This gold ring inscribed with Mystical Runes and a set with a gemstone is one of Nine Rings of Power, those who wear this ring cease to physically age, but over time they become hallow shells of what they once were. The wearer of this Ring ignore age penalties and gain the Forsaken-Wraith Templet.
Forsaken-Wraith Template
CR+5
AL: At first Aliment stays the same, prolong usage of this template will change aliment to Evil, as time wears away at the users personality.
Type: at first no change, but after prolonged use the creature’s type changes to Native Outsider (augmented)
Senses: Low light vision 60ft, Dark vision 60ft. If the character already has one or both of these, it instead increases by 60ft.
Hit Dice: Same as base creature
Defensive Abilities: Fast Healing 5/Fire, 10% miss chance, Immune to Positive and Negative Energy
Weaknesses: A Forsaken-Wraith cannot benefit from Positive or Negative Energy, or receive outside healing.
Speed: Same as the base creature.
Special Qualities: (Su) Once per day the Forsaken-Wraith can create an effect similar to the spell Darkness, with the exception that the radius is 50 feet centered on user at time of casting, and lasts for 10 minutes.
(Su) The Forsaken-Wraith can cast Shadow Step once every 1d4 rounds at a caster level equal to his hit dice,
When the Forsaken-Wraith would be killed they instead fade away and reform one day (24 hours) later intact, at full health, and cured of all afflictions
Special Attacks: A Forsaken-Wraith gains the special attacks described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 Forsaken-Wraith's HD + either the Forsaken-Wraith’s int, wis or cha modifier (which ever is higher) unless otherwise noted.
Any weapons or armor wielded by a Forsaken-Wraith counts as having Ghost Touch
Fear Aura (Su): Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60- foot radius that look at the Forsaken-Wraith must succeed on a Will save or become frightened. Creatures with 5 HD or more must succeed at a Will save or be shaken for a number of rounds equal to the Forsaken-Wraith's Hit Dice. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same Forsaken-Wraith’s aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Dread Scream (Su): As a Standard Action the Forsaken-Wraith can emit a powerful shriek, this functions as a 15 foot cone sonic attack 1d4 damage per every 2 HD the Forsaken-Wraith has, Reflex for half.
Quick note, I took a decent amount of inspiration from the Shadow of War games for this.
Quote: Defensive Abilities: Fast Healing 5/Fire, 10% miss chance, /Fire doesn't mean anything with respect to fast healing. Does that work the same as regeneration 5/fire except that they can die? If so they might as well have regen given they have the fade and reform ability (which needs a name), it'd save you having to specify what fast healing 5/fire means.
Defining what the 10% miss chance comes from and so what may bypass it seems sensible.
Quote: Weaknesses: A Forsaken-Wraith cannot benefit from Positive or Negative Energy, or receive outside healing. Including of conditions? So if it fails a save vs. blindness and does not itself have the remove blindness spell, it's blind forever? Losing the bit about outside healing seems a good idea to me.
Quote: Fear Aura (Su): Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60- foot radius that look at the Forsaken-Wraith Does look at mean it functions as a gaze, or is it just descriptive text and anyone in line of effect within 60' is affected?
Quote: Dread Scream (Su): As a Standard Action the Forsaken-Wraith can emit a powerful shriek, this functions as a 15 foot cone sonic attack 1d4 damage per every 2 HD the Forsaken-Wraith has, Reflex for half. Given CR +5 this is barely going to tickle. A 10th level F-W with PC gear would be CR 15 and have a 5d4, save for half scream attack which is a joke. Make it 1d4 per HD and it's still nothing important; 1d4/HD and shaken 1 round on a failed save might be worth doing situationally due to fear effects stacking.
You make good points.
I will change the fast healing to regeneration. The fear aura I copied of of the Litch template, so I think it is line of affect. How does this sound for the Dread Scream?
Dread Scream (Su): As a Standard Action the Forsaken-Wraith can emit a powerful shriek, this functions as a 15 foot cone sonic attack 1d8 damage per every HD the Forsaken-Wraith has and is Shaken for one round, Reflex for half damage. A Will save removes the Shaken condition.
