necromancer at level 1: unlife spell

[evilbob]

So the necromancer is pretty amazing in 5.0 but it doesn't really start until level 5. I'd like it to start at level 1 with something a little simpler and easier to manage. So here's a spell to get you going, more closely related to animate object. Comments welcome!

Unlife
1st level necromancy

Casting time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a drop of blood, a piece of flesh)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

This spell targets a small or medium humanoid corpse within range that has died within the last 5 minutes. The corpse rises as a zombie under your control. It has the same statistics as a zombie, except it has hit points equal to your level and it does not gain the Undead Fortitude trait. You can command the zombie as a bonus action on your turn as long as it remains within 60 feet of you.

Once affected, no corpse can be the target of this spell again. Revivify dismisses this spell in addition to its normal effect when cast on the same target.

At higher levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you can target one additional corpse per spell level. You can command any number of zombies made this way as a single bonus action.

 

[Sadrik]

Make it 1 HP like revivify and died within 1 minute...

 

[evilbob]

Well it effectively is 1 HP. Up to 20, anyway (normal zombie HP is 22), although making it equal your level vs. making it 1 HP has very little difference. It means more around mid-levels if you have the necromancy school, since at level 10 you have a 20 HP zombie. Just trying to make it slightly better at higher levels.

Not sure the difference between "last 5 minutes" and "last minute" really matters; I figured it would be nice if the corpse didn't have to have been killed immediately, but you could stumble over a recent kill and then use it somehow. But sure, "last minute" is fine. It doesn't really matter.

 

[Evenglare]

Very off topic but every single post I see from you evil bob says 5.0 instead of 5th edition or something. Any reason for that?

 

[evilbob]

Very off topic but every single post I see from you evil bob says 5.0 instead of 5th edition or something. Any reason for that?

Because it's a completely valid name for D&D 5.0? I'm kind of surprised you're the second or third person to bring it up as a question.

All I can come up with is that I suspect people who started with different editions (especially 4th) may be more comfortable with using the word "edition" in the name; my first extended exposure was 3.0 and later 3.5, so I'm more comfortable with the X.Y nomenclature. Considering this version of D&D is simply called "Dungeons and Dragons" I don't think anyone can really claim anything is more right than anything else, it's really just up to whoever is saying it to make themselves clear, and both ways to write it are equally clear. Plus, it's future-proofing, for when 5.5 comes out: I won't have to change my nomenclature.


Ps. The 3.5 books that came out in 2003 actually had "3.5" on the cover. (I think it was popular a decade ago to use X.Y names for many things.) The 4.0 books that came out 5 years later didn't have the word "edition" or a number on the cover, but they did use the words "4th edition" inside the book. I am pretty sure calling it "4.0" in 2008 was extremely common, especially since the previous version was 3.5. Now, a little over 5 years later, it seems weird to me that anyone would question the "5.0" label, even if they might prefer "5th edition." I haven't done a "find" on the text of the book since I don't have it in PDF, but the 5.0 PHB doesn't seem to use the word "edition" to describe itself at all, but rather they pulled an Apple and just started calling the latest version "D&D" as if it were the only one all along.

 

[Morrus]

Hey, [MENTION=9789]evilbob[/MENTION], I hope you don't mind but I'm trying a new database out and needed a spell:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/5espells/browsecategory.php?c=1

 

[evilbob]

Not at all! Seems like an interesting project.