ericgrau
2014-05-17, 11:04 AM
The idea came from a recent thread on what you can do with an ordinary unseen servant. I was surprised how few results I got when I googled "greater unseen servant". So I thought I'd make an improved version of unseen servant with much greater versatility and less limitations, yet with relatively simple rules.
I went with CR 3 because, in spite of his versatility & miss chance, he has a very low attack bonus & hp.
Greater Unseen Servant
Conjuration (Summoning)
Level: Brd 4, Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: One invisible servant
Duration: 24 hours
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spell lets you form an invisible creature from planar energies, which is for nearly all purposes a level 1 human expert. You choose his feats, skills, languages and so on when casting the spell, just as if you were making a new character. You need not have these skills, languages and so on yourself and may even summon one to serve as a translator or guide.
His ability scores are 13, 12, 11, 10, 9 and 8, arranged however you desire. A human expert has (7+int modifier)*4 skill points, any 10 skills as class skills, 2 feats, 1d6+con modifier hit points, simple weapon proficiency and light armor proficiency but not shield proficiency. He does not appear with any equipment, but you may give him equipment. The equipment does not become invisible when the servant picks it up. A servant wearing a large amount of equipment loses his concealment from being invisible. However casting invisibility on this equipment can overcome this issue, and permanency could make the invisibility permanent. If your DM uses any special rules for character creation, they apply to the servant just as they would a non-elite NPC expert.
The servant obeys your commands absolutely, even if given suicidal orders. You communicate normally with him. He is damaged only by area attacks, including splash weapons, and dissipates once his hit points reach 0 (not -10). He does not actually die, but returns to the planes from which he came. He cannot be healed, poisoned and so forth since he has no physiology, nor does he need to eat and so on. Otherwise treat him as a humanoid creature, subject to the same effects as any other.
A greater unseen servant has a challenge rating of 3 if cast before the fight begins. Summons cast during a fight do not change a fight's encounter level.
Material Component:
A tiny faceless doll worth 1 sp.
Servant Freedom
Transmutation
Level: Wiz 7 / Brd 5
Components: V, S, XP
Casting Time: 24 hours
Range: Touch
Target: Unseen servant, greater unseen servant, wood wose, or other variant of unseen servant
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
This spell frees a magical servant and makes him autonomous. A mindless servant is still mindless, much like a zombie. A mindless servant continues to obey orders from the one who created him. If he has no orders he does nothing unless the spell that created him says otherwise. A servant with a mind becomes autonomous and is no longer subject to his creators commands. But he is friendly to his creator and will follow most instructions, at least at first. Once a servant is freed it is no longer an ongoing spell and cannot be dispelled nor disjunctioned. Nor does it have a duration anymore, he stays until destroyed. He is however a supernatural creature and winks out in an antimagic field and his equipment falls to the ground. He returns once the field is removed. Freed servants who expect an antimagic field are wise to carry a visibly magic piece of equipment, and unless it is running or charging it may then automatically notice the field in time to stop.
In the case of a greater unseen servant his level adjustment is +3 and his first level is always a level in expert. A destroyed freed greater unseen servant reverts into his spell material component(s) and may be raised by a resurrection spell (provide the material component is at hand) or a true resurrection spell. Raise dead does not work on a destroyed greater unseen servant.
Xp Cost:
100 xp per spell level of the spell used to create the servant. If the spell created multiple servants, then they may all be freed with one casting of servant freedom.
Note: In high optimization I suggest lowering the LA of a GUS to +2 or +1. Or allow retraining of the expert level and put the LA at +3 or +2. LA buyoff is another option for high optimization that works well with the GUS, since his abilities become less useful at high level. But even then I wouldn't let the last LA get bought off.
I went with CR 3 because, in spite of his versatility & miss chance, he has a very low attack bonus & hp.
Greater Unseen Servant
Conjuration (Summoning)
Level: Brd 4, Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: One invisible servant
Duration: 24 hours
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spell lets you form an invisible creature from planar energies, which is for nearly all purposes a level 1 human expert. You choose his feats, skills, languages and so on when casting the spell, just as if you were making a new character. You need not have these skills, languages and so on yourself and may even summon one to serve as a translator or guide.
His ability scores are 13, 12, 11, 10, 9 and 8, arranged however you desire. A human expert has (7+int modifier)*4 skill points, any 10 skills as class skills, 2 feats, 1d6+con modifier hit points, simple weapon proficiency and light armor proficiency but not shield proficiency. He does not appear with any equipment, but you may give him equipment. The equipment does not become invisible when the servant picks it up. A servant wearing a large amount of equipment loses his concealment from being invisible. However casting invisibility on this equipment can overcome this issue, and permanency could make the invisibility permanent. If your DM uses any special rules for character creation, they apply to the servant just as they would a non-elite NPC expert.
The servant obeys your commands absolutely, even if given suicidal orders. You communicate normally with him. He is damaged only by area attacks, including splash weapons, and dissipates once his hit points reach 0 (not -10). He does not actually die, but returns to the planes from which he came. He cannot be healed, poisoned and so forth since he has no physiology, nor does he need to eat and so on. Otherwise treat him as a humanoid creature, subject to the same effects as any other.
A greater unseen servant has a challenge rating of 3 if cast before the fight begins. Summons cast during a fight do not change a fight's encounter level.
Material Component:
A tiny faceless doll worth 1 sp.
Servant Freedom
Transmutation
Level: Wiz 7 / Brd 5
Components: V, S, XP
Casting Time: 24 hours
Range: Touch
Target: Unseen servant, greater unseen servant, wood wose, or other variant of unseen servant
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
This spell frees a magical servant and makes him autonomous. A mindless servant is still mindless, much like a zombie. A mindless servant continues to obey orders from the one who created him. If he has no orders he does nothing unless the spell that created him says otherwise. A servant with a mind becomes autonomous and is no longer subject to his creators commands. But he is friendly to his creator and will follow most instructions, at least at first. Once a servant is freed it is no longer an ongoing spell and cannot be dispelled nor disjunctioned. Nor does it have a duration anymore, he stays until destroyed. He is however a supernatural creature and winks out in an antimagic field and his equipment falls to the ground. He returns once the field is removed. Freed servants who expect an antimagic field are wise to carry a visibly magic piece of equipment, and unless it is running or charging it may then automatically notice the field in time to stop.
In the case of a greater unseen servant his level adjustment is +3 and his first level is always a level in expert. A destroyed freed greater unseen servant reverts into his spell material component(s) and may be raised by a resurrection spell (provide the material component is at hand) or a true resurrection spell. Raise dead does not work on a destroyed greater unseen servant.
Xp Cost:
100 xp per spell level of the spell used to create the servant. If the spell created multiple servants, then they may all be freed with one casting of servant freedom.
Note: In high optimization I suggest lowering the LA of a GUS to +2 or +1. Or allow retraining of the expert level and put the LA at +3 or +2. LA buyoff is another option for high optimization that works well with the GUS, since his abilities become less useful at high level. But even then I wouldn't let the last LA get bought off.