Help me stop my Player!

[Lonely Tylenol]

Note that the shadow's ability states, "under control of its killer." Reverting to human form would not necessarily break this control.

Except that he no longer has the Create Spawn ability, so there is no longer a clause that states that the shadows are under the control of their killer.

 

[Bauglir]

Except that he no longer has the Create Spawn ability, so there is no longer a clause that states that the shadows are under the control of their killer.

The ability does not cease to exist; the caster simply has no further ability to use it. It is not required to make continued use of the Create Spawn ability in order to maintain control over any shadows you create. It is enough simply to be "their killer".

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Let him do it. If this is Ravenloft, the PC will find out he's just created his own domain! He'll be all proud for a few minutes - until he realizes he can't leave the village and he'll spend the rest of eternity lording over a village of shadows. Not exactly a talkative bunch.

But it does make for a memorable fate...

 

[gabrion]

Perhaps you should use FtF or some such instead. Maybe even go back and edit your first post. Otherwise, you might get a few more pages of wasted advice.


glass.

I finally took this bit of advice and changed the OP, since many people have been confused. Since I've never played Ravenloft though, I must say it sounds intriguing.

 

[Evilboy]

Except that he no longer has the Create Spawn ability, so there is no longer a clause that states that the shadows are under the control of their killer.

This is the way I read the rule. Essentially, the entire Create Spawn ability is one package all thrown together in a convenient special ability. Once the shapechange ends, the character no longer has access to the special ability "Create Spawn." Since the control ability is part of Create Spawn, losing that ability prevents further control.

I'd also say that previous commands issued to the squad stay, as those commands are similar to a permanent effect created by any other spell ability. However, an undead creature with an INT of 6 isn't going to be very good at particular commands, and wouldn't pass commands down to it's own spawnlings unless specifically commanded to do so (and even then, after a generation or two, the spawnlings would be essentially directionless).

Personally, I'd have the character make a very easy knowledge check (religion or arcane or something) to give in-character reasoning for the spawn shadow ability (they are evil, it shouldn't be that hard to find), and then secretly make a more difficult roll to see if the character understands the "little catches" that his plan might entail.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Only if casting the spell is a standard action. Otherwise, it takes the same amount of time as casting the spell. Per the SRD, "Activating a magic item is a standard action unless the item description indicates otherwise. However, the casting time of a spell is the time required to activate the same power in an item, regardless of the type of magic item, unless the item description specifically states otherwise."

And ...

Spell Completion: This is the activation method for scrolls. A scroll is a spell that is mostly finished. The preparation is done for the caster, so no preparation time is needed beforehand as with normal spellcasting. All that’s left to do is perform the finishing parts of the spellcasting (the final gestures, words, and so on). To use a spell completion item safely, a character must be of high enough level in the right class to cast the spell already. If he can’t already cast the spell, there’s a chance he’ll make a mistake. Activating a spell completion item is a standard action and provokes attacks of opportunity exactly as casting a spell does.

EDIT: On the other hand, if it's not possible to bring Bob back before he becomes a shadow, the situation becomes much less murky.

Of course, there's still Wish and Miracle to contend with ...

 

[Infiniti2000]

Thread Derailed

And ...

And ...? I'm not sure what's your point. What you quoted is not the item description.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Fine then.

Ignore the part about scrolls, and make the spell a Wish or a Miracle. The exact spell used to do this is not important - the only part that is important is that it happens in between Bob being killed by a freakin' shadow and 1d4 rounds later.

Let's not get wrapped around the axle on this, ok?

 

[Infiniti2000]

The problem, as evidenced above, is that there's nothing to discuss per the rules. I'm pretty sure everyone agrees on that. Within those 1d4 rounds, the status of Bob is undefined. If all you are interested in is a rules interpretation, and there is none, what more are you looking for? Basically, the whole thing boils down into: What can terminate the spawn ability before it completes?

A. Nothing, because the spawn ability doesn't specify anything.
B. Something (as a houserule), perhaps making the subject living again -- perhaps only (true) resurrection is possible if you feel Bob is Undead for those 1d4 rounds.

PS. I wasn't intentionally derailing the thread, which was at a deadend anyway.

 

[colinfit20]

Re: Character becoming a shadow

Since this is Ravenloft whats to stop you saying he can't revert?
Worse still what if he does and they follow him around, he is still treated as the master but lacks any protection from being attacked as he's still alive but they have to follow their "master" and god help him if someone manages to "talk" to one of these creatures when they start to hunt him down especially if another domain lord gets it into his head he's trying to usurp his position!