Undead PC's

[Catodon]

EDIT: polished version any last comments before it goes to FCDB?

Deathless
The dead are sometimes given a semblance of life. Your physical shell might be carefully embalmed, a desiccated husk dried under a desert sun, a pale corpse risen from an artic lake, or palid perfection maintained by arcane forces. Regardless of how your corpse is preserved, you are often reviled. Even in cultures revering the dead you serve as an unsettling reminder of mortality.
The most potent undead sorcerors and kings extend the dubious gift of undying years to their servants. Perhaps you are a deathless servant granted freedom as a reward for service or by destruction of your lord. Less common are those who cling to life by will alone or a curse of the gods. Whatever your origin, you had lived a real life before this bleak existence. Trapped in your preserved corpse perhaps you long for the taste of food or other sensual pleasures now denied you. Alternately, do you revel in freedom from the weakness, disease, and suffering of living? Whatever the case your adventuring companions are a vital link to the living world and for that you will defend them to your next end.
Example Names: as per your species during life or a title granted by the living: the wandering soul, the pharoh’s scribe, the mourning lady, the undying sorceror, spear of vengence.
Splinter Race Feats: Some types of undead that would require additional rules could be created using species feats include Vampire, skeleton, ghost, deathless pech, and deathless drake. Most kinds of fleshy undead including zombies, mummies, barrow warriors, and revenants could be covered by this species without a species feat.
Common Personality Traits: relentless, patient, cold, lonely, driven, morose.
Common Phyiscal Traits: deathly palor, dead eyes, dessicated flesh, cold to touch, smells of embalming fluids, sonorous or whispering voice.
Type: Medium undead [4.5] (see page 227) with reach 1. Your maximum wounds equals your Constitution score.
•   Attributes [1] +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma
•   Aloof: [-0.5] You find it harder and harder to relate to the living, +2 error range on Sense Motive and Impress.
•   Base Speed: 30 [ 0].
•   If I recall… : [2] You have a lifetime of experience to draw on… and then some. You gain +5 to Knowledge checks.
•   Origin Skill: [1] Choose one additional origin skill.
•   Reviled: [-1] The disposition of non-undead decreases by 10.

Author’s Notes: Power-wise Undead sit somewhere between the plant and construct types and I have taken a best guess at the cost. This version of undead PCs supports pathos in roleplaying over combat capability, hence the absence of natural attacks or supernatural powers. The undead type does make deathless pretty tough anyway. This was designed for mythic/fantasy settings, for a horror setting Blankbeard’s version of undead PC’s can be found on the forum.
This is a basic undead PC species that can represent a wide range of animated corpses such as barrow warriors, mummies, zombies etc. You could even be a liche, just take the mage class. Undead that would require more mechanical support than given here, such as vampires and skeletons, could be covered by species feats. While human undead are obvious other medium folk undead including elves and orcs could use this species. It has been suggested that species feats could cover undead of non-human origin. However, an easier option if you want to retain more of the abilities you had in life is the species feat version of deathless.
Not play tested but has received feedback on the forum.

[Wolverine]

Looks interesting, though you might want to tighten down the concept a little. For starters, what type of undead is the base species? Is it a skeleton? A mummy? Something else entirely?

Once that's sorted, make up a feat like the ones for Unborn and Rootwalkers to cover all the other common types of undead (including the funky Elven ones from Eberron). Also, maybe a series of feats like the Blood ones in AC to represent other species (Orc Bones, Elf Bones, Dwarf Bones, etc)

[paddyfool]

Interesting take on the whole thing; rather less horror-themed than these heritage/legacy species feats or these unborn species feats.

[Catodon]

Looks interesting, though you might want to tighten down the concept a little. For starters, what type of undead is the base species? Is it a skeleton? A mummy? Something else entirely?

Once that's sorted, make up a feat like the ones for Unborn and Rootwalkers to cover all the other common types of undead (including the funky Elven ones from Eberron). Also, maybe a series of feats like the Blood ones in AC to represent other species (Orc Bones, Elf Bones, Dwarf Bones, etc)

The concept is deliberately loose, the idea being players can 'skin' thier characters as mummies, barrow warriors or whatever to taste. That said the basic idea is an animated corspe with the flesh on so skeleton would be a species feat. Similarly, whatever you were in life is treated as just backstory. That said your idea for 'Bones' feats would add crunch.   

[Catodon]

Interesting take on the whole thing; rather less horror-themed than these heritage/legacy species feats or these unborn species feats.

Yeh, less horror because I wanted to allow for cultures where the dead are revered (eg. Egypt) and for pathos for suffering undead PCs (think interview with a vampire or Gary Oldman's Dracula*). Therefore I built social effects into the design rather than going down the combat monster route.

Doing the math for his ghoul blankbeard also costs Undead at 4.5, which is reassuring
*Vampire would require a species feat to cover the blood drinking with my version. However you could do a liche, just take the Mage class.

[paddyfool]

Gary Oldman's Dracula

Heh, that film was a classic chuckle-fest.  (Particularly with Keanu's accent...)

[Catodon]

Gary Oldman's Dracula

Heh, that film was a classic chuckle-fest.  (Particularly with Keanu's accent...)

Speaking as an Englishman, that accent was just...just Wrong.
Quite liked the film though, probably because I'm a crusty old goth. 

[paddyfool]

As an Englishman and a Londoner, I concur.  Wrong to the point of being funny.

My personal favourite vampire film, meanwhile, is Shadow of the Vampire, for creativity and creepiness.  Although I do have a certain nostalgic fondness for Lost Boys.

[Catodon]

For me 'shadow of a vampire' and 'near dark'

I am pondering a spp. feat for vampire based on the same thinking behind the Deathless: blood drinking would negate reviled and add charming (or some such). however if you get thirsty reviled turns back on and charming vanishes.

[Antilles]

Hmm... one idea that just came to me was to create/cludge together an alternate magic system using species feats. Basically, make a specialized path for vampires, only instead of per scene the spells cost blood points, sorta like spell points. Vamps would be able to hold some arbitrary number of blood points, maybe equal to their CON, or a base + # of species feats, or something, and they get a coup de grace trick that basically gives them blood points for every X wound damage they inflict (possibly give them Bite I and restrict the trick to coup de grace attacks using Bite?).

Let's see...

Vampiric Condition
You require the lifeblood of others to sustain yourself.
Prerequisite: Undead
Benefit: You gain a Bite I natural attack, the Drain Blood trick, and the first step on the Path of Blood.

Drain Blood Bite coup de grace trick: You gain blood points upon inflicting wound points from a successful Coup de Grace action. You gain 1 blood point for every 2 wound damage inflicted on folk, 1 blood point for every 3 wound damage on beasts and fey, and 1 blood point for every 4 wound damage on animals.

Path of Blood
I. You gain the Blooddrinker NPC quality and may use blood points to cast Blush of Health.
II. ?

Blooddrinker +? XP: You gain the ability to convert the blood of others into a source of power, and store it in your body. You may store up to half your Constitution score (rounded up) in blood points.

Blush of Health
Level: 2 Blood
Casting Time: 1 full action
Distance: Personal
Duration: 1 day
Effect: You appear, to all non-magical forms of detection, as alive, and register as the type your species would when alive, commonly Folk. While this spell is in effect, you do not suffer the penalties of Reviled as long as they are not aware of your true nature.


Wow, I didn't really mean to actually try and stat up anything. I'm too tired to look over it and make sure it's all coherent, but it should be enough to make my point clear, at least.

[Catodon]

I like your thinking. Tieing blood drinking very tightly with amechanic that makes the player hunger for more is great, when Vampire the Maquerade did it in the 80's/90's? it was a revolution.

While I think about my version of vampire (you can never have enough vampires, they're like ninjas that way) here is the bones* of a species feat version of deathless. This gives you other avenues for creating non-human undead that are supported by mechanics.I'd intend to use both in the same world.
eg. Drake+Deathless feat+mage class+truly massive=draco-liche

Deathless (species feat version)
Type: Medium undead [4.5] (see page 227).
•   Aloof: [-0.5] You find it harder and harder to relate to the living +2 error range on Sense Motive and Impress
•   Reviled: [-1] the disposition of the living decreases by 10.


*sorry unavoidable pun. 

[Antilles]

Funny that, seeing as I was playing Vampire: the Masquerade just hours earlier . So yeah, my image of playable vampires are very much colored by that system.

