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[ Necromancy ] The Necromancy Rune is used by Dreadnoughts to interact with the dead. Unfortunately, this has the unpleasant side affect of the dead stalking, and annoying the Dreadnought to no end once they realize that the Dreadnought will pay attention to them. The Necromancy rune is represented by an upside down triangle made out of knotted lines. Level 1: Death Sight, allows the Dreadnought to see the spirits of the dead, or to tell if an individual is dead. Level 2: Death Speak, allows the Dreadnought to speak with the spirits of the dead. Level 3: Death's Touch, allows the Dreadnought to both feel, and interact with the dead. Level 4: Death's Visage, the dead will see you as one of them, and not as one of the living. Level 5: Death's Shroud, Allows the Dreadnought to mask their presence from the dead. [ Undeath ] The Rune of Undeath allows the Dreadnought to bring dead people/animals back to life as Undead creatures. It also allows the Dreadnought to turn living people/animals who are on the verge of death into Undead. Undead above level three may use certain runes. These will be described later. The Rune of Undeath is represented by a skull that appears out of the triangle of knots formed by the Necromancy rune. This rune also has a secondary ability, which is normally used when the Dreadnought is trying to get it up in level. It may be used to charge something with Negative Energy. This is especially important, since Negative Energy is required to turn someone into an Undead. It may provide up to one point of Negative Energy per round, per level you have it at. So someone with the Undeath rune at level five, can create up to five points of Negative Energy per round. Each level has three different statistics after it, the first is the type of undead you can create. The second is the type of Seraph you can destroy, and the third is the number of points of negative energy it takes to do either. For specific information relating to the use of this rune, see the Dreadnought Undead and Creating Undead Minions sections. The guidelines must be strictly adhered to if the rune is to be used, and for it to be successful. Level 1: Spirit / Imbued / 50 Level 2: Zombie / Avatar / 100 Level 3: Vampire / Guardian / 400 Level 4: Lich / Incarnation / 2000 Level 5: Golum / Seraphim / 4000 [ Destruction ] The Rune of Destruction is used by Dreadnoughts to destroy inanimate objects. This is normally used to get rid of unwanted objects, to level out land, or to create holes in larger objects. The Destruction Rune is represented by a large cross of knotted lines that forms behind the Rune of Undeath. The figure listed below is the rough calculation of the size of the sphere of matter you can destroy. It is listed as the Radius. Remember, this only affects inanimate objects. Usage of this power is not instantaneous. For each 50 feet of radius the object being destroyed has, it requires a full hour for the destruction to happen. Level 1: 100 feet Level 2: 500 feet Level 3: 500 yards Level 4: 1500 yards Level 5: 5 miles [ Annihilation ] The Rune of Annihilation is used by Dreadnoughts to get rid of unwanted life forms. This power should not be used indiscriminately. Destroying things wantonly can cause very powerful life forms to snuff out your life force, instead of vice versa. The Annihilation Rune causes the entire rune series to alter it's shape. The Rune of Undeath moves up to the top of the cross, which shifts slightly to expand into a black, winged, demonic shape with a dark glowing skull for a head. Level 1: Single cell creatures may have their life snuffed out. Level 2: Small Multicellular creatures may have their life force snuffed out. Level 3: Unintelligent animals may have their life force snuffed out. Level 4: Intelligent animals may have their life force snuffed out. Level 5: Powerful Intelligent Creatures may have their life force snuffed out. [ Dreadnought Undead ] Dreadnought Undead may only be created using the Rune of Undeath. Animals, Humans, Humanoids, Intelligent Beings, Mythical or otherwise, excluding Dreadnoughts, may be transformed into Undead. The various states of Undead are Spirits, Zombies, Vampires, Liches, and Golum. Beings can be transformed in one of three ways. 1. A dead being may be raised into one of the states of undeath. The being does not have to be freshly dead, although it helps for vampires and liches. Spirits do not even have to have a body, and for zombies, the state of the body doesn't really matter. 2. A being who is on the verge of death may be instead caused to enter an undead state. The being must meet at least one of the following criteria to be considered on the verge of death. A. They must have less than 20% of their blood left in their body. B. They must have only one health level left. C. They must be poisoned, and be within the last few minutes of their life. D. Or, finally, they must have no energy left in their body. Finally, an individual who meets the above criteria, must also meet one final standard to be considered a viable candidate for Undeath. They must be willing. 