Spell: Awaken Undead

Awaken Undead

(Originally from Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead, but modified)

School: Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Sorcerer 7, Wizard 7, Deathbound 6,
Components: V, S, M, XP,
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: All mindless undead within a circle 25 ft. in radius + 5 ft./2 levels
Duration: Permanent (D)
Saving Throw: None (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

DESCRIPTION

This spell grants intelligence to mindless undead such as skeletons and zombies.

• Undead with Intelligence scores are unaffected.
• Mindless undead within the radius gain Intelligence 8+1d6.
• Undead cannot gain more intelligence than typical of their original kind (example: a skeletal dog simply has Intelligence 2).
• Undead regain any skills or feats they had in life.
• Undead regain the armor and weapon proficiencies they had in life (assume the undead were formerly warriors unless your DM specifies otherwise) and will don armor and take up weapons while obeying your commands.
• A zombie fighter can wear any armor and wield any simple or martial weapon, while a zombie warhorse can wear any armor.
• Undead regain any extraordinary abilities they had in life, such as poison or scent.
• Awakened undead gain a +2 profane bonus on their Will saving throws to resist control undead.
• Awakened undead also gain +2 turn resistance (or retain their own turn resistance, if any, and if it is better than +2).

Material Component: A humanoid fingerbone.
XP Cost: 200 XP.

Prestige Class: Pumpkin King

Pumpkin King

(Taken from here and slightly modified)

The sight of the ghostly green pumpkin fires has haunted many a soul. The light it casts reveals not the world beneath the cloak of shadows, but a world of nightmares and terror. The children of the vine are called into service by it. The light calls to them, and they rise to obey their Pumpkin King.

Requirements: Body Assemblage Feat, able to cast 3rd level spells and cast necromancy spells from every spell level available.

(Spellcasting is +1 Spellcaster Level for each level as normal)

        BAB    Ft    Rf    Wp

1st +0   +0   +0   +2   Children of the Vine, Grow Vines
2nd +1   +0   +0   +3   Pumpkin Bomb, Plant Spells
3rd +1   +1   +1   +3   Pluck the Ripe, Soul of the Harvest
4th +2   +1   +1   +4   Pumpkin Men
5th +2   +1   +1   +4   Reap the Unworthy, Soul of the Pumpkin
6th +3   +2   +2   +5   Patch of Doom
7th +3   +2   +2   +5   Dark Harvest
8th +4   +2   +2   +6   Cornucopia of Death

Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level)

Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Pumpkin Kings gain proficiency in the scythe, but otherwise gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Spellcasting: Every level, the Pumpkin King casts spells (including gaining any new spell slots and spell knowledge) as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he had previous to gaining that level.

Children of the Vine (Sp): At first level, the Pumpkin King has learned to create the Children of the Vine. As an at-will spell-like ability, you may cast a special version of animate dead to create skeletons, and only skeletons, from bones or corpses. To use this effect, you must place a pumpkin seed in the mouth or eyes of the skulls used. Vines then creep out of the eyes and wrap themselves around the newly created skeleton’s bones. These Children of the Vine last until the next dawn, and this ability shares a control pool with animate dead. Children of the Vine that fall inert with the Sun's rise may be reanimated as normal. If a corpse has any flesh remaining upon its bones when animated by this effect, that flesh is scrubbed clean by the vines.

Grow Vines (Sp): A Pumpkin King can grow pumpkin seeds into lush vines with fully ripened fruit at will.

Also at this level, leaves and small vines start to grow out of the Pumpkin King's hair. If he is an undead creature, these vines and leaves appear brown and dried; otherwise, they are dark green.

Pumpkin Bomb (Su): A 2nd level Pumpkin King may throw a Pumpkin Bomb up to fifty feet. He conjures a pumpkin blazing with green and black flames that detonates with unholy energy when it reaches its target. The explosion is 15 feet in radius and inflicts 1d6 per character level of Unholy Damage. A successful Reflex save halves the damage and the Save DC is Charisma based. Throwing a bomb is a full-round action that may be used at will.

Plant Spells: At 2nd level, the spells entangle, command plants, control plants, plant growth, and wall of thorns are added to the Pumpkin King's spells known. The spells are known at the level they appear on the Druid spell list.

Pluck the Ripe (Ex): At 3rd level, any undead the Pumpkin King creates with spells, class features, or feats have vines and leaves protruding from their bodies. This infestation means that the Pumpkin King's skeletons have a minimum natural armor bonus equal to his levels in his class level, and they gain immunity to unholy damage.

