Good Undead Character, probably a ghoul [Archive] - Wizards Community

Good Undead Character, probably a ghoul [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lord of the Ninth
09-15-03, 12:11 AM I'm wanting to make a good undead character, probably either a ghoul or maybe a bone creature (BoVD). My problem with the bone creatures is that it's entry is incomplete (no alignment or CR is listed, I assume that both are the same as the corpse creature, but I can't find an errata and the BoVD forum keeps kicking me off even though I'm over 17 and my profile reflects this...). But anyway, what I need is a reason I wouldn't be evil (this is for a campaign where the act of being a corporeal undead isn't inherently evil, despite the lunacy of WotC). I also need a class. I want to be a philosopher of sorts, who believes in doing nice things for other people even if there is absolutely no reward (he does nice things for people even if they hate him for being undead). Any thoughts? Or additional information you might need? Thanks.
Leap
09-15-03, 04:39 AM A ghoul bard whose tie with his 'humanity' is his music (it reminds him of the good times and he keeps these alive in story and verse; which provides just enough of a pull to keep from falling into evil)?
Arilou_skiff
09-15-03, 12:07 PM Pretty cool idea leap had there... Here are some other ones.

Your character has committed some horrible sin (if you're a ghoul usually cannibalism) take the story of Tantalus maybe, or hte one of the Rat king from ASOIAF.... In any case you must spend the rest of eternity making amends for your misdeeds.

What made your character become undead?

Was he created, in that case, where is his master? Dead? An Undead creature himself? Did he set you free? It might be an interesting plot element.

Was he cursed? Why? Did he offend someone or did he committ some terrible crime that did not allow him to rest?

In the Complete Necromancer's Handbook there was a brief mention of a pair of ju-ju zombies (basically BOVD corpse creatures) that had been lovers in life, once their master died they returned to their undying lover...

In a similar vein think of Spawn, he's also an undead creature, although decidedly non-good.
Lord of the Ninth
09-15-03, 04:53 PM I'm thinking maybe that he was bitten by a ghoul, or resorted to canabalism as an alternative to starvation (Donner Party). Then he became a ghoul, and he has since resigned to his fate somewhat and even enjoys some of the benefits of being undead. Ghouls don't have masters, they owe no allegience to the ghoul that spawned them. As for the Spawn thing, I'm thinking that he will have the sort of "I was made a monster, and now I fight to destroy the monsters of the world" thing that Spawn has. I don't know about a bard, while ghouls do get a big charisma bonus, I just don't know if that's the kind of character I want to play. I will consider it though (I haven't gotten a good look at the 3.5 bard yet). Thanks for the imput!:)
TinySilverChalice
09-15-03, 09:27 PM Depending on the level you're attempting to hit (obviously you're not going to be in the ECL +0 department), you could go for a variation of lich found in FR. They're Good elven liches. (They have a certain name, which I can't seem to recall right now). Pretty much they act as advisors and protectors to great elven familes, preserving lore, epic magics, and the like. They don't usually go adventuring typically, however if you wanted to come with a reason, I imagine you could. Perhaps his clan died out or were destroyed by rivals or racial enimies.

There are also variant races floating around that are pretty much the spawn of vampires (who apparently can reproduce by some accounts). They're often called Vampyr or Dampyr... something like that. If you've ever seen Vampire Hunter D, you know exactly what I'm talking about. They're slightly more balanced to bring to the table, but don't have all the "perks" of being fully undead.
Lord of the Ninth
09-15-03, 11:28 PM I don't think I'll go lich, mostly because I don't want to be a spellcaster. Plus I have a deep irrational hatred of all things FR.

