the Previously mentioned use of Command Undead to "keep undead as a pet" as my aforementioned college put it, while I agree that it would be much more useful to take out a powerful enemy undead (Which l would like to point out would be done to said "Pet" in the first place), i'd like to remind you (Pretending they're attending my lecture, maybe as a co lecturer or something? Idk.) that while the "Wish-Simulacrum engine" is a very powerful combination, it is only accessible to wizards of 17th level or higher, and thus not accessible to the 14th level wizards who just unlocked the ability to Command Undead, who would, in my opinion, be better off using the ability to have a powerful "Pet" to aid in killing enemies, as if they managed to get it under their control, they have a loyal pet forever, while if they didn't, they can't use the ability on that creature ever again, and if they already have a "Pet" under their command, that "pet" becomes Wild again (thus another enemy to deal with) and would need to be killed, or put back under your command, which would take another action. So in total, you would have wasted two actions, and best case scenario, you're right back where you started with your "pet", and worst case, you're getting yelled at for unleashing another powerful enemy onto the battlefield, when you could have been dealing damage, or buffing/debuffing. As a certain Armorer Artificer once said "Not a great Plan". (In my opinion).
Lastly, on the topic of the "Permeant Aid" exploit, l was reminded of the fact that the Spesific rule overwrites the Generic rule, so by that logic, since the spell specifically says the HP gain only lasts for the duration of the spell, despite our Max HP being unable to decrease thanks to being Inured to Undeath, the HP gained by this spell would still vanish when the 8 hours are over. While that doesn't quite sound right to me, I'll trust that what they say is correct, as l am not a expert on that spesific subject, and magic can be quite unpredictable at times.
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Edit 2:
In my first lecture, l mentioned the Lich. I Feel that it is time to delve deeper into that topic, as some of you seem interested in it. (No one asked, but I wanted to.)
A Lich, as I previously mentioned, are powerful Necromancers who turned themselves into undead in the search for more power and immortality. How did they turn themselves into undead you may ask? Well, l don't know the specifics, as l consider those who become liches Idiots, for reasons i'll get to, but from what l understand, they preform some profane ritual to sever their soul from their body, and seal it inside a object known as a Phylactery.
This is different from using the spell Soul Jar, as that spell severs your control over your body, and lets you possess others, while the Lich retains control over their rotting corpse. The Lich can reform as long as their Phylactery is intact, while the Soul Jarred wizard dies if their host body dies while their Soul Jar is more than 100 feet from them and they're unable to return to their original body.
Now, you may be asking "Why do I think Liches are Idiots?". Well, the answer is fairly simple. They give up their "humanity", and for what? "Immortality"? PHAh! I know it's often easier said than done, but you just need to destroy the Phylactery, and they'll be gone forever! Besides, once you're skilled enough to cast 9th tier magic, it's easy to become practically immortal! Just use Wish every day for a week in your Demiplane to cast Clone, and you have several backup bodies. Sure you'll need several copies of your equipment, but at that point that should be simple. Heck, you could probably just Wish for Immortality! Though personally I'd keep the clones, which can let you return to a younger version of yourself, and maybe wish to never physically age. Immortality sounds great, but honestly, from what I've been told, it's more of a curse. Think about it, if you couldn't die, you'd be in pain forever if you were trapped in a volcano or at the bottom of the ocean. And eventually, you'll get existentially Bored. You'll get tired of existing, but you can't die, so you're forced to continue existing, until your mind shuts off from boredom (highlight with mouse to read spoilers for jojo part 2) (Like Ultimate Kars, a brain dead statue floating through space forever)
And Let's not forget that A Majority of Liches are Evil Undead, and adventurers will seek them out to slay, and l know some of my Necromantic Collogues have used the afore mentioned Feeblemind Command Undead trick on some of them, so l honestly don't see the value in becoming a Lich. Especially since if they don't regularly feed on the souls of humanoids, they'll literaly lose their minds, becoming mindless.
However, it is said that there is a small group of Non Evil Liches, known as Archlichs. However, l have never, to my knowledge, met one, so l can not confirm or deny their existence as more than rumor. For More information on Lichs, please turn to Chapter 7 of your Encyclopedia Creatureica.
Also, Should any of you wish to have a example of a Good Necromancer, other than myself, I recommend going to the Library, as the Webtoon Publishing Company published a excellent Piece of Pro Necromantic Literature, Called "The Lone Necromancer". (Click and Drag over text to read spoiler)
(The way the story seems to be progressing, The protagonist should soon meet a example of a Lich, or at the very least, a Evil Necromancer.)
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Recently, l helped capture a duo of Evil Necromancers, and their apprentice*. THIS is a recording of the memories extracted from them that was used as evidence of their crimes. I Show you this memory because, though l do not condone their actions, their recount of how the "Animate Dead" spell works is very informative. In addition, while l was at the hearing, l overheard some interesting conversations, which l will share below. (Best l got, might edit it later if l think of something better.)
"GregTom2" gave some interesting notes about the spell.
1) The human skeleton weights only about 15 kg. You could carry a couple of those with you wherever you go. If you "tetris" it properly, you could even fit them in a chest so that the townspeople don't freak out,
2) If you lock that chest, you could pre-animate your skeletons that you carry with you. It gives you a contingency plan if you fail to be present at the right time of the day to use a spell slot to keep control of your 4 skeletons, as they will still be contained.
3) No one said you had to use a spell slot to keep control of 4 skeletons. Once your box is full, you very well could just start working on another box of skeletons and leave the now neutral-evil-uncontrollable skeletons in the box. Just because you don't control them doesn't mean they can't be an asset in a fight or act of heinous terrorism. That way, no one will think of giving you reasons to commit heinous acts of terrorism.
4) It can take longer than you would think to bump into 12 full sets of human bones. Get started early. Sure, your party might think you're a little weird for using invisible servant to scratch and quicklime the flesh off every bandit that pisses off your barbarian, but as soon as you hit level 5, you'll be ready.
5) No other spell in the game gives you 4 actions per turn-per-spell-slot-for-24-hours without requiring concentration. It literally is broken. It's like they didn't care to balance the spell at all. It just breaks the action economy.
6) A wand of magic missile does not require a spellcaster level to use. If you can make them or can buy as many of them as you want, every skeleton can deal 3d4+3 per turn. At level 5, that's 36d4+36 (average 126) per turn for a bonus action that doesn't take your concentration. It always hits. There's no saves.
7) Skeletons can wear robes, gloves and masks, even armor if needed. If you use minor illusion, you can make your voice sound like it's coming out of one of them. That way, your enemy takes 126 damage per round not-counting your own actions, while guessing which mage to attack. 8) Skeletons don't need to eat, sleep, drink, or even breathe. They don't require light to perform their task, and don't get sunburned either. They have an int. of 6 and can perform some basic tasks if ordered to. They don't require a wage and don't unionize. Whilst it takes a bonus action to give an instruction, they can all follow a different one. If you set them on a simple task like working looms, mining, or laboring the ground, you can make products that are so abundant and so far below market averages that you can crash any local economy in a matter of months. Have fun.
And another said "Remember to Reanimate S.M.A.R.T: S: Skeletons M: Make A: Amazing R: Reanimated T: Teammates."
(shameless self promotion) For those interested in playing a necromancer, I'll link to my posts exploring playing them in different ways, part 11 listed but it has links to the previous 10 parts.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/50937-necromancy-primer-part-11-the-undead-fan
I am
your God and Mastera GM, who dabbles in necromantic wizardry on the side.If you want to raise an army, the best way to do it is to spam Finger of Death and Create Magen. Animate Dead and Create Undead should not be used to create a standing army, as these minions will turn on you the moment you stop feeding them spellslots, and they should instead be used as a temporary sacrificial force (throw them into the frontline meat grinder; have them storm the walls during a siege; have them stay behind as a rearguard during a retreat). You want absolute control over your minions, so your minions should be unconditionally loyal, and those that are not unconditionally loyal should be cast aside and preferably elimintated after they have fulfilled their purpose. Finger of Death zombies are fairly weak, so I recommend using them as a labor force rather than a fighting force, and have your fighting force consist of your various Magens. If you want to use both in your army, you can use your zombies as a fascade and screening force to lower unsuspecting enemy's guard before surprising them with a much more competent force of Magens.
By the same token, I do not recommend using Command Undead to keep undead as a pet. I would use Command Undead more offensively to neutralize dangerous hostile undead and then destroy them. If you want a powerful pet, I suggest casting Simulacrum; once you are high enough level, you want to abuse the Wish-Simulacrum engine and build a Simulacra army of yourself. And once you have a Simulacra army of yourself, you can really abuse Command Undead to its fullest potential and take down beings like Strahd by spamming the Commant Undead ability to crush their free will and then annihilate them.
As for Inured to Undeath and Aid, specific overrules general, and Aid is more specific in terms of how long its HP maximum lasts, compared to Inured to Undeath that just says HP maximum cannot be reduced. The best use of Inured to Undeath is to abuse Create Magen.
Check Licenses and Resync Entitlements: < https://www.dndbeyond.com/account/licenses >
Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >
You make some very interesting points. Thank you for coming to my lecture, l might have to ask you to join my next one as a speaker! (Doubt there will be a next time, but as we all know, Role play is fun)
Edit: Just replied to your comment as a edit in my post. Incase it's not clear, l mean no offence or disrespect, i'm just roleplaying a Necromancy wizard giving a Lecture on the subject.
(I might as well fully lean into the role play too!)
Oh, and while Wish-Simulacrum is a very powerful combo, due to its power to warp reality, it may incur the wrath of extremely powerful entities called God Masters who weave the very fabric of reality and fate itself. God Masters are a fickle bunch, so it would be prudent to read some tea leaves or send a quick prayer to your god or patron to see how far such entities would allow you to warp reality.
Check Licenses and Resync Entitlements: < https://www.dndbeyond.com/account/licenses >
Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >
Quite Right. The Gods are a fickle lot, and it's never a good idea to get on their bad side. Why, just last week, l was walking about town, and saw some adventurers dicking around (messing around like jerks, nothing sexual) when suddenly several boulders manifested out of nowhere, and crushed each of them into a bloody paste, before vanishing.
On a (Fake cough) unrelated note, i'd like you to meet my new flesh golem assistant, Stuart. (say hello Stuart) (The humanoid pile of flesh and bone shards waves.)