DM Entry: Introducing the Zombie Master (new class)

This new class is based on the olman zombie master from the Isle of Dread. It has been added to the Aryathan Jiil Classes and Prestige Classes.pdf and uploaded to the google drive.

Zombie Master

This class is ready for play testing.

This is a paladin variant for Olman, who use undead as nonevil creatures.

Alignment: True Neutral.

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Detect undead, smite undead 1/encounter, domain	0
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Divine grace, lay on hands	0
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Aura of courage, divine health	1
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Rebuke undead and fiends	1
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Smite undead 2/encounter, special mount	1/0
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+2	Aura of banishment	1/0
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+2		1/1
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+2		1/1/0
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3		1/1/1
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+3	Smite undead 3/encounter	1/1/1
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+3		2/1/1/0
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+4		2/1/1/1
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+4		2/2/1/1
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+4		2/2/2/1
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+5	Smite undead 4/encounter	3/2/2/1
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+5		3/3/3/2
17th	+17+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+5		4/3/3/3
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+6		5/4/3/2
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+6		6/5/4/3
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+6	Smite undead 5/encounter	7/6/5/4

HD: d10. Skill Points: 2 + Int modifier (x4 at 1^st level). Class Skills: Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (religion), Profession, Ride, and Sense Motive.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: You are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

Detect Undead (Sp): At will, you can use detect undead, as the spell.

Smite Undead (Su): Once per encounter, you may attempt to smite undead with one normal melee attack. You add your Charisma bonus (if any) to your attack roll and deal 1 extra point of damage per zombie master level. If you accidentally smite a creature that is not undead, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that encounter.

Optionally, you may choose to sacrifice a zombie master spell slot to improve your smite undead. You may add +1 to your attack roll and +1d8 points of damage per sacrificed spell level.

At 5^th level, and at every five levels thereafter, you may smite undead one additional time per encounter, as indicated on the table above, to a maximum of five times per encounter at 20^th level.

Zombie Master Spells: Beginning at 1^st level, you gain the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from the zombie master spell list (below). You can cast any spell you know without preparing it ahead of time the way a cleric or wizard must. When you gain access to a new level of spells, you automatically know all the spells for that level listed on the zombie master’s spell list. Essentially, your spell list is the same as your spells known list.

To cast a spell, you must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against your zombie master spell is 10 + the spell level + your Wisdom modifier.

Like other spellcasters, you can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Your base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, you receive bonus spells per day if you have a high Wisdom score. When the table indicates that you get 0 spells per day of a given spell level, you gain only the bonus spells you would be entitled to based on your Wisdom score for that spell level. You also have access to a single domain of spells and its granted power, chosen from the following domains: Army, Balance, Death, Deathbound, Decay, Destruction, Fear, Grave, Hunger[1], Necromancer, Necromancy, Negative Energy, Repose, Smoke, Undead, Undeath, or Void.

You cast spells the way a warmage does. You may cast any spell on the zombie master spell list, provided that you can cast spells of that level.

Your zombie master caster level is equal to one-half her zombie master level.

Divine Grace (Su): At 2^nd level, you gain a bonus equal to your Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.

Lay on Hands (Su): Beginning at 2^nd level, a zombie master with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (your own or those of others) by touch. Each day you can heal a total number of hit points of damage equal to your zombie master level x your Charisma bonus. You may choose to divide your healing among multiple recipients, and you don’t have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action. This healing acts as fast healing, which works for living and undead the same.

Aura of Courage (Su): Beginning at 3^rd level, you are immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of you gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability functions while you are conscious, but not if you are unconscious or dead.

Divine Health (Ex): At 3^rd level, you gain immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.

Rebuke Undead and Fiends (Su): When you reach 4^th level, you gain the supernatural ability to rebuke undead as well as outsiders with the evil subtype. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. You rebuke undead as a cleric of three levels lower would.

Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5^th level, you gain the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal undead steed to serve you. This mount is usually a heavy warhorse zombie (for a Medium zombie master) or a warpony zombie (for a Small zombie master). Unlike a normal zombie, the zombie master’s special mount does not have the “single actions only” limitation.

