D&D 4E 4E character creation

[castro3nw]

There are several cleric dailys that conjure 'knights' I think.. Some that make opportunity attacks, attack on your turn... Some that just stand there and block the way. They could probably be reflavored as raising undead.

 

[Khuxan]

Also consider reflavouring some of the figurines of wondrous power in Adventurer's Vault as shards of bone from which you can call the spirit of the creature that once had that skeleton.

 

[Milambus]

Concept: A son of a noble that is devoted to the support of church of Kelemvor. The character was formally trained as a wizard and lived the idyllic life of a noble. Secretly he is part of an outlawed heretical cult of ancestor worshipers. He is a necromancer and uses his abilities to commune with the dead to gain knowledge of things in the mortal world to help people. He feels necromancy is a good thing if used responsibly. Animating dead is only acceptable if it is a criminal or other enemy for use against enemies and even then only sparingly.

Ok, lets pick out the key parts of the concept:
- Nobleman
- Church of Kelemvor
- Trained as a Wizard
- Outlawed Heretical Cult of ancester worshipers
- Commune with the dead
- Animating dead, but only rarely

I left necromancer off this list because I do not consider it a concept so much as it was an old way to fulfill a concept.

So lets look at ways to accomplish these concepts inside of 4e.

Nobleman
This can be pure fluff, no mechanics are really needed.

Church of Kelemvor
This can also be fluff. However, if you want to make this a key part of the character I would consider a multi-class in Cleric or Paladin. As a cleric you get to heal once per day. The paladin gets to divine challenge once per encounter. Neither of those really seem to be inline with the character however.

Trained as a Wizard
This one is easy, make him a wizard. Alternatively, many wizards in Forgotten Realms became warlocks after the Spellplague.

Outlawed Heretical Cult of ancester worshipers
This could be fluff. Or this could be a Warlock.

Commune with the dead
This would be done via a Ritual now, which any class can get. Wizards and Clerics get ritual caster for free. Speaking with the dead rituals would be keyed off of religion, which both wizards and clerics get as class skills.

Animating dead, but only rarely
As has been suggested, you can simply reflavor many powers to be raising of the dead. Daily powers would be good candidates to hold the rarity. Flaming Sphere could be a flaming corpse... Sleep could be unsettled spirits slowing down your enemies... freezing cloud the same...

My suggestion would be a Wizard with Warlock multi-class.