Eladrin "Necromancer"; would you allow this? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Eladrin "Necromancer"; would you allow this?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Mist-Bound
Sep 04, 2010 16:14:03 A character concept that's been tickling me for a while is an Eladrin who, at a young age, left his home in the Land Within the Wind in anguished, hateful despair over how his homeland had been all but obliterated by defiling magic, his fixation on its death and dying agonies leading him to the Athasian Shadowfell - the Gray. A century or more spent prowling through the gloomy, necrotic-infused land of the dead later, and he returns to Athas, having developed potent necromantic powers and quite possibly losing his soul as well as his mind. His fixation, now, is on "death devouring death" - he wants to use his necromantic powers to bring destruction and ruin to the figures that he, rightly or wrongly, blames for the spread of defiling magic; the Sorcerer-Kings.

While I'm worried if this concept is fit for Athas, it's the matter of rules that concern me more. When it comes out, the Necromancer will be a Shadow class and so, by the rules as written, won't be any more subject to the Arcane Defiling feature than Primal, Psionic or even Divine characters are. However, there's currently not a canon Necromancer class. My general view of making Necromancers is to take the Vestige Pact Warlock, with a certain thematically appropriate array of powers (Hand of Blight, by the by, makes an excellent "necro-lock" at-will choice), then build into the God Fragment (which fits really well for a 4e Athasian Necromancer) paragon path and climax with the Archlich epic destiny, changing all of the keywords from "Arcane" to "Shadow".

Like the title says, would you allow this? The way I'm seeing it, this character no longer defiles when he casts spells - not just in the sense of being unable to use the benefits of Arcane Defiling, but defiling period.
#2
ian.thomson
Sep 04, 2010 19:30:20 The PCs are special, and 2e DS's necromancers were sorta inbetween 4e's shadow necromancers, and the vestige pact warlocks. I'd just go with the vestige pact warlock, and maybe redo the character later on as a hybrid.

There is a "psionic defiling" paragon feat that lets you defile with psionic powers, I would guess maybe they'll add "shadow defiling" at some point? Maybe in the shadow heroes book, or in Dragon. If not, it's easy enough to include, and the only reason they probably didn't include it in the DSCG was because the only shadow class so far is DDI subscriber only (and well, defiling just doesn't work with martial or primal, and divine is gone).
#3
Mist-Bound
Sep 04, 2010 19:56:21 I may have been unclear... I don't want to defile with this character, but I'm worried if I can get away with explaining that he can't defile when he's not using a "real" Shadow class.
#4
Pennarin
Sep 04, 2010 20:36:38 Wait, explain that again?
#5
ian.thomson
Sep 04, 2010 20:53:21
Oh, well, that's easy enough, just don't use the completely optional power that you have to choose to use to defile.

You can use all your warlock powers, just don't use arcane defiling. If you wanted a reason that was both mechanical and fluff, you could say that the vestiges you work with were preservers and wouldn't support defiling.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Mist-Bound Sep 04, 2010 16:14:03	A character concept that's been tickling me for a while is an Eladrin who, at a young age, left his home in the Land Within the Wind in anguished, hateful despair over how his homeland had been all but obliterated by defiling magic, his fixation on its death and dying agonies leading him to the Athasian Shadowfell - the Gray. A century or more spent prowling through the gloomy, necrotic-infused land of the dead later, and he returns to Athas, having developed potent necromantic powers and quite possibly losing his soul as well as his mind. His fixation, now, is on "death devouring death" - he wants to use his necromantic powers to bring destruction and ruin to the figures that he, rightly or wrongly, blames for the spread of defiling magic; the Sorcerer-Kings. While I'm worried if this concept is fit for Athas, it's the matter of rules that concern me more. When it comes out, the Necromancer will be a Shadow class and so, by the rules as written, won't be any more subject to the Arcane Defiling feature than Primal, Psionic or even Divine characters are. However, there's currently not a canon Necromancer class. My general view of making Necromancers is to take the Vestige Pact Warlock, with a certain thematically appropriate array of powers (Hand of Blight, by the by, makes an excellent "necro-lock" at-will choice), then build into the God Fragment (which fits really well for a 4e Athasian Necromancer) paragon path and climax with the Archlich epic destiny, changing all of the keywords from "Arcane" to "Shadow". Like the title says, would you allow this? The way I'm seeing it, this character no longer defiles when he casts spells - not just in the sense of being unable to use the benefits of Arcane Defiling, but defiling period.
#2 ian.thomson Sep 04, 2010 19:30:20	The PCs are special, and 2e DS's necromancers were sorta inbetween 4e's shadow necromancers, and the vestige pact warlocks. I'd just go with the vestige pact warlock, and maybe redo the character later on as a hybrid. There is a "psionic defiling" paragon feat that lets you defile with psionic powers, I would guess maybe they'll add "shadow defiling" at some point? Maybe in the shadow heroes book, or in Dragon. If not, it's easy enough to include, and the only reason they probably didn't include it in the DSCG was because the only shadow class so far is DDI subscriber only (and well, defiling just doesn't work with martial or primal, and divine is gone).
#3 Mist-Bound Sep 04, 2010 19:56:21	I may have been unclear... I don't want to defile with this character, but I'm worried if I can get away with explaining that he can't defile when he's not using a "real" Shadow class.
#4 Pennarin Sep 04, 2010 20:36:38	Wait, explain that again?
#5 ian.thomson Sep 04, 2010 20:53:21	Oh, well, that's easy enough, just don't use the completely optional power that you have to choose to use to defile. You can use all your warlock powers, just don't use arcane defiling. If you wanted a reason that was both mechanical and fluff, you could say that the vestiges you work with were preservers and wouldn't support defiling.