Roleplaying

[Some guy]

I'd like to be a Necromancer. I haven't thought of a backstory or personality yet but it would be weird for a Necromancer to be charismatic and charming so I guess I'll be cynical or brooding.

[icycalm]

Necromancer's strong. If jeff picks Illusionist you'll make a good match. The schools are also directly opposed, so the party will have access to all spells.

Take a look at this if you can find it and see if you can pick a kit too:

[Some guy]

Found it: http://www.freegamemanuals.com/pdfrpg/T ... ancers.pdf

[icycalm]

I guess you can forget about this book for now:

Necromancy and the PC

In general, the material presented in this tome is for the Dungeon Master's eyes only. The necromancer put forward herein is a maverick—he or she operates by a set of nasty rules that are completely beyond the realm of most "normal" player characters. These rules must be kept strictly hidden from the players, even if they are adamant about portraying a necromancer.

The most obvious hindrance for a PC necromancer is alignment. While some practitioners of the Art have a scrupulous code of ethics, the number of benevolent necromancers is deplorably rare. At the very least, the majority of necromancers should be considered rigidly neutral. The large remainder of necromantic practitioners are profoundly evil.

Necromancer PCs will face moral challenges from the onset of their career, starting probably with their mentor. Consider Talib, an example of a good and heroic necromancer (highlighted in a number of the chapter introductions and presented in detail in Chapter Nine). Before poor Talib the Apprentice was permitted to advance to 1st level, his Master forced him through a brutal initiation by drugging his food, tying him down to a cold stone altar, and sacrificing him to the Goddessof Murder. Using a ring of spell storing from an allied death priest, the Master then raised Talib back from the dead (no hard feelings) to see if his potential pupil had the requisite strength of body and mind to practice necromancy. Since he survived the ordeal, Talib only lost a point of Constitution, the first small price for the privilege of practicing the Art.

Obviously, the young Talib fled his Master at the earliest opportunity. However, whenever he needed to train after gaining levels or to learn new spells, the necromancers he sought out were sometimes more blackhearted than his original Master, and they always demanded a terrible price (moral, physical, or financial) for his continuing education. Since Talib retained his initially lofty ideals, he was usually forced to train himself, requiring much greater expense and time than his other adventuring compatriots. As the DM, you should make certain that a necromancer PC will confront as many difficult obstacles as possible during his or her own career.

A necromancer PC that reaches 9th level becomes a potential threat to game balance once he or she gains the ability to cast animate dead. Scary enough in the hands of NPCs, this spell can be a monumental inconvenience to the DM in the hands of a crafty player character. On the way out to a dungeon outside a village, for instance, a necromancer PC might raid the local cemetery for a few nights, raising a few "kamikaze" hirelings. The other PCs in the group, if they are smart, will wait patiently while the necromancer completes these preparations.

Afterward, half of the adventure will be reduced to the necromancer sending minions into the dungeon. "Zombie, open that door! Zombie, open that chest! Zombie, walk into that room! Zombie, walk across that checkered and suspicious floor!" Though this scenario can be somewhat morbidly amusing for an evening or two, over an entire series of adventures, it can completely ruin a campaign's carefully cultivated atmosphere of danger, mystery, and suspense. The animated zombies can also put the party thief out of business because of their unfailing ability to detect and harmlessly disarm traps. So what if a zombie takes a ballista bolt in its chest while opening a treasure-filled coffer? The industrious necromancer PC will have plenty of zombies on hand to thwart the array of traps in a dungeon.

Necromancer PCs are already powerful enough (especially at high level) given the basics from the Player's Handbook. They have no need of the additional powers and abilities described in this book. Since a properly played necromancer PC can significantly unbalance a campaign, only experienced DMs should consider allowing them the abilities outlined in Chapter Two. At the same time, necromancer PCs are completely subject to the dangers of the Art. Feel free to impose any of the penalties in Chapter Three to keep a necromancer PC from monopolizing every gaming session.

