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Eurus
2008-05-28, 04:46 PM
Char
The once-thriving city is in ruins, buildings torn apart by the fury of the magic that devastated it. No life is visible; only the unsettling outlines scorched into the walls marking where the villagers must have been struck down. As you progress through, you hear a soft scratching sound and feel the sensation of being watched... but nobody is there.

Of all the forces in the realm, magic is by far the most powerful, capable of untold destruction. Sometimes, when a person is utterly obliterated by a magical effect of extraordinary power, especially if such a death was completely unexpected, the lingering effects of the spell mingle with the remains of the destroyed life-force and form an undead creature known as a Char. Despite the heat that they radiate, they don't necessarily have to have been created by fire spells, though such effects are much more likely to produce Char; any wide-spread magical explosion would do. Nobody is quite sure why that is; theories range from the heat that they radiate being the by-product of the magic that animates them, to it being the flames of hell itself.

Only dimly aware of their previous lives, Char are consumed by bitterness and resentment over their sudden deaths and kill living creatures not out of hunger, but for revenge.

Medium Undead (Incorporeal, Fire)
HD 5d12 (31 hp)
Speed Fly 30 ft. (Perfect) (6 squares)
Init: +2
AC 15; touch 15; flat-footed 13
(+2 Dex, +3 Deflection)
BAB +3; Grp -
Attack Touch +5 (1d6 Str, 1d6 fire)
Full-Attack Weakening touch +5 (1d6 Str, 1d6 fire)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Weakening Touch
Special Qualities Darkvision 60 ft., Undead traits, Incorporeal traits, Immunity to Fire, Vulnerability to Cold, +2 turn resistance, Spell Resistance 15
Saves Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +5
Abilities Str -, Dex 15, Con -, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills Hide +10, Move Silently +9, Listen +6, Spot +6, Search +5
Feats Alertness, Dodge
Environment Any formerly-settled area destroyed by powerful magic.
Organization Gang (3-5) or Swarm (6-11)
Challenge Rating ?
Treasure None (Treasure for the encounter should be found in the ruined town or city)
Alignment Always Neutral Evil
Advancement by HD; 6-8 (Medium), 9-12 (Large), 13-16 (Huge)
Level Adjustment -

Combat:
Bound to the location of their deaths - usually a destroyed settlement - Char wander in anguish, until a hapless victim arrives. They can silently stalk their prey using their supernatural abilities for hours before finally attacking - usually en masse, swarming victims (especially spellcasters) and overwhelming them, rendering them helpless with their strength drain before burning them to cinders. Because of the circumstances of their creation, Char are difficult to damage with spells, and loathe spellcasters of all types.

Weakening Touch: Thought to be related to Shadows, Char have a similar strength draining ability; the merest touch of one deals 1d6 points of strength damage to the victim. Char seem to feed off of this energy, though; for each point of ability damage dealt this way, the Char gains 2 temporary hit points. These points last for a minute from the time of the last drain. Its body also retains some of the heat of the blast that killed it, dealing 1d6 fire damage with each touch as well.

Natural Concealment: When not in Cinder Form, a Char is difficult to see, visible only as a faint outline around a shimmer in the air, similar to a heat mirage. They are treated as having partial concealment (20%) against any attacker without a way to see invisible creatures. Those who can see their true form; a scorched corpse, blackened down to the bone, that attacks with incorporeal claw-like fingers.

Cinder Form: Similar to Gargoyles, Char can flatten themselves against a wall to assume the appearance of a charred outline at will. They spend most of their time in this form, and even a True Seeing cannot identify the hidden undead; only a DC 25 Spot check can discern something odd about a motionless Char.


Okay, this is the first thing I've ever tried to homebrew, so bear with me here. Many details taken/plagiarized from the Shadow; I just tweaked it a little (gave it the Fire subtype and some extra fire damage, the Cinder Form and the invisibility, and bumped it up an HD or two). Credit for the idea goes to RS14, who mentioned the idea of creating an undead creature that only appears as a scorched outline on a wall... What can I say, I liked the idea. XD So, have I embarrassed myself too badly?

Vazzaroth
2008-05-28, 04:58 PM
Needs a CR.

Lets see, an Incorporeal with 5 HD, 1d6 str and fire dmg... I'd say its about a 5.
I think you should add flavor-wise that it's a creature killed by great fire spells, otherwise the fire aspect seems a little random.

Edit: That SR is a little crazy. 12-15 would be better, or raise the CR to like, 7.

And I would make them have not total concealment. A 50% miss chance with a 50% miss chance for being Incorporeal and resistance to spells (The normal way to hurt Incorporeal) is just too much. Even with a 20% miss, after looking at his special qualities, I'd revise my statement to say it should be like a CR 8 or 9. It's really hard to damage.

Eurus
2008-05-28, 10:23 PM
Hmm, maybe I did go a little overboard. XD I want them to pack a punch, but given that I also intended them to attack in groups, weakening them is probably a good idea. SR reduced to 15 and concealment made partial. I probably should mention the fire thing; I thought it was implied, them being scorch marks and all, but I guess I should clarify.

Vazzaroth
2008-05-28, 10:45 PM
Cool. That being said, I will probably use this in my Undead-hunting game at some point.

I'm going to use them as CR8s.