D&D5E: SCHOOL OF NECROMANCY WIZARD SUBCLASS GUIDE

D&D5E: SCHOOL OF NECROMANCY WIZARD SUBCLASS GUIDE. Here we take a look at one of the Darkest subclass from the Players Handbook

00:00 intro music
00:18 episode start
00:30 wizard Overview
08:37 Necromancy Savant & Grim Harvest
12:43 Undead Thralls
17:18 Inured to Undeath
18:57 Command Undead
22:27 Final thoughts

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[Fizzbann]

Feeble mind is a necromancer wizards best friend as it tends to the 12 intelligence creatures. You get the undead for 30 days without an intelligence check. Keen mind feat for this wizard would allow them to recast on day 29 and with a much lower intelligence score since I DM it as intelligence returns and save throws resume. Without the keen mind feat, the wizard would need to keep track of time, which means a wisdom saving throw will need to be done to see if the wizard has kept track of passing days.

[christopherjfrancisco]

Nightwalker, a CR20 undead creature that is the strongest thrall a necromancer can get RAW.
My first character was a necromancer. I love anything dark, much like you have said in your videos. Here are some Horde managing tips I found helped me not get the ire of my DMs and fellow players:
- Have some of your undead give the Help Action to other players. This gives them advantage on their task. DM willing, let the others PCs be able to give the command on their turn on your behalf. (The work around is giving the skeleton the command to do as their particular PC buddy says; intelligent enough to operate seige weapons, intelligent enough to follow orders.)
- Use a free dice roller app to make all the rolls at once. If you can find one that also has a success feature (that is to say, input a number and it will tell you how many of the dice meet or exceed that number), that will make the turn go faster.
- Paired with the above: do NOT roll each damage die. Yes, it is nice to roll the shiny math rocks, and a dice roller app can make it easier, but take the average damage of 5. With the above, it becomes a multiplication (5 times the number of hits).
- Use your horde for things other than combat. Mage Hand is 30 or 60 feet in most cases, but some things have an area that will still engulf you. Be even safer. Or, in combat, to not bog things down, have your horde form a permiter with the dodge action to "keep reinforcements from coming in." Then, from that point, only have your select few undead in the combat itself. Having skeletons help keep watch at night is also helpful.
- Use Dragon's Breath spell on an undead for fun times.
- Undead graple one or multiple targets, then using Cloudkill whille they hold the creature/s in place.
- Never keep undead in big groups; one fireball & they are wiped. Spacing is important!

To not make this any longer, undead have great utility options that can be fun for the whole party. Damage mitigation is helpful as well; better the ones that have died already than the ones still alive.

[larwlf]

In the immortal words of Monty Python:
“Get on with it.”

[clarkside]

THANK YOU! Everybody's all like, "oooh, big army of undead!" And I'm like, "NOOOO. Too much to keep up with, too noticeable, too many spell slots spent to maintain!" That's not how you run a necromancer. As for my own necromancer...

Some day, I'm making a human wizard who needs to help his father's angry specter/ghost/poltergeist pass on. He wants to invent a spell to stabilize such volatile spirits, so he takes up the School of Necromancy.

My build has no room for Shadow Touched, so I need _inflict wounds_ another way. I'm waiting for a future background like the Strixhaven backgrounds/feats, but not specific to any setting. It feels like a cheap move to use them outside Strixhaven and I don't want to be a cleric either because its just not the same vibe, you know?

Anyway, backgrounds giving specific feats is going to be the norm moving forward. In the "new" edition in 2024, I'm hoping we get revised Magic Initiate (so we can use spell slots and any spellcasting ability with the chosen spells) and they give it to Acolyte. Recent playtest material seems to suggest that, and the Spelljammer backgrounds kind of do that, so here's hoping.

[tony]

One of my characters had a shadow permabebtly stuck to his shadow as a familiar type kind of summon.. he was evil, as shadows are.. and the party named him slim shady.

When my character inevitably got murked, the shadow stayed with the party... lamenting the loss of his brother..

He went on to becoming a greater shadow eventually and avenged my death.

[jacobfreeman]

I do think a wizard should have all the spells because that is part of their obsession. Even if it is almost assuredly never to be used the arcane knowledge involved in working that spell is something a wizard will want regardless. Every wizard has spent many years of grueling effort to become a recognized journeyman of the arcane arts. So of course they are proud of their capabilities in those arts. So even if there is a rogue in the party who definitely unlocks doors and what not...the wizard will still have knock in their spellbook. Just in case and because it also enriches their arcane knowledge. Maybe the cleric normally is the one breaking curses...but the wizard has the knowledge too. Because he/she should refuse to not have the ability, when necessary, to swing their magic "staff" around. A humble wizard should be a rare thing because they sacrificed so much to be a wizard it is an integral part of their identity. Maybe they keep the grudges they bear on the down low but they definitely remember slights and are deciding how to best settle the score. While playing magical sudoku.

As for a necromancer...I think part of that should be how they employed themselves. Sure the stereotypical necromancer is some nutjob hiding in a cave with a small army of boney boys. But how about those that examine and take care of the dead? Maybe the graveyard keeper in a town to city sized place is a necromancer and his servants are criminals that were executed for one thing or another? Now that necromancer has a reason to have a cadre of undead and a reason to not be lynched for his use of his art. Also consider that plagues are a thing and who would be safer to handle the dead and dying? Another living person who could get sick? Or Captain White Skull and his posse of skellebros? The undead are also tireless laborers so for jobs that are seen as foul but neccessary they would be great for filling the need for able bodies. Maybe a necromancer has a side hussle where they are contracted to ensure the sewers remain well maintained and "vermin" free. The great thing about wizard made undead is they don't reproduce, don't eat, don't get tired, don't get bored, and are indifferent to things that might offend the living. Like smells. So station some undead in the sewers to clean and commit pest control, do some maintenance on them when they near their 30th day, and then send them back out. Easy money.

[Razdasoldier]

I want to point out that you dont have to raise dead on humans. ANY bones work

[alexboggs]

My Dm and i made a deal. I would never raise more than 6 undead and in return the undead i do raise can be more powerful. For instance i can raise a CR 1/4 pair of zombies or a CR 1/2 undead of another kind. I can also upcast my animate dead and create undead spells to further this effect.

[kwaksea]

The advice on Undead Army is quite sensible, even though Undead Thrall's feature incentivise Army building. Maybe the feature is showing its age. I hoped to see features to improve other non summong Necromancy Spells (at least ones Wizards have access to l, seems lacking).

Is it just me or Enchantment Wizard can be even eviler than Necromancy Wizard since Enchanter can use mind altering spells better than any other Wizards

[dragonhearthx]

At best I would say keep your "army" to a total of 4. That way its only one spell slot and you are most likely going to hit once with them.

[kurtcobane]

I'm a brand new player do you think a good way of playing it (dm willing of course) is to limit myself to 8 undead, but give 2 to each party member so everyones turn is the same length? barb has 2, rogue has 2 they command ranger has 2 then I have 2 if not I could probably work with 4 no paladin or cleric in our party we're all just starting out so

[douglaspope-gzeq]

Ok I'm going to put together a Pseudo Lich character by the name of Necro graverobber a Lawful evil Reborn Necromancer wizard who has little memories of his former life he is often arrogant and selfish but will always stay true to his words and doesn't like lying however he will still go to evil and cruel lengths to do his research on necromancy and his former life whatever that may be and is also lazy when it comes to combat and hard labor in general thinking that is for lesser undead to do and has a great respect for greater undead like Lichs, Vampire counts and Mummy lords Necro worships Vecna the God of evil secrets and lichs