Keep in mind that you—as DM—must choose an appropriate power and penalties for the character, taking into account game balance and role-playing potential before making a final decision. In general, the DM should try to keep as much of this information from the players as possible (especially necromancers' players). If anything, the general aura of mystery, the anticipation of future power, and the dread of the next personal price of increased ability will add a more exciting ambiance to the campaign.

Provided necromancer PCs can be kept in check by an alert DM, they unquestionably add an interesting element of moral tension to the role-playing. Because of their troubling background, questionable practices, and ofttimes dubious sanity, necromancer PCs can be considered to be the roguish equivalent of the common wizard. Since his or her Art will be considered either repugnant (at the very least) or criminal (more likely) by the general populace, the necromancer has the "black sheep" appeal of the outcast or outlaw. Despite this quasi-romantic allure, however, the necromancer deals in cold death, pure and simple. The DM should delight in reminding the player of this rather unglamorous fact whenever necessary.

If you were an experienced player and I wasn't rusty, we'd try to deal with the problems described above and make you a Necromancer based on this book. As things stand you'll have to content yourself with a generic one for the time being. If you survive long enough we'll think about it again.

So don't read anything in there.

[Some guy]

Fair enough.

[Some guy]

I did end up skimming some of the book and read some of that intro before you posted it but not much.

[Some guy]

I think I'll go with the Militant kit:

Militant Wizard

Description: The Militant Wizard is skilled in both magical and military arts, making him an
extremely formidable opponent. They can come from aggressive, warmongering cultures bent
on the conquest of weaker nations, or from cultures continually under siege from their more
warlike neighbors, making military preparedness vital to their defense. In any case, the Militant
Wizard considers a trained body as important as a trained mind, and prides himself on keeping
his combat skills as sharp as his magical talents.

A character must have a Strength of at least 13 to be a Militant Wizard. Though male
Militant Wizards will be more common, female Militant Wizards are allowable as well, unless
the DM's world specifically forbids them.

Abandoning this kit is difficult. A Militant Wizard must abstain from using both of the
weapons he has chosen for his Weapon Proficiencies for three full experience levels. Once he
reaches the third experience level, he loses the use of his two Weapon Proficiencies. If he then
renounces his citizenship from his home culture, he can successfully abandon this kit.

For example, consider a 5th-level Militant Wizard with Weapon Proficiencies in short sword
and long bow. If he abstains from using both of these weapons (and the corresponding Weapon
Proficiencies), he loses his Weapon Proficiencies in short sword and long bow when he reaches
8th level. If he then renounces his citizenship from his home culture, he can abandon this kit. If
he uses these weapons before reaching 8th level, he must begin again, abstaining for an
additional three levels of experience (for instance, if he uses his long bow Weapon Proficiency
when at 7th level, he'll have to abstain until he reaches 10th level in order to abandon this kit.)

Preferred Schools: Militant Wizards prefer schools with an excess of offensive and
defensive spells, such as abjuration, alteration, conjuration/summoning, invocation/evocation,
and necromancy.

Barred Schools: Militant Wizards are barred from specializing in the schools of
enchantment/charm and illusion, as their cultures tend to consider them relatively useless in
combat. Though greater divination has uses on the battlefield, particularly in the area of
reconnaissance, Militant Wizards are discouraged, but not barred, from divination specialization.

Role: Militant Wizards are among the most honored and respected citizens in their societies,
since their powerful magic makes them exceptionally able soldiers. Depending on his
background, the Militant Wizard may be a brutal, savage killer, wallowing in the violence of the
battlefield, or he may be a heroic warrior, fighting with honor and taking lives only when
necessary.

A Militant Wizard might have a variety of reasons for joining an adventuring party. Perhaps
he shares the party's goal of defeating a force of evil, or he might be seeking treasure to finance his own army at home. He might wish to study the fighting techniques of other cultures, or he
might hire on as a mercenary.

Whatever his reasons, the Militant Wizard's fighting skills should greatly benefit any party.
He makes an excellent leader, but he is also capable of following orders to the letter, assuming
the orders are issued by a commander he respects. The Militant Wizard tends to prefer action
to inaction and combat to negotiation. He is skeptical of scholarly and philosophic types, and is
unlikely to form close relationships with such characters.

