Tome of Horrors Complete
Tome of Horrors Complete
Pathfinder 1e
Apparition: A humanoid slain by an apparition becomes an apparition itself in 1d4 rounds.
Apparitions are undead spirits of creatures that died as the result of an accident. The twist of fate that ended their life prematurely has driven them totally and completely to the side of evil.
Bhuta: When a person is murdered, the spirit sometimes clings to the Material Plane, refusing to accept its mortal death.
Since the transformation into unlife is almost instant (occurring within 1-2 hours after death), the bhuta appears as it did in life.
Bloody Bones: Their true origins are unknown, but they are believed to be the undead remains of those who desecrate evil temples and are punished by the gods for their wrongdoings.
Bog Mummy: Any humanoid that dies from bog rot becomes a bog mummy in 1d4 days unless a remove disease is cast (within one day after death) or the creature is brought back to life (raise dead is ineffective, but resurrection or true resurrection works).
When a corpse preserved by swamp mud is imbued with negative energy, it rises as a bog mummy.
Bogeyman: Bogeymen are the stuff of legends: creatures created in the minds of parents who relayed stories about incorporeal ghosts coming to carry their children off if they didn’t go to bed when they were supposed to, didn’t do their chores when asked, and so on. The apparitional bogeyman’s ties to the land of the living are a result of these stories.
Brykolakas: Their true origin remains a mystery to even the most learned of sages though stories among the learned speak of dark necromantic arts involving ancient magicks and packs of ghouls.
Cadaver: Cadavers are the undead skeletal remains of people who have been buried alive or given an improper burial (an unmarked grave or mass grave for example).
Coffer Corpse: The coffer corpse is an undead creature formed as the result of an incomplete death ritual.
Corpse Candle: Corpse candles are formed when creatures are sacrificed by ritualistic drowning to a sea or water deity. The fear of dying coupled with the hatred of the ones performing the ritual infuses the victims’ spirit with energy that often lingers in the area and empowers the corpse with unlife, raising it as a corpse candle.
Crucifixion Spirit: Crucifixion spirits are the ghostly remains of living beings executed through crucifixion. Their soul having not entirely departed the Material Plane, has risen to seek vengeance on the living, particularly clerics or other divine spellcasters whom they blame for forsaking them and allowing them to die in such a ghastly manner.
Crypt Thing: Crypt things are undead creatures found guarding tombs, graves, crypts, and other such structures. They are created by spellcasters to guard such areas and they never leave their assigned area.
Create Crypt Thing spell.
Crypt Guardian: ?
Darnoc: Any humanoid slain by a darnoc becomes a darnoc in 1d4 rounds.
The darnoc are said to be the restless spirits of oppressive, cruel, and power hungry individuals cursed forever to a life of monotony and toil, forbidden by the gods to taste the spoils of the afterlife they so desperately craved in life.
Demi-Lich: A demi-lich is an advanced lich of great power. When the life force of a lich ceases to exist and the material body finally decays (often after centuries of undeath), the soul lingers in the area and slowly over time possesses all that remains of the lich—its skull.
Demiurge: The demiurge is the undead spirit of an evil human returned from the grave with a wrathful vengeance against all living creatures that enter its domain.
Draug: The draug is the vengeful spirit of a ship’s captain who died at sea, thus being denied a proper burial. If an entire ship sinks at sea with the loss of all hands, the ship itself and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers. The captain usually rises as a draug and his crew rises as brine zombies.
When a ship sinks beneath the waves, it and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers, especially if the captain and crew had a less than scrupulous profession (as pirates, for example). A sunken ship of this nature may undergo a transformation from the negative energy and evil surrounding it. When this happens, the ship rises from the deep, piloted by a draug and manned by skeletons, brine zombies, zombies, and lacedons.
Draug Ship: When a ship sinks beneath the waves, it and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers, especially if the captain and crew had a less than scrupulous profession (as pirates, for example). A sunken ship of this nature may undergo a transformation from the negative energy and evil surrounding it. When this happens, the ship rises from the deep, piloted by a draug and manned by skeletons, brine zombies, zombies, and lacedons.
Fear Guard: Any living creature reduced to Wisdom 0 by a fear guard is slain and becomes a fear guard under the control of its killer in 1d6 rounds.
Fear guards embody evil in its blackest conjuration. They are summoned from some unknown place by evil wizards and clerics to guard prized possessions or a valued location.
Fetch: When a murdered person is buried on frozen ground, it often returns from the grave as a fetch, an evil undead monster with a hatred of fire and the living.
