Legions of Geb


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion

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Legions of Geb

The armies of Geb are divided into four Legions, the Legion of Ash, which is the only one composed of living warriors, the Crimson Legion, composed of zombies, ghouls, ghasts, wights and vampires, the Pale Legion, composed of shadows, wraiths, specters and ghosts, and the Ivory Legion, composed primarily of skeletons and liches.

At least, this is what is known to outsiders. In truth, the skeletons and liches represent only the two extremes of the ‘Ivory Legion,’ called in Geb the Ineb-Hedj, or ‘the White Wall.’ In between these mindless drudges and extraordinary skilled archwizards and high priests lies an entire rank of skeletal dead not commonly known outside of Geb, the ruthlessly efficient Bone Soldiers of the Ivory Legion.

A Bone Soldier is awakened into unlife through the use of create undead cast by an 11th level or higher level caster. Deep within the Mortuarium of Yled is an altar of obsidian and rusted iron, dedicated to Urgathoa, which casts this spell multiple times per night upon those who die slowly, impaled upon its six gruesome iron spikes, so long as it is attended by an 11th level or higher Cleric of Urgathoa. The animated corpses of sacred flesh-devouring beetles pour from hidden lairs within the altar itself to strip the dying sacrifices of their flesh, with the assistance of ghoul acolytes, while the magic of the altar keeps their skeletons intact as it fills them with necromantic energy. In eight hours time, the ritual is complete, and the six selected victims lift their now fleshless frames from the altars spikes to take up service in the Ivory Legion. Even without the power of this relic, the city of Yled has several necromancers and clergymen capable of creating new Bone Soldiers, and can easily field a dozen replacements in a single night.

The soldiers of the Ivory Legion are specialized skeletons, that retain some semblance of intellect, although, as with the shadows of memory left behind that can be contacted via speak with dead, the actual souls of the skeletons former living selves are not retained. Still, these kaybet, or ‘shadows on the soul,’ as they are called in Orisirion and Geb, can retain intellect and even some memories of the person that once walked in those bones. More importantly, from a military perspective, these shadow-souls retain enough intellectual capacity to be able to access some of the feats and skills of the original person, although PC class abilities are not retained.

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Creating a Bone Soldier
"Bone Soldier" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature (other than an undead) that has a skeletal system, including vermin (whose exoskeletal system is sufficient for these purposes), referred to hereafter as the base creature.

Size and Type
The base creature’s type changes to undead. It retains any subtype except for alignment subtypes (such as good) and subtypes that indicate kind. It does not gain the augmented subtype. It uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Hit Dice
Drop any Hit Dice gained from class levels (to a minimum of 1) and raise remaining Hit Dice to d12s. A Bone Soldier gains bonus hit points as if it were a Construct, but only at half the value based on its size. (Example: a Medium Bone Soldier gains +10 hit points, half the value that a Medium sized Construct would gain.)

Speed
Bone Soldiers retain all of their normal movement rates, including winged flight, if applicable.

Armor Class
Natural armor bonus changes to a number based on the Bone Soldier’s size:

Tiny or Smaller +0
Small +1
Medium +2
Large +3
Huge +4
Gargantuan +6
Colossal +10

Attacks
A Bone Soldier retains all the natural weapons, manufactured weapon attacks, and weapon proficiencies of the base creature, except for attacks that can’t work without flesh. A creature with hands gains one claw attack per hand; the Bone Soldier can strike with each of its claw attacks at its full attack bonus. A Bone Soldier’s base attack bonus is equal to its Hit Dice.

Damage
Natural and manufactured weapons deal damage normally. A claw attack deals damage depending on the Bone Soldier’s size. (If the base creature already had claw attacks with its hands, use the Bone Soldier claw damage only if it’s better.)

Diminutive or Fine 1
Tiny 1d2
Small 1d3
Medium 1d4
Large 1d6
Huge 1d8
Gargantuan 2d6
Colossal 2d8

Special Attacks
A Bone Soldier retains only the following of the base creature’s special attack options, if applicable; Constrict, Improved Grab, Natural Weapons, Poison, Pounce, Powerful Charge, Rake, Stampede, Trample and Trip.

Special Qualities
A Bone Soldier loses most special qualities of the base creature. It retains any extraordinary special qualities that improve its melee or ranged attacks. A Bone Soldier gains the following special qualities;

Immunity to Cold (Ex)
Bone Soldiers are not affected by cold.

Damage Reduction (Ex)
A Bone Soldier has damage reduction 5/bludgeoning. Bone Soldiers lack flesh or internal organs.

Rebuke Undead (Su)
A Bone Soldier gains the power to affect some undead creatures by channeling negative energy (see Turn or Rebuke Undead).

Bone Soldiers can only choose to rebuke or command undead, and only mindless skeletal undead at that, functioning as an evil cleric of equal level to its hit dice.

A Bone Soldier may attempt to rebuke or command mindless skeletal undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier, and can only have as many hit dice of undead under his command as his own hit dice. A Bone Soldier with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion) gets a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.

A Bone Soldier can also make use of this ability to Bolster Undead (including fellow Bone Soldiers, or even itself, even though they do not count as mindless undead), or Dispel Turning, per the rules in Core Rulebook 1, page 159.

Saves
Base save bonuses are Fort +1/2 HD + 2, Ref +1/3 HD, and Will +1/3 HD + 2.

Abilities
A Bone Soldier’s Dexterity increases by +2, and its Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma decreases by 2 (to a minimum of 1). A Bone Soldier has no Constitution score, and its Constitution becomes 0.

Skills
A Bone Soldier retains the skills it had in life (generally as a 1st level Warrior), reduced for its decreased Intelligence and modified by its adjusted ability scores.

Feats
A Bone Soldier retains any applicable feats of the base creature and gains Improved Initiative as a bonus feat.

Environment
Geb and surroundings.

Organization
Patrol (5-8, plus an equal number of 1 HD Skeletons), Regiment (10-20), Cohort (21-50), Legion (100+)

Challenge Rating
Depends on Hit Dice.

Treasure
Gear as an NPC of equal level, using the NPC Fighter (core rulebook II, page 117) as a baseline.

Alignment
Always neutral evil.

Advancement
Bone Soldiers are unable to advance in any class other than Adept (Bone Acolytes), Aristocrat (Bone Courtier), Expert (Bone Craftsmen) and Warrior (called Bone Soldiers, and the default type). A Commoner could also be made into a Bone Soldier, but this is generally regarded as a waste of good onyx by those few with the skill and power necessary to enact the necessary rituals.

Bone Knight
When a Bone Soldier becomes a 3rd level Warrior, it gains the ability to use a variation of mount as a spell like ability once per day. This spell summons up a heavy warhorse with the Bone Soldier template, fully trained for war and equipped in spiked bone armor (treat as studded leather barding with armor spikes), and the steed remains for 24 hours, or until destroyed, obeying all commands from the Bone Soldier as if the two shared a mental link with a one mile range. For every three levels over 3rd, the Bone Soldier can cast this special mount spell an additional time per day, but only to replace a fallen or dismissed steed, as it cannot have more than one such mount in existence at a time. Once a Bone Soldier attains this rank, which is celebrated with a special ritual that empowers it with this new ability, it is referred to as a Bone Knight.

Bone Commander
When a Bone Soldier becomes a 6th level Warrior, it may be selected to undergo a further ritual, which greatly increases its necromantic potential to command and rebuke other undead. The Bone Commander can now control any form of undead as an evil Cleric of equal level, and treats mindless skeletal undead as only half their hit dice for the purposes of control. Example: a 6th level Bone Commander can have up to 12 HD worth of assorted undead under its control (shadows, zombies, fellow bone soldiers, etc) or up to 24 HD worth of mindless skeletal undead, or any combination of the two, such as two 3 HD shadows and twelve 1 HD skeletons.

Bone Juggernaut / Sky Marshall
When a Bone Soldier becomes a 9th level Warrior, it may be selected for one of two special honors, to become a Bone Juggernaut or a Sky Marshall. A Bone Juggernaut gains a new variation on the mount spell, that allows it to summon up a skeletal mammoth (use elephant stats, modified by the Bone Soldier template, and equipped in spiked bone armor that is treated as studded leather barding with armor spikes) for up to 24 hours, with the ability to cast this spell one more time per day for each level over 9th (but with no more than one such steed in existence at one time, similar to the restrictions on the Bone Knight’s ability). A Sky Marshall instead gains the ability to similarly summon a skeletal wyvern (use wyvern stats, modified by the Bone Soldier template, and equipped in spiked bone armor that is treated as studded leather barding with armor spikes). Either form of mount shares the same mental connection that a Bone Knight enjoys with its bone warhorse steed, and whether Bone Juggernaut or Sky Marshall, the Bone Soldier retains the ability to summon it’s skeletal warhorse steed in situations where a mammoth or wyvern mount would be impractical (although it cannot have more than one mount of any type in existence at one time). To empower a Bone Soldier of the appropriate level with either of these special mounts requires the acquisition of an intact wyvern or mammoth skeleton, usually at some risk and / or expense, and those in the know can make some good coin providing Gebbite military provisioners with either sort of skeleton.

Bone Craftsmen
Experts are not as frequently created in this manner, but are still relatively commonplace compared to Bone Magi. Tirelessly working the forges, fashioning weapons for the armies of Geb, the Bone Craftsmen are the unseen backbone of both the military and mercantile might of the nation.

Bone Magi
Adepts are highly sought after, and often outright kidnapped from humanoid tribes or primitive societies, resulting in a surprisingly high percentage of Bone Magi being of clearly non-human origin (with goblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, orcs, etc. being highly represented, but the most common non-human base being gnoll). Despite their many diverse origins, all awaken on the altar to Urgathoa loyal only to the Pallid Princess, and use their powers loyally in her service. Unlike Bone Soldiers, all Bone Magi gain full use of Rebuke/Command Undead, and are not limited to controlling mindless skeletal undead, or only hit dice equal to their own. If the Adept has a familiar at the time of transformation, the creature dies immediately upon the Adepts death and transformation into a Bone Magi, but can be replaced with another familiar with the Bone Soldier template applied at the next opportunity to do so. As the majority of Bone Magi are of gnollish stock, vultures are the predominant familiar among the Bone Magi, with some of the higher level ones choosing hyenas as ‘improved’ familiars.

