Neb the child killer

[Braininthejar]

I wanted to use an idea from Baldur's Gate 2 in my game but I don't know how to pull it off rules-wise. Perhaps you have an idea?

Basically, the villain is a gnome, a serial killer. He doesn't seem to have any spactacular magic powers (seems to be a rogue) but somehow has forced his victims to serve him as incorporal undead.

Any idea how to do this? At some point he is captured by guards unaware of his powers, so it can't be equipment-dependent.

[phaedrusxy]

Barring homebrew... no. If you can use Homebrew, check out the Whispers of the Otherworld feat.

[geniussavant]

How about factotum UMDing scrolls of create greater undead?

[kitep]

If he already has something like wights under his control, and a non undead helper, he could use Permanency to make Rary's Telepathic Bond permanent.  Then he merely thinks a message to his helper, who conveys it to the undead, who comes along and turns the victims into undead.

* I was thinking Telepathic Bond was mind-affecting and so couldn't be used on undead themselves.  But reading the SRD description, it doesn't seem so, so you could skip the non undead helper.

[kitep]

He could also have an item with the spell on it.  A Permanent Invisible Shrink Item would make it easy to hide.

There's also a spell that makes it appear non-magical so Detect Magic wouldn't pick it up.  It'd have to be built into the item.

------

There's also an armor enhancement (MIC) that lets you "call" armor from any distance to your body.  You'd have to custom a "send" function as well.  But then he could call armor/robe that lets him transform a victim, then send it away, so no one knows how he does it.

[Xenocide]

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19867486/Soul_Eater_Handbook

kinda surprised that my bookmark still works.

The problem with this approach is that you need to be non-humanoid and need natural attacks. There are ways to do this with low or no LA, but its harder to do with a gnome.

a kobold with dragonwrought would be my approach. If memory serves they have or can get natural attacks easily. (and can be disguised as Gnomes handily)
9th level of soul eater gets soul slaves.

Anyhow, closest I can think of off the top of my head to what you want. May be out of your players power range though.

[littha]

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19867486/Soul_Eater_Handbook

kinda surprised that my bookmark still works.

The problem with this approach is that you need to be non-humanoid and need natural attacks. There are ways to do this with low or no LA, but its harder to do with a gnome.

a kobold with dragonwrought would be my approach. If memory serves they have or can get natural attacks easily. (and can be disguised as Gnomes handily)
9th level of soul eater gets soul slaves.

Anyhow, closest I can think of off the top of my head to what you want. May be out of your players power range though.

My personal approach for Souleater builds is usually either Warforged or Elan monk but both of those would be too large to serve as a gnome (possibly warforged Scout though)

[muktidata]

Just don't forget that when he has killed the children or uses an action to demoralize, the line is, "I am the destroyer of worlds... and of children!"

[Amor]

Wouldn't feral make a gnome a monstrous humanoid with natural attacks, and thus qualify?

Hmmm, maybe Otherworldly (to make him an outsider native), and dragonborn template would work?  Dragonborn would allow him to take feats which can grant natural attacks, if I recall correctly.

[littha]

Wouldn't feral make a gnome a monstrous humanoid with natural attacks, and thus qualify?

Hmmm, maybe Otherworldly (to make him an outsider native), and dragonborn template would work?  Dragonborn would allow him to take feats which can grant natural attacks, if I recall correctly.

That is a lot of feats. I generally put a level of monk or battledancer in my Soul eater builds for the natural attacks.

[NiteCyper]

• Anyone remember an "Oliver Twisted"? Likely from a GiantitP horror-themed build contest? My Google-fu fails me. I tried searching using the in-built GiantitP forum search engine and that didn't work either.
  
  
• The children are ghosts whose "strong reason for persisting in an undead form" is somehow bound to availing the villainous, serial-killer gnome.
  

[phaedrusxy]

Anyone remember an "Oliver Twisted"? Likely from a GiantitP horror-themed build contest?

It was a contest on the old wizards boards. I think that build was submitted by Caelic. I remember it, for sure. Let me see if I have a link...

Edit: Here is the original address, but it isn't there anymore...
http://community.wizards.com/forumhandler?p=12824962

He was basically possessing them (via Mind Switch, or something), and I think the build used that odd psioinic prestige class that lets you drain the vitality out of people and use it. The point was, even if you killed his current body, he'd pop up in another one, and the PCs would then learn to their horror that they'd actually killed an innocent victim of his, and done nothing to actually stop him.

[midnight_v]

There was a build called "The boogeyman" I can't remember was it surreal or caelic that made it but it did pretty much exactly this.

[awaken_D_M_golem]

The Boogeyman was Caelic's.  Lost though.
xxp://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=313633
Perhaps try the wayback.


He could have a backroom deal going with the
local magic mart full caster.  That guy can cast
the various spells for him.  Could be the "big" secret.

[altpersona]

i love that old horror orphanage build.

will see if its recoverable.

[Chemus]

The Boogeyman was Caelic's.  Lost though....

And now is found...
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=363.msg7510#msg7510