Looking for help - Pale Master?

[Greenfield]

I recall a critter/class that had the special ability to control an immense, perhaps unlimited number of undead. I think it was Pale Master, but I could be wrong.

Can anybody confirm this, and perhaps tell which source book it's in?

Thanks.

 

[Ranger19k]

Pale Master is in Libris Mortis, but while I've never played one, it looks like it kind of sucks. It gets a free animate dead ability at second level, but I believe that it is still limited to controlling 4HD/CL like a normal caster, so this probably isn't what you are thinking of.

Dread Necromancer from Heroes of Horror is a little better. At 8th level he gets the Undead Mastery special ability that allows it to controll 4+Chr bonus HD/CL. So if you juice your charisma score, you could easily be looking at 2-3 time the normal number of controlled undead.

It's not unlimited, but Dread Necro is way better than Pale Master.

 

[xigbar]

It would be good for a 2 level dip, maybe. The Master of Shrouds on the same page allows you to summon Dread Wraiths, which is always fun.

 

[Greenfield]

Hmmph. I've seen the critter in question, but can't recall the name. I thought it was Pale Master, but apparently not.

I need a Big Bad who can control an undead army, and I thought this was it.

 

[xigbar]

Hmmph. I've seen the critter in question, but can't recall the name. I thought it was Pale Master, but apparently not.

I need a Big Bad who can control an undead army, and I thought this was it.

True Necromancer?

 

[Rampant]

True necromancer has huge bonuses to necromancy spells, casts well from divine and arcane lists, and gets bonuses to undead it creates/summons/takes over.

There's also a horned king type PrC from One of the fearun books but true necro is probably better.

 

[xigbar]

TRUE NECROMANCER​

Power corrupts. Power over life and death corrupts absolutely.
The power to raise an undying servant from the husk of the
formerly living is darkly tempting—and certainly evil. Those
who seek such unyielding obedience from the dead willingly
tread the path of necromancy.
Characters who wish to become true necromancers must take
levels in both arcane and divine spellcasting classes, usually
cleric and wizard or cleric and sorcerer. Only then do they begin
their sinister schooling, learning how to combine the foulest
aspects of both disciplines into a single, necromantic whole.
NPC true necromancers are usually found singly—living
in an abandoned graveyard, hidden in the depths of a centuries-
old catacomb, or lurking in an unhallowed mausoleum.
Occasionally, true necromancers gather into small societies or
evil associations, but eventually most such groups are stamped
out. At least, so hope those concerned with the triumph of good
over evil in the world.​

Hit Die:​

​

​

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d6.​

REQUIREMENTS​

To qualify to become a true necromancer, a character must fulfi ll
all of the following criteria.​

Alignment:​

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Any nongood.​

Skills:​

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Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion)
8 ranks.​

Feat:​

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​

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Spell Focus (necromancy).​

Spells:​

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​

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Able to cast summon undead II as a divine spell and​

command undead​

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​

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as an arcane spell.​

Special:​

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Able to rebuke undead.​

Special:​

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Access to the Death domain.​

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:​

​

​

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2 + Int modifi er.​

CLASS FEATURES​

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

Weapon and Armor Profi ciency:​

​

​

​

True necromancers gain
no profi ciency with any weapons, armor, or shields.​

Spells per Day/Spells Known:​

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A true necromancer gains
new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she
had also gained a level in either an arcane spellcasting class
she belonged to before adding the prestige class, a divine spellcasting
class she belonged to before adding the prestige class,
or both, according to the accompanying table. She does not,
however, gain any other benefi t a character of that class would
have gained (metamagic or item creation feats and so on; but see
Improved Rebuking and Necromantic Prowess, below). If she
had more than one arcane or divine spellcasting class before
becoming a true necromancer, she must decide to which class
she adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per
day and spells known.​

Rebuke Undead (Su):​

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​

True necromancer class levels stack
with levels of all other classes that grant the ability to rebuke
undead for the purpose of determining the character’s effective
cleric level for rebuking. See Turn or Rebuke Undead, page 159
of the Player’s Handbook. For example, a 5th-level cleric/3rd-level
sorcerer/2nd-level true necromancer rebukes undead as a 7thlevel
cleric. The bonus from her necromantic prowess ability,
once it is gained, also applies.​

Create Undead (Sp):​

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On attaining 2nd level, a true necromancer
can cast create undead once per day, as the spell of the
same name. She can use this ability one additional time per
day at 5th level and higher. She must still supply the requisite
material components. The true necromancer’s caster level equals
her character level plus the bonus from her necromantic
prowess ability, once it is gained.​

Necromantic Prowess (Ex):​

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​

​

At 3rd
level, a true necromancer gains unsurpassed
power over death. When
she rebukes undead, casts a necromancy
spell, or uses a spell-like
ability that mimics a necromancy
spell, her effective caster level increases.
The bonus is +1 at 3rd level,
+2 at 6th level, +3 at 9th level, and
+4 at 12th level and higher.​

Zone of Desecration (Su):​

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At 4th
level, a true necromancer begins to exert
her authority over undead. This aura is
identical to the effects of the desecrate​

spell (see page 218 of the​

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​

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Player’s Handbook)
except that it affects only allied
undead.​

