On making Nazgul and Deathlords.

[Agrippa]

As I assume all of you know J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings features unliving abominations known as the Nazgul or Ringwraiths. Once they were mortal kings but were seduced into evil By Sauron himself, using their fears of death and lust for power. Eventually their mortal bodies rotted and decayed but their souls remained bound to Arda powerful wraiths. While Exalted's has similarly natured, if considerably more power, villains in the form of its Deathlords. Each one of them is a corrupted champion of light possessing both ghostly and necromantic power tasked with the destruction of the world.

Now how would you make up villains like either the Nazgul or Deathlords? Would they be utterly invulnerable to the PCs or would the PCs eventually rise to the point that they could effectively challenge these enemies of all that lived? Lastly, would they necessarily be undead, or could they be some thing else all together, if still once human?

[Blood axe]

I would probably make them a very strong Spectre, or something like that. The weapons being life draining, AC-0 or very low, HD10+, definitely undead. Depending on Level of the campaign.

[greyarea]

I concur. A spectre of some sort, possibly with higher hit dice.

[Agrippa]

Well Deathlords are a little different from just powerful spectres. Think of them as shapshifting demi-god ghosts with their own spectral domains. For multiple reasons I'd stat out creatures like them as NPCs rather than ordinary monsters.

Mask of Winters
First and Forsaken Lion
Lover Clad in Raiments of Tears
Characters:Princess Magnificent with Lips of Coral and Robes of Black Feathers

[tumblingdice]

With no books in front of me, my initial reaction would be to make them death knights, as listed in Fiend Folio.

[Agrippa]

Some of them would be modified and higher hit diced Fiend Folio style death knights. They can of course shift inbetween incorporeality and corporeality, however due to their nature as solid ghosts they're tangible by default. I just don't think that a 20 die fireball would make sense for most of them. Monstrous shapshifting on the other hand does fit them, along with necromantic powers. Could be intersting to make up a few non-setting specific Deathlords of our own with these parameters.

[Agrippa]

I would probably make them a very strong Spectre, or something like that. The weapons being life draining, AC-0 or very low, HD10+, definitely undead. Depending on Level of the campaign.

With no books in front of me, my initial reaction would be to make them death knights, as listed in Fiend Folio.

Are you talking about Nazgul, Deathlords or both?

[tumblingdice]

I was talking bout Nazgul.

[Blood axe]

I was talking bout Nazgul.

Me too. Im thinking of something like the LOTR. The Nazgul in the Fellowship movie.

[Agrippa]

I'm posting and exerpt from Exalted about the Deathlords. I've done this on Dragonsfoot forums so I have no problem doing it here.

Manual of Exalted Power: the Abyssals says:
"The Deathlords, masters of the Abyssal Exaltation, are the nightmares of Creation. Few outside the Underworld understood their true power until the Mask of Winters chose to reveal it at the city of Thorns. His dark Charms which so resembled those of long-dead elder Solars his puissant necromancy, and even the livery of his soldiers revealed the truth behind the Mask of Winters. He was the spectre of a long-dead Solar, now turned to the service of the Neverborn.

Or at least, so say those who know of such things, The Celestial Bureaucracy, the Five-Score Fellowship and the leaders of the Silver Pact all figured out that Deathlords are ghosts of First Age Solars, but Creation’s mortals and the Dragon-Blooded haven’t a clue. They know only enough about the Deathlords to fear them. Even the true number of Deathlords is a mystery. The Convention on Deathlords in Yu-Shan puts the number at 13 but does not even have names for them all. Perhaps there more are hidden in the depths of the Labyrinth, obeying some bizarre edict of their masters, but only 13 are known to act in and upon Creation. Complicating matters, the various known Deathlords seem to delight in changing their names and even identities, using powerful shapeshifting abilities to conceal their agendas and confuse their enemies.

THE NATURE OF THE DEATHLORDS

Each Deathlord is a unique being, but all of them share certain common characteristics. In one sense, a Deathlord is simply a ghost of vast power. Saying that, however, is as much an oversimplification as saying that a Solar Exalt is simply a powerful mortal. The power at each Deathlord’s disposal dwarfs that of any ghost not among their number.

TRAITS AND POWERS
All Deathlords have Essence ratings between 8 and 10. The formula for calculating a Deathlord’s Personal Essence is ([Essence x 5] + (Willpower x 2) + (highest Virtue x 2)]. The formula for calculating a Deathlord’s Peripheral Essence is [(Essence x 15) + (Willpower x 3) + (sum of all Virtues x 3)].
Deathlords usually have extremely high Attribute ratings. Every Attribute they consider important is rated 6 or better, while Physical Attributes can range as high as 15. They boast similarly high ratings in every Ability in which they hold an interest (up to 10, the highest definable rating, in the most prized Abilities).

ARCANOI
Each Deathlord has mastered most, if not all, ghostly Arcanoi. Some prodigies even invent new Arcanos Charms (or entire Arcanoi) that only they comprehend. This achievement alone would elevate a Deathlord far above a normal ghost, but these benefits represent only the simplest of their powers. Each Deathlord is also blessed with innate powers granted by their Neverborn masters. The following innate powers are common to all known Deathlords, unless otherwise specified:
Command of the Dead: The Deathlord can command any of the walking dead in her presence, overcoming the control of any rival necromancer. If two Deathlords try to control the same walking dead, the Storyteller rolls the Essence of each Deathlord, with the winner retaining control for the scene. The will of a Deathlord automatically seizes control of any walking dead commanded by any lesser necromancers. Using this power is a Speed 0 reflexive action. It costs five motes per activation in Creation but carries no cost in a shadowland or the Underworld.
Eyes of Oblivion: Mortals are no match whatsoever for Oblivion’s favored servants. A Deathlord can instantly slay any single mortal in his line of sight with just the expenditure of two motes. A mortal hero with enlightened Essence (including Ghost-Blooded and God-Blooded mortals) can avoid this fate, sort of, through a successful Essence roll. The heroic mortal retains one Dying health level per success rolled for her. This power does not affect the Exalted.

A mortal slain thus always becomes a ghost. In the Underworld or a shadowland, the Deathlord’s victim is bound to serve her slayer for 1,000 days. In Creation, she falls into the Underworld as a free ghost.
Feed on the Dead: As a reflexive, diceless action, the Deathlord can drain the Essence from any single ghost nearby. Each use of this power drains one point of permanent Essence from the ghost and grants the Deathlord three motes of temporary Essence.
Mutable Form: Each Deathlord can alter her physical form at will, taking the form of any human being or even any animal as small as a dog or as large as a large man. Changing shape in this manner normally costs 10 motes and one Willpower as a miscellaneous action. Some Deathlords have developed specialized versions of this power. Such variations are discussed under each Deathlord’s individual entry beginning on page 53."

These are the sort of charms Deathlords will have.