Morph Bark
2009-01-11, 03:55 PM
Just thought I'd repost this from the WotC boards (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1132902). The thread itself is a repost of an earlier thread that was lost in the restructering of the forums.
The template presented below is made for those who want to combine two very popular and well-known kinds of undead: the vampire and the lich. Of course the prerequisites for both must still be met to become one (details further down), and some things about the hybrid undead known as the lampiche are things not quite seen in either the vampire or the lich. Further, there is a second template that is acquired when one fails to become a lampiche.
LAMPICHE
“It’s a lich! It’s a vampire! Nay, it's a lampiche! Oh Pelordammit, run!”
~ Devunne Kilas, Acolyte of Pelor.
A lampiche is an undead spellcaster who has gone through a special ritual to unnaturally extend his life. They appear much as they did in life, although their features are more feral, hardened, and their skin pulled tight over their bones. Like liches and vampires, lampiches often assume the guise of nobility, whether or not they were during life, and they often enjoy the finer pleasures of life (and unlife). Its eyes – the little portals to the soul, as many often say – are the only things apparently affected by decay. Instead, small spheres of light burn in the sockets, taking on an appearance much as eyes.
Lampiches speak any languages they knew in life.
Creating a Lampiche
“Lampiche” is an acquired template that can be applied to any humanoid, monstrous humanoid, giant or native outsider (referred to hereafter as the base creature) with a caster level of at least 11th.
Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.
Hit Dice: Increase all current and future hit dice to d12s.
Amour Class: Increase the base creature’s natural armour by +6.
Attack: A lampiche retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn’t already have one. A lampiche further has a touch attack that it can use once per round. If the base creature can use weapons, the lampiche retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A lampiche fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack, slam attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A lampiche armed with a weapon uses its touch, slam or a weapon, as it desires.
Full Attack: A lampiche fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack or slam attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a touch as a natural secondary attack, provided it has a way to make that attack (either a free hand or a natural weapon that it can use as a secondary attack), or its slam attack as a natural secondary attack.
Damage: A lampiche without natural weapons has a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to living creatures; a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 lampiche’s HD + lampiche’s Cha modifier) halves the damage. A lampiche with natural weapons can use its touch attack or its natural weaponry, as it prefers. If it chooses the latter, it deals 1d8+5 points of extra damage on one natural weapon attack.
A lampiche also has a slam attack. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the lampiche’s size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is better.
Slam Attack Damage
Size Damage
Fine 1
Diminutive 1d2
Tiny 1d3
Small 1d4
Medium 1d6
Large 1d8
Huge 2d6
Gargantuan 2d8
Colossal 4d6
Special Attacks: A lampiche retains all the base creature’s special attacks and gains those described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 lampiche’s HD + lampiche’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.
Blood Drain (Ex): A lampiche can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful attack, the lampiche gains 5 temporary hit points.
Children of the Night (Su): Lampiches command the lesser creatures of the world and once per day can call forth 1d6+1 rat swarms, 1d4+1 bat swarms, or a pack of 3d6 wolves as a standard action. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might summon other creatures of similar power.) These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the lampiche for up to 1 hour.
Create Spawn (Su): A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by a lampiche’s energy drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 nights afterwards.
If the lampiche instead drains the victim’s Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. In either case, the new vampire or spawn is under the command of the vampire that created it and remains enslaved until its master’s destruction. At any given time a lampiche may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit are created as free-willed vampires or vampire spawn. A vampire that is enslaved may create and enslave spawn of its own, so a master lampiche can control a number of lesser vampires in this fashion. A lampiche may voluntarily free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again.
If the lampiche slays a creature that is not a humanoid or a monstrous humanoid or if the lampiche slays a humanoid or a monstrous humanoid in a manner different from using energy drain or blood drain, that creature rises as a zombie or a skeleton within 24 hours after death (the lampiche may choose if the creature returns as either a zombie or a skeleton). Like created vampires and vampire spawn, these are under the lampiche’s command, and are in addition to any undead that may be controlled by spells or the rebuke undead ability.