3. A being may be targeted for Undeath before they are even close to death. For this, the Individual and the Dreadnought must enter into a contract. The contract is an agreement of servitude between the undead candidate, and the Dreadnought, detailing the powers the undead will accumulate, their level maximum, their state of undeath, and the length of time the individual will be under the Dreadnought's control. Undead created by Dreadnoughts automatically get one rune. The rune of Vampirism. This is required to sustain the Undead, as they require at least one energy point to animate their body each day, or night. The different types of undead may also get other runes, depending on their level, and on what type of undead they are. Undead may only be finally destroyed by a Dreadnought with the Reanimation rune. Undead get new stats when they are transformed, this is usually in the form of a bonus to their physical stats, or a drop in other ones. Yes, Undead may be upgraded from one form to another, and may even be downgraded as a punishment. Undead will continue to exist as long as they keep energy in their bodies. There energy is typically replenished through the use of the vampirism subrune. Using it, they can absorb enough energy from their environment over the course of a day to keep their stores up at maximum. Higher level Undead, like Liches, and Golum, require more energy, and are normally given a direct link to a pool, or a demiplane of negative energy. Ok, great, so you can create an undead. So what's to stop you from creating an army of undead hordes and loosing them on whoever pisses you off? Well, lots of things actually. You didn't think all this power came without a price did you? There are actually only three things that are keeping you form having a whole army of undead. The first is time. It takes a long time to create an undead creature from a living one. For the sake of the balance, change must be slow. It takes 5 days to create one Spirit. This includes all the time it takes to get the person ready, the time it takes to expend the energy, and finally, the time it takes to bind the spirit. From there, it's all uphill. It requires a full week to create a Zombie. A month for a Vampire. Half a year for a Lich, and a full year to create one Golum. And remember, you can only create one undead at a time. This applies for upgrades as well. The second factor that limits your army of undead is control. A Dreadnought can only control 20 undead at a time. No more. It's been proven over, and over again. The third factor is the limited number of certain undead you can actually create at one time. When a Dreadnought creates an undead minion, they're using their own power to sustain the force that powers the Undead. The stronger the undead, the more power it takes to make and sustain them. The number of any specific type of undead you may make, in total, is listed under the undeads information. I will be adding a set of sample stats for each type of undead, as they should most likely appear, at the end of this section. [ Spirits ] Spirits are the weakest of the Undead that a Dreadnought can create. They don't have physical bodies, they can't attack anyone, and they really can't defend themselves very well either. Spirits are usually used as spies or scouts, since they're effectively invisible to all but a few beings. Spirits get the Illusion subrune, and a passive version of the vampirism sub-rune. The first allows them to create a body they can use to interact with others, and the second is used to absorb enough energy for them to sustain themselves. Spirits can have one extra subrune, which is usually something that can be used to either cover a retreat, or surprise attack someone. The laser subrune is a normal favorite. Spirits have 5 health levels, but can only be harmed by those who can hit the ethereal. Each such strike only deals one health level, which the spirit will heal back over the course of a normal hour. If the spirit is knocked all the way down to zero health levels they will form into a tiny soul gem and teleport back to their master. Pumping 10 points of negative energy into the soul gem will cause the spirit to reform. They can not be bound, destroyed, or touched by any other being. Spirits have 10 energy points, which replenish themselves every day by draining off a little of the free energy around them. They require 1 energy point per week to keep their form, and this energy point normally just comes out of the drained energy around them. Up to 20 Spirits may be created, and maintained, by a single Dreadnought. This, of course, uses up all of your slots for the number of Undead you may have at once. [ Zombies ] Zombies are the second weakest form of Dreadnought Undead, and are typically used as, yea, you guessed it, cannon fodder. Just kidding. Zombies actually serve two purposes for most of their masters. The first is as an unassuming guard. See, when a person gets made into a zombie, their bones get transformed into a metallic substance that resists are forms of breakage. Unfortunately, since they aren't made with all that much energy, their flesh begins to decompose once they're reanimated. So what they usually do, is lay down on the ground in a position a living being couldn't possibly lay in, and then attack after you turn your back. The second purpose they generally serve is as a housecleaner, or groundskeeper. Most NecroSeraphim wait till either all the flesh has fallen off, or until they can get someone to just hose all the flesh off of them. It doesn’t matter either way, they can't feel anything. Zombies don't have free will, and they don't have any intelligence. After a hundred years of so they go up a classification and become Skeletons. Skeletons possess all of their old memories, and usually get an additional subrune. Zombies have 10 health levels, an armor rating of 3 (that's 6 more soak dice), and can't be hurt by any weapon that is nonmagical. Zombies get 20 energy points, and always recharge them with the same version of the vampirism subrune that the spirits use. They require 1 energy point every other day to keep their form moving. Zombies also get the armor subrune, and the strength subrune, otherwise they wouldn't be able to move after their flesh falls off. Skeletons have the exact same powers as Zombies, but, in addition, they