NecroMaster - Wiz(26), ASC(3), PM(1)

Description

The NecroMaster is an Arcanist who has pushed herself to the very edges of her abilities to muster the most powerful and difficult to resist spells. Boasting unholy spell penetration and DCs that could knock down a Paladin, this is really a character who shines on Persistent worlds where enemy saves will scale with your ability.

Pro

• Necromancy DCs as high as 41, with others as high as 38
• A variety of powerful spells, including direct damage, save-or-die, and mass debuffs
• Access to Epic Spell: Vampiric Feast and one other of your choosing
• Spell Resistance is a breeze with Epic Spell Penetration and a natural 30 caster level

Con

• High-save builds can partially overcome your best spells
• Enemies with Immunities to Death magic and Necromancy can really throw a wrench in your build
• Saves are rather poor
• Terrible BAB

Character Creation

	Initial Values	Final Values
STR	8	8
DEX	12	12
CON	14	14
INT	20	30
WIS	10	10
CHA	8	8
Base attack bonus		14
Fortitude save
Reflex save
Will save
Spell resistance
Hit Points
Natural AC

• Race: Sun elf
• Classes: Wizard 26, Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 3, Pale Master 1
• Cleric Domains: -
• Build Nature: PvP
• Alignment: Any Non-good
• Deity: -

Sun Elf

• +2 Int -2 Con

I prefer to play non-ECL races due to ease of leveling and server restrictions. However, any race that receives a bonus to Intelligence will work fantasticaly. This build is such that no race will suffer multiclassing penalties. Drow is a great choice due to the Spell Resistance, and Tieflings can start with a higher Constitution.

Stats

• 20 Int

These can really be played around with. The essential part here is that you have 20 Int.

Wizard

• Specialization: Illusion

Specializing in Illusion means that you must give up the school of Enchantment, a school that is generally considered weak. Necromancy, odd as it may seem, would be an incredibly poor choice due to losing Divination (Premonition). If you feel you really must keep Enchantment then you can opt to specialize in a school that loses Conjuration. Conjuration is a great school to have, but greatly loses its power as you near level 20 and beyond, and is hardly of use into Epic levels.

Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep

• Why?

We pick up ASoC to get access to Improved Empower Spell. Many people swear by all 10 levels of Arcane Scholar, but I find Maximize to be a waste of spell slots and quicken to be even more so. An empowered fireball does an average of 52.5 damage, while a maximized fireball does 60 damage. That doesn't seem like a fair trade to me. Improved Empower Spell allows us to get Empowered Horrid Wilting for 30d6 damage over a colossal area.

Palemaster

• Why?

The build leaves us with 1 spare level in which nothing will come of Wizard or Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep. So instead, we fill it with this to gain continued spellcasting and a +2 bonus to your natural armor for a little boost in your defenses.

Notes

Now, to really see the true power of this build you have to look at her spell DCs. Here's a little math for you.

Intelligence 30 + 10 (Item) = +15
Epic Spell Focus (Necromancy) = +3
Epic Spellcasting = +3
Spellcasting Prodigy = +1

For a total of DC +22.

What does this mean? Well, your Empowered Horrid Wilting requires a Fortitude save of DC 40 and your Wail of the Banshee a save of DC 41.

Character Progression

CL	Class	Feat	Bonus/Class Feats	Attributes
1	Wizard 1	Spellcasting Prodigy	School: Illusion, Scribe Scroll, Summon Familiar
2	Wizard 2
3	Wizard 3	Skill Focus (Concentration)
4	Wizard 4			+1 Int
5	Wizard 5	Empower Spell
6	Wizard 6	Skill Focus (Spellcraft)
7	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 1		Maximize Spell
8	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 2		Spell Knowledge +1	+1 Int
9	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 3	Extend Spell	Improved Empower Spell
10	Pale Master 1		+2 Natural Armor
11	Wizard 7
12	Wizard 8	Spell Focus (Necromancy)		+1 Int
13	Wizard 9
14	Wizard 10	Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy)
15	Wizard 11	Persistent Spell
16	Wizard 12			+1 Int
17	Wizard 13
18	Wizard 14	Toughness
19	Wizard 15	Spell Penetration
20	Wizard 16			+1 Int
21	Wizard 17	Epic Spell Focus (Necromancy)
22	Wizard 18
23	Wizard 19	Great Intellect		+1 Int
24	Wizard 20	Epic Spell: Vampiric Feast		+1 Int
25	Wizard 21	Great Intellect		+1 Int
26	Wizard 22
27	Wizard 23	Great Intellect, Epic Spell: Epic Gate		+1 Int
28	Wizard 24			+1 Int
29	Wizard 25	Greater Spell Penetration
30	Wizard 26	Epic Spell Penetration

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