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DEm-o

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Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:40 pm

“It’s a dead man’s party/Who could ask for more?”
—Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo, “Dead Man’s Party”

As a twist on the standard game, the DM can allow players to
run undead characters, either a single character in a party made
up primarily of standard races, or an entire party of undead.
These undead characters might be the result of encounters with
undead enemies along the way, or might be created as undead
from the very start.
An undead character could also be added as a cohort or even
a mount or other ally, using the guidelines in this section.

Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:43 pm

UNDEAD ADVANTAGES
AND DISADVANTAGES

Perhaps the most obvious difference between a living character
and an undead character is the long list of immunities enjoyed
by the undead. Undead characters are immune to many of the
effects that plague the living—mind-affecting spells and abilities
such as charms and compulsions, poison, stunning, energy
drain and other physical effects, and extra damage from critical
hits. Some might say that it’s easier to list those effects that do
affect undead rather than all those that don’t.
But while the immunities of undead creatures are indeed
useful, they come at a heavy price. Having no Constitution score
means an undead character rarely must make Fortitude saves,
but when he does—such as against a disintegrate spell—his save
modifier is often woefully low. While the d12 Hit Die seems
attractive, that’s no better than rolling d10 with a 12 Con, or d6
with a 16 Con. Most fighters and even many clerics have as many
or more hit points per level than a typical undead creature.
Probably the greatest disadvantage to playing an undead
character is the danger of immediate destruction upon reaching
0 hit points. Without the buffer zone of the dying condition
(0 to –9 hp), combat tends to be far more dangerous for undead
characters. While Tordek can often keep fighting until unconsciousness,
a vampire doesn’t have that same option. Particularly
at lower levels, undead characters should either be careful in
combat or else invest in armor or magical protection.
And of course, undead creatures must worry about clerics of
all alignments. It’s easy to see the threat posed by a cleric who
can turn or even destroy your character as a standard action
(with no save allowed), but don’t forget about evil clerics who
can command undead to do their bidding.
Undead also face certain societal disadvantages in most campaigns.
While the sight of an orc or even an ogre walking down
the street might not send people running for cover—depending
on how cosmopolitan the community is—the sight of a ghoul
or a zombie is almost certain to draw attention. Depending on
the DM and the style of the campaign, this may affect game
play in a variety of ways, but in most cases undead characters
should face some degree of social stigma if they fail to disguise
their true nature.
Some specific undead creatures have other advantages or disadvantages,
such as incorporealness or vulnerability to sunlight,
which can affect their viability as characters in many ways.
All told, an undead character enjoys an edge over his living
allies. But that’s where level adjustments come into play.

DEm-o

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DEm-o

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Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:51 pm

LEVEL ADJUSTMENTS
Some creatures—such as most undead—are simply more powerful
as player characters than their Hit Dice would indicate. Level
adjustments of +1 or higher help to even the score. A creature’s
level adjustment is added to its total Hit Dice to arrive at its
effective character level (or ECL, the number that describes
the creature’s overall power relative to a character from the
Player’s Handbook). A 2 HD creature with a level adjustment of
+3 (such as a ghoul) is equivalent in power to a 5th-level player
character. Table 2–2: Undead Level Adjustments and ECLs
lists level adjustments and effective character levels for a few
of the undead creatures found in the Monster Manual and in
this book. Creatures not listed are either inappropriate for use
as player characters or cohorts—such as nonintelligent or most
incorporeal undead—or have ECLs above 20.
-------------------------------------------
Table 2–2: Undead Level Adjustments and ECLs
Creature LA ECL
Ghast -- +4 -- 8
Ghost -- +5 -- *
Ghoul -- +3 -- 5
Lich -- +4 -- *
Mohrg -- +6 -- 20
Mummy -- +5 -- 13
Vampire -- +8 -- *
Vampire spawn -- +4 -- 8
Wight -- +4 -- 8
------------------------------------
*Add the creature’s HD to the indicated level adjustment
to find its ECL.
Level adjustment helps determine the maximum level of
each undead monster class (see Templates and Monster Classes,
below). Unlike other classes, a monster class has a maximum
number of levels equal to the creature’s starting effective character
level. For example, a mummy’s starting ECL is 13, so the
mummy monster class has thirteen levels.
When using the rules to create a character with one or more
levels in a monster class, you can ignore level adjustments. This
is replaced by your character’s monster level.

Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:52 pm

TEMPLATES AND MONSTER CLASSES
Undead characters can be created in one of two basic ways. You
can either apply an undead template (such as those found in the
Monster Manual or in Chapter 6) to a character, or you can use
the undead monster classes featured later in this chapter.
The template approach is easy because it applies essentially
the same effects regardless of the character’s race and class.
Since it doesn’t require multiclassing, spellcasters don’t suffer
the severe disadvantage of losing spellcasting levels. However,
simply adding undead templates to one or more characters has
the possibility of seriously unbalancing your game. A vampire
character is much more powerful than a regular character with
the same number of class levels. Such templated characters must
forgo gaining one or more levels (to take into account the level
adjustment of such templates) or he is likely to outshine most
other characters in the party. A similar problem applies when
simply using a stock undead creature (such as the ghoul or
mummy from the Monster Manual)—such creatures are more
powerful than their HD indicate, requiring a level adjustment
to be applied. Either way, such options are inappropriate for
starting (1st-level) characters.

