Samples from onging design of "White Zombie d20"

[alhoon]

I haven't bought but I think on buying that book about psionics as class skills. Still I'm quite low on budget right now.

[Steve Miller]

I haven't bought but I think on buying that book about psionics as class skills. Still I'm quite low on budget right now.

I recommend "Mind Over Matter" quite highly. "Mind Expansion" too.

(Actually, the part of that "Mind Over Matter" that's become standard in any d20 System/D&D Third Ed. campaign I run these days is the "skill points for feats" system in the appendix... I think I'll post those rules to my site one of these days.)

[Steve Miller]

This is probably the last samples I'll be posting from the "White Zombie" book, as I'm entering the editing and final layout phase. (And (I've been reminded of how much I hate doing maps for publication.)

Here's the raw, unedited versions of two of the characters from the book: The Good and the Evil....

DR. BRUNER
Dr. Fritz Bruner is stands 5-foot-8-inches, and although his 62 years of life have left him walking with a slight stoop, he still has the frame of a physically powerful man, and he can still hold his own in a fight.

Although a life-long member of the clergy, he rarely dresses as a priest, preferring instead to blend in more evenly with the population he hopes to serve. (Bruner decided long ago that some of those most desperately in need of hearing the word of God might purposefully avoid someone they know to be His servant.)

Dr. Bruner’s native language is German, but he is also fluent and literate in English, French, Latin, and Spanish.

Male Human Dedicated Hero 9: CR 9; Medium-size humanoid; HD 9d6; hp 44; Mas 11; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; Defense 15; touch 15; flat-footed 15 (+5 class, +0 Dex); BAB +6; Grap +7; Atk +7 melee (1d8+1 non-lethal unarmed strike, crit automatic when unarmed, or by weapon); Full Atk +7/+2 (1d8+1 non-lethal unarmed strike, crit automatic), or ranged +6/+1 (by weapon); FS 5 ft. by 5 ft.; AL The Church, forces of good; SV Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +6; AP 10; Rep +9; Str 12, Dex 10, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 14.

Occupation: Religious (class skill Arcane Lore, Listen, Sense Motive).

Feats: Alertness, Brawl, Educated (History, Theology and Philosophy), Improved Brawl, Improved Knockout Punch, Iron Will, Knockout Punch, Simple Weapons, Track.

Skills: Climb +3, Diplomacy +6, Gather Information +7, Knowledge (arcane lore) +14, Knowledge (behavioral sciences) +10, Knowledge (civics) +4, Knowledge (current events) +9, Knowledge (history) +11, Knowledge (theology and philosophy) +14, Listen +8, Profession +4, Read/Write English, Read/Write French, Read/Write Latin, Read/Write Spanish, Ride +2, Speak English, Speak French, Speak Spanish, Sense Motive +9, Spot +8, Survival +7, Treat Injury +8.

Talents (Dedicated Hero): Empathic (Empathy), Healing (Healing Knack), Insightful (Skill Emphasis [Diplomacy], Aware, Faith).

Background
Born and educated in Austria, Doctor of Divinity Fritz Bruner hasn’t seen his homeland since before the turn of the century. In 1899, he traveled to the West Indies to take up missionary work, and for the past 30 years, he has lived and worked in Haiti.

While many missionaries adopt a hardnosed, closed-minded stance when it comes to native beliefs, Dr. Bruner has always been of a mindset that mutual understanding and discussions of beliefs is the best way

Dr. Bruner is well-liked by officials, landowners and workers alike, because he is the consummate peacemaker and diplomat with a gift for building bridges between people; he tirelessly points out areas of compromise to feuding parties and helps them work together there. He has friends and contacts at all levels of society and in all regions of the island, from smugglers and con artists, to plantation-owners and their workers, to backwoods witch doctors and men at the highest level of government.

