Death Knight Template (3.5?) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Death Knight Template (3.5?) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Krispieman
03-01-05, 07:29 PM I may have missed where it corrects this, but I can't find an actual 3.5 conversion for the Death Knight template from MM2.

I've checked the 3.5-update booklet and all it says about the death knight is "as written" and changes sunder to improved sunder.

This doesn't address my main concern, which is the DK's damage reduction of 15/+1. There may even be more things that weren't properly done, but I glanced over those and don't think they influence game-play as much as DR.

At current I just made an adjustment myself which I felt was cool (made the DR 15/cold iron and magic) but it is probably not in line with the actual 3.0->3.5 changes made in DR.

Should anyone know where I can find a true update, or help my with the DR (and possibly other things that weren't converted properly) I'd be eternally grateful.

K-Man :cool:

P.S.
With eternally I mean the next 5 minutes.

P.P.S
And with grateful I mean I won't kill you ;)
cwslyclgh
03-01-05, 08:26 PM my suggestion in this case is to change the DR to be exaclty like that of the 3.5 lich (After all death knight is basicaly a lich template for warrior-types).

failing that a direct conversion via the conversion guidelines would be to DR 15/magic
Super Guy
03-01-05, 09:00 PM Jeez, looking at that, I think the LA might be a little high.

Benefits:
Undead
Immune to Cold and Electricity, as well as Polymorph
+4 Str, +2 Wis, +2 Cha
Almost useless touch attack (only worthwhile if you're grappling)
One spell per day that's probably equivalent to a 6th or so level spell.
Damage Reduction 15/magic (which is god-awful).
A god-awful Fear Aura, because it only affects under 5 HD creatures.
Free, yet nearly worthless followers.
Gains Darkvision.
Gets decent SR, but considering the LA, it's no longer very good.
Summons a mount (half his HD, typically a Nightmare) and can resummon a year and a day from the passing of his current one.
Is immune to turning.

All that for a low low price of LA +5 ?!? Eh...
Vatras
03-02-05, 03:27 AM I did my own deathknight template (I liked the old version and Lord Soth much better than the current one), usable for major villains in higher level games.

Template: Deathknight
(can be applied to fallen paladins or blackguards of 11th level or higher, requires the intervention of a deity or a similar source of power)

Type: change to undead
HD: change all current and future HD to d12, has maximum hitpoints
AC: +5 natural armor (unless has better), +5 profane bonus
BAB: as in life, +10 profane bonus to hit
Attacks: as in life, +2d6 hellfire (see BoVD) on all hits
Special attacks: fear aura, 60愉., DC 10+1/2HD+CHA bonus, as fear spell
Special Qualities: undead traits, immune to fire, cold, polymorph, cannot be turned, followers get +6 turn resistance in his presence, SR of 11+HD (if it is not penetrated by a spell or SLA, it is turned back upon the caster), DR 10/-, acid, sonic and lightning resistance equal to HD (up to 30)
Saves: profane bonus equal to CHA bonus
Abilities: STR +12, CON: -, DEX: +10, INT+2, WIS+4, CHA+12
Feats: Ancestral Relic
AL: always evil

The deathknight is an evil spirit, created from once holy warriors who fell prey to the lures of darkness in a way that drew their former masters wrath. It is this divine curse keeping them undead, and they are always the servants of the power they betrayed their vows for.
They keep the equipment they had in life, albeit in spiritual form. They appear as invisible shades clothed in old armor.

Spell-like abilities: caster level equals HD, DCs are CHA based
At will: Hellfire, shadow walk, summon unholy steed (as per blackguard)
Once/day: summon minions (thats the allies the deathknight had in life, who had a direct hand in his fall; not every deathknigth has such)
up to 12 HD:
Corrupt Fireball (HD/4 per day)
Corrupt Wall of Fire (HD/4 per day)
Greater Dispel Magic (HD/5 per day)
Corrupt Flamestrike (HD/5 per day)
13-14 HD:
PW: stun (HD/6 per day)
15-16 HD:
PW: blind (HD/6 per day)
17-20 HD:
Corrupt Firestorm (HD/7 per day)
PW: kill (HD/6 per day)
21+ HD:
Hellball (1/10 of spellcraft ranks per day)
Krispieman
03-02-05, 11:27 AM I did my own deathknight template (I liked the old version and Lord Soth much better than the current one), usable for major villains in higher level games.

Nods, I love Lord Soth a lot myself. As it happens I was creating a Deathknight for my upcoming Epic campaign anyway. He's not the end villan, but a go-between. Was gunning for something along the lines of CR 22-23

Template: Deathknight
(can be applied to fallen paladins or blackguards of 11th level or higher, requires the intervention of a deity or a similar source of power)

Type: change to undead
HD: change all current and future HD to d12, has maximum hitpoints
AC: +5 natural armor (unless has better), +5 profane bonus
BAB: as in life, +10 profane bonus to hit
Attacks: as in life, +2d6 hellfire (see BoVD) on all hits
Special attacks: fear aura, 60愉., DC 10+1/2HD+CHA bonus, as fear spell
Special Qualities: undead traits, immune to fire, cold, polymorph, cannot be turned, followers get +6 turn resistance in his presence, SR of 11+HD (if it is not penetrated by a spell or SLA, it is turned back upon the caster), DR 10/-, acid, sonic and lightning resistance equal to HD (up to 30)
Saves: profane bonus equal to CHA bonus
Abilities: STR +12, CON: -, DEX: +10, INT+2, WIS+4, CHA+12
Feats: Ancestral Relic
AL: always evil

It looks a lot like a really pimp template. Just wondering what the CR adjustment would be. If you don't really have one calculated, mind if I use your template, with a few adjustments, to scare away my party ;)

The deathknight is an evil spirit, created from once holy warriors who fell prey to the lures of darkness in a way that drew their former masters wrath. It is this divine curse keeping them undead, and they are always the servants of the power they betrayed their vows for.
They keep the equipment they had in life, albeit in spiritual form. They appear as invisible shades clothed in old armor.

Spell-like abilities: caster level equals HD, DCs are CHA based
At will: Hellfire, shadow walk, summon unholy steed (as per blackguard)
Once/day: summon minions (thats the allies the deathknight had in life, who had a direct hand in his fall; not every deathknigth has such)
up to 12 HD:
Corrupt Fireball (HD/4 per day)
Corrupt Wall of Fire (HD/4 per day)
Greater Dispel Magic (HD/5 per day)
Corrupt Flamestrike (HD/5 per day)
13-14 HD:
PW: stun (HD/6 per day)
15-16 HD:
PW: blind (HD/6 per day)
17-20 HD:
Corrupt Firestorm (HD/7 per day)
PW: kill (HD/6 per day)
21+ HD:
Hellball (1/10 of spellcraft ranks per day)

I may have to adjust what I had a little. Was going for a Loxo (MM2) fighter who turned death knight. The main idea is simple, I wanted an undead who could intimidate vampires, as he's visiting their mansion (all sorts of different vampires live there under the rulership of a Vampire (green) Dragon).

One of my PC's is a true turn-monkey (cleric/radiant servant, going for master of radiance) so he can pretty much destroy any undead within 10HD of him orso. By the time the PC's should get to the mansion most will be lvl 22. So I either needed an undead with 32+ HD, or turn imminuty.

And as stated, I love Lord Soth, so I had to create a Deathkinght.

k-man :cool:
Soulmage
03-02-05, 11:37 AM I'm a big Soth/Death Knight fan also.

The Dragonlance Campaign Setting (which I do not own unfortunately) has a truer Death Knight template conversion to the old rules.

I believe they use DR 10/Cold Iron and Magic as their converted value. Maybe its 15, but that just seems to make Death Knights nigh-invincible (my parties NEVER have cold-iron weapons!

I actually did a Death Knight "template" back in the days of 2E where I detailed all the powers demonstrated by Lord Soth in Knight of the Black Rose. I think it might be time to update it to 3.5. I'll post it here if I get around to it.
Starmage21
03-02-05, 07:00 PM Given the Death Knight's nature and origins (the worst of fallen paladins), their damage reduction should be DR 10/Holy. Also, most of the Death Knight abilities probobly come from the paladin's (blackgaurd's) class abilities.

Not only that, being transformed into a death knight would suck for the warrior in question. Losing your con is bad =\
ruleslawyer
03-02-05, 09:36 PM You mean DR/good and magic, I take it? That would make some sense...

Incidentally, you may want to take a look at the following template:

http://community.dicefreaks.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=1625
Starmage21
03-02-05, 09:48 PM well, some creatures (angels for example) have only DR #/Evil, so i figured that as a being of pure evil (moreso than the devils and demons in my opinion. I view corrupted good as more evil than evil itself), he should have DR #/Holy.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Krispieman 03-01-05, 07:29 PM	I may have missed where it corrects this, but I can't find an actual 3.5 conversion for the Death Knight template from MM2. I've checked the 3.5-update booklet and all it says about the death knight is "as written" and changes sunder to improved sunder. This doesn't address my main concern, which is the DK's damage reduction of 15/+1. There may even be more things that weren't properly done, but I glanced over those and don't think they influence game-play as much as DR. At current I just made an adjustment myself which I felt was cool (made the DR 15/cold iron and magic) but it is probably not in line with the actual 3.0->3.5 changes made in DR. Should anyone know where I can find a true update, or help my with the DR (and possibly other things that weren't converted properly) I'd be eternally grateful. K-Man :cool: P.S. With eternally I mean the next 5 minutes. P.P.S And with grateful I mean I won't kill you ;)
cwslyclgh 03-01-05, 08:26 PM	my suggestion in this case is to change the DR to be exaclty like that of the 3.5 lich (After all death knight is basicaly a lich template for warrior-types). failing that a direct conversion via the conversion guidelines would be to DR 15/magic
Super Guy 03-01-05, 09:00 PM	Jeez, looking at that, I think the LA might be a little high. Benefits: Undead Immune to Cold and Electricity, as well as Polymorph +4 Str, +2 Wis, +2 Cha Almost useless touch attack (only worthwhile if you're grappling) One spell per day that's probably equivalent to a 6th or so level spell. Damage Reduction 15/magic (which is god-awful). A god-awful Fear Aura, because it only affects under 5 HD creatures. Free, yet nearly worthless followers. Gains Darkvision. Gets decent SR, but considering the LA, it's no longer very good. Summons a mount (half his HD, typically a Nightmare) and can resummon a year and a day from the passing of his current one. Is immune to turning. All that for a low low price of LA +5 ?!? Eh...
Vatras 03-02-05, 03:27 AM	I did my own deathknight template (I liked the old version and Lord Soth much better than the current one), usable for major villains in higher level games. Template: Deathknight (can be applied to fallen paladins or blackguards of 11th level or higher, requires the intervention of a deity or a similar source of power) Type: change to undead HD: change all current and future HD to d12, has maximum hitpoints AC: +5 natural armor (unless has better), +5 profane bonus BAB: as in life, +10 profane bonus to hit Attacks: as in life, +2d6 hellfire (see BoVD) on all hits Special attacks: fear aura, 60愉., DC 10+1/2HD+CHA bonus, as fear spell Special Qualities: undead traits, immune to fire, cold, polymorph, cannot be turned, followers get +6 turn resistance in his presence, SR of 11+HD (if it is not penetrated by a spell or SLA, it is turned back upon the caster), DR 10/-, acid, sonic and lightning resistance equal to HD (up to 30) Saves: profane bonus equal to CHA bonus Abilities: STR +12, CON: -, DEX: +10, INT+2, WIS+4, CHA+12 Feats: Ancestral Relic AL: always evil The deathknight is an evil spirit, created from once holy warriors who fell prey to the lures of darkness in a way that drew their former masters wrath. It is this divine curse keeping them undead, and they are always the servants of the power they betrayed their vows for. They keep the equipment they had in life, albeit in spiritual form. They appear as invisible shades clothed in old armor. Spell-like abilities: caster level equals HD, DCs are CHA based At will: Hellfire, shadow walk, summon unholy steed (as per blackguard) Once/day: summon minions (thats the allies the deathknight had in life, who had a direct hand in his fall; not every deathknigth has such) up to 12 HD: Corrupt Fireball (HD/4 per day) Corrupt Wall of Fire (HD/4 per day) Greater Dispel Magic (HD/5 per day) Corrupt Flamestrike (HD/5 per day) 13-14 HD: PW: stun (HD/6 per day) 15-16 HD: PW: blind (HD/6 per day) 17-20 HD: Corrupt Firestorm (HD/7 per day) PW: kill (HD/6 per day) 21+ HD: Hellball (1/10 of spellcraft ranks per day)
