D&D: Five Spells for Necromancers Who Don’t Want to Raise the Dead
Just because you’ve studied the mystic arts of Necromancy doesn’t mean you want to raise the dead. These spells command life itself!
Necromancers get a bad rap in D&D. Sure, they’re just as likely to be out there raising the dead for some dark army as they are to cast create food & water. But the point is they care.
So what if the world can’t see that their power rivals that of the gods themselves? Even if they’re not raising skeletons or corpses to a cruel mockery of life. Their power is absolute. And you don’t have to summon a single skeleton to do it. After all, Necromancy provides so much more in the way of magical powers. Here are a few favorites that belong in any master necromancer’s spellbook!
Negative Energy Flood
Negative Energy Flood does two of the things that Necromancers do well: it deals lots of damage and raises the dead left in its wake. Deal 5d12 and if your target dies, it rises as a zombie and chases down whatever target is closest to it. Damage and potentially a zombie–not a bad bet for a 5th-level spell.
Magic Jar
This spell takes 1 minute to cast so it’ll require prep time to set up – but this is a perfect spell for absolutely controlling a fight. As long as you keep your magic jar within 100ft of the area of the fight, you can take control of creatures with your soul – get a Cleric to debuff them, and then you can possess creatures and turn your enemy’s strengths against them, or once you start running out of foes, stand still while your allies make our host body helpless for some coup de gras party times. Just make sure to hop out before your host body dies.
Cause Fear
This spell will end a fight when used against the weak-minded. Cause Fear will ruin an enemy’s day, giving it disadvantage on everything, and preventing that foe from moving towards you. Use it to lock down a foe, or hold off an area of the fight.
Eyebite
Like Cause Fear but on steroids, Eyebite has the added benefit of sending creatures that are terrified of you running. Not only do they get a powerful debuff, but they must waste their actions running or cowering, which keeps your party alive and your eyes chompy.
Enervation
This spell is best if you’ve got bonus actions that you can use, or undead minions to fight on your behalf – you basically blast someone with negative energy and if your spell succeeds, you continue doing damage to them until they die or you do – but you’ll go last as you’re draining their health. It eats up your action, but again, it’s powerful damage every turn and will straight up kill a foe if left unchecked.
Clone
Finally the ultimate Necromancy spell. Forget True Resurrection. Clone is the spell that gives you power unlimited. Build a backup plan wherever you go – this spell lets you create a cloned body (or a proto-body) that you can store in suspended animation indefinitely. And when you die, your soul will flee to the body, entering it and coming back to life in exactly the state you were in when you created the cloned body. Have an annoying way of turning up no matter what happens – this spell is great for heroes and villains alike!
Happy Adventuring!
