VenerableBede
Adventurer
This is why I should always consult the book first.
Yeah that sounds like it solves the problem neatly.Sometimes an exciting, unique archetype is worth the risk.
“Minions that you create cannot create or summon other creatures” could be added to help prevent abuse.
This makes me want to start a completely tangential conversation about the risks versus rewards of unexplored territory/pushing the boundaries in game design, as well as the responsibilities of the designer in making the game verses the responsibilities of the player in playing the game. For example, yes, the designer should try to think through an ability thoroughly and, if something problematic is discovered, try to iron it out. But not every ability needs to have lots of extra text trying to beat out how it works with every single other mechanic in the game, and not every problem can be thought of in advance (or even reasonably should be—really interesting abilities can be made cumbersome, bland, or completely lose focus by trying to prepare them for every eventuality). On the other hand, a player discovering an unintentionally broken mechanic (or intentionally left-in but very obscure fine detail) has the responsibility to not abuse that knowledge at tables where doing so would decrease the fun for everyone. This, of course, leaves in the potential for such things to still be used at tables where abusing powerful mechanics and finding loopholes is a major part of the fun. I've played at both tables and both only work when all players are "playing the game right" for that specific table.I’ll be honest, as much as I love this model of create minion in principle, this kind of thing makes me nervous. Even if we find every weird interaction with undead abilities and close all the loopholes, there’s no guarantee the archetype will be future-proofed.
IMO, no to elites, yes to templates, provided CR conditions are met.Btw, as long as we’re closing loopholes, you need to note that you can’t use elite monsters.
Also, can you use the zombie/skeleton template to create undead? What about the draco-lich template? And I assume squads are out?