Expanded Features: Necromantic Origins 2 (Patreon)

Continuing with Necromantic Origins are a new archetype for the Legendary Bard, and a new Tome for the Legendary Magus!

Legendary Bard

Dirge Bard (Legendary Bard Archetype)

These bard’s specialize in dirges that strike fear into the hearts of their foes and stir corpses with the powers of unlife.

Dirge Magic: The dirge bard adds the following spells to their spell list as spells of the listed level: inflict light wounds (1st), inflict moderate wounds (2nd), lesser animate dead (2nd), animate dead (3rd), inflict serious wounds (3rd), inflict critical wounds (4th), mass inflict light wounds (5th), harm (6th), mass inflict moderate wounds (6th).

This modifies the legendary bard’s bardic spellcasting class feature.

Inspire the Damned: The dirge bard may inspire even the dead and damned, allowing their undead allies to be affected by their inspirations despite their normal immunity to mind-affecting effects.

This modifies the legendary bard’s inspirations class feature, but not for the purposes of archetype compatibility.

Bardic Dirges: The dirge bard gains their choice of the Dirge of the Dead or Dirge of Doom bardic performances in place of their normal performance gained at 1st level. At 2nd level, they gain the performance they did not select at 1st.

When using the Dirge of the Dead performance, they only need perform for 5 consecutive rounds, spending 5 total rounds of bardic performance, to allow their created undead to persist for 1 hour per class level after the performance ends.

When using the Dirge of Doom performance, whenever a creature leaves the area of the performance, or when the dirge bard ends the performance, creatures remain shaken by the performance for a number of rounds equal to the number of rounds they suffered its effects. Additionally, the dirge bard’s performance becomes particularly effective at shattering the moral of their foes. The saving throw penalty imposed by the shaken condition imposed by this performance is doubled against fear effects.

This replaces the legendary bard’s bardic performance gained at 1st and 2nd levels.

School of the Dirge: In addition to the normal choices of bardic school available to the legendary bard, the legendary bard can choose to select the school of the dirge. Each time they choose to do so, they gain a +1 increase to the caster level of bard spells they cast of the necromancy school.

This modifies the legendary bard’s bardic school class feature.

New Bardic Performances

Symphony of Souls

Prerequisite(s) Legendary bard level 6

Components: Audible or Visual

The legendary bard can use this performance to call upon a swirling morass of spirits to hinder their foes and damage their life essence. This morass of spirits forms a 15-foot radius emanation centered on the legendary bard that moves when they move. Enemies of the bard treat this area as difficult terrain. Whenever such a creature enters the area for the first time on their turn, or begins their turn in the area, they must make a Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the bard’s level + the bard’s Cha modifier) or suffer 3d6 points of damage, +1d6 per 2 legendary bard levels beyond 6th. This damage manifests in the form of physical wounds and aches from supernatural aging. Creatures immune to magical aging are immune to this damage, but otherwise the damage bypasses all forms of damage reduction.

Panicked Allegro

Prerequisite(s) Legendary bard level 16

Components: Audible, Fear, Mind Affecting

The legendary bard can use this performance to drive their foes into an utter panic. To be affected, an enemy must be able to hear the bard perform and be within 30 feet. Each enemy within range receives a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the bard’s level + the bard’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect. If the save succeeds, the creature is immune to this ability for 24 hours. If the save fails, the target becomes panicked and flees for as long as the target can hear the bard’s performance.

Legendary Magus

New Legendary Magus Tome: Tome of the Puppetmaster

Corpse puppetry is a rare and often feared art, often compared unfavorably to necromancy. Unlike true necromancy, corpse puppetry does not bestow any measure of life or unlife to a corpse. These puppets are animated purely by the magus’ will and power.

Puppetmaster Style (Su)

At 1st level, the legendary magus has learned to use their arcane powers to puppet corpses and have them act on their behalf. They can create a single corpse puppet from the corpse of a once-living creature by spending one minute in meditation within reach of it. This puppet uses the living creatures statistics, but has 5 hit points per each legendary magus level in place of their normal hit points. The legendary magus cannot create a corpse puppet from a corpse that had more Hit Dice than 1.5 x their legendary magus level (rounded up). The corpse puppet’s type changes to construct, it gains construct immunities, its Constitution and Intelligence scores become — and it loses all of its skill ranks and languages. The corpse puppet loses any of its special abilities or qualities that are not purely defensive (such as resistances, immunities, bonuses to armor class, etc). Corpse puppets cannot take actions on their own. Any time the legendary magus spends a move action to move, their corpse puppet can move up to its speed as well. Corpse puppets must stay within Medium range (100 ft. + 10 ft. per legendary magus level) to remain animated. If they leave this area, the magic binding them under the legendary magus’ control immediately breaks, causing them to become mundane corpses once again. The legendary magus can willingly stop animating one of their corpse puppets as a free action on their turn, even if the corpse puppet is not in their line of sight or effect. Corpse puppets who were suffering hit point damage when their animation ceased continue to suffer that damage if reanimated as an undead creature or a corpse puppet again. If a corpse puppet is reduced to 0 hit points or fewer it is immediately destroyed, and the corpse cannot be reanimated as an undead creature or corpse puppet again.

