PDA

View Full Version : Wait you're a what?!



kentma57
2008-03-28, 07:36 AM
Imagin as you walk through a forest you are aproached by a bear, you walk slowly awway in a sign of peace. It regards you with thought and you stare in amazment as it transforms into a skeleton.
"I am Aten, and this is my forest" you have met your first undead druid...

What do you think the effects of playing a (inteligent) undead druid would be?

ZekeArgo
2008-03-28, 07:41 AM
Imagin as you walk through a forest you are aproached by a bear, you walk slowly awway in a sign of peace. It regards you with thought and you stare in amazment as it transforms into a skeleton.
"I am Aten, and this is my forest" you have met your first undead druid...

What do you think the effects of playing a (inteligent) undead druid would be?

Not a whole lot I'd imagine. Wildshape essentially works like polymorph, so if no one has a problem with lichs transforming into dragons via PaO I've got no problem with an undead humanoid transforming into a bear.

The only question I would pose is why would this druid seek to circumvent the "natural order"?

kentma57
2008-03-28, 07:45 AM
The only question I would pose is why would this druid seek to circumvent the "natural order"?

That's another good question...
I am now actual considering this for a character, you have to admit it would be interesting...

Funkyodor
2008-03-28, 07:52 AM
It's no crazier than a Warforged Druid turing into a bear. For a sentient Undead type, I think it could be a desire to experience things that they might miss. The taste of a good meal, burping, getting drunk. I can imagine a chimp putting on a bib, cracking open a nice lobster, then downing a glass of nice red wine.

kentma57
2008-03-28, 07:59 AM
It's no crazier than a Warforged Druid turing into a bear. For a sentient Undead type, I think it could be a desire to experience things that they might miss. The taste of a good meal, burping, getting drunk. I can imagine a chimp putting on a bib, cracking open a nice lobster, then downing a glass of nice red wine.

Good character concept...

TroyXavier
2008-03-28, 08:03 AM
Best undead form for Druids are ghosts, but I do like that visual I must admit.

Keld Denar
2008-03-28, 08:10 AM
Libris Mortis: The Book of Bad Latin has a feat specifically for undead with druid levels to transform into other undead. I can't imagine that they can't transform into living creatures though. Its an interesting idea. Their wild forms would probably have some subtle signs of undeadiness though, like mangey fur, gaunt frame, sickly looking eyes, possibly a wound or 3.

kentma57
2008-03-28, 08:16 AM
Libris Mortis: The Book of Bad Latin has a feat specifically for undead with druid levels to transform into other undead. I can't imagine that they can't transform into living creatures though. Its an interesting idea. Their wild forms would probably have some subtle signs of undeadiness though, like mangey fur, gaunt frame, sickly looking eyes, possibly a wound or 3.

That sound cool...

Crowheart
2008-03-28, 08:57 AM
Lich Blighter sounds downright scary and a whole lot more interesting.

Tsotha-lanti
2008-03-28, 11:17 AM
Lossarwyn the Ice Lich, a possible supporter of the Eldreth Veluuthra in the Forgotten Realms, is an official elven druid lich. He was insane even before lichdom, but I don't see any big problems resulting from the combination. (Of course, Faerūn's elves already have a different take on lichdom, what with baelnorns.) He wants to destroy humans and protect the forests and the elves, which is pretty standard NE druid fare.

Frosty
2008-03-28, 11:26 AM
It's no crazier than a Warforged Druid turing into a bear.

Warforged should be able to morph into other constructs. At higher levels, they can become an airship! that'd be cool.

Keld Denar
2008-03-28, 11:36 AM
Warforged should be able to morph into other constructs. At higher levels, they can become an airship! that'd be cool.

Autobots, transform and roll out!

JBento
2008-03-28, 01:14 PM
They can - it's called Alter Self :smallbiggrin:

Ascension
2008-03-28, 01:45 PM
They can, it's called druid substitution levels from the online supplement for Cityscape. Lets them turn into animated objects. We had a discussion of it a while back when we realized that you could actually model transformers in D&D that way. Pretty cool.

Druids are good for playing other fiction in D&D... Transformers, Animorphs...

Reel On, Love
2008-03-28, 01:48 PM
Lich Blighter sounds downright scary and a whole lot more interesting.

Interesting? "I HAET TEH WOODS. I WILL BURN TEH WOODS."

As for scary, nah. There was a Blighter lich in Red Hand of Doom, he went down like a pansy--between the low HP and the crappy spell list, there's not much they can do.

Tengu
2008-03-28, 02:12 PM
Warforged should be able to morph into other constructs. At higher levels, they can become an airship! that'd be cool.

That's such an awesome idea that I'm lost for words, cannot think clearly and don't know have you made it yourself or stole it from somewhere.

Frosty
2008-03-28, 02:59 PM
Transformers, Warforged in DISGUISE!

Starbuck_II
2008-03-28, 03:33 PM
Interesting? "I HAET TEH WOODS. I WILL BURN TEH WOODS."

As for scary, nah. There was a Blighter lich in Red Hand of Doom, he went down like a pansy--between the low HP and the crappy spell list, there's not much they can do.

That is because Druids lose all their spellcasters and start over when they are blighters.
It would be like giving up an antimatter gun for a thumbtack as a weapon. Sure, easy to hide... but that is a alot of fire power you gave up.

Kaelaroth
2008-03-28, 05:54 PM
The only question I would pose is why would this druid seek to circumvent the "natural order"?

It's the only way to defend the forests? Maybe if he dies, he would not be replaced, and his lands would fall into decay and ruin. Although this doesn't seem the most natural way of doing it, his continued existence will preserve the forests in far better ways than he previously could've.

AslanCross
2008-03-28, 06:05 PM
Interesting? "I HAET TEH WOODS. I WILL BURN TEH WOODS."

As for scary, nah. There was a Blighter lich in Red Hand of Doom, he went down like a pansy--between the low HP and the crappy spell list, there's not much they can do.

I was going to mention the Ghostlord as an example of a druid lich. I didn't know he was a Blighter, which is easy enough to explain.

Not sure a regular druid would want to be undead, though they may want to preserve themselves indefinitely to protect their domain, as has been mentioned, or until they find a successor.

Evil druids are all about survival of the fittest, everyone else be damned, so he may deem that to become undead is to evolve and become the fittest.

Tengu
2008-03-28, 06:07 PM
Transformers, Warforged in DISGUISE!

Even the airship? Yeah, some of them turned into jets, but did any of those were that large?

Collin152
2008-03-28, 06:08 PM
I was going to mention the Ghostlord as an example of a druid lich. I didn't know he was a Blighter, which is easy enough to explain.

Not sure a regular druid would want to be undead, though they may want to preserve themselves indefinitely to protect their domain, as has been mentioned, or until they find a successor.

Evil druids are all about survival of the fittest, everyone else be damned, so he may deem that to become undead is to evolve and become the fittest.

So... evil druid Lich... is Apocalypse?

SurlySeraph
2008-03-28, 09:08 PM
Undead druids are awesome. You must maintain the delicate balance between life and death; all other balances are nearly irrelevant in comparison. Whether that means nurturing puppies to increase the amount of life or sending skeletal dire bears to eat orphans depends.

Jayngfet
2008-03-29, 04:45 AM
Autobots, transform and roll out!


CART NOT MUNKEY!


construct druids sounds kickass, I want one.

Aquillion
2008-03-29, 04:56 AM
Let's see, background for an undead druid...

The logical one is that you wanted to defend the forest even after death. Yes, as a druid you respect the natural order and therefore wouldn't want to become an undead just for the sake of prolonging your life; but you're not a Cleric, and you don't worship the idea of natural order the way a cleric worships a god. If, in the long run, the best thing for the natural order of the forest as a whole is for you to become undead so you can protect it over a longer period of time, then it makes sense for a druid to swallow their distaste and become undead, at least until someone else appears who can protect the forest for them.

For appearance: I do not think that an undead druid would try to appear alive. Unlike (say) many vampires or liches, they're not trying to deny death; they just have a task to do that requires putting it off. They accept the fact that they are dead, and would probably allow their bodies to rot away into skeletons. They might have moss or even vine and flowers growing in their skeleton; this would be nice thematically, would make sense if they constantly live in a forest, and could be their personal concession to the fact that they've kept their body from returning to the earth for a time.

