Best Necromancer/Undead books out there?

[JustKim]

I would recommend Secret College of Necromancy for spells, classes and feats (Just watch out for a couple like death pact and legion spells).

Hollowfaust was also decent, a few inspired spells but the book suffers from bad editing and unexplained references to other Sword & Sorcery books, especially in the PrC department.

Necromancy: Beyond the Grave I couldn't use anything from. The spells and feats are not balanced, nor really inspired. Graft weapons to undead, great. A spell that makes someone a ghoul, okay. A protection from evil type spell that applies to undead, yawn. Some of it might be applicable if as a DM you just have to give a game mechanic to a story event like raising a forgotten city, otherwise I'd pass. It's pretty basic and ends up as shelf filler.

Ghostwalk campaign setting is another good one because necromancy is a strong theme in the setting that never had a chance. You can yank a good many things from its pages, I know I did. Some of the spells have since been reprinted, but the PrCs, magic items and monsters are decent.

 

[Turjan]

I can also recommend "Gar'Udok's Compleet Librum ov Necromantic Artes". Very good book on the subject .

I did not like "Secret College of Necromancy" at all. The crunch in there is vastly unbalanced, which is also true for the full Necromancer class (much too powerful). The fluff made my head ache, but that's a matter of taste . One of the few GR books where I'd say they missed it completely.

"Necromancy: Beyond the Grave" has got a few nice ideas. Nothing too exciting, but it's quite okay .

 

[Psion]

Necromancer's Legacy aka Gar'Udok's Compleet Librum ov Necromantic Artes. It's the only book I have seen that takes the classic "menacing necromancer king" concept and run with it. Most of the other books I have seen are more "oh, here some necromantic classes and creatures."

Necromantic Lore is probably the best of FFG's lore series of books. Some creatures are a little hard to use, but there are some useful, interesting and twisted concepts in there, like the non-evil spirit legion type warrior and spectral advisors (forget the exact names they used), as well as sinister tidbits like the shadow parasite.

 

[Psion]

I did not like "Secret College of Necromancy" at all. The crunch in there is vastly unbalanced, which is also true for the full Necromancer class (much too powerful). The fluff made my head ache, but that's a matter of taste . One of the few GR books where I'd say they missed it completely.

The fluff was very interesting and had loads of ideas.

I gotta say, I'm not too impressed with the mechanics. Some of the ideas associated with it were rather neat, but I think if you begin to picture those spells and classes in the hands of PCs instead of NPCs, I think you will begin to see the problem. That said, some of them are cool enough that I included more balanced or less accessible (i.e., True Ritual) versions.

"Necromancy: Beyond the Grave" has got a few nice ideas. Nothing too exciting, but it's quite okay .

Yeah, it was an alright little snack of a book. Nothing that says "I am a necromancer king" in there, but I did use a spectral loremaster as a spoiler NPC in one of my games to great effect.

 

[Ghostwind]

I am a bonifide Necromancer addict. I can't get enough of them when I am playing and I love to include them in my campaigns when I am DM'ing.

Xyth

Xyth, you left out Out for Blood (Bastion Press) as another vampire sourcebook and Ghostwalk (Wotc), another city filled with undead.

 

[Arnwyn]

2nd Ed
Lords of Darkness - this is a really great book, but not really necessary for you to have. Just has a bunch of nice adventures involving the undead with a story at the beggining of each chapter and some great spells at the end.
The Complete Book of Necromancers - this one is the original bible of necromancy for 2ed and I still recommend it for anyone if you can find it. Lots of background, ideas, corruptions, spells, etc. Many ideas you find in 3ed stuff came from this book.
Van Richtens guide to ....... - Vampires, LIches, Ghosts, mummies, etc. Some cool stuff in these with lots of ways to flesh out your creatures and make each one unique. The rules are too Ravenloft and 2ed and need some heavy conversion to use (if you like that sort of thing)

I still use these to this day (which I converted all to 3.x).

 

[Voadam]

D&D Diablo Diablerie has a necromancer class that is a modified sorcerer with a tailored spell list and some extra powers.

 

[Psion]

If you want to speak of 2e, Van Richten's Guide to the Lich and Complete Necromancer's are both nice, flavorful entries.

 

[Garnfellow]

• Secret College of Necromancy. One of the biggest disappointments among all my d20 purchases. Veterans Wolfgang “Kingdom of the Ghouls” Baur + David “Isle of Dread” Cook + Green Ronin + d20? Boy, did this sure sound like a winner. But alas, it suffers from terrible d20 implementation (and points out the huge difference between 2nd Edition and 3e design). At least there are a few nice ideas throughout.
• Arcane Mysteries: Necromancer's Legacy. This is an excellent blend of fluff and crunch. Lots of nice new crunchy bits (and good use of existing OGL material) enmeshed in a dark, evocative setting.
• Legends & Lairs: Necromantic Lore. A decent enough monster book: some pretty good ideas, OK implementation.

I still pull out 2e's Complete Necromancer's Guide now and again.

 

[Whimsical]

Just another kudos for The Complete Necromancer's Guide. I was impressed with it's spells, which were very well crafted.