Modify Walker in the Waste

[Shin]

Hey there!

I decided to aim for the flavorful Walker in the Waste prc in my d&d group's recently started campaign, after my rogue turned out to not fit into the group very well. Now my DM does like it's flavor too but still has little issue with some of the prc's abilites. We agreed on modifying them so they fit. I now need your tips and ideas on how to modify the following abilities:

Pillar of Salt (Sp): At 5th level and higher, you can use
flesh to salt once per day, duplicating the effect of the spell
(see page 116). Your caster level for this ability is equal to
your class level.

My DM doesn't like it because you can horribly abuse it for gold exploit. He allows it if enemies instead are turned into sand statues, which wouldn't sell very well. DM doesn't want me to gain gold with a class ability.
If I turned enemies into sand instead, I guess not much would chance (water damaging the statue, and so on) and I could still use it in a more combat-oriented way instead of selling the statues. Maybe I could have some synergies with other abilities, or for example play an Asherati, turn enemies into sand and have a piece of sand desert to swim and hide in then.
Do you come up with any ideas for synergies?

Then the dry lich template the WitW gets at level 10.
My DM doesn't want anyone of us to become undead at all. We agreed to modify this so that my character would not become a lich but something else, or would rather get some sort of "blessing of the desert" or "become one with the desert" rather than become something different than the aasimar/asherati he used to be.

Maybe these two abilities could aim for something similar (sand magic?) to raise the degree of synergy, giving the WitW great control over the sand he brought with him at all. However, we're playing in a garden variety setting, so he shouldn't become useless without pre-existent desert environment. Which I hope the prc isn't anyway.

[Madara]

Well, the dropping of the salt making is fine, it wasn't intended, and doesn't change your power too much. But, the capstone is the whole reason for the class. Try to get the same template and just have him change the type to Outsider or something. Because seriously, that's the best ability of the class.

Just to check, is he gonna make you eat the LA for the template?

[Rubik]

I don't see much of any problems with the proposed changes, so long as you get a decent deal out of the substitution for the dry lich.

What if you become a modified warforged, instead, adding the warforged benefits to your previous racial benefits? You become a construct (living construct, augmented humanoid [or whatever]), with everything that implies, along with +2 Con (though I wouldn't force a -2 Cha penalty on you, personally). And since you're giving up a LOT with the dry lich template, you should gain a bonus warforged body feat, as well. Fluff it by saying you become some sort of living sand.

[Toy Killer]

Personally, I always thought the walker turning into a Dry Lich was a bit of a cop-out in the first place. It doesn't quite feel right, especially since they say that the walkers are indisputable loners and turn around to say that the dry lich ritual requires the aid of another dry lich.

I understand that Necromancers tend to enjoy being undead, as it's great synergy and all with their other abilities, but it feels to me that becoming a lich should be in the players hand entirely and not a class feature...

Perhaps you could become the visage of the waste by modifying the Saint template to you preferred alignment and drop a couple Spell like abilities and the like on top of it.

[Shin]

The capstone ability isn't meant to be weakened! My DM doesn't have issue with the lich being powerful but more with it being undead, which in his opinion is a no-go when we walk into a city or something.
He should get something equal. Outsider and Warforged sound interesting.

But not to confuse you: It's all about the "undead". In fact, I could get some blessing of the desert or become a being which is identical to the dry lich but isn't undead. Can be purely homebrew, if it fits with the the theme.

What exactly does "Outsider" mean? Just that the being isn't from >this< plane but from another plane? And are there any kinds of outsiders similar to a lich's mechanics (HD through CHA instead of CON, immune to a number of things,...)? Or could I create some kind of non-undead outsider identical to a dry lich aside from that?

And yes, I won't get the +LA. I basically could even get the ability for free depending on what I chose to become. No canopic jars or ritual intended by now. Could be modified too, for the purpose of roleplay. Dunno.

[Rubik]

The capstone ability isn't meant to be weakened! My DM doesn't have issue with the lich being powerful but more with it being undead, which in his opinion is a no-go when we walk into a city or something.
He should get something equal. Outsider and Warforged sound interesting.

But not to confuse you: It's all about the "undead". In fact, I could get some blessing of the desert or become a being which is identical to the dry lich but isn't undead. Can be purely homebrew, if it fits with the the theme.

What exactly does "Outsider" mean? Just that the being isn't from >this< plane but from another plane? And are there any kinds of outsiders similar to a lich's mechanics (HD through CHA instead of CON, immune to a number of things,...)? Or could I create some kind of non-undead outsider identical to a dry lich aside from that?

And yes, I won't get the +LA. I basically could even get the ability for free depending on what I chose to become. No canopic jars or ritual intended by now. Could be modified too, for the purpose of roleplay. Dunno.Well, you could become a dry lich but gain the construct type (and the living construct subtype) instead of undead. Perhaps a bonus warforged body feat (and count as a warforged for various purposes); this would offset some of the undead bonuses that you don't get. Voila.

[Urpriest]

What exactly does "Outsider" mean? Just that the being isn't from >this< plane but from another plane? And are there any kinds of outsiders similar to a lich's mechanics (HD through CHA instead of CON, immune to a number of things,...)? Or could I create some kind of non-undead outsider identical to a dry lich aside from that?
.

Outsider is a creature type. It represents beings that owe their existence more to base concepts than to natural selection. There are plenty of creatures of more normal creature types on other planes. And AFAIK there are no Outsiders with Con - or similar.

If your DM's only problem with you becoming undead is that it would be difficult to go into town, remind him that you're already playing a powerful evil character, and that at the levels involved (11+) characters tend to have a reputation. It will already be difficult for you to walk into a random town without the townfolk fleeing in fear at that point. The only way to avoid that is to disguise yourself or otherwise make yourself inconspicuous...which would help just as much if you were undead.

[Shin]

Walker in the Waste doesn't have to be evil, which mine won't be. Even a Dry Lich doesn't have to be evil, it just can't be good-aligned. Mine will be neutral neutral or chaotic neutral.
DM's problem with it is that undead don't fit into an average adventurers' group and are not welcome in human(/oid) society. This would change the campaign from being kind of "common" to "exotic", if you understand what I mean.

So he just doesn't want me to become an undead, not caring about the rest a dry lich gets other than being undead.

[Rubik]

Walker in the Waste doesn't have to be evil, which mine won't be. Even a Dry Lich doesn't have to be evil, it just can't be good-aligned. Mine will be neutral neutral or chaotic neutral.
DM's problem with it is that undead don't fit into an average adventurers' group and are not welcome in human(/oid) society. This would change the campaign from being kind of "common" to "exotic", if you understand what I mean.

So he just doesn't want me to become an undead, not caring about the rest a dry lich gets other than being undead.Just say you sparkle in the sunlight.

Considering all the Cullen fangirls out there, I'm sure you'll have groupies accepting your accursed existence in no time flat.

[Shin]

Just say you sparkle in the sunlight.

Considering all the Cullen fangirls out there, I'm sure you'll have groupies accepting your accursed existence in no time flat.
Smells like leadership advantage!

I came up with a modification now:

"One with the Waste" (instead of "Dry Lich") at lvl 10
The Walker in the Waste is infused with the essence of the desert and becomes one with the waste he shares a close bond with.

As the dry lich, he gets:
+5 natural AC
+8 hide/bluff/listen/move silently/search/spot
+3CR
Current and future Hit Dice increased to d12s.
Dmg reduction 10/(bludgeoning AND magic)
Fast healing 2 as long as in arid environment (suppressed by water-based effects)
Desiccating Touch (retained from WitW prc)- living creature struck by touch attack takes 5d6 desiccation dmg (5d8 plant or water elemental)(Fort1/2, DC=15+WIS modifier)
Constitution Drain - living creature struck by touch attack takes 1d6 constitution drain (FortNeg, DC is CHA-based). 5 temporary HP gained for each time a drain is successful)

Modifications to the dry lich:
Becomes Outsider (Native) instead of a dry lich
Darksight 60' (as every outsider gets, but as I know, undead gets it too)
+2Con, +4Wis, +2Cha (+4 Con instead of +2 Str and Con negated)
??? resistance +6 (instead of turn resistance)
no LA+5 (I know, dry lich wouldn't get it too, depending on rule interpretation)
- Immune to dehydration, heat, polymorphing (if not casted by himself), disease, paralysis, stunning, critical hits and poisons (but not to mind-affecting spells & abilities, sleep effects, death effects, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain, as an undead would be)
- Can partially or fully dissolve into sand for short periods of time and hide in or travel through sandy ground this way (gained for the loss of the mental immunities an undead would get). The body immunities would be explained with him being able to dissolve parts of his body into sand, but he would still get "normal" damage and damage through water as an enemy turned into a statue with "pillar of salt" would
- Immovable Toughness - Con modifier (min 1) * HD extra hit points (instead of "unholy toughness"'s Con modifier)
- no Water Weakness (normal water does same dmg as holy water to a dry lich)
- No Aura of Despair (all creatures within 60' radius become shaken for 1d4 rounds (WillNeg, DC is CHA-based), whether or not save is successful, each enemy affectable only 1x/24 hours)
- Cannot be permanently slain as long as in arid environment (sandy, dusty,...) (like Telflammar Shadowlord's shadow discorporate)(no canopic jars but instead wasty environment needed to survive)

And, to pay tribute to the things lost from becoming an undead, in exchange there are no canopic jars, removal of organs or sere rites needed)

Your opinions?
And which resistance could I use if not turn resistance?
Should the new "template" retain the Charisma focused life gaining and negated constitution score?

My WitW would now travel with a backpack or something filled with sand, which would get him a basic amount of his "sand resource".
He'd be able to partially turn his body into sand (this way, he could also temporarily gain additional "sand resource").
And he could make sand out of other corpses/beings (pillar of sand), gaining even more "sand resource" through it.
This whole lot of sand he could use to dive into and hide into, although he could also use it as his "grave", dissolving into it upon death and being reborn out of the sand. He could also chose to create sand golems out of it, temporarily losing part of his "sand resource", or use enemy bodies turned into a statue with "pillar of sand" to create mummified servants rather than adding the enemy sand body to his "sand resource" amount. He'd only be able to turn others into mummy servants if he didn't already dissolve their bodies to gain more sand.

[Urpriest]

If you're really interested in keeping the immunities, maybe you should become an Elemental rather than an Outsider. That way, a lot of the relevant immunities are already part of the type.

[Shin]

Guess my DM would have the same issue with an elemental as he'd have with an undead player. I'll ask him today.
With the whole "turn into sand" thing, I'd basically give away the mental immunities for more corporal defense.