Fire Phantom: When a creature dies on the Elemental Plane of Fire, its soul often melds with part of the fiery plane and reforms as a fire phantom; a humanoid creature composed of rotted and burned flesh and elemental fire.
Fye: When a traumatic event occurs within the vicinity of a temple or other holy place, energy often lingers in the area polluting and contaminating an object or the ground itself. This sometimes leads to the formation of a mindless entity—the fye.
Ghoul Cinder: A creature that is burned to death by magical fire may rise again as a fiery undead being called a cinder ghoul. The lairs of old red dragons may be haunted by many of these pathetic, angry spirits, and many a wizard that has dispatched a foe with a well-placed fireball has been found mysteriously charred to death many months after the deed.
Ghoul Dust: When a humanoid creature dies on the Parched Expanse on the Plane of Molten Skies (see City of Brass by Necromancer Games), there is a good chance it returns from the afterlife as a dust ghoul—an undead flesh-eating creature composed of dust and earth.
Ghoul-Stirge: The origin of the ghoul-stirge has been lost, but it is believed to be the result of a failed magical experiment conducted in ages past by a group of evil and (thought to be) insane necromancers.
Grave Risen: They are created from a normal corpse in an area where the blood of a spellcaster is spilled and permeates the ground. The blood fuses with a corpse which sometimes animates as a grave risen.
Groaning Spirit: The groaning spirit is the malevolent spirit of a female elf that is found haunting swamps, fens, moors, and other desolate places.
Hanged Man: A hanged man is the restless corpse of an evil humanoid that was hanged or the spirit of one wrongfully accused of a crime and hanged.
Haunt: The haunt is the spirit of a person who died before completing some vital task.
Hoar Spirit: Believed to be the spirits of humanoids that freeze to death either because of their own mistakes or because of some ritualistic exile into the icy wastes by their culture.
Huecuva: Huecuva are the undead spirits of good clerics who were unfaithful to their god and turned to the path of evil before death. As punishment for their transgression, their god condemned them to roam the earth as the one creature all good-aligned clerics despise — undead.
Lantern Goat: Lantern goats are undead wanderers thought to be the coalescence of souls of people who died while lost in the wilderness. Just as normal goats sometimes drift from the shepherd’s care and fall prey to the dangers of the wild, so too do humans and demihumans often meet with a dire end while trekking alone in the hills. Whether they die of exposure or become a predator’s meal, these lost travelers usually journey in spirit form to the afterlife. Some, however, if they perish too close to a lantern goat, find their souls drawn into the fell receptacle the creature wears around its neck.
Gruff Lantern Goat: The gruff lantern goat is an advanced-HD lantern goat.
Lich Shade: The road a spellcaster travels in his or her quest for lichdom is not without danger. During the dark rituals invoked to achieve lichdom, the caster sometimes errs in his or her calculations or unleashes mystic forces best left untapped. When such an event occurs, the spellcaster is usually destroyed outright. Other times, something is born as a result of this failed ritual—a lich shade.
Lich shades are evil creatures who attempted to achieve lichdom but failed for whatever reason. The creature is not destroyed, nor does it become a lich, it becomes something in between—something in between mortal life and eternal unlife.
Mortuary Cyclone: A mortuary cyclone is an undead creature born when living creatures tamper with or desecrate a mass grave (either magically or naturally).
Mummy of the Deep: It is the result of an evil creature that was buried at sea for its sins in life. The wickedness permeating the former life has managed to cling even into unlife and revive the soul as a mummy of the deep.
Murder Crow: These creatures are formed in desolate areas where the formless souls of birds condense into a solitary creature—a murder crow.
Murder-Born: Spawned of hatred when both mother and child are murdered, the rapacious soul of the unborn sometimes rises as a foul and corrupt spirit.
Ooze Undead: When an ooze moves across the grave of a restless and evil soul, a transformation takes place. The malevolent spirit, still tied to the rotting flesh consumed by the ooze, melds with the ooze.
Ooze Vampiric: The vampiric ooze is thought to have been created by a great undead spellcaster using ancient and forbidden magic. Some believe the vampiric ooze was formed when an ochre jelly slew a vampire and absorbed it.
Phantasm: While many undead creatures are the undead form of once living creatures, phantasms have no real material connection to living creatures; they are spirits born of pure evil.
Phasma: A phasma is an undead creature spawned when a humanoid or monstrous humanoid fails its Fortitude saving throw against a phantasmal killer spell and dies as a result.
Poltergeist: Poltergeists are undead spirits that haunt the area where they died.
Shadow Rat: ?
Shadow Rat Dire: ?
Rawbones: A rawbones is an undead creature that comes into being when a tortured person rises from the grave.
Red Jester: Red jesters are thought to be the undead form of court jesters having been put to death for telling bad jokes, making fun of the local ruler, or dying in an untimely manner (which could be attributed to one or both of the first two). Another legend speaks of the red jesters as being the court jesters of Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead, sent to the Material Plane to “entertain” those the demon prince has chosen to pay special attention to. The actual truth to their origin remains a mystery.
Shadow Lesser: According to ancient texts, an arcane creature known only as the Shadow Lord created beings of living darkness to aid him and protect him. These beings, called shadows, were formed through a combination of darkness and evil. He also created other beings of darkness, lesser beings, not quite as powerful as his original creations. These creatures became known as lesser shadows.
Unlike normal shadows, lesser shadows do not create spawn (though it is rumored that a variant of the lesser shadow can in fact create spawn).
Skeleton Black: Black skeletons are the remnants of living creatures slain in an area where the ground is soaked through with evil. The bodies of fallen heroes are contaminated and polluted by such evil and within days after their death, the slain creatures rise as black skeletons, leaving their former lives and bodies behind.
Skulleton: Skulletons are undead creatures believed to have been created by a lich or demilich, for the creature greatly resembles the latter in that it is nothing more than a pile of dust, a skull, and a collection of bones. The gemstones inset in its eye sockets and in place of its teeth are not gemstones at all, but painted glass (worthless). The skulleton is thought to have been created to frighten off would-be tomb plunderers, or convince them they have defeated the skulleton’s creator rather than a minor servitor and tomb guardian.
Construction
A skulleton’s body consists of a humanoid skull and the bones and dusty remains of its body. The false jewels are worthless, but do require a jeweler of some skill to properly cut and mount them to lend them an air of authenticity. Additional rare powders and incense worth 3,500 gp are also needed to complete the process.
SKULLETON
CL 9th; Price 8,000 gp
Requirements animate dead, contagion, fly, stinking cloud, creator must be caster level 9th; Skill Craft (jeweler) DC 15;
Cost 4,000 gp
Soul Reaper: Soul reapers have no ties to the land of the living, in that they have always existed and have always been. Their origins are unknown, but speculation says they stepped from the great void at the beginning of creation. It is thought that only six or seven of these creatures exist (and most living beings are thankful of that).
Swarm Raven Undead: ?
Swarm Shadow Rat: A shadow rat swarm is simply a massive number of shadow rats that have cluttered or banded together for survival or food.
Wight Barrow: Any humanoid creature that is slain by a barrow wight becomes a barrow wight itself in only 1d4 rounds.
Wight Blood: When a living creature bleeds to death on unholy ground, its corpse sometimes returns to life as a blood wight. Evil priests of Orcus, Jubilex, Lucifer and various other demon princes and devil lords often hold dark rituals where they bleed a living creature to death in order to create a blood wight. Blood wights generally detest living creatures, but if created by a clerical or necromantic ritual, the created blood wight will not harm its creator (unless attacked first).
Wolf Ghoul: ?
Dire Wolf Ghoul: ?
Wolf Shadow: ?
Zombie Brine: Brine zombies are the remnants of a ship’s crew that has perished at sea.
If an entire ship sinks at sea with the loss of all hands, the ship itself and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers. The captain usually rises as a draug and his crew rises as brine zombies.
When a ship sinks beneath the waves, it and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers, especially if the captain and crew had a less than scrupulous profession (as pirates, for example). A sunken ship of this nature may undergo a transformation from the negative energy and evil surrounding it. When this happens, the ship rises from the deep, piloted by a draug and manned by skeletons, brine zombies, zombies, and lacedons.
Brine zombies are the remnants of a ship’s crew that has perished at sea.If an entire ship sinks at sea with the loss of all hands, the ship itself and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers. The captain usually rises as a draug and his crew rises as brine zombies.
Bleeding Horror: Created by the axe of blood.
“Bleeding Horror” is an acquired template that can be added to humanoid, monstrous humanoid, magical beast, or outsider that dies as a result of feeding the axe of blood.
Any creature slain by the blood consumption attack of a bleeding horror becomes a bleeding horror in 1d4 minutes under the command of its creator.
Bleeding Horror Minotaur: ?
