the vulture and the zombie

[alsih2o]

i have this idea for an n.p.c. i would like some help with.

i would like to create an undead hunter (probably a paladin) whose special mount is a giant vulture who can sense/smell/spot undead form great distances and who eats the undead.

does this make any sense? i mean, vultures feed on the dead, is it in any gamesense way sensible to have giant or dire vultures who feed on the undead?

 

[TiQuinn]

i have this idea for an n.p.c. i would like some help with.

i would like to create an undead hunter (probably a paladin) whose special mount is a giant vulture who can sense/smell/spot undead form great distances and who eats the undead.

does this make any sense? i mean, vultures feed on the dead, is it in any gamesense way sensible to have giant or dire vultures who feed on the undead?

My initial reaction would be to think "Vultures eat the dead, which is somewhat ghoulish...therefore they'd be great as companions to a creature like a Ghast or Ghoul Lord, etc."

But, I see your point, and it'd be a great turnabout on your PC's expectations!

 

[mmadsen]

i would like to create an undead hunter (probably a paladin) whose special mount is a giant vulture who can sense/smell/spot undead form great distances and who eats the undead.

Ooh, great image! But I think it would work better with a "witch hunter" archetype than a "knight in shining armor" like the paladin -- although I guess the paladin's game mechanics work just fine for it.

 

[buzzard]

Now why couldn't that be a Dire Buzzard?

Buzzards are avians too.

buzzard

 

[Utrecht]

Or some type of awakened Carrion Crawler..... mmmmm Brains......

 

[the Jester]

That idea is not just cool, it's extra cool. With whipped cream on top.

Er, no, no whipped cream on a vulture. Just doesn't sound good.

But anyhow, I really like that idea and will have to steal it... dire vulture indeed!

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

That idea is not just cool, it's extra cool. With whipped cream on top.

Er, no, no whipped cream on a vulture. Just doesn't sound good.

Uh, oh. Now you've done it. Now I have this image of that old Herb Alpert album cover, except instead of a naked starlet covered in whipped cream, there's a Condor trying to give its best "come hither" look...

But very cool idea. I have a necromancer amongst my PC in my current game, I may need to have an NPC pull something like this on them.

 

[mmadsen]

Now I have this image of that old Herb Alpert album cover, except instead of a naked starlet covered in whipped cream, there's a Condor trying to give its best "come hither" look...

I don't even know the original album cover -- wait, I just looked it up -- but you've painted a terrible image in my mind's eye. (Actually, I see a Dark Crystal Skeksis, covered in whipped cream...)

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I don't even know the original album cover -- wait, I just looked it up -- but you've painted a terrible image in my mind's eye. (Actually, I see a Dark Crystal Skeksis, covered in whipped cream...)

Oh, dear. I have tomorrow off work, and Photoshop on my PC. The only thing I lacked was an idea of where to get a suitable picture of a vulture...

 

[Breakstone]

To make a Giant Vulture, you could take the Giant Eagle, lower its intelligence to 2 (so that it's equal to the Paladin's usual Horse mount), and give it Scent if you want it to smell undead instead of Evasion.

I have always liked the idea of some evil (or even good, or even neutral) dude riding a giant vulture, although when I first read this thread title I thought back on a random encounter I put every group through:

The characters spot a number of vultures (eagles) and one Giant Vulture (giant eagle) gathered around a corpse. While fighting these vultures (or when they lean in to take a closer look), the corpse stands up (it's a zombie, or a ghoul, or whatever you want) and attacks them as well.