Pale Master
Necromancy is usually a poor choice for arcane spellcasters. Those who really want to master the deathless arts almost always pursue divine means. However, an alternative exists for those who desire power over undead, without losing too much of their arcane power. Enter the pale master, who draws on a font of special lore that provides a macabre power all its own.
Requirements
Alignment: Any Non-Good
Special: 3 levels in an Arcane spellcasting class (Wizard, Sorcerer, or Bard)
Hit Die: d6
Proficiencies: Pale Masters gain no additional proficiencies
Skill Points: 2 + INT
Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Forgery, Heal, Hide, Knowledge (all), Listen, Lore, Move Silently, Persuade, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft
*Note: Sorcerers and bards will not be able to learn new spells via leveling up as a Pale Master, they must learn new spells from sorcerer or bard levels.
Level progression
| Lvl | BAB | Saves | Feats | HP range | Caster Progression | AC bonus | Undead summon | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Bone Skin (+2AC) | 3-6 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class | +2 | |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Animate Dead | 6-12 | +2 | Greater Mummy | |
| 3rd | +1 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Darkvision | 9-18 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class | +2 | |
| 4th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Summon Undead, Bone Skin (+2AC) | 12-24 | +4 | Abyssal Ghoul | |
| 5th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Deathless Vigor (+3HP) | 18-33 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class | +4 | |
| 6th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Undead Graft, Deathless Vigor (+3HP) | 24-42 | +4 | Doom Knight, Vampire Warrior | |
| 7th | +3 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Tough As Bone, Deathless Vigor (+3HP) | 30-51 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class | +4 | |
| 8th | +4 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Bone Skin (+2AC), Deathless Vigor (+3HP) | 36-60 | +6 | Vampire Mage | |
| 9th | +4 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Summon Greater Undead, Deathless Vigor (+3HP) | 42-69 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class | +6 | Bloated Abomination |
| 10th | +5 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Deathless Master Touch, Deathless Mastery, Deathless Vigor (+3HP) | 48-78 | +6 | Skeletal Knight, Cursed Warrior, Dread Bone Horror | |
Animate Dead
The pale master may summon forth a loyal undead servant to aid them until slain or dismissed. The undead acts as a henchman, but only one henchman across summoning abilities may be active at a time. This ability is on a 1-minute cooldown.
Level 2: Greater Mummy
Level 6: Doom Knight
Level 10: Skeletal Knight
Summon Undead
The pale master may summon forth a loyal undead servant to aid them until slain or dismissed. The undead acts as a henchman, but only one henchman across summoning abilities may be active at a time. This ability is on a 5-minute cooldown.
Level 4: Abyssal Ghoul
Level 6: Vampire Warrior
Level 8: Vampire Mage
Level 10: Cursed Warrior
Summon Greater Undead
The pale master may summon forth a far more powerful undead servant to aid them until slain or dismissed. This ability is on a 10-minute cooldown.
Level 9: Bloated Abomination
Level 10: Dread Bone Horror
Undead Graft
Grants a +4 strength bonus. A pale master may use their undead arm to paralyze foes with a touch attack. The DC vs fortitude is equal to 10 + pale master level + strength modifier. The paralysis lasts for d6 +4 rounds. This ability is on a 2-minute cooldown. The strength bonus is now granted automatically. Any relevels or rebuilds after March 1st 2021 should reduce strength by 4 and remove the special graft token.
Deathless Master Touch
At 10th level, a pale master's touch attack becomes deadly, instantly killing unless a fortitude save vs death is made. The DC is equal to 10 + pale master level + strength modifier and creates a Skeletal Knight henchman on a successful kill that serves loyally until slain or dismissed. Creating a henchman with this ability after a henchman summon is already active allows the Pale Master to have both, for a maximum of two. This ability is on a 5-minute cooldown.
Bonus Spells
Upon reaching pale master levels 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in his highest caster class (bard, sorcerer, or wizard). He does not learn any new spells through this ability, but for wizards it can allow higher-level spells to be learned through other means (i.e. from scrolls or later leveling as a wizard).