D&D General A paladin just joined the group. I'm a necromancer.

[Fauchard1520]

I know it's an old cliche, but this mess happened to me. I was all set to go with a necromancer. My guy was raising dead, the campaign was running smoothly, and then a buddy joined up at level 6. He wanted to roll a paladin.

What's the best way to make the two play nice in the same party? Is there a mechanical solution to the problem? Alternatively, how can I circumnavigate his ire?

Relevant comic.

 

[Blue]

Any player joining an existing group should actively working on fitting in, with the DM enforcing that.

That said, many paladins can be made to be fine with necromancers. Lots of oaths now.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

By default in 5e, raising undead is an Evil act. Check with your DM to see if it is in their setting.
Not all Paladins are Good in 5e. Check with the player to see if their character would have an issue with undead. If so, ask them why they want to start a character with that attitude.

 

[Blue]

By default in 5e, raising undead is an Evil act. Check with your DM to see if it is in their setting.
Not all Paladins are Good in 5e. Check with the player to see if their character would have an issue with undead. If so, ask them why they want to start a character with that attitude.

Can you provide something that says raising undead is an evil act in 5e? I've got a culture where you will your body to your family, church, liege, or whatever on death to act as a everliving servitor. I had not seen anything in the rules that it was inherently evil in 5e.

There's more than one subclass that is around it, some that even give it to you as class features like the Spores Druid.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Even outside of the setting-specific detail, you're bringing into the world evil creatures that will default to killing living beings whenever they can. A lapse in the wording of instructions or just being in a situation where you cannot reassert control can lead to them murdering their way through anything they can find.

 

[Li Shenron]

What's the best way to make the two play nice in the same party?

Can't say which is best, but there are various possible ideas:

• the Paladin is dumb
• the Paladin is forced to work with the Necromancer by a higher power and cannot refuse
• the Necromancer has creative ways to hide or disguise her work
• the Necromancer doesn't necessarily use the most offending necromancy spells
• dire circumstances force them to work together against a greater evil
• they are relatives, very close friends, or in love with each other
• they just manage to tolerate each other or make a deal about not taking it too far
• they beat the cr4p out of each other, but it happens off-camera

The ultimate point is that the PCs are supposed to be allies. Players accept a compromise, or make different characters. But the point here is that he joined later, so do not let the others pretend it's your fault. Your PC was there first, so it's him who should have thought twice before making a PC that doesn't fit with the existing party, and now it's his job to justify why did he join at all, and how did he manage to be let in.

That said, are you sure that this player will really be after your character? Lots of players just don't care about these things, and maybe he won't bother you at all.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[bedir than]

What are the party's goals?
Do the Paladin and Necromancer share those goals? If they don't, they aren't in the same party. If they do there is plenty of reality and fiction about those opposed to certain aspects of the other still working together.

 

[Dausuul]

Can you provide something that says raising undead is an evil act in 5e? I've got a culture where you will your body to your family, church, liege, or whatever on death to act as a everliving servitor. I had not seen anything in the rules that it was inherently evil in 5e.

I thought I had seen that stated in 5E, but after digging through the rulebooks, I have not found it; neither the text of the animate dead spell, nor create undead, nor the Necromancy tradition, nor the monster descriptions for skeletons and zombies, say anything about it being an evil act to raise undead. Maybe it was in the D&D Next playtest and got removed before release? Anyway, I guess that's another relic of previous editions to consign to the mental dustbin. Good deal.

That said, skeletons and zombies themselves are evil, driven by a hunger to kill the living; that's stated explicitly in the Monster Manual. Those who raise such minions are wielding dangerous weapons. If the necromancer dies or is prevented from renewing their control, the undead become free-willed and they will slaughter any living person they see. So, while it may not be a simple as "Necromancy evil!", a good-aligned necromancer should refrain from raising undead when not necessary, and should take precautions to keep them from getting loose.

To the OP: I would talk with the would-be paladin player and work out a way for the two PCs to coexist, keeping in mind that it's mainly on him to adapt his concept to the existing group--you should not have to retool your PC for his sake. Many paladin oaths are perfectly compatible with necromancy; the Oath of Vengeance, for example, is generally fine with using weapons of darkness against darkness. But even a more traditional knight-in-shining-armor paladin could be okay as long as the player doesn't act like the Alignment Police. Periodic debates between the paladin and the necromancer can be fun to roleplay if the conflict doesn't escalate to actual combat.

 

[jgsugden]

Wait - there might be conflict between main characters in a story based game? Well, we can't have conflict in a story.

We can suggest stories, but you'll have more fun coming up with one you want to play.