Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead

[freyar]

All done now, I think!

 

[Shade]

Spike Skeleton
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Band
ACTIVITY CYCLES: Any
DIET: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Non- (0)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 2-20 (2d10)
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 3
THACO: 18
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: thorns, bonespray, blood bum
SPECIAL DEFENSES: As skeleton
MAGIC RESISTANCE: As skeleton
SIZE: M (5’-6’)
MORALE: As skeleton
XP VALUE: 650

From a distance, spike skeletons look perfectly normal, except that they are unarmed. Closer inspection reveals that they are covered with bony thorns up to an inch long. Somewhat tougher than regular skeletons, these creatures are often used to demoralize enemy troops with their horrific and agonizing special abilities.

Combat: The bony thorns of these skeletons allow them to cause as much damage as a normal skeleton wielding a weapon. Furthermore, 1-3 (1d3) spikes explode each time the creature hits or is hit, inflicting 1-4 hp damage per spike in a 5’ radius (save vs. breath weapon for half damage). The skeleton itself suffers 1 hp damage for each spike it loses this way. The purpose of the bonespray is to draw blood. Once this is done, the nearest creature to the skeleton is then subjected to a version of the 4th-level wizard spell Beltyn’s burning blood (from the FORGOTTEN REALMS Adventures book). The victim must save vs. spell at -3 or suffer 3d4 hp damage as all the blood from open wounds catches fire. A save must be made each round for three rounds. The moment a successful save is made, the damage stops. Each skeleton can cast this spell only once, and must be “re-charged” to cast it a. second time.

Special ingredients: The thorns must be specially carved from bones taken from the same type of creature that is to be animated (i. e. human bones for a human skeleton). A glyph is carved into each thorn before it is attached to the skeleton with a resin made with fresh bone marrow. During animation, a shatter spell is cast in conjunction with animate dead. After animation, the 6th-level necromancy spell imbue undead with spell ability is cast, along with Beltyn’s burning blood.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #234 (1996).

 

[Shade]

Beltyn’s burning blood appears in 3e in Spell Compendium, Unapproachable East, and Complete Arcane. Here's the relevant bits...

You taint a living creature's blood with a hot, corrosive infusion, dealing 1d8 points of acid damage and 1d8 points of fire damage per round. The subject can attempt a Fortitude save each round to negate the damage, but a successful save does not prevent damage in future rounds. Searing pain limits the subject to a single move action in any round when it fails its Fortitude save.

Burning blood does not affect creatures of the construct, elemental, ooze, plant, or undead types.

 

[demiurge1138]

So... they're covered in thorns, which burst as area-of-effect spells whenever it takes a hit. The "closest" to the skeleton takes the burning blood effect. Let's drop that bit in favor of whoever actually triggered the spine burst.

 

[freyar]

Sounds like it happens whenever the skeleton hits someone too.

Also: do we want to keep the "recharging" bit? Seems like they only get one shot at the spell as written.

 

[Cleon]

So... they're covered in thorns, which burst as area-of-effect spells whenever it takes a hit. The "closest" to the skeleton takes the burning blood effect. Let's drop that bit in favor of whoever actually triggered the spine burst.

I'd keep it closest. It would seem a bit funny to me if an attacker suffers the burning blood effect by shooting the spike skeleton from outside its spike distance.

Sounds like it happens whenever the skeleton hits someone too.

Yes, since they can wound opponents in melee with their spikes.

Also: do we want to keep the "recharging" bit? Seems like they only get one shot at the spell as written.

Well we could, but I'm leaning more towards making it 1/day.

 

[Cleon]

Let's start on the stats.

They're basically a SRD skeleton with 3 Hit Dice.

Do we want to give them two claw attacks like an SRD skeleton or one spike attack like the stats?

Oh, I know - lets say they have the equivalent of Armour Spikes, and can make two 1d4 claws or one 1d6 spike attack (which triggers a spike-burst and possibly a burning blood attack).

I'd prefer to simplify the spike-burst a bit from the original version. Something like 1d10 damage in a 5-foot burst, halved with a Reflex save, with the skeleton taking 1d3 damage?

(The average damage of the original is 5, with a range of 1 to 12. 1d10 seems a pretty reasonable approximation)

 

[Shade]

I like the idea of treating the spikes as armor spikes for attack purposes.

Rather than dealing with the messy recharge vs. 1/day bit, why don't we just simplify the burning blood to death throes?

 

[Cleon]

I like the idea of treating the spikes as armor spikes for attack purposes.

Rather than dealing with the messy recharge vs. 1/day bit, why don't we just simplify the burning blood to death throes?

That's a bit of a shift away from the original, I'd rather stick to "on first spike-wounding" rather than "upon spike skeleton's destruction".

 

[demiurge1138]

The "closest" thing is still really stupid--what if there are two people in melee with him, one with a reach weapon? Or if two people are adjacent to the skeleton? I like Shade's death throes suggestion.