Dark Wraith [Archive] - Wizards Community

Dark Wraith [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Grod_The_Giant
10-14-06, 01:18 PM Sorry for the cliche name, I just couldn't think of a better one. I came up with a GREAT idea for a campaign. A large part is based on this monster, so I need some imput on it. The idea was a (extremely) dark, shadowy, sinister, and ghostly creature. The standard Wraith just wasn't quite right. Please help me get the right CRs. So, I give you:

Dark Wraith (base)

Size/Type: Medium Undead (Incorporeal)
HD: 4d12
Ini: +7
Speed: fly 40 ft. (good) (8 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (+3 Dex, +2 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 12
Base attack/Grapple: +2/-
Attack: Incorporeal touch +5 melee (1d4 Constitution drain)
Full Attack: Incorporeal touch +5 melee (1d4 Constitution drain)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Constitution drain,
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light vulnerability, incorporeal traits, +2 turn resistance, undead traits
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities: Dex 16+3, Int 14+2, Wis 14+2, Cha 15+2
Skills: Diplomacy +6, Hide +11, Intimidate +6, Listen +8, Search +6, Sense Motive +8, Spot +8, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks)
Feats: Alertness (B), Improved Initiative (B), Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-5), or pack (6-11)
CR: 4 (?)
Treasure: Standard, but body melts away after death
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: —

Long ago, the armies of the Wraith King Shador revenged the land. They were barely defeated by the brave efforts of several bands of adventurers, who managed to seal Shador and his armies away for all eternity. A few of his soldiers were missed or escaped, though, and several still wander the world, seeking to free their lord and comrades. The Dark Wraiths are those soldiers.

Combat:

All Dark Wraiths share the following abilities.

Light Vulnerability (Ex)
Dark Wraiths are greatly weakened in sunlight (natural or from a the brightly illuminated area of a Daylight spell). In it, they become corporal (with a natural armor bonus replacing the deflection bonus, and a strength score of 10), take a -5 penalty to all saves, attacks and are dealt 5 points of damage each round they're in sunlight. They flee light as though they had been turned.

One Purpose(Ex)

All Dark Wraiths within 50 miles of each other are in constant communication. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in a group is not flat-footed, none of them are. No Dark Wraith in a group is considered flanked unless all of them are.

Constitution Drain (Su)
Living creatures hit by a Dark Wraith’s incorporeal touch attack must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of Constitution drain. The save DC is Charisma-based. On each such successful attack, the wraith gains 5 temporary hit points.

Dark Wraith Warrior 4

Size/Type: Medium Undead (Incorporeal)
HD: 4d12+ 4d8
Ini: +7
Speed: fly 40 ft. (good) (8 squares)
Armor Class: 19 (+3 Dex, +3 deflection, +3 ghost touch studded leather), touch 15, flat-footed 16
Base attack/ Grapple:+6/+1/-
Attack: Incorporeal touch +9melee (1d4 Constitution drain) or Unholy Ghost Touch scythe +11 (2d4/ 19-20 x4; +2d6 damage to good-aligned creatures)
Full Attack: Incorporeal touch +9/+4 melee (1d4 Constitution drain) or Unholy Ghost Touch scythe +11/+6 (2d4/19-20 x4; +2d6 damage to good-aligned creatures)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Constitution drain,
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light vulnerability, incorporeal traits, +2 turn resistance, undead traits (see Dark Wraith (base))
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +7
Abilities: Dex 16+3, Int 14+2, Wis 14+2, Cha 16+3
Skills: Diplomacy +6, Hide +15, Intimidate +10, Listen +12, Search +10, Sense Motive +12, Spot +12, Survival +6 (+8 following tracks)
Feats: Alertness (B), Improved Initiative (B), Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical (scythe), Weapon Focus (scythe).
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-5), or pack (6-11)
CR: 8 (?)
Treasure: none (gear melts away with body after death)
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: —

An even fewer members of the Wraith King's army retain all their equipment- the trademark unholy scythes and ghost touch armor.