[foproy]

you could take that and turn it into an origin, then a few species feats and differnt paths and you could basicaly recreate the vtm rules outright.

Mark of the beast (gangrel) species feat
prerequisite undead
benefit, you gain a step along one of the following paths, animalism, protean, and foritude. At level 2 and every even numbered level after that you may take one step along one of these paths.
any time you frenzy you take on 1 physical trait of an animal, taking  a minus to diguse checks to hide your nature.
the above is just an example of what i am talking about, though i am not sure if that is overpowered or underpowered. probably over.

protean
protean 1, eyes of the beast, you gain the darkvision I npc quality
protean 2 claws of the beast, you may spend 2 blood points to grow a set of claws granting you the natural attack 1 npc quality for the remainder of the scene
protean 3, earth meld (stance), you may spend 3 blood points to melt into the earth, while in this state you may not move, and you are protected from the sun and normal means of detection. if the earth is desturbed you instantly leave the stance.
protean 4 aspect of the beast you may transform into trhe shape of a single animal. you may choose either a wolf or a bat form to transform into your type becomes beast when in this form, and you gain the following npc qualities, either natural attack bite I, with the trip upgrade, or flight 30 ft and bite I
protean 5 form of mist, you gain the incorperal template, for a time.

i cannot remember the blood cost of the last two and my vtm books are all burried deep in a box not to surface till after i move at the end of the month.

[Deral]

Funny that, seeing as I was playing Vampire: the Masquerade just hours earlier . So yeah, my image of playable vampires are very much colored by that system.

V:TM absolutely colored my vampires (that, and various Dracula incarnations), they've only seen a little playtesting, but I tried to make it so you could figure most of the Masquerade clans, and mix and match since that's kind of a Crafty thing (Sorry for their length, they aren't entirely complete, I almost feel the first feat could be better handled with a new type, but that's going a bit far):

Vitae Abecedarian
You are a vampire or some other life-drinking incarnation, either by choice or by force, your true life force flowing through your veins in place of blood, you have no place in the afterlife.
Prerequisites: 1st Level Only or Special Circumstances
Benefit: You gain the Achilles Heel (Fire), Damage Vulnerability (Divine) and Light-Sensitive npc qualities and whenever you take flash damage from natural sunlight, you take half as much fire damage.
Also, the disposition of any character who's aware of your species and doesn't share you unique outlook worsens by 10
However, you no longer age and do not need to sleep, or breathe. You can no longer benefit from food or drink, but you still need to consume the life force of living creatures, this is most often done by drinking their blood, the vessel of that force, given willingly or taken. You may go for one week without consuming the blood of a mortal for every point of the higher of your Constitution and Charisma modifiers (minimum 1).
Starting on the eighth day and every week thereafter you gain 1 grade of Shaken and Tainted that cannot be
lost until you drink the equivalent of 10 points of constitution impairment for each shared grade. If you are at Tainted IV and gain another grade from this ability, you fall into a coma, only to be awoken after being given the requisite blood or after (Higher of Constitution or Charisma x 5 years)
You may take the Life Drain action, your appearance modifier increases by 1 and one physical attribute of your choice increases by 2, a second of your choice increases by 1. Also, your base speed increases by 10 feet.
Special: Upon taking this feat, you may take a -2 penalty to one physical stat to increase one mental stat by 2, or vice versa.


Vitae Consulate
Your soul, now only inhabiting your body, has begun to change you into an exemplified form, a creature of the twilight in the waking world.
Prerequisites: Vitae Abecedarian
Benefit: Choose one of the following:
Beast: The disposition of non-adversary animals increases by 25, and no animals will attack you unless forced or attacked first by you. At the start of every adventure, you gain Followers as per the Followers feat that must be Pack Wolves, though you only ever gain 3 at a time. This does not count as an extra feat and you may  gain the Followers feat a second time.
Demon: You gain the Horror type and a Claw II natural attack, also, your Claw natural attacks gain +2 threat range against undead, however, you cannot use your Life Drain ability outside of combat.
Raven: You gain the Beguiling trait, and you Panache and Appearance Modifier each increase by 2. Also, you lose your Reviled trait.
Recluse: You gain a +5 bonus on all knowledge checks and to all Sense Motive and Investigate rolls, and you may go for ten times as long without feeding, however, you suffer a -2 penalty with all charisma-based checks targeting living creatures.

