Regenerating Undead

[Rkhet]

Consider the Atropal: Undead Abomination, CR30. Regenerate(Good or Sentient/living weapons), Fast healing (SU, 20), immune to almost every status effect under the sun. Unturnable at lvl30 (HD66, +20 resistance). Flies at 240 Perfect.

The question: does being undead make it immune to non-good/sentient damage, since it is immune to subdual damage?

If so: how on earth did it get CR of only 30? Devastation vermins are ~40 and far easier to kill.

Also: does natural weapons count as 'sentient/living'?

 

[glass]

I think it was probably an oversight; IIRC, a couple of Constructs with regeneration were errataed tp have fast healing instead.

In any case, as I see it have three options:

1. The creature is basically immune to anything that doesn't bypass its DR.

2. Rule that the regeneration should actually be fast healing.

3. Rule that the undead creatures' own abilies can inflict nonlethal non-lethal damage on it, even if other effects can not.​

I think 2 is probably the simplest in a standard game.

3. could be handy if as a general rule if for example you use a variant magic or psionics system that relies on nonlethal damage as a balancing factor. There is a precedent for this kind of thing also: liches can polymorph themselves, despite being immune to polymorph.


glass.

 

[Rkhet]

2 doesn't seem quite right, in this case: Atropal has Grave Aura, which gives it Fast Healing 20 anyway.

Perhaps I just rule that it is immune to subdual damage except for regeneration subdual damage?

 

[moritheil]

I would go with 1.

And I don't think natural weapons are independently sentient in most cases (think D's hand in Vampire Hunter D - it was actually intelligent and spoke.) Not sure how I would rule on living; a hand is alive but a bone horn is not . . . perhaps there is a "Living Weapon" designation?

 

[Darkness]

2 doesn't seem quite right, in this case: Atropal has Grave Aura, which gives it Fast Healing 20 anyway.

Maybe let it stack.

 

[ARandomGod]

If it's got a con score, it can regenerate. If it doesn't, then it can't, by definitions.

Alternatively...you can LET it reginerate. Since unlike fast healing regeneration actually restores life, the regineration ability should slopwely bring it back to life, essentially damaging it, and the fast healing is needed to cancel out that damage...