A little idea I came up with:
The Alter of Redemption is legendary. It is said that it was created by an ancient druid whose name is forgotten. Certainly, it is a force of which is whispered reverently by lore masters and protectors of nature.
All unnatural creatures who touch this altar have the chance to escape their corrupted forms. Should unintelligent undead with less than 5 hit dice come within 50 ft. of it, they are instantly slain. If they have less than 10 hit dice, than they must touch it to be destroyed but still get no save. Other undead may make a Will save (DC 33).
Any abberations who come within 50 ft. suffer a different effect. They must make a Will save (DC 33)or be brought back to their original forms, no matter what form this is. If they make the save, they retain their form--and also take 11d10 damage. They must continue to make this save until either destroyed, or restored. Some may not try to resist it. Others might.
The restoration is not without cost, though. Any 'restored' creature dies within 1d6 months. Some may prefer this end than the end they thought they would have.
Outsiders, on the other hand, are instantly sent back to their home plane, with no saving throw.
Mr. Kobold Cleaver...would this be an artifact? I like the idea but I did have some questions about how it works.
It's a great concept. I could see a campaign centered around an undead or aberration villain who seeks to undo his or her tormented existence, and is willing to do anything to find and use this altar, no matter the price. Perhaps the villain believes, correctly or incorrectly, that the altar will send them to a good afterlife, while if they were simply destroyed as they are now, the torment would continue in the next world. Perhaps they have a loved one they wish to meet again in their true form once more, and are willing to consign themselves to a short life (and their souls to eternal damnation) to accomplish this goal.
As promising as the concept is, the mechanics need work. For example, the only aberration that comes to mind as having any "original form" are mind flayers, and I know that I, personally, find that idea stupid and ignore that bit of canon. The rest is a bit clunky as well, but wouldn't be hard to bring around.
Finally, lose the bit about the "druid who's name has been forgotten." I can't even begin to express the annoyance I feel when I hear something like that. Because, you know, it's common for there to be no records or legends about people who did legendary things. Grrr....
It's a great concept. I could see a campaign centered around an undead or aberration villain who seeks to undo his or her tormented existence, and is willing to do anything to find and use this altar, no matter the price. Perhaps the villain believes, correctly or incorrectly, that the altar will send them to a good afterlife, while if they were simply destroyed as they are now, the torment would continue in the next world. Perhaps they have a loved one they wish to meet again in their true form once more, and are willing to consign themselves to a short life (and their souls to eternal damnation) to accomplish this goal.
As promising as the concept is, the mechanics need work. For example, the only aberration that comes to mind as having any "original form" are mind flayers, and I know that I, personally, find that idea stupid and ignore that bit of canon. The rest is a bit clunky as well, but wouldn't be hard to bring around.
Finally, lose the bit about the "druid who's name has been forgotten." I can't even begin to express the annoyance I feel when I hear something like that. Because, you know, it's common for there to be no records or legends about people who did legendary things. Grrr....
Okay, scawy dwagon!
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It's a great concept. I could see a campaign centered around an undead or aberration villain who seeks to undo his or her tormented existence, and is willing to do anything to find and use this altar, no matter the price. Perhaps the villain believes, correctly or incorrectly, that the altar will send them to a good afterlife, while if they were simply destroyed as they are now, the torment would continue in the next world. Perhaps they have a loved one they wish to meet again in their true form once more, and are willing to consign themselves to a short life (and their souls to eternal damnation) to accomplish this goal.
As promising as the concept is, the mechanics need work. For example, the only aberration that comes to mind as having any "original form" are mind flayers, and I know that I, personally, find that idea stupid and ignore that bit of canon. The rest is a bit clunky as well, but wouldn't be hard to bring around.
Finally, lose the bit about the "druid who's name has been forgotten." I can't even begin to express the annoyance I feel when I hear something like that. Because, you know, it's common for there to be no records or legends about people who did legendary things. Grrr....
Of course there are! You must simply visit the Office of Legendary Records! Once inside the main lobby, take a number. I hope you can read Roman Numerals!
Once your number has been called, you must see the clerk, and fill out the pertinent forms in quadruplicate; the yellow form is kept by the clerk, the white and blue forms you hold on to, and the pink form is to be thrown into the waste bin. If you do not throw it into the waste bin, there is a $10 penalty. The white and blue forms must then be notarized.
Once this has been done, you need to proceed to the Hall of Legendary Records Antechamber, producing both the blue and white forms. The blue form is to then be folded into a paper airplane and presented to the Hall of Legendary Records Antechamber Secretary, who will perform the toss-test. If the plane flies further than 12 feet, you may proceede into the Hall of Legendary Records. If your plane falls short, you must start from the beginning.
Once in the Hall of Legendary Records, you may search for the Legendary Record yourself, or request the aid of the Librarian of Legendary Records. I hope you kept your white form.
Present the white form to the Librarian of Legendary Records. The white form will then be filed by the Librarian of Legendary Records. You will then recieve back the pink form which you previously threw into the waste bin. If you did not throw it into the waste bin, and therefore cannot get it back, you must start from the beginning.
Once the Librarian of Legendary Records locates the Record you are looking for, you must file the pink form in the appropriate Legendary Records File.
You may stay untill closing time. Two weeks later, you will recieve your blue form in the mail, for your records.
And that's all there is to it!
*snip*
This kind of procedure would be enough to make a Vogan die.
I like the concept of the idea and it could be quite interesting in some situations. In a campaign I play in, there's a Waterdeep-sized 'district' of undead. I wouldn't mind digging out this alter and hooking it up to some horses. Muahaha.