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Fascisticide
2007-07-18, 10:50 AM
In an upcoming game, the party will go through a dungeon full of undead. One of the PC is a tiny sized monk/rogue, using mostly a bow. That player is new at d&d (but her BF is there to help her), it will be one of her first sessions, so I don't want her to be totally ineffective against undeads while the other players do everything.
Before the undead dungeon, there are some opportunities to hand over some treasure to them, and in there I would like to give some items that will help this PC to be more effective in combat against undead.
But I really don't have any idea! I must say that I am myself relatively new to d&d especially about the variety of magical effects and equipment.

They are level 2-3, and I don't mind something that could be overpowered

Kurald Galain
2007-07-18, 11:05 AM
Holy water.

A bow that sets all arrows shot from it aflame.

Amulet of 'hide from undead' (or sanc, or pr/ev) so that they can't attack unless you attack first.

A bone compass that points out the nearest undead.

A blessed weapon that can crit undead.

SpikeFightwicky
2007-07-18, 11:17 AM
Are you against unique weapons, or do they have to come out of the DMG?
Here are some of both:

- A +1 flaming melee weapon/bow
- A +1 holy weapon that only applies its 'Holy' bonus when attacking undead (as opposed to all evil creatures)
- Gauntlets of ogre power that bestow their strength bonus when in the presence undead.

Telonius
2007-07-18, 11:20 AM
I think the "Gravestrike" spell can be put into an oil (i.e. potion) form. Give her a dose or two of those, that should help matters greatly.

Saithis Bladewing
2007-07-18, 11:22 AM
I was going to offer a suggestion, but they've already coined my two main ones (access to fire or holy damage). Seriously, some holy water or flaming arrows and you're set against most types of undead.

Dausuul
2007-07-18, 11:28 AM
In an upcoming game, the party will go through a dungeon full of undead. One of the PC is a tiny sized monk/rogue, using mostly a bow. That player is new at d&d (but her BF is there to help her), it will be one of her first sessions, so I don't want her to be totally ineffective against undeads while the other players do everything.
Before the undead dungeon, there are some opportunities to hand over some treasure to them, and in there I would like to give some items that will help this PC to be more effective in combat against undead.
But I really don't have any idea! I must say that I am myself relatively new to d&d especially about the variety of magical effects and equipment.

They are level 2-3, and I don't mind something that could be overpowered

Simple. A tiny magic bow that allows sneak attack and crit damage versus undead.

In addition, you can always put in traps and obstacles that only a Tiny creature could bypass; for instance, a collapsing floor that will give way under any creature weighing more than 30 pounds, or a locked barred gate with openings just wide enough for a Tiny character to slip through.

What race is she playing, anyway? Homebrew, or something out of the MM?

Saithis Bladewing
2007-07-18, 11:34 AM
In addition, you can always put in traps and obstacles that only a Tiny creature could bypass; for instance, a collapsing floor that will give way under any creature weighing more than 30 pounds, or a locked barred gate with openings just wide enough for a Tiny character to slip through.

I cannot express how much I agree with this option, especially for a new player. I'd be really surprised if being a necessary part of the group to overcome this challenge would NOT help them feel better about themselves in the game, and to make them feel useful as well. Though, that's not to say giving a tiny bow that has sneak and crit vs. undead isn't a bad idea either; I fully support the idea of an undead killing bow.

bugsysservant
2007-07-18, 11:37 AM
How about a +1 undead bane bow? If you think that will be too powerful, drop the enhancement bonus.

Saithis Bladewing
2007-07-18, 11:42 AM
How about a +1 undead bane bow? If you think that will be too powerful, drop the enhancement bonus.

You have to have a +1 enhancement bonus before you can add things like bane or flaming.

Townopolis
2007-07-18, 12:06 PM
How about a quiver of +1 flaming arrows?

1d6 fire damage can pretty much replace the normal bow damage (what is the damage on a tiny bow? d4 longbow/d3 shortbow?) and if you ration them well she should be low/out by the time the last zombie hits the floor.

Joltz
2007-07-18, 12:18 PM
I think the "Gravestrike" spell can be put into an oil (i.e. potion) form. Give her a dose or two of those, that should help matters greatly.
That lasts a single round so it would run out after applying it...

Anyway, there are a variety of methods to deal good damage to undead. In this case I think the simplest is a +1 undead bane weapon. You can easily throw in other stuff to help too. Someone already mentioned flaming arrows, and I like the truedeath weapon augment crystal in the MIC.

horseboy
2007-07-18, 12:22 PM
I recommend fire, and lots of it. You can never go wrong with enough fire.

Arbitrarity
2007-07-18, 01:21 PM
Magic item compendium excerpt of WOTC site... Here we are.

Truedeath Crystal
Price (Item Level): 1,000 gp (4th) (least); 5,000 gp (9th) (lesser); 10,000 gp (12th) (greater)
Body Slot: -- (weapon crystal)
Caster Level: 5th
Aura: Faint; (DC 17) evocation
Activation: --
Weight: --

This amethyst is carved in the shape of a humanoid skull.

Clerics craft truedeath crystals to aid themselves and others in sending undead to their final rest.

Least: A weapon with this crystal attached deals an extra 1d6 points of damage to undead.
Lesser: As the least crystal, and the weapon also functions as a ghost touch weapon (DMG 224).
Greater: As the lesser crystal, and the weapon can deliver sneak attacks and critical hits against undead as if they were living creatures.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ps/20070209a

You could mod the last crystal to not have the ghost touch property, and make it about 6K value. Except that's way better than 2nd level party.

IDEA: Make it limited rounds of use, or limited/day.

bugsysservant
2007-07-18, 01:32 PM
You have to have a +1 enhancement bonus before you can add things like bane or flaming.

Generally, yes, but there are always unique items that break the rules. Thats the reason I listed it as +1, before adding that you could drop that by the power of rule 0.

Fascisticide
2007-07-18, 02:08 PM
Lots of great ideas here!
I like the bone compass, but that could be weird in a semi-random dungeon with lots of undead...
Fire seems to be the most common suggestion, I'll throw some of it in the mix. When in doubt, burn something.

These are all things any character could take advantage of. That's why I like the idea of a weapon that would allow to crit and sneak undead, that would be most useful for the rogue/monk PC. A modified Truedeath Crystal would be great!

What is gravestrike?

I just want her to be able to do some damage in combat, as she is still learning the game and combats are an important part. But outside of combats, there is no doubt she will be most useful, with her rogue talents, and her size allowing her to get into places others can't. I prepared a couple of things that take advantage of her size.


Some asked what race she is... well, it's a Munchkin (http://www.sjgames.com/munchkin/rpg/) game, and she is halfling/elf. And in Munchkin you get to roll for size and weigth at character creation and it adds some (usually small) benefits. She rolled extremely low on both, so she is one size category smaller (Tiny), and can go through holes made for creatures one size category smaller than her (Diminutive)!
That's also why I don't mind overpowered items

Thanks for the ideas!

Telonius
2007-07-18, 02:15 PM
Grave Strike is a non-OGL spell in the Spell Compendium (possibly elsewhere too). Basic idea is that it lets you sneak attack undead. I forgot that it has a very short duration, but you could consider houseruling something.

Corolinth
2007-07-18, 02:40 PM
Personally, I'd give her a tiny magical quiver of +1 undead bane arrows that automatically refills at a rate of one arrow per round.

Being tiny, she's going to want to stay as far away from things as possible. Having a quiver that refills itself (with +1 arrows, no less) allows her to do that, so this item will be something that's appealing in future adventures, rather than something that's only good for the undead story arc. It holds, say, twenty, and it only one arrow refills per round. Later on, with rapid shot and high BAB, it will be possible to empty the quiver after a few rounds (though she'll get one arrow back the next round).

She can't sneak attack undead, and as a tiny creature she's shooting for what, 1d4 damage? 1d3? It's probably not a strength bow, because very few tiny creatures have a high strength. These arrows will have her shooting a +3 weapon when she fights undead (bane increases the +1 to +3) on top of dealing an extra 2d6 bane damage (which isn't subject to damage reduction). This will be a lot more "wow" for them than allowing her to add her 1d6 sneak attack.

Keld Denar
2007-07-18, 02:50 PM
If there are lots of skeletons and zombies, give her some blunted arrows that deal bludgeoning damage. That way she can do full weapon damage to skells. Then she can swap out to regular piercing arrows to use vs zombies. This would be a good way to teach a new player about the mechanics of DR. A small handful of +1 silver arrows would be handy if the monster at the end of the dungeon is a vampire spawn or other low CR boss with similar DR. If you don't want to throw out a +1 bane undead bow (An 8000 gp minimum item) you could also toss in a 1/2 quiver of +1 bane undead arrows and let her know that they are very powerful vs undead, and not to waste them. Hell, +1 silvered bane undead arrows would make her contribution to the final encounter huge. Also, while its good to give her an advantage, don't forget about everyone else either. If you have a turning cleric in the party, there is a new item in the magic item compendium that takes a vest slot and gives +1 turning level. It's only 800 g too. That might give a party cleric the edge to shine a bit too. I think there is also a torch or something that when lit, makes incorporial undead turn corporial and lasts for a few minutes. That way you could have something fun like a single or pair of shadows that would challenge a low level party, but wouldn't be a real killer.

Hope this helps!

Yakk
2007-07-18, 03:55 PM
Bone Quiver

A Quiver made out of Bone and carved with runes, it feels cold to the touch. In the Quiver is a single Bone arrow. The arrow resists being removed, unless the Quiver is equipped.

When another arrow is placed into the Quiver, it resizes itself and it's single Bone Arrow to fit that arrow. The Quiver can hold 20 arrows in addition to it's Bone Arrow.

The Quiver has two powers.

First, whenever the Bone Arrow is drawn, another one appears. Treat these arrows as standard arrows. They last for a short period before crumbling to dust. In effect, the Bone Quiver is an endless Quiver of Bone Arrows.

Second, any arrow drawn from the Quiver is enchanted by the Quiver. The runes and glyphs of the Quiver appear on the arrow, and the arrow feels cold to the touch. This enchantment adds a +1d6 Undead Bane Damage Bonus. The enchantment dissipates shortly after the arrow is drawn: the enchanted arrows cannot be shared effectively or stored for later use. This effect applies to Bone Arrows drawn from the Quiver, and any other arrow placed in and then withdrawn from the Quiver.

...

The Bane vs Undead can be tweaked to whatever power level you want.

The single Bone Arrow just begs to be removed. Once they realize that removing arrows seems to enchant them, I'd expect your new character to put one of her arrows in it, and poof, the Quiver resizes.

It is both a puzzle and a reward. :)

Arbitrarity
2007-07-18, 07:05 PM
So, let's take the truedeath crystal (oh magic item compendium, augmentable shiftable crystals may have been cliche, but not without advantages)

So. How about:

Truedeath

A black crystal, faintly glowing with an inner white light, this crystal glows strongly when within 60 ft of undead. It feels slightly warm to the touch, and when looking through it, living creatures glow brightly. Undead creatures appear to glow dimly, and constructs and other unliving creatures do not glow at all. When looking through a truedath crystal, vision is obscured in that eye, imposing a -2 penalty on all sight-related checks, as well as attack rolls.

When a Truedeath crystal is placed on the hilt of a weapon, (or other part which is appropriate), it distorts the material somewhat, twisting it in such a manner that is holds the crystal. The wielder of the weapon observes the energy coursing through undead, and (if applicable) may use this knowlege to make sneak attacks, critical hits, and other forms of precision damage on undead. This ability functions up to a maximum of 15 times (attacks) per day.

Cost: 1200 gold.

EDIT: Price is a bit low. Placed it at 1/4 a truedeath greater crysal (- the lesser), due to limited duration, (15 attacks total/day?), but other special ablities make me think more 2500 range. As is homebrew, make it whatever price you please, modify abilities and fluff, etc.

Kyace
2007-07-18, 08:36 PM
When another arrow is placed into the Quiver, it resizes itself and it's single Bone Arrow to fit that arrow. The Quiver can hold 20 arrows in addition to it's Bone Arrow.


Magic items, esp. worn ones, usually resize to fit differebt sized chars.