may also have a single sub-rune that's they can use at will. It's normally the ice subrune. If a zombie gets destroyed in a battle, they will shift into a soul gem and teleport back to their master. If the Dreadnought wants to bring the zombie back, and most do, it requires 25 points of negative energy being pumped into it to reform the body. You may have up to 15 Zombies at one time. [ Vampires ] Vampires are self willed, intelligent, and relatively powerful Undead. Vampires are most often used as fighters, or as assassins by the Dreadnoughts. They all have the same abilities to begin with, but most pick up a few new abilities here and there. Vampires are often sent off to other planets after they are created, so they can hone their skills as killers, and gain some of the powers of the locals. They do this by using the Mimic subrune in conjunction with the Vampirism subrune. When a Vampire comes out of the tank, it has 15 health levels. Vampires have 50 energy points at their disposal, and may use them however they see fit. They require one point per day to keep their form. All vampires get the vampirism subrune, which they can use to suck the energy out of most creatures. The Mimic subrune, which they can use to gain other powers. And the Darkness subrune, which they most often use for traveling, but it may also be used for fighting. Dreadnought Vampires are not affected by the sun, and they are not paralyzed by a stake through the heart. That's a very bad lesson to be learned the hard way. Dreadnought Vampires are limited to learning 30 levels worth of new abilities. These abilities are normally physical, or at least offensive in nature. As this a very long, slow process, it's usually not a big deal anyway, since most only ever get to about 12. Since they get this extra ability, they are not given extra subrunes. If a vampire gets destroyed, their body forms into a soul gem which teleports back to their master. The Master may pump 50 points of negative energy into the soul gem to reform the vampire. You may have up to 10 vampires at one time. [ Liches ] Liches are the mages, and force leaders, of the Dreadnought Undead. They rely more on mental ability and force of will than on offensive attacks. Liches rely heavily on the defensive capabilities of their cohorts, and on their own natural immunities to get them through a fight. Speaking of which, Liches are immune to metals, and even the most enchanted metal weapon just bounces off of them, or passes through them with no affect. When they get out of the tank, Liches have 15 health levels, and 100 energy points. They require 2 energy points per day to maintain their form. They must use the vampirism subrune to gain back used energy. Liches use the offensive psionics subrune to cannibalize other beings brain mass. Using this power gives them some advantages over the other undead. First, they can actually learn up to 50 levels worth of new abilities. These abilities are generally magical in nature, and tend to either deal with negative energy, or necromancy. They tend to target other undead, and magic using humanoids when they do this. This always kills the target. If a Lich is somehow killed, their body will shrink into a soul gem, which will automatically teleport back to its master. The Dreadnought may then pump 100 points of negative energy into it to reform the body. You may have up to 5 liches at any one time. [ Golums ] Golums are the most frightening type of Minion a Dreadnought may create. Notice that I didn't say the most powerful, those would be the Seraphim. What makes them so scary? You be the judge. Making a Golum requires over a year of preparation. Why? Because their body is almost completely changed in the process. A Golum possesses no bones in its body, instead they use a modified form of exoskeleton to support their body. They are immune to almost all direct energy and magical attacks, and all but the strongest weapons do no damage to them at all. Their skin is like steel, and every attack deals aggravated damage. Golum are fond of ripping their opponents to shreds with their bare hands, or, if that's not enough, they paralyze them by tearing a chunk out of the spine, then ritually mutilate the body while it's still alive. Still not enough for you? Golum delight in eating the flesh of their fallen opponents, mostly the brain and heart. This actually does serve a purpose, as Golum get smarter and stronger as they get older. And, if that wasn't enough, a Golum can fit through spaces that no human being could ever get through. Through a wire screen, under a door, through a half inch gap in a window. You name, they can get through it. Golum have a permanent link to a pool of negative energy, meaning their energy never seems to run out. This pool normally contains around 500 energy points, and replenishes itself once a week. Due to this link a Golum may actually reform itself if it is destroyed, making it the most dangerous, and sought after undead. Golum can be reformed by themselves, or by their creator. This requires a total of 200 energy points. Golum have 20 health levels. Unfortunately for you, but fortunately for everyone else, you may have only 3 Golums at one time. [ Creating Undead Minions ] Undead are a little less temperamental than Seraphs are. Why? Because they're already dead when the process takes place. Makes it a lot easier on the Dreadnought, and on the target. The first step to creating an Undead Minion is binding the soul to the body, or to an object in the case of spirits. This normally requires nothing more than the written contract that was signed when the being agreed to become an Undead. This contract is not breakable. The soul of someone who is bound to be indentured as an