A different kind of necromancer? [Archive] - Wizards Community

A different kind of necromancer? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
StygianWolf
07-31-06, 02:26 AM Hey all, just thought I'd post a bit about a character I'll soon be playing in a friend's game.
The details I've been given about the campaign world thus far aren't complete, but I think I can at least build a good framework before I work out the entirety of the specifics. Here are the major details:

- The world is homebrew and low-magic. Non-human races are nigh-unheard of. The DM has
added his own elf-like race called Sidhe (somewhat based on the Irish mythology, and extremely rare), but aside from that, I'm not certain of any other non-human races.

- Divine magic is limited to druids. There are no clerics, paladins, or monks; rangers and bards are non-spellcasting variants. Also, the the odds of ever finding a magical item are slim to none.

- The campaign will mainly take place in one locale - a port city in a desert region, nestled between two rival nations. Not only is it rife with political turmoil, but numerous guilds and cabals are working from the shadows, rotting it from the inside out.

Now, on to the character - Khalid al-Na'im. He is a human of Middle Eastern descent (or rather, the equivalent of such in my DM's campaign world), and in his early to mid-thirties, and an alchemist by trade. Class-wise, I've decided on Dread Necromancer (from Heroes of Horror). While such a character might typically be loathed by the rest of the party and perhaps be an overall threat to group cohesion, his reason for pursuing this path is simple: he's dying.

Somehow, Khalid has contracted an incurable disease, and is doomed to perish from it. He has tried every method he could imagine in his search for a cure, from alchemical concotions of his own device, to seeking out herbalists and physicians, but all to no avail. His desperation led to an encounter with a practitioner (or perhaps a cabal?) of the necromantic arts, from which he ascertained that such dark magic was his only hope of survival: by leeching from the life forces of other living creatures.

Description: Khalid stands roughly at six feet tall, with a gaunt physique, though he appears to be somewhat shorter due to a slight slouch as a result of his malady, and the pallor of his skin is growing increasingly more pale. His shoulder-length hair is dark brown and wavy; his eyes a dark shade of olive green. He keeps a neatly-groomed moustache and goatee. Dressing as men in his region typically do, his clothing is generally well-made, and most of his garments include various shades of browns and reds, as he is particularly fond of the latter.

Personality: Khalid is very meticulous by nature, whether it be the appearance of his clothing, hygiene practices, or organization of his possessions, and always considers his words before he speaks them. His speech is confident - he is well-educated and not ashamed to let others know it. Though it is perhaps not in his best interest to be involved in strenous activity, he is not prone to sitting around idly, for he knows that his days are truly numbered.

Though Khalid attempts to hide his condition to the best of his ability, the effects eventually show themselves: cold sweats, random bouts of dizziness or weakness, panic attacks, and occasionally, coughing up blood. Any act or remark of pity towards him, however, is always rejected with scorn, as he desires sympathy from no one, not even his companions.

Khalid cares a great deal for his family and friends, but although he would never admit it to them, he places himself before all others. He realizes that this attitude is selfish, but is rationalized (at least in his mind) by the fact that they're not the ones who are dying. Though he has vowed to never harm them (or any truly innocent being) through his actions, it remains to be seen how they will react to their eventual discovery of his necromantic sorcery.

I believe it will be very interesting to role play one who is tortured both mentally and physically; just how far will a person go to save himself? At first, he'll reluctantly accept that through necromancy, he is only doing what has to be done, but over time, he will become more and more comfortable with it. His practice will be with more focus on the use of negative energy, and not so much on manipulating undead; being low-key is important, and raising a legion of undead minions is far from discreet, but nonetheless he will constantly be living on a very thin moral line between right and wrong by way of his magical practices, and one of the reasons I chose Dread Necromancer is thus: if by chance he should survive to level 20, he will transform into a lich, inadvertantly curing himself, and becoming an immortal monster in the process. Nice touch of irony, I think. ;)

Any comments, criticisms, and (especially) suggestions are most welcome. :)
Fithero
07-31-06, 02:39 AM Sounds like an awsome concept, hope you have a good time playin it.

Your starting off at mid 30's? Thats a change from the usual "im just starting out in life and i want it to be full of adventure." Hows this gonna affect his relationship with others if their all younger than him.

He knows he is gonna die soon, so does he take risks that no healthy man would take, ie: has the fact that death is looming over him given him a sort of freedom? Or has he become even more carefull, not working to hard or for too long so he wont risk tiring himself out.