Dode
2008-03-29, 05:04 AM
Stuff like this is why Deathless Elves are a part of Eberron.

Starsinger
2008-03-29, 05:50 AM
Did I miss the part where it was said that the druid became undead by choice? Why not have a druid, who was cruely undeadified, continue to protect the forests.

Aquillion
2008-03-29, 06:04 AM
Did I miss the part where it was said that the druid became undead by choice? Why not have a druid, who was cruely undeadified, continue to protect the forests.I dunno, that seems like a less interesting character to me, since then their undead status says less about their personality and more about their angesty situation.

Additionally, you can't really be cruelly undeadified; if it happens before you die of old age, you can just re-deadify yourself and then get raised/reincarnated. If it happens after you die of old age, you can just re-deadify yourself and stay dead.

The cruelly undeadified druid needs a reason to not instantly immolate themselves as soon as they have access to some fire... and that being the case, saying that they were cruelly undeadified and then decided that they liked it is just trying to have your cake and eat it, too.

MorkaisChosen
2008-03-29, 09:16 AM
Sacrificing their (insert humanoid here)ity for the aid of Nature sounds good... Sorry about the 40K analogy, but it's like Soace Marines giving up their humanity to protect humanity- they give up their naturality to protect Nature.

MammonAzrael
2008-03-29, 02:20 PM
You can find the feat Corrupted Wild Shape on page 25 of Libris Mortis. You have to be undead, and have the Wild Shape class feature to get it, and it essentially lets you use Wild Shape, but the animals you turn into have no CON score, and you retain your undead bonuses. Also the animal you transform into looks rather decayed and undead itself. But most importantly: "NORMAL: Since it is based on the polymorph spell, wild shape works only on living creatures"

Flickerdart
2008-03-29, 02:32 PM
This is interesting. I'm thinking of a druid corrupted alongside his grove by negative energy, or something. There is a parallel that can be drawn between bone and branches...

senrath
2008-03-29, 04:41 PM
Even the airship? Yeah, some of them turned into jets, but did any of those were that large?

Unicron and Primus were the size of a planet.

DementedFellow
2008-03-29, 04:51 PM
In Sandstorm, it is possible, in terms of fluff that a druid would willingly allow himself to become an undead, a lich in fact.

Basically, it's the Walker in the Waste class. The class is a little harder for a Druid to get in rather than a Cleric, but it is still entirely possible. What the book says is that there could be some druid who loves the arid beauty of the waste that it consumes him and he will stop at nothing to spread the desert across the land. Also, as a variant of that, if someone was trying to make the desert suitable for farming, he could see it as an affront against the natural order and actively seek them out and put right what is wrong.

It's entirely possible to be a good lich and even a druid lich. Ethics enter a gray area when people of two entirely different schools of thought are at odds.

Farmer: "Hey! You're evil because you keep destroying my farm!"
Walker: "Hey! You're evil because you are trying to spoil the beauty of this area."

Iudex Fatarum
2008-03-29, 11:21 PM
Well I like the idea somewhat but then again, to quote the PHB "While druids accept that which is horrific or cruel in nature, they hate that which is unnatural, including aberrations(…) and undead." But I wonder what it would be like for a druid that has lost his way and is using undead (since they cast divine spells it might make sense for them to start creating undead.

Aquillion
2008-03-29, 11:24 PM
Well I like the idea somewhat but then again, to quote the PHB "While druids accept that which is horrific or cruel in nature, they hate that which is unnatural, including aberrations(…) and undead." But I wonder what it would be like for a druid that has lost his way and is using undead (since they cast divine spells it might make sense for them to start creating undead.Yes, they hate it -- but like I said, they're not clerics or paladins, and their opposition to undead is not an inviolate article of faith. Even if they hate it, they could still accept that becoming undead is necessary under certain circumstances, just like (say) a fighter who hates magic might still accept the necessity of using a magic sword.

Jayabalard
2008-03-29, 11:49 PM
Even the airship? Yeah, some of them turned into jets, but did any of those were that large?Just off the top of my head:

Jetfire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jetfire)
Astrotrain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrotrain)
Metroplex (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroplex_%28Transformers%29)
Trypticon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypticon)
Unicron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicron)