I'm the first in the group to bring forward a concept at all. If anyone else creates an "if it moves then smite the bastard!" type Paladin or an anything at all of Pharasma without discussing it with the rst of us, then where does the blame lie if we do not get along?
The trouble with this is that the player's guide specifically recommends worshiping Pharasma or taking archetypes that specifically oppose undead.
That said, if you can get the other players on board with your concept, then the group conflict will probably not be as much of an issue. You'll still be pretty limited in your abilities and struggle with attachment to the story. Seriously, your concept would work much better for literally any of the other APs. This is just the wrong one for it. (Is it too late to ask the DM to run a different one?)
Pretty much, yes. I know he has all the books for the AP now.
To be honest I am relishing the chance to play a difficult concept, perhaps representing a slightly more moderate sect that doesn't like to rock the boat too much and actively hunts down and captures troublesome undead so as to not bring attention to their doors (and by attention I do mean the previously mentioned "death by pitchfork"
There seem to be a number of ways I can hide the fact that any followers of mine have shuffled off the mortal coil: Thick robes for humanoids, gentle repose or even a rank or two in profession/craft: Taxidermy, not parading them through town etc.
Even IF you survive by wit and cunning, by the end of the second chapter you'll be saying "whats my motivation?, why am I involved in this?
Eliminating the competition so you can take his place.
Now that one I like! Playing the long game, only revealing my motives at the very end of the AP. Or maybe not even then, fading into the background, becoming a dark legend, only talked about in hushed whispers. Or as I like to call it: the Raistlin Majere plan!
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I'm the first in the group to bring forward a concept at all. If anyone else creates an "if it moves then smite the bastard!" type Paladin or an anything at all of Pharasma without discussing it with the rst of us, then where does the blame lie if we do not get along?
The one wearing the "everything holy, kill this guy" sign in the pharasma loving land? The one picking a character almost alway associated with villainy,and the devotee of an evil god?
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As someone who's played and run evil things and gotten away with it...
Assumptions. The townsfolk have them. Use that. Instead of naming your goddess when they ask, use a less common name. Pharasma is the Lady of Graves so why not call Urgathoa the Lady of Death? Pharasma is one of the main gods of Ustalav, no one will question. Honestly, how many commoners will know the difference?
Social contracts. The NPCs have them. The local bishop of Pharasma is not going to flame strike you in the town square if you're surrounded by people. Make friends, even if it's just the other PCs. Hang out with the townsfolk, get to know them. Let them learn the inconsequential details of your life, like your first dog Peaches. They don't need to know that after Peaches died you raised him as a zombie dog, they just need to know how much you loved him.
Subterfuge. Stealth checks. Making yourself indispensable to the party. Hiding things until you're alone. Disguises. Never underestimate the power of a doctor's mask as you push your cart of dead bodies through the streets, bodies you intend to raise.
But no one needs to know that. They'll see what they want to see and who are you to break them of that illusion?
If your DM is open to running a gestalt game to accommodate his players, perhaps he's open to a magic item or other device that would help accommodate your concept. Off the top of my head, how about a Cryptkeeper's Robe that allows you to seal willing undead inside. Later, as a a full-round action, you can open your robes and speak the creatures' names, at which time they come shambling out. The item has an hours-long cooldown time after the undead are released, so you can't just pop them in and out at a whim. Instead, you can bring them out for the "dungeon" portion of your day, then pack them in for the "town" portion. Not a super-powered item by any means, but it might help keep your character from derailing the game.
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Thanks for all the advice guys, even to the "don't do it" guys. Due to al the emphasis people have put on subterfuge I may make him cleric/ninja instead of cleric/necromancer. The ability to vanish as a swift action may just save my bacon if the locals don't swallow my lies.
Wish I could get that robe but the DM is insistent on no magic or masterwork items at the start of the campaign.
And I will keep you all posted on how this all goes, and thank you for the support Helaman.
I have decided to play a cleric (of Urgathoa, undead lord archetype)/necromancer in an upcoming gestalt Carrion Crown AP campaign, with a focus on creating undead and debuffing.
