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Zaydos
2016-10-02, 04:54 PM
Bone Knight

A bone knight is a skeletal creature animated by a dread will, who draw great power from the negative energy plane. Most bone knights are created by the will of a god of death (or on occasion non-death related evil gods), connected to the negative energy plane by deific act and sent out upon the world. On rare occasions a bone knight can be formed without deific intervention. These can be divided roughly into tomb guardians and revenants. Tomb guardians may have been any alignment in life, and often were great heroes whose names are remembered in tales, but rise when their tomb is violated, the vestigial remnants of their soul that lingers attached to their body calling out at the violation and being answered by the negative energy plane. Though animated to preserve their tomb, not all tomb guardians remain within once animated, as they find new and alien drives filling their mind due to their connection with the negative energy plane; some try and return to their mortal life, but they are hardened in death, and a foreign cruelty creeps into even the noblest heart. Revenants are those which had some great goal that they clung to in death, and whose soul refused to die. Why they do not become ghosts instead is unknown, but on occasion they rise as bone knights instead. Revenants usually are those with dark desires to start with, but even those bone knight revenants who begin with noble goals find that their compassion and empathy seems to have dried up with their life, that cruelty flourishes and more and more it is rage that sustains them.

A bone knight does not necessarily appear skeletal. They gain their name since tomb guardians are rarely fresh enough to still have flesh and many of those that serve dark gods are ritualistically stripped of theirs, but a bone knight may still have flesh. This flesh, however, is not necromantically preserved, and like a bone knight's feelings of empathy and kindness it too slowly sloughs away until they are left as nothing but bone.

Creating A Bone Knight

"Bone Knight" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature (other than an undead) that has a skeletal system (referred to hereafter as the base creature), and has an Int score of at least 3, and a Charisma score of at least 8.

Size and Type

The creature’s type changes to undead and it gains undead traits. It retains any subtypes except alignment subtypes. It gains the augmented subtype. It uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Hit Dice

Each of the creature’s Hit Dice increases to a d12.

Speed

The bone knight's wing based fly speed (if any) is reduced to half but its maneuverability increases by 1 grade; any wing based flight it has is now considered a supernatural ability.

Armor Class
As base creature or the table below whichever is higher.

SizeNatural Armor
Tiny or smaller+2
Small+4
Medium or Large+5
Huge+6
Gargantuan+9
Colossal+13

Base Attack

A bone knight uses the base creature's base attack bonus.

Attacks

A bone knight gains a pair of (normally primary) claw attacks that deal damage as shown on the table below. If they already have claws use whichever damage is better. A bone knight also retains any natural weapons it possessed previously as well as any ability to use weapons it may have possessed.

Bone Knight SizeClaw damage
Fine 1
Diminutive 1d2
Tiny 1d3
Small 1d4
Medium 1d6
Large 1d8
Huge 2d6
Gargantuan 2d8
Colossal 4d6

Damage:

Natural and manufactured weapons deal damage normally. A claw attack deals damage depending on the symbol dead’s size. (Use the base creature’s claw damage if it’s better.) In addition a bone knight adds the damage from its touch of the grave ability (1 point of negative energy based damage +1/3 hit dice) to each melee attack against living creatures.

Special Attacks

A bone knight retains all of the base creatures special attacks. They gain the following special attacks:

Energy Drain (Su):

When a bone knight scores a critical hit with a melee attack they may inflict 2 negative levels upon the target, this increases to 4 negative levels if the attack had a crit multiplier of x3, and to 6 if it had a crit multiplier of x4 or greater. A bone knight gains 5 temporary hit points per negative level drained with a single attack (so 10 with 2, 20 with 4, or 30 with 6) which last 1 minute but temporary hit points gained by multiple instances of this ability do not stack.

Fear Aura (Su):

Bone knights can radiate a 15-foot-radius fear aura as a free action. Affected creatures must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Bone Knight's HD + Cha modifier) or be shaken for as long as they are within the aura and 1 minute thereafter. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same bone knight’s aura for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Terrifying Glare (Su):

Bone knights can focus their terror with a powerful stare at a creature within 30 ft usable as a standard action. The creature the bone knight glares at must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Bone Knight's HD + Cha modifier) or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4 rounds. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Touch of the Grave (Su):

Bone Knights carry the dread power of the grave upon them. When they make a melee attack against a living creature they deal +1 damage +1/3 hit dice. This damage is negative energy based, immunity to negative energy prevents it, but it never heals a creature healed by negative energy (instead dealing no damage).

Special Qualities

A bone knight retains all of the base creatures special qualities and gains the following as well.

Damage Reduction (Ex/Su)

A bone knight has damage reduction 5/bludgeoning and magic, if they have 9 or more hit dice this increases to 10/bludgeoning and magic. In an anti-magic field (or dead magic zone) they retain their damage reduction but it can be overcome by any bludgeoning weapon/damage.

Immunities (Ex)

Bone knights have immunity to cold, electricity, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), and mind-affecting attacks.

Lesser Life Sense (Su):

A bone knight can sense the disturbance of life nearby. A bone knight automatically is aware if a living creature is within 60 ft but not of its location any more closely than that unless they are within 5 ft at which point the bone knight can locate their square. A bone knight may attack living creatures as if it had the Blind-Fight feat.

Spell Resistance:

A bone knight has Spell Resistance of 5 plus their hit dice.

Turn Resistance:

A bone knight has turn resistance equal to their hit dice or +4 whichever is higher.

Undead Traits:

A bone knight gains undead traits.

Unholy Toughness:

A bone knight gains bonus hit points equal to their Charisma modifier if positive per hit die.

Saves

As base creature.

Abilities

A bone knight’s Strength increases by +4, its Dexterity increases by +4, it has no Constitution score, its Intelligence increases by +2, its Wisdom increases by +2, and its Charisma increases by +2.

Skills

As base creature.

Feats

As base creature.

Environment

As base creature (or tombs).

Organization

Solitary.

Challenge Rating:

As base creature +2.

Treasure

None.

Alignment

Alignment changes to Evil. Those bone knights animated by natural causes find their minds filled with an urge for vengeance and violent hatred even if they were compassionate in life.

Advancement

As base creature.

Level Adjustment

+4.

If asked why I made this despite Death Knight existing I don't like the MMII death knight due to abilities like Abyssal Fire, Undead Leadership, and Summon Mount.