Warlock or Necromancer [Archive] - Wizards Community

Warlock or Necromancer [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Super_Demolition_Christ
10-15-05, 05:02 PM Im wanting to build a character but cant decide between these two classes. THe Idea is for a Gnome who has inherited the powers of his father in some way or another. Either his father made a pact with a devil, and this tied him to the demonic power as well(warlock). Or His father's dark legacy left behind many items of great power (such as a book which has taught the character to learn the dark speech from the Book of Vile Darkness) and a natural affinity to necromancy. The Character knows the dark abilities that he is so adept with are very powerful and seeks to master them. However this is not some lust for power. He has found himself incopetent with everything else(combat, other spells, and a lack of understanding of anything psionic). He wants to right the wrongs his father and others like him cast upon the world. He knows its likely impossible, but seeks to use the dark powers his father "blessed" him with for good ends, despite the means. Im interested in roleplaying a character who constantly exposes himself to evil in such a way and seeks to fight its hold on him (whether the end result is him being enveloped by them or mastering them). Can a boy who uses the powers of darkness really bring light into the world?

anyways, I cant decide between the more closely demonic warlock. The dark powers they have are vile (anyone who say him transforming into a plague of bats, or working his way through a demon spider's web as if it where his home, would question his motives). However I thought it also would horrify the poor gnome more to instead be a master spells that create suffeing and pain.
Also I thought the Blood Magus was a good prestige class for him. Expessially since what ties him to evil is his own blood, but i guess I would have to forget that if I wanted him to be a warlock. It is to spell flavored to alter the class for a warlock, and I dont seek to be a half wizard half Warlock (at least not much. I've created to many classes that are half this and half that but because of it they best isnt as good as the rest)

I seek your thoughts and any recolection of character with a simular trial. and I lost access to my info on the Book of Vile Darkness so I didnt even get to see anything past the drug section(such as evil spells and feats)
General_Ridley
10-15-05, 05:26 PM So you plan on being good then, right?

Warlock would be easier than Necromancer in some respects. You will have some more survivability than a standard Necro. Also, its simple to do an 'out to end the father's evil legacy' thing with Warlocks, as it is tied to blood.

A white Necromancer could present many RP ideas andsome good moral questions for the character. Unfortunately, you would have to go with PHB Necromancer, because the dread Necromancer from Heroes of Horror can't be good.

Really, if you are concerned about your overally usefulness, go with Necromancer. Its more useful to have the spells variety at low levels. If not, go with Warlock, where you will make up for your lack of spells by being able to create any item.
Llochlyn
10-15-05, 09:56 PM I play a, not good, but neutral necromancer... Well neutral because we decided raising bodies just can't be good...

His focus is being a mundane medic, and spreading new ways of curing people, necromancy is really about body (and yes it's darkest aspects)...

But as a scientist, when he casts fear, he says he stimulates some kind of brain secretion (he is figuring glands out those days) that brings such a feeling (for example)

Main goal : finding a way to eternal life without resorting to any magic... or at least making those viking like guys understand surgery (he is some kind of medieval arab, who brought a lot of modern medecine to europe... reminds me of this robin hood movie with Kevin Costner)

(PS : This article (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15739502-13762,00.html) actually stopped my DM making fun of my characters ambition)

This proves necromancy is not mainly evil, just pick spells that aren't that evil if you want to be good, or pick the spells you want if you just want to spread good :) No problem with that

Warlock is nice for a dark heritage character, but as he seems to oppose daddy, exploring that heritage through warlock levels doesn't seem that fitting to me... Unless he just can't help it... Wich provides interresting roleplay too...
A warlock NPC's of mine was this way... Was horrified by what happened during battles or tense moments... Actually crying when using powerful abilities (cliché, but i like it) Obviously anyway, this prevents your PLAYER character to use these abilities willingly for noncombat reasons...

What do you want to emphasize ? Reason and understanding, or emotion and the way we sometimes seem to lose control ? Both are fun and tasteful for player characters
erbmjw
10-15-05, 10:47 PM A good necromancer just needs permission - sure it might be harder to get but if he does get permission from the deceased or their loved ones - or the good aligned cleric/god that oversees the remains - then he should be able to be a good necromancer.

Acts are good/neutral/evil not tools; and a reanimated body is just a tool. Make sure you never use a body for an evil act and try always to get permission to use the body - also try to return it when you are done with it, after all good people return the tools they have borrowed ;)

You could also have someone will you their body to be used in your quest to fight evil as a good necromancer.
Super_Demolition_Christ
10-16-05, 01:58 AM the Idea is a good character who is unable to help people threw good means.