At 3rd level, a Bone Magi gains the same enhancement that a Bone Soldier gains at 6th level when it becomes a Bone Commander, treating mindless skeletal undead as half their current hit dice for the purposes of rebuking and control, otherwise functioning as a 6th level evil Cleric for rebuke/control purposes.

Bone Courtiers
Uncommon found among only the most decadent of Geb’s rulers, due to the resources necessary to create them, Aristocrats subject to the Bone Soldier creation process function as a deathless ‘royal court’ for some jaded nobles, trapped in an endless and macabre pageant that inexpertly parodies the sophisticated and exciting courtly intrigues of living kingdoms. The reduction in their mental abilities (and social skills) makes them too quickly revealed as a pale mockery of a living, breathing court, and even those nobles who at first fancied the notion have been disappointed at the course, dull-witted and predictable nature of their ‘courts.’

Bone Courtiers commit the ultimate sin in the eyes of their jaded creators. They are boring.

Level Adjustment
+1

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Design notes;
The Bone Soldier is adjusted from the Skeleton template, but with good save in Fortitude as well as Will, full BAB, bonus hit points based on size, a slightly improved natural armor bonus progression, and retention of mental abilities and many physical special attacks (and natural movement types, such as winged flight, for creatures with wings). Through retention of skills and feats, an Ivory Soldier can and will use weapons and armor appropriate to a Warrior of its level.

The average 1st level Bone Soldier encountered wears splint armor and carries a heavy steel shield, a masterwork scimitar and a composite shortbow with 20 arrows. As even the lowliest Bone Soldier can rebuke and command a single hit die worth of mindless skeletal undead, every Bone Soldier has a 'squire' that mindlessly trudges alongside it, carrying it's bow or shield or extraneous equipment, as necessary, sometimes taking no action in a pitched fight other than to stand ready with a spare weapon, taking the Aid Other action to help block blows aimed at it's Bone Soldier 'master.'

In a military formation, more sophisticated tactics and gear are used, and the first rank of Bone Soldiers will hide behind tower shields, using the total defense action, while the rank behind it attacks with a longspear, and further ranks use shortbows.

Bone Soldiers are most frequently equipped with common regional weapons, such as the scimitar, and tend to favor weapons that can cause grievous injuries to living flesh (such as the scimitar, with it's high critical range, or the scythe, with it's high critical multiplier). A Gebbite skirmisher might be seen two-weapon fighting with a heavy pick and kukri combination, relishing the rare but devasting critical blows of the pick, and the more frequent bloodletting of the kukri. Having no fear of disease, Gebbite weapons (especially arrows or spoiler weapons such as caltrops, which Gebbite catapults send indiscriminately into pitched battles, knowing that their own troops will be unaffected by the tiny menaces) are often steeped in gore and dung, so that living survivors of a Gebbite harrying attack will have to contend with outbreaks of infection and filth fever not long afterwards. Crossbows never 'caught on' in Geb, and are not commonly used, and never among military units.

The abundant mindless Skeletons that accompany Bone Soldiers of the Ivory Legion are used with cold disregard as 'peasant levies,' and also handle mundane duties, such as hurling dung-coated caltrops about, holding shields to defend archers, and handing off arrows, javelins, etc. to Soldiers in need of fresh ammunition. They also finish off wounded foes and scavenge the fallen for usable weapons, armor, gear and coin, which they ferry back to Legion provisioners as needed.

Catapults made of wood, bone and sinew are wheeled into position behind the main force by mindless skeletons, and various types of shot, from simple stones, to alchemical frost (having no effect on the skeletal undead, but causing frost-burns to any living foes), to ‘plague-shot’ composed of hundreds or even thousands of dung-coated caltrops to rain down upon the enemies position.

Ballista of similar make are also used, firing great spears at the larger monstrosities sometimes fielded by the ancient Nexian enemies. Given the nature of the beasts faced, such spears are occasionally poisoned, to increase the odds that they will have some effect. Various qualities of Monstrous Centipede venom are the most common ‘payload’ for envenomed projectiles, as Monstrous Centipedes are cultivated in Geb for this very purpose.

The armies of Nex, faced against foes who do not suffer the same sort of danger, tend to prefer weapons with larger initial impacts, but that are not as likely to cause critical injury, such as longswords, battleaxes and halberds. While Geb and Nex have officially been at peace for many years, it is still traditional to eschew piercing weapons in Nex, and Nexian ranged troops use a combination of slings and hand axes more frequently than bows, javelins or spears (although Nexian troops assigned to the northern border are more likely to carry bows). Nexian soldiers on the southern border often carry 'studded shields,' which have weighted striking surfaces that cause them to function as a spiked shield, but inflict bludgeoning damage, due to the frequency which they historically found themselves facing skeletal undead, allowing them to carry a slashing weapon to use against undead of a more solid make.