Using undead monster classes, such as those presented in the
last section of this chapter, provides a more gradual approach to
including undead player characters. A player who wants to play a
ghoul can begin as a balanced 1st-level character, without having
to apply level adjustments or wait until later in his career. Over
time, the character gains additional ghoul-related abilities until
he eventually becomes the equivalent of the ghoul appearing
in the Monster Manual. One drawback to this approach is that it
necessitates multiclassing, with all the good and bad side effects
that brings. Even a single-minded character eventually reaches
a maximum level limit in his undead monster class, requiring
him to choose another class to continue advancement.

DEm-o

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DEm-o

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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:00 am

UNDEAD COHORTS AND FOLLOWERS
With the right feat selection and your DM’s consent, your character
can gain the loyal service of an undead cohort or even a
small army of undead followers.

Cohorts: Just like a normal cohort, an undead cohort is effectively
another character under your control. Use the creature’s
effective character level, as found in Table 2–2, to determine if
you can attract the desired creature as your cohort.
Example: A PC with a Leadership score of 12 can normally
attract a cohort of 8th level by selecting the Leadership feat.
Instead of selecting an 8th-level fighter or wizard, he could,
with his DM’s permission, choose to attract an ECL 8 ghast.
If he instead used the Undead Leadership feat to attract the
undead cohort, he could gain the service of an ECL 10 undead.
The character can only recruit a cohort who is two or more levels
lower than himself, regardless of his Leadership score.
Followers: You can choose to attract undead creatures as
followers gained from the Leadership feat (see page 106 of the
Dungeon Master’s Guide), or the Undead Leadership feat (see page
31of this book).
Some undead that do not make good characters or cohorts
are acceptable as lower-level followers. These creatures are listed
below, along with the level that such a creature is considered to
be for determining whether you can have it as a follower. In a few
instances, these creatures are equivalent to a follower of a level
slightly different from their ECL. In most cases, this is because
the creatures are nonintelligent and have no level adjustment
but still work fine as followers (not cohorts). In other cases, their
special abilities pose less of a threat to game balance when used
by a follower rather than an active adventurer such as a PC or a
more powerful cohort. The creatures obey the character without
question, but this control can be disrupted by clerical turning
or controlling abilities, spells, or other effects.

Level
Undead Equivalent
Allip 7th
Ghast 7th
Ghoul 5th
Shadow 6th
Skeleton
1 HD 1st
2 HD 2nd
3–4 HD 3rd
5–6 HD 4th
7–8 HD 5th
9–10 HD 6th
11–12 HD 7th
Wight 7th
Zombie
1 HD 1st
2 HD 2nd
3–4 HD 3rd
5–6 HD 4th
7–8 HD 5th
9–10 HD 6th
11–12 HD 7th

In general, DMs should be hesitant to allow characters to have
followers or cohorts that can create spawn. When an undead
cohort or follower creates a spawn, the creature must release or
destroy the spawn unless the character is of suffi ciently high
level for the spawn to be a follower in its own right.
Example: A character with a Leadership score of 15 normally
attracts twenty 1st-level followers, two 2nd-level followers, and
one 3rd-level follower. If he wants undead followers, he can
attract twenty 1 HD skeletons, two 2 HD zombies, and one 3
HD skeleton. With the Undead Leadership feat and an effective
Leadership score of 17 when dealing with undead followers, he
can attract thirty 1 HD skeletons, three 2 HD zombies, one 3
HD skeleton, and one 5 HD zombie.

Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:07 am

UNDEAD MOUNTS
Acquiring an undead mount isn’t difficult: Any character with
access to the animate dead spell and an appropriate skeleton or
corpse is only 75 gp worth of black onyx gems away from having
a light horse skeleton or zombie to use as a mount. However,
controlling such a mount in battle is not so easy. Though an
undead mount follows spoken commands, that’s not the same
as having a mount that responds to the guidance of voice, hands,
and knees, like a typical horse.
It’s simply harder to ride a nonintelligent undead mount than
it is to ride a traditional steed. As a result, the rider of an undead
mount takes a –2 penalty on all Ride checks. In addition, the
bonus on Ride checks from the Animal Affi nity feat doesn’t apply,nor does the bonus created by synergy with the Handle Animal
skill. An undead mount can’t be spurred to greater speed.
On the other hand, upkeep for such a mount is extraordinarily
simple. It requires no food or water, no brushing, and virtually
no shelter.
A blackguard of 5th level or higher (see page 182 of the Dungeon
Master’s Guide) can choose to call an undead horse or pony (skeleton
or zombie) instead of a fi endish version of such a creature. This
undead servant has all the normal special abilities of a fi endish
servant except for the empathic link, the speak with blackguard
ability, and an increased Intelligence score. If a blackguard also has
the undead companion ability from his level as a fallen paladin, he
can forgo gaining this companion and instead grant his undead
mount immunity to turning or rebuking.

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