RPing a wight

[Darth Stabber]

So I am DM'ing a game, and the Chaotic Crazy Tibbit Dread Necromancer (lvl 5) controlled (via rebuke attempt) her first intelligent undead (the titular wight). Since she sees undead as friends and treats even her zombies with the utmost respect. My question is how do I RP the controlled wight, since the DN likes talking to her pets, and she finally has one that can speak? My first guess would be as an unrepentant sociopathic laughing mad man, hell bent on the death of everyone but his mistress (and not her only because of control).

[Mr. Zolrane]

Just say no to undead stereotypes. Obviously, you're the DM and it's your call, but personally I like my undead to be as diverse as my living: i.e., many of them are epic pricks, but just as many are perfectly decent folk who just happened to run afoul of a bored Wee Jas worshiper.

[Gnaeus]

Well, that might be its motivation, but not necessarily how it would act. I note that the wight has 11 int, 13 wis (so it knows that acting like a crazy thing may not help it to feed on the souls of the living), and 15 charisma (so it can be sweet & charming, or sad and pitiful, if it feels like those would help it achieve its aims (murder, freedom)). I could imagine it trying to befriend her, so that she might someday release it from control if she needs more rebuking HD, at which point it could attack her if it thinks it can take her.

[big teej]

\but just as many are perfectly decent folk who just happened to run afoul of a bored Wee Jas worshiper.

I have a Knight like that ^_^ he was sitting hokey dokey in the LG afterlife, chilling with worshippers of Hieronious, when BAM some moron brings him back as a skeleton.

as for actual contribution....

I personally would go for a long-suffering manservant type deal, partly because that strikes me as funny.
and partly bec......

role play it like Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
do it
DO IT NOW!!!
:smallbiggrin:

[Darth Stabber]

I have a Knight like that ^_^ he was sitting hokey dokey in the LG afterlife, chilling with worshippers of Hieronious, when BAM some moron brings him back as a skeleton.

as for actual contribution....

I personally would go for a long-suffering manservant type deal, partly because that strikes me as funny.
and partly bec......

role play it like Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
do it
DO IT NOW!!!
:smallbiggrin:

Well last encounter of the session the wight nailed the last hit on a skarn (causing to raise as a wight under the first wights control), meaning she is beginning to see how the wightpocalypse works. I should end up with several wights to RP, and she insists on naming them, so Grim will likely be the next one. The first is already established as laughing madman, who is constantly trying to get the other party member to "High Five" him.

[Mr. Zolrane]

I have a Knight like that ^_^ he was sitting hokey dokey in the LG afterlife, chilling with worshippers of Hieronious, when BAM some moron brings him back as a skeleton.

as for actual contribution....

I personally would go for a long-suffering manservant type deal, partly because that strikes me as funny.
and partly bec......

role play it like Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
do it
DO IT NOW!!!
:smallbiggrin:

I'm Mr. Zolrane and I approve this ridiculawesome RP idea... what, that's a word... right...?


Well last encounter of the session the wight nailed the last hit on a skarn (causing to raise as a wight under the first wights control), meaning she is beginning to see how the wightpocalypse works. I should end up with several wights to RP (and she insists on naming them). She is also smart and controlled the newly created wight to prevent the risks of the chain breaking (though once these two have some spawn she may start leaving parent wights at home and only taking child wights).

Clever. Good necromancy is a little OP at low levels however. At one point, early in my current campaign, the Death Domain cleric willingly stopped using his skeletal howlers in combat because they were completely dominating combat and making it boring for the rest of us. :smalltongue:

[Darth Stabber]

She has just been rebuking undead the party runs into, I'm going to stop rolling encounters. So long as they are fighting living things her strongest class ability so far (rebuke, based entirely on field data) will be held in check. The only spells she has cast in combat has been Ray of enfeeblement, Kelgore's Gravemist (nabbed with adv. learning), and inflict moderate wounds. The rest of the party has proved able to keep up though.

Party Composition (lvl 5)
Tibbit DN
Elan Shaper Psion
Human Unarmed Sword Sage
Pets - 2 wights, 1 skeletal wolf (mount), and 1 human commoner Zombie (party pack mule)

They have so far taken down several ECL+3 CR encounters (expending no resources but 1-4 spells and 4-10 PP) and they are leveling quicker than I intended.

[TheDarkDM]

She has just been rebuking undead the party runs into, I'm going to stop rolling encounters. So long as they are fighting living things her strongest class ability so far (rebuke, based entirely on field data) will be held in check. The only spells she has cast in combat has been Ray of enfeeblement, Kelgore's Gravemist (nabbed with adv. learning), and inflict moderate wounds. The rest of the party has proved able to keep up though.

Party Composition (lvl 5)
Tibbit DN
Elan Shaper Psion
Human Unarmed Sword Sage
Pets - 2 wights, 1 skeletal wolf (mount), and 1 human commoner Zombie (party pack mule)

They have so far taken down several ECL+3 CR encounters (expending no resources but 1-4 spells and 4-10 PP) and they are leveling quicker than I intended.

You sir have encountered the Dread Necromancer XP rocket engine! In one of my campaigns, I play a Dread Necromancer who studiously raises undead. Since I hit eighth level, the party has taken damage...half a dozen times? And one of those was against a party of eight trolls who were fifteenth level and had Frenzied Berserker. A well played minion Dread Necromancer can lock down any level appropriate encounter, and my current group has regularly trounced CR+4 encounters since we passed eighth level and Animate Dead.

In short, be prepared.

Oh, and don't let her take Leadership and select a bard cohort. Dragonfire Inspiration + Inspire Courage + Requiem will make your life that much harder.

*edit*
Oh, and for reference at the time of the troll encounter the party was ECL 12 and they took us by surprise.

[Darth Stabber]

You sir have encountered the Dread Necromancer XP rocket engine! In one of my campaigns, I play a Dread Necromancer who studiously raises undead. Since I hit eighth level, the party has taken damage...half a dozen times? And one of those was against a party of eight trolls who were fifteenth level and had Frenzied Berserker. A well played minion Dread Necromancer can lock down any level appropriate encounter, and my current group has regularly trounced CR+4 encounters since we passed eighth level and Animate Dead.

In short, be prepared.

Oh, and don't let her take Leadership and select a bard cohort. Dragonfire Inspiration + Inspire Courage + Requiem will make your life that much harder.

*edit*
Oh, and for reference at the time of the troll encounter the party was ECL 12 and they took us by surprise.

Well at ECL 4 they took down an umberhulk barbarian (cr8). I have charts, my own, that I have used for a while to roll encounters from, and anytime something undead pops up, she either gains minions, or at least locks them down. And with an astral construct (overchanneled, because why not) and a UAS both throwing a ton of bludgeoning, I can't use anything skeletal. The best challenging they have gotten so far is from an illusionist, (since they have average-ish will saves (casters have bad wisdom, UAS has bad save bonus good wis).

"Luckily" the DN is likely to dip wizard and go Ultimate magus after 8th, so atleast rebuke stops being rediculous. Yeah she can still make undead, but she can't simple roll a die and either stop or convert undead encounters.