Ossuary Guardian

[BOZ]

Don’t have any stats, but this monster almost writes itself. if one or more of you would care to volunteer some ideas I’d like to stat it up… I would submit it for the ToH3 – you know how Scott and Erica dig the undead.

I got this idea while thinking about the ossuary at Sedlec (google for pictures if you’re not familiar with it). I figured hey, what if these “sculptures” came to life to defend the tomb. I know it’s not terribly far from things that have been done already, but maybe we can give them some unusual powers that haven’t been thought of before.

 

[BOZ]

No interest in this?

 

[law]

There have not been many people on here lattly it seams. Sorry Boz.

 

[Shade]

Very cool! I'll give you some thoughts when I get a chance (gotta run now).

 

[Knight Otu]

One of these?

Of course, judging by the pictures I've found, the whole thing could come to "life".

 

[BOZ]

see, i knew somebody would get where i was coming from.

 

[Shade]

I've given these things alot of thought (creepy!) and here's a few ideas:

What if they had a chance to "remember" some of the abilities of the creatures whose bones comprise them? For example, an ossuary guardian might remember a spell that a wizard or sorcerer could cast.

I also thought that it would be cool if the whole place would come to "life". What if the ossuary guardians (the "pinnacles" shown at [a href="http://www.ludd.luth.se/users/silver_p/kutna-1.html"]this page[/a]) were the actual "creature", but they have the ability to animate other parts of the ossuary?

Perhaps they'd have the ability to summon osyluths and necrophidii.

 

[BOZ]

I've given these things alot of thought (creepy!) and here's a few ideas:

What if they had a chance to "remember" some of the abilities of the creatures whose bones comprise them? For example, an ossuary guardian might remember a spell that a wizard or sorcerer could cast.

I also thought that it would be cool if the whole place would come to "life". What if the ossuary guardians (the "pinnacles" shown at this page) were the actual "creature", but they have the ability to animate other parts of the ossuary?

Perhaps they'd have the ability to summon osyluths and necrophidii

demon summoning only if they are evil. traditionally, most guardian creatures are neutral – of course, we could just say that they could be of any alignment?

The ossuary at Sedlec is not constructed entirely out of bones – that is to say it is a very old church, where in the 19th century an artist added these macabre “sculptures” therein. of course, that is not to say that we could not have an entire building made out of bones, or that it could be a regular structure of which the bones are only part of the whole construct…

I do like your “remember” idea – that would work best if we made some kind of “group” template for them. Not quite sure how that would work though. Maybe each little sculpture could be 4d6 different creatures, or something like that. Another idea is that, like skeletons and zombies, these things can come in any size. This would allow both the whole church/mausoleum/whatnot to be “alive” as well as the different-sized pieces in it.

 

[Shade]

Another thought....since there are usually going to be more than one of these things, maybe we could give them something like hivemind.

Hive Mind (Ex): If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in a group is not flatfooted, none of them are. No creature in a group is considered flanked unless all of them are.

 

[BOZ]

Where did you get that Hive mind description from?