Forsaken (3.5e Template)

Forsaken

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All undead are created with a certain affinity for and dependence on negative energy. It is this trait which causes them to act so aggressively towards the living, and which allows necromancers to control them so easily.

Some intelligent undead with especially strong wills, however, have learned how to break free of the bonds of necromancy, and sustain themselves through ordinary food and drink rather than through negative energy. Shunned by both the living and by the more mindless undead of the necromancers they once served, the only recourse for these Forsaken was to band together with other Forsaken and form their own underground socieities.

Personality

It stands to reason that a Forsaken is not the same person he was in life. In fact, a Forsaken tends to be as different from his living self as night is from day. Abandoned by those who were once their kin, most Forsaken have thrown away whatever traditions, customs, ideals, and standards their race or culture may have been known for. A Forsaken Elf may no longer revere nature and the arts; a Forsaken Dwarf may have cast aside the ideals of duty and honor that characterize Dwarven society. Most of them tend to be bitter, morbid, and distrustful, especially towards the living.

Physical Description

The Forsaken are pretty much what you would expect from walking corpses: rotting, diseased husks of whatever race they once were, sometimes with torn areas of flesh that expose the muscle, bone, and sinew.

Relations

Regardless of race, Forsaken tend to harbor deep resentment towards the living, partially out of jealously and partially out of a sense of abandonment and betrayal. Within Forsaken society, however, the level of racial tolerance is astonishing. Recognizing the need to stick together in a world that hates and fears them, all Forsaken share a sense of inherent brotherhood with other Forsaken, going so far as to cast aside any ancestral grudges or prejudices they may have held in life. While among the living, Elves and Drow may be mortal enemies, and Dwarves and Skaven may despise one another, within Forsaken society, members of once-rival races have no problem befriending one another. One might say that Forsaken society is the most racially tolerant of all societies--they just aren't very tolerant of the living.

Creating a Forsaken

Forsaken is an aquired template that can be added to any creature with intelligence of at least 3.

Size and Type

Type changed to undead. Forsaken gain the augmented subtype in additions to the previous selves' subtypes

Hit Dice

All racial HDs change to d12

Special Qualities

• Fake Metabolism (Ex): Unlike most undead, the Forsaken do require food and drink. This is the tradeoff for having broken their dependence on necromantic energies. However, since they are immune to poison and disease, they can eat almost anything that has nutrients.
• Will of the Forsaken (Ex): Forsaken are immune to turning and rebuking. Additionally, they recieve a +4 racial bonus on their saving throws against the command undead and control undead spells.
• Thousand-Yard Stare (Ex): When a Forsaken uses the Intimidate skill in combat to demoralize an opponent, he only needs to spend a move action, rather than a standard action.
• Chilling Presence (Ex): With the exception of the Intimidate skill, Forsaken suffer a -4 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks when dealing with living creature's.
• Forsaken's Curse: Once they realized their creations could go rogue on them, necromancers started imbuing them with failsafes--should one of a necromancer's undead minions break free of his control and rebel against him, the former minion would be afflicted by a powerful curse as punishment. Thus, almost all Forsaken suffer from one of the following curses (chosen at character creation). The curse can never be broken:
  • Curse of Weakness: This Forsaken takes a -1 penalty on all attack rolls and on all save DC's against its spells and special abilities.
  • Curse of Vulnerability: This Forsaken takes a -1 penalty to its AC and to all of its saving throws.
  • Curse of Incompetence: This Forsaken takes a -1 penalty on all skill and ability checks.

Abilities

+2 to Wisdom -2 to Charisma. Forsaken don't have Constitution score.

Environment

Shunned by the rest of the world, Forsaken tend to settle in isolated, secluded areas, often underground. As undead beings, they don't particularly care about things like climate or terrain, just as long as it's livable.

Organization

As a society, they have adopted Undercommon as the language of their people, a means to speak amongst themselves and a mutual bond.

Challenge Rating

Same as base creature

Treasure

Variable

Alignment

The bitter and resentful Forsaken tend to stray away from the Good alignment, though there are more than a few exceptions. Neutral and Neutral Evil are the most common alignments among them.

Advancement

Same as base creatures

Level Adjustment

Same as base creatures

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