My Adventurers League plans are on hold because I'm stuck in the house and I'm not feeling well enough to go out. Since I can't go and play, I thought I'd create a character as I like creating characters and doing so usually gives me something to focus on and cheers me up.
I thought that I'd create something that I have never attempted I create before, a Necromancer. I rolled for my ability scores and got this.
16, 14, 12, 9, 15, 13
I am thinking about an Investigator (like a real-world detective) who is also a Necromancer. She is assigned to the paranormal cold case department, and it is her job to solve previously unsolved crimes that might have been committed by or involve planar entities, or other paranormal beings. I will be starting her at level 3. So she has some skills but is still young and somewhat naive, especially when it comes to a particular bakers daughter with whom she is infatuated.
Although the characters investigation skills are pretty sharp, her infatuation with that beautiful baker's daughter blinds her to the truth. Both the baker and her daughter are hags, using a powerful illusion spell to hide their actual appearance. These two cretins are responsible for the disappearance of several of the town's children. They are smart, though and don't kidnap them directly. Instead, every so often they bake a particular batch of sticky buns, laced with powerful but subtle magic, that when activated causes the children to walk to their doom willingly, silently and in the dead of night so that the children's parents wake up the next morning to find their children gone, without a trace.
So, guys, any thoughts on how I can make this necromantic Paranormal Investigator, whose infatuation with a heavily glamoured hag, allows said hag and her mother to manipulate her into not seeing the truth?
I am looking forward to reading all your suggestions
I think there is room for a lot of DM shennanigans witha character like this one...I like it...
I think I'd start off with the concept of a dirge singer (taken from a few posts I did on playing necormancers a while back):
***
Dirge Singers were either people that were brought up in a choir or that made a living as a singer and found themselves continually hired to perform at funerals to sing songs to honour the deceased. over time they became slightly warped and delved into necromancy and use their singing and performing skills to lure the souls and spirits of the dead back to the world of the living or help lost souls pass on to the afterlife.
Background wise, Dirge singers were usually Acolytes or Entertainers before taking up the role of the necromancer. They are not usually evil they just have a slightly warped view of the world.
Skill wise, Dirge singers are proficient with musical instruments and singing as well as the performance skill with a sound knowledge of Arcana and Religion which they use to enact burial rites and persuade lost soul to move on.
Spell wise, Dirge Singers prefer to utilise more subtle spells (such as Calm Emotions and Slow) and create undead to fight for them and are likely to have the Requiem feat noted above to increase the variety of undead they can summon. When they sing or perform they are known for their haunting melody and excel at using peoples emotions against them and most spell casting they do incorporates singing in some fashion.
Advancement wise, it is common for dirge singers to delve into studies with the bard college of lore to hone their performance abilities and learn about funerary rites from other parts of the world and sometimes they may seek out Gods that tolerate their abilities.
Equipment wise, Dirge Singers have a musical instrument of choice, enough components to summon whatever undead they desire and a book of songs and funeral rites so they are ready to perform whenever needed. Dress wise they wear solemn and respectful attire.
****
I'd then tweak this a little to say the starting lvl 3 character is a level 1 Warlock/Lvl 2 Necromancer, warlock patron either Fey or Fiend dpending on the type of hag present. Use the Entertainer background to remove a possibility of religious know how about Hags and their abilities.
The Hags initially saw the charater performing songs at funerals and used some enchantment and illusion magics to gain her interest and make her fall in love with the "bakers daughter" in the classic blind obession the character agreed to help them with various "catering" work, this invovled taking some sticky bins to local orphanages or events to sell or give away to the local urchins.
Over time the character delevoped some minor spells (lvl 1 warlock) and beleives she is being rewarded for her good deeds by a local God or are minor magics the bakers daughter uses to entertain the local urchins. Spells selected for lvl 1 warlock should be mostly utility: Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Charm Person, Unseen Servant. At this stage the character is something of a pied piper figure but there is no sense of evil intent or suspiscion about the bakers motivations aand the public largely see the bakers and the character as good folk.
Eventually the time comes where the character is sent away to study (become a wizard) but she continues to correspond with the bakers daughter and returns home whenever the possibility occurs. One day one of the tutors at the wizard school is teaching the methods of detecting magic and finds the character is coverd in enchantment magic (Geas spell), the tutor may then break said magic and the character realises what has happend and upon graduating as a Necromancer (because the Hags influence warped her mind a little bit) she returns home to confront her former employer/friend/girl friend. This goes badly and the character finds herself once again entralled by them and they now send her out on "witch" hunts where they manipulate events so the character investigates their rivals or completely innocent people and finds them guilty of necromancy, demon worship etc or she goes out to help ghosts or restless spirits to pass onto the afterlife, finishes their unfinished business etc.
The time may come that the character gains a party of friends/followers/fellow adventurers who realise what is happening, maybe she speaks with the ghost of someone she investigated and is told some hard truths and again end the Hags hold on her and lead to a climatic battle between the character and her adventuring friends and the hags in their lair.
I don't think I'd take more than one warlock level, it more a representation of the Hags influence than an outright pact the character has made. This would become a Warlock that has no kowledge of Hex or Eldritch blastbecasue they have not been taught to curse or harm people by their patron. Any damaging spells/cantrips would come from their wizard schooling likely focusing on Abjuration & Necromancy spells.
Edit: If starting as a Variant human the the Observant feat is a must as is starting with investigation and perception skills but not have Inishgt. This also serves to show a certain amount of duality in as much as she is very adept at investigation and is very percepetive but is completely unaware of how others manipulate her.
So, guys
My Adventurers League plans are on hold because I'm stuck in the house and I'm not feeling well enough to go out. Since I can't go and play, I thought I'd create a character as I like creating characters and doing so usually gives me something to focus on and cheers me up.
I thought that I'd create something that I have never attempted I create before, a Necromancer. I rolled for my ability scores and got this.
16, 14, 12, 9, 15, 13
I am thinking about an Investigator (like a real-world detective) who is also a Necromancer. She is assigned to the paranormal cold case department, and it is her job to solve previously unsolved crimes that might have been committed by or involve planar entities, or other paranormal beings. I will be starting her at level 3. So she has some skills but is still young and somewhat naive, especially when it comes to a particular bakers daughter with whom she is infatuated.
Although the characters investigation skills are pretty sharp, her infatuation with that beautiful baker's daughter blinds her to the truth. Both the baker and her daughter are hags, using a powerful illusion spell to hide their actual appearance. These two cretins are responsible for the disappearance of several of the town's children. They are smart, though and don't kidnap them directly. Instead, every so often they bake a particular batch of sticky buns, laced with powerful but subtle magic, that when activated causes the children to walk to their doom willingly, silently and in the dead of night so that the children's parents wake up the next morning to find their children gone, without a trace.
So, guys, any thoughts on how I can make this necromantic Paranormal Investigator, whose infatuation with a heavily glamoured hag, allows said hag and her mother to manipulate her into not seeing the truth?
I am looking forward to reading all your suggestions
Foxes
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
I think there is room for a lot of DM shennanigans witha character like this one...I like it...
I think I'd start off with the concept of a dirge singer (taken from a few posts I did on playing necormancers a while back):
***
Dirge Singers were either people that were brought up in a choir or that made a living as a singer and found themselves continually hired to perform at funerals to sing songs to honour the deceased. over time they became slightly warped and delved into necromancy and use their singing and performing skills to lure the souls and spirits of the dead back to the world of the living or help lost souls pass on to the afterlife.
Background wise, Dirge singers were usually Acolytes or Entertainers before taking up the role of the necromancer. They are not usually evil they just have a slightly warped view of the world.
Skill wise, Dirge singers are proficient with musical instruments and singing as well as the performance skill with a sound knowledge of Arcana and Religion which they use to enact burial rites and persuade lost soul to move on.
Spell wise, Dirge Singers prefer to utilise more subtle spells (such as Calm Emotions and Slow) and create undead to fight for them and are likely to have the Requiem feat noted above to increase the variety of undead they can summon. When they sing or perform they are known for their haunting melody and excel at using peoples emotions against them and most spell casting they do incorporates singing in some fashion.
Advancement wise, it is common for dirge singers to delve into studies with the bard college of lore to hone their performance abilities and learn about funerary rites from other parts of the world and sometimes they may seek out Gods that tolerate their abilities.
Equipment wise, Dirge Singers have a musical instrument of choice, enough components to summon whatever undead they desire and a book of songs and funeral rites so they are ready to perform whenever needed. Dress wise they wear solemn and respectful attire.
****
I'd then tweak this a little to say the starting lvl 3 character is a level 1 Warlock/Lvl 2 Necromancer, warlock patron either Fey or Fiend dpending on the type of hag present. Use the Entertainer background to remove a possibility of religious know how about Hags and their abilities.
The Hags initially saw the charater performing songs at funerals and used some enchantment and illusion magics to gain her interest and make her fall in love with the "bakers daughter" in the classic blind obession the character agreed to help them with various "catering" work, this invovled taking some sticky bins to local orphanages or events to sell or give away to the local urchins.
Over time the character delevoped some minor spells (lvl 1 warlock) and beleives she is being rewarded for her good deeds by a local God or are minor magics the bakers daughter uses to entertain the local urchins. Spells selected for lvl 1 warlock should be mostly utility: Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Charm Person, Unseen Servant. At this stage the character is something of a pied piper figure but there is no sense of evil intent or suspiscion about the bakers motivations aand the public largely see the bakers and the character as good folk.
Eventually the time comes where the character is sent away to study (become a wizard) but she continues to correspond with the bakers daughter and returns home whenever the possibility occurs. One day one of the tutors at the wizard school is teaching the methods of detecting magic and finds the character is coverd in enchantment magic (Geas spell), the tutor may then break said magic and the character realises what has happend and upon graduating as a Necromancer (because the Hags influence warped her mind a little bit) she returns home to confront her former employer/friend/girl friend. This goes badly and the character finds herself once again entralled by them and they now send her out on "witch" hunts where they manipulate events so the character investigates their rivals or completely innocent people and finds them guilty of necromancy, demon worship etc or she goes out to help ghosts or restless spirits to pass onto the afterlife, finishes their unfinished business etc.
The time may come that the character gains a party of friends/followers/fellow adventurers who realise what is happening, maybe she speaks with the ghost of someone she investigated and is told some hard truths and again end the Hags hold on her and lead to a climatic battle between the character and her adventuring friends and the hags in their lair.
I don't think I'd take more than one warlock level, it more a representation of the Hags influence than an outright pact the character has made. This would become a Warlock that has no kowledge of Hex or Eldritch blastbecasue they have not been taught to curse or harm people by their patron. Any damaging spells/cantrips would come from their wizard schooling likely focusing on Abjuration & Necromancy spells.
Edit: If starting as a Variant human the the Observant feat is a must as is starting with investigation and perception skills but not have Inishgt. This also serves to show a certain amount of duality in as much as she is very adept at investigation and is very percepetive but is completely unaware of how others manipulate her.