No full caster, Low Magic, High level fighting Undead... I need help.

[RUMBLETiGER]

A buddy wants to DM a Zombie apocalypse-style campaign, less-fantasy-sorta-modern-y, low magic, PC level 15.

Cleric, Wizard etc. is out. Warlock has been approved as an option, not sure what I'll settle on. Crusader has been approved as well.

(most) Magical items are in. Handwaving how they are made (required spells), most magic items will be available for acquisition beforehand as I bring in a level 15 character, there won't be any buying of gear once I start, DM will provide after that.

And so, I ask you, members of Enworld, as I consider making a level 15 PC, how does one deal with massive amounts of undead, possible stat drain, and so on, without full caster spells and Clerical Turn Undead fueled abilities? Feats, gear, and so on is what I'm looking for.

 

[anest1s]

Paladin?

Or be undead yourself (or construct, or something immune to bad things)

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Paladin?

Or be undead yourself (or construct, or something immune to bad things)

I have a natural aversion to Paladins for roleplaying reasons, but in fairness I will re-assess the class as an option.

Be undead myself though.... that's got merit. Construct would also be nifty.

Thanks for the ideas, I'll take all that into consideration.

 

[emoplato]

I have a natural aversion to Paladins for roleplaying reasons, but in fairness I will re-assess the class as an option.

Be undead myself though.... that's got merit. Construct would also be nifty.

Thanks for the ideas, I'll take all that into consideration.

How about a Dragonfire Adept or Binder? A few good and consistent crowd control options there.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

CLASS:

1. Ask if you can do Sorc or BattleSorc with a Sorc spell list and the Bard's Spell/lvl progression, and take a Sorc-only heritage feat chain- Celestial, Draconic or Infernal. That way, you can take the utility spells you want, but will still have an arcane attack that has a nice AoE.

2. Ask if Bards can take Sorc-only heritage feats; see above.

3. Go LN, be a _______/Kensai, and choose the appropriate anti-undead enhabpncements for your Weapon of Choice. Filling in that blank, there are Incarnum classes that work well vs undead- one is a PrCl. The Divine Mind could be nifty in a paladin-but-not kind of way. Marshal auras might be effective as well. Sohei from OA- especially with the 3.5Ed update by James Wyatt in Dragon #317- are half-casters with elements of Paladins & Barbarians.

FEATS:

Any class with Turn Undeads- even if it isn't as good as a Cleric's- is still going to help. Not only will a weak one help take care of the hordes of lesser crypt-critters, the use of Sacred Healing (CompDiv, not PHBII- they're different, according to WotC)- esp. with Extra Turning- will let you heal the party of a lot of damage fairly effectively, turning dangerous hordes of lesser foes into minor threats & nuisances.

GEAR:

______ of Disruption is your friend. I like Flails & Mauls.

Anything that does AoE damage is good.

 

[Sekhmet]

BoED has the Soulfire armor property (+4 grants permanent Death Ward) which'll make you immune to bad stuff.
Ring of Negative Protection (36k) grants immunity to negative levels.

 

[kitcik]

Depending on the DM, consider dipping for Iron Heart Surge.

 

[Jackinthegreen]

If warlock is in then there is no need for craft handwaving since they can do it without needing the spell.

I'm guessing no full caster prestige classes like divine crusader?

If paladin isn't quite up your alley, pious templar might be worthwhile. It doesn't get turn undead, but it does get pally or blackguard spells and mettle. It can be used to get into Sacred Exorcist for turn undead, but at that level you probably shouldn't bother actually using turn undead for turning since your effective cleric level won't do any good against any decent undead.

Would it be possible to use the Paladin of Freedom? Just giving a suggestion if you don't like the normal Lawful Anal paladin.

Given that you said full casters are out, dread necromancer is probably out too since it has 9th level spells though it's not nearly as powerful as cleric or wizard. Rebuke Undead is more powerful than Turn mostly because rebuking make it cower in awe instead of run like hell.

One oddball choice you might try is Crusader 5/Pious Templar 7/Sacred Exorcist 1 or 2/Crusader +1 or 2. Pious Templar gets 4th level paladin spells at 7th level (assuming your charisma is high enough), which means Dispel Evil and thus the biggest pain taken care of with SE prerequisites.

If you're going paladin you might look into Gray Guard from Complete Scoundrel. Wiggle room concerning the paladin's oath is nice.

 

[xigbar]

Swift Hunter builds are often good for creature specific games.

 

[James the Newbie]

I cant think of any class at the moment, I will edit my post if something comes to me. I'd look for a class with detect undead as a class feature
Anyone with undead as a favoured enemy would be a good idea as well.

One of my favourite healing items from the MIC is the healing belt. 750 gold for 3 charges a day. 1 charge for 2d8 health, 2 charges for 3d8 and 4 charges for 4d8. With no cleric you will want to invest in some more perminant healing methods.

Some eternal wands you may want to consider. Since without more acces to magic items eternal wands are probably a better investment

Hide from undead, though your DM may ban this (one for each party member)
Command undead would be quite amusing. Might want more than one
An eternal wand of remove curse and remove Disease is almost a must have.

I don't know how accessible food will be, so eternal food source items could become very important?

Everyone should invest in a holy symbol to ward of vampires.