I have the crunch of the character worked out, but I need help with the fluff, particularly how to avoid the angry horde of villagers with lit torches and pitchforks?
Take bluff bonus via traits, take skill focus bluff. Dress in white, pretend to be a white wizard, an abjurer. Be friendly and pleasant, help out the townsfolk, use the dead for good! Do not become an arrogant spellcaster and overly obvious in your use of the dead.
Cleric ninja will be a total badass.
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P.S. Pharasma can kiss my bony undead raising butt!
Don't worry. If there is a Paladin in your party, you will be meeting her shortly.
Hahahahaha maybe!
Although, while Urgathoa is a dark rotting lady indeed, you can be a follower of her and be neutral (it is only one step away from her alignment). Praising the pallid lady, a conduit for her power, but not actually really dark and evil. An undead enthusiast, a lover of gluttony, but not the most evil character that ever walked Golarion.
Then if you did get murdered by the Paladin, without cause and while just being a nice-guy neutral, well, that isn't a very lawful or good thing for the paladin to do. You were on a bit of a dark path, in some pacts, but hadn't actually been corrupted or become "a bad guy". Wear that white (or slightly grey) cloak proudly!
Worse would be if the paladin got excessively preachy, and kept trying to convert you. Then again, paladins aren't tolerant social democrats. A neutral Urgathoan could, with some thought, defend his faith quite well. What is more natural than disease and death? Are undead truly so unnatural, or are they merely another type of creature, as natural as fey and as old. Ghoul rights!
I think a neutral upcoming master of undeath is a great addition to a party, as long as he doesn't turn too evil and has some respect for the party and the local folk (doesn't raise grandmothers to slaughter families).
I would never raise somebody's grandmother! Their stats would be awefull and the resulting undead would only have one or two HD (unless granny was actually a dragon!) Waste of good onyx... I mean because it would be wrong.
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Hahahahaha maybe!
Although, while Urgathoa is a dark rotting lady indeed, you can be a follower of her and be neutral (it is only one step away from her alignment). Praising the pallid lady, a conduit for her power, but not actually really dark and evil. An undead enthusiast, a lover of gluttony, but not the most evil character that ever walked Golarion.
Then if you did get murdered by the Paladin, without cause and while just being a nice-guy neutral, well, that isn't a very lawful or good thing for the paladin to do. You were on a bit of a dark path, in some pacts, but hadn't actually been corrupted or become "a bad guy". Wear that white (or slightly grey) cloak proudly!
Worse would be if the paladin got excessively preachy, and kept trying to convert you. Then again, paladins aren't tolerant social democrats. A neutral Urgathoan could, with some thought, defend his faith quite well. What is more natural than disease and death? Are undead truly so unnatural, or are they merely another type of creature, as natural as fey and as old. Ghoul rights!
I think a neutral upcoming master of undeath is a great addition to a party, as long as he doesn't turn too evil and has some respect for the party and the local folk (doesn't raise grandmothers to slaughter families).
THIS!! ^^
The ability to vanish as a swift action may just save my bacon if the locals don't swallow my lies.
Putting my DM hat on, I'd say that's no solution. If you get into a situation in a major AP setting where you've got to literally ninja vanish to escape the wrath of the locals, the damage to the story is already done; the lynching that may or may not ensue is incidental. The real issue is you've been run out of the town where you're supposed to be meeting NPCs, gathering clues, etc.
Wish I could get that robe but the DM is insistent on no magic or masterwork items at the start of the campaign.
Fair enough, but you might want to gather up that item and a few other solutions, drop them on his desk, and say, "most people seem to think my character's going to be disruptive to the campaign, so just as a time-saver, here are some ideas for stopping the bleeding if my character starts to be a problem." Then he can drop it as loot or permit you to build it with CWI later if he thinks it would help the game.
In my Carrion Crown campaign, I'm playing an evil character (a caster who draws power from the dark tapestry, no less), and I was careful to have this talk with my DM before the game started. I'm all for playing challenging characters, but challenge implies a risk of failure. You want to work with the DM to build a safety net in case your character does fail to adapt, particularly in the case of an AP, which is such an investment of time for the whole group.