Once per day, as a full-round action, you may magically summon your mount. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third your class level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to you and remains for 2 hours per zombie master level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though you may release a particular mount from service.

Each time the mount is summoned, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Summoning a mount is a conjuration (summoning) effect.

Should your mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. You may not summon another mount for thirty days or until you gain a paladin level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, you take a -1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.

Your special mount improves as you gain zombie master levels. Refer to the death master’s undead minion progression in Dragon Compendium page 32, using your zombie master level as your death master level for this purpose.

You can select an improvement for your special mount from one of those listed on the following lists, applying the indicated adjustment to your zombie master level (in parentheses) for purposes of determining the mount’s characteristics and special abilities. If your special mount gains one of the following abilities, it cannot gain any of the other abilities. Also, if your special mount has any of the following abilities, it cannot also be the target of an augment zombie I or II spell. Your special mount keeps the special ability until you either dismiss your special mount or it is destroyed.

4^th level (level -3)

Diseased zombie

Fast zombie

Hunting zombie

7^th level (level -6)

Bloodthirsty zombie

Unkillable zombie

Aura of Banishment (Su): An aura of banishment surrounds you to a distance of 30 feet. Only undead can feel the aura and suffer from its effects. No creature with fewer Hit Dice than your zombie master level can be summoned into this area by an undead spellcaster or by spell-like abilities or supernatural abilities of undead, nor can such creatures use summoning or teleporting effects. In addition, the aura grants you a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks against undead.

Code of Conduct: You must be of true neutral alignment and lose all class abilities if you ever willingly commit an act respecting any creed, church, institution, faction, organization, etc., that has a non-true neutral alignment. Additionally, your zombie master code requires that you uphold the greater good of your community, especially against those who would cause the community harm. Non-evil undead should never be harmed, as they are your walking dead ancestors. Any harm against these ancestors must be met with swift and powerful destruction.

Associates: While you may adventure with characters of any neutral alignment, you will never knowingly associate with LG, LE, CG, or CE characters, nor will you continue an association with someone who consistently offends your moral code. You may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are true neutral.

Ex-Zombie Masters: If you cease to be true neutral, of if you willfully commit an act contrary to your moral code, or if you grossly violate the code of conduct, then you lose all zombie master spells and abilities (including the service of the special mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). You may not progress any farther in levels as a zombie master. You regain your abilities and advancement potential if you atone for your violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.

Like a member of any other class, a zombie master may be a multiclass character, but multiclass zombie masters face a special restriction. A zombie master who gains a level in any class other than zombie master may never again raise her zombie master level, though you retain all your zombie master abilities.

Zombie Master Spells

Note: Necromancy spells that are traditionally evil are not evil in the hands of a zombie master. Any necromancy spell that has the evil descriptor loses the evil descriptor when cast by a zombie master.

Spells listed in red below are found in one of the Aryathan Jiil Librams of Magic.

1^st level—animate dead animals, bane, bestow wound, cause fear, chill touch, create crawling dead, detect magic, doom, hide from undead, inflict light wounds, phantom armor, ray of enfeeblement, summon undead I, undead battlemight

2^nd level—animate dead, blindness/ deafness, command undead, darkness, death knell, embalm, enhance turning, false life, gentle repose, ghoul touch, inflict moderate wounds, protection from deathbane, protection from paralysis, resist turning, scare, spectral hand, spirit armor, summon swarm, summon undead II

3^rd level—augment zombie I, contagion, crushing despair, death ward, deeper darkness, double undead, ghost armor, ghoul familiar, halt undead, inflict serious wounds, lich armor, ray of exhaustion, speak with dead, summon undead III, vampiric touch

4^th level—augment zombie II, bestow curse, create undead, death ward, dispel magic, enervation, Evard’s black tentacles, faith armor, fear, inflict critical wounds, lesser globe of invulnerability, magic circle against deathbane, Morphail’s unholy blessing, phantasmal killer, poison, summon undead IV, teleport dead

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[1] The Hunger domain as found in Spell Compendium.