[RPG] What are the options for animated undead for a Necromancer

dnd-5enecromancyundeadwizard

I have just moved to 5e from 3.5e.

I've read up about the Necromancy Wizard subclass in 5e, and from what I have seen so far there are only three possible undead that they can possibly animate: medium zombies, medium skeletons, and ghouls. Are there other options for animation?

Undead created by a Necromancer add a proficiency bonus to damage, but in my opinion, without extra help they will miss often at medium-high level. Are there options to improve their stats?

Best Answer

There are four spells which make undead:

  • Animate Dead. 3rd level spell which is added to your spellbook at 6th level and for which you get an additional undead. Makes zombies or skeletons.

  • Danse Macabre. 5th level spell from Xanathar's Guide to Everything (p. 153) which creates 6 undead for an hour. Makes zombies or skeletons, with a bonus to attack and damage.

  • Create Undead. 6th level spell which creates 3 ghouls which last indefinatly. Can be cast at higher levels to make 4 ghouls (7th), 5 ghouls or 2 ghasts or wights (8th) or 6 ghouls, 3 ghasts or wights, or 2 mummies (9th). Must be cast at night for added cliche. Lightning strike and full moon optional.

  • Finger of Death. 7th level spell which can create a zombie of its target if it kills it. The zombie has no time limitations or upkeep costs.

These are buffed by Undead Thralls

The 6th level feature which grants you the animate dead spell, Undead Thralls, also buffs these undead:

Whenever you create an undead using a necromancy spell, it has additional benefits:

Which is a buff to their hit points and damage (this stacks with the bonus innate to danse macabre).

There are otherwise no other features (to my knowledge) which explicitly improve the stats of your undead. (Obtaining minions in 5e is already quite powerful as it weighs heavily on the action economy.) You are then left with the myriad of spells and features which can buff any creature. I'm not going to list them here, but you may find D&D Beyond's Spell Search a useful starting point to find buff spells.

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