Add me to the list of people eager to read about your reception in Ravengro!
Ok a few changes.
After discussion with all parties involved, nobody is playing a paladin this time, The guy who normally does is tired of playing them (6x in a row) and is going for something psionic apparently.
Also, I decided to stay with the Undead Lord/Gravewalker combo, but changed his race to Gnome, with the master tinker and pyromaniac optional racial traits. Starting at 2nd now (but still no MW or magic allowed).
I decided on Gnome because they are considered to be absolutely barking anyway, and eccentricities are pretty much their racial description! In our games all Gnomes are seen as crazy, if fairly harmless, tricksters, an assumption my guy is going to take full advantage of, because if he is (as people will believe) about to blow himself up, then he is not secretly animating his own personal army a few miles out of town!
We are due to start near the end of this month.
It's been a while so I'm Necroing this thread (yes that joke is awful but I had to make it!) We finally had our first game (more on the way) and a few of you asked me to post how it played out, so here goes.
Ok, we had a bit of a change in Character line up (remember this was Gestalt and 2nd level). We had:
1)A neutral human Gunslinger/Wizard (changed his arcane bond for the Arcane Bombers Bomb ability only). This was played by the guy who normally plays Paladins, but he seemed to enjoy himself.
2) A chaotic good Elven (plus some kind of celestial?) Bard/Fighter. Seemed able to dual finesse longswords, also added his dex to damage rolls (some kind of 3.5 collection of feats allowed this). Also the only good aligned guy in the party.
3) My guy, whom I called Reven Stryfe. A neutral aligned Dhampire, and after several more discussions I went back to my idea of a Cleric (Undead Lord of course)/Ninja. I decided to roleplay him as a bit of a hedonistic, dashing, and above all charming Dorian Gray type, and spoke with a spanish accent (more Inigo Montoya, Zorro and Puss-in-Boots from Shrek than Manuel from Fawlty Towers)
The DM allowed my corpse companion to be a 1st level Juju Zombie fighter, whom I named "Mr Gakh" and treated as my own personal bodyguard/manservant, a status that he hates, but knows he has little other option so is merely surly and sarcastic when given orders. The ruling on his description was that he looked "weathered" but human enough to avoid suspicion.
History-wise, he was raised by agents of the Cult of Urgathoa on behalf of an unknown patron (possibly his vampiric parent, he has never found out, given a fairly lavish lifestyle, given a gentlemans education, and a certain amount of prestige within the cult (more so since he became a cleric). Linking in with the campaign, he first met Professor Lorrimar many years before and he was impressed both by the professors obvious intelligence and the fact that he did not either recoil from him or fawn over him. The two of them developed a firm friendship over many years and Reven was able to furnish the professor with much information about both Dhampires and the Cult of Urgathoa.
When he received a letter reporting the Professors death, Reven commanded his cultists to pack his bags and ready a coach, somebody was going to pay:
"My name is Reven Stryfe. You killed my friend. Prepare to die."
I arrived at the Professers home with my two lackeys in the early afternoon on the day of his funeral. After unloading my luggage I dismissed the driver (cultist) and said that I would send word when I required picking up. With a curt "Get the bags, Gakh" I walked up to the house and knocked on the door.
The door was opened by a young woman, who had obviously been crying recently. I took this to be the Professors daughter, who had sent me the letter.
Me: (In a Spanish accent)Miss Kendra I take it.
Kendra: Yes?
Me: Good day. My name is Reven Stryfe. I was a long time friend of your father's. My condolences on your loss.
Kendra: Thank you. Come In.
I go inside, a struggling Gakh behind me. There is another mourner here, an Elf (the 2nd PC), who for some reason seems to be even more personable and charismatic than myself? We both get the feeling that something is "up" with the other.
After a while a third mourner joins us (yup, the remaining PC) a human weapon trader of the Professer's aquiantance. A weatherbeaten soul who seems confused at his invitation. He hardly knew the Professer!
With some additional mourners, we start the funeral procession. Gakh acts as a pallbearer. As we get close to the Pharasmian graveyard (which I in particular am eying nervously) we are stopped by an angry mob, thought my death by lynch mob had come early!
But no, they wanted to stop us from burying our friends body on holy ground because they thought he was a necromancer! The ringleader and Kendra start arguing. I step in.
Me: This funeral has been organised by your very own Priest of Pharasma. Do you think there is the slightest chance he would do so for anyone associated with necromancy?
DM: Diplomacy check!
Me: (rolls) 27
DM: Passed!
The crowd disperses, some giving me a filthy look, others looking relieved. The rest of the funeral goes without a hitch. We return to the house and to the reading of the will.
We learn of a cache of items hidden in the graveyard and decide to retrieve them under cover of night Night-time and in a graveyard, that's probably a good idea right? Partway through the graveyard we are ambushed by a group of zombies who burst out of their graves around us.
Gunmage: Shoot at the nearest Zombie! (Drops it)
Elf: 5' step, two attacks on the nearest zombie (drops it easily)
Mr Gakh: Its clobbering time! (gets into a boxing match with a zombie. Two low level DR 5 monsters, this could have taken a while!)
Me: The power of Urgathoa compels you! (the nearest zombie stops in mid lurch and looks at me, so indeed does the rest of the party)
The rest of the zombies are dispatched easilly. The elf rushes in to finish the last zombie before I stop him, saying that it's under my command. He seems a little confused by this, but relents.
My new minion would soon prove himself quite usefull, and that tale shall soon be told.
We three PC's and my two undead minions crept into the crypt where the items were hidden. Gunmage found a single set of tracks leading up to a large casket. Steeling ourselves, I commanded the minions to open the casket (we living ones had backed away slightly.) We were attacked by something, which I identified as a construct created by necromancy. We also had to make will saves, the elf and I both passed but the gunmage was dazed for three rounds, which was a pity because he was the only person who could do any serious damage to it. I moved my zombie around the construct, deliberately provoking an attack of opportunity from it, and commanded Mr Gakh to grapple the the thing, which thanks to the flanking bonus from my zombie, succeeded. After several unsuccessful attempts to damage the thing (immune to negative energy, critical hits, sneak attack damage) we just piled on the thing (Gakh grappling, the rest of us assisting) Gunmage snapped out of his dazed state and blew the things head off!
Grabbing the hidden cache of items from the casket, we made our way out, into the graveyard, reburied the zombies that had previously attacked us, and commanded my latest minion to bury himself back in his old grave, Gakh could still pass for living but not this thing.
To be continued
Excellent, glad the game is going well for you. You my friend are going to prove the nay-sayers wrong. After reading the posts in this thread I realize most of these people are living in a world of black and white, things change drastically when you start living in a world of grey~
Ok first keep all your undead in a portable hole.
was i the only one who read the title as "how can i avoid a lich mob"?????
Nice idea. The portable hole and bags of holding troop transports are something for later on, perhaps when I get out of the backwater hamlet and somewhere with a proper magic shop.
Apparently there will be liches applenty later on. So there is no avoiding the liche mob.
Thank you Sarf. I think when some people think of clerics of evil deities they think of sacrificial altars, killing virgins, and world domination. Urgathoa, while distastefull to many, is one of the least confrontational evil deities around, and has no real mandate to her clerics apart from indulge themselves, and my guy certainly does.
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First off: Nice! I'm playing an undead lord in another PA myself at the moment (Serpent's skull), and I'm also running carrion crown for another party.
Keep it stealthy, let the PC's (and possibly, if it is unavoidable, the NPC's, though this might not work due to the heavy presence of Pharasma) slowly learn more of your secrets. First you command an undead creature... Well, not evil in and of itself. I mean, free meatshield? Who (apart from a paladin) wouldn't approve? Later raising a monster? etc etc.
Also, make yourself invaluable to the party. Apart from the Bard/Gunslinger, I don't see much healing in your group.
I suggest that you (ask your DM if it's OK to) pick up the Variant Channeling: Undeath. You loose nothing, and heal undead +50% with channeling. THEN; remeber the Undeath Subdomain's replacement power: Death's Kiss: A creature is affected by negative and positive like it was an undead creature. RAW I think this doesn't come valid before lvl 4, but I discussed it with my DM and agreed that I could cast inflict and hold the charge, then touch a creature, unleashing both Kiss and the charge at the same time, healing the character (he also went further by allowing channeling to be used like that as well. And he later pointed out that I could have the undeath variant channel to heal even more).
Also, remember to play that one out. As a cleric, you receive your power through your faith. It isn't something you are granted for free, it's something precious. Ask the PCs to partake in a rite to "accept the blessing of -insert deity here-". After a tough fight, instead of asking "how many hp you are missing? Ok, I'll use so-and-so many spells and channels", ask them to gather around, have a short speach about the faith&etc, and then ask them to kneel/pray/whatever you want before healing them. This is also a very IC way of weighing which of them are repulsed by the idea of your god.
In any case, it's worth remembering that your powers aren't free, and since they are often very beneficial for the party, it's good to remind them every now and then that if they want your help, they need to respect the source. They might be suspicious of it when all's well, but trust me, in a dungeon, wounded, and with precious few supplies, anyone is willing to say a few words of prayer to get back on their feet.
Also, you -might- encounter undead, as you have already done. Especially in the later levels, the DM might not appreciate if you turn all undead-encounters trivial in a turn or two with command undead, so... Use it sparingly. Especially when/if you can use it to heal others. This is to say - you save DM's time if you regulate yourself instead of forcing him to buff encounters/counter your abilities just to make the encounters interesting and challenging. Not all might agree, though, and this is just a personal opinion (and sometimes it's better to take it slow instead of going all-out at the first sign of danger.
(Also, as a nice touch, Death's Kiss turns you kinda momentarily undead. I find it fun to kneel next to a char who's bleeding to death, touch him, and then describe how he feels air escape his lungs, heart stopping beating, etc, then wounds closing and dmg healing before he gasps for breath. In general - Even if your alignment is neutral, you are walking the edge, and with that, you should try to enjoy every moment of RP that this can bring to you).
I'd love to hear more of how the AP goes for you, so be sure to keep posting your advance!
The story continues.
Amongst the items we recovered was a kind of ouija board, which produces an Augury type effect by contacting the dead, though it's use requires several rounds of concentration and must succeed on a will save or be stunned, which the DM described as (me) levitating off the ground, my eyes turning white, and screaming for several seconds.
As I used my curious item to ask the late Professor questions, the Elf went to get some information on the prison fire that had occured over a hundred years before from the clerics of Pharasma, for some reason those guys still made me nervous!
During his trip around town there was a disturbance. A local woman had found a local monument daubed in blood, three letters, which we later found out to be the first three letters of the former prison warders wife, whom had also died in the fire. Regrouping with the rest of the party, we decided to wait by the monument that very night to see if the perpetrater would return to continue adding letters. Around one in the morning, we found who it was. Mr Gibbs, the man who had argued with Kendra outside the graveyard, walked up to the monument in a dazed state, his eyes appearing much as my own had when possessed by the ouija. He daubed a single letter on the monument, then left. We followed him back to his home, stole his weapon while he slept (a war razer) and left Gakh on stakeout duty, due in no small part to the fact that he does not sleep and can therefore keep tabs on him 24/7. We returned to Kendra's to rest up.
What we found there, shocked even myself to the core.
To be continued.
We returned to Kendra's to find the front door open. We rushed inside to find Kendra being strangled by the headless corpse of her dead father! Even by my standards I thought this was sickening! I called upon the powers of Urgathoa to take control of my deceased friend. Sadly she must have been away from her phone or my command fell on deaf ears, or it would have done if he still had any. The Gunmage riddled our mutual friend with a hail of gunfire, and he went down. I moved up to cast a cure spell on the now-unconscious Kendra, but the Elf knocked my hand away saying "Save your spells Cleric!" and healed her himself. Before I could protest, two more zombies stumbled out through a side door. Again I called upon Urgathoa, but this time she picked up. My new zombie successfully grappled the other and we dispatched it easily.
The fight over, I commanded my zombie to drag the bodies outside then to lie down and not move (in order to not freak Kendra out when she regained consciousness). Some guards arrived and carted the bodies away. I later heard that they encountered a lone zombie in the graveyard (my own that had become uncontrolled when I commanded the new one!)
