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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 7022189" data-attributes="member: 6669384">The fun part is that, in theory, the Necromancer could be Lawful Good.  (One point off of Lawful Neutral on a single axis).  But even I'm not that twisted, yet.As for allies:  No, he really doesn't have any.  His valley is isolated, at least a week's travel from other settled, civilized lands, and that's when the weather is good.  We tend to parallel the seasons, so it's early February there, and winter is in full swing.  Even the part getting there is going to be a rough trip.Besides, being the Necromancer lord is a lonely job.  As I mentioned, his claim and title are recognized by most kingdoms, but nobody actually likes him.  He has some trade agreements, but no allies.Still, he has the ability to call up substantial resources, for short periods of time.  Sword fodder is easy to come by.  An undead raid on a neighboring Orc or Bugbear village can garner him plenty of troops.I don't see him as having huge financial resources.  Economically his region is on the weak side of self sufficient.  If it wasn't for the magical gear of the occasional party of "saviors" who come looking for his head, he'd probably end up on the short side of the trade balance.  But every now and then somebody shows up to shut him down, and afterwards he can sell off their gear and use the profits to buy stocks of food and other goods to help his people make it through the hard times.Ironically, they do save the place, after a fashion.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />So I'll start by designing a bandit chief.  Big muscle, good Dex, with mental dump stats.  Then I'll graft my Necromancer onto him via Magic Jar.  So they'll meet the quite robust Dark Lord, well muscled if a bit pale.Since his Court Seer is an old adventuring companion (and another ghost), he'll have a similar hybrid build, though more of a Dex focused build than the Lord.  I think I'll make him a Sorcerer.  Also fairly high level.Castle guard are at least half Human and mortal (someone has to go deal with things during the daylight hours).Now, who (or should I say what) is in his dungeons?  Bandits or monsters captured and legitimately sentenced to serve as snack food for some of the other residents of the castle.  A fate like that would be a great deterrent against raids and crime.  Order must be maintained, after all.Thinking about both finance and food, I'm thinking they can raise horses in the valley.  They can supply blood, Strength and Con when needed, and being a 2 hit dice creature they can even spare the occasional temporary level loss to single-level drainers like Wights.The undead prefer food with actual souls, but when the boss says "No making any children without my permission", you have to settle for what you can get.I'm wondering, are there specs on a Dire Horse?  Something big and tough enough to survive this?I'm seeing his public hall, where he holds open court once a week, as being something designed to deceive.  It appears to be sunlit, with light coming in through high placed stained glass windows.  In reality those windows are backed by closed, dark corridors.  Mindless undead carrying Daylight items are stationed there, ordered to move slightly throughout the day so the "sun" is always entering at the correct angle, to simulate real sunlight.A setting like that would throw visitors for a loop.  They might even think that their host was weaker and vulnerable when in that hall.I find I'm liking this guy more and more.  Maybe too much.   Am I overthinking this place?</blockquote>

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