I find it hilarious you can free Orpheus, turn him into his most feared monstrosity for the greater good, and then just murder him at the netherbrain. Why go through the effort unless you are roleplaying an asshole, which is a great role play.
Purely opportunistic. Orpheus is significantly more powerful than the emperor in the finale as he gets access to all Illithid powers. (Unless they changed it since release) And I actually got the Orphic Hammer purely by coincidence as I just wanted to beat down Raphael.
Exactly what I did in my first playthrough. My Tav was a Lolth-Sworn Drow wizard. Massacred the Grove, watched Nere kick all the gnomes into lava, accidentally killed Isobel while trying to help the agent from Moonrise kidnap her which ended up destroying the Last Light Inn, allowed Balthazar to take Dame Aylin to Moonrise, made Astarion ascend, betrayed and killed Jaheira when Sarevok asked me to, killed the hollyphant detective, helped Lorroakan capture Dame Aylin, allied with Gortash, took as many Illithid powers as possible because why not, and then finally ; freed Orpheus, let him turn himself into a Mind Flayer, and then backstabbed him at the last moment because seizing control of the cult of the Absolute was my goal from day one. Of course, I did some good deeds here and there as well.
Well, Orpheus (or his power) is required in order to subjugate the netherbrain. Once that happens and the brain is back under the crown's control, Orpheus is useless and can be disposed of.
@@Marcusianery necromancy. He/she means myrkul likes necromancy and you can be so strong through necromancy. that is why all of dead three have similar mindset bane think thanks to his domain He can devour bhaal and myrkul.bhaal thinks thanks to his domain he can devour other members of dead three and i think myrkul is same.each of them thinks thanks to their domain they can devour other two.and since video is about necromancy and how much character becomes powerful that is why commentor means dark urge would think true power is necromancy.of course he/she is joking.i hope i didnt get you wrong
I love watching these evil/asshole playthroughs, and I always think about doing them...until i go up to the first npc and see the evil option and go "But that's mean :("
this game is trash and it does not really matter what you do, you can be a paragon the whole game and then just out of nowhere kill karlah (like in the ending of this video) and become an evil overlord. Such a shame
@@trugoingnowhere cringe like it's ok if you don't like a game, but this logic is flawed. You killed a companion... and complain that the game considers you evil?... This is more of a argument for the game, if anything.
OK, I hadn't thought of using a Mage Hand spell to throw the Necromancy of Thay THROUGH the barred door to you. XD The sheer amount of player freedom and creativity BG3 supports never fails to astound me.
It's also worth using Lae'Zel's Mage hand which is invisible by default to throw the Crystal up from the spiders onto a web platform, then your own mage hand to throw it back your way so you don't need to fight the spiders!
I usually go for the Abyss Beckoners in the Zhent hideout because it gives resistance to almost all damage types to your summons at the cost of making them roll to avoid madness, but by a happy accident it seems ghouls are immune to madness
Its because the ghouls summoned by Danse Macabre are considered AI-Allies for the purposes of the Abyss Beckoners' madness effect for some reason. They are still summons, as they are affected by the Necromancy Wizard's level 6 feature, but I think the Abyss Beckoners' effect is bugged with summons that are controlled by AI, like the Danse Macabre ghouls are.
it kinda sucks.. I thought it would be one & done for the roll but NOPE… every turn they have succeed a roll or turn mad… ruins the use of the gloves imo i’d rather have it for other things tbh such as the absolute bane gloves for my Oathbreaker Paladin + War Cleric + Necromancy Wizard I ain’t trying to fight my summons dawg.. I got Skele, + Shovel, + Stolen Hook Horror from Myconid Village (Control Undead / O.B. Paladin), + Can summon 2 Ice thingys from scroll of summon minor elemental, also, fun fact your summons can coat their weapons, + drink potions, + even drink ELIXIRS!! (My Skele drank a collosus elixer & does 3 forms of damage from bow now.. idk why) my shovel is running strength elixir for better damage.. but could’ve probable used collosus instead ngl.. same damage imo, if not more
@@quint3ssent1a In 5e, most undead aren't immune to them and would take full damage from, say, psychic damage. Undead are Immune to Charm effects though, as a general rule.
The funny part is that, even if the Life Essence mechanic actually worked as intended, it would still be the most unconstested broken staff in the game since you can just farm charges off respawning nameless Flaming Fists who spawn whenever you're caught committing crimes, or just kill the Necromancy of Thay ghouls for charges. And spammable lvl6 spells means usually killing something per cast, which gets you another Life Essence charge, which just enables a self-fulfilling cycle of infinite lvl6 spells.
I feel this works best as a utility build. Infinite crowd-control makes it easier for your heavy-hitters. Rarely ever taking damage because all your enemies are either blinded or asleep. But yeah its not as sexy as sorc-lock, or some of the monk builds you see.
@lexcon4572 that's basically the best way to finish BG1. Surround Sarevok with summoned gnolls and skeletons, then watch as he desperately tries to fend them off while you pelt him with murder spells and arrows.
Theres no better necromancer than a 6 spore druid/6 necromancer. A 6 spore druid gets 4 free fungal zombies that dont replace summons so you can stack any animate dead with it. And level 6 necromancer gives enhanced animate dead. Couple wirh dance of the macabre and the mummy summon ring from act 3, and the fact spore druid is TANKY with symbiotic entity you have an army and a frontline general with crowd control to keep enemies at your zombies mercy. Have someone cast a high level aid spell on the zombies so they have more health and abyss beckoners equipped MID fight and they are a real threat.
Which still won't save you in any area where enemies do AOE damage lol. Summons miss alot and do okish damage, even maximizing them and getting the items in Act 3 Necromancy is a middle of the road power build that requires you to do alot of extra work and actions for every fight. Even with the animate dead plus mod. Abjuration Wizard is infinitely more powerful. All the damage and counterspells of a Wizard...but more survivable than even your fighter/barbarian lol.
@@Ralathar44 That's why we counterspell dangerous AOE that can wipe the summons, also most of enemies are humanoids. Just upcast "Hold Person" and let the ghouls 100% hit crit the enemies.
