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Last year saw the Shadowdark RPG continue to expand in a big way, with creator Kelsey Dionne’s Arcane Library generating over $2.8 million in crowdfunding from the Western Reaches Kickstarter. That particular expansion introduces several new setting books, along with a ton of additional materials. Backers of the campaign have already been treated to several sneak peaks, including most recently Cursed Scroll 6: City of Masks.
Now, backers will be able to get their hands on the brand new Necromancer class playtest package, which introduces a powerful new undead spellcaster. Below, we pick through the bones and summon all the details.
What is the new Shadowdark Necromancer playtest?
This latest release is a Kickstarter backer exclusive 16-page PDF that contains the following:
- New Necromancer class: As the name suggests, the meat of the playtest is a complete class write-up covering the Necromancer’s key stats and defining abilities, the latter of which includes Death Sense (detecting undead and dying creatures) and River of Death (delaying death and extending your death timer). The package also includes a full spell table, a Talents table and a table of available of weapons.
- 30 new Necromancer spells: This includes six spells for each of five tiers, ranging from early control and utility magic like First Gate (putting enemies into a supernatural sleep) and Withermark (a ranged necrotic attack), to mid-tier options like Animate Dead (you can create a zombie or skeleton) and Reap the Soul (you gain HP from recently killed creatures), and culminating in powerful high-tier spells such as Create Undead (you can summon a vengeful wraith or wight) and Riverwalk (you literally teleport to the the River of Death itself).
- Necromancer mishap tables: The package contains two escalating mishap tables triggered by critical spellcasting failures, with options including suffering life-draining backlash damage, temporarily becoming a mindless zombie, losing gear to spectral hands, unleashing hostile undead into the area, being cursed with necrotic decay, or even tearing open a breach to the River of Death that continually spawns undead until it’s sealed.
What are the core features of the new Shadowdark Necromancer class?
In the playtest, Necromancers are described as: “Feared mystics who see beyond the shores of the living world. These warrior-mages guide the dead to their final rest—or call them back from dark waters to walk again among the living.”
Equipment
- Weapons: Crossbow, dagger, longsword, scimitar, staff, stave
- Armor: Leather armor, chainmail
Class Features
- Hit Points: 1d6 per level
- Death Sense: You can sense the location and general nature of undead and dying creatures within near of you.
- River of Death: Your spirit has walked in the eternal river, and you have learned to resist the pull of death. You do not die at 0 CON, and you roll a d6 for your death timer instead of a d4.
- Spellcasting: You know two tier 1 spells of your choice from the necromancer spell list. Each time you gain a level, you choose new necromancer spells to learn according to the Necromancer Spells Known table. You use your Charisma modifier to cast necromancer spells. The DC is 10 + the spell’s tier. If you fail a spellcasting check, you can’t cast that spell again until you complete a rest. If you roll a natural 1 on a spellcasting check, you must also roll on the corresponding Necromancer Mishaps table for the spell’s tier.
Final Thoughts
The new Necromancer class playtest introduces a unique new theme to Shadowdark and the spells in particular are absolutely incredible and add a ton of flavor and utility. Of course, it’s possible that the class may change before it’s final release with the Western Reaches Kickstarter, but for now it’s an impressive blast of undead content with a surprising amount of life.
You can learn more about Shadowdark RPG and the Western Reaches expansion on the Arcane Library website.