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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kerrick" data-source="post: 5083775" data-attributes="member: 4722">I was on a roll yesterday doing design work, and I got some inspiration about this last night, so I sat down this morning and hacked together a template. I haven't bothered to check the ECL yet - I want to finalize the abilities first - but I'm guessing it would be around +10.Necrolith  Occasionally, powerful spellcasters are sealed away - killing them proves no solution, as they have clones or resurrection magics handy - or are entombed alive as punishment for overwhelmingly evil acts. These spellcasters, through the power of their magic and will, can rise as necroliths.  The spellcaster in question can be walled up in a building, trapped in a sarcophagus, or buried alive, but simply sealing him away does not allow to become a necrolith - he must be trapped there via magic circle vs. evil, dimensional anchor, and wish in a ritual that involves five or more casters. This method prevents the target's escape via any means possible - even wish or divine intervention. In order for the ritual to take place, the target must be placed in a specially-warded space no more than twice his size (so a Medium creature can be entombed in a space up to 10 feet square), bound there via magic circle and dimensional anchor, then the space sealed. The space itself is often warded with a repulsion, glyphs, and other protections that keep others from accidentally or deliberately breaking into it, but in a necrolith's case, this serves as protection (see below).  The tomb often has a small hole for air, to prevent the victim from suffocating to death; he can last for days or even weeks before succumbing to thirst or hunger, all the while descending into madness. When the victim finally does die, his sheer power, rage, and willpower, along with the strong magical influences around him, enable him to return as a powerful undead. It draws energy from the presence of the stone all around it, granting it great power over earth and stone. Even though it remains sealed in its tomb, it gains the ability to sense all that goes on around it through its contact with the earth itself, and even to manipulate its surroundings. Necroliths can be sealed up in any stone building - a large tomb, castle, even a dungeon - but most are placed in a mausoleum or tomb in a necropolis (all the better to avoid someone finding them).  Very rarely, a spellcaster will willingly seal himself away in order to become a guardian, often over a necropolis or large tomb. This process is identical to the one listed above, except that this type of necrolith is chaotic neutral, not chaotic evil; it takes action only against those who intrude on its demesne or take actions that it deems sacrilegious or harmful to the area it guards.  Once it fully comes into its powers, a necrolith affects a sphere of influence equal to 20 feet per HD/level. Even if it is free from its tomb, it cannot leave this area (and cannot be made to leave - the wards prevent any force, even gods, from removing it), as it is centered on the tomb itself. All abilities listed below apply within, this area, but immediately cease at the edge (with the exception of its petrifying touch, which is permanent).  Few have ever seen a necrolith "in the flesh," as it is often far too powerful to let anyone breach its tomb, but those who have seen one say it resembles a lich - a mummified form with grayish skin and glowing red eyes, clad in whatever it was wearing when it was cast into its tomb (which can vary from rich robes to tattered rags to nothing at all). Its skin is hard as stone, however, it is immensely strong, and it deals powerful blows with its rock-hard fists.Creating a Necrolith  "Necrolith" is an acquired/inherited template that can be added to any living corporeal creature (referred to hereafter as the "base creature") that has at least 20 spellcasting levels.   A necrolith uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.  Size and Type: The base creature's type changes to undead. Size remains unchanged  Hit Dice: Increase all current and future HD to d12s.  Speed: Same as the base creature.  Armor Class: The base creature gains a +10 bonus to natural armor.   Attack: A necrolith has a slam attack that it can use once per round. If the base creature can use weapons, the necrolith retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A necrolith fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A necrolith armed with a weapon uses its touch or a weapon, as it desires.   Full Attack: A necrolith fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a touch as a natural secondary attack, provided it has a way to make that attack (either a free hand or a natural weapon that it can use as a secondary attack).   Damage: A necrolith without natural weapons has a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to living creatures; a Will save (DC 10 + ½ necrolith's HD + necrolith's Cha modifier) halves the damage. A necrolith with natural weapons can use its touch attack or its natural weaponry, as it prefers. If it chooses the latter, it deals 1d8+5 points of extra damage on one natural weapon attack.   Special Attacks: A necrolith retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains those listed below.  