Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead

[demiurge1138]

I like them as outsiders. Tomb-tainted is a good idea.

 

[freyar]

I like them as outsiders. Tomb-tainted is a good idea.

Let's do that. More loumarae are always good, even if we can't call them that. And I can think of a couple demon lords who'd love these.

 

[Cleon]

I like them as outsiders. Tomb-tainted is a good idea.

Fine by me.

 

[Shade]

The dybbuk has 10 HD, Str -, Dex 20, Con 20, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 23.

The lesser vry have 7 HD, and Average intelligence.

So tone 'em down to Str -, Dex 20, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 19?

 

[freyar]

Seems fair enough.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

Are we borrowing this as is?

Corpse Possession (Su): A dybbuk that enters a square occupied by a corpse can, as a standard action, possess the body. It can only possess bodies of creatures of the following types: animal, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, and vermin. The body cannot be headless or destroyed beyond recognition, and a dybbuk cannot possess a corpse in the area of a magic circle against chaos, magic circle against evil, or a similar effect.

A dybbuk's possessed body rises to its feet on the dybbuk's next action. The fiendish essense of the dybbuk restores the host body to its full hit points; old wounds simply vanish, and any conditions that might have once affected the host are removed. A dybbuk can inhabit such a body indefinitely, and the body doesn't age while possessed. If the possessed body is reduced to -10 hit points, the dybbuk is forced out of the body and into an adjacent square (or the nearest available space). Unless the body is beheaded or completely destroyed, the dybbuk can attempt to possess it again on its next turn.

A dybbuk possessed body gains the benefits of its natural armor and any armor it wears, but not the dybbuk's deflection bonus to AC. The dybbuk adopts the statistics of the creature it is possessing but gains none of its extraordinary, supernatural, or spell-like abilities, nor can it use any of the possessed creature's Intelligence-, Wisdom-, or Charisma-based skills.

A dismissal, dispel chaos, or dispel evil spell cast on the possessed body immediately drives the dybbuk from the body into an adjacent square (or the nearest available space) and dazes the dybbuk for 1 round (no save). Without the dybbuk to inhabit it, the dead body collapses to the ground, lifeless.

 

[Cleon]

Added to Homebrews.

Are we borrowing this as is?

Corpse Possession (Su): A dybbuk that enters a square occupied by a corpse can, as a standard action, possess the body. It can only possess bodies of creatures of the following types: animal, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, and vermin. The body cannot be headless or destroyed beyond recognition, and a dybbuk cannot possess a corpse in the area of a magic circle against chaos, magic circle against evil, or a similar effect

Don't much like this approach, it seems to be rather back-to-front. From what I remember of vrykolakas myths, although they may be animated by a demon it's portrayed as a rather material creature.

So, I'd rather stat up a "demonic corpse" as a corporeal creature and add a Supernatural trait noting that if it's destroyed it may be able to repossess another corpse (although not just any old one, only a cursed or unhallowed corpse should be vulnerable to possession by a vrykolakas, although unfortunately that category includes "folks killed by a vrykolakas") or simply reform it in the case of a greater vrykolakas.

Obviously, that would entail dropping the incorporeal trait and giving it a Strength score.

 

[demiurge1138]

Cleon might have the right idea, but I don't like making the spirit unkillable. Make them a corporeal outsider that's killable by violence. Give them an SQ that dismissal or dispel evil kills them, but they have rejuvenation that's beaten by a Spellcraft/Know: religion/ Caster Level check against a DC based on the HD?

 

[freyar]

I can't say I really like making them corporeal per se; in that case, we might as well go with undead rather than outsider. What if a vrykolakas can possess a corpse for 24 hrs at a time and gives fixed stats to the possessed corpse during that time. Then we could have two stat blocks, one corporeal and one incorporeal.

I feel like we did something similar not that long ago. I just looked, it was the mara. I guess for that one we did them as corporeal outsiders with possession flavor. Well, I have a vague feeling I wanted an incorporeal possession then too and was overruled, so I'll go with the majority now as well.

 

[Shade]

I can't say I really like making them corporeal per se; in that case, we might as well go with undead rather than outsider. What if a vrykolakas can possess a corpse for 24 hrs at a time and gives fixed stats to the possessed corpse during that time. Then we could have two stat blocks, one corporeal and one incorporeal.

I think I'm with you. If we're going to make them corporeal, I'd rather just make them undead, with vulnerabilities to things that affect outsiders.