Unearthly Protection class feature.

[Clistenes]

The Exorcist prestige class from the Undead book of the Alderac Entertaiment Group gives you at first level the Unearthly Protection class feature, that essentially allows you to bless an area, and from that point onwards and forever, any undead that enters the area is turned as if the Exorcist himself had done it.

That doesn't cost xp or money, only time, and there is no limit to the size of the area or the number of areas blessed that way. That feature, while not game breaking for an adventuring party (it just allows to create free anti-undead traps and to protect the party while they rest) is invaluable from a point of view of world building, if we take into account how easy is to raise a powerful army of undead.

So, if your regular cleric wanted to do something similar...how would you do it? Hallow and Forbiddance have similar effects, and some magical items too, but Unearthly Protection is way, way better: It's free, doesn't spend spell slots, has no limits in size, it's eternal and targets undead specifically.

I guess a cleric could just take a dip in the Prestige Class, but he would lose a caster level, and while I think the class feature is worth of it (just think how that cleric would be welcomed when he arrived to any settlement! The guy that can keep the undead at bay FOREVER!) I also think that it could be useless for many adventures (if you are invading your enemies' territory and those aren't prone to raise undead hordes, it's likely that you won't use it at all).

So, how would you introduce that feature in your campaign? Ritual, spell, magic item? What cost?

[rockdeworld]

Given how hard it is to raise an undead army in D&D (to the point that most PCs can't actually do it), I'd say regular old Hallow is good enough to duplicate that.

Edit: And if you wanted to, you could have a bunch of NPC clerics whose mission it is to Hallow the entire world. Much more reasonable than having PCs waste their WBL on it.

[Namfuak]

Originally Posted by rockdeworld

Edit: And if you wanted to, you could have a bunch of NPC clerics whose mission it is to Hallow the entire world. Much more reasonable than having PCs waste their WBL on it.

I could see this. Governments and churches could pay this group to come around and cast hallow on their important buildings, perhaps by taking an extra tithe from the peasants, which could be met with some disdain? If the world had certain areas that were particularly prone to undead or demon attacks, the kingdom might use funds from everywhere to pay this group to hallow the walls and fortresses in those areas.

[Clistenes]

Originally Posted by rockdeworld

Given how hard it is to raise an undead army in D&D (to the point that most PCs can't actually do it), I'd say regular old Hallow is good enough to duplicate that.

Actually, it's ridiculously easy:

1.-Use Create Greater Undead to create a single Shadow, Wraith, Spectre or Wight, that can create spawn and control it.

2.-Use the Command Undead class feature or the Command Undead arcane spell or the Song of Undead feat to control that first undead minion.

3.-Make that first undead minion your second in command. Tell him to spawn a lot of more undeads and order them to obey you, and BANG! you have your own Army of Evil at your Beck and Call.

Originally Posted by Namfuak

I could see this. Governments and churches could pay this group to come around and cast hallow on their important buildings, perhaps by taking an extra tithe from the peasants, which could be met with some disdain? If the world had certain areas that were particularly prone to undead or demon attacks, the kingdom might use funds from everywhere to pay this group to hallow the walls and fortresses in those areas.

Well, if you go that route, that group could be composed of Cleric/Exorcists able to use Unearthly Protection. The existance of such a group could explain how come Iuz the Evil still hasn't conquered Flanaess with an army of undead.

[Namfuak]

Originally Posted by Clistenes

Actually, it's ridiculously easy: Use Create Greater Undead to create a single Shadow, Wraith, Spectre or Wight, that can create spawn and control it, use the Command Undead class feature or the Command Undead arcane spell or the Song of Undead feat to control that first undead minion and make it your second in command. Tell him to spawn a lot of more undeads and order them to obey you, and BANG! you have your own Army of Evil at your Beck and Call.

One consideration is that for a PC, having an undead army at 15th level is probably more hassle than its worth. Sure, if you want it for RP reasons it could be fun, but any adversary that can actually challenge you will be able to cut through your undead like a hot knife through butter with very little expenditure of resources. Even a fellow wizard would probably just use scry and die tactics against you or teleport into the same room as you to do battle.

Well, if you go that route, that group could be composed of Cleric/Exorcists able to use Unearthly Protection. The existance of such a group could explain how come Iuz the Evil still hasn't conquered Flanaess with an army of undead.