Upon taking this feat you may choose to gain the Undead type, if you do so, your your starting action dice is reduced by 1, and you take a -5 penalty to Sense Motive checks when interaction with living creatures, finding it more and more difficult to relate to their alien ways.

Vitae Anima
You have become a unique incarnation of spirit, beyond most mortal comprehension
Prerequisites: Vitae Consulate, Undead type
Benefit: Choose one of the following, you need not choose the same option you took from the prerequisite feat.
Beast: You may take on an pseudo-illusory beastly form:
Beastform (Stance): While in this stance your base speed increases by 20, your Strength and Dexterity each increase by 2 and you gain a Bite II natural attack with the Trip quality, however you lose any other natural weapons you have, and cannot manipulate objects or perform checks that require the use of hands. Your gear becomes part of your new form and functions as if carried or worn on your person.
Demon: You gain a Bite I natural attack with the Grab special ability as well as the Devour and Unnerving NPC qualities.
Raven: You may use your bite to inflict orgasmic ecstasy without draining blood, against a pinned, helpless or flatfooted target, you may choose to forgo normal actions on your turn to mute the target and inflict 20 points of flash and bang damage every round. Standard characters are also stunned for 2d6 minutes afterwards. You also gain Followers as the feat, choosing only Artists, Strumpets, or Worshippers, each follower is always considered willing in regard to Life Drain, and you do not lose reputation if you cause their death because of that ability. This does not count as a feat and you may still gain the Followers feat a second time.
Recluse: Investigate and Survival checks targeting you that are not critical threats or successes return only misleading information along some general lines you dictate, in the event of a critical error, you may specifically choose what the target learns. You also gain a +5 bonus to all Sneak and Blend checks.

Edit: Forgot the Drain ability (It's a little fiddly):

Restricted Action: *Life Drain*
Grapple Benefit – Requires Drain Ability
 Against a pinned character, you inflict 1 point of Constitution Impairment and gain Regeneration 4
until the end of your next initiative.
You may also use this ability outside of combat against a willing participant (though the target need not understand the process or even what is going to happen). To resist you outside of a grapple, a target must succeed on a will save DC 10 + Your Charisma modifier + The number of species feats
you have, though they may make the save every round.
In order to stop using this ability outside of combat, you must make a Will Save DC 5 + the target's current Constitution score, but once you have drained 5 points of Constitution, you take a -5 penalty to this save, you cannot make this save if you tried and failed last round.
When you stop using this ability, and you are not in combat, the victim must make a will save DC 10 + your charisma modifier + the number of species feats you have or forget what happened during that time, they may make this save again 24 hours later, if they fail.

[Catodon]

Here is my minimalist undead as a species feat all nice and polished:
EDIT: ok another update  . Any comments on the 'life insurance' protion of this updated version?
EDIT: Fey, Horror and Ooze added. If nothing else could be useful in making NPCs.

Deathless (species feat)
Whether by arcane rite, curse of the gods, or indominable will, you pursue destiny rather than lie in your grave as the dead should.
Prerequisites: Animal, Beast, Fey, Folk, Horror, Ooze or Plant type.
Benefit: You gain no benefit until you die. When you die you may return in the next adventure without suffering the effects of Cheating Death. If creating a new character you may choose to enter the game already dead. After your death you gain the following. Your type changes to Undead [4.5] (see page 227). Few people are comfortable around you and you feel yourself growing distant from the concerns of the living. You gain Aloof [-0.5] (+2 error range on Sense Motive and Impress) and Reviled [-1] (the disposition of non-undead decreases by 10).

Author’s Notes: A living character gains no benefit from taking this feat but some players may use it as ‘life insurance’ or to enhance their characters developing story. This last could be combined with a Sub-plot (page 379).
This species feat version of the deathless was designed to allow for greater diversity in undead PC’s than the species. It allows undead elves and orcs to keep their species abilites. The species version was also limited to medium size very human shaped folk. With this you can create pech zombies, Saurian mummies, giant barrow kings, and more. A drake with the mage class, truly massive, and deathless is a draco-lich.
Like the species version the focus is roleplaying and social effects rather than attacks or supernatural powers. However, the undead type does make deathless PCs pretty tough survivors.
Not play tested.