Seneschal Spirit

Seneschal spirit is a template that can be applied to any grove seneschal that dies while retaining his connection to his grove (hereafter referred to as the druid).

The Quintessential Druid
Author Robin O. Duke
Series The Quintessential Series
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2002

The druid’s type changes to undead (incorporeal). It uses all the character’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Hit Dice: Increase to d12

Speed: Fly 10 ft.

AC: A spirit, like all incorporeal creatures, has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (minimum: +1).

Attacks: The spirit cannot make normal physical attacks.

Damage: The spirit’s touch is useless and simply passes through anything except for the sacred grove’s anchor stone or tree.

Special Attack: The spirit retains all the special attacks of the druid it once was, including all the special attacks from the grove seneschal template. The druid gains no additional abilities at death.

Special Qualities: The seneschal spirit retains all the special qualities of the druid it once was, including all the special qualities from the grove seneschal template. In addition, the druid acquires the following special qualities:

Corporeal Manipulation (su): A spirit can manipulate physical objects as a standard action. Its ability to manipulate objects is limited to what can be accomplished using a mage hand spell. This allows the druid to use material components for spells and to activate enchantments within his grove that require touch. The druid needs to make contact with the item to use this ability, so it must be touching the components it wishes to use in order to cast spells needing those components.
This also allows the druid to use magic items that do not need to be worn to function.

Turn Immunity (su): A seneschal cannot be turned or controlled using either positive or negative energy. The seneschal spirit is a manifestation of nature and outside of these forces.

Otherworld Connection (ex): The seneschal spirit exists in both The Otherworld and the plane of his sacred grove simultaneously, though he remains incorporeal in both. He does not attract a spirit guide.

invisibility: The seneschal spirit can appear completely invisible should he so desire but is
always visible in The Otherworld.

Grove Dependence: The seneschal spirit cannot leave the physical confines of his sacred grove (or the equivalent space in The Otherworld) and should the grove be destroyed, the seneschal spirit is automatically destroyed.

Any damage inflicted on the sacred grove’s central stone or tree is immediately transferred to the seneschal (after deductions for Toughness). Once the seneschal dies, he becomes a seneschal spirit and the damage continues to be transferred to his newly regenerated hit points. Once the spirit is destroyed, the sacred grove is destroyed and the stone or tree returns to normal.

Reincarnation: Some seneschal spirits have the power to bring themselves back to life. This can be accomplished in one of two ways. If the seneschal spirit’s original body is brought back to his grove and buried within its boundaries, the seneschal spirit can cast the Reincarnate spell, he may cast the spell to Reincarnate himself within the borders of his grove (the connection to his grove still intact).

He loses a level as normal. If the character’s body is not returned to the grove, the seneschal spirit can only Reincarnate himself if he can cast the true reincarnation spell. In this case, the seneschal does lose a level, even though he normally would not do so when this spell is used

Undead: Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, Paralysis, stunning and disease. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage. Since a seneschal spirit is undead, other spellcasters can only bring him back to life if they first destroy the spirit or if they are using the resurrection or true resurrection spells and the seneschal is willing.

Abdication: The seneschal spirit is still able to perform the abdication ritual. If the seneschal spirit successfuly performs this ritual, he immediately passes on into The Otherworld or outer planes and the new druid takes up his role as seneschal.