Author Topic: [Pathfinder] Building a Necromancer  (Read 24168 times)

Offline Zeroku

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[Pathfinder] Building a Necromancer
« on: December 20, 2013, 12:55:26 AM »
DM seeking advice on Reoccurring BBEG
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I am looking for help building a Cleric that is essentially a Necromancer [Thinking of Undead Lord Archetype -> Agent of the Grave]
I want him to be a spellcaster that controls 4-6 Undead Elite as bodyguards and forces intelligent undead to serve as commanders for his undead army. Any tips/ideas/suggestions on how to do this and things to remember when playing him?
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Level: 17
Class: Cleric -> ?  (Clerics are considered the best Necromancers so.)
Race: Human or Elf (Flavor, still most likely to be Human)
Stats: 18, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10

Offline Zeroku

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Re: [Pathfinder] Building a Necromancer
« Reply #1 on: December 24, 2013, 02:33:14 PM »
Bump,

This is what I have so far building the character. Help appreciated!
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=739774

Offline Tempest

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Re: [Pathfinder] Building a Necromancer
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2013, 06:35:00 AM »
Well, first of all, the Undead Lord archetype isn't really worth it unless you have a lot of downtime between adventures, and a large menagerie from which to draw bodies for your undead companion. If you want to stick with Cleric, I'd suggest avoiding the archetype unless you really really want the companion. It's widely seen as a trap choice.

I personally love the Agent of the Grave, one of the best five level prestige classes imo. My advice would actually be to go Juju Oracle instead of Cleric, this not only reduces MAD, but also gives you the lovely Juju zombies (Seriously, read the template) and 6 HD of undead using Animate Dead instead of the usual 4. Then just scour the other spell lists for some non-Oracle spells, and have enough Int by lvl 5 Agent to grab the ones you want. Oh, and if you get a Trait for your character, make sure to grab Magical Knack so you don't lose the CL from the Agent.

For feats you'd likely need to get Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus in Necromancy, I'd also suggest Undead Master if you're gonna be heavily minion focused. Spell Specialization and Spell Perfection in Animate Dead is just awesome, I'd suggest your three Metamagic feats be Extend, Heighten, and Quicken. Also, if you can afford it, consider getting Varisian Tattooo in Necromancy. As a last note, if you're going to be LE or CE and want to use Summon Monster spells for undead creatures, you'll want to get the Sacred Summons feat.

For basic undead minions nothing beats Juju Zombies, really, the template is crazy. If you just wanna get some skelingtons, you'll always want to get Bloody ones, and having a few low HD Burning ones is really great too (They're basically walking, flaming landmines)

The only really good magic item I can think of for a necromancer would be the Darkskull, so you might want to grab one of those. Otherwise you're pretty much free to get whatever magic items you feel like, though obviously a +Cha item is a priority if you're going Juju/Agent. Getting a small +Int item might not be bad either, just make sure that you've been carrying it around for at least 24 hours before you get to lvl 5 in the PrC  :P


This is just off the top of my head, I have a family holiday thing to go to so if there's anything you want expanded upon please feel free to tell me and I'll get back to you once I'm home.

Offline Zeroku

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Re: [Pathfinder] Building a Necromancer
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2013, 01:47:13 PM »
1. This is a BBEG for me (As the DM) to use, I kinda dont wanna really go through the mass horde of zombies, just the bodyguards being undead and powerful.
2. I want to go cleric because I have 0 XP with Oracles and I like the flavor for Clerics
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3. Downtime isnt an issue.

4. Is it really worth going for the 5 levels rather than 4 and getting that extra level in cleric even if it doesnt do anything for me to do cleric besides BAB? Or should I do a fighter dip for more feats or maybe even Sorcerer for Familiar get Improved and get an imp?

5. Like I said, sticking with Cleric for flavor and other reasons. MAD not an issue with the stats I got.

6. Noting the Feats and stuff, I am not good with using metamagic though. If you wouldnt mind giving me advice about that I would love it.

7. For darkskull what permanent effect should I have on it?

8. Reviewing my CS I might need to drop my armor, pick up Darkskull and Tattoo then look for armor. Any thoughts, ideas, or other things I could do to improve my Character Sheet? I still have plenty of time before my Players meet him so take your time!

Offline Tempest

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Re: [Pathfinder] Building a Necromancer
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2013, 02:41:03 PM »
Oh, an NPC. Well, just screw following the rules then. Give him the stats, feats, spells, and items you want him to have, make some undead minions using whatever race and template you want, make sure his hideout is enchanted to give a permanent Unhallow (ie. Darkskull), and call it a day. When making NPCs like this the only thing you really have to care about is their CR, and you should know what your players can handle anyway.

Offline Zeroku

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Re: [Pathfinder] Building a Necromancer
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2013, 01:59:47 AM »
I dont enjoy doing stuff like that, I prefer to make em just like my PCs would be made.

Offline belowyn

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Re: [Pathfinder] Building a Necromancer
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2014, 03:27:41 AM »
Im making a build similiar to this, but were not near enough those levels yet.

Depends on the flavour of the BBEG, but mine is a Cleric 5 (Evangelist for Bard-buffs for my minions) / Agent of the grave 1 (so far). The plan is maybe to go Dread Lich at 15/16 (depends on cash avaliable).

If you like the idea I can come with some of my research.