I agree, you do have to know how to break a game before you know how to not break it. Or it's certainly easier that way.
I know Skype works on Macs, I'm working on one right now. RPG Tools are not PC only, they do have a version for Mac that's available for download, but I'd like to avoid using it if I can, as I said, my computer does not like it very much. Plus, it would mean building the castle twice, once on paper and once on the computer, and it gives me a little less leeway during the session. If the group ends up in a near TPK that I didn't anticipate, and the next room contains another big nasty creature, I don't want to have to spend five minutes changing the map. I want to just be able to say, "You enter the next room, it's brightly lit with a bed of regeneration and a fountain of Cure Light Wounds potion."
So we're not using RPG tools? That would make life easier for me.
What Time Zone are you in, Satori? I'm in GMT -5, for reference. Last time I did this, we had a Time Zone spread of GMT +2 to GMT -7, and it was difficult to get everybody together at the same time. It wasn't impossible, but I feel it was one of the factors that led to the game dying off.
I am in GMT -5 right now, but i'll be going home to GMT -11/10 after this semester. That puts a slight crimp on things.
I'm personally of the opinion that magic is inherently neutral, and it's the practitioner that sends it one way or the other. Necromancy can be used like you said, to the benefit of everyone, just like Abjuration isn't always used to protect the downtrodden. It can just as easily be used by the Evil Overlord to create an impenetrable barrier around his lands that ensures his subjects will never be able to flee his rule. That said, Necromacy is a lot easier to make evil than the other schools. You are ripping souls back from the dead and whatnot. And the Necrocarnate, in the flavor text of the entry, is evil. Straight up, flat out, evil. But the adaptation section says that you can reflavor as good if you want, so that you aren't raping the souls of the dead, and I'm willing to work that out with you if you want to play a Necrocarnate. Or if you want to play something else, that's fine too.
Well i really like this necrocarnate idea, but i can always try a swift hunter if that works out better.
My idea for adapting the necrocarnate is to make it a class for Mishtai-descendants trying to reclaim just a littel bit of their ancient heritage. (Mishtai were the original Incarnum using race that is now extinct, several modern icnarnum races are descended from them)
By harvesting the dead for soul energy, the Rememberers of the Forgotten Kingdom, colloquially known as Soulseekers, try to pick out strands of recycled Mishtai soulstuff, which, by interacting with them for a day, they can mine for fragments of memory from long dead Mishtai. The soul energy is bound for a day, but the process does not destroy or harm souls, and after a day of study, Rememberers are obligated to sends souls on to their final rest. There are the rare Soulseekers who use horrific means to keep a soul for longer, but these are so unspeakably evil and dangerous that all other Rememberers, even those who are evil aligned, are sworn to destroy these madmen, especially since their actions threaten to damage or destroy the very think Soulseekers are trying to find and learn from - Mishtai memories.
Noe that this is also a cute plothook for the DM... anytime a soulseeker harvests, the DM can drop a hint of poetry, prophesy, or practical knowledge that can nudge the plot... or provide a red herring.
Necromacy isn't evil as a branch of magic, and casting some of the staple spells like Animate Dead, while they might have the [evil] descriptor, won't make you evil. That said, there are evil spells that only evil people cast. You can find most of them in the Book of Vile Darkness, which for this game, players won't really need. I don't want an evil party, so not much from that book could apply to you at all. Anyway.
At this point, preliminary findings say that Wittgen would like to play a bard, Satori would like an Incarnate with a possibility for a reflavored Necrocarnate, and gman would like to be a human Unarmed Swordsage.
MrRigger
So that gives us...
A party face (Bard), who should be able to buff
A Striker (Swordsage) who can deal out damage and/or status effects and probably and good mobility.
A potential tank (me) - at level 5, i'll actually be really weak, but come level 7, i'll be able to Tank quite well (+30 Hp from vitality belt), and so will my Zombie buddy.
Oh, right. Bloodlines. You do allow them?
I'd really like to homebrew a Mishtai bloodline, either Major or Intermediate.
1st +2 on Concentration checks
2nd Improved Initiative
3rd Constitution +1
4th Resistance to acid 5 (Ex)
5th Mishtai affinity +2*
6th +1 to natural armor
7th +2 on Handle Animal checks
8th Midnight Dodge
9th Charisma +1
10th Locate Object 1/day (Sp)
11th Mishtai affinity +4
12th Resistance to acid 10 (Ex)
13th +2 on Knowledge (the planes) checks
14th Speak with animal 1/day (Sp)
15th Wisdom +1
16th Suggestion 1/day (Sp)
17th Mishtai affinity +6
18th +1 to natural armor
19th +2 on Sense Motive checks
20th Immunity to acid (Ex)
* bonus to Diplomacy checks with Skarn and Rilkan.
The "animal" stuff is because i came up with this legend of how Mishtai used incarnum to domesticate the first draft animals. The rest should be pretty straightforward.