@@epyon6712 still doesn't work. Summons and necromancy are weak early levels. Then when you finally get high enough to have hold person, counterspell, and enough spell slots for summons you're about to hit Act 3 where like half the AOE thrown at you is construct attacks, bombs, dragons, etc and not able to be counterspelled with high saves. Hold Person also only works vs very select targets, it doesn't work vs a crapton of enemies including many who look humanish like mind flayers (abberation) and Dopplergangers (Monstrosity). Act 2 and Act 3 are chock full of things you cannot hold person. You'd need hold monster for them, which you won't be upcasting and have precious few casts of as a 5th level spell.
@@epyon6712 And even if you don't get AOE'd and you do your summons and hold person actually lands you can only do that a few times before you have to rest since most of your spell slots are spent doing summons. And if you're using like half your spell slots to cast Hold Monster/Hold Person you're not really a necromancy focused build, you're doing a Necormancy/Echantment build.
@@epyon6712 But as someone who has played the full necromancer build and also went through their first playthrough as a spell focused support bard who got all the DC boosting gear they could and had like 23 CHA at game end....hold and debuff spells get resisted CONSTANTLY. Enemies often have boosted stats compared to what the player could even possible have. Even with a wide range of debuff spells targeting different attributes whiffing spells was common. As a Necro who has to sacrifice gear slots that could be boosting DC on necro gear, with less int boosting gear available in game, and who has to target only Wisdom saves via Hold Person and Hold Monster. Those spells are gonna be missing quite alot. I say Necromancer is mid at best because it is mid at best. I'd much rather have ANY barbarian or Ranger. I'd rather have evocation, Abberation, or Diivination Wizard, any sorc, any druid except spore druid, etc.
3:20 I love how your undead troupe walks behind you with shambling gait. Idk if DANCE MACABRE is in the game or not but your entourage clearly fits that theme.
Bro, the video is really nice, perfect soundtrack and editing. So far the strongest Necro build I've seen, and also the coolest. 😄 Thanks for the idea, will definitely check it out.
There is also a ring that allows to cast Create Undead of 6th level and allows to conjure a Mummy in addition to the summons from Necromancy of Thay and Animate Dead. I ran that build with a Spore Druid, so I approached the last fights with basically a private army
It should be noted that the mummy from that ring doesn't get Undead Thrall boosts, so it will almost never hit anything or land its fear gaze. Decent when slapped onto a non-necromancer, but the actual necromancer is going to want to manually summon a mummy so that it gets Undead Thrall proficiency boosts.
Did most of this in my first playthrough without any guides. But I went for the good Destroy the Brain ending, and then went to Avernus with by bae Karlach. I was a lawful good necromancer whose backstory was that I was an investigator who used Speak With Dead and such to solve crimes. It was very fun being followed by my posse of like 9 powerful undead. And bewildering when mooks tried to pick a fight. It was like in Skyrim when a bandit with an iron sword sees you wearing Daedric Plate, eating a dragon's soul and thinks "I can take him".
I also took the Amulet of Greater Health (i think that was it's name) from the House of Hope which raised my Con to 22, giving me nearly as much HP as Karlach. And with all my other gear, I had a spell save DC of 22. AC of 19, DC of 22, HP was over 100 at level 12 (very high for a wizard). With 9 undead to distract enemies, not much tried to hit me, and not that tried managed it. And even fewer avoided my retaliation.
@@antonenb what if the guards were evil? possessed? mind controlled by some cult perhaps? Dark power being wielded for good and then resisted by the close-minded and paranoid. That is a good vs good scenario. Just because the player character decides not to yield does not mean that they are in the wrong. Much as the guards not yielding would not necessarily mean they are evil either. Where do the lines of good/evil/neutral truly part? The alignment system is inherently flawed.
@@insanenessity It actually is. But it's understandable for people who only know the game and not actual Dungeons and Dragons. Like yourself, it seems.
@@AnyaChristinaEmmanuellaJenkinsdamn, explaining how good it is? Just generously curious because I’m thinking of going through a necromancy gale playthrough 😮
@@raymonniball3261 I am actually using dual wielding with staff ot Cherished Necromancy and Markoheshkir, its fun. Also nuking repeatedly high aoe of circle of dead in the last Shadowhearts quest was fun. I mean my necromancer ended that battle with full heath (lol my Karlach was havy wounded cause I never actualy payed attention to her easy tanking) , no haste used, on front line xD Too bad necro damage is resisted by so many enemies in this game xp
@@lexcon4572 Well it's not the only case of late blossom. Shadowheart / Clerics are very meh (useful for heal but that's it) until Act 2 with Spirit Guardians and other broken spells that break the d&d action economy. Sorcerers are lesser Wizards until they get their good metamagic skills. And so on... The early suffering is part of the game ^^
Every single interesting build is like that. All the core items are locked behind late game bosses. I just wish I got to spend more time at my full strength. Fingers crossed for a DLC.
Bonus summons in early - mid game, you can get the wand after you beat ethel to get an early zombie summon, but since he only lasts a few turns it's really only useful until you get actual raise dead spells. then in act two you can use gale to make the Shadow Wraith Lantern in balthazars room to get a free Wraith summon.
I did the majority of my playthrough as a necromancer, up until late act 3. It was becoming a hell of micromanaging the summons. Every jumps was a nightmare. I run it up until Larian fix the animate dead spell. Before, you could summons 4 ghouls with only one body. After the patch you needed 4 separate corpses. Corpses became my most sought after ressources. I made maps to where the body where, brought them to camp, etc... I still tried to solo Raphael with my build, and got destroyed. Then I switched. Never felt such a feeling of releasing pressure in a game than the one I felt at this moment lol ^^
I personally love the logistics of micromanging the undead without the hassle of bogging down an IRL DND game. The worst at release imo was that every NPC would either follow you or flee in terror. Thank god they changed it.
Have Lae'zel pocket corpses for you. I've got several in my pocket. Now that I'm writing this I'm going to test it on the many severed heads I've collected. F.Y.I Bring the head to mushroom man first. Do not bring the corpse and do it. Bringing a drow, dead or alive, will make the shrooms hostile.
dont forget balthazar's amulet which gives allied undead resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing (the three most common damage types in the game) you dont even need to use it yourself, you could give it to someone who will be fighting in the front lines where your undead are.
