[Template] Zam-ena

[Avoraciopoctules]

{Reposted from http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards ... pic=1880.0 in slightly different words.}

I'm designing a necromancer in a Planescape game, and I decided that I wanted to make a new type of undead for her to create. I threw a few ideas around, and this is what I've come up with now.

A few questions:

Do the disadvantages balance out the advantages? It's tricky making situational penalties to counter more general benefits, but I think these are fairly broad.

Does this look as though it'd need any LA? I'm leaning towards none, but it might be need some additional cost if given to a non-WIS manifester. I could make it into a 1 or 2-level class if it seems a bit too powerful.

Any ideas for interesting abilities to add? Could something in the template be expressed more clearly in different words?

Thank you.
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Creating A Zam-ena
Zam-ena are an intelligent form of undead produced when the elemental balance of an intelligent creature that has been dead for no more than an hour is twisted using necromantic magic and the soul is drawn back in. The process forces the positive energy out of the creature’s soul, replacing it with a mixture of whichever of the 4 elements it was most strongly attuned to and negative energy.

While the creature retains its soul and the process is decidedly less harmful to the mind than most undead transformations, the mind is somewhat damaged in even the best of cases. One’s cognitive ability is left relatively intact, but one’s mental defenses and overall mental health are reduced. In rare cases, zam-ena are driven utterly mad by the change, but the cause of this has not yet been isolated.

In addition to the normal abilities of an undead creature, zam-ena display the ability to project blasts of the corrupted element that gives them “life”. They display an uncanny knack for psionics, and driven zam-ena often become psions.

"Zam-ena" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature (other than an undead) of level 3 or higher (referred to hereafter as the base creature). Lower level creatures are partially subsumed by the elemental energy, becoming elemental reavers (different template, essentially berserk, uncontrollable, energy-aura wreathed zombies.). Creating a zam-ena requires the Create Undead spell or an appropriate ritual.

When creating a Zam-ena, pick an energy type of Fire, Cold, Electricity, or Acid. When an unspecified energy type is referred to, insert that energy type into its place.

Size and Type
The creature’s type changes to undead. It retains any subtype except for subtypes that indicate kind. It gains the augmented and Dark Minded subtypes. It uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Hit Dice
Raise Hit Dice to d12s. If the creature has more than 20 Hit Dice, it can’t be made into a zam-ena by the Create Undead spell.

Attacks
Zam-ena gain a melee touch attack that deals 1d4 energy damage + 1 negative energy damage.

Special Attacks

Necromental Blast (Su)
Zam-ena may spend PP to fire a blast of their animating force. This functions like the Energy Ray power, but the rays inflict additional negative energy damage equal to twice the Zam-ena’s HD.

Special Qualities

Psionic Reservoir (Ex)
A zam-ena gains bonus PP equal to twice its HD

Wood/Jade Vulnerability (Ex)
Wood and jade contain a balance of the four elements harmonious enough to be downright antithetical to a zam-ena’s animating force. Weapons made of wood or jade are treated as having the Bane special property when used on zam-ena. Furthermore, if a zam-ena touches an object made of wood or jade for over 5 consecutive rounds, it begins to take 1 damage per round until it loses contact with the substance. It takes 1 round of nonexposure to reset the 5-round timer.

Steel Resistance (Ex)
As a highly refined metal, steel lacks the natural and wholesome balance of elements necessary to disrupt the energy that gives the Zam-ena life. The damage dealt by weapons formed of steel is reduced by 5.

Sunlight Weakness (Su)
Sunlight's positive energy disrupts some of the energies that fuel a zam-ena's powers. For every hour a zam-ena is exposed to natural sunlight, it loses a power point. If it has no power points left, it loses a hit point instead. These losses can be recovered from with rest, but if the zam-ena is taking damage from sunlight, its rest will be disrupted.

Abilities
A zam-ena’s Strength and Dexterity increase by +2. Its Wisdom decreases by –2. It has no Constitution score.

Challenge Rating
CR remains the same.

Advancement
By character class

Level Adjustment
None.

