Siegfried Niemand
First Post
Greetings.
I am about to run a 3.5 conversion of the old Return to the Tomb of Horrors adventure, and in preparation discovered that I'd like to fill out some of the books that can be found in one of the adventure's libraries. Particularly, I'm looking for 1-paragraph histories and biographies of famous necromancers, particularly those of Oerth (but I'd also like the big necromantic players of all the major campaigns out there). Any links or responses would be appreciated. If you'd like to submit your own character, please do so only for Greyhawk.
As thanks, here's conversions for all of the other Necromantic Lore books from 2e's Complete Book of Necromancers (the Nycoptic Manuscripts appearing in Libris Mortis).
The Art of Necromancy: This heavy tome was penned by a renowned scholar of the ancient Necromancer Kings of the Ruined Kingdoms. It contains an encyclopedic description of the undead, along with a description of their special powers and weaknesses. The Art of Necromancy grants its possessor a +5 competence bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks that deal with identifying undead creatures as long as the character can take 1d4 rounds to find the proper reference.
Moderate necromancy; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have 5 ranks in the Knowledge (religion) skill; Price 2,500 gp; Weight 7 lb.
The Book of Shadows: Dictated by a master necromancer to his undead shadow minions while imprisoned before his execution, this account of black necromancy is filled with details of dark rites and summoning rituals. When used as an additional arcane focus, this book grants its user a +2 bonus to a character’s caster level when using animate dead, create greater undead, create undead, greater planar binding, lesser planar binding, and planar binding.
Moderate conjuration [evil]; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have 5 ranks in the Knowledge (the planes) skill; Price 5,000 gp; Weight 5 lb.
The Eleven Baneful Gates: This ancient scroll is thought to contain the secret of immortality, symbolized by eleven tests or riddles. Any arcane or divine caster of 11th level or higher who succeeds on both a DC 23 Knowledge (arcana) check and a DC 25 Knowledge (religion) check learns that the Eleven Baneful Gates can supply 4,800 XP for the creation of a lich’s phylactery. Once the phylactery is finished (at the usual cost of 120,000 gp), the writing on the scroll fades and the parchment is consumed in flames. When the scrolls’ ashes are mixed with wine and drunk, the imbiber dies and rises as a lich.
Strong necromancy; CL 20th; Craft Wondrous Item, crate greater undead; Price 7,750 gp; Cost 4,150 gp + 5,088 XP; Weight 1 lb.
The Fabric of the Humanoid Body: This oversized book is a comprehensive monograph about the structure and function of the humanoid body. It is recognized as one of the most thorough and accurate texts on humanoid anatomy and contains dozens of drawings depicting dissected cadavers. As long as the character can take 1d4 rounds to find the proper reference, a character with access to this work gains a +5 competence bonus on Heal checks performed on humanoids.
Moderate necromancy; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have 5 ranks in the Heal skill; Price 2,500 gp; Weight 7 lb.
Ferranifer’s Blood Codex: This evil tome is bound in black leather and penned with a crisp, feminine hand in crimson ink. Within its pages are the secrets to becoming a free-willed vampire, though both a DC 17 Knowledge (arcana) check and a DC 17 Knowledge (religion) check are required to understand the text. The ritual described therein takes thirteen days and requires 8,000 gp worth of esoteric materials to complete, after which characters of 5th level or higher gain the vampire template, while those of 4th or lower become vampire spawn.
Moderate necromancy; CL 18th; Craft Wondrous Item, create undead; Price 89,450 gp; Weight 5 lb.
The Necrophidicon: In much the same fashion as a golem manual provides instructions that help a character craft a golem, the Necrophidicon aids in the creation of a necrophidius (Fiend Folio 126). The book contains geas/quest, hold person, hypnotism, and Mordenkainen’s faithful hound. The reader may treat her caster level as two levels higher than normal for the purpose of crafting a necrophidius. The book supplies 100 XP for the creation of a necrophidius.
Moderate conjuration and enchantment; CL 10th; Craft Construct, creator must be caster level 10th, geas/quest, hold person, hypnotism,Mordenkainen’s faithful hound; Price 2,000 gp; Cost 200 gp + 105 XP; Weight 5 lb.
On Coming Forth By Day: This divine tome has been compiled over countless generations by the clerics of deities who rule over both the dead and the undead. Those clerics who meditate upon this tome’s contents while preparing their daily spells may choose to exchange access to one of their normal domains for access to the Death domain for 24 hours. If the cleric already has access to the Death domain, that character gains two additional uses per day of the domain’s granted power.
Strong necromancy; CL 20th; Craft Wondrous Item, access to the Death domain; Price 160,000 gp; Weight 5 lb.
