Open Spoiler below for main stat block for Fine, Diminutive, and Tiny Dark Hearts.
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| ~ |
Dark Heart, Fine |
Dark Heart, Diminutive |
Dark Heart, Tiny |
|---|
| Size and Type |
Fine Undead [Organ Undead] |
Diminutive Undead [Organ Undead] |
Tiny Undead [Organ Undead] |
| Hit Dice |
2d12 (13 hp) |
4d12 (26 hp) |
8d12 (52 hp) |
| Speed |
Fly 10 ft. (Perfect) |
Fly 15 ft. (Perfect) |
Fly 20 ft. (Good) |
| Initiative |
+5 |
+4 |
+3 |
| AC |
23 (+5 Dex, +8 size); touch 23; flat-footed 18 |
18 (+4 Dex, +4 size); touch 18; flat-footed 14 |
15 (+3 Dex, +2 size); touch 15; flat-footed 12 |
| BAB |
+1 |
+2 |
+4 |
| Grapple |
-18 |
-11 |
-5 |
| Attack |
None |
None |
None |
| Space/Reach |
1/2 ft./0 ft. |
1 ft./0 ft. |
2 1/2 ft./0 ft. |
| Special Attacks |
Negative Energy Pulse (1d2) |
Negative Energy Pulse (1d4) |
Negative Energy Pulse (1d8+1) |
| Special Qualities |
Dark Vision 60 ft., Undead Traits |
Dark Vision 60 ft., Undead Traits |
Dark Vision 60 ft., Undead Traits |
| Saves |
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +3 |
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +4 |
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +6 |
| Abilities |
Str 4, Dex 21, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1 |
Str 8, Dex 19, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1 |
Str 10, Dex 17, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1 |
| Skills |
Hide +21*, Move Silently +15 |
Hide +16*, Move Silently +14 |
Hide +11*, Move Silently +13 |
| Feats |
Great Fortitude(B), Endurance(B) |
Great Fortitude(B), Endurance(B) |
Great Fortitude(B), Endurance(B) |
| Environment |
Any |
Any |
Any |
| Organization |
Any |
Any |
Any |
| Challenge Rating |
2 |
3 |
5 |
| Treasure |
None |
None |
None |
| Alignment |
Always Neutral Evil |
Always Neutral Evil |
Always Neutral Evil |
| Advancement |
3 HD (Fine) |
5-7 HD (Diminutive) |
9-15 HD (Tiny) |
| Level Adjustment |
~ |
~ |
~ |
*Hide modifiers included for clarity, despite lack of racial modifiers or ranks.
Open Spoiler below for main stat block for Small, Medium, and Large Dark Hearts.
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| ~ |
Dark Heart, Small |
Dark Heart, Medium |
Dark Heart, Large |
|---|
| Size and Type |
Small Undead [Organ Undead] |
Medium Undead [Organ Undead] |
Large Undead [Organ Undead] |
| Hit Dice |
16d12 (104 hp) |
32d12 (208 hp) |
64d12 (408 hp) |
| Speed |
Fly 30 ft. (Good) |
Fly 40 ft. (Good) |
Fly 50 ft. (Good) |
| Initiative |
+2 |
+1 |
+0 |
| AC |
14 (+2 Dex, +1 size, +1 natural); touch 13; flat-footed 12 |
13 (+1 Dex, +2 natural); touch 11; flat-footed 12 |
11 (-1 size, +2 natural); touch 9; flat-footed 11 |
| BAB |
+8 |
+16 |
+32 |
| Grapple |
+5 |
+19 |
+43 |
| Attack |
None |
None |
None |
| Space/Reach |
5 ft./0 ft. |
5 ft./0 ft. |
10 ft/0 ft. |
| Special Attacks |
Negative Energy Pulse (2d8+3) |
Negative Energy Pulse (3d8+5) |
Negative Energy Pulse (4d8+7) |
| Special Qualities |
Dark Vision 60 ft., Undead Traits |
Dark Vision 60 ft., Undead Traits |
Dark Vision 60 ft., Undead Traits |
| Saves |
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +10 |
Fort +12 Ref +11, Will +18 |
Fort +23, Ref +21, Will +34 |
| Abilities |
Str 12, Dex 15, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1 |
Str 16, Dex 13, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1 |
STR 24, Dex 10, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1 |
| Skills |
Hide +6*, Move Silently +12 |
Hide +1*, Move Silently +11 |
Hide -4*, Move Silently +10 |
| Feats |
Great Fortitude(B), Endurance(B) |
Great Fortitude(B), Endurance(B) |
Great Fortitude(B), Endurance(B) |
| Environment |
Any |
Any |
Any |
| Organization |
Any |
Any |
Any |
| Challenge Rating |
7 |
12 |
20 |
| Treasure |
None |
None |
None |
| Alignment |
Always Neutral Evil |
Always Neutral Evil |
Always Neutral Evil |
| Advancement |
17-31 HD (Small) |
33-63 HD (Medium) |
65+ HD (Large) |
| Level Adjustment |
~ |
~ |
~ |
*Hide modifiers included for clarity, despite lack of racial modifiers or ranks.
Dark Hearts are the hearts of corpses reanimated through dark and sinister magic. (See "Creation" below)
Combat
Because of their utter lack of intelligence, the instructions given to a newly created Dark Heart must be very simple. They are generally end up simply moving into the center of the melee about 15 feet up (lower for the smaller ones) and blasting away with their Negative Energy Pulse as often as possible. If they are within the threatened area of an opponent they may (depending on how carefully they were instructed) take a 5 foot float (or for the ones that can do so and still release their pulse) making withdraw action directly away from it before launching their attack for that round.
Negative Energy Pulse(Sn): The Dark Heart can release negative energy once per round which functions in many ways like
Inflict Light Wounds, Mass. It affects the closest (emphasis: always from closest, starting with itself if it is damaged, to furthest away) living and/or not-at-full-hp-undead targets within the radius and up to the maximum number of targets listed on the following table. Its
Deathwatch ability allows it to skip over constructs. A Will save is allowed for half damage (for targets that would be damaged). Semi-obviously this heals undead (and living creatures with the Tomb-Tainted Soul feat, etc). The DC is Constitution based, and the DCs listed are for dark hearts without extra hit dice.
| Size |
Radius |
Damage (DC) |
Action |
Max. Targets |
Size of Source Creature |
|---|
| Fine |
25 feet |
1d2 (11) |
Full Round Action |
2 |
Tiny or Small |
| Diminutive |
30 feet |
1d4 (12) |
Full Round Action |
4 |
Medium |
| Tiny |
35 feet |
1d8+1(14) |
Standard Action |
6 |
Large |
| Small |
45 feet |
2d8+3(18) |
Swift Action |
9 |
Huge |
| Medium |
55 feet |
3d8+5(26) |
Free Action |
12 |
Gargantuan |
| Large |
70 feet |
4d8+7(42) |
Free Action |
20 |
Colossal |
Skills: A dark heart has a +10 racial bonus to move silently checks. This does not reduce the amount of sound it makes when it pulses.
Organ Undead (Subtype): For purposes of controlling or creation add the base racial turn resistance of an undead with this subtype to its hitdice in all cases rather than only for turning/rebuking/commanding/destroying. This also applies to how many hitdice worth of the
Animate Dead control pool it takes up.
Undead with this subtype often require additional spells to create in the simplest way, in addition to skill (or luck) with cutting up inanimate corpses to remove the organ.
Special: Dark Hearts are often returned to the chests from which they came (tied in place with a network of string or rope in the case of skeletal undead). In such a case the larger undead becomes somewhat subject to critical hits, sneak attack, and other precision based damage provided that they are dealt in the form of piercing damage. In such a case a confirmed critical hit may be elected by the attacker to deal its NORMAL (NOT critical hit!) damage to the Dark Heart instead of dealing any damage what-so-ever to the larger undead.
Usage:
Use them alone or mixed in with other mindless undead. For especially nasty effect cram the chest cavity of a skeletal undead with them, put
magical Full-Plate on it (only if your GM is okay with that NOT blocking Line of Effect) so
Bracers of Armor, give it a magical Tower Shield, and have it take full Defense (If it is intelligent throwing in the Dodge feat and/or 5 ranks in Tumble is just downright the cruel icing on the cake of cruelty). Put the resulting negative energy source in the middle of a group of beefy undead or just have it move up to targets and let the hearts do the work.
Creating Dark Hearts
First the hearts of one or more creatures of at least tiny size must be harvested, each requiring a Heal or Profession(Butcher) check with a DC of 15. The hearts must be reasonably undecayed and mostly whole and the creature must have had a circulatory system that included a heart. Then
Inflict Minor Wounds, Mass*(Twice for Fine Dark Hearts or three times for Diminutive), OR
Inflict Light Wounds, Mass (once for Dark Hearts up to Tiny Size) OR
Inflict Moderate Wounds, Mass (once for Dark Hearts up to Small size), OR
Inflict Serious Wounds, Mass (once for Dark Hearts up to Medium Size), OR
Inflict Critical Wounds, Mass (once for Dark Hearts up to Large size) must be cast over each one. Next
Deathwatch, and either
Fly, or
Overland Flight must be cast once over each heart to be animated. Alternatively
Wind Walk may substitute for
Fly and may fulfill that part of the requirements for as many hearts as targets it could normally effect. Finally, either
Animate Dead,
Create Undead or
Create Greater Undead must be cast. The material components for the spell must be be placed inside each heart to be animated via the valves. Each such casting (regardless of which spell is used) may create up to 2 HD worth of Dark Hearts per caster level (The desecrate spell doubles this limit).
Animate Dead can not create a Dark Heart of over 20 HD. The size of the Dark Heart is 3 size classes smaller than the size of the creature the hearts were taken from (Minimum Fine Size). Dark Hearts have hit dice equal to the minimum listed for a Dark Heart of that size, plus extra hit dice equal to 1/2 the number of extra hit dice above the minimum that the creature it was harvested from needed to achieve its size class (up to the maximum listed HD a Dark Heart of the particular size category may be advanced to). Regardless of the spell used the creature is automatically under the control of the creator and counts against the
Animate Dead control pool as if it was created with that spell.
The remaining corpse is still suitable for animation into most types of undead. Especially note that with the right skill checks, spells, etc it is possible in most cases to generate a Dark Heart, an
Empty Skin, a contribution towards a
Fat Glob, a pair of
Floating Lungs (which is a single creature), a
Gut Snake, one or more
Hopping Stomachs,
Muscle Mass, two
Rolling Eyeballs, a
Sinister Spinal Cord, a
Slithering Liver, two
Spinning-Horizon Inner Ears, and a
Zooming Brain from a single corpse.
* The reversed version of
THIS.
As is usually the case the CR's are pretty much just guesses.
Spellcasting:
Add the following sizes and hitdies of Dark Hearts to the list of things summonable with the
Summon Undead line of spells.
| Lvl |
Dark Heart |
|---|
I |
-- |
II |
standard Fine |
III |
standard Diminutive |
IV |
Advanced Diminutive (6HD) |
V |
standard Tiny |
VI* |
Advanced Tiny (12 HD) |
VII* |
standard Small |
VIII* |
Advanced Small (24 HD) |
IX* |
standard Medium |
As always, you can use a spell from the
Summon Undead series to summon 2 undead from the list for 1 spell level lower, or 4 undead from a list for 2 or more spell levels lower.
*This spell does not, to my knowledge, exist a-priori of this project. I might brew it up later, although it is going to be a bit narrow-focus unless other people jump on the homebrewing bandwagon.
Logistical notes regarding out of combat healing:
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Assuming the maximum number of targets are available, for large number of undead, this causes
Summon Undead to surpass
Inflict X Wounds of their spell level at the following caster levels:
Spell level 2: Caster level 5 (Single Target at level 13).
Spell Level 3: Any caster level you can actually cast it at for 4 targets, hypothetically as low as CL 2. (Single target at Level 9)
Spell Level 5: Any caster level.
Spell Level 7:
- vs Inflict Serious Wounds, Mass: Any Caster level below about 85 (I might bother to check this side of the curve for the others at some later date)
- vs Harm: CL 1 even for a single target.
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ISWM
(3d8+lvl)*lvl vs (2d8+3)*lvl*9
divide by lvl and average out the d8s
13.5+lvl vs 11*9
Harm
10xlvl(max 150) vs 11xtargetsxlvl
Spell level 9(
Harm, Mass): ...going by
Heal, Mass,
Harm, Mass would only be limited by the number of undead you could cram into a sphere 30' in diameter. With 10xCL(max 250) points healed per creature, it is a serious contender, although you might not be able to get very many creatures in that are with enough hitdice to use 250 hp of healing very easily, and pre-25th level you would need 23 targets on average. After 25th level you need even more targets.
tl;dr
Summon Undead IX beats
Harm, Mass for out of combat healing of undead.
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10*lvl(max 25)*targets vs (3d8+5)*lvl*targets(max 12)
10*lvl(max 25)*targets vs (18.5)*lvl*targets(max 12)
(so until targets get high, the heart-summoning is winning)
10*lvl(max 25)*targets vs (18.5)*lvl*12
10*lvl(max 25)*targets vs 222*lvl
divide by level(which means assuming it is 25 or less)
10*targets vs 222
Dark Heart
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