Magic Item: Orb of the Undead?

[TheBrassDuke]

I'm trying to build a boss/magic item that essentially duplicates the same boss from Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, known as the Orb of the Undead.

Video of battle can be seen here. (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qa4KVtA9j5U)

Please help! Are there any items that can do this? And if so, can I make it intelligent? Same question for any ideas on how to build one of these.

I'm thinking it could be between CR 5+, but I'm planning to introduce it kind of early.

Any advice is welcome!

[Thurbane]

Could you maybe re-fluff a Brain In A jar (Libris Mortis), and give it casting levels like Dread Necromancer or Sorcerer and have it spam Summon Undead spells?

Technically, without any limbs or vocal cords it can't cast, even with the Surrogate Spellcasting feat, but you could waive that requirement.

Either that, or have it as a trap. An orb that casts Summon Undead and resets each round until destroyed. Make it from quite a hard material and the PCs won't be able to smash it so easily.

[TheBrassDuke]

Hey, it's Thurbane!

I think it could actually work as a resetting trap; in BG, it's placed in the crypts beneath the city to (I'm assuming) begin a sort of plague of undead, and you're dispatched to figure out why so many zombies are appearing. You find this oddball (ha!) and suddenly, it shows its power.

Because it's a boss, I kind of just assumed it was an intelligent item, but I think just a trap could work.

If anything, though...Brain in a Jar could also work nicely. Thanks for the direction!