Anyone not using fiendish dire axiomatic half-celestial undead half-pixie owlbears?

[Ranes]

Dragon's recent article outlining the half-undead won't be getting any use out of me. The idea of something being half-undead just makes me laugh. I'm sorry. The template system allows you to make some absurd creatures (and some absurd-sounding creatures, which may not necessarily be the same thing) but half-undead just gets me right in the funny bone.

Otherwise, I like having the options they provide. Very occasionally.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Dragon's recent article outlining the half-undead won't be getting any use out of me. The idea of something being half-undead just makes me laugh. I'm sorry. The template system allows you to make some absurd creatures (and some absurd-sounding creatures, which may not necessarily be the same thing) but half-undead just gets me right in the funny bone.

Otherwise, I like having the options they provide. Very occasionally.

I like half-undead. It's always nice when a monster takes after his mummy.

 

[Ranes]

Funny kobold!

 

[Eosin the Red]

Or perhaps my half-fiend (descended from a myrmyxicus) vampiric ixitxachitl... The vampyrmyrmyxitxachitl

The PC roster in my current campaign includes:

I can see this functioning well for you since you really, really deviate from traditonal eurocentric fantasy. Bully for you!!

In my own game world it seems foolish, much like talking fungi seems foolish in a dark ages setting. It does sound so far afield that even to me it sounds like it might be fun.

 

[EricNoah]

I use a lot of "advanced" critters (a few extra HD can mean an extra feat, and I often then use some of the monster feats from Savage Species to improve the critter's DCs or breath weapons or whathaveyou).

I do use templates somewhat as warranted -- I like it when you want to have a bit of a "theme" going in a certain part of an adventure. Here's one for you...

The Black Beast (Half-Fiend Death Dog): CR 3; AL NE; Medium Outsider (Evil,Chaotic); HD 2d8+6 (Outsider); hp 29 (Disabled -3/Dying -16/Injury 16); Init + 4; Spd 50, Fly 50 Average; AC 18; Atk + 6 base melee, + 6 base ranged;
• +7 (2 Bite, 1d6+4/crit 20/x2);
SA: Disease (Ex), Trip (Ex), Smite good +2 (Su), Spell-like abilities
SQ: Darkvision (Ex), Low-light vision (Ex), Scent (Ex), Immunity: Poison (Ex), Acid Resistance (Ex): 10, Cold Resistance (Ex): 10, Electricity Resistance (Ex): 10, Fire Resistance (Ex): 10, Damage Reduction (Su): 5/+1, Spell Resistance (Ex): 12
Saves: Fort + 6, Ref + 7, Will + 1
STR 18, DEX 19, CON 16, INT 8, WIS 13, CHA 9
Skills: Hide + 9, Listen + 7, Move Silently + 9, Spot + 7.
Feats: Weapon Focus: Bite.
Special Attacks: Disease: DC 13, 1 day incubation, 1d4 STR and 1d3 CON dmg.

This winged black two-headed dog constantly slavers and growls with an insatiable lust for human blood.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Dragon's recent article outlining the half-undead won't be getting any use out of me. The idea of something being half-undead just makes me laugh. I'm sorry. The template system allows you to make some absurd creatures (and some absurd-sounding creatures, which may not necessarily be the same thing) but half-undead just gets me right in the funny bone.

I'd've thought the half-undead should've been either monstrous humanoids or, maybe aberrations (Things That Should Not Be). But I do like the Fetch, mostly because I'm looking for something to use with Master of the Unseen Hand. Heck of an LA, though.

But, in any event, templates are nice fun. The DM in our game(s) have them fairly liberally, and they often appear on PCs, too, sometimes added in mid-game when we run into Ancient (insert race name here) Magicks. My spell-priest became a melee cleric after he drew a card from a variant deck of many things that doubled his Strength and gave him a -4 Int.

Brad

 

[DMauricio]

To Template or not To Template

I like templates.
I like em lots.
I use templates when I have to use rules mechanics to show a change in a creature or to diferentiate a creature as special.

I think I once statted out a quarter-gold dragon, half-celestial... aasimar
Mind you it was supposed to be to represent the last vestiges of a dying god's avatar. (yeah I even added class levels - it was for an epic level game)

Though on another occasion, I just used strange combination of classes... (both core and prestige)

It all depends on what you're trying to build.

Then again, I do tend to have more cinematic games where if the players kill the BBEG too quickly, he just gets more hit-points.


D.

 

[Al'Kelhar]

I concur with those who support the "sparing and plot-related reasons" use of templates. Having said that, in an adventure I played last year for my party of six 9th level PCs, I had a treant druid, lizardman ranger, half-fiend medusa sorcerer, half-fiend ogre mage fighter/abjurer, half-dragon ettin, half-dragon gargoyles, two-headed hell hounds, and fiendish minotaur barbarians, and a host of hobgoblin mercenaries with various character classes and levels... all of which I could justify in terms of the story and background to the adventure setting.

I was adding "templates" and class levels to creatures long before D&D 3.0 came out for good gaming reasons; the v.3.x rules have just given some structure to the process.

Cheers, Al'Kelhar

 

[ThirdWizard]

Axiomatic Illithids anyone?

I had a half-golem/fire subtype/human encountered mixed in with an army of fire giants.

Fiendish is always open game.

I used a modified half-fiend/human/ranger last game.

Reptilian Ogres and a Reptilian Ogre-Mage were central to a game a few weeks ago. They had a nice army of kobolds.

I'm sure that's not all, but that's the most recent. But, then again, I run Planescape.

 

[Olive]

I love templates. I've hardly used them, but I'm going to start more now. I've used half-fiend, umbral, shadow, fiendish and celestial so far. I like stacked templates as well, and think that people who claim that a half-fiendish, half-dragon, feytouched goblin is stupid have no sense of adventure!