I wouldn't hand out a 3rd level spell before you should be getting 3rd level slots. I can't really see how that can be well balanced against other Wizard subclasses. They're just too strong.
#5e24 - Reanimator (Wizard Subclass)
foggy inlet
The necromancy school has a lot more than just summoning, so I'd really like to see that feature that gives you a bonus for using necromancy, or that necromantic touch to your spellcasting, not just Animate Dead to start off, paired with the Savant feature.
That really sets the tone for the subclass as a master of that school imo.
This is also a bit strange since you now have Animate Dead and Summon Undead which both play into that necromancer theme.
With Undeath Mender why don't you just let them spend the spell slot to heal the undead without needing a specific spell?
I do like the Corpse Shield, thought I'm a bit curious about how often you'll be set up to do it.
I miss the Intelligence limits on Undeath. I think that's a very clean way to differentiate creatures this should work on and those is shouldn't.
regal dune
With **Undeath Mender** why don't you just let them spend the spell slot to heal...
Circle of Death, mostly
foggy inlet
Sure they'll probably have it, but don't be sneaky about it.
Also if it's not a spell they could do this with a bonus action, and cast a spell.
regal dune
I miss the Intelligence limits on **Undeath**. I think that's a very clean way ...
I went with Animate Dead here too. I made this version for a person who wanted a controlled Undead from the start, so Instead I made a Subclass that could bring it as soon as it coud - one spell level earlier, in this case :)
foggy inlet
It really sucks, but there's really no balanced way to do that with the WotC spells.
regal dune
And I definetly didn't want to create a new spell... hence this version of the Subclass
foggy inlet
You either have to make new spells, make a pet feature (but the Wizard doesn't really have the budget for it) or wait.
foggy inlet
I get that, but when it's too far ahead of the other Wizard subclasses it doesn't work in a cooperative game.
regal dune
I told her the best I could come up with would be a reskinned Find Familiar till the Subclass was achieved. :v
foggy inlet
and this is too far ahead.
foggy inlet
I told her the best I could come up with would be a reskinned Find Familiar till...
That is a solid and balanced approach.
regal dune
^^
foggy inlet
I do get why that's not satisfying, but Action Economy is king and handing Animate out early is too far ahead of the other subclasses.
regal dune
I do get why that's not satisfying, but Action Economy is king and handing *Anim...
The way I see it, it's basically a light weapon extra attack, since you can only have one Zombie or Skeleton and the cantrip isn't upgraded until level 5 anyways
Thank you for your feedback on that! If you think some other alteration on Animate Dead as a ritual is required, we can discuss that too
foggy inlet
That compounds the problem of getting the spell too early, it's also functionally free.
regal dune
That compounds the problem of getting the spell too early, it's also functionall...
As I said, we can add as many contingencies to the Ritual as we want
foggy inlet
It's all problematic in a cooperative game. You want this to be similar to other Wizards. If Animate is worth a 3rd level slot, then any Wizard using a 3rd level spell this easily is going to upset balance.
If Animate isn't worth that slot, then the proper fix is to the spell not the subclass.
regal dune
Sure, but again, I'm not engaging it with this approach. If you leave the spell level aside for a bit and try to see the ritual for what it is, then we can try to give it whatever it needs to feel worthy to be there in the first place
If action economy is the issue, we can just say the Necromancer can't command the Undead to do anything but the Help action until they have the propwer level, for example
not that I think its a good solution... just as a framework for finding a real solution xD
I Think I solved the "infinite ritual"
Although you are still unable to prepare Animate Dead from your spellbook, your studies of the occult taught you how to cast Animate Dead as a ritual that must be performed by midnight. When you do, the ritual can create, mantain or reassert control over up to a number of creatures equal to half your Wizard level (round down), and their control cannot be reasserted by any other means except another ritual.
This means you are limited to one Undead creature under your control at level 3, two at level 4, three at level 6, and so on, up to ten Undead creatures under your control using the ritual at level 20. You still can go past this limit by casting Animate Dead or other spells using a spell slot.
Is it better then? One zombie at lv 3, 2 at lv 4, but if they fall during the adventuring day you must wait for the next Long Rest or spend a spell slot (which you don't have till lv 5)
foggy inlet
How does that addition limit this spell?
regal dune
How does that addition limit this spell?
albeit being a ritual, you can only cast it at a specific time of the day so you can't recycle the Undead indefinetly despite the limit on creatures
...No?
foggy inlet
...before midnight is the whole day.
regal dune
...before midnight is the whole day.
"by midnight" means... exactly by midnight
foggy inlet
The undead last for 24 hours so you can use the same undead over and over.
regal dune
unless I failed the english which is possible coz i'm not a native speaker xD
foggy inlet
Do you mean "at midnight"?
regal dune
The undead last for 24 hours so you can use the same undead over and over.
oh sure, the duration is the same, but if he is defeated, then you can't do another ritual that is what I meant
foggy inlet
By midnight means anytime from 0001 to 2400
regal dune
english fail it is xD
foggy inlet
Happy to help.
I wouldn't balance it by restrictions like that. That's going to lead to some wild swings in how players can use it meaning if they can do it it's too strong, and if they cant' do it they're basically running on half a subclass while everyone else is running on full.
regal dune
I wouldn't balance it by restrictions like that. That's going to lead to some w...
wdym?
foggy inlet
You want these first two features to really set up easy to use reminders of their subclass. It's why the Evoker switched their features. Now Evokers are the best blasters every turn.
You want an every turn necromancer.
regal dune
having acces to one lvl 3 spell 2 levels early is pretty powerful even if its not 100% reliable
I mean if the issue here is "my subclass feature died" then the subclass at least tanked 13-30 hp worth of damage XD
regal dune
You want an every turn necromancer.
not really, no xD
I understand where you're coming from, but as I said, the idea here is to keep Animate dead at lvl 3
Then balance around that. We can do that and give a normal Subclass feature to play around
...or can we? :v
foggy inlet
Then I can't help you because I'd never allow a class with a feature like that in my game. I think it's unbalancing in a cooperative game and makes it less fun for everyone else.
Sorry.
regal dune
Then I can't help you because I'd never allow a class with a feature like that i...
btw you really helped me tone down Reanimator! here is the final result so far:
Although you are still unable to prepare Animate Dead from your spellbook, your studies of the occult taught you how to cast Animate Dead as a ritual that can only be performed when you finish a Long Rest. When you do, the ritual create, mantain or reassert control over up to a number of creatures equal to one third your Wizard level (round down), and their control cannot be reasserted by any other means except another ritual.
This means you are limited to one Undead creature under your control at level 3, two at level 6, three at level 9, and so on, up to six Undead creatures under your control using the ritual at level 18. You still can go past this limit by casting Animate Dead or other spells using a spell slot.
5e24 - Reanimator (Wizard Subclass)