# The Book of Undeath: Necromancy Wizard Rework and Spell Expansion In D&D 5e, necromancy is incredibly underwhelming; it bears a measly 39 spells total (not counting dunamancy, which would only raise it to 41) across all official, published, WotC material, and many of them just don't see much use. There are schools with even fewer spells (divination w/ 35 and illusion w/ 33), but here I'm just addressing necromancy. Not only is the school lacking in spells, but its dedicated wizard subclasss is also much less interesting than any of its counterparts. Here in this document, I plan to address both of these issues; reworking the School of Necromancy wizard into something more interesting (or at least more powerful), and giving all you necromancers, masters and aspirants alike, some fun new toys to play with. ## Wizard: School of 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 Savant Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy a Necromancy spell into your spellbook is halved. ### Grim Harvest At 2nd level, you gain the ability to reap life energy from creatures you kill with your spells. When you kill a creature with a spell of 1st level or higher, you regain hit points equal to twice the spell's level, or three times its level if the spell belongs to the School of Necromancy. You don't gain this benefit for killing constructs or undead. \columnbreak ### Undead Thralls At 6th level, you add the *Animate Dead* spell to your spellbook if it is not there already. When you cast *Animate Dead*, you can target one additional corpse or pile of bones, creating another zombie or skeleton, as appropriate. Whenever you create or summon an undead using a necromancy spell or an ability, it has additional benefits: - The creature's hit point maximum is increased by an amount equal to your wizard level. - The creature adds your proficiency bonus to its weapon damage rolls. ### Inured to Undeath Beginning at 10th level, you have resistance to necrotic damage, and your hit point maximum can't be reduced. Additionally, you're immune to disease. You have spent so much time dealing with undead and the forces that animate them that you have become inured to some of their worst effects. ### Dread Summons By 14th level, your study of necromancy has revealed how to summon powerful undead from beyond the Material Plane. As an action, choose either a [gallows speaker](https://5e.tools/bestiary.html#gallows%20speaker_vrgr), a [phylaskia](https://5e.tools/bestiary.html#phylaskia_mot) (which does not have the *Gatekeeper's Aura* trait), or a [shadow assassin](https://5e.tools/bestiary.html#shadow%20assassin_wdmm). The undead you chose appears at a point you can see within 60 feet of you. The creature is an ally to you and your companions. In combat, the creature shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It obeys your verbal commands (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any, it takes the Dodge action and uses its move to avoid danger. ___ The undead disappears after 8 hours or when it drops to 0 hit points. Once you've used this ability, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest. \pagebreak ## Spells The following spells are listed in alphabetical order, and at the bottom of each description tells you what classes have access to them. #### Animate Corpse *2nd-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 minute - **Range:** 10 feet - **Components:** V, S - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 hour ___ You weave necromantic energy into a corpse, turning it into your puppet. Choose a corpse of a Medium or smaller creature within range that isn't a construct or undead. Your spell imbues the target with a foul mimicry of life, raising it as an undead creature. The creature uses it's original statblock (the DM has the creature’s game statistics) with the following changes: - It gains the undead creature type. - Its maximum and current hit points are both reduced by half (round down). - It loses the *Multiattack* action, if it has it. - It cannot cast spells, except those it can cast via the *Innate Spellcasting* trait, if it has it. ___ The creature is an ally to you and your companions. In combat, the creature shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It obeys your verbal commands (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any, it takes the Dodge action and uses its move to avoid danger. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you can target a Large corpse. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the creature no longer loses the *Multiattack* action. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, the creature's maximum and current hit points are no longer reduced, and you can target a Huge corpse. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 8th level or higher, you can target a Gargantuan corpse. **Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Bone Blade *5th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 bonus action - **Range:** Self - **Components:** V, S, M (a bladed weapon and a bone) - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 hour ___ Using your material components, you magically create a weapon of bone, suited to destroying undead. The bone blade is a magical weapon of the same type as the weapon used in this spell's casting, with a +2 bonus to its attack and damage rolls. When you hit an undead with it, that creature takes an extra 2d8 damage of the same type as the weapon. **Classes: Cleric, Paladin, Warlock** \columnbreak #### Circlet of Enervation *5th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** Self - **Components:** V, S, M (a bracelet made of jet worth at least 100 gp) - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 minute ___ You conjure a small ring of negative energy into the palm of your hand. As a bonus action, you can throw the ring at a creature you can see within 120 feet. Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 2d12 necrotic damage, and a new ring appears in your hand. If you hit an undead with this spell, it doesn’t take damage. Instead, roll 2d12. The target regains hit points equal to half of the total. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d12 for each spell level above 5th. **Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Command Undead *2nd-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 30 feet - **Components:** V, S - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 hour ___ You attempt to exert your will over up to 5 undead of CR 1 or less that you can see within range. Each creature must make a Wisdom saving throw or be under your control. A creature that succeeds on its saving throw is immune to this spell for 24 hours. On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to mentally command any creature you control with this spell if the creature is within 60 feet of you (if you control multiple creatures, you can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). 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. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you can target undead of 1 CR higher for each slot level above 2nd. **Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** \pagebreak #### Darkfire *2nd-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** Self (15-foot cone) - **Components:** V, S, M (a pinch of ash formed by the cremation of a mammalian creature) - **Duration:** Instantaneous ___ Cool, oily black flames erupted from the your hands. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d6 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. An undead in the radius makes no saving throw, taking no damage and instead healing an amount equal to the damage roll. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd. **Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Darts of Bone *9th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 100 feet - **Components:** V, S, M (shards of bone from a powerful undead) - **Duration:** Instantaneous ___ You create 5 darts of bone imbued with powerfully withering necrotic energy. Make a ranged spell attack with each dart. A creature hit by a dart takes 1d4 + your spellcasting ability modifier in piercing damage, and must make a Constitution saving throw. It takes 5d8 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Additionally, a creature has its Strength score reduced by 2 for each saving throw it failed. The ability score reduction lasts until it can ended by *Greater Restoration* cast at 9th level or *Wish*. **Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Death's Greeting *8th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 hour - **Range:** Self - **Components:** V, S, M (4 pieces of black quartz worth 500 gp each and 250 gp of putrid incense, which the spell consumes) - **Duration:** 7 days ___ In casting this spell you entreat a powerful entity with control over death to aid you in the moment of your potential end. The first time you drop to 0 hit points while this spell is active, the dark power of the entity you communed with unleashes itself from within your body. You automatically fail one death saving throw, and necromantic energy rips into the creature that felled you. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw, taking 10d10 necrotic damage on a success, or twice as much on a failure. If this kills the creature, you regain hit points equal to half of your hit point maximum, having ferried another creature into the deathly entity's clutches, in your place. **Classes: Cleric, Warlock, Wizard** #### Dehydrate *6th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 60 feet - **Components:** V, S - **Duration:** Instantaneous ___ Necromantic energy washes over a creature of your choice that you can see within range, rapidly draining moisture from it. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. The target takes 11d8 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs. If you target a plant creature, a magical plant, an ooze, or another creature with a high amount of water in its body (such as a water elemental), it makes the saving throw with disadvantage, and the spell deals maximum damage to it. **Classes: Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Ebon Ray *3rd-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 60 feet - **Components:** V, S - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 minute ___ A grayish beam of dampening energy springs from your finger toward a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target receives only half the amount of healing from any source. At the end of each of the target’s turns, it can make a Constitution saving throw against the spell. On a success, the spell ends. **Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Erupting Corpse *6th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 reaction, which you take when a creature within range dies - **Range:** 60 feet - **Components:** V, S - **Duration:** Instantaneous ___ Exploiting a dying creature’s life force, you twist it to the point of volatile detonation. The corpse explodes in a 10 foot radius sphere. Each creature in the sphere must make a Constitution saving throw or take 10d8 necrotic damage, or half as much on a success. The corpse can be restored to life only by means of a *true resurrection* or a *wish* spell. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 per spell level above 6th. **Classes: Warlock, Wizard** \pagebreak #### Fleshshiver *7th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 30 feet - **Components:** V, S, M (a bone, which you break as part of the casting) - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 minute ___ You use necromantic magic to seize violent control of the bones of a humanoid creature you can see within range. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a success, the spell ends. On a failure, the creature is stunned, as its bones begin to break. A creature stunned by this spell must make another Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If it successfully saves against this spell three times, the spell ends. Each time it fails a saving throw, it suffers additional effects, as shown in the table below. The successes and failures don’t need to be consecutive; keep track of both until the target collects three of a kind. Each round you maintain concentration on this spell, the spell produces different effects on your turn. When the spell ends, the creature maintains any effects it suffered from the below table until they are ended by *Greater Restoration*, *Heal* or *Regenerate* (effects 1 and 2 only), or *Wish* (all effects). ___ **Fleshshiver After Round 1** | Saving Throw Failures | Effect | |:---:|:-----------:| | 1 | The creature's arms and legs break, causing them to become restrained and giving them disadvantage on attack rolls. Additionally, they cannot perform the somatic components for spells.| | 2 | The creature's ribcage shatters, incapacitating them. | | 3 | The creature's neck snaps, killing them. | **Classes: Warlock, Wizard** #### Grasping Shadows *1st-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 60 feet - **Components:** V, S - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 minute ___ You manipulate the shadows near a creature, turning them into black tendrils that attempt to bind it and hold it in place. The target must make a Strength saving throw or take 2d8 necrotic damage, or half as much on a success. On a failure, the creature is also restrained for the duration of the spell. A restrained creature may use its action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC, freeing itself on a success. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 1st. **Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Greymantle *5th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 60 feet - **Components:** V, S, M (a bone, small skull, or small animal skeleton) - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 minute ___ You attempt to envelope a creature you can see in range with an aura that smothers all attempts at healing. The creature must make a Constitution saving throw. On a success, the spell ends. On a failure, they're enveloped in a silver-gray aura. While this aura lasts, the creature cannot receive healing from any source, and any effect currently healing them is put on hold until this spell ends. This spell does not interfere with the removal of conditions such as by the *lesser restoration* spell. **Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Heat Leech *8th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 120 feet - **Components:** V, S - **Duration:** Instantaneous ___ You drain the heat and vitality from creatures to bolster yourself. Each creature in a 20-foot radius sphere must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 10d6 necrotic damage on a failure, or half as much damage on a success. You heal a number of hit points equal to half the damage dealt. If this heals you to your hit point maximum, you gain the rest as temporary hit points, which last 10 minutes or until they're depleted. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell with a 9th-level spell slot, the damage increases by 2d6. **Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Infestation of Maggots *3rd-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** Touch - **Components:** V, S, M (a handful of dessicated flies) - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 minute ___ Touching a creature, you cause an infestation of maggot-like creatures to cover their entire body. Make a melee spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 2d8 necrotic damage, and the maggots swarm them. At the start of each of the creature's turns, they take 2d8 necrotic damage, and may make a Constitution saving throw, ending the spell on a success. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the subsequent damage increases by 1d8 for each spell level above 3rd. **Classes: Druid, Warlock** \pagebreak #### Rouse Wounds *4th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 reaction, which you take when a creature you can see within range takes piercing or slashing damage - **Range:** 60 feet - **Components:** V, S - **Duration:** 1 minute ___ Using necromantic energy, you aggravate a creature's wounds, causing them to bleed profusely. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a success, the spell ends. On a failure, the creature gains a number of wounds equal to the number of attacks that dealt piercing or slashing damage to it on this turn. At the start of each of the wounded creature's turns, it takes 1d6 necrotic damage for each wound it has, and it can then make a another Constitution saving throw, ending the effect the spell on a success. Alternatively, the spell ends if the creature receives magical healing. **Classes: Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard** #### Wall of Bones *4th-level necromancy* ___ - **Casting Time:** 1 action - **Range:** 120 feet - **Components:** V, S, M (a handful of bone shards) - **Duration:** Concentration, up to 1 minute ___ A wall of broken, jagged bones erupts from the ground within range. You can make the wall up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and 5 foot thick, or a ringed wall up to 20 feet in diameter, 20 feet high, and 5 foot thick. The wall lasts for the duration. When the wall appears, each creature within its area must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 4d8 piercing damage, or half as much damage on a successful save. A creature can move through the wall, albeit slowly and painfully. For every 1 foot a creature moves through the wall, it must spend 4 feet of movement. Furthermore, the first time a creature enters the wall on a turn or ends its turn there, the creature must make a Dexterity saving throw. It takes 4d8 slashing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Ranged attacks can be made through the wall, but a target on the opposite side of the wall from you is considered to have three-quarters cover. **At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 4th. **Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard**