alhoon wrote:
1. Van Richten is not always right. :)
:lol:
Touche...
2. To be able to do that trick in 2e the ghost should have been a 4th rank ghost. With the saving throws in 2e being fixed i.e succeed with a 10-12 or more that wasn't so much a problem.
In 3rd edition even a 1st rank ghost can have this attack and it is clearly supposed to be dangerous but not outright deadly.
"This power is handled as per the description of the 5th-level wizard spell,
magic jar (in the
Player's Handbook), though with special conditions. A ghost with this ability can freely target a specific individual for attack, unlike a mage casting the
magic jar spell. Further, the range at which this power can be employed is 20 feet per magnitude of the ghost. Thus, a third magnitude ghost can attempt to inhabit a victim's body from up to 60 feet away.
This power allows the potential victim to make a saving throw vs. spell. A method for figuring a modifier to that saving throw is discussed in the
Player's Handbook with the
magic jar spell description. If the Dungeon Master prefers a simple method for determining the modifier, a -1 to -5 adjustment to the die can be applied, per the ghost's magnitude."
-- Inhabit Bodies rules explanation, as found in the TSR products
Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts, and
Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium Volume Two.
That last bit reads to me like a DC adjustment to a Will saving throw. DC 15 + ghost's Charisma modifier + ghost's rank...using the formula found in the
Monster Manual 3.0, under the ghost's Malevolence description.
OR
DC 10 + 1/2 the ghost's Hit Dice + ghost's charisma...using the formula found on page 183 of the
Ravenloft Core Rulebook 3.0. This includes the Charisma modifier as determined by the ghost's rank (Table 5-2: Ghost Rank Modifiers, page 182).
That would make any ghost dangerous at lower levels (in my opinion fittingly), but with the game mechanics as they are a higher level character would be less vulnerable to this form of attack (naturally). Aside from the fact that a successful save grants immunity to further attacks for one day.
"Unfortunately, the Inhabit Bodies ability is not the same as a 3.5 ghost's Malevolence power. Malevolence is basically the Dominate Victims ability, found five entries prior to Inhabit Bodies. The 3.5 version of Inhabit Bodies can be found in Gazeteer 1, under Tristen ApBlanc."
True...especially with the key phrase "merge its body with a creature on the Material Plane" as found in the ghost's Malevolence description...thanks for pointing that out.
And it does appear that Tristen ApBlanc's
Undying Soul SQ has been specifically modified to include the 2E
Inhabit Bodies ghost extraordinary power. A good way 'to up the evil' of Tristen, but if he can do it, then it's only logical to assume that other ghosts can as well, maybe limited to a rare breed of ghost.
And there you have the answer to the question (as an alternative to the merging of souls):
"
Undying Soul (Su): If he then successfully uses his malevolence ability on a male humanoid, he destroys the victim's soul and replaces it with his own. The character's mental ability scores change to those of Tristen, who retains all of his skills, feats, and abilities. Over the course of the next week, Tristen's new body transforms to match his original physical ability scores and appearance."
-- Description found on page 132 of Sword Sorcery's
Gazetteer Volume I.
Thanks Gonzoron (and DeepShadow), thanks for making me research and type out all those references when all you had to do was speak up...!
:P :lol:
