Command undead is a fun feature, allowing you to obtain permanent control of any undead with less than 12 INT. What undead happens to be CR 20, summonable, and have only 6 INT? A nightwalker. While you could just fumble about untill you happen to find one, here is a step by step guide on how to get ahold of one for yourself with as many safety precautions as possible. Remember, if it kills you, you are staying dead no matter what, so there’s no such thing as too safe.
Requirements: Level 14 Wizard (School of Necromancy), a sacrifice (Detailed in step 2), a tuning fork attuned to the plane of negative energy OR a staff of the magi
Spells Known: Magic Circle, Bestow Curse, Haste, Glyph of Warding, Greater Invisibility, Plane Shift
Prepare a Glyph of Warding with Haste inside prior to performing the operation. If you can, prepare a few for multiple attempts.
The steps:
Step 1: Create an inwards-facing Magic Circle binding undead. Upcast it to 6th level, for a total time of 4 hours.
Step 2: Place your sacrifice within the circle. Preferably willing, as you do not wish to waste your plane shift. Depending on how strict your DM is about the planar mechanics, the sacrifice must be able to survive within the negative plane of energy for a prolonged period of time. For this, a fanatical, willing death cleric with Death Ward, Protection Evil and Good, and some form of necrotic resistance is the optimal sacrifice.
Step 3: Haste yourself with your Glyph of Warding. This will allow you to move as fast as necessary without concentration, as that is covered by the Glyph.
Step 4: Plane Shift the sacrifice to the plane of negative energy, then cast Greater Invisibility on yourself and back away at least 30 feet from the edge of the circle
Step 5: If all is done correctly, a Nightwalker will appear in place of the sacrifice within the circle. It should not be able to see you, and you should not be within its aura.
Step 6: Approach the Nightwalker and cast Bestow Curse at 5th level (so it doesn’t require concentration, and you maintain invisibility), targeting Charisma saves. It is most likely to succeed, but if it doesn’t then back out of the aura on the same turn, using your second action to dash if necessary. If it works, use your second action to Command Undead.
Step 7: Congratulations! You now have a Nightwalker. Your Save DC should be 18 at this point, and it has a -1 and disadvantage on charisma saves. If it failed, use Banishment and maintain concentration for the full minute to permanently banish it. Your sacrifice should reappear (if they survived) and allow you to try again later.
Note: If you somehow end up taking damage and potentially losing concentration on greater invisibility, break line of sight immediately. Then, use your upcast magic circle duration to short rest, regain your hit points, and use arcane recovery to get back a 4th level slot for greater invisibility. As well, if you fail to Bestow Curse it with both of your 5th level spell slots, use arcane recovery to get one back.
submitted by /u/Necron-Tears
[link] [comments]
r/DnD Command undead is a fun feature, allowing you to obtain permanent control of any undead with less than 12 INT. What undead happens to be CR 20, summonable, and have only 6 INT? A nightwalker. While you could just fumble about untill you happen to find one, here is a step by step guide on how to get ahold of one for yourself with as many safety precautions as possible. Remember, if it kills you, you are staying dead no matter what, so there’s no such thing as too safe. Requirements: Level 14 Wizard (School of Necromancy), a sacrifice (Detailed in step 2), a tuning fork attuned to the plane of negative energy OR a staff of the magi Spells Known: Magic Circle, Bestow Curse, Haste, Glyph of Warding, Greater Invisibility, Plane Shift Prepare a Glyph of Warding with Haste inside prior to performing the operation. If you can, prepare a few for multiple attempts. The steps: Step 1: Create an inwards-facing Magic Circle binding undead. Upcast it to 6th level, for a total time of 4 hours. Step 2: Place your sacrifice within the circle. Preferably willing, as you do not wish to waste your plane shift. Depending on how strict your DM is about the planar mechanics, the sacrifice must be able to survive within the negative plane of energy for a prolonged period of time. For this, a fanatical, willing death cleric with Death Ward, Protection Evil and Good, and some form of necrotic resistance is the optimal sacrifice. Step 3: Haste yourself with your Glyph of Warding. This will allow you to move as fast as necessary without