TheNerfGuy
2019-03-09, 10:31 PM
Twice in this campaign, I've run into a monster that seems to be undead but has the power to turn undead (as in, make them run or blow them up). Both times required a Knowledge (Religion) check to identify them, but so far, they've failed their checks.
When I asked my DM about it, he noted that it was essentially a reskin of an existing undead, complete with said ability to turn undead.
I'm asking if there is a sort of undead with that ability.
To give a further idea of what it might be, here's what I know about it:
It can inflict Energy Drain.
It can Create Spawn that are weaker.
It can also unleash a beam of light sort of like a Searing Light spell or something similar.
It uses Melee Touch Attacks when in range, but it is fully subject to normal weapons; a non-magical weapon is just as effective as a magical one (though a magical one would work better due to the bonuses they have over mundane/masterwork).
ETA: Here are the details on both encounters:
Encounter 1:
We were on a ship sailing to our next destination when we happened upon a derelict ship. We found one corpse on the deck; cause of death was starvation. And we found a note written in blood that said "Beware the Howling Face of the Sun". We went inside and found more dead bodies and doors that seemed to have been blocked from the inside. Our wizard, a Diviner, used Arcane Sight to get a read and found something that could best be described as "the power of the sun that had been corrupted". Around that time, the corpses got up attacked, being controlled by some kind of solid spectre. Our party had a ghost from "Ghostwalk Campaign Setting"; it was ruled that it was "Undead-lite" (technically living, but healed from "Inflict" spells, hurt by "Cure", and can be turned). The nearest one was described as being "offended" by the ghost's presence and used Turn Undead; the second attempt succeeded, and she was driven off. They controlled the corpses like puppets and were very slow for it, having a difficult time moving with the inanimate corpses littering the ground. We got out of there and pelted them with arrows until they were all dead. A big one, which we assumed was the one that created all of these, burst in and got a pretty good hit on us, but it was still stuck at a distance, letting us curbstomp it.
Encounter 2:
We were in a town infested with zombies. We hadn't been spotted by them yet, but we did come upon a warehouse building. It wasn't any different from the others, but the sounds coming from inside were different; we'd hear a flash followed by running going to one side, and then another flash followed by running to the other side. Eventually, the door was blown to pieces and we got a look inside. There were at least eight zombies and three of those things in there, one being a big one. While we discussed about what to do, the DM played out the scene; the two smaller ones were using Turn Undead to force the zombies to run around while the big one's Turning was powerful enough to blow up two at a time. The remaining zombies found the open door and fled, ignoring us entirely, and then the things attacked us. We had to book it since we were taking too many negative levels, and their slowness made that easy. Eventually, they got distracted by more undead and went after them, disappearing into an alleyway where we saw three more flashes of light.
Those were the only times I encountered them.
I know what the DM is using the reskin the things with, but the creature that the DM reskinned is what I'm having trouble finding out.
When I asked my DM about it, he noted that it was essentially a reskin of an existing undead, complete with said ability to turn undead.
I'm asking if there is a sort of undead with that ability.
To give a further idea of what it might be, here's what I know about it:
It can inflict Energy Drain.
It can Create Spawn that are weaker.
It can also unleash a beam of light sort of like a Searing Light spell or something similar.
It uses Melee Touch Attacks when in range, but it is fully subject to normal weapons; a non-magical weapon is just as effective as a magical one (though a magical one would work better due to the bonuses they have over mundane/masterwork).
ETA: Here are the details on both encounters:
Encounter 1:
We were on a ship sailing to our next destination when we happened upon a derelict ship. We found one corpse on the deck; cause of death was starvation. And we found a note written in blood that said "Beware the Howling Face of the Sun". We went inside and found more dead bodies and doors that seemed to have been blocked from the inside. Our wizard, a Diviner, used Arcane Sight to get a read and found something that could best be described as "the power of the sun that had been corrupted". Around that time, the corpses got up attacked, being controlled by some kind of solid spectre. Our party had a ghost from "Ghostwalk Campaign Setting"; it was ruled that it was "Undead-lite" (technically living, but healed from "Inflict" spells, hurt by "Cure", and can be turned). The nearest one was described as being "offended" by the ghost's presence and used Turn Undead; the second attempt succeeded, and she was driven off. They controlled the corpses like puppets and were very slow for it, having a difficult time moving with the inanimate corpses littering the ground. We got out of there and pelted them with arrows until they were all dead. A big one, which we assumed was the one that created all of these, burst in and got a pretty good hit on us, but it was still stuck at a distance, letting us curbstomp it.
Encounter 2:
We were in a town infested with zombies. We hadn't been spotted by them yet, but we did come upon a warehouse building. It wasn't any different from the others, but the sounds coming from inside were different; we'd hear a flash followed by running going to one side, and then another flash followed by running to the other side. Eventually, the door was blown to pieces and we got a look inside. There were at least eight zombies and three of those things in there, one being a big one. While we discussed about what to do, the DM played out the scene; the two smaller ones were using Turn Undead to force the zombies to run around while the big one's Turning was powerful enough to blow up two at a time. The remaining zombies found the open door and fled, ignoring us entirely, and then the things attacked us. We had to book it since we were taking too many negative levels, and their slowness made that easy. Eventually, they got distracted by more undead and went after them, disappearing into an alleyway where we saw three more flashes of light.
Those were the only times I encountered them.
I know what the DM is using the reskin the things with, but the creature that the DM reskinned is what I'm having trouble finding out.