Necromancy spells

[Noir]

Edit I have been working on chants and words that can be used at the gaming table for each of the spells. My intension is of course that it will contribute to a better atmosphere. Sowhat is exactly said when the old necromancer whispers to you at the tavern that makes your body slowly decay?
Besides "Power Words" I am trying to state exactly how each of the spells looks, sounds and feels like. With Whispers of Old it is pretty much written into the spell mechanics, but the rest of them then?

Anyone care to help me out?


The Necromancy school has always been quite poor in DnD (atleast if you only use the core books). With BovD it got a little boost, but certainly not enough. It is still mediocre and kind of boring.

I have just started playing a necromancer with a shamanistic twist and now I am looking for interesting spells to add to his repertoire. I have written a few myself, but I would love to see your original designs. I will post mine as soon as I return home, which should be sometime this weekend or at the beginning of next week.

Please feel free to comment and/or suggest changes on my spells, that is in fact one of the reasons why I post them here.

 

[Noir]

Whispers of Old

Whispers of Old
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V
Casting Time: See text
Range: See text
Target: One living creature
Duration: Concentration (up to 3 rounds/level) (D)
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You whisper ancient truths to the target in a long forgotten language. Though it makes no sense to the subject of the spell his body understands it. For every round of undisturbed whispering (a Concentration check may be done if disturbed) the subject of the spell's physical body grows one year older. The effects are permanent and the creature affected actually are older physically than before, which means no magic remains after the spell has ended. Whispers of Old can not affect immortals. You can continue whispering as long as you can continue talking. The target must be able to hear the caster whispering for the spell to work, therefore Whispers of Old can not be cast as a silent spell.
Whispers of Old can be used in conjunction with spells that transmit audible messages, such as Message. Spells that send mental messages, such as Rary's Telepathic Bond, do not work with Whispers of Old since the physical body of the subject must hear the whispers, not the mind.

 

[Noir]

Transmortal Invocation

Transmortal Invocation
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M, F
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: See text
Target: One soul
Duration: See text (D)
Saving Throw: Will (Harmless)
Spell Resistance: No

Calls one dead soul of the caster's choosing into a diagram inscribed by the caster. The diagram works exactly as the one needed for Planar Binding, alas a Magic Circle focused inward is required.
The called soul is allowed to make a Will saving throw to resist the spell. If the saving throw fails the soul is immediatly drawn into the circle and trapped there. The spell last for as long as the caster desires, but for every hour beyond the first, the caster takes one point of Wis damage from the strain of keeping the gates of life and death ajar.
The soul is incorporeal and incapable of physical manifestation, but it will converse with the caster in any language it knows, although the caster may also cast a Rary's Telepathic Bond in order to communicate telepathically with the spirit. In neither circumstance is it required to speak to the caster or if it does, to tell the truth.
Among other components, this ritual requires enough blood equivalent to 1 HP per Hit Die of the called soul (at the time of it's death). The blood needs to be fresh and from an intelligent creature(s) for the ritual to work.

Material Components: Blood from an intelligent creature(s); ritual equipment various and sundry, such as candles and colored chalk dust.
Foci: A cold iron bowl; an object associated with the soul called

 

[Noir]

Deanimate Undead

Deanimate Undead
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: Up to one creature per level
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

When casting the spell, the caster utters a few arcane words and snaps a bone from an intelligent creature. Deanimate Undead deanimates lesser undead (up to 6 HD) leaving a regular corpse behind (animatable) for every undead it deanimates.
Material Component: A bone from an intelligent creature.

 

[Darklone]

Aging spells/effects have been banned with a good reason in 3rd edition... as I had to learn when I used some old houserules lately... The others look nice.

Just wanted to add on a related note: Try to get badaxegames Unusual Treasures. The Appendix contains a lot of nice stylish necro spells.

 

[Noir]

Answers to Darklone

Aging spells/effects have been banned with a good reason in 3rd edition... as I had to learn when I used some old houserules lately... The others look nice.

Banned? I did not know that, and frankly, I can not see why. Auto-kill spells are quite common in DnD, an age spell, used to it maximum, is just that, but with a little flavor. I can agree that Whispers of Old might be set one level too low, since the first auto-kill spell actually shows up at 4th level.

Just wanted to add on a related note: Try to get badaxegames Unusual Treasures. The Appendix contains a lot of nice stylish necro spells.

Sounds interesting, I will check it out.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Nice selection of spells - I agree that necromancy is often a poor mans school of magic - although a bit better in 3.5. Still, extras never go amiss!

