Zaharan race

Very dark. I like it.

  1. The text says, “Outside of the Auran Empire campaign setting, Nobirus could be used to model any dark, eldritch race, such as the Melnibonéans of Moorcock’s Multiverse or the Drow of Gygax’s Greyhawk.” I presume that “Nobirus” should be “Zaharans”.
  2. In the example of the After the Flesh racial power, you suppose a class with Divine 2, Zaharan 4, for a total of 6. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but I think that should be Divine 2, Arcane 2, Zaharan 2. As written, there isn’t a total of 4 build points in the base class categories. The result will still be a creature with the full powers of a cleric and a mage, so the rest of the example works out correctly (assuming “Arcane 4” a couple of lines later refers to the net functional Arcane when you stack Zaharan on top).
    The following are questions about After the Flesh.
  3. How does After the Flesh interact with the rules for strongholds and followers? If I’m a Zaharan and I’m turned into a vampire when I’m 7th level, does that mean I don’t get a stronghold as a class feature when I attain 9HD as a vampire? Or would my undead HD count as levels for attaining a stronghold just like they count for spellcasting advancement?
  4. Monster Hit Dice are d8’s. So when I become an undead, does that mean all of my HD are d8’s? I assume I don’t reroll all of my hit points. Let’s say I advance to level 11 in a Zaharan character class, then transform myself into an 11HD mummy. Later, I am energy drained down to 8HD. Now, I’m advancing as a mummy rather than as my former class — does that mean, when I regain levels, I roll d8’s instead of whatever my class Hit Dice were?
  5. Come to think of it, in the above scenario, when I regain levels as a mummy rather than as my former class, would that mean I was shut out of the class powers I gained at levels 10 and 11 in my former class? I guess I would be able to regain spellcasting abilities (does this include necromatic rites, magical research, etc.?), but if I lost, say, thief skills in the energy drain, I would not get them back by advancing as a mummy, is that right?

Creases, great questions!

  1. The text says, "Outside of the Auran Empire campaign setting, Nobirus could be used to model any dark, eldritch race… I presume that “Nobirus” should be “Zaharans”.
    Yes, oops. I’ll fix that.
  2. A racial class need not spend 4 build points on its base class categories, so long as it spends a minimum of 4 total build points. So you can build Divine 2, Zaharan 4 if desired. The language in the PC is a bit vague so I’ll re-write to make this clearer.
  3. You would no longer be eligible to automatically attract followers once you became undead. If you already had followers you wouldn’t lose them. Whether or not your class permits you to automatically attract followers, you can always build a stronghold and rule a domain.
  4. When you undergo the transformation, you re-roll hit points. It is thus of substantial benefit to mages.
  5. You would be shut out of your class powers, yes. But I didn’t intend for that to include magical research so I need to clean that up. Part of me thinks that I should allow the class powers to be kept if the character is willing to keep them, by paying an *. It’s not clear that a vampire-thief would break the game, or anything.

“It’s not clear that a vampire-thief would break the game, or anything.”
Without really having a grasp on play balance at this level I can only warn: it may break it with awesome.

Thank you for the clarifications!
“4) When you undergo the transformation, you re-roll hit points. It is thus of substantial benefit to mages.”
Whoo boy. Awesome.
My attack and saves would advance as a monster along with my HD, right?

Personally, from a ‘dark temptation’ side of things, I wouldn’t want to see the character lose anything from the transformation, only gain (so, attack and saves, if better, and keep everything else… well, maybe not followers unless they are monsters). Yes, it’s powerful. But, a) a vampire is already freaking terrifying… a few thief skills aren’t going to be what terrifies the PCs… b) the transformation into undeath should be fraught with temptation… if it wasn’t awesome, there wouldn’t be much tempting. :wink:
Of course, good luck not having every lawful in 100 miles breathing down your neck once it’s known…

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll see about clarifying the class abilities post-transformation.
Yes, you would save and fight as a monster of the appropriate HD.