Energy Drain

This is a feature of powerful undead (and other particularly nasty monsters). The energy drain is a horrible power, since it causes the loss of one or more experience levels.

When a character is hit by an energy-draining creature, he suffers normal damage from the attack. In addition, the character loses one or more levels (and thus Hit Dice and hit points).

For each level lost, roll the Hit Dice appropriate to the character's class and subtract that number of hit points from the character's total (subtract the Constitution bonus also, if applicable). If the level(s) lost was one in which the character received a set number of hit points rather than a die roll, subtract the appropriate number of hit points. The adjusted hit point total is now the character's maximum (i.e., hit points lost by energy drain are not taken as damage but are lost permanently).

The character's experience points drop to halfway between the minimum needed for his new (post-drain) level and the minimum needed for the next level above his new level.

Multi-class and dual-class characters lose their highest level first. If both levels are equal, the one requiring the greater number of experience points is lost first.

All powers and abilities gained by the player character by virtue of his former level are immediately lost, including spells. The character must instantly forget any spells that are in excess of those allowed for his new level. In addition, a wizard loses all understanding of spells in his spell books that are of higher level than he can now cast. Upon regaining his previous level, the spellcaster must make new rolls to see if he can relearn a spell, regardless of whether he knew it before.

If a character is drained to 0-level but still retains hit points (i.e., he is still alive), that character's adventuring career is over. He cannot regain levels and has lost all benefits of a character class. The adventurer has become an ordinary person. A restoration or wish spell can be used to allow the character to resume his adventuring career. If a 0-level character suffers another energy drain, he is slain instantly.

If the character is drained to less than 0 levels (thereby slain by the undead), he returns as an undead of the same type as his slayer in 2d4 days. The newly risen undead has the same character class abilities it had in normal life, but with only half the experience it had at the beginning of its encounter with the undead that slew it.

The new undead is automatically an NPC. His goals and ambitions are utterly opposed to those he held before. He possesses great hatred and contempt for his former colleagues, weaklings who failed

him in his time of need. Indeed, his main ambition could be to destroy his former companions or cause them as much grief as possible.

Further, the newly undead NPC is under the total control of the undead who slew it. If this master is slain, its undead minions of lower level or fewer Hit Dice gain one level or Hit Die for each level they drain from victims until they reach the maximum Hit Dice for their kind. Upon reaching full Hit Dice, these undead are able to acquire their own minions by slaying characters.

Appropriate actions on the part of the other player characters can prevent a drained comrade from becoming undead. The steps necessary vary with each type of undead and are explained in the monster descriptions in the Monstrous Manual.

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