I am about to run a 3.5 conversion of the old Return to the Tomb of Horrors adventure, and in preparation discovered that I'd like to fill out some of the books that can be found in one of the adventure's libraries. Particularly, I'm looking for 1-paragraph histories and biographies of famous necromancers, particularly those of Oerth (but I'd also like the big necromantic players of all the major campaigns out there). Any links or responses would be appreciated. If you'd like to submit your own character, please do so only for Greyhawk.
As thanks, here's conversions for all of the other Necromantic Lore books from 2e's Complete Book of Necromancers (the Nycoptic Manuscripts appearing in Libris Mortis).
The Art of Necromancy: This heavy tome was penned by a renowned scholar of the ancient Necromancer Kings of the Ruined Kingdoms. It contains an encyclopedic description of the undead, along with a description of their special powers and weaknesses. The Art of Necromancy grants its possessor a +5 competence bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks that deal with identifying undead creatures as long as the character can take 1d4 rounds to find the proper reference.
Moderate necromancy; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have 5 ranks in the Knowledge (religion) skill; Price 2,500 gp; Weight 7 lb.
The Book of Shadows: Dictated by a master necromancer to his undead shadow minions while imprisoned before his execution, this account of black necromancy is filled with details of dark rites and summoning rituals. When used as an additional arcane focus, this book grants its user a +2 bonus to a character’s caster level when using animate dead, create greater undead, create undead, greater planar binding, lesser planar binding, and planar binding.
Moderate conjuration [evil]; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have 5 ranks in the Knowledge (the planes) skill; Price 5,000 gp; Weight 5 lb.
The Eleven Baneful Gates: This ancient scroll is thought to contain the secret of immortality, symbolized by eleven tests or riddles. Any arcane or divine caster of 11th level or higher who succeeds on both a DC 23 Knowledge (arcana) check and a DC 25 Knowledge (religion) check learns that the Eleven Baneful Gates can supply 4,800 XP for the creation of a lich’s phylactery. Once the phylactery is finished (at the usual cost of 120,000 gp), the writing on the scroll fades and the parchment is consumed in flames. When the scrolls’ ashes are mixed with wine and drunk, the imbiber dies and rises as a lich.
Strong necromancy; CL 20th; Craft Wondrous Item, crate greater undead; Price 7,750 gp; Cost 4,150 gp + 5,088 XP; Weight 1 lb.
The Fabric of the Humanoid Body: This oversized book is a comprehensive monograph about the structure and function of the humanoid body. It is recognized as one of the most thorough and accurate texts on humanoid anatomy and contains dozens of drawings depicting dissected cadavers. As long as the character can take 1d4 rounds to find the proper reference, a character with access to this work gains a +5 competence bonus on Heal checks performed on humanoids.
Moderate necromancy; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have 5 ranks in the Heal skill; Price 2,500 gp; Weight 7 lb.
Ferranifer’s Blood Codex: This evil tome is bound in black leather and penned with a crisp, feminine hand in crimson ink. Within its pages are the secrets to becoming a free-willed vampire, though both a DC 17 Knowledge (arcana) check and a DC 17 Knowledge (religion) check are required to understand the text. The ritual described therein takes thirteen days and requires 8,000 gp worth of esoteric materials to complete, after which characters of 5th level or higher gain the vampire template, while those of 4th or lower become vampire spawn.
Moderate necromancy; CL 18th; Craft Wondrous Item, create undead; Price 89,450 gp; Weight 5 lb.
The Necrophidicon: In much the same fashion as a golem manual provides instructions that help a character craft a golem, the Necrophidicon aids in the creation of a necrophidius (Fiend Folio 126). The book contains geas/quest, hold person, hypnotism, and Mordenkainen’s faithful hound. The reader may treat her caster level as two levels higher than normal for the purpose of crafting a necrophidius. The book supplies 100 XP for the creation of a necrophidius.
Moderate conjuration and enchantment; CL 10th; Craft Construct, creator must be caster level 10th, geas/quest, hold person, hypnotism,Mordenkainen’s faithful hound; Price 2,000 gp; Cost 200 gp + 105 XP; Weight 5 lb.
On Coming Forth By Day: This divine tome has been compiled over countless generations by the clerics of deities who rule over both the dead and the undead. Those clerics who meditate upon this tome’s contents while preparing their daily spells may choose to exchange access to one of their normal domains for access to the Death domain for 24 hours. If the cleric already has access to the Death domain, that character gains two additional uses per day of the domain’s granted power.
Strong necromancy; CL 20th; Craft Wondrous Item, access to the Death domain; Price 160,000 gp; Weight 5 lb.
Don't forget Orcus. 
