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Undead Origins
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<blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 6684196" data-attributes="member: 2209"><p><strong>Necromantic Lore</strong></p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/493/Legends--Lairs-Necromantic-Lore?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Necromantic Lore</a></p><p>3.0</p><p><strong>Atrocity Wight:</strong> A collection of rotting corpses merged to form an enormous body, atrocity wights rise from mass graves and other sites where great atrocities have taken the lives of hundreds of innocent people.</p><p><strong>Bloodpool:</strong> A bloodpool is created when innocents are killed en masse and their blood is allowed to collect and merge.</p><p><strong>Bloodseeker:</strong> Originally created by druids who dabbled in necromancy, the formula for the creation of bloodseekers has since become more common.</p><p><strong>Bonecast:</strong> Bonecast creatures are undead or constructcreatures that have been imbued with luck energy.</p><p>Some bonecast creatures are formed spontaneously from the bodies of those who dabbled in the arts of luck, such as risk takers, gamblers, and thieves. Indeed, a creature cannot partake in such activities without at least some luck rubbing off on them. If sufficient luck energy is pent up within a creature’s body, it continues to animate the creature long after death.</p><p>Some have learned how to harness this luck energy and instill it within their own creations. The process of creating a bonecast creature requires 1,000 gp, which includes 250 gp for items imbued with chaotic luck energies, such as used decks of cards, casino fixtures, or the remains of small-time risk takers. Completing</p><p>the process takes one day and drains 1d10 × 100 XP (an average of 500 XP per bonecast creature) from the creator, making the creation process itself a gambling proposition.</p><p>“Bonecast” is a template that can be added to any corporeal undead or construct.</p><p><strong>Sample Bonecast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dancing Bones:</strong> Dancing bones are a type of animated skeleton created by a virulent plague that can affect both the living and the dead.</p><p>Some time ago, a small village was ravaged by a plague carried to the village by a pestilent demon. Most of the village died; the few survivors buried the corpses of their families and moved on. Decades later, a necromancer looking for raw materials animated the plague-slain bodies for use as his servants and inadvertantly created the dancing bones.</p><p>Anyone who takes damage from the claw attack of a dancing bones has a chance of contracting the plague that animates them. Each time a damaging hit is scored, the target must make a Fort save (DC 11) or become infected. This will not become apparent for 1d4 hours; if a cure disease is cast during that time, the curse is lifted. If the curse begins to take effect, only a heal, limited wish, miracle, or similar spell will cure it.</p><p>At the end of the onset time, the victim begins to sweat profusely and twitch oddly. This becomes progressively worse—every 10 minutes the character’s Dexterity drops by 1 and the character suffers a cumulative –1 on all rolls due to the increasing pain and difficulty of controlling their own movement. When the character’s Dexterity has dropped to 0, the character’s skeleton rips itself out of his or her body, leaving the rest of the character’s body behind to become a new dancing bones. The new undead attacks anyone nearby. If there is no one to attack, it begins wandering—looking for potential victims to infect or other dancing bones to accompany.</p><p>Anyone slain by a dancing bones whose body is not blessed will suffer the same fate, the skeleton of the corpse ripping itself out within 1d4 hours.</p><p><strong>Dream Phantoms:</strong> Dream phantoms are the souls of creatures who died in their sleep.</p><p>Those unfamiliar with the nature of dreams often say that they wish to pass away in their sleep. However, the truth is that such deaths are quite traumatic to the dying souls. A soul that wanders from the body while dreaming suddenly finds itself lost and adrift when the body dies. Further, such deaths often result in words left unspoken or tasks left incomplete. Many poor spirits are driven insane while trying to navigate through dream images and nightmares. Others gain some sense of their new nature. Often they grow to despise the living whose dreams they are doomed to wander. These malignant souls become dream phantoms.</p><p>Any humanoid slain by a dream phantom becomes a dream phantom in 1d8 hours.</p><p><strong>Eternal Confessor:</strong> An eternal confessor is an undead cleric kept in a state of undeath by its god to finish the holy work it began while alive.</p><p>“Eternal confessor” is a template that can be applied to 10th-level or higher cleric with the death, destruction, or war domains.</p><p>A cleric can become an eternal confessor as a reward from his or her god.</p><p><strong>Sample Eternal Confessor:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Fade:</strong> Fades are the fragmented spirits of those who took their own lives out of despair or cowardice.