Yep, looks good. 10d8 sonic damage save for half on that CR15 wraith looks appropriate, and the possibility of shaken worsening other fear conditions for a round could be interesting to use.
So... why is this template CR+5?
I'd put it probably at CR+2, but add some ability boosts.
Also, why native outsider vs. undead? Undead seems more appropriate based on the books, best I remember.
They also need a way to be (more) permanently killed, even if it's rather obscure.
I had placed it at CR+5 do to the recommendation of a friend who misremembered what the Lich Templet CR adjustment was. CR+2 would be better.
There is a solid argument for Undead, I choose Native Outsider because they are described as being in the Wraith World as well as the physical world at the same time, so I thought Native Outsider would be appropriate.
I was thinking that the more permeant way to kill them would require the Ring that gives the template be removed before killing them, either through cutting the finger with the ring from the body, or by some form of high level magic. The Ring itself would probably have the destruction requirement of being thrown into the fires that were used to make it.
As for boosts, I was thinking maybe give the Forsaken-Wraith the ability to do Vampiric Touch every 2d4 rounds, would that fit?
You'll need to tweak the permadeath requirements a bit. The 9 wraith rings are not as powerful as the One Ring, and wouldn't need quite the same ritual or magical oomph to destroy. Very powerful yes, but some degrees/steps less than the One Ring.
I think the outsider bit makes sense. The Nazgul never died, so they can't be undead.
Also, the leader gets killed by the Rohan princess lady (who's name escapes me at the moment) stabbing him through the face with a seemingly mundane sword. It was her courage, skill, and the fact that she was "no-man" that mattered for his true death to come about. I'd imagine similar, but different requirements for each of the 9.
Also, also, need something about the lingering poison/necrotic contamination from their weapons.
I think the poison/necrotic contamination you are referring to is either their "Black Breath" ability, which (and I could be wrong) is more of an area of effect centered on the Nazgul or the Morgul Blade which is a type of magic blade.
The 9 Rings for men and the 7 For Dwarves are to my knowledge basically the same and 3 or so of the 7 were destroyed by Dragons fire in LOTR Lore, but that seems a little to easy a destruction method.
Each of the 9 having a unique permeant Kill method would be interesting, but would probably be based of the user, as it was only the Witch-King that was foretold "not by the hand of man shall he fall." When the Witch-King died it was to the hands of a Hobbit wielding something called a "Barrow-Blade" and a Woman.
Not sure why the Nazghul would have darkvision or low light vision. Their vision was actually terrible unless you could be seen in the spirit world. Their noses on the other hand were extremely sensitive. They should have the sent ability.
And I am not following the reasoning as to why they are native outsiders instead of undead?
Sysryke wrote: You'll need to tweak the permadeath requirements a bit. The 9 wraith rings are not as powerful as the One Ring, and wouldn't need quite the same ritual or magical oomph to destroy. Very powerful yes, but some degrees/steps less than the One Ring.
I think the outsider bit makes sense. The Nazgul never died, so they can't be undead.
Also, the leader gets killed by the Rohan princess lady (who's name escapes me at the moment) stabbing him through the face with a seemingly mundane sword. It was her courage, skill, and the fact that she was "no-man" that mattered for his true death to come about. I'd imagine similar, but different requirements for each of the 9.
Also, also, need something about the lingering poison/necrotic contamination from their weapons.
I think there is a argument to be made that they were undead.
"So passed the sword of the Barrow-downs, work of Westernesse. But glad would he have been to know its fate who wrought it slowly long ago in the North-kingdom when the Dúnedain were young, and chief among their foes was the dread realm of Angmar and its sorcerer king. No other blade, not though mightier hands had wielded it, would have dealt that foe a wound so bitter, cleaving the undead flesh, breaking the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will."
Return of the King Book V Chapter 6: "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
This pushes towards living but I could see this as an explainiation of undeath in the Tolkien world view.
