The Necromancer, or Circle of Graves, Undead Portfolio, whatever, was the real inception of the Summoner class - the classic archetype that's always so hard to pull of in TTRPGs. I think for me, the point at which I started liking the undead as my favorite kind of monster was when I started playing WoW back in 2006 and encountered the Undead Scourge. Later, WoW would get the Death Knight class, whose Unholy specialization (subclass) fills that necromancer role. Diablo, another Blizzard game, might have truly codified the heroic necromancer class, with its many skeletal minions helping the Priests of Rathma maintain the balance between heaven and hell (which in Diablo are both, like, not great, though hell's worse).
If I ever get a chance to play as a PC in a Draw Steel game, this subclass is very high up there on my priority list of character types I'd want to play because of the excellent vibes.
Necromancers don't actually raise the bodies of the dead to summon their minions, though I think you could flavor their "Rise!" ability as animating the corpse of a dead creature.
On a personal note, I tend to prefer the more skeletal undead over the zombie-like rotting corpses, and perhaps also the ghostly spirits between them. You'll get variations on all three types here.
Undead minions primarily seem to share some damage immunity to Corruption and Poison damage, based on our Reason.
Signature Minions:
Husk:
This medium Defender is a stiff walking corpse, its sinews creaking and crackling as it moves in staccato, jerky motions, with corrosive vapors billowing from their slack jaws. Their free strike inflict slowed (EoT) against low-might foes, with each adjacent additional husk adding 1 to the potency (max +2). Free Strike: 1.
Shrieker:
These emaciated medium Artillery have distended jaws and wail in a way that can be heard for miles. Their range free strikes have a very long range, and their shrieking alerts you to nearby foes, preventing enemies within 2 squares of them of being hidden. Free Strike: 2.
Skeleton:
Your absolute classic, these medium Harriers leave behind Bonetrops when killed in their space, becoming difficult terrain for enemies. The first time an enemy enters the space, they take 2 damage and end the effect. Free Strike: 1.
3-Essence Undead:
Grave Knight:
These medium Brutes are skeletal or zombie warriors, and have a signature ability that deals 5, 7, or 9 corruption damage, and cause low-Might targets to be bleeding (EoT, or save ends for tier 3). When slain, they can make a melee free strike before they're destroyed. Free Strike: 5.
Zombie Lumberer:
These size-2 Defenders are big, animated ogre corpses. Their melee strikes grab low-Agility targets, and a creature or object that starts its turn grabbed by the lumberer takes corruption damage equal to your reason. When a lumberer is killed, they can latch onto an adjacent enemy with low Might, making them Restrained (EoT). Free Strike: 1.
5-Essence Undead:
Accursed Mummy:
These linen-wrapped, preserved medium Hexers have a signature ability that can deal 3, 4, or 6 poison damage, and pull them R, R+1, or R+2 squares (the range is only melee, so this will cause them to collide with the mummy). A target pulled adjacent to them with low Might is weakened (EoT). When the mummy takes damage (for example, by pulling a foe toward them) each enemy adjacent to the mummy takes 2 poison damage. (So, to math it out, if you were to get a tier 2 result with a Reason of 3 against a creature without stability, they'd take 4 poison base, then 4 damage from the forced movement, and then the Mummy would also take 4, and thus deal 2 more to the pulled enemy, for a total of 10, plus 2 to any other adjacent enemies. The Mummy would also die because they only have 4 Stamina). Free Strike: 3.
Ceaseless Mournling:
These size 2 hulking amalgams of body parts are Controllers, with teary trenches where their cheeks ought to be can burrow through the ground and disturb enemies with their endless weeping. At the end of their turns, each enemy within 1 square of them takes 2 sonic damage and cannot shift until the Mournling's next turn. They also can't have their shape changed by external effects. Finally, the first time on their turn they burrow out of hte ground, they can make a free strike against each adjacent enemy. Free Strike: 3.
Phase Ghoul:
Medium Harriers, these ghouls are partially phased, flickering between two different manifolds (planes) other than their solid-looking bright-blue tongues, which seem to lag behind them by a full second (that is so freaking cool/creepy). Their movement is teleportation, and they can teleport 5 squares before making a melee free strike, and if they do so, low-Might creatures are knocked prone. The potency of this is increased by 1 if the target is in the air. Phase Ghouls do not take damage from falling and always land on their feet. Free Strike: 3.
7-Essence Undead:
False Vampire:
These bestial ghouls are Large Brutes with hands that have turned into hooks, and their mouth has twisted and extended into a long feeding needle. Their free strikes have a distance of 2 and against low-Might foes, they inflict Restrained (EoT). The false vampire can move with the target while the target is restrained, and a restrained target takes acid damage equal to your reason at the start of its turn. If a creature within 10 is bleeding, the ghoul has a speed of 10. Free Strike: 8.
Phantom of the Ripper:
These medium Ambushers are ghostly phantoms that puppeteer their own corporeal remains, and leave strange distortions in space behind them. They can fly and hover, and they have a signature ability that deals 8, 13, or 17 damage, and slows (save ends) low-Agility targets. They also get an additional 3 damage if they have an edge on the strike. They can move through creatures and objects, and the first time a round they pass through a creature, it takes 3 corruption damage and gets a bane on their next strike. The phantom doesn't take damage when being force moved into objects. Free Strike: 8.
Zombie Titan:
This size 4 (by far the largest minion) undead colossus could be a reanimated giant, a giant patchwork flesh golem, or possibly just a giant amalgam of an entire cemetery's worth of bodies (like The One Reborn from Bloodborne!) You only summon one of these for your 7 Essence, but it has over twice the Stamina of individual other 7-Essence minions. Its free strikes knock low-Might foes prone. It can move through enemies at normal speed, and if they end their turn in the space of a prone size 2 or smaller creature's space, the creature can't stand. When slain, the space they occupied becomes difficult terrain, and any creature that was prone underneath the titan when it died takes 10 damage and is restrained (save ends). Free Strike: 7.
So, there's our undead menagerie, minus, of course, the champion.
I think there's maybe less of a clear mechanical throughline other than the damage immunities. However, I think there are a handful of fun synergies: The Grave Knight can inflict bleeding, which will then buff the speed of the False Vampire, for example. There's less of a theme than there is for Elementals of getting some benefit when the minions are slain, but we have other subclass features that play into that.
Most of the minions feel like they're probably pretty good at dishing out damage, which is certainly always a powerful thing to do.
So, that's the minion parade. Again, I think I'll need to really see the class in practice more (and the game in general) to get a really good sense of which of these are best, but they all seem cool.
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