Post/Author/DateTime	Post
katarl 09-21-07, 01:07 PM	Necromancy Variant: Corpsecrafting For many necromancers, the dark art is not just a school of magic, but a complete world in itself, and many give themselves over to the dark to learn the terrible secrets that the earth keeps. While undead naturally occur, whether from links to the negative energy plane, acts of extreme depravity or by mere happenstance, many are artificially created to serve a master. These masters combine their formidable arcanic acumen with their practical skills of embalming to create the ultimate servant. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/minx_summerstorm/Necromancer.jpg courtesy of minx_summerstorm Corpsecrafter [Metamagic] For you, creating undead is an art form, a method of expression that your creations now benefit from. Prerequisite: Able to create or animate undead using necromancy spells Benefit: Undead you create using necromancy spells with this metamagic feat now receive the corpsecrafted subtype, and you may bestow a variable number of benefits from table 1.01 before animation, with a special corpsecrafter level check, modified by your prime ability modifier: dc 10 + ½ undead hd (round up) + misc. modifier. You may bestow a maximum number of benefits equal to half your level. Only one check is made for each spell, failing the check results in no special benefits to the created undead. Each undead created by the spell receives the same benefits. In addition to passing this check, you must also sacrifice material components equal in value to the gp cost shown. Using this feat does not increase the spell level of the necromancy spell it is applied to. This feat can only be applied to necromancy spells that create or animate, as opposed to summon, undead. Corpsecrafted subtype is mainly arbitrary, and serves only to differentiate 'natural' from 'artificial' undead, other than the traits applied from table 1.01, they recieve no additional bonuses or penalties. Some spells may only affect 'natural' undead, or only 'artificial' undead, as described in its entry. Table 1.01 Vitality +2 strength or dexterity +1 dc +50gp +4 strength or dexterity +2 dc +100gp +6 strength or dexterity +4 dc +200gp +8 strength or dexterity +8 dc +400gp Vigour +1hp/hd +1 dc +50gp +2hp/hd +2 dc +100gp +3hp/hd +4 dc +200gp +4hp/hd +8 dc +400gp Grace +5ft base speed +1 dc +50gp +10ft base speed +2 dc +100gp +20ft base speed +4 dc +200gp +30ft base speed +8 dc +400gp Remove single actions only trait +4dc +200gp Energy +1d6 energy melee damage +4dc +200gp ^^ -harming undead with nonreach weapon does this damage; immunity to element, weakness to opposition +4dc +200gp (must have above)^^ Resilience +2 turn resistance +2 dc +100gp +4 turn resistance +4 dc +200gp +6 turn resistance +8 dc +400gp Endurance +1 natural or dodge ac +1dc +50gp +2 natural or dodge ac +2 dc +100gp +3 natural or dodge ac +4 dc +200gp +4 natural or dodge ac +8 dc +400gp Ferocity any natural attack Increase die damage by one grades +2dc +100gp Increase die damage by two grades+4dc +200gp Increase die damage by three grades +8dc +400gp Potency any undead special ability Increase ability dc +2 +2dc +100gp Increase ability dc +4 +4dc +200gp Increase ability dc +6 +8dc +400gp Toughness Virtual hit die +1 +2dc +100gp undead gains extra hit die that does not count when controlling Virtual hit die +2 +4dc +200gp undead gains two extra hit die that does not count when controlling Virtual hit die +3 +8dc +400gp undead gains three extra hit die that does not count when controlling Reanimation +10dc +500gp* recovers with 1hp after 1d4 rounds, can only be permanently killed by holy water or good aligned attacks Increases DR +4dc +200gp doubles DR or increases by 5, whichever is less Eldritch Spell-like ability 3/day^^^ CL=HD; DC 10+spell level+ charisma modifier 0 level +1dc +250gp 1st level +2dc +500gp 2nd level +4dc +2600gp 3rd level +8dc +3400gp Cerebral Psi-like ability 3/day^^^ ML=HD; DC 10+power level+ charisma modifier 0 level +1dc +250gp 1st level +2dc +500gp 2nd level +4dc +2600gp 3rd level +8dc +3400gp (must be using psionic animate dead to add any of these traits) Shade Mystery 3/day^^^ SL=HD; DC 10+ spell level+ charisma modifier Fundamental +1dc +250gp 1st level +2dc +500gp 2nd level +4dc +2600gp 3rd level +8dc +3400gp (Apprentice level only) Bound Vestige Permanently bound^^^ +Vestige binding DC-10 (Vestige binding DC-10)x50gp (sign always shown, always under influence) Soulborn upcoming Durability +2 untyped bonus to one save +1dc +50gp +4 untyped bonus to one save +2dc +100gp +6 untyped bonus to one save +4dc +200gp +8 untyped bonus to one save +8dc +400gp Dead Walkers Hive Mind 100ft +2dc +100gp telepathy with all other corpsecrafted creatures with this trait, 100ft Special Mark +1dc* +50gp a unique magical ‘watermark’, cannot be