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Hello.
I was looking at the new Undead Lord Cleric Archetype presented in Ultimate Magic (and online).
In exchange for the cleric's second domain, she can acquire a skeleton or zombie companion with either max cleric HD or half cleric HD with the use of an alternate skeleton build.
Given that most enemies encountered are leveled humanoids (effectively 1HD when converted), how is an undead lord supposed to maintain a higher level companion?
In PFS or a home game, would you allow "off-screen acquisition" through story telling or perhaps through purchasing a corpse, or would you require the cleric to, in game, collect the corpse(s) to be used for the corpse companion?
If a cleric wanted to purchase a corpse, how would that transact?
If a player came to the table with a skeletal bulette or young dragon, how would you judicate?
Thank you.
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At level 1 : Normal Human Corpse
At Level 2 : Normal Human Corpse + Variant Skeleton (Bloody comes to mind) or Riding Dog or Lizard Folk or Pseudodragon
At level 3 : Cheetah, Leopard, or other 3 hit die animal
At level 4 : Bloody Riding Dog, or Giant Eagle, or Bloody Lizard Folk, or Worg, Unicorn, Pegasus, Bloody Pseudodragon, Ogre
At level 5 : Dire Wolverine, Dire Wolf, Rhino, Owlbear
At Level 6 : Winter wolf, or Bloody Cheetah or Bloody Leopard, or Tiger, or Minotaur
At Level 7 : Harpy
At Level 8 : Whooly Rhino, Bloody Unicorn, Bloody Giant Eagle, Bloody Pegasus, Ogre Mage, Bloody Ogre, Medusa, Dire Lion
At Level 9 : Lamia, Green Hag
At Level 10 : Bloody Dire Wolverine, Bloody Rhino, Bloody Dire Wolf, Rakshasa, Bloody Owlbear, Hill Giant
At Level 11 :
At Level 12 : Bloody Winter Wolf, Bloody Tiger, Bloody Minotaur, Stone Giant
At Level 13 :
At Level 14 : Dire Tiger, Bloody Harpy, Frost Giant
At Level 15 : Crag Linnorm, Fire Giant
At Level 16 : Bloody Whooly Rhino, Bloody Ogre mage, Bloody Medusa, Bloody Dire Lion, Cloud Giant,
At Level 17 :
At Level 18 : Ice Linnorm, Bloody Lamia, Bloody Green Hag
At Level 19 : Storm Giant
At Level 20 : Bloody Rakshasa, Bloody Hill Giant
Now,that's just what I found browsing through Bestiary I. Most of those things they should encounter over their adventuring career, at least one on the list. There's nothing for 11, 13, or 17, but that's more from me getting bored looking. There's nothing that stops a cleric from casting decompose corpse on a fallen enemy he can't yet raise up and then storing the bones in a bag of holding. A Undead Lord should be keeping bone sets his whole career, when he levels, he decides which one to replace his current companion with. Either a full HD skeleton, or a Bloody half-HD version.
Now,that's just what I found browsing through Bestiary I. Most of those things they should encounter over their adventuring career, at least one on the list.
But what if he doesn't? It seems weird to give a companion to a class that doesn't automatically level up with the character. Animal companions and Familiars aren't reliant on what the GM throws at the player.
In my home game, I would allow story-based acquisition (that is, not through a direct combat) - but not all the time and not with a perfect success rate.
This can be completely wrong but can't you just advance normal skeleton for example as cleric advances in levels ?
But what if he doesn't? It seems weird to give a companion to a class that doesn't automatically level up with the character. Animal companions and Familiars aren't reliant on what the GM throws at the player.Now,that's just what I found browsing through Bestiary I. Most of those things they should encounter over their adventuring career, at least one on the list.
A) Not all abilities are equal. A ranger has a lesser version of AC than a Druid, and get's less choice. A wizard's familiar doesn't have as many nifty abilities as a Witch's. Nothing says the Cleric has to have an AC that levels up the same way any of the others do.
B) They're dead. Think about that. They are dead. They don't grow and evolve or get stronger. They're dead. You just toss the old one away and get a new one when it runs down.
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In my home game, I would allow story-based acquisition (that is, not through a direct combat) - but not all the time and not with a perfect success rate.
I'd love to see the face on the insane GM who decides that players can find whatever corpses they want - when I make a skeleton using the corpse of an Advanced Giant Half-Celestial Half-Fiend Half-Dragon Half-Janni Two-Headed Ogrekin Wereboar at level 1.
4 hit points like any other level 1 corpse companion, but he's got STR 53, 10ft reach, he can fly, and he can attack with two bites as a standard action, each one doing 1D8+31 damage. 20AC, too, and you could even throw armor on him.
Given that most enemies encountered are leveled humanoids (effectively 1HD when converted), how is an undead lord supposed to maintain a higher level companion?So does that mean you cant effectively convert deseased party members into your companion?!
BUMMER!
You can, but they'll only have 1 HD.
sorry about reviving (raising?) this thread but I have a related question:
I don't exactly understand how the undead companion improves, can such a skeletal companion gain class levels, as example have a Honor Guard Cavalier companion?
No, the companion is just like an Animal Companion and follows those rules. Except, that the hit dice is fixed based on the skeleton (thus the list up top in the thread). Unlike a normal AC, it doesn't grow and expand as the master gains levels.
Corpse Companion (Su): With a ritual requiring 8 hours, an undead lord can animate a single skeleton or zombie whose Hit Dice do not exceed her cleric level. This corpse companion automatically follows her commands and does not need to be controlled by her. She cannot have more than one corpse companion at a time. It does not count against the number of Hit Dice of undead controlled by other methods. She can use this ability to create a variant skeleton such as a bloody or burning skeleton, but its Hit Dice cannot exceed half her cleric level. She can dismiss her companion as a standard action, which destroys it.
Actually, I misspoke earlier. As you can see, all you really get is a skeleton or zombie whose hit dice does not exceed your own HD. You don't get ti as an animal companion at all. It's literally just a raised skeleton/zombie whose HD doesn't count against your max HD. It also doesn't take any money to create it either though. Just an 8 hour ritual.
No,
Animal Companions follow the animal companion rules in the Druid section. Even sentient skeletal champions only have racial hit dice to start.
If you look at the beastiary, the skeletal champion has no class levels. You could add them to the companion, but then he wouldn't be a companion anymore. He'd be an NPC.
For animal companions, they get what the druid section says they get. For the special skeletal companion an undead lord gets, all he get's is what a skeleton template gives him, and nothing more. No class levels, just racial hit dice. That was the point of this thread, how to get stronger companions as you level up, since you can't add class levels to them.
Yep, if you had leadership, and the GM allowed it, you could take an undead cohort and it could have class levels.
Given that most enemies encountered are leveled humanoids ...Are they? Doesn't that depend on the individual GM?
yes, please be aware of the octopi pnp players too, don't hurt dem feelings! make that "Given that most enemies encountered are leveled humanoids or tentacle monsters"
XD