While one would think that dread necromancer is simply a necromancy focused wizard, that is certainly not the case. If anything, they are more similar to sorcerers than wizards using their charisma as a casting stat and being a spontaneous caster instead of a prepared caster. It's also recommended to play this class with a humanoid as they eventually undergo the lich's apotheosis and become the devastating undead dedicated spellcaster they envisioned themselves as.

Role: Spell Utility

Characteristics: Arcane caster focused on Necromancy gradually turning into a lich

Source: Heroes of Horror

Game Rule Information

The Dread Necromancer has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Charisma for Casting, Constitution for HP and Bulk, Dexterity for AC purposes

Alignment: Any nongood

Hit Die: d6

Starting Gold: 3d4x10

Class Skills

The Dread Necromancer's class skills are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Disguise (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge(arcana) (Int), Knowledge(religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Spot (Wis).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Dread Necromancer.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Dread Necromancer is proficient with all simple weapons and with one martial weapon of her choice, all light armor but not shields

Spellcasting: A dread necromancer casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the dread necromancer's spell list. Like a sorcerer, she can cast any spell she knows without preparing it ahead of time. When a dread necromancer gains access to a new level of spells, she automatically knows all the spells for that level given on the dread necromancer's spell list. Dread necromancers also have the option of adding to their existing spell list through their advanced learning ability as they increase in level (see below).

To cast a spell, a dread necromancer must have a Charisma score of 10 + the spell's level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a dread necromancer's spell is 10 + Caster Level. Like other spellcasters, a dread necromancer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given in Table 1-1: Dread Necromancer Progression. In addition, she receives bonus spells for a high Charisma score.

Charnel TouchSu: Negative energy flows through a dread necromancer's body, concentrating in her hands. At will, but no more than once per round, she can make a melee touch attack against a living foe that deals 1d8 points of damage, +1 per four class levels. This touch heals undead creatures, restoring 1 hit point per touch, +1 per four class levels.

A dread necromancer can use the spectral hand spell to deliver this attack from a distance.

Rebuke UndeadSu: A dread necromancer can rebuke or command undead creatures by channeling negative energy through her body. See the cleric class feature.

Lich Body: Starting at 2nd level, a dread necromancer begins her journey into undeath. The first symptom is her body's increased resilience to physical harm, giving her damage reduction. She gains DR 2/bludgeoning and magic. As the dread necromancer increases in level, this DR increases in effectiveness, to DR 4 at 7th level, DR 6 at 11th level, and DR 8 at 15th level.

Negative Energy BurstSu: Beginning at 3rd level, a dread necromancer gains the ability to emit a burst of negative energy from her body, harming living creatures within 5 feet of her. This burst deals 1d4 points of damage per class level. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 her class level + Cha modifier) reduces damage by half. Undead creatures within this burst are healed the same amount of hit points as the damage she deals to living creatures. A dread necromancer can use this ability once per day at 3rd level, and one additional time per day for every five levels she attains beyond 3rd (2/day at 8th level, 3/day at 13th level, and 4/day at 18th level).

Advanced LearningEx: At 4th level, a dread necromancer can add a new spell to her list, representing the result of personal study and experimentation. The spell must be a cleric or wizard spell of the necromancy school, and of a level no higher than that of the highest-level spell the dread necromancer already knows. Once a new spell is selected, it is added to that dread necromancer's spell list and can be cast just like any other spell she knows. If a spell is both a cleric spell and a wizard spell, use the lower of the two spell levels (when different) to determine what level the spell is for a dread necromancer.

A dread necromancer gains an additional new spell at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level.

Mental Bastion: Starting at 4th level, a dread necromancer gains a +2 bonus on saving throws made to resist sleep, stunning, paralysis, poison, or disease. This bonus increases to +4 at 14th level.

Fear AuraSu: Beginning at 5th level, a dread necromancer radiates a 5-foot-radius fear aura as a free action. Enemies in the area must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 her class level + her Cha modifier) or become shaken. A creature who successfully saves cannot be affected by that dread necromancer's fear aura for 24 hours.

Scabrous TouchSu: Starting at 6th level, once per day a dread necromancer can use her charnel touch to inflict disease on a creature she touches. This ability works like the contagion spell, inflicting the disease of her choice immediately, with no incubation period, unless the target makes a successful Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 her class level + her Cha modifier). The DC for subsequent saving throws to resist the effects of the disease depends on the disease inflicted; see Disease for details.

Activating this class feature is a swift action. The effect lasts until the dread necromancer makes a successful charnel touch attack. The spectral hand spell enables a dread necromancer to deliver a scabrous touch attack from a distance.

A dread necromancer can use this ability once per day at 6th level, twice per day at 11th level, and three times per day at 16th level.

