The Death Master

Death Masters are spell-casters who specialize in necromantic magic. Their spells deal with the raising of the dead and the summoning and control of various undead creatures for their purposes. Calling on the spirits of the dead, and even death itself, they are able to overpower enemies and assist allies. Dead enemies become unwilling allies in their hands. Their knowledge of the unknown allows them to face death without fear.

The death master class is a supplemental class added to a human cleric or human magic-user once the prerequisites are achieved. Once a 4th level cleric or magic-user attains enough experience to become 5th level, they instead can choose to become a 5th level death master. They retain all their abilities they gained previously but progress there-after as a death master.

Because they deal with undeath as a matter of course, death masters are never Good, and although most are Evil, a nihilistic few are Neutral.

While death masters are more limited in their spell casting power or choices than clerics or magic-users, they have access to spells across both classes. These are provided through study and black rites as noted.

Thus, a death master gains clerical spells through minor sacrifices and/or dealing with spirits of the dead and keeps a necromantic tome for magic-type spells. Thus, no matter the starting class of the death master, they will have access to the full list of death master spells as long as they follow the proscribed procedures. Spells of each type (clerical and magic) are noted on the death master spell list. Once a cleric becomes a death master they will no longer be granted access to the full clerical spell list and must select from only those spells on the death master list. Likewise, a magic-user becoming a death master will sacrifice (not sell for profit) any magic spells possessed in their spell book not on the death master list.

Death masters are better combatants than magic-users but their forte is to stay in the back, directing their undead minions to fight on their behalf.

Death Master Prerequisites

Race. Human (only)

Minimum Ability Scores. Strength (9), Intelligence (15), Dexterity (12), and Constitution (14)

Maximum Ability Scores. Charisma (9)

Alignment. Any non-Good

Class and Level. Cleric of a death domain deity or Magic-user (4th); Cannot be above or below this level; Cannot be dual-classed;

Training. Must complete special training to gain 5th level with a death master, magic-user (10th level), or cleric of a death domain deity (level of 9th+);

Becoming a Death Master

As soon as a human magic-user or cleric of a deity venerating death (or similar domain) reaches enough experience to achieve 5th level, they must seek out and be trained by a death master, a necromancer (magic-user of 10th level), or a high priest of their deity. This training will normally take many months but circumstances may allow for a shorter initiation time (as determined by the DM).

While no special abilities are lost when becoming a death master, clerics will always affect undead by commanding rather than turning and death masters cannot make holy or unholy water. A cleric that changes deities suffers the regular (negative) effects of this action. Upon becoming a death master, a cleric will no longer take up the use of a shield or metal armor.

Prime Requisite. None
Minimum/Maximum Ability Scores. See prerequisites above.
Hit Dice. d6 (starting at 5th level onward); Maximum 7d6 plus base class hit dice;
Alignment. Any non-Good alignment
Player Character Races. Human (U)
Armor. None or magical leather armor only (no studded leather)
Shield. None
Initial Weapon Proficiencies. Based on base class plus 1 at 5th level
Non-proficiency Penalty. -3
Added Weapon Proficiencies. 1 per 3 levels past the 5th (8, 11, 14, etc.);
Weapons Allowed. Any the character was previously proficient in and only dagger, sickle (use statistics for hand axe), scythe (treat as a fauchard without any additional weapon attributes), and scimitar going forward;
Use of Poison. Yes (if Evil)

Death Master Abilities

Animate Dead

A death master that casts an animate dead spell will affect double the normal undead. (i.e. 2 hit dice of undead per level.)

Command Undead

A death master may command undead as an evil cleric of their death master level. Death masters never affect demons or devils.

Undead Summoner

Death masters, when scribing a summon monster spell into their tome, will mutate the spell so that it only summons undead creatures. All other spell statistics remain the same. The spells will summon the following creatures as desired by the death master (they must pick one of the groups and then dice for the number appearing).

Summon Monster I. Skeletons (normal, 2d4) or zombies (normal, 1d4).
Summon Monster II. Coffer corpses (1d4) or zombies (normal 2d4).
Summon Monster III. Ghouls (1d4) or zombies (juju, 1d4).
Summon Monster IV. Ghasts (1d4) or sons of Kyuss (1d2).
Summon Monster V. Wights (1d2) or wraiths (1d2).

Spells

Death masters gain access to a combination of clerical and magical spells. Thus the number of spells per day in the table can be used on clerical or magical spells as desired. Clerical spells are noted in italics in the list and these may be selected and accessed each day in a similar manner as a cleric. Thus, the death master will complete a short ritual each morning and select spells from the list using up slots as noted. As with a magic-user or illusionist, magic spells must be first located or designed, then written into a tome of necromantic spells. This procedure follows the same rules as a magic-user including the process for acquisition of spells beyond 1st level, costs for scribing, and the handling of the physical book itself. Spells found with the same name, whether magic-user or illusionist may be scribed into a death masters tome and converted into their particular spell type. It is important to note that death masters do not receive any special benefit during their training as it pertains to spell books or spells. So a cleric becoming a death master must, at material expense to themselves, purchase a spell book, acquire magical spells, and scribe them for later use. Thus, there is a (small) benefit to beginning a career as a magic-user.

