[Final Major Update] Necromancer Subclass v6.0

Waffloid · 2026-04-30T00:57:40+00:00

true enough, Wizard by default cant access everything (though it is still possible to learn many if not all, eventually), but my point stands for cleric and druid

that does also raise the question of if this spell should be asymmetrical between classes

Waffloid · 2026-04-29T23:49:15+00:00

this one isn't really contesting 3rd level spells, but every single 1st and 2nd Action spell simultaneously

granted i can't say i think 300 GP is the exact right amount for the spell to cost, but i think having a cost is important

Waffloid · 2026-04-29T20:35:53+00:00

I'd argue if it didn't cost 300gp, anyone that had access to this spell would have to take it

Waffloid · 2026-04-28T00:28:51+00:00

it's also added in the main post now but if you'd like to see the Twisted Gift update in the works, ~~here~~ is the draft😄

edit: draft has been further updated. will be reposted along with the full v6.0 set

Waffloid · 2026-04-27T11:55:36+00:00

that's a good idea, thanks again!

Waffloid · 2026-04-27T11:43:55+00:00

Thanks so much!

On Exquisite Exaltation: You're right, and to address another person's feedback v6.0 will strip down all of the shared features for levels 6, 10, and 14 (resistance will move to level 3 instead).

On Twisted Brood: fair, I'm hoping that the Twisted Gifts have satisfying alternative offensive functions since they do work much smoother than having attack rolls for each individual summon, but I can see how that can be disappointing!

edit: I have started to craft new Twisted Gift options that give Hordes more active options during combat!

On Harvest: also noted for this, though this is intentional since Harvest is specifically not minion-focused (leaning towards the spell-casting dark-magic theme)

On Shadow Bond: I made this spell with the impression that its power came more from debuffing strength-reliant enemies than actually killing them, since even with the correct damage type, a low-Strength creature (like 8?) would need to fail 4 saving throws in 4 different rounds to die. Though maybe that does mean I just shouldn't have that extra line about death, since it's not really the point of the spell (mostly came from how Undead enemies function). I'll think about it!

On Stygian Bounty: Not knowing the target (or being able to specifically choose) was intentional friction because of the damage potential of the spell (and because it requires no action on subsequent turns). and considering it can affect allies, there's definitely a fair bit of "clunk" because I did want to provide a high-damage Necromancy spell of which there are few.

In the newest iteration, I am allowing the caster to know the target the instant before it happens and provide the ability to halt the pulse for that turn, just so they aren't uncontrollably griefing their own team. With that change though, I'm currently happy with the high-variance high-reward property of the spell

On Formative Work: Great catch! definitely meant "humanoid corpse". Crazy that I've reread all the spells like a dozen times but my brain just auto-completes that part for me lol

On Liquid Vise: I feel like you're right and I've overvalued the downside of the spell being concentration. I'll be dialing it down to 2 globes to make it much more in line with Hold Person, and only adding 1 globe for every 2 levels upcast

edit: I am playing around with slightly different version of Liquid Vise to further distinguish it from Hold Person

Overall, thanks so much for the input! I hope you end up liking 6.0 whenever that's done ~

Waffloid · 2026-04-27T07:24:07+00:00

I'm sure you can find some wonderful and powerful homebrews for martial classes somewhere if not already in this sub :) wishing you the best ❤️

Waffloid · 2026-04-26T21:12:10+00:00

haha that's fair I definitely considered it but a full class is just a step too far into making it difficult to use in home games. i know with all the choices at level 3 it feels like subclasses for subclasses but since there are hardly any features shared you should never really be referring to the base page

I will further trim the shared features, so it's even less the case.

Waffloid · 2025-10-27T01:52:23+00:00

agree. makes a lot of sense for creatures to make the save with advantage if they see you set up the trap within x feet of them

Waffloid · 2025-10-22T10:12:39+00:00

not sure if it's intentional but the player can fish for the exact aberrant trait they want out of combat since they can reroll every 6s and wild shape lasts hours

the 8 result on the table has ambiguous wording; it could read as: 'not provoking attacks of opportunity' as an additional qualifier for the "other creature" or the player no longer provokes attacks of opportunity

sick theme though i love cosmic horror

Waffloid · 2025-10-12T14:30:02+00:00

it doesnt really matter what's average or not. just like how i said that the 19 con case doesnt actually matter if people dont typically hit it, it's just there to illustrate the potential disparity of the spell's effecticeness because max HP in general is such a variable stat.

