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Introduction
The PF2e Necromancer is a full prepared occult caster whose battlefield pieces happen to be temporary undead. That distinction matters. You are not running a slow parade of permanent pets. You create thralls in useful squares, make them threaten or flank, turn them into a spell origin, then spend or replace them when the map changes. The class is tactical, mobile, and surprisingly flexible when it is played as a resource-and-position engine instead of a pile of disposable hit points.
The class comes from Impossible Magic. It uses Intelligence, has eight Hit Points plus Constitution modifier each level, prepares occult spells from a personal dirge, and gains both grave cantrips and grave focus spells. Keep Player Core 2 handy for the current remastered rules chassis, and consider Howl of the Wild if your table enjoys companion and summon themes alongside the thralls. Pick it if you enjoy looking at a battlefield and seeing three future turns at once. Skip it if you want a familiar to handle itself while you cast the same spell every round. A thrall needs orders, squares, and a reason to exist.
Class Snapshot
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Main job | Occult control, support, and tactical positioning through expendable thralls. |
| Key attribute | Intelligence. |
| Casting | Full prepared occult casting with a personal dirge. |
| Everyday engine | Create thralls, threaten space, then direct, sacrifice, or replace them. |
| Big build choice | Puppeteer for wider thrall and focus play, or Reaper for a closer weapon-and-armour plan. |
| Second build choice | Blood, Bone, Flesh, or Spirit grim fascination. |
| Complexity | High. The class tracks prepared spells, focus points, map squares, and a changing board state. |
| Best for | Players who like control casters, difficult terrain, delivery angles, and practical support. |
Hot Take: The Necromancer is not a "summoner with better flavour." Its best turns come from making a square matter for one round, then cashing that square in before the enemy gets to treat it as furniture.
What Does A Necromancer Do In Combat?
Your turn normally asks one question before it asks about damage: where would a temporary undead make the next action better? A thrall can occupy difficult terrain, help make a flank, create a point from which a grave spell starts, or stand near an enemy so a sacrifice effect has a target. It can also be directed to move or Strike when an ability permits. That makes a Necromancer better at changing the map than at treating every round as a stationary artillery turn.
The basic loop is compact.
- Create a thrall in an open square that matters now or will matter before your next turn.
- Use that presence to make an ally's position, an enemy's route, or your next spell better.
- Convert the thrall into damage, control, protection, healing, or a new location when the immediate payoff is worth more than keeping it.
- Prepare a useful no-thrall turn for the fight where the board gives you no safe square.
This is why the class needs honest target selection. A thrall has one Hit Point and is temporary. It is excellent at creating a moment, poor at being your emotional-support frontline. Enemies can move through its space, though that movement is inconvenient and it can be pushed out of the way. Place one where an enemy has to pay for ignoring it, not merely where it looks spooky.
Thralls Are Not Ordinary Minions
Thralls are level -1 mindless undead. They are not minions and do not receive ordinary independent turns. Their special rules let them act when a Necromancer ability tells them to, and their space is difficult terrain. They can contribute to flanking. That last detail is powerful because a created body can turn a nearby martial's second Strike from wishful thinking into a credible option.
| Thrall use | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Flank setup for an ally or Reaper ● | A small positioning change can benefit several attacks before the thrall is spent. |
| Delivery point for a grave spell ● | It lets the class project pressure without placing the caster in the dangerous square. |
| Difficult-terrain speed bump ● | Good when a route, door, bridge, or objective limits movement. Weak in a huge open room. |
| Fuel for a focus spell ● | Many grave spells deliberately exchange a disposable thrall for a meaningful effect. |
| A durable blocker ● | One Hit Point and special movement rules make this a bad expectation. |
The Grave-Spell Engine
At first level, a Necromancer begins with create thrall and thrall charge as grave cantrips, necrotic bomb, and one grave spell from a grim fascination. Grave cantrips do not consume Focus Points. Grave spells do, and the class begins with two Focus Points. When Refocusing, destroying a thrall can recover two points instead of one. That means the class wants to think about focus recovery before the next combat, not after it has spent every useful body.