[CatharzGodfoot]

Too good for no LA, not good enough for LA+1. The weaknesses hardly qualify as such.

I'd suggest your that you follow the second option: make it into a 1 or 2 HD racial class. 1 level should be enough to get most of the needed flavor, and works out nicely with raising: just say that any creature brought back as one looses a level (after all, it fucks up their heads), but stays the same character level.

The wood/jade/steel thing might be done more cleanly by giving it DR 5/wood or stone, and having the touch of jade damage it like holy water.

Although it messes with the way D&D normally does energy damage, you could make their special attacks deal [energy] and negative damage, just like a morningstar deals piercing and bludgeoning. The worse of the two energy resistances would apply.

[Avoraciopoctules]

NOT YET FINISHED,
I am currently in the process of writing the class.
I'm using the Vampire Paragon as a starting point.

Zam-Ena
Hit Die: d10
BAB/Saves: BAB: Poor (as Wizard); Fort: Medium; Reflex: Medium; Will: Good
Class Skills: The Zam-Ena's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Psycraft (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (n/a), and Swim (Str).
Skills/Level: 4 + Intelligence Bonus

Level, Abilities:
1 Energy Infusion, Enhanced Energy Powers I, Solar Interference, Wisdom -2, +1 Manifester Level
2 Damage Reduction, Enhanced Energy Powers II, +1 Manifester Level
3 [placeholder], +1 Manifester Level

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: The Vampire Paragon gains no new armor or weapon proficiencies.

Manifesting: Every level, the Zam-Ena gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if she had also gained a level in a manifesting class she had previous to gaining that level. If the character does not have any levels in any manifesting classes when she takes her first level of Zam-Ena, this class feature gives her levels in Psion manifesting.

Energy Infusion: [description]
Enhanced Energy Powers: [description]
Solar Interference: [description]
Damage Reduction: [description]

[Bigode]

Aldragon (What the fvcking hell does your (pseudo- ?) Greek name mean, BTW?): if you're going full Tome, then jade is wood for DR purposes. Also, you might try making the weakness more relevant by having wood deal wounding (Wooding? Damn, that was bad.) blows.

Catharz: making the damage be dual-typed seems a bit wrong - the lowest of the 2 resistances will pretty much always be 0, except in death ward cases. Do you think the current's really problematic?

[Avoraciopoctules]

Avoraciopoctules was the name of one of a past character's alternate identities. It has no real meaning. To get the name, I took the name of an attack used by a boss in the game Tales of Symphonia (Pronyma's Avoracium attack), then threw on some more syllables until it sounded like something a slightly-pretentious fiend might have.

As for wood / jade vulnerability, I used the Rokugan setting (Shadowlands creatures) and some of the enemies in a book by David Gemmell for inspiration. Let's see the Tome DR for wood system:

Wood:
- Bronzewood
- Chitin
- Darkwood
- Iron wood
- Boneblade
- Dragon Bone

That works, except for Boneblade (necromantic material). I could make it so that wood bypasses DR, but jade is treated as Bane and/or Wounding and burns you with prolonged exposure. That would let me avoid messing with DR equivalencies too much.

[Bigode]

What you miss' that the ToF actually says every single material must fit within one of those 5. All of them. So jade actually = wood.

[Avoraciopoctules]

It feels more like it falls under stone to me, since I see blended quartz there. However, that would work thematically if I consider it primarily in its Rokugani blend-of-elements aspect, as wood fits into the same niche, and I could argue the same for bone or chitin only slightly less effectively.

[Bigode]

It feels more like it falls under stone to me, since I see blended quartz there. However, that would work thematically if I consider it primarily in its Rokugani blend-of-elements aspect, as wood fits into the same niche, and I could argue the same for bone or chitin only slightly less effectively.

"Stone: tainted obsidian (...)" - and IIRC, jade and obsidian've treated as opposed since historical myth (I think not even just Japanese, but not sure), not just Rokugan.

[Avoraciopoctules]

Hmm. Alright, sounds good enough to me. We've got more backing for jade as wood than otherwise now, and it certainly simplifies things a tad. For the purposes of DR, I'm subcategorizing jade under wood.

[Avoraciopoctules]

1st Complete Draft,

Note the medium Reflex and Will saves, the more extreme solar interference and psionic enhancements, and
I made it three levels to prevent early access to Energy Missile.

Zam-ena
Hit Die: d10
BAB/Saves: BAB: Medium (as Cleric); Fort: Good; Reflex: Medium; Will: Medium
Class Skills: The Zam-Ena's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Psycraft (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (n/a), and Swim (Str).
Skills/Level: 4 + Intelligence Bonus

Level, Abilities:
1 Energy Infusion, Enhanced Energy Powers I, Solar Interference, Psionic Reservoir, Wisdom -2, +1 Manifester Level
2 Damage Reduction, Jade Weakness, +1 Manifester Level
3 Enhanced Energy Powers II, Improved Vitality, +1 Manifester Level

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: The Zam-ena gains no new armor or weapon proficiencies.

Manifesting: Every level, the Zam-Ena gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if it had also gained a level in a manifesting class it had previous to gaining that level. If the character does not have any levels in any manifesting classes when it takes her first level of Zam-Ena, this class feature gives it levels in Psion manifesting.

Energy Infusion: Pick acid, cold, fire, or lightning. The Zam-ena is imbued with this energy, gaining the ability to inflict an additional 1d6 of the appropriate energy type with all physical melee attacks. This increases to 2d6 damage in a grapple. The Zam-ena gains appropriate energy resistance equal to its HD.

Enhanced Energy Powers I: The Zam-ena learns the Energy Ray power for free (if it already knows the power, it instead learns another power of the same level for free). When the energy type chosen for the ray is the same as the one the Zam-ena picked for Energy Infusion, the Zam-ena may add twice its HD as bonus negative energy damage.

Psionic Reservoir: Every hour, the Zam-ena regenerates PP equal to its HD.

Solar Interference: While exposed to natural sunlight, the Zam-ena is drained of 1d4 HP and PP each hour. The zam-ena cannot regenerate PP with Psionic Reservoir while exposed to natural sunlight.
Damage Reduction: [description]

Damage Reduction: The Zam-ena gains damage reduction equal to its HD. This damage reduction can be bypassed by wood and all its equivalents, including jade.

Jade Weakness: In addition to bypassing the Zam-ena's damage reduction, weapons made of jade function in a similar manner to wounding weapons, causing the Zam-ena to take an additional point of damage every round after they were injured until magically healed. This stacks.

Enhanced Energy Powers II: The Zam-ena learns the Energy Missile power for free (if it already knows the power, it instead learns another power of the same level for free). When the energy type chosen for the missiles is the same as the one the zam-ena picked for Energy Infusion, the Zam-ena may add twice its HD as bonus negative energy damage (this applies to each missile). Energy Ray now adds thrice the Zam-ena's HD as negative energy damage.

Improved Vitality: The Zam-ena gains the Unliving subtype and its Constitution increases by 4.

[Avoraciopoctules]

Someone brought up the fact that Energy Missile was an exclusive power, and suggested I switch it out for a different direct-damage power.

Any opinions?

[Bigode]

I might as well admit that I don't know why energy stun's not exclusive, but you might try that if you want an (almost) single-target power.

[Avoraciopoctules]

My preference is for something that affects as many targets as possible. Hmm.

If I want to start getting ridiculous, I could make the third level of Zam-ena into a seperate, single-level PrC that requires Kineticist manifesting.

[Bigode]

My preference is for something that affects as many targets as possible. Hmm.

If I want to start getting ridiculous, I could make the third level of Zam-ena into a seperate, single-level PrC that requires Kineticist manifesting.

That'd indeed be ridiculous. What's the problem with he numerous all-psion area powers?

[Avoraciopoctules]

Most of the powers that cover larger areas don't pop up until level 3+. Energy Missile is level 2 and hits a decent number of targets, but it's exclusive.

[Akula]

Then use it; it's blasting, most casters have better things to do.