Undead Origins

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Players Guide to the Haunted Highlands

Players Guide to the Haunted Highlands
Castles & Crusades
Ghoul: Rise as the Undead spell.
Ghast: Rise as the Undead spell.
Vampire: Any being struck with the Scepter of Death rises in the following round as a vampire, ghost, or in the case of spell casters of sufficient power, a lich cursed to do the bidding of their cruel slayer.
Rise as the Undead spell.
Skeleton: Skeleton Pull spell.
Ghost: Any being struck with the Scepter of Death rises in the following round as a vampire, ghost, or in the case of spell casters of sufficient power, a lich cursed to do the bidding of their cruel slayer.
Lich: Any being struck with the Scepter of Death rises in the following round as a vampire, ghost, or in the case of spell casters of sufficient power, a lich cursed to do the bidding of their cruel slayer.

RISE AS THE UNDEAD, Level 5 necromancer
CT 1 action R 50 feet+10 feet/level D permanent
SV wisdom negates SR yes Comp V, S, M
This horrible curse has an effect unknown to the victim until he has been slain, at which time he rises as a blood thirsty ghoul (1-4 HD), ghast (4-6 HD), or vampire (7+ HD) under the command of the caster. The spell, if detected, may be removed with a remove curse spell. The material spell component for rise as the undead is a piece of flesh from a destroyed undead being such as a ghast, ghoul, or zombie.

SKELETON PULL, Level 6 necromancer
CT 1 action R 30 feet D instantaneous
SV see text SR yes Comp V, S, M
A necromancer’s connection to the dark powers of the dark lord of the undead allows him simply to rip the skeleton from a humanoid body, killing it instantly and creating an undead servant. Any visible humanoid creature within 30 feet of the caster can be affected by this spell. The victim’s allies nearby bear witness to the necromancer’s dark power as the skeleton tears free of its flesh in a cloud of blood and gore, unless a successful strengthsave is made to avoid its unholy pull. This awe-inspiring power, and the gory scene it creates, forces a wisdom save against fear for all enemies that witness it. Those that fail are terrified and flee as quickly as possible for five minutes. The animated skeleton created is a normal 1 HD skeleton under control of the necromancer.
The prudent caster uses this spell but once per day, for each additional use per day stands a 10% chance (cumulative) of sending the caster’s soul straight to the Rings of Hell. A successful charisma save on behalf of the caster resists these dark forces. The saving throw receives a bonus for each HD or level above 4. Anyone slain by this spell can only be brought back to life by true resurrection, or wish.
The material component of this spell is the powdered bone of a skeleton that is thrown in the direction of the victim.

 

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Codex Celtarum

Codex Celtarum
Castles & Crusades
Gan Ceannan: They are the tortured spirits of dead horsemen who seek the souls of the weak or dying.
Gallytrot: ?

 

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Codex Classicum

Codex Classicum
Castles & Crusades
Empusai: Ἔμπουσα – Under the command and, by some myths, created by the dark goddess Hecate, these vampiric beings are lethal.
Terrible and insidious, the Empousai are spawned from a union of the goddess Hecate and Mormo.
Empusa Spawn: The Empusa can turn the slain it fed upon back, but it will become a 4 Hit Dice Empusa (Vampire) instead, and have only Physical saves. The abilities are limited as well: Blood Drain, Energy Drain, Regeneration 1, Electrical Resistance (half). If the creating Empusa is slain, so are the spawn.
Mormolyceion: There is nothing good about the Mormo, or could ever be, and many who go to Hades that have led a terrible life towards children are condemned to be one.
The accursed by Hecate are also made to become a Mormo as well, or worse, watch their children fall victim to one.
Lamia: These evil and accursed vampiric women, spawned from the original blood of Lamia herself.
Nekun: The skeleton-like anonymous Dead of those who have passed into Hades, Tartarus and other regions below the Earth.
Taraxippus: This ghost or ghosts are said to haunt the horse tracks of Olympias and make the horse races occasionally difficult to impossible for participants. Many Classical sources say the Taraxippus is but the ghost of heroes past now returned to haunt the Olympic Games for various reasons, while others say differently. Another story says that the strange event is due to a brave individual named Ischenos who sacrificed himself for the better of all in his community during a plague, and his grave is located at Olympia where the games are held.

