Need CR 1-3 Undead

[Dralnu]

I have an encounter coming up where the PCs have to survive X amount of rounds defending an area from an unending swarm of undead. I'll be using skeletons, zombies, and wights, but are there are anything else in the CR1-3 range that could be fun to throw at them? Homebrew is perfectly fine too.

[candycorn]

Ghouls and Ghasts (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ghoul.htm) fit the bill well.
Shadows (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/shadow.htm) can give an unprepared party fits.

[flumphy]

Here's (http://monsterfinder.dndrunde.de/results.php?id=1382929459&skip=0)what my favorite monster filter came up with.

[Malimar]

Apply the skeleton and zombie templates to random creatures, rather than just using the ones presented.
Give some of them different weapons and maybe armor.
Throw in a few of the skeleton/zombie variants from Libris Mortis.

[Gorfang113]

MM: Ghouls, ghasts, allips, Shadows (a bit powerful for cr 3 though...). LM: Carcass Eaters, Raiments, Dessicators, Slaymates, Tomb Motes, Bone Rat Swarms, Deathlocks, Murks, Quells, Skin Kites. MMIV: Necrosis Carnex, Plague Walker. MMV: Bonespur. FF: Ghostly Visage, Yellow Musk Zombies, Crypt Thing.

Thats a complete list of all the CR 1-3 Undead from the Monster Manuels, Liber Mortis and Fiend Folio. Hope it helps.

[Greenish]

Revived Fossil (LM) Baboon (MM) is always a fun CR 1 critter.

[Tvtyrant]

Necarnum zombies with 6 HD are I believe CR 3.

[Ravens_cry]

Save Shadows for the end, if at all. They can bypass most defences and seriously hinder any frontliners ability to fight while potentially killing anyone who dumps strength very quickly.
I also take some objection, unless there is a good reason, to a literally unending amount of undead. Lots? Sure. But making it open ended removes the possibility of player cleverness.
What if the players come up with a plan that would remove ludicrous, but not indefinite, amounts of undead?
Is it really fair to disallow that possibility?

[faceroll]

Save Shadows for the end, if at all. They can bypass most defences and seriously hinder any frontliners ability to fight while potentially killing anyone who dumps strength very quickly.
I also take some objection, unless there is a good reason, to a literally unending amount of undead. Lots? Sure. But making it open ended removes the possibility of player cleverness.
What if the players come up with a plan that would remove ludicrous, but not indefinite, amounts of undead?
Is it really fair to disallow that possibility?

But what if the waves of undead are really unending?

[Dralnu]

Save Shadows for the end, if at all. They can bypass most defences and seriously hinder any frontliners ability to fight while potentially killing anyone who dumps strength very quickly.
I also take some objection, unless there is a good reason, to a literally unending amount of undead. Lots? Sure. But making it open ended removes the possibility of player cleverness.
What if the players come up with a plan that would remove ludicrous, but not indefinite, amounts of undead?
Is it really fair to disallow that possibility?

Well, here's the scenerio:
The PCs have found an artifact book called Libris Mortis in an underground area below a temple to Nerull. It's really powerful and has some degree of sentience, helping an orc tribe spread death by letting them find "pages" that can be used to help create and command undead. Their mission is to retrieve the book. The problem is that the book has magically bound itself to the area. An NPC knows a complex ritual to shut the book down temporarily so they can take it and get out. He says it will only take a minute to perform (10 rounds) but cannot be interrupted once he starts.

As soon as the NPC begins the ritual, the book gets mad and acts as a homing beacon for all the undead in the underground caverns, of which there are hundreds. Not infinite, sure, but from the PCs perspective it might as well be. PCs must hold off the undead until the book is shut down and the undead animated by it turn back to corpses/disappear.

If the PCs find some clever way to bypass the encounter then I'd allow it. I have no problem being flexible.

As for the suggestions: wow, thanks everyone! This should be more than enough. :smallbiggrin:

[CTrees]

Zombie kittens, possibly as a swarm.

What?

[Ravens_cry]

But what if the waves of undead are really unending?
Hence why I said "unless there is a good reason."


Well, here's the scenerio:
The PCs have found an artifact book called Libris Mortis in an underground area below a temple to Nerull. It's really powerful and has some degree of sentience, helping an orc tribe spread death by letting them find "pages" that can be used to help create and command undead. Their mission is to retrieve the book. The problem is that the book has magically bound itself to the area. An NPC knows a complex ritual to shut the book down temporarily so they can take it and get out. He says it will only take a minute to perform (10 rounds) but cannot be interrupted once he starts.

As soon as the NPC begins the ritual, the book gets mad and acts as a homing beacon for all the undead in the underground caverns, of which there are hundreds. Not infinite, sure, but from the PCs perspective it might as well be. PCs must hold off the undead until the book is shut down and the undead animated by it turn back to corpses/disappear.

If the PCs find some clever way to bypass the encounter then I'd allow it. I have no problem being flexible.
Well, that's a pretty good reason, but it might suffer a little from Cooler-Than-Thou-NPC-itis.
Instead of having an NPC do Cool Bit™, the players could have a quest where they learn it and have to fight off the Waves of Undead™.
You seem to be in the middle of the campaign so this might not be an option, but having NPC do the Cool Bits™ doesn't, in my view, often make for a fun campaign.

