Main» True Necromancer

“Death is no escape.”

True necromancers are powerful spellcasters who combine arcane and divine knowledge of necromancy and negative energy. They command armies of the undead, wielding the forces of life and death with an ease that lesser spellcasters cannot imagine.

The secrets of true necromancy are contained in an ancient tome called the “Kniga Kostei”, or the Book of Bones. This ancient tome, written in Old Slavonic and dating back to the time of Rurik the Great, was written by a powerful Slav tribal leader named Damek the Black. Damek rose to power by slaying his enemies with necromantic magic and raising them from the dead to fight at his side. Rumors of just how Damek discovered the dark secrets contained in the tome are whispered in hushed voices among conclaves of evil spellcasters.

When Rurik's invading armies came down from the northlands, they crushed Damek's army of undead and killed the necromancer himself. Rurik forbade the study of necromancy; but the Book of Bones itself was lost.

Hit Die

d6.

Requirements

To qualify to become a true necromancer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Alignment: Any nongood.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 6 ranks.
Feats: Spell Focus (necromancy).
Spells: Must be able to cast 2nd-level divine spells and 2nd-level arcane spells; at least two spells of each category must be Necromancy spells.
Special: Ability to rebuke undead.
Special: Must have access to the secrets of true necromancy, either by possessing the Book of Bones or being trained by an experienced true necromancer.

Class Skills

The true necromancer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level

4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the true necromancer prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

True necromancers gain no proficiency in any weapons or armor.

Spells per Day/Spells Known

When a new true necromancer level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class (regardless of whether that class was arcane or divine). He does not, however, gain all the benefits and class features a character of the class would have gained. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a true necromancer, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for the purposes of determining spells per day.

Rebuke Undead (Su)

The true necromancer has great influence over the walking dead. His effective level for purposes of rebuking undead is equal to the sum of all his spellcasting class levels plus his Charisma bonus.

Necromancy

The true necromancer has unsurpassed power over death. Whenever he casts a necromantic spell (a spell of the Necromancy school or a spell from the Death domain), all his spellcaster levels stack for purposes of determining their effect. He does not gain access to higher-level spells any faster than normal. The true necromancer also gains a bonus to his caster level for the purposes of casting necromantic spells equal to his Charisma bonus. This devotion to necromantic magic has its price, however. The true necromancer may never again cast spells that use positive energy in any way. Such spells are effectively removed from his spell lists.

Zone of Desecration (Su)

At 2nd level, the true necromancer begins to exert his authority over undead. He is continually surrounded by a 20-foot-radius aura of negative energy. This effect is otherwise identical to the desecrate spell.

At 6th level, this negative energy aura has a radius of 10 feet per class level.

At 10th level, the true necromancer's command of undeath is so great that he is treated as a shrine to an evil god. The effects of the zone of desecration are doubled (see the desecrate spell for details).

Elemental Corruption (Su)

Starting at 4th level, a true necromancer may imbue his elemental spells with negative energy. Once per day per three class levels, when he casts an elemental spell that deals damage, he may choose to have half the damage of that spell be negative energy damage. Such a spell is considered a necromantic effect, and as such has its caster level increased (see Necromancy, above).

Dark Reach (Su)

Starting at 5th level, a true necromancer can cast any necromantic spell with a range of touch as a ray spell with a range of 30 feet.

Fell Animate (Su)

Starting at 7th level, any living creatures killed by a necromantic effect cast by the true necromancer rises one round later as an undead creature of his choice. The specific type of undead must be one that the true necromancer can create through other means (such as the create undead spell); depending on the spell or ability, this limitation may be based on the true necromancer's caster level.

Undead created in this fashion are automatically under the true necromancer's control, unless they would bring him above his limit of controlled undead; in that case, the excess undead are uncontrolled.

Unholy Toughness (Su)

The powerful negative energies that the true necromancer wields fortify his physical form. At 8th level, he gains a bonus to his hit points equal to his Charisma bonus times his hit dice.

Energy Drain (Sp)

At 10th level, the true necromancer acquires one of the most dreaded powers of the undead. Three times per day, he can use energy drain as a spell-like ability. This is considered a necromantic effect (see Necromancy above).