Bro I swear it would break my heart to do anything bad in the game. I don't know why, I feel like all these backstories and encounters made me attached to the characters. I was staring at that Astral Tadpole for ages during my 2nd playthrough...and I just can't :(
That's why I went Evil playthrough first. Break their hearts before I get too attached to them. From then on, my future gameplays will only get better as I play Good
basically me except i was a good guy i roleplayed as "A Necromancer Disciple from a far away country in which they belive that after death the Soul passes to the next live leaving no real purpose to the Corpse and so many people train to physical perfection just to be useful in death as zombies and or Skeletons either as defence to not risk precious life in war or to do manual and dangerous labour" infact i safed the cleric in the inn in act 2 just because i had a huge army of skeletons (since i made gale and Shadowhert necromancers too - the roleplay being - my character convinced them this path of necromancy my character strives for is acceptable)
Could also go lvl 6 Necro Wizard/lvl 6 Spore Druid, then you get additional Fungus Zombies on top, which all have the enhanced stats from lvl 6 Necro and you can use the Armour of Spores to throw free Haste Spores for all of your zombie army. Crypt Lord Ring for Create Undead and you are set.
Necromancy wizard and oathbreakee paladin is an insane combo because your summons get further damage from the aura. Slap on a crusaders mantle and each summon gets a further d4 radiant
Get someone to hold the phalur aluve sword so you can do shriek, it will add 1-6 thunder to every attack on any enemy in the pretty big circle. 5 turns, no concentration
at around level 9 wizard you can upcast animate dead to level five which will give you the choice of creating ghouls, or flying ghouls (the ones with wings)
@GrimGearheart I played quite the completionist game so I reached level 9 towards the end of Moonrise Towers, depending on how far along act 2 you are it might be closer towards the beginning of act 3.
My first ending was the same as yours with my drow sorcerer.🤣🤣 Only 4% of players made this ending. It's great to be evil in this game and see the NPCs' faces like...WHAT??? That wasn't in the script.
Not that I played my necro as EVIL evil. Just the pursuit of power and the ends justify the means. But once the game gave me the oppurtunity I mean how could I refuse? 🤷♂️
@@lexcon4572 I found it a little sad that we only really had 2 endings before. "goodie two shoes you saved the world" or "comically evil supervillain" I was playing a fella that wanted to fill a Gortash-like role ideally and keep my friends (party members) well-off as I control the city covertly. Sadly there was no "evil" resolution that didn't result in my companions being brainwashed puppets though. Truly a shame.
One thing I love about the late game is when all of your followers evolve their illithid powers they just fly after you regardless of (most) obstacles.😅 Doesn't improve your minions though, except for the flying ghoul.
had anecromancer half drow, never did any of that apart from getting the two books needed, i just made the gith and tiefling women carry a bunch of reusable dead rats and bats to be used for necromancy , there were a ton of zombies lmao.
Yeah, up until levels 5-7 you’re really twiddling your thumbs waiting. Level 5 gives you animate undead, level 6 gives you more and better undead, and level 7 gives you 4th level animate undead. Around 40-50% through the game no less….
Yeah but evil playthrough is severely punished in terms of rewards. Instead of turning your companions to the dark side, they just flee from the group when you take some sensible choices
Played the first 2 very similar. Because of the reatarts and looking through everything i did finish both with all the best stuff because i would reatart over and over
For some extra sauce in it you could add the dual wielder feat and dual equip staffs with the woe staff and get a free blight spell, temp hp and a +1 to ac!
I was gathering every corpse at first, then I started only getting "strong" corpses. Wanted to respec wizard to necromancy... and then I realized I wasted like 2 - 3 hours on collecting corpses - you cant animate the actualy corpse, you can only summon a fucking ghul or whatever out from the body. I absolutely HATED that
quick note, dual class with spore druid give you double thralls.you got your undead skellies, the ghouls from thay, and the fungal zombies. i think i neared the 20 something army of dead.
Ah, yes, The Necromancer experience: BBEG: "You want to stop me? Hahaha! You and what army?" Necromance, standing behind an actual army of zombies and skeletons: "So, about that"
This is more of an RP move but if you get the Shield of the Undevout you can also give enemies disadvantage on any of your Fear-causing skills/spells, which combos nicely with Create Undead's Mummy. The Mummy's fear DC is garbage, but if you cast a big AOE fear spell first, then the mummy can roll in with Multi-Attack which hits like a truck as far as summons go.
I LOVE necromancy. In one of my runs Gale is a necro wizard with the shadow lantern and halsin a spore druid. All the dead buddys / bodys fighting with us 😍
a true guide to "how to make a DnD summoner build NOT suck because WoTC nerf all summon/pet builds into the ground, and magic users to make them not fun"
Nah, I think druid's spore zombies are inferior. Spore druid is kinda weird class who doesn't know what it want to be. It got zombies but those are plain ordinary zombies like non-necro wizard can raise. It's got mildly irritating close-range offensive buff in spore cloud, but again, nothing to write home about (and it doesn't make you a passable frontliner, sadly). It's got typical druid array of spells (confusing with heavy emphasis on concentration spells) so it's basically the most indecisive subclass built on already very indecisive class chassis.
Question, to anyone for help. How fo i make an army on this. Like do i spec 4 characters as necromancers and have them carry around the bodies of our slain enemies. What the maximum amount each can have
Each necromancer can have around 5 undead (Summons are capped per spell so only one animate dead per caster), only one person can have the Necromancer of Thay buff so that necro will have around 10 undead. It is advised to have a Strength character to carry the bodies yes, you can store excess bodies at camp if the need arises.
@@lexcon4572 so Tav with that buff, necro shadowheart and gale, and a meat wagon karlach for a party, means am undead army of 20 and 4 companions. Fucking awesome haha thank you
The f is that mirror in the beginning i needed to stop immediatly i got 200 hours in the game played through 2 times and i never seen that. Guess its time for my third playthrough but now taking it really slow looking at everything
In the cellar of the Apothacary in the blighted village (Building adjacent to the waypoint) in Act 1 there’s a hidden lever behind boxes that will lead you to a cavern with the mirror at the end. 200 Hours as well and I find new things every playthrough!
I had a lot of fun with my necromancer build UNTIL I could summon a gazillion ghouls that made my game about as slow as your average zombie. Respecced into abjuration instead...
Thankfully my rig could handle that many entities, but the worst part was the ghoul’s growling and shambling was SO LOUD it was like Halloween themed ASMR.
Not me out here summoning 16 skeletons with my party of necromancers and using the hireables to give them all warding bond, mage armor and longstrider. Action economy says what?