copied, visible to normal senses or magical senses (necromancers choice) Cache Undead +2dc* +100gp mindless undead loses spiteful tendencies, immobile while not directly controlled by a necromancer Combine Grafted Weapons +1dc each +50gp undead loses hand/foot; weapon cannot be disarmed, gain +1 insight bonus to attack and damage with weapon Grafted Armour does not take armour check penalties or speed loss, still takes maximum dexterity -light +1dc +50gp -medium +2dc +100gp -heavy +4dc +200gp Disguise Inbuilt Disguise cannot be changed, as disguise skill, fools stated senses +5; sight +1dc +50gp as normal disguise check, with +5 circumstance modifier +10; touch +2 dc +100gp searching no longer applies a bonus on spot checks to overcome disguise +15; smell +4 dc +200gp only registers as creature disguised under scent +20; hearing (voice) +8 dc +400gp sound of voice is indistinguishable, if applicable, from real thing Knowledge Skill Ranks** mindless undead cannot take intelligence based skills 4 ranks +2dc +100gp 8 ranks +4dc +200gp 12 ranks +8 dc +400gp Stygian Negative Energy touch +6dc +300gp deals 1d6 negative damage as melee touch attack/2 hit die Negative Aura +4dc +200gp living creatures within 10ft take -2 all saves Explode in negative energy +4dc +200gp * deals 1d6 negative energy in 10ft burst per 2 hit die. Aura of Fear +6dc +300gp * 30ft radius, will dc 10+1/2 hd +cha mod or shaken Regeneration Fast Healing 1 +2dc +100gp Fast Healing 2 +4 dc +200gp Fast Healing 3 +8 dc +400gp Athleticism Powerful Build +4dc +200gp Climb speed +2dc +100gp Swim speed +2dc +100gp *** Fly speed +6dc +300gp *** New natural attack +1dc +50gp *** Element Energy Resistance (any) 5 +1dc +50gp ^^ Energy Resistance (any) 10 +2dc+100gp ^^ Energy Resistance (any) 20 +4dc +200gp ^^ Energy Resistance (any) immunity +8dc +400gp ^^ Spell-control Permanent Illusion +4dc +200gp ^^^ As Major Image Natural (greater) Invisibility +10dc +500gp ^^^ As Invisible Stalker Natural Blur +6dc +300gp ^^^ As Blur Natural Blink +8dc +300gp ^^^ As Blink Natural Displacement +10dc +500gp ^^^ As Displacement Beast Extra Feat +2dc each +100gp ** *- unique ability specific to certain organizations of necromancers **- either creator or corpse must have at least same number of ranks, or specific feat ***- requires extra material, such as separate limbs or flesh ^- requires created undead has a mind ^^- requires elemental substance ^^^- requires necromancer be able to cast stated spell, spell-like ability or supernatural ability *** http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b142/DecimationX/Necromancy/Necromage.jpg courtesy of DecimationX *** Circumstance Modifiers Optional Variant: Preparation/Time Creating corpsecrafted undead can take time, if one does it properly, so these modifiers apply as bonuses, or penalties, to your corpsecrafter check result. Cost is unaffected. Circumstance Modifier Undead is prepared in a specialised necromantic lab +1 Increase casting time to 10 minutes +1 Increase casting time to 1 hour +2 ***
katarl 09-21-07, 01:08 PM	Examples http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q197/KaosRampage/RF/Unused/necrof.jpg courtesy of KaosRampage **** Dr. Jonathan Astern wants to create a medium sized medic-type zombie that can withstand the kind of assaults his troops are getting used to. Necrosis carnex's keep getting blasted and clerically turned into oblivion, so he needs something a bit more robust. He starts with a ghaele eladrin corpse, a 10 HD outsider and spontaneously casts a corpsecrafted animate dead as a full round action. It's 20HD, so that's a base DC of 10+(20/2), which is 20. It costs him 500gp in onyx. He adds negative energy touch from the Stygian list, perfect for all those cuts and scrapes, and healing 10d6 a touch. That increases the DC to 26, and increases the cost to 800gp. He also adds the medium armour graft from the combine list, he likes women in armour, and grafts a masterwork suit of breastplate armour, to enhance later. This increases the DC to 30, and increases the cost to 1000gp. He thinks about adding fast healing, but eventually decides it is unnecessary as she already has negative energy touch. He decides on a more mundane +2hp/HD, which increases the DC to 32, and increases the cost to 1100gp. Happy with this, he does it all in a desecrated area with a permanent shrine to Nerull, and makes the check. He's a 10th level dread necromancer with a charisma bonus of +7, he needs a 15 to pass. Remember that when a undead is made and destroyed, it cannot be remade, so if he fails, he'll need a new corpse. **** Corpsecrafting is a highly expensive enterprise, like spell-stitching is, you don't improve run-of-the-mill skeletons, except maybe to increase their hit die, you corpsecraft the big bruisers only, or you'll eat through your finances very quickly.
katarl 09-21-07, 01:13 PM	Design Notes http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/Darkspawn93/Necromancer.jpg courtesy of Darkspawn93 These rules may not be perfect for every campaign, but the hope was to give creative dms and players a chance to 'customise' their undead beyond what the rules allowed. The idea was a bit of a combination between the libris mortis' corpsecrafter chain, Kerik's and I's homebrew corpsecrafter and the rules presented for Necromantic Templates, as well as wanting to allow players to create their own specialised undead such as the baneguard and necrosis carnex, without requiring seperate rules. I didn't want to allow customization to such a degree that they steal the thunder from other undead, so I only put in traits that did not replicate abilities such as the ghouls paralysis, or the vampires summoning, only generic traits were used. You will notice that there is no trait that allows undead to be evolved, or that gives them a mind, as this would render the rules for creating these obsolete. The pricing system is to make your undead more part of the system, and to put a limit on the number you can control. Although many players complain that necromancy is too expensive, there are definite reasons for undead costing so much, and I have seen various games broken by swarms of undead stealing the limelight. Perceptive readers may notice that the costing system is 50gp/+1DC, which translates to 2HD of undead. So for a DC 20 10hd undead with +5 traits, you could buy 4 5HD undead or 1 20HD undead without them. That's to balance the abilities of those with this feat and those who use 'natural' undead. The DC's are to reward players who stick with this feat to high levels, better necromancers will inevitably make better undead, although a lucky apprentice might make a truly enviable creature. You can't take 10 or 20 with this feat (at least not yet), so there's always a chance that the crafting might fail, which lends a certain amount of anticipation at how powerful this creature is going to be, better suited to the 'art rather than science' credo above. The feat is actually a little weaker in some ways to the corpsecrafter chain, which grants bonuses irrespective of the HD, and the bonuses granted by each feat are quite difficult to replicate with this version, and cost a lot more. However although less powerful, it allows a great deal more versatility than the rules normally allow, which more than makes up for any lacking in power. You may notice the wording that the word corporeal is not used, you can currently add the corpsecrafted template to ghosts and incorporeal undead, so long as you create them with a necromancy spell. This may well be quite deadly if someone knows the Putrefaction spell. The reasoning behind making it a metamagic spell was to make it optional, you can still make hordes of 'natural' undead rather than a few corpsecrafted ones if you want, rather than have the bonuses flatly handed out to everything you make. While many necromancers will be finicky about what they churn out, it allows, again, for a great deal more versatility in choosing your creations. I tried to make it so that a corpsecrafter feat is worth +4dc, for example deadly chill, but this was not always possible.