Another Nexian innovation is a weapon that resembles a Dwarven Waraxe, visually, but has a hammer-like head on one side, instead of another axe-blade. A proficient user can switch the weapon around as a move action to strike either with the slashing battleaxe side, or the bludgeoning heavy mace side. The weapon weighs 8 lbs, and is treated as a Martial weapon for those native to Nex, and an Exotic weapon to those from other lands. This is not a double weapon of any sort, as both striking surfaces are at the same end of the weapon, it is simply an axe that can be used as a mace, for those times when something needs to be bashed, instead of sliced.

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Secrets of the other Legions; (teaser-y stuff)

The Pale Legion is known to have access to forms of incorporeal undead that are not well-known outside of Geb, with weaker forms of shadow and ghost that serve primarily as scouts and spies being most prevalent among them. (Umbra have the appearance of shadows, but cannot pass through solid matter (although they are treated as fine creatures for the purposes of squeezing through tight places), and have no ability to inflict harm on the living, being able to only ‘attack’ by flowing up onto a creature and attempting to cover it’s eyes, blinding it for as long as it remains ‘grappling’ the subject. The touch of flame causes harm to them, and a victim willing to bludgeon itself with a lit torch may well succeed in killing the hapless Umbra, which is primarily only sent to spy on others and report back. And the ‘lesser ghosts’ that are called alternately haunts, fetches or poltergeists? What of them?)

The Crimson Legion is known to enter battle behind a fractious horde of creatures that seem halfway between zombie and vampire, with ghoul-like temperament and savagery, but vampiric thirsts (and a vampire-like aversion to daylight). (These creatures would be based on the vampires from 30 Days of Night or I, Legend; strong, fast, tough, keen of sense, predatory of thirst, but not actually undead, although they would be tainted enough by negative energy that healing magic would be less effective on them, and positive energy channeling / turning would at least repel, if not significantly harm them.)

The Legion of Ash has its own secrets, and warriors hardened by necromantic experimentation are said to be on the cusp, walking between the worlds of the living and the dead. Wounds that should have struck them down fail to find purchase in their cold, grey flesh, and the forces of negative energy lend a dreadful strength to their blows. (Use Unfailing from Hollowfaust, Death Knights from Secret College of Necromancy and Moon Wraith Adepts from Green Ronin’s Arcana: Societies of Magic as inspirations. Living Warriors, Fighters, Barbarians and Monks enhanced by necromantic forces.)

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Awesooome!

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yoda8myhead wrote:
Awesooome!

Thanks!

Random other thought that only happened after I went to bed.

What happens to members of PC classes who get 'the treatment?' The 'shadow of the soul' isn't strong enough to retain PC class abilities, and so, while there is no hard and fast rule for exactly what becomes what, generally speaking, Fighter, Barbarian and (some) Monk levels become Warrior levels, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer and Wizard levels become Adept levels, and (some) Monk and Rogue levels become Expert levels. Paladin levels (and naughty, naughty people for finding this out) probably become Warrior levels, for the most part, but might also become say, 80% Warrior levels, 20% Adept levels, and a similar sort of mix might occur with Ranger levels. Bard levels can be a crapshoot, becoming Aristocrat levels, Expert levels and / or Adept levels. It's an inexact science. [The idea of Geb having an army of sentient skeletons with Fighter, Wizard, etc. class levels sounded like too much of a stretch. Becoming a sentient undead shouldn't be that easy, and since these bone soldiers are supposed to represent only the 'shadow of the soul' that is communicated with via Speak with Dead, and not the actual spirit of the deceased, giving this 'echo' full class abilities seemed excessive.]

If one uses the Eberron Campaign Setting's Magewright NPC class (and religious Adept) options, Sorcerers and Wizards (and perhaps some Bards) may become Magewrights instead of Adepts (and Clerics and Druids who become Adepts may gain a single Domain, chosen from Death, Evil, Magic, Strength and War (favored weapon - scythe)). Alternately, the Divine and Arcane Adept variants from The Game Mechanics 'Temple Quarter' could be used instead, to break down the differences between the two types of spellcaster.

The soul of Cleric of Urgathoa that hoped to transcend this and sacrificed himself on the Black-Wrought Altar went screaming to his regularly scheduled afterlife, leaving behind only a 5th level Adept that was no more than a shadowy echo of his former self. Any hopes that it was a way to avoid escaping the life of flesh and suffering without either amassing the experience and power necessary to attain lichdom, or petitioning (and becoming endebted to, and perhaps even enthralled to) one of the already-undead lords of Geb to transform them into a ghoul, vampire, etc. were dashed by this young Cleric's dramatic failure.

Even lacking this 'quick fix' solution, the church of Urgathoa is surprisingly well-represented in Geb, despite it's low population, as Urgathoan clergy have a predisposition to avoiding death through undeath. While only a rare few are liches, clergy who have made the transition to ghouldom, embraced the existence of the vampire, or had themselves ritually mummified also exist (with ghoul being the most common choice, for reasons of tradition, as well as ease of attainment). As a result, despite having traditionally smaller congregations and churches than the other major Gebbite faiths, to Nethys and Zon-Kuthon, both more popular among the living, the Urgathoan church benefits from having clergy that never get around to dying.

Bone Soldiers, like mindless Skeletons, retain their ability to see, hear, smell, tell when they are being touched, etc. despite their lack of eyes, ears, noses and nerve endings. Going one step further, and quite unlike a Skeleton, a Bone Soldier that could vocalize in life retains the ability to do so in undeath, allowing human(oid) Bone Soldiers to speak normally, albeit in echoing, sepulchural tones. Also unique to the Bone Soldier, those capable of extreme sensory performance retain those abilities, whether it be the keen eyesight of the vulture (stats as an eagle) or the keen Scent of a hyena. As a result, a patrol of Bone Soldiers on the frontier with Nex may well be seen with skeletal hyena snuffling around ahead of them, and spurred on in the pursuit of living by the laughing barks of their 'hounds.'

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Examples of the templates used to make an encounter, in this case a border patrol of relatively newly created Bone Soldiers (1 3rd level Warrior as patrol leader, 4 1st level Warrior troops, the leaders Bone steed, a single Bone hyena tracker and their five Skeleton 'squires').

Bone Soldier patrol
Bone Soldier skirmishers (formerly human) Warrior 1 (2): CR 1; Medium Undead; HD 1d12+10 (16 hp); Init +5; Spd 20 ft.; AC 17 (+1 Dex, +2 natural, +4 splint armor), touch 11, flat-footed 16; BAB/Grp +1/+2; Atk Scimitar +3 melee (1d6+1 S/18-20) or composite shortbow +2 ranged (1d6+1 P/x3); Full Atk 2 claws +3/+3 melee (1d4+1 S/x2) or scimitar and kukri +1/+0 melee (1d6+1 S/18-20 and 1d4+1 S/18-20); SQ darkvision 60 ft., undead traits, damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, immunity to cold, lesser rebuke; SV Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +0; AL NE; Str 13, Dex 13, Con -, Int 9, Wis 6, Cha 10.

(Before receiving the Bone Soldier template, this human had Str 13, Dex 11, Con 10, Int 11, Wis 8 and Cha 12)

Skills and Feats: Ride 4 (+5), Improved Initiative (B), Two-Weapon Fighting (B) and Weapon Focus (scimitar).

Possessions: Splint mail, masterwork scimitar, masterwork kukri, composite shortbow, quiver with 20 arrows.

Bone Soldier archers (formerly human) Warrior 1 (2): CR 1; Medium Undead; HD 1d12+10 (16 hp); Init +5; Spd 20 ft.; AC 17 (+1 Dex, +2 natural, +4 splint armor), touch 11, flat-footed 16; BAB/Grp +1/+2; Atk Scimitar +2 melee (1d6+1 S/18-20) or composite longbow +3 ranged (1d8+1 P/x3 P); Full Atk 2 claws +3/+3 melee (1d4+1 S/x2 claws), scimitar +2 melee (1d6+1 S/18-20) or composite longbow +3 ranged (1d8+1 P/x3 P); SQ darkvision 60 ft., undead traits, damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, immunity to cold, lesser rebuke; SV Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +0; AL NE; Str 13, Dex 13, Con -, Int 9, Wis 6, Cha 10.

Archer
Skills and Feats: Ride 4 (+5), Improved Initiative (B), Point-blank Shot (B, not counted into above statistics) and Weapon Focus (composite longbow).

Possessions: Splint mail, scimitar, kukri, masterwork composite longbow, quiver with 20 arrows.

{Bone Soldiers tend to follow either a skirmisher track or an archer track, depending almost entirely on which sort of soldier the Ivory Legion is most in need of at the time of their creation.

Bone Skirmishers learn Weapon Focus (scimitar), Two-Weapon Fighting and Dodge as their first three feats.

Bone Archers learn Weapon Focus (shortbow), Point Blank Shot and Rapid Shot as their first three feats.}

Bone Knight patrol leader
Bone Soldier (formerly human) Warrior 3: CR 3; Medium Undead; HD 3d12+10 (28 hp); Init +5; Spd 20 ft. (can’t run); AC 23 (+1 Dex, +2 natural, +8 full plate armor, +2 heavy wood shield), touch 11, flat-footed 22; BAB/Grp +3/+4; Atk Scimitar +5 melee (1d6+1 S/18-20) or composite longbow +6 ranged (1d8+1 P/x3); Full Atk Atk Scimitar +5 melee (1d6+1 S/18-20) or composite longbow +6 ranged (1d8+1 P/x3); SQ darkvision 60 ft., undead traits, damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, immunity to cold, lesser rebuke, summon steed; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +1; AL NE; Str 13, Dex 13, Con -, Int 9, Wis 6, Cha 10.

