Necrocron

Class Description:

Necrocrons are masters of pragmatic death magic. Rather than weaving delicate rituals or endless preparations, a Necrocron bends the raw stuff of mortality into immediate, obedient service. By channeling necrotic energy through the remains of the fallen, they create minions that bear no resemblance to their source—animate constructs of bone and shadow that rise within moments of battle. Their magic is drawn entirely from the school of necromancy, granting control over negative energy, decay, and the restless dead. To a Necrocron, corpses are not trophies or tools of terror but simply the most efficient material component in existence.

Role: Necrocrons are battlefield controllers and attrition specialists. Their spellcasting focuses on debilitating foes and sustaining their undead creations, while Graveforge allows them to convert fallen enemies into new minions in the midst of combat. With sturdier defenses and armor training than most arcane casters, a Necrocron can fight alongside their minions while directing an ever-shifting line of skeletal servants.

Class Info:

Alignment: Any; While many Necrocrons drift toward neutral or evil outlooks, the art itself is not inherently malevolent.

Hit Die: d8

Starting Wealth: 4d6 × 10 gp (average 140 gp.) 

Class Skills: Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis),  Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha). 

Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The Following are class features of the Necrocron.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: 

Necrocrons are proficient with all simple weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).

They can cast necrocron spells while wearing light or medium armor and using shields without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance.

Spellcasting

• A Necrocron casts spells drawn exclusively from the Necrocron spell list shown below.

• A Necrocron does not select spells known; instead, they automatically gain access to every spell on this list as soon as they reach the level required to cast spells of that level.

• They cast these spells spontaneously, using Charisma to determine bonus spells and saving throw DCs.

• The Necrocron’s caster level equals their class level.

Spell List by Level

The following spells are available to a Necrocron as soon as they can cast spells of the indicated level.

0-Level (Cantrips)

• Bleed, Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Light, Read Magic, Touch of Fatigue

1st Level

• Bane, Cause Fear, Deathwatch, Detect Undead, Doom, Inflict Light Wounds, Undetectable Alignment

2nd Level

• Animate Dead, Lesser; Blindness/Deafness; False Life; Gentle Repose; Inflict Moderate Wounds; Scare; Spectral Hand

3rd Level

• Halt Undead, Inflict Serious Wounds, Ray of Exhaustion, Speak with Dead, Vampiric Touch

4th Level

• Animate Dead, Aura of Doom, Bestow Curse, Contagion, Enervation, Fear, Inflict Critical Wounds, Poison

5th Level

• Magic Jar, Mass Inflict Light Wounds, Nightmare, Slay Living, Symbol of Pain, Waves of Fatigue

6th Level

• Circle of Death, Create Undead, Eyebite, Harm, Mass Inflict Moderate Wounds, Undeath to Death, Waves of Exhaustion

Graveforge (Su)

A Necrocron can reshape the remnants of the dead into obedient servants.

Using the flesh and bone of a fallen creature as raw material, the Necrocron creates an undead minion that bears no likeness to the original corpse, it is a construct of necrotic energy and reanimated flesh and bone.

The creature’s former size or strength does not affect the power of the minion; the corpse serves only as a material component.

• Corpse Requirements: The body of a Small or Medium creature provides enough material for one minion. A Large body yields material for two minions, and each size category above Large doubles the amount (Huge = 4, Gargantuan = 8, Colossal = 16). Regardless of body size, each act of creation produces only one minion; the Necrocron must perform additional creations to use any remaining material.

• Creation: Forming a minion is a standard action that requires line of sight to the corpse and that the corpse be within 30 feet of the Necrocron. Creating a minion expends a number of Grave Points from the Necrocron’s daily pool.

• Pool: A Necrocron’s daily Grave Point pool equals 2 + Charisma modifier + ½ Necrocron level.

• Maintenance: When the Necrocron rests to regain Grave Points, existing minions normally crumble to dust. However, the Necrocron may choose to maintain a number of minions equal to their Hit Dice. Each maintained minion consumes Grave Points from the new daily pool equal to its creation cost, reducing the points available for new creations that day.

• Control: All Necrocron minions act on the Necrocron’s initiative and take their turns immediately after their creator.

Command Undead (Su)

• At 2nd level, a Necrocron can unleash necromantic power to bend lesser undead to their will.

• The Necrocron can cast command undead as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + their Charisma modifier.

• The Necrocron’s caster level for this effect equals their class level, and the saving throw DC is 10 + ½ the Necrocron’s class level + their Charisma modifier.

Spell Focus (Necromancy)

At 3rd level, a Necrocron gains Spell Focus (Necromancy) as a bonus feat.

Quick Raise (Su)

At 4th level, a Necrocron can create a minion with Graveforge as a move action.

Death’s Resilience (Ex)

At 6th level, a Necrocron gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against disease, energy drain, and negative energy.

This bonus increases by +2 every four levels thereafter.

Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy)

At 7th level, a Necrocron gains Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy) as a bonus feat.

Mass Raise (Su)

At 8th level, a Necrocron may create two minions with a single Graveforge action, paying the Grave Point cost for each.

Master of Bones (Su)

At 17th level, the Necrocron's daily Grave Point pool doubles, and all of their minions gain damage reduction 10/bludgeoning.

Eternal Commander (Ex)

At 20th level, a Necrocron’s mastery of undeath is absolute, their minions persist indefinitely unless destroyed.

Necrocron Minions

• Base Attack Bonus: Equal to the Necrocron’s BAB

• Hit Points: (6 + Necrocron's Cha Modifier) * the Minions HD.

• Saves: Use the Necrocron’s base save bonuses (Fortitude, Reflex, Will)

• Speed: 30 ft.

• Armor Class: 10 + Scaling Bonuses (see table below)

• Ability Scores: Str — (use Strength bonus from the scaling table for any check or attack that requires Strength), Dex 10, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 12

• Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., channel resistance +2, undead traits

• Initiative: +0

• Alignment: Always matches the Necrocron’s

Minion Notes

• Minions are mindless: they understand and follow simple commands but cannot make independent decisions.

• Commanding Minions is a Move Action.

• They use the Necrocron’s base attack bonus for attacks.

• If destroyed, a minion’s remains crumble to unusable fragments and cannot be reanimated.

• Minions act on the Necrocron’s initiative immediately after their turn.