warbacon
2007-10-04, 03:01 AM
I had been making a charsheet for an evil undead campaign and was interested in using Spectral Savant as a template, but was frustrated by the fact that they can't regain PP through rest. Well, they can't sleep anyway, but you know what I mean. Seeing as other incorporeal undead such as Ghosts and Spectres can do so, I cooked up a variant.
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Ego Uncarnate
Gorn shot his partner an extremely puzzled look. "What do you mean there's something psionic here? This room is empty and I already checked for invisible creatures!" The two psions had been doing the local constabulary a favor by looking for a prominent merchant in this dungeon, and everything had gone according to plan until just now. "I don't know! But it's coming from ... over there ... just one creature ... it's ... right next to you? Inside the wall? AHH!" Ian fell backwards, dazed from what his detect psionics power had shown him. As Gorn shouted, "What? What?!", an ethereal hand reached out of the wall and into his brain. "GHNNNN!" was all that Gorn could manage for the moment as sea-green arc shot from his head through the wall. He recovered quickly, only to be stunned that he didn't have any power points left to manifest a power. He looked up and saw a ghostly head and torso emerge, effusing a pale green energy from its eyes and grinning viciously. "That, my friend, is an Ego Uncarnate. Run."
An ego uncarnate is a psion or erudite who has discovered a means to expand his psionic power at the expense of his living body, or had its mind and body separated through traumatic events. It retains all the psionic abilities it had in life, and adds a frightening array of abilities which draw upon its nature as a creature of pure thought; however, the transformation has also made it totally dependent on its power pool to survive. Ego uncarnate generally travel the world seeking new ways to enhance their own power, and care little about the fate of the creatures they encounter.
Strategies and Tactics: Just like the psions they were in life, ego uncarnate have wildly varying tactics depending on the powers available to them, which are usually vast. Those with strong leaning toward telepathy tend to induce compulsions in their opponents and suck their mind away through their Brain Drain and Power Leech abilities, whereas as Kineticists might take advantage of their incorporeality and blast opponents from hard-to-reach areas, only coming closer to recover their energies after their foes are disabled. Those with the astral construct power can be particularly effective at sending others to do their dirty work.
Creating an Ego Ucarnate: "Ego Uncarnate" is an acquired template that can be applied to any living creature with an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma of at least 10 which has a power point reserve, hereafter referred to as the "base creature."
Size: Unchanged.
Type: Changes to undead, and gains the incorporeal subtype.
Hit Dice: All current and future hit dice, including class hit dice, change to d12s.
Speed: Speed is unchanged, but an ego uncarnate flies with perfect maneuverability.
Armor Class: Loses natural armor bonus, but gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to its Charisma modifier. Unlike other incorporeal undead, the equipment worn at the time of creation does not get subsumed into an ego uncarnate's form -- it is born naked. See MMIII (p. 214) for rules about incorporeal creatures and equipment.
Attacks: An ego uncarnate keeps all special and natural attacks of the base creature except those requiring biological processes (e.g. poison), but any attacks that require physical contact only work against other ethereal creatures. All attacks use the ego uncarnate's Dexterity modifier for attack rolls, and its Charisma modifier as a damage bonus against ethereal foes only. It also gains a melee touch attack that deals 1d8 of untyped damage usable in lieu of a normal melee attack (if more than one is available), and the special attacks listed below.
Special Attacks:
Brain Drain (Su): Any living creature hit by an ego uncarnate's natural attack or melee touch attack deals 2 Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage, chosen at the time of the attack. It gains power points equal to the ability damage dealt. This ability is usable once per round. The ability damage heals after 8 hours rest or 4 hours meditation.
Power Leech (Su): By spending a full round action, an ego uncarnate can make a special attack to creatures with psionic powers or psi-like abilities with HD less than or equal to its own HD + its Charisma bonus. If it succeeds on a melee touch attack, it siphons some of the target creature's psionic ability, taking away one use of the highest level psi-like ability available (and gaining power points equal to the cost plus augmentations of the related power at the target's manifester level), or drains power points outright. An ego uncarnate cannot drain more than its hit dice in power points with a single attack; the excess are lost to the ego uncarnate.
Special Qualities: A ego uncarnate retains all special qualities except those requiring biological processes, and gains those listed below.
Undead Traits (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#undeadType)
Incorporeal Traits (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#incorporealSubtype)
Turn Resistance (Ex): An ego uncarnate has turn resistance equal to its remaning power points / 10, rounded down, max +4.