Although Dr. Bruner is a master diplomat, he is not one to negotiate or help those with evil intent. Many years ago, his first encounter with the Beaumont family was over the horrid conditions that Daniel Beaumont forced his workers to toil under. The workers were quitting in droves, and when Beaumont attempted to force them to stay, Bruner was quick to bring the authorities. Daniel later sent his son Charles and right-hand man Silver to “teach that damn priest a lesson,” but Bruner sent both of them back to the Beaumont estate, soundly beaten and with a message: “Mend your ways, or you will wish it was God wrath that was upon you.”

A few years later, Charles Beaumont reached out to Bruner in friendship, and Bruner accepted. He sees too much of Charles’ father in the new master of the Beaumont plantation to fully trust him—and the fact that he was kept Silver on doesn’t help matters—but so far the younger master Beaumont has not gone to the excesses his father went. Bruner holds out hope for him yet.

Personality
Dr. Bruner approaches life with a smile and a positive attitude, and he lives as he preaches others should. He always assumes the best about people, he offers help whenever and wherever he can, and he respects the beliefs and intelligence of everyone he meets—at least until they prove themselves to be evil or foolish; he tolerates neither such people.

Although Bruner is a man of God and a man of peace—he very pointedly never carries weapons--he is more than able to defend himself if attacked; in his youth, Bruner could probably have taken on a championship boxer and won. Although he’s lost some strength to age, his punch still packs quite a wallop, and he can still throw them like the best.



"MURDER" LEGENDRE“
“Murder” Legendre stands 6' 1", but he carries himself with such majesty that he seems even taller. Although over 50, he remains lean and in top physical shape; even his hair and beard remain jet-black and untouched by the gray hairs of age.

Legendre is fastidious to the point of obsessive with appearing neat and presentable at all times. He often dresses in fashions that reflect the years he spent in the Orient, favoring jackets with stiff colors, cloaks, and broad-brimmed hats. He also meticulously adheres to the dress codes of high society to the point where he “dresses for dinner” even when its just himself and his Living Dead servants at the table.

Male Human Smart Hero 7/Dedicated Hero 1/Charismatic Hero 3/Zombie Master 5: CR 16; Medium-size humanoid; HD 16d6; hp 72; Mas 12; Init +3; Spd 30 ft.; Defense 19; touch 19; flat-footed 16 (+6 class, +3 Dex); BAB +6; Grap +7; Atk +7 melee (1d3+1 non-lethal unarmed strike, or ritual dagger 1d4+1, 19-20); Full Atk +7 (1d3+1 non-lethal unarmed strike, or ritual dagger 1d4+1,19-20), or ranged +9 (by weapon or zombie powder); FS 5 ft. by 5 ft.; SQ Control the Living Dead, Skill Mastery (Decipher Script, Knowledge (arcane lore)); AL None; SV Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +11; AP 12; Rep +8; Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 16.

Occupation: Criminal (class skill Hide, Move Silently).

Feats: Alertness, Conceal Item, Create Ritual Dagger, Create Wax Effigy, Create Zombie Power, Create Zombies, Summon Death Familiar, Deceptive, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Negotiator, Nimble, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Simple Weapons, Studious.

Skills: Bluff +8, Concentration +7, Craft (chemical) +11, Craft (pharmaceutical) +9, Decipher Script +9, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +5, Escape Artist +5, Forgery +6, Gather Information +10, Hide +9, Intimidate +12, Investigate +6, Knowledge (arcane lore) +14, Knowledge (behavioral sciences) +10, Knowledge (business) +7, Knowledge (current events) +8, Knowledge (earth and life sciences) +10, Knowledge (history) +5, Knowledge (theology and philosophy) +10, Listen +8, Move Silently +9, Profession +5, Read/Write Cambodian, Read/Write Chinese, Read/Write English, Read/Write French, Read/Write German, Read/Write Latin, Read/Write Portuguese, Research +7, Sense Motive +13, Sleight of Hand +7, Speak Cantonese, Speak English, Speak French, Speak German, Speak Latin, Speak Portuguese, Speak Spanish, Spot +8, Survival +6.

Talents (Smart Hero): Research (Savant: Knowledge (arcane lore), Linguist); Strategy (Exploit Weakness, Plan).