create thrall gives you either two thralls in valid nearby squares or one thrall plus an immediate command. thrall charge pushes one chosen thrall into a move-and-Strike line with a chance to spend it for additional damage. Neither asks you to preserve the same creature for an entire encounter. They invite you to create the right body for the next tactical beat.
| Grave-spell role | Examples from the class | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Area pressure | Necrotic Bomb, Bone Spear | Enemies are clustered near a thrall or a line can catch a valuable target. |
| Defence and recovery | Muscle Barrier, Life Tap, Song of the Soul | An ally needs to stay standing or a dangerous exchange must be softened. |
| Control | Dead Weight, Flesh Tsunami, Zombie Horde | The map has a choke point, a vulnerable objective, or an enemy that cannot afford to lose movement. |
| Reach and repositioning | Bridge of Graves, Sanguine Transference, Recurring Nightmare | The party needs a route, a new casting angle, or a way around a bad position. |
| High-level battlefield piece | Skeletal Lancers, Living Graveyard, Perfected Thrall | A late encounter rewards an extended board-shaping commitment. |
The focus spell guide explains shared resource rules. This class-specific decision is simpler: use a Focus Point when the spell changes who can act safely, where a fight happens, or whether an ally survives. Spending one just to make the board a little greener is how a resource engine starts idling in the garage.
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Puppeteer Or Reaper?
Fatal method is the first major fork. It changes the way you value range, armour, weapons, and the number of thralls you want in play. Neither method cancels the other parts of the class, but it should change your early purchases and your normal first turn.
| Fatal method | What it gives the build | Choose it when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puppeteer ● | Extra thrall production and a limited thrall-to-focus conversion | You want to control more of the board, keep the caster farther back, and have a reason to make several temporary bodies | A large map can still make your 30-foot relationships awkward. Do not create bodies without a next action. |
| Reaper ● | Martial weapons, medium armour, and a free melee Strike after creating a thrall next to a target | You want to fight close to the line and enjoy weapon timing as well as casting | Your free Strike is once per round, and close range exposes a full caster to the consequences of bad positioning. |
Puppeteer: Spend Bodies To Make More Magic
Puppeteer is the clearer choice for a player who wants the board to feel crowded and usable. Its extra-thrall production makes it easier to set up a flank and still have a sacrifice available. Its focus recovery option matters in longer adventuring days or in campaigns where the party can Refocus regularly. The build is strongest when it creates a body with a declared purpose: a later spell origin, a difficult route, a flank, or a coming control effect.
Puppeteer also has a quiet table benefit. It can play at a safer distance while still placing pressure around an ally. This does not make it an unattended battlefield program. You still need line of effect, open squares, and a plan for each creation.
Reaper: Put The Caster In The Formation
Reaper gets martial weapons and medium armour, then rewards a created thrall adjacent to the enemy with a free melee Strike. That makes it a real hybrid lane, but not a free martial class stapled to full spellcasting. A Reaper needs room to enter melee safely, an armour plan, a weapon choice that does not consume every action, and allies who understand which squares it wants to use.
Choose Reaper when you want your own body to be part of the pressure. The best turns place a thrall where it threatens or enables a flank, take the once-per-round free Strike when the setup is valid, then leave the enemy with an awkward choice. The wrong turns treat the free Strike as a reason to stand beside every monster in the book.
Grim Fascinations: Choose The Map You Want To Make
Grim fascination is not only a cosmetic theme. It supplies a grave spell and changes every created thrall. Pick the enhancement that will affect your normal combat choices, then let spells and feats deepen it later.
| Fascination | Thrall enhancement | Best campaign or party fit | Why it is useful |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood ● | Recover a small amount of HP when a thrall is destroyed | Attrition-heavy days, frontlines, bleed-support groups | A steady payoff for doing what the class already does: spend thralls. |
| Bone ● | Thralls gain more Speed | Large maps, chase scenes, spread-out fights, delivery-angle play | Better movement makes a temporary body much more likely to reach the useful square. |
| Flesh ● | A destroyed thrall can leave difficult terrain | Choke points, defensive objectives, parties that want to control movement | Turning a spent resource into a map problem is excellent action economy. |
| Spirit ● | A thrall Strike can use spirit or void damage instead of physical | Campaigns where damage type and incorporeal enemies matter | It gives the class a practical answer when ordinary physical pressure is the wrong tool. |
Blood
Blood makes the sacrifice rhythm more forgiving by returning a little health whenever your thralls are destroyed. It is a good fit for players who expect to trade positions often or who want to support a closer Reaper plan. Its early grave spell supports a bleed-oriented package, so it rises when party members can capitalize on bleeding enemies and falls when the campaign gives you few appropriate targets.
