"Harrowed" means "dragged forth from the earth". The Harrowed strong-willed individuals who have risen from the graves, sometimes animated by a necromancer, but more often beacause of a curse or a desire for revenge.
The Harrowed have pale, sallow skin. Once animated they do not rot, since the curse of undeath sustains them with magical energy. However, some of the Harrowed have lain in their graves for years, and appear as little more than skeletons.
Creating a Harrowed
"Harrowed" is a template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the "base creature"). The creatures type changes to "undead." It uses all the base creatures statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice: Increase to d12.
Speed: Same as the base creature.
AC: The base creature's natural armor improved by +6.
Attacks: A Harrowed retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn't already have one.
Hit Dice: Increase to d12.
Speed: Same as the base creature.
AC: The base creatures natural armor improves by +6.
Attacks: A Harrowed retains all the attacks of the base creature and also gains a slam attack if it didnt already have one.
Damage: Harrowed have slam attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the damage values in the table below. Creatures with natural attacks retain their old damage ratings or use the values below, whichever is better.
Size Damage ---- ------ Fine 1 Diminutive 1d2 Tiny 1d3 Small 1d4 Medium-size 1d6 Large 1d8 Huge 2d6 Gargantuan 2d8 Colossal 4d6
Special Attacks: A Harrowed retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains those listed below. Saves have a DC of 10 + 1/2 harroweds HD + harroweds Charisma modifier unless noted otherwise.
Fear Aura (Su): The Harrowed can shroud himseld in a dreadful aura of death. Creatures of less than 5 HD in a 60-foot radius that look at the Harrowed must succeed at a Will save or be affected as though by fear as cast by a sorcerer of the Harroweds level. This aura only affects living creatures. The Harrowed can turn the aura on or off as a free action.
Chill Touch: Some sort of paralyzing or lifedraining attack (Con drain) that sustains the harrowed.
Special Qualities: A Harrowed retains all the special qualities of the base creature and those listed below, and also gains the undead type.
Damage Reduction (Su): A Harroweds undead body is tough, giving the creature damage reduction 15/+1.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A Harrowed has +4 turn resistance.
Resistance (Ex): A Harrowed has cold and electricity resistance 20.
Fast Healing (Ex): A Harrowed heals 5 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points or lower, the Harrowed becomes incapacitated. It will regenerate slowly (about 1 hour to functioning state, heal as normal after that).
Saves: Same as the base creature
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +6, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4. As undead creatures, Harrowed have no Constitution score.
Skills: Harrowed receive a +8 racial bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Feats: Harrowed gain Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, and Lightning Reflexes, assuming the base creature meets the prerequisites and doesnt already have these feats.
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground
Organization: Solitary, pair, gang (2-5), or troop (1-2 plus 2-5 lesser harrowed)
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +2
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always evil
Advancement: By character class
Harrowed Weaknesses
Being strong corporeal uindead, the Harrowed have few if any weakness. Some can even pass as human.
Stench of Decay: A Spot roll (DC 20) will detect an unmistacable odour of decay about the Harrowed.
Living animals are spooked when the Harrowed are near. They are always affected by the fear aura, even if the Harrowed attempt to hide it.
Feeding: Most harrowed are sustained by the curse that gave then unlife and do not require food. Others must feed upon the living by eating raw meat or using their chill touch to suck the life force from their victims.
Slaying a Harrowed
Simply reducing a Harroweds hit points to 0 or below incapacitates but doesnt destroy it. Once the the Harrowed is incapacitated, it can be destroyed by crusing it's skull. This is a full-round action equvalent to a coup-de-grace.
Harrowed Characters
Harrowed are always evil, which causes characters of certain classes to lose their class abilities. In addition, certain classes suffer additional penalties.
Clerics: Clerics lose their ability to turn undead but gain the ability to rebuke undead. Harrowed clerics have access to the Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Trickery domains.
Sorcerers and Wizards: These characters retain their class abilities, but if a character has a familiar (other than a rat or bat), the link between them is broken, and the familiar shuns its former companion. The character can summon another familiar, but it must be a rat or bat.
Lesser Harrowed
For tougher rank-and-file undead, base LesserHarrowed on Vampire Spawn.
Design Notes
The Harrowed are based on the cursed creatures of the same name in the Deadlands game. Undead heroes exist in the Warhammer games, but not in DD3E. Hence this template.