@@ItsMangel Dude, this is my first game in this genre, I put together the build somehow. And in the 3rd act, I’m super strong. on tactical difficulty. so if the build does not work ALREADY on the 1st or 2nd acts, then its strength in the 3rd act is not its merit!
@@Shodan88 you're the one acting like there's something wrong with the video for pointing out cool endgame stuff. Like, half of BG3 content on here is endgame stuff... lol
Some decent debuff spells and mediocre to sub optimal damage spells so I would tend to agree. Blindness, Eyebite, and False Life are my personal favorites cast at 6th level, but the utility drops off fast when you actually have to spend spell slots on it.
I’m not sure if that ring stacks with casting regular Create Undead i’ll have to see. Fair point about Spore Druid as I love the vibes, always been a wizard guy myself.
Casting animate dead at 5th level or higher gives you ghouls (like zombies but with more hp and a chance to paralyze enemies on hit) and the 6th level spell create undead gives you a mummy. (Slow, but hits hard and can frighten enemies). Mastering the necromancy of thay in act 3 gives you a special spells that summons 5 ghouls for free
I tryed a warlock with the tayan necromance quest done and summoning the 6 ghouls is savage great experience. Buuut I tried in a version of the game where there is a chance that the summons crack your game and corrupt your save games making you loose all progress. Dunno if they fixed this already but makes your build and summon related builds very risky at the endgame, although it could be a very funny experience
There is absolutely some slight performance issues with having a lot of summons. I did a meme build with 4 Necromancers in a multiplayer game and the engine absolutely unprepared for that many entities. Thankfully no issues with save corruption.
Yeah, it's really a shame, I have been reading about the issue and coudn't find a true answer. Some say that apparently there is a problem with the game recognizing the position of many entitites and that makes the save corrupt. Also, some say that the mod that allows you to have more characters in the party sorts it. Hopefully they aventually will fix it with some update, it's really funny having the screen full of ghouls at your commander xD.@@lexcon4572
I find it hilarious you can free Orpheus, turn him into his most feared monstrosity for the greater good, and then just murder him at the netherbrain. Why go through the effort unless you are roleplaying an asshole, which is a great role play.
Purely opportunistic. Orpheus is significantly more powerful than the emperor in the finale as he gets access to all Illithid powers. (Unless they changed it since release) And I actually got the Orphic Hammer purely by coincidence as I just wanted to beat down Raphael.
@@lexcon4572 ooooooooooohhhhhh, interesting. That’s crazy Orpheus winds up a stronger hentai monster than the little E.
Exactly what I did in my first playthrough.
My Tav was a Lolth-Sworn Drow wizard.
Massacred the Grove, watched Nere kick all the gnomes into lava, accidentally killed Isobel while trying to help the agent from Moonrise kidnap her which ended up destroying the Last Light Inn, allowed Balthazar to take Dame Aylin to Moonrise, made Astarion ascend, betrayed and killed Jaheira when Sarevok asked me to, killed the hollyphant detective, helped Lorroakan capture Dame Aylin, allied with Gortash, took as many Illithid powers as possible because why not, and then finally ; freed Orpheus, let him turn himself into a Mind Flayer, and then backstabbed him at the last moment because seizing control of the cult of the Absolute was my goal from day one.
Of course, I did some good deeds here and there as well.
Well, Orpheus (or his power) is required in order to subjugate the netherbrain. Once that happens and the brain is back under the crown's control, Orpheus is useless and can be disposed of.
@@AeridisArt the Little E can eat Orpheus and take his power. It is not necessary to free him.
Bhaal spawn: "You know, maybe uncle Myrkul was onto something."
What was Myrkul on to? xD
@@Marcusianery he is a necromancer that is why his avatar form kinda made from bones.
@@yusufkaradag8983 I just dont get what he is onto.
@@Marcusianery necromancy. He/she means myrkul likes necromancy and you can be so strong through necromancy. that is why all of dead three have similar mindset bane think thanks to his domain He can devour bhaal and myrkul.bhaal thinks thanks to his domain he can devour other members of dead three and i think myrkul is same.each of them thinks thanks to their domain they can devour other two.and since video is about necromancy and how much character becomes powerful that is why commentor means dark urge would think true power is necromancy.of course he/she is joking.i hope i didnt get you wrong
@@yusufkaradag8983 Right! I get it now. Thank you.
I love watching these evil/asshole playthroughs, and I always think about doing them...until i go up to the first npc and see the evil option and go "But that's mean :("
this game is trash and it does not really matter what you do, you can be a paragon the whole game and then just out of nowhere kill karlah (like in the ending of this video) and become an evil overlord. Such a shame
@@trugoingnowhere sorry but what an incredibly stupid comment. amazing.
It affects a lot tru
why i've never finished a genocide run in undertale
@@trugoingnowhere cringe
like it's ok if you don't like a game, but this logic is flawed. You killed a companion... and complain that the game considers you evil?... This is more of a argument for the game, if anything.
OK, I hadn't thought of using a Mage Hand spell to throw the Necromancy of Thay THROUGH the barred door to you. XD The sheer amount of player freedom and creativity BG3 supports never fails to astound me.
It's also worth using Lae'Zel's Mage hand which is invisible by default to throw the Crystal up from the spiders onto a web platform, then your own mage hand to throw it back your way so you don't need to fight the spiders!
@@avrok Loool!!
But also, the XP! :O
@WolfFireheart can always grab will and Eldritch Blast that big spider off the cliff for easy xp too lmao
@@avrokThen you have to fight it again in the under dark.
it doesnt work anymore@@avrok
I usually go for the Abyss Beckoners in the Zhent hideout because it gives resistance to almost all damage types to your summons at the cost of making them roll to avoid madness, but by a happy accident it seems ghouls are immune to madness
Oh wow, I assumed the madness wasn’t worth it due to the sheer number of undead. If the ghouls are immune then that’s a must have!
Its because the ghouls summoned by Danse Macabre are considered AI-Allies for the purposes of the Abyss Beckoners' madness effect for some reason. They are still summons, as they are affected by the Necromancy Wizard's level 6 feature, but I think the Abyss Beckoners' effect is bugged with summons that are controlled by AI, like the Danse Macabre ghouls are.
it kinda sucks.. I thought it would be one & done for the roll
but NOPE…
every turn they have succeed a roll or turn mad…
ruins the use of the gloves imo
i’d rather have it for other things tbh
such as the absolute bane gloves for my Oathbreaker Paladin + War Cleric + Necromancy Wizard
I ain’t trying to fight my summons dawg..