Dominate (Su): A lampiche can crush an opponent’s will just by looking onto his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that the lampiche must use a standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone the lampiche targets must succeed on a Will save or fall instantly under the lampiche’s influence as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 12th). The ability has a range of 30 feet.
Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a lampiche’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire might possess) gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the lampiche gains 5 temporary hit points. A lampiche can use its energy drain ability once per round.
Fear Aura (Su): Lampiches are shrouded in a dreadful aura of death and evil. Creatures of 5 HD or less in a 60-foot radius that look at the lampiche must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell from a sorcerer of the lampiche’s level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same lampiche’s aura for 24 hours.
Paralyzing Touch (Su): Any living creature a lampiche hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a lampiche seems dead, though a DC 20 Spot check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.
Spells: A lampiche can cast any spells it could cast while alive.
Special Qualities: A lampiche retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains those described below.
Alternate Form (Su): A lampiche can assume the shape of a bat, rat, wolf, their dire versions, a bat swarm or a rat swarm as a standard action. While in its alternate form, the lampiche loses its natural slam attack and touch attack and dominate ability, but it gains the natural weapons and extraordinary special attacks of its new form. It can remain in that form until it assumes another or until the next sunrise. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might allow other forms.)
Damage Reduction (Su): A lampiche’s undead body is tough, giving the creature damage reduction 15/slashing and silver and magic. Its natural weapons are treated as evil and magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Fast Healing (Ex): A lampiche heals 5 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or be destroyed. (It can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a lampiche forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a lampiche is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round.
Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action, a lampiche can assume gaseous form at will as the spell (caster level equals the lampiche’s caster level), but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
Immunities (Ex): A lampiche has immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), mind-affecting attacks and turning.
Spider Climb (Ex): A lampiche can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Dex +6, Int +4, Wis +4, Cha +4. As an undead creature, a lampiche has no Constitution score.
Skills: Lampiches have a +10 racial bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Feats: Lampiches gain Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, and Lightning Reflexes, assuming the base creature meets the prerequisites and doesn’t already have these feats.
Environment: Any, usually same as base creature.
Organization: Solitary or troupe (1 lampiche, plus 2–4 vampires and 5–8 vampire spawn).
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +4.
Treasure: Double standard.
Alignment: Always evil (any).
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +9.
Slaying a Lampiche
Getting permanently rid of a lampiche is an incredibly tough task. Reducing a lampiche’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t destroy it (see the note on fast healing). If its hit points are reduced to 0 and it cannot reach its coffin in time, it dies, and cutting off a lampiche’s head instantly slays the monster.
However, this only kills them once. After the lampiche is killed, its soul travels instantly to its phylactery, regardless of the phylactery’s distance to the lampiche (it may even be on another plane). The only way to get rid of a lampiche for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, the lampiche reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death as its soul inhabits the corpse nearest to the phylactery and magically regenerates it to what it used to look like in life, except that it looks paler and its eyes glow faintly. This will cause the lampiche to look differently each time it comes back from death (unless the body it left behind when it was killed is the closest to the phylactery). Racial abilities are also replaced in a similar way as with the reincarnation spell.
Lampiche characters
The process of becoming a lampiche is unspeakably evil and can be undertaken only by a willing character. A lampiche retains all class abilities it had in life, unless the process of becoming a lampiche violates the class’ requirements.
There is one exception: lampiche clerics lose the ability to turn undead and gain the ability to rebuke undead. This ability does not affect any vampires that a lampiche may control (though the lampiche may still bolster them).
Becoming a lampiche
The ritual for becoming a lampiche is difficult. It requires the cooperation of a vampire, and the character attempting to become a lampiche must be able to create a phylactery of its own.
The lampiche binds its soul and life force to the phylactery and allows himself to be bitten by the vampire and be drained of his blood. After being fully drained of his Constitution and dies, he rises again as a lampiche. The character must have his Constitution drained fully within one hour after creating the phylactery.
Each lampiche must make its own phylactery, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.
The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.
The template presented below is made for those who want to combine two very popular and well-known kinds of undead: the vampire and the lich. Of course the prerequisites for both must still be met to become one (details further down), and some things about the hybrid undead known as the lampiche are things not quite seen in either the vampire or the lich. Further, there is a second template that is acquired when one fails to become a lampiche.
