cheating Death: zombie PC - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

cheating Death: zombie PC

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
fishfinger
Mar 13, 2008 12:59:55 hi all i had this idea and was discussing it with a friend now before i say what we said let me explain the idea

get a character for 1st - 4th and take the following feats: spell mastery and craft wanderious item

now lets say for example i am a gnome necromancer i dropped evocation and abjeration for this so

Gme/3/ncmr/hp?/ac? hp and ac don't really matter

now lets say i go by this system here

Single use, use-activated (Spell level1
#2
talisman
Mar 13, 2008 13:29:46
Animate Dead is a 4 level necromancy spell

so using the one cast a wizard would have a day to enchant this necklace is 4 x 4 x 50gp = which puts it at 800gp to make 1/25th of this must be payed in exp so 800/ 25 is 32 exp and takes 1 day per 1000gp in its base price so it'll only take a day to make according to this now a use-activated spell CAN be activated by wearing something so if this necklace had animate dead on it it wouldn't activate untill the wearer was a corpse and thus will ressurect him or her into a zombie or skeleton, in this case lets go with zombie

Animate dead is a 4th-level wizard spell, but you have to be a 7th-level wizard to cast 4th-level spells. This also changes your calculations to 4 (spell level) x7 (caster level) x50 gp = 1,400 gp and 56 XP, plus 2 days work.

now here is when it gets intresting, my friend is saying you loose all levels
but my understanding is that you loose all HD besides one so you are reverted back to level 1

You lose all class levels when you become a zombie. A zombie has doubel the number of racial hit dice the living creature had, to a minimum of 1 (doubled to 2).

An ogre, for example, has 4 racial HD, so an ogre zombie has 8 HD - even if the ogre had 20 barbarian levels when alive.
Since most PC races don't have racial HD, PC-race zombies end up with two (zombie) HD - default to one, doubled for zombification..
A more pressing problem is that your zombified gnome necromancer gains all of the zombie's special qualities - including single actions only and, more importantly, mindless. Without an Intelligence score you can't function as a PC; your necromancer would either attack the nearest living thing or shamble about aimlessly, depending on how your GM views zombies.
#3
fishfinger
Mar 13, 2008 13:49:58 right, well i feel stupid for looking at the page and still getting the level wrong but still 2 days is ok i guess i think when i get the chance i will make some for my party :D talk about doubling your numbers or what :d
#4
chaosepoch
Mar 13, 2008 13:56:52
right, well i feel stupid for looking at the page and still getting the level wrong but still 2 days is ok i guess i think when i get the chance i will make some for my party :D talk about doubling your numbers or what :d

Read the Book of Vile Darkness, the monster templates at the back specifically. There's an INTELLIGENT zombie and skeleton with far more power to it. The only problem is that it requires a level 6 spell (create undead)

Side note, Animate Dead is a cleric level 3 spell but an arcane level 4... Sucks to be arcane sometimes.
#5
pedro2112
Mar 13, 2008 23:08:49
Without an Intelligence score you can't function as a PC; your necromancer would either attack the nearest living thing or shamble about aimlessly, depending on how your GM views zombies.

That doesn't necessarily mean he/she won't improve his/her game play.

;)
#6
fishfinger
Apr 05, 2008 16:14:59 could someone please put up the template for intelligent zombies for me?
#7
shaggy_shaggs
Apr 05, 2008 16:22:20 Necropolitan from Libris Mortis is probably a better bet.
#8
12shark
Apr 05, 2008 17:57:39 What Shaggy Shaggs said - Necropolitan only loses you 1 HD, and it's a viable player race.