Wisdom Ability Score Effects on Spells. As with clerics, death masters will have a spell failure chance for low Wisdom and bonus spells granted for high Wisdom. However, Wisdom only affects clerical spells thusly.

Spells in Reverse. While it is technically possible for a Neutral death master to cast his or her clerical spells without reversing them, this should be done rarely as the death master’s idiom is more “woe” than “weal” as it were. The DM will pay careful attention to such transgressions upon assessing experience and training requirements for level advancement.

Minor Spell Changes. The DM will work with the death master player to make non-material, minor updates to spell descriptions to match the necromantic flavor of the class. For example, augury will be performed with bones or entrails, while a spiritual weapon may take the form of a ghostly scythe.

Create Undead

A beginning at 2nd level, death master may concoct special salves, fluids, and unguents to be applied to a (whole) deceased body to create powerful undead minions of the type and number specified. The expense is 500 g.p. per hit dice of undead in materials and one week to acquire and prepare the fluids (one large flask per body is required and up to six flasks may be concocted per week). A body can then be transformed in one full day of uninterrupted activity.

Once the undead is created, it will act according to the will of the death master based upon it’s intelligence. Less intelligent undead will require this will to be exerted if they are (easily and constantly) side-tracked, such as ghouls feasting on the fallen. (See Combat, Magical Control.)

Otherwise, the undead will follow the death master until they are destroyed (as there is no way to heal the undead, this will happen if they come into harm’s way). The maximum number of created undead by type is noted on the chart. Multiple types of created undead may be controlled at one time.

For example, a 13th level death master can create and control up to 4 ghouls and 1 wight at the same time. Ghouls may be created 1/3 levels beginning at 6th level and other undead 1/7 levels beginning from the level noted. Any undead spawned by a created undead’s level drain become free willed half-strength undead (the death master’s control breaks the normal process of controlling spawn).

Immunity to Fear

A death master of 7th level or higher is immune to all fear effects from any source.

Identify Undead

A death master of 8th level or higher can correctly identify any undead that he or she can observe for 10 segments. As part of the identification, the death master will know the major abilities of the creature’s type (but not any unique abilities or class levels).

Immunity to Paralysis

A death master of 10th level or higher is immune to any paralysis effects bestowed by undead creatures.

Immunity to Strength Drain

A death master of 10th level or higher is immune to any strength draining effects bestowed by undead creatures.

Resistance to Sleep and Charm

A death master of 10th level or higher has a 50% resistance to sleep or charm effects. Even if this resistance is overcome, the death master will still have access to any saving throws allowed.

Immunity to Level or Energy Drain

A death master of 11th level is immune to all life level drain or energy drain effects from any source.

Immune to Aging Attacks

A death master of 16th level or higher is immune to aging attacks by undead creatures.

Magic Item Use

Death masters may only wear magical leather armor or no armor at all but will use rings, cloaks and jewelry (rings) of protection, including bracers of defense. Death masters may employ all potions, except for those that control living things and those that can only be used by fighters. They can use spell scrolls if the spell is included in their list as well as protection scrolls.

Rings usable by death masters are: feather fall, fire resistance, free action, invisibility, protection, regeneration, spell turning, warmth, and X-ray vision. All other rings will not function on them unless they somehow affect the undead. Death masters may use a staff of withering and wands of fear, magic detection, negation, and paralyzation. A few miscellaneous magic items can be used, including: alchemy jug, amulet of life protection, amulet of the planes, beaker of plentiful potions, brooch of shielding, cloak of protection, cube of force, cubic gate, dust of all types, helm of comprehending languages, Keoghtom’s ointment, Nolzur’s marvelous pigments, all phylacteries, all scarabs, and a sphere of annihilation.

Henchmen and Hirelings

The death master may only have hirelings and henchmen who are not Good. Such henchmen are the Evil or Neutral outcasts of their own races (humans, or demi-humans, as well as any Evil humanoids), often fleeing for their lives because of some atrocity they have performed. Good-aligned classes will never be hirelings or henchmen for a death master.

Some Evil tribes of humanoids revere the death master, since he can produce armies of undead types to aid them on their missions. The death master can thus give the tribal witch doctor (and in some few cases the shaman) control of some animated undead (produced by the spell). Such undead must be basically mindless and all of the same type—normal skeletons or zombies only. The undead controlled by the witch doctor or shaman may be up to five times his level in hit dice; for instance, a gnoll witch doctor of 5th level can command, by proxy, 25 hit dice of undead. Any undead commanded in this manner can be taken over again by the death master any time he or she desires to do so.