Looking for a +CL/ECL for a new template

[Tsyr]

I'm making a new template for a type of undead in my campagin. While it can in THEORY be applied to any undead, in practice it only normaly is applied to one style, a type very much like a ghoul in abilities and stats.

Basicly, the template does one thing and one thing only. It provides a limited form of total immortality (If such a think can be said to apply to undead).

Any damage the creature suffers, from any source (Fire and so forth included) is regenerated at 1HP/minute. Even death is not final, it will regenerate from total death (Up to and including the body being burned to ashes, dismembered, etc). Disintegrate would work, but the spell is very uncommon in my campagin do to a very nasty side effect.

So, you ask, how does it die?

Simple, it has to kill itself.

The template induces a weakness into whatever gains it -it is subject to charm/command/etc, and can be ordered to kill itself, even if the description of the spell normaly forbids such an action. Always gets a save, but it is possible.

In all other respects the creature remains unchanged.

The background behind them is sorta involved, but basicly they are undead created by the new gods in my world, who are actualy extremely powerfull, self-serving outsiders.

So, what would you give these as a +ECL?

Tacticly, untill the party finds out how to defeat them (which will be a long while), all they will be able to do is destroy them totaly, and then run. (It takes a little why to regenerate if, say, burned to ashes... it's not quite as fast as it is normaly is)

 

[Nellisir]

I had villains very similar to your template in my campaign, and be aware, player's figure out very quickly ways to "inconvenience" perpetual regenerators for a long time (lock their bodies in a chest, wrap it in chains, and drop it in the ocean..or a volcano...or bury it...).

As far as ECL and CR go...CR modifier shouldn't be much if the only effect of the template is regeneration. CR +1 should be fine. At that speed of regeneration, it's not going to add much to single encounter combats, and thats' where CRs matter. XP is based on the difficulty of a single encounter, not how many times you encounter one creature.

ECL is a slightly different matter. Since the regeneration eliminates the need for clerics, or any form of healing or resurrection magic, and probably -will- completely heal a character before another encounter (1hp/minute = 60hp/hour), making the character that much more formidable over the course of multiple encounters (Which is the definition of an adventure, of course). I don't think ECL +4 or +5 would be unreasonable.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[Fade]

Burn it to ashes, mix the ashes with water, pour into a raging river. How long to regenerate?

 

[Tsyr]

I'd give it 6 hours, maybe a full day if we are talking something with a niagra-fall waterfall or something.

 

[Soldarin]

ECL +1 would be my first guess (CR +1 as well, but I'd hate to fight this thing that keeps coming back). Then again, undead being immune to most mind affecting spells, there really is no way to force it to kill itself. So ECL +2 is probably better. My advise: Don't make it available to PCs. Or enforce a penalty to 'dying', like the loss of XP equal to 50 times the number of HP damage beyond -10 (in which case ECL +1 would suffice again).

 

[Tsyr]

It's not technicly open to PCs...

But one prestige class ends in the aquisition of the template (But no one knows that... that's actualy how they are formed. Even the people taking the prestige class don't know about the end result).

Also, note. I specificly said that it induced a weakness to compulsion type effects even if not normaly vulnerable to them.