Undead cannot be destroyed by a third party. Nor can it be taken, stolen, eaten, etc. Upon death both the body and the spirit teleport to the Dreadnoughts Laboratory and are held in stasis till they can be used. Once the Dreadnought gets an opportunity to prepare the body and spirit, they must place them in a specialized tank of preservative solution, and start pumping the body full of negative energy. It requires a minimum of 10 points a day to keep the body in a state where it can be used to make an Undead. If even one day goes by that the body does not get the allotted amount of Negative energy, the process must start all over again. This negative energy provides the base of energy the Undead needs to maintain its form and functions. To actually create an Undead minion, all of the above steps must be met, all of the required subrunes must be used, and all of the other requirements must be met. After all of the preceding requirements are met, the Dreadnought must make a roll for their rune of Undeath, and, within a space of no more than one day, make a number of successes equal to 5 times the Undeads level. If that doesn’t happen, the entire process must be started over again. If it is failed twice on the same individual, the body crumbles to dust, and the spirit departs. All of the undead get the friends and family subrune, so the Dreadnought can tell what state they're currently in, and so they can also tell whenever they're getting attacked. [ Spirits ] Spirits do not require a physical body to be reanimated. They do, however, require some object that meant something to them during their life. During the process the spirit is bound to that object. After the process is over, the spirit may leave the object and roam freely. Spirits require the Illusion subrune so they can create a visible body, a passive version of the Vampirism subrune, and the Psionics subrune for telepathy. Spirits require half a week in the tank, and at least 50 points of negative energy to even have a chance at becoming an Undead. Spirits may have one extra subrune, which is normally something that deals with elemental energy, or darkness. This can be offensive. [ Zombies ] Zombies require a full week in the tank, and a minimum of 100 points of Negative energy pumped into them to even have a shot at becoming an Undead. Before a being goes into the tank to become a Zombie, the body is placed in a sort of stasis, and the flesh is peeled back so that the Dreadnought can have the skeleton of the body shifted into a metallic substance. Once the flesh is put back in place, the body is placed in the tank and the normal time and energy requirements come into play. Zombies get the armor subrune, the strength subrune, and a passive version of the vampirism subrune. After all their flesh falls off, they may be given another subrune, but it's usually ice. [ Vampires ] Vampires require a full month in the tank, and at least 400 points of negative energy to have a chance of becoming an undead. Once they get out, they are given an active version of the Vampirism subrune, the mimic subrune, and the darkness subrune. Using these subrunes, they learn the powers of non-Dreadnought Undead. These powers are most often offensive in nature, and tend to be the ones that do the most harm in the shortest amount of time. They also use the Darkness subrune to travel from one place to another, and can usually create the tentacles out of it if they need to cover a retreat, or attack someone. Vampires are not allowed any other subrunes. [ Liches ] Liches require half a year in the tank, and at least 2000 points of negative energy to have a shot at becoming undead. Liches get an active version of the vampirism subrune, which they use to replenish their energy, the offensive psionics subrune, which they use to cannibalize other beings brain mass, and the darkness subrune, which they use for travel and defense. Liches gain a point of experience every time they cannibalize someone's brain mass. After they've absorbed 100 points worth of experience, they gain a permanent point in intelligence. I know what the next question is, and no, they don't go that high, they max out at ten. Each time they cannibalize a brain, there is also that chance that they will gain some of the abilities of the being whose brain they just absorbed, this is a 50/50 shot, so liches tend to absorb lots of spell casters brains. [ Golum ] Golum require a full year in the tank, and at least 4000 points of negative energy to have a shot at becoming undead. But, before they can even get in the tank, there's a long, drawn out process that must take place. The Golum's body must be placed in a state of stasis, and have all the bones removed. After that, all the muscles must be reconnected to the skin, which is shifted to a metallic substance that can be hardened at will. And when I say all the bones, I mean all the bones. After that, the blob-like remains of the Golum go into the tank, and sit there for a full year, getting saturated with negative energy. Once they come out, they are imbued with the survival subrune, the null subrune, the bodily alteration subrune, and the strength subrune. Golum are rather fond of eating the flesh of their fallen opponents, or victims, as the case may be. The heart and the brain seem to be their favorites. Like liches, they can absorb the memories, and strength of the being they devour. For every hundred of each that they eat, they gain one point in intelligence, or one point in strength. After they hit ten in each of these stats, they my continue to work on their physical abilities, usually raising dexterity and stamina, then moving on to melee, dodge, brawl, or martial arts. |
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