Skills and Feats: Ride 6 (+7), Improved Initiative (B), Weapon Focus (composite longbow, B), Point-blank Shot, Mounted Combat

Possessions: Full plate armor, heavy wood shield, masterwork scimitar, masterwork composite longbow, quiver with 20 arrows

Summoned Bone Steed
Bone Soldier Heavy Warhorse: CR 3; Large Undead; HD 4d12+15 (39 hp); Init +6; Spd 50 ft.; AC 17 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, +3 armor), touch 11, flat-footed 16; BAB/Grp +4/+8; Atk hoof +8 melee (1d6+4); 2 hooves +8/+8 melee (1d6+4 B/x2) and bite +3 melee (1d4+2 B/x2); SQ darkvision 60 ft., undead traits, damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, immunity to cold, scent; SV Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4; AL NE; Str 18, Dex 15, Con -, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 4.

Skills and Feats: Listen 2 (+4), Spot 2 (+4), Improved Initiative (B), Run, Alertness

Possessions: Studded Leather Barding with armor spikes, Saddle

Bone Tracker
Bone Soldier Hyena: CR 2; Medium Undead; HD 2d12+10 (22 hp); Init +5; Spd 50 ft.; AC 18 (+3 Dex, +2 natural, +3 armor), touch 13, flat-footed 15; BAB/Grp +2/+4; Atk +4 melee (1d6+3 P/x2 bite); Full Atk 2 claws +4 melee (1d6+2 S/x2) and bite -1 melee (1d6+3 P/x2); SQ darkvision 60 ft., undead traits, damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, immunity to cold, scent, trip; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +3; AL NE; Str 14, Dex 15, Con -, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 4.

Skills and Feats: Listen 0 (+2), Spot 1 (+3), Survival 1 (+1), Improved Initiative (B), Alertness

Possessions: Studded Leather Barding with armor spikes

‘Squires’
Medium Skeleton (5): CR 1/3; Medium Undead; HD 1d12 (6 hp); Init +5; Spd 30 ft.; AC 15 (+1 Dex, +2 natural, +2 heavy wood shield), touch 11, flat-footed 14; BAB/Grp +0/+1; Atk Scimitar +1 melee (1d6+1/18-20 S), longspear +1 melee (1d8+1 P/x3) or claw +1 melee (1d4+1/x2 S); Full Atk Scimitar +1 melee (1d6+1/18-20 S), longspear +1 melee (1d8+1P/x3) or 2 claws +1 melee (1d4+1/x2); SQ darkvision 60 ft., undead traits, damage reduction 5/bludgeoning, immunity to cold; SV Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +2; AL NE; Str 13, Dex 13, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1.

Skills and Feats: Improved Initiative (B)

Possessions: Scimitar, longspear, heavy wooden shield.

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After using the template, I noticed that I hadn't fully thought out the 'claw attack' thing as applied to creatures that logically wouldn't be able to use it, such as skeletal Heavy Warhorses. :)

I'll also need to modify the final template to clarify that the 'lesser rebuke' feature only is available to Bone Soldier templated creatures who had higher than animal level Intelligence, as I hadn't intended for Bone Warhorses or Bone Hyenas to be able to rebuke/command mindless skeletons (or bolster themselves, or whatever)!

Fun to see what sort of bugs shake themselves out during use.

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

Ever thought about a career writing for Wayfinder?

:D

Silver Crusade

^
I agree. I could see Set's ideas as part of a Pathfinder Companion on Geb, or even unfolding as part of an Adventure Path.

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Couple of errors.

First of all, when applying a template, the first thing you have to look at is the creature type...undead.

You then add or subtract numbers based on that. Also, it is a static bonus, you don't go changing progressions, because there IS no progression.

Undead have good will saves. For some reason, you switched it to Moderate...and you gave them good Fort saves. Undead have poor Fort saves because they don't living bodies and are never subjected to the stress thereof. There are very, very few Fort saves undead ever have to make. I know you are trying to make a 'soldier' format, but even a T-Rex Skeleton has a poor Fort save.

Also, undead have a poor BAB. If you want them to hit more often, then give them a bonus to hit based on hit dice! (this is how the high level bone knights in the Age of Worms are handled). Class levels add BAB by level, but all undead use 1/2 base Hit Dice otherwise, for class levels and normal hit dice (it replaces the normal, the same way d12's replace class and monster dice). IT's why living monsters are better then undead monsters.

you also use the word 'replace' with Nat AC, instead of 'modify'. A Dragon Bone Soldier with only +2 Nat AC?
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What you are doing is modifying an undead creature (template applies to undead type) and adding a subtype (bone soldier).

Give them an insight bonus = half their base hit dice, rounding up. This lets them hit without granting them extra attacks, and stays true to the undead type. (Age of Worms solution).

If you must increase their Fort save, just give them a flat bonus of +2, OR modify their Fort save by Cha (unholy Vitality?). IT's largely irrelevant.

Modify Nat AC by +2.

Give them natural weapons based on size. If you want to give a biped two claw attacks, then you also need to add in the appropriate feats to Multiattack.
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The logical weapons to use against undead are axes backed by hammers, or for two hands, a maul (slashing and bludgeoning, interchangeable). Against purely skeletal troops, flails (this especially among horsemen), morningstars and tetsubos (greatclubs) would predominate.

Adding studs to a shield won't increase the base bludgeoning dmg. You use a larger shield for that. Those are called 'bosses', and are basically used to defy sundering attempts (generally, slamming a weapon into a ball of metal can break the weapon). Its more likely the Nexian troops take the Improved Shield Bash feat, so they can get Shield AC and bash at the same time. Now, adding blades to a shield so that it is also useful against zombies, thats a way to make Nexians your quintessential shield fighters, especially if its their primary weapon (a torch in the off hand, maybe?). The shield would be the perfect way to make a 2 in one weapon, and not neccessitate carrying a mace and an axe and switching off.

Good job! You might want to expound on this with use of the Necropolitans, who are undead who do quite well in games of intrigue.

Also, while the undead clerics never die, it can be assumed that they kill one another to advance as readily as they do living people. Undead have no respect for life, and only the power of their superiors would keep them in check. All undead are going to strive to NOT be under control of others, and it's extremely likely they betray and kill one another with distressing regularity.

===Aelryinth

Dark Archive

Aelryinth wrote:
Couple of errors.

Heh. Wow, for cut-and-pasting out of the SRD Skeleton write-up, I sure did mistype some stuff!

Aelryinth wrote:
Undead have good will saves. For some reason, you switched it to Moderate...
SRD wrote:
Base save bonuses are Fort +1/3 HD, Ref +1/3 HD, and Will +½ HD + 2.

Good catch. They should retain the same Will save as normal skeletons, and, being Warriors, get a Good Fort progression from their class levels (something I didn't make clear).

I have no idea how I bollixed up that Will save thing... Moderate save? Ugh. And then I went and gave all the example ones in the patrol good Will saves anyway!

Aelryinth wrote:
Also, undead have a poor BAB. If you want them to hit more often, then give them a bonus to hit based on hit dice! (this is how the high level bone knights in the Age of Worms are handled). Class levels add BAB by level, but all undead use 1/2 base Hit Dice otherwise, for class levels and normal hit dice (it replaces the normal, the same way d12's replace class and monster dice). IT's why living monsters are better then undead monsters.

Yeah, this choice I made deliberately. These critters retain some of their fighting ability from in-life. It's kind of the entire point of the critters. If the 'standard undead format' doesn't play well with this, then that's a problem with the 'standard undead format,' which is a guideline, IMO, not a straightjacket.

Aelryinth wrote:
you also use the word 'replace' with Nat AC, instead of 'modify'. A Dragon Bone Soldier with only +2 Nat AC?

Pretty much cut-and-pasted from the SRD Skeleton. A dragon Bone Soldier would have none of it's armor-scaled hide, and be just bones (to make a dragon skeleton with a better AC, the rules from the Draconomicon, or the Bone creature template from the Book of Vile Darkness would be better choices).

I'm not in love with it, since it means those Bone Soldier wyverns and 'mammoths' will have NA of +3-ish, but I even advanced the chart a tiny bit over what normal Skeletons got, because it felt really weak!

Normal skeleton chart changes Natural armor to;
Tiny or smaller +0
Small +1
Medium or large +2
Huge +3
Gargantuan +6
Colossal +10

Aelryinth wrote:
Give them an insight bonus = half their base hit dice, rounding up. This lets them hit without granting them extra attacks, and stays true to the undead type. (Age of Worms solution).

As the *point* of this form of undead is to allow them certain NPC class abilities, including the BAB, saves, skills and weapon / armor proficiencies, making up kludge-y fixes to spoof the generic non-classed undead guidelines doesn't fit as well for me, although I see how some people might feel that anything listed under the type is immutable.

But the type also says nothing about undead being able to drain energy, assume gaseous form or cast spells, and yet we have undead who can do these things, and the game hasn't imploded, so I feel pretty comfortable with allowing certain types of undead to do things that aren't listed under their Type.

Aelryinth wrote:
Give them natural weapons based on size. If you want to give a biped two claw attacks, then you also need to add in the appropriate feats to Multiattack.

Again, taken straight from the Skeleton SRD. Is it kosher to allow a skeleton (or big cat, or warhorse, or bear) to make two attacks with it's primary weapon unpenalized in a single full attack action without taking the Multiattack feat? Dunno, but it's common as all heck in the Monster Manual, and I'm just walking in the 'footsteps' of the Giant Octopus, which gets to make *eight* attacks with it's primary weapons as a full attack action.

Despite being pretty inflexible on ditching the BAB and save modifications, due to the design intent of this undead to retain NPC class abilities, I do appreciate the catch on the Will Save, sympathize with the crappy natural armor bonuses for skeletal undead (check out that Young Adult Red Dragon Skeleton in the SRD, with it's sexy +3 natural armor bonus!) and the idea of making Bone Soldier into an Augmented Template that lies over the Skeleton template is a definite way to go, I just kinda hated the idea of having to overlay one template, and then go back and modify it by a second template everytime I wanted to make a Bone Soldier.

