I am going to be playing a necromancer in an upcoming campaign. I’m taking inspiration from Napoleonic era doctors as well as being a bit of a frankenstein character. I’m thinking of having his spellbook being a medical textbook with his spells mixed in with crude medical diagrams.
I need help in coming up with how he should act/talk what sort of spells he should be taking as I don’t want him to end up as your typical evil overlord with an army of undead who is feared by everyone.
Necromancers are just doctors that are always late. Just play him like a doctor, but a doctor who is never on time. I don't know about spells, but maybe lean away from having an army.
If you want them to be a sort of doctor, have them talk and act like a doctor. Treat magic like science and spells like treatment. Maybe preface certain spells with "beginning operation."
"Looks like this one died when the carotid was severed, naught to be done about that one"
"It is so difficult to come by suitable subjects these days"
"What an intriguing specimen... alright get up you are coming with me."
"I've got just the thing to perk you up"
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I'd say just try to do an impersonation of The Medic from Team Fortress 2.
I think it would make the most sense to play as a Wizard, since that's the class built around knowledge and research. But to hammer home the idea that you're a doctor first it would make sense to take a background that gives you proficiency in Medicine and includes an herbalism kit (so that you can brew potions to heal, since there's so few healing spells in the Wizard spell list). Maybe take the Healer feat so you can use Healer's Kits more efficiently... sticking to the idea of your healing being a result of your medical expertise instead of just relying on magic.
Have you considered the Artificer UA? Mixing that with a Transmutation Wizard or Arcana Cleric would probably get you closest to the flavor you're looking for. It sounds like you want to have spells that let you tinker with the boundary between life and death while also being able to "build" life. If I were you, I would also pay attention to the Eberron content that drops in November. That setting has more science-like elements, which fit in better with the neo-Victorian theme that you are likely seeking for this Dr. Frankenstein sort. You probably want a decent DEX since you will want excuses to to cut into corpses without mutilating them all the time.
For spells, consider some unconventional ones like Tenser's Floating Disc, Creation, and Feign Death. And some more usual spells like Hold Person and Disguise Self.
The Marquis de Singe from Tales from Monkey Island. (He liked to shout the word, "Science!" with a ridiculous, fake French accent. He was trying to make jus de vie from a voodoo-zombie pox that animated dead things, but he needed an ample supply of the pox-infected created from the strongest strain of the virus. Yes. I know that voodoo-zombie is rather redundant, but voodoo and zombie are both broad terms by themselves.)
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
"Magic isn't about why? It's about why not!" - an edited quote from Mr. Johnson.
If Cave Johnson had magic, I imagine he would be a necromancer. He likes breaking through boundaries, and it's heavily implied that he put his assistant into a computer to make them immortal, which sounds like a necromancer.
Some (somewhat relevant) quotes to inspire you:
"Again: all you gotta do is let us disassemble you. We're not banging rocks together here. We know how to put a man back together."
"Ha! I like your style. You make up your own rules, just like me."
"Those of you who volunteered to be injected with praying mantis DNA, I've got some good news and some bad news."
And of course, the famous lemon speech: "All right, I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons? Don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! 'I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's going to burn your house down! With the lemons! I'm going to get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!"
I am going to be playing a necromancer in an upcoming campaign. I’m taking inspiration from Napoleonic era doctors as well as being a bit of a frankenstein character. I’m thinking of having his spellbook being a medical textbook with his spells mixed in with crude medical diagrams.
I need help in coming up with how he should act/talk what sort of spells he should be taking as I don’t want him to end up as your typical evil overlord with an army of undead who is feared by everyone.
Necromancers are just doctors that are always late. Just play him like a doctor, but a doctor who is never on time. I don't know about spells, but maybe lean away from having an army.
If you want them to be a sort of doctor, have them talk and act like a doctor. Treat magic like science and spells like treatment. Maybe preface certain spells with "beginning operation."
"The Doctor is in"
"Pity he would have made a wonderful specimen"
"Perhaps I can make use of you after all"
"Well no use wasting a perfectly good corpse"
"Looks like this one died when the carotid was severed, naught to be done about that one"
"It is so difficult to come by suitable subjects these days"
"What an intriguing specimen... alright get up you are coming with me."
"I've got just the thing to perk you up"
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I'd say just try to do an impersonation of The Medic from Team Fortress 2.
I think it would make the most sense to play as a Wizard, since that's the class built around knowledge and research. But to hammer home the idea that you're a doctor first it would make sense to take a background that gives you proficiency in Medicine and includes an herbalism kit (so that you can brew potions to heal, since there's so few healing spells in the Wizard spell list). Maybe take the Healer feat so you can use Healer's Kits more efficiently... sticking to the idea of your healing being a result of your medical expertise instead of just relying on magic.
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Have you considered the Artificer UA? Mixing that with a Transmutation Wizard or Arcana Cleric would probably get you closest to the flavor you're looking for. It sounds like you want to have spells that let you tinker with the boundary between life and death while also being able to "build" life. If I were you, I would also pay attention to the Eberron content that drops in November. That setting has more science-like elements, which fit in better with the neo-Victorian theme that you are likely seeking for this Dr. Frankenstein sort. You probably want a decent DEX since you will want excuses to to cut into corpses without mutilating them all the time.
For spells, consider some unconventional ones like Tenser's Floating Disc, Creation, and Feign Death. And some more usual spells like Hold Person and Disguise Self.
The Marquis de Singe from Tales from Monkey Island. (He liked to shout the word, "Science!" with a ridiculous, fake French accent. He was trying to make jus de vie from a voodoo-zombie pox that animated dead things, but he needed an ample supply of the pox-infected created from the strongest strain of the virus. Yes. I know that voodoo-zombie is rather redundant, but voodoo and zombie are both broad terms by themselves.)
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
You could try to imitate Cave Johnson.
"Magic isn't about why? It's about why not!" - an edited quote from Mr. Johnson.
If Cave Johnson had magic, I imagine he would be a necromancer. He likes breaking through boundaries, and it's heavily implied that he put his assistant into a computer to make them immortal, which sounds like a necromancer.
Some (somewhat relevant) quotes to inspire you:
"All right, I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons? Don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! 'I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's going to burn your house down! With the lemons! I'm going to get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!"
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