Reaver of Souls (Creature)

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Being a big fan of the video game "Leagacy of Kain: Soul Reaver", I've been wondering on something for a long time. Would it be possible to create a "Reaver of Souls" creature or creature template based on the "altered" state of Raziel, the character you play as in the game?

If you have any ideas on how to do this, or just input on the idea, then please submit them.

[Delcan]

Fanservice is what I do. :)

First off, leave out the actual Soul Reaver; that's more an artifact weapon than anything. Feel free to include it though if you actually want to stat out Raziel.

Key abilities of a Reaver of Souls:

Etherealness: They naturally exist on the Ethereal Plane, and can only manifest themselves in the physical at ideal places and in ideal conditions. And while in the Material Plane, they constantly take damage - even if only slowly. Maybe a point an hour.

When brought down to 0 hp as well, they don't die; they're just shunted back to the Ethereal Plane at full health. If killed in the Ethereal Plane, they get shunted back to... well, wherever it is that the Elder God keeps Raziel. The Far Realms? They are IMMORTAL, in the most powerful sense of the word. They cannot be destroyed by any normal means. I suggest putting a caveat for a wish/miracle contingency, to be able to remove these beyond-undead creatures from the world for good.

Devourer of Souls: This is why these creatures should probably not be sent en masse against PCs. Consume the soul of the recently killed as a standard action, maybe gain HP equal to their HD, and that character can't be brought back EVER.

Aside from that, that about does it for what they are basically... Raziel himself would probably be some combination of fighter, ranger, and/or rogue, with one heck of an artifact weapon.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Thanks for the insight- I agree with you on everything. I don't suppose you could tell me how to make a template from it? (After all, Raziel started as a Vampire [Ex-Human] and became a Reaver of Souls, so it's more a species-altering template than an actual species- at least that's what I think.) I'm afraid I don't have any clues on how to "rulesmith".

There's just one thing; in the game, Raziel doesn't swallow their soul all in one gulp- he drains health rapidly. So maybe give them the ability to "vampiric regenerate" when they grapple a living creature, and that their soul-devour ability works only when they slay/incapacite a normal creature? A foe slain by a "vampiric grapple" is still utterly annihilated though, as the health draining represents their soul being sucked into the Reaver's ever-thirsty maw.

[BelkarsDagger]

I think theres a Raziel build on the WotC boards, he's like a Winged Human Soulknife/Soul Eater or something... I forgot. I dont go over to those boards.

I love this topic, simply because I love Raziel as a character, and Soul Reaver as a game.

[HellFencer]

Its been awhile since I played Soul Reaver, but I'm pretty sure that the souls of the dead hovered near their body until they transcended (you didn't eat them in enough time), or you ate them.

The prospect of "eating" a soul was: Raziel stood still, completely open to attacks to pull in a soul as he drew it towards him. Until he actually ate the soul, he was still damaged. It wasn't until he had devoured the soul that he healed (and instantanesouly).

I never played the 2nd one of the series featuring Raziel, but as I remember it, you had to pull the soul in and then it was more or less like drinking a health potion. In addition, a proper way to term the soul devourment, is to say that the person dies a "true death", meaning they can never be raised. There are a few other items that do this, and I believe a single spell.


Also, Raziel had wings because it was something he had before he was turned into a Reaver of Souls. Thus, there should be some sort of transformation for things the Reaver had before dying. Like wings allow for gliding only, no longer allowing actual flight.

[Sir_Dude]

Actually the gliding thing was becaus Cain crippled his wings before he became a reaver, technically he should have been able to fly if not for that.

[HellFencer]

Well yeah, that's what I meant. At least I think... My brain has been on vacation for the past few days.

I was just saying that the wings, while non-functioning in the real world anymore, were transformed to allow gliding once Raziel became a Reaver.