Searching for a monster

[Thalantyr]

Hi guys.

Are there any intelligent undead monsters with ratial hit dice that advance by character class?

[Inevitability]

Would a templated creature suit your desires?

If not, there's the shadow monster class from Savage Species, at the very least.

[Thalantyr]

Nope. No templates, no incorporeals. Zombie-like humanoid creatures would fit best.

[The_Jette]

Hi guys.

Are there any intelligent undead monsters with ratial hit dice that advance by character class?

Pathfinder or 3.5?

[Inevitability]

Nope. No templates, no incorporeals. Zombie-like humanoid creatures would fit best.

Libris mortis has savage species-like classes for the ghoul and vampire spawn, would these work? They get RHD, are corporeal, look like zombies, are undead, and advance by class levels once the progression's been completed.

[The_Jette]

Libris mortis has savage species-like classes for the ghoul and vampire spawn, would these work? They get RHD, are corporeal, look like zombies, are undead, and advance by class levels once the progression's been completed.

I kinda wanna play a ghoul Druid, now...

[Thurbane]

Oddly enough, only in MM3 that I can find:


Drowned (MM3, p.46): 20 RHD; Advancement: By character class
Grimweird (MM3, p.75): 12 RHD; Advancement: By character class
Salt Mummy (MM3, p.146): 12 RHD; Advancement: By character class

Also, FWIW, pretty much any creature with Int 3+, especially those humanoid in shape, can advance by character class.

The Mummy Lord (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/mummy.htm) from the SRD/MM is a good example. 8 RHD and 10 levels of Cleric.

[ShurikVch]

Deathlock (Libris Mortis): 3 HD; Advancement: By character class
Forlorn Husk (Sandstorm): 3 HD; Advancement: By character clas

[Lazymancer]

Oddly enough, only in MM3 that I can find: ...
There are mummies in MM1, no?

[AlanBruce]

There are mummies in MM1, no?

There are mummies in the MM1, but they are a very different undead from the Salt Mummy in MM3.

For one, the MM3 mummy isn't of the bandaged type and is considered tougher at CR...8, I believe. That and a nasty Dehydrating impact on top of a bunch of HD and a very high Strength score.

The MM 1 Mummy pegs at CR 5, but it has Despair and Mummy Rot as a supernatural disease, with strength almost comparable to the Salt Mummy, so it comes to what your PC or NPC wants to do.

MM1 Mummies make for good undead clerics, while the Salt Mummy works best as a bruiser type. Or maybe a gish, given its Charisma.

[Thurbane]

There are mummies in MM1, no?

If you were mistaking Salt Mummies for normal Mummies, AlanBruce has you covered.

If you were referring to the fact that the Mummy Lord exists on the MM1; that's not so much a monster with RHD that specifically advances by character class like the examples I (and ShurikVch) posted; it's like sample "monstrous NPC" stat block. But yes, it does say Advancement: By character class in the block. Similarly to Aboleth Mage, Hound Archon Hero, Celestial Charger (Unicorn) etc.

What's odd about all of those examples, that I've just noticed: none seem to use the Nonassociated Class Level (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#associatedClassLevels) rules for calculating CR. The Mummy Lord, for example, is CR 15. I don't think those Cleric level synergise particularly well with the Mummy chassis. Although CR 11 might be too low. Just goes to show you're usually better off eyeballing CRs where possible than using suggested formulas.