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Ultimate Necromancer

The elf and the man worked in tandem to fight off the assault of the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin gnarled his fangs in a cruel smile as the Light spell began to waiver.

-My mistress is here.

The human in robes turned his head to see dozens of undead. In their empty sockets their eyes glowed ominously. They moaned and groaned in a cacophony from the windows and doorframes.

They were surrounded. The elf’s eyes widened at the realization.

-“How…“

The man cut him off

-“No time! Quick, to the chapel!“

Race

Drow (+2 LA Buyback)

Classes

Death Master 1/Archivist 2/Mystic Theurge 3/Yathrinshee 6/Contemplative 1/Mystic Theurge +7

Ability Scores

Str 8/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 20/Wis 12/Cha 14

Skills

Knowledge(Arcana), Knowledge(Religion), Perform(Sing)

Feats

Flaws: Murky Eyed, Noncombatant

Flaw-Evil Brand

Flaw-Precocious Apprentice

1-Spell Focus(Necromancy)

Archivist Bonus-Scribe Scroll

3-Alternative Spell Source

6-Lichloved

9-Corpsecrafter

12-Destruction Retribution

15-Practiced Spellcaster (Archivist)

18-Practiced Spellcaster (Death Master)

Our primary grabs are Corpsecrafter and Destruction Retribution, which together combine to enhance significantly our undead we create. This combination makes them extra deadly as they explode in a negative energy burst when they die. It being negative energy heals our other undead and deals more damage to the enemy.

Equipment

You are naturally proficient with the Hand Crossbow, so pick one for early fights alongside a Chain Shirt and carry on. Later on you can grab a Breastplate and pick some sort of melee weapon like a Scythe.

Magic Items are of course a Cloak of Resistance, and this build actually benefits a lot from investing in a Belt of Magnificence Investing in various Metamagic Rods will also be a great boon for us long term.

Final Thoughts

So this build is the near ultimate necromancer. She can cast 9th level divine spells, 8th level arcane spells, any creature she kills immediately rises as a zombie under her control with no HD cap, and they all benefit from Corpsecrafter+Destruction Retribution which is hilariously busted. On top of that, all her undeads get the Chain Devil’s Unnerving Gaze ability via her Threnody.

But what makes this build especially busted is her Necromancy ability. See, as a Yathrinshee, she stacks all her spellcaster levels to determine her CL for any Necromancy spell she casts. Which means whenever she casts a Necromancy spell, her Caster Level is considered to be 32. That’s a LOT. And between her two spell lists, each depending primarily on Int, she gets a lot of spell slots she can dedicate to Necromancy spells.

Level	Classes	HD	Feats	Special
1	Death Master	10	Evil Brand, Precocious Apprentice, Spell Focus(Necromancy)	Rebuke Undead, Undead Minion
2	Archivist	1d6+2	Scribe Scroll	Dark Knowledge(Tactics) 3/Day
3	Archivist	1d6+2	Alternative Spell Source	Lore Mastery
4	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	–	+1 Int
5	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	–	–
6	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	Lichloved	–
7	Yathrinshee	1d4+2	–	Necromancy
8	Yathrinshee	1d4+2	–	Threnody, +1 Int
9	Yathrinshee	1d4+2	Corpsecrafter	–
10	Yathrinshee	1d4+2	–	–
11	Yathrinshee	1d4+2	–	Curse of the Revenancer
12	Yathrinshee	1d4+2	Destruction Retribution	+1 Int
13	Contemplative	1d6+2	–	Bonus Domain(Undeath)
14	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	–	–
15	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	Practiced Spellcaster	–
16	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	–	+1 Int
17	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	–	–
18	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	Practiced Spellcaster	–
19	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	–	–
20	Mystic Theurge	1d4+2	–	+1 Int

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