Secondary Skills: No particular Secondary Skill is recommended or required. He receives
his Secondary Skill either by choosing or rolling randomly, whatever method is normal for the
campaign.

Weapon Proficiency: Required (choose one from of the following): Battle axe, bow (any),
crossbow (any), dagger, javelin, sling, spear, sword (any), warhammer. These are different from
the weapons normally associated with wizards, but they are common for Militant Wizards. Also,
see the Special Benefits section below.

Nonweapon Proficiency: Bonus: (Warrior) Endurance. Recommended: (General) Animal
Handling, Direction Sense, Riding (Land-based), Swimming;(Wizard) Languages (Ancient);
(Warrior; these take 2 slots only) Blind- fighting, Tracking, (Warrior; these take 1 slot only)
Mountaineering, Running, Set Snares.

Equipment: The Militant Wizard may buy any equipment he chooses, keeping whatever
money he might not use.

Special Benefits: The Militant Wizard receives a bonus Weapon Proficiency free of
charge; this is in addition to his normal Weapon Proficiency. This bonus Weapon Proficiency
does not use any of the wizard's proficiency slots, but he must choose it from the weapons listed
in the Weapon Proficiency entry above. Additionally, a Militant Wizard can acquire any of the
Warrior's Nonweapon Proficiencies given on Table 37 on page 55 of the Player's Handbook
at the listed number of slots; for instance, if a Militant Wizard wants the Animal Lore
proficiency, it costs him only 1 slot instead of the normal 2 for a wizard.

Special Hindrances: Because a Militant Wizard devotes so much of his time and energy to
the mastery of military skills, he is limited in his access to spells from various schools. Table 6
lists the oppositional schools for Militant Wizards of each specialty; the Militant Wizard is
forbidden to learn spells from these schools.

Table 6: Oppositional Schools for Militant Wizards

Specialist Oppositional Schools

Abjurer: Illusion, Alteration, Greater Divin.

Conjurer: Alteration, Greater Divin., Invoc./Evoc.

Diviner: Conj./Summ., Abjuration

Invoker: Illusion, Enchant. /Charm, Conj./Summ.

Necromancer: Enchant. /Charm, Illusion, Alteration

Transmuter: Necromancy, Abjuration, Conj. /Summ.

Militant Wizard mages are likewise limited. The DM may decide which of the following
limitations affects Militant Wizard mages in his campaign (choose only one limitation).

1. The Militant Wizard mage is forbidden to learn 8th-level and 9th-level spells from any
school.
2. The Militant Wizard mage learns spells as if his Intelligence were two points lower than he
actually has, as indicated on Table 4, page 16 of the Player's Handbook. This limitation also
affects the number of languages he can learn, the highest level of spells he can cast, the
maximum number of spells per level he can know, and his spell immunity. For instance, if this
limitation is in effect for a Militant Wizard mage with an Intelligence score of 15, he can only
know three languages, can cast spells of no higher than 6th-level, has a 55 percent chance to
learn a new spell, and has a maximum of nine spells per level that he can know.
3. The Militant Wizard mage can learn spells from only five schools. To determine which
schools are unavailable to him, roll 1d8 three times, where 1 = abjuration, 2 =
conjuration/summoning, 3 = greater divination, 4 = enchantment/charm, 5 = illusion, 6 =
invocation/evocation, 7 = necromancy, and 8 = alteration. If the same result occurs twice, roll
again.

Wealth Options: The Militant Wizard receives the standard (1d4 + 1) x 10 starting money.
Races: No restrictions

I'd also like to be lawful evil or lawful neutral.

[Some guy]

Seeing as I'll be quite weak early on I'll go with the crossbow and sling as my weapon proficiencies. This way I can stay at the back of the group during battles out of harm's way. Of course I'll be screwed if we're ambushed from behind, so maybe I should go with the crossbow and spear?