Corpsespun Creature: Corpsespun are undead creatures formed when a living creature is slain by a corpsespinner.
“Corpsespun” is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature slain by a corpsespinner.
Creatures slain by a corpsespinner but not devoured rise in 1 hour as a corpsespun creature.
Corpsespun Human Fighter 10: ?
Corpsespun Minotaur: ?
Paleoskeleton Creature: Paleoskeletons are the fossil remains of long-dead creatures animated by necromantic rituals.
“Paleoskeleton” is an acquired template that can be added to dinosaur or prehistoric animal.
Paleoskeleton Triceratops: ?
Skeleton Warrior: The skeleton warrior is a lich-like undead that was once a powerful fighter of at least 8th level. Legend says that the skeleton warriors were forced into their undead state by a powerful demon prince who trapped each of their souls in a golden circlet.
“Skeleton Warrior” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid creature.
Human Skeleton Warrior Fighter 13: ?
Spectral Troll: “Spectral Troll” is an acquired template that can be added to any troll.
Spectral Rock Troll: ?
Undead Lord: “Undead Lord” is an inherited template that can be added to any undead creature.
Cadaver Lord: ?
Zombie Juju: Juju zombies’ hatred of living creatures and the magic that created them are what hold them to the world of the living. When a humanoid or monstrous humanoid is slain by an energy drain, enervation, or similar spell or spell-like ability, it may rise as a juju zombie.
“Juju zombie” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid.
Human Juju Zombie Fighter 3: ?
Zombie Spellgorged: It is the ultimate humiliation for a spellcaster to be reduced to a
mindless, rotting husk used only to store the spells of a rival. Created with the use of a create greater undead spell, a spellgorged zombie is a programmed being, which appears much like a normal zombie. It must be made from a corpse that was in life an arcane or divine spellcaster.
“Spellgorged Zombie” is an acquired template that can be added to character capable of casting arcane or divine spells.
Spellgorged Zombie Sample: ?
Phantom: Phantoms are translucent spirits of creatures that died a particularly violent death.
Undead: Orcus is the Prince of the Undead, and it is said that he alone created the first undead that walked the worlds.
A creature slain by an undead lord rises in 1d4 minutes as an undead creature of the same type as the undead lord.
Ghoul Lacedon: A humanoid or monstrous humanoid killed by a brykolakas rises as a lacedon in 1d4 days under the control of the brykolakas that created it.
When a ship sinks beneath the waves, it and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers, especially if the captain and crew had a less than scrupulous profession (as pirates, for example). A sunken ship of this nature may undergo a transformation from the negative energy and evil surrounding it. When this happens, the ship rises from the deep, piloted by a draug and manned by skeletons, brine zombies, zombies, and lacedons.
Shadow: According to ancient texts, an arcane creature known only as the Shadow Lord created beings of living darkness to aid him and protect him. These beings, called shadows, were formed through a combination of darkness and evil.
Skeleton: When a ship sinks beneath the waves, it and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers, especially if the captain and crew had a less than scrupulous profession (as pirates, for example). A sunken ship of this nature may undergo a transformation from the negative energy and evil surrounding it. When this happens, the ship rises from the deep, piloted by a draug and manned by skeletons, brine zombies, zombies, and lacedons.
Any living creature with less than 10 HD slain by a mortuary cyclone’s necrocone attack or energy drain attack becomes a zombie or skeleton in 1d4 rounds.
Spectre: Any living creature with 16-20 HD slain by a mortuary cyclone’s necrocone attack or energy drain attack becomes a spectre in 1d4 rounds.
Any humanoid killed by a spectral troll rises 1d3 days later as a free-willed spectre unless a cleric of the victim’s religion casts bless or consecrate on the corpse before such time.
Wraith: Any living creature with 11-15 HD slain by a mortuary cyclone’s necrocone attack or energy drain attack becomes a wraith in 1d4 rounds.
Wraith Dread: Any living creature with more than 20 HD slain by a mortuary cyclone’s necrocone attack or energy drain attack becomes a dread wraith in 1d4 rounds.
Zombie: When a ship sinks beneath the waves, it and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers, especially if the captain and crew had a less than scrupulous profession (as pirates, for example). A sunken ship of this nature may undergo a transformation from the negative energy and evil surrounding it. When this happens, the ship rises from the deep, piloted by a draug and manned by skeletons, brine zombies, zombies, and lacedons.
Once a victim trapped within an iron maiden has died, it reanimates as a zombie in the next round (as if by an animate dead spell).
