Dungeons and Dragons Custom Builds: The Necromancer Class (Updated)

"Murdered and resurrected, Loth was used as a pawn by the demon Zaldramas to murder all of his friends and loved ones. He eventually tore himself  free from the control. Scarred and burned, he learned the skills of Necromancy. Now he seeks only vengeance and death unto his enemies"

Following the aftermath of the Ruin of Nimbar campaign, I needed to refactor the custom character builds for the Druid and Necromancer. Extensive play with these characters during the campaign highlighted a few potential issues that we overcame by house-ruling them at the time but I have since then updated the actual Hero & Power Card templates.

In doing so, I gave the cards a bit of a makeover in terms of color and artwork.

Here is the updated version for the Necromancer Loth.

(Please note that some of the artwork and content for the Necromancer class are not my own and may not be used for any commercial interests. I have just included a listing of the cards. For the full artwork and card backs, head on over to boardgamegeek.com)

Necromancer Character Card Level 1

Necromancer Character Card Level 2

Necromancer Character Card Level 3

Necromancer Character Card Level 4

Okay, so Loth's L1/ L2 stats are putrid. a low defense, low hit points, low surge and he is slower than a zombie after a buffet of brains but, just bear with me as Loth's Power Cards are exceptional.

Animate Dead: The Necromancer's specialty is of course in summoning an Undead Minion so that you can creep about and do your spooky business while your minion runs off to do all the hard work. Given, it does require you to first kill a monster before you can summon a minion but this fits the necromancer theme quite nicely: Loth kills monster, Loth raises bones of monster to fight at his side, Loth thus mocks said monster in death, un-death and resurrection muuahahahahahaha!

Undead Minion Ally Card

So your summoned minion's a bit of a pansy at up-close combat and the +5 Rusted Sword Attack to 1 Damage probably would not do more than clang a rusty sword against some armor but there are cards-a-coming that auto-amplifies the ally's attack and makes him a hardier contender in the dungeon dance-off.   The Charging Strike is a worthwhile attack for non-adjacent monsters and the fact that your minion also counts as a Hero will, for all intents and purposes, serve as a welcome decoy against initial attacks.

At-Wills:

Necromancer At-Will: Command Minion

Command Minion:
Right. So remember when we said the summoned minion had a pansy of an attack? Well, suck it because Command Minion is an At-Will any self respecting Necromancer would not leave home without. Again, you are required to at least have an Undead Minion (or Minions) in play but the +10 attack practically guarantees a 1 Damage on a monster and the best part is you can still use old Rusty to clang afterwards with its +5 sword. Alternatively, the scope of this attack would allow your minion to move a tile, attack an adjacent monster and probably murder it and then move a tile again for +7 strike. Pretty neat for a pile of bones!

Necromancer At-Will: Soul Burst

Soul Burst: (OP)
A useful ranged attack that can probably be boosted with a useful treasure item or a party member boosting attacks. The range on this attack is also formidable in that if the attack misses, Loth should be safe and smirking from the distance.

Necromancer At-Will: Life Touch

Life Touch:
Loth's a bit of a wimp as far as his HP goes so any card that allows for life gain is a worthy addition to your starting At-Wills. In fact, it's a must-have. Very reminiscent of Artemis's Vampiric Dagger from The Legend of Drizzt but still keeping in with the Necromancer theme.

Daily Powers:

Undead Horde:
A daily power that augments the Necromancer's base summoning spell. This once comes at a bit of a cost in that 5 tiles needed to have been explored before your 'horde' may be summoned but is a worthy power that, if replayed through some treasure card or ability, could have easily allow you up to 3 minions under your command. So, essentially you would have a little Undead Army at your disposal.

Mass Life Steal: 
It's all about timing with this ranged attack. Ideally you want to target the tile with the most Monsters so that if Loth was running a bit low on HP juice, he could get his blood fix in a blink up to his maximum Hit Points. As if coffee wasn't good enough.

Undead Explosion:
Now this Daily is one I quite like. It's so cunning and so utterly devious that only a necromancer could concoct such a foul plan. So you have a minion in play and then send him off for one final suicide bomb blast against enemies. It's all about placement with this one so make sure your minion is adjacent to a big bad when you set him off. Infidels, I kill you!

Necrotic Touch:
Getting too close to a necromancer can be hazardous for your health. This daily ensures that Loth's that any Monster jalapeno face, is gonna get burned and then have some food poisoning. Tequila anyone?

Shallow Graves:
Just because your Minions have been destroyed, it doesn't mean the little beasties aren't able to wreak havoc from beyond the grave! This Daily Power with its reverse-trap mechanic will stun any Monsters that dare trample over their graves!

Utility Powers:

Necromancer Ally: Personal Pet

Personal Pet:
Loth's signature ability and my favorite power of the lot. The Allies you summon are all 1 HP weaklings but Personal Pet allows you to select your most impressive spawnling, amp him up to 3 HP, 15 AC and +1 Damage on a roll of 15 or more AND you can couple this with your Command Minion At-Will AND you can ramp him even further with a treasure item. If said item is an armor amplifier, your child of darkness goes from pile of bones to Ghost Rider glory and can deal out damage without too much fear. Of course, on being destroyed, you do lose 2 HP and walk around in a lovesick Daze...so there is that small problem. Kinda like a Horcrux in a way.

Bone Armor: (OP)
While this does cost you an Undead Ally, a 3 HP rejuvenate up to your max HP is extremely useful in times of need.

Soothe The Undead:
Useful in that it can be played at any time. So activation of any wraiths and blazing skeletons in this turn can be mitigated and dealt with later for any player. Not only that but there is the added benefit of an Undead Villain also not activating this turn.

Choice Pickings:
This card you play at the start of the game and it remains in play for the duration of the game and gives the necromancer a useful mechanism for scrying through treasure decks. The one down side is having to discard the returned treasure as other party members might have benefited from whatever it was you just trashed but, you are Loth and don't really care.

Tombstones:
This useful Utility Power allows Loth and one Minion to move up to 4 tiles in any direction. It's all about placement as can make for quick evasion when needed to quietly slip away.

Life Debt:
While it may seem that Loth is enabling a fellow hero a fighting chance, you do not want to be on the owing end of a life debt to a necromancer. The price you could end up paying is dying again!

Expert Powers:

Undead Rally:
A powerful attack that targets all Monsters up to 2 tiles away and still allows Loth's Minions a double attack. This is one power card that Loth will want at his disposal.

Necromaster:
Another powerful Expert Power that allows Loth to take control of Undead Monsters up to Level 5. So, essentially, the Zombie Dragon is a little puppy for a turn. Or you could use these on lower level Undead Monsters and have them attack a villain instead!

Respawn:

Being Undead has its advantages. Like being able to respawn without using an additional Healing Surge as one of your Undead Minions. If you can keep said minion alive and killing for a few turns, you can resurrect Loth!

Card Backs: