D&D 2E AD&D 2E Character Creation and General Help

[ElvishSupremacy]

Hello there, and my apologies if I happen to misunderstand anything as I haven't touched DnD in quite some time and I was actually a Pathfinder 1E player back in my day. With that said, a coworker invited me to play with him and his long time friends, so I happily agreed! Although, I have no idea what I've really gotten myself into... Pathfinder had all of its resources neatly laid out and it was easy to come by information. I feel like the 2E player handbook I was given is a little confusing. Not just that, but I wanted to know how viable it would be with my stat rolls to make a character concept I had, with the approval of the DM.

The idea I had that I wanted to enact was basically playing a Necromancer, and yes, fighting for the side of good. I'll work out the reasonings with the GM, he already okayed it. Now I just need to figure out the class combination I should be using, how to build this character, and where to allocate my stats. I'm pretty open as far as things like race and class are concerned, but I want a big focus of my kit to be on necromancy itself. Rituals, summoning, taking them over, raising them, and all that good stuff. I'll be doing it in the... Least evil way, but knowing it's still a very evil act especially in the DnD world. I'd like for my undead to do the heavy lifting, but if I can be a solid spellcaster on top of commanding my undead, that would be ideal. If not, I'd like to fight from a ranged position. I was told I only get to use the core handbook.

The stats I rolled are as follows.;
9
9
15
17
16
15

 

[Brendan Byrd]

As a resource for developing a non-evil necromancer, Jakandor, Isle of Destiny might be useful.
ISBN 0-7869-1245-6
Its 2e, and there is a kit for a "Render" that you could re-purpose, DM permitting.

 

[James Gasik]

Honestly, I'd avoid Necromancer Wizard. Necromancy spells aren't the best for Wizard, and as a Necromancer, you're forced to put that 16 in Wisdom, which doesn't help you a ton. Worse yet, if you're here for creating Undead, Animate Dead is a Fifth-level spell for Wizards, so you wouldn't see it until 9th level! Add to that the slow advancement rate for Wizard and the low low hit points (d4 per level), and it could very well be a drag.

I'd like to offer an alternative- Cleric (or even better, a Priest of a specific Mythos). Faster leveling, d8 hit dice, the ability to wear armor, and Animate Dead is a Third-level spell, meaning you could create your own zombies and skeletons as early as level 5! You also have healing magic, which makes you very useful to a party. If you're allowed to be Evil, you can get the power to Command Undead which lets you take control of enemy Undead you encounter, adding them to your forces!

If your DM allows you to select a deity from Legends & Lore (for example), there are some very on-theme priests you could play. A priest of Osiris can pray for Wizard Necromancy spells starting at level 1, Turn Undead as if 2 levels higher, and at level 10, can animate twice as many undead with Animate Dead (obviously, not an evil act for this god's priests!).

Or maybe another deity would suit you best, there's other options. If your campaign takes place in the Forgotten Realms, the priests in that setting are even stronger (just check out Faiths & Avatars or Powers & Pantheons). Or maybe your DM's setting has it's own unique gods!

 

[ElvishSupremacy]

Honestly, I'd avoid Necromancer Wizard. Necromancy spells aren't the best for Wizard, and as a Necromancer, you're forced to put that 16 in Wisdom, which doesn't help you a ton. Worse yet, if you're here for creating Undead, Animate Dead is a Fifth-level spell for Wizards, so you wouldn't see it until 9th level! Add to that the slow advancement rate for Wizard and the low low hit points (d4 per level), and it could very well be a drag.

I'd like to offer an alternative- Cleric (or even better, a Priest of a specific Mythos). Faster leveling, d8 hit dice, the ability to wear armor, and Animate Dead is a Third-level spell, meaning you could create your own zombies and skeletons as early as level 5! You also have healing magic, which makes you very useful to a party. If you're allowed to be Evil, you can get the power to Command Undead which lets you take control of enemy Undead you encounter, adding them to your forces!

If your DM allows you to select a deity from Legends & Lore (for example), there are some very on-theme priests you could play. A priest of Osiris can pray for Wizard Necromancy spells starting at level 1, Turn Undead as if 2 levels higher, and at level 10, can animate twice as many undead with Animate Dead (obviously, not an evil act for this god's priests!).

Or maybe another deity would suit you best, there's other options. If your campaign takes place in the Forgotten Realms, the priests in that setting are even stronger (just check out Faiths & Avatars or Powers & Pantheons). Or maybe your DM's setting has it's own unique gods!

Hey, thanks so much for the reply!
I definitely think that Cleric/Priest will be the way to go for several reasons. "Legends and Lore" isn't core rulebook, right? So I'd likely need to ask permission? I think it would be unlikely to get anything out of the book at the start since the GM was stating he didn't want to use anything that wasn't from that main book. Otherwise I'd look at some of those different gods.