The Undead

[Sporemine]

Since people seem interested, here is a background of where my campagain is so far:

The undead outbreaks began with long dead corpses clawing their way out of the ground at the exact moment that the old god of the undead, Nerull was destroyed. With no control over the negative energy there was no way to stop the creation of the undead. Negative energy filtered its way into other planes, causing mass uprisings of the dead. At the same time all members of the secreaming leigon (the clerics of nerull) died and rose as conduits of negative power, blocking the material plane from the will of the gods and the postive energy plane (therefore no clerics or paladins). Some surviving clerics or paladins turned to the powers of the stars while others saw this occurance as the apocalypse and simply lay down and waited for the end. The charcters are from a city that now is known as the city of death. The hungry dead prowl it's streets and a single massive spot of negative energy sits in the middle of the city. The spot where the portal sits that is allowing the negative energy plain in used to be a massive underground temple to nerull until the city was overtaken by the dead. The characters now sit in an abandoned and broken house. Only recently have they found ways to get clean food and water and to protect themselves. That is where the campagain sits now.

They are all Lv 2

Main Objectives/Quests:

Don't Die

Don't become undead

Create a safe place to live

Destroy (eventually) the negative energy conduits

That is the campagain.

Also thanks to everybody for the undead so far but lets see if you can create anything really weird (abberantish) but low level to throw at the characters. All other undead or undead ideas are still welcome.

A last important point is that one of the fighters holds a
+1 sacrificial exicutioner's blade (brutal 2, high crit, power to weaken a creature once per day and of course +1.)

He likes to kill the more important undead with it

Again thanks

-Sporemine

 

[chronoplasm]

Monster Concepts:

Zombie Venus
This is the corpse of a once beautiful woman with her arms ripped off. Watch out; she's a biter.
When reduced to 0 hp, a fetal zombie claws its way out of her womb.

Rat's Nest Zombie
A family of rats have chewed a home into this deadite's chest cavity. The zombie is able to spit zombies at the adventurers as an attack.

Pile of Heads
This a swarm of severed heads. Though they no longer posess stomachs, they still hunger. They use their necks, jaws, even their tongues to move around.

 

[Sporemine]

Without even a warlord the PCs must be having a hard time healing during combat. Though with two fighters at least they have a solid front line.

Sorry I forgot to mention that the half-elf star lock took lay on hands necause he is half-elf. Also, since technically since I said they could not take the classes that doesn't they can't still "borrow" powers from them. As I said before, cunning.

Also, Chronoplasm has great ideas so if somebody could type stats that would be great.

A couple of other idea's;

Creeper: legless zombie that is hard to spot, has viscous poison.

Grenadier: Zombie that throws infected dead animals like diseased grenades (filth feverish)

Death's servant: the unholy remains of the paladins that gave up, lay down, stood up and started walking again (as a zombie).

 

[scarik]

Sorry I forgot to mention that the half-elf star lock took lay on hands necause he is half-elf.

That's not cunning, its cheating or a house rule.

Since you obviously approve I think its a house rule, but it is not RAW.

The easiest way to get millage out of Undead is to use wights, once the PCs are all dead you can call it a day.

Whenever I need a new undead creature I open up the MM to a level appropriate creature and add the following:

Vulnerability to radiant 5 per tier
Immune poison and disease
Resist Necrotic 10 per tier
Maybe let a power deal necrotic damage
Roll initiative

 

[Caliban]

That's not cunning, its cheating or a house rule.

Since you obviously approve I think its a house rule, but it is not RAW.

Not necessarily. They may just not be aware of the errata restricting it to attack powers.

 

[Mesh Hong]

Here are two more zombies based on the ideas you presented.

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Shadow Creepers are legless zombies whose bodies have been severed at the waist leaving entrails and gore dangling from their bellies as they pull themselves along with their powerful arms. They tend to lurk in the undergrowth and debris of the old city, avoiding open spaces. Most people are not aware of their existance until it is too late and they are being pulled to the ground and eaten alive.