When a living creature is placed into the iron maiden and the lid is closed the blades impale the unfortunate victim, causing an agonizing death.
Although standard iron golems have a breath weapon, an iron maiden does not; it has the ability to usurp the essence of any humanoid being enclosed within, however. The corpse of the unfortunate victim trapped in the iron maiden golem is transformed into an undead being similar to a zombie.
Any living creature with less than 10 HD slain by a mortuary cyclone’s necrocone attack or energy drain attack becomes a zombie or skeleton in 1d4 rounds.
Any humanoid slain by a vampiric ooze becomes a zombie in 1d4 rounds.
Create Crypt Thing
School necromancy [evil]; Level cleric 7, sorcerer/wizard 7
Casting Time 1 hour
Components V, S, M (a clay pot filled with grave dirt and a black pearl worth at least 300 gp)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one corpse
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell allows you to animate a single Medium or Large corpse of a creature 18 HD or less into a crypt thing. This spell must be cast in the area the creature is to guard or it fails. The corpse must be mostly intact and must be humanoid-shaped and have a skeletal system or structure. Only one crypt thing is created with this spell, and it remains in the area where it was created until destroyed.
The black gem is placed inside the mouth of the corpse. When the corpse animates, the gem is destroyed.
Minor Artifact: The Axe of Blood
Aura necromancy; CL 20th
Slot none; Weight 6 lb.
DESCRIPTION
Legend holds that the axe of blood was lost on a quest to another plane of existence. The axe itself is rather nondescript, being made of dull iron. Only the large, strange rune carved into the side of its double–bladed head gives any immediate indication that the axe may be more than it seems. The rune is one of lesser life stealing, carved on it long ago by a sect of evil sorcerers. This is, in fact, the only remaining copy of that particular rune, thus making the axe a valuable item. Further inspection reveals another strange characteristic: the entire length of the axe’s long haft of darkwood is wrapped in a thick leather thong stained black from years of being soaked in blood and sticky to the touch. When held, the axe feels strangely heavy but well balanced, and it possesses a keenly sharp blade.
POWERS
At first blush, the axe appears to be no more than a +1 keen battleaxe and until activated, the axe is just that. The wielder must consult legend lore or some other similar source of information to learn the ritual required to feed the axe. Despite the gruesome ritual required to power the axe, the weapon is not evil but is instead neutral. Bound inside it is a rather savage earth spirit.
The axe draws power from its wielder in order to become a mighty magic weapon. Each day, the wielder of the axe can choose to “feed” the axe, sacrificing some of his blood in a strange ritual. This ritual takes 30 minutes and must be done at dawn.
Using the axe, the wielder opens a wound on his person (dealing 1d6 points of damage) and feeds the axe with his own blood. In this ritual, the wielder sacrifices Constitution to the axe. For each point of Constitution sacrificed, the wielder gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls (maximum of +5 on each) with the axe. Constitution points sacrificed to the axe cannot be healed magically, but heal at the rate of 1 point per day. Similarly, the damage caused by the opening of the wound may not be healed by any means until the sacrificed Constitution is regained. Note that the axe retains its keen quality when powered.
If the axe is powered to an amount less than the full +5 during the morning ritual and the wielder subsequently wishes that day to power the axe further, he may again wound himself (a full-round action dealing 1d6 points of damage) to sacrifice additional Constitution. In this instance where such a “second feeding” is done, the wielder must sacrifice 2 points of Constitution per additional +1 on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls (up to the same maximum of +5).
There is a chance that the Constitution sacrificed to the axe is lost permanently. If the wielder always skips a day in between powering the axe and always powers the axe with the morning ritual, there is no chance of permanent loss. If, however, the axe is fed on consecutive days or powered in a second feeding, there is a 1% chance plus a 1% cumulative chance per consecutive day the axe is powered that Constitution sacrificed to the axe on that day is actually permanent ability drain. This check must be made for each point of Constitution sacrificed to the axe that day.
If reduced to Constitution 0 as a result of feeding the axe, the wielder becomes a bleeding horror.
Note: An undead creature can use its Charisma ability score (since it doesn’t have a Con score) to power the axe. Charisma damage heals at the rate of 1 point per day. An undead that reduces its Cha to 0 is destroyed.
DESTRUCTION
If a wielder of the axe with the lawful or chaotic subtype and 20 or more Hit Dice willingly uses it to reduce himself to Constitution 0, the axe is destroyed and the slain wielder does not rise as a bleeding horror.
