Pale master

NWN Requirements

Alignment: Any non-good
Arcane Spellcasting: Level 3 or higher

Arelith Changes

On top of the vanilla spell slots, each level of Pale Master adds +1 caster level for necromancy spells and every 2 levels adds +1 caster level to non-necromancy spells (level 2, 4, 6 etc.).
Caster level works for determining the power and duration of most spells. For example, a Haste from a character with caster level 11 would last one minute and six seconds. A character with 10 Wizard levels and 7 Pale Master levels would have a total of 17 caster levels for necromancy spells and 13 caster levels for other spells.
Some spells work differently for the pale master.
Death Armor scaling is uncapped, additional damage scales at +1 per CL instead of +1 per 2 CL

Scare HD limit removed

Circle of Death HD limit is equal to Caster Level, if Caster Level is above 9

Horrid Wilting will only do half damage against friendly targets

Energy Drain and Enervate have +4 DC

For undead summons, they have a full 1/1 caster level progression.
At higher levels, the Pale Master may gain the following feats for free:
At class level 10, the Pale Master gains Epic Spell Focus: Necromancy, so long as she already has Greater Spell Focus: Necromancy

At class level 13, the Pale Master gains Epic Spell: Mummy Dust so long as she has at least 20 Intelligence or Charisma

At class level 16, the Pale Master gains Epic Spell: Dragon Knight so long as she has at least 20 Intelligence or Charisma
Pale Master levels count as full caster levels for the purpose of resisting dispels
Pale Master levels also add up with wizard and sorcerer levels for the Undead Caster Level.
Pale Masters do not summon the usual undead, but instead they draw their summons from the undead streams.
Gain access to the Dracolich Stream.
The Bone Skin bonus from Pale Master has been halved. Pale Masters now get +1 AC at level 1 and +1 AC every four levels thereafter. This has been implemented as a scripted Dodge AC bonus in lieu of the Bone Skin feat.
Undead Graft's Touch is on a ten minutes cooldown
- The DC now scales with the Pale Master's attributes and invested spell foci in Necromancy. The formula is 14 + The higher of the Pale Master's CHA or INT + 2 per Necromancy Spell Focus, but now also respects Freedom of Movement and Paralysis Immunity.
Deathless Master's Touch is on a ten minute cooldown
- The DC is now increased by the Pale Master's Intelligence or Charisma modifier (whichever is higher) and by Spell Foci in Necromancy, but now also respects Death Immunity. When used on an Undead Summon, this ability will heal that summon; this effect scales up with Pale Master class levels.

Prerequisite

Non-Good.
Arcane Spellcasting: 3 levels of any arcane casting class.
Cannot have any druid levels

Keep In Mind...

Palemaster does not require a token. Becoming a palemaster is not an unwilling process. Any characters that suggest Palemastery was forced upon them or a cursed will likely have a DM talk to them about their concept.

Please note also that Palemasters are not liches. A lich requires a 5%.

Finally, please keep in mind alignment. Playing a "good" PM while being a non-good alignment will have you chatting with the DM Team.

Roleplay Tips

By Lualyrr Terrana, credit -Th3Roxxorzs-

Necromancy is usually a poor choice for arcane spellcasters. Those who really want to master the deathless arts almost always pursue divine means. However, an alternative exists for those who desire power over undead, without losing too much of their arcane power. Enter the pale master, who draws on a font of special lore that provides a macabre power all its own. Sorcerers and Wizards make powerful pale masters. Additional spellcasting ability is sacrificed for a stronger melee presence.

Deathless mastery : The Roleplay of an important feat.

At level 10, a pale master gains the Deathless Mastery feat.

- In Tome and Blood (DnD book): "His body becomes partly mummified, and he is no longer subject to critical hits."

- In Libris Mortis (DnD book): "His body becomes partly mummified (though he is not truly undead), and he becomes immune to [long list - not gained in NWN]. He still needs to breathe, eat, and sleep as normal for his type, and he still ages normally."

Thus by being "partly mummified," he still needs to breathe and eat. Mummification involves the removal of organs, but breathing and eating require several organs, if not all.

Basically, the pale master is a necromancer that gives parts of their living body up for undead augmentations. For example, the natural AC bonus that the class gets is their skin turning hard and bony. As they gain levels, they look more and more like the undead that they control. In Tome and Blood actually said that at level 10, most onlookers confuse the Pale Master for an undead.

- Palemaster isn't simply mastery of the undead, it is breaking the bounds between life and death, it's in a sense, a loss of vitality, not related to the desire to control and create undeath necromancers have.

- The Palemaster is also striving to serve the existence he previously knew in reshaping his body as he sees fit, to resemble undeath (The undead graft, and the vital changes necessary for the immunities that he gains). Likewise, these changes increase his link to the undeath. Whereas a necromancer would force undeath to do his bidding through spells and the like, a Palemaster differs by being able to use his growing link with the undead to coax them into doing what he wishes. Breaking the boundaries that people usually think exist between undeath and life.

A good approach I've read might be self-mummification. Here is a caricaturization. (Mind you, this is a subjective view, but an interesting approach, give it a magical twist, dismiss it, but if it can help to give you a guideline; as long you keep in mind that the Palemaster wishes to defy/shape Death, to twist his own self to resemble it by "experimenting" on his body)

-First, the pale master makes a cut in the left side of the body and removes all of the internal organs. It is important to be well-rested and nourished before beginning the ritual.

-Second, the liver, lungs, stomach, heart and intestines are washed and packed in salt, which will dry them out.

-Third, the pale master stuffs his empty body with salt and waits for it to dry for at least 12 hours, preferably in a dry area with an abundance of negative energy.

-Fourth, after sufficient time drying, the body is washed with water, then covered with oils to help the skin stay elastic.

-Fifth, the dehydrated internal organs are returned to the body and reconnected with one another. The other organs are discarded. The remainder of the body is stuffed with dry materials such as sawdust, leaves and any linen used during the embalming process.

-Finally, the body is covered again with good-smelling oils.

In essence: taken out, semi-mummified, returned (and also reconnected). Still magically working (Organs) and are required (since the pale master isn't really undead and can breathe, eat, ect).

Keep in mind that not all mummification is done through the old Egyptian techniques. There is also natural mummification, where a corpse becomes desiccated and somewhat preserved. It's conceivable that a Pale master's body could become much drier. Picture the skin becoming leathery and creased, the eyes sinking a bit, the lips drawing back a little to expose the teeth more. Finger and toe nails would appear longer as the skin retracts, cheeks would appear a little sunken. Losing all that moisture, they'd be much leaner looking, and might actually fit the phrase, "Death warmed over."

About the dead and controlling the dead:

Animate/Create spells make a dead body into an undead creature. At some point in casting this spell, a corpse becomes undead. Whether that happens elsewhere and it's summoned to you, or whether you're carrying part or all of the corpse to be animated on you is up to you. Summon Undead abilities are summon abilities. This represents a pale master's connection with undeath, and allows him to call his undead buddies to his aid.

External Links

Information about default NWN class are available on NWNWiki.