Monday, February 7, 2011

The Necromancers of Dwimmermount (Part III)

My apologies for the delay in this final post in my series about the necromancers of Yethlyreom from my Dwimmermount campaign. It took me so long to post it because, truth be told, I only ever came up with a single new spell for the necromancers and that seemed too few to justify a whole post. So, I racked my brain trying to come up with some more to pad out this entry and failed. Once again, my hypocrisy is revealed: I was trying to come up with new gaming material to meet a publishing demand rather than a gaming one. Sure, posting to a blog isn't the same thing as publishing a new book, but the principle remains the same. I am always going on about play being the proper engine of creation of game materials and I wasn't even heeding my own advice.

So, without further ado, here's the single spell I created for the necromancers. The text in the quote box below is hereby designated Open Game Content via the Open Game License.
Necromantic Healing
Level: 2
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 turn

A magic-user who casts this spell and then makes a successful melee attack against an opponent deals 1d6+1 points of damage per the highest spell level he is capable of casting. For example, a 5th-level magic-user deals 3d6+3 points of damage, while a 7th-level magic-user deals 4d6+4. In addition, the magic-user is healed for an amount equal to the damage dealt. A saving throw is permitted, but it, like the attack roll, may be foregone if the target willingly submits to the effects of the spell.

8 comments:

  1. This spell is also known as Vampiric Touch in D&D.

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  2. Of...." The suspense is killing me! ;)

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  3. Why waive the attack instead of the saving throw? Hitting a willing victim should be easy but their body wouldn't necessarily willingly transfer life energy?

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  4. Hitting a willing victim should be easy but their body wouldn't necessarily willingly transfer life energy?

    That was more or less the idea at the time I created this, yeah.

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  5. Here's an idea for Necromancers:

    They can interrogate the spirits of creatures that died nearby, letting them know what predators are in the area. In game terms, they get to look at the wandering monster table. There might be some restrictions for special encounters - perhaps they only get to learn the type of creature.

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  6. So, I racked my brain trying to come up with some more to pad out this entry and failed.

    The more I think about it, the less I think specialized magic-users need specific spells. They could get appropriate spells at a reduced level (similar to the AD&D2 idea of an extra spell per level) or they could just be the only ones with access to certain spells, a more B/X touch.

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  7. When a necromancer casts Necromantic Healing, can he gain more healing than the target had HP?

    It seems okay if he could; it might only take 5 HP to deal a fatal blow to a low level NPC/kritter, but the necromancer is an expert at harvesting/extracting every drop of their life force.

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  8. When a necromancer casts Necromantic Healing, can he gain more healing than the target had HP?

    I hadn't originally imagined it could grant hit points above and beyond the necromancer's maximum, but maybe I should reconsider that.

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