Necromancer sub-class

Prime ability: Wisdom or Intelligence

Necromancers are made, not born. They enter upon their morbid path in response to some trauma: a chronic inability in the past to protect themselves, an ancient wrong done to their family, a rejection by society. Or, they are drawn to necromancy for power, or on a quest for understanding of the nature of time and finality.

A necromancer may gain hit points from restorative potions and spells or by being targeted with negative energy. Given his expertise, a necromancer may use either positive or negative energy to heal himself.

Party Boon at Necromancer 1: A necromancer is immune to level- and ability-drain attacks, and his companions get a bonus equal to the necromancer's level on saving throws against necromantic effects. If the effect doesn't permit a saving throw, the presence of a necromancer permits one at a minus four penalty.

Personal Boon at Necromancer 3: At third level the Necromancer gains Advantage on saving throws against necromantic spells and a +1 on each die for casting necromantic spells that have dice in the spell description.

At Necromancer 2, the necromancer gains the at-will Life Tap ability. His touch can siphon the life force of others to bolster his own. As an action, the necromancer can make a melee spell attack against a living creature, dealing necrotic damage equal to 1d8 + his Wisdom or Intelligence modifier on a hit, gaining temporary hit points equal to the amount of necrotic damage dealt. If this feature kills the creature, twice as many temporary hit points are gained from using this feature.

At Necromancer 3, Life Tap deals 2d8+Wis/Int mod, and can be delivered either via a touch attack or a ranged touch attack of up to thirty feet.

At Necromancer 4, Life Tap deals 3d8+Wis/Int modifier, and can be delivered by layering it on top of another spell effect (magic missile, finger of death, etc).

At the 5th and final level of Necromancer, the necromancer understands intuitively the processes that lead to lichdom, and Life Tap damage rises to 6d8+Wis/Int modifier.

Note: it is rumored that there are higher echelons of power within the ranks of necromancy, but that only vampires and liches may climb those ranks. If true, then there exists necromancer levels 6 through 10.

A necromancer may gain temporary hit points above and beyond his normal HP maximum in an amount equal to the product of X and his overall character level, where X is the sum of his Intelligence and Wisdom modifiers. Example: Uvron Alygrean Kesloril is a FGT 4/MAG 13/NEC 9 with Wis 16 and Int 18. Maximum temporary HP beyond normal maximum is 130.