Talents (Dedicated Hero): Empathic (Empathy).

Talents (Charismatic Hero): Fast-Talk (Fast-Talk, Dazzle).

Talents (Zombie Master): Strategy (Plan).


Background
The man known as “Murder” Legendre has led a life shrouded in mystery. He is believed to have been born in Marseilles, France, around 1880, and that by the time he in his mid-teens, he had left France behind, serving as a cabin boy and deckhand on ships bound for the Far East.

Legendre eventually abandoned the life at sea and wandered the nations and islands of the Far East, seeking danger and fortune as an adventurer. In the mid-1890s, he was in Cambodia, and it was here that he had his first encounter with the legendary Zombie Masters and their Living Dead minions. Their power fascinated him, and he spent the next many years serving them, gaining their trust, and mastering their secrets.

In 1916, Legendre returned to Europe, armed with the secret of how to create Living Dead. He attempted to interest first the French and then the Germans in the “zombie powder” that would turn regular soldiers into unstoppable killing machines. The French laughed at him, and the Germans attempted to kill him and steal the powder in his possession—but Legendre escaped and the German officer who attempted to kill him, Von Gelder, became his first Living Dead “trophy.”

Legendre left Europe again, traveling first to Africa and then to South America. In 1919, while living in Brazil, he ran afoul a political strongman with ties to Germany. He was imprisoned and slated for execution—not for any crime he’d actually committed but on fabricated charges--but he once again managed to save himself, and his would-be executioners were added to his entourage of Living Dead.

He eventually ended up in Haiti where, by 1922, he had acquired a crumbling fortress on the northwestern coast of the island and a large sugar plantation by using his knowledge of the dark arts to seize control of it. Within a few years, he converted the workforce on the plantation either to Living Dead or reanimated corpses, and this cheap labor permitted him to operate the most profitable plantation in all of Haiti.

Legendre had decided it was time to settle down, and he thought that his wealth would bring him stature and respect, but he was wrong. He found himself scorned by other landowners and even challenged by local voodoo priests, who considered his methods evil and blasphemous in the eyes of the spirits they worshipped. Legendre managed to soundly defeat the voodoo cults, even adding one of their most powerful leaders to his collection of Living Dead, but he remained an outcast among the other plantation owners. So, Legendre seethed alone in his fortress, managing his holdings and his growing workforce of zombies, both of the undead and Living Dead variety.

On several occasions over the years, he lent his talents to a variety of Haiti’s criminal gangs, revolutionary movements, and even government officials to help solve their “problems.” He never did find respect, but those who knew him, feared him. His name was spoken in whispers by virtually everyone.

By 1932, Legendre was getting bored with his plantation. He research into the occult arts hadn’t yielded anything new in a while, and he had stepped up his creation of undead zombies not because he needed to expand his workforce, but because he needed something to do.

Then, he was approached by Silver, a servant of a neighboring plantation owner. He was presented with a large sum of cash if he would stand ready to apply his “talents” on a certain young lady Beaumont coveted but whose body and soul were already promised to another. Legendre took the money and made preparations for the needed rituals, including making sure he saw this young woman for himself.

Legendre’s native language is French, but he is also fluent in Cantonese, English, German, Latin, Portuguese, and Spanish, and literate in all those languages, plus Cambodian.

Personality
There’s nothing Legendre craves more than respect and kind treatment from those he deals with. He does his part to earn their good feelings, as gives every task with which he is charged his all, and he treats virtually everyone he meets with politeness and respect—even the lowliest beggar gets a smile and a kind word from him. He also has a keen sense of humor, even if it runs primarily in the gallows vein.

However, Legendre’s friendliness hides a dark, twisted, and utterly psychopathic nature; anyone who fails to return his polite gestures or who otherwise insults or slights him will pay for their transgressions in one way or another. Mostly, he will just torment the person through a wax effigy until he feels “justice” has been done, but those who go out of their way to disregard or offend him will be treated like his most mortal enemies and added to the ranks of the Living Dead who serve him.