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The Pale Arts

Art By: Yuriy Chemezov

A figure clad in black robes raises its hand towards an invading army, summoning forth dozens of skeletons, each a fallen soldier that
was once struck down by that same army. Behind the figure, a dragon made entirely out of bone and putrid flesh roars, ready to engage
and decimate the enemies’ numbers.

A hermit meditates peacefully in the middle of a forest. As the earth rumbles beneath his feet, he rises and walks towards a bear corpse,
the very same one he ate this past week. As he touches the husk, vines starting wrapping around its body - pale roses blossom here and
there, and the creature stands up ready to protect its home. The hermit knows he treads on dangerous ground - he seeks to disturb the
balance of nature to maintain it in the long run.

A pirate on the run from a government fleet is at death’s door - his ship wrecked, his crew’s corpses lining the deck, and more enemy
reinforcements on their way. With a laugh, he starts singing a sea shanty, and a chorus of unearthly voices sings along. His entire crew,
ready to serve their captain in life and death, rise up to defend the ship whilst singing along.

A wizard stands trial at the court for practicing the art of necromancy within the kingdom’s borders. He has been allowed to perform a
demonstration that will prove his innocence: A farmhand’s body is carted into court, and the wizard starts his work. He recites his
incantation - one his colleagues know is Animate Object. But just as he is about to end the spell, he recites lines of an enchantment spell,
and he grunts in pain as a part of his life essence leaves him. The body stands ready for orders, and the wizard explains-”I have infused
the body with my own magic, and can control it akin to a puppet. I am not corrupting the soul, but hijacking the body. Let me put the
criminals of this kingdom to work, for that they may serve their country in death when they could not in life.”

What unites all of these individuals is that they tread the path of life and death. They’ve come to possess and understand the power to
raise the dead, and have come to depend on them to achieve their goals. They are all masters of the Pale Arts. In this supplement, I
provide a handful of spells that will be useful for character concepts dabbling in necromancy. I encourage you to talk to your GM about
this content. The dedication archetype and spells described here all Uncommon, and will need to be either provided through story or
expressly allowed by the GM for a character to take them.
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 The Pale Master Dedication Archetype
You are well-versed in necromancy, and are on your way to VERDANT CALLER FEAT 4
master the art of raising undead from the grave - how exactly you UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION
raise them will depend on your own studies, but one day, you hope
Prerequisites Pale Master Dedication; expert in Nature
to command a slew of undead forces that do follow your every
command without hesitation. You have mastered the art of necromancy through primal rituals -
nature spirits lend you their aid by inhabiting corpses momentarily
PALE MASTER DEDICATION FEAT 2 and controlling it - perhaps vines wrap around the skeleton, or
UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION
moss covers the rotting flesh. Undead minions you control lose
any fire resistance they have, but gain a +2 item bonus to AC.
Prerequisites trained in Arcana, Nature, Occultism or Religion
You have started your path onto becoming a Pale Master. You PALE BANNER FEAT 6
gain the ability to cast the Private Morgue cantrip, from a tradition
UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION
of your choice. If you weren’t already, you become trained in
that tradition’s spell DCs and spell attack rolls, with Intelligence Prerequisites Pale Master Dedication
as your spellcasting ability if you choose arcane, Wisdom if you You are able to bolster your undead minions with a banner, which
choose primal or divine, and Charisma if you choose Occult. you either conjure to appear in the sky or force a makeshift
Choose one skill from the following: Arcana, Nature, Occultism skeleton rise up. You gain the Raise Pale Banner action.
or Religion. You become an expert in that skill. Finally, all Uncom-
mon spells and feats with the Pale trait become Common to you. RAISE PALE BANNER ACTION
UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION

SLAVER OF SOULS FEAT 4 Frequency once per day

UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION Your troops are imbued with elemental energy. Choose one of the
following: fire, cold, electricity or acid. All your undead minions
Prerequisites Pale Master Dedication; expert in Religion
deal an extra 1d6 points of damage of that type on each of their
You have mastered the art of necromancy through religious stud- attacks,
ies, following rituals and sacrifices promoted by Urgathoa, aiming
to become a slaver of souls. All necromancy spells you cast gain SECRETS FROM THE GRAVE FEAT 8
the evil trait if they did not already have it, and all undead minions UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION
you control deal an extra point of evil damage per weapon damage
die. Prerequisites Pale Master Dedication
You have made incredible discoveries on the art of creating un-
ESOTERIC SAVANT FEAT 4 dead through rituals. When making a Primary Check to perform
UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION the Create Undead ritual, you can roll twice and use the better
result.
Prerequisites Pale Master Dedication; expert in Occultism
You have mastered the art of necromancy through your occult UNDEAD COMMANDER FEAT 10
rituals - your performances make even the dead dance, or perhaps UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION
you’ve started to practice Voodoo. Undead minions you control
retain their personalities, which manifests as ghostly images on Prerequisites Pale Master Dedication
top of their bones, gaining a +1 item bonus to saving throws. This You gain an extra action on your turn which you can only use to
bonus increases to +2 at 7th level, and finally to +3 at 15th level. command an undead minion you control.

ARCANE PUPPET MASTER FEAT 4

UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION

Prerequisites Pale Master Dedication; expert in Arcana

You have mastered the art of necromancy through purely arcane
research - your magic does not corrupt the soul - it merely takes
hold of the body and controls it akin to a construct. Undead
minions you control contain some of your life essence in order to
function properly, and gain an extra 5 hit points per level of the
spell slot used to summon them.
Art By: DnD 5e Monster Manual

2
 The Pale Grimoire
PRIVATE MORGUE CANTRIP PROTECTING SKELETON SPELL 1
UNCOMMON NECROMANCY PALE UNCOMMON NECROMANCY PALE

Traditions Arcane, Divine, Primal, Occult
Cast material, verbal
Range Touch
Targets 1 Medium or smaller Corpse
You strip the flesh and blood from a corpse you touch, vanishing
it into the Ethereal Plane and leaving behind only a skeleton,
which you can then transmute into a miniaturized version of
one of its bones (the final object is roughly fist-sized), called a
Necromantic Fetish. Some necromancers prefer to use the skull
as a Fetish, while others prefer femurs or hand bones. Because of
the necromantic energies used on the body, a corpse immune to
being turned into an undead is immune to this spell.
When casting a necromancy spell, you may target one or more
Necromantic Fetishes on your person instead of a corpse or skele-
ton, which revert to their original shape and size before you cast
the spell.
Traditions Arcane, Divine, Primal, Occult
Cast 1 reaction
Target Self
Trigger You are successfully hit by an attack or spell
You quickly revert a Bone Fetish on your person into a skeleton
body, which interposes itself between you and your assailant. You
gain resistance 10 to slashing, piercing, cold, electricity and fire
against just the triggering attack or spell.
Heightened (+1) The resistance against the triggering attack in-
creases by 5.
Art By: Francis Tneh

Heightened (+1) The amount of targets can be increased up to

one more.

PALE SERVANT SPELL 1

UNCOMMON NECROMANCY PALE

Traditions Arcane, Divine, Primal, Occult

Cast somatic, verbal
Range Touch
Targets 1 Medium or small skeletons
Duration 1 Minute
You temporarily rise a skeleton from the grave, trading longevity
for immediate power.
You transform the corpse into a creature that has the Pale trait
and whose level is -1, which gains the minion trait and acts immedi-
ately after you. Heightening the spell increases the maximum level
of creature you can summon, but increases the amount of targets
required by an amount equal to the level of the spell slot used (for
example, a Level 3 Pale Servant spell requires 4 Medium or small
skeletons).

