Undead Elf? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Undead Elf? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Evil_Uncle_Tony
04-23-07, 07:18 PM So one of my payers (6th level wood Elf Ranger) in the age of worms game is leavening the game and said his didn’t mind being killed in a horrible way. I decide to have him savaged to death by a Chimera (as you do). The players have stowed his body in a temple with gentle repose cast on him, and mean to come back latter to resurrect him. Thing is I am having the corpse stolen and razed to use as an NPC against the party. So here is the thing what, should I do with him? Any advice on type of undead?
Zombayz1
04-23-07, 07:24 PM Make him a Gravetouched Ghoul, from Libris Mortis. Give him all 3 levels of Lurking Terror, and you have a horrible paralyzing machine. This is assuming he took the 2 weapon path, and you can change his feats a little.
Thomar_of_Uointer
04-23-07, 07:39 PM Bodak would be interesting. It has all sorts of nice defensive abilities, and is something most players aren't familiar with.
Having him fuel a devourer gives the party a good reason for not being able to raise him.
A mhorg is appropriate for the party's level, but unrecognizeable.
Spectre would be an interesting one if you tweak it a bit and give it some class levels. You could modify the draining touch to be ranged.
Wraith is good for the same reasons spectre is.
Pangeon
04-23-07, 08:08 PM I'd recommend:
Death Knight (MMII) is probably my favorite undead template ever. For the martial types.
Gravetouched Ghoul (LM) is always fun, turning the ranger into an utterly evil, flesh-eating, depraved version of his old self. Fun to RP, too!
Vampire is an oldie, but a goodie. This one's good for a recurring villain. (Hell, they all are...) For even more fun, and to throw off the players, there's a number of fun variant vampires, of which Savage Vampire is my favorite (and perfect for a wood elf ranger).

Bodak, while really cool, is a +4 CR template, which would be a bit much for the party. Death Knight is pushing it with a +3 CR, but is really, really cool. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0440.html)
Necromas
04-23-07, 08:48 PM Bone creature is good if you want it to retain most of the abilities it had in life without giving it too much of a CR increase.
PhaedrusXY
04-23-07, 08:52 PM Bone creature is good if you want it to retain most of the abilities it had in life without giving it too much of a CR increase.Another good option along these lines is Dread Warrior, if you have access to the Unapproachable East book. Or Juju Zombie, from the same book. Or you could use the Revenant template from d20 modern (http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/msrd/MenaceCreaturesJ-Z.rtf), with very little modification.
runestar
04-23-07, 10:36 PM If he has good wisdom score, consider the spellstitched template after reanimating him. Access to higher lv SLAs can be quite useful when facing off against the PCs.:)
Ebonyte
04-24-07, 12:27 PM Hmmm...

If you want to scare them:

Mindless: This will suggest their friend's soul has been utterly consumed and is gone forever. That's a scary prospect, and truly sad. Along this path are the Forsaken Shell (Meaning he got skinned alive.... ouch), or some kind of advanced zombie (Fast, unkillable cannibal variety are very effective and can spread fast. They are a staple of the horror genre for a reason.)

Cognizant: This is half-ground, and very scary, since it means the poor ranger is conscious of his actions, but has no will to control them. Killing him is an act of mercy. This applies to some vampire spawn, some ghouls, possibly a bodak (this implies he was killed with absolute evil, signaling both a potent villain and a painful death) pretty much any controlled spawn. And when the party kills his controller and realizes they could have saved him if they had just waited and kept him "alive" while they killed his master, they'll be fraught with guilt... unless they take the "better to be dead than undead" route.

Willful: This usually suggests the character did something horrible in their past to warrant their own transformation. Imagine WHY he would become a mohrg: it means he was a mass murderer and filled with continued hate. They never really knew him in that case. A Death Knight or a male Banshee (If you'll allow it) can also fit the bill nicely, especially considering he was an elf, in the case of the latter.

What might work better is for him to be a component of a greater threat, like a Corpse Golem from Heroes of Horror, or incorporates into some other monstrosity.
Warforged Goblin
04-24-07, 01:11 PM If he has enough levels of ranger to cast divine spells, go huecva out of Fiend Folio.
Nat_20
04-24-07, 02:35 PM I cant think of any that would be like this but i think you should have the ranger keep coming back throughout the campaign like in Resident Evil Nemesis, and make him harder than heck to kill, to add a horror element

just a thought
Phalo
04-26-07, 01:02 PM i am partial to the awakened flesh golem. Or have some mad wizard/aritficer stick on a golem graft you get a half-golem which makes him tough fast go with iron or make you a template for a corpse collector half-golem that give him spell relfection for spells up to third level and immunity beyond that. nothing says we are in trouble that the party caster shooting a lighting bolt coming right back down his throat
Echo_that_Pains
04-26-07, 01:39 PM Bodak, while really cool, is a +4 CR template, which would be a bit much for the party. Death Knight is pushing it with a +3 CR, but is really, really cool. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0440.html)
Just to clarify, the Death Knight template is a LA +5 which is out of the range that the OP was wanting I think.