Undead Mind (Su): Unlike normal undead, an ego uncarnate is affected by mind-affecting powers and spells, although it gains a +4 bonus to save against hostile effects and does not automatically fail on a natural 1.
Psionic Dependency (Su): Psionic energies create and sustain an ego uncarnate, and therefore make it susceptible to anti-psionic powers or magic. Dispel psionics (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/dispelPsionics.htm) burns 1d6 power points from an ego uncarnate's power pool; treat the dispel DC as 11 + the ego uncarnate's hit dice. Catapsi (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/catapsi.htm) fields disrupt the normal functioning of an ego uncarnate and drains 1d4 power points per round from it if it does not succeed on a Will Save. Being within a null psionics field (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/nullPsionicsField.htm) makes it wink out of existence, but it reappears in the same spot when the field moves away or ends. If it should ever run out of power points (through manifesting powers or being drained), it enters a weakened state. It loses many of its racial abilities as listed below, cannot use any psi-like abilities of the base creature, and cannot regain PP normally; it can still gain PP through its Brain Drain or Power Leech special attacks. Spending an hour in uninterrupted meditation and succeeding on a DC 20 Autohypnosis check allows it to regain 1 PP, at which point it can function normally. If it fails this check, the ego uncarnate takes 1d6 mind burn damage, but can continue meditating. Another Autohypnosis check is made every hour until it succeeds or it is destroyed through mind burn.
Psicrystal Incompatibility (Ex): An ego uncarnate cannot create a psicrystal, even if it the base creature had the Psicrystal Affinity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psicrystalAffinity) feat, and any psicrystal which it had before the ritual is lost. This is a side-effect of the ritual itself and being incorporeal.
Naturally Psionic (Su): Ego uncarnate have surpassed their need for a body; the parts of their mind which had to maintain bodily functions are used to enhance their psionic power. They gain 1 bonus power point per HD, and a permanent +1 bonus to their manifester level. This overrides any racial power point bonuses of the base creature, and stacks with the Overchannel (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#overchannel) feat and the Wild Surge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/wilder.htm#wildSurge) class ability. The increased manifester level does not grant them more powers known or power points from class levels, but applies to any and all psionic classes it has, if applicable. For example, a Wilder 6 / Psion 8 could spend up to 7 PP when manifesting a Wilder power, and 9 PP when manifesting a Psion power. This ability only functions for the primary mind of the ego uncarnate, if it has gained more than one through the schism power or another ability.
Telekinetic Force (Su): An ego uncarnate can use telekinetic force (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/telekineticForce.htm) as a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, at a manifester level equal to its HD (including the +1 bonus listed above). This power can be augmented up to the normal limit of its emulated manifester level. The save DC is Charisma-based. An ego uncarnate with 0 PP cannot use this ability.
Fast Healing (Su): The psionic energies that maintain an ego uncarnate constantly revitalizes its form, giving it Fast Healing equal to its remaining PP / 10 (rounded down), up to a maximum of Fast Healing 5.
Power Resistance (Su): An ego uncarnate has power resistance equal to its HD + its remaining PP / 10 rounded down, maximum +5, as long as it has at least 1 PP.
Abilities: Int +4, Wis +2, Cha +4. Incorporeal undead have no Strength or Constitution scores.
Skills: Ego uncarnate have a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Search, and Spot checks. Autohypnosis is added to its class skills.
Feats: Add Psionic Body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psionicBody) as a bonus feat.
Environment: As base creature.
Organization: Solitary or pair.
Challenge Rating: Base creature +3.
Treasure: Standard.
Alignment: Any, but usually evil if the ritual was performed on the base creature.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: +5
Ego Uncarnate Characters: The ritual to become an ego uncarnate is incredibly taxing on the mind of the base creature, frequently warping it into a twisted, power-hungry thing; no good-aligned creature undergoes it willingly. Sometimes psions killed in a particularly ignoble way can arise spontaneously as an ego uncarnate, although in this case the mind of the psion first completely dissolves and then through sheer force of will re-forms. Ego uncarnate created in this way coalesce over the body 1d4 days after death. They lose all class levels they had in life and have to start fresh, retaining only the vaguest memories of their corporeal existence, although they can deduce that their body (if it still exists) had once been theirs and investigate their past from there. The mind and body cannot be rejoined through resurrection; the dissolution and subsequent reformation of the mind has erased all links to the body it once possessed.
Transformation Ritual: Usually, a psion or erudite performs the ritual on herself, requiring her to obtain or create a cognizance crystal capable of storing 17 power points and a number of mundane crystals totaling no less than 15,000 gp. Additionally, she must be able to manifest at least one 6th level power. Once the ritual is started, the crystals are destroyed in the process and the cognizance crystal is subsumed into the body of the psion or erudite. Performing the ritual on oneself is very jarring; she expends 6,000 XP to complete the ritual.
However, the ritual is sometimes carried out by one or more psions (almost invariably of evil alignment) upon a subject instead, who may or may not be willing. In either case, the mind and body do not separate as peacefully as they would otherwise; in fact they might have been outright torn apart. Usually this results in an ego uncarnate on the evil side of the alignment spectrum. The same material requirements must be met, but those performing the ritual expend their full allotment of power points in the process, and at their option can the burden of the XP cost themselves.
When the ritual is complete, the subject's mind takes ethereal form and separates from the body, which remains in the material plane, but is lifeless. Attempting to rejoin the mind and body through a raise dead, resurrection, and other related spells or powers does not work; only a wish or reality revision can rejoin the split halves. Typically, the body is quickly destroyed by those involved through disintegration or similar means, at which point it becomes impossible to undo the ritual.
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So there you have it. I changed the name to "Ego Uncarnate" right after I posted initially -- I just liked it better.
It has an increased LA compared to the SS or Psionic Lich (from Hyperconscious), putting it on par with Ghosts and Spectres. I think it's pretty fair compared to those templates, which have fear auras and create spawn abilities respectively. Psionic Dependency is pretty harsh, and an undead susceptible to mind-affecting abilities is also a big nerf. I'm actually not so sure about the latter; I might remove it yet.
Questions? Comments? Criticism? Am I just totally power-mad?
EDIT: Changed Turn Resistance to PP/10 max +4, added catapsi and null psionic field effects, added schism note, replaced Psionic Senses with touchsight, changed Power Resistance to PP/10 max +5, removed Sense Motive from skill bonuses, added psionic body bonus feat.
EDIT: Added speed and fluff
EDIT: Nixed immunities, touchsight, and the Dex bonus.
EDIT: Fixed the null psionics field effect to fall in line with astral constructs who enter it, or incorporeal undead who enter an antimagic field (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/antimagicField.htm).
EDIT: Null psionics field nitpickery thanks to namo :smallwink:
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Ego Uncarnate
Gorn shot his partner an extremely puzzled look. "What do you mean there's something psionic here? This room is empty and I already checked for invisible creatures!" The two psions had been doing the local constabulary a favor by looking for a prominent merchant in this dungeon, and everything had gone according to plan until just now. "I don't know! But it's coming from ... over there ... just one creature ... it's ... right next to you? Inside the wall? AHH!" Ian fell backwards, dazed from what his detect psionics power had shown him. As Gorn shouted, "What? What?!", an ethereal hand reached out of the wall and into his brain. "GHNNNN!" was all that Gorn could manage for the moment as sea-green arc shot from his head through the wall. He recovered quickly, only to be stunned that he didn't have any power points left to manifest a power. He looked up and saw a ghostly head and torso emerge, effusing a pale green energy from its eyes and grinning viciously. "That, my friend, is an Ego Uncarnate. Run."
An ego uncarnate is a psion or erudite who has discovered a means to expand his psionic power at the expense of his living body, or had its mind and body separated through traumatic events. It retains all the psionic abilities it had in life, and adds a frightening array of abilities which draw upon its nature as a creature of pure thought; however, the transformation has also made it totally dependent on its power pool to survive. Ego uncarnate generally travel the world seeking new ways to enhance their own power, and care little about the fate of the creatures they encounter.
Strategies and Tactics: Just like the psions they were in life, ego uncarnate have wildly varying tactics depending on the powers available to them, which are usually vast. Those with strong leaning toward telepathy tend to induce compulsions in their opponents and suck their mind away through their Brain Drain and Power Leech abilities, whereas as Kineticists might take advantage of their incorporeality and blast opponents from hard-to-reach areas, only coming closer to recover their energies after their foes are disabled. Those with the astral construct power can be particularly effective at sending others to do their dirty work.
Creating an Ego Ucarnate: "Ego Uncarnate" is an acquired template that can be applied to any living creature with an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma of at least 10 which has a power point reserve, hereafter referred to as the "base creature."
Size: Unchanged.
Type: Changes to undead, and gains the incorporeal subtype.
Hit Dice: All current and future hit dice, including class hit dice, change to d12s.
Speed: Speed is unchanged, but an ego uncarnate flies with perfect maneuverability.
Armor Class: Loses natural armor bonus, but gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to its Charisma modifier. Unlike other incorporeal undead, the equipment worn at the time of creation does not get subsumed into an ego uncarnate's form -- it is born naked. See MMIII (p. 214) for rules about incorporeal creatures and equipment.
Attacks: An ego uncarnate keeps all special and natural attacks of the base creature except those requiring biological processes (e.g. poison), but any attacks that require physical contact only work against other ethereal creatures. All attacks use the ego uncarnate's Dexterity modifier for attack rolls, and its Charisma modifier as a damage bonus against ethereal foes only. It also gains a melee touch attack that deals 1d8 of untyped damage usable in lieu of a normal melee attack (if more than one is available), and the special attacks listed below.
Special Attacks:
Brain Drain (Su): Any living creature hit by an ego uncarnate's natural attack or melee touch attack deals 2 Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage, chosen at the time of the attack. It gains power points equal to the ability damage dealt. This ability is usable once per round. The ability damage heals after 8 hours rest or 4 hours meditation.
Power Leech (Su): By spending a full round action, an ego uncarnate can make a special attack to creatures with psionic powers or psi-like abilities with HD less than or equal to its own HD + its Charisma bonus. If it succeeds on a melee touch attack, it siphons some of the target creature's psionic ability, taking away one use of the highest level psi-like ability available (and gaining power points equal to the cost plus augmentations of the related power at the target's manifester level), or drains power points outright. An ego uncarnate cannot drain more than its hit dice in power points with a single attack; the excess are lost to the ego uncarnate.
Special Qualities: A ego uncarnate retains all special qualities except those requiring biological processes, and gains those listed below.
Undead Traits (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#undeadType)
Incorporeal Traits (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#incorporealSubtype)
Turn Resistance (Ex): An ego uncarnate has turn resistance equal to its remaning power points / 10, rounded down, max +4.
Undead Mind (Su): Unlike normal undead, an ego uncarnate is affected by mind-affecting powers and spells, although it gains a +4 bonus to save against hostile effects and does not automatically fail on a natural 1.
Psionic Dependency (Su): Psionic energies create and sustain an ego uncarnate, and therefore make it susceptible to anti-psionic powers or magic. Dispel psionics (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/dispelPsionics.htm) burns 1d6 power points from an ego uncarnate's power pool; treat the dispel DC as 11 + the ego uncarnate's hit dice. Catapsi (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/catapsi.htm) fields disrupt the normal functioning of an ego uncarnate and drains 1d4 power points per round from it if it does not succeed on a Will Save. Being within a null psionics field (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/nullPsionicsField.htm) makes it wink out of existence, but it reappears in the same spot when the field moves away or ends. If it should ever run out of power points (through manifesting powers or being drained), it enters a weakened state. It loses many of its racial abilities as listed below, cannot use any psi-like abilities of the base creature, and cannot regain PP normally; it can still gain PP through its Brain Drain or Power Leech special attacks. Spending an hour in uninterrupted meditation and succeeding on a DC 20 Autohypnosis check allows it to regain 1 PP, at which point it can function normally. If it fails this check, the ego uncarnate takes 1d6 mind burn damage, but can continue meditating. Another Autohypnosis check is made every hour until it succeeds or it is destroyed through mind burn.
Psicrystal Incompatibility (Ex): An ego uncarnate cannot create a psicrystal, even if it the base creature had the Psicrystal Affinity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psicrystalAffinity) feat, and any psicrystal which it had before the ritual is lost. This is a side-effect of the ritual itself and being incorporeal.
Naturally Psionic (Su): Ego uncarnate have surpassed their need for a body; the parts of their mind which had to maintain bodily functions are used to enhance their psionic power. They gain 1 bonus power point per HD, and a permanent +1 bonus to their manifester level. This overrides any racial power point bonuses of the base creature, and stacks with the Overchannel (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#overchannel) feat and the Wild Surge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/wilder.htm#wildSurge) class ability. The increased manifester level does not grant them more powers known or power points from class levels, but applies to any and all psionic classes it has, if applicable. For example, a Wilder 6 / Psion 8 could spend up to 7 PP when manifesting a Wilder power, and 9 PP when manifesting a Psion power. This ability only functions for the primary mind of the ego uncarnate, if it has gained more than one through the schism power or another ability.