As for the Dampyr, I want him to be a little less human, and completely undead. So I'm going ghoul. I'm thinking maybe a rogue, with a bunch of crossclass ranks in Knowledge (Philosophy). Now need some interesting personality quirks and a reason for him to be good instead of evil, perhaps he was some sort of very good person before death (like a cleric or a paladin) but he lost all that in becoming a ghoul (they loose all class levels and whatnot). Now he still battles evil, but finds that he is more suited to doing this from the shadows. I'm thinking that he also has a reasonably morbid sense of humor.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord of the Ninth 09-15-03, 12:11 AM	I'm wanting to make a good undead character, probably either a ghoul or maybe a bone creature (BoVD). My problem with the bone creatures is that it's entry is incomplete (no alignment or CR is listed, I assume that both are the same as the corpse creature, but I can't find an errata and the BoVD forum keeps kicking me off even though I'm over 17 and my profile reflects this...). But anyway, what I need is a reason I wouldn't be evil (this is for a campaign where the act of being a corporeal undead isn't inherently evil, despite the lunacy of WotC). I also need a class. I want to be a philosopher of sorts, who believes in doing nice things for other people even if there is absolutely no reward (he does nice things for people even if they hate him for being undead). Any thoughts? Or additional information you might need? Thanks.
Leap 09-15-03, 04:39 AM	A ghoul bard whose tie with his 'humanity' is his music (it reminds him of the good times and he keeps these alive in story and verse; which provides just enough of a pull to keep from falling into evil)?
Arilou_skiff 09-15-03, 12:07 PM	Pretty cool idea leap had there... Here are some other ones. Your character has committed some horrible sin (if you're a ghoul usually cannibalism) take the story of Tantalus maybe, or hte one of the Rat king from ASOIAF.... In any case you must spend the rest of eternity making amends for your misdeeds. What made your character become undead? Was he created, in that case, where is his master? Dead? An Undead creature himself? Did he set you free? It might be an interesting plot element. Was he cursed? Why? Did he offend someone or did he committ some terrible crime that did not allow him to rest? In the Complete Necromancer's Handbook there was a brief mention of a pair of ju-ju zombies (basically BOVD corpse creatures) that had been lovers in life, once their master died they returned to their undying lover... In a similar vein think of Spawn, he's also an undead creature, although decidedly non-good.
Lord of the Ninth 09-15-03, 04:53 PM	I'm thinking maybe that he was bitten by a ghoul, or resorted to canabalism as an alternative to starvation (Donner Party). Then he became a ghoul, and he has since resigned to his fate somewhat and even enjoys some of the benefits of being undead. Ghouls don't have masters, they owe no allegience to the ghoul that spawned them. As for the Spawn thing, I'm thinking that he will have the sort of "I was made a monster, and now I fight to destroy the monsters of the world" thing that Spawn has. I don't know about a bard, while ghouls do get a big charisma bonus, I just don't know if that's the kind of character I want to play. I will consider it though (I haven't gotten a good look at the 3.5 bard yet). Thanks for the imput!:)
TinySilverChalice 09-15-03, 09:27 PM	Depending on the level you're attempting to hit (obviously you're not going to be in the ECL +0 department), you could go for a variation of lich found in FR. They're Good elven liches. (They have a certain name, which I can't seem to recall right now). Pretty much they act as advisors and protectors to great elven familes, preserving lore, epic magics, and the like. They don't usually go adventuring typically, however if you wanted to come with a reason, I imagine you could. Perhaps his clan died out or were destroyed by rivals or racial enimies. There are also variant races floating around that are pretty much the spawn of vampires (who apparently can reproduce by some accounts). They're often called Vampyr or Dampyr... something like that. If you've ever seen Vampire Hunter D, you know exactly what I'm talking about. They're slightly more balanced to bring to the table, but don't have all the "perks" of being fully undead.
Lord of the Ninth 09-15-03, 11:28 PM	I don't think I'll go lich, mostly because I don't want to be a spellcaster. Plus I have a deep irrational hatred of all things FR. As for the Dampyr, I want him to be a little less human, and completely undead. So I'm going ghoul. I'm thinking maybe a rogue, with a bunch of crossclass ranks in Knowledge (Philosophy). Now need some interesting personality quirks and a reason for him to be good instead of evil, perhaps he was some sort of very good person before death (like a cleric or a paladin) but he lost all that in becoming a ghoul (they loose all class levels and whatnot). Now he still battles evil, but finds that he is more suited to doing this from the shadows. I'm thinking that he also has a reasonably morbid sense of humor.