The following morning, Kendra received a summons to a town meeting about the current crisis, and we all accompanied her. No sooner had the meeting commenced, the torches inside the meeting hall gutted then exploded, filling the room with smoke several small fires. The townsfolk panicked and ran. Enter combat!
Gunmage: I blow out one of the windows so we don't choke on the smoke
Me: Cast create water over one of the fires.
GM: Ok
Me: Hey, did Gibbs come to the meeting?
GM: Yeah, he's just piling out the door with the rest.
Me: Great! Gakh should be here too! He puts out a fire with his body.
Gm: (rolls some damage dice) Ok he takes...
Me: You know he's got fire resistance 10, right?
GM: ????...nevermind.
Elf: Puts out fire with his cloak.
GM: Ok next round. The fires spread. Two flaming skulls burst through the windows at the front of the hall.
Gunsmith: Throw an ice grenade into the centre of one of the fires (succeeds - one fire goes out)
Me: Command Undead!
GM: (Rolls) Ok, the nearest skull is under your command.
Me: It attacks the other skull...
GM: Doesn't appear to do much, anyway Elf...
Me: And Gakh attacks it with a flanking bonus courtesy of floating skull minion!
GM: Gakh puts his fist straight through the skull.
Anyway to cap the rest of the encounter, we put out the remaining fires. Knowing that I would never get the flaming skull past the townsfolk, I commanded it to batter itself to pieces against the ground. (I'm probably going to have to do something about the other uncontrolled zombie that's roaming the graveyard!) The town council approached us asking us to destroy the source of this evil in the prison ruins. We agreed and decided to rest up and prepare.
We also leveled up, to 3rd. For my feat, I took Undead Master. Now my ability to command the dead is going to get almost silly in the amount it can control, and I will tell you how silly after our next game, which is scheduled two weeks from today. But for now, thank you for reading.
Invest in a wagon and some ranks in handle animal. Stack your ... companions in the back like cordwood and then have a zombie clown car pile out when trouble rears its ugly head.
Nope. Got one better, requiring no ranks in handle animal.
Get the wagon.
Kill the draft animals.
Animate them as zombies and Command them.
No problems with driving, no problems with shying from smoke, blood stench, or loud noises, no problem with taking them into subterranean dungeons.
I had to use a permanent illusion on my undead mule (I just had a cart) to make it look, smell, feel, etc., like a living mule -- it cost me gobs of gold for the scrolls -- but damn, it was SO worth it.
And the party pally kept looking sidewise at my mule every time he detected evil. [He knew I was an evil priest, it was one of those 'get regular atonements cast' alliances of expedience. But the fact that even my MULE was evil just seemed to give him hives.]
I had a similar idea involving fast zombie mounts (Nightmares would be particularly usefull if I could find the corpses), but a cart or carriage would be even better, and could really cut down on travel times. Not only are fast zombies faster than their living counterparts (obviously) but they are immune to fatigue and exhaustion, and keep traveling all day and all night, if need be. I would have no problems with sleeping in the back with the minions, though my companions might.
never mind it not being on theme...
having undead guardians in the party makes it way to easy....they much be immune to so much the mod throws at the party
never mind it not being on theme...
having undead guardians in the party makes it way to easy....they much be immune to so much the mod throws at the party
Yes, but remember, we are only a 3 person party. Admitedly we are gestalt and one level above normal, but what we gain in individual power we lack in action economy. The minions may have immunities or resistances to various attacks, but they are not that powerful in terms of actions, I have tried to emphasise this in my posts, by putting them in supportive roles (soaking up attacks of opportunity, flanking, aid other actions, grappling etc.)
These are all usefull, but not gamebreakingly so.
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Undead have to be commanded though, are unintelligent, and generally quite fragile unless you can cough up something good - which means that while they make an excellent addition to the party's guards, they can never truly replace any living partymembers.
Also, while it would seem like a good idea (and it certainly is), I'd avoid sending the poor zombie/skeleton as a forwardscout to traps. It takes away much of challenge, and you'll just gather DM hate for repeatedly using the same solution over and over again.
Instead, if you - know - that there's a trap in there because there are burnmarks on the floor and several burned corpses of different ages... Sure, send the undead in, it's the logical thing to do, and sacrificing one to disarm a simple trap is kinda waste.
Find another guy who's kinda borderline disliked and figure out how to start a lynch mob after them.
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Ah, also - lvl 3. Remember to take the corpse of something relatively powerful you kill (or, alternatively, any coprse can do - Remember, skeletons keep their stats of str and dex with a few modifiers -) and make yourself a corpse companion.
Now, making undead is expensive, especially in the lower levels, and a corpse companion takes full 8 hours. What you want to do, is to make it bloody. And depending on your GM, if the multipliers work as they do
(that is, adding multipliers together instead of multiplying them. You know, how a scythe with a crit x4, when doubled, comes x5 instead of x8), you should be able to stack another template over it.
I recommend making it bloody. Bloody raises it's cha to 14, giving it 2 extra hp. In addition, it is now indestructible unless you face enemies channeling positive energy, holy water, or casting bless.
While flaming is an intresting choice (who could really resist a skeleton that burns eternally, regenerates, explodes on death for 1d6 fire dmg, and then re-assembles itself after an hour?), I'd recommend against it - it burns adjecent people, like your friends. Instead, cold (fluffed as "the death's cold embrace", instead of simply "it's frozen") makes sense and is less powerful (and less annoying. No explosion, no damaging aura effect). Or, if your Gm approves, make it four-armed. Also, always remember to discard any scimitars your skeletons are holding - they are a lot more powerful without them (hit more often, do more damage. Who the hell decided that skeletons should have broken scimitars as default???).
When stacking templates, it's useful to remember that at least the plague and fast variant zombies require a specific spell to be casted on creation. Since no actual rules are given for most templates, talk about it whit your DM - be sure to remind him that the corpse companion is your version of animal companion, but that unlike an animal companion, the only way to upgrade is to add templates, or find something with more racial hit dice. And since most things you find are humanoids with 0 racial hit dice... Besides, 6 hp is not that much.
I worked it out with my DM as the bloody + four-armed (mudra) template requiring the expenditure of a 2nd level spell (inflict moderate wounds), 2 first level spells (inflict light wounds) and a craft: Bones check. If you want a template for a four-armed bloody skeleton (counts as 3 hd, or 4 hd depending on how your gm wants to interpret the multiplier stacking), hit me with a pm ^.^
EDIT: As an after thought, and speaking from experience: NPC's might not take very well a silent fellow who walks around in robes, leaving bloody prints of skeletal feet all over the place, and the additional hands might be hard to hide. But, apart from that, useful fellow.
I have considered bloody as this would give me an incredible bang for my buck in regards to onyx spent, for that I will need to be able to cast Animate Dead (not the lesser version) which is still two levels away at the moment though. Any cleric who had a skeleton with any broken weapon or armour would cast mending or make whole to restore it. And just where is this four-armed template located?
I have considered bloody as this would give me an incredible bang for my buck in regards to onyx spent, for that I will need to be able to cast Animate Dead (not the lesser version) which is still two levels away at the moment though. Any cleric who had a skeleton with any broken weapon or armour would cast mending or make whole to restore it. And just where is this four-armed template located?
Hello, I've been aiming for the same undead lord urgathoa cleric for some time and am wondering how would you distribute your stats, could you perhaps post your character stats on this page to give some idea/advice possibly?
Also what items do you buy with your character?
It may be just me, in this AP i can't see how I could play an animator that doesn't end up on the side of the bad guys.
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http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/skeleton
Mudra Skeleton: Sometimes known as “whirlwind skeletons,” mudra skeletons are created with four or more arms, each capable of wielding a weapon. A mudra skeleton’s Dexterity increases by +4 (instead of +2), and it gains Multiweapon Fighting and Weapon Finesse as bonus feats.
There's a lot of skeleton templates. Remember that the corpse companion doesn't require onyx, just a ritual, though, so making it bloody is just to save time and get it +2 hp. Also, bleeding skeletons are kinda cool.
