How does one become undead?

[Mercurius]

I'm fleshing out an adventure that we are playing our third session tonight, and I am totally blanking on how a creature becomes undead other than after being killed by a wight or some other undead creature. Are there clerical spells that create undeadness? Magic items?

For the sake of context, I'm running a heavily modified version of DCC#54: Forges of the Mountain King and have inserted a group of duergar, one of whom is a priest who turned some dead dwarven warriors (1-23) and the two ogres (1-3) undead. I'm trying to figure out a reason for a relatively low level duergar priest to be able to do that. I'm either going to have it somehow relate to the Forge of Kings, or give him an item--but what item? And isn't that a bit powerful for a 1-3-level adventure?

Thanks!

 

[Rechan]

Aside from a ritual that changes oneself into a vampire or lich, no.

Don't try and come up with a mechanical reason. Unless you want the PCs to get ahold of whatever it is he's doing, then just say he can do it. He has found some ancient evil text, he has the power innately, he made a deal with Vecna, he did something. Hand-wave the aspect as non-combat resource the Duerger can do.

4e is "If it fits the plot, do it" and "Monsters don't have to behave like PCs; they do what you want them to do". You don't need an existing mechanic for an NPC to make undead, if you just want the NPC to have undead that he has previously made.

 

[Mercurius]

I agree, Rechan, and generally follow that approach, but I still feel impelled--if only for myself--to find an adequate reason, even a mechanic. I am particularly interested in if there are any magic items that turn creatures into undead...I would think that between the PHB and AV there would be something like that...

But I hear you and, if I don't find a more solid reason, I'm comfortable with going with that approach.

 

[Regicide]

Big gaping plot holes are 4E's hallmark. The duegar didn't do it Chewbacca* did it for him.

*The tall forest god of making inanimate things come to life.

 

[DracoSuave]

What you call 'plot holes' the rest of us call 'freedom to decide.'

Does it matter? Yes? Invent a reason and make it a call to adventure. If it doesn't matter? Leave it unanswered, maybe it'll germinate into a plot hook later.

Good storytelling doesn't hand all the answers out immediately.

 

[glitchwraith]

I ran into this issue when designing my first adventure. Thought it would be cool for the starting town to be invaded by zombies. The MM says that zombies are created either through a ritual or from necrotic energy leaking in from the Shadowfell. I went with the ritual explanation, mainly because it allowed me to have a cool fight with the NPC who was creating the zombies. I want to say one of the core books described the zombie ritual, though I can't remember which one and may be getting it mixed up with the vampire/lich ones. Either way, as Rechan says, you don't realy need the stats of an acualy printed ritual. Simply saying the NPC is a necromancer with the knowledge to do the ritual should be enough.

 

[CapnZapp]

I am particularly interested in if there are any magic items that turn creatures into undead...

I've experimented with an artifact involving this:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan...stihlak-staff-death-heroic-tier-artefact.html
(Only heroic tier strength, so no permanent undead, but still)

I would think that between the PHB and AV there would be something like that...

I'm afraid you'd be disappointed.

Generally, the rules of 4E covers the heroes. What the monsters do when they aren't interacting directly with the heroes is of little to no concern.
At least right now. I'm pretty sure WotC will eventually succumb to temptation and make up rules for most everything...

But 4E is decidedly different from 3E in that PCs and NPCs doesn't play by the same rules. So, no rules governing how a certain monster came to be. "Because the DM wanted it" is the only general answer.

 

[aurance]

Big gaping plot holes are 4E's hallmark. The duegar didn't do it Chewbacca* did it for him.

*The tall forest god of making inanimate things come to life.

Do you only have plot if it's covered by rules? That must make for some pretty awful gaming, in any RPG or edition.

 

[chronoplasm]

Just give the Duergar a homebrewed ritual.
Lets take Raise Dead and use that as a base, except that as a side effect, it turns the target undead. Adding this drawback allows us to lower the ritual's level a bit.

• The raised creature is not intelligent. It is under the control of the being who raised it, and takes a big penalty to INT and WIS. So, lower the level of the ritual by... 2?
• The raised creature has the zombie weak-point mechanic ("Shoot it in the head!") and thus dies automatically on a critical hit. Lower the level by 1.
• The raised creature is weak against radiant damage. Lower the ritual's level by 1.

I like that 4E is so easy to homebrew for (aside from classes, which are hard).

 

[Starglim]

I'm fleshing out an adventure that we are playing our third session tonight, and I am totally blanking on how a creature becomes undead other than after being killed by a wight or some other undead creature. Are there clerical spells that create undeadness? Magic items?

Many types of undead can be created by rituals, according to their Lore entries.

Those rituals aren't printed in the PHB, because they're evil, nor in the DMG, mostly for reasons of space and time, but also because published details would give no conceivable benefit to game balance and would restrict a DM's freedom to place undead wherever they're needed. Canon supports you in saying that an evil spellcaster can turn other creatures into undead, so go for it.