Undead HD in 3.5e

[JonSetanta]

After playing 5e and various other nonDnD RPGS in the last decade I've grown a deep dislike over how 3.5e desiged basically everything about the Undead type.

Bad BAB.
No CON.
Too much HP as by HD, although it does even out to just be d8 with 18 CON.
Bad Fort save.
"Turn Resistance" rather than make a Will save vs Cleric Spell DC.
A laundry list of immunities.


I'll get back to this topic later, just need to put this down as a convo starter.

[Kaelik]

Well a basic starting point is you could go back in time to before 2006 and propose that we remove a lot of immunities and give a lot of undead con scores.

Also a d8 with 18 con is average 8.5 per level and a d12 is average 6.5 per level.

[JonSetanta]

OK, so my original assumption was this obscure D&D item for undead called a "Blackheart" or something like that, a stone that once implanted gives 18 CON to an undead being.

Anyway, after Kaelik's math, it's probably best to for d8 HD and a universal 14 CON. That gives the same HP.
Literally, nothing changes for monster statblock HP but they do get +2 Fortitude.

As for immunities, I was skimming 5e articles on how WOTC presents undead, and apparnently they are each unique, for whatever reason.

The only immunity I propose is Negative ENergy, which heals undead, and being harmed by Positive. That is the same as RAW. Nothing changes.

Immunity to mental effects should be left to Mindless undead, which are a common thing anyway.

No Cold immunity. If you want Cold resistance or better, include it in the block.

1:1 BAB.

These are the current traits as it stands, and I just don't like it.

Darkvision to 60ft.
Immunity to mind-effecting, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
Immunity to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, and energy drain, as well as ability damage.
Immunity to Fortitude saves that don't effect objects.

Darkvision.
Keep Poison immunity.
If it's Mindless, it is immune to Sleep.
Immune to Disease.

That's all I can come up with for now.

[Kaelik]

You you read the Tome of Necromancy. It has an entire part about the Dark Minded and Unliving subtypes, where each type takes away various immunities and the Unliving gives a Con score.

Then it has a list of almost every 3.5 undead and tells you whether they should have the Unliving and Dark Minded subtypes.

This means someone already did the work of looking at every undead and deciding what immunities that specific undead should or should not have.

[JonSetanta]

Ok will do