Soul of the Harvest: At 3rd level, the irises of your eyes become orange and seem to have an inner light. You gain immunity to unholy damage.

Pumpkin Men (Sp): At 4th level, the Pumpkin King may replace the heads of existing skeletons or Children of the Vine with specially carved pumpkins, creating Pumpkin Men. Pumpkin Men are equal to normal skeletons that have had the awaken undead spell used on them, that have a minimum natural armor bonus equal to the Pumpkin King's class level, immunity to unholy damage and the Woodland Stride ability of a 2nd level Druid. The holes in the pumpkins that are their eyes and mouths glow with the sickly fires of a Pumpkin Bomb. You may simultaneously control up to your Pumpkin King level in Pumpkin Men. If you try to convert another skeleton or corpse into a Pumpkin Man beyond your control limit, the Pumpkin Man you have controlled the longest is destroyed. This is an at-will spell-like ability, but properly carving such a pumpkin takes 10 minutes.

Reap the Unworthy (Ex): At 5th level, any creature damaged by one of the Pumpkin King's Pumpkin Bombs also must make a Willpower save or become frightened.

Soul of the Pumpkin: At 5th level, the Pumpkin King's form becomes gaunt and stick-like. He gains immunity to energy drain, negative levels, ability damage, and ability drain.

Patch of Doom (Sp): At 6th level, a Pumpkin King may create a Patch of Doom one per day as a spell-like ability. A Patch of Doom is a necromantically-charged pumpkin patch. He creates a 10’ by 10 area covered in vines, leaves, and pumpkins, and he and his undead in this area gain Fast Healing 1 and immunity to Turning (but not Rebuking). A Patch of Doom is a permanent effect until it is burned clean and the area has a consecrate effect cast on it. Several uses of this ability can create a single and contiguous Patch of Doom covering a large area. The area of the patch is considered desecrated. Anyone eating these pumpkins is poisoned as if he had eaten Black Lotus. A Patch of Doom radiates moderate evil, and does not need light, water, soil, or nutrients to survive, but its effects are suppressed if it is covered in ice or snow.

Dark Harvest (Su): At 7th level, any creature killed in a Patch of Doom created by the Pumpkin King becomes a Pumpkin Man that is not under his control (and does not count towards his control pool). This Pumpkin Man will not attack the creator of his Patch of Doom, but will attack any other living creature entering any Patch of Doom contiguous to his own Patch of Doom.

Cornucopia of Death (Su): At 8th level, the Pumpkin King will return to life if killed. On the next full moon, a body will be created for him in a Patch of Doom of his choice that he has created. He loses a level as normal for returning from the dead, unless there is already one or more Pumpkin Men in that patch, in which case one of the Pumpkin Men is destroyed to create the new body and the Pumpkin King loses no levels. Once he has used this ability, his head will have been replaced with a pumpkin with eyes and mouth glowing with sickly greenish-yellow fires. This has no game effect.

Feat: Body Assemblage

Feat: Body Assemblage

Requirements: Caster Level 1+, Prerequisite::Ability to cast 1st level spells of the Necromancy school

Benefit: You may create skeletons and zombies that serve you alone. You automatically control up to your unmodified Charisma modifier in undead created by this feat, but no undead can have a CR greater than two less than your character level.

Special: A first or second level character can create undead less than their own CR, but each undead creature counts as two for control purposes.

https://dungeons.fandom.com/wiki/Body_Assemblage_(3.5e_Feat)

House Rule: Hero Points

Hero Points

There are moments in any struggle that influence the outcome. Does the brave warrior lay low the villain before he can finish casting a devastating spell? Does the sly rogue avoid detection as she sneaks into the giant chieftain’s lair? Does the pious cleric finish casting her healing spell before the rain of arrows ends the life of her companions? Just a few die rolls decide each of these critical moments, and while failure is always a possibility, true heroes find a way to succeed, despite the odds. Hero Points represent this potential for greatness. They give heroes the chance to succeed even when the dice turn against them.

Multiple Hero Points are only awarded to player characters. NPCs, animal companions, familiars, cohorts, and mounts have 1 hero point per 4 levels or HD (except for non-humanoid felines, which automatically have 9). Hero points are renewed with the start of each new story arc. Hero Points are awarded as a character gains levels or whenever a character accomplishes a truly heroic feat. The GM is the final arbiter on the award and use of hero points. The DM will decide if a creature or NPC spends a hero point.

