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Post by LegendOfZia (formerly DM Phil) on Oct 22, 2015 21:46:17 GMT
So I just binged my way through the Bringing the Magic of Magic to D&D podcasts, and in one of them, they talked a lot about hivemind creatures, and that got me thinking about the idea of having a necromancer alter undead so that they can actually be operating with some intelligence--but they share a hivemind. These undead would zombies, skeletons, ghouls, whatever, but instead of being mindless creatures, they would share a single, highly intelligent mind. The mind would sense things through them, and in return, they would be subject to the mind's will.
Whether the mind would be a separate entity entirely that is hosted somewhere (such as in the necromancer) or actually just exist as a complex network linking all the undead isn't something I've decided yet. I just thought this was a cool idea that should probably be shared if people want to bring it into their campaigns. I think it would be an especially good way to surprise players who are more experienced with D&D and the undead in particular. "Oh look, another horde of undead for us to cut through" suddenly becomes "We're outflanked and outnumbered, retreat while you still can!" because the players weren't expecting the undead to move or behave tactically.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2015 6:37:50 GMT
Sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Another spin you could put on it: the more of them there are in close proximity to one another, the smarter they get, like the Geth in Mass Effect.
A couple zombies pounding on your locked door? Not too big a problem. 20 of them? They can intelligently interact with their environment to look for a way to breach the barrier. Maybe they can improvise a lockpick, orr start a controlled fire and smoke you out. However, once you mow them down to just a few zombies again, they start acting dumb again.
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Post by lasersniper on Oct 23, 2015 20:32:09 GMT
Ooooh what about if it was a hivemind of plague zombies that have the same desire as the borg. They desire to turn everyone into them, to share their collective and expand. Oooooh I gave myself GM chills
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Post by LegendOfZia (formerly DM Phil) on Oct 23, 2015 21:24:43 GMT
That's what I love about this idea. There are so many ways to incorporate it into a campaign. Just about any world that has undead could amplify the threat by bringing this concept into it. Something else I was thinking about is how would this mind be affected when a turn or rebuke undead ability is used? I can see it potentially shielding undead from the effects by providing some kind of bonus, or it could go the other way, and undead that are "linked in" to the mind are more severely affected, or the affect is more widespread. One other way this could work would be that a turn or rebuke undead ability merely disrupts the deadmind, so each undead creature affected by turn undead loses its intelligence and is mindless for a certain amount of time.
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Post by joatmoniac on Oct 23, 2015 22:13:49 GMT
That's what I love about this idea. There are so many ways to incorporate it into a campaign. Just about any world that has undead could amplify the threat by bringing this concept into it. Something else I was thinking about is how would this mind be affected when a turn or rebuke undead ability is used? I can see it potentially shielding undead from the effects by providing some kind of bonus, or it could go the other way, and undead that are "linked in" to the mind are more severely affected, or the affect is more widespread. One other way this could work would be that a turn or rebuke undead ability merely disrupts the deadmind, so each undead creature affected by turn undead loses its intelligence and is mindless for a certain amount of time. My first thought is that the more zombies that are there the thinner the turn/rebuke is spread. Which is a nice mix of both ideas potentially. If you do 20 points of damage and there are two zombies they each take 10, but if there are 20 zombies they each only take one point of damage. The other thing I keep thinking is that there is some sort of traceable connection all the way back to the hive mind. Granted it could be extremely difficult to follow for many reasons. Of course tons of undead are difficult to circumvent or battle through, or the trail thins out in a way that is difficult to trace. Would the players be willing to create undead to see how it interacts when the trail goes cold? Like you said, so many ideas could come from this! |
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Post by LegendOfZia (formerly DM Phil) on Oct 23, 2015 22:54:01 GMT
That's what I love about this idea. There are so many ways to incorporate it into a campaign. Just about any world that has undead could amplify the threat by bringing this concept into it. Something else I was thinking about is how would this mind be affected when a turn or rebuke undead ability is used? I can see it potentially shielding undead from the effects by providing some kind of bonus, or it could go the other way, and undead that are "linked in" to the mind are more severely affected, or the affect is more widespread. One other way this could work would be that a turn or rebuke undead ability merely disrupts the deadmind, so each undead creature affected by turn undead loses its intelligence and is mindless for a certain amount of time. Like you said, so many ideas could come from this! The more I think about this, the more I think this situation could be an entire campaign. It would start small, with pockets of undead sacking villages or whatever, but as the players fight the growing undead force, they come to realize that they are up against more than just a random undead army. Maybe they come to suspect a necromancer or lich (probably the one who originally created the deadmind), who they then defeat, thinking the threat ended. But the undead keep coming, they keep getting smarter and more dangerous. They keep multiplying. This idea is actually getting me excited for undead. I almost always find the concept boring, but this could do so many new things and cover so much new ground. |
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Post by dmmadmaxi on Oct 24, 2015 3:30:59 GMT
Dear god.....I may have to snag and tweak this idea.....
EXCELLLLLENT *rubs hands together*
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Post by LegendOfZia (formerly DM Phil) on Oct 24, 2015 3:50:17 GMT
Dear god.....I may have to snag and tweak this idea..... EXCELLLLLENT *rubs hands together* Well, I shared it for a reason.  Have fun tormenting your players with genius level undead capable of instant communication and flawless coordination. |
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Post by joatmoniac on Oct 24, 2015 5:36:12 GMT
Was this idea awesome enough to make it into a podcast that just got recorded? Yep, that just happened!
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Post by LegendOfZia (formerly DM Phil) on Oct 24, 2015 12:23:42 GMT
Was this idea awesome enough to make it into a podcast that just got recorded? Yep, that just happened! Awesome! |
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Post by dmmadmaxi on Oct 24, 2015 14:02:13 GMT
This will fit in perfectly with a cult that I have made....hahaha OH MAN stuff is about to get serious.
Good stuff Joatmoniac!
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Post by whipstache on Oct 25, 2015 12:43:55 GMT
Nothing to add. This is fantastic. Undead Borg are terrifying. If I use this, they "hive mother" will be a dragon.  |
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Have fun tormenting your players with genius level undead capable of instant communication and flawless coordination.