concentration, as that is covered by the Glyph. Step 4: Plane Shift the sacrifice to the plane of negative energy, then cast Greater Invisibility on yourself and back away at least 30 feet from the edge of the circle Step 5: If all is done correctly, a Nightwalker will appear in place of the sacrifice within the circle. It should not be able to see you, and you should not be within its aura. Step 6: Approach the Nightwalker and cast Bestow Curse at 5th level (so it doesn’t require concentration, and you maintain invisibility), targeting Charisma saves. It is most likely to succeed, but if it doesn’t then back out of the aura on the same turn, using your second action to dash if necessary. If it works, use your second action to Command Undead. Step 7: Congratulations! You now have a Nightwalker. Your Save DC should be 18 at this point, and it has a -1 and disadvantage on charisma saves. If it failed, use Banishment and maintain concentration for the full minute to permanently banish it. Your sacrifice should reappear (if they survived) and allow you to try again later. Note: If you somehow end up taking damage and potentially losing concentration on greater invisibility, break line of sight immediately. Then, use your upcast magic circle duration to short rest, regain your hit points, and use arcane recovery to get back a 4th level slot for greater invisibility. As well, if you fail to Bestow Curse it with both of your 5th level spell slots, use arcane recovery to get one back. submitted by /u/Necron-Tears [link] [comments]
Command undead is a fun feature, allowing you to obtain permanent control of any undead with less than 12 INT. What undead happens to be CR 20, summonable, and have only 6 INT? A nightwalker. While you could just fumble about untill you happen to find one, here is a step by step guide on how to get ahold of one for yourself with as many safety precautions as possible. Remember, if it kills you, you are staying dead no matter what, so there’s no such thing as too safe.
Requirements: Level 14 Wizard (School of Necromancy), a sacrifice (Detailed in step 2), a tuning fork attuned to the plane of negative energy OR a staff of the magi
Spells Known: Magic Circle, Bestow Curse, Haste, Glyph of Warding, Greater Invisibility, Plane Shift
Prepare a Glyph of Warding with Haste inside prior to performing the operation. If you can, prepare a few for multiple attempts.
The steps:
Step 1: Create an inwards-facing Magic Circle binding undead. Upcast it to 6th level, for a total time of 4 hours.
Step 2: Place your sacrifice within the circle. Preferably willing, as you do not wish to waste your plane shift. Depending on how strict your DM is about the planar mechanics, the sacrifice must be able to survive within the negative plane of energy for a prolonged period of time. For this, a fanatical, willing death cleric with Death Ward, Protection Evil and Good, and some form of necrotic resistance is the optimal sacrifice.
Step 3: Haste yourself with your Glyph of Warding. This will allow you to move as fast as necessary without concentration, as that is covered by the Glyph.
Step 4: Plane Shift the sacrifice to the plane of negative energy, then cast Greater Invisibility on yourself and back away at least 30 feet from the edge of the circle
Step 5: If all is done correctly, a Nightwalker will appear in place of the sacrifice within the circle. It should not be able to see you, and you should not be within its aura.
Step 6: Approach the Nightwalker and cast Bestow Curse at 5th level (so it doesn’t require concentration, and you maintain invisibility), targeting Charisma saves. It is most likely to succeed, but if it doesn’t then back out of the aura on the same turn, using your second action to dash if necessary. If it works, use your second action to Command Undead.
Step 7: Congratulations! You now have a Nightwalker. Your Save DC should be 18 at this point, and it has a -1 and disadvantage on charisma saves. If it failed, use Banishment and maintain concentration for the full minute to permanently banish it. Your sacrifice should reappear (if they survived) and allow you to try again later.
Note: If you somehow end up taking damage and potentially losing concentration on greater invisibility, break line of sight immediately. Then, use your upcast magic circle duration to short rest, regain your hit points, and use arcane recovery to get back a 4th level slot for greater invisibility. As well, if you fail to Bestow Curse it with both of your 5th level spell slots, use arcane recovery to get one back.
submitted by /u/Necron-Tears
[link] [comments]