[Libris Mortis] Bleakborn: how do you kill it?

[hong]

So, these funky new old bleakborn, aka "Moilian zombies", have an ability called Contingent Healing. I quote:

"A bleakborn only heals when in range of a living creature that it can affect with its heat-draining aura. Even if brought to 0 hit points or less, a bleakborn eventually heals if a living creature at some future date wanders within 30 feet of its remains, automatically triggering its heat-draining aura. As long as affected creatures are within its heat-draining aura, a bleakborn's contingent healing remains active."

Heat-Draining Aura is another ability of theirs, which damages everyone within 30 feet of a bleakborn at the rate of 2d6 cold per round.

If I'm reading this correctly, a bleakborn basically can't be killed. Is this right? Of course, the original Moilian zombies (if you've played the module, you'll know the ones) were an absolute PITA the way they kept getting back up, so maybe it's intended....

 

[FireLance]

Disintegrate. Remains? What remains?
Baleful polymorph. *squeak*
A 5th-level Hunter of the Dead's True Death ability (please check all irresistable force-immovable object arguments at the door).

 

[Sejs]

What if you're immune to the heat-draining aura?


Get someone who can shrug off 12 pts of cold dmg per round, go in and chop up its remains, then distribute the remains far away from one another.


Heck, or fight fire with fire. It says that the healing is only triggered by living creatures. Take one down, then send in the zombie janitor to take care of business.

 

[Len]

[Libris Mortis] Bleakborn: how do you kill it?

By banning it.

Disintegrate. Remains? What remains?
Baleful polymorph. *squeak*

I don't think those work.

The remains of a disintegrated creature count as remains for resurrection so they should probably count here as well. It's debateable though.

Baleful polymorph only works as long as the creature is alive. When the mouse dies, it turns back a dangerous pile of bleakborn remains.

 

[Ferret]

I'dsay burn it or trap it.

 

[Someone]

Put the remains in your bag of holding. When you have time, cast Resist Elements, get the thing out, hack it thoroughly, mix it with concrete, let it dry and throw it in a place lonely enough.

Not sure if it counts as "dead"...

 

[the Jester]

Yeah, I'd let disintegrate work.

 

[Gort]

Like all regenerating monsters I've come across, I rule that if you chop it up to a ridiculous degree (say, -200 HP or something) it isn't going to get back up again.

 

[HeavyG]

The remains of a disintegrated creature count as remains for resurrection so they should probably count here as well. It's debateable though.

Yeah, but it's a "if brought to 0 hp or less, it heals such and such" thing. Just like regeneration, if only prevents it from "dying" from hit points damage. Death effects or an equivalent will work. Of course, undead are immune to actual death effects, but Disintegrate should work (just like it would on a troll) or Undeath to Death.

Or, presumably, plane shifting the remains to the Positive Elemental plane.

The fact that the disintegrate dust byproduct count as remains is irrelevant because the creature didn't die from lack of hit points.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

The fact that the disintegrate dust byproduct count as remains is irrelevant because the creature didn't die from lack of hit points.

Unless you're playing 3.0, I believe this is incorrect.

A thin, green ray springs from your pointing finger. You must make a successful ranged touch attack to hit. Any creature struck by the ray takes 2d6 points of damage per caster level (to a maximum of 40d6). Any creature reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by this spell is entirely disintegrated, leaving behind only a trace of fine dust.

3.5 Disintegrate does indeed do hp damage. It merely, as a secondary effect, turns a creature killed by the spell to dust. Dust which then, per the bleakborn's Heat Aura ability, starts to re-integrate itself.