Dossier: Pike and His Forces

MacFawkes

Artisan
For those who have not faced Pike before, I hope that the following shall serve as valuable information for the coming battle.

Nathaniel Worden once bore the surname of Rivervale, and served as its Baron until early 413, when he and many of his court disappeared while on a mission for Duke Jonathan Tiberion. He reappeared later that year, converted through necromantic rituals into a Death Knight, a powerful greater undead who seemed intent upon converting the Baronial Court of Rivervale to his side and rampaging throughout the countryside, wantonly slaying the citizens of Acarthia before vanishing into the shadows of night.

Based on our engagements with Pike and his undead retinue in the past, their capabilities are as follows:

Pike - Death Knight, a powerful undead warrior with the ability to resist magical spells multiple times. He requires magical weapons to affect, and typically swings a weapon dripping with chaotic energy with incredibly proficient strikes, stronger than a Lightning Bolt spell. He also possesses the innate ability to Dispel magical effects, and wields a Spirit-Linked weapon which cannot be disarmed.

Nicodemus - A runic skeleton, able to cast 9th circle spells of both schools of magic, he requires magical weapons to affect. He tends to remain with Pike, acting as his support healer and providing protective magic, but possesses a vast array of spells to cause harm as well as bolster his allies. Although many mages tend to be frail, Nicodemus is bolstered by chaotic force and is much heartier than might be expected. He also can resist magical effects multiple times.

Death Rogue(s) - Undead assassins who employ a variety of alchemical gasses (Sleep, Nausea, Paralysis, Death Gas Poisons) to devastating effect. They require magic weapons to affect, can resist magic, and are capable of nimbly avoiding blows or spells with preternatural speed; when granted the opportunity, they are also capable of dealing massive strikes to the unprotected areas of their targets in order to Assassinate them.

Cacklers - Spectral undead, so named for their tendency to cackle maniacally as they move about the battlefield, ignoring weapons that are not enchanted with magic. Their claws drip with diseased ichor that affects those they are able to cut.

Spectres - Spectral undead who are only affected by silver or magic weapons, as well as magical spells.

Ghasts - Corporeal undead who are capable of running and projecting Nausea Gas Poisons. Their claws drip nauseating ichor which will infect the bloodstream of those they cut.

Ghouls - Corporeal undead whose claws will inflict disease upon those they cut

Typically speaking, undead are immune to ice magic, as well as effects which target the mind and metabolism, such as alchemy and Command spells; they often possess the strength to rip free from Binding magic, even while weakened. They are especially weak against healing magic and spells which target the undead.

If anyone possesses additional information about Pike and his forces, please feel free to include what you know, that we may better arm ourselves against this threat.
 
We have also seen Pike's forces turn living forces fighting against him into undead once they have been killed. A quick refresher on how this works.

If you bleed out or someone executes a killing blow on you, you are now dead and a target for the create undead spell. As we all know, after you have died you have 5 minutes until your spirit leaves your body. If during that time a create undead spell is cast on you, it effectively stalls the 5 minute countdown at the moment the spell is cast. The person is then an undead, they can be hurt with healing and healed by chaos magic, etc. and they are completely under the control of the necromancer (OOP they are raised with half of their full body total and any armor they might have been wearing, they call 2's with either weapons or claws and have no other skills; they will only speak if commanded by the necromancer). If the created person is defeated in combat or 10 minutes pass, they return to the state they were at the time they were created, and their countdown continues where it left off. If they are then given a life spell at this point they will be brought back to life as normal but with no recollection of their time as an undead.

For example: I like to run my mouth so I make a bad joke about Pike's mother, enraging him to the point that he singles me out on the battlefield. Thanks to his chaos tainted sword he bypasses my armor and fells me in two swings. He then killing blows me because he's an *******. My body is fallen behind enemy lines, after 2 minutes Nicodemus decides that he wants an undead minion to stand in front of him and try to absorb the multitude of spells that are being cast his way, so he casts the create undead spell on my body. I am now a zombie in control of Nicodemus with all of my armor and he orders my zombified corpse to guard him. Jax is enraged that Nicodemus has turned his best friend in the whole world Thorgrim into an undead abomination so he casts harm undead at my zombified form. My body drops and I now have 3 minutes to receive a life spell before my spirit leaves my body. Squire Wolsey distraught at the possibility that his most trusted friend, ally, and drinking companion Thorgrim has fallen and is in danger of resurrection rushes in and grabs my body and drags it back to a healer who casts a life spell on me. I stand back up no worse for wear with no recollection of my time as a zombie and charge back in to battle raining blows and insults upon Pike and his companions. The town inspired by this heroic act rallies and joins the charge and we defeat the undead scourge and all go get drunk in the tavern.
 
