Ghasts: The Ghostest with the Mostest (PEACH)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Thank you to everyone who lent a hand (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?361453-Pathfinder-Race-Builder-Gaests)!

There needs to be more cool races in RPGs. And for a setting I'm making for my players, this is one of them. Please Critique Honestly! Enjoy!


http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/736x/09/16/1c/09161c12e6bf1bfb32961c319f8d7af5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/37RJDl.jpg

Ghasts

The eerie phantasm-like people of Umbra are called Ghasts for a reason. With their ghostly visage it is no wonder so many at first thought that the underworld had begun disgorging its denizens. But the Ghasts are not grim, grinning ghouls, and indeed aren’t even dead to begin with.

Umbra is a world on the cusp of death itself. Some have even referred to it as the Undead World. And yet, it is a place of unexpected life. All living things native to Umbra are composed primarily of a type of energy called Ectoplasm. This being the primary component of mindless undead is not lost on many. Yet, the Ghasts are hardly like those abominations, and in fact some of the most virulently anti-undead paladins and clerics can be found among their numbers.

Ghasts, being composed of this ectoplasm, require only energy to survive. This may come in any form, from living near a thunderstorm to absorbing the negative emotions of people living in the heart of a metropolis, to the dangerous excess magic of a wizard college. Any destructive energy is fair game to a Ghast, and many wizards, city planners and farmers appreciate the various benefits of Ghast neighbors. The Moon(s) however, is the primary source of nutrients for Ghasts, with sunlight being too pure of an energy source to digest.

This odd metaphysical metabolism has two serious drawbacks. Ghasts feed off of negative energy in the world, and thus have issues with healing magic that draws from positive energy. In addition, Ghasts tend to pick up a great deal of metaphysical and emotional detritus from their environment. This corruption slowly leads to a breakdown in a Ghast’s systems, leading to death.

However, Ghasts are not considered Immortal for no reason. So long as they maintain the relative purity of their being, and continue to feed on energy, a Ghast will never die. In fact, the way Ghasts remove their emotional detritus is through mating, whereby they merge into a cloud of their fellow Ghast, shedding their former selves, and in addition to creating a host of new Ghast, return to their original state, albeit retaining most of their memories and experiences.

It is incredibly rare, but some members of mortal races have risen from death as Ghasts. The conditions for such a thing are not well understood.

Physical Description: Ghasts are often mistaken for ghosts. They appear as human, though some will develop traits of other races depending on their fancy, though their skin is always translucent. In addition, they come in a variety of cool colors, mostly green and blue. They possess hair, although this is only a cosmetic thing, and there are a number who do not even bother. Those who do tend to either leave their hair as a shade lighter or darker than their skin, or they shift it into a wild color, this color becoming permanent over time.

Due to their ectoplasmic makeup, Ghasts are technically considered a single-cell organism. Their simple biology allows them to live for centuries without a method of renewal, and effectively eternity otherwise. Their center of consciousness, therefore, is also diffused throughout their form, and only somewhat concentrated in their center of mass. These means that a Ghast could lose an arm, a leg, even their head without undue stress, and they can regrow any such part in a few minutes. This does not necessarily heal them, as damage inflicted on them still causes exhaustion and stress, which weakens their cohesion.

Clothing is something that Ghasts have gotten used to seeing. And wearing. Lacking any gender beyond personal preference (and for them cosmetic anyway), clothing is a thing they have adapted for the benefit of others originally. More traditionalists will favor drab and dull colors and/or white, while the youth amongst them favor as bright and as gaudy clothing as they can possibly obtain. Their clothing tends to be loose-fitting, often lacking any metal or wood at all and instead favoring complicated sashes and knots. Ghasts also tend to dress more revealing than most, considering they have very little need for clothes, neither necessarily for environmental protection, nor modesty.

Due to sunlight overloading Ghasts, they will cover up during the daylight hours of any world they find themselves on, only to reveal their wildly colorful clothing beneath at sunset. Colorful Turbans, hoods and/or masks are often employed.

Society: Ghasts are deeply social creatures, to the point where it is almost taboo for a Ghast to be alone too long. This is not insulated to other Ghasts either. It is almost a point of pride for Ghasts to know and/or befriend many people of various races. Their society is very open, and lends itself to public displays of emotion and friendship, something with other races find a little off-putting, especially the more secretive (or “repressed” according to Ghasts) races.

Promises are the main currency among Ghasts, and to some this almost appears to create a Feudal society, where “Nobles” accumulate many favors and promises from “workers” and “peasants”, and in turn owe promises to higher “lords” and lesser “knights”. None of this is legally enforced, and it is rare for one person to accumulate so many favors and promises. What use are they if they are not used? And since none of their transactions are through impersonal coin, there is a greater degree of friendliness and comradery between such Favor-Holders and those they contract with. There are however orders of Knights among the Ghasts, whose purpose seems to be a combination of Scholars, Guardsmen, and Favor-Holders’ Guild, whereby skilled members of society may pool their resources to aid others.

There is no real government amongst their kind, although the edicts of the Pale Court are given serious weight in all walks of life. The Pale Court is a mysterious council made up of ancient and/or respected members of the Ghasts. Their judgments on everything from laws to security issues have the weight of law, although they are treated more as observances. It is considered the highest honor to serve the court, and to be allowed to view the court proceedings is also an exceptional privilege. Membership shifts often due to some members rejuvenating.

Death among the Ghasts is rare. Adventurers and travelers tend to go missing or fall prey to monsters oftentimes, but it is rare for anyone in another profession to pass on. Such a thing is a tragedy, and such a death is mourned by the whole community, often with a ritual bonfire, as the bodies of Ghast rapidly disintegrate into ectoplasmic vapor. Sometimes close friends and family (Holmes-Watson level friendship) will try to collect these vapors. Resurrection magic is rarely used on a Ghast as its positive energy will usually conflict with their negative energy bodies.

Finally, some Ghasts choose not to tie themselves down to a single location or to a group. These Ghasts follow the Ghostway, a nearly invisible trail of leylines which cross entire planes of existence. These Ghasts feed from the Ghostway, and often appear as traveling gypsy and circus-folk or merchants. This is considered a dangerous life for many reasons, but the greatest gives the trail its name. It is like a drug. Those who walk the Ghostway too long lose the taste for moonlight, grow to hate company, and eventually they simply vanish, becoming a Haunt, a mad ghost who hunts a particular stretch of the Ghostway. These Ghost-Ghosts are the only spirits feared by Ghasts.

Relations: Ghasts, unlike some immortal races, are not particularly haughty or arrogant. Their mating-rejuvenation is often equated to other races concept of death, and so it is rare to find one who thinks they are special for this reason. Ghasts are more likely to be quite depressed between rejuvenations, as it sometimes takes them centuries to get around to it, and in that time a lot of their mortal friends would pass on. Ghasts always try to get along with other races and peoples, and will often try to put their best foot forward. A friendship with a Ghast is easily gained, and they are surprisingly durable for so simple a thing.

Ghasts believe they can befriend anyone. Ghasts may not appreciate their more bloodthirsty aspects, but Half-Elves are one of the only races with a lifespan somewhat comparable to their own. Humans are fascinating to Ghasts, being so diverse and universally relatable at the same time. While their intensive curiosity can sometimes lead straight into madness, Gremlins are the only race whose communal nature is as strong as the Ghasts. The Warforged of Astorius are an odd race, and in their oddness and alien appearance Ghasts can find a sort of lonely kinship. Tieflings are often to a Ghast’s friendship, as their alien appearance and chaotic nature seems to draw them in, and to be fair this is often reciprocated.

Alignment and Religion: Ghasts are sociable creatures, and dislike being alone nor working against the greater good of others. They are compassionate, reasonable, and often exuberant in their expression of freedom. They don’t often worship specific gods, instead preferring to worship a single Godhead, the expression of Good in the universe. While they do not subscribe to reincarnation, the concept of Karma as a universal constant is often expressed in their beliefs. The tenets of their belief are Truth, Equality and Freedom.

Most Ghasts are Good, with more Chaotic than Lawful adherents.

Using the MTG Color Wheel Alignments: Ghasts are Primary White (Compassion and Community), with Red (Passion) as their Secondary, and either Blue (Knowledge, Reason) or Green (Nature, Balance) as a Tertiary. Black (Power, Self-interest) is rare, either non-existent in an individual’s makeup, or it is dominant, particularly in those who forsake their cultural values.

Adventurers: Some Ghasts are given to wanderlust, seeking out adventure, stories, or their own more personal goals. Usually, these adventurers do so in order to accomplish some good. Some may travel in order to meet other people and make fast friendships. Some seek adventure to fight monsters and keep others safe. Some travel for new experiences. And some seek more esoteric goals.

Names: Ghasts lack genders, leading to a lack of male and female names. Most names are gender-neutral, and as often as they are traditional Ghast names, there are now as many foreign names borrowed from other races.

Names: Akar, Beshed, Brudh, Dayal, Genjish, Keshar, Malik, Naava, Ode, Raavam, Singh, Luush, Ubika



Standard Racial Traits
Ability Scores: Ghasts’ lack of a bone structure lends itself to swift and flexible forms, and their willingness to impress and compromise (along with their spectacular appearance) give Ghasts an almost magnetic attraction. Likewise, they are often headstrong and naïve, often leading to trouble. Ghasts have a +2 in Dexterity and +2 in Charisma, with a -2 in Wisdom.

Size: Ghasts are Medium sized creatures, and receive no bonuses nor penalties.

Type: Ghasts are Aberrations, with the Augmented Humanoid Subtype

Speed: Ghasts have a base speed of 30ft

Languages: Ghasts begin play with Common and Sylvan. Ghasts with a high intelligence score may learn any non-secret language.

Defense Racial Traits

Duergar Immunities (Ex): Ghasts are immune to paralysis, phantasms, and poison. They also gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities.

Ghast Regeneration (Ex): If a limb, head, or other appendage would be removed, crippled, or otherwise made useless to the point of requiring the spell Restoration or Long Term Care, the offending appendage is instead removed, disintegrated, and restored to full functionality within 2d6 minutes of rest. This recovers no Hit Points lost.

Undead Likeness (Ex): Having a different biology than most, Ghasts do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. They can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required for the Ghast to survive or stay in good health.

Amorphous Form (Su): Ghasts gain the following supernatural ability: A member of this race can assume the appearance of a single form of a humanoid race of its size. The creature gains a +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to appear as the member of the race whose appearance it assumes. Changing its shape is a standard action. This trait otherwise functions as alter self, save that the creature does not adjust its ability scores.

Magical Racial Traits

Grim Grinning Ghosts (Sp): Ghasts have an odd sense of humor. Part of that seems to play off the common misunderstanding that Ghasts are not Ghosts. Part of that is in making things move about and make haunting noises in dark or lonely areas. Ghasts have Mage Hand and Ghost Sound as At-Will Spell Like Abilities. Their caster level is always 1 unless they have levels in a casting class, in which case their caster level is the same as their levels in a casting class.

Enduring Shade (Su): Ghasts are rarely effected by the elements. They always have the benefit of an Endure Elements Spell.

Undead Magic Trick (Sp): Ghasts have sometimes found their unique biology and similarity to undead a boon rather than a curse. Ghasts can use Invisibility, Fog Cloud, or Command Undead once per day as a spell-like ability (caster level equal to the Ghast’s class level). They must select this spell at character creation, and cannot change this decision.

Senses Racial Traits

Darkvision (Ex): Ghasts can see up to 60ft of total non-magical darkness.

Weaknesses

Not a VampAAAARGH! (Ex): Ghasts cannot draw power from the sun, or rather, the sun is too pure positive energy for them to use without burning to death, or having their negative energy structure disrupted. Some let themselves sunbath for short periods in order to get a high. Ghasts suffer 1 point of Constitution Damage for every hour they are exposed to sunlight (magical and mundane light sources other than the daylight spell do not sount). In addition, they become staggered, and may only take 1 action per round. Full-body clothing negates these weaknesses.

Negative Energy Affinity (Ex): Ghasts are beings of pure energy. While Ectoplasm is neutral in alignment, it is still powered by Negative Energy. Ghasts are thus healed by negative energy, and harmed by positive energy.

Resurrection Vulnerability (Su): A raise dead spell cast on a Ghast can destroy it (Will negates). Using the spell in this way does not require a material component.


Favored Class Bonuses:

Same as Human.


Ghast: 14rp
Aberration: 3rp
Standard: +2 Dex, Cha, -2 Wis: 0rp
Duergar Immunities: Immune (poison, phantasms, paralysis), +2 against spell(s)/like-effects: 4rp
Immune (food, sleep, breathing): 2rp
Lesser Change Shape: 3rp
At-Will Spells: Mage Hand, Ghost Sound: 2rp?
At-Will Spells: Endure Elements: 2rp
1/day Spells: Pick One: Invisibility, Command Undead, Fog Cloud: 2rp
Ghast Regeneration: Limbs (and head) grow back in 2d6 minutes, no healing: 2rp

Vulnerable to Sunlight: 1 con dmg/hour in sunlight: -2
Sunlight Powerlessness: Staggered in sunlight (1 action/turn): -2
Negative Energy Affinity: pos <-> Neg: -1
Resurrection Vulnerability: -1

[jqavins]

Cool stuff.

However, Ghasts are not considered Immortal for no reason. So long as they maintain the relative purity of their being, and continue to feed on energy, a Ghast will never die. In fact, the way Ghasts remove their emotional detritus is through mating, whereby they merge into a cloud of their fellow Ghast, shedding their former selves, and in addition to creating a host of new Ghast, return to their original state, albeit retaining most of their memories and experiences.
...
Ghasts, unlike some immortal races, are not particularly haughty or arrogant. Their mating-rejuvenation is often equated to other races concept of death.
Sounds like a cross between Time Lord regeneration and the DS9 shape shifters' Great Link.

Resurrection magic is rarely used on a Ghast as its positive energy will usually conflict with their negative energy bodies.
What about Animate Dead? A spell designed to create undead creatures is obviously imbuing the body with negative energy, so might that not act on a Ghast as Raise Dead would on a material mortal? I know that if I were a player of a high enough level caster, and had a ghast friend, I'd look into this and, if I find that it does not work, then I'd try to create a new spell combining elements of Raise and Animate to get Raise Dead Ghast. (This is what happens when you let engineers play casters.) Some great caster of old may once have done this in the distant past, allowing characters to go hunting for the lost spell.

Ghasts are deeply social creatures, to the point where it is almost taboo for a Ghast to be alone too long. This is not insulated to other Ghasts either. It is almost a point of pride for Ghasts to know and/or befriend many people of various races. Their society is very open, and lends itself to public displays of emotion and friendship, something with other races find a little off-putting, especially the more secretive (or “repressed” according to Ghasts) races.
First, I think you mean "This is not isolated to other Ghasts either," but it is a small thing.

There should be a famous, great tragic romantic balad about the love of a human and a ghast. Their love is true and pure, but they can never be fully together; no marriage under the human's religion, no sex possible, so many things that just wouldn't work. Some versions end with the ghast's great sadness when the human dies. Others go on to a happy ending as the human becomes one of those rare mortals to rise as a ghast. Still other versions rob the lovers of their happy ending because, not knowing that the human will rise, the ghast has entered the rejuvinating communion and forgotten their love. (Can you tell I've been reading Mercedes Lackey lately?)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Cool stuff.

Sounds like a cross between Time Lord regeneration and the DS9 shape shifters' Great Link.

Essentially, though I hadn't thought of it like that before.


What about Animate Dead? A spell designed to create undead creatures is obviously imbuing the body with negative energy, so might that not act on a Ghast as Raise Dead would on a material mortal? I know that if I were a player of a high enough level caster, and had a ghast friend, I'd look into this and, if I find that it does not work, then I'd try to create a new spell combining elements of Raise and Animate to get Raise Dead Ghast. (This is what happens when you let engineers play casters.) Some great caster of old may once have done this in the distant past, allowing characters to go hunting for the lost spell.

Hm. That's a good question. I believe I wrote in the Regeneration bit that their body disintegrates when killed/cut up. Admittedly this was to prevent Tippyverse "cut-them-up-and-heal-for-infinite-food-lulz!!" stuff. Is getting a cheaper (25gp v 5000gp) resurrection two levels lower worth a lot? It makes a lot of sense for Animate to work like Raise in these situations.

Your thoughts?


First, I think you mean "This is not isolated to other Ghasts either," but it is a small thing.

Huh. I'll look at that.


There should be a famous, great tragic romantic balad about the love of a human and a ghast. Their love is true and pure, but they can never be fully together; no marriage under the human's religion, no sex possible, so many things that just wouldn't work. Some versions end with the ghast's great sadness when the human dies. Others go on to a happy ending as the human becomes one of those rare mortals to rise as a ghast. Still other versions rob the lovers of their happy ending because, not knowing that the human will rise, the ghast has entered the rejuvinating communion and forgotten their love. (Can you tell I've been reading Mercedes Lackey lately?)

Heh heh, that sounds awesome! And considering I always pictured a lot of Ghast Bards, the tale would be a popular one.

[jqavins]

Hm. That's a good question. I believe I wrote in the Regeneration bit that their body disintegrates when killed/cut up. Admittedly this was to prevent Tippyverse "cut-them-up-and-heal-for-infinite-food-lulz!!" stuff. Is getting a cheaper (25gp v 5000gp) resurrection two levels lower worth a lot? It makes a lot of sense for Animate to work like Raise in these situations.

Your thoughts
I hadn't considered the lower level and cost; that does seem like an issue. Also, you'd said the bodies disintegrate quickly, but I didn't think you ment instantly, so one would have a little time to act. And some people, you noted, catch the decayed ectoplasm, so I thought there might be enough of their identity left for something to work.

How about this: Animate doesn't work, because it is designed to do just what it says, animate a corpse with negative energy, but not restore the individual's identity. Animate Dead cast on the remains of a ghast in the few minutes or seconds or hours - whatever time you meant - that they are intact will create a rare and powerful kind of undead, greatly feared by ghasts and those meat people who know of them. There are varients of Raise Dead and Resurection created to work on Ghasts, but they are forgotten. The Raise variant only works in the short time window after death and the Resurection variant can work even on a vial of remains. The characters could one day be sent on a quest to find rumord scrolls containing the spells so that a certain ghast VIP cn be resurected.

"Why would animated ghasts be particularly powerful undead?" I hear you cry. Well, meat creatures are made to run on chemical energy from food. When they are induced to run on negative energy instead they don't work so well. Thus, zombies are slow, clumsy, and stupid. When a ghast body is reanimated by a jolt of negative energy, it's getting exactly what it is supposed to run on, so it operates perfectly, perhaps even with an extra boost. The soul and memories are not restored to it, but it is at least as fast, agile, and strong as it was in life. Even its mental abilities are still operative; it is no more knowledgable than a meat zombie, but its ability to learn and adapt (Int) and its intuition and perceptiveness (Wis) are just fine. Cha is a function of the soul and mind as much as the brain (or whatever serves the function of a brain) so that would not fare so well.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

I hadn't considered the lower level and cost; that does seem like an issue. Also, you'd said the bodies disintegrate quickly, but I didn't think you ment instantly, so one would have a little time to act. And some people, you noted, catch the decayed ectoplasm, so I thought there might be enough of their identity left for something to work.