I got Skele, + Shovel, + Stolen Hook Horror from Myconid Village (Control Undead / O.B. Paladin), + Can summon 2 Ice thingys from scroll of summon minor elemental,
also, fun fact
your summons can coat their weapons, + drink potions, + even drink ELIXIRS!! (My Skele drank a collosus elixer & does 3 forms of damage from bow now.. idk why)
my shovel is running strength elixir for better damage.. but could’ve probable used collosus instead ngl.. same damage imo, if not more
> happy accident
Aren't undead generally immune to mind-affecting effects? Although idk if that's still true in 5e.
@@quint3ssent1a In 5e, most undead aren't immune to them and would take full damage from, say, psychic damage.
Undead are Immune to Charm effects though, as a general rule.
Tbh it’s not nearly as broken as many builds out there….. (please don’t nerf the staff it’s working as intended!)
A game like this should tolerate things not necessary being balanced.
The funny part is that, even if the Life Essence mechanic actually worked as intended, it would still be the most unconstested broken staff in the game since you can just farm charges off respawning nameless Flaming Fists who spawn whenever you're caught committing crimes, or just kill the Necromancy of Thay ghouls for charges. And spammable lvl6 spells means usually killing something per cast, which gets you another Life Essence charge, which just enables a self-fulfilling cycle of infinite lvl6 spells.
I feel this works best as a utility build. Infinite crowd-control makes it easier for your heavy-hitters. Rarely ever taking damage because all your enemies are either blinded or asleep. But yeah its not as sexy as sorc-lock, or some of the monk builds you see.
a cleric could kill all zombies easily with spirit guardians
@lexcon4572 that's basically the best way to finish BG1. Surround Sarevok with summoned gnolls and skeletons, then watch as he desperately tries to fend them off while you pelt him with murder spells and arrows.
Theres no better necromancer than a 6 spore druid/6 necromancer. A 6 spore druid gets 4 free fungal zombies that dont replace summons so you can stack any animate dead with it. And level 6 necromancer gives enhanced animate dead. Couple wirh dance of the macabre and the mummy summon ring from act 3, and the fact spore druid is TANKY with symbiotic entity you have an army and a frontline general with crowd control to keep enemies at your zombies mercy. Have someone cast a high level aid spell on the zombies so they have more health and abyss beckoners equipped MID fight and they are a real threat.
1) that Mage Hand trick was genius
2) using the music from the Dead Island for a necromancy video was inspired
You can also hero’s feast and aid all your summons with a designated camp buffer doubling/tripling their hp
Which still won't save you in any area where enemies do AOE damage lol. Summons miss alot and do okish damage, even maximizing them and getting the items in Act 3 Necromancy is a middle of the road power build that requires you to do alot of extra work and actions for every fight. Even with the animate dead plus mod. Abjuration Wizard is infinitely more powerful. All the damage and counterspells of a Wizard...but more survivable than even your fighter/barbarian lol.
@@Ralathar44 That's why we counterspell dangerous AOE that can wipe the summons, also most of enemies are humanoids. Just upcast "Hold Person" and let the ghouls 100% hit crit the enemies.
@@epyon6712 still doesn't work. Summons and necromancy are weak early levels. Then when you finally get high enough to have hold person, counterspell, and enough spell slots for summons you're about to hit Act 3 where like half the AOE thrown at you is construct attacks, bombs, dragons, etc and not able to be counterspelled with high saves.
Hold Person also only works vs very select targets, it doesn't work vs a crapton of enemies including many who look humanish like mind flayers (abberation) and Dopplergangers (Monstrosity). Act 2 and Act 3 are chock full of things you cannot hold person. You'd need hold monster for them, which you won't be upcasting and have precious few casts of as a 5th level spell.
@@epyon6712 And even if you don't get AOE'd and you do your summons and hold person actually lands you can only do that a few times before you have to rest since most of your spell slots are spent doing summons. And if you're using like half your spell slots to cast Hold Monster/Hold Person you're not really a necromancy focused build, you're doing a Necormancy/Echantment build.
@@epyon6712 But as someone who has played the full necromancer build and also went through their first playthrough as a spell focused support bard who got all the DC boosting gear they could and had like 23 CHA at game end....hold and debuff spells get resisted CONSTANTLY. Enemies often have boosted stats compared to what the player could even possible have.
Even with a wide range of debuff spells targeting different attributes whiffing spells was common. As a Necro who has to sacrifice gear slots that could be boosting DC on necro gear, with less int boosting gear available in game, and who has to target only Wisdom saves via Hold Person and Hold Monster. Those spells are gonna be missing quite alot.
I say Necromancer is mid at best because it is mid at best. I'd much rather have ANY barbarian or Ranger. I'd rather have evocation, Abberation, or Diivination Wizard, any sorc, any druid except spore druid, etc.
3:20
I love how your undead troupe walks behind you with shambling gait. Idk if DANCE MACABRE is in the game or not but your entourage clearly fits that theme.
It is
thats actually the spell he unlocks w the book and summons the 5 ghouls with :)
Which got nerfed from 5 to 4 at some point. @@GHOST5800000
the way they raise always makes me think they are about to dance
Bro, the video is really nice, perfect soundtrack and editing. So far the strongest Necro build I've seen, and also the coolest. 😄 Thanks for the idea, will definitely check it out.
There is also a ring that allows to cast Create Undead of 6th level and allows to conjure a Mummy in addition to the summons from Necromancy of Thay and Animate Dead. I ran that build with a Spore Druid, so I approached the last fights with basically a private army
Ohh, where can you find that ring?
@@mihile4631 reward for defeating Mystic Carrion for Thrumbo
It should be noted that the mummy from that ring doesn't get Undead Thrall boosts, so it will almost never hit anything or land its fear gaze. Decent when slapped onto a non-necromancer, but the actual necromancer is going to want to manually summon a mummy so that it gets Undead Thrall proficiency boosts.
this is very enjoyable by itself as well as being a good guide. great job
Did most of this in my first playthrough without any guides.
But I went for the good Destroy the Brain ending, and then went to Avernus with by bae Karlach.
I was a lawful good necromancer whose backstory was that I was an investigator who used Speak With Dead and such to solve crimes.
