Undead Cohort

[Chester]

Hello! 3.5, Level 6, undead leadership feat.

Dread Necro.

Can someone explain to me what kind of undead cohort I can get? Is it a straight up creature like a ghoul, or can it be a ghoul monk or something of that sort?

What can I get?

[Segev]

Per the rules as written, you may have any cohort you can construct that is Undead type. Or you can have a cohort of another type, but with a penalty to your Leadership score.

[Chester]

Per the rules as written, you may have any cohort you can construct that is Undead type.

I'm just not getting the rules, though, as I'm quite slow at this. :smalltongue:

Please asplain.

[Segev]

Okay.

A cohort is built very much like a PC. Your undead cohort must have "Undead" as its type. This could be achieved by simply taking an existing undead creature with an Effective Character Level (ECL) equal to or lower than the maximum level you may have as an Undead Cohort, or it may be built more elaborately.

The next step up would be to do as above, but then, if it is lower ECL than your maximum, start adding character levels to it.

An alternative would be to build a normal character (probably a humanoid) of whatever class, then apply a template that makes it undead. Vampire, Gravetouched Ghoul, Ghost, etc. would all apply. You'd have to make sure the pre-template level plus the level adjustment (LA) of the template didn't make it have a higher ECL than your maximum allowed.

[OldTrees1]

Necropolitian: LA+0 undead

[Chester]

So, I want to make sure I got this:

ECL = class level + level adjustment of creature/template.

As a level 6 character, I can have a cohort with an ECL of 4.

Therefore, I can have something like:

Level 4 Ghoul Ranger
Level 4 Necropolitan Monk
Level 2 Gravetouched Ghoul Fighter

Is that accurate?

[Segev]

Ghouls don't have a level adjustment or ECL, do they?

The other two look kosher.

[OldTrees1]

So, I want to make sure I got this:

ECL = class level + level adjustment of creature/template.

As a level 6 character, I can have a cohort with an ECL of 4.

Therefore, I can have something like:

Level 4 Ghoul Ranger
Level 4 Necropolitan Monk
Level 2 Gravetouched Ghoul Fighter

Is that accurate?

Ghouls are ECL 5 (2RHD and +3 LA) as per Savage Species and later Libris Mortis (levels 1-5 of the Ghoul/Ghast monster class)

ECL = Racial Hit Dice + Class Levels + Level Adjustment.

[Chester]

Ghouls are ECL 5 (2RHD and +3 LA) as per Savage Species and later Libris Mortis (levels 1-5 of the Ghoul/Ghast monster class)

ECL = Racial Hit Dice + Class Levels + Level Adjustment.

OK, I was looking at the Monster Manual.

Gravetouched Ghoul is a template, right? So no racial HD?

[Segev]

OK, I was looking at the Monster Manual.

Gravetouched Ghoul is a template, right? So no racial HD?

Correct. It just has an LA.

[Demorix]

I did a dread necro with an undead morhg ( think spelt it right) fighter it was beast and you can use any of the undead types from libris mortis book it gives you different types of undead characters in it

[Urpriest]

So, I want to make sure I got this:

ECL = class level + level adjustment of creature/template.

As a level 6 character, I can have a cohort with an ECL of 4.

Therefore, I can have something like:

Level 4 Ghoul Ranger
Level 4 Necropolitan Monk
Level 2 Gravetouched Ghoul Fighter

Is that accurate?

As others have pointed out, a Ghoul is already ECL 5. If you aren't familiar with how ECL works, you really ought to read my Monster Handbook, link in sig.