Pale Master

A necromancer reanimates the dead, speaks with spirits, and explores the mysteries and meanings of what it is to be dead, or undead. The Pale Master takes a more direct approach, creating, wearing and grafting undead pieces to their body, learning as they go. Which is not to say Pale Masters are not academically inclined - they will dive headlong into research and immediately look for practical applications before the ink has even dried. Working primarily with bones and necromantic energies, the Pale Master treads a fine line between life and undeath, culminating in the replication of a Lich's physical powers, without quite crossing that line. Yet.

Tool Proficiency

You have studied the many ways that a creature can live and die, and are quite proficient at ensuring it does one despite factors which might cause it to do the other, and vice versa. Even those things which do cross from one extreme to the other, you are quite skilled in making it appear as it was. You gain expertise in the Medicine skill. You are proficient in Taxidermist's tools, able to make a dead creature appear living, and the Disguise kit, able to conceal an undead creature as though it were a living one, and also a living creature to pass as dead or undead.

Pale Master Spells

You always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Alchemist Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don't count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.

3rd level - False Life, Inflict Wounds
5th level - Gentle Repose, Ray of Enfeeblement
9th level - Animate Dead, Vampiric Touch
13th level - Blight, Death Ward
17th level - Awaken, Animate Objects

First Graft

Your first forays into reanimating dead things includes one of your own fingers. At third level, you graft an enchanted fingerbone (or several) in place of a missing digit. Using this digit, you can cast the Chill Touch cantrip without a verbal component required - simply crooking your bony finger at a target and willing the necromantic energies forth is all it takes. 

You have begun your experimentation on reanimating tiny taxidermy creatures and have learned to summon them forth as other casters might call upon a familiar. You learn the Find Familiar spell and it does not count against your Artificer spells known. Any beast you summon using this spell has the Undead creature subtype, and gains resistance to Necrotic damage. If you choose to craft a Homunculus Servant as an Artificer Infusion, it too changes to the Undead creature subtype and gains resistance to Necrotic damage. You can heal either creature as an action using your Chill Touch cantrip, restoring a number of hit points equal to the damage dice rolled rather than dealing necrotic damage. No attack roll is needed if you are physically touching your familiar or homunculus.

Bone Skin

Coating yourself in salves of crushed bones and rendered cadaver oils, layer by layer you have built an unnatural hardness to your flesh. At 5th level you gain a Natural Armor bonus to your Armor Class equal to your proficiency modifier. 

After a long rest, you can temporarily apply such a salve to a willing or incapacitated ally, granting a +2 Natural Armor bonus to their armor class which will last throughout the day and night until the next sun sets and rises again. 

Monstrous Reanimation

Sometimes bigger is better. Beginning at 9th level, when casting Animate Dead you can target bones or a corpse that is size large, instead of just medium or small. If no relevant statistics for the creature being reanimated exist, use the stat-block for the Minotaur Skeleton (Monster Manual p.273) or Ogre Zombie (Monster Manual p.316) instead. 

Additionally, you have reanimated a special mount for yourself, which you summon at will. You learn the Find Steed which you can cast without expending a spell slot, but always call forth a Warhorse Skeleton (Monster Manual p.273) to serve you. You can cast the spell repeatedly but doing so dismisses any previously summoned steed, you can only have one such mount at a time.

Lich's Presence

Though not yet a true Lich, you have had opportunity to study some of their more remarkable features, and graft some features of their undeathly powers to yourself. At 15th level, choose one of the options below. You may choose an additional option in lieu of an Ability Score Increase or Feat at level 16 and/or level 19.  

Eye of the lich

Replacing one of your own eyes with a magically enhanced version, you gain Truesight with a range of 60 feet. Additionally, as an action, you gaze at a creature within 10 feet, causing it to make a wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. You cannot use this ability again until you finish a short or long rest.

Hand of the lich

You have grafted a cold, dead hand in place of your own. Your unarmed attacks and those of your familiar or homunculus servant deal  an extra 3d6 Cold damage on a successful hit, and the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw of be paralyzed for 1 minute.

Heart of the lich

Carving out space within your own chest, you graft a cold lump of undead flesh into your torso -  the slowly beating heart of a lich seeping tendrils of unholy power throughout your vascular and nervous systems. You are resistant to cold, lightning, necrotic and poison damage, and immune to the exhausted, paralyzed and poisoned conditions.

Hide of the lich

Wearing the flayed skin of an undead creature directly over your own, you wrap yourself in a protective shell to inure against physical harm, even as the undead hide grafts to your own flesh and seals itself in place over your living epidermis. You gain resistance against all bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage. Additionally, you gain advantage on any Charisma based skill checks when interacting with sentient undead, and nonsentient undead believe you are one of them, and will not attack you unless directly and specifically commanded to do so. 

Shroud of the lich

A swirling shroud of death, magic and shadow surrounds you, awaiting a trigger to be unleashed. As a reaction to taking necrotic damage, you emit burst of necromantic energy affecting a 20 foot radius sphere centered on yourself dealing 6d6 necrotic damage, half that on a successful Constitution saving throw, and restoring to full hit points any undead creature under your control within the sphere. You cannot use this ability again until you take a long rest.

Master's Gifts

To call oneself a master, one needs minions. And while the undead have many advantageous qualities, companionship and conversation are not among them. Fear not! Achieving the pinnacle of your necromantic powers, you learn the Awaken spell at 17th level, which you can cast on your undead minions, granting them the powers of speech, reasoning, and limited free will. The target must have the undead subtype and an intelligence score less than 10.

And sometimes, you need more minions in a pinch. Not to worry! When you learn the Animate Objects at 17th level, you can use it to animate the bones or corpses of creatures up to size Huge, which are undead, but otherwise use the same statistics provided in the spell description (Players Handbook p.213).