Awarding Hero Points

Each PC begins play with 1 hero point, regardless of her level. In addition, whenever a character gains a level, she earns an additional hero point. Aside from these basic rules, awarding additional hero points is up to the GM. The following options are just some of the ways that a GM might award additional hero points.

• Character Story: GMs can award a hero point for the completion of a written character back-story. This reward encourages players to take an active roll in the history of the game. In addition, the GM can use this back-story to generate a pivotal moment for your character concerning his past. When this key event is resolved, the GM can reward another hero point. Alternatively, the GM might award a hero point for painting a miniature or drawing a character portrait in the likeness of your character, helping the rest of the group visualize your hero.

• Completing Plot Arcs: The GM might award a hero point to each of the PCs who were involved in completing a major chapter or arc in the campaign story. These hero points are awarded at the conclusion of the arc if the PCs were successful or advanced the story in a meaningful way.

• Faith: In a campaign where the gods play an important role in every character’s life, hero points might represent their favor. In such a setting, the GM can award hero points to characters whenever they uphold the tenets of their faith in a grand way, or whenever they take on one of the faith’s major enemies. Such hero points might be temporary, and if not spent on the task at hand, they fade away.

• Group Service: The GM can award hero points for acts outside the game as well. Buying pizza for the group, helping to clean up afterwards, or even hosting the game for a night might be worth a hero point. This sort of hero point should be given out of generosity, not as a payment.

• Heroic Acts: Whenever a character performs an exceptionally heroic act, she can be awarded a hero point. This might include anything from slaying an evil dragon when the rest of the group has fled to rescuing townsfolk from a burning building despite being terribly wounded. It does not have to be related to combat. Convincing the reticent king to send troops to help with a bandit problem or successfully jumping a wide chasm might earn a character a hero point, depending on the circumstances. Note that a hero point should only be awarded if the PC involved did not spend a hero point to accomplish the task.

• Return from the Dead: When a character dies and is brought back with magic, she will only have her level equivalent of points.

Using Hero Points

Hero Points can be spent at any time and do not require an action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your character’s turn as normal). You cannot spend more than 1 hero point during a single round of combat. Whenever a hero point is spent, it can have any one of the following effects.

• Act Out of Turn: You can spend a hero point to take your turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a standard action on this turn.

• Bonus: If used before a roll is made, a hero point grants you a +8 luck bonus to any one d20 roll. If used after a roll is made, this bonus is reduced to +4. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Hero Points spent to aid another character grant only half the listed bonus (+4 before the roll, +2 after the roll).

• Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn.

• Inspiration: If you feel stuck at one point in the adventure, you can spend a hero point and petition the GM for a hint about what to do next. If the GM feels that there is no information to be gained, the hero point is not spent.

• Recall: You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.

• Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20 roll you just made. You must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.

• Special: You can petition the GM to allow a hero point to be used to attempt nearly anything that would normally be almost impossible. Such uses are not guaranteed and should be considered carefully by the GM. Possibilities include casting a single spell that is one level higher than you could normally cast (or a 1st-level spell if you are not a spell caster), making an attack that blinds a foe or bypasses its damage reduction entirely, or attempting to use Diplomacy to convince a raging dragon to give up its attack. Regardless of the desired action, the attempt should be accompanied by a difficult check or penalty on the attack roll. No additional hero points may be spent on such an attempt, either by the character or her allies.

• Cheat Death: A character can spend 1 hero point to cheat death. How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left alive, with 1 hit point and stable. For example, a character is about to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends 1 hero point, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing the damage enough to prevent him from being killed. The character can spend hero points in this way to prevent the death of a familiar, animal companion or special mount, but not another character or NPC (who must spend their own).

House Rule: Fall damage based on mass (size)

Falling Damage is based on mass, requiring a Ref DC 20 save for 1/2 damage.

Size, Damage per 10' fall, Cap:

Fine, 0, --

Diminutive, 1, 10 dam

Tiny, 1d4, 5d4

Small, 1d6, 10d6

Medium, 1d6, 20d6

Large, 1d8, 30d8

Huge, 1d10, 50d10

Gargantuan, 2d10, 100d8

Colossal, 4d10, 200d10

To explain: 

What Happens If We Throw an Elephant From a Skyscraper?