Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead

[demiurge1138]

Agreed to swift action. And I really like them getting unholy toughness while frenzied.

 

[Shade]

Good suggestion. Updated.

Organization: Solitary or x (2-8). (Vampires appear in "gangs" or "troupes")

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1? (A vampire is +2, and has many more abilities)

Treasure: None?

Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +x? (A vampire is +8, a wight +4)

 

[freyar]

I think "gang" sounds better for these. They seem more bestial and thuggish.

CR +1 sounds about right; I could see giving them treasure from none to standard, really. LA should probably be closer to the wight than the vampire, but you've got Savage Species and I don't. (Really need to get that sometime, huh?) Edit: I guess the original goes for no treasure. Also, do we need to add SR? (The original has standard magic resistance.)

Here's the lich's phylactery. What should be changed, besides numbers? I'd say the typical one should be a clay jar, and the prereqs should probably be easier.

An integral part of becoming a lich is creating a magic phylactery in which the character stores its life force. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a lich for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, a lich reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death.

Each lich must make its own phylactery, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.

The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

 

[Shade]

Also, do we need to add SR? (The original has standard magic resistance.)

I believe standard equals "none", so I don't think we'll need it.

Here's the lich's phylactery. What should be changed, besides numbers? I'd say the typical one should be a clay jar, and the prereqs should probably be easier.

Clay Jar: A greater ch'ing shih is created by trapping the portion of its soul aligned with the spirits of goodness within a clay jar, allowing the evil portions of the soul to have full control of the corpse. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a ch'ing shih for sure is to destroy its soul jar. Unless its soul jar is located and destroyed, a greater ch'ing shih reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death.

A clay jar is Tiny and has x hit points, hardness x (3?), and a break DC of x (15?). Other objects to store the good soul of a greater ch'ing shih can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.


Since most would-be ch'ing shih won't be spellcasters, I think we need to change the methods for creation.

 

[freyar]

Let's make it hardness 5, since it's probably magically enhanced in some way. 20 hp, break DC 20? I agree that the creation requirements need to be changed, but I do expect that a spellcaster needs to be involved somehow, since creation of one of these seems to be an intentional and magical process.

Also, I think the original text had the ch'ing shih reappearing after just 1 day, so let's shorten 1d10. 1 day is fine with me, and 1d4 would be ok too.

 

[Shade]

Updating...

Clay Jar: A greater ch'ing shih is created by trapping the portion of its soul aligned with the spirits of goodness within a clay jar, allowing the evil portions of the soul to have full control of the corpse. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a ch'ing shih for sure is to destroy its soul jar. Unless its soul jar is located and destroyed, a greater ch'ing shih reappears 1 day after its apparent death.

The creation of a clay jar requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The creator must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of xth (7th?) or higher. The clay jar costs (60,000?) gp and (2,400?) XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.

A clay jar is Tiny and has 20 hit points, hardness 5, and a break DC of 20. Other objects to store the good soul of a greater ch'ing shih can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

 

[freyar]

I think that looks ok, and I'm fine with the creation requirements. Let's call this a "soul jar" throughout but note that it is a clay jar in the first sentence. So:

Soul Jar: A greater ch'ing shih is created by trapping the portion of its soul aligned with the spirits of goodness within a clay jar, allowing the evil portions of the soul to have full control of the corpse. As a rule, the only way to get rid of a ch'ing shih for sure is to destroy its soul jar. Unless its soul jar is located and destroyed, a greater ch'ing shih reappears 1 day after its apparent death.

The creation of a soul jar requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The creator must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 7th or higher. The soul jar costs 60,000 gp and 2,400 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.

A soul jar is Tiny and has 20 hit points, hardness 5, and a break DC of 20. Other objects to store the good soul of a greater ch'ing shih can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

Ready for a sample?

 

[freyar]

Ready! How about a 4th level barbarian?

 

[Shade]

Getting started...

Ch'ing shih, 4th-Level Human Barbarian
Medium Undead (Augmented Humanoid)
Hit Dice: 4d12 (26 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+9
Attack: Claw +9 melee (1d4+5) or greataxe +9 melee (1d12+7/x3)
Full Attack: 2 claws +9 melee (1d4+5) or greataxe +9 melee (1d12+7/x3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapon, fury of the grave, rage 2/day
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., fast movement, illiteracy, trap sense +1, +2 turn resistance, uncanny dodge, undead traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 15, Con -, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12
Skills: Climb +12, Intimidate +8, Jump +16, Listen +7, Survival +7, Swim +12
Feats: 3
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary or gang (2-8)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +3

Breath Weapon (Su): Once every 1d4 rounds, a ch'ing shih may breath a 10-foot cone of contact poison. Inital damage 1d6 Con, secondary damage 1d6 Con, Fortitude DC 13 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Fury of the Grave (Ex): Once per day, as a swift action, a ch'ing shih can fly into a berserk fury. During this fury, the ch'ing shih temporarily gains a +8 bonus to Strength, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, and the unholy toughness ability (which grants the ch'ing shih a bonus to its hit points equal to its Charisma modifier x its Hit Dice, but these hit points go away at the end of the fury. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.) While in a fury, a ch'ing shih cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except for Balance, Escape Artist, Intimidate, and Ride), the Concentration skill, or any abilities that require patience or concentration, nor can it cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. It can use any feat he has except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats. A fury lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the ch'ing shih's Charisma modifier. A ch'ing shih may prematurely end its rage. At the end of the rage, the ch'ing shih loses the rage modifiers and restrictions.