 

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Codex Germania

Codex Germania
Castles & Crusades
Undead: Untotenmeister Dragon Power
UNTOTENMEISTER: The cursed spirit of the dragon can summon from graves up to 2d20 Undead to aid it at any time. The nature of these Undead depends on the Castle Keeper and the scope of the campaign and its experience level. These Untoten serve its needs and move amid the Living to do whatever its tasks might be however mundane or insidious. They also may simply be there for support in times of battle and nothing more and come from the barrows where the dragon now inhabits.
As with many societies, the poor and common classes were placed in shallow graves with limited goods interred. The rich and powerful would construct fairly elaborate barrow mounds. The most extreme burials contained entire ships (goods, captain/king, slaves, etc). These ceremonies are the same as those performed for cremations. These burials are the source of the undead terrors that haunt the moonlit lands of Germania and beyond, if not maintained well or blessed.
Becolaep: A becolaep is a spectral witch that has died or was slain and passed on into the form of a wrath but refuses travel on to Helle or anywhere else in the Seven Worlds. Once a halirūna or wælcyrig, the becolaep is now a vengeful spirit, haunting desolate places (preferably near graves or tombs, or fresh battle-fields).
Dryhtne: The dryhtné are slain warriors who have not passed on to the next world after death for various reasons and now haunt regions where they previously roamed, either on land or sea.
Often, the curse of a wælcyrig could bring these dead warriors up from the earth to haunt or plague an enemy.
Mistflarden: Mistflarden are ‘ghost witches’ that flit about the shadows to cause others spiritual and bodily harm. They are said by many to be evil elves that have rejected the glowing holy light of Ælfhám, while others believe they are the wrathful spirits of drude and halirúna, or even the exiled spirits of the witches of Frau Hölle.
Nachzehrer: Nachzehrer are recently dead, usually fresh from a large sickness related event and usually become one in 1d4 nights after burial. There is no explanation for how a dead person transforms into a nachzehrer, but many think it is the insidious influence of hulda or curses of the halirúna.

 

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Codex Nordica

Codex Nordica
Castles & Crusades
Draugr: The Draugr are undead warriors who often are cursed into being so by a wizard or god or have made a pact to protect their loot or personal possessions into death itself.
Sometimes, a victim to a Draugr can be made to turn into one as well, taking a full day before it occurs.
Haugbui: The Haugbui are undead that are bound to stay within their own tomb but will guard it with their might from robbers or the daring that wish to enter.
Irrbloss: It is said that the Irrbloss are the lost wandering spirits of those people who have perished in mired and boggy places that now seek to be freed from their prison or wish ill to others out of personal vengeance.
Skromt: How the Skrømt spirit is bound to the stone varies from tribe to tribe, but many were sacrifices and criminals put to death by the tribe for their evil deeds. The Goði and wizards would bind their spirit to the stone to bless and protect the tribe in that direction (east, west, north, south) and react if the marker stone was moved or broken.
Vaettir: ?
Angrboda: Worse, though, is Angrboða’s undead state. She was slain in earlier times and is said by many to haunt the woods and swamps as a spectre.

Undead: As with many societies, the poor and common classes are placed in shallow graves with limited ceremonies and goods interred. The rich and powerful will construct barrow mounds, fairly elaborate, at the minimum but, at the most extreme, entire ships (goods, captain/king, slaves, etc.) will be placed into the ground. These ceremonies are the same as what is performed for cremations. These burials are the source of the undead terrors that haunt the moonlit lands of Scandinavia and beyond if not maintained well or blessed.

 

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Codex Slavorum

Codex Slavorum
Castles & Crusades
Jaud: Infected by the vampire while in the womb, the jaud is a premature baby that has exited from the mother, usually fatally and with a great deal of gore, to feed on others.
Rusalka: Rusalka are the vengeful, undead spirits of women who were either murdered or committed suicide in a body of water.
Topielec: These frightening spirits are the souls of those who have been drowned by various means in bodies of water and are now filled with rage.
Vampir: Usually only the evilest of people can become a vampir, living or dead, and prey on the innocent living.
Ziburinis: Humanoid skeletons are the animated remains of humanoid creatures.

 

