Summon + Command Heartless

Again, this is pretty drafty.

Anyone can summon and command Heartless. Anyone. This isn't just the purvey of clerics, or even people native to the universe. Anyone who comes to JammerHearts automatically has the ability to summon and command Heartless.

SUMMONING HEARTLESS

Summoning Heartless works exactly like the Lamentations of the Flame Princess version of the Summon spell (LotFP rules here: http://lotfp.blogspot.com/?zx=f9546c7693d08615) , save that anyone can cast it, it ONLY can be used to summon Heartless, and nobody gets a Caster Level bonus regardless of their actual class. Unlike the LotFP version, these are not spontaneously generated creatures, but should instead be selected from the Heartless types.

Sacrifices must be intelligent creatures, and their hearts must be cut out for it to work, and given to the Heartless as food. This will actually create more Heartless in the Shadow plane, and the bodies will vanish into black smoke.

If the Heartless wins the Dominating Creature roll, instead of the LotFP table, consult this table:


1. The Heartless retreats to the Shadow Plane, bringing the caster back with it. The caster is left in the Shadow Plane to fend for themselves against the armies of Heartless there. Good luck!
2. The Heartless' presence in the Plane of Light (Prime Material) is stable and it will not be drawn back to the Shadow Plane. The caster's will is replaced with that of the creature, and the character becomes an NPC. As intelligent Heartless are very rare, the caster and creature simply attempt to destroy everyone and everything in their immediate surroundings. If the caster's Corruption score is less than half of their Charisma score, then if the Heartless is defeated they can be restored. If not, defeating the Heartless kills the caster, as the caster was essentially a Heartless at that point anyway.
3. The rift is held open longer than it was supposed to be; d10 more Heartless with Hit Dice ranging from 1 to the summoned creature's Hit Dice, food into the physical world. They will attempt to slay and consume every living thing.
4. The Heartless devours the caster's heart, but their physical form remains infact, with the Heartless infesting the caster's bodily cavity. The Heartless may use either its own powers, or the caster's. The Heartless is in control.
5. The caster immediately loses their heart and becomes a Heartless that is summoned to the spot, the type determined by the caster's HD, class, and DM preference. Both the summoned creature and the caster's Heartless attack.
6. I'm not sure what to do for 6 (the original LotFP rules say that either the caster sacrifices a PC to the summoned beast, or the rest of the party ceases to exist; Heartless are 99% of the time not very intelligent)

COMMANDING HEARTLESS

In cases where parties encounter Heartless in the wild (rather than summoning them), or in cases where a Summoning goes wrong and they lose control of the Heartless, they may make a Turn Undead check; I personally prefer the LL rules, though you can use LotFP or hell, AD&D rules if you like.

The relevant information is how many HD you'd affect, and if you would normally AutoTurn or Destroy the undead in question.

If your check would Turn a creature of relevant HD, you instead Rebuke the Heartless, causing them to cower and take no actions. This gives them a -2 penalty to AC.

If your check would instead Destroy a creature of that HD, the Heartless are Commanded, and obey the commands of the person doing the commanding. You can only control a total number of Heartless equal to your Hit Dice. If you attempt to exceed that amount, you lose control.  The commander must maintain concentration to keep the Heartless; meaning, they cannot take any actions other than moving and commanding the actions of the Heartless.

The Heartless WILL be hostile after control is relinquished, as they only care about one thing, and that's omnoming hearts.

CORRUPTION AND YOU!

Every time someone either Summons or Commands Heartless, they gain a point of Corruption. If their Corruption at any point equals the higher of their Constitution or Charisma, they lose their Heart and become a Heartless themselves. Depending on their Wisdom score, however, something else interesting will happen, but that's A Secret.

Why Charisma? In DnD 3.5, Charisma was described as more accurately representing one's sense of self and force of personality. A person secure in their selfhood will have a stronger presence then someone who doubts themselves. I tend to think of it as more than just how much better your character is at fasttalking than you; it's how secure your character is in their place in the world. This is a bit difference than Wisdom in that Wisdom is how aware your character is of the nature of the universe, whilst Charisma is reflective of internal self confidence... even if your character is totally oblivious to stuff.

It's this way in Jammer Hearts because Sora is a complete dumb-butt at times and VERY unwise, but the kid has personal magnetism out the wazoo. And all the great villains in the games just ooze Charisma, but in a lot of cases they do things that make you go WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING (low Wisdom)

Also, Because I Said So.

And now, an attempt at actually statting out the lowest level Heartless, a Shadow. I've never made a monster before. I have no idea what I'm doing. Based it on the LL monster rules, mostly a cross between a rat and a DnD style Shadow. Plz halp fixing.

SHADOW HEARTLESS

Type: Pureblood Heartless

Number: 1d10
Movement: 60ft (20ft) (20 ft (10ft) as shadow)
Armor Class: 11 (ascending)
Hit Dice: 1d4 HP
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d4
Save: F1
Morale: Heartless do not flee unless killed or successful in devouring a Heart.
Treasure: 1x Lucid Shard when killed (can be traded in Traverse Town for munny, or used in item creation)
XP: I don't know honestly

By far the most common type of Heartless, Shadows are Purebloods: creatures composed of pure Darkness left behind when a Heart collapses. They are vaguely humanoid shapes of pure darkness with glowing yellow eyes and twitching antennae that come up to about knee height. They shimmer and warp as though not entirely of this world.

 Shadow Heartless have the ability to de-phase with reality to evade attacks.

Heart Devouring: If a Shadow successfully reduces a victim to 0 HP, it devours the victim's heart. The victim's body vanishes in a swirl of shadows (though all possessions are left behind), and a second Shadow Heartless is summoned. If the devouring Heartless is not defeated, in 1d4 hours it transforms into a higher HD Heartless, based on the class and level of the person whose heart it devoured. A Heartless that has just devoured a Heart will attempt to flee. If the Heartless that devoured the person's heart is defeated, that Heart will re-emerge, but there is no way to resurrect someone from this state.

Shadow Step: A Shadow can sidestep partially into the Shadow Plane, seeming to sink into the floor. Moving to and from this position uses up their action in a given round. While in the floor, Shadows cannot attack, but they cannot be damaged except by magic weapons and spells.