Jack_Simth
2008-02-21, 04:40 PM
But professor, if someone slain by a wight rises as a wight in under a minute, and most people die in one hit, why hasn't the world already been overrun by wights?
An excellent question, my student; it's because wights, like all undead, are powered by negative energy, and as such, are tied to a source of it....
We're all familiar with the Wight Apocalypse (or the Shadow Apocalypse, or the Wraith Apocalypse, or the Spectre Apocalypse, or the Apocalypse of other undead with a self-replicating Create Spawn ability); why hasn't it happened yet? All it would take is one of those self-replicating undead to get loose in an area with a large number of commoner-1's (basically any D&D town, really) and in an hour or two you'll get total conversion of the city - in a very short period of time, one starting Wight can wipe out civilization.
So why hasn't it happened?
House-rule explanation:
Undead are tied to a supply of negative energy, and living things choke off negative energy (and negative energy is harmful to living things). When an undead is without a supply negative energy, it slowly takes lethal damage as though it were starving (despite the fact that they don't normally eat, and starvation is normally nonlethal damage). In an area that's actually teeming with life (such as a forest) an undead cut off from a supply of negative energy actually takes damage at a rate of 1d6 per minute (Will half). Undead from Animate Dead are supplied by their maker - hence the limit to the number you can control (you're constantly feeding them). Undead that have been Commanded by a Rebuke attempt are likewise "fed" by the Cleric (and hence, the limit of control).
Certain types of undead can produce their own supply of negative energy. A Phylactery, for instance, is a well of negative energy which supplies the lich that created it (who can then supply other undead as normal for a Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric, or other spellcaster). Vampires produce a supply of negative energy when they feed off of living creatures; every point of Con drain will "feed" the vampire for a full day; each negative level bestowed on a living creature will likewise "feed" the vampire for one day. A Vampire can hold up to a month's worth of negative energy at one time... although a Vampire that hasn't fed in at least a week is treated as "cut off" when in an area that is abundant in life.
Thoughts?
An excellent question, my student; it's because wights, like all undead, are powered by negative energy, and as such, are tied to a source of it....
We're all familiar with the Wight Apocalypse (or the Shadow Apocalypse, or the Wraith Apocalypse, or the Spectre Apocalypse, or the Apocalypse of other undead with a self-replicating Create Spawn ability); why hasn't it happened yet? All it would take is one of those self-replicating undead to get loose in an area with a large number of commoner-1's (basically any D&D town, really) and in an hour or two you'll get total conversion of the city - in a very short period of time, one starting Wight can wipe out civilization.
So why hasn't it happened?
House-rule explanation:
Undead are tied to a supply of negative energy, and living things choke off negative energy (and negative energy is harmful to living things). When an undead is without a supply negative energy, it slowly takes lethal damage as though it were starving (despite the fact that they don't normally eat, and starvation is normally nonlethal damage). In an area that's actually teeming with life (such as a forest) an undead cut off from a supply of negative energy actually takes damage at a rate of 1d6 per minute (Will half). Undead from Animate Dead are supplied by their maker - hence the limit to the number you can control (you're constantly feeding them). Undead that have been Commanded by a Rebuke attempt are likewise "fed" by the Cleric (and hence, the limit of control).
Certain types of undead can produce their own supply of negative energy. A Phylactery, for instance, is a well of negative energy which supplies the lich that created it (who can then supply other undead as normal for a Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric, or other spellcaster). Vampires produce a supply of negative energy when they feed off of living creatures; every point of Con drain will "feed" the vampire for a full day; each negative level bestowed on a living creature will likewise "feed" the vampire for one day. A Vampire can hold up to a month's worth of negative energy at one time... although a Vampire that hasn't fed in at least a week is treated as "cut off" when in an area that is abundant in life.
Thoughts?