School of Revised Necromancy

The School of Necromancy explores the cosmic forces of life, death, and undeath. As you focus your studies in this tradition, you learn to manipulate the energy that animates all living things. As you progress, you learn to sap the life force from a creature as your magic destroys its body, transforming that vital energy into magical power you can manipulate.

Most people see necromancers as menacing, or even villainous, due to the close association with death. Not all necromancers are evil, but the forces they manipulate are considered taboo by many societies.

Necromancy is an ancient art, the practice of which has been changed over centuries of innovation, experience, and regulation. Many magical schools have tamped down on teaching the art of raising entire undead armies and instead focus on Necromancy's power in different forms; Siphoning life and death, inflicting baleful curses, and the most popular: raising undead guardians. The major difference in these modernized schools, is that the amount of undead that these necromancers produce has been severely hampered, but their power has increased threefold. This allows both the necromancer and their undead servants to rely on tactics other than pure numbers and wave combat. 

*(This is a revised version of the School of Necromancy for the 2014 version of wizard. Due to it's complicated and often campaign-breaking nature, this is a revision made as an alternative to the core subclass. This version focuses on utilizing a single powerful companion and using their powers over undeath to preserve the lives of others.)
 

Necromancy Savant

Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy an necromancy spell into your spellbook is halved.
 

Undead Thrall

Starting at 2nd level, as an action you can touch the body of a dead medium or small sized humanoid (or roughly bipedal) creature within 5ft. You fill the target corpse with foul mimicries of life, and raises them as an undead companion. The target has their statistics replaced with that of a skeleton or zombie (your choice when you use this feature). The creature created has the following benefits:

They have an AC of 16, and has maximum hit points equal to 5 x your wizard level. The creature uses your Spell Attack Modifier for attack rolls, and uses your Intelligence Modifier for calculating damage in place of using their normal ability scores. Additionally, if the creature has any vulnerabilities, they are removed. When you create an undead with this feature, you may choose an additional feature listed on the table below to grant the undead creature, the feature lasts until the undead creature is dismissed or destroyed.

On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to mentally command the creature if the creature is within 120 feet of you. You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete. When you use a bonus action to command another creature (such as a Familiar, undead made by Animate Dead, or an Unseen Servant), you may treat it as if you had used your bonus action to command this creature as well. 

The creature remains animated until the end of your next long rest, at which point it falls inanimate once more. You can only have one creature animated by this feature at a time. Creating any undead past your maximum causes the most recent undead to fall inanimate. You can use this feature once per long rest, or you may expend a 1st level or higher spell slot to use this feature again.

d8	Feature	Effect
1	Harder	The Thrall’s AC increases by +2.
2	Better	The Thrall has advantage on all saving throws.
3	Faster	The Thrall’s walking speed increases by 10 ft., and it gains a climbing speed equal to its walking speed.
4	Stronger	When the Thrall deals damage, the target must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be knocked 10 ft. back and knocked prone.
5	Bigger	The Thrall grows one size category larger. Its reach increases by 5 ft., and its walking speed increases by 5 ft.
6	Meaner	The Thrall deals an additional +1d6 damage on hit.
7	Deadlier	When the Thrall is destroyed, each creature within 10 ft. takes necrotic damage equal to your wizard level.
8	Crueler	When the Thrall hits a creature, that target can’t regain hit points until the start of your next turn.

Grim Harvest

Starting at 6th level, you have learned the art of consuming the dregs and remnants of dying creature's souls, using them to fuel your powers. When a living creature within 60ft of you that you can see dies, you can use your reaction to capture a part of their soul. You can hold a number of souls equal to your intelligence modifier (minimum of one). Whenever you finish a long rest, any unexpended souls are lost. Once per turn when you cast a spell you can expend a soul (no action required) and empower the spell in the following ways:

• When you make a spell attack roll, you roll 1d6 and add it to the total.
• When you hit with the spell, you deal an additional 2d6 necrotic damage.
• When you cause a creature to make a saving throw, roll a 1d4 and reduce their save by the amount rolled.
• When you cast the spell you may regain up to 1d6 hitpoints as a part of casting the spell.

To capture a creature's soul, they must have a CR of at least 1/4 and must be a living creature. 
  

Overwhelming Necrosis

Beginning at 10th level, you've become a vessel for all forms of death. You gain resistance to necrotic damage. Additionally, damage that you cause through spells and features ignore resistance to necrotic damage.
 

Deathly Monarch

Starting at 14th level, your mastery over the energy of life and death allows you to manipulate the life energies of others in brutal fashion. As an action, you can choose one living creature that you can see within 60ft of you, that creature must make a constitution saving throw against your Spell Save DC. On a failed save, the target has their hit points reduced to 0, and dies immediately. On a successful save, the target takes 8d10+20 necrotic damage. If the target of this feature dies, you gain the maximum number of souls you can hold, as you absorb the entirety of the creature's soul instead of partial remnants. Consuming the creature's soul in this way prevents the creature from being revived or resurrected from spells, a creature whose soul has been consumed can only be brought back through Divine Intervention feature, the Wish, or similarly powerful effects.

You can use this feature once per short or long rest.