LAMPICHE
“It’s a lich! It’s a vampire! Nay, it's a lampiche! Oh Pelordammit, run!”
~ Devunne Kilas, Acolyte of Pelor.
A lampiche is an undead spellcaster who has gone through a special ritual to unnaturally extend his life. They appear much as they did in life, although their features are more feral, hardened, and their skin pulled tight over their bones. Like liches and vampires, lampiches often assume the guise of nobility, whether or not they were during life, and they often enjoy the finer pleasures of life (and unlife). Its eyes – the little portals to the soul, as many often say – are the only things apparently affected by decay. Instead, small spheres of light burn in the sockets, taking on an appearance much as eyes.
Lampiches speak any languages they knew in life.
Creating a Lampiche
“Lampiche” is an acquired template that can be applied to any humanoid, monstrous humanoid, giant or native outsider (referred to hereafter as the base creature) with a caster level of at least 11th.
Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.
Hit Dice: Increase all current and future hit dice to d12s.
Amour Class: Increase the base creature’s natural armour by +6.
Attack: A lampiche retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn’t already have one. A lampiche further has a touch attack that it can use once per round. If the base creature can use weapons, the lampiche retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A lampiche fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack, slam attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A lampiche armed with a weapon uses its touch, slam or a weapon, as it desires.
Full Attack: A lampiche fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack or slam attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a touch as a natural secondary attack, provided it has a way to make that attack (either a free hand or a natural weapon that it can use as a secondary attack), or its slam attack as a natural secondary attack.
Damage: A lampiche without natural weapons has a touch attack that uses negative energy to deal 1d8+5 points of damage to living creatures; a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 lampiche’s HD + lampiche’s Cha modifier) halves the damage. A lampiche with natural weapons can use its touch attack or its natural weaponry, as it prefers. If it chooses the latter, it deals 1d8+5 points of extra damage on one natural weapon attack.
A lampiche also has a slam attack. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the lampiche’s size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is better.
Slam Attack Damage
Size Damage
Fine 1
Diminutive 1d2
Tiny 1d3
Small 1d4
Medium 1d6
Large 1d8
Huge 2d6
Gargantuan 2d8
Colossal 4d6
Special Attacks: A lampiche retains all the base creature’s special attacks and gains those described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 lampiche’s HD + lampiche’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.
Blood Drain (Ex): A lampiche can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful attack, the lampiche gains 5 temporary hit points.
Children of the Night (Su): Lampiches command the lesser creatures of the world and once per day can call forth 1d6+1 rat swarms, 1d4+1 bat swarms, or a pack of 3d6 wolves as a standard action. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might summon other creatures of similar power.) These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the lampiche for up to 1 hour.
Create Spawn (Su): A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by a lampiche’s energy drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 nights afterwards.
If the lampiche instead drains the victim’s Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. In either case, the new vampire or spawn is under the command of the vampire that created it and remains enslaved until its master’s destruction. At any given time a lampiche may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit are created as free-willed vampires or vampire spawn. A vampire that is enslaved may create and enslave spawn of its own, so a master lampiche can control a number of lesser vampires in this fashion. A lampiche may voluntarily free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again.
If the lampiche slays a creature that is not a humanoid or a monstrous humanoid or if the lampiche slays a humanoid or a monstrous humanoid in a manner different from using energy drain or blood drain, that creature rises as a zombie or a skeleton within 24 hours after death (the lampiche may choose if the creature returns as either a zombie or a skeleton). Like created vampires and vampire spawn, these are under the lampiche’s command, and are in addition to any undead that may be controlled by spells or the rebuke undead ability.
Dominate (Su): A lampiche can crush an opponent’s will just by looking onto his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that the lampiche must use a standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone the lampiche targets must succeed on a Will save or fall instantly under the lampiche’s influence as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 12th). The ability has a range of 30 feet.
Energy Drain (Su): Living creatures hit by a lampiche’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire might possess) gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the lampiche gains 5 temporary hit points. A lampiche can use its energy drain ability once per round.
