Undead with no head?

[TheEndIsNear]

Hey guys, I want to make a undead, with no head. Intelligent if possible. Actually, heres the deal: I want to make a Demilich on top of a body. The PCs don't know they seperate, yet. Hear from long ago lore the only way to get rid of it is to sever the head. Vorpal. Fight (Body is melee while head casts spells). Vorp. Float. TPK. (jk)

Any ideas for how to make it work? I know how to build the caster, and a melee character but would an undead like a Bone Creature lose anything from not having a head? (I know it said somewhere undeads don't lose anyhting but the fact that they have no head so no insta die) How about a orc body with the PRC (Something of Grumsh) that gives blindsense?

Anyone have ideas? Maybe something like having the caster have this PRC makes it able to fully control with no delay are no cost of actions any undead or something?

[Saxony]

Just have the body be an undead the demi lich controls.

Any skeleton or better kind of undead will do.

[TheEndIsNear]

That was the plan but I'd like it more if it had abilities. Like what if the Demilich took leadership and the cohort was the body?

[JaronK]

One crazy method would be to have the demilich make (one assumes via Fabricate) a really powerful body-statue.  The body can be anything from Tiny to Huge, and made of whatever strong materials are available to the lich... even just a lot of bone if you wanted it to look undead (but higher hardness really helps, consider the Harden spell).  Now the lich takes a loyal undead minion (Dread Warrior, perhaps?) with at least 10 HD and gives him sufficient Holy Arrows to lower his HD to 8 temporarily.  Now he casts Haunt Shift on the minion, who now inhabits the statue.  Then the minion manifests and drops the arrows.

The result is now the demilich has a minion body that's quite difficult to destroy.

JaronK

[Saxony]

That was the plan but I'd like it more if it had abilities. Like what if the Demilich took leadership and the cohort was the body?

The body is any kind of undead you control. It can have whatever kind of abilities the DM will let your undeaad have. You're the DM so it can have whatever abilities any kind of undead you want to use.

So look up cool kinds of undead. Chop off one of their heads. Control it somehow. You're done.

Undead Leadership is in Libris Mortis and (as the name suggests) is better when leading undead than normal Leadership is. A Cohort would work fine (as long as you can choose it's abilities/class levels as if it were a second character).

But if you're the DM anyway just save the demi lich a feat and have it partner with another undead or enslave another undead (which has all the abilities you want).

There are undead which can have class levels. Like Necropolitan (it has 0 Level Adjustment). Use that for the body. Necropolitan Fighter 20. Whatever. Or Animate Dread Warrior as JaronK suggests, and make any cool thing that already exists into a Dread Warrior and use that as the body.

Edit: You can use a Necropolitan for pretty much anything, or Animate Dread Warrior for lots of other things, too. Whatever build you want, those will cover it.

Here are some guides on undead creatures and necromancy.

Collection of Necromantic Oddities:
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=181.0

K's Revised Necromancy Handbook:
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5584.0

[Leviathan]

So look up cool kinds of undead. Chop off one of their heads. Control it somehow. You're done.

This.
Undead typically have no need of a head (barring things like Eye of Fear & Flame where their abilities are based on something in their head). Just grab a humanoid shaped melee undead of some kind, give it Lifesense (Libris Mortis) if you feel the need to 'replace' its visual organs. Lop the head off and have the Demi Lich anchor in it's place. Optionally have the Demi Lich cast continual flame or something on itself so you get a nice "You see a hulking, powerfully built undead before you, covered in spiked black full place and a flaming skull where its head should be" description going.

[Littha]

I wouldn't bother with the cohort idea, just raise the minion yourself with your vast magical powers.... create undead for example.

[Lycanthromancer]

The body can be anything from Tiny to Huge

That would look...weird.

This elephant-sized humanoid body with an itty-bitty head.

[Saxony]

Or a powderpuff portioned demi lich. Tiny sized body with a tiny sized head, the head is as big as the body. Together they'd be small sized. Some comic potential there.

[TheEndIsNear]

One crazy method would be to have the demilich make (one assumes via Fabricate) a really powerful body-statue.  The body can be anything from Tiny to Huge, and made of whatever strong materials are available to the lich... even just a lot of bone if you wanted it to look undead (but higher hardness really helps, consider the Harden spell).  Now the lich takes a loyal undead minion (Dread Warrior, perhaps?) with at least 10 HD and gives him sufficient Holy Arrows to lower his HD to 8 temporarily.  Now he casts Haunt Shift on the minion, who now inhabits the statue.  Then the minion manifests and drops the arrows.

The result is now the demilich has a minion body that's quite difficult to destroy.

JaronK

I like the idea. Make a skeleton shaped obdurium statue.

Before you stands a hooded figure as tall as an ogre and as wide as an elf. From beneath his hood you can see a Porcelain white skull with two gleeming eyes. From his robe emerges a jet black finger pointing at you...

[skydragonknight]

Oh I need some body....not just any body~

[TheEndIsNear]

Anyone have suggestions of what works really well with being undead? Like what makes a good dreadknight? Templates/feats or class levels. Gestalt even? I tend to go Unarmed Swordsage.

[Saxony]

Anyone have suggestions of what works really well with being undead? Like what makes a good dreadknight? Templates/feats or class levels. Gestalt even? I tend to go Unarmed Swordsage.

There's a handbook for that.

Otherwise, anything that has a cost you are immune to. As an undead you have an incredibly long list of immunities. Look it up, it's gigantic.

Take any feat/class/ability which would otherwise incapacitate you but instead gives you something for free because you are immune to the downside.

Edit: Also, get yourself made by a Corpsecrafter (libris mortis feat) with a Desecrate effect (PHB spell) and a Dread Necromancer of at least 8th level (heroes of horror). That way you get 1d12+6 HP per level in stead of just 1d12. That's double the HP.

[awaken DM golem]

Where's that Zombie from near the end of the Thriller video ?



{ ... insert no smiley face ... }

[altpersona]

start with undead ettin

or do undead voltron.

hth.

[awaken DM golem]

  ... no Black Lion ?!

[TheEndIsNear]

I didn't find the dread warrior handbook.

Which zombie?

Whats so special about ettins? I thought they were outsiders.

Whats black lion?

[Lycanthromancer]

Whats black lion?

Err... African lions?

Really, I have no idea.

[Saxony]

I didn't find the dread warrior handbook.

Which zombie?

Whats so special about ettins? I thought they were outsiders.

Whats black lion?

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5665.0

Look up what a dread warrior is. Unapproachable East page 62. Figuring out how to use it should be obvious. It's anything you would otherwise want but also undead. Look up what "undead" means in the monster manual. Yes, it is actually defined and you can actually look up what "being undead" is.

Zombies suck. You're the DM, you can use any undead you want. Use a Necropolitan or a Dread Warrior.

[altpersona]

I didn't find the dread warrior handbook.

Which zombie?

Whats so special about ettins? I thought they were outsiders.

Whats black lion?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ettin.htm