@Dark Cloud ...personally I feel the wizards archetypes don't represent necromancy well enough but I'm someone whose used to 3.5 D&D's sheer amount of options so I'm biased.
I certainly understand the feeling, and that's why I like the idea of branching out from the Wizard to make it its own designated class. The biggest problem is that this class as-written is just everything that makes the Wizard strong, plus extra stuff. It even borrows feats FROM the Necromancy Wizard here and there (which is not inherently bad, since they're both Necromancers it would make sense to share them) but it highlights that the class is kind of lazily designed.
We could give it the d4 HD, give Nec the Wizards sole Class Proficiencies and remove the high level class features
I have a knee-jerk reaction to this idea of the d4. I don't like the idea of giving ANYBODY such a small HD. I don't think it'd be a good idea if a character can get knocked out in one shot at level 1 because someone tossed a dagger their way, or cast a simple magic missile. Even at Level 3, on average, a wizard-like character would have 10 HP +/- CON, which is, again, easily one-shot by a lot of enemies at this level. I want to balance this thing, but I also want you to have fun and not get downed immediately so often xD
I'll do a deeper dive into the features and see what I can do to balance these things out a bit more. Like I said, this seems fun, but it is definitely in need of some major reworking. Since you said you were leaning toward the Soul Sect, I'll only really look at that sect for now, though.
I would like to keep the Sects though. I will say I'm not leaning towards like raising undead armies, I would be interested in playing a necromancer focused on the spiritual nature of death.
Okay, do you think you could go into a bit more detail about the "spiritual nature of death?" I could use this to help balance the class by removing some of the things you don't really want in the class anyway, and maybe better change around some things to make it even more appropriate.
Oh Charisma is related to Undeath a lot, as it is how Undead calculate their lifeforce; that was a big thing in stats and how negative energy effects the world as a whole.
I did pick up on this, but the main problem is that it wants to use Charisma as its spellcasting stat, but the way the Necromancer as-written learns and casts them is identical to the way a Wizard does it: By studying and using their memory and knowledge. It's cool to use Charisma, but the class needs to earn it; it can't just copy-paste the way a Wizard casts spells AND use a different stat to cast with. If they use traits associated with Intelligence to cast their spells, it doesn't really make sense to make them a Charisma caster. They'll need to look toward the Paladin, Bard, etc. for info on how CHA-casting works.
A Paladin and a Warlock utilizes Charisma because their magical power comes from another source: A Paladin's god/other spiritual figure or a Warlock's patron. It is their interactions with that source that grant them their power.
A Bard utilizes Charisma because it's tied into their talents with the arts. It's tied to their ability to create the arts, such as through music. Their source is Charisma-based in Performance and Persuasion, therefore Charisma.
A Sorcerer is naturally born with their magic powers through some other means. They don't have to study magic to have it, nor do they need to receive it from another figure or through any devices. They have a well of magic already inside them, and it is their own force of will that gives it form.
Those are some examples of how Charisma-based magic works, and why they use Charisma. The way they access their magic and cast their spells needs to be focused on charisma to warrant Charisma-based casting.
I'll go Sorcerer then, probably Draconic or Storm.
Honestly, I think for this particular campaign, it may be best to just go with your choice of Sorcerer. But I can still potentially work on that Necromancer on the side; maybe potentially introduce a new character later on.
If this is the route you're wanting to go, may I just say that Dragons are rad af and next time I use a Ranger, I plan on using the new Drakewarden subclass? xD
Anyway, as a rare individual with a fondness for BOTH D&D and Neopets, I've got you on the Draconic Sorcerer. I can probably help you figure that out. I suppose you'd just need to decide on what type of dragon you'd be going for. Because...that could easily determine how easy or difficult this will be to incorporate. But if you opt for Storm instead, since you also seem interested in a sailor of some kind, then that's fine too~