Summon Familiar: At 7th level or anytime thereafter, a dread necromancer can obtain a familiar. The familiar she acquires is more powerful than a standard wizard's or sorcerer's familiar, but it is unequivocally evil. The player of a dread necromancer character chooses one of the following creatures: imp (devil), quasit (demon), vargouille, or ghostly visage.

A dread necromancer's familiar gains the usual benefits given familiars, with two exceptions. Its type does not change, and it does not gain the exceptional ability to speak with other creatures of its kind.

A dread necromancer's familiar can use its ability to deliver touch spells such as its master's charnel touch, scabrous touch, or enervating touch attack. The master must use a standard action to imbue the touch attack into her familiar.

Undead Mastery: All undead creatures created by a dread necromancer who has reached 8th level or higher gain a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and Dexterity and 2 additional hit points per Hit Die.

In addition, when a dread necromancer uses the animate dead spell to create undead, she can control 4 + her Charisma bonus HD worth of undead creatures per class level (rather than the 4 HD per level normally granted by the spell).

Similarly, when a dread necromancer casts the control undead spell, the spell targets up to (2 + her Cha bonus) HD/level of undead creatures, rather than the 2 HD/level normally granted by the spell.

Negative Energy Resistance: Beginning at 9th level, a dread necromancer gains a +4 bonus on saving throws made to resist negative energy effects, including energy drain, some ability drain, and inflict spells.

Light Fortification: Starting at 10th level, a dread necromancer gains 25% resistance to critical hits; this is the equivalent of the light fortification armor special ability. At 17th level, this fortification increases to 50%.

Enervating TouchSu: When a dread necromancer reaches 12th level, she gains the ability to bestow negative levels when she uses her charnel touch attack. Each day, she can bestow a total number of negative levels equal to one-half her class level, but no more than two negative levels with a single touch. The saving throw to remove the negative levels has a DC of 10 + 1/2 her class level + her Charisma modifier.

Activating this class feature is a swift action. The effect lasts until she makes a successful charnel touch attack. A dread necromancer can use the spectral hand spell to deliver this attack from a distance.

Beginning at 17th level, the number of negative levels a dread necromancer can bestow per day increases to equal her class level.

Craft Wondrous Item: At 19th level, the dread necromancer gains Craft Wondrous Item as a bonus feat. This helps her prepare the phylactery required to become a lich.

Lich Transformation: When a dread necromancer attains 20th level, she undergoes a hideous transformation and becomes a lich. Her type changes to undead, and she gains all the traits of the undead. She no longer has a Constitution score, all her existing Hit Dice become d12s, and she must reroll her hit points. A dread necromancer need not pay experience points or gold to create her phylactery.

A dread necromancer who is not humanoid does not gain this class feature.

Table 1-1: Dread Necromancer Progression

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Charnel touch, rebuke undead	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Lich body DR 2	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Negative energy burst 1/day	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Advanced learning, mental bastion +2	6	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Fear aura	6	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Scabrous touch 1/day	7	5	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Lich body DR 4, summon familiar	7	6	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	Advanced learning, negative energy burst 2/day, undead mastery	8	7	5	3	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Negative energy resistance	8	7	6	4	—	—	—	—	—
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Light fortification 25%	9	8	7	5	3	—	—	—	—
11th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Lich body DR 6, scabrous touch 2/day	9	8	7	6	4	—	—	—	—
12th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Advanced learning, enervating touch	10	9	8	7	5	3	—	—	—
13th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Negative energy burst 3/day	10	9	8	7	6	4	—	—	—
14th	+7/+2	+4	+4	+9	Mental bastion +4	11	10	9	8	7	5	3	—	—
15th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+9	Lich body DR 8	11	10	9	8	7	6	4	—	—
16th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	Advanced learning, scabrous touch 3/day	12	11	10	9	8	7	5	3	—
17th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	Enervating touch, light fortification 50%	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	4	—
18th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Negative energy burst 4/day	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	5	3
19th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Craft wondrous item	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	4
20th	+10/+5	+6	+6	+12	Advanced learning, lich transformation	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	6

Bonus Spells

In 3.6e, spellcasters who have a limited number of spells per day are granted additional spell slots based on their casting stat modifier according to the table below. In order to receive the bonus spell slots, they must already be able to cast spells of that level.

Table 1-2: Bonus Spells

Skill Bonus	Level 0	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5	Level 6	Level 7	Level 8	Level 9
1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	2	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0
3	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	0	0	0
4	4	4	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	0
5	5	5	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
6	6	6	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
7	7	7	4	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
8	8	8	4	3	2	2	1	1	1	1
9	9	9	5	3	2	2	2	1	1	1
10	10	10	5	3	3	2	2	1	1	1
11	11	11	6	4	3	2	2	1	1	1