suggestion: mid-evil creature with raise dead

[rossik]

i create a adventure, but didnt think of the final boss

once upon a time P), there was a king priest, very kind and powerfull. when he died, a statue was made in his honor, and a curious white flower grows near. this flower have some healing power.

but, the real reason for the statue, is that it is a seal (like "to close", not the animal) for a power being.
that evil being is erradianting some negative aura that is raising the dead near.

the group is 5 level, one fighter, one thief, one cleric and his "shield boy" and one archer.
(oh, and its a 2ed greyhawk campaing)

the thing is that i didnd really think about what is this being. a lich would be too powerfull for them, as a demi-lich (right?)

so, any sugestion on what lays beneath the statue?

 

[Psychotic Jim]

Is it raising or animating the dead nearby? Raising the dead (as in, akin to resurrection) has been associated with positive energy. Perhaps some kind of mummy lies beneath, one with clerical spells? Perhaps some remnant of the former priest king remains, wanting to keep a watchful eye over his kingdom.

Or perhaps some evil force has seeped into the statue itself, drawn by the powerful abjuration magics. In that case, you might make the statue a golem or construct of some kind, perhaps self aware. Tips on customizing your golem or mummy could be found in the various Van Ricthen's guides to the Created or the Anceitn Dead (made for Ravenloft, but resources I find useful for any setting.)

Another idea instead of the undead route, is that it's some kind of fungal or plant life that is taking over the bodies with spores or such. Perhaps an intelligent variant on the olive slime and its olive slime creatures. Maybe some semblance of intelligence from the king or whatever force is locked away has grafted onto a slime or other normally nonintelligent fungus or plantlife, like in Swamp Thing. If people are rising from the dead, perhaps it's not the people but fungus creatures inhabiting the bodies that think they're the formerly dead people.

 

[werk]

so, any sugestion on what lays beneath the statue?

I don't now how familiar you are with Eberron, but there are some really cool bad guys there and their enemies actually built magical statues to capture and imprison them.

Quori.

They live in a plane where dreams come from, they come thru and take over people's bodies, like demon possession. Any quori killed is immediately reborn as lowest-caste quori, so the best way to deal with them is to imprison them.

If a party were to set one free, especially one that had been imprisoned for a long time, it may just leave and they wouldn't even know what happened or it could grant a boon or somesuch, or it could be mad with rage and instantly attack with reinforcements on the way.

And they are scarey lookin'

 

[rossik]

very usefull tips and a realy scary guy!

but i wonder if you guys have any tip for 2ed greyhawk

 

[werk]

very usefull tips and a realy scary guy!

but i wonder if you guys have any tip for 2ed greyhawk

It's a planar creature, could just recreate with 2e stats.

Also Yakmen are cool.