I think I mentioned this in one of my posts on Transitioning from 2nd Edition to 5th. While I agree that the undead in 2nd Edition needed to be Nerfed in some fashion, I think 5th Edition just went too far down that road.
2nd Edition Undead
In 2nd edition, both vampires and spectres drained 2 full levels with every hit. That’s incredibly nasty, all the more so because even if you used magic to restore the levels, you’d still only get enough XP back to exceed the minimum required for the level by 1 point. So, suppose you had started the combat at 10th level, with 500 XP over the needed amount to gain 10th level. You get hit by a vampire and get drained to 8th level. After the vampire is killed, you go to a cleric, get restored, and you are returned to 10th level plus 1 measly XP point. You’re down 499 XP from the encounter. Not pleasant.
5th Edition Undead
Of course, now in 5th edition, nothing (that I’m aware of) drains levels anymore. Shadows drain strength – although only temporarily. All other undead (I’ve encountered) simply drain hit points and prevent you from healing before you take a long or short rest. The particular undead in question determines how many hit points are drained and which type of rest restores them.
I’m not particularly fond of the new system. I think I prefer it to the old system, but it’s just not sufficient. I want undead to be really formidable. The level draining was too much, though. And this is too little.
What Would I Do?
If it were up to me, I think I’d try to find a mean between the two. I mean, if you get pummeled by a vampire and then are just fine and back to normal the next day – it’s not really very troublesome. I mean, at this point, it’s almost like Shadows are one of the most fearsome undead because they drain Strength, albeit temporarily. But if you are engaged in hand-to-hand … that’s pretty darn troublesome.
Drain Constitution or some other Stat? That’s a bit too much like the Shadows, I think. You might be able to get away with it, but I don’t think you could ever use more than a single d4 for how many points are drained. That would just be too severe and too deadly too quickly.
Drain a point of Proficiency? That might work, except, again, you’d never want to do more than a single point per blow. Otherwise, they’re too powerful again. Plus, that would make all the undead the same.
Not sure. Go the route of petrification but with a Wisdom throw. Fail three in a row and you become the undead in question? Each failure also does some kind of damage? Hmmm. How about, you make a Wisdom saving throw with every successful hit, and when you fail as many as 3 + your Wisdom modifier (regardless of order), you become one of the undead?
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Conclusion
I’m just not sure. I really think it should be changed, but I’m not sure what it should be changed into. That Wisdom saving throw thing has some promise, but I think it still needs a little tweaking. Until next time … ta-ta.
The Wizard's Inkwell 