The Necromancer: A Treantmonk Guide (part 1 of 3)

Welcome to my Necromancer guide! In this video let's make a master of the undead. Until we get animate dead, this is just going to feel like any wizard, but after level 6, we are really going to feel like a Necromancer. This is part 1 of 3 of this build.

[TreantmonksTemple]

Welcome to my Necromancer guide! In this video let's make a master of the undead. Until we get animate dead, this is just going to feel like any wizard, but after level 6, we are really going to feel like a Necromancer. This is part 1 of 3 of this build.

[clarkside]

The crawling claw seems like an innocent enough undead familiar option to ask your DM about.

[jamesrexus]

That's the build I most wonder how you would do nowdays

[topgunbobby]

Let's see a Necromancer Variant! Also, I'd love to see "The Good Necromancer" build. Seems like a neat theme.

[RavenWolfStarcraft]

I think this is one of the cases that not taking perception is acceptable. Since having disadvantage results in a -5 to passive perception and you're going to have that disadvantage whenever there's not dim light (light and darkvision darkness), might as well just accept that it's going to be a bad score and put no effort into it rather than something mediocre.

[Soykuya]

I been using your guides since 3.5, can't wait to see more from you Treantmonk.

[Porphyrogenitus]

> It's going to be a kobold and there's a reason for that I will get to later in...
isn't "you get to be a kobold" reason enough?

[mylesdrake]

I think blindness and deafness was overlooked due to the fact it disables most spell casters and gives advantage. Cause fear is also pretty powerful if your looking to give advantage to party members and minions.

[undrhil]

It's a spirit in the shape of a beast.. aside from the fact that you choose a type for it, just reflavor it as a skeletal or zombie version of whatever beast you choose.

[FrostLeaf]

Man, it's crazy that we're already at the second-to-last video. Been enjoying the ride! Fave so far was the Abjurer, but War Magic was a close second.

[KINFIN]

Worth noting, the Crawling Claw (an animated undead disembodied hand) is a Variant Familiar, and one of my favorites for a Necromancer.

I also enjoy Ravens but that’s just opinion.

[christopherjfrancisco]

With your Realization for your 17th Level, I wonder how much it would change this build overall. This being more theory-craft than optimizing, it makes me curious what an optimized necromancer would look like, as well as what things you would allow/disallow for necro-players for games you DM aside from reskinning spells (which I wish more DMs/GMs would allow).

Did enjoy all three videos, and was certainly looking forward to them for weeks. Not a lot of people view necromancer's in positive light in their videos, nor do they seem enthused - or "animated" if you will - when talking about making a necromancer, or whether they would even allow one in their game. Thank you for breaking the mold, and taking time to put actual thought into making a Necromancer PC!

[thereaIitsybitsyspider]

My dm let me have a skeleton cat familiar.

[gregoryfloriolli]

With that terrible Strength, I’d probably go with Levitate over Pyrotechnics. Sooner or later you’re going to have to make an Athletics check to climb up or down something.

[magnuspendragon]

Aha finally. You're the best man, now its time for a variant of the necromancer.

[aureliomanalo]

Good stuff per usual. Thanks for making my Monday commute easier!

[Porphyrogenitus]

If you're not damaged, it does nothing - but when you are damaged, it does more than the goggles.
The goggles do nothing.

[benl]

Slight correction, there is a 1st-level damage-dealing necromancy spell: Ray of Sickness. Of course, there is no universe where you should ever take Ray of Sickness, so I can see why you'd ignore it.

[clarkside]

Hmm, given that kobolds are evil, what if he was employed by a necromancer for nightly cadaver collection, but when the necromancer failed to become a lich, it left his stuff for the taking?

[thereaIitsybitsyspider]

I think that Necromancer in 5e is a challenge in creativity. You need to use your options to make the most out of weak undead.
A few things that I have found interesting:
Mold Earth: you can use this to bury and unbury undead. Buried undead can become a trap if they are not buried deep. This gives you access to more skeletons, and it allows you to hide your undead in a pinch.
Skilled feat: take tool proficiencies and combine this with Fabricate. Now you can outfit your undead army, provided the dm allows it.