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<blockquote data-quote="Lizard" data-source="post: 4287458" data-attributes="member: 1054">Basically, you build him using the Wizard or Warlock or Cleric template in the DMG, stapled onto your race of choice, and then say all the undead stuff he does is &quot;rituals&quot;. The players can't access these rituals, of course, nor do you need to actually write up what they, do what their limits are, what level they are, and so on. Just repeat the phrase &quot;rituals&quot; over and over in response to any &quot;How'd he do dat?&quot; question. If you want him to raise every skeleton in a 500 mile radius from the ground in a night, he did it with a ritual. The players can never find, use, or cast this ritual, of course.(I'd also recommend tossing the Lich template onto him, so he becomes Elite, then using the Elite-&gt;Solo rules to make him really buff.)If/when the PCs meet him in combat, use the standard class powers you picked above, but change most of the damage type to Necrotic if it isn't already. If you like, give him some cool powers which don't exist anywhere else in the game, which players can't learn and which aren't balanced for PCs, but which work fine for an NPC whose life expectancy is measured in rounds. Under no circumstances think &quot;Hey, if he's had these powers for years, by now he could have...&quot; or anything else of the sort. Likewise, do not ask &quot;How did he rise from a mere novice to be the great power he is today? He has no low-level abilities.&quot; The necromancer has no past and no reality outside the final showdown with the PCs. He sprang into being when the encounter began and all of his abilities are focused on that one, final, fight. He does not need social skills to command his army, tactical skills to organize it, or any other mechanics which reflect his out of combat prowess. That's all handwaved away; his stat block is for Combat Purposes Only.(Alternatively, you could face him as an opponent in a skill challenge, but then, he has no stats at all; the players roll against static DCs.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lizard, post: 4287458, member: 1054"] Basically, you build him using the Wizard or Warlock or Cleric template in the DMG, stapled onto your race of choice, and then say all the undead stuff he does is "rituals". The players can't access these rituals, of course, nor do you need to actually write up what they, do what their limits are, what level they are, and so on. Just repeat the phrase "rituals" over and over in response to any "How'd he do dat?" question. If you want him to raise every skeleton in a 500 mile radius from the ground in a night, he did it with a ritual. The players can never find, use, or cast this ritual, of course. (I'd also recommend tossing the Lich template onto him, so he becomes Elite, then using the Elite->Solo rules to make him really buff.) If/when the PCs meet him in combat, use the standard class powers you picked above, but change most of the damage type to Necrotic if it isn't already. If you like, give him some cool powers which don't exist anywhere else in the game, which players can't learn and which aren't balanced for PCs, but which work fine for an NPC whose life expectancy is measured in rounds. Under no circumstances think "Hey, if he's had these powers for years, by now he could have..." or anything else of the sort. Likewise, do not ask "How did he rise from a mere novice to be the great power he is today? He has no low-level abilities." The necromancer has no past and no reality outside the final showdown with the PCs. He sprang into being when the encounter began and all of his abilities are focused on that one, final, fight. He does not need social skills to command his army, tactical skills to organize it, or any other mechanics which reflect his out of combat prowess. That's all handwaved away; his stat block is for Combat Purposes Only. (Alternatively, you could face him as an opponent in a skill challenge, but then, he has no stats at all; the players roll against static DCs.) [/QUOTE]

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