New Campaign - Undead Players

[Cuup]

I'm at the brainstorming stage of planning my next campaign, and I think I've got a pretty cool idea:

Background:

The players will wake up together in a sitting room with no memories. There will be a note on a table, which will explain that the characters have all been brought back for a greater purpose. Further instructions will follow, but their immediate situation will ultimately be a mystery. The driving element to the campaign will be to discover who they are/were and who is really pulling the strings. It will be very heavily an exploration/mystery game.

The players will know ahead of time that they're making undead characters with amnesia. Everyone is Human. I want to make this a little higher-powered than 20-pt buy, so I think it would be 15-pt buy, with an extra +2 racial bonus to Cha (which replaces Con for determining Fort saves and bonus HP) as well as all Undead Traits.

I'm looking for feedback on any of this - has anyone ever played as Undead characters before? What worked/didn't work? Should I tack on extra undead stuff (DR /slashing, Channel Resistance, etc.), should I remove the +2 Cha, am I in the black as it is? What about elements to include in exploration/mystery settings? Any input will be appreciated!

[Zodiac107]

I´ve played in an undead campaign. It was a fun and little different experience. There´s really no need to tack on extra undead stuff. The power level will be mostly the same, with some exploitable tricks. Nothing really overpowering. The +2 CHA thingy is not really necessary, unless of hp is an issue. But there´s already many ways of obtaining a high amount of hp.

Also, there´s the Forsaken template from 3.5 that might be worth looking in to if you´re in to world of warcraft undeads. Forsaken template

[storyengine]

I like your plan. It will work fine.

[Qaianna]

One thing that you may need is how they're undead. Also, might have to also watch for how they'll handle healing -- that CLW wand is less 'cheapest healing' as it is '1d8+1 touch attack damage'. (And now I wonder if I should talk our cleric into grabbing a cause light wounds wand for just that.)

Otherwise, it sounds very interesting. Again, you might not need the +2 Charisma, since they may not need to pump Constitution, what with ... well ...

[Caimbuel]

Only hiccup I noticed DM'n something like this was CHA using class's got a little OP, the sorcerer in the group literally only cared about that one stat.

If the holy "scourge" learns of them it may be a short life, anything that hunts undead can really hurt.

Negative channeling can also be a tad better for undead as it heals friends/hurts enemies.

[Cuup]

Qaianna wrote:

One thing that you may need is how they're undead. Also, might have to also watch for how they'll handle healing -- that CLW wand is less 'cheapest healing' as it is '1d8+1 touch attack damage'. (And now I wonder if I should talk our cleric into grabbing a cause light wounds wand for just that.)

Otherwise, it sounds very interesting. Again, you might not need the +2 Charisma, since they may not need to pump Constitution, what with ... well ...

As Undead, they will not heal HP when they rest. In fact, the only ones who will need to rest at all are spellcasters, or other classes with reset-able resources. The fact that HP is so precious is why I was considering the +2 Cha, but Caimbuel brings up a good point with Cha-based casters. Maybe Toughness as a bonus feat would be a better rout for this reason. I want to make the campaign feel very Resident Evil, where the players must explore a grand castle while avoiding traps and defeating enemies. Potions of Inflict Light/Moderate/Serious Wounds will be common finds, though not enough to not have to ration. A Wand of one of the above would be considered a rare/great find.

[Goth Guru]

First off, the Pathfinder undead hate has got to go. Zombies and skeletons can be set to do tasks and won't just attack people.

Your PCs don't have to kill to survive and heal, right? They could find a human prisoner and help them escape. Maybe that's one of their goals.

Maybe the wand of cause light wounds is in the possession of a halfling, rogue, ghoul. If you befriend him rather than try to rekill him he won't keep escaping and wasting charges on himself.

[My Self]

Undeath is a feat away.

And it gives you +3 natural armor, +4 STR, +2 DEX, channel resistance 4, DR 5/magic and slashing, fire resistance 10, cold, electric, and magic missile immunity. Oh, and a slam attack for a larger sized creature, as well as +8 to climb, Improved Initiative, and Toughness.