Rewriting Necromancy

I remember that my first description of the role played by a necromancer was from the Forgotten Realms Revised Boxed Set of AD&D 2^nd:

 

Necromancers: Necromancers are a two-sided coin. Some are

interested in necromancy from its healing and restorative aspect in

relation to the human body, while others (the better-known half)

concentrate their work on the dead and undead. As a result, the

school is separated into two camps, one white, the other black. White

necromancers are healers, work with local churches, and are in general

good-aligned. Black necromancers are secretive to the point of

obsession, vengeful, and often black-hearted. Their dress tends to

match their outlook. Only humans can be necromancers.

The idea that Necromancy has two defined sides and that it is a school devoted to studying the mysteries of death and life never left me. In fact, I always enjoyed the contrast that the most feared and despised arcane school was at the same time the closer thing to a healer or physician – or a priest.

With the coming of a new edition of D&D it is undeniable that the game’s next incarnation would be shaped by its authors points of view and prejudices. With the 3^rd Edition we saw the ‘villainization’ of the Necromancy school. Not only was its “White side” totally purged, but spells that before have nothing to do with Necromancy (or negative energy if you like) were added to it simply because they look like something that “the Evil Necromancer” might use, like scare and fear. The worst change in my opinion was the creation of the ridiculous “subschool” of Conjuration (Healing). Ok, now all magic healing is done by channeling positive energy from other plane of existence… well, why can’t you do the same thing with negative energy? Why spells like inflict light wounds are not from the Conjuration (Wounding) subschool? Anyway, this removed the notion of a neutral, hermetic, pseudo-scientific approach of arcane magic. It removed that tradition by creating a “villain school” for arcane casters. I believe that creating an evil prestige class (like the blackguard) would have being better.

Back to the past. In AD&D 2^nd all healing (and inflict wounds) spells belonged to the Necromancy school (with made a lot more sense to me). Spells that deal with fear or emotions belonged to the Enchantment/Charm school (ok, for reasons that I don’t comprehend fear belonged to Illusion/Phantasm). After a little research, it appears that AD&D 1^st used the same philosophy. 

My purpose with these nostalgic musings is to restore Necromancy to its original roots, keeping the school away from any innate moral position (there’re already spells with alignment subtypes for that). Also, I want to remove spells that have nothing to do with concepts like death, spirits, undeads and life. Finally, I’ll create some new healing spells for the Wizard/Sorcerer spell list, trying not to step over the niche of both the divine healers and the Bard (and also the Witch from the Advanced Player’s Guide).

Reorganizing Spells and Schools

The first step is simple. All spells that doesn’t fit thematically with the concepts of life, death, spirits and undeads should be removed from the Necromancy school. Also, any spell of the (Healing) subschool is now part of the Necromancy school – with means that the subschool Conjuration (Healing) is removed from the game.

Here’s a list with all changes to spells from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook and Advanced Player’s Guide:

All Cure (including Heal and Heal Mount) and Restoration spells are now from the Necromancy School.

Bestow Curse, Curse Water, Cause Fear, Doom, Eyebite, Fear, Scare, Symbol of Fear are now from the Enchantment School.

Antilife Shell, Blood Biography*, Neutralize Poison, Pain Strike (all versions)*, Pillar of Life*, Purging Finale*, Purified Calling*, Raise Dead, Regenerate, Reincarnate**, Rejuvenate Eidolon (all versions)*, Remove Disease, Remove Paralysis, Resurrection (and True Resurrection), Reviving Finale*, Stabilize, Status are now from the Necromancy School.

*From the Advanced Player’s Guide.

**This is total off-topic but I must say that I do miss the arcane version of this spells. It was damn funny.

White Necromancy

I don’t think that the fact of wizards and sorcerers being incapable of magic healing is one of the game’s so called “sacred cows”, but I also believe in a certain degree of niche protection.

With these assumptions in mind, how to create useful healing spells without diminishing the same features of other classes? I think that one of the principal advantages of healing magic is to keep the characters alive during a combat encounters. After the battle is over, I don’t see much problem with wizards or sorcerer easing the cleric’s quota of healing. One way to do that is to borrow the healing mechanic of a very early d20 RPG – Wheel of Time.

 

This beautiful book launched many innovations (like the defense bonus progression to AC) to the d20 system, while the Open License was still fresh. One of its new mechanics dealt with healing powers. In Robert Jordan’s novels we’re constantly reminded that any cure operated through the One Power (a.k.a. Magic) is very taxing to the healed target, provoking fatigue, hunger and even unconsciousness. In d20 terms, this effects is intelligently simulated by the nonlethal damage rules. I believe we can borrow these same rules to represent the diminished effectiveness of White Necromancy. As a consequence, this kind of healing is practically worthless during combat.