In fact, it was pretty much made for people who want to play zombie PCs.
#9
necroramo
Apr 05, 2008 18:47:21 Necropolitan is indeed the way to go for what you're trying to do. The bone/corpse creatures would be cool, but they didn't put in a level adjustment and to be a bone/corpse creature is to become incredibly evil, while being a necropolitan doesn't necessarily pose alignment restrictions (although willingness to undergo crucimigration isn't exactly kosher for good people...)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 fishfinger Mar 13, 2008 12:59:55	hi all i had this idea and was discussing it with a friend now before i say what we said let me explain the idea get a character for 1st - 4th and take the following feats: spell mastery and craft wanderious item now lets say for example i am a gnome necromancer i dropped evocation and abjeration for this so Gme/3/ncmr/hp?/ac? hp and ac don't really matter now lets say i go by this system here Single use, use-activated (Spell level1
#2 talisman Mar 13, 2008 13:29:46	Animate Dead is a 4 level necromancy spell so using the one cast a wizard would have a day to enchant this necklace is 4 x 4 x 50gp = which puts it at 800gp to make 1/25th of this must be payed in exp so 800/ 25 is 32 exp and takes 1 day per 1000gp in its base price so it'll only take a day to make according to this now a use-activated spell CAN be activated by wearing something so if this necklace had animate dead on it it wouldn't activate untill the wearer was a corpse and thus will ressurect him or her into a zombie or skeleton, in this case lets go with zombie Animate dead is a 4th-level wizard spell, but you have to be a 7th-level wizard to cast 4th-level spells. This also changes your calculations to 4 (spell level) x7 (caster level) x50 gp = 1,400 gp and 56 XP, plus 2 days work. now here is when it gets intresting, my friend is saying you loose all levels but my understanding is that you loose all HD besides one so you are reverted back to level 1 You lose all class levels when you become a zombie. A zombie has doubel the number of racial hit dice the living creature had, to a minimum of 1 (doubled to 2). An ogre, for example, has 4 racial HD, so an ogre zombie has 8 HD - even if the ogre had 20 barbarian levels when alive. Since most PC races don't have racial HD, PC-race zombies end up with two (zombie) HD - default to one, doubled for zombification.. A more pressing problem is that your zombified gnome necromancer gains all of the zombie's special qualities - including single actions only and, more importantly, mindless. Without an Intelligence score you can't function as a PC; your necromancer would either attack the nearest living thing or shamble about aimlessly, depending on how your GM views zombies.
#3 fishfinger Mar 13, 2008 13:49:58	right, well i feel stupid for looking at the page and still getting the level wrong but still 2 days is ok i guess i think when i get the chance i will make some for my party :D talk about doubling your numbers or what :d
#4 chaosepoch Mar 13, 2008 13:56:52	right, well i feel stupid for looking at the page and still getting the level wrong but still 2 days is ok i guess i think when i get the chance i will make some for my party :D talk about doubling your numbers or what :d Read the Book of Vile Darkness, the monster templates at the back specifically. There's an INTELLIGENT zombie and skeleton with far more power to it. The only problem is that it requires a level 6 spell (create undead) Side note, Animate Dead is a cleric level 3 spell but an arcane level 4... Sucks to be arcane sometimes.
#5 pedro2112 Mar 13, 2008 23:08:49	Without an Intelligence score you can't function as a PC; your necromancer would either attack the nearest living thing or shamble about aimlessly, depending on how your GM views zombies. That doesn't necessarily mean he/she won't improve his/her game play. ;)
#6 fishfinger Apr 05, 2008 16:14:59	could someone please put up the template for intelligent zombies for me?
#7 shaggy_shaggs Apr 05, 2008 16:22:20	Necropolitan from Libris Mortis is probably a better bet.
#8 12shark Apr 05, 2008 17:57:39	What Shaggy Shaggs said - Necropolitan only loses you 1 HD, and it's a viable player race. In fact, it was pretty much made for people who want to play zombie PCs.
#9 necroramo Apr 05, 2008 18:47:21	Necropolitan is indeed the way to go for what you're trying to do. The bone/corpse creatures would be cool, but they didn't put in a level adjustment and to be a bone/corpse creature is to become incredibly evil, while being a necropolitan doesn't necessarily pose alignment restrictions (although willingness to undergo crucimigration isn't exactly kosher for good people...)