Telekinetic Force (Su): An ego uncarnate can use telekinetic force (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/telekineticForce.htm) as a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, at a manifester level equal to its HD (including the +1 bonus listed above). This power can be augmented up to the normal limit of its emulated manifester level. The save DC is Charisma-based. An ego uncarnate with 0 PP cannot use this ability.
Fast Healing (Su): The psionic energies that maintain an ego uncarnate constantly revitalizes its form, giving it Fast Healing equal to its remaining PP / 10 (rounded down), up to a maximum of Fast Healing 5.
Power Resistance (Su): An ego uncarnate has power resistance equal to its HD + its remaining PP / 10 rounded down, maximum +5, as long as it has at least 1 PP.
Abilities: Int +4, Wis +2, Cha +4. Incorporeal undead have no Strength or Constitution scores.
Skills: Ego uncarnate have a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Search, and Spot checks. Autohypnosis is added to its class skills.
Feats: Add Psionic Body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psionicBody) as a bonus feat.
Environment: As base creature.
Organization: Solitary or pair.
Challenge Rating: Base creature +3.
Treasure: Standard.
Alignment: Any, but usually evil if the ritual was performed on the base creature.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: +5
Ego Uncarnate Characters: The ritual to become an ego uncarnate is incredibly taxing on the mind of the base creature, frequently warping it into a twisted, power-hungry thing; no good-aligned creature undergoes it willingly. Sometimes psions killed in a particularly ignoble way can arise spontaneously as an ego uncarnate, although in this case the mind of the psion first completely dissolves and then through sheer force of will re-forms. Ego uncarnate created in this way coalesce over the body 1d4 days after death. They lose all class levels they had in life and have to start fresh, retaining only the vaguest memories of their corporeal existence, although they can deduce that their body (if it still exists) had once been theirs and investigate their past from there. The mind and body cannot be rejoined through resurrection; the dissolution and subsequent reformation of the mind has erased all links to the body it once possessed.
Transformation Ritual: Usually, a psion or erudite performs the ritual on herself, requiring her to obtain or create a cognizance crystal capable of storing 17 power points and a number of mundane crystals totaling no less than 15,000 gp. Additionally, she must be able to manifest at least one 6th level power. Once the ritual is started, the crystals are destroyed in the process and the cognizance crystal is subsumed into the body of the psion or erudite. Performing the ritual on oneself is very jarring; she expends 6,000 XP to complete the ritual.
However, the ritual is sometimes carried out by one or more psions (almost invariably of evil alignment) upon a subject instead, who may or may not be willing. In either case, the mind and body do not separate as peacefully as they would otherwise; in fact they might have been outright torn apart. Usually this results in an ego uncarnate on the evil side of the alignment spectrum. The same material requirements must be met, but those performing the ritual expend their full allotment of power points in the process, and at their option can the burden of the XP cost themselves.
When the ritual is complete, the subject's mind takes ethereal form and separates from the body, which remains in the material plane, but is lifeless. Attempting to rejoin the mind and body through a raise dead, resurrection, and other related spells or powers does not work; only a wish or reality revision can rejoin the split halves. Typically, the body is quickly destroyed by those involved through disintegration or similar means, at which point it becomes impossible to undo the ritual.
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So there you have it. I changed the name to "Ego Uncarnate" right after I posted initially -- I just liked it better.
It has an increased LA compared to the SS or Psionic Lich (from Hyperconscious), putting it on par with Ghosts and Spectres. I think it's pretty fair compared to those templates, which have fear auras and create spawn abilities respectively. Psionic Dependency is pretty harsh, and an undead susceptible to mind-affecting abilities is also a big nerf. I'm actually not so sure about the latter; I might remove it yet.
Questions? Comments? Criticism? Am I just totally power-mad?
EDIT: Changed Turn Resistance to PP/10 max +4, added catapsi and null psionic field effects, added schism note, replaced Psionic Senses with touchsight, changed Power Resistance to PP/10 max +5, removed Sense Motive from skill bonuses, added psionic body bonus feat.
EDIT: Added speed and fluff
EDIT: Nixed immunities, touchsight, and the Dex bonus.
EDIT: Fixed the null psionics field effect to fall in line with astral constructs who enter it, or incorporeal undead who enter an antimagic field (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/antimagicField.htm).
EDIT: Null psionics field nitpickery thanks to namo :smallwink: