Elemental undead

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Whiskeyjack
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Elemental undead

Unread post by Whiskeyjack »

For the campaign I'm running with my friends and my kids, I'm developing some new undead that were once servants of the old ones. I actually started working on this around 20 years ago. The main undead were called the Devi'nour, a group of 8 monsters created by the old ones. One of their powers was the ability to create other undead that had elemental abilities and were very hard to permanently destroy, especially on a battlefield.
I'm looking for critiques, thoughts, and ideas on them, as one of them will be introduced in the next session. Let me know what you think, what you would change, and what you like.

The Scoura’nour (Elemental Undead):
The creation of the Devi’nour, these undead formed the most feared force in the chaos war. Not only were they powerful with a wide range of combat abilities, but each one had very specific ways that they had to be destroyed in order to prevent them from rising again in a few hours. Millions of them were raised during the course of the war which led to defeat after defeat for the forces of light.
It wasn’t until the first Warlocks appeared on the battlefields that the Devi’nour knew actual fear and defeat. The elementals and those who channeled their power were the natural enemies of these undead that perverted their energies, and their magic was incredibly effective against them.
The Scoura’nour take double damage from all warlock spells of the opposing element, and full damage from all other warlock spells, even if they are normally immune to that type of damage. As such, Warlocks have a horror factor of 15 to them, and Elementals 17.

Fire
Appears as a skeleton surrounded by flames, as the flesh is burned off during their creation. The flames will ignite combustibles that they come into contact with. Charred footprints add +25% to anyone trying to track one of the monsters. Can shoot flames from hands and eyes/mouth.
Alignment: Diabolic
Attributes: I.Q. 1D6+3, M.E. N/A, M.A. N/A, P.S. 4D6+10 (6D6+10 if giant sized), P.P. 5D6
(4D6 if giant sized), P.E. N/A, P.B. 1D6, Spd 3D6+5 (4D6+5 if giant sized)
Size: From gnome to giant size.
Weight: 20 to 800 lbs.
Natural A.R.: 15
Hit Points: N/A
S.D.C.: 4D6 x 10 (6D6x10 if giant sized)
Horror Factor: 14
P.P.E.: 4D6
Natural Abilities: Impervious to all forms of fire including magic, impervious to all psionics,
nightvision 600 feet, regenerates 2D6 S.D.C. per minute.
Vulnerabilities: Takes double damage from cold based attacks.
Bonuses: + 2 on initiative, +5 to strike, +4 to parry, impervious to horror factor with the
exception of elementals and warlocks, +4 to save vs magic, impervious to poison, impervious to
attacks that affect the mind.
Attacks per melee: 5
Damage: All physical attacks inflict an additional 1D6 in burn damage. Bite inflicts 1D6 damage, punch 3D6 damage (4D6 if giant sized), kick 4D6 (5D6 if giant sized), grapple 2D6 burn damage per action that an opponent is held. Add P.S. bonus to punch and kick.
Flame blast (from mouth or eyes) 6D6 damage to everything within 60’ (counts as 2 attacks). The blast can be swept around to hit multiple opponents within a 45 degree arc.
Magic: None
Psionics: None
Habitat: Appear anywhere that the Devi’nour are. Once created they can be sent on long range missions, so can be encountered anywhere.
Average Life Span: Immortal until destroyed.
Enemies: Virtually all living beings.
Allies: Other Scoura’nour and the servants of the Devi’nour. They will ignore any undead unless attacked.
Destruction: In order to destroy the fire Scoura’nour, the head and body must be separated and dumped into a body of water at least 20 feet deep. The head and body must be at least 100 feet away from each other. Over the course of an hour the body will permanently disintegrate.

Earth
Appears as a corpse with a skeleton of petrified stone. Spikes and nobs protrude from the bone to aid in defense and attacks. Over time the flesh and clothing will rot away leaving just the bony skeleton.
Alignment: Diabolic
Attributes: I.Q. 1D6+3, M.E. N/A, M.A. N/A, P.S. 5D6+10 (7D6+10 if giant sized), P.P. 4D6
(3D6 if giant sized), P.E. N/A, P.B. 1D6, Spd 3D6+2 (4D6+2 if giant sized)
Size: From gnome to giant size.
Weight: 60 to 2400 lbs.
Natural A.R.: 16
Hit Points: N/A
S.D.C.: 6D6 x 10 (8D6x10 if giant sized)
Horror Factor: 14
P.P.E.: 4D6
Natural Abilities: Can travel through earth or stone at half its speed attribute, impervious to all
psionics, nightvision 600 feet, regenerates 2D6 S.D.C. per minute.
Bonuses: + 2 on initiative, +5 to strike, +4 to parry, impervious to horror factor with the
exception of elementals and warlocks, +4 to save vs magic, impervious to poison, impervious to
attacks that affect the mind.
Attacks per melee: 4
Damage: Bite inflicts 1D6 damage, punch 4D6 damage (5D6 if giant sized), kick 5D6 (6D6 if giant sized). Add P.S. bonus to punch and kick damage. Rock burst. The earth Scoura’nour can cause small rock pillars to erupt from the ground under people. Each hit inflicts 2D6 damage and can be brought up within 60’ of it. Each attack is +4 to strike.
Magic: None
Psionics: None
Habitat: Appear anywhere that the Devi’nour are. Once created they can be sent on long range missions, so can be encountered anywhere.
Average Life Span: Immortal until destroyed.
Enemies: Virtually all living beings.
Allies: Other Scoura’nour and the servants of the Devi’nour. They will ignore any undead unless attacked.
Destruction: The earth Scoura’nour is the most difficult to permanently destroy. The head and body must be pulverized into sand (takes about 10 minutes with two to four people) and dispersed into the air from a height of at least 100 feet and at least 100 feet apart from each other. The particles will scatter in the wind, never to reform.