Control Earth (Su): Through its bond with earth and stone, a necrolith can control the earth anywhere within its sphere of influence. This can take many forms - turning earth to quicksand or stone to mud as the soften earth and stone or transmute rock to mud spells; creating stone hands that reach forth to grab or pummel targets; or even sealing off exits. It can only affect up to 100 cubic feet per HD/class level, and cannot create or destroy material - it can only manipulate what is already there. This ability requires concentration - a necrolith that is controlling the earth loses its tremorsense ability, cannot cast spells or use spell-like abilities, or employ other actions.   Control Undead (Su): While a necrolith cannot leave its tomb, it can exert its influence over up to 10 HD of undead per HD/class level in its sphere of influence (see above).  Damage Reduction: The necrolith's skin is hard as stone, granting it DR 20/bludgeoning and magic. Piercing and slashing weapons deal only half damage to a necrolith (calculated before DR is applied).  Earthquake (Su): If a necrolith is slain (its actual form, not a stone clone), a massive earthquake (as the spell) shakes the area it controls 2d4 rounds later.  Fear Aura (Su): Necroliths are shrouded in a dreadful aura of death and evil. Creatures of less than 10 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the necrolith must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell from a sorcerer of the necrolith's level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same necrolith's aura for 24 hours.  Spells (Sp): A necrolith retains all spellcasting ability it had in life, except for spells that enable travel to other planes of existence. If it is freed from its tomb, it can use dimension door and teleport spells to move anywhere in its area of influence, but no farther, and it cannot use any spell to pass beyond the bounds of its tomb while it remains trapped. Due to the special circumstances of a necrolith's entrapment,  it can only cast the spells it had prepared on the day it was entombed and cannot exchange them for others unless it is freed. It automatically regains any spells it used on any given day the next day, as if it were a sorcerer.  Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): A necrolith gains the following spell-like abilities from its bond with the stone: At will - meld into stone* soften earth and stone, spike stones, statue, stone shape, stone tell; 3/day - transmute mud to rock, transmute rock to mud, wall of stone; 1/day - earthquake, flesh to stone. *This ability is usable only if the necrolith is freed from its tomb.  Special Qualities: A necrolith retains all the special qualities of the base creature and those listed below.  Stone Bond (Su): A necrolith has tremorsense that applies throughout its sphere of influence. Additionally, it can take a full-round action to concentrate and locate a specific being if it is in contact with stone or earth - either the ground itself or a stone object that is in contact with the ground. It cannot locate creatures that are in the air or in water, or on objects that are not in contact with the ground.  Stone Clone (Su): Once per round, as a full-round action, a necrolith can create a copy of itself from earth and stone. This "stone clone" is effectively a projected image - it has half the hit points of the original and is treated as a construct, but is animated by negative energy. It takes damage from positive energy effects as if it were undead, but cannot be turned; it otherwise has all the characteristics of a construct. A necrolith can extend its senses to see and hear through the clone, though its range is limited to 60 feet (this is effectively blindsight - the necrolith can sense the presence of invisible creatures if they are touching stone, but not ethereal ones), and can cast any spells or spell-like abilities through it as well. A necrolith's ability is such that it can manifest and control up to three stone clones, each of which can take actions while the necrolith maintains its stone bond ability.   A stone clone can make a slam attack as the necrolith, but it does not have the petrifying touch ability; it  has a +6 natural armor bonus and +4 profane bonus to AC (so a Medium clone is AC 20). A clone that is destroyed, or that is dismissed by the necrolith collapses into a pile of dirt and rocks. Stone clones can use meld into stone and statue at will, and often appear from walls or floors to attack intruders, or pose as inert statuary that suddenly comes to life.     Saves: Same as the base creature.  Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +6, Int +4, Wis +6, Cha +8. Being undead, a necrolith has no Con score.  Skills: Necroliths have a +4 bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.  Feats: Same as the base creature.  Environment: Any  Organization: Solitary  ECL: Same as the base creature +??  Treasure: None  Alignment: Usually chaotic evil  Advancement: By character class.The Necrolith's TombA necrolith's tomb is always well-hidden and guarded with powerful wards - repulsion and forbiddance are common, along with veil, multiple walls of stone and/or force, greater glyphs of warding, and other effects designed to deter those who would seek to free the necrolith. Due to the rituals employed, no force - even divine - can enable a creature to move into or out of a sealed tomb. The tomb of an necrolith sealed against its will radiates powerful evil in a 50-foot radius; this area is treated as a sink of evil (see the unhallow spell) and animals will not enter it willingly. Many necroliths, if freed, will seal themselves back up into their tomb if freed, after they deal with their would-be rescuers - they gain little by being freed, and they can only be slain by destroying their physical form.</blockquote>

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