I don't have access to the particulars of that spell, but if you made it like a "Greater Hallow" where it could cover an entire town for something like 500 gp per building, minimum 10,000, that could be feasible. Although it sounds like it's a spell-like ability granted by class features, so it doesn't have a material cost.

[Clistenes]

Originally Posted by Namfuak

One consideration is that for a PC, having an undead army at 15th level is probably more hassle than its worth. Sure, if you want it for RP reasons it could be fun, but any adversary that can actually challenge you will be able to cut through your undead like a hot knife through butter with very little expenditure of resources. Even a fellow wizard would probably just use scry and die tactics against you or teleport into the same room.

You can hide to avoid being scry-and-killed, directing the undead army from afar (use undead minions as couriers or Whispering Wind).

And even if they kill you, that only would accomplish to get an army of uncontrolled undead ravaging your country, which would probably be worse that surrendering and paying whatever tribute the necromancer wants.

And yes, high-level adventures can destroy your army, but nobody can fight 10.000 or 50.000 undead at the same time. The heroes could be fighting 1.000 of your minions while the other 49.000 turn Furyondy into Undeadland.

Originally Posted by Namfuak

I don't have access to the particulars of that spell, but if you made it like a "Greater Hallow" where it could cover an entire town for something like 500 gp per building, minimum 10,000, that could be feasible. Although it sounds like it's a spell-like ability granted by class features, so it doesn't have a material cost.

As I said in my first post, it's a class feature the Exorcist gets at first level. It doesn't cost xp or gold, only 10 min per holy sign you create. You surround and area with a line of holy signs each of which isn't more than 10 ft removed from the next of the line, and from that point onwards, as long as the signs aren't destroyed, any undead who enters the area is turned as if you had done it.

[Kelb_Panthera]

That's....... rather a gaping hole in the class-feature. Destroy one sign and the whole AoE collapses? That honestly sounds like a collosal waste of time to me. As long as the wizard has one or two live minions with chisels the undead army's barely going to be slowed.

Also, vampires and their spawn are probably the undead you want for this, the full-vamps are a template, which means your officers are actually capable of being officers in an army, and vampire spawn make great shock-troops, especially since they'd mostly be created from enemies that used to have only 1 or 2 HD and they now have 5.

There is still the issue of what exactly keeps you in charge if your second gets offed. Even if the other high-ranking vampires (or what have you) remain civil, the rest of the troops probably won't.

With an undead army, only the undead win.

[The_Snark]

Originally Posted by Kelb_Panthera

Also, vampires and their spawn are probably the undead you want for this, the full-vamps are a template, which means your officers are actually capable of being officers in an army, and vampire spawn make great shock-troops, especially since they'd mostly be created from enemies that used to have only 1 or 2 HD and they now have 5.

Yeah... except your entire army disintegrates if caught outside in daylight, they can't cross rivers or castle moats, they're nigh-useless against any enemy with the common sense to hang garlic around their fortifications, and they can't invade anyone unless they're invited across the border.

It'd be the most hilariously eccentric undead army ever.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Originally Posted by The_Snark

Yeah... except your entire army disintegrates if caught outside in daylight, they can't cross rivers or castle moats, they're nigh-useless against any enemy with the common sense to hang garlic around their fortifications, and they can't invade anyone unless they're invited across the border.

It'd be the most hilariously eccentric undead army ever.

You can fill in motes, freeze rivers (hellow vampire sorcerers), darkness is a thing, and you don't have to be invited into a building if your siege engines make it not-a-building-anymore. Non-vampire auxilliary units are advisable though.

Of course, there's always the secret takeover route too. An army doesn't have to besiege your gate to take over your city when they have such a reliable means of converting the people on your side.

[Clistenes]

Originally Posted by Kelb_Panthera

That's....... rather a gaping hole in the class-feature. Destroy one sign and the whole AoE collapses? That honestly sounds like a collosal waste of time to me. As long as the wizard has one or two live minions with chisels the undead army's barely going to be slowed.

You can carve the item on stone so it takes longer to destroy, and nothing prevents you from making more signs than necessary so it doesn't fails when a single one is destroyed (carving a sign every two feet, instead of every ten feet). Also, you can create several concentric circles, or protect each different block of the city with its own circle/line of signs.

And anyway, it's good than the feature has some weakness, that allows to roleplay a story about a fight instead of saying "one sides curbstomp the othe. The end"