Bone
Bone is the broadest default for a map-conscious player. Extra Speed makes every command and every delivery angle less fragile. A fast thrall can help a flank form, reach a better launch square, or pressure a route that looked safely distant a round ago. If your table uses large maps and enemies who do not politely wait at thirty feet, Bone earns its Blue rating.
Flesh
Flesh is the control specialist. A destroyed thrall leaving difficult terrain lets the class create a lane problem while still getting value from the original body. It does best when the group cares about doorways, bridges, objectives, retreat routes, and protecting allies who cannot afford a charging enemy. In an all-open-arena campaign, its advantage is less reliable.
Spirit
Spirit is the damage-type and haunting lane. It can make a thrall's Strike work through a different damage profile, which is not a blank cheque against every enemy but is valuable against the correct foe. It also suits a player who wants the class's supernatural identity to matter in haunts, undead stories, and occult investigations. Your Undead Lore is a reason to ask the right question before choosing that damage.
Ability Scores And Skills
Intelligence is non-negotiable because it powers spell attacks and spell DCs. Dexterity and Constitution usually come next because a full caster still has to survive initiative and incoming attacks. Wisdom adds Perception and common skill value. Charisma can support social scenes, especially if the campaign rewards a macabre scholar who can talk to both frightened villagers and the inconvenient dead.
| Priority | Why |
|---|---|
| Intelligence | Spell attacks, spell DC, skills, and the class's main job. |
| Constitution | Hit points and Fortitude matter when a control caster gets reached. |
| Dexterity | Initiative, Reflex, light-armour support, and a safer default for Puppeteer. |
| Strength | A Reaper can value it for weapon attacks and Athletics. |
| Wisdom or Charisma | Pick Wisdom for perception and broader adventuring skills, Charisma for social and intimidation-forward play. |
Occultism is automatic and should be used. Undead Lore becomes unusually strong over the class's progression for undead, haunts, and related effects. Add a practical skill your party needs instead of trying to make every point of Intelligence into another lore label. Medicine, Crafting, Society, Acrobatics, Intimidation, and Stealth all make sense depending on your fatal method and campaign.
Prepared Occult Spell Planning
The dirge gives a Necromancer a real prepared-caster toolkit: selected cantrips, harm, and selected occult spells. You gain two additional eligible occult spells every level. That makes your spellbook-like planning flexible, but it does not give you an unlimited number of slots on a stressful day. Prepare a small range of jobs.
| Spell job | Why a Necromancer wants it |
|---|---|
| A save-based control or debuff spell ● | It gives a different answer when a spell attack or thrall Strike is a poor bet. |
| Defence or escape ● | Temporary bodies do not excuse the caster from surviving their own turn. |
| Information, communication, or occult utility ● | The class's theme and Intelligence both reward contributing outside initiative. |
| Party recovery or condition support ● | Grave spells can assist, but a prepared slot can cover a different emergency. |
| Repeated damage that duplicates a grave-spell job ● | Your class already has ways to turn nearby thralls into pressure. |
Use the Necromancer spell guide for the class-specific division between grave spells and prepared slots, the occult spell guide for broad list decisions, the cantrip guide for repeatable tools, and the ritual guide when the group is solving a downtime or story problem. This class guide stays focused on the engine that tells you what a spell needs to accomplish.
Mastery Of Life And Death
This feature is one reason the class feels less trapped by the usual living-versus-undead divide. It lets you choose vitality or void for qualifying damage and broadens certain living-only or undead-only targeting limits. It does not erase the rest of a spell's requirements, and it does not turn a healing effect into a universal answer. Treat it as a targeting and damage-type tool, then read the specific spell before assuming the table's lich is about to receive customer service.
Equipment: Protect The Caster, Then Support The Plan
Puppeteer wants the usual caster priorities: defences, a reliable casting implement, scrolls for narrow jobs, and items that preserve prepared slots. Reaper has an extra weapon-and-armour decision, but it should still buy defences before chasing an impressive weapon routine. Your game plan fails if the Necromancer spends the first dangerous round unconscious beside the body it hoped to command.
| Equipment choice | Who values it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Armour | Everyone, especially Reaper | A full caster's survival is still the first resource problem. |
| Weapons and runes | Reaper | The weapon matters when the free Strike is a real part of the turn. |
| Scrolls and consumables | Everyone | Carry rare utility and emergency answers without loading them into daily slots. |
| Staves and wands | Everyone | Repeat a spell role your party expects to use often. |
| Magic items by level | Everyone | Compare caster support with defensive purchases at the party's actual treasure level. |
Level Bands And Feat Direction
The class does not need a named-feat shopping list here. It needs a sense of what each tier asks the player to improve. Use the Necromancer feat guide for source-backed individual picks and build-lane tradeoffs.
| Levels | What changes | Practical priority |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | Learn thrall placement, fatal method, fascination, and low-rank prepared casting | Build one reliable first turn and one no-thrall backup turn. |
| 5-10 | Spell ranks widen, class casting becomes expert, and feat choices can deepen a lane | Choose whether your table needs more control, recovery, mobility, or closer Reaper pressure. |
| 11-16 | Defences and weapons improve; stronger grave spells create larger board effects | Stop preparing only for damage. Your slots can now solve encounter geometry and serious recovery. |
| 17-20 | Resilience, legendary casting, and tenth-rank magic arrive | Prepare for decisive encounters, but keep enough ordinary tools that the character works before the finale. |
At 3rd level, Inevitable Return can create a thrall when an eligible nearby enemy dies. At 7th, your spell attack and DC become expert. At 15th, they become master. At 19th, you reach legendary casting and receive the class's unusual tenth-rank spell slot. These landmarks reward players who keep the board readable. A reactive body is strongest when you already know which empty square it should occupy.
Party Fit And GM Conversation
Necromancer plays well with martial allies who can exploit flanks and with parties that recognize a controlled route as a real defensive resource. It also has a social contract angle: undead, holy and unholy choices, corpse use, and horror tone can be meaningful at different tables. Discuss the sourcebook, rarity, campaign tone, and how the group wants to handle necromantic imagery before first session.
| Party need | Necromancer contribution |
|---|---|
| Melee ally needs a flank | Create a temporary body in the useful square and make the enemy answer it. |
| Slow enemy must be held away from the back line | Build difficult terrain and control pressure around a choke point. |
| Caster is threatened | Use a defensive, movement, or sacrifice option rather than gambling on one more damage roll. |
| Undead or haunt investigation | Use Undead Lore and occult tools to ask better questions before the party commits. |
| Group needs a healer | Help with grave-spell support and prepared occult options, but do not promise the same coverage as a dedicated divine healer. |
The three-action economy guide is especially useful here. The class often has a compelling three-action idea, then discovers it also needed to Step away from a monster. Keep movement and defence in the plan. A beautiful thrall layout is less beautiful when the creator is unconscious.
Is Necromancer Right For You?
Choose Necromancer if you want a high-tracking occult caster whose resources become pieces on the map. Choose Puppeteer for flexible board control and a deeper focus loop. Choose Reaper for a closer hybrid style that still needs disciplined positioning. Choose Blood, Bone, Flesh, or Spirit based on the job your thralls will perform repeatedly.
Do not choose it only because you want permanent undead followers. The rules reward temporary tactical use, prepared-caster judgment, and deliberate sacrifice. For the right player, that makes every created thrall a small tactical question. For the wrong player, it is several small tactical questions arriving at initiative in a trench coat.
Related Guides
Continue with the PF2e class hub, Necromancer spell guide, Necromancer feat guide, occult spell guide, focus spell guide, combat guides, equipment guides, archetype guides, and the PF2e guide hub.