Heightened (2nd) Level 1

Heightened (3rd) Level 2
Heightened (4th) Level 3
Heightened (5th) Level 5
Heightened (6th) Level 7
Heightened (7th) Level 9
Heightened (8th) Level 11
Heightened (9th) Level 13
Heightened (10th) Level 15

3
BONESHAKER SPELL 2 to realize that the signs of life are false, and a close examination
UNCOMMON NECROMANCY PALE with a Medicine check always reveals the truth of the dead flesh.
Traditions Arcane, Divine, Primal, Occult
Cast somatic, verbal
Target one living creature or undead creature with a skeleton
Range 60 feet
Save Fortitude; see text
You take control of a target creature’s skeleton. A living creature
has its skeleton rattle within its flesh, causing it grievous harm.
The creature takes 3d8 points of piercing damage, and is moved
5 feet without triggering reactions (basic Fortitude save; being
moved only on a Failure or Critical Failure).
If you target an undead creature instead, you force it to attack by
controlling its bones. The target can make a Fortitude save against
the spell:
Success The creature misses, but the unnatural movement unbal-
ances it. It takes a -1 penalty to attacks for 1 round.
Failure The creature attacks one creature of your choice within its
reach, spending its reaction.
Critical Failure As per Failure, and the target falls prone due to the
unnatural movement.
BURST OF UNDEATH SPELL 3
UNCOMMON NECROMANCY PALE Art By: Haryarti
Traditions Arcane, Divine, Primal, Occult
Cast somatic, verbal, material
Range 30 feet
Targets All allied undead minions within range
You channel your magic into every allied summoned skeleton
within range, knowing how to precisely apply it to undo their
unlife. Each skeleton affected explodes in necromantic energy,
damaging all creatures adjacent to them.
Each explosion deals 2d8 negative damage for each level of
spell slot used to summon the targeted creatures (for example,
2 Pale Vanguards summoned with 2nd-level spell slots would deal
8d8 negative damage) . Creatures caught in the blast must attempt
a basic Reflex save only once against this spell.

Heightened (+2) Each explosion deals an additional 1d8 nega-

tive damage.

DAYWALKER SPELL 5
UNCOMMON NECROMANCY PALE

Traditions Arcane, Divine, Primal, Occult

Cast somatic, verbal
Range touch
Targets undead creature touched
Duration 24 hours
You reshape the substance of a willing undead creature to resem-
ble a living, breathing creature of the same size. This is a physical
change to the undead creature’s bone, flesh, or incorporeal ecto-
plasm, adding new flesh or bone and even hair, teeth, and blood.
An incorporeal undead gains a physical corpse body. Creatures
interacting with the undead can attempt a DC 40 Perception check

4
 The Pale Bestiary
PALE GUARD CREATURE -1 PALE JUGGERNAUT CREATURE 2
N MEDIUM MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE N LARGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE

Perception +2; darkvision Perception +8; darkvision

Skills Acrobatics +6; Intimidate +4 Skills Acrobatics +7, Athletics +9
Str +2, Dex +4, Con +0, Int –5, Wis +0, Cha +0 Str +5, Dex +3, Con +1, Int –5, Wis +2, Cha +0
AC 16 Fort +2 Ref +8 Will +2 AC 16 Fort +6 Ref +9 Will +8
HP 4, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, mental, HP 33, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men-
paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 5, electricity 5, tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 5, electricity
fire 5, piercing 5, slashing 5 5, fire 5, piercing 5, slashing 5
Speed 25 feet Unusual Steed The Juggernaut can let one creature stand on its
Melee scimitar +6 (forceful, sweep), Damage 1d6+2 slashing back. Creatures that ride a Juggernaut ignore soft cover generated
Spook The Pale Guard eerie gaze meets with its master’s en- by Medium or smaller creatures, and can ride it by simply moving
emies, as it tries to demoralize a creature adjacent to it. This into its space.
demoralize action loses the auditory trait and gains the visual Cooperation The Juggernaut is specialized on supporting its team,
trait, and no penalty is applied for not sharing a language with and can occupy the space of its allies without hindering them.
the target. Speed 40 feet
Protect The Pale Guard extends his shield to protect either it- Melee fist +9, Damage 1d8+5 bludgeoning
self or an adjacent creature, granting a +2 circumstance bonus Fling The juggernaut throws a creature up to 30 feet away. If
to AC until the start of the Pale Guard’s next turn. the creature is unwilling the juggernaut needs to succeed on an
Athletics skill check against the creature’s Fortitude DC.
PALE VANGUARD CREATURE 1 Pummel The juggernaut swings in a wide arc, making a fist at-
N LARGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE tack against up to three adjacent creatures. This action has the
flourish trait.
Perception +8; darkvision
Skills Acrobatics +8, Athletics +8, Intimidation +7
Str +4, Dex +4, Con +1, Int –5, Wis +2, Cha +1
Art By: Guild Wars 2
AC 19 Fort +7 Ref +10 Will +6
HP 20, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men-
tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 5, electricity
5, fire 5, piercing 5, slashing 5
Cooperation The vanguard is specialized on supporting its team,
and can occupy the space of its allies without hindering them.
Speed 25 feet
Melee longsword +10 (versatile P), Damage 1d8+4 slashing
Overrun The vanguard focuses on harassing the enemy with
shield bashes, trying to make them lose their balance instead
of dealing damage. This functions as a Trip action, but the van-
guard uses a total +10 bonus on the Athletics check.
Line of Defense The vanguard raises its shields, combining
strong and steady shields with quick reflexes to block. All crea-
tures within the vanguard’s space or adjacent to it receive a +1
circumstance bonus to AC until the Vanguard’s next turn.

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PALE CAVALRY CREATURE 3 PALE BERSERKERS CREATURE 7
N HUGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE N HUGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE

Perception +7; darkvision Perception +12; darkvision

Skills Athletics +12, Intimidation +10
Str +5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int –5, Wis +0, Cha +2
AC 17 Fort +10 Ref +8 Will +7
HP 50, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men-
tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 5, electricity
5, fire 5, piercing 5, slashing 5
Cooperation The cavalry is specialized on supporting its team, and
can occupy the space of its allies without hindering them.
Speed 50 feet
Melee lance +12 (deadly d8, jousting d6, reach 10 ft.), Damage
1d8+7 piercing
Melee hoof +12 (agile), Damage 1d10+5 bludgeoning
Trample The cavalry takes a Stride action, temporarily being
able to move through enemy squares without triggering reac-
tions. After the cavalry has moved, make a single hoof attack
against all enemy creatures the cavalry passed through.
Dread Horn One of the members of the cavalry sounds the bat-
tle horn, which carries necromantic energy in its tone. The cav-
alry may Demoralize any enemies within 30 feet.
Skills Athletics +16, Intimidation +16, Stealth +11
Str +7, Dex +0, Con +4, Int –5, Wis +1, Cha +1
AC 25 Fort +17 Ref +12 Will +15
HP 120, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men-
tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 5, electricity
5, fire 5, piercing 5, slashing 5
Cooperation The berserkers are specialized on supporting their
team, and can occupy the space of its allies without hindering
them.
Speed 35 feet
Melee axes +19, Damage 2d10+10 slashing
Aggressive Charge The berserkers charge into battle. They can
take a Stride action and then make a Melee Strike.
Flaming Step The berserkers attack everything in sight - they
can make a Strike against all adjacent enemies.
Art By: Seok-Jae Jang

PALE STEED CREATURE 5

N LARGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE

Perception +10; darkvision

Skills Athletics +13, Intimidation +13
Str +5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int –5, Wis +0, Cha +2
AC 21 Fort +15 Ref +11 Will +13
HP 80, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men-
tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 5, electricity
5, fire 5, piercing 5, slashing 5
Steed The Steed can let one medium creature ride on its back.
Creatures can ride it by simply moving into its space.
Speed 50 feet
Melee hoof +15, Damage 2d10+5 bludgeoning
Evasive Maneuvers The steed protects its current rider, grant-
ing him or her a +2 circumstance bonus to AC.
Flaming Step The steed takes two Stride actions, momentarily
gaining a 50 feet fly speed during this action.
Cooperation The Steed is specialized on supporting its team, and
can occupy the space of its allies without hindering them.

