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| Deathkings; of the Dark Citadel | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 14 2015, 11:50 PM (1,241 Views) | |
| ReptileViking | Aug 14 2015, 11:50 PM Post #1 |
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Deathking There is a place deep within the Umbra that calls to the desperate and lonely. These lost souls are lead through uncharted Portals and ancient Warp-trods until they find themselves on a world of basalt and ice, standing before a cyclopean tower lit by a distant grey star. This is the Dark Citadel. Nothing that is drawn through the doors of the Citadel leaves alive. Most merely vanish within, never to be seen again. A "lucky" few find themselves stumbling down the steps embalmed, clad in funerary wrappings and holding a fractured piece of their soul in their hands. These are the Deathkings, beings remade by the Dark Citadel to be lords of the dead. They become intrinsically tied to the Umbra, able to draw on its limitless power to influence and command the dead and bring them into the Wheel. A Deathkings mere presence inspire horror and revulsion in the living and their dulled emotions and intense presence doesn't help much either. As a result Deathkings usually stick to the fringes of society, socializing only with those that don't have problems with a walking corpse. Powers Vigour Mortis Deathkings have the Undead trait. They also do not suffer the death consequence of critical effects unless it hits the head or gizzards. Unfortunately due to their inert flesh, they do not heal over time or respond to mundane medical efforts. Magical spells and resource points still heal as normal. Shunned by the Living The undead tend to be met with fear and revulsion by the living and Deathkings are no exception. They have Fear 1 against the living and suffer a -1k1 penalty to all social tests. The Necromancy spell Flush of Life may be used in conjunction with a disguise test to completely hide your nature. If successful you only suffer the penalty to your social skills. Horcrux Created within the Dark Citadel, the Horcrux is a specially prepared device used to house the animating force of a Deathking. They also anchor the spirit of the Deathking to the materium by splitting off a small piece and binding it within. They are fairly fragile, with 10 HP and resilience equal to the Deathking's Necrosis. If the Horcrux is destroyed the Deathking must return to the Dark Citadel to obtain a new one. If the Deathking’s body is killed its spirit will be drawn back to and held within their Horcrux. Uniting the corpse with its Horcrux will allow it to heal critical damage at a rate of 1 per day. When the body reaches 0 crit damage it can be reanimated by the Horcrux. If the Deathking’s body is destroyed or unrecoverable the Horcrux can cannibalize itself to create a new body but is destroyed in the process. Death without an active Horcrux is permanent. Horcruxes have a maximum range, if the Deathking’s body and Horcrux are separated by more than a few kilometers their body simply deanimates. When the Deathking and their Horcrux are back within range they immediately awaken. In addition Deathknights always know the direction and rough distance to their Horcrux. Trap the Soul A Deathking can capture the souls of the dead and use them for various purposes. To do so you must press your Horcrux to a fresh corpse and spend 1 rot. You can hold a maximum number of Souls = to Necrosis x2. Souls trapped in this manner are unavailable for resurrection until the Deathking uses them to power one of their abilities. If the Deathking voluntarily releases a Soul it allows them to regain the Rot spent to capture it. Souls trapped within the Horcrux form a sort of gestalt consciousness bound to the Deathking's will. The Deathking gains the use of the Spirit Mentor Asset as long as one or more Souls are available. While the exact specifics are still up to the SM, the souls should provide skills and abilities appropriate to their origin. When the Soul gestalt makes a test it has a static bonus to the roll equivalent to the total number of captured souls. Power stat: Necrosis Necrosis is a representation of how much Umbral power the Deathking can handle. As matter rots and decays it releases negative energy. It is this energy, siphoned off by and held within the Deathking's Horcrux, that grants them influence over spirits and the undead. It grows as the connections between the Deathking and their Horcrux widen, allowing faster and more efficient transference of . As Necrosis increases the Deathking's own flesh tightens and dries, sometimes even rotting away entirely to leave nothing but a horribly animate skeleton. Resource stat: Rot Deathkings gain 1 Rot per hour as long as their body and Horcrux are in contact with each other. If the Deathking spends time doing nothing but meditating over the Horcrux they regain