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Umbrage Saga

Umbrage Saga
Castles & Crusades
Skeleton: The Dread Mire is an ancient battleground that has now become a swamp. Some millennia past, a local elfin lord aligned himself a human kingdom to battle against the onslaught of the Horned One’s army. In the first clashing of arms, the human king betrayed his ally and fell upon the elfin rearguard as the armies of the Horned One weighed into the vanguard. The humans slaughtered all of the elves in a horrific battle. But Andual, a warrior priest and the last of the kindred to die, laid a curse upon these men: “May your treachery bind you to this earth! May it devour you and spit you back up as a shadow of yourself. Thirst now for a life you cannot have. I curse you and bind you here until the Damnun sakes your agony. Know no peace.”
Zombie: The Dread Mire is an ancient battleground that has now become a swamp. Some millennia past, a local elfin lord aligned himself a human kingdom to battle against the onslaught of the Horned One’s army. In the first clashing of arms, the human king betrayed his ally and fell upon the elfin rearguard as the armies of the Horned One weighed into the vanguard. The humans slaughtered all of the elves in a horrific battle. But Andual, a warrior priest and the last of the kindred to die, laid a curse upon these men: “May your treachery bind you to this earth! May it devour you and spit you back up as a shadow of yourself. Thirst now for a life you cannot have. I curse you and bind you here until the Damnun sakes your agony. Know no peace.”
Ghoul: The Dread Mire is an ancient battleground that has now become a swamp. Some millennia past, a local elfin lord aligned himself a human kingdom to battle against the onslaught of the Horned One’s army. In the first clashing of arms, the human king betrayed his ally and fell upon the elfin rearguard as the armies of the Horned One weighed into the vanguard. The humans slaughtered all of the elves in a horrific battle. But Andual, a warrior priest and the last of the kindred to die, laid a curse upon these men: “May your treachery bind you to this earth! May it devour you and spit you back up as a shadow of yourself. Thirst now for a life you cannot have. I curse you and bind you here until the Damnun sakes your agony. Know no peace.”
The orcs of Seroneous cared little for the dead. They slew the last of the gnomes and fey who held the vale and ransacked the whole place. Much of it collapsed or was pulled down, leaving the whole place in ruins. They piled all the gnome dead in one room, desecrating them and eating what they could. But their violations did not last long, for three of the gnomes rose from the dead and fell upon the orcs.
Ghast: The Dread Mire is an ancient battleground that has now become a swamp. Some millennia past, a local elfin lord aligned himself a human kingdom to battle against the onslaught of the Horned One’s army. In the first clashing of arms, the human king betrayed his ally and fell upon the elfin rearguard as the armies of the Horned One weighed into the vanguard. The humans slaughtered all of the elves in a horrific battle. But Andual, a warrior priest and the last of the kindred to die, laid a curse upon these men: “May your treachery bind you to this earth! May it devour you and spit you back up as a shadow of yourself. Thirst now for a life you cannot have. I curse you and bind you here until the Damnun sakes your agony. Know no peace.”
Greater Shadow: At the moment of Unklar’s banishment from Airhde, the anvil cracked at the same time Deuranimus was transferring the soul of a paladin to a gem. The paladin was caught in the dead zone between the realms of the living and the dead. His body died, but his soul lingered, aware of an aching agony that he could not relieve. He became a shadow of himself and began haunting the room, tethered to the room that played witness to his last waking moment.
Lesser Shadow: ?

 

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A6 Of Banishment and Blight

A6 Of Banishment and Blight
Castles & Crusades
Skeleton: The knoglen blade weapon is a pole-arm fashioned from the living bones of the Aghul’s victims. Ranging about 8 feet long, it serves as a +3 weapon in both to hit and damage. The blade(s) are razor sharp, self replicating bones. When the wielder scores a successful hit with the blade of at least 19 or 20 (without bonus), flakes of the bone break off into the wound. These flakes are living bone and begin to meld with the victim. In the round following a successful hit, the victim feels an intense pain. The pain lasts for 4 melee rounds at which point the arm becomes numb and useless. If not treated, the wound begins to rot and the surrounding flesh begins to fall off in 1d4 days. There is no saving throw. Treatment can be with cure disease, remove curse, remove disease, heal, restoration or a cleric can attempt to turn the bones. They turn as a skeleton. If untreated, the rot spreads beyond the wound and the victim begins to take 1d10 points damage each day until they die. Unless buried in holy or consecrated ground they reanimate as a zombie or skeleton in 1d8 days.
Zombie: The knoglen blade weapon is a pole-arm fashioned from the living bones of the Aghul’s victims. Ranging about 8 feet long, it serves as a +3 weapon in both to hit and damage. The blade(s) are razor sharp, self replicating bones. When the wielder scores a successful hit with the blade of at least 19 or 20 (without bonus), flakes of the bone break off into the wound. These flakes are living bone and begin to meld with the victim. In the round following a successful hit, the victim feels an intense pain. The pain lasts for 4 melee rounds at which point the arm becomes numb and useless. If not treated, the wound begins to rot and the surrounding flesh begins to fall off in 1d4 days. There is no saving throw. Treatment can be with cure disease, remove curse, remove disease, heal, restoration or a cleric can attempt to turn the bones. They turn as a skeleto1n. If untreated, the rot spreads beyond the wound and the victim begins to take 1d10 points damage each day until they die. Unless buried in holy or consecrated ground they reanimate as a zombie or skeleton in 1d8 days.

 

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A8 Forsaken Mountain

A8 Forsaken Mountain
Castles & Crusades
Undead: Creatures killed and devoured by naerlulth are often cast into limbo, and their tormented spirits are left to occupy the lands the creature has devoured and laid waste. These spawn are often undead, but have no shape or form until they assume one.

 

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A9 The Helm of Night

A9 The Helm of Night
Castles & Crusades
Naerluthut: The naerlulthut are the spawn of the naerlulth, that dread creature of the darkness whose sole intent is to destroy the world about it. These, its children, are undead spirits whose bodies did the beast devour and whose souls were bound to it.
The barrel contains remains of the leavings of the naerlulth, a vile creature that devours all that it touches, animate or inanimate, drawing the essence from it, leaving behind a blackened trail of foul ash. Any living creature so devoured transforms into a naerlulthut, an undead creature. These undead, the naerlulthut, inhabit the ash of the naerlulth; rising only when the living are near, who them haunt with threats of death and damnation.