New Wizard School: Necromancer of The Yew

Not all necromancers are bound to raising armies of the undead and using them to overwhelm and dominate others. There are some who seek to give the dead their proper reverence and respect, that serve as gatekeepers between the borders of life and death - both through the studies of magic but also through medicine. These necromancers - the shepherds of the dead - seek to use necromancy to curtail the power of the undead and see that those who have passed are granted the proper respect, especially in those lands where the undead are far too common.

These necromancers are easily recognised through the staves they carry - they are all made out of yew, usually gnarled but still serviceable as a staff. They see the yew tree as a symbol of the borders between life and death, hence their name, and see it as their solemn duties to care for the living and the dead alike, often walking battlefields to raise slain soldiers and help them get home to their families for a proper and dignified burial.

Medical Prodigy

At 2nd level, you have completed your studies of medicine and demonstrate great skill. You gain proficiency and expertise with Medicine, and proficiency with either the herbalism kit or alchemist's supplies. You may choose to use your Intelligence modifier for Medicine checks instead of your Wisdom modifier.

Hand of the Yew

Also at 2nd level, you gain a small modicum of power that helps you gatekeep the boundaries between life and death. You learn the Spare the Dying cantrip, and your choice of either the Chill Touch or Toll the Dead cantrips. These cantrips count as wizard cantrips for you, but don't count towards your number of cantrips known.

The Last Walk Home

At 6th level, you gain greater power to help the dead reach their proper resting place. You add the spells Animate Dead and Speak With Dead to your spellbook. Additionally, any undead you create with a necromancy spell gain the following abilities:

The creature adds your proficiency bonus to its armour class

You may speak freely with it as if it were subject to the Speak With Dead spell

If you do not reassert control over it (as per Animate Dead), it ceases to be animate and becomes a corpse or skeleton or dissipates (as appropriate).

The creature unerringly knows the location of the place it called home when it was alive; in the absence of any other orders, the creature will attempt to make its way home. If the creature arrives home, it remains animate until the next sunrise, whereupon any magic that kept it reanimated/undead ceases.

Bone Prosthesis

Also at 6th level, you learn a new way to cast Animate Dead - you can use it to create fully animate prosthetic limbs made out of bone. These limbs are fully integrated into their recipient and are capable of movement under the recipient's will as if it were their normal limb, and you have advantage on all checks relating to creating and maintaing orthotics or prosthetics.

Will of The Yew

At 10th level you gain strength against the negative energy that you're used to working with, and can even work it against undead. You gain resistance to necrotic damage, and have advantage on death saving throws. Your spells also ignore resistance to necrotic damage, and when you deal necrotic damage you add your Intelligence modifier to the total.

Submit to the Yew

At 14th level, you learn how to disrupt the undead and either weaken or destroy them. You add the Finger of Death spell to your spellbook; if your target is undead, it has disadvantage on the Constitution save. If you target an intelligent undead with this spell, they must also make a Charisma save against your spell save DC; if they fail, you immediately learn the knowledge you need to destroy them permanently (such as the location of a vampire's resting place, or how to find and destroy a lich's phylactery).