It was very fun being followed by my posse of like 9 powerful undead. And bewildering when mooks tried to pick a fight. It was like in Skyrim when a bandit with an iron sword sees you wearing Daedric Plate, eating a dragon's soul and thinks "I can take him".
I also took the Amulet of Greater Health (i think that was it's name) from the House of Hope which raised my Con to 22, giving me nearly as much HP as Karlach.
And with all my other gear, I had a spell save DC of 22.
AC of 19, DC of 22, HP was over 100 at level 12 (very high for a wizard).
With 9 undead to distract enemies, not much tried to hit me, and not that tried managed it. And even fewer avoided my retaliation.
Not really lawful good if you're running around with a horde of undead and killing the guards who try to stop you.
@@antonenb what if the guards were evil? possessed? mind controlled by some cult perhaps?
Dark power being wielded for good and then resisted by the close-minded and paranoid. That is a good vs good scenario. Just because the player character decides not to yield does not mean that they are in the wrong. Much as the guards not yielding would not necessarily mean they are evil either.
Where do the lines of good/evil/neutral truly part?
The alignment system is inherently flawed.
A badass barbarian bae and her necromancer wife vs the forces of hell…now that sounds like a kick ass sequel
This is the closest I've gotten to running into a necromancer lawyer.
If you dual wield staves you can have the Necromancy staff AND Woe at the same time
not worth the dual wielder feat
@@insanenessity It actually is. But it's understandable for people who only know the game and not actual Dungeons and Dragons. Like yourself, it seems.
@@AnyaChristinaEmmanuellaJenkins lol, lmao even
@@AnyaChristinaEmmanuellaJenkinsdamn, explaining how good it is? Just generously curious because I’m thinking of going through a necromancy gale playthrough 😮
@@raymonniball3261 I am actually using dual wielding with staff ot Cherished Necromancy and Markoheshkir, its fun. Also nuking repeatedly high aoe of circle of dead in the last Shadowhearts quest was fun. I mean my necromancer ended that battle with full heath (lol my Karlach was havy wounded cause I never actualy payed attention to her easy tanking) , no haste used, on front line xD Too bad necro damage is resisted by so many enemies in this game xp
>
And only really starts at about 30% through the game. It do be like that.
@@lexcon4572 Well it's not the only case of late blossom. Shadowheart / Clerics are very meh (useful for heal but that's it) until Act 2 with Spirit Guardians and other broken spells that break the d&d action economy. Sorcerers are lesser Wizards until they get their good metamagic skills. And so on... The early suffering is part of the game ^^
Every single interesting build is like that. All the core items are locked behind late game bosses. I just wish I got to spend more time at my full strength. Fingers crossed for a DLC.
@@masterblaster2678 Larian has made multiple statements that there will be no DLC or BG4
I appreciate the usage of Pigeon John’s music here! very much a throwback.
YOU CAN CONJURE A HAND THAT CAN THROW ITEMS TO YOU BEYOND LOCKED DOORS? i am losing my mind
and it's a cantrip
Mage hand
Dude, Lae'zel has this cantrip at the start of the game despite not even being a caster.
wait a fucking minute. There is a hatch lead to a basement in Blighted Town?
Yup, the building that’s right next to the waypoint with the potion ingredients inside it!
Bonus summons in early - mid game, you can get the wand after you beat ethel to get an early zombie summon, but since he only lasts a few turns it's really only useful until you get actual raise dead spells. then in act two you can use gale to make the Shadow Wraith Lantern in balthazars room to get a free Wraith summon.
I did the majority of my playthrough as a necromancer, up until late act 3. It was becoming a hell of micromanaging the summons. Every jumps was a nightmare. I run it up until Larian fix the animate dead spell. Before, you could summons 4 ghouls with only one body. After the patch you needed 4 separate corpses. Corpses became my most sought after ressources. I made maps to where the body where, brought them to camp, etc... I still tried to solo Raphael with my build, and got destroyed. Then I switched. Never felt such a feeling of releasing pressure in a game than the one I felt at this moment lol ^^
I personally love the logistics of micromanging the undead without the hassle of bogging down an IRL DND game. The worst at release imo was that every NPC would either follow you or flee in terror. Thank god they changed it.
Have Lae'zel pocket corpses for you. I've got several in my pocket. Now that I'm writing this I'm going to test it on the many severed heads I've collected.
F.Y.I
Bring the head to mushroom man first. Do not bring the corpse and do it. Bringing a drow, dead or alive, will make the shrooms hostile.
dont forget balthazar's amulet which gives allied undead resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing (the three most common damage types in the game)
you dont even need to use it yourself, you could give it to someone who will be fighting in the front lines where your undead are.
Bro I swear it would break my heart to do anything bad in the game. I don't know why, I feel like all these backstories and encounters made me attached to the characters. I was staring at that Astral Tadpole for ages during my 2nd playthrough...and I just can't :(
every "Evil playthru" just turns into a semi-Playthru lmao
That's why I went Evil playthrough first. Break their hearts before I get too attached to them. From then on, my future gameplays will only get better as I play Good
I like starting out as a good character, but they rarely last.
Annoying NPC? Just kill it for XP (barring important quests) & move on...
The only thing stopping me from this is I feel like I’d get tired chasing down the NPCs I wanna talk to who run away from summons.
Now I may be mistaken, but I thought in a recent patch note they've removed fleeing NPC's 👀
@@lexcon4572 Sweet! Then I’ll definitely check this out. Thanks for letting me know.
Loved the video. DIdnt even know the staff exists tbh, so now I have the motivation to play a new run. Always loved necromany
Background music is appropriate for Gale
basically me except i was a good guy
i roleplayed as
"A Necromancer Disciple from a far away country in which they belive that after death the Soul passes to the next live leaving no real purpose to the Corpse and so many people train to physical perfection just to be useful in death as zombies and or Skeletons either as defence to not risk precious life in war or to do manual and dangerous labour"
infact i safed the cleric in the inn in act 2 just because i had a huge army of skeletons
(since i made gale and Shadowhert necromancers too - the roleplay being - my character convinced them this path of necromancy my character strives for is acceptable)
everyday i wake up and see places i have never encountered in a game i spent 800+ hours on
you forgot the singing sword, that aoe buffes all these little undead with some extra chance to hit
Hilarious & informative - subscribed! I never thought of doing a necro run.
this is by far my favorite tutorial video on youtube. love the song
Could also go lvl 6 Necro Wizard/lvl 6 Spore Druid, then you get additional Fungus Zombies on top, which all have the enhanced stats from lvl 6 Necro and you can use the Armour of Spores to throw free Haste Spores for all of your zombie army. Crypt Lord Ring for Create Undead and you are set.
