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Post by Gilgamesh on Jan 22, 2015 6:04:07 GMT
I have had a character concept in the back of my mind for a few years now. He's a Neutral Good skeletal cleric of Lathander. He was raised by some ancient necromancer a thousand years ago, and when the necromancer fell, he was left in the woods with no further orders. Gradually, he regained self-awareness and his former goodness, though tempered by self-hatred due to being undead. Anyway, my question to you is, how would this be done from a mechanical perspective? Simply removing the intelligence, wisdom, and charisma hits from the normal skeleton template would work, but it seems rather weak for LA+2 (especially compared to the similar gravetouched ghoul), but rather strong for LA+1. I'd also thought about possibly just making a few mild alterations to the gravetouched ghoul template and calling it a skeleton. Would you allow either of these? Or do you have a better idea? Or should I just stop thinking about it? Thank you for your time.
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Post by Cendar on Jan 22, 2015 13:02:07 GMT
Interesting idea, and it would definitely be an interesting character. I'd probably fall on the side of retouching the ghoul and calling it a skeleton (names and descriptions are really just fluff, anyway, and are therefore mutable). But I'll let the other staff weigh in on this too.
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Post by Gilgamesh on Jan 22, 2015 21:06:17 GMT
Alright, how about if I used the ghoul template, but replaced the ghoul's paralysis, bite attack, and ghoul fever with skeleton's DR5/bludgeoning (maybe it could be increased a bit?), immunity to cold, and Imp. Initiative bonus feat. Would that be OK?
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Post by Cendar on Jan 22, 2015 21:15:17 GMT
Works for me. Any other mods want to weigh in?
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windstruck
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Post by windstruck on Jan 22, 2015 21:36:34 GMT
Not a mod, but I'll just comment it's not a bad concept imo. There's a RPG game Star Stealing Prince. One of the characters there is a skeleton. A guy that was cursed, I guess you could say, to undeath or something. Still a good guy though.
Just one question for you: will your character actively seek to make himself not a skeleton anymore? Cause you mentioned the self-loathing bit. Or perhaps the magic used to make him a skeleton was too strong? Might be caused by something more than just a necromancer...
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Post by Gilgamesh on Jan 22, 2015 21:51:05 GMT
Not a mod, but I'll just comment it's not a bad concept imo. There's a RPG game Star Stealing Prince. One of the characters there is a skeleton. A guy that was cursed, I guess you could say, to undeath or something. Still a good guy though. Just one question for you: will your character actively seek to make himself not a skeleton anymore? Cause you mentioned the self-loathing bit. Or perhaps the magic used to make him a skeleton was too strong? Might be caused by something more than just a necromancer... I've thought about that, and I'm sure he'll have tried, but he's far too old for even True Rez to work. He's been dead for something like 1,400 years.
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windstruck
Junior Member
Blossom is approved and ready to party!
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Post by windstruck on Jan 22, 2015 21:53:01 GMT
Huh. Yeah... I think that would do it! Haha!
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Post by NineOfSpades on Jan 23, 2015 0:19:31 GMT
This sounds fairly reasonable, and so long as you stick to whats been discussed here, I think it should work out.
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Post by Gilgamesh on Jan 23, 2015 2:30:13 GMT
Alright. One last question. I'm going to be a cleric, and I'm looking at the Radiant Servant of Pelor class. Since there's no Pelor in this setting, can I be a Radiant Servant of Lathander instead?
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Post by Michael7123 on Jan 23, 2015 3:28:05 GMT
I hate to be the guy that bursts the bubble, but here I go.
You plan to be a cleric of lathander. Fine. The question is will lathander actually grant your prayers, give you spells, etc? Sun gods usually REALLY don't like undead.
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Post by Gilgamesh on Jan 23, 2015 4:27:10 GMT
I hate to be the guy that bursts the bubble, but here I go. You plan to be a cleric of lathander. Fine. The question is will lathander actually grant your prayers, give you spells, etc? Sun gods usually REALLY don't like undead. Yeah, sun gods hate undead. That's why this character is so interesting to me. He subverts a stereotype, and stays a good person despite having every reason to fall to evil. And Lathander may be a sun god, but he's also a god of spring, birth, and renewal. Transformation from a mindless force of evil into a conscious being who CHOOSES to do good is an embodiment of that cycle of rebirth. Besides, no Good god worth his salt would refuse the service of a cleric who genuinely wishes to devote his (un)life to helping the innocent and fighting evil (including and especially other, less compassionate, undead) just because he happens to be powered by negative energy and lacks skin.
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windstruck
Junior Member
Blossom is approved and ready to party!
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Post by windstruck on Jan 23, 2015 7:22:32 GMT
Hm... I dunno. Maybe they'd make an exception this once since a ressurection isn't an option.
What I'm wondering now is.. radiant servant = positive energy bursts, right? So what happens to YOU, as an undead abomination creature when you use such abilities? Wouldn't you be hurt? Or would they be impossible to use in the first place?
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Post by Gilgamesh on Jan 24, 2015 18:39:56 GMT
Well, evil living clerics channel negative energy, so I don't see why a good undead cleric couldn't channel positive energy.
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Post by NineOfSpades on Jan 24, 2015 18:44:36 GMT
Mechanically, being a cleric of the sun dosen't carry and problems for me. But within the context of the setting, it does indeed prove somewhat contradictory. Still, I am not one to block character concepts without a good reason. The deity is capable of seeing into your characters soul (Or whatever is left of it) and will grant your clerical powers as normal. Doesn't mean other clerics or people will like you, though.
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Post by Gilgamesh on Jan 24, 2015 19:13:51 GMT
Mechanically, being a cleric of the sun dosen't carry and problems for me. But within the context of the setting, it does indeed prove somewhat contradictory. Still, I am not one to block character concepts without a good reason. The deity is capable of seeing into your characters soul (Or whatever is left of it) and will grant your clerical powers as normal. Doesn't mean other clerics or people will like you, though. Awesome. I would be disappointed if they did.
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Post by Cendar on Jan 26, 2015 16:14:47 GMT
I think that undead channeling positive energy is a no-no - positive energy harms undead, no matter what the alignment. Comes with being undead, and it's an interesting challenge for you to overcome. (The cleric from Journeyquest comes to mind). You can channel positive energy, but it's going to hurt you if/when you do.
That said, I have no issue with you being a Radiant Servant of Lathander.
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Post by Gilgamesh on Jan 26, 2015 16:41:16 GMT
I think that undead channeling positive energy is a no-no - positive energy harms undead, no matter what the alignment. Comes with being undead, and it's an interesting challenge for you to overcome. (The cleric from Journeyquest comes to mind). You can channel positive energy, but it's going to hurt you if/when you do. That said, I have no issue with you being a Radiant Servant of Lathander. It seems a little contradictory that an evil cleric can channel negative energy without harming himself. It also gimps me a little bit if i can't use one of my class features without hurting myself. That said, roleplaying is more important than power, and if that's your verdict on that, I'll take up the challenge gladly. I might wait a little while to create this character in that case, so I can have a few more levels/hp under my belt before I start.
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Post by Gaiyamato on Jan 31, 2015 2:39:10 GMT
Maybe a bit late in the piece, but why not use the Skeletal Creature Template from Book of Vile Darkness? It does not make mindless Skeletons.
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