Juju Mastery II
Original by SigmaJargon with Updates by Endarire
We all know
gate is a very useful spell, despite the steep costs. It can call a large number of creatures or a single powerful creature very quickly. However, I am thinking there are ways to circumvent the cost, besides a
Dweomerkeeper's Supernatural Spell.
Back to the jujury!
The first observation: Gate, when used to call creatures, is a Conjuration (Calling) spell. According to the SRD:
(Calling) Subschool
A calling spell transports a creature from another plane to the plane you are on. The spell grants the creature the one-time ability to return to its plane of origin, although the spell may limit the circumstances under which this is possible. Creatures who are called actually die when they are killed; they do not disappear and reform, as do those brought by a summoning spell (see below). The duration of a calling spell is instantaneous, which means that the called creature can’t be dispelled.
The second observation: There are several undead templates which allow a once living creature to retain all of its abilities. These include:
-Zin-Carla (from
Faiths and Pantheons, updated in the
Players' Guide to Faerun Web Enhancement)
-Juju Zombie (from
Unapproachable East 66)
-Dread Warrior (from
Unapproachable East 62 with slight updates in the
Players' Guide to Faerun Web Enhancement)
-
Vampire.
-A Dragon who becomes a Dracolich (
Draconomicon 148) or Vampiric Dragon (
Draconomicon 196) also keeps all his special attacks and special qualities.
The third observation: While it is difficult to apply some of the aforementioned templates, such as
Vampire, others are relatively easy to apply. A half-drow with 9 levels in the Arachne prestige class (
Faiths and Pantheons 182) can spend 50XP per HD and 8 hours to raise a Zin-Carla, and any spellcaster of 16th level (or seemingly anyone casting the spell with a caster level of 16 or higher) who casts
create undead can produce juju zombies. Dread warriors can be created by casting the level 6 Wizard spell
animate dread warrior (
Unapproachable East 48), though it comes with several restrictions and a steep cost of 250XP per HD.
Stopping for a few moments to consider the implications of these first few observations, it becomes clear that if a person casting
gate (or any other (Calling) spell for that matter) can kill the called creature, then for a small one-time cost, the creature may be reanimated as an undead servant with all of its abilities!
In light of two additional observations, the power of this ability can easily be multiplied many-fold.
The fourth observation: The Evolved Undead template, found in
Libris Mortis (page 99), is a template that may be applied to an undead creature multiple times. Each time it is applied, it grants several benefits, such as an increased AC, Strength, and Charisma, as well as a spell-like ability from the list. (You may choose this SLA from a list of 12, or it may be selected randomly.) The template is randomly applied to an undead creature who has lived a very long time - and the more applications of this template, the better the chance of another evolution.
1st Evolution: 1400 years
2nd Evolution: +1300 years
3rd & 4th Evolutions: +1200 years each
5th Evolution: +1100 years
6th & 7th Evolutions: +1000 years each
8th Evolution: +900 years
9th - 11th Evolutions: +800 years each
12th - 14th Evolutions: +700 years each
15th - 17th Evolutions: +600 years each
18th - 23rd Evolutions: +500 years each
24th - 32nd Evolutions: +400 years each
33rd - 49th Evolutions: +300 years each
50th - 99th Evolutions: +200 years each
100th+ Evolutions: +100 years each
The fifth observation: Though there is no pre-designed plane with the flowing time trait, the spell
genesis allows a caster to create a demiplane "reflecting most any desire the spellcaster can visualize." Unlike the psionic power
genesis, when you use the spell version, there is nothing explicitly stopping you from altering the time trait.
So, hypothetically, one could call a level 1
Marshal (possibly an
aasimar to make it an
outsider, thereby making it a legal target) by casting
gate, killing it, making it into a juju zombie (for the cost of 50GP and a rebuke undead attempt), then sending it to your flowing time plane (15 gazillion years to 1 round on the material plane) to stew for a few minutes. When you're satisfied, you get a juju zombie Marshal with an arbitrary amount of STR and CHA. Ta-da! (For even more fun, ensure this Marshal knows the Motivate Dexterity aura to ensure you always go first, or the Motivate Intelligence aura to make you infinitely smart. ('You' in this case being everyone you can fit in the Marshal's aura.)
Of course, it should go without saying that this can easily be done multiple times, to create a horde of powerful spell-like ability wielding, infinite strength, charisma, and AC zombies, who can be anything that you can call through a
gate and kill - including such powerful beings as high level Artificers, manifsters, or spellcasters.
One last reminder: Spellstitching (
Complete Arcane 161) has a steep cost, but lets undead creatures you 'operate' on (including yourself) cast spell-like abilities a certain number of times per day, meaning no GP or XP costs per use. These spells must be level 6 or below, and from the schools of Conjuration, Evocation, or Necromancy. It just so happens that
create undead,
animate dread warrior,
animate dead,
desecrate (if you can cooperate with a Cleric or have another means of casting it), and
create magic tattoo (
Spell Compendium 55) are all legal spells, and all benefit significantly from being Spellstitched. Add
dimension door,
teleport, and
plane shift to taste, just to ensure your undead can get away when need be!