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The Demented One
2008-02-19, 11:04 PM
Grave Trooper

http://images.elfwood.com/art/c/a/camilkuo/zcg76.jpg

Size/Type: Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 6d12+6 (44 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares) in armor, base 30 ft.
Armor Class: 18 (-1 Dex, +5 breast plate, +2 heavy steel shield, +2 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+9
Attack: Longsword +9 melee (1d8+3)
Full Attack: Longsword +9 melee (1d8+3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Maneuvers, martial prowess
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., stances, turn resistance +2, undead traits
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +5
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 8, Con –, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills: Balance +1, Climb +5, Jump +5, Martial Lore +2
Feats: Power Attack, Improved Toughness, Blade Meditation (Iron Heart)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, troop (4-10), or legion (12-20)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually Evil
Advancement: 7-20 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: +1

The dead of war rest uneasily, and it is not uncommon for them to return to the world as undead revenants. Grave Troopers are elite warriors, fallen in battle and returned as the undead. They haunt the battlefields they were slain on, re-enacting their last battle with anyone they come across. Grave Troopers resemble zombies, but move far faster than them in battle, and have a glint of unmistakably malevolent intelligence in their eyes. Various weapons are embedded or snagged onto their flesh, providing a Grave Trooper with additional weapons should its mainstay of longsword and shield be lost, drawing it harmlessly from their flesh as if from a sheathe. Most Grave Troopers have a shortsword, two to four daggers, and a handaxe in their flesh, though the DM may change this. Grave Troopers are difficult to create and control, but they can prove a powerful servant for a necromancer.

Maneuvers (Ex)
A Grave Trooper has knowledge of several martial maneuvers from the Iron Heart and Stone Dragon disciplines. It may ready all four of its known maneuvers at one time. It has an initiator level of 4th. As a swift action, it may regain all of its expended maneuvers, although it cannot initiate any in the same round. It may change its readied maneuvers by meditating for five minutes. For every additional HD it gains, its initiator level increases by one, and it learns an additional maneuver for every 2 HD it gains. For every three HD it gains, it gains an additional maneuver readied.

Typical Manuevers Known:
Strikes: Charging minotaur, mountain hammer, steel wind, stone bones

Martial Prowess (Ex)
A Grave Trooper gets a competence bonus on all attack rolls equal to the highest level of martial maneuver it can initiate. (This bonus is factored in to the above stat block).

Stances (Ex)
A Grave Trooper has knowledge of several martial stances from the Iron Heart and Stone Dragon disciplines. It can change stances as a swift action. For every five additional HD it gains, it learns and additional stance.

Typical Stances Known
Punishing stance, surefoot stance

Creating a Grave Trooper
A 16th level or higher caster using the create greater undead spell can create a Grave Trooper, but they must use the corpse of a medium humanoid that had at least 6 HD or class levels.

The Demented One
2008-02-20, 09:54 AM
Bumping in hope of response.

Unscrewed
2008-02-20, 10:02 AM
Looks cool. I don't know enough about monsters to say anything about balance though.

Lappy9000
2008-02-20, 12:58 PM
Nice. Kinda reminds me of a sooped-up Karrnathi undead unit minus the Eberron fluff.

I'd certainly use these guys.

Shiny, Bearer of the Pokystick
2008-02-20, 02:29 PM
Does the Grave Trooper's innate martial adept ability stack with levels in martial adept classes, should it have any?

The Demented One
2008-02-26, 11:28 PM
Does the Grave Trooper's innate martial adept ability stack with levels in martial adept classes, should it have any?
Yep, it would.

Stycotl
2008-02-27, 12:40 AM
Yep, it would.

interesting. undead are cool enough as it is. with martial levels, pretty scary. how does that work? do its hit dice count as full initiator levels, or half? still don't have the book...

The Demented One
2008-02-27, 01:05 AM
interesting. undead are cool enough as it is. with martial levels, pretty scary. how does that work? do its hit dice count as full initiator levels, or half? still don't have the book...
Honestly, there's nothing really clear in the book about how to multiclass martial adept classes...I'd just say its 4 initiator levels stack with any class levels it may gain.

Stycotl
2008-02-27, 01:25 AM
cool. i love vague rule books, almost as much as i love vague questions on my history final. outstanding. maybe they'll fix that in 4th ed. HA! good luck...