I might have to write it up as an Augmented Template as well (skeleton with mental stats/BAB/saves/skills/feats), just to offer that option, but would have to accept the base skeleton natural armor bonuses, which are even sadder than the ones I used. :)

Thanks for the critique!

Aelryinth wrote:
The logical weapons to use against undead are axes backed by hammers, or for two hands, a maul (slashing and bludgeoning, interchangeable). Against purely skeletal troops, flails (this especially among horsemen), morningstars and tetsubos (greatclubs) would predominate.

Yeah, I went with the axe-hammer option, since the average Nexian fighting-force of the day wouldn't necessarily know in a given fight whether their next foe was going to be a fleshy zombie or a bony skeleton, and would need to be equipped for both, preferably in a single weapon.

Where is the Maul from?

Aelryinth wrote:
Adding studs to a shield won't increase the base bludgeoning dmg. You use a larger shield for that.

I was operating under the assumption that replacing the 'spike' on a spiked shield with a blunter mace-head-looking dealie would make it 5 lbs heavier, increase it's ACP and could reasonably allow it to hit harder when slammed into someone. It's clearly not an option already in the game, but it didn't feel unbalanced.

Aelryinth wrote:
Its more likely the Nexian troops take the Improved Shield Bash feat, so they can get Shield AC and bash at the same time. Now, adding blades to a shield so that it is also useful against zombies, thats a way to make Nexians your quintessential shield fighters, especially if its their primary weapon (a torch in the off hand, maybe?). The shield would be the perfect way to make a 2 in one weapon, and not neccessitate carrying a mace and an axe and switching off.

Both the Improved Shield Bash and torch idea, and the bladed shield idea sound very cool. I'm positive that I've seen a bladed shield somewhere, but don't remember where...

Aelryinth wrote:
Good job! You might want to expound on this with use of the Necropolitans, who are undead who do quite well in games of intrigue.

I tried to stick to core information for the basic treatment, although the design of the Bone Soldiers, complete with the impalement on the Black-Wrought Altar was inspired by the Crucimigration of the Necropolitan (although the Bone Soldiers do not retain their original spirit, which proceeds to whatever afterlife awaits it).

If any place in Golarion makes sense to have Necropolitans, it would be Geb, and yet I'm not exactly in love with the critters, particularly for this specific place.

Requiring Gebbites who want to become undead to either attain the power and skill necessary to become liches, or to petition pre-existing vampires, ghouls, etc. to be granted undead status feels more intrigue-laden and dangerous, with alliances and betrayals and centuries-long debts of service to deathless masters who 'brought them across.' (And the inevitable attempts to get out of these obligations of service by killing one's 'beloved mentor,' naturally!)

The Necropolitan, to me, feels kind of like what it is, a cheap way to make an LA+0 undead for PC use. The Bone Soldier was designed to not work this way, as the character who becomes the Bone Soldier loses all class abilities and their original soul. Gebbite society already is broken down into ghouls, vampires, etc. and I'm concerned that another class of sentient undead who lack much of the visceral horror of the flesh-eaters and blood-drinkers would take some of the ugliness out of the nation. Some necromantic communities, such as Hollowfaust, seem almost clinically sterile, but Geb is an evil land run by creatures that devour the living and herd them like cattle, and I would prefer it stayed bad to the bone, and didn't get morally gray.

Necropolitans feel 'gray' to me, and while they'd fit neatly into dead-friendlier communities like Manifest or Hollowfaust, I don't want any moral complexity in Geb. I want monsters, blood-drenched and ravenous.

Aelryinth wrote:
Also, while the undead clerics never die, it can be assumed that they kill one another to advance as readily as they do living people. Undead have no respect for life, and only the power of their superiors would keep them in check. All undead are going to strive to NOT be under control of others, and it's extremely likely they betray and kill one another with distressing regularity.

Oh, I imagine that is an issue. Still, the local clergy of Zon-Kuthon are probably just as fond of the 'Klingon method of advancement,' and they don't have the advantage of never losing higher ranking members to age, illness, etc. In the end, the Urgathoan clergy are likely to regard their undead members as 'us' and the still-living residents of Geb (and, more commonly, every kingdom that isn't Geb) as 'them.' Too much infighting in this, the one place on the planet where they can exist openly, and even *rule* like this, and the living world could sweep them from history.

While they have their courts and intrigues, I'm sure all but the most insanely overconfident of the rulers of Geb are aware that the other 99% of the world would like to see their kind eradicated from the face of Golarion and that they have a very precarious sort of undead paradise here in Geb. If not for the threat of the Worldwound, it's not inconceivable that a new Mendevian crusade could focus on Geb...

Thanks again for the comments! Some stuff to think about, and back to the drawing board on the notion of making it an Augmented Skeleton template.

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