</p><p><strong>Famine Haunt:</strong> These creatures are created by the passing of those who have died of starvation, often due to another’s neglect or cruelty.</p><p>Any humanoid slain by a famine haunt becomes a famine haunt in 1d4 rounds.</p><p><strong>Fever Gaunt:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Fever Gaunt Gaunt King:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Foreverjack:</strong> A foreverjack is a thief who has cheated Death.</p><p>“Foreverjack” is a template that can be applied to any non-undead, non-outsider, provided it meets the requirements.</p><p>Unlike the process by which a wizard or sorcerer becomes a lich, no one plans or plots to be a foreverjack. Many foreverjacks had never even heard of such beings until they became one. To become a foreverjack, a character must meet the following criteria:</p><p>Alignment: Any chaotic.</p><p>Abilities: Charisma 15+, Intelligence 15+.</p><p>Class: At least 1 rogue level.</p><p>Special: When a particularly clever and charismatic rogue dies, there is a very slim chance that he or she may return to life as a foreverjack. This is a two part process.</p><p>First of all, not all rogues are given this opportunity. To determine if a rogue is eligible to become a foreverjack, roll d% three times. If the result is equal to or less than the rogue’s class levels, then there is a chance that the rogue will return to life as a foreverjack.</p><p>The second part of the process requires the rogue to perform some task that allows the character to escape the afterlife. This task varies from rogue to rogue, but must involve confronting the god of the dead for the pantheon that the rogue worships. Worst yet, while in the afterlife, the rogue is stripped of any magical items that he or she possessed while alive. Fortunately for the character, most gods of the dead enjoy gambling, and most of them are scrupulously honest in their terms. The task presented to the character is always incredible difficult, but never impossible.</p><p>A rogue can become a foreverjack through luck and skill upon dying.</p><p><strong>Sample Foreverjack:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gravestone Guardian:</strong> A gravestone guardian is a statue animated by the will of the deceased, and it has only one purpose—to guard the tomb from desecration.</p><p>A gravestone guardian is the result of a strong-willed person being buried beneath an ornately decorated gravestone, one that prominently features one or more carved statues of winged creatures. The exact form does not matter—they can be gargoyles, demons, angels, or anything of a similar nature. Over time, the grave absorbs the will of the person and the stone responds. A small portion of the soul of the grave’s inhabitant gradually begins to animate the statues, using them as a weapon against those who would disturb its rest.</p><p><strong>Grim Stalker:</strong> The exact origins of these creatures are unknown. Some claim that they are the souls of those whose prayers for curative magic went ignored by the gods and their followers. Others claim these creatures are a product of death itself, sent to claim the souls of those who have cheated it for too long.</p><p><strong>Hecatombes:</strong> Hecatombes are undead creatures that were used as living sacrifices in rituals to gods that either never existed, or to deities that declared the offered soul to be unworthy of acceptance. Hecatombes were not willing sacrifices when they lived, and this uncooperative nature followed them in death, only to be amplified to majestic levels of hatred in undeath. Only one</p><p>goal drives the hecatombe: The complete death and destruction of all the clergy and any others responsible for its sacrifice as well as anything dedicated to the god that felt the hecatombe’s soul unworthy (holy symbols, clerics, temples), thus binding it to this undead state.</p><p>“Hecatombe” is a template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature.</p><p><strong>Sample Hecatombe:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Heirloom Wraith:</strong> In life, the heirloom wraith was usually an individual who committed an act of evil in order to keep or obtain some item. In death, the individual’s spirit was unable to leave that item behind and became trapped in it, growing even more bitter and hateful.</p><p><strong>Horrid Murder:</strong> Horrid murders are formed from gatherings of crows dominated by a malevolent intelligence.</p><p>Beings that have been brutally slain, especially those killed in the isolation of the wilderness, develop an immense hatred for the living and reach out to those that will aid them in their schemes. Crows, black by nature, are particularly receptive to domination by these souls. The result is a horrid murder.</p><p><strong>Necrocorn:</strong> The origin of the necrocorn is a tale out of myth. Centuries ago, it is said, there was a ranger whose deeds on behalf of the people and the land had earned her widespread acclaim, and attracted to her service Niathallis, a unicorn druid. Together, they traveled the world and the outer planes, and legends grew in their wake.</p><p>Then, something—each bard has his own version of the tale—happened. The ranger turned to darkness, and Niathallis, unwilling to abandon her longtime companion, did something no unicorn before had ever done—she joined her companion in evil. The two traveled on, giving birth now to nightmares, not legends.</p><p>Ultimately, they were confronted and slain, but evil of such intensity and passion is not easily killed. Niathallis rose as the first necrocorn.</p><p>It was only when Niathallis killed another unicorn that the true nature of the curse became apparent, for that unicorn arose as a necrocorn as well. Since then, the number of necrocorns has grown somewhat, but there have never been very many, as true unicorns and those allied with them devote tremendous effort to slaying them. This is another reason many necrocorns choose to associate themselves with powerful evil beings—protection.</p><p>At most, a few dozen necrocorns roam the world at any one time. During some eras, this number has been as low as three or four.</p><p>Any unicorn slain by a necrocorn will rise as a necrocorn within 24 hours.</p><p><strong>Necromental:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Azure Phoenix:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Fiery Zombies:</strong> Fiery zombies are created when a humanoid is raised by an azure phoenix using its fiery animation ability.</p><p>The azure phoenix may reanimate humanoids and monstrous humanoids that it or its fiery zombies have slain as fiery zombies if using the animate dead spell.</p><p><strong>Blackheart:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Stone Zombies:</strong> Stone zombies are created when a humanoid is raised by a blackheart using its stony animation ability.</p><p>The blackheart may reanimate humanoids and monstrous humanoids that it has slain as stone zombies as if using the animate dead spell.</p><p><strong>Red Tide:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Watery Zombie:</strong> Watery zombies are created when a humanoid is raised by a red tide using its watery animation ability.</p><p>The red tide may reanimate humanoids and monstrous humanoids that it has slain as watery zombies as if using the animate dead spell.</p><p><strong>Sunkiller:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Storm Zombie:</strong> Storm zombies are created when a humanoid is raised by a sunkiller using its stormy animation ability.</p><p>The sunkiller may reanimate humanoids and monstrous humanoids that it has slain as storm zombies as if using the animate dead spell.</p><p><strong>Pale Masker:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Pestilent Bat:</strong> whenever an intruder draws near, pestilent queens immediately spawn a number of pestilent bats.</p><p>Whenever a pestilent queen senses another creature within the range of its blindsight, it quickly spawns tiny flying creatures composed of the same fleshy material as itself to dispatch the intruder and feed from it. Each spawn created drains 2 hp from the queen. A pestilent queen can form up to 6 pestilent bats each round.</p><p><strong>Shadow Parasite:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Guiding Spirit:</strong> It is generally believed that guiding spirits are formed from beings that had a heightened sense of duty to family, friends, or lovers while alive. Likewise, those that were focused upon completing a particular task or achieving a certain goal may also become guiding spirits in order to ensure that the living are able to complete that which the guiding spirit was unable to do. It is this sense of dedication that drives guiding spirits to seek out living creatures and to offer them protection. Yet, there are some who believe that guiding spirits are instead manifestations sent by the gods or other powerful beings. They say the guiding spirits assume a form that is comforting to potential wards in order to convince the ward to accept their assistance. Followers of this theory see guiding spirits as creatures who seek to manipulate mortals through deception in order to convince the living to embark on a mission that they would not otherwise undertake.</p><p><strong>Spirit Legion of the Dead:</strong> The spirits of fallen heroes are sometimes bound to the defense of a sacred charge.</p><p>“Legion member” is a template that can be applied to any good aligned humanoid who has died defending a sacred charge or sacrificed him or herself to become a legion member. The base creature must also have a Charisma of 10 or higher at the time of death.</p><p><strong>Sample Legion Member:</strong> </p><p><strong>Spirit Steed:</strong> Spirit steeds were once living horses with a bond to their riders so strong that even death couldn’t separate them.</p><p>A loyal riding horse may have become a spirit steed after its death in a number of ways: Its rider could have perished in battle and the will of the beast was so strong that it rose again to become the steed of its deceased rider’s family or companions; the animal itself could have died in a conflict and it awakened as a spirit steed to reunite with its rider; or a spirit steed might have found itself lost in the world, devoid of a rider and in search of a new master.</p><p><strong>Warning Spirit:</strong> The foreboding, insubstantial remains of deceased heroes and relatives, warning spirits lay legendary tasks upon the shoulders of their chosen champions.</p><p><strong>Tomb Guardians:</strong> Tomb guardians are corporeal undead that willingly chose undeath to watch over and safeguard the tombs of royal families, heroes, etc.</p><p>“Tomb guardian” is a template that can be added to any humanoid creature, provided that the create tomb guardian spell can be cast on it.</p><p>A fighter can become a tomb guardian by volunteering to watch over a holy tomb or locale.</p><p><strong>Sample Tomb Guardian:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Unvanquished:</strong> Unvanquished are beings that have never been defeated in their chosen form of competition in life.</p><p>“Unvanquished” is a template that can be added to any living humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature with either the Skill Focus or Weapon Focus feat. </p><p><strong>Sample Unvanquished:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Undead are once-living creatures animated by spiritual or supernatural forces.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> A humanoid or monstrous humanoid that a grave leech feeds upon becomes infected with negative energy and will rise as a zombie within 24 hours of its death.</p><p>By digging its hand into the earth, the grave master worms its fingers to the remains of all dead with five miles and brings their soulless bodies to life.</p><p>The most potent of all the grave master’s considerable powers is its ability to return the dead to life. But a grave master’s power does not end there. It may heal destroyed zombies and increase their strength in combat, and fill them with purpose and intelligence.</p><p>The grave master’s power to summon undead is different from the spell animate dead in many ways.</p><p>First, the grave master summons all corpses within 5 miles to become part of his army. There is no limit to the number of HD worth of undead that a grave master can summon in this manner and all of them serve the grave master loyally.</p><p>Second, skeletons under the earth are raised as well, but the grave master’s powers over rotting flesh allow them to grow back skin and tissue where it has decayed. Because of this, all undead summoned by the grave master are considered zombies.</p><p></p><p>Create Tomb Guardian</p><p>Necromancy</p><p>Level: Clr 8, Death 8</p><p>Components: V, S, DF, XP</p><p>Casting Time: 1 hour</p><p>Range: Close (25 ft. + 5ft./2 levels)</p><p>Target: One humanoid corpse</p><p>Duration: Instantaneous</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>Spell Resistance: No</p><p>This spell allows you to transform a willing humanoid into a tomb guardian to safeguard and protect a family grave, royal tomb, or other resting place of the dead.</p><p>Any humanoid creature that desires to become a tomb guardian must first gain the permission of its religious order. Once accepted, these petitioners peacefully ingest a painless poison that robs their body of life. Within 24 hours after their passing, the newly formed tomb guardians quickly rise and assume their eternal vigil.</p><p>XP Cost: 2,000 XP plus 100 XP per every HD above 10 of the tomb guardian to be created.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Voadam, post: 6684196, member: 2209"] [b]Necromantic Lore[/b] [URL="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/493/Legends--Lairs-Necromantic-Lore?affiliate_id=17596"]Necromantic Lore[/URL] 3.0 [b]Atrocity Wight:[/b] A collection of rotting corpses merged to form an enormous body, atrocity wights rise from mass graves and other sites where great atrocities have taken the lives of hundreds of innocent people. [b]Bloodpool:[/b] A bloodpool is created when innocents are killed en masse and their blood is allowed to collect and merge. [b]Bloodseeker:[/b] Originally created by druids who dabbled in necromancy, the formula for the creation of bloodseekers has since become more common. [b]Bonecast:[/b] Bonecast creatures are undead or constructcreatures that have been imbued with luck energy. Some bonecast creatures are formed spontaneously from the bodies of those who dabbled in the arts of luck, such as risk takers, gamblers, and thieves. Indeed, a creature cannot partake in such activities without at least some luck rubbing off on them. If sufficient luck energy is pent up within a creature’s body, it continues to animate the creature long after death. Some have learned how to harness this luck energy and instill it within their own creations. The process of creating a bonecast creature requires 1,000 gp, which includes 250 gp for items imbued with chaotic luck energies, such as used decks of cards, casino fixtures, or the remains of small-time risk takers. Completing the process takes one day and drains 1d10 × 100 XP (an average of 500 XP per bonecast creature) from the creator, making the creation process itself a gambling proposition. “Bonecast” is a template that can be added to any corporeal undead or construct. [b]Sample Bonecast:[/b] ? [b]Dancing Bones:[/b] Dancing bones are a type of animated skeleton created by a virulent plague that can affect both the living and the dead. Some time ago, a small village was ravaged by a plague carried to the village by a pestilent demon. Most of the village died; the few survivors buried the corpses of their families and moved on. Decades later, a necromancer looking for raw materials animated the plague-slain bodies for use as his servants and inadvertantly created the dancing bones. Anyone who takes damage from the claw attack of a dancing bones has a chance of contracting the plague that animates them. Each time a damaging hit is scored, the target must make a Fort save (DC 11) or become infected. This will not become apparent for 1d4 hours; if a cure disease is cast during that time, the curse is lifted. If the curse begins to take effect, only a heal, limited wish, miracle, or similar spell will cure it. At the end of the onset time, the victim begins to sweat profusely and twitch oddly. This becomes progressively worse—every 10 minutes the character’s Dexterity drops by 1 and the character suffers a cumulative –1 on all rolls due to the increasing pain and difficulty of controlling their own movement. When the character’s Dexterity has dropped to 0, the character’s skeleton rips itself out of his or her body, leaving the rest of the character’s body behind to become a new dancing bones. The new undead attacks anyone nearby. If there is no one to attack, it begins wandering—looking for potential victims to infect or other dancing bones to accompany. Anyone slain by a dancing bones whose body is not blessed will suffer the same fate, the skeleton of the corpse ripping itself out within 1d4 hours. [b]Dream Phantoms:[/b] Dream phantoms are the souls of creatures who died in their sleep. Those unfamiliar with the nature of dreams often say that they wish to pass away in their sleep. However, the truth is that such deaths are quite traumatic to the dying souls. A soul that wanders from the body while dreaming suddenly finds itself lost and adrift when the body dies. Further, such deaths often result in words left unspoken or tasks left incomplete. Many poor spirits are driven insane while trying to navigate through dream images and nightmares. Others gain some sense of their new nature. Often they grow to despise the living whose dreams they are doomed to wander. These malignant souls become dream phantoms. Any humanoid slain by a dream phantom becomes a dream phantom in 1d8 hours. [b]Eternal Confessor:[/b] An eternal confessor is an undead cleric kept in a state of undeath by its god to finish the holy work it began while alive. “Eternal confessor” is a template that can be applied to 10th-level or higher cleric with the death, destruction, or war domains. A cleric can become an eternal confessor as a reward from his or her god. [b]Sample Eternal Confessor:[/b] ? [b]Fade:[/b] Fades are the fragmented spirits of those who took their own lives out of despair or cowardice. [b]Famine Haunt:[/b] These creatures are created by the passing of those who have died of starvation, often due to another’s neglect or cruelty. Any humanoid slain by a famine haunt becomes a famine haunt in 1d4 rounds. [b]Fever Gaunt:[/b] ? [b]Fever Gaunt Gaunt King:[/b] ? [b]Foreverjack:[/b] A foreverjack is a thief who has cheated Death. “Foreverjack” is a template that can be applied to any non-undead, non-outsider, provided it meets the requirements. Unlike the process by which a wizard or sorcerer becomes a lich, no one plans or plots to be a foreverjack. Many foreverjacks had never even heard of such beings until they became one. To become a foreverjack, a character must meet the following criteria: Alignment: Any chaotic. Abilities: Charisma 15+, Intelligence 15+. Class: At least 1 rogue level. Special: When a particularly clever and charismatic rogue dies, there is a very slim chance that he or she may return to life as a foreverjack. This is a two part process. First of all, not all rogues are given this opportunity. To determine if a rogue is eligible to become a foreverjack, roll d% three times. If the result is equal to or less than the rogue’s class levels, then there is a chance that the rogue will return to life as a foreverjack. The second part of the process requires the rogue to perform some task that allows the character to escape the afterlife. This task varies from rogue to rogue, but must involve confronting the god of the dead for the pantheon that the rogue worships. Worst yet, while in the afterlife, the rogue is stripped of any magical items that he or she possessed while alive. Fortunately for the character, most gods of the dead enjoy gambling, and most of them are scrupulously honest in their terms. The task presented to the character is always incredible difficult, but never impossible. A rogue can become a foreverjack through luck and skill upon dying. [b]Sample Foreverjack:[/b] ? [b]Gravestone Guardian:[/b] A gravestone guardian is a statue animated by the will of the deceased, and it has only one purpose—to guard the tomb from desecration. A gravestone guardian is the result of a strong-willed person being buried beneath an ornately decorated gravestone, one that prominently features one or more carved statues of winged creatures. The exact form does not matter—they can be gargoyles, demons, angels, or anything of a similar nature. Over time, the grave absorbs the will of the person and the stone responds. A small portion of the soul of the grave’s inhabitant gradually begins to animate the statues, using them as a weapon against those who would disturb its rest. [b]Grim Stalker:[/b] The exact origins of these creatures are unknown. Some claim that they are the souls of those whose prayers for curative magic went ignored by the gods and their followers. Others claim these creatures are a product of death itself, sent to claim the souls of those who have cheated it for too long. [b]Hecatombes:[/b] Hecatombes are undead creatures that were used as living sacrifices in rituals to gods that either never existed, or to deities that declared the offered soul to be unworthy of acceptance. Hecatombes were not willing sacrifices when they lived, and this uncooperative nature followed them in death, only to be amplified to majestic levels of hatred in undeath. Only one goal drives the hecatombe: The complete death and destruction of all the clergy and any others responsible for its sacrifice as well as anything dedicated to the god that felt the hecatombe’s soul unworthy (holy symbols, clerics, temples), thus binding it to this undead state. “Hecatombe” is a template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature. [b]Sample Hecatombe:[/b] ? [b]Heirloom Wraith:[/b] In life, the heirloom wraith was usually an individual who committed an act of evil in order to keep or obtain some item. In death, the individual’s spirit was unable to leave that item behind and became trapped in it, growing even more bitter and hateful. [b]Horrid Murder:[/b] Horrid murders are formed from gatherings of crows dominated by a malevolent intelligence. Beings that have been brutally slain, especially those killed in the isolation of the wilderness, develop an immense hatred for the living and reach out to those that will aid them in their schemes. Crows, black by nature, are particularly receptive to domination by these souls. The result is a horrid murder. [b]Necrocorn:[/b] The origin of the necrocorn is a tale out of myth. Centuries ago, it is said, there was a ranger whose deeds on behalf of the people and the land had earned her widespread acclaim, and attracted to her service Niathallis, a unicorn druid. Together, they traveled the world and the outer planes, and legends grew in their wake. Then, something—each bard has his own version of the tale—happened. The ranger turned to darkness, and Niathallis, unwilling to abandon her longtime companion, did something no unicorn before had ever done—she joined her companion in evil. The two traveled on, giving birth now to nightmares, not legends. Ultimately, they were confronted and slain, but evil of such intensity and passion is not easily killed. Niathallis rose as the first necrocorn. It was only when Niathallis killed another unicorn that the true nature of the curse became apparent, for that unicorn arose as a necrocorn as well. Since then, the number of necrocorns has grown somewhat, but there have never been very many, as true unicorns and those allied with them devote tremendous effort to slaying them. This is another reason many necrocorns choose to associate themselves with powerful evil beings—protection. At most, a few dozen necrocorns roam the world at any one time. During some eras, this number has been as low as three or four. Any unicorn slain by a necrocorn will rise as a necrocorn within 24 hours. [b]Necromental:[/b] ? [b]Azure Phoenix:[/b] ? [b]Fiery Zombies:[/b] Fiery zombies are created when a humanoid is raised by an azure phoenix using its fiery animation ability. The azure phoenix may reanimate humanoids and monstrous humanoids that it or its fiery zombies have slain as fiery zombies if using the animate dead spell. [b]Blackheart:[/b] ? [b]Stone Zombies:[/b] Stone zombies are created when a humanoid is raised by a blackheart using its stony animation ability. The blackheart may reanimate humanoids and monstrous humanoids that it has slain as stone zombies as if using the animate dead spell. [b]Red Tide:[/b] ? [b]Watery Zombie:[/b] Watery zombies are created when a humanoid is raised by a red tide using its watery animation ability. The red tide may reanimate humanoids and monstrous humanoids that it has slain as watery zombies as if using the animate dead spell. [b]Sunkiller:[/b] ? [b]Storm Zombie:[/b] Storm zombies are created when a humanoid is raised by a sunkiller using its stormy animation ability. The sunkiller may reanimate humanoids and monstrous humanoids that it has slain as storm zombies as if using the animate dead spell. [b]Pale Masker:[/b] ? [b]Pestilent Bat:[/b] whenever an intruder draws near, pestilent queens immediately spawn a number of pestilent bats. Whenever a pestilent queen senses another creature within the range of its blindsight, it quickly spawns tiny flying creatures composed of the same fleshy material as itself to dispatch the intruder and feed from it. Each spawn created drains 2 hp from the queen. A pestilent queen can form up to 6 pestilent bats each round. [b]Shadow Parasite:[/b] ? [b]Guiding Spirit:[/b] It is generally believed that guiding spirits are formed from beings that had a heightened sense of duty to family, friends, or lovers while alive. Likewise, those that were focused upon completing a particular task or achieving a certain goal may also become guiding spirits in order to ensure that the living are able to complete that which the guiding spirit was unable to do. It is this sense of dedication that drives guiding spirits to seek out living creatures and to offer them protection. Yet, there are some who believe that guiding spirits are instead manifestations sent by the gods or other powerful beings. They say the guiding spirits assume a form that is comforting to potential wards in order to convince the ward to accept their assistance. Followers of this theory see guiding spirits as creatures who seek to manipulate mortals through deception in order to convince the living to embark on a mission that they would not otherwise undertake. [b]Spirit Legion of the Dead:[/b] The spirits of fallen heroes are sometimes bound to the defense of a sacred charge. “Legion member” is a template that can be applied to any good aligned humanoid who has died defending a sacred charge or sacrificed him or herself to become a legion member. The base creature must also have a Charisma of 10 or higher at the time of death. [b]Sample Legion Member:[/b] [b]Spirit Steed:[/b] Spirit steeds were once living horses with a bond to their riders so strong that even death couldn’t separate them. A loyal riding horse may have become a spirit steed after its death in a number of ways: Its rider could have perished in battle and the will of the beast was so strong that it rose again to become the steed of its deceased rider’s family or companions; the animal itself could have died in a conflict and it awakened as a spirit steed to reunite with its rider; or a spirit steed might have found itself lost in the world, devoid of a rider and in search of a new master. [b]Warning Spirit:[/b] The foreboding, insubstantial remains of deceased heroes and relatives, warning spirits lay legendary tasks upon the shoulders of their chosen champions. [b]Tomb Guardians:[/b] Tomb guardians are corporeal undead that willingly chose undeath to watch over and safeguard the tombs of royal families, heroes, etc. “Tomb guardian” is a template that can be added to any humanoid creature, provided that the create tomb guardian spell can be cast on it. A fighter can become a tomb guardian by volunteering to watch over a holy tomb or locale. [b]Sample Tomb Guardian:[/b] ? [b]Unvanquished:[/b] Unvanquished are beings that have never been defeated in their chosen form of competition in life. “Unvanquished” is a template that can be added to any living humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature with either the Skill Focus or Weapon Focus feat. [b]Sample Unvanquished:[/b] ? [b]Undead:[/b] Undead are once-living creatures animated by spiritual or supernatural forces. [b]Zombie:[/b] A humanoid or monstrous humanoid that a grave leech feeds upon becomes infected with negative energy and will rise as a zombie within 24 hours of its death. By digging its hand into the earth, the grave master worms its fingers to the remains of all dead with five miles and brings their soulless bodies to life. The most potent of all the grave master’s considerable powers is its ability to return the dead to life. But a grave master’s power does not end there. It may heal destroyed zombies and increase their strength in combat, and fill them with purpose and intelligence. The grave master’s power to summon undead is different from the spell animate dead in many ways. First, the grave master summons all corpses within 5 miles to become part of his army. There is no limit to the number of HD worth of undead that a grave master can summon in this manner and all of them serve the grave master loyally. Second, skeletons under the earth are raised as well, but the grave master’s powers over rotting flesh allow them to grow back skin and tissue where it has decayed. Because of this, all undead summoned by the grave master are considered zombies. Create Tomb Guardian Necromancy Level: Clr 8, Death 8 Components: V, S, DF, XP Casting Time: 1 hour Range: Close (25 ft. + 5ft./2 levels) Target: One humanoid corpse Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: No This spell allows you to transform a willing humanoid into a tomb guardian to safeguard and protect a family grave, royal tomb, or other resting place of the dead. Any humanoid creature that desires to become a tomb guardian must first gain the permission of its religious order. Once accepted, these petitioners peacefully ingest a painless poison that robs their body of life. Within 24 hours after their passing, the newly formed tomb guardians quickly rise and assume their eternal vigil. XP Cost: 2,000 XP plus 100 XP per every HD above 10 of the tomb guardian to be created. [/QUOTE]
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