Leliel
2007-10-11, 03:57 PM
As a connoisseur of D&D, another chief ambition of mine (Besides the all-lycanthrope campaign) has been a game where all the party is dead or is made dead near or before the start, but before going on to the afterlife, a mysterious grim reaper figure/a strange force revives them, but not quite resurrects them. Simply put, they are intelligent Undead (NOT DEATHLESS), and they can't move on until they finish the quest that they initially failed, and in the process, find out who/what killed them in the first place. My question/subject is:
How would you, the forumites, run a game for a non-evil undead party? Who would be the villains (besides other, not-so-nice undead)? What would be the main objective (other than the ones outlined above)? How would one factor in the party's backstory? How the hell is one supposed to keep the guy who plays an intelligent shadow from breaking the game with his spawn (besides banning shadows or that particular ability)? What is the correct quantity of dark humor to inject into the campaign? And finally, how many nails should I put into the board I use to smack the unoriginal dweeb who inevitably tries to play an "Angsty Vampire" wannabe?
Of course, this game assumes the "Animate Dead does not trap the soul and should not be considered evil, nor should its products" rule (I personally think that anyone who believes Negative Energy is evil should be exposed to a mild amount of it so as to kill the cancerous tumor that has apparently taken up residence in his or her brain). I also should note here that this applies to all mindless undead.
A few guidelines/rules to remember:
1) Allips are not evil, and should never have been made that way.. Sure, they are depressed, and probably somewhat insane, but suicide is not evil, and neither are its products. Just a warning for anyone trying to use them a villains.
2) The ghoul is also not evil, for the reason that nowhere does it state that they have to eat fresh bodies. If they did, they would be, but they don't, so that also shuts them off.
3) Mummies do not decrease in intelligence. That trope is a product of poor Western movies, and should be shot.
4) The players are allowed to play intelligent zombies and skeletons, if they so desire.
5) On the "how do you revive the PCs" issue, I already have an idea for an artifact that turns the resurrection spell into an "Undead" version of it. Probably a MacGuffin, as well (Okay not technically a MacGuffin, but it isn't the central focus of the story but still an important-yet-unnecessary aspect, so thats what I'm going to call it).
6) Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT turn this into a debate about Negative Energy! I know I insulted those who believe it is evil, but if you want to complain about it, send complaints to me, via PM, not the thread! UNDERSTAND?! Excuse me, I seem to be on a caffeine binge.
So...Lets Begin!
How would you, the forumites, run a game for a non-evil undead party? Who would be the villains (besides other, not-so-nice undead)? What would be the main objective (other than the ones outlined above)? How would one factor in the party's backstory? How the hell is one supposed to keep the guy who plays an intelligent shadow from breaking the game with his spawn (besides banning shadows or that particular ability)? What is the correct quantity of dark humor to inject into the campaign? And finally, how many nails should I put into the board I use to smack the unoriginal dweeb who inevitably tries to play an "Angsty Vampire" wannabe?
Of course, this game assumes the "Animate Dead does not trap the soul and should not be considered evil, nor should its products" rule (I personally think that anyone who believes Negative Energy is evil should be exposed to a mild amount of it so as to kill the cancerous tumor that has apparently taken up residence in his or her brain). I also should note here that this applies to all mindless undead.
A few guidelines/rules to remember:
1) Allips are not evil, and should never have been made that way.. Sure, they are depressed, and probably somewhat insane, but suicide is not evil, and neither are its products. Just a warning for anyone trying to use them a villains.
2) The ghoul is also not evil, for the reason that nowhere does it state that they have to eat fresh bodies. If they did, they would be, but they don't, so that also shuts them off.
3) Mummies do not decrease in intelligence. That trope is a product of poor Western movies, and should be shot.
4) The players are allowed to play intelligent zombies and skeletons, if they so desire.
5) On the "how do you revive the PCs" issue, I already have an idea for an artifact that turns the resurrection spell into an "Undead" version of it. Probably a MacGuffin, as well (Okay not technically a MacGuffin, but it isn't the central focus of the story but still an important-yet-unnecessary aspect, so thats what I'm going to call it).
6) Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT turn this into a debate about Negative Energy! I know I insulted those who believe it is evil, but if you want to complain about it, send complaints to me, via PM, not the thread! UNDERSTAND?! Excuse me, I seem to be on a caffeine binge.
So...Lets Begin!