Shadow Creeper Zombie Level 5 Lurker
Medium Shadow Animate (undead) XP 200

Initiative +5 Senses Perception +3
HP 50; Bloodied 25; see Zombie Weakness
AC 19; Fortitude 18, Reflex 17, Will 16
Immune charm, disease, poison;
Resist 10 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Speed 5 (crawl)

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]M[/FONT] Ankle Biter (Standard; at-will) ♦ necrotic
Attack +10 vs. AC; 1d8+4 necrotic damage; on hit secondary attack +8 vs. Fortitude
1d8 poison damage

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]m[/FONT] Grabbed by the Ghoulies (Standard; at-will)
Attack +8 vs. Reflex; 1d8+4 damage; on hit target is grabbed athletics DC22 or
acrobatics DC21 to escape; after effect target is immobilised (save ends)

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]m[/FONT] Poisonous Bite (Standard; at-will) ♦ poison
Grabbed target only; attack +8 vs. Fortitude; 2d8+4 poison damage; on hit target
takes 5 ongoing poison damage (save ends), is pulled to the ground (prone) and still
grabbed

One with the Shadows ♦ shadow
Shadow Creeper gains a +5 bonus to stealth and is considered to have concealment
until it makes its first attack

Zombie Weakness
Any critical hit reduces the Zombie to 0 HPs, destroying it

Alignment Unaligned Languages
Skills stealth +10 (+15 until first attack), athletics +11
Str 18 (+6) Dex 16 (+5) Wis 12 (+3)
Con 14 (+4) Int 10 (+2) Cha 8 (+1)

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There are always rumours of strange and powerful undead roaming the city. One such rambling tale is of an old wizard who's magic laboratory was all too close to the negative energy portal that was created in the apocolypse. The necrotic explosion ripped through his home and workshop destroying his life work, and sending him into a desperate rage, the rage of undeath. Now that all sane purpose has been stripped from his mind and his life's effort has come to nought, he seeks revenge on all those who distracted him from his purpose when living. They all must die. In fact if his magical research could not succeed then why should anyone elses? All wizards and warlocks must burn in his alchemical fire, then he may rest.

But this is just a tall tale, it couldn't possibly be true.......

Zombie Alchemist Level 4 Elite Controller (Leader)
Medium Natural Animate (undead) XP 350

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +4
Unstable Alchemy (fire, acid, thunder) aura 2; All creatures entering or starting
their turn inside aura take 2 fire/acid/thunder damage
HP 112; Bloodied 56; see Going Out with a Bang
AC 20; Fortitude 16, Reflex 19, Will 18
Immune charm, disease, poison;
Resist 10 necrotic; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6
Action Points 1

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]M[/FONT] Staff Strike (Standard; at-will)
Attack +8 vs. AC; 1d6+4 damage

[FONT=D&D 4e icons][FONT=D&D 4e icons]a[/FONT] Alchemical Fire Grenade (Standard; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]56[/FONT]) ♦ fire
Area burst 1 within 10 squares; attack +6 vs. Reflex; 1d10+4 fire damage; on hit target
takes 2 ongoing fire damage (save ends)
[/FONT]
[FONT=D&D 4e icons]r[/FONT] Alchemical Acid Grenade (Standard; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]56[/FONT]) ♦ acid
Range 10; attack +9 vs. AC; 2d6+4 acid damage; on hit target takes a -1 AC penalty
(armour damage) until it is repaired during an extended rest

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]r[/FONT] Alchemical Thunder Flash Grenade (Standard; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]56[/FONT]) ♦ thunder
Range 10; attack +8 vs. Fortitude; 1d6+4 thunder damage; on hit target is deafened
(save ends) and stunned until the end of Alchemists next turn

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]a[/FONT] Big Bertha (Standard; encounter) ♦ poison
Area Burst 3 within 10; attack +9 vs. Fortitude; 2d6+4 poison damage; on hit target is
slowed (save ends)

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]c[/FONT] Going Out with a Bang (Immediate Reaction) ♦ fire, acid, thunder
On death the Alchemists bag ruptures causing a arcane explosion; Burst 3; attack +6
vs. Reflex; 1d10+2 fire/acid/thunder damage

Alignment Unaligned Languages common
Skills endurance +10, athletics +9, arcana +8
Str 14 (+4) Dex 18 (+6) Wis 14 (+4)
Con 16 (+5) Int 12 (+3) Cha 12 (+3)
Equipment staff, bag of alchemical grenades

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[VenezuelanWiz]

I have a few extra zombies that I built for a zombie extravaganza fight for my one campaign, but I have them at home. Basically I took them from the 'Left For Dead' game. Mostly it was reflavouring.

