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TheCountAlucard
2008-05-13, 07:45 PM
One of the things I regret about the Monster Manual is the decision that some monsters created from a creature deserve a template, while others don't. The Vampire, Lich, Ghost, and even the lowly Zombie retain qualities of the creature it was during life. However, other creatures that should have been templates are not, such as the Wight, Mummy, and Ghoul. By RAW, if you want to make a Wight that was a Dwarf in life, it's going to be exactly the same as a Wight that was a Halfling in life.

The purpose of this thread is to create templates for monsters that you feel should have been templates instead of fixed blocks of stats.

Here's one of mine:
Wight
"Wight" is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

A wight uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type
The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented humanoid). Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

Hit Dice
Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s.

Armor Class
The base creature’s natural armor bonus improves by +4.

Attack
A wight retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn’t already have one. If the base creature can use weapons, the wight retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A wight fighting without weapons uses either its slam attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A wight armed with a weapon uses its slam or a weapon, as it desires.

Full Attack
A wight fighting without weapons uses either its slam attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a slam or other natural weapon as a natural secondary attack.

Damage
Wights have slam attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the appropriate damage value from the table below according to the wight's size. Creatures that have other kinds of natural weapons retain their old damage values or use the appropriate value from the table below, whichever is better.

Size Damage
Fine 1
Diminutive 1d2
Tiny 1d3
Small 1d4
Medium 1d6
Large 1d8
Huge 2d6
Gargantuan 2d8
Colossal 4d6

Special Attacks
A wight retains all the special attacks of the base creature and gains those described below. Saves have a DC of 10 + ½ wight's HD + wight's Cha modifier.

Create Spawn (Su)
A humanoid slain by a wight's energy drain rises as a wight in 1d4 rounds. Spawn are under the command of the wight that created them and remain enslaved until its death.

Energy Drain (Su)
Living creatures hit by a wight's slam attack (or any other natural weapon the wight might possess) gain a negative level. For each negative level bestowed, the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points.

Abilities
Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Dex +2, Wis +2, Cha +4. As an undead creature, a wight has no Constitution score.

Skills
Wights have a +8 racial bonus on Move Silently.

Environment
Any, usually same as base creature.

Organization
Solitary, pair, gang (3-5), or pack (6-11)

Challenge Rating
Same as the base creature +2.

Treasure
Same as base creature.

Alignment
Always Lawful Evil.

Advancement
By character class.

Level Adjustment
Same as the base creature +4.

What do you guys think?

Xefas
2008-05-13, 07:52 PM
The Libris Mortis and Savage Species already have templates for those monsters.

"Wight" for Wights, "Gravetouched Ghoul" for Ghouls, and "Mummified" for Mummies. Not to mention "Umbral" for Shadows, and "Spectral" for Spectres.

EDIT: Also, a few similar ones might be "Bone" and "Corpse" from the Book of Vile Darkness which are essentially "Skeleton" and "Zombie" but you don't lose all your features and sentience for taking them.

drengnikrafe
2008-05-13, 07:56 PM
I don't know much about monsters, or templates, but... It looks pretty good. Only one thing:
I think you posted it in the wrong place. Homebrew forums works better for coming up with your own stuff. No offense meant whatsoever, it just feels out of place...

TheCountAlucard
2008-05-13, 10:13 PM
The Libris Mortis and Savage Species already have templates for those monsters.

"Wight" for Wights, "Gravetouched Ghoul" for Ghouls, and "Mummified" for Mummies. Not to mention "Umbral" for Shadows, and "Spectral" for Spectres.

EDIT: Also, a few similar ones might be "Bone" and "Corpse" from the Book of Vile Darkness which are essentially "Skeleton" and "Zombie" but you don't lose all your features and sentience for taking them.

To be quite honest, I haven't read Savage Species, so it might be in there, but when I flipped through Libris Mortis, I saw a character class called "Wight," but it seemed ridiculously underpowered for a class that you have to burn through 8 levels to be. Might as well be a vampire and get better stat bonuses.

Thanks, though.

Xefas
2008-05-14, 11:19 AM
To be quite honest, I haven't read Savage Species, so it might be in there, but when I flipped through Libris Mortis, I saw a character class called "Wight," but it seemed ridiculously underpowered for a class that you have to burn through 8 levels to be. Might as well be a vampire and get better stat bonuses.

Thanks, though.

Savage Species is the one with the "Wight" template. It's still a +4 LA, though.

Off the top of my head, here is a list of non-core undead templates and where to find them.

Libris Mortis:
Ghost Brute (+5 LA)
Half-Vampire (+3 LA)
Necropolitan (+0 LA)
Evolved (+1 LA)
Umbral (--)
Mummified (+4 LA)
Necromental (--)
Ghoul (+2 LA)
Revived Fossil (--)

Savage Species:
Ghost Brute (+5 LA)
Mummified (+4 LA)
Spectral (+7 LA)
Umbral (+5 LA)
Wight (+4 LA)
Wraith (+7 LA)

Draconomicon:
Dracolich (+4 LA)
Ghostly Dragon (+5 LA)
Skeletal Dragon (--)
Vampiric Dragon (+5 LA)
Zombie Dragon (--)

Book of Vile Darkness:
Bone (--)
Corpse (--)

Actually, I know there are a few others, like Deathknight (+5 LA), but I don't recall where they are and don't want to go looking for them.

ColonelFuster
2008-05-14, 11:36 AM
Actually, I know there are a few others, like Deathknight (+5 LA), but I don't recall where they are and don't want to go looking for them.

You are thinking of the back of MMII.