EDIT: introduction changed. One Purpose ability added, and Improved Initiative factored in. CRs raised.
Grod_The_Giant
10-14-06, 07:48 PM come on, SOMEONE must have imput...
Grod_The_Giant
10-15-06, 09:26 PM 30 views and no other responces? I feel unloved...:raincloud
kinem
10-15-06, 10:38 PM OK, I'll bite.

How is it not just a wraith variant? It's almost identical, down to the skills and feats. It's really just a wraith with 4 HD instead of 5, and 1d4 Con drain instead of 1d6. And no create spawn, which is a change I agree with.

Well, unless you want to make a big deal of the 'becoming corporeal in sunlight' thing. But that seems rather cheesy to me; I'd just leave the wraith's standard 'powerless in sunlight' as is.

CR 4 maybe, since magic weapons are scarce at low levels.
Insane Pixie
10-15-06, 11:11 PM What kinem said, plus:

I can't imagine them being an intergral part of any campaign. There are many other undead forces that could make extremely quick work of them (like regular wraiths, for instance).

You've also got his initiative wrong. Should be +6 [3 (Dex) + 3 Improved Init.].
kinem
10-16-06, 11:26 AM Improved initiative gives +4, for a total of +7.

It's not a bad wraith variant: slightly weaker and with no problematic create spawn. It could have possibilities; there's a little back story, and you could always make one more powerful by giving it class levels. The fact that they are working towards a common goal could make them more relevant to a campaign than a monster that just hangs out in an old ruin and does nothing but haunt it.

My objection was that Grod seemed to be trying to pass it off as an entirely original creation, even shouting in caps that it's NOT just a wraith variant, when it blatantly is.
Grod_The_Giant
10-16-06, 03:02 PM ok, it's MECHANICALLY a wraith varient, but the fluff isn't. I had the idea, like I said, but there were no monsters available to me that fit the bill exactly. And, after 2 days with NO responces, I was desperate. I'll edit that. And I did forget something- Hive Mind.

One Purpose(Ex)

All Dark Wraiths within 50 miles of each other are in constant communication. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in a group is not flat-footed, none of them are. No Dark Wraith in a group is considered flanked unless all of them are. ((ripped off from formians))
Return of the Flumph
10-16-06, 11:35 PM ok, it's MECHANICALLY a wraith varient, but the fluff isn't. I had the idea, like I said, but there were no monsters available to me that fit the bill exactly. And, after 2 days with NO responces, I was desperate. I'll edit that. And I did forget something- Hive Mind.

One Purpose(Ex)

All Dark Wraiths within 50 miles of each other are in constant communication. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in a group is not flat-footed, none of them are. No Dark Wraith in a group is considered flanked unless all of them are. ((ripped off from formians))

Still just a variant.

Why not just give "one purpose" to a normal wraith and change the fluff?
kinem
10-17-06, 01:34 AM Grod, the "fluff" is irrelevant to that discussion. Are human jungle tribes a different "creature type" than human city dwellers? They have different fluff.

Adding background/fluff for a creature is called "building your campaign world", not "making a new creature". For example, in Eberron, goblins have a proud martial tradition. Ideally you should be doing this, making interesting background stories, even for monsters you don't change.

The hivemind could be very powerful. It wouldn't have much effect on CR, but it could lead to masses of them converging on one spot. You might want to reduce the range. Also, it might make more sense for them to be lawful, unless they don't always cooperate with each other.

It doesn't say that they can speak. If they can, the hive mind could be very powerful just by turning them into telephones. They might even sell their communication services to evil forces, and then turn around and hire evil adventurers to help with their goals.

To summarize:
- lose the 'corporeal in sunlight' thing
- CR 4
- lawful evil
- either nerf the hivemind or design your world using them as telephones for bad guys
Grod_The_Giant
10-17-06, 08:40 AM I refuse to loose the hive mind, or the corpral in sunlight. Both of those are big parts of the creature (as well as the big things keeping it from being just a wraith). CR 4? LE? Maybe. And Return of the Flumph? I only used the wraith as a base, because they were similar- not almost identical.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Grod_The_Giant 10-14-06, 01:18 PM	Sorry for the cliche name, I just couldn't think of a better one. I came up with a GREAT idea for a campaign. A large part is based on this monster, so I need some imput on it. The idea was a (extremely) dark, shadowy, sinister, and ghostly creature. The standard Wraith just wasn't quite right. Please help me get the right CRs. So, I give you: Dark Wraith (base) Size/Type: Medium Undead (Incorporeal) HD: 4d12 Ini: +7 Speed: fly 40 ft. (good) (8 squares) Armor Class: 15 (+3 Dex, +2 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 12 Base attack/Grapple: +2/- Attack: Incorporeal touch +5 melee (1d4 Constitution drain) Full Attack: Incorporeal touch +5 melee (1d4 Constitution drain) Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft. Special Attacks: Constitution drain, Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light vulnerability, incorporeal traits, +2 turn resistance, undead traits Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +6 Abilities: Dex 16+3, Int 14+2, Wis 14+2, Cha 15+2 Skills: Diplomacy +6, Hide +11, Intimidate +6, Listen +8, Search +6, Sense Motive +8, Spot +8, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks) Feats: Alertness (B), Improved Initiative (B), Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes Environment: Any Organization: Solitary, gang (2-5), or pack (6-11) CR: 4 (?) Treasure: Standard, but body melts away after death Alignment: Always neutral evil Advancement: By character class Level Adjustment: — Long ago, the armies of the Wraith King Shador revenged the land. They were barely defeated by the brave efforts of several bands of adventurers, who managed to seal Shador and his armies away for all eternity. A few of his soldiers were missed or escaped, though, and several still wander the world, seeking to free their lord and comrades. The Dark Wraiths are those soldiers. Combat: All Dark Wraiths share the following abilities. Light Vulnerability (Ex) Dark Wraiths are greatly weakened in sunlight (natural or from a the brightly illuminated area of a Daylight spell). In it, they become corporal (with a natural armor bonus replacing the deflection bonus, and a strength score of 10), take a -5 penalty to all saves, attacks and are dealt 5 points of damage each round they're in sunlight. They flee light as though they had been turned. One Purpose(Ex) All Dark Wraiths within 50 miles of each other are in constant communication. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in a group is not flat-footed, none of them are. No Dark Wraith in a group is considered flanked unless all of them are. Constitution Drain (Su) Living creatures hit by a Dark Wraith’s incorporeal touch attack must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of Constitution drain. The save DC is Charisma-based. On each such successful attack, the wraith gains 5 temporary hit points. Dark Wraith Warrior 4 Size/Type: Medium Undead (Incorporeal) HD: 4d12+ 4d8 Ini: +7 Speed: fly 40 ft. (good) (8 squares) Armor Class: 19 (+3 Dex, +3 deflection, +3 ghost touch studded leather), touch 15, flat-footed 16 Base attack/ Grapple:+6/+1/- Attack: Incorporeal touch +9melee (1d4 Constitution drain) or Unholy Ghost Touch scythe +11 (2d4/ 19-20 x4; +2d6 damage to good-aligned creatures) Full Attack: Incorporeal touch +9/+4 melee (1d4 Constitution drain) or Unholy Ghost Touch scythe +11/+6 (2d4/19-20 x4; +2d6 damage to good-aligned creatures) Space/Reach: 5 ft./ 5 ft. Special Attacks: Constitution drain, Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light vulnerability, incorporeal traits, +2 turn resistance, undead traits (see Dark Wraith (base)) Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +7 Abilities: Dex 16+3, Int 14+2, Wis 14+2, Cha 16+3 Skills: Diplomacy +6, Hide +15, Intimidate +10, Listen +12, Search +10, Sense Motive +12, Spot +12, Survival +6 (+8 following tracks) Feats: Alertness (B), Improved Initiative (B), Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical (scythe), Weapon Focus (scythe). Environment: Any Organization: Solitary, gang (2-5), or pack (6-11) CR: 8 (?) Treasure: none (gear melts away with body after death) Alignment: Always neutral evil Advancement: By character class Level Adjustment: — An even fewer members of the Wraith King's army retain all their equipment- the trademark unholy scythes and ghost touch armor. EDIT: introduction changed. One Purpose ability added, and Improved Initiative factored in. CRs raised.
Grod_The_Giant 10-14-06, 07:48 PM	come on, SOMEONE must have imput...
Grod_The_Giant 10-15-06, 09:26 PM	30 views and no other responces? I feel unloved...:raincloud
kinem 10-15-06, 10:38 PM	OK, I'll bite. How is it not just a wraith variant? It's almost identical, down to the skills and feats. It's really just a wraith with 4 HD instead of 5, and 1d4 Con drain instead of 1d6. And no create spawn, which is a change I agree with. Well, unless you want to make a big deal of the 'becoming corporeal in sunlight' thing. But that seems rather cheesy to me; I'd just leave the wraith's standard 'powerless in sunlight' as is. CR 4 maybe, since magic weapons are scarce at low levels.
Insane Pixie 10-15-06, 11:11 PM	What kinem said, plus: I can't imagine them being an intergral part of any campaign. There are many other undead forces that could make extremely quick work of them (like regular wraiths, for instance). You've also got his initiative wrong. Should be +6 [3 (Dex) + 3 Improved Init.].
kinem 10-16-06, 11:26 AM	Improved initiative gives +4, for a total of +7. It's not a bad wraith variant: slightly weaker and with no problematic create spawn. It could have possibilities; there's a little back story, and you could always make one more powerful by giving it class levels. The fact that they are working towards a common goal could make them more relevant to a campaign than a monster that just hangs out in an old ruin and does nothing but haunt it. My objection was that Grod seemed to be trying to pass it off as an entirely original creation, even shouting in caps that it's NOT just a wraith variant, when it blatantly is.
Grod_The_Giant 10-16-06, 03:02 PM	ok, it's MECHANICALLY a wraith varient, but the fluff isn't. I had the idea, like I said, but there were no monsters available to me that fit the bill exactly. And, after 2 days with NO responces, I was desperate. I'll edit that. And I did forget something- Hive Mind. One Purpose(Ex) All Dark Wraiths within 50 miles of each other are in constant communication. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in a group is not flat-footed, none of them are. No Dark Wraith in a group is considered flanked unless all of them are. ((ripped off from formians))
Return of the Flumph 10-16-06, 11:35 PM	ok, it's MECHANICALLY a wraith varient, but the fluff isn't. I had the idea, like I said, but there were no monsters available to me that fit the bill exactly. And, after 2 days with NO responces, I was desperate. I'll edit that. And I did forget something- Hive Mind. One Purpose(Ex) All Dark Wraiths within 50 miles of each other are in constant communication. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in a group is not flat-footed, none of them are. No Dark Wraith in a group is considered flanked unless all of them are. ((ripped off from formians)) Still just a variant. Why not just give "one purpose" to a normal wraith and change the fluff?
kinem 10-17-06, 01:34 AM	Grod, the "fluff" is irrelevant to that discussion. Are human jungle tribes a different "creature type" than human city dwellers? They have different fluff. Adding background/fluff for a creature is called "building your campaign world", not "making a new creature". For example, in Eberron, goblins have a proud martial tradition. Ideally you should be doing this, making interesting background stories, even for monsters you don't change. The hivemind could be very powerful. It wouldn't have much effect on CR, but it could lead to masses of them converging on one spot. You might want to reduce the range. Also, it might make more sense for them to be lawful, unless they don't always cooperate with each other. It doesn't say that they can speak. If they can, the hive mind could be very powerful just by turning them into telephones. They might even sell their communication services to evil forces, and then turn around and hire evil adventurers to help with their goals. To summarize: - lose the 'corporeal in sunlight' thing - CR 4 - lawful evil - either nerf the hivemind or design your world using them as telephones for bad guys
Grod_The_Giant 10-17-06, 08:40 AM	I refuse to loose the hive mind, or the corpral in sunlight. Both of those are big parts of the creature (as well as the big things keeping it from being just a wraith). CR 4? LE? Maybe. And Return of the Flumph? I only used the wraith as a base, because they were similar- not almost identical.