View source for Publication:Dread Codex/Monsters/Necroling

=== In Your Campaign ===

So what starts a spellcaster on the road to becoming a necromancer? Are they all power-hungry wizards who cherish the dead more than the living? As with all things, the answer to such questions lies with the individual. If you do not have some kind of established necromantic lore in your campaign, you might want to use the necroling as a starting point for curious characters to learn about. For while no two people will give the same answer for entering necromantic studies, necroling creation is the standard by which all in the field are measured. Any spellcaster can focus their efforts on the school of necromancy and call themselves necromancers but only those truly worthy of the title create necrolings. Let's look a little closer at necroling construction. A spellcaster requires the following: Craft Wondrous Item feat, a corpse of someone who died unnaturally no longer than a day ago, a vial filled with black ink, consecutive casting of sleep, gaseous form, dimension door, and detect thoughts on the ink vial, and finally the drawing of the necromantic glyph of undeath on the corpse's forehead (requires a DC 12 Knowledge (arcana) check). Once the spells have been cast and the glyph drawn, the necromancer must sleep next to the body for 8 hours with the enspelled ink vial on the other side. During the slumber, the necromancer imbibes the thoughts and feelings the corpse's soul endured at the point of death. The spellcaster learns in vivid mind-wrenching detail what it means to cross the barrier from life into death. At the same time, the ink vial absorbs the last wisp of spirit before it leaves the corpse. This wisp becomes the necroling's mind while the ink is used when the creature manifests a physical body.

Necromancer and necroling are not bonded, as such, when he wakens but there is a definite connection between the two. The necroling intuitively recognizes the necromancer as having touched a piece of its former mind and desires to remain close to that presence. The necromancer gains a permanent black stain right below the back of his neck. What this stain does is mark him as a true necromancer. He has experienced what it is to die and understands the very nature of undeath in the creature he has created. The mark also identifies him to other "true" necromancers, perhaps thereby gaining access to secretive cults or information. Undertaking necroling creation is a wholly evil act since the character is ripping part of a person's soul from its rightful rest and forcing it into eternal servitude. You can use the information presented here to warn PCs who consider becoming true necromancers.

However, those who do fashion necrolings also find themselves in a position to take previously unknown feats (see below). Each of the three feats capitalizes on the unique knowledge gained by necroling creation.
Alignment	Usually neutral evil +
Challenge Rating	4 +
Environment	Any land +
Level Adjustment	— +
Size	Tiny +
Title	Necroling +
Type	Undead +