pyrefiend
2008-09-30, 08:33 PM
First of all, if you are playing in my campaign, please don't read what's written below.
When a creature spends it's life fighting against some injustice, and dies during the completion of it's revenge, a powerful bond is created. Normally, a being that dies in such away moves on to the afterlife happily, having finally finished its life's work. But when its actions are undone only a few moments after its death, it may be too much for the soul to take. Some wretched souls attempt to make the ultimate journey: to actually return to their material form and live again, if only long enough to make sure their actions weren't in vain. These creatures are not the undead- their animating souls are the same as those they had in life, and pure willpower keeps their body alive, not negative energy. However, the journey back to the material plane wreaks havoc on the soul that attempts it. The being is reanimated, yes, but the only part of its soul that survives is its obsession with finishing the undone task.
Unwilling Soul
"Unwilling Soul" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature with an intelligence score higher than 3 and a constitution score, except for those creatures whose body and soul form one unit, such as elementals and outsiders. Unwilling souls appear as they did in their previous life, except that any signs of a metabolism are gone, and they seem to pulsate with barely visible energy. Their eyes are replaced with glowing points of light.
Size and Type:
The creature’s type changes to construct. It is a shadow of the creature it once was, a broken body temporarily animated by a damaged soul. It retains all subtypes, and gains the augmented subtype. It uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice:
The unwilling soul is powered by pure force of will, not by a functioning anatomy. As such, bonus hitpoints are not determined by size, as is normal for constructs, but by the creature's wisdom or charisma modifier, whichever is higher.
Special Attacks:
An unwilling soul retains all of the base creature’s special attacks, and gains one new one:
Force of Will(Su)
The unwilling soul's dedication and purpose are so strong that it is actually capable of manipulating the physical world through sheer force of will. The creature can use mage hand at will and telekinetic force and telekinetic thrust each one per day. Mage hand is used at a caster level equal to the creatures hit die, and telekinetic force and telekinetic thrust are each treated as being augmented a number of power points equal to half the creature's hit dice.
Special Qualities:
The base creature retains all special qualities, and gains the following special qualities.
Unliving(Su)
The unwilling soul cannot be returned to natural life through any means, including resurrection of any kind.
Quest Dependent(Su)
Unwilling souls are animated only by their desire to complete one specific task that was undone after their death. If they are ever completely unable to perform this task, or spend a full day not actively attempting to accomplish the task, their soul departs from the body, killing it. If the unwilling soul is ever killed, the broken soul has no choice but to return again. The unwilling soul is remade again after 2d8 hours at the exact spot where it died. However, remaking the journey taxes the soul further, and the creature returns with a wisdom and charisma 2 points lower than previously. This ability drain cannot be restored by any means, even through powerful magic such as wish or miracle. If the unwilling soul's wisdom or charisma is drained to 0 in such a way, its very soul is destroyed and the being falls inanimate.
Feats:
An unwilling soul gains Track as a bonus feat
Challenge Rating:
Same as the base creature +2.
Alignment:
The base creatures' alignment changes to lawful evil, and it remains as such until it is destroyed.
Advancement:
As base creature.
Level Adjustment:
-
When a creature spends it's life fighting against some injustice, and dies during the completion of it's revenge, a powerful bond is created. Normally, a being that dies in such away moves on to the afterlife happily, having finally finished its life's work. But when its actions are undone only a few moments after its death, it may be too much for the soul to take. Some wretched souls attempt to make the ultimate journey: to actually return to their material form and live again, if only long enough to make sure their actions weren't in vain. These creatures are not the undead- their animating souls are the same as those they had in life, and pure willpower keeps their body alive, not negative energy. However, the journey back to the material plane wreaks havoc on the soul that attempts it. The being is reanimated, yes, but the only part of its soul that survives is its obsession with finishing the undone task.
Unwilling Soul
"Unwilling Soul" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature with an intelligence score higher than 3 and a constitution score, except for those creatures whose body and soul form one unit, such as elementals and outsiders. Unwilling souls appear as they did in their previous life, except that any signs of a metabolism are gone, and they seem to pulsate with barely visible energy. Their eyes are replaced with glowing points of light.
Size and Type:
The creature’s type changes to construct. It is a shadow of the creature it once was, a broken body temporarily animated by a damaged soul. It retains all subtypes, and gains the augmented subtype. It uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice:
The unwilling soul is powered by pure force of will, not by a functioning anatomy. As such, bonus hitpoints are not determined by size, as is normal for constructs, but by the creature's wisdom or charisma modifier, whichever is higher.
Special Attacks:
An unwilling soul retains all of the base creature’s special attacks, and gains one new one:
Force of Will(Su)
The unwilling soul's dedication and purpose are so strong that it is actually capable of manipulating the physical world through sheer force of will. The creature can use mage hand at will and telekinetic force and telekinetic thrust each one per day. Mage hand is used at a caster level equal to the creatures hit die, and telekinetic force and telekinetic thrust are each treated as being augmented a number of power points equal to half the creature's hit dice.
Special Qualities:
The base creature retains all special qualities, and gains the following special qualities.
Unliving(Su)
The unwilling soul cannot be returned to natural life through any means, including resurrection of any kind.
Quest Dependent(Su)
Unwilling souls are animated only by their desire to complete one specific task that was undone after their death. If they are ever completely unable to perform this task, or spend a full day not actively attempting to accomplish the task, their soul departs from the body, killing it. If the unwilling soul is ever killed, the broken soul has no choice but to return again. The unwilling soul is remade again after 2d8 hours at the exact spot where it died. However, remaking the journey taxes the soul further, and the creature returns with a wisdom and charisma 2 points lower than previously. This ability drain cannot be restored by any means, even through powerful magic such as wish or miracle. If the unwilling soul's wisdom or charisma is drained to 0 in such a way, its very soul is destroyed and the being falls inanimate.
Feats:
An unwilling soul gains Track as a bonus feat
Challenge Rating:
Same as the base creature +2.
Alignment:
The base creatures' alignment changes to lawful evil, and it remains as such until it is destroyed.
Advancement:
As base creature.
Level Adjustment:
-