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Hi there.
From time to time I come up with some ideas. This one should actually went to a publisher, but RL takes away so much of my free time, that I actually can't take on any projects, because I couldn't finsih them. Well, longs story short, this is for you to enjoy (or not - critique's always welcome).
I playtestet it once, which was pretty cool. I don't know, though, if the SR is a bit over the top or neccessary at all. I totally don't know if this is balanced, but I needed something to scare my high-level pc, and this the soulswarm has done pretty well... :)
A ghostly mass of intermingled bodies glides towards you. The faces of dozens of individuals distorted in agonizing pain.
XP 153,600
NE Huge Undead (incorporeal swarm)
Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense, Perception +23
DEFENSES
AC 33
hp 216 (28d8+90)
Fort +15, Ref +12, Will +19
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal;
Immune undead traits, swarm traits; SR 29
Weaknesses resurrection vulnerability
OFFENSE
Speed fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee swarm (5d6 negative energy plus energy drain)
Space 20 ft. maybe bigger?!
Special Attack Desperate Cacophony, Death Vision
STATISTICS
Str -, Dex 20, Con -, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 18
Base Atk +18; CMB -; CMD -
Feats Blind-Fight, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Toughness (5 left)
Skills Fly +36 [28 ranks plus Dex-Mod +5 plus Class Skill], Intimidate +20 [16 ranks plus Cha-Mod +4], Perception +23 [18 ranks plus Wis-Mod +2, plus Class Skill], Stealth +36 [28 ranks + Dex-Mod +5 plus Class Skill]
Languages Telepathy 100 ft.
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure none
Desperate Cacophony (Su) The wrongfulness and tragedy involved in the death of the souls make them so sad, angry and desperate, that they start wailing and screaming as soon as they feel any signs of life nearby. The wailing fills the air in a 20 ft. radius, making concentration difficult, much like the spell, distracting cacophony (from Ultimate Magic), but with a slightly more difficult DC. Casting a spell in this area requires a concentration check (DC 20 + level of the spell being cast).
Death Vision (Su) The moment a soulswarm is finally put to rest, the creature which killed the swarm gains a vision of the moment of death of the souls. This vision is so intense, that the creature becomes shaken for 24 hours, if it doesn't succeed on a Fortidude Save (DC25). If the save succeeds, the shaken condition last for 10 minutes only.
Resurrection Vulnerability (Su) A resurrection cast on a soulswarm reduces its size by one category, a minimum of Medium. A true resurrection destroys it instantly.
Sometimes, when dozens of people die at the same time because of the same reason, be that a human made event or a natural desaster, their souls bind together to overcome their grieve and form a soulswarm. The same is true if people die in a massacre, where the wrongfulness and injustice of the act has the same effect.
In some cases, if the relatives and survivors honor those dead, the forming of such a swarm can be prevented from happening. But if the dead are just being left behind without proper burial, a really frightful and horrendous creature comes into existence.
A soulswarm is a flying intermingled mass of dozens of souls, which claw out and scream at the living. Being an undead creature, a soulswarm doesn't need to breathe, so it can also be found underwater.
The soulswarm presented here is a typical example of its kind. Depending on the kind of death the souls experienced, a soulswarm may have other powers as well.
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Other than being very difficult to fight/kill, the creature doesn't have a lot of interesting abilities. Maybe they could have different abilities based on a certain emotion or cause of death? Or they could have different abilities based on certain powerful souls that are part of the swarm.
Also, how do these creatures relate to ghosts? Can you make out a spokesperson among the swarm that can be talked and reasoned with? Can the creature be put to rest by other means than destruction? Finding an individual soul that is part of a soul swarm could be an interesting quest. Destroying a swarm usually disperses the creatures. Maybe individual ghosts that are captured by the swarm could be set free?
The stat block is still a bit rough. A few observations:
- Why is the size huge? Swarms normally use the individual creature's size (despite occupying several squares).
- Resurrection has a casting time of 1 minute.
- Does the creature have a hive-mind?
- What is the DC for energy drain?
- Maybe a creature killed by the swarm joins the swarm (cannot be raised unless the caster succeeds at a caster level check)?
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Other than being very difficult to fight/kill, the creature doesn't have a lot of interesting abilities. Maybe they could have different abilities based on a certain emotion or cause of death? Or they could have different abilities based on certain powerful souls that are part of the swarm.
Also, how do these creatures relate to ghosts? Can you make out a spokesperson among the swarm that can be talked and reasoned with? Can the creature be put to rest by other means than destruction? Finding an individual soul that is part of a soul swarm could be an interesting quest. Destroying a swarm usually disperses the creatures. Maybe individual ghosts that are captured by the swarm could be set free?
The stat block is still a bit rough. A few observations:
- Why is the size huge? Swarms normally use the individual creature's size (despite occupying several squares).
- Resurrection has a casting time of 1 minute.
- Does the creature have a hive-mind?
- What is the DC for energy drain?
- Maybe a creature killed by the swarm joins the swarm (cannot be raised unless the caster succeeds at a caster level check)?
I second all of the above.
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Other than being very difficult to fight/kill, the creature doesn't have a lot of interesting abilities. Maybe they could have different abilities based on a certain emotion or cause of death? Or they could have different abilities based on certain powerful souls that are part of the swarm.
Also, how do these creatures relate to ghosts? Can you make out a spokesperson among the swarm that can be talked and reasoned with?
Yup, this creature was intended to be hard to fight, that's why I decided to have only those abilities above. It's one of those creatures where you can built a story around and which you usually try to foreshadow. It's not a creature for a random encounter.
I thought of it more as a mindless creature, not as single one with different individuals, but this might be an idea to explore more...What kind of additional abililties do you have in mind the swarm should have?
Can the creature be put to rest by other means than destruction? Finding an individual soul that is part of a soul swarm could be an interesting quest. Destroying a swarm usually disperses the creatures. Maybe individual ghosts that are captured by the swarm could be set free?
Other means to put it to rest sounds like a great idea? If I think of my example in my campaign: villagers have been herded into their small village temple, locked inside and the building was put on fire. All villagers died... If you take this, it could be either done with rebuilding the temple or make a proper burial site out of the ruins. Things like this could easily be done and should have something to do with the kind of death the souls experienced. You're right, this should've been worth mentioning in the entry!
The stat block is still a bit rough. A few observations:
- Why is the size huge? Swarms normally use the individual creature's size (despite occupying several squares).
Well, I needed a huge creature for my campaign and didn't check it before posting. Maybe I only had the Undead-Type in mind while doing the size. You're right when it comes to a swarm. But this can easily be fixed. But I would still go with huge.
- Resurrection has a casting time of 1 minute.
Yes, which makes it even more difficult.
- Does the creature have a hive-mind?
No, not really. You can't communicate with it. Maybe I should lower it's INT because of this. If you try to communicate, you only hear maddening screams and shouts and crying, etc...
- What is the DC for energy drain?
Accodrding to Bestiary1 it should be:
Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 draining creature’s racial HD + draining creature’s Cha modifier). Would be DC28- Maybe a creature killed by the swarm joins the swarm (cannot be raised unless the caster succeeds at a caster level check)?
This is a cool idea, I like that!