6
PALE WARLOCKS CREATURE 9 Speed 25 feet
N LARGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE Melee longsword +28, Damage 4d8+12 slashing
For our master! The commander bolsters the necromantic en-
Perception +18; darkvision
ergy of nearby undead. All allied undead within 100 feet receive
Skills Intimidation +21, Stealth +11
10 points of negative healing.
Str +2, Dex +0, Con +4, Int –5, Wis +1, Cha +8
No prisoners! The commander issues a command not to let
AC 27 Fort +16 Ref +17 Will +20 its enemies escape. All allied undead within 100 feet gain the
HP 120, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men- Attack of Opportunity reaction.
tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 5, electricity
5, fire 5, piercing 5, slashing 5 PALE DRAGON CREATURE 15
Cooperation The Warlocks are specialized on supporting their N HUGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE
team, and can occupy the space of its allies without hindering Perception +30; darkvision
them. Skills Athletics +31; Intimidation +30
Speed 25 feet Str +8, Dex +3, Con +7, Int –5, Wis +0, Cha +0
Ranged eldritch blast +21, Damage 2d10+12 fire
Chant The warlocks start chanting, empowering allied spell- AC 36 Fort +30 Ref +26 Will +24
casters. For 1 round, all adjacent allies gain a +2 circumstance HP 250, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men-
bonus to spell DCs. This action has the auditory trait. tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 10, electric-
Death Knell The warlocks channel the life force out of a recent ity 10, fire 10, piercing 10, slashing 10
corpse (dead within the last minute) and can heal an undead Cooperation The dragon is specialized on supporting its team, and
creature within 60 feet of it by 5d10. can occupy the space of its allies without hindering them.
Steed The dragon can let up to 8 medium creatures ride on its back.
PALE PHALANX CREATURE 11 Creatures can ride it by simply moving into its space.
N HUGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE Speed 25 feet
Perception +18; darkvision Melee bite +31, Damage 4d12+10 piercing
Skills Intimidation +21, Stealth +11 Icy Breath The dragon breathes a cloud of frost that deals 10d6
Str +7, Dex +1, Con +4, Int –5, Wis +0, Cha +0 cold damage in a 50-foot cone (DC 36 basic Reflex save).
Wing Buffet The dragon flaps its wings strongly, knocking back
AC 30 Fort +24 Ref +18 Will +19 all creatures within 20 feet of it. Affected creatures need to
HP 150, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men- make a DC 36 basic Reflex save or be knocked back 30 feet and
tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 10, electric- land prone.
ity 10, fire 10, piercing 10, slashing 10
Cooperation The phalanx is specialized on supporting its team,
and can occupy the space of its allies without hindering them. Art By: Dnd 5e Monster Manual
Speed 25 feet
Melee spears +24 (reach 10 feet), Damage 3d10+10 piercing
Shields up! The phalanx protects itself and all allies who share
its square, granting them a +3 circumstance bonus to AC.
Brace! The phalanx prepares for another creature to attack it.
During the next round, if a creature attacks it, the phalanx can
spend its reaction to make a spear attack against the target,
adding 2 additional damage die.

PALE COMMANDER CREATURE 13

N HUGE MINDLESS SKELETON UNDEAD PALE

Perception +21; darkvision

Skills Athletics +30; Intimidation +30
Str +8, Dex +1, Con +4, Int –5, Wis +0, Cha +0
AC 34 Fort +26 Ref +21 Will +22
HP 150, negative healing; Immunities death effects, disease, men-
tal, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances cold 10, electric-
ity 10, fire 10, piercing 10, slashing 10
Cooperation The commander is specialized on supporting its
team, and can occupy the space of its allies without hindering
them.