I've been brainstorming a few ideas for a lore-friendly and balanced necromancy skill tree. this is what I've come up with. Since the original post, I've revised several things, added new active and passive skills, an alternate ultimate, and thought of a way to remove the requirement for corpses to be present without being an "undead summoner" rather than a true-to-lore necromancer
-Becoming a necromancer-
After completing the fighter's guild or Mage's guild questline a messenger from the guild you completed first will approach you claiming there is a powerful necromancer attempting to raise an undead army to rival the alliances and it is your duty to stop them. After a challening quest you are given the option to either slay the necromancer or join him and learn the art of necromancy.
-drawbacks-
Necromancy is frowned upon by the major alliances and your undead minions will be killed on sight by guards upon entering major cities (they may attack you as well if you have minions out if a crime system is implemented) excluding player-owned holds. Fighter's guild attacks won't have greater effect on you but they will on your minions.
Aside from this, there will be no negative effects caused simply by being a necromancer. However, building and maintaining your undead army will require an additional investment of time and likely money. Reanimation skills will require and consume a filled soul gem of your level or one grade lower or the spell will backfire, costing magicka but having no effect on the corpse.
One idea I had was that instead of requiring a corpse to reanimate, the first passive players would get at rank 1 would allow them to harvest humanoid corpses for useful remains such as bones, flesh, hearts etc. Each reanimation spell would require and consume a full skeleton (2 arms, 2 legs, 1 ribcage and 1 skull), a heart, flesh, and a filled soul gem of your level or one grade lower or the spell will backfire, costing magicka but not creating the minion. (Ultimates that reanimate 5 corpses would require 5 full skeletons, 5 hearts, 5 chunks of flesh, but only 1 soul gem)
-skills-
-active-
Corruption - deals disease damage over time and decreases healing received by 10/13/16/19%.
Plague (morph of Corruption) - deals disease damage over time and decreases healing received by 20%. If target is killed while plague is active, it spreads to nearby enemies.
Feast of Corruption (morph of Corruption) - deals disease damage over time. and decreases healing received by 20%. If target is killed while Feast of Corruption is active it heals you and your undead minions for 10/12/14/16% max health
Reanimate Corpse - reanimates a nearby dead body to fight for you that performs basic light and heavy attacks. lasts for 60 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. Minions turn to dust when they die.
Revenant (morph of reanimate corpse) - reanimates a nearby dead body to fight for you that performs basic light and heavy attacks. Attacks made by this minion heal itself and its master for 25% of the damage done. lasts for 60 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. this minion deals 15% increased damage. Minions turn to dust when they die
Necrotic Bomb (morph of reanimate corpse) - reanimates a nearby dead body to fight for you that performs basic light and heavy attacks. lasts for 60 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. this minion deals 15% increased damage. When this minion is killed it deals a large amount of disease damage to nearby enemies. Minions turn to dust when they die
Stench of Death - While toggled, you and your undead minions deal minor disease damage every 1 second to enemies in melee range. You will also take minor disease damage every 2 seconds
Foul Presence - (morph of Stench of Death) While toggled, you and your undead minions deal minor disease damage every 1 second to enemies in melee range. You will also take minor disease damage every 2 seconds. Each tick from your stench has a 15% chance to inflict 4 seconds of fear on enemies.
Oppressive Gloom - (morph of Stench of Death) While toggled, you and your undead minions deal minor disease damage every 1 second to enemies in melee range. You will also take minor disease damage every 2 seconds. Increases the radius of your aura to 7/9/11/13 meters. Each Tick from your stench has a 5/7/9/11% chance to disorient enemies.
Reanimate Warlock - Reanimates a nearby dead body to fight for you that performs basic ranged attacks that deal magic damage. lasts for 60 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. Minions turn to dust when they die.
Plague Lord - (morph of Reanimate Warlock) reanimates a nearby dead body to fight for you that performs ranged AOE spells that deal disease damage. lasts for 60 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. This minion deals 15% increased damage. Minions turn to dust when they die.
Blasphemous Martyr - (morph of Reanimate Warlock) Reanimates a nearby dead body to fight for you that performs basic ranged attacks that deal magic damage. This minion will periodically sacrifice its own health to heal you and your allies, but not other minions. lasts for 60 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. Minions turn to dust when they die.
Vile Feast - when cast on a nearby dead body, your undead minions will leap to it and feast for 10/8/6/4 seconds, restoring 100% of their health.
Renewing Feast - (morph of Vile Feast) when cast on a nearby dead body, your undead minions will leap to it and feast for 4 seconds, restoring 100% of their health and adding 10/12/14/16 seconds to their duration at the end of the feast.
Vile Explosion - (morph of Vile Feast) when cast on a nearby dead body, your undead minions will leap to it and feast for 4 seconds, restoring 100% of their health. Deals disease damage to nearby enemies at the end of the feast. this damage is increased by 11/14/17/20% for each minion fed
-Ultimate-
Lich Transformation- Your basic light and heavy attacks will deal additional disease damage (based on max magicka) but consume ultimate. lasts until toggled or you run out of ult.
Commander of the Dead (morph of Lich Transformation) - Your basic light and heavy attacks will deal additional disease damage (based on max magicka) but consume ultimate. lasts until toggled or you run out of ult. minions have additional armor and spell resistance and deal additional disease damage while toggled.
Dark Priest - (morph of Lich Transformation) - Your basic light and heavy attacks will deal additional disease damage (based on max magicka) but consume ultimate. lasts until toggled or you run out of ult. Heavy attacks heal nearby allies (including minions) for 20/40/60/80% of the additional disease damage done.
As suggested earlier I'm including alternate choices for an ultimate
Ritual of the Lich - Reanimates up to 5 nearby corpses to fight for you that perform basic light and heavy attacks. lasts for 20/22/24/26 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. Minions turn to dust when they die. these minions do not count towards your max minion count nor do they suffer damage penalty. Destroys ALL active minions after 20/22/24/26 seconds.
Ritual of the Horde - (morph of Ritual of the Lich) Reanimates up to 6/7/8/9 nearby corpses to fight for you that perform basic light and heavy attacks. lasts for 26 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. Minions turn to dust when they die. these minions do not count towards your max minion count nor do they suffer damage penalty. Destroys ALL active minions after 26 seconds.
Ritual of the Flesh - (morph of Ritual of the Lich) Exploits 5 nearby corpses to create a Flesh Atronach that has 500% increased health and taunts nearby enemies but deals minimal damage. lasts for 28/30/32/34 seconds and cannot be healed by normal means. Minions turn to dust when they die. this minion does not count towards your max minion count and is destroyed after 28/30/32/34 seconds. Only one flesh atronach can be active at a time.
-passive-
Vile Harvester - can harvest humanoid corpses for useful remains 50/40/30% chance to damage remains upon extraction
Corrupted blood - increases disease damage done by 10/20%
Undead Resolve - Undead minions have 5/10% increased health
Army of the Damned - increases max minion count to 2/3/4/5 but decreases each individual minion's base damage and healing by 10/15/20/25%
Wall of Flesh - Increases your armor rating by 0.5/1% per active minion
Please let me know what you think
Edited by stimpy986b14_ESO on November 13, 2014 3:56AM