How about this: Animate doesn't work, because it is designed to do just what it says, animate a corpse with negative energy, but not restore the individual's identity. Animate Dead cast on the remains of a ghast in the few minutes or seconds or hours - whatever time you meant - that they are intact will create a rare and powerful kind of undead, greatly feared by ghasts and those meat people who know of them. There are varients of Raise Dead and Resurection created to work on Ghasts, but they are forgotten. The Raise variant only works in the short time window after death and the Resurection variant can work even on a vial of remains. The characters could one day be sent on a quest to find rumord scrolls containing the spells so that a certain ghast VIP cn be resurected.

"Why would animated ghasts be particularly powerful undead?" I hear you cry. Well, meat creatures are made to run on chemical energy from food. When they are induced to run on negative energy instead they don't work so well. Thus, zombies are slow, clumsy, and stupid. When a ghast body is reanimated by a jolt of negative energy, it's getting exactly what it is supposed to run on, so it operates perfectly, perhaps even with an extra boost. The soul and memories are not restored to it, but it is at least as fast, agile, and strong as it was in life. Even its mental abilities are still operative; it is no more knowledgable than a meat zombie, but its ability to learn and adapt (Int) and its intuition and perceptiveness (Wis) are just fine. Cha is a function of the soul and mind as much as the brain (or whatever serves the function of a brain) so that would not fare so well.

Sorry for taking a while to get back. Busy things.

While I love the idea of a Super-Ghost-Zombietm, I'd like to keep my workload to a minimum. With that in mind, I don't think Animate Dead could work at all, as the spell requires a fully intact skeleton or biologically functioning corpse. That being said:


Any spell which reanimates the remains of a being using Negative Energy will, when cast upon the remains of a Ghast, act as though the caster was casting the next highest Positive Energy Reanimation spell.
The caster must still pay any and all spell component costs of the higher level spell.

So, you could cast Animate Dead on a Ghast, but you would have to pay the component cost of Raise Dead. I am reasonably sure this solves the "cost" issue of getting to rez someone early. I mean, they already don't have easy access to Healing due to the Negative Energy thing.

[jqavins]

They already don't have easy access to Healing due to the Negative Energy thing.
About that, wouldn't it be logical for the effects to be reversed as with many undead, i.e. the Inflict <x> Wounds and Harm spells would heal them, while Cure... and Heal cause damage?

[Ninjadeadbeard]

About that, wouldn't it be logical for the effects to be reversed as with many undead, i.e. the Inflict <x> Wounds and Harm spells would heal them, while Cure... and Heal cause damage?

Yes. That's how that works. But a good aligned cleric can't spontaneous cast inflict spells, so healing is usually more difficult to come by unless you're in an evil party.

[jqavins]

Yes. That's how that works. But a good aligned cleric can't spontaneous cast inflict spells, so healing is usually more difficult to come by unless you're in an evil party.
Makes sense.

[jqavins]

While I love the idea of a Super-Ghost-Zombietm, I'd like to keep my workload to a minimum.
OK, I'll do it for you. I know, you've decided to go another way on this, and that's entirely up to you, of course. But I did this anyway, just for the heck of it.

Zombighast (Undead Ghast)
Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 2d12 + 3 (16 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30 ft./Fly 15
Armor Class: 13 (+1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3
Attack: Slam +2 melee (1d6+1) or by weapon
Full Attack: Slam +2 melee (1d6+1) or by weapon
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Frightful Moan, Horrific Appearance, Smother
Special Qualities: Ghost Touch, DR 5/slashing, Duergar Immunities, Ghast Regeneration, Amorphous Form
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +3
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 12, Con – , Int 10, Wis 8, Cha –
Skills: See description
Feats: Toughness, See description
Environment: Any land, underground preferred
Organization: Any
CR: 2
Treasure: Usually none
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: –
When a Ghast dies, its remains quickly deteriorate, but not before there is some opportunity for another to act. If a dead ghast is animated as an undead creature during this short window of opportunity, the result is a zombighast, a fearsome thing indeed.

Because a ghast, while it was alive, lived on negative energy, the use of negative energy to animate it has very different effects that it does on other creatures. While it has some characteristics in common with other zombified creatures, it retains more of its original nature than they do. Thus, the zombighast gains most of the strengths of the zombie, and with of the weaknesses. It also gains some of the characteristics of a ghost.

DESCRIPTION
Just as ghasts are often mistaken for ghosts, their undead counterparts are all the more. New zombighasts appear as subtly distorted versions of their former, living selves. Their coloring fades slightly toward grey, and they become a touch more translucent. Their normally beautiful features become wrinkled and distorted, almost imperceptibly at first, but enough to make anyone seeing them feel uneasy. Over time (years, decades) this distortion grows more and more severe so that eventually none of the ghast's original appearance can be seen.

Those who wore clothing in life do not shed it, but cease to take care of it, so it grows shabby and tattered over time, eventually falling away. The exceptions to this are the articles they use to guard themselves from the sun. These too are allowed to grow dingy and shabby, but some zombighasts will seek to replace badly worn or damaged items and remain able to exist in the sun. Others will simply retreat permanently into the night and the shadows.

Zombighasts are soulless, and the personality of the ghast that was killed is lost, but the zombighast is not mindless. A new zombighast will have no functioning personality, functioning on instinct and basic urges. Over its first year of existence, a new personality will develop, based on its experiences in that time and its fundamental evil nature. Developed zombighasts still have bland personalities; they do not take strong interests or hold strong opinions. They act with intelligence in pursuit of their own interests, but never make grand plans.

A new zombighast loses all its skills. However, at the end of its first year of existence, and every six months thereafter, it gains one skill point that it may use as it sees fit, until it has gained 99 skill points (50 years.) A zombighast may buy ranks in the following skills, as if they were class skills: Appraise, Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Forgery, Hide, Jump, Knowledge, Listen, Open Lock, Search, Sleight Of Hand, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Spot, Tumble, Use Rope.

A new zombighast loses all of its feats and gains the Toughness feat. At the end of its first yea of existence, and every three years thereafter, it gains one feat that it may use as it sees fit, until it has gained ten feats (28 years.)

COMBAT
A zombighast has the following special attacks:
Horrific Appearance (Su) – As the ghost's special attack of the same name.
Frightful Moan (Su) – As the ghost's special attack of the same name.
Smother (Ex) – On a successful grapple attack, a zombighast can use its amorphous body to suffocate its victim.

A zombighast has the following special qualities:
It has the same special qualities as a living ghast, namely Duergar Immunities, Ghast Regeneration, and Amorphous Form.
Damage Reduction – A zombighast has the same DR as a zombie.
Ghost Touch – A zombighast lives in both the ethereal and material planes at once, efortlessly shifting its body, or even parts of its body between the two. Thus, it alsways has the incorporeal defense, yet can attack beings on the material plane.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

OK, I'll do it for you. I know, you've decided to go another way on this, and that's entirely up to you, of course. But I did this anyway, just for the heck of it.

Zombighast (Undead Ghast)
Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 2d12 + 3 (16 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30 ft./Fly 15
Armor Class: 13 (+1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3
Attack: Slam +2 melee (1d6+1) or by weapon
Full Attack: Slam +2 melee (1d6+1) or by weapon
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Frightful Moan, Horrific Appearance, Smother
Special Qualities: Ghost Touch, DR 5/slashing, Duergar Immunities, Ghast Regeneration, Amorphous Form
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +3
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 12, Con – , Int 10, Wis 8, Cha –
Skills: See description
Feats: Toughness, See description
Environment: Any land, underground preferred
Organization: Any
CR: 2
Treasure: Usually none
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: –
When a Ghast dies, its remains quickly deteriorate, but not before there is some opportunity for another to act. If a dead ghast is animated as an undead creature during this short window of opportunity, the result is a zombighast, a fearsome thing indeed.

Because a ghast, while it was alive, lived on negative energy, the use of negative energy to animate it has very different effects that it does on other creatures. While it has some characteristics in common with other zombified creatures, it retains more of its original nature than they do. Thus, the zombighast gains most of the strengths of the zombie, and with of the weaknesses. It also gains some of the characteristics of a ghost.

DESCRIPTION
Just as ghasts are often mistaken for ghosts, their undead counterparts are all the more. New zombighasts appear as subtly distorted versions of their former, living selves. Their coloring fades slightly toward grey, and they become a touch more translucent. Their normally beautiful features become wrinkled and distorted, almost imperceptibly at first, but enough to make anyone seeing them feel uneasy. Over time (years, decades) this distortion grows more and more severe so that eventually none of the ghast's original appearance can be seen.

Those who wore clothing in life do not shed it, but cease to take care of it, so it grows shabby and tattered over time, eventually falling away. The exceptions to this are the articles they use to guard themselves from the sun. These too are allowed to grow dingy and shabby, but some zombighasts will seek to replace badly worn or damaged items and remain able to exist in the sun. Others will simply retreat permanently into the night and the shadows.

Zombighasts are soulless, and the personality of the ghast that was killed is lost, but the zombighast is not mindless. A new zombighast will have no functioning personality, functioning on instinct and basic urges. Over its first year of existence, a new personality will develop, based on its experiences in that time and its fundamental evil nature. Developed zombighasts still have bland personalities; they do not take strong interests or hold strong opinions. They act with intelligence in pursuit of their own interests, but never make grand plans.

A new zombighast loses all its skills. However, at the end of its first year of existence, and every six months thereafter, it gains one skill point that it may use as it sees fit, until it has gained 99 skill points (50 years.) A zombighast may buy ranks in the following skills, as if they were class skills: Appraise, Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Forgery, Hide, Jump, Knowledge, Listen, Open Lock, Search, Sleight Of Hand, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Spot, Tumble, Use Rope.

