Does anyone know of an item in d&d 3.5 that would allow a character to create spawn similar to the effect of being slain by a wight? I am working on a campaign and looking for an item that creates undead spawn.
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I figure if nothing exists I will likely have to, but if there is something out there similar to base it off of that would help. – Critical Crafting Mar 07 '17 at 20:21
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@JohnGrabanski Please see this Meta question. – Hey I Can Chan Mar 07 '17 at 21:15
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Who needs items? – Hey I Can Chan Mar 07 '17 at 21:17
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@HeyICanChan useful, I'll hold off on those suggestions till I've done the research and unable to find something. But yeah now that I read that, it's pretty much applicable to any question here. – John Grabanski Mar 08 '17 at 01:13
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Anyone that dies from negative levels will rise as an undead, usually a wight. (citation) So you're looking for an item that inflicts negative levels.
The most naive solution might be a wand of enervate which would cost 21000gp.
A more creative solution might be an unholy weapon, which gives a negative level to any Good-aligned creature that attempts to wield it. This could convert a lot of first-level good-aligned commoners into wights, assuming you also have some sort of mind-control effect to force them to wield it. (Simply handing them the weapon, or placing the weapon on their unconscious body, would not work, so far as I can tell.) An unholy sword would cost 18300gp and change, but I think it's technically legal to use an unholy arrow which costs 1/50 of that to create.
The very expensive lifedrinker greataxe inflicts negative levels on a hit (and also deals negative levels to the wielder -- yikes!).
An evil cleric could also just have a pet wight and let it kill people. Normally wights are human-sized, but you could house-rule a much smaller one that would be easier to hide.
Dan B
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1Undead generally have control over their own spawn, while using energy drain this way instead creates a wild wight. Pretty significant difference/drawback. – KRyan Mar 07 '17 at 20:33
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What makes you think that anyone drained of all his levels becomes an undead? The description of Energy Drained condition simply states he dies. – Ols Mar 07 '17 at 20:56
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1@Ols I've added a citation. "Depending on the creature that killed her, she may rise the next night as a monster of that kind. If not, she rises as a wight." – Dan B Mar 07 '17 at 21:08
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@Dan B Ah, I see. This quote is from DMG Special Ability section (DMG p.293). I suppose, special abilities are reserved for creatures. So, by RAW, it may not be applicable for items. At the same time, I don't see any reason for not using it this way as a homerule. – Ols Mar 07 '17 at 22:50
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@Ols RE: "I suppose, special abilities are reserved for creatures. So, by RAW, it may not be applicable for items." Where's it say special abilities are reserved for creatures? Traps incorporate special abilities (like poison), too. – Hey I Can Chan Mar 08 '17 at 00:51
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@ Hey I Can Chan Thats a strange thing. From one hand, both sections, Special Abilities (DMG p.289) and Magic Items (DMG p. 211) uses the same term "Special Abilities". From the other, the Special Abilities section starts with definition of Supernatural, Spell-like and Extraordinary abilities. I've never heard of item special abilities discussed in these terms. Neither does magic item section. The lists of special abilities in these sections are different even though Special Abilities section is supposed to be a comprehensive list. Looks like they are talking of different entities. – Ols Mar 08 '17 at 12:39