D&D 5E (2024) The Undead Army Necromancer is not Designable

I think if there is a necromancer they should be able to control 10ish minions. Thus, I don’t really think there should be a necromancer due to gameplay issues associated with that. But if you want to design one, that’s what I require.
So that's 1 person.

Anyone else think there should be 10 individual creatures?
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Just so long as the army starts at lower level (1 skeleton/zombie at the least by level 3 at the latest). and increases as I increase in level.
Warlock 1 can get you a skeleton familiar.
Beastmaster 5, companion and summon beast spell.
Battlesmith 3, construct
Paladin 5, find steed
Wizard 5, unseen servant, phantom steed.
= that's 7 at once.

Maybe Fathomless 3 to get a tentacle, not sure id you would count that or not.
 

Warlock 1 can get you a skeleton familiar.
Beastmaster 5, companion and summon beast spell.
Battlesmith 3, construct
Paladin 5, find steed
Wizard 5, unseen servant, phantom steed.
= that's 7 at once.

Maybe Fathomless 3 to get a tentacle, not sure id you would count that or not.

It’s like you didn’t even listen to my requirement.
 


Well they definitely made it thematic and not OP. Seems possibly a bit weak and still has the turns / aoe issues. I don’t view it as a solution to the problem presented. But it is interesting and fun!
It's not perfect, but I think it is the closest I have ever seen. And the class has built in sliders: a variant rule under which Undead animated by other spells (like raise dead) don't count against your thrall total. It includes a disclaimer that this means more skellies to juggle.

I also like this class's subclasses. They are each built off of a different Undead. You got your classic lich Necromancer, and also your vampire, mummy, death knight, etc. It's fun.
 




It's designable, but it's going to require some swings.

WOTC is (understandably) avoidant of summons, which makes sense. Even a single extra-NPC is a full new set of health to track, attack rolls to figure out, damage to deal out, etc. It can significantly increase the time a round takes.

But...it seems to me, embracing 4E-style minions could fix the problem. Let the necromancer either summon a swarm (single entity, just like we see in 5E) or a number of 1-hp minions that use the necromancer's spell-attack, with set-damage (no dice roll needed).

This is a steep-departure from typical 5E, but with a new leadership team in charge, maybe now is the time to try some out-of-left-field adjustments?
 

It's designable, but it's going to require some swings.

WOTC is (understandably) avoidant of summons, which makes sense. Even a single extra-NPC is a full new set of health to track, attack rolls to figure out, damage to deal out, etc. It can significantly increase the time a round takes.

But...it seems to me, embracing 4E-style minions could fix the problem. Let the necromancer either summon a swarm (single entity, just like we see in 5E) or a number of 1-hp minions that use the necromancer's spell-attack, with set-damage (no dice roll needed).

This is a steep-departure from typical 5E, but with a new leadership team in charge, maybe now is the time to try some out-of-left-field adjustments?

What problem are you trying to address?
 

Pets & Sidekicks

Remove ads

Top