A new zombighast loses all of its feats and gains the Toughness feat. At the end of its first yea of existence, and every three years thereafter, it gains one feat that it may use as it sees fit, until it has gained ten feats (28 years.)

COMBAT
A zombighast has the following special attacks:
Horrific Appearance (Su) – As the ghost's special attack of the same name.
Frightful Moan (Su) – As the ghost's special attack of the same name.
Smother (Ex) – On a successful grapple attack, a zombighast can use its amorphous body to suffocate its victim.

A zombighast has the following special qualities:
It has the same special qualities as a living ghast, namely Duergar Immunities, Ghast Regeneration, and Amorphous Form.
Damage Reduction – A zombighast has the same DR as a zombie.
Ghost Touch – A zombighast lives in both the ethereal and material planes at once, efortlessly shifting its body, or even parts of its body between the two. Thus, it alsways has the incorporeal defense, yet can attack beings on the material plane.

Hey now! That's nifty! Makes me wanna figure a way for both to exist now.

Perhaps some Ghasts who die in particularly horrifying or terrible ways can sometimes return as Zombighasts?

[hakarb]

I like this idea, but I have a problem with the name of the race.

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Ghast

The ghast already exists as a very corporeal creature. I'd call these ectoplasmic beings something else. Maybe Ectopolitans from Ectopolis the capital of Ectomica (pronounced ek toe me ka).

[Ilorin Lorati]

I like this idea, but I have a problem with the name of the race.

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Ghast

The ghast already exists as a very corporeal creature. I'd call these ectoplasmic beings something else. Maybe Ectopolitans from Ectopolis the capital of Ectomica (pronounced ek toe me ka).

Just like Changeling is different between Eberron, Golarion, and Earth, different settings can have different spins on a concept - in this case, an intelligent psuedo-undead.

Personally, I like the idea.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

I like this idea, but I have a problem with the name of the race.

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Ghast

The ghast already exists as a very corporeal creature. I'd call these ectoplasmic beings something else. Maybe Ectopolitans from Ectopolis the capital of Ectomica (pronounced ek toe me ka).


Just like Changeling is different between Eberron, Golarion, and Earth, different settings can have different spins on a concept - in this case, an intelligent psuedo-undead.

This, basically. I didn't even know of Ghasts (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Ghast) until a day or so after I made the thread.

A friend also pointed out how Negative Energy usually means "Evil" in 3.5 and PF settings. Should I modify them to reflect some sort of internal conflict? Like, they really are "Usually Evil", but culturally they suppress their natures in order to survive in a Positive Energy ruled world? Should I bother?

[jqavins]

A friend also pointed out how Negative Energy usually means "Evil" in 3.5 and PF settings. Should I modify them to reflect some sort of internal conflict? Like, they really are "Usually Evil", but culturally they suppress their natures in order to survive in a Positive Energy ruled world? Should I bother?
I wouldn't. To me, it doesn't make sense for a whole culture to collectively supress their nature. Supression like that is more something that an individual does to fit in to his society than something a whole society does. IMO.

Instead, I would do for negative energy the same thing 3.x did for orcs: usually evil.

[Network]

I like this race. There aren't enough living beings animated by negative energy in the books, so making more has always been a good idea for me.

All living things native to Umbra are composed primarily of a type of energy called Ectoplasm. This being the primary component of mindless undead is not lost on many.
I assume you meant incorporeal undead, right?

A friend also pointed out how Negative Energy usually means "Evil" in 3.5 and PF settings. Should I modify them to reflect some sort of internal conflict? Like, they really are "Usually Evil", but culturally they suppress their natures in order to survive in a Positive Energy ruled world? Should I bother?
In D&D, negative energy is a force of nature ; it is not fundamentally neutral or evil, the inflict wounds spell line is a proof of that, as are Chill Touch and many similar spells. The reason why negative energy is thought of as evil is because, when people think negative energy, they think undead.

Actually, undead (and the creation of them) are evil, but for entirely different reasons. Undead creatures are not natural beings ; they even defy the natural order of life>death>afterlife that marut inevitables embody. Undead creatures' purpose is to destroy life, and most forms of undead either have a deep hatred of all things living (allip, mohrg, wight...) or an insatiable hunger for life (devourers, ghouls, vampires...). Coincidentally, ghosts, one of the few undead from the SRD that are not intrinsically evil, have neither. This ought to mean something. Splatbooks also gave us the good lich, in case it wasn't obvious.

Since ghasts (at least, the ones here) are a natural byproduct of negative energy and have neither an hunger nor an hatred for the living, I see no reason for them to be evil.

Instead, I would do for negative energy the same thing 3.x did for orcs: usually evil.
Wrong! Orcs, like most "primitive" humanoids, are often evil. It just so happen that the most common alignment among them is chaotic evil, but this is by no means a majority. This is what separates D&D orcs from pathfinder's, who are more akind to demons in humanoid bodies.