Rot at a rate of 3 per hour. They can have a maximum Rot equal to their Willpower+Necrosisx2. Deathking Tells As a Deathking spends Rot, the stench of death around them grows stronger and half-seen figures swirl through a chill mist that seeps from the ground they walk upon. With even greater expenditures, the Deathking's eyes burn with a terrible cold flame and shadows of the dead dance chaotically through the fog rising from their footsteps. Powers Gained * Festering ruin Once per round as part of any damage roll, the Deathking can spend 1 Rot to add their Necrosis stat as rolled dice to damage. This also changes the damage type to E. Wounds dealt by this attack are incredibly difficult to heal; magic, resource points and the regeneration trait have no effect. Even natural healing takes twice as long. If Festering Ruin is the deathblow it completely destroy the target's body, causing it to decompose in an instant. **Soul Shield You can release one of your trapped souls to protect yourself from harm. Before the attack is rolled you may spend one Soul to negate it, as long as it is targeting your body or Horcrux. *** Grave Authority Deathkings do not carry that appellation for nothing. Beings with the Undead trait are of friendly disposition towards the Deathking, and they can be ordered around with a Necrosis+Command test. This effect is similar to the Dominate spell but it automatically works on Mindless Undead. If it is used on a free willed Undead they are unlikely to remain friendly. **** The Quick and Dead The Deathking's spirit is the only thing keeping their body moving. Some grow strong enough they leave the body entirely, dragging the flesh behind and forcing it to perform far beyond what it could in life. By spending 1 rot the Deathking gains +1 strength and dexterity, a free raise on athletics tests and they can attempt to dodge and parry attacks they are not aware of. This effect last the rest of the scene. ***** Necrogenesis By spending 2 Rot, a Deathking can create an area 20 meters across centered on either themselves or their Horcrux where the Umbra intrudes on the Materium for the remainder of the scene. Any dead bodies within this area immediately raise as a Threat Rating 1, Damage Rating 1 minion. These minions can be upgraded to Walking Dead with the expenditure of 1 Soul. In addition all Undead within the Negrogenesis gain Regeneration 1 and any single melee mod, provided the Deathking spends Rot equal to its Mod cost. Exalt Assets Dusk Caste As night falls the Dark Citadel sometimes release Deathkings that have their spirit bound to a weapon in their possession instead of a traditional Horcrux. When wielded by its owner it is considered a Magic weapon and cannot be destroyed, not even by a power field. If a killing blow is struck by the Horcrux weapon you may automatically spend 1 Rot to Trap the Soul. Should a Deathking wish to change the weapon their soul fragment is bound to they can by making a return pilgrimage to the Dark Citadel. This process destroys the original weapon in the transfer. Midnight Caste Deathkings that leave the Citadel in the absolute dark of the night can use stolen life force to perform great acts of healing. You start with one free rank in the Healing School and purchase it as though it appeared on the progression of any class you take. In addition spending one Soul allows you to heal 3 hit points. This can even apply to Healing spells you cast, substituting Souls for resource points. Daybreak Caste Those who leave the Citadel just as the Ghoul Star passes the horizon show incredible aptitude in the manipulation of Umbral energies. You start with one free rank the Necromancy Magic School and may purchase it as though it appeared on the progression of any class you take. The Horcruxes of the Daybreak caste can hold more souls than normal, the maximum of Trap the Soul is increased to Necrosis x3. Day Caste The Deathkings who emerge into the full light of the sun become hunters of the living. They stalk their prey from unexpected places and souls burn like torches in the dark to their senses. You can scale sheer surfaces as easily as walking on the ground, provided they can hold your weight. In addition you can sense the direction and relative distance to any living creature within Necrosis x 5m. Moonshadow Caste Despite seemingly lacking a satellite there are times when the Ghoul star does not shine on the Graveworld, despite the normally daylight hours. Those who emerge in the shadow of the phantom moon appear as they did in life as long as the light of a natural moon does not touch their skin. However, the form beneath this illusion is even more horrifying than normal. This allows you to interact with others without Shunned by the Living coming into effect, although you can willfully show your true form as a free action. Your Fear trait is increased to rank 3. Edited by ReptileViking, Oct 5 2015, 08:59 PM.
