I wanna be a Zombie!

[JackMage666]

My next project for templates is another update - This time an update on Bone and Corpse creatures from the Book of Vile Darkness. For those of you who ever wanted to play a skeleton or zombie, this may be a boon to you.
Fluff located in the Book of Vile Darkness, or, made up if you don't own it. Intelligent Skeletons and Corpses, basically.

Bone Creature
"Bone" is a template that can be added to any nonundead, corporeal creature that has a skeletal system (referred to hereafter as the base creature). The creature's type changes to Undead. Do ,ot recalculate base attack bonus or saves. It retains all type modifiers and subtypes, as applicable.
The bone creature uses all the base creatures statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
HD: Increase to d12
Speed: Winged bone creatures retain the ability to fly. However, their flight is now magical, as per the fly spell. Fly speed retains te base creature's speed and maneuverability. Other movement modes are unaffected.
AC: Natural armor bonus changes to a number based on the bone creature's size.
{table=head]Size|Bonus

Tiny or Smaller|
+0

Small|
+1

Medium|
+2

Large|
+3

Huge|
+4

Gargantuan|
+6

Colossal|
+10[/table]

Attacks: A bone creature retains all the natural attacks and weapon proficiencies of the base creature, except for attacks that can't work without flesh, such as a mind flayer's tentacle attacks. A creature with hands gain one claw attack per hand; a bone creature can strike with all of them at its full base attack bonus.
Damage: Natural and manufactured weapons deal normal damage. A claw attack deals damage depending on the bone creature's size.
{table=head]Size|Damage

Diminutive or Fine|
1

Tiny|
1d2

Small|
1d3

Medium|
1d4

Large|
1d6

Huge|
1d8

Gargantuan|
2d6

Colossal|
2d8[/table]

If the base creature already had claw attacks, use the higher value.
Special Qualities: A bone creature has all the special qualities as the base creature, as well as the following:
*Darkvision with a range of 60 ft.
*Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning.
*Immunity to cold.
Abilities: Same as base creature, with the following modifications: Dex +4, Con ---. As an undead creature, a bone creatures lack a constitution score.
Feats: A bone creature gain Improved Initiative as a bonus feat.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +1.
Alignment: Always evil (any).
Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +3.


Corpse Creature
"Corpse" is a template that can be added to any nonundead, corporeal creature that has a skeletal system (referred to hereafter as the base creature). The creature's type changes to Undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus or saves. It retains all type modifiers and subtypes, as applicable.
The bone creature uses all the base creatures statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
HD: Increase to d12
Speed: Winged corpse creatures retain the ability to fly. However, their maneuverability becomes clumsy. Other movement modes are unaffected.
AC: The base creature's natural armor bonus increases by a number based on the zombie's size:
{table=head]Size|Bonus

Tiny or Smaller|
+0

Small|
+1

Medium|
+2

Large|
+3

Huge|
+4

Gargantuan|
+7

Colossal|
+11[/table]

Attacks: A corpse creature retains all the natural attacks and weapon proficiencies of the base creature. The corpse creature also gains a slam attack.
Damage: Natural and manufactured weapons deal normal damage. A slam attack deals damage depending on the corpse creature's size. For the purpose of damage, a slam attack is treated as a two-handed weapon.
{table=head]Size|Damage

Diminutive|
1

Fine|
1d2

Tiny|
1d3

Small|
1d4

Medium|
1d6

Large|
1d8

Huge|[center]2d6/center]

Gargantuan|
2d8

Colossal|
4d6[/table]

If the base creature already had a slam attack, use the higher value.
Special Qualities: A corpse creature has all the special qualities as the base creature, as well as the following:
*Darkvision with a range of 60 ft.
*Damage reduction 5/slashing.
Abilities: Same as base creature, with the following modifications: Str +4, Dex -2, Con ---. As an undead creature, a corpse creatures lack a constitution score.
Feats: A corpse creature gain Improved Toughness as a bonus feat.
Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +1.
Alignment: Always evil (any).
Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +2.

[Kyace]

Bone seems like a win-win for a rogue. They gain +4 dex, which should improve their tohit and important skill modifiers enough to negate the two level lose. Their initiative modifier increases by +6, they gain DR 5/blug and Nat armor. All of their HD increase from d6 to d12, vastly increasing their HP (at least after they work off their lose of two HD). Becoming undead means they can't posion themselves, as well as meaning that ignore most fort saves. Immune to all mind-affecting effects means they ignore most will save, plus their remaining save, reflex was improved due to the dex bonus.

A bone rogue would be able to hide, disarm traps and shoot a bow just as well as a human rogue, but gain a ton of stuff to go with it. Maybe a larger LA is in order?

[JackMage666]

Hmm... Noted... It's also not horrible as a caster, though the loss of spellcasting does hurt. Bone makes good Rogues, Spellthiefs, Scouts and Ninjas (all rogue-variants types). Not as great as Martial characters, though not necessarily bad... Casters are two-fold...
+3 sound fair?

[Arakune]

make then impossible to heal normaly.
since they are evil, an corpse template can only regain hp by eating people alive (x hp per HD of each "snack"), or only by unholy means.
I mean, WHY an corpse should heal HP with rest?
unless that's already implicit on the normal undead descriptor.

[JackMage666]

Generally, no an undead creature cannot heal properly. Libris Mortis added that 1 hour of absolute rest restores 1 HP (regardless of level), which cannot be affected by Heal checks and such.

[Kyace]

Generally, no an undead creature cannot heal properly. Libris Mortis added that 1 hour of absolute rest restores 1 HP (regardless of level), which cannot be affected by Heal checks and such.
Techincally:

Cannot heal damage on its own if it has no Intelligence score, although it can be healed. Negative energy (such as an inflict spell) can heal undead creatures. The fast healing special quality works regardless of the creature’s Intelligence score.
Interestingly, shortly after it says:

Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
Which makes how intelligent undead heal an interesting question.

Also, I found what WotC seems to think a good +3 LA undead template is in the Swordwraith (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20040202a).
I'd agree that bone seems more in line with a +3 than a +2. Swordwraith seems about as a vanilla undead template as you can make, maybe its worth +2 LA for just the undead type and lack of con score.

[JackMage666]

Yeah, like I said, it was a add-on they put in Libris Mortis. It's not as official, I realize, but it gives Undead PCs a fighting chance, at least. But, it's not core, so a DM could rule it irrevolant.

[Maerok]

Any rules for creating these guys? Animate dead, create undead, etc. (treat as X HD bigger)?

[JackMage666]

As per the Book of Vile Darkness, Create Undead makes a Bone or Corpse creature of equal HD.

[Maerok]

Equal to the CL or the normal undead from create undead (the second one, I'd assume)? Using create greater undead would be no good since the special abilities and such lower the HD and gets all thrown out of whack (I've tried to chart it for a universal version of create [greater] undead by a CR to CL basis).

[BelkarIsAGod]

[QUOTE=Kyace;2856657]
Which makes how intelligent undead heal an interesting question.

Presumably, thier inactivity gives the negative energy powering them time to just heal themselves. All the negative energy that would otherwise be wasted moving the creature for an hour seems to be equal to an inflict minor wounds spell.