He says that *now* he wont hurt his friends or family, but putting himself is a pretty big step away from that. Whats gonna happen later down the track? Is he eventually going to find it acceptable to hurt his friends then later even kill them? And when will it be ok to do the same to his family?

Awsome character.

Later
JulesCARV
07-31-06, 03:18 AM Funny, I was just thinking about how negative energy could have medical uses.

Specifically, I was thinking about how for a person with cancer, channelling a bunch of positive energy into someone, encouraging growth, is exactly what you don't want to do. Channelling negative energy to kill cells might be better, if well targetted.

Anyway, sounds pretty good.

I'm surprised, though, that a DM would allow dread necromancers yet ban clerics. Takes all kinds, I suppose.
StygianWolf
07-31-06, 03:50 AM Sounds like an awsome concept, hope you have a good time playin it.

Your starting off at mid 30's? Thats a change from the usual "im just starting out in life and i want it to be full of adventure." Hows this gonna affect his relationship with others if their all younger than him.

He'll most likely be the "ranking old-timer" of the group. If he were in good health, he might not think too much of that fact, but as it stands, he would probably be (secretly) envious of their youthful vigor.

He knows he is gonna die soon, so does he take risks that no healthy man would take, ie: has the fact that death is looming over him given him a sort of freedom? Or has he become even more carefull, not working to hard or for too long so he wont risk tiring himself out.

Good question. I think that knowing his death is imminent, the thought of which is always present in the back of his mind, has given him a sort of preternatural drive - one that will often push him to excess, physically. He's too focused on his search for a cure, rather than accepting his fate and fully enjoying what time he has left.

He says that *now* he wont hurt his friends or family, but putting himself is a pretty big step away from that. Whats gonna happen later down the track? Is he eventually going to find it acceptable to hurt his friends then later even kill them? And when will it be ok to do the same to his family?

He sincerely would not want to see any of them harmed - at least in the beginning. His obsessive practices may eventually drive him to commit such acts, but he may actually stave off the corruption that necromancy leads to. Only time will tell. ;)

Thanks much for the comments!
StygianWolf
07-31-06, 03:58 AM I'm surprised, though, that a DM would allow dread necromancers yet ban clerics. Takes all kinds, I suppose.

Technically, there are clerics in his game, but they're delegated to an NPC class, since the gods don't grant spells or abilities of any sort to their followers.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
StygianWolf 07-31-06, 02:26 AM	Hey all, just thought I'd post a bit about a character I'll soon be playing in a friend's game. The details I've been given about the campaign world thus far aren't complete, but I think I can at least build a good framework before I work out the entirety of the specifics. Here are the major details: - The world is homebrew and low-magic. Non-human races are nigh-unheard of. The DM has added his own elf-like race called Sidhe (somewhat based on the Irish mythology, and extremely rare), but aside from that, I'm not certain of any other non-human races. - Divine magic is limited to druids. There are no clerics, paladins, or monks; rangers and bards are non-spellcasting variants. Also, the the odds of ever finding a magical item are slim to none. - The campaign will mainly take place in one locale - a port city in a desert region, nestled between two rival nations. Not only is it rife with political turmoil, but numerous guilds and cabals are working from the shadows, rotting it from the inside out. Now, on to the character - Khalid al-Na'im. He is a human of Middle Eastern descent (or rather, the equivalent of such in my DM's campaign world), and in his early to mid-thirties, and an alchemist by trade. Class-wise, I've decided on Dread Necromancer (from Heroes of Horror). While such a character might typically be loathed by the rest of the party and perhaps be an overall threat to group cohesion, his reason for pursuing this path is simple: he's dying. Somehow, Khalid has contracted an incurable disease, and is doomed to perish from it. He has tried every method he could imagine in his search for a cure, from alchemical concotions of his own device, to seeking out herbalists and physicians, but all to no avail. His desperation led to an encounter with a practitioner (or perhaps a cabal?) of the necromantic arts, from which he ascertained that such dark magic was his only hope of survival: by leeching from the life forces of other living creatures. Description: Khalid stands roughly at six feet tall, with a gaunt physique, though he appears to be somewhat shorter due to a slight slouch as a result of his malady, and the pallor of his skin is growing increasingly more pale. His shoulder-length hair is dark brown and wavy; his eyes a dark shade of olive green. He keeps a neatly-groomed moustache and goatee. Dressing as men in his region typically do, his clothing is generally well-made, and most of his garments include various shades of browns and reds, as he is particularly fond of the latter. Personality: Khalid is very meticulous by nature, whether it be the appearance of his clothing, hygiene practices, or organization of his possessions, and always considers his words before he speaks them. His speech is confident - he is well-educated and not ashamed to let others know it. Though it is perhaps not in his best interest to be involved in strenous activity, he is not prone to sitting around idly, for he knows that his days are truly numbered. Though Khalid attempts to hide his condition to the best of his ability, the effects eventually show themselves: cold sweats, random bouts of dizziness or weakness, panic attacks, and occasionally, coughing up blood. Any act or remark of pity towards him, however, is always rejected with scorn, as he desires sympathy from no one, not even his companions. Khalid cares a great deal for his family and friends, but although he would never admit it to them, he places himself before all others. He realizes that this attitude is selfish, but is rationalized (at least in his mind) by the fact that they're not the ones who are dying. Though he has vowed to never harm them (or any truly innocent being) through his actions, it remains to be seen how they will react to their eventual discovery of his necromantic sorcery. I believe it will be very interesting to role play one who is tortured both mentally and physically; just how far will a person go to save himself? At first, he'll reluctantly accept that through necromancy, he is only doing what has to be done, but over time, he will become more and more comfortable with it. His practice will be with more focus on the use of negative energy, and not so much on manipulating undead; being low-key is important, and raising a legion of undead minions is far from discreet, but nonetheless he will constantly be living on a very thin moral line between right and wrong by way of his magical practices, and one of the reasons I chose Dread Necromancer is thus: if by chance he should survive to level 20, he will transform into a lich, inadvertantly curing himself, and becoming an immortal monster in the process. Nice touch of irony, I think. ;) Any comments, criticisms, and (especially) suggestions are most welcome. :)
Fithero 07-31-06, 02:39 AM	Sounds like an awsome concept, hope you have a good time playin it. Your starting off at mid 30's? Thats a change from the usual "im just starting out in life and i want it to be full of adventure." Hows this gonna affect his relationship with others if their all younger than him. He knows he is gonna die soon, so does he take risks that no healthy man would take, ie: has the fact that death is looming over him given him a sort of freedom? Or has he become even more carefull, not working to hard or for too long so he wont risk tiring himself out. He says that now he wont hurt his friends or family, but putting himself is a pretty big step away from that. Whats gonna happen later down the track? Is he eventually going to find it acceptable to hurt his friends then later even kill them? And when will it be ok to do the same to his family? Awsome character. Later
JulesCARV 07-31-06, 03:18 AM	Funny, I was just thinking about how negative energy could have medical uses. Specifically, I was thinking about how for a person with cancer, channelling a bunch of positive energy into someone, encouraging growth, is exactly what you don't want to do. Channelling negative energy to kill cells might be better, if well targetted. Anyway, sounds pretty good. I'm surprised, though, that a DM would allow dread necromancers yet ban clerics. Takes all kinds, I suppose.
StygianWolf 07-31-06, 03:50 AM	Sounds like an awsome concept, hope you have a good time playin it. Your starting off at mid 30's? Thats a change from the usual "im just starting out in life and i want it to be full of adventure." Hows this gonna affect his relationship with others if their all younger than him. He'll most likely be the "ranking old-timer" of the group. If he were in good health, he might not think too much of that fact, but as it stands, he would probably be (secretly) envious of their youthful vigor. He knows he is gonna die soon, so does he take risks that no healthy man would take, ie: has the fact that death is looming over him given him a sort of freedom? Or has he become even more carefull, not working to hard or for too long so he wont risk tiring himself out. Good question. I think that knowing his death is imminent, the thought of which is always present in the back of his mind, has given him a sort of preternatural drive - one that will often push him to excess, physically. He's too focused on his search for a cure, rather than accepting his fate and fully enjoying what time he has left. He says that now he wont hurt his friends or family, but putting himself is a pretty big step away from that. Whats gonna happen later down the track? Is he eventually going to find it acceptable to hurt his friends then later even kill them? And when will it be ok to do the same to his family? He sincerely would not want to see any of them harmed - at least in the beginning. His obsessive practices may eventually drive him to commit such acts, but he may actually stave off the corruption that necromancy leads to. Only time will tell. ;) Thanks much for the comments!
StygianWolf 07-31-06, 03:58 AM	I'm surprised, though, that a DM would allow dread necromancers yet ban clerics. Takes all kinds, I suppose. Technically, there are clerics in his game, but they're delegated to an NPC class, since the gods don't grant spells or abilities of any sort to their followers.