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| Eisenritter | Aug 15 2015, 12:17 AM Post #2 |
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Old Iron Knight
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First impressions, go! I think "Deathking" might be just a bit awkward and could be easily confused with the class of similar title. At the same time, the only other title I can think of is "Revenant," so... I am somewhat disappointed that you skipped over the "vigor mortis" pun in favor of "Deathly Vigor." Necrosis 1 power definitely should have a shorter name, at a knee jerk. If not replaced entirely, since I think wallcrawling's usually a vampire thing? Dust to Dust is... Smite Living? Entropic Blow? Maybe it should work more like the Celestial Wrath feat (make note that they don't stack together if so), just subbing over Necrosis? ...I'm thinking of Doom Lords now. You're right, with its limitations Grave Authority does seem a bit weak at Necrosis 5. Not sure how to fix, though. Traditionally, the soul of a death knight is bound to its weapon. That would include ranged weapons. Simple protection in melee would be to say the binding of the death knight's soul protects it from the Power Field property, and a general (if maybe a bit weak) benefit for binding your soul to your weapon would be that it's treated as magic damage. Might also be some bonuses to armor usage here (reduced penalties haven't been done, to my knowledge?), reference Lord Soth and the First and Forgotten Lion. And, some pictures! Lord Soth (DragonLance) Lord of Bones (Darksiders) Draven (Darksiders) Generic Undead
Edited by Eisenritter, Aug 15 2015, 12:37 AM.
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| ReptileViking | Aug 15 2015, 01:52 AM Post #3 |
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Yeah, I struggled with that. I wanted something that was fairly broad and Deathkings of the Dark Citadel is a reference to the Hexen series, so I went with that. If we come up with something nice and snappy I'm happy to change it. I like Vigor Mortis. Changed! Necrosis 1. Yeah it's name is pretty long. While wall crawling is commonly a Vampire thing, all undead have done it in one movie or another. Remember the Mummy movies? It might work better as a base power though, especially if the levitation is removed. It's a bit more than that, though the +stat might be more elegant than +2K1 for damage. I'd like to keep the difficulty in healing it as well, if just for flavour since it's not super helpful for a player character outside of shutting down regen. We could just shuffle the list a bit and find a more appropriate 5. Something like this? Dusk Caste Dusk caste Deathkings have their souls bound to a weapon of up to rare availability instead of a traditional Horcrux. When wielded by the Deathking it is considered a Magic weapon and cannot be destroyed, not even by a powerfield. |
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| Eisenritter | Aug 15 2015, 02:46 AM Post #4 |
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Old Iron Knight
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+Necrosis in rolled dice would be much more elegant, yes... could even be dropped down to Necrosis 1 if the wallcrawler power gets dropped to base. Don't see much problem with keeping it hard to heal, either. Void Dragonbloods get the same deal, after all, and this one's not going to be on every attack. Only problem I have with that take on the asset is that the classic Scythe can't be used with it. Maybe just allow it to be "a weapon in your possession"? Since you start with a few common weapons and might be spending Background dots to get a rare weapon you actually want anyway, that shouldn't impact balance too much. |
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| ReptileViking | Aug 15 2015, 03:12 AM Post #5 |
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Edited the first post |
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| Eisenritter | Aug 16 2015, 01:53 PM Post #6 |
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Old Iron Knight
