The Necropact
The Necropact is a specialized clerical sub-class dedicated to the study and containment of undead. As part of their training, Necropacts develop a connection to the negative material plane, which grants them certain abilities and immunities that their clerical brethren do not possess. Necropacts are well respected by society, and given a little bit of distance—rumors of their abilities and what they do make some uneasy to be around them, but all understand that they serve several useful and protective purposes.
Often, a Necropact will be called upon by members of the guard to help in solving murders, as the Necropact can speak with the dead. This association with the law enforcement establishment in Gorn ensures that the Necropact Academy will stay open for a long time to come. Currently, the Academy has been operating for several generations, and rumor has it that the original founders are still teaching there. Among the populace, stories of undead staff members in the school abound, and such stories are not dispelled by the school’s policy of keeping non-students off the campus. Visitors to the campus are rare, and usually on official government business. It’s become a game among some of the younger students to ‘freak the mundanes’ and behave in strange and frightening manners in public, just to enhance the school’s reputation.
Potential Necropacts enter the academy at a young age, usually around the ages of seven or eight. Early years there are very close to regular schooling, except that students are taught how to connect to the negative material plane at this time. The real lessons—the ones involving fighting undead and controlling them--begin a few years later. Much of a student’s time is split between arms training and book learning. Necropacts receive less intensive training than regular fighters do, concentrating their efforts on fighting the unliving. There aren’t many individuals than can boast better ability in combating the undead than a Necropact.
Necropacts are similar to clerics only in the sense of having a connection to a power outside the Prime Material Plane. The academy does not preach religion, and individual beliefs are left up to the student, although frowned upon if the student’s beliefs interfere with their schooling. There have been instances of dropout for emotional or religious reasons, but not often. Students are kept very busy, and there’s little time for practicing religion outside of study.
Necropacts are taught how to combat and control undead. Part of this schooling includes instruction in the creation of undead—Mummies, Vampires, Liches and all other manner of unliving entities are critiqued, along with the burial rites and practices of a great number of cultures, from ancient to present. There’s just enough Theology in the teaching to help a student understand the reasons why a particular undead may be terrorizing an area, and possibly rectify the situation, putting the creature to it’s eternal rest. Sometimes, though, it becomes necessary to simply destroy the undead in more conventional manners.
Normally, students reside at the academy, but sometimes they do travel, joining adventuring groups. Often, a Necropact will accompany a group if there are undead to destroy, or new undead to study. Newer students, however, are expected to spend some time ‘in the field’...whether that is doing service in a town, or traveling with a party is up to the student.
As a Necropact gains in experience, his or her connection to the Negative Material Plane grows in strength, and with it, their abilities increase. Due to this connection, the Necropact also receives a number of drawbacks:
Necropacts gain some sort of cosmetic physical change, making it easy for people to recognize them for what they are. Common changes are very pale skin, oddly colored eyes, small horns, etc.
Also, Necropacts are susceptible to the following spells: Detect Evil and Protection from Evil (Cleric 1), Protection from Evil 10’ radius (Cleric 4), Dispel Evil (Cleric 5), and Holy Word (Cleric 7). In the case of Dispel Evil and Holy Word, the Necropact is forced to flee from the caster, since he or she cannot go to the negative plane. In addition to these affects, the Necropact may be turned by a cleric of sufficient power, as an undead of equivalent hit dice. For a cleric to control them, they must better the Necropact in a contest of willpower (Wisdom + Level + 1d20, higher score wins). Necropacts cannot be outright destroyed in this manner. Holy Water does 2-8 damage to the Necropact, although he or she may not be evil.
Necropacts get d8 hit points, and gain 2 hit points per level after the thirteenth. All races can be Necropacts except Type 2 Humans, Half-Ogres, Bahkaruh, Styger, Lizard Men, and Ghoules. Dwarven or Elven Necropacts are rare. Necropacts tend toward Neutral and lawful alignments, shying away from Chaos. Their connection to the negative plane makes a good-aligned Necropact very rare, if not impossible. The most common alignments for this class are True Neutral and Lawful Neutral.
Abilities the Necropact receives, by level are:
1) +2 to hit versus Undead/Animated opponents. +1 Damage per level versus Undead/Animated opponents. Immunity to undead paralysis attacks. At this level, Necropacts may Consecrate the ground as the clerical spell, in order to put the undead to rest.
2) The Necropact may detect undead or other creatures possessing Negative Plane energies up to 60’ away, and may ‘feel’ how strong this energy is, possibly identifying those detected.
3) Gain the ability to affect undead as a cleric two levels lower. Immunity to undead fear attacks.