Krispieman 03-02-05, 11:27 AM	I did my own deathknight template (I liked the old version and Lord Soth much better than the current one), usable for major villains in higher level games. Nods, I love Lord Soth a lot myself. As it happens I was creating a Deathknight for my upcoming Epic campaign anyway. He's not the end villan, but a go-between. Was gunning for something along the lines of CR 22-23 Template: Deathknight (can be applied to fallen paladins or blackguards of 11th level or higher, requires the intervention of a deity or a similar source of power) Type: change to undead HD: change all current and future HD to d12, has maximum hitpoints AC: +5 natural armor (unless has better), +5 profane bonus BAB: as in life, +10 profane bonus to hit Attacks: as in life, +2d6 hellfire (see BoVD) on all hits Special attacks: fear aura, 60愉., DC 10+1/2HD+CHA bonus, as fear spell Special Qualities: undead traits, immune to fire, cold, polymorph, cannot be turned, followers get +6 turn resistance in his presence, SR of 11+HD (if it is not penetrated by a spell or SLA, it is turned back upon the caster), DR 10/-, acid, sonic and lightning resistance equal to HD (up to 30) Saves: profane bonus equal to CHA bonus Abilities: STR +12, CON: -, DEX: +10, INT+2, WIS+4, CHA+12 Feats: Ancestral Relic AL: always evil It looks a lot like a really pimp template. Just wondering what the CR adjustment would be. If you don't really have one calculated, mind if I use your template, with a few adjustments, to scare away my party ;) The deathknight is an evil spirit, created from once holy warriors who fell prey to the lures of darkness in a way that drew their former masters wrath. It is this divine curse keeping them undead, and they are always the servants of the power they betrayed their vows for. They keep the equipment they had in life, albeit in spiritual form. They appear as invisible shades clothed in old armor. Spell-like abilities: caster level equals HD, DCs are CHA based At will: Hellfire, shadow walk, summon unholy steed (as per blackguard) Once/day: summon minions (thats the allies the deathknight had in life, who had a direct hand in his fall; not every deathknigth has such) up to 12 HD: Corrupt Fireball (HD/4 per day) Corrupt Wall of Fire (HD/4 per day) Greater Dispel Magic (HD/5 per day) Corrupt Flamestrike (HD/5 per day) 13-14 HD: PW: stun (HD/6 per day) 15-16 HD: PW: blind (HD/6 per day) 17-20 HD: Corrupt Firestorm (HD/7 per day) PW: kill (HD/6 per day) 21+ HD: Hellball (1/10 of spellcraft ranks per day) I may have to adjust what I had a little. Was going for a Loxo (MM2) fighter who turned death knight. The main idea is simple, I wanted an undead who could intimidate vampires, as he's visiting their mansion (all sorts of different vampires live there under the rulership of a Vampire (green) Dragon). One of my PC's is a true turn-monkey (cleric/radiant servant, going for master of radiance) so he can pretty much destroy any undead within 10HD of him orso. By the time the PC's should get to the mansion most will be lvl 22. So I either needed an undead with 32+ HD, or turn imminuty. And as stated, I love Lord Soth, so I had to create a Deathkinght. k-man :cool:
Soulmage 03-02-05, 11:37 AM	I'm a big Soth/Death Knight fan also. The Dragonlance Campaign Setting (which I do not own unfortunately) has a truer Death Knight template conversion to the old rules. I believe they use DR 10/Cold Iron and Magic as their converted value. Maybe its 15, but that just seems to make Death Knights nigh-invincible (my parties NEVER have cold-iron weapons! I actually did a Death Knight "template" back in the days of 2E where I detailed all the powers demonstrated by Lord Soth in Knight of the Black Rose. I think it might be time to update it to 3.5. I'll post it here if I get around to it.
Starmage21 03-02-05, 07:00 PM	Given the Death Knight's nature and origins (the worst of fallen paladins), their damage reduction should be DR 10/Holy. Also, most of the Death Knight abilities probobly come from the paladin's (blackgaurd's) class abilities. Not only that, being transformed into a death knight would suck for the warrior in question. Losing your con is bad =\
ruleslawyer 03-02-05, 09:36 PM	You mean DR/good and magic, I take it? That would make some sense... Incidentally, you may want to take a look at the following template: http://community.dicefreaks.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=1625
Starmage21 03-02-05, 09:48 PM	well, some creatures (angels for example) have only DR #/Evil, so i figured that as a being of pure evil (moreso than the devils and demons in my opinion. I view corrupted good as more evil than evil itself), he should have DR #/Holy.