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Master of Gun and Blade could probably be folded into the Dusk Caste, if the wallcrawler bit stays. Vigor Mortis needs a comparison to similar powers, to wit the Vampire's Undead Resilience and the Wraith's Second Death, both of which can still benefit from Healing spells and heal over time. If you want to set up a stark difference, let the spells specifically meant to heal people continue to work, and lock the use of Rot to heal behind an asset, like the Promethean does. Soul Shield could be rechristened Trap the Soul, and given a more general function similar to the Paragon's Pressure. Might have to sweeten the deal a bit, though, since the requirement of a kill is harder to accomplish than "anybody spends anything" as a means of recovery. Maybe just have it be a secondary means of recovering resource points? Also, Dusk asset could do with mentioning that landing the killing blow with the Horcrux-weapon counts as "pressing against a fresh corpse" for it. As for Necrosis 5, if we're setting this up as a "lord of the dead," maybe some ability to create a haven for the undead in his thrall? Abyssal Exalted can create shadowlands, areas where the Underworld overlaps with Creation and the dead can exist and recover themselves. Is there anything else we could pull from related fluff, like something to do with the Neverborn? |
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| ReptileViking | Aug 16 2015, 08:57 PM Post #7 |
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Yeah, Master of Blade and Gun should probably be changed anyway. It's mostly a reference to Tenno from Warframe, back in my early brainstorming this Exalt was going to be based much more heavily on them. Now you can't tell at all. Hmmm, that's good. Also good. That's an excellent start! Time for a Tv tropes and wiki crawl! |
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| Username | Aug 16 2015, 10:11 PM Post #8 |
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Question for Dust to Dust: How is it intended to interact with multiple strikes in one attack? Is it something that is meant to only be done with melee/ranged strikes, or is it allowed on Magic attacks as well? Anything that has an Attack roll, thereby sidestepping Magic Missiles but allowing it on things like Energy Ball? Also, you were speaking of more uses for the captured Souls. Perhaps the 5th dot would allow the exalt to "burn" the soul in order to use it's skills, characteristics or abilities for one test or action. I could see this being done in several ways. The first and simplest is just allowing them to use the skills or characteristics of one of their souls to do an action. So if you are a Face and not so good with computers you could use the Soul of the Hacker you absorbed on one hacking attempt, getting their 5 Tech-Use and 4 Intellgience on the test instead of your own stats. If this isn't enough, doing it this way could allow for some more interesting spirit theft: Using Special Attacks or Magic Spells from someone's soul. You use it as they would, using their stats instead of your own but that way you could get one use of that Gate that master conjurer your party killed possessed. After that the Soul escapes or is destroyed and you can't call upon it anymore. Need to infiltrate? Kill an Eldarin that could guess destination, and use their soul to walk through a wall. Perhaps if that Soul was an Exalt, you could use your one use of the soul to mimic the Exalted abilities they had for one action as the option. So if you devour an Atlantean's soul that was level 5 Gnosis you could use the soul to mimic the Quicken Magic ability, spending 1 rot to cast one of your own known spells as a free action. This sort of thing seems powerful enough to fit a 5 dot Exalt ability, although what exactly they are allowed to use from the soul they hold is open to discussion if you like the idea. |
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| ReptileViking | Aug 16 2015, 10:32 PM Post #9 |
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Dust to Dust works on anything with an attack roll, I'll make sure to clarify that once I give it a once-over. It should probably only apply to one attack in the case of multiple strikes and the like. I like that 5 star idea but it would be a lot of bookkeeping. Edit: Edited the first post. Changes are in light blue. Edited by ReptileViking, Aug 16 2015, 10:40 PM.
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| Username | Aug 16 2015, 11:04 PM Post #10 |
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Fair enough, keeping track of all the abilities that a soul has can be a lot of work for the Starmaster and the player. Perhaps make it so they choose what ability they will be able to use the soul for at time of absorption? That cuts down on some of the fun of the character wondering if they should use that spell the soul had now, or save it incase they need the other abilities but it does make it easier to keep track since you only need 1 note instead of an entire character sheet for every soul. It still puts the onus though on the Starmaster to completely stat out all enemies though, even in things that aren't really relevant incase the enemy wants the tech use of that barbarian for some reason. A simpler use then would only allow abilities, such as racial powers, special attacks, spells and exalted abilities to be mimicked. |
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