Undead Master

The Undead Master specializes in the creation of undying minions and the summoning of extraplanar allies. Above all, this necromancer craves power over others, reveling in the thrill of commanding obedient servants. The mindless undead, as unthinking and ever-faithful automatons, make perfect and unquestioning slaves that will shoulder even the most loathsome burdens without hesitation. The Undead Master enjoys dominating the feeble will of the living, subverting the dead, and controlling the fiendishly powerful.

Examples of this kit can be found in a few of Clark Ashton Smith’s stories. The necromancer Malygris from “The Last Incantation” and “The Death of Malygris” and the vengeful Namirrha from “The Dark Eidolon” make ideal models for this kit. Also, the DM might check out Glen Cook’s Black Company series, which involves a necromancer known as the Dark Lady, who subjugates her living apprentices, creating the infamous Ten Who Were Taken.

Requirements: Members of this kit may be of any non-good alignment.

Spell Preferences: First and foremost, these wizards are avid practitioners of necromancy that creates, augments, or controls undead. At higher levels, these wizards eventually turn to powerful spells from the Conjuration/Summoning school that call upon extraplanar creatures.

Unlike most necromancers, the Undead Master has access to the school of Enchantment/Charm, enabling this specialist to dominate the minds of the living as well as the dead.

Role: The Undead Master is a variant of the Archetypal Necromancer and, as such, makes a dangerous villain for the campaign. However, unlike the Archetype, who tends to be a solitary menace, the Master is always surrounded by a host of undead servants, summoned fiends, bound genies, and charmed monsters. These wizards are never encountered without a large entourage of minions, making members of this kit especially terrible foes in combat.

The Undead Master may be encountered both in the wilderness and in the midst of society. In the abandoned hinterlands, many Masters establish petty domains where they can rule over legions of undead with impunity. Eventually, the most powerful Masters gravitate back to human society, where they attempt to impose their will over the living. Sometimes, they magically establish a tower in the center of a city, replete with their most powerful guardians. The presence of an Undead Master in a city directly challenges the authority of the local aristocracy, who will seek to remove the wizard, regardless of the cost (providing a good opportunity for adventurers). Of course, the Master is always well prepared for such “welcoming parties.”

Sarzec the Broken (the author of the letter at the beginning of this chapter) is an example of a low-level Undead Master for the campaign. Along with his associate Pizentios, he illustrates how a group of allied necromancers can band together with deadly results. This necromancer is featured again in the introductory anecdotes for Chapters Seven and Eight, and his detailed character sheet has been included in Chapter Nine. Despite his low level, his alliance with his former mentor Pizentios makes him an extremely dangerous adversary.

Weapon Proficiencies: The Master may choose only one of the regular weapons available to the wizard (namely the dagger, dart, staff, sling, or knife). At higher levels, additional weapon slots must be invested in nonweapon proficiencies. A wizard like Sarzec almost never enters into melee personally, as he relies on his minions for protection in battle.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: necrology, netherworld knowledge. Recommended: (General) etiquette, heraldry; (Wizard) ancient history, astrology, languages (ancient), reading/writing, religion, spellcraft, spirit lore. Forbidden: all Priest, Rogue, and Warrior.

Equipment: Although the Undead Master is typically outfitted like any wizard, this kind of character tends to be vain, so he or she usually only obtains possessions of the highest quality. Indeed, powerful Undead Masters may consider themselves to be on par with royalty (no matter how humble their birth). A low-level wizard like Sarzec relishes a position of authority such as commanding a ship of undead as a captain. These attitudes are clearly reflected in their choice of dress and accouterments.

Once they reach a sufficiently high level, Undead Masters devote considerable attention to properly outfitting their numerous followers, from the lowliest skeleton to the most powerful fiend. Only the uncouth Archetype will send skeletons into battle with their bony claws as weapons. Masters care not only about the combat potential (weapons) of their servants, but about their physical appearance as well. Sometimes, the equipment of an archmage’s servants will approach the extravagance and quality of a royal guard.

Special Benefits: All Masters are able to command undead creatures, exactly as if they were priests of the same level. Their ability to command undead also extends to fiends and extraplanar creatures, which are treated as undead with the same hit dice (without considering any hit point modifiers). This special benefit results from the wizard’s complete mastery of the baneful rites and conjurations that control or bind not only the cold undead, but also the sinister inhabitants of the netherworld. For example, Sarzec, a 6th-level Master, can command undead and up to 6-HD extraplanar creatures, exactly like a 6th- level priest.

Special Hindrances: In return for knowledge of Necromancy, Conjuration/Summoning, and Enchantment/Charm, the Undead Master neglects study in other schools of magic. The Master is restricted from casting spells which are exclusively taught in the schools of Alteration, Illusion, and Major Divination. This significantly reduces the wizard’s repertoire of spells when compared with other necromancers (gaining the Enchantment/Charm school is more than offset by the loss of Alteration and Major Divination).

The Master may also not use specialized, wizardly items that draw exclusively from these restricted schools of magic, including wizard scrolls of any restricted spells, wands of illusion or polymorphing, robes of eyes, scintillating colors, or repetition (TOM), crystal balls, amulets of far-reaching, extension, or meta-spell influence (TOM), medallions of spell exchange (TOM), talismans of memorization (TOM), Nefradina’s identifier (TOM), or Tenser’s portmanteau of frugality (TOM). However, magical items which are available to all classes (such as a potion of polymorphing), that operate without specialized knowledge of the restricted schools, can be employed.

Finally, the greatest hindrance of this kit is the wizard’s own self-centered personality, which often borders on madness. Undead Masters tend to be megalomaniacs of the highest degree. They always consider themselves, their experiences, their feelings, and their quests for power above those of others. They demand to be the center of attention, ruthlessly subverting (or even eliminating) those who contest their supremacy. The Undead Masters’ overwhelming need to be in complete control of every situation and to dominate everyone around them results in their most obvious weakness. Anyone who can successfully stand up to them will shatter their composure and possibly provoke an irrational or poorly-conceived response, even when it runs contrary to the wizard’s established, long-term interests. Finally, the DM should feel free to impose any additional penalties from Chapter Three, to more distinctively round out the Undead Master’s twisted character.

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