katarl 09-21-07, 01:13 PM	Miscellany http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h311/Dark-Angel-Underworld/ss2681.jpg courtesy of Dark-Angel-Underworld Equipment Corpsecrafter's Tools A lacquered black box laden with silver cutting tools, measuring devices and weights, corpsecrafter's tools enhance a necromancer's ability to enhance undead that they create. They are a common sight among the deadwalker's society. Prerequisite: Only characters with the corpsecrafter feat can use this item. Activation: Using the tools contained within the black case requires 1 hour of uninterrupted work per undead prepared. Effect: Undead prepared by the corpsecrafter's tools are more pliable to work done later, meaning a +2 competence bonus on the special corpsecrafter check to give them the corpsecrafted template. Aura/Caster Level: Faint Transmutation. CL 3rd. Construction: Craft Wondrous Item; Corpsecrafter feat; Ghouls Touch; 1130gp, 32XP, 2 days Variants: +1 on corpsecrafter checks (-600gp), +4 on corpsecrafter checks (+2400gp), +6 on corpsecrafter checks (+6400gp), +8 on corpsecrafter checks (+12000gp). Weight: 10lbs Price: 1530gp http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f195/Kraven118/undead.jpg courtesy of Kraven118 Deadwalkers Guild Symbol: A white circle surrounding a smaller, black circle, inside which is a white, skeletal hand. Background, Goals and Dreams: The Deadwalkers Guild is a secret society masterminded by an unusually altruistic lich, who held a strong belief that the lives of ordinary living beings would be vastly improved by depending less on their own muscle and emotions, and instead delegating their menial labours to mindless undead, as he did. It was this vision of the future that led the lich to cultivate the beginnings of the guild among disillusioned citizens of various major cities, who enthusiastically embraced the special training and resources that the lich offered. The deadwalkers guild exists primarily to train its members in the arts of necromancy, and shelter them from outside interference, and secondarily, it exists to further the ideals of pragmatism and the strength of order over chaotic behaviour, or entropy. Enemies and Allies: As a necromantic cult-like group, the deadwalkers have many enemies, most notably the church of Pelor, whose clerics ceaselessly attempt to destroy the deadwalkers. The deadwalkers mostly try to recruit from young, intelligent humans and treat their members extremely well, so can have allies in some very strange places. Many a noble did not suspect that their teenage son or daughter was secretly receiving training in necromancy. The guild also receives a cool but cordial reception from the churches of Wee Jas, Hextor and Evening Glory. Type: Cabal (Social) Scale: 11 (Multi-regional) Criterion Affiliation Score Modifier Character level +1/2 level Tomb-tainted Soul feat +1 Ability to cast animate dead +1 Ability to cast create undead +2* Ability to cast create greater undead +3* Donates undead to organization +1 per 10 hd Goodly Aligned -4 Chaotic Aligned -10 Affiliation Score Title: Benefits and Duties 3 or lower No affiliation or junior member with no benefits 4 - 10 Neophyte: Free access to desecrated areas and special training in necromancy (e.g. for purposes of gaining the corpsecrafter feat). 11 - 15 Acolyte: The cost of purchasing material components for casting necromancy spells that create corporeal undead are reduced by half (for animate dead, that would be 12.5gp/hd rather than 25/hd). You must now donate 10% of your income to the guild. 16 - 22 Adept: You may now add the deadwalker mark on any mindless corporeal undead you create through necromancy spells. 23-29 Master: You recieve a +4 profane bonus to any corpsecrafter checks you make to enhance corporeal undead You must now spend at least 40 hours a week teaching younger deadwalkers. Each failure to do so causes you to lose 2 from your affiliation score. 30 or higher Grand Master: You gain a +4 bonus on all attempts to influence the attitude of undead or fellow deadwalkers. In addition, if still alive, you are invited to become a necropolitan, and suffer 1000xp less cost for doing so (you still lose a level). Deadwalkers Mark (special) - may be added to any corporeal undead you animate or create with necromancy spells. An undead with a deadwalkers mark is significantly less violent and hateful than is normal for undead of their type. A marked mindless undead starts with an indifferent attitude to living beings and attacks only when ordered to. The deadwalkers use this to cache their undead safely, and to familiarise recruits with undead with less risk. Intelligent undead similarly suffer less from their necromantic condition, and lose less of their ‘humanity’ during the transformation. If they possess an inescapable urge, they are no longer subject to it, but diet-dependency remains. In addition, marked undead rot at a much slower rate than normal, perhaps 400 times less, so that zombies animated and marked on the day of their death appears normal for many decades, and may mask their eventual deterioration as simple old age. A deadwalkers mark is a ritual, not a curse and may only be removed by a wish spell or equivalent, and is not subject to dispelling or suppression. *** http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k31/maijstral/gallandvbluespawnentry.jpg courtesy of maijstral ***
katarl 09-22-07, 07:16 AM	no comments?
Osedox 09-22-07, 12:19 PM	Wow I like it allot, You took a clunky system (which ate up feats like theres no tomorrow), and made it a relatively easy to use, and attain. Some of the abilities seem like they cost too little, and raise the DC by too few, but Im sure that is something that can be solved by play testing. In particular the spell like abilities seem like they should raise the DC more (You should also make a prerequisite of knowing the spell you are giving them as a spell like ability).
chiaboco 09-22-07, 03:47 PM	still makeing the corpsecrafting stuff eh? awsome job flavor wise and mechanic wise.
deathbane 09-22-07, 04:15 PM	I think it is a little overpowered, but it is versatile, and like you said it may not work for every campaign. I think I will look over it in detail when I get time and modify it for my campaign. good job
xXOblivionXx 09-23-07, 08:58 AM	Seems very good, I will use it :)