Movies and Video Games Homebrew

[Backstabbing Bodyguard]

Hey all. Let me start off with a really ruff draft based of Pirates of the Caribbean curse.

Cursed Skeleton
Type: The creature’s type becomes undead. It keeps sub-types save for alignment sub-types and sub-types that indicate kind.
Armor Class: Natural armor as per skeleton (Small+1, Medium&Large+2).
Hit Dice: Change all of the creature’s racial Hit Dice to d8s. All Hit Dice derived from class levels remain unchanged. As undead, use their Charisma modifiers for health
Defensive Abilities: A Cursed Skeleton gains DR 5/ bludgeoning, channel resistance +4, and immunity to cold. It also gains all of the standard undead traits.
Fast Healing: A Cursed Skeleton has fast healing equal to 1 per 2 Hit Dice it possesses (minimum 1).
Speed: All non forms of non-magic flight are lost. All other movement types are retained.
Attacks: A Cursed Skeleton retains all the natural weapons, manufactured weapon attacks, and weapon proficiencies of the base creature, except for attacks that can’t work without flesh. A creature with hands gains one claw attack per hand as a primarily natural attack.. A claw attack deals damage depending on the Cursed Skeleton’s size (Small-1D3, Medium-1D4). If the base creature already had claw attacks with its hands, use the Cursed Skeleton claw damage only if it’s better.
Abilities: Str +2, Dex +2. As undead. It has no Constitution score.
BAB: Its BAB is the same as the base creature
Skills: Same as the base creature.
Special Qualities: A Cursed Skeleton gains the deathless special quality and the Hidden Form special ability
Deathless (Su): A Cursed Skeleton destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points, but it returns to unlife 1 hour later at 1 hit point, allowing its fast healing thereafter to resume healing it. Note, to kill a Cursed Skeleton the curse must first be removed, see "Breaking the Curse"
Hidden Form (Su) Unless exposed to direct moon light the character is constantly treated as if being under the Daywalker spell.
Downside: The character loses all ability to feel physical sensation, but their desire for it increases.
Breaking the Curse: to remove this template all of the cursed coins must be returned and all those that took them must pay a price of their blood. After that is done the character looses this template.

I still need a way to stat the downside, but I have no ideas for explaining a desire for sensation, and a hunger and thirst that can not be satisfied.

[SheepishEidolon]

Not everything has to be in the stat block, some things can be expressed with behavior in battle - and outside.

That said, I'd look at existing creatures. Ghouls have insatiable hunger, too, the mechanical consequence seems to be a bite attack.

I am not sure whether you mean physical sensation in a broad sense (won't notice an arrow in the knee) or in a narrow sense (is sexually interested in adventurers).

[Backstabbing Bodyguard]

SheepishEidolon wrote:

I am not sure whether you mean physical sensation in a broad sense (won't notice an arrow in the knee) or in a narrow sense (is sexually interested in adventurers).

How Barbossa describes it is all I really have to go on.

"Find it, we did. There be the chest. Inside be the gold. And we took 'em all. We spent 'em and traded 'em and frittered 'em away on drink and food and pleasurable company. The more we gave 'em away, the more we came to realize...the drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world could not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner. Compelled by greed, we were, but now...we are consumed by it."
Barbossa to Elizabeth Swan.