For instance, I dont know if there is any spell like this (perhaps in Book of Vile Darkness) but say I go with the necromancer. I could role play that he had some pages left over from his father's spell book, now he isnt able to decipher the spells until he gains a better understanding of magic (that way I can start the campaign with the actual spell pages but not learn to cast them and add them to my spellbook till I could actually learn it). Anyways this spell makes the target live a life of pure horror and pain, perhaps atuning their mind/soul temporarily to a damned on in the abyss. However, decades of this horror happens in a single round. Now my character himself and all the other good characters in the party would be rather horrified to the after effects(say, the target trembling, puking and screaming in such a way to chill the bones, while the spell is in effect).

Also I imagine that after I caused enough horror to earn me the neutral alignemnt (whether my alignment changes or not), that when using evil powers, his mindset would seem to change , it would seem that when he started casting spells and enveloping himself in their evil that he would go into a mad rage, (imagine a Gnome on a consious but helpless human, using a chilltouch spell to dig the cold into his eyes, the screams of the man increasing only for the Cleric to grab his shoulder taking him out of the rage and the Gnome being utterly horrified at what he was doing)

Hmm, I better make sure to roleplay this well. Anyway, so far im leaning towards Wizard. The amount of spells out there would provide better variety and growth to aid in the developing horrors of the character.

But yea, the idea behind the character is a person who can only cause pain and suffering, but wishes for this to befall evil instead of good.

Oye, is there any SRD or stuff on the site about the feats and stuff from the book of Vile Darkness. I thought the idea of the Dark Speech was great and a must have for this character.

P.S. Any info on characters who dramatically change alignments could help my insite on the situation. By dramatically I dont mean :
Dm:You did what? ok your C-E now

I mean, those times you have a good RPing party and someone eventually gets corrupted or saved
Llochlyn
10-16-05, 07:28 AM For alignment shift, I began playing a Warlock, being chaotic neutral to begin... There's a paladin in the party, so we'll see if he manages to prevent my character from getting too far... It depends on players and NPCs mainly, so if it's a good RPing party, be sure to inform them of your character's alignment problems