Major Desecration (Su):​

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At 7th
level, a true necromancer extends
her authority over undead. The
supernatural aura of negative
energy surrounding her (see
Zone of Desecration, above)
now extends to a radius of 10
feet per true necromancer class
level.​

Create Greater Undead
(Sp):​

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On reaching 8th level,
a true necromancer can cast​

create greater undead​

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(see page
215 of the Player’s Handbook)
once per day, as the spell.
She can use this ability one
additional time per day at
11th level and higher. She
must still supply the requisite
material component. The
true necromancer’s caster level
equals her character level plus
the bonus from her necromantic
prowess ability.​

Horrid Wilting (Sp):​

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At 10th level and higher, a true necromancer
can use horrid wilting once per day, with a caster level
equal to her character level plus her bonus from the necromantic
prowess ability.​

Energy Drain (Sp):​

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At 13th level and higher, a true necromancer
can use energy drain once per day, with a caster level
equal to her character level plus her bonus from the necromantic
prowess ability.​

Wail of the Banshee (Sp):​

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​

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At 14th level, a true necromancer
can use wail of the banshee once per day, with a caster level equal
to her character level plus her bonus from the necromantic​

prowess ability.

Table 3–7: The True Necromancer​

Base
Attack Fort Ref Will
Level Bonus Save Save Save Special Spells per Day​

1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Rebuke undead +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3​

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Create undead 1/day +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Necromantic prowess (+1) +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Zone of desecration +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
5th +2 +1 +1 +4 Create undead 2/day +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
6th +3 +2 +2 +5 Necromantic prowess (+2) +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th +3 +2 +2 +5 Major desecration +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
8th +4 +2 +2 +6 Create greater undead 1/day +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
9th +4 +3 +3 +6 Necromantic prowess (+3) +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Horrid wilting +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
11th +5 +3 +3 +7 Create greater undead 2/day +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
12th +6 +4 +4 +8 Necromantic prowess (+4) +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
13th +6 +4 +4 +8 Energy drain +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
14th +7 +4 +4 +9 Wail of the banshee +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class/​

+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class

 

[Greenfield]

TN looks pretty badass, but I'm not sure this is a PRC. I encountered it as a player in someone else's game, and it was an opponent. Actually, almost a minion to the Big Bad.

So it might be a monster, rather than a class. But the specific usefulness to the Big Bad was that it could control an undead army. The Big Bad, in turn, controlled him, which makes me think it's some sort of undead itself.

 

[NEXxREX]

True Necromancer is in the libris mortis page 51 in the chapter prestige classes.

its a Prc, and if your looking to make a undead army then dread necromancer is 100% the way to go. couple that with the corpse crafter feats and your armys gonna be pretty damn amazing. problem is that their spell list is quite limited.

this is a recent thread about the pale master

http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-legacy-discussion/311866-pale-master.html

excellent info about suping up your undead army and getting the most out of making them

 

[Greenfield]

Okay, here's the scene, maybe the more rules savvy here can help.

The party revisited a necropolis that's halfway between two major cities, a few days in either direction. There they found someone referred to as "The Pale King", who commands the undead of the city.

They pissed him off, personally. He's sworn that one of the PCs will die at sunset the next day.

PCs, not being idiots, are going to flee the scene. They figure they have the pseudo-daylight hours for their getaway. (This is the "world without sunlight" I mentioned in another thread.)

I was seeing the Pale King as slowly raising an army of undead so he could attack one of the cities and create a new Necropolis. His limiting factor has been bodies to raise as undead. Most are low level, so he can't gather a huge number of the big guys.

The PCs haven't exactly stumbles onto his plan, but they've managed to goad him into attacking before he's fully ready. (He was planning on mid-winter, when even the pseudo-daylight hours were at a minimum.)

So I need a Big Bad who can raise and control an undead army that will be vast in numbers, and truly scary to behold, but still within the power of a city to defend against, at least to some degree, and within the power of a 10th level party to do some major hurt to.

Problem: Our 10th level party has a lot of less-than-optimum split classes in it.

We have a Ranger5/Druid5, a Wizard5/Cleric5, a Fighter3/Cleric7, a Monk10, a Duskblade/Rogue (don't know the exact split there), an NPC Rogue9 who may or may not be involved, and a Bard who probably won't be. (My character, who got left behind.)

So nothing big in terms of Turn Undead ability, and none of the Clerics can throw Death Ward. Oh, and no Ghost Touch weapons in the group.

The Wiz5/Cleric5 player is also not much of a player. I hate to say that, but she always asks what she adds to the dice when she rolls Initiative. I don't think she really keeps track of her spells either, so there won't be any inspired or creative contributions on the Arcane side from that quarter.

I'd figured that if I made the Pale King someone who was personally in control of the army, then he'd be the keystone, the weak link. Kill him and his army scatters. They're still a problem, but less so without organization.

I knew that there was such a creature/class, one who could directly control an unlimited number of undead, but I didn't recall what it was, hence this thread.

So, suggestions? Alternatives?