Air
Appears as a floating, legless skeletal ghost with a sickly green glow emanating from around it.
Alignment: Diabolic
Attributes: I.Q. 1D6+3, M.E. N/A, M.A. N/A, P.S. 3D6+10 (5D6+10 if giant sized), P.P. 5D6
(4D6 if giant sized), P.E. N/A, P.B. 1D6, Spd 5D6x2
Size: From gnome to giant size.
Weight: weightless
Natural A.R.: 14
Hit Points: N/A
S.D.C.: 4D6 x 10 (6D6x10 if giant sized)
Horror Factor: 15
P.P.E.: 4D6
Natural Abilities: Can travel through non-magical substances including people at its full speed
attribute, impervious to physical attacks, impervious to psionics. Only magic attacks can damage
it. Nightvision 600 feet, regenerates 2D6 S.D.C. per minute.
Bonuses: + 2 on initiative, +5 to strike, +4 to parry, impervious to horror factor with the
exception of elementals and warlocks, +4 to save vs magic, impervious to poison, impervious to
attacks that affect the mind.
Attacks per melee: 6
Damage: Bite inflicts 1D6 damage, punch 2D6 damage (3D6 if giant sized), kick 3D6 (4D6 if giant sized). Add P.S. bonus to punch and kick damage.
Air blast. The air Scoura’nour can cause a gust of wind to either push or pull an opponent up to 10 feet towards or away from it. Each blast has the equivalent P.S. of the undead, and can be used within 60 feet. Each air blast counts as one attack. Victims of the attack must make a sense of balance roll to avoid falling over. This is usually used to push a dangerous opponent out of range, or pull an opponent close enough to attack.
Magic: None
Psionics: None
Habitat: Appear anywhere that the Devi’nour are. Once created they can be sent on long range missions, so can be encountered anywhere.
Average Life Span: Immortal until destroyed.
Enemies: Virtually all living beings.
Allies: Other Scoura’nour and the servants of the Devi’nour. They will ignore any undead unless attacked.
Destruction: When defeated, the air Scoura’nour will turn into a low lying mist with a diameter of around 5 feet. A hole must be dug underneath it at least 6 feet deep. The mist will sink into the hole as it is dug. Once dug deep enough, the hole must be filled back in, at which time the mist will permanently dissipate.

Water
Appears as a bloated corpse or algae stained, barnacle encrusted skeleton.
Alignment: Diabolic
Attributes: I.Q. 1D6+3, M.E. N/A, M.A. N/A, P.S. 4D6+10 (6D6+10 if giant sized), P.P. 3D6
(5D6 if giant sized), P.E. N/A, P.B. 1D6, Spd 3D6 on land (4D6 if giant sized), 3D6x2 (4D6x2 if
giant sized) swimming.
Size: From gnome to giant size.
Weight: 20 to 800 lbs
Natural A.R.: 15
Hit Points: N/A
S.D.C.: 4D6 x 10 (6D6x10 if giant sized)
Horror Factor: 14
P.P.E.: 4D6
Natural Abilities: Immune to pressure from water, impervious to water and cold attacks,
impervious to psionics, nightvision/underwater vision 600 feet, regenerates 2D6 S.D.C. per
minute.
Bonuses: + 2 on initiative, +5 to strike, +4 to parry, impervious to horror factor with the
exception of elementals and warlocks, +4 to save vs magic, impervious to poison, impervious to
attacks that affect the mind.
Attacks per melee: 5
Damage: Bite inflicts 1D6 damage, punch 2D6 damage (3D6 if giant sized), kick 3D6 (4D6 if giant sized). Add P.S. bonus to punch and kick damage.
Special Abilities: Ride the waves. The water Scoura’nour can create a wave that it can ride on top of at twice its speed attribute.
Create water spout. Once per melee round they can create a large spout of water to burst up to 20 feet in the air. While it does no damage, it has a 40% chance of capsizing small boats (under 20 feet long) and can hit larger boats with enough impact to cause people on decks to lose their balance.
Magic: None
Psionics: None
Habitat: Appear anywhere that the Devi’nour are. Once created they can be sent on long range missions, so can be encountered anywhere.
Average Life Span: Immortal until destroyed.
Enemies: Virtually all living beings.
Allies: Other Scoura’nour and the servants of the Devi’nour. They will ignore any undead unless attacked.
Destruction: The water Scoura’nour must have the head and body separated and both must be burned in magical fire for at least one hour, and which time the body will be permanently reduced to ash.
dreicunan
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Re: Elemental undead

Unread post by dreicunan »

"Rising again in a few hours." Based on the methods of destrying them and the time involved in some of them, I'd suggest giving them at least 12 hours, if not 24.
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Whiskeyjack
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Re: Elemental undead

Unread post by Whiskeyjack »

dreicunan wrote:"Rising again in a few hours." Based on the methods of destrying them and the time involved in some of them, I'd suggest giving them at least 12 hours, if not 24.


Thanks for the reply dreicunan. Part of a lower regen time when destroyed is to keep the sense of urgency and danger to them, especially on a battlefield. I'll be playtesting one shortly, and I think I'll use 6 hours for the first go and see how it works in the game. It will only be one, so that shouldn't have too much of an impact on the game, but they won't know that there is any special way needed to destroy the creature.
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