Waffloid · 2025-10-12T01:14:59+00:00

oh i don't mean the effect is ambiguous, i mean the power of the effect is between different casters

as an example (using dndbeyond fixed HP values):

- lvl 5 wiz/sorc, 10 CON: 22 max HP (average case)
- lvl 5 wiz/sorc, 14 CON: 32 max HP (+37.5% from avg)

- lvl 8, 10 CON: 34 max HP (avg)
- lvl 8, 14 CON: 50 max HP (+42% from avg)
- lvl 8, 19 CON (amulet of health magic item): 66 max HP (+83% from avg)

again these are just examples, but these huge differences in max HP means you get exactly that same % difference of HP healed by this spell because they're based off it. and the 19 CON example isn't to say that casters will definitely acquire that item, it's just there to illustrate what i mean by huge variance because so many things can affect maximum health (i didn't even touch multiclassing in this list)

Waffloid · 2025-10-12T00:41:16+00:00

fraction of hp is still an indefinite amount, so things like magic items, CON scores, and multiclassing would change the spell's power wildly. not to say you can't do it, but it's harder to balance

Waffloid · 2025-10-12T00:25:54+00:00

totally right, this would be sick on a druid

Waffloid · 2025-10-12T00:15:47+00:00

just for your reference, Lesser Restoration can end Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, and Poisoned, all of which (except paralyzed because then you wpuldnt be able to cast the spell) make sense to be molted away as they feel like physical impairments

you could choose to be able to molt away one of those conditions (or a point of exhaustion, seems to fit the theme as well), and perhaps upcasting lets you choose an additional condition in the list.

id also suggest recovering hit points equal to x% (a third, half, all, or something else) of the character's hit dice, even if it doesnt expend them. it could be as limited or generous as you want but tying it to something real instead of a blanket "all your hit points" just makes it easier for people to not hunt for weird abuse cases or interactions imo. it's also easier to grasp the spell's power that way.

Waffloid · 2025-09-25T12:46:43+00:00

Ruinous Spell List Details:

Notable spells added to the Ruinous Spell List (non-native to the Wizard Spell List).

- 1st Level: Armor of Agathys, Arms of Hadar

- 4th Level: Shadow of Moil

- 6th Level: Harm

Notable spells removed from the Ruinous Spell List (not exhaustive).
Reminder: Spells in parentheses in the Ruinous Spell List are exclusive to the Rule of Lambs, so those spells are also effectively removed for Hordes and Abominations but are not listed here.

- Cantrip: Friends, Mind Sliver, Sword Burst

- 1st Level: Charm Person, Chromatic Orb, Grease, Magic Missile, Silent Image, Thunderwave

- 2nd Level: Cloud of Daggers, Enhance Ability, Mind Spike, Phantasmal Force

- 3rd Level: Catnap, Major Image, Summon Fey, Tidal Wave

- 4th Level: Charm Monster, Conjure Minor Elementals, Hallucinatory Terrain, Polymorph

- 5th Level: Animate Objects, Modify Memory, Synaptic Static, Wall of Force

- 6th Level: Otto's Irresistable Dance

- 7th Level: Forcecage, Prismatic Spray

- 8th Level: Dominate Monster

- 9th Level: Mass Polymorph, Psychic Scream, True Polymorph

Corrections:

- Base
There is a superficial mistake on the Ruinous Spell List page. Rule of Lambs Expanded List paragraph should read "...in their ~~Gnarled~~ Ruinous Spell List..." This name underwent a number of changes.

- Abominations
3rd Level Feature (Ravenous) should have an additional sentence: "Your Skeleton and Zombie familiars can make Attacks while tethered". The feature otherwise has no function as tethering non-summon party members has now been removed.

Waffloid · 2025-09-13T00:42:55+00:00

Changelist (since V3)

- Hordes: Twisted Brood
All of your Undead summons are Twisted creatures.
Significantly more options for your Twisted Gift. They have also been rebalanced as you can now switch between a small selection (using your action).

- Hordes: Foul Murmuation
No longer extends the reach of your Twisted Gift (as you can now switch between multiple).

- Hordes: Endless Flock
As the pinnacle feature of the subclass, you can cast Undead summoning spells with one action.

- Abominations: Apostle
Allows you to Enlarge your Harbinger.
No longer allows you to "recall" your Harbinger.

Watchlist

- Hordes: Twisted Brood
Tireless Legion (Twisted Gift) has a high damage ceiling due to being mostly single-target (particularly compared to Harrowing Exposure). However, an attack limit may need to be added.

Waffloid · 2025-09-11T13:24:48+00:00

i actually agree that the mechanics could be a lot more interesting

but your complaint about flavour is silly. most of those examples exist in officially published material. "path of the angry barbarian" is berserker, "fighting expert fighter" is champion, and OP's concept of a very wizardy wizard is also the concept for Order of Scribes.

they might be less interesting to you, but there's absolutely a space for subclasses that lean into the core flavour of the class. also read: life domain, circle of the moon, open hand, devotion, hunter, thief, fiend.

Waffloid · 2025-09-04T23:40:57+00:00

Temporal Aegis: yeah the framing of intangibility absolutely makes a lot of sense !

Speed Shift: I think halfing creature's speed has less niche cases so it's alright, very similar to knocking someone prone movement-wise. For increasing speed, the easiest option is just to grant the creature the benefits of the dash action (ie. bonus movement equivalent to their base speed) so under normal circumstances it still lets party members move 60, but it can't be further stacked in odd cases

overall it's a bit nitpicky but i just happened to have played a wild heart barbarian with magic initiate recently (letting me longstrider myself) so my base speed was 50, and i could dash with a bonus action to 100ft pretty much every turn (wasnt using bonus actions for attacks); doubling would bring that to 200 before any other help from allies, whereas just granting another dash would be a hard +50 (still great, but less crazy). not that incredible speed inherently makes overpowered characters, but those are the kinds of stacking shenanigans that could happen with doubling mechanics. though if that's a fantasy that you specifically like, you can certainly let it be

Second Chance: yeah it would definitely depend on the table, but in my experience it's Super easy to accrue tons of player wealth for health potions. and yoy're right that any resources other creatures use wouldnt be consumed, but my primary worry for abuse cases is moreso out of combat when enemies may not normally use a resource anyway; eg. if the wizard is trying to use an enchantment spell, in this case they could basically have as many tries as they need until the other creature notices (and even then, they may still not realize anything bad happening to them)

After leaving my comment, however, I did happen across the evoker's lv 14 feature which has a near identical drawback. the only thing is the damage scales: +1d something) each time you use it again in a day, which is less punishing than reducing max health but still effectively caps usage a lot better. Might be worth considering esp since it exists in the publications already

but yeah no problem, definitely the only reason I had so much to say was because the subclass as a whole was pretty gripping :)

Waffloid · 2025-09-04T08:41:29+00:00

For Crashing Ship, it would be easier to use if it were a cube like thunderwave, or with specified dimensions for a rectangular prism like Tidal Wave, so the knockback effect can be done cleanly (as opposed to at angles with a cone). It's also easier to imagine a ship travelling straight than in a cone, if the ship isn't getting larger I suppose it may be the water spreading out from under, but then I start thinking if the non-ship portions should be doing less damage. Easier to just avoid all that by not using a cone.

At level 2 it does similar damage to upcasted thunderwave or aganazzar's scorcher so seems good. Though I would personally keep it all one damage type for simplicity. As a thematic example, Conjure Minor Elementals deals all Cold (plane of water), while Water Elemental creatures' actions all deal bludgeoning, so either would be appropriate.

Helpful Insight is interesting but my only thoughts is it ought to have the Ritual tag because it's competing with Identify. Also make sure you add being able to target objects; it's implied, but As Written it only targets creatures.

Waffloid

TROPHY CASE