Tilian
2006-03-26, 06:18 PM
I am absolutely horrible at working out CR's and proper caster levels, so I was wanting to run this by people that actually know what they're doing. These are both my fiirst attempts at actually creating a new spell and monster and defining them completely within d20 rules, so it's probably pretty rough around the edges. Also, if anyone can suggest better names for both that aren't quite so generically OMG HARDKORE!!1 as what they're currently called, please do so.
Okay, basic idea is that this is one of a series of spells created by an archmage known for inhumane experiments on people that kept an entire nation under a blanket of fear until his closest living lieutenants(and a few undead ones) jumped him the moment he slipped up. His spells were supposedly lost when his library and laboratory were torched, but they seem to keep turning up throughout the world...
Hell's Guillotine
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Cleric 6, Wizard 6, Sorcerer 6
Components: V, S
Casting time: 1 round
Range: 25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels
Target: One targeted humanoid
Duration: Insantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude and Will(see description)
Spell Resistance: Yes
You point towards the target's head and quickly jerk your hand upwards into a fist. The targeted humanoid must make a Fortitude(DC 10 + caster level/2) or die insantly as its head is torn from its shoulders, floating in mid-air as the rest of the body collapses beneath it. If the target passes the Fortitude save, it takes 5d4 bludgeoning damage instead.
A humanoid which fails the Fortitude save must then make a Will save (DC 15 + caster level) or have its soul trapped within its head and be turned into a Soulscreamer under the command of the caster. The victim cannot be raised by any means until the Soulscreamer is destroyed. If the caster is slain, any soulscreamers created by him or her immediately detonate.
Soulscreamer
Size/Type: Small Undead
Hit Dice: 3d12 (20 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (good) (8 squares)
Armor Class: 12 (+1 size, +1 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/0
Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d4 vile damage)
Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d4 vile damage)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Detonation
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +5
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 18, Con -, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Hide -10, Intimidate +3, Move Silently -10, Search + 2, Spot +6
Feats: Hover, Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary(1) or flock(3-5)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: —
Soulscreamers are the victims of the Hell's Guillotine spell that have been turned into undead weapons. Constantly wracked by pain, a Soulscreamer appears as a floating, disembodied head with sickly green-purple flame crackling from its eyes, mouth and the wound where its neck should be. A distorted, agonized scream issues forth from its mouth at all times.
Soulscreamers are used as suicidal weapons by their creators. They follow the commands of whoever cast the Hell's Hell's Guillotine spell upon them without question. Once they are given a target, they will immediately seek it out and take the fastest possible route to reach them. They singlemindedly pursue their targets, and once they find them they throw themselves at them, biting down and then detonating in a self-destructive explosion.
Soulscreamers cannot be distracted and do not make attacks of opportunities against non-targets. They only attack non-targets if their path is blocked.
Perhaps the most horrific aspect is that they are more effective the more familiar they are with the targets. A soulscreamer that is given a target that it did not know in life will seek its target out to the best of its ability, but needs a general direction to start with. If a soulscreamer is given a target whose name it knew in life, it instantly knows its general location(1 mile radius) and immediately flies towards that area. A target that the soulscreamer was very familiar with(friend, family, etc.) is especially vulnerable, as their exact location is immediately known by the soulscreamer. This aspect of the creature has led to some instances of kidnapped individuals close to people in power being kidnapped and turned into flying bombs.
Detonate - When a soulscreamer impacts its intended target, it detonates, releasing all of the pain-fueled energies that sustained it in an explosion of eldritch flame. The area of the explosion covers a 15 ft. radius, dealing 3d10 vile damage and 2d10 fire damage to anyone in the area.
Flight - Soulscreamers are held aloft by the vile energies instilled in them. Their flight is a supernatural ability.
Suffering Scream - Anyone who hears a soulscreamer's constant wail must make a Will save(DC 14) or be shaken for one round. The scream cannot affect the same person more than once per day.
I'm going to have to create a good-aligned spell to get the ick off me now.
Okay, basic idea is that this is one of a series of spells created by an archmage known for inhumane experiments on people that kept an entire nation under a blanket of fear until his closest living lieutenants(and a few undead ones) jumped him the moment he slipped up. His spells were supposedly lost when his library and laboratory were torched, but they seem to keep turning up throughout the world...
Hell's Guillotine
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Cleric 6, Wizard 6, Sorcerer 6
Components: V, S
Casting time: 1 round
Range: 25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels
Target: One targeted humanoid
Duration: Insantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude and Will(see description)
Spell Resistance: Yes
You point towards the target's head and quickly jerk your hand upwards into a fist. The targeted humanoid must make a Fortitude(DC 10 + caster level/2) or die insantly as its head is torn from its shoulders, floating in mid-air as the rest of the body collapses beneath it. If the target passes the Fortitude save, it takes 5d4 bludgeoning damage instead.
A humanoid which fails the Fortitude save must then make a Will save (DC 15 + caster level) or have its soul trapped within its head and be turned into a Soulscreamer under the command of the caster. The victim cannot be raised by any means until the Soulscreamer is destroyed. If the caster is slain, any soulscreamers created by him or her immediately detonate.
Soulscreamer
Size/Type: Small Undead
Hit Dice: 3d12 (20 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: Fly 40 ft. (good) (8 squares)
Armor Class: 12 (+1 size, +1 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/0
Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d4 vile damage)
Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d4 vile damage)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Detonation
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +5
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 18, Con -, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Hide -10, Intimidate +3, Move Silently -10, Search + 2, Spot +6
Feats: Hover, Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary(1) or flock(3-5)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: —
Soulscreamers are the victims of the Hell's Guillotine spell that have been turned into undead weapons. Constantly wracked by pain, a Soulscreamer appears as a floating, disembodied head with sickly green-purple flame crackling from its eyes, mouth and the wound where its neck should be. A distorted, agonized scream issues forth from its mouth at all times.
Soulscreamers are used as suicidal weapons by their creators. They follow the commands of whoever cast the Hell's Hell's Guillotine spell upon them without question. Once they are given a target, they will immediately seek it out and take the fastest possible route to reach them. They singlemindedly pursue their targets, and once they find them they throw themselves at them, biting down and then detonating in a self-destructive explosion.
Soulscreamers cannot be distracted and do not make attacks of opportunities against non-targets. They only attack non-targets if their path is blocked.
Perhaps the most horrific aspect is that they are more effective the more familiar they are with the targets. A soulscreamer that is given a target that it did not know in life will seek its target out to the best of its ability, but needs a general direction to start with. If a soulscreamer is given a target whose name it knew in life, it instantly knows its general location(1 mile radius) and immediately flies towards that area. A target that the soulscreamer was very familiar with(friend, family, etc.) is especially vulnerable, as their exact location is immediately known by the soulscreamer. This aspect of the creature has led to some instances of kidnapped individuals close to people in power being kidnapped and turned into flying bombs.
Detonate - When a soulscreamer impacts its intended target, it detonates, releasing all of the pain-fueled energies that sustained it in an explosion of eldritch flame. The area of the explosion covers a 15 ft. radius, dealing 3d10 vile damage and 2d10 fire damage to anyone in the area.
Flight - Soulscreamers are held aloft by the vile energies instilled in them. Their flight is a supernatural ability.
Suffering Scream - Anyone who hears a soulscreamer's constant wail must make a Will save(DC 14) or be shaken for one round. The scream cannot affect the same person more than once per day.
I'm going to have to create a good-aligned spell to get the ick off me now.