4) May Speak with Undead, as the clerical Speak with Dead spell, without limit. Answers are limited by the undead creature’s intellect, but language is not a barrier to the Necropact. They also may hit undead that require magical weapons to hit at this level.
5) The Necropact may Animate Dead (cleric 5) as if he or she were a Cleric two levels lower, a number of times a day per level. (3 undead 3 times a day/level at level 5).
6) The Necropact may energize his or her weapon with Negative energy, doing a bonus to damage equal to the Necropact’s level, up to a number of times equal to his or her level/day. This damage may affect creatures needing magical weapons to hit, even if the weapon itself does no damage. However, if the Necropact misses his intended target, the energy discharge still goes off, and the Necropact takes damage equal to his level. Also, the Necropact is immune to the effects of undead aging attacks.
7) The Necropact may animate a Ghoul, and control it. The Necropact may animate an additional Ghoul every other level after this one (9th, 11th, 13th, etc.). Also, the Necropact gains the ability to see the life energies of living creatures, as some undead may, to a distance of 60’, even in total darkness.
8) The Necropact may animate a Shadow, as above. Additional Shadows may be animated at 10th, 12th, 14th, etc. They also gain immunity to sleep, charm, and hold spells, similar to some undead.
9) The Necropact gains the ability to absorb hit points from another creature with a touch. With a successful to hit roll for a barehanded attack, the Necropact may drain away a number of hit points equal to his current level, adding them to his or her own. These are ‘buffer’ hit points, and are subtracted from first. Hit points absorbed that exceed the Necropact’s normal hit point total are eventually lost, fading within 2-8 turns. This ability may be used a number of times a day equal to half the Necropact’s level, rounded down. (4 times, at this level.)
10) The Necropact may animate a Ghast, as above. Also, the Necropact becomes resistant to cold based attacks, taking only one-half damage, as a Vampire does.
11) The Necropact may animate a Wight, as above. They also take one-half damage from lightning, in a similar fashion to a Lich’s resistance.
12) The Necropact may animate a Wraith, as above. At this level, the Necropact is immune to level-draining abilities that the more powerful undead possess.
13) The Necropact now has the ability to construct Mummies, aid with the process for becoming a Lich, and construct other special types of undead that require time to create. With the exception of Liches, these undead will be under the control of the Necropact until they are destroyed, or the Necropact dies.
Due to the connection to the Negative material plane, it is increasingly likely that a Necropact, upon his or her death, will become an undead. The type of undead the Necropact becomes is dependent on the level of the Necropact at death. At first level, there is a 25% chance at first level of the Necropact becoming undead, with the likelihood increasing 5% per level, to a maximum of 95%. There is also an increasing likelihood that the Necropact will retain his or her own self-will once they become undead. This likelihood begins at 4th level, and is equal to the Necropact’s Wisdom score, as a percentage. This percentage increases at 5% per level after the 4th. Necropacts that die cannot return as special or created undead types like Mummies, Liches, or Vampires or the like, without being made into them specifically.
Necropacts fight as clerics of equal level. At 7th level, Necropacts get 3 attacks every 2 rounds versus Undead and creatures with negative plane energy, and at 13th level, they get 2 attacks a round versus undead and creatures with negative plane energy, and 3 attacks every 2 rounds against all other opponents. Necropacts have no restrictions as to what weapons and armor they can use, but usually carry at least one weapon that has a wooden shaft, like an axe, mace, spear, or the like. Some Necropacts gleefully carry a scythe, and it is a kind of inside joke about being so close to death.
Necropact Weapon Proficiency: initial weapons: 3, non-proficiency penalty: -3, additional weapons: 1/3
The Following nonweapon proficiencies are possessed by the Necropact: Literacy in common tongue, Monster Lore: Undead, Monster Lore: Undead Creation, Lore: Theology, History, and Lore: Negative Material Plane.
In order to be a Necropact, a character must have a minimum strength of 9, a minimum wisdom of 12, and a Constitution of at least 12. Necropacts gain no additional experience for extraordinary stats.
Necropacts advance as follows:
Experience Points Level 8-sided dice for accumulated HP
0-1750 1 1
1751-3500 2 2
3501-7000 3 3
7001-15,000 4 4
15,001-31,250 5 5
31,250-62,500 6 6
62,501-123,000 7 7
123,001-237,500 8 8
237,501-475,000 9 9
475,001-715,000 10 10
715,001-950,000 11 11
950,001-1,185,000 12 11+2
1,185,001-1,420,000 13 11+4
235,000 experience points per level for each additional level after the thirteenth.
Necropacts gain 2 h.p. per level after the 11th.