Hello, I'm Necro Johny... I haven't been evil for a month

OOH, bravo Johny

:bored:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Super_Demolition_Christ 10-15-05, 05:02 PM	Im wanting to build a character but cant decide between these two classes. THe Idea is for a Gnome who has inherited the powers of his father in some way or another. Either his father made a pact with a devil, and this tied him to the demonic power as well(warlock). Or His father's dark legacy left behind many items of great power (such as a book which has taught the character to learn the dark speech from the Book of Vile Darkness) and a natural affinity to necromancy. The Character knows the dark abilities that he is so adept with are very powerful and seeks to master them. However this is not some lust for power. He has found himself incopetent with everything else(combat, other spells, and a lack of understanding of anything psionic). He wants to right the wrongs his father and others like him cast upon the world. He knows its likely impossible, but seeks to use the dark powers his father "blessed" him with for good ends, despite the means. Im interested in roleplaying a character who constantly exposes himself to evil in such a way and seeks to fight its hold on him (whether the end result is him being enveloped by them or mastering them). Can a boy who uses the powers of darkness really bring light into the world? anyways, I cant decide between the more closely demonic warlock. The dark powers they have are vile (anyone who say him transforming into a plague of bats, or working his way through a demon spider's web as if it where his home, would question his motives). However I thought it also would horrify the poor gnome more to instead be a master spells that create suffeing and pain. Also I thought the Blood Magus was a good prestige class for him. Expessially since what ties him to evil is his own blood, but i guess I would have to forget that if I wanted him to be a warlock. It is to spell flavored to alter the class for a warlock, and I dont seek to be a half wizard half Warlock (at least not much. I've created to many classes that are half this and half that but because of it they best isnt as good as the rest) I seek your thoughts and any recolection of character with a simular trial. and I lost access to my info on the Book of Vile Darkness so I didnt even get to see anything past the drug section(such as evil spells and feats)
General_Ridley 10-15-05, 05:26 PM	So you plan on being good then, right? Warlock would be easier than Necromancer in some respects. You will have some more survivability than a standard Necro. Also, its simple to do an 'out to end the father's evil legacy' thing with Warlocks, as it is tied to blood. A white Necromancer could present many RP ideas andsome good moral questions for the character. Unfortunately, you would have to go with PHB Necromancer, because the dread Necromancer from Heroes of Horror can't be good. Really, if you are concerned about your overally usefulness, go with Necromancer. Its more useful to have the spells variety at low levels. If not, go with Warlock, where you will make up for your lack of spells by being able to create any item.
Llochlyn 10-15-05, 09:56 PM	I play a, not good, but neutral necromancer... Well neutral because we decided raising bodies just can't be good... His focus is being a mundane medic, and spreading new ways of curing people, necromancy is really about body (and yes it's darkest aspects)... But as a scientist, when he casts fear, he says he stimulates some kind of brain secretion (he is figuring glands out those days) that brings such a feeling (for example) Main goal : finding a way to eternal life without resorting to any magic... or at least making those viking like guys understand surgery (he is some kind of medieval arab, who brought a lot of modern medecine to europe... reminds me of this robin hood movie with Kevin Costner) (PS : This article (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15739502-13762,00.html) actually stopped my DM making fun of my characters ambition) This proves necromancy is not mainly evil, just pick spells that aren't that evil if you want to be good, or pick the spells you want if you just want to spread good :) No problem with that Warlock is nice for a dark heritage character, but as he seems to oppose daddy, exploring that heritage through warlock levels doesn't seem that fitting to me... Unless he just can't help it... Wich provides interresting roleplay too... A warlock NPC's of mine was this way... Was horrified by what happened during battles or tense moments... Actually crying when using powerful abilities (cliché, but i like it) Obviously anyway, this prevents your PLAYER character to use these abilities willingly for noncombat reasons... What do you want to emphasize ? Reason and understanding, or emotion and the way we sometimes seem to lose control ? Both are fun and tasteful for player characters
erbmjw 10-15-05, 10:47 PM	A good necromancer just needs permission - sure it might be harder to get but if he does get permission from the deceased or their loved ones - or the good aligned cleric/god that oversees the remains - then he should be able to be a good necromancer. Acts are good/neutral/evil not tools; and a reanimated body is just a tool. Make sure you never use a body for an evil act and try always to get permission to use the body - also try to return it when you are done with it, after all good people return the tools they have borrowed ;) You could also have someone will you their body to be used in your quest to fight evil as a good necromancer.
Super_Demolition_Christ 10-16-05, 01:58 AM	the Idea is a good character who is unable to help people threw good means. For instance, I dont know if there is any spell like this (perhaps in Book of Vile Darkness) but say I go with the necromancer. I could role play that he had some pages left over from his father's spell book, now he isnt able to decipher the spells until he gains a better understanding of magic (that way I can start the campaign with the actual spell pages but not learn to cast them and add them to my spellbook till I could actually learn it). Anyways this spell makes the target live a life of pure horror and pain, perhaps atuning their mind/soul temporarily to a damned on in the abyss. However, decades of this horror happens in a single round. Now my character himself and all the other good characters in the party would be rather horrified to the after effects(say, the target trembling, puking and screaming in such a way to chill the bones, while the spell is in effect). Also I imagine that after I caused enough horror to earn me the neutral alignemnt (whether my alignment changes or not), that when using evil powers, his mindset would seem to change , it would seem that when he started casting spells and enveloping himself in their evil that he would go into a mad rage, (imagine a Gnome on a consious but helpless human, using a chilltouch spell to dig the cold into his eyes, the screams of the man increasing only for the Cleric to grab his shoulder taking him out of the rage and the Gnome being utterly horrified at what he was doing) Hmm, I better make sure to roleplay this well. Anyway, so far im leaning towards Wizard. The amount of spells out there would provide better variety and growth to aid in the developing horrors of the character. But yea, the idea behind the character is a person who can only cause pain and suffering, but wishes for this to befall evil instead of good. Oye, is there any SRD or stuff on the site about the feats and stuff from the book of Vile Darkness. I thought the idea of the Dark Speech was great and a must have for this character. P.S. Any info on characters who dramatically change alignments could help my insite on the situation. By dramatically I dont mean : Dm:You did what? ok your C-E now I mean, those times you have a good RPing party and someone eventually gets corrupted or saved
Llochlyn 10-16-05, 07:28 AM	For alignment shift, I began playing a Warlock, being chaotic neutral to begin... There's a paladin in the party, so we'll see if he manages to prevent my character from getting too far... It depends on players and NPCs mainly, so if it's a good RPing party, be sure to inform them of your character's alignment problems Hello, I'm Necro Johny... I haven't been evil for a month OOH, bravo Johny :bored: