So I'm joining a game here soon as Sylvari and was wondering the best way to build a veterinary necromancer for it in the ranger class, or if it's just possible in general. Ideally, I was hoping to use the Sylvari's power over plants to, in a way, to get inside the remains of animals for use in battle and just companionship when not in battle.
I think if you do the Swarmkeeper and skin your swarm as necromantic animation, that should work.
I quite like that idea. I'm reminded of the Druid's Circle of Spores, where their fungus can animate a corpse for a limited time, so perhaps the swarm in this instance could be some sort of carrion insect (beetles, botflies, maggots). Given the OP wants to go the vet route, I'd say maggots or leeches would be ideal given their role in medicine.
You could also just go with beast master and have a.. you know... undead minion pet.
That's either the single worst or greatest advert for a veterinarian's services!
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Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
All things are possible with dm buy in, but I don't think rangers get any of the animate dead or similar spells. As said above swarmkeeper jumps out as the easiest retheme without dipping into homebrew
I'm wondering how one might balance an actual necromancer with the ranger (either swarm keeper or beast master) pursuant to a outdoorsy ranger type who practices necromancy....
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
To reflavour Ranger spells for a "Necromaancer" vibe I'd add some ghostly animals to the spells, using some of the level 1 PHB spells for examples:
Alarm: rather than hear a "ping" when the alarm is triggered you hear a mournful wolf howl.
Animal Friendship: you summon the ghost of a friendly animal/pet to posess the animal you want to befriend.
Ensnaring Strike: As you hit the target a ghost animal, such as a badger, fox or wolf, appears and latches pn to the targets arm or leg for the duration of the spell instead of having vines appear.
Hail of Thorns: The ammunition explodes in a burst of shards of bones claws and fangs instead of thorns.
Hunters Mark: A friendly spectral squirrel, that only you can see, appears to point the way to the target, scampering after them and when you hit the target with an attack the squirrel also bites them.
If using the Ranger Beastmaster then you can flavour the companion as a zombie or skeletal animal, if your DM allows it you could augment it with the respective abilities in the DMG (page 282) so that it gains the undead type and abilites. Aside from making the companion a lot harder to heal as they would now be undead it shouldn;t hinder things to much unless you have a cleric in the party that likes using turn undead.
To reflavour Ranger spells for a "Necromaancer" vibe I'd add some ghostly animals to the spells, using some of the level 1 PHB spells for examples:
Alarm: rather than hear a "ping" when the alarm is triggered you hear a mournful wolf howl.
Animal Friendship: you summon the ghost of a friendly animal/pet to posess the animal you want to befriend.
Ensnaring Strike: As you hit the target a ghost animal, such as a badger, fox or wolf, appears and latches pn to the targets arm or leg for the duration of the spell instead of having vines appear.
Hail of Thorns: The ammunition explodes in a burst of shards of bones claws and fangs instead of thorns.
Hunters Mark: A friendly spectral squirrel, that only you can see, appears to point the way to the target, scampering after them and when you hit the target with an attack the squirrel also bites them.
If using the Ranger Beastmaster then you can flavour the companion as a zombie or skeletal animal, if your DM allows it you could augment it with the respective abilities in the DMG (page 282) so that it gains the undead type and abilites. Aside from making the companion a lot harder to heal as they would now be undead it shouldn;t hinder things to much unless you have a cleric in the party that likes using turn undead.
I like all this imagery, the only thing I'd change is with ensnaring strike have a phenomenon that acts like a bear trap, but it's "actually" a pair of jaw bones and teeth erupting form the ground.
It's branching from the thread, but I'm also just interested in how one would level out a Ranger Necromancer to (maybe someone who hails from a forrest spoiled by civilization and represents a sort of reckoning on behalf of said forest). It would be super diluted but maybe even a Ranger/Nercromancer/Spore Druid trifecta, the Ranger being either swarm or beast master.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I'v been pondering it and I think the best option is one that sadly requires some DM buy in to do properly.
What I think you need would be to have the Golgari Swarm guild (From Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica) as a patron. Now, as its likely most people won't be playing in that setting it'll need the DM to either allow it as NPC sect or guild or allow the Ranger to take the bonus spells form the Golgari Swarm as their chosen spells when they level up.
To quote from the book:
The Golgari Swarm might suit your character if one or more of the following statements are true: • You're drawn to the darker side of nature or the greener side of necromancy. • You are drawn to sinister, creepy, or grim characters. • You like elves and druids but want to explore an unusual direction.
The Golgari Swarm guild would be the best option as their bonus spell list (which all spellcasters in the guild get access to) contains necromancy spells such as Ray of Sickness, Ray of Enfeeblement and Animate Dead and their members are made up of Druids, Fighters, Rangers, Rogues and Wizards so plenty of multiclassing/training to be had if needed.If you could get your DM to bring the Golgari Swarm guild over as an NPC faction the Ranger is working for then it'll open up plenty of other options as well.
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I would go Ranger5 (Swarmkeeper -> Swarm of Flies) with Druidic Fighting Style (Shillelagh) and Polearmmaster. After that switch to Spore Druid (6 levels) for Animate Dead and to upcast your "undead pet" (summon beast). I think such a build would be super cool and also mechanically quite good!
Thank you everyone for the ideas and input. ^-^ It all gives me a good jumping off point to start with building this char and I'll look into some of the possibilities you guys all recommended.
For the few that said that I may need to get DM approval for some of the more unconventional scope of things, that's not an issue at all since they're my fiancé and it'd be his first proper game as DM. But I'll def share this thread with him and see if he'd have any additional points for this.
Thank you everyone for the ideas and input. ^-^ It all gives me a good jumping off point to start with building this char and I'll look into some of the possibilities you guys all recommended.
For the few that said that I may need to get DM approval for some of the more unconventional scope of things, that's not an issue at all since they're my fiancé and it'd be his first proper game as DM. But I'll def share this thread with him and see if he'd have any additional points for this.
My two copper, with a new dm I would lean towards reskining existing option. It's real easy to get lost in homebrew, doubly so if you are new
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So I'm joining a game here soon as Sylvari and was wondering the best way to build a veterinary necromancer for it in the ranger class, or if it's just possible in general. Ideally, I was hoping to use the Sylvari's power over plants to, in a way, to get inside the remains of animals for use in battle and just companionship when not in battle.
I also posted this in the ranger forum.
I think if you do the Swarmkeeper and skin your swarm as necromantic animation, that should work.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
You could also just go with beast master and have a.. you know... undead minion pet.
I quite like that idea. I'm reminded of the Druid's Circle of Spores, where their fungus can animate a corpse for a limited time, so perhaps the swarm in this instance could be some sort of carrion insect (beetles, botflies, maggots). Given the OP wants to go the vet route, I'd say maggots or leeches would be ideal given their role in medicine.
That's either the single worst or greatest advert for a veterinarian's services!
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
All things are possible with dm buy in, but I don't think rangers get any of the animate dead or similar spells. As said above swarmkeeper jumps out as the easiest retheme without dipping into homebrew
I'm wondering how one might balance an actual necromancer with the ranger (either swarm keeper or beast master) pursuant to a outdoorsy ranger type who practices necromancy....
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
To reflavour Ranger spells for a "Necromaancer" vibe I'd add some ghostly animals to the spells, using some of the level 1 PHB spells for examples:
Alarm: rather than hear a "ping" when the alarm is triggered you hear a mournful wolf howl.
Animal Friendship: you summon the ghost of a friendly animal/pet to posess the animal you want to befriend.
Ensnaring Strike: As you hit the target a ghost animal, such as a badger, fox or wolf, appears and latches pn to the targets arm or leg for the duration of the spell instead of having vines appear.
Hail of Thorns: The ammunition explodes in a burst of shards of bones claws and fangs instead of thorns.
Hunters Mark: A friendly spectral squirrel, that only you can see, appears to point the way to the target, scampering after them and when you hit the target with an attack the squirrel also bites them.
If using the Ranger Beastmaster then you can flavour the companion as a zombie or skeletal animal, if your DM allows it you could augment it with the respective abilities in the DMG (page 282) so that it gains the undead type and abilites. Aside from making the companion a lot harder to heal as they would now be undead it shouldn;t hinder things to much unless you have a cleric in the party that likes using turn undead.
I like all this imagery, the only thing I'd change is with ensnaring strike have a phenomenon that acts like a bear trap, but it's "actually" a pair of jaw bones and teeth erupting form the ground.
It's branching from the thread, but I'm also just interested in how one would level out a Ranger Necromancer to (maybe someone who hails from a forrest spoiled by civilization and represents a sort of reckoning on behalf of said forest). It would be super diluted but maybe even a Ranger/Nercromancer/Spore Druid trifecta, the Ranger being either swarm or beast master.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I'v been pondering it and I think the best option is one that sadly requires some DM buy in to do properly.
What I think you need would be to have the Golgari Swarm guild (From Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica) as a patron. Now, as its likely most people won't be playing in that setting it'll need the DM to either allow it as NPC sect or guild or allow the Ranger to take the bonus spells form the Golgari Swarm as their chosen spells when they level up.
To quote from the book:
The Golgari Swarm might suit your character if one or more of the following statements are true:
• You're drawn to the darker side of nature or the greener side of necromancy.
• You are drawn to sinister, creepy, or grim characters.
• You like elves and druids but want to explore an unusual direction.
The Golgari Swarm guild would be the best option as their bonus spell list (which all spellcasters in the guild get access to) contains necromancy spells such as Ray of Sickness, Ray of Enfeeblement and Animate Dead and their members are made up of Druids, Fighters, Rangers, Rogues and Wizards so plenty of multiclassing/training to be had if needed.If you could get your DM to bring the Golgari Swarm guild over as an NPC faction the Ranger is working for then it'll open up plenty of other options as well.
I would go Ranger5 (Swarmkeeper -> Swarm of Flies) with Druidic Fighting Style (Shillelagh) and Polearmmaster. After that switch to Spore Druid (6 levels) for Animate Dead and to upcast your "undead pet" (summon beast). I think such a build would be super cool and also mechanically quite good!
Thank you everyone for the ideas and input. ^-^ It all gives me a good jumping off point to start with building this char and I'll look into some of the possibilities you guys all recommended.
For the few that said that I may need to get DM approval for some of the more unconventional scope of things, that's not an issue at all since they're my fiancé and it'd be his first proper game as DM. But I'll def share this thread with him and see if he'd have any additional points for this.
My two copper, with a new dm I would lean towards reskining existing option. It's real easy to get lost in homebrew, doubly so if you are new