Necromancer after the Crash, Goblin slaughter/raid, Moonrise raid “Ooo piece of candy..Ooo piece of candy..Ooo piece of candy”
Im starting a new a dual wielding necromancer and ive already gor a corpse pile going on and even organizing the corpses based on race
Everyone: "Wow this is fun and interesting."
Me and my tiny brain: "OMG, USING MAGE HAND TO BYPASS THINGS IS BRILLIANT 😮"
Necromancy wizard and oathbreakee paladin is an insane combo because your summons get further damage from the aura. Slap on a crusaders mantle and each summon gets a further d4 radiant
I bought this game yesterday, and this is the exact specialization route I’ve gone through so far.I now have much higher expectations for myself.
My go to in most play throughs was 6 Wizard (Necromancer) / 6 Druid (Spores) and just have a whole army of minions, familiars, and summons.
now get them all to climb a ladder
Get someone to hold the phalur aluve sword so you can do shriek, it will add 1-6 thunder to every attack on any enemy in the pretty big circle. 5 turns, no concentration
straight up dr doom looking at the end, its kinda hilarious I love it! have to try this next time
1:32 where do you get those guys with wings? All I have is skeleton, skeleton, zombie?
at around level 9 wizard you can upcast animate dead to level five which will give you the choice of creating ghouls, or flying ghouls (the ones with wings)
@@lexcon4572 thank you! When did you hit level 9? I'm at Moonrise towers and only level 7 or so.
@GrimGearheart I played quite the completionist game so I reached level 9 towards the end of Moonrise Towers, depending on how far along act 2 you are it might be closer towards the beginning of act 3.
My first ending was the same as yours with my drow sorcerer.🤣🤣 Only 4% of players made this ending. It's great to be evil in this game and see the NPCs' faces like...WHAT??? That wasn't in the script.
Not that I played my necro as EVIL evil. Just the pursuit of power and the ends justify the means. But once the game gave me the oppurtunity I mean how could I refuse? 🤷♂️
Exactly, I had a unique opportunity @@lexcon4572 🤣
@@lexcon4572 I found it a little sad that we only really had 2 endings before. "goodie two shoes you saved the world" or "comically evil supervillain"
I was playing a fella that wanted to fill a Gortash-like role ideally and keep my friends (party members) well-off as I control the city covertly. Sadly there was no "evil" resolution that didn't result in my companions being brainwashed puppets though. Truly a shame.
I had a blast on my spore Druid but ended up respecing because having minions follow you correctly in this game can be a fight 😂
One thing I love about the late game is when all of your followers evolve their illithid powers they just fly after you regardless of (most) obstacles.😅
Doesn't improve your minions though, except for the flying ghoul.
Informative & entertaining guide 10/10
had anecromancer half drow, never did any of that apart from getting the two books needed, i just made the gith and tiefling women carry a bunch of reusable dead rats and bats to be used for necromancy , there were a ton of zombies lmao.
okay, i never even fucking realised i could run a shield as a human even tho like half my characters have been human thank you so much holy shit.
The rapier from mizora grants you a planar ally too. I could cast 24 minions along with Shadow heart, wyll and Jaheira
The running at the start felt like a homage to the 1st Dead Island 2 trailer 😂
I hate that it takes that long to get the good stuff for that build
Yeah, up until levels 5-7 you’re really twiddling your thumbs waiting. Level 5 gives you animate undead, level 6 gives you more and better undead, and level 7 gives you 4th level animate undead. Around 40-50% through the game no less….
this is why I love Baldur Gate 3, so many possibilities which allows for mass replayability. On my 3rd playthrough and still haven't completed Act 3 😂
Lmfao same actually
And thats before you even start modding
Yeah but evil playthrough is severely punished in terms of rewards. Instead of turning your companions to the dark side, they just flee from the group when you take some sensible choices
Well at least your not me. 243 hours and I only just entered act 2
Played the first 2 very similar. Because of the reatarts and looking through everything i did finish both with all the best stuff because i would reatart over and over
Death shall reign eternally. If only you could replace Ketheric as Myrkul's chosen.
god-tier build and perfect song choice
For some extra sauce in it you could add the dual wielder feat and dual equip staffs with the woe staff and get a free blight spell, temp hp and a +1 to ac!
I was gathering every corpse at first, then I started only getting "strong" corpses. Wanted to respec wizard to necromancy... and then I realized I wasted like 2 - 3 hours on collecting corpses - you cant animate the actualy corpse, you can only summon a fucking ghul or whatever out from the body. I absolutely HATED that
Smart to recruit as many allies as you can. They will serve you well when you are the Absolute.
quick note, dual class with spore druid give you double thralls.you got your undead skellies, the ghouls from thay, and the fungal zombies. i think i neared the 20 something army of dead.
What an upstanding looking citizen
Meanwhile, the Spore Druid can raise zombies better than you and without tainting his soul.
Ah, yes, The Necromancer experience:
BBEG: "You want to stop me? Hahaha! You and what army?"
Necromance, standing behind an actual army of zombies and skeletons: "So, about that"
Fineeeeeeee ill do playthrough #7
I didn't get grim harvest, am I able to still get it some how ? About to hit lvl 6
Also can you explain using a shield to me as a castrr please
2:18 How did you make your character's face look different from how it was outside of dialogue and in his profile pic? Is it the hood?
That effect happens when you choose to consume the special tadpole that will unlock more illithid powers at the beginning of act 3
This is more of an RP move but if you get the Shield of the Undevout you can also give enemies disadvantage on any of your Fear-causing skills/spells, which combos nicely with Create Undead's Mummy. The Mummy's fear DC is garbage, but if you cast a big AOE fear spell first, then the mummy can roll in with Multi-Attack which hits like a truck as far as summons go.
Ok, so 12 levels of Wizard? I'm going to have to check that out.
I prefer 12 levels for roleplay purposes but you can always take a level dip in another class as you only get a feat at level 12.
