One of the first articles published at Dungeon’s Master was our series on the Necromancer. It started as a way of addressing the lack of specialist Wizards in 4e D&D. As one of our oldest articles, our series on the Necromancer continues to see regular traffic from a variety of sources. The idea of expanding the Necromancer beyond the Wizard class is one that I’ve had for some time now. The Warlock is a natural fit for the Necromancer.
Nothing speaks of a deal for power, as making a pact with death itself. The Death Pact Necromancer does just that, trading their soul for power and a command over death.
In looking at existing Warlock powers I found that many of them did the things I imagined a Necromancer would accomplish with their powers. This is particularly true with the Dark Pact Warlock build. As a result I’ve developed a few sample powers for the heroic tier. If you’re looking for more Necromancer powers and idea’s the following will be of interest.
- The Necromancer
- Necromancer: Heroic Tier (Revised)
- Necromancer: Paragon Path (Revised)
- Necromancer: Epic Tier (Revised)
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Death Aura
Warlock Pact Boon
Your curse debilitates your enemies as they approach you in battle.
At-Will * Arcane, Implement, Necrotic
No Action Close burst 2 Prerequisite: Death Pact Target: All enemies affected by your Warlock’s curse. Effect: All enemies affected by your Warlock’s curse and inside the Death Aura are weakened.
At level 11 the maximum burst of the aura is 4, at level 21 this increases to burst 5. Miss: Your aura’s size is equal to the number of enemies affected by your Warlock’s curse to a maximum of 3.
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Death’s Blight
Warlock Attack 1
Your enemies feel a part of their very life essence escape them as they’re hit with a dark blast of necrotic energy.
At-Will * Arcane, Necrotic, Implement
Standard Action Ranged 10 Target: One creature Attack: Constitution vs. Fortitude Hit: 1d8 + Constitution modifier damage. Increase damage to 2d8 + Constitution modifier at 21st level.
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Call of the Grave
Warlock Attack 1
Death’s hands reach up from the soil and take their payment.
Daily * Arcane, Psychic, Implement
Standard Action Area burst 1 within 5 squares Target: Each creature in burst Attack: Wisdom vs. Will Hit: 1d8 + Constitution modifier damage. If the target is cursed by you it takes extra damage equal to your Charisma modifier.
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Soul Corruption
Warlock Attack 5
Mist reaches up, enveloping your target and leaching its strength.
Daily * Arcane, Necrotic, Implement
Standard Action Area Ranged 10 Target: One creature Attack: Constitution vs. Fortitude Hit: 2d6 + Constitution modifier damage and the target takes ongoing 5 necrotic damage (save ends).
Miss: Half damage, no ongoing damage.
Death Pact: The target is weakened until the end of your next turn.
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Death’s Price
Warlock Attack 7
Purple tendrils of energy surround your target draining it’s life force.
Encounter * Arcane, Necrotic, Radiant, Implement
Standard Action Ranged 10 Target: One creature Attack: Wisdom vs. Will Hit: 1d12 + Constitution modifier damage.
Death Pact: If the attack bloodies the target all adjacent enemies take damage equal to your Charisma modifier.
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3 replies on “Death Pact Necromancer”
I like this idea. My wife loves your necromancer class and I’m sure she’ll find this post interesting as well. Keep’em coming.
I do have a couple Qs though.
What is the Miss portion of Death Aura? The way I read it, if the target is Cursed and within the aura, they are automatically Weakened. Is this wrong?
Death’s Price has both the Necrotic and Radiant keywords? Or is it either, at the will of the caster?
.-= Rook´s last blog ..Random encounters that aren’t all that random. =-.
@ Rook
I’m glad you and your wife enjoy the necromancer series.
There is no miss portion on Death Aura, if you are cursed by the Warlock and inside the aura you are weakened. This is designed to do a couple of things. First to protect the Warlock selecting this build. Second, it reduces the melee effectiveness of any npcs who are cursed and within range. However, it also serves to make the Warlock a target for ranged attackers who likely haven’t been cursed by the Warlock. Also, to have the aura at max range the Warlock needs to have cursed three targets. This might result in more enemies being allowed to live while bloodied in order to increase the aura’s effectiveness. If he has enough targets cursed and within the burst range the Warlock will suddenly find himself target #1 on the battlefield.
Death’s Price is correct, it has both necrotic and radiant as keywords. The power draws upon the two aspects of life force, the radiant power of the divine and the necrotic power of death.
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