((IMPORTANT OOG NOTE: Thorgrim, your death count DOES NOT STOP if you are the victim of create undead. Your example is incorrect. If you are slain (killing blowed, bled out, etc), your 5 minute count begins. If you are subjected to a create undead, you raise as a zombie, but your 5 minute count does not stop. If your zombie self is slain within that 5 minute count, you can still be brought back with a life, but if your 5 minute count ends while you are a zombie, as soon as your zombie self expires (10 minute duration)/is slain, you immediately disperse and go seek resurrection. This is spelled out in the ARB per create undead rules:

If during the five-minute Death Countdown you are “killed” as the undead and then given a Life spell, you will reawaken alive but with no knowledge of your time spent as an undead.
For example: Poor Terin falls fighting against a necromancer and his undead abominations. He is at -1 Body Points. He lies there for a minute but no one comes to him with First Aid. (Terin is keeping track of the time.) At the end of the minute, he is now dead and all of his Spell Protectives gone. The necromancer sees Terin and then casts a Create Undead spell on him. Terin rises as a zombie. He attacks his party, and the battle lasts more than two minutes. During this period, they throw Life spells at him, but they have no effect because he is a zombie. Finally, they knock him back down to zero Body Points. He is no longer a zombie and is merely a dead body. Since the five minutes since the time of his death are not up, a Life spell will still save Terin, but because the one minute period for First Aid has expired, he can no longer be saved by First Aid or a curing spell. The death countdown did not stop when Terin became a zombie.))
 
(OOG Sorry for the misinformation, I had been told differently but this confirms that I was incorrect.)
 
((OOG: NP. It's a very common misconception I think, worthy of clarification. I'll submit that to David for one of his rules clarifications posts. :D ))
 
Heroes of New Acarthia,

I want to offer a very personal thank you for the bravery and cunning that those of you in New Acarthia applied in the fight to capture and redeem Nathaniel Worden. I know that couldn't have been an easy fight, and a lot of you put yourselves and the companions you care about in harm's way to bring down that menace. Words alone are not enough to describe my gratitude to you.

I want to share with you, or remind you if you already knew, who this man is -- who he was. It's easy to fear and hate the monster of a dread knight that he had been turned into. In his youth, Sir Nathaniel Worden -- a name that I think honestly I ever uttered fewer than 10 times in my life before he became undead. We always just called him, "Pike" -- or "Baron Pike," or course -- served as the Knight Vigilant of Rivervale. That's a special knight's title kept by tradition in Rivervale, a post that watches over the Harrowood and is always of the Order of The Vigilant. He was, ironically enough, an undead hunter of dedication and renown. Pike's one of the most formidable warriors I've ever known. Among the many reasons I'm relieved that he's no longer thrown against us as our enemy is that I can recall with glee the first time I could ever even strike him even once while we were sparring. I was 22 years-old; I've known Pike since I was 11. I didn't manage to hit him again until I was 26. He has a comforting wisdom about him, and always has a manner of to breaking to you the news that you messed up terrifically in a way that really makes you want to do better next time, and really mean it. Pike's also about the only person I know who can consistently get a blush out of me with some of his jokes, and let me tell you -- among the Court of Rivervale, that's really saying something! I've missed my friend, and former baron.

Pike was the Baron of Rivervale from 391 to 413, when he disappeared. Baron Pike, and a good part of the old Court of Rivervale with him, took a mission from His Grace Duke Jonathan in February of 413. They rode into a snowstorm, and that was the last we saw of them until our beloved liege and friend showed up months later twisted into the form that is all that many of you know of him. We all lost people during the war; I'm not telling you anything that isn't familiar to so many of us. Family, and friends, and shieldmates, and leaders. It was hard enough to lose the ones who died, the ones who now have the peace of the grave and the joy of the Listing Fields in spirit -- but seeing someone who was liege and guardian, dear friend and like a second father to his whole court for many years twisted into that thing... Every single person who participated in that fight should feel pride not only that you deprive the fell enemies of Acarthia of a weapon against us -- but you brought about a real rarity in the continuing clean-up from the war: a genuine second chance at life and happiness. Most of you will never understand how much your help bringing Pike back to safety truly means to me. My whole life, I'll never forget my gratitude for this.

I just wanted all of you to know this man's story, that he was not some nameless undead creature without a past, people who loved him and missed him. Baron Pike is a real hero in Acarthia, and I'm glad that he'll get the chance to redeem his name back into that, which it should've always been, and not a curse on the lips of those who fear the night. The night can go stuff itself into the bottom of a bottle at this point. We've got Pike back!

Thank you,
Dame Katherine Albright
 
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