Hallowed Necromancy

Necromancers come in a wide variety of motivations and alignments. Yet some have been dissatisfied with powers offered by the traditional school of necromancy. These wizards sought a different branch of necromantic focus that is more allied with your goals to use necromancy to heal and treat undead like allies rather than minions.

Necromancy Theurge

Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy a necromancy spell into your spell book is halved.

In addition, whenever you add spells to your spellbook, you can treat any necromancy spells from the cleric spell list as wizard spells, but can only add one cleric spell to your spell book whenever you gain a level. The spell must be of a level for which you have spellslots for.

Other wizards cannot copy cleric-only spells from your spell book into their own spellbooks.

Dealing the with the undead

Beginning when you select this school at 2nd level, you learn the spare the dying cantrip, which counts as a wizard cantrip for you. In addition, your spare the dying cantrip can affect undead creatures.

As an action, you can present an arcane focus and summon a wave of magic that effects the undead around you. Once per short rest you may channel the very power of life and death to cause one of the following effects:

Turn Undead: Each undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can only use the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.

Bolster Undead: For 1 minute, each undead you chose within 30 feet of you gains turn resistance equal to your Intelligence modifier. In addition, each undead chosen gains temporary hit points equal to your intelligence modifier and looses any weaknesses it has. If any of the undead you chose is under the effect of Turn Undead, by you or anyone else, it no longer is effected by Turn Undead, but can still be affected by Turn Undead if used afterward; for example you bolster a skeleton that is being turned, that skeleton is no longer under the effects of Turn Undead, but if Turn Undead is used on the same skeleton during bolstering it will then be effected by Turn Undead if it fails its saving throw. Any bolstered undead is immune to the effect of Destroy Undead.

Between life and death

Beginning at 6th level, you can heal 1d4 + your Intelligence (minimum of 1 hit point) modifier to a creature that you stabilize with spare the dying.

One you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

In addition, any undead you create using a spell such as animate dead is of neutral alignment.

Among the undead

Starting at 10th level, your experience and affinity for the boundaries between life and death pull you slightly to undeath. You have advantage on saving throws against disease and resistance to necrotic damage.

Additionally, undead minions do not see you as a living target. Any undead creature with an Intelligence score of 6 or lower will neither threaten nor attack you unless you or a creature friendly to you within 30 feet of you harms them or if another creature directs them to attack you.

Awaken Undead

At 14th level, your power and knowledge over life and death has given you a unique perspective over the state of undeath. Others may view undeath as a vile curse, others view it as a path to power and control, but you know it does not have to be this way.

You target a number of undead creatures up to your Intelligence modifier within 30 feet of you. The targets must have an intelligence of 6 or less or be under the control of another creature. If the target has an intelligence score of 6 or less, it gains the intelligence it had in life and is no longer controlled by any magical means, from a spell or otherwise. The DM can decide to use the intelligence score using the standard statistics of another creature statblock that resembles the undead as it was in life if its original intelligence score is unknown, for example a zombie who was once a human noble can have an intelligence score of 12 as shown in the Noble statblock on page 348 of the Monster Manual. The creature’s alignment changes into the alignment it once had in life, or neutral.

If the target creature is an undead under the control of another creature, that creature or object controlling the target undead must make a Charisma save against your DC. On a failure, the creature is no longer under the control of any creature. If the creature controlling it is also undead, such as from a vampire, lich, or wraith, that creature has disadvantage on its saving throw. A target undead successfully freed from its master gains the alignment it had in life or neutral.

If the undead creature’s soul-whether or not its the original soul-is present, its personality and sentience is restored. If not, only a semblance of that creature’s soul remains and it only knows what the original creature knew in life and has a Charisma score of 5. The soulless undead creature dies after 24 hours of using this feature on it.