Fear Aura (Su): Lampiches are shrouded in a dreadful aura of death and evil. Creatures of 5 HD or less in a 60-foot radius that look at the lampiche must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell from a sorcerer of the lampiche’s level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same lampiche’s aura for 24 hours.
Paralyzing Touch (Su): Any living creature a lampiche hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or be permanently paralyzed. Remove paralysis or any spell that can remove a curse can free the victim (see the bestow curse spell description). The effect cannot be dispelled. Anyone paralyzed by a lampiche seems dead, though a DC 20 Spot check or a DC 15 Heal check reveals that the victim is still alive.
Spells: A lampiche can cast any spells it could cast while alive.
Special Qualities: A lampiche retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains those described below.
Alternate Form (Su): A lampiche can assume the shape of a bat, rat, wolf, their dire versions, a bat swarm or a rat swarm as a standard action. While in its alternate form, the lampiche loses its natural slam attack and touch attack and dominate ability, but it gains the natural weapons and extraordinary special attacks of its new form. It can remain in that form until it assumes another or until the next sunrise. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might allow other forms.)
Damage Reduction (Su): A lampiche’s undead body is tough, giving the creature damage reduction 15/slashing and silver and magic. Its natural weapons are treated as evil and magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Fast Healing (Ex): A lampiche heals 5 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or be destroyed. (It can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a lampiche forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a lampiche is helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round.
Gaseous Form (Su): As a standard action, a lampiche can assume gaseous form at will as the spell (caster level equals the lampiche’s caster level), but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
Immunities (Ex): A lampiche has immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), mind-affecting attacks and turning.
Spider Climb (Ex): A lampiche can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +4, Dex +6, Int +4, Wis +4, Cha +4. As an undead creature, a lampiche has no Constitution score.
Skills: Lampiches have a +10 racial bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Feats: Lampiches gain Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, and Lightning Reflexes, assuming the base creature meets the prerequisites and doesn’t already have these feats.
Environment: Any, usually same as base creature.
Organization: Solitary or troupe (1 lampiche, plus 2–4 vampires and 5–8 vampire spawn).
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +4.
Treasure: Double standard.
Alignment: Always evil (any).
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +9.
Slaying a Lampiche
Getting permanently rid of a lampiche is an incredibly tough task. Reducing a lampiche’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t destroy it (see the note on fast healing). If its hit points are reduced to 0 and it cannot reach its coffin in time, it dies, and cutting off a lampiche’s head instantly slays the monster.
However, this only kills them once. After the lampiche is killed, its soul travels instantly to its phylactery, regardless of the phylactery’s distance to the lampiche (it may even be on another plane). The only way to get rid of a lampiche for sure is to destroy its phylactery. Unless its phylactery is located and destroyed, the lampiche reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death as its soul inhabits the corpse nearest to the phylactery and magically regenerates it to what it used to look like in life, except that it looks paler and its eyes glow faintly. This will cause the lampiche to look differently each time it comes back from death (unless the body it left behind when it was killed is the closest to the phylactery). Racial abilities are also replaced in a similar way as with the reincarnation spell.
Lampiche characters
The process of becoming a lampiche is unspeakably evil and can be undertaken only by a willing character. A lampiche retains all class abilities it had in life, unless the process of becoming a lampiche violates the class’ requirements.
There is one exception: lampiche clerics lose the ability to turn undead and gain the ability to rebuke undead. This ability does not affect any vampires that a lampiche may control (though the lampiche may still bolster them).
Becoming a lampiche
The ritual for becoming a lampiche is difficult. It requires the cooperation of a vampire, and the character attempting to become a lampiche must be able to create a phylactery of its own.
The lampiche binds its soul and life force to the phylactery and allows himself to be bitten by the vampire and be drained of his blood. After being fully drained of his Constitution and dies, he rises again as a lampiche. The character must have his Constitution drained fully within one hour after creating the phylactery.
Each lampiche must make its own phylactery, which requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The character must be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher. The phylactery costs 120,000 gp and 4,800 XP to create and has a caster level equal to that of its creator at the time of creation.
The most common form of phylactery is a sealed metal box containing strips of parchment on which magical phrases have been transcribed. The box is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. Other forms of phylacteries can exist, such as rings, amulets, or similar items.