Here’s an example of a White Necromancy spell (using cure light wounds as a template):

RESTORE LIGHT WOUNDS

School Necromancy; Level wizard/sorcerer 1

Casting Time 1 minute

Components V, S, M

Range touch

Target creature touched

Duration instantaneous

Saving Throw Will half (harmless); see text; Spell Resistance yes (harmless); see text

When laying your hand upon a living creature to convert its wounds from lethal to  nonlethal damage. The amount of damage converted is 1d8 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +5). This spell cannot be used to heal nonlethal damage. The positive energy used in this spell is too weak to affect undeads.

As you can see I increased the casting time and added a material component to balance this spell against the traditional cure light wounds. I also removed the ability to use the dweomer to damage undead creatures. All the cure spells (maybe even heal) can be converted to their equivalent restore wounds spells.

Here’re another more examples:

RESTORE ABILITY DRAIN

School Necromancy; Level wizard/sorcerer 4

Components V, S, M

Casting Time: 10 minutes (rare herbs and diamond dust, all worth 500 gp)

Range touch

Target creature touched

Duration instantaneous

Saving Throw Will half (harmless); see text; Spell Resistance yes (harmless); see text

This spell converts any amount of points permanently drained from a single ability score (your choice if more than one is drained) to temporary ability damage. The spell is very taxing for the target, leaving him fatigued.

Finally, it also dispels temporary negative levels.

The Balance Issue

The rules above were created without any greater concern for game balance (at least not in the exaggerated and current way of thinking, common to both the 3^rd and 4^th Editions). For those DMs who think that the above spells are too powerful for a traditional D&D or Pathfinder game, but still want to implement White Necromancy, I suggest creating the subschool Necromancy (Healing), accessible only with the following feat:

White Necromancer

You have mastered the rare and arduous crafts of White Necromancy.

Prerequisite: Wizard/sorcerer 1^st level, arcane school (necromancy), good alignment*

Benefit: you can learn and prepare spells of the Necromancy (Healing) subschool.

*This last requisite is for those who want to keep a strong dichotomy between Dark and White Necromancy. It is here just for flavor.

Weird Arcana - Smoke Guardian (New Spell)

This is my second shot at creating divine spells with a ‘Sword & Sorcery’-feel. The idea behind this was creating a defensive spell employed by temple acolytes. As with other spells, I tried adding trappings or exotic complications to reinforce the weird aspect of the power (or just increase its fun).

SMOKE GUARDIAN

School conjuration (summoning)

Level cleric/oracle 2

Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect one creature made of smoke guards a 10-ft. radius area
Duration 1 round/level (D) (see text)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes (see text)
The caster summon a lesser air elemental spirit to animate the smoke of one fire source (like a torch or brazier). The outsider is always hostile because of the summoning, striking against any target that moves inside a 10-ft. radius around the fire source. The smoke guardian won’t attack the caster, summoned creatures of the same deity and creatures with holy symbols equal to the caster’s.

The smoke guardian threatens all targets inside the spell’s area, so for example, any creature moving more than 5-ft. or casting a spell would suffer an attack from the smoke guardian. It only attacks as an reaction and can do so an unlimited number of times per round. It uses the caster’s base attack bonus plus Wisdom modifier as its attack bonus. It deals 1d6 slashing damage with its claws, +1 hit point per three caster levels (maximum +5 at 15^th level). It strikes as a spell, not as a weapon, so for example, it can damage creatures that have damage reduction. It can’t strike incorporeal creatures. Creatures with SR can use it to resist the smoke guardian (like a normal summoned monster).

A smoke guardian cannot be attacked or harmed by physical attacks, but dispel magic, gust of wind, a sphere of annihilation, or a rod of cancellation affects it. A smoke guardian’s AC against touch attacks is 10. It doesn’t provides cover or blocks line of sight.

Destroying the source of the smoke ends the spell in the next round.

Old School in spaaaaaaace!

Thanks to this post at RPG.Net I became aware of Star Without Number, written by Kevin Crawford of Sine Nomine Publishing, a science fiction RPG built along the same rules of the 0E edition of the Worlds-Most-Famous-Fantasy-RPG. Stars Without Number is a complete game, all packed in a very neat and organized PDF. And did I say that it is free? I can only hope that SWN hit the same success of other recent grognard-style games.

 

P.S.: I couldn't end this post without mentioning Terminal Space, another excellent source for science fiction material. Here we have actually a supplement for 0E Edition campaigns, not a stand-alone game.

Weird Arcana - Divine Awe (New Spell)

Here’s my first experiment with a divine spell. I usually have some creative problems with divine magic, due to the fact the D&D cleric is poorly represented in literature. I’m aiming for a “Sword & Sorcery”-feel here (or an “Old Testament”-feel if you like), always paying attention to the cleric’s role as a defensive and protective caster.

DIVINE AWE

School enchantment

Level cleric/oracle 1

Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range personal (see text)
Target you
Duration 1 minute (see text);
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
By invoking one of the deity’s names or titles, the divine caster is infused with divine authority. All intelligent creatures at 100 feet or less from the priest instantly note his presence and his voice can be heard clearly, over any other ambient noise (like a mass battle, a peasant mob or a roaring dragon). The divine caster also gains a +5 divine bonus to diplomacy or intimidate checks for the spell’s duration.

If the caster is targeted by a melee attack, he can choose to dismiss divine awe as an immediate action to inflict 1d6 of divine damage for every two caster levels against the aggressor.

The caster must hold high his divine focus during the entire length of divine awe or the spell is instantly dispelled.

The True D&D Movie or ‘How I learned to love the Ethergaunts’

My girlfriend recently gave to me the DVD version of Krull (yes, I’m a luck guy). I know that we’re not talking about a great epic or landmark of fantasy (or action) cinematographic history, but I always loved Krull. It has that elusive combination of naïveté and originality that I find lacking in today’s blockbusters (and low-budget productions too, because its seems that everybody believes that FXs are a perfect replacement for good acting and script). Krull’s protagonist shares some of the traits above, which I greatly prefer over the wrathful and angst-ridden characters played these days by actors like Sam Worthington.

Krull also has a rare and wonderful mixture of fantasy and science fiction (almost like Hawkmoon or Dying Earth), practically gone today from mainstream literature and cinema. Even the medieval and archaic elements of the world of Krull have a modern and clean aspect, reminding me of another abandoned franchise – Masters of the Universe.

Krull is not just another extravagant movie from the 80’s. The film has a good cast (for its genre and time), descent special effects and intriguing elements – specially the alien villain and its Lovecraftian minions. In fantasy terms, Krull offers quite a few outstanding ideas and hooks for any campaign: the teleporting Black Fortress, doomed cyclops, fire mares, the Glaive (terrible name)… even a marriage is given a new meaning in the film’s mini mythology.

One interesting bit about Krull was that it may have been the debut of the D&D franchise on the big screen (and what introduction that’d have been). Ok, I read that on Wikipedia. Ok, the actual Krull entry doesn’t have that information anymore. What can I say? Let me dream a little. In my opinion, Krull captures a lot of what makes D&D adventures unique – specially the party interaction.

Having expressed my feelings about this great movie, it’s time to talk about a D&D monster that never really inspired me: the Ethergaunts, from the Fiend Folio of the 3^rd Edition. I just didn’t knew what to do with them…

 

…until I saw Krull again, a few months ago. The Ethergaunts are – of course! – the Slayers, servants of the Beast of the Black Fortress.

 

In my Pathfinder campaign, the heroes were leading a little army of the Silvery Principalities, determined to reopen the passage to the untamed west lands. Blocking their way to the Red Savannas was the Valley of the Soulless – a planar nexus created by a cabal of spellcasters aligned with Yog-Sothoth (I always use a bit of Cthulhu in my games).

Actually, the Valley was the result of one of players’ character – an ex-member of the Cthulhu cabal – trying to escape to the Material Plane. As a potent planar nexus, it had a huge concentration of vortex and gates from various dimensions, all meeting in an alien landscape full of weird fungi and alien life-forms. In another words: the Valley of the Soulless was my way of introducing a sandbox Old School-like scenario to my until them event-driven campaign.

During the party’s exploration of the Valley, they met with all kinds of strange characters and locations; from a lost mansion of Earth’s New England (the resting place of a copy of the Book of Eibon) to the white deserts of the Plain of Glittering Stones (from the Black Company novels). The region was my first serious “kitchen sink” attempt since a few Planescape one-shots, more than 10 years ago.

One of the explored scenarios was a destroyed city inspired in Conan’s Hyborian Age (and the Carcosa setting of Geoffrey McKinney). The city once belonged to a decadent culture of Blue Men, worshippers of a Howardian monster-god, that were suddenly attacked by a rival city-state of Yellow Men, using strange artifacts and in league with tall and alien creatures From Beyond (guess who?).

In the scenario’s climax encounter, after defeating both the ruined city’s god and the Yellow Men (and their Ethergaunt allies), the party was able to acquire a few pieces of the aliens’ technology – the "etherlances" (imagine spears that can generate energy blades or shoot small darts of force).

Most of my players only read Salvatore or Tolkien and have extremely traditional views about fantasy settings. Much to my surprise (and relief), they loved the weird vistas of the Valley of the Soulless, choosing the events of the ruined city as their favorite part of the adventure. The whole scenario was also a great fun to run, encouraging me to try new sandboxes settings in the future.

What can I say? Thank you, Krull!

Weird Arcana - Fire Fruits (New Hazard)

Before you is a withered and twisted tree. The bark is of a deep red color, dulled by the accumulated ashes of the fiery peaks above. The roots are long, burrowing through the rough volcanic ground and surrounded by bone remains. Instead of leaves, the entire tree is covered in blue and yellow dancing flames, untouched by the strong wind. Although on fire, the tree doesn’t burn.

Fire Fruits (Hazard)

Flame trees are strange plants, undoubtedly of magical origin, that grow on regions saturated with powerful forces of the Elemental Plane of Fire. The tree themselves are not dangerous, being actually the source of a magical fruit greatly desired by alchemists, magic-users and other arcane sages. Such fruits are also coveted by elemental spirits and fey aligned with fire. Flame trees don’t have leaves, but it’s smoking sap is sought as a nutritious aliment by fire bats (Monster Manual II, p. 102, D&D 3rd Edition). Entire swarms of these lesser elementals cling to the branches of a flame tree, giving the illusion of the so described “fiery leaves untouched by the wind”.

Fire fruits are very rare, with each flame tree giving no more than 1d6+1 per year. The fruits are a chaotic concentration of dweomer, not unlike the blazing forces that spawned it.  1d6 minutes after eating a fruit, roll on the table below to determine its effect on the character (fire elemental, fire-aligned outsiders, fey or spirits are immune):

1         The character bursts into flames, suffering 3d6 fire damage (no saving throw).

2         The character bursts into flames, but only clothing and equipment are damaged.

3         The character begins belching smoke in irregular intervals for the next 2d6 hours (20% of losing an action in combat, stealth is impossible).

4         The character gains resistance to fire 10 for 1d6 hours.

5         The character starts to feel stomach pains (gains the sickened condition for 1d6 minutes), followed by nausea and a growing urge to vomit. If he spends a full-round action to do so, he unleashes a breath weapon of fire (10-foot cone, 4d6 fire damage). If he holds it, he suffers 4d6 fire damage (in the saving throw) after the 1d6 minutes above.

6         The character belches a small fire elemental (not under his control) and is sickened for 1d6 rounds.

If the character eats a second fire fruit in the next 24 hours, roll twice and take the worst result. If a third fruit is eaten, the character suffers 8d6 fire damage (no saving throw), burning from the inside out.

All the information above can be gathered with skills like Knowledge (Arcana/Planes) or Craft (Alchemy).

Remember that fire bats (and maybe other fire elemental creatures) are attracted by the sweet smell of these fruits.

Weird Arcana - Protection Against Iron (New Spells)

These dweomers are based on the ironguard spell of Forgotten Realms Adventures for AD&D 2nd.

PROTECTION AGAINST IRON, LESSER

School abjuration

Level druid 5, sorcerer/wizard 5

Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level (D);
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell makes the caster immune to iron or steel. Attacks made with iron, cold iron or steel weapons pass harmlessly through the caster, as if he was an incorporeal creature. The caster is also able to ignore any structure or object made from those metals, like bars from a jail cell or an enemy’s full plate (ignore the armor’s AC bonus).

Against magic weapons made from iron, cold iron or steel the caster only suffer half (50%) damage. Magic armors from these materials have their AC bonus reduced by half (rounded up).

As a side effect of this dweomer, the caster becomes incapable of handling or interacting with any object made of iron, cold iron or steel. Any such item carried by the caster when of the casting of lesser protection from iron are instantly dropped (this can be potentially humiliating for some wizards and their iron belt buckles).

PROTECTION AGAINST IRON

School abjuration

Level druid 6, sorcerer/wizard 6

Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level (D);
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
As lesser protection from iron, but the caster is immune to attacks from magic weapons and can ignore magic armors.