Researchers of the Negative Energy Plane

Necromancers focus their study on the Negative Energy Plane, and manipulate the weaves of magic that originate from that plane to command magical abilities of varying nature.

Necromancers will use their magical abilities to heal their allies and bolster their resolve, to harm their foes and break their wills, or to raise undead to serve them in their search for immortality.

Connoiseurs of Dark Magic

Necromancers are driven by an interest in the morbid. Some seek to uncover the secret of immortality while others see undead as a valuable tool that is seldom used.

Not all Necromancers are evil. Some will use their expertise in necromancy to heal others from their sicknesses or injuries and bring people back to life through the use of resurrection spells.

Others may see the undead as an alternative to conscription of living men. Why tear men with no military training away from their families and livelihoods when the undead will be just as - if not more - efficient on the battlefield.

Alternatively, other necromancers do study the dark arts to perform evil acts. Some seek to uncover the secret to lichdom while others simply wish to raise an army of undead to gain unlawful power over a region.

Creating a Necromancer

Creating a Necromancer demands a backstory that explains why you have focused your studies into this school of magic. How did your character discover their interest in necromancy? Do they have a natural talent or have they studied as hard as they could in order to acheive some kind of goal? Did they find some forbidden tomes on the subject or do they come from an environment where the stigma around necromancy does not exist?

What caused you to begin life as an adventurer while using this magic? Did you hear of an ancient artefact that could boost your abilities? Perhaps you seek to acquire exotic materials in order to resurrect a deceased loved one? Or maybe you just want to field test your undead minions?

1

A Hobgoblin Creed of Siphoning Necromancer named Gurlock

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d6 (or 4) per necromancer level

Hit Points at 1st level: 6 + your constitution modifier

• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per necromancer level after 1st.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) any simple weapon or (b) any martial weapon (if proficient)
• (a) leather armour (if proficient) or (b) scale mail (if proficient)
• (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
• (a) a priest’s pack or (b) a scholar’s pack

Alternatively, you can choose to start with 4d4 x 10 gp and opt to spend some or all of that money on starting equipment.

2

Cantrips

You know two cantrips of your choice from the necromancer spell list. You learn additional necromancer cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the necromancer table.

Spell Slots

The Necromancer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these necromancer spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you have prepared the 1st-level spell False Life and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast False Life using either slot.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Necromancer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your necromancer spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You prepare the list of necromancer spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the necromancer spell list. When you do so, choose a number of necromancer spells equal to your intelligence modifier + your necromancer level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you are a 3rd-level necromancer, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an intelligence of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells. You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of necromancer spells requires time spent in studying and meditating: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your necromancer spells, for your magic draws upon your research into the forces of life, death and undeath. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a necromancer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier. Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast any necromancer spell you have prepared as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus (found in PHB chapter 5) as a spellcasting focus for your necromancer spells.

Hit Dice

Your Sacrifice Vitality ability uses your hit dice as fuel. This signifies you sacrificing your own life essence in order to perform certain types of magic. Sacrificing your life essence takes its toll on your body, causing you to be unable to add your constitution modifier to your hit dice rolls whenever you rest.

Sacrifice Vitality

At 1st level, as an action you may touch an ally who isn't undead or a construct to transfer vitality from yourself to your ally. You roll a 1d6 + your intelligence modifier to heal a willing creature that isn’t yourself by the amount rolled, losing a hit dice in the process. You cannot increase a creature’s hit points above their maximum with this ability.

Necromantic Creed

At 1st level, you choose one of three necromantic creeds to focus your studies to: the Creed of the Animator, the Creed of Siphoning, or the Creed of the Grimoire. These Creeds give you features at 1st level and again at the 6th, 10th, 14th and 20th levels.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

3

Necromantic Grimoire

At 1st level, you gain a necromantic grimoire. As long as this grimoire is on your person, you gain the following benefits: You learn two cantrips of your choice from the wizard spell list and they do not count against your spells known. You may use the grimoire as a spellcasting focus for your necromancer spells. The spells that you add to your grimoire as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you conduct in your own time, as well as experiments you conduct to learn more about the nature of life, death and undeath. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could find a spell scroll in the bowels of a mimic or a dusty spell tome in a wizard’s chest in their abandoned tower.

Copying a Spell into the Grimoire: When you find a necromancer spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your grimoire if it is of a level for which you have spell slots and if you can spare the time to copy it. Copying a spell into your grimoire involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the necromancer who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your grimoire using your own notation. For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells. Should your necromantic grimoire be lost or destroyed, you are able to create a new one. This process costs 20 gp and 2 hours of time for each necromancer level you possess.

You can copy spells from the Wizard's Spell List of up to 3rd level into your Grimoire, as long as you have the appropriate spell slots.

Copying spells of the Necromancy school into your grimoire takes half the time and gold.

Arcane Surge

At 2nd level you learn the secret of converting your life force into magical energy. You can use your hit dice to regain a single spell slot of 5th level or lower. This uses one hit dice per level of spell slot regained - for example a 5th level spell slot will use 5 hit dice.

Soul Sense

At 6th level you become adept at identifying the magical energies of souls, allowing you to sense the living and the lingering soul energy within any undead nearby. You can sense creatures within a 30ft radius of you. Constructs are not detected by this ability. Any Undead entering this range makes a wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a successful save you don't detect them and they can't be detected by this feature again for the next 24 hours. Antimagic, 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood blocks the ability. The feature doesn’t have to follow a straight line and can travel freely around corners or through openings. You also gain proficiency in Intelligence (Arcana) checks, or expertise if you are already proficient.

Spirit Helper

At 10th level you gain the ability to call forth a spirit from the ethereal plane. The spirit will manifest as a fist sized blob, usually purple, blue, grey or iridescent in colour although it can be any colour you want it to be. It’s an hour long ritual to summon the spirit. This spirit joins combat on the end of your initiative and can use it’s action to deliver a touch based spell from range, also using your action for casting the spell. The Spirit can protect your allies (up to your intelligence modifier) from any of your area of effect spells, causing them to automatically succeed saving throws caused by your spells. It can only do this once per day. When you are attacked, it can use it’s reaction to bring both you and itself into the ethereal plane but must use it’s action to bring you both back on it’s next turn. It can only do this once a day and must be within 5ft of you in order to do this. While you are on the ethereal plane, you are still visible on the material plane, but you are incorporeal and appear transparent. You cannot be heard by anyone on the material plane, nor can you physically interact with them.