Weekly 4e Homebrew: Undead Templates

Every Sunday, I'll have a completely homebrewed Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition element that you can use in your games. I do take requests so you can either post a comment here, email me at thatrobedguy@hotmail.com with the subject "Homebrew Request", or send me a tweet on Twitter (@brannonhutchins) with the hashtag #weekly4e.

May of the Dead continues, and with it, the danger to the PCs at the table.

Things can go terribly wrong when fighting necromancers and their armies of the undead. One such problem, you become one of them. The following Undead Templates can be applied to your characters should the unfortunate happen.

Undead Templates
For one reason or another, you have joined the ranks of the undead but remain aware of who you are...or were.

Your blood doesn't flow. Your heart doesn't pump. Sunlight physically hurts you. You are now a member of the undead, though you are still aware of who and what you once were.

Perhaps you were bitten by a vampire, or a zombie scratched you, or maybe your physical body has been obliterate and you are left roaming the world as an apparition. For whatever reason, you are no longer one of the living, and it is up to you to reconcile with that.

Ghost
You gain Immunity to disease and poison, Resist insubstantial, fly 6 (hover), and phasing. However, you lose all of your healing surges.

Vampire
You gain Immunity to disease and poison, Resist 5 necrotic, and Vulnerability 5 radiant. You cannot regain healing surges with an extended rest, but must feed on blood to regain them. Exposing yourself to the sun causes 10x1d10 points of radiant damage each round (roll only once).

Skeleton
You gain Immunity to disease and poison, and Resist 5 necrotic and weapon. However, you lose all of your healing surges.

Zombie
You gain Immunity to disease and poison, and Vulnerability 5 fire. You also gain Zombie Weakness which reduces your character to 0 hit points upon a critical hit. However, you also gain Deathless Hunger which, once per encounter, allows your character to remain at 1 hit point if reduced to 0 or below 0 with a non-critical hit if they can roll a 15 or higher on a d20.

These templates were created for use in your Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition game by Wizards of the Coast.