Umbrella Corporation Meet Menzobarranzan, Menzobarranzan meet Umbrella corporation.

[druid91]

So as part of a game I am going to use a home-brew class and leadership to recreate the umbrella corporation, with some of crack-downs agency thrown in. Run by a male. In menzobarranzan.

You can see how plan B is to take as many of them with us as possible.

As is I want to be able to fight on even terms with houses. Making up for a lack of priestesses with sheer underhandedness and firepower.

Due to DM house-rules I can have both undead leadership and leadership at the same time. I get my full allotment of minions for each. Now how on earth am I supposed to survive as a house-less nobody with a massive number of followers, And I want to be on even terms with Drow houses. At the very least for long enough that my deeds get sung about on the surface and scare the Drow into even greater paranoia.

So what should I cover with my piles of minions? A few are already devoted to being my guys laboratory workers. But the rest need to tend to the company military and the various poison and alchemy shops that I plan on setting up for funding.

[Mylee]

I would recommend that you look at this class. There aren't nearly enough classes based on medical experimentation, even in homebrew. This is one that your ''lab workers'' could have levels in, and/or that you yourself could have levels in. It would certainly give you an analogue to magic of sorts.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178745

It's called the Corpsechem Apothecary and is all about making drugs, vaccines, poisons, and surgical upgrades out of corpses. Pretty neat, imo.

Also check out the Monstrumologist. A link to it can be seen in the first spoiler tag of the Corpsechem Apothecary post.

[druid91]

That is the very class I am already using. And monstrumologist has been taken. (The DM is only allowing one of each for fear it would break the setting too much to have more.)

[Aether]

Saw this topic and just had to add this, from Cracked.com:

Spoiler

Show

Umbrella: The Most Wasteful Movie Corporation Ever

and

6 Evil Corporations in Movies With Terrible Business Plans

Umbrella Corp. is #1 in that article. I especially liked:
"The Business Plan: The what now?

What They Did Wrong: Like any corporation involved in dangerous research, it all boils down to risk versus reward for the Umbrella Corporation. In this case, the risk is zombies, and the reward is zombies."

... That wasn't terribly relevant, but I found it funny and thought I had to share.

Anyway!

I reccomend having a Dread Necromancer or two among your minions, with the Corpsegrafter feat, to soup up your undead minions.

Also, as a last-ditch screw-you to Drow, look into making a Wightocalypse!

[druid91]

Saw this topic and just had to add this, from Cracked.com:

Spoiler

Show

Umbrella: The Most Wasteful Movie Corporation Ever

and

6 Evil Corporations in Movies With Terrible Business Plans

Umbrella Corp. is #1 in that article. I especially liked:
"The Business Plan: The what now?

What They Did Wrong: Like any corporation involved in dangerous research, it all boils down to risk versus reward for the Umbrella Corporation. In this case, the risk is zombies, and the reward is zombies."

... That wasn't terribly relevant, but I found it funny and thought I had to share.

Anyway!

I reccomend having a Dread Necromancer or two among your minions, with the Corpsegrafter feat, to soup up your undead minions.

Also, as a last-ditch screw-you to Drow, look into making a Wightocalypse!

That is a very good Idea.

And adding wightpocalypse to the list of possible ways to implement plan B.

[SurlySeraph]

To avoid being killed, you need to make a show of loving Lloth, and/or have enough to offer the houses that they don't just squish you, and/or be really hard to assault.

You could suggest using your corp to lure in secret worshipers of Kiaransalee and then turn said worshipers over to the priestesses of Lloth to show your loyalty.

Provide undead labor, poisons, wraith assassins, etc. to Matron Mothers when they hire you or demand it.

It would be most Umbrella-ish to have your base under a city, and using Meld Into Stone or Passwall or whatever to have your workers go through seemingly impassable stone to get there would make for decent security, though you'll want Force Walls or Ghostwall Shellac or something to keep incorporeal creatures out. Since your undead minions will be immune to mind-affecting, resetting traps of a mind-affecting spell like Phantasmal Killer would help on security.

If you don't set up right in the middle of Menzobarranzan, consider setting up near an Illithid colony. They can't sense undead, and they'll be a good security measure against anyone who comes looking for you.

[druid91]

To avoid being killed, you need to make a show of loving Lloth, and/or have enough to offer the houses that they don't just squish you, and/or be really hard to assault.

You could suggest using your corp to lure in secret worshipers of Kiaransalee and then turn said worshipers over to the priestesses of Lloth to show your loyalty.

Provide undead labor, poisons, wraith assassins, etc. to Matron Mothers when they hire you or demand it.

It would be most Umbrella-ish to have your base under a city, and using Meld Into Stone or Passwall or whatever to have your workers go through seemingly impassable stone to get there would make for decent security, though you'll want Force Walls or Ghostwall Shellac or something to keep incorporeal creatures out. Since your undead minions will be immune to mind-affecting, resetting traps of a mind-affecting spell like Phantasmal Killer would help on security.

If you don't set up right in the middle of Menzobarranzan, consider setting up near an Illithid colony. They can't sense undead, and they'll be a good security measure against anyone who comes looking for you.

Actually as this is in the distant past (709 DR) So If Kiaransalee is the undead one then they haven't had their big fight yet. Undead are permitted, if frowned upon.

Being overly subservient is bad. The individual shops will bow to authority, but since I plan on having the company proper be secret, and have the goal of ruling Menzobarranzan... You can see how being subservient could undercut that. Now, overt displays of lolth-y awesomeness I can support. Each and every shop will have a small shrine.

Poisons and assassins however will be available. If asked for, Specifically surgically modified monster poison assassins. And since there are going to be poisons shops.

That is a very good Idea. A secret lab underneath Menzobarranzan seems like a good Idea. Along with a separate branch beneath an ilithid colony entirely manned by the living-dead.

[Chilingsworth]

If you haven't already, consider giving your living minions (including yourself) feats from the tomb-tainted soul feat chain, to make allow them to be healed by your dread necromancer(s). It would also reduce/remove their vulnerability to varrious effects you usually need a cleric to fix.

[Escheton]

Would not the normal leadership give you minions, be it lower lvl ones from other houses?
If not, can it?

[druid91]

Would not the normal leadership give you minions, be it lower lvl ones from other houses?
If not, can it?

What do you mean? That some of my people should be housed drow?

For normal leadership I was hoping to gather together the house-less so that it posed less of a security risk.

[Escheton]

Yeah, I figured that you naturally attracted some housemembers with less loyalty to their houses that act as information dealers.

Though I get how you would want defects only to build your own house.

[druid91]

Yeah, I figured that you naturally attracted some housemembers with less loyalty to their houses that act as information dealers.

Though I get how you would want defects only to build your own house.

If I want to spy, I'll send a house-cat. Not a drow with conflicted loyalties who may or may not just be there to turn me in.

The potential gain (In information), versus the potential risk (A matron mother finding out about my little laboratory of doom.) Just isn't worth it.

[Analytica]

I can just see the leader of this group running a Vhaerunite self-help martial arts class for disgruntled drow males. It is called the Fight Cult. The leader goes by the name Tyler of house do'Urden. : )

[J.Gellert]

Get involved in poison/magical item/spell trafficking and gain the male shady types and wizards on your side.

[druid91]

I can just see the leader of this group running a Vhaerunite self-help martial arts class for disgruntled drow males. It is called the Fight Cult. The leader goes by the name Tyler of house do'Urden. : )

House Do'Urden is showing all the signs of being exterminated with extreme prejudice. The PC matrons don't want to deal with Drizzt in a few hundred years.

Get involved in poison/magical item/spell trafficking and gain the male shady types and wizards on your side.

Good, suggestion. I can make potions and poison. I could probably gather a spellbook library.

[true_shinken]

I want to be able to fight on even terms with houses. Making up for a lack of priestesses with sheer underhandedness and firepower.

It's called Jaezred Chaussin.

[druid91]

It's called Jaezred Chaussin.

Who?

[true_shinken]

Who?

It's an organization of male drow in Faerun. They basically do exactly what you want.

[druid91]

It's an organization of male drow in Faerun. They basically do exactly what you want.

Hideous experimentation, backstabbery, and some bioterrorism, crossed with absorbing noble houses into a massive mercantile conglomerate through sneaky(And violent) means?

[The Tygre]

Why... hello there. I assume you've met my handsome friend here before?

[true_shinken]

Hideous experimentation, backstabbery, and some bioterrorism, crossed with absorbing noble houses into a massive mercantile conglomerate through sneaky(And violent) means?

Pretty much that. Except with less bio on their terrorism (though they do use alchemy heavily). They participate in the War of the Spider Queen books.