Ability Scores
Not all wizards can become necromancers. Masters of the Dark Art must possess utmost self-control and mental stability in order to successfully control the powerful energies at their disposal. Frequent trafficking with the spirits of the dead and more powerful creatures from the Lower Planes can exact a terrible price on the sanity of these mages; weak-willed individuals have little chance of emerging from such encounters with their mental faculties unimpaired. As we shall see in Chapter Three, insanity and madness are of paramount concern, even for the most wise and experienced practitioners of the Dark Art.
Consequently, only wizards with a minimum Wisdom of 16 may specialize in necromancy. As with most mages, they must also have a minimum Intelligence of 9 (their prime requisite). The character’s ability scores may be determined by one of the six methods outlined in the PHB (page 13), though not all procedures are equally likely to generate a character with the requisite high wisdom and intelligence. Methods I and III are least likely to generate a necromancer character (roughly a 2–4% chance, based on random generations of 1000 or more sets of ability scores). The chances improve somewhat for Methods II, IV, and V (roughly 8%, 11%, and 15% chance, respectively). Only Method VI offers about 90–100% certainty.
There are a few different strategies that the DM can use when generating ability scores for an NPC. The quickest method is for the DM to simply make up the ability scores. The DM can also roll up the scores using the same method chosen for the adventurers in the campaign. These approaches are best-suited for low-level henchmen, hirelings, or other individuals of minor importance in the long-term campaign.
However, if a necromancer is going to have a pivotal role during an extended series of adventures, the DM may want to tailor the ability scores to properly complement or challenge the party of player characters. In a heroic campaign, where the adventurers themselves have unusually high ability scores, should not their archnemesis be similarly endowed? One might argue that the party’s archnemesis should have superior ability scores in most respects to those of the typical PC. Where is the challenge in fighting a weak enemy? The party will derive a much greater sense of accomplishment in triumphing over a superior foe than an inferior one.
Given the “superior nemesis makes for better gaming” theory, the DM may use the following alternative dice-rolling methods to generate ability scores for necromancer wizards (in addition to Methods I-VI of the PHB):
Method VII: This method is a quick way to generate standard statistics for an NPC. Each ability score starts with 10, modified by the roll of 1d8 (each score thus varies from 11 to 18, with an average ability score around 14–15). The DM can speedily generate six ability scores and rearrange them to best compliment the particular character. This method insures about a 75% chance for randomly generating a necromancer NPC.
Method VIII: As Method VII, except give the necromancer a +1 bonus on Intelligence and +1 bonus on Wisdom (18 maximum in each score). With these bonuses, the probability increases to roughly the same as Method VI (90–100%).
To avoid overbalancing the campaign with countless “super villains,” the DM should use these last two methods sparingly and only for NPCs (player characters should be restricted to Methods I-VI). For most “average” NPC wizards, the DM should simply make up the scores or use Methods I-VI from the PHB. Examples of ability scores generated using each of these methods are presented in Table 1 (on page 10). The DM is encouraged to use these pregenerated sets to expedite character creation, either by choosing or random die roll (d6). This table may also be used for random player character generation, though only with the DM’s permission (the DM should choose the appropriate Method (I-VI) for the campaign).