[faceroll]

Well, that's a pretty good reason, but it might suffer a little from Cooler-Than-Thou-NPC-itis.
Instead of having an NPC do Cool Bit™, the players could have a quest where they learn it and have to fight off the Waves of Undead™.
You seem to be in the middle of the campaign so this might not be an option, but having NPC do the Cool Bits™ doesn't, in my view, often make for a fun campaign.

I'd think fighting off the waves of undead was the cool bit, not touching a book. But YMMV, I guess.

Also, what a ****ing nitpick.

OP, your idea sounds tits-out awesome.

[Flickerdart]

Problem with the PCs having to do it is that it means a PC is going to have to sit and chant for ten rounds while his friends get their dice on. Such a thing is best left to NPCs.

[candycorn]

I'm supporting unending.

Player nifty tricks? They earn what we in the biz call "breathing room".

Not victory.

[Zherog]

I'm partial to Skinned Tom (http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/front-page78.php), personally. ;)

[Dralnu]

Problem with the PCs having to do it is that it means a PC is going to have to sit and chant for ten rounds while his friends get their dice on. Such a thing is best left to NPCs.

Exactly. If anything I thought it would make sure that the NPC isn't hogging the spotlight, as he's going to be standing there doing nothing for 10 rounds of combat.

[Godskook]

A bloodhulk fighter from MMIV would provide you with a nice mini-boss at these levels. High HP, decent attack routine, vulnerable point that makes fighting him easier, and will likely be the only monster you use that the precision character wants to attack(Effective anti-DR to slashing/piercing, so it scales better with attacks/round).

[CTrees]

More seriously, throw some skeletal animals out there. Fragile but thematic, and they add some variety. Wolves trip, tigers/lions pounce, things like rhinos (if that fits within CR-I don't remember for 3.5) have gore abilities... have some fun with different styles of attack routine.

[BlackestOfMages]

Hence why I said "unless there is a good reason."


Well, that's a pretty good reason, but it might suffer a little from Cooler-Than-Thou-NPC-itis.
Instead of having an NPC do Cool Bit™, the players could have a quest where they learn it and have to fight off the Waves of Undead™.
You seem to be in the middle of the campaign so this might not be an option, but having NPC do the Cool Bits™ doesn't, in my view, often make for a fun campaign.

wait, the cool bit is sitting around for the whole fight relying on the incompetant party (PC logic 1: if something takes time, have the guy we need the most do it) fights off waves of undead?

wierd...

ps: i do not feel 10 rounds is enough! more, more unending undead DOOM! also, it lets you pace out the waves, as having multiple in 10 rounds could lead to the party getting crushed by sheer number of enemies

[faceroll]

10 rounds is a HUGE amount of time! That's going to be like a 2 or 3 hours battle!

[Dralnu]

ps: i do not feel 10 rounds is enough! more, more unending undead DOOM! also, it lets you pace out the waves, as having multiple in 10 rounds could lead to the party getting crushed by sheer number of enemies

That's the point. :smallamused:

[Malimar]

Well, here's the scenerio:
The PCs have found an artifact book called Libris Mortis...

Make sure you're aware that "Libris Mortis" means "From the Books of the Dead".

[Flickerdart]

Make sure you're aware that "Libris Mortis" means "From the Books of the Dead".
That would be Ex Libris Mortis.

[Circle of Life]

Revived Fossil (LM) Baboon (MM) is always a fun CR 1 critter.

For the love of all that is holy do not send one of these out unless you want the party to lose on the spot.

Yeah, it's CR 1 like That Damn Crab is CR 3.

[faceroll]

Make sure you're aware that "Libris Mortis" means "From the Books of the Dead".

No, it means Book of the Dead in Undercommon, though the root can be traced back to Abyssal. There are cognates for it in Infernal and Celestial, and arguably, Draconic. While many sages tend to trace etymologies like one would a family lineage, a growing body of scholars hold that the the underlying nature of the universe causes certain things to be called certain names. That Draconic and Abyssal share similar words for both undeath and knowledge is neither coincidence nor a shared etymology, but reveals a fundamental universal rule.


tl;dr
Sucks to your latin.

[Coidzor]

...What level are these PCs?

[Malimar]

That would be Ex Libris Mortis.

The ablative case doesn't need a preposition when used to indicate something's source or the place from which it comes.

[Dralnu]

...What level are these PCs?

4-5 level 6 PCs.

[Circle of Life]

Oh. The revived fossil baboons might be alright in that context then, but I strongly advise treating them as CR 3 (or 2.5) instead of 1.

[Adindra]

Here's (http://monsterfinder.dndrunde.de/results.php?id=1382929459&skip=0)what my favorite monster filter came up with.

That is amazing! thank you for linking it

[Runestar]

Draconomicon has rules for creating undead dragons, which are statistically very scary for their cr (1/2 base dragon), especially since they retain their base bab! :smalleek: