Greetings fellow gamers
I have been invited on a campaign to play the role of the villain. Basically I will be part of a group (3 people total) that will be the antagonist of the main party (other people that we will have little to no interaction with (perhaps only at the end of the campaign)).
Character starting lvl is 3
So my first thought was to build an Antipaladin and to create better synergy I want the race to be undead. But here come the first difficulty.
Undeads (and templates that make one undead) aren't really catered towards players and that they are destroyed once the hit 0 hp.
After some research I decided that a bloody skeleton is the best template for a PC but a) i have trouble making it intelligent and b) Am I reading right that it sets Cha to 14? If my Cha is 20 will it revert to 14?
Anyways Can you think of a better race/template(remember it has to be undead and obtainable at lvl 3)
So far I have thought of Aasimar (+2 str & +2 cha Variant) as a base then Skeletal Champion template followed by bloody skeleton (for a CR +2). This nets me the deathless ability and intelligence.
Alternatively if the above is illegal normal skeleton template with the magus and bloody skeleton template on top(for a CR +2)
What are your thoughts?
Bonus Question: Is there a way to hide the fact that the char is undead? To protect against turn/control undead?
Vampire? (high Charisma) ; perfect choice for anti-paladin?
Vampire? (high Charisma) ; perfect choice for anti-paladin?
Vampire has a lot of Weaknesses I have to work around. This character must be playable as we will have to go on adventures to mess the plans of the good guys. But nevertheless you have given me some food for thought I will try and see if I can work around those weaknesses.
Also Graveknight seems to be perfect for what I have in mind... any reason not to make one? Graveknight antipaladin 1 seems to be perfect (perhaps bonded on Armageddon plate)
you can't be a (bloody) skeleton with antipaladin levels because the template removes any class level
for intelligent undeads that can level up you should use non-mindless templates like skeletal champion or zombie lord
@ArchAngelAzrael>> Well, sure vampires have some specific weaknesses but... they've got great strengths and synergy bonuses as well with the anti-paladin class.
Thwarting your good guys plans? --> employ Dominate Person by gaze attack. ; do your adventuring at night, if you're raiding a dungeon for loot, it doesn't really matter what time it is when you're underground. ; depends on the leeway your DM gives on the amount of time a vampire needs to rest in the campaign setting world.
Also, down to 0 hitpoints? no problem... you're not destroyed, just gaseous form until you've rested. Want to travel long distances... take your coffin along with you in a wagon with some npc mercenaries that guard it during the daytime.
Need more flunkies... spawn some vampire spawn minions... ; preferably tapping NPC's that can do things for you.
Defend your haven/stronghold? Have lead or steel pipes go through all sorts of rooms with holes drilled in them --> easy gaseous form escape route... where the goody two shoes can't follow.
I suppose the pro's would outweigh the con's/weaknesses in this case.
Graveknight would also fit well.
Yea Vampires would make for a strong Antipaladin. will have to Talk with the Gm for what I can expect to encounter to see if the concept is viable
Graveknight is awesome but it needs 5hd first so no dice there
@Bearserk wow never would have thought of that will look more into it!
@Pizza Lord damn... that makes adding bloody impossible I don't think the DM would roll with that
@Entryhazard well bloody looks harder and harder to use :P
To sum Up at lvl 3 my best bet is Vampire or Ghoul. Graveknight is awesome but needs lvl 7 (any lops around that?).
EDIT: Sadly vampire template needs 5HD as well so that's out
@Pizza Lord well yea there is always that way.
So Monsters as PC Ghoul is the safest bet right now with 3 feats locked to get old as dirt
If you can get the Dm to okay some light 3.5 pilfering, the Necropolitan template was great for undead PCs. Letting 3.5 stuff in can open the floodgates a bit though, so it might be a hard sell.
Failing that, there's always the humble Dhampir. Plus they're bringing out a new horror-themed book with vamp and ghoul options.
Remember that being turned in a ghoul/ghast makes you loose all the memoeries and caster level
also, for a CR4, a Ghoul/AntiPaladin 2 is betther than a Ghast without levels
At this point a good option could be to play as a ghoul considering it a level 2 character (level 1 if you use the Monsters as PCs rules) and start adding AP levels from there. Also there are some Feats for ghouls that can improve your durability and mobility
@Maw Tyrant he does not allow for 3.5 or 3rd party materials sadly but that's ok.
@Entryhazard Yea Ghoul is looking better and better even if I have to sink 3 feats its CR 1 so it is only 1 lvl behind (one that will eventually not matter any more) and it gives good stats bonuses +2 str, +4 dex, +2 int, +4 wis, +4 cha.
For Ghoul/Ghast where are you getting those stat bonuses? A character who dies rises as a Ghoul CR 1... wouldn't that use the entries stats?
Ghast would make you much stronger, +4 to ALL ability scores, and a +2 to Natural Armor. Advanced Creature CR+1, making you a CR 2. You will also gain the Stench ability along with your paralysis affecting elves.
JuJu Zombie; they get to keep all class levels. or if the GM limits you things that are normally available to PCs, then you could use the Knight of the sepulcher archetype which gradually gives you undead immunities, and turns you into a full undead at 20th lvl.
Well the main problem is that if I ever reach HP 0 with most undead its game over (at least at low lvls right?). Undead that have ways to avoid destruction have other problems making them unobtainable for a lvl 3 char (like needing 5 HD, or turning int to - ,or having to sink 3 feats etc).
@Tyrant Lizard King Yea Ghast would be even better (as the stats would be +6str, +8dex, +8wis, +8cha crazy right!) and even with 1 lvl that would make for a strong antagonist especially if he survived till lvl 2. Unfortunetly the stench ability would require another feat to hide (civilized ghoul I think) so i would have to wait till lvl 7 before taking power attack or any other feat realy. Playing undead is hard :P
edit: Forgot to answer your question. The stats on all monsters are calculated using the common array (10,10,10,11,11,11) so to calculate the stats bonuses you subtract 10 from the monsters stats and if its an odd number subtract 1 again. Its in the monsters with class lvls I think.
@Nathan Monson Juju is nice and all but it doesn't cover the destroyed at 0 HP part
Have you considerex the knight of the sepulcher archetype? Think of it as vfowing into your deathknight status.
I would go for dhampir as well.