Any time the legendary magus could make an attack, they may have one of their corpse puppets make that attack in their place. This attack is made using the corpse puppets wielded weapon, natural attack or unarmed strike, but otherwise uses the legendary magus’s statistics and feats. When making attacks in this way, the legendary magus uses their Intelligence modifier in place of the puppet’s Strength or Dexterity when determining their bonuses to hit and damage. These attacks are made using the corpse puppets space, reach, and line of sight. The legendary magus must be able to see the target of their attack to direct a corpse puppet to attack it. Corpse puppets do not threaten an area with their melee weapons. If the corpse puppet or magus are suffering a penalty or bonus to their attack rolls, those bonuses are applied to these attacks. Similar bonuses or penalties do not stack (for example: if both the magus and corpse puppet are sickened at the same time, the attacks would only receive a -2 penalty). When making iterative attacks using this ability, those iterative attacks suffer their normal penalties. The legendary magus must be able to see the target or their space to have a corpse puppet attack it.

While a corpse puppet is not in the legendary magus’ line of sight or effect, it is considered helpless. It cannot move when the legendary magus takes actions, cannot be used to make attacks, and does not defend itself.

Improved Puppetry (Su)

At 3rd level, the legendary magus gains the ability to puppet two corpses at once. This does not grant the legendary magus any additional attacks, and when they spend a move action to move, all of their active corpse puppets may move.

Whenever the legendary magus casts a spell that allows them to make a free melee touch attack, they can instead have one of their corpse puppets deliver that attack in their place. If they have an ability that allows them to deliver a touch attack with a weapon strike (such as the spellstriker archetype), they may deliver this spell using one of their corpse puppets weapons instead.

In addition, the legendary magus can allow one of their corpse puppets to charge as a full-round action. The corpse puppet suffers the normal benefits and penalties for charging, and may make a single attack at the end of this charge (unless the legendary magus has an ability that allows them to make multiple attacks at the end of a charge, such as the pounce special ability).

Puppet Sight (Su)

At 9th level, the legendary magus gains the ability to puppet three corpses at once, and the time it takes them to animate a new corpse puppet is reduced to 1 standard action. The range that the legendary magus can maintain their corpse puppets increases to Long range (400 ft. + 40 ft. per legendary magus level).

As a full-round action, the legendary magus can transfer their senses to one of their corpse puppets. They do not need line of sight or effect to the corpse puppet to use this ability. While in this state the legendary magus sees and hears using the corpse puppets body and can speak through their mouth (if the corpse was capable of speech in life). The legendary magus uses the corpse puppet they are sharing the senses of when determining the line of sight and line of effect of their other corpse puppets. They can continue to fight in this state, commanding their corpse puppets as normal. If the magus loses line of sight of their own body while in this state, their normal body is considered blind and deaf, but they can still take actions as normal. Returning their senses to their own body is a full-round action. If the corpse puppet they are sharing the senses of is destroyed, or its animation ends, the legendary magus is dazed, blinded, and deafened for 1 round as their senses violently return to their own body.

In addition, corpse puppets now threaten with their melee weapons. When a creature provokes an attack of opportunity from a corpse puppet, the legendary magus can spend one of their attacks of opportunity to make an attack of opportunity using one of the corpse puppets weapons with the legendary magus’ statistics.

Master of Puppets (Su)

At 15th level, the legendary magus gains the ability to puppet four corpses at once, and the time it takes them to animate a new corpse is reduced to 1 swift or move action. The range that the legendary magus can maintain their corpse puppets is now limitless as long as the magus and corpse puppet are on the same plane.

Whenever the legendary magus casts a spell with a cast time of 1 full-round action or longer, makes a full attack, or uses their spell combat ability as a full round action, they can allow their corpse puppets to move up to their speed as a free action.