- took the fey panther and used that to simulate a zombie with swords replacing its upper limbs. Took out its teleport power and gave it a double claw attack if the enemy was prone.
- took the corruption corpse and turned its attack into giving adjacent mooks +2 to hit and damage as they were attracted by the added corruption [described it as pheromones or somesuch]
- took the shar-dar-kai chain fighter, upped it to elite and made that the 'witch'

I find that reflavouring a different monster is much easier than creating my own.

The other thing you might want to try is to have a group of minions act as a swarm. Or a swarm of walking hands and arms or somesuch. Makes it much scarier when then 10 zombies charging you aren't minions that insta-die with the dragonborn breath. Describe it as a bunch of them diving behind allies and continuing to advance, moving collectively, almost like a pack of pirhanas or something.

Cheers

 

[sammy]

Here's a couple to work on...

Bloody Bones- skeletons that frenzy at the sight and smell of blood ( +2 to attack and damage a bloodied PC, perhaps a recharge power?)

Shadow Bones- insubstantial skeletons of the shadowfell

how about some animals from the AV as skels and zombies? Wights?

A warlord wight that heals undead could be damn scary....

Good Luck!

Sammy

 

[Mesh Hong]

Ok, after reading your description of your world situation and the hordes of undead roaming the city and your request for some Aberrations I have come up with the following possible situation.

Arri-Vastril Cult
When the material plane was weakened and the negative energy plane portal was opened and the positive energy plane was cut off the barriers between all planes was momentarily blurred. In this moment an Arri-Vastril polyp was drawn through to the city, following the scent of undeath.

Once in the city the polyp established it’s nest in an old temple of Pelor and started to draw in the local population with its Alien beauty and telepathic messages of hope. It called it’s self the Arri-Vastril Savior.

The Savior has a large radiant aura that keeps the undead at bay, and also has the effect of nourishing anyone who stays within the aura for an hour. Word quickly spread that a new ‘God’ had come to aid the worthy.

With its congregation of worshipers established the Savior was able to start to slowly reproduce and hunt the undead in order to feed.

What plans does the Alien intelligence have towards the city and its new followers? What will it be able to achieve once it has fed from a sufficient quantity of undead? What will the intelligent udead do to try and stop the cult? What will the PCs do when they discover an organisation that can effectively combat the undead but is from beyond the stars?

Only you can decide.


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I will leave the descriptions of what these creatures look like to you.



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Arri-Vastril Drone Level 2 Minion
Small Aberrant Beast XP 31

Initiative +3 Senses Perception +2
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 16; Fortitude 15, Reflex 14, Will 15
Resist 10 radiant; Vulnerable 5 thunder
Speed 8

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]M[/FONT] Glowing Slam (Standard; at-will) ♦ radiant
Attack +7 vs. AC; 4 radiant damage

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]R[/FONT] Beam of Light (Standard; at-will) ♦ radiant
Range 5; attack +5 vs. Reflex; 3 radiant damage

Flickering Flash (Immediate Reaction) ♦ teleport
When Drone is missed by a melee attack it may immediately teleport 3 squares

Alignment Evil Languages arri-psy
Skills perception +7
Str 16 (+4) Dex 14 (+3) Wis 12 (+2)
Con 10 (+1) Int 12 (+2) Cha 16 (+4)


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Arri-Vastril Defender Level 4 Soldier
Medium Aberrant Beast XP 175

Initiative +4 Senses Perception +4
Cleansing Light (radiant) aura 1; all enemies starting entering or starting
their turn inside aura take 2 radiant damage
HP 54; Bloodied 27
AC 20; Fortitude 17, Reflex 16, Will 17
Resist 10 radiant, 5 psychic; Vulnerable 5 thunder
Speed 6

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]M[/FONT] Mind Slap (Standard; at-will) ♦ psychic
Attack +9 vs. Will; 1d6+4 psychic damage

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]m[/FONT] Clawed Tendril (Standard; at-will) ♦ radiant
Reach 2; attack +11 vs. AC; 1d10+4 radiant damage; on hit target is
marked until the start of Defenders next turn

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]c[/FONT] Beautiful Glow (Standard; encounter) ♦ radiant
Burst 5; attack +8 vs. Reflex; 1d6+4 radiant damage; on hit target is
immobilised (save ends)

Psychic Feedback (Immediate Reaction)
If Defender is hit by any attack with the Psychic keyword it creates
feedback with the attacker; attacker takes half the damage dealt and
both Defender and Attacker are Stunned until the end of their next turns

Alignment Evil Languages common, arri-psy
Str 18 (+6) Dex 14 (+4) Wis 14 (+4)
Con 14 (+4) Int 12 (+3) Cha 18 (+6)

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Arri-Vastril Juggernaught Level 6 Brute
Large Aberrant Beast XP 250

Initiative +4 Senses Perception +4
HP 86; Bloodied 43
AC 18; Fortitude 19, Reflex 16, Will 18
Resist 10 radiant, 5 psychic; Vulnerable 5 thunder
Speed 5

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]M[/FONT] Glowing Tentacle Slam (Standard; at-will) ♦ radiant
Reach 2; attack +9 vs. AC; 2d6+4 damage

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]m[/FONT] Double Tentacle Slam (Standard; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]456[/FONT]) ♦ radiant
2 attacks; reach 2; attack +8 vs. AC; 1d10+4 radiant damage; on hit
target is pushed 2 squares

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]m[/FONT] Juggernaught Stomp (Standard; encounter)
Juggernaught moves up to 5 squares and may move through opponents
squares (it must end in a clear space); enemies it moves through in this
way may make an opportunity attack with a -2 penalty; Juggernaught
makes an attack against each creature it tramples; attack +7 vs. Reflex;
1d8+4 damage; on hit target slides 1 square and is knocked prone

You Wont Like Me When I'm Angry (Immediate Reaction)
When bloodied Juggernaught Stomp reacharges and is activated as an
immediate free attack

Alignment Evil Languages arri-psy
Skills endurance +11, athletics +12
Str 19 (+7) Dex 12 (+4) Wis 12 (+4)
Con 16 (+6) Int 10 (+3) Cha 16 (+6)

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The next creature is the Arri-Vastril Savior, the cult leader and a serious threat.

Bear in mind that the Savior has a large group of devout and grateful followers in attendance at any time, due to its large aura.

The Savior is a multi part Solo, When the Savior is reduced to bloodied it transforms into the Terror, when this happens it loses its aura of sustenance (radiant) and gains an aura of hatred (fire). At this point any followers in the area will see the truth of their misplaced worship and try to flee. When the Terror is bloodied it summons 4 screaming orbs to help defend itself.

This creature is a serious threat and you will need to put a bit of thought into designing the actual encounter surrounding it.

I have divided the 2 action points between the two form.



Arri-Vastril Savior Level 6 Solo Controller
Large Aberrant Beast (stage 1 NOT BLOODIED) XP 1,250

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +6
Aura of Sustenance (radiant, psychic) aura 10; All enemies entering
or starting their turn inside the aura take 2 radiant damage and take a -1
penalty to Will Defence; all allies inside the aura gain a +1 bonus to Will
save
HP 288; Bloodied 144; see Bloodied Transformation
AC 20; Fortitude 18, Reflex 18, Will 18
Immune charm;
Resist 15 radiant, 10 psychic; Vulnerable 5 thunder
Saving Throws +5
Speed 6
Action Points 1

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]M[/FONT]Sweeping Tendril (Standard; at-will) ♦ radiant
Reach 2; attack +11 vs. AC; 1d8+4 radiant damage

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]c[/FONT]Elegant Spinning Tendrils (Standard; at-will) ♦ radiant
Burst 1; attack +10 vs. Fortitude; 1d6+4 radiant damage; on hit target is
pushed 1 square and immobilised (save ends)

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]r[/FONT]Psychic Shove (Minor; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]56[/FONT]) ♦ psychic
Range 10; attack +10 vs. Will; 1d6+4 damage; on hit target is pushed 2d6
squares and knocked prone