Shadowheart, who's only been kept around this long to cast a 6th level Aid on all of them every long rest
the music choice was delicious
I LOVE necromancy. In one of my runs Gale is a necro wizard with the shadow lantern and halsin a spore druid. All the dead buddys / bodys fighting with us 😍
Missed melle dmg type resist gloves for summoned creatures in act1
Need more videos that are this short showcasing awesome builds
love the touch of dead island 2s trailer music
all these extra turns would make me go mad
a true guide to "how to make a DnD summoner build NOT suck because WoTC nerf all summon/pet builds into the ground, and magic users to make them not fun"
Larian gets to take some of the blame for this one. Even WotC weren't so stingy with forced corpse management
@@Mare_Man I dont play them in the tabletop cos of how they suck haha
Extra steps: find an Oathbreaker friend and give aura of hate to your undead
Best walkthrough ever
Myrkul: "Damn, I picked the wrong chosen..."
basically, almost finish the game to start having fun
I feel like this build would be better as a spore druid
Spore druids has more minions but Necromancer favors quality
I believe the staff should work with Druid too so you may be right. I think it depends of which classes’ spell list you prefer more.
I've been fucking around with a lolth drow spore druid & am about to finish unlocking necromancy of thay. I am excited to be a menace to society.
Nah, I think druid's spore zombies are inferior. Spore druid is kinda weird class who doesn't know what it want to be. It got zombies but those are plain ordinary zombies like non-necro wizard can raise. It's got mildly irritating close-range offensive buff in spore cloud, but again, nothing to write home about (and it doesn't make you a passable frontliner, sadly). It's got typical druid array of spells (confusing with heavy emphasis on concentration spells) so it's basically the most indecisive subclass built on already very indecisive class chassis.
Question, to anyone for help. How fo i make an army on this. Like do i spec 4 characters as necromancers and have them carry around the bodies of our slain enemies. What the maximum amount each can have
Each necromancer can have around 5 undead (Summons are capped per spell so only one animate dead per caster), only one person can have the Necromancer of Thay buff so that necro will have around 10 undead. It is advised to have a Strength character to carry the bodies yes, you can store excess bodies at camp if the need arises.
@@lexcon4572 so Tav with that buff, necro shadowheart and gale, and a meat wagon karlach for a party, means am undead army of 20 and 4 companions. Fucking awesome haha thank you
The f is that mirror in the beginning i needed to stop immediatly i got 200 hours in the game played through 2 times and i never seen that. Guess its time for my third playthrough but now taking it really slow looking at everything
In the cellar of the Apothacary in the blighted village (Building adjacent to the waypoint) in Act 1 there’s a hidden lever behind boxes that will lead you to a cavern with the mirror at the end. 200 Hours as well and I find new things every playthrough!
I had a lot of fun with my necromancer build UNTIL I could summon a gazillion ghouls that made my game about as slow as your average zombie. Respecced into abjuration instead...
Thankfully my rig could handle that many entities, but the worst part was the ghoul’s growling and shambling was SO LOUD it was like Halloween themed ASMR.
Spore Druid is 100x better at being a Necromancer than any Necromancer in 5th Edition or BG3.
Not me out here summoning 16 skeletons with my party of necromancers and using the hireables to give them all warding bond, mage armor and longstrider. Action economy says what?
"Necromancy in a nutshell"="unlock your true potential in act 3"
WHEN THE GAME IS ALMOST OVER
hahahahahaha
you can literally get all the gear from act 3 shortly after starting it and then have the whole act to play with them?
That's most builds in the game. Sure, some are strong early, but they take off in act 3.
@@ItsMangel Dude, this is my first game in this genre, I put together the build somehow. And in the 3rd act, I’m super strong. on tactical difficulty. so if the build does not work ALREADY on the 1st or 2nd acts, then its strength in the 3rd act is not its merit!
@@Shodan88 you're the one acting like there's something wrong with the video for pointing out cool endgame stuff. Like, half of BG3 content on here is endgame stuff... lol
Dude I didn't even see the subclass option when making my wizard.
How did you kill Mystic Carrion before destroying his heart?
I’m not 100% sure but I think the heart is just to make sure he dies permenantly like a lich. Might have destroyed the heart without realizing lol
awesome video my guy!
This music makes me want to fish parries and backstabs.
Oh this is so beautiful!!
i will mourn the day the staff gets fixed, Necromancy is acually not that strong still, even with the staff
Some decent debuff spells and mediocre to sub optimal damage spells so I would tend to agree. Blindness, Eyebite, and False Life are my personal favorites cast at 6th level, but the utility drops off fast when you actually have to spend spell slots on it.
loved the video format, u should do other builds too!
You didn't do the quest for the ring taht summons the OP mummy. Also preferred spore druid for a necromancer build.
I’m not sure if that ring stacks with casting regular Create Undead i’ll have to see. Fair point about Spore Druid as I love the vibes, always been a wizard guy myself.
why are your undead army neither skeletons nor zombies? who are they and how did you get them?
Casting animate dead at 5th level or higher gives you ghouls (like zombies but with more hp and a chance to paralyze enemies on hit) and the 6th level spell create undead gives you a mummy. (Slow, but hits hard and can frighten enemies). Mastering the necromancy of thay in act 3 gives you a special spells that summons 5 ghouls for free
@@lexcon4572 Yeah but you also seem to have hookclaws, devils etc somehow?
I tryed a warlock with the tayan necromance quest done and summoning the 6 ghouls is savage great experience. Buuut I tried in a version of the game where there is a chance that the summons crack your game and corrupt your save games making you loose all progress. Dunno if they fixed this already but makes your build and summon related builds very risky at the endgame, although it could be a very funny experience
There is absolutely some slight performance issues with having a lot of summons. I did a meme build with 4 Necromancers in a multiplayer game and the engine absolutely unprepared for that many entities. Thankfully no issues with save corruption.
Yeah, it's really a shame, I have been reading about the issue and coudn't find a true answer. Some say that apparently there is a problem with the game recognizing the position of many entitites and that makes the save corrupt. Also, some say that the mod that allows you to have more characters in the party sorts it. Hopefully they aventually will fix it with some update, it's really funny having the screen full of ghouls at your commander xD.@@lexcon4572
What robe and hood were you wearing in the beginning
You and what army turned in to You and the graveyard gang
Im trying to make a Nazgul Talion build so this really helps :)
you have deathly powers that would make Myrkul blush
i dont understand where people find all this cool clothing
You kill bosses, there is mod to transmog your optimal gear to look of aesthetic pleasing gear for rp.
great video, music fits perfect