[hakarb]

I wouldn't. To me, it doesn't make sense for a whole culture to collectively supress their nature. Supression like that is more something that an individual does to fit in to his society than something a whole society does. IMO.

Instead, I would do for negative energy the same thing 3.x did for orcs: usually evil.

I like this idea. Just because something CAN be evil, doesn't mean it has to be.

[jqavins]

Instead, I would do for negative energy the same thing 3.x did for orcs: usually evil.
Wrong! Orcs, like most "primitive" humanoids, are often evil. It just so happen that the most common alignment among them is chaotic evil, but this is by no means a majority.
Don't shoot! I stand corrected.

[Debihuman]

Humanoid is never a Subtype. Aberration (Augmented Humanoid) would be the appropriate subtype. I have no clue what MTG alignment has to do with this.

Duergar Immunities should be renamed. How are these related to Duergars?


Ghast Regeneration: If a limb, head, or other appendage would be removed, crippled, or otherwise made useless to the point of requiring the spell Restoration or Long Term Care, the offending appendage is instead removed, disintegrated, and restored to full functionality within 2d6 minutes of rest. This recovers no Hit Points lost.

This is just too powerful for a starting character. At best this should be usable once a day, and even that is probably overpowered.

Your abilities are missing their modifiers (Su, Ex, and Sp).

Debby

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Thank you for the replies! Typing with my phone, so forgive spelling err0rs.

@jqavins and Network: Those are some good points you make. So I am thinking of "Often Evil", but very sociable by nature, to the point where most who live in other societies will inevitably become neutral or good aligned. Does that sound fair?


Humanoid is never a Subtype. Aberration (Augmented Humanoid) would be the appropriate subtype. I have no clue what MTG alignment has to do with this.

I will switch the subtype soon, once I am off my teeny tiny phone. :smallwink:

The MTG alignment was made by a Playgrounder a few years back, and I almost always include it in my games/homebrew. It's just a personal taste issue. Ignore it.


Duergar Immunities should be renamed. How are these related to Duergars?

That's just the name by which the Pathfinder Race Builder calls that ability. I will eventually come up with a better name.


This is just too powerful for a starting character. At best this should be usable once a day, and even that is probably overpowered.

No one ever really uses de-limbing rules that often, so this is almost entirely fluff. It also does not heal them like standard regeneration, so it should cost less RP points.


Your abilities are missing their modifiers (Su, Ex, and Sp).

As I mentioned above, once I am on a real non-phone typing system, I will go through and fix that. Did I miss anything?

[jqavins]

@jqavins and Network: Those are some good points you make. So I am thinking of "Often Evil", but very sociable by nature, to the point where most who live in other societies will inevitably become neutral or good aligned. Does that sound fair?
It sounds fair, but it's not what I meant. What I meant to say is that even though negative energy may be associated with evil, not all races using it need to be. So, just as how not all individual orcs are evil even though the race leans that way, not all species using negative energy must even lean that way, even though a majority do. In other words, if you want a race of often good, or usually good, or downright good beings that live on negative energy, you are free to create them. You are the GM, they're your creatures, its your world, its your negative energy; You Are God!

One can even imagine the evolution of such a species. We have beings on Earth that gain their energy in all sorts of ways, from the obvious ones like ingesting energetic molecules, to fantastical ones we take for granted and forget to marvel at like living on sunlight, to using the heat and noxious chemicals from deep ocean volcanic vents. In a magic world, it is inevitable that some life forms would evolve to subsist on magic energy, and that some of them would do it on negative energy. At the same time, innumerable environmental pressures and stresses cause beings to evolve into every imaginable role, habitat, and niche, including scavangers that clean up the place. So why not one that cleans the place of stray negative energy? It has a "toxic" effect of leading to socially counterproductive behaviors? Well, over centuries, some creatures would develop resistance to this "toxin" even as they rely on it, just as vitamin A became essential due to a side effect of the development of resistance to its toxic nature.

So go ahead, make a race that lives on negative energy and is good, because beings using negative energy are not "always evil," just "usually (or often) evil."

[Network]

@jqavins and Network: Those are some good points you make. So I am thinking of "Often Evil", but very sociable by nature, to the point where most who live in other societies will inevitably become neutral or good aligned. Does that sound fair?
Well, they were good in the original draft, and personally, I like the idea of good-aligned negative energy beings. After all, one of the oldest living creatures to feed on negative energy in D&D (the xeg-yi) is neutral, so making one that is good is not far-fetched at all.

Also, I think that breaking people's expectations of the ghasts by having most of them being good has some great roleplay potential, with ghasts heroes struggling to change the opinion of other societies. D&D already has a great deal of races fighting their natural tendencies toward evil, so having one more is meh in comparison.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Alright, I have added the ability tags as per Debihuman's post. Anyone have an idea how badly I did them? :smalltongue:

And I think I will keep Ghasts as Mostly Chaotic Good. Thanks for the insight guys.