MMII Update Link (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/DnD35_Monster_Manual_2.zip)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Evil_Uncle_Tony 04-23-07, 07:18 PM	So one of my payers (6th level wood Elf Ranger) in the age of worms game is leavening the game and said his didn’t mind being killed in a horrible way. I decide to have him savaged to death by a Chimera (as you do). The players have stowed his body in a temple with gentle repose cast on him, and mean to come back latter to resurrect him. Thing is I am having the corpse stolen and razed to use as an NPC against the party. So here is the thing what, should I do with him? Any advice on type of undead?
Zombayz1 04-23-07, 07:24 PM	Make him a Gravetouched Ghoul, from Libris Mortis. Give him all 3 levels of Lurking Terror, and you have a horrible paralyzing machine. This is assuming he took the 2 weapon path, and you can change his feats a little.
Thomar_of_Uointer 04-23-07, 07:39 PM	Bodak would be interesting. It has all sorts of nice defensive abilities, and is something most players aren't familiar with. Having him fuel a devourer gives the party a good reason for not being able to raise him. A mhorg is appropriate for the party's level, but unrecognizeable. Spectre would be an interesting one if you tweak it a bit and give it some class levels. You could modify the draining touch to be ranged. Wraith is good for the same reasons spectre is.
Pangeon 04-23-07, 08:08 PM	I'd recommend: Death Knight (MMII) is probably my favorite undead template ever. For the martial types. Gravetouched Ghoul (LM) is always fun, turning the ranger into an utterly evil, flesh-eating, depraved version of his old self. Fun to RP, too! Vampire is an oldie, but a goodie. This one's good for a recurring villain. (Hell, they all are...) For even more fun, and to throw off the players, there's a number of fun variant vampires, of which Savage Vampire is my favorite (and perfect for a wood elf ranger). Bodak, while really cool, is a +4 CR template, which would be a bit much for the party. Death Knight is pushing it with a +3 CR, but is really, really cool. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0440.html)
Necromas 04-23-07, 08:48 PM	Bone creature is good if you want it to retain most of the abilities it had in life without giving it too much of a CR increase.
PhaedrusXY 04-23-07, 08:52 PM	Bone creature is good if you want it to retain most of the abilities it had in life without giving it too much of a CR increase.Another good option along these lines is Dread Warrior, if you have access to the Unapproachable East book. Or Juju Zombie, from the same book. Or you could use the Revenant template from d20 modern (http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/msrd/MenaceCreaturesJ-Z.rtf), with very little modification.
runestar 04-23-07, 10:36 PM	If he has good wisdom score, consider the spellstitched template after reanimating him. Access to higher lv SLAs can be quite useful when facing off against the PCs.:)
Ebonyte 04-24-07, 12:27 PM	Hmmm... If you want to scare them: Mindless: This will suggest their friend's soul has been utterly consumed and is gone forever. That's a scary prospect, and truly sad. Along this path are the Forsaken Shell (Meaning he got skinned alive.... ouch), or some kind of advanced zombie (Fast, unkillable cannibal variety are very effective and can spread fast. They are a staple of the horror genre for a reason.) Cognizant: This is half-ground, and very scary, since it means the poor ranger is conscious of his actions, but has no will to control them. Killing him is an act of mercy. This applies to some vampire spawn, some ghouls, possibly a bodak (this implies he was killed with absolute evil, signaling both a potent villain and a painful death) pretty much any controlled spawn. And when the party kills his controller and realizes they could have saved him if they had just waited and kept him "alive" while they killed his master, they'll be fraught with guilt... unless they take the "better to be dead than undead" route. Willful: This usually suggests the character did something horrible in their past to warrant their own transformation. Imagine WHY he would become a mohrg: it means he was a mass murderer and filled with continued hate. They never really knew him in that case. A Death Knight or a male Banshee (If you'll allow it) can also fit the bill nicely, especially considering he was an elf, in the case of the latter. What might work better is for him to be a component of a greater threat, like a Corpse Golem from Heroes of Horror, or incorporates into some other monstrosity.
Warforged Goblin 04-24-07, 01:11 PM	If he has enough levels of ranger to cast divine spells, go huecva out of Fiend Folio.
Nat_20 04-24-07, 02:35 PM	I cant think of any that would be like this but i think you should have the ranger keep coming back throughout the campaign like in Resident Evil Nemesis, and make him harder than heck to kill, to add a horror element just a thought
Phalo 04-26-07, 01:02 PM	i am partial to the awakened flesh golem. Or have some mad wizard/aritficer stick on a golem graft you get a half-golem which makes him tough fast go with iron or make you a template for a corpse collector half-golem that give him spell relfection for spells up to third level and immunity beyond that. nothing says we are in trouble that the party caster shooting a lighting bolt coming right back down his throat
Echo_that_Pains 04-26-07, 01:39 PM	Bodak, while really cool, is a +4 CR template, which would be a bit much for the party. Death Knight is pushing it with a +3 CR, but is really, really cool. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0440.html) Just to clarify, the Death Knight template is a LA +5 which is out of the range that the OP was wanting I think. MMII Update Link (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/DnD35_Monster_Manual_2.zip)