"A mortal, Frodo, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Rings."
Fellowship of the Ring Book I Chapter 2: "The Shadow of the Past"
((Note: passing into shadow was a way of saying they have left the living world... You could argue they are now undead if they are "In the Shadow or Twilight realm...".))
It is hard to use D&D/PF terms with the Tolkien world but there is a good argument for the Ringwraiths being undead. You could also argue they are undead due to anyone dying of the Morgoth blades or the Black Breath become a wraith (lesser). Which in D&D terms seems to work towards the Undead trait... Native Outsider would work as well but to me Undead seems to work better. You could argue they are much like a Lich with the One Ring being their phylactery and tied to them via their ring via the curse tied to it.
Just my .02 on the subject.
Jack
I stand corrected/persuaded by those with a better grasp on LoTR than I. Been a long time since I read the books. Undead is just as (if no more so) suitable.
What is the "Black Breath" that folks keep mentioning? Did I miss it in the OP, or is there a link or creature that I'm not seeing?
Sysryke wrote: What is the "Black Breath" that folks keep mentioning? Did I miss it in the OP, or is there a link or creature that I'm not seeing? From the wiki
"The Black Breath, also known as the Black Shadow, was a serious and often fatal condition, resulting from contact with a Nazgûl.
Rather than actually being the breath of the unseen wraiths, it was more of a produced aura, meant to incapacitate foes. This power was used extensively in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, though not during their confrontations with Frodo and his companions in Eriador.
Effects and treatment
In a mild form, the Black Breath could cause a brief period of unconsciousness, accompanied by bad dreams, and a state of agitation upon being woken."
I honestly forgot about this when I had originally posted the Template
So how this next draft?
Forsaken-Wraith Template
CR+2
AL: At first Aliment stays the same, prolong usage of this template will change aliment to Evil, as time wears away at the users sanity.
Type: at first no change, but after prolonged use the creature’s type changes to Undead, Native Outsider (augmented)
Senses: Low light vision 60ft, Dark vision 60ft. If the character already has one or both of these, it instead increases by 60ft. Sent.
Hit Dice: Same as base creature
Defensive Abilities: Regeneration 5/Fire, Form of Shadows, Immune to Positive and Negative Energy
Weaknesses: A Forsaken-Wraith cannot benefit from Positive or Negative Energy.
Speed: Same as the base creature.
Special Qualities:
Approaching Darkness (Su) Once per day the Forsaken-Wraith can create an effect similar to the spell Darkness, with the exception that the radius is 50 feet centered on user at time of casting, and lasts for 10 minutes.
Fast as Darkness: (Su) The Forsaken-Wraith can cast Shadow Step once every 1d4 rounds at a caster level equal to his hit dice,
Banished from Death: When the Forsaken-Wraith would be killed they instead fade away and reform one day (24 hours) later intact, at full health, and cured of all afflictions.
Form of Shadows (working name) the creatures outline becomes shadowy and harder to make out. 10% miss chance
Special Attacks: A Forsaken-Wraith gains the special attacks described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 Forsaken-Wraith's HD + either the Forsaken-Wraith’s int, wis or cha modifier (which ever is higher) unless otherwise noted.
Any weapons or armor wielded by a Forsaken-Wraith counts as having Ghost Touch
Fear Aura (Su): Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60- foot radius that look at the Forsaken-Wraith must succeed on a Will save or become frightened. Creatures with 5 HD or more must succeed at a Will save or be shaken for a number of rounds equal to the Forsaken-Wraith's Hit Dice. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same Forsaken-Wraith’s aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect
Dread Scream (Su): As a Standard Action the Forsaken-Wraith can emit a powerful shriek, this functions as a 15 foot cone sonic attack 1d8 damage per every HD the Forsaken-Wraith has and is Shaken for one round, Reflex for half damage. A Will save removes the Shaken condition.
Draining Grasp: (Su) the Forsaken-Wraith can use Vampiric Touch as per the spell as a Standard Action.
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