PDA

View Full Version : Beefing up Undead (and now looking for lions!)



sofawall
2010-07-14, 08:09 PM
Other than the excellent source that is The Book of Bad Latin, where would someone find class features, feats and spells that improve undead that you create, or are near you?

IonDragon
2010-07-14, 08:11 PM
Well there's feats in OH WAIT. I was thinking the book you were referring to was the Necrinomicon but now I realize it's probably Libris Mortis.

Spell Compendium is the first book I'd start with if you're looking for spells. It's got the Summon Undead line (sucks but, well they're options).

PId6
2010-07-14, 08:21 PM
Dread Necromancer 8?

sofawall
2010-07-14, 08:26 PM
Spell Compendium is the first book I'd start with if you're looking for spells. It's got the Summon Undead line (sucks but, well they're options).

I've got creation, I need buffing. Thanks, though.

arguskos
2010-07-14, 08:29 PM
I've got creation, I need buffing. Thanks, though.
There's some undead buffing spells in SpC, I think. Undead Torch, Vile Death, Undead Lieutenant, there's probably a few others, but those are the ones I can recall.

Animate Dread Warrior is a spell in Unapproachable East that's pretty useful.

Can't think of much else specific though, sorry.

sofawall
2010-07-14, 08:54 PM
I seem to recall a feat that makes you explode when you die, but it was piercing or slashing, and not Negative energy like the Libris Mortis one. Anyone know where/what that is?

Claudius Maximus
2010-07-14, 09:02 PM
Unliving Weapon is a spell from BoVD that does something akin to that. There's an alchemical item with a similar effect as well, in Libris Mortis I think.

IIRC, some undead are better off partially frozen. There are rules for that somewhere, most likely Frostburn.

Saya
2010-07-14, 09:32 PM
Dragon Magazine #312 has some random necromancer feats, they're mostly just crappier versions of the corpsecrafter feats though, so IMHO, only take them if you have absolutely nothing else to take.

Keld Denar
2010-07-14, 09:38 PM
Not really a spell, but you can coat your skellys with Yellow Mold. It doesn't do anything to bone, but really bones anyone near them. Not a good idea if you yourself are a fleshy though...

Frosty
2010-07-14, 09:49 PM
If you can find a way to cast Death Throes (Spell Compendium) on someone else, and then find a way to Chain it, it could work really well. And when one dies, it'll likely kill another in your undead horde. Chain Corpse Explosion!

Coidzor
2010-07-14, 10:06 PM
A few things in core, such as desecrate. Also, portable unhallowed altar or what have you. IIRC anyway

Black Sand isn't from Libris Mortis IIRC, and taking tomb-tainted soul/being undead yourself and keeping some on you and your undead at all times (get more by killing subdued foes with it, turns 'em into more of it)... perma healing and it hurts anyone it gets on that's not also negative-energy healed.

IM@work
2010-07-14, 10:24 PM
@Keld Denar or others...

Where is yellow mold from? I'm not familiar with it...


Also, might not be too relevant, but I like adding in Slaymates from Libris Mort. to help add metamagic to any necromancers. If they're summoning undead why not metamagic them for cheap.

sofawall
2010-07-14, 10:26 PM
Could we assume I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of 3.5 material and post sources? I mean, google only gets me so far for some things.

Another_Poet
2010-07-14, 10:31 PM
Where is yellow mold from? I'm not familiar with it...


The DMG.

Every rib cage should be packed with brown mold.

Greymane
2010-07-14, 10:46 PM
The DMG.

Every rib cage should be packed with brown mold.

"They all laughed when I took levels in mushroom farmer! But *hack*... Who's laughing...*cough*...Now...?! ...Anyone *coughcough*...feel a draft...?"

sofawall
2010-07-15, 01:23 AM
Dragon Magazine #312 has some random necromancer feats, they're mostly just crappier versions of the corpsecrafter feats though, so IMHO, only take them if you have absolutely nothing else to take.

Huh. Looking at the credits page of Libris Mortis, it cites Dragon 312 as a source. I guess I should have noticed that myself.

EDIT: Also, apart from Normal, Dire and Legendary, are there any other lions or lion-type things? Preferably 4-legged and animalistic, not humanoids with a mane.

Keld Denar
2010-07-15, 01:35 AM
How about a skeleton one of these?

Not for the faint of realism:
http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/dan/dnd/mauler.jpg

Set
2010-07-15, 01:51 AM
Other than the excellent source that is The Book of Bad Latin, where would someone find class features, feats and spells that improve undead that you create, or are near you?

I'm pretty sure Heroes of Battle has some Commander levels that buff undead under your commander's control.

Undead Lieutenant and Undead Torch and Awaken Undead, from the Spell Compendium, have potential.

Unearthed Arcana's alternate Necromancer options might be fun.

From third-party sources, Green Ronin's Secret College of Necromancy and Necromancer's Legacy from Bastion Press / ENWorld Publishing have some good stuff in them. Monte's first Book of Eldritch Might has spells that can be cast on undead to give them elemental subtypes and elemental bonus damage (Sigil of Ooze, acid immunity and +1d6 acid damage with each attack, for instance, although I'm going from memory here...).


I like the idea of using mundane skills to enhance one's necromantic creations, (http://ruemere.com/scarredlands/contributions/soltares03.htm) through stitching and oil-soaking and alcemically strengthening one's shambling minions, but there aren't any WotC-sanctioned rules to that effect, that I know of.

Set
2010-07-15, 01:58 AM
EDIT: Also, apart from Normal, Dire and Legendary, are there any other lions or lion-type things? Preferably 4-legged and animalistic, not humanoids with a mane.

Various templates, like fiendish, celestial, half-dragon, half-celestial, half-fey, tauric, winged, two-headed, titanic, half-troll, half-construct, half-elemental, shadow, the various elemental templates from Manual of the Planes, etc. could be applied to tweak the lion into the shape you want. A dragonne is pretty much already a half-dragon variant (ditto the griffon as a winged-templated lion variant).

Combine Titanic with Half-Constuct (stone golem) and you could have a giant stone sphinx that animates to defend the kingdom! (Or just the form Torm took during the Time of Troubles.)

A pack of lion's that, at some point in their heritage, interbred with a displacer beast, could have a permanant Blur effect, or just a blur effect while charging / full attacking... Similar ties with Hellcats could result in lion's that are partially invisible when resting, seeming to appear out of nowhere when they charge, or with ties to Azer or geniekind could have metallic hides similar to the Nemean Lion, with a chance of mundane weapons shattering when they strike their steel-hard brazen skin (use rules from the Tusker?) and keen / deadly claws and fangs, sharp as razors and harder than steel.

sofawall
2010-07-15, 02:37 AM
How about a skeleton one of these?

Not for the faint of realism:
Just look above, would you? Bandwidth and all that.

Those things are so totally awesome. My DM once had us fight one, and tried to describe it to us.

We all laughed so hard, we could barely roll the dice to fight.

Watchers
2010-07-15, 10:36 AM
Well, looks like he won't need this anymore...