Undead

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Expert/Creator: Kai

Undead Properties

An undead creature does not functionally have (or need) a STA score. Its hit points are assigned based on its relative durability (which can be derived from the living creature's STA score if desired). An undead creature is immune to any effect that requires a STA check unless it also affects objects, and they never tire. Undead are typically mindless and immune to mental effects, illusions, and charm spells. They are fearless and immune to any effect that requires an opposed COU check. Undead are immune to poison, disease, stunning, and sleep effects. Some undead may not be vulnerable to critical hits with weapons. Undead do not need to eat or sleep. They are healed by shadow elemental magic and vulnerable to holy elemental magic (2x damage).

  • Skeletons -- Typically, skeletal creatures are resistant to attacks with piercing weapons, such as spears. Treat a skeleton's AC as 10 points higher against such attacks. They are vulnerable to attacks with blunt weapons, such as maces. Treat a skeleton's AC as 10 points lower against such attacks.
  • Vampires -- Vampires, unlike many undead, are not necessarily mindless, but they are still immune to most forms of charm magic. A typical vampire has several special attacks at his disposal, but not all vampires necessarily have access to all of them (PC vampires would need to take skills in order to use them at all).
    • A vampire can charm a target that fails to resist as a magic spell; the vampire's effective "magic attack" for such an effect is CHA*3 + 4 + (vampire's character level - 1)*2.
    • A vampire that engages in a successful grapple with a target can bite its neck and drain blood, dealing triple unarmed attack damage each round until the target "dies," at which point the target can be raised as a subservient vampire by exchanging blood with his/her killer.

Undead Culture

See Theice.

Incorporeal Undead

Ghosts are undead who function mainly on the shadow plain without a corporeal body. Their abilities vary widely based on their "age" and power. This range of potential abilities must be accounted for in any discussion of their essential nature.

This variety extends into every aspect of a ghost's nature, as there are likely thousands of ghosts who are no longer even really sentient, but remain as psychic fingerprints in a reality they can no longer participate in.

A note: Not all "ghosts" are the lingering intellects of deceased creatures. At least one case has been verified of an incorporeal creature who can communicate with sensitive mortals and even dominate the spirits of the dead... but who has never possessed a corporeal body. It is highly-likely that such creatures are not ghosts in any precise sense, but rather shadow elementals, of a similar nature to water or air elementals.

Physical Nature

Due to their corporeally-challenged nature, most ghosts are unable to affect the material world in any way. This includes physically harming individuals by striking them or taking up nearby objects as weapons. Most ghosts exist in a state of near-total sensory deprivation, unable to smell, taste, or touch anything around them except for other ghosts. Those rare few who can are referred to as poltergeists.

Ghosts are often able to manifest themselves visually for the benefit of the living, but to do this requires more energy than they have to spare. As a result, only at great need (whatever that means for the individual ghost) will it bother.

Supernatural Abilities

There are nearly as many varieties of ghost as there are among mortal mages. Some ghosts can affect the material plane with a great expenditure of effort, whereas others can cast magic using the energy of the shadow plane the same way living mages manipulate the astral. Others concentrate mainly on manipulating mortals, possessing them and causing varying degrees of annoyance or danger.

Psychology

Most ghosts end up lingering after death because they fixated on something in their lives. It's the classic "unfinished business" scenario. This can be anything from abandonment by loved ones to, in one case, a desire for those left behind to recognize their accomplishments.

Along with this fixation is a near-universal resentment of the living. This stems from the ability of most ghosts to observe the material world and its sensual pleasures (things like food, drink, warmth, sex, and other sources of physical comfort), but not to take part. This hatred of this static and unending existence, and of their own seeming irrelevance, drives many ghosts to contact any receptive mortal they can in an effort to reaffirm their own existence. Many ghosts simply wish to relieve their own loneliness, whereas in others this desire turns somewhat darker, becoming an effort to punish the living for the priveleges they enjoy.

PC Ghosts: Zea's Ghosts

Passing On

Until very recently, it was more or less accepted among agents of Reshtaha that ghosts could not be processed. They simply did not have enough energy to survive the procedure. Zea Mazuo developed a procedure that renewed their energy, repairing damage to their forms and their minds by altering her own life force and infusing them with the now-shadow-aligned energy. For more details on this procedure, see Dominion.

Undead Summons

Taken from Zea Mazuo's sheet.

Typical Humanoid Zombie
Stats
HP: 50
AT/PA: 10/10
Initiative: 2+2d6
MBlock: 10
Missile Evade: 12
AC: 0
Move Speed: 3 spaces
Attacks
Claw 10+1d6
Special Abilities

Creature Type Properties - Undead. Takes double damage from holy effects and fire effects. Shadow effects instead heal an undead creature for the amount of damage that would be dealt. Zombies are immune to poison, do not need to breathe, etc.

Zombies have essentially no intelligence and can only obey simple orders. They will defend themselves if attacked, but have no actual self-preservation instincts. Zombies have none of the skills they had in life. Zombies are mindless and immune to all illusions and other mind-affecting spells.

A zombie can be equipped with a weapon. If so, consider the zombie's STR to be +2. All normal weapon use rules apply. A zombie has no skill with any weapon.

These statistics are for a human zombie and assumes that the zombie is wearing no equipment. Zombies animated from other types of corpses may have slightly varying statistics. The GM is free to designate specifics.


Typical Humanoid Skeleton
Stats
HP: 40
AT/PA: 8/8
Initiative: 4+2d6
MBlock: 10
Missile Evade: 12
AC: 6
Move Speed: 4 spaces
Attacks
Claw 10+1d6
Special Abilities

Creature Type Properties - Undead. Takes double damage from holy effects and fire effects. Shadow effects instead heal an undead creature for the amount of damage that would be dealt. Skeletons are immune to poison, do not need to breathe, etc.

Skeletons have essentially no intelligence and can only obey simple orders. They will defend themselves if attacked, but have no actual self-preservation instincts. Skeletons have none of the skills they had in life.

Skeletons are mindless and immune to all illusions and other mind-affecting spells.

A skeleton can be equipped with a weapon. If so, consider the skeleton's STR to be +2. All normal weapon use rules apply. A skeleton has no skill with any weapon.

These statistics are for a human skeleton and assumes that the skeleton is wearing no equipment. Skeletons animated from other types of corpses may have slightly varying statistics. The GM is free to designate specifics.

Treat a skeleton's AC as 10 points higher against attacks with piercing weapons such as spears. They are vulnerable to attacks with blunt weapons, such as maces. Treat a skeleton's AC as 10 points lower against such attacks.