Awesome things to do with undead

[Ryulin18]

I have been messing with ideas for undead. Reading deep in Libris Mortis, Monster manuals, Draconomicon and such I have found some great ideas to share in hope you can share too.

Find an Adult (Large) or mature adult dragon (Huge), because large is the minimum size you can do this with. Raise it as a zombie so it can retain it's fly speed and start hollowing it out. Nowhere (IIRC) does it say that it must keep it's organs. Have fun scooping out your dragon, being sure to avoid it's wing muscles and breath weapon sacs, and put some benches in! You now have a flying cargo plane.

For bonus points try adding spellwarped (http://tharitsia.heavenforum.org/t2-spellwarped-template) template for extra speed or a large disguise check to make it look alive!

[Ryulin18]

Ryulin's quick recipe!


Leave your child in a room of atleast gas mark 1 for 2d6 weeks
Return to find a well cooked Slaymate (http://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Slaymate_(3.5e_Template))!
Ram a wisdom item on that little sucker and spellstitch it!
Try invisibility or any other useful spell


1 meta magic reducing baby to carry a la papoose (http://101studiostreet.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/papoose.jpg)!

[Ryulin18]

Has your brute lost its smash? Or are you looking for a bit more bang for your buck? Try a mummified critter! (http://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/templates/mummifiedcreature.shtml)

Pg 110 of libris mortis has one of the best templates you can find for an undead and all you have to do is play dress up with it and hole it up for a while.



+8 STR
+4 WIS
+4 CHA
DR 5/- <-- that IS a dash
+50% fire damage...sucks



for free. Have fun

[Igneel]

Most of these come from a older Dread Necromancer Handbook (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872470/New_Dread_Necromancer_Handbook) thread.
Other ones to look at- K's Revised (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5584.0), Reanimated (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214212)

Take your dragon idea but substitute with a Bulette (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/bulette.htm) or another burrowing creature for a burrowing mode of transport. Arguably take a whale and you have a submersible for underwater travel as well. Bottle of Air will be needed more then likely as I don't think rotting corpses keep the air fresh for long.

Something like a Giant Stag Beetle Zombie outfitted with Armor Barding could make a 'armored tank', and with the addition of a platform or something on top skeletons could ride with spears to stab enemies that get close.

Hydras, nuff said. Ask about the Winged Template in Savage species for dragon-like fun with multiple heads.

Another thread had suggestions for Zombie Sparrows, which make excellent security alarms, and if you have enough a flock of them at your disposal.

A questionable idea is having a Dire Tortoise (Sandstorm) Skeleton (it's HD is too high for a Zombie) carry Black Sand from Sandstorm in its shell as a constant healing source, albeit d4 each round. Also can make it into a moving shrine for undead creation.

[Ryulin18]

A questionable idea is having a Dire Tortoise (Sandstorm) Skeleton (it's HD is too high for a Zombie) carry Black Sand from Sandstorm in its shell as a constant healing source, albeit d4 each round. Also can make it into a moving shrine for undead creation.

This was one of my next ones! A dire tortoise filled with black sand that has a permanent field of enlarged desecrate. Make a nice altar on it's back and you have a super fun times!

[hamishspence]

Give it the half-dragon template and you can have a Zombie Dragon (Draconomicon)- no hit dice doubling, and no hit dice cap.

[Ryulin18]

Last one I thought of was to place a ballista in the chest cavity of a hollowed out huge creature, ride along in it and when something is dumb enough to enter mellee you can kick open the door/ chest and unload a point blank ballista!

Bonus points for loading a harpoon into the ballista first. Who can turn down 8d6 for pain

[Ravens_cry]

Eh, if it's a tortoise, "moving" might be too strong a word.
My idea?
Put a bunch of skeletons in a treadwheel and order them to move. Hook the the axis to anything that can use rotary motion.
POWAH, ULTIMATE (Mechanical, or even potentially Electrical) POWAH!

[Madara]

Obviously, spellstich.

Also, Polymorph any object on any undead into something you want to rebuke/turn.

Any corpse you want: Al La Marvelous Pigments (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#marvelousPigments)

Remember to animate a genie, they make great archers. Skeleton+ flight= win

[FearlessGnome]

Find an Adult (Large) or mature adult dragon (Huge), because large is the minimum size you can do this with. Raise it as a zombie so it can retain it's fly speed and start hollowing it out. Nowhere (IIRC) does it say that it must keep it's organs. Have fun scooping out your dragon, being sure to avoid it's wing muscles and breath weapon sacs, and put some benches in! You now have a flying cargo plane.

For bonus points try adding spellwarped (http://tharitsia.heavenforum.org/t2-spellwarped-template) template for extra speed or a large disguise check to make it look alive!

For extra points, zombiefy a Huge Wyrmling Force Dragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/dragonEpic.htm). Good guys on your tail? Are they making you go through a high-speed flying chase scene in a tight space that can only end in your death or capture? Well, fear no more! For only 20 easy installments of 25 gold's worth of Onyx you too can own your very own (Zombie) Force Dragon!
1: Order Zombie to open mouth.
2: Cast Wall of Force Ahead of you.
3: Order zombie to close mouth. DO NOT FORGET THIS STEP, as consequences may be hilarious dire.
4: Fly through Wall of Force.
5: Heroes fly into Wall of Force.
6: Escape in Style!

[DrMike105]

Take the Destruction Retribution feat (Libris Mortis), make a bunch of zombies or skeletons, put them in bags of holding, get a flying mount, and empty the bags over the battlefield from high above. Carpet Zombie Bombs! And, if your DM rules that they actually explode, push nails into them before dropping.

[Tvtyrant]

One of the wonders of the game has always been the Bag of Holding/Portable Hole trick. However you certainly don't want to accompany the massive monster to the Astral Plane, and some DMs do not allow the super destruction arrows.

However, having a Tiny flying undead fly up to the enemy and push the two objects inside each other is foolproof, and with invisibility and miss chances on the undead almost impossible to block.

[Wookie-ranger]

Take the Destruction Retribution feat (Libris Mortis), make a bunch of zombies or skeletons, put them in bags of holding, get a flying mount, and empty the bags over the battlefield from high above. Carpet Zombie Bombs! And, if your DM rules that they actually explode, push nails into them before dropping.


OK, i have to use that one! can't believe i never thought of that.
btw, one word: catapult :smallbiggrin:

i used Destruction Retribution on rats and stuff as a self heal for a Necropolitan, fun times, but a bit broken when a tiny rat skeleton can do 1d6 damage (bonus fun with swarms of zombie flies and a well placed fireball)

as far as i know, you don't have to have the undead under your control; when they die they go boom, simple.
so over the years a well equipped (and well funded, for all that Onyx) necromancer can amass thousands of skeletons and keep them around for when he needs 1d6 negative damage. better locked up though, or if you want to use them as ammunition simply restrained very securely with chains or iron bands or something.

usually, we play with some semi-house ruled stuff
1. that undead don't attack other undead unless attacked or ordered to attack. makes much more sense when they come in groups. This can be broken when a PC is undead, but read on.
2. since they are mindless, we usually rule that if they are uncontrolled they simply follow the last command given to them. this can be broken sometimes (ie: last commands: follow my command/defend me/follow me/), but it also makes a lot more sense because do you really think the hundreds of undead that you encounter are ALL under the control of someone? So even when a PC is undead and the last order given to a Skeleton is 'kill anyone that enters this room' the skeleton would attack the Undead PC.
3. last but not least:when newly created mindless undead have the standing order 'kill living creatures'. this explains why undead that rise 'naturally' always want to kill people, even though they are mind less and there for would not have any drive or desire to do anything (they would be Emos, basically:smallwink:)
4. and the common sense rule that what ever we do the BBEG might do as well. so unless the Campaign is already broken we don't abuse those rules (too, much:smallamused:)

also this is not a rule but something that we are simply doing for convenience you can chose the Corpsecrafter feats that you want to use on any given undead at time of creation, after that it is fixed