Apprentices (CBN)

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One of the first principles of sympathetic magic dictates that “like attracts like.” The same can be said for necromancers and aspiring students of the Forbidden Arts. The outstanding master of any academic subject, artistic skill, or physical prowess will undoubtedly attract young novices who wish to learn what the master has to offer. The study of necromancy is no different, and despite its notoriety, a master of the Dark Arts can expect to be approached and petitioned by several hopeful students.
There are many advantages to apprenticeship, for both student and master. The student gains access to some portion of his or her master's knowledge, and he or she also receives training in new spells and wizardly techniques. The master also benefits from the arrangement (perhaps as much or even more than the pupil), for although the tutor has to deal with the responsibility of teaching a new student, he or she also gains a willing and (more or less) obedient servant. Most magical research does not require the master's personal attention and may be competently handled by a wizard of much lower level. Similarly, a powerful wizard would not wish to waste time cleaning the laboratory, preparing meals, cleaning the tower, gathering spell components, and performing other such menial tasks. Admittedly, a few of these duties can be accomplished by mindless undead or fiendish familiars, but the simplest, cheapest, and least dangerous way to recruit help has always been to hire on a living apprentice.
Upon reaching 9th level, a necromancer attracts 1–4 apprentices. Naturally, a wizard may refuse to take any students if she or he so desires, but sometimes an especially driven student can change a stubborn mind. Apprentice wizards usually begin their careers at 1st level and must be trained by their master (either by taking them on adventures or through instruction). They usually adopt the same kit as their mentor, and their spell list is usually restricted to a small subset of their master's much larger repertoire.
Once the students reach 3rd level, there is a 30% chance that they will leave their master's service and begin their own careers as necromancers unless their mentor otherwise entices them to stay. This chance increases by 10% for every level the student gains beyond 3rd. Although a master necromancer may be periodically deserted by an apprentice, another potential (1st-level) student usually arrives to fill the vacancy within a month of the departure.
As the master's power and fame grows, so too will the number of students who are attracted to his or her service. For every level of experience beyond 9th, a necromancer may attract one additional (1st–2nd level) apprentice. Indeed, some necromancers establish their own secret schools hidden in the wilderness, far from established colleges. The DM is referred to DUNGEON® #27 for an excellent example of such a school.
While still young and impressionable, an apprentice tends to take on the mannerisms and attitudes of the master. However, as the student's fledgling power and aptitude develops over a period of time, he or she begins to develop a more fully realized sense of personality and professional demeanor; in the final stage of apprenticeship, a student begins to assert his or her own wizardly opinion, openly conflicting (sometimes violently so) with the wishes of the master.
Powerful necromancers (like most wizards and academicians) tend to be somewhat egotistical and will rarely tolerate an apprentice with more than half their own experience levels in their service. Thus is it rare for a 10th-level necromancer, for instance, to be encountered with an apprentice of greater than 5th level. Obviously, the more powerful the necromancer, the more talented and skilled the current students will be.
Depending upon the personality of their master, some students are merely released from their apprenticeship once they have proceeded too far in their studies. Given the criminal tendencies of certain necromancers, however, other students meet a much more sinister fate.