I also have this vague memory of the skeleton warrior from the old D&D cartoon being cool, so some of that might get thrown into the mix.
I’m thinking about taking bullk of its skills from the Born Noble -> Page -> Squire -> Knight -> Religious Order lifepaths with some demonic summoning thrown in. I like the idea of this undead knight having some summoning because it doesn’t add anything immediately in combat unless it has time to sit and do some work but it makes the Death Knight an odd creature and summoning is just plain awesome.
It seems to have had some magical powers but adding in Emperor’s Hand or some shit just seems like over-kill.
A relationship with some demonic cultists and an affiliation into the order of the Death knights, so circling up the others is possible if someone wanted to play the damned thing.
At this point I’m in the brainstorming phase and will look over other Monster Burner entries and other undead beasts burned up in the forum.
If I were summoning a soul to invest a skeleton with a cruel mockery of life, I might enchant a few of the bones to give the eventual monstrous creation a bit of extra kick… and a potential reward for disassembling it.
Its not just a cruel mockery of life but its a former holy knight who has tossed aside their faith and been knighted by a demon lord. Its a mockery of faith and honor and holy military orders.
Yeah, enchanted bones would be nifty or maybe they can be used for a summoning ritual. I dunno.
P.S. Daniel, if you are reading this, I’m not burning this up for Hal Whitewyrm (or at least, I’m not consciously doing so).
I’d dip into the Magic Burner and take some inspiration from the Death of the Spirit section of Death Art.
From the You Should Be Dying portion, Aggressive seems like a perfect fit. Depending on your concept, Cannibal might also be appropriate.
All of the traits available from the Soul Twisting portion could potentially be appropriate. Aura of Fear seems tailor-made.
Most of the traits from the Evocation portion would also fit quite well. You could upgrade the Aura of Fear to Horrific Aura if you really want to kick it up a notch.
I’d give it the ability to use the Havoc’s Hand spell to represent its Negative Energy touch thingamajob. I’d probably key the spell off of Will or Forte since it’s an integral feature of being a Death Knight.
A bitter old warrior, full of hate, perhaps not for unjust reasons. Who can expound in the midst of a fight (after all, skeletons need not worry about running out of breath).
If you are going more skeletal warrior than death knight, you might add the bit about them being bound to the golden circlet and required to obey the one that holds it.
Yeah, I was thinking about just that element of the Skeleton Warrior and wondering if I’ll leave that out or do two very separate monsters rather than mixing them up.
The Death Knight had 75% Magic Resistance with a chance of reflecting magic back on the caster. Permanent Eldritch Shield?
Other 1st edition powers:
At will - Wall of Ice, Detect Magic, Detect Invis
2/day - Dispel Magic, Gating in Demons (Affiliation with his Demon Lord + a Demon Summoning trait should allow his Circles to cover that)
1/day - Any Power Word, symbol of pain/fear, 20d6 fireball (man that takes me back!)
Oh, plus power over undead as a 6th lvl Cleric. So that’s (checking the trusty DMG) - dominating Zombies & Skeletons, controlling Ghouls & Shadows and can compel for a short time Wights, Ghasts, Wraiths, Mummies, Spectres & Vampires. Nice.
Its always a balancing act, trying to bring in the elements that make the monster unique and interesting but cutting things that were a little too D&D specific. Looking over the Fiend Folio entry is something I’ll do before I start writing things down.
And an Eldritch Shield would kinda kick ass, wouldn’t it?
Cool, was sharing the Fiend Folio stats in case any readers didn’t know them & to throw more things into the mix.
Yep, after all, he is a Death Knight Plus magic resistance does look to be one of their key abilities in the Fiend Folio. Maybe it was designed to be faced in martial combat instead of being blown away by spells…
How does this sound:
Unholy Mettle (Die Trait)
The lost Faith of the Death Knight protects him from Magic. The stronger their Faith in life, the further they fall in death, the stronger the protection. Grants Eldritch Shield with a number of dice equal to Faith attribute.
For a higher powered Death Knight make the Eldritch Shield permanent & non ablative.
For a lower powered Death Knight make the Eldritch Shield renew itself at midnight (or a time of day appropriate to the Death Knights Demonic sponsor)
Busting open the Fiend Folio, I think I have two monsters that I was attempting to blend into one.
On the one hand is the sad, immortal Skeleton Warrior with its magic ring that others can use to control it.
On the other hand is the demonic undead knight, one of a limited number, that is nigh-immune to magic and can throw fireballs and eff you up with sword and shield.
I’m going to do the demonic undead knight for this one.
I also have this vague memory of the skeleton warrior from the old D&D cartoon being cool, so some of that might get thrown into the mix.
Plus magic resistance does look to be one of their key abilities in the Fiend Folio. Maybe it was designed to be faced in martial combat instead of being blown away by spells…