Even with mending, it's questionable, and a scimitar weights 4lbs, so you'll need some levels first.
Scimitar at +2, 1d6+2, and a claw at -3, 1d4+2,
versus
Two claws, both at +2, 1d4+2.
Depends on what AC you need to hit, of course, and the improved critical chance of a scimitar might tip the scales. On a four armed skeleton, though, the scimitar is plainly rubbish, since it doesn't benefit from weapon finesse.
Mechanics aside, I'm running Carrion Crown myself as well, and I kinda agree with Kydeem - then again, I'm running an undead lord who worships Zura in Serpent's Skull AP, and face the same kind of difficulties :P I don't want to get rescued, I want to form my own cult in here! ^.^
Then again, being able to study the secrects of your enemies and gather up knowledge from them works for an evil/borderline PC very well. I mean, perhaps, instead of **** SPOILERS **** and *** SPOILERS ***, he just wants the power/secrets/artifacts/macguffins himself?
It can work, and it can be very entertaining indeed, but just remind the other PC's/players to hit you with a bat if you ever start acting like one of the enemies ^.^
What ever you do, you should talk it through with your DM first, just to make sure he's all right with it. I hope you two will enjoy your undead lords as much as I have enjoyed mine ^_^
EDIT: That is, the template is from Classic Horrors Revisited. I heartily recommend buying it!
I have considered bloody as this would give me an incredible bang for my buck in regards to onyx spent, for that I will need to be able to cast Animate Dead (not the lesser version) which is still two levels away at the moment though. Any cleric who had a skeleton with any broken weapon or armour would cast mending or make whole to restore it. And just where is this four-armed template located?Hello, I've been aiming for the same undead lord urgathoa cleric for some time and am wondering how would you distribute your stats, could you perhaps post your character stats on this page to give some idea/advice possibly?
Also what items do you buy with your character?
We have not used a point buy system, instead we have been given epic stats: two 18's, the rest 16's, this is again because we are only a three person group. We also get two bonus feats instead of traits. (Also, Gestalt!)
Haven't really had the time to buy anything so far, only at third level, but I intend to buy a wand of cure light wounds to both help the party and harm any undead I can't control. Also either a magic weapon or armour created with the Create Reliquary Arms and Armour feat, for my own portable permanent fixture (yes I know that phrase is an oxymoron!)
My PFS character may be of more use to you: Charisma, highest stat, followed by Wisdom, other attributes, not that important.
Both characters have the selective channeling and shatter resolve feats, I love to blast/debuff.
It may be just me, in this AP i can't see how I could play an animator that doesn't end up on the side of the bad guys.
It's not just you, a few people have said something similar, and as I told them, while I never pretended to be one of the GOOD guys, at least I'm not one of THOSE bad guys. There are some cults of Urgathoa that have fallen under The Whispering Way's influence, that irks me. When they killed the only guy I have ever called "friend", that has me calling for their blood. Coupled with the fact that turning EVERYBODY into undead is not what Urgathoa is about (no more blood for vampires, no more flesh for ghouls, and no more life-force for those who crave it) So as long as both the GM and I give each other a little leeway, there is no reason why my Undead Lord cannot see this AP through to it's end.
....before bringing forth his own reign of darkness and destruction, bwahahahaha!
(Cue lightning!)
It's been a while, but I thought I'd let everyone know how the campaign was progressing.
Assaulting the prison turned out to be a complete doddle, thanks in part to yours truly. Every encounter seemed to increase the party strength, Command Undead turning the enemy mooks into my own personal meat/bone shields, and the party gun-bunny blowing away anything else!
In fact we were all rather supprised to we had had breezed through the whole dungeon without resting, and had accrued enough XP to jump from 3rd to 5th level. Hello Animate Dead!
The DM allowed me to level up my disgruntled minion Mr Gakh to half my cleric level (rounded down). I bought a reliquary buckler (+1) from my church, while there is no listed price for this, I suggested that the cost for casting a desecrate spell be added to the buckler's normal price, everyone said this was fair.
Thus ended the first module of the Adventure Path.