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]r[/FONT]Gift of Light (Standard; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]56[/FONT]) ♦ psychic
Range 10; attack +10 vs. Will; 1d6+4 psychic damage; on hit target is
dominated until the end of Saviors Next turn

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]a[/FONT]Blast of Benevolence (Standard; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]56[/FONT]) ♦ radiant
Area Burst 1 within 10 squares; enemies only; attack +9 vs. Reflex;
1d10+4 radiant damage; all allies inside burst gain 5 temporary HPs

Bloodied Transformation (Immediate Reaction)
When bloodied Arri-Vastril Savior transforms into Arri-Vastri Terror. Use
Arri-Vastril Terror (stage 2 BLOODIED) stats

Alignment Evil Languages arri-psy
Skills endurance +11, diplomacy +12, perception +11, insight +11
Str 18 (+7) Dex 14 (+5) Wis 16 (+6)
Con 16 (+6) Int 16 (+6) Cha 19 (+7)


Arri-Vastril Terror Level 6 Solo Brute
Large Aberrant Beast (stage 2 BLOODIED)

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +5
Aura of Hatred (fire) aura 2; All creatures entering or starting their
turn inside the aura take 2 fire damage and take a -1 penalty to Fortitude
Defence
HP 144; Bloodied 72; see Screaming Orbs
AC 20; Fortitude 21, Reflex 20, Will 17
Immune charm;
Resist 15 radiant, 15 psychic; Vulnerable 10 thunder, 10 lightning
Saving Throws +5
Speed 5
Action Points 1

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]M[/FONT]Smashing Tendril (Standard; at-will)
Reach 2; attack +9 vs. AC; 1d10+4 damage

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]m[/FONT]Thrashing Tendrils (Standard; at-will) ♦ fire
2 attacks; Reach 2; attack +9 vs. AC; 1d10+4 damage; on hit target is
pushed 2 squares and knocked prone

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]c[/FONT]Raging Heat (Standard; recharge [FONT=D&D 4e icons]56[/FONT]) ♦ fire
Burst 3; attack +7 vs. Fortitude; 2d6+4 fire damage

[FONT=D&D 4e icons]c[/FONT]Fear of the Beyond (Standard; encounter) ♦ fear
Close Blast 5; attack +6 vs. Will; 1d6+4 damage; on hit target is
immobilised (save ends)

Screaming Orbs (Immediate Reaction)
When Bloodied Arri-Vastril Terror summons 4 Screaming Orbs as an
immediate reaction, these appear adjacent to the Terror (one on each
side if possible), see seperate stats

Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages arri-psy
Skills endurance +11, intimidate +9, perception +10
Str 19 (+7) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 14 (+5)
Con 16 (+6) Int 14 (+5) Cha 12 (+4)


Screaming Orb Level 5 Controller
Small Aberrant Beast

Initiative +6 Senses Perception -2
Screams of Terror (psychic) aura 1; All creatures entering or
starting their turn inside aura take 3 psychic damage
HP 20; Bloodied 10
AC 19; Fortitude 15, Reflex 18, Will 14
Immune charm, disease, poison;
Resist 20 fire, 20 radiant, 20 psychic; Vulnerable 10 thunder, 10 lightning
Speed 0, see Follow the Leader

Follow the Leader (Standard; at-will)
Screaming Orb may shift 1 square as a standard action, this must take it
closer to the Arri-Vastril Terror

Alignment Unaligned
Str 6 (+0) Dex 18 (+6) Wis 3 (-2)
Con 10 (+2) Int 3 (-2) Cha 8 (+1)

 

[Wolf88]

This thread rocks so much that i just HAVE to steal some ideas

Also, i'll be kicking in a couple of ideas of my own!

For example this needs more mad wizards.
A lone mad wizard's tower sits in the middle of the blighted wasteland in the city outskirts. It has mighty constructs and fiery wards protecting it from the roaming undead. Maybe the owner is a lich experimenting on the living corpses to create super-zombies, or a scholar trying to find a weapon against the revenants... Whatever is the explanation, there is one truth: great power lies inside... Will it be used for good or for evil?