Should any of them be castable by clerics - I think Deanimate could make a good candidate?

Banned? I did not know that, and frankly, I can not see why. Auto-kill spells are quite common in DnD, an age spell, used to it maximum, is just that, but with a little flavor. I can agree that Whispers of Old might be set one level too low, since the first auto-kill spell actually shows up at 4th level.

Ageing - it's an auto-kill that there's no way to come back from... by the core rules - no way to reverse aging in 3.0/3.5 and you can't be raised/ressurected/wished back into existence if you die of old age. Admittedly - it will take 60 odd rounds to kill an average human and a good few hundred to 'do in' an elf.

It does have some very 'argue funny' side effects, for example: - on Dragons. 1 newly hatched dragon + that spell + concentration for 1000 rounds (100 minutes) = 1 great wyrm? Does a single year of aging work as 'insta kill' against insects? Etc. Etc.

I'd consider replacing it with damage of 1 wis/round. At 0 wis you are an unmoving vegetable and start losing con at 1/round. It's still very unpleasant, but takes a long time to work and isn't a permenant kill.

 

[scholz]

I used to have a whole 1st ed sub-class (a la Illusionist) of Necromancers. Let me see if I can remember some of those spell titles.

1st Talking Skull (Magic Mouth but with Skulls)
1st Suspend Death (extends dying by 1 round/level beyond -10)
2nd Know Death (See the last few moments of some corpses life/death)
2nd Steal Death (touch causes dying creature to die, and grants caster any hitpoints between current total and -10)
3rd Poltergeist (A minor curse effecting a place that would cause minor annoyances)
3rd Negative Energy Armor (if touched or hit by a melee attack, attacker takes 1hp/caster level)
3rd Partial Possession (Caster causes opponent to save each round or caster controls one of his limbs)
4th Curse of Anagensis (Caused victim to reanimate as an undead of equivalent hit dice after dying)
5th Relentless Reanimation (like animate dead, but undead have fast healing)
5th Deathly Polymorph (causes victim to save or become an equivalently powerful undead, caster has no special control over victim, only remove curse will revert)
6th Enervating Shield (melee attacker must save or take 1 negative level)
7th Death Wish (as per limited wish, but only applies after the subject's death. Can be cast on any creature, but is the choice of the subject)
8th Aura of Death (melee attacker must save or die)
9th Death Storm (animates all dead in one mile radius/level as zombies or skeletons, caster can send them in a direction, but not control them)

 

[Noir]

Answers to Inconsequenti-AL

Should any of them be castable by clerics - I think Deanimate could make a good candidate?

Sure, some of the spells I have written should probably be castable by clerics. I just have not given it any thought since the character I have written the spells for (Tzazal, Necromancer5/Red Wizard3 at the moment) is an arcane caster.

Ageing - it's an auto-kill that there's no way to come back from... by the core rules - no way to reverse aging in 3.0/3.5 and you can't be raised/ressurected/wished back into existence if you die of old age. Admittedly - it will take 60 odd rounds to kill an average human and a good few hundred to 'do in' an elf.

I think that is a silly rule (to be frank, the whole raise/resurrection system is quite bad), they should be raisable/resurrectable but they will only live for a shout period of time, so we have house ruled that. And the DM will of course allow de-ageing spells, albeit at a higher level, if he allows ageing spells.
Elves in our campaign world are immortal as Tolkien's.
Reincarnate should work on a character who have died of old age, am I not right? You could also write pretty cool new spells either creating a new body or finding a host body for the soul of one who have died of old age.

It does have some very 'argue funny' side effects, for example: - on Dragons. 1 newly hatched dragon + that spell + concentration for 1000 rounds (100 minutes) = 1 great wyrm? Does a single year of aging work as 'insta kill' against insects? Etc. Etc.

If you allow ageing you would probably have to add new rules that make Dragons and some other creatures immune to magical age effects. The insects should be affectable though, since they are "normal" creatures.

I'd consider replacing it with damage of 1 wis/round. At 0 wis you are an unmoving vegetable and start losing con at 1/round. It's still very unpleasant, but takes a long time to work and isn't a permenant kill.

That is a completely different thing, there is no real ageing effect. It could make a cool alternative though.

 

[Mark Chance]

Although it probably won't be available much before the end of April, be sure to check out Dark Arts of Necromancy, written by myself and Mike Ruggles, to be published by Anubium. DAoN includes more than 50 spells, new feats, a 20-level dedicated necromancer class, prestige classes, legendary classes, and a few organizations. It is written primarily as a DM's aid, but much of the material could also be used by players.