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Undead Origins
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<blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 7945152" data-attributes="member: 2209"><p><strong>2e AD&D</strong></p><p></p><p>2e Compilation[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> If the character is energy drained to less than 0 levels by an undead's energy drain (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 who slew it. (Player's Handbook)</p><p>The type of undead a creature becomes upon death is based upon the motivation or event that caused the undead to resist death. While certain races are more likely to become certain types of undead, this is because members of that particular race often share similar motivations. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>The DM could rule that the normal undead-creation process (in which a being killed by certain undead beings becomes an undead creature, too) is magical. (Dragon 156)</p><p>Sometimes, however, when a powerfully motivated person dies, his spirit does not perish. Instead, it either continues to reside in the dead body (most necromancers classify such as “corporeal”), or it separates from the body and does not fade away (in which case it is classified as “incorporeal”). (Dragon 173)</p><p>This spirit refuses to accept its destruction. The body dies, but the spirit continues to strive after what it pursued in life. In essence, by an act of willpower, it defies death and enters a state that is neither life nor death. (Dragon 173)</p><p>From my experiences on Athas, the type of undead that a person becomes upon his demise depends upon the nature of the compulsion that prevented his spirit from “going to the gray,” not upon what race he is. Of course, it cannot be denied that certain races have tendencies to fall into certain categories of undead, but this is a reflection of normal racial proclivities toward common types of motivations and behaviors. No force, natural or supernatural, determines whether a member of a given race will become a certain type of undead. (Dragon 173)</p><p>Sucking the life from a humanoid creature, like marrow from the bone, from using the Death Field psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, may allow it to return from the grave to haunt the character. The type of undead created is usually whatever undead creature most closely matches the hit dice or level of the creature killed. Regardless of the creature's original hit dice, there is a 20% chance that the dead being will walk again as a revenant. (Dragon 174)</p><p>Like the death field power, creatures killed by the life draining psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft can become undead and seek revenge. (Dragon 174)</p><p>If a negative energy weapon is used against energy-draining undead, the wielder loses 1-4 of his own hit points, as the weapon's dweomer interacts with the “energy vacuum” inside wights, wraiths, etc. A character who uses this weapon against undead can turn himself into an undead monster, even if the monster doesn't fight back! (Dragon 194)</p><p>The curse of refusal. Death has refused to allow the Bokor entry to the realm of the dead, so all Bokor become undead upon their deaths. The exact form that an undead Bokor assumes depends on the level that the Bokor attained in life. Convert the character's level to hit dice and consult the table for turning undead for the appropriate form. For example, a 6th-level Bokor would become a ghast or wraith when he dies. If the Bokor is 12th level or higher when he dies (the “Special” category on the table), the character becomes an Orish-Nla (an African demon resembling a shadow fiend). The Bokor loses his spell-casting abilities upon death, unless the undead form taken is normally capable of casting spells. (Dragon 200)</p><p>A few undead dragons possess the power to create half-strength undead under their control. (Dragon 234)</p><p>The process of creating specialized undead is basically the same as the process for creating a magic item. The best materials must be used. Bodies to be animated have to be in almost perfect condition, as well as tougher and more resilient then the average corpse found moldering in a graveyard. Preparation is lengthy and complex, creating additional strains on the raw material. (Dragon 234)</p><p>Most aquatic undead are from drowned sailors and pirates. (Dragon 250)</p><p>The treasures of the ruins are guarded by hostile sea creatures and the undead forms of some of the people caught in the cities when they were sunk by the Cataclysm, cursed by the gods to guard their treasures forever. (Dragon 250)</p><p><strong>5th Lawkeeper of Bodach:</strong> See Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach.</p><p><strong>Agarat:</strong> No one knows how these creatures came into being. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Agarat Greater:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Alhoon, Illithilich:</strong> Their bodies adapt only imperfectly to lich state; many magical steps of most lichdom processes used by others fail on a strongly-magic resistant mind flayer body. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man:</strong> Amiq Rasol, also called Deep Men or Dark Men, are undead corsairs who were lost at sea, murdered, or marooned. Corsairs who refused to acknowledge or turned away from the gods may also become amiq rasol. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Ancestral Crypt Thing:</strong> See Crypt Thing Ancestral.</p><p><strong>Ancient Mariner:</strong> An ancient mariner is the undead spirit of a member of a long-lost evil race that once sailed the phlogiston seas. (MC7 Monstrous Compenium Spelljammer Appendix)</p><p><strong>Andres Duvall:</strong> See Lich Bardic, Andres Duvall.</p><p><strong>Anhkolox:</strong> See Undead Beast Anhkolox.</p><p><strong>Anhktepot:</strong> See Lord of Har'akir, Anhktepot.</p><p><strong>Anhktepot's Children:</strong> See Mummy Greater, Anhktepot's Children.</p><p><strong>Animal Mummy:</strong> See Mummy Creature Animal.</p><p><strong>Apparition:</strong> If an apparition's slain victim is not restored to life within 24 hours, he/she will rise as an apparition 2-8 hours later. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix)</p><p><strong>Arch-Shadow:</strong> As evil wizards and priests grow older and see their deaths before them, some decide to take their chances with becoming a lich. Most fail and die. The unlucky few who survive the process but fail to achieve lichdom become arch-shadows. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>There are no recorded instances of a high-level priest or wizard striving to become an arch-shadow – misfortune leads to their existence. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>During the process of achieving lichdom, the wizard or priest creates a special phylactery in which to store his or her life force. If this item fails during the process, there is a tremendous explosion and a 5% chance that the wizard or priest becomes an arch-shadow instead of being utterly destroyed. More often than not, faulty construction or some slight error in an incantation causes the delicate process to break down. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>Once the lich-creation process has failed and the caster has successfully made the crossover to arch-shadow status, survival is not guaranteed. A system shock roll must be made, with failure indicating that the arch-shadow is drawn into the Plane of Negative Energy. If the roll is successful the arch-shadow is teleported to the location of an item of moderate to great power (a staff of curing, a +3 or better weapon, a ring of wizardry, or another item with an experience point value greater than 1,500), into which it can place its life force. An artifact is unsuitable, nor can the item be one owned by the arch-shadow or any former henchman; no item that was within 10 miles at the time of the failed attempt to become a lich is suitable. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>The decision of which magical item to use is not made by the arch-shadow. The arch-shadow is teleported to a location where a suitable item exists. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Arch-Shadow Demi-Shade:</strong> To become a demi-shade, the arch-shadow must drain life energy from creatures that have touched its receptacle within the last 24 hours. It usually takes eight life levels gathered within two hours for the change to occur, but an arch-shadow can gamble in order to gain more Hit Dice in the process of transforming. It typically accomplishes this by draining high level characters or powerful creatures. For each additional level over eight that the arch shadow drains, one extra Hit Die is gained. If the draining takes place in a particularly unhallowed place, the arch-shadow gains an additional Hit Die. The arch-shadow cannot exceed a total of 30 Hit Dice. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Archlich:</strong> See Lich Archlich.</p><p><strong>Athaekeetha:</strong> See Vampire Illithid, Athaekeetha.</p><p><strong>Athasian Wraith:</strong> See Wraith Athasian.</p><p><strong>Awnsheghlien Spectral:</strong> See Spectral Awnsheghlien.</p><p><strong>Azalin:</strong> See Lich Lord of Darkon, Azalin.</p><p><strong>Baelnorn:</strong> Baelnorn are elves who have sought undeath to serve their families, communities, or other purposes (usually to see a wrong righted, or to achieve a certain magical discovery or deed). (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>The process by which elves become baelnorn is old, secret, and complicated. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Banedead:</strong> Created from fanatical human worshipers. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Banedead derive their power from the Negative Energy Plane and from the clerical power of the ritual that created them. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Banedead are created by a special ritual that requires at least 12 worshipers (to be turned into Banedead), at least 24 living additional worshipers (to offer prayers), and a priest of Bane or Xvim of at least 12th level (to preside over the ritual). The ritual must be held in a place that is consecrated to either Bane or Xvim. People who are to become Banedead (also called the Promised Ones) must come forward voluntarily. Rumors of innocent folks captured by cultists and forcibly transformed into Banedead are patently false. At the end of the ritual, the new Banedead are placed under the control of their new master, the presiding priest. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Some scholars are still trying to discern how a new breed of undead could be formed by a deity who is supposed to have been destroyed. A few sages believe that it is not Bane at all, but rather Xvim, who has introduced this new horror to the Realms. These sages speculate that the spirits of the Promised Ones are in fact shunted into Xvim somehow to nourish him, building his power so that he can eventually fill the void left by his father’s death. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Baneguard:</strong> Baneguards are skeletons, usually but not always human, which are animated by clerical spells to serve as guardian creatures. The create baneguard spell was originally researched by priests of Bane (of the Forgotten Realms setting), but in the years since the demise of that deity, the secret of the spell has been spread such that many other evil (and not-so-evil) deities allow their priests to use it. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><em>Create Baneguard</em> spell. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Baneguard Direguard:</strong> The create direguard spell is as the create baneguard, but is a 7th-level spell and has a casting time of one round. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><em>Create Direguard</em> spell. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Banelich:</strong> See Lich of Bane, Banelich, Mouth of Bane.</p><p><strong>Banshee, Groaning Spirit:</strong> The groaning spirit, or banshee, is the spirit of an evil female elf—a very rare thing indeed. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Banshee Dwarf:</strong> See Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee.</p><p><strong>Bardic Lich:</strong> See Lich Bardic.</p><p><strong>Bastellus:</strong> Any being reduced to below level 0 by the preying of a bastellus will die in its sleep, seemingly of a heart attack. If the body is not destroyed (via cremation, immersion in acid, or similar means), its spirit will rise in a number of days equal to the number of levels it lost to the bastellus. Thus, a 14th level wizard would rise up in two weeks. The new spirit is also a bastellus, but it has no connection with the monster that created it. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>There are those who would argue that the bastellus is a creature from beyond the grave and, therefore, has no place in the biology of the natural world. In fact, there is a great deal of speculation that this is not the case. Numerous scholars have put forth the theory that the bastellus is actually a product of the unrecognized hopes and aspirations of living creatures. If this is true, then the bastellus is very much a by-product of the living world and at least nominally important to it. This debate has raged for countless centuries, however, and it seems that the scholars who put forth both arguments are no closer to a resolution of the issue than they were when the debate began. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Bat Bonebat:</strong> Bonebats are not thought to occur naturally, but the secrets of their making have been known in the Realms for a very long time, and many have gone feral. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Bonebats are usually constructed by evil priests and wizards working together. An intact giant bat skeleton, or a skeleton assembled from the bones of several bats, is required. A spell known as Nulathoe’s ninemen is cast on the skeleton. In the case of a bonebat, this spell links the skeletal wing bones with an invisible membrane of force to allow flight. Fly, detect invisibility, infravision, and animate dead spells complete the process. Further spells may be necessary to train the bonebat to serve as an obedient aide, but the spells listed here must be cast within two rounds of each other, and in the order given, or the process will fail. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Bat Bonebat Battlebat:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bat Skeletal:</strong> See Skeleton Skeletal Bat.</p><p><strong>Battlebat:</strong> See Bat Bonebat Battlebat.</p><p><strong>Beast Undead:</strong> See Undead Beast.</p><p><strong>Beckoner Soul:</strong> See Wraith Soul Beckoner.</p><p><strong>Berserker Spectral Minion:</strong> See Spectral Minion Berserker.</p><p><strong>Blackbones:</strong> See Shadowrath Lesser, Blackbones.</p><p><strong>Blazing Bones:</strong> Blazing bones are undead accidentally created when a priest or wizard who has prepared or partially prepared contingency magic to prevent death is killed by fiery damage. The casted magic twists the contingency provisions so the unfortunate victim passes into undeath in the heart of a roaring column of flame. Tormented by the endless agony of fire, the priest’s or wizard’s nature (including alignment, Hit Dice, and thoughts) changes. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>There have been cases where evil archmages or high priests have deliberately created blazing bones as guardians, by slaying underling wizards or priests after laying control magic on them. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Bloodfist, Claktor:</strong> See Zombie Thinking Mul Gladiator 4, Claktor Bloodfist.</p><p><strong>Bog Mummy:</strong> See Mummy Bog.</p><p><strong>Bone Naga:</strong> See Naga Bone.</p><p><strong>Bonebat:</strong> See Bat Bonebat.</p><p><strong>Bones Blazing:</strong> See Blazing Bones.</p><p><strong>Bowlyn, Sailor's Demise:</strong> Bowlyn are undead spirits who, like the poltergeist, do not rest easily in their graves. Without exception, they were sailors on ocean-going vessels who died due to an accident at sea. In life, they were cruel or selfish persons; in death they blame their shipmates for the mishap that took their lives. Thus, they return from their watery graves to force others beneath the icy waves. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Typical hauntings do not occur immediately after the death of the sailor fated to become a bowlyn. It takes the spirit of the seaman from 1-10 years to return from the grave. The first appearance of a bowlyn always takes place on the anniversary of its death and the haunting lasts for 1-6 weeks. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Bussengeist:</strong> A bussengeist is the spectral form of someone who died in a great calamity brought on by their own action or inaction. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>As a rule, only those persons who feel remorse for their actions will become bussengeists. For example, a traitor who allowed an invading force to gain access to a walled city and was himself slain in the ensuing battle might become a bussengeist. If he was killed without warning and felt no pity for those his actions had brought misery to, he would not be transformed. If, on the other hand, he knew that he was about to die and had reason to feel that he had acted in error, he might well become a bussengeist. In his afterlife, he would visit cities in the process of being raided by barbarians, castles being overrun by monsters, and similar scenes. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Carnivore Spirit Warrior:</strong> See Spirit Warrior Carnivore.</p><p><strong>Casurua:</strong> See Ghost Casurua.</p><p><strong>Cat Crypt:</strong> See Crypt Cat.</p><p><strong>Children Anhktepot's:</strong> See Mummy Greater, Anhktepot's Children.</p><p><strong>Chu-U, Legless Ghost:</strong> If travelers agree to listen, the chu-u relates the story of its life as a human. The story is always sad and is told in great detail, beginning with the bad decisions the chu-u made as a child, continuing through its sorrowful experiences as an adult, and ending with the circumstances of its death, usually the result of cowardice or ineptitude. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p>They were neither virtuous enough to pass the judges' examinations nor malevolent enough to merit additional sentencing. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Claktor Bloodfist:</strong> See Zombie Thinking Mul Gladiator 4, Claktor Bloodfist.</p><p><strong>Claw Crawling:</strong> See Crawling Claw.</p><p><strong>Coffer Corpse:</strong> The coffer corpse is an undead creature seeking its final rest. It will always be encountered on a stranded funeral barge, unburnt pyre, or the scene of some other incomplete death ritual. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix)</p><p>The coffer corpse is an undead creature seeking its final rest. It is always encountered on the scene of an incomplete death ritual: a stranded funeral barge, unburnt pyre, or so on. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Con-Tinh:</strong> The malicious con-tinh is a lesser spirit believed to be the spirit of a maiden who died before her time. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p>According to legend, the Celestial Bureaucracy creates a con-tinh from the spirit of a young maiden who has died before her time, usually as a result of a misdeed. The most common misdeed is an illicit love affair, which ends when the maiden is murdered by a rival or jealous spouse. On rare occasions, sisters who conspired in the same misdeed both become con-tinh, their lifeforces tied to identical, adjacent trees. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Controlled Undead, Walking Dead:</strong> Controlled undead are animated corpses such as skeletons and zombies that may not belong to an intelligent species. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Corpse Coffer:</strong> See Coffer Corpse.</p><p><strong>Count Dracula:</strong> See Vampire, Count Dracula.</p><p><strong>Crawling Claw:</strong> Since claws are the animated remains of hands or paws of living creatures, they are apt to be found in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Crawling claws are nothing more than the animated hands and paws of once-living creatures. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Crawling claws can be created by any mage or priest who has knowledge of the techniques required to do so. To begin with, the creator must assemble the severed limbs that are to animated. The maximum number of claws that can be created at any one time is equal to the level of the person enchanting them. The hands (or paws) can be either fresh, skeletal, or at any stage of decomposition in between. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Creature Mummy:</strong> See Mummy Creature. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Crypt Cat:</strong> Crypt cats are domestic cats that have been mummified. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>Crypt cats are created by coating the corpse of a cat with a thin layer of clay that contains magical salves and oils. When dry, it is painted with brilliant colors in the pattern of the cat’s fur. Often, copious amounts of gilt paint are used. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>The composition of the clay that animates a crypt cat is unknown, although it is assumed that high level necromantic spells are involved. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Crypt Cat Large:</strong> Sometimes the bodies of larger felines are made into crypt cats. </p><p><strong>Crypt Servant:</strong> Though it is possible to create a crypt servant from any dead body, volunteers are usually preferred. Many ancient crypt servants actually volunteered for their posts, wishing to serve their masters in death as in life. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>Because of their similar purpose and method of creation, crypt servants are sometimes associated with the crypt thing. The spells to create each are similar and probably have the same roots. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><em>Create Crypt Servant</em> spell. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing Ancestral:</strong> Ancestral crypt things are the raised spirits of the dead that have returned to guard the tombs of their descendants. This happens only in rare cases (determined by the DM). (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing Summoned:</strong> Called into existence by a wizard or priest of at least 14th level. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p><em>Create Crypt Thing</em> spell. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p><strong>Curst:</strong> Curst are undead humans, trapped by an evil curse that will not let them die. They are created by a rare process: The victim’s skin pales to an unearthly white pallor, and his or her eyes turn black while the iris color deepens, becoming small pools of glinting dark color. Curst lose their sense of smell, often lose Intelligence, and develop erratic behaviour as their alignment changes to chaotic neutral. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>In the process of becoming curst, humans lose their sense of smell, any magical abilities, and often their minds (but not their cunning); only 11% of the curst retain their full, former ability score, while most have a lowered Intelligence of 8. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>Curst are created by the bestow curse spell (the reverse of the remove curse spell), and within four rounds adding a properly worded wish spell. Creating them is an evil act. </p><p>About 2% of curst are humanoid. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Dark Man:</strong> See Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man.</p><p><strong>Darkhood:</strong> Legends say that darkhoods are the restless life forces of those who died in a state of extreme terror, especially terror of death itself. To maintain its connection to its territory, the darkhood feeds on the terror of other sapient beings, thus replenishing its own energies. No one has yet found a way to communicate with or adequately study a darkhood, and so the truth behind the legends remains unsubstantiated. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Dead Lord:</strong> See Kaisharga, Dead Lord.</p><p><strong>Dead Walking:</strong> See Controlled Undead, Walking Dead.</p><p><strong>Death Knight:</strong> A death knight is the horrifying corruption of a Knight of Solamnia, cursed by the gods to its terrible form as punishment for betraying the code of honor it held in its former life. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p>The death knights of Krynn are former Knights of Solamnia who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. (For instance, Lord Soth, the most famous of all death knights, murdered his wife so that he could continue an affair with an elf maid.) Death knights are cursed to remain in their former domains, usually castles or other strongholds. They are further condemned to remember their crime in song on any night when one of Krynn's three moons is full; few sounds are as terrifying as a death knight's chilling melody echoing through the moonlit countryside. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Death Knight, Lord Soth:</strong> The death knights of Krynn are former Knights of Solamnia who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. (For instance, Lord Soth, the most famous of all death knights, murdered his wife so that he could continue an affair with an elf maid.) (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Death Knight Lord of Sithicus, Lord Soth:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Deep Man:</strong> See Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man.</p><p><strong>Demi-Shade:</strong> See Arch-Shadow Demi-Shade.</p><p><strong>Demise Sailor's:</strong> See Bowlyn, Sailor's Demise.</p><p><strong>Desert Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Desert.</p><p><strong>Dhaot:</strong> Dhaots are incorporeal undead that are sometimes created when people die far away from their homes. The spirits of the deceased feel an overwhelming compulsion to return to their homes they had in life. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Many dhaots are halflings who died outside their forests. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Direguard:</strong> See Baneguard Direguard.</p><p><strong>Djim:</strong> See Memedi Djim.</p><p><strong>Dracolich:</strong> The dracolich is an undead creature resulting from the unnatural transformation of an evil dragon. The mysterious Cult of the Dragon practices the powerful magic necessary for the creation of the dracolich, though other practitioners are also rumored to exist. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>A dracolich can be created from any of the evil dragon subspecies. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>The creation of a dracolich is a complex process involving the transformation of an evil dragon by arcane magical forces, the most notorious practitioners of which are members of the Cult of the Dragon. The process is usually a cooperative effort between the evil dragon and the wizards, but especially powerful wizards have been known to coerce an evil dragon to undergo the transformation against its will. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Any evil dragon is a possible candidate for transformation, although old dragons or older with spell-casting abilities are preferred. Once a candidate is secured, the wizards first prepare the dragon's host, an inanimate object that will hold the dragon's life force. The host must be a solid item of not less than 2,000 gp value resistant to decay (wood, for instance, is unsuitable). A gemstone is commonly used for a host, particularly ruby, pearl, carbuncle, and jet, and is often set in the hilt of a sword or other weapon. The host is prepared by casting enchant an item upon it and speaking the name of the evil dragon; the item may resist the spell by successfully saving vs. spell as an llth-level wizard. If the spell is resisted, another item must be used for the host. If the spell is not resisted, the item can then function as a host. If desired, glassteel can be cast upon the host to protect it. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Next, a special potion is prepared for the evil dragon to consume. The exact composition of the potion varies according to the age and type of the dragon, but it must contain precisely seven ingredients, among them a potion of evil dragon control, a potion of invulnerability, and the blood of a vampire. When the evil dragon consumes the potion, the results are determined as follows (roll percentile dice): (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Roll Result</p><p>01-10 No effect. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>11-40 Potion does not work. The dragon suffers 2d12 points of damage and is helpless with convulsions for 1-2 rounds. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>41-50 Potion does not work. The dragon dies. A full wish or similar spell is needed to restore the dragon to life; a wish to transform the dragon into a dracolich results in another roll on this table. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>51-00 Potion works. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>If the potion works, the dragon's spirit transfers to the host, regardless of the distance between the dragon's body and the host. A dim light within the host indicates the presence of the spirit. While contained in the host, the spirit cannot take any actions; it cannot be contacted nor attacked by magic. The spirit can remain in the host indefinitely. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Once the spirit is contained in the host, the host must be brought within 90 feet of a reptilian corpse; under no circumstances can the spirit possess a living body. The spirit's original body is ideal, but the corpse of any reptilian creature that died or was killed within the previous 30 days is suitable. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>The wizard who originally prepared the host must touch the host, cast a magic jar spell while speaking the name of the dragon, then touch the corpse. The corpse must fail a saving throw vs. spell for the spirit to successfully possess it; if it saves, it will never accept the spirit. The following modifiers apply to the roll: (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>[*]10 if the corpse is the spirit's own former body (which can be dead for any length of time).</p><p>[*]4 if the corpse is of the same alignment as the dragon.</p><p>[*]4 if the corpse is that of a true dragon (any type).</p><p>[*]3 if the corpse is that of a firedrake, ice lizard, wyvern, or fire lizard.</p><p>[*]1 if the corpse is that of a dracolisk, dragonne, dinosaur, snake, or other reptile.</p><p>If the corpse accepts the spirit, it becomes animated by the spirit. If the animated corpse is the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a dracolich; however, it will not regain the use of its voice and breath weapon for another seven days (note that it will not be able to cast spells with verbal components during this time). At the end of seven days, the dracolich regains the use of its voice and breath weapon. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>If the animated corpse is not the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a proto-dracolich. A proto-dracolich has the mind and memories of its original form, but has the hit points and immunities to spells and priestly turning of a dracolich. A protodracolich can neither speak nor cast spells; further, it cannot cause chilling damage, use a breath weapon, or cause fear as a dracolich. Its strength, movement, and Armor Class are those of the possessed body. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>To become a full dracolich, a proto-dracolich must devour at least 10% of its original body. Unless the body has been dispatched to another plane of existence, a proto-dracolich can always sense the presence of its original body, regardless of the distance. A proto-dracolich will tirelessly seek out its original body to the exclusion of all other activities. If its original body has been burned, dismembered, or otherwise destroyed, the proto-dracolich need only devour the ashes or pieces equal to or exceeding 10% of its original body mass (total destruction of the original body is possible only through use of a disintegrate or similar spell; the body could be reconstructed with a wish or similar spell, so long as the spell is cast in the same plane as the disintegration). If a proto-dracolich is unable to devour its original body, it is trapped in its current form until slain. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>A proto-dracolich transforms into a full dracolich within seven days after it devours its original body. When the transformation is complete, the dracolich resembles its original body; it can now speak, cast spells, and employ the breath weapon of its original body, in addition to having all of the abilities of a dracolich. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Dracula:</strong> See Vampire, Count Dracula.</p><p><strong>Dragon Ghost:</strong> See Ghost Dragon.</p><p><strong>Dragon Slayer Undead:</strong> See Undead Dragon Slayer.</p><p><strong>Dread:</strong> These undead are created by wizards and priests to serve as guardians. The enchantment involves a set of instructions (similar to the specific triggering conditions for a magic mouth spell), in which the creator of the dread specifies where they are to operate; and under what circumstances they will and won’t attack. The spells also allow the bone to regenerate damage done to it, and to resist aging effects. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Dread Vampiric:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dread Warrior:</strong> Dread warriors are enhanced undead created by Szass Tam, Zulkir of Necromancy for the Red Wizards of Thay. Dread warriors are created immediately after a warrior’s death so that they retain at least minimal intelligence. They must be created from the bodies of fighters of at least 4th level who have been dead for less than a day. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Zulkir Szass Tam created the dread warriors over 20 years ago, intending them for an invasion of Rashemen. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Dread Wolf:</strong> See Wolf Dread.</p><p><strong>Dregoth:</strong> See Kaisharga, Dregoth.</p><p><strong>Drelto of Antalus:</strong> See Meorty Human Fighter 20, Proctor Drelto of Antalus.</p><p><strong>Drowned One:</strong> See Zombie Sea, Drowned One.</p><p><strong>Druj:</strong> See Spirit Druj.</p><p><strong>Dune Runner:</strong> Dune runners are elves who died running to complete a quest or deliver an important message. (MC 12 Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix Terrors of the Desert)</p><p><strong>Dust Skeleton:</strong> See Skeleton Dust.</p><p><strong>Duvall, Andres:</strong> See Lich Bardic, Andres Duvall.</p><p><strong>Dwarf Banshee:</strong> See Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee.</p><p><strong>Dwarf Undead:</strong> See Undead Dwarf.</p><p><strong>Dwarf Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Dwarf, Dwarven Vampire.</p><p><strong>Dwarven Banshee:</strong> See Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee.</p><p><strong>Dwarven Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Dwarf, Dwarven Vampire.</p><p><strong>Ekimmu:</strong> An ekimmu is an angry undead spirit that was once human. It is created when a human dies far from home and is not given proper burial rites. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Eldena:</strong> See Raaig Elf Cleric 14, Eldena, Guardian of the Mountain Temple.</p><p><strong>Elf Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Elf, Elvish Vampire.</p><p><strong>Elvish Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Elf, Elvish Vampire.</p><p><strong>Evil Phantom:</strong> See Phantom Evil.</p><p><strong>Evirdel Ironhand:</strong> See Zombie Thinking Human Templar 6, Evirdel Ironhand.</p><p><strong>Fael:</strong> Faels are ravenous undead beings who never quenched their need for material consumption during life. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Rich humans and demihumans are often subject to this form of undeath. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Most faels are from the upper echelons of society and most are elves or humans. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Faerie Unseelie Undead:</strong> Undead members of the Unseelie Court come into being when a faerie (of any alignment) dies in a battle between the two courts. The horror of kin slaying kin creates a ripple through the Seeming itself, preventing the deceased faerie from dissipating into it. The creature’s spirit becomes trapped, sentenced to eternally walk the Shadow World but stripped of the magical abilities it once had. It becomes an unthinking being, lashing out in anger and resentment at the living, held in check only by the Dark Queen. (Blood Spawn)</p><p><strong>Firelich:</strong> Firelichs are high-level evil mages whose bodies were prepared for lichdom upon their death. Such mages, either through ignorance (such as in casting fire spells) or spell failure, exploded in the phlogiston. The lich-preparation spells in their bodies turned them into living fireballs of undeath, racing through wildspace, screaming in eternal pain and looking for something to collide with, as a way to extinguish the flames. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p>It is unknown how the wizard gets from the phlogiston to wildspace. Since the only wizards that can become fireliches are the ones that had made previous preparations for lichdom, some guess that the arcane lich ceremonies tear a temporary hole into wildspace. The energy to create this tear may come from the explosion that created the firelich. If this is true, the hole certainly closes immediately after the firelich enters wildspace. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p><strong>Flameskull:</strong> These magically powered flying skulls are fashioned from human heads soon after their owners’ deaths. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>They are studied by alchemists, priests, and wizards whenever possible in an effort to duplicate their powers or the means of their making (so far without reported success), or to find special properties that their flames might possess. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Freewilled Undead:</strong> Freewilled undead once belonged to an intelligent species and in undeath continue to think for themselves. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Gaki, Nin-Chu-Jugaki:</strong> Gaki are lesser spirits derived from the wicked, who have returned to the Prime Material Plane in the form of horrible monsters as punishment for their sins. The name "gaki" refers to a variety of such spirits. They are also known as the "nin-chu-jugaki." (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p>The type of gaki depends on the nature of the crimes committed in the spirit's former life. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Gaki Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki:</strong> Jiki-ketsu-gaki are corrupted spirits of priests or other holy men who were guilty of heresy in their former lives. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Gaki Jiki-Niku-Gaki:</strong> Jiki-niku-gaki are corrupted spirits of humans or humanoids who were guilty of excessive avarice in their former lives. Greedy merchants and miserly moneylenders often become these ghoulish, repulsive monsters. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Gaki Shikki-Gaki:</strong> Most shikki-gaki are the corrupted spirits of irresponsible medical personnel or negligent servants. But about 15% once were lesser nature spirits that inhabited mushrooms or other fungi sprouting from the trunks of decaying trees. These nature spirits completely succumbed to their evil aspect. Usually, they developed a taste for bluebirds, butterflies, or similarly docile creatures. The Celestial Bureaucracy warned them to stop, but they persisted. As a result, they were destroyed and reborn as a mushroom shikki-gaki. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Gaki Shinen-Gaki:</strong> Shinen-gaki may originate from the spirit of any wicked human, but often they're created from the spirit of a traitorous or cowardly soldier. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Gholor:</strong> See Undead Beast Gholor.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Ghosts are the spirits of humans who were either so greatly evil in life or whose deaths were so unusually emotional they have been cursed with the gift of undead status. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Ghost mounts are undead creatures which can help desperate or foolish travelers cover vast distances, but at a price. These beasts are aptly named, not only for their appearance, but also because those who ride a ghost mount may themselves become ghosts, doomed to wandering the deserts by night. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix)</p><p>When clueless primes of great evil perish or when poor sods die a particularly traumatic or untimely death, their spirits sometimes linger to haunt the site of their passing. (A Guide to the Ethereal Plane)</p><p>If the Waldershen have died and the heroes have not managed to banish Vlana from the manor grounds with her ashes, she takes control of the manor house and attempts to rule the lands around it. She begins terrorizing the village and turns her victims into ghosts bent-on serving her needs. (Children of the Night Ghosts)</p><p>Ghosts are the souls of creatures who were either so evil or so emotional during life that, upon death, they were cursed with undead status. (Dragon 162)</p><p>Take the case of a person hopelessly in love with another (in literature, this is often a young girl who's fallen for a heartless cad). When the girl realizes that her love is unrequited, she falls into despair and kills herself. Her passion is so strong, even in death, that her soul remains bound to the Prime Material and Ethereal planes as a ghost. (Dragon 162)</p><p>The ghost's suicide might not be an attempt to escape from pain, but rather an act of anger, a spiteful “grand gesture.” (Dragon 162)</p><p>As with haunts (Monster Manual II, page 74), people who die leaving a vital task unfinished might remain bound to the world by their own indomitable will or sense of duty. (Dragon 162)</p><p>A ghost might be bound to the world not by its own will, but by the existence of a particular object. In literature, this “spiritual anchor” is sometimes an item that was of great emotional importance to the ghost while alive, hut more often it is a piece of the ghost's mortal body. (Dragon 162)</p><p>A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. (Dragon 205)</p><p><strong>Ghost Casurua:</strong> The casurua is an undead manifestation that results from a group suffering traumatic death. It is most likely to form where a massacre has taken place, but could be found anywhere a group has suffered violent death, such as a burned-out building. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>A casurua can form anywhere violent death occurs, especially unexpected or wrongful death. It is rarely found on a battlefield, because violent death there is expected and accepted. A casurua most often forms on a battlefield when the slain died by treachery. Casurua are most likely found on the sites of disaster, natural or otherwise. Ruins are prime habitats for casurua, especially places that were razed and looted. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Ghost Dragon:</strong> A ghost dragon is created when an ancient dragon is slain and its hoard looted. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Only ancient dragons can become ghost dragons. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Ghost Ker:</strong> Popular tradition identifies keres with evil spirits of the dead. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Ghost Legless:</strong> See Chu-U, Legless Ghost.</p><p><strong>Ghost Mount:</strong> Ghost mounts are formed from the spirits of mistreated animals, creatures so brutally handled in life that they survive after death to take vengeance on all creatures who ride them. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix)</p><p><strong>Ghost of Obsession:</strong> See Lhiannan Shee, The Ghost of Obsession.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Any human or demi-human (except elves) killed by a ghoulish attack will become a ghoul unless blessed (or blessed and then resurrected). (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>A Nabassu's death gaze causes anyone they look at to save vs. spells or become a ghast (or ghoul if the victim is a demihuman). (MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix)</p><p>The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Any human or demihuman slain by Hesketh will become a ghoul; only if the body is blessed is this horrible fate averted. If the victim is raised or resurrected without being blessed, he or she will rise at once as a ravening ghoul. Of course, if the body is destroyed—for example, if Hesketh and his associates eat their victim—it cannot become a ghoul. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>A human or humanoid creature whose Intelligence or Wisdom is reduced to 0 by a cerebral vampire becomes a ghoul under its complete control. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p>The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature then hunts down those men who served it in life and kills them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil band will again plague the lands. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>Any human or demihuman slain by Hesketh will become a ghoul; only if the body is blessed is this horrible fate averted. If the victim is raised or resurrected without being blessed, he or she will rise at once as a ravening ghoul. Of course, if the body is destroyed – for example, if Hesketh and his associates eat their victim – it cannot become a ghoul. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>If the mage is slain by his undead familiar he will rise again as a ghoul. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix III)</p><p>Jean Tarascon's servants have all become ghouls, turned into the foul creatures by eating carrion at the madman's insistence. (RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead)</p><p>To fully participate in Marcel's new state of existence, Jean has ordered the family servants to feast on dead human flesh as well. This has turned his servants into ghouls. (RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Spellbound)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Villain's Lorebook)</p><p><em>Undeath After Death</em> spell. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p><em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell. (Prayers from the Faithful)</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast:</strong> A Nabassu's death gaze causes anyone they look at to save vs. spells or become a ghast (or ghoul if the victim is a demihuman). (MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix)</p><p>The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The bite of a ghoul lord causes the victim to contract a horrible rotting disease unless a saving throw vs. poison is made. Those afflicted with this illness will lose 1d10 hit points and 1 point from their Constitution and Charisma scores each day. If either ability score or their hit point totals reach 0, the person dies. If the body is not destroyed, they will rise as a ghast on the third night after their death. In such a state, they are wholly under the command of the creature that made them until such time as that horror is destroyed. At that point, they become free-willed creatures. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The rotting disease can be cured by nothing less than a heal spell. Once the progression of the disease is halted, the victim's Constitution score will return to its original value at the rate of 1 point per week. Their Charisma, however, will remain at its reduced level because of the horrible scars this ailment leaves on both body and soul. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>If the body of a ghoul lord's rotting disease victim is not destroyed, they will rise as a ghast on the third night after their death. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>If the body of a lebentod's victim is disturbed before 72 hours have elapsed, the victim awakens as a ghast. (RA2 Ship of Horror)</p><p>If the body of a lebentod's victim is disturbed before 72 hours have elapsed, the victim awakens as a ghast. (RA2 Ship of Horror)</p><p>“He forced me to carry the corpse he had selected to the site of the massacre of the farm's inhabitants and, as I followed him, I was followed by his trio of ghouls, all hoping to somehow get a taste of the body. I was ordered to place the corpse next to the remains of the newly dead. All-Fear-His-Howl then began to perform some ritual over the bodies. (Dragon 173)</p><p>“After an interminable period, the exhumed body began to twitch and rock, while the recent kills became flaccid and empty of all contents, now little more than a collection of bones and skin. And then, suddenly, the jerking corpse's eyes opened, and it stood up, the horrible stench of the dead assaulting my senses like never before. The witch doctor had created a more powerful undead servant in the form of a ghast. (Dragon 173)</p><p>Some 20% of flind shamans of 4th or higher level know of a special ritual to create a ghast. (Dragon 173)</p><p><em>Undeath After Death</em> spell. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p><em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell. (Prayers from the Faithful)</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast, Jugo Hesketh:</strong> Long ago, Hesketh was a senior priest in the cult of the false god Zhakata led by Yagno Petrovna, the lord of G'henna. As Petrovna's chief Inquisitor, among his horrid duties were dreadful acts of torture and sacrifice; secretly, he practiced cannibalism on the corpses of his hapless victims. Over the years, these unholy practices warped his soul and, upon his death, transformed him into an undead fiend. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>When Hesketh died, a terrible curse fell upon him. The origins of this curse may lie in his own taste for human flesh or in the dying oaths of his countless victims. Whatever the source, this curse saw him transformed into a foul thing of the night. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Long ago, Hesketh was a senior priest in the cult of the false god Zhakata led by Yagno Petrovna, the lord of G’henna. As Petrovna’s chief Inquisitor, among his horrid duties were dreadful arts of torture and sacrifice; secretly, he practiced cannibalism on the corpses of his hapless victims. Over the years, these unholy practices warped his soul and, upon his death, transformed him into an undead fiend. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>When Hesketh died, a terrible curse fell upon him. The origins of this curse may lie in his own taste for human flesh or in the dying oaths of his countless victims. Whatever the source, this curse saw him transformed into a foul thing of the night. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p><strong>Ghoul Lacedon:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul Lord:</strong> Ghoul lords are unique to the demiplane of Ravenloft. It is rumored that they were first created at the hands of an insane necromancer in some other dimension, but that they were so evil as to instantly draw the attention of the Dark Powers. The Mists of Ravenloft absorbed all of the existing ghoul lords and scattered them across the domains. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Ghoul Sheet:</strong> See Sheet Ghoul.</p><p><strong>Ghul:</strong> Only jann slain by great ghuls become ghuls themselves; all other races are simply slain and devoured. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix)</p><p><strong>Ghul Great:</strong> The great ghuls are undead elemental cousins of the genies, the most wicked members of an inferior order of jann. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix)</p><p>The great ghuls are undead elemental cousins of the genies, the most wicked members of an inferior order of jann. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Ghul Great Desert:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul Great Mage:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul Great Mountain:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul Great Sha'ir:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul-Kin</strong> The ghul-kin are related to the great ghuls, and like them are undead jann. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Ghul-Kin Soultaker:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul-Kin Witherer:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Giant Skeleton:</strong> See Skeleton Giant.</p><p><strong>Giorggio Wagner:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Githyanki Lich-Queen:</strong> See Lich Githyanki Lich-Queen.</p><p><strong>Gnome Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Gnome, Gnomish Vampire.</p><p><strong>Gnomish Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Gnome, Gnomish Vampire.</p><p><strong>Gray Philosopher:</strong> A gray philosopher is the undead spirit of an evil cleric who died with some important philosophical deliberation yet unresolved in his or her mind. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p>Certain clerics and academicians speculate that any powerful evil cleric who, at death becomes a gray philosopher may have been attempting to become one of the Immortals. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Gray Philosopher Malice:</strong> These vindictive creatures are actually the gray philosopher’s evil thoughts, which have taken on substance and a will of their own. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Great Ghul:</strong> See Ghul Great.</p><p><strong>Greater Agarat:</strong> See Agarat Greater.</p><p><strong>Greater Kragling:</strong> See Kragling Greater.</p><p><strong>Greater Lightning Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Lightning Greater.</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy, Anhktepot's Children:</strong> See Mummy Greater, Anhktepot's Children.</p><p><strong>Greater Shadowrath:</strong> See Shadowrath Greater.</p><p><strong>Greater Wyrd:</strong> See Wyrd Greater.</p><p><strong>Greater Zombie Lightning:</strong> See Zombie Lightning Greater.</p><p><strong>Groaning Spirit:</strong> See Banshee, Groaning Spirit.</p><p><strong>Guardian of the Mountain Temple:</strong> See Raaig Elf Cleric 14, Eldena, Guardian of the Mountain Temple.</p><p><strong>Guardian Spectral Minion:</strong> See Spectral Minion Guardian.</p><p><strong>Half Hit Dice Wight:</strong> See Wight Half Hit Dice.</p><p><strong>Halfling Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Halfling.</p><p><strong>Hanged Man:</strong> See Valpurgeist, Hanged Man.</p><p><strong>Harrla:</strong> The harrla seems to be a natural creature. While some speculate that it is undead or of extraplanar origin, there seems to be little proof of this. Most sages agree that the harrla is not a product of the negative material plane, as most undead are. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> A haunt is the restless spirit of a person who died leaving some vital task unfinished. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two)</p><p>The exact task to be accomplished varies, but the motives are always powerful (revenge, unfulfilled greed, love, and so forth). Often great distances need to be traveled before the task can be completed and a haunt will drive its host mercilessly toward the goal, ignoring all needs for food or sleep. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Haunt Knight:</strong> See Knight Haunt.</p><p><strong>Herbivore Spirit Warrior:</strong> See Spirit Warrior Herbivore.</p><p><strong>Hesketh, Jugo:</strong> See Ghoul Ghast, Jugo Hesketh.</p><p><strong>Heucuva:</strong> Legends tell that heucuva are the restless spirits of monastic priests who were less than faithful to their holy vows. In punishment for their heresies, they are forced to roam the dark. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Horror Mist:</strong> See Mist Horror.</p><p><strong>Horror Wandering:</strong> See Mist Horror Wandering Horror.</p><p><strong>Hrutghel:</strong> See Kaisharga, Hrutghel.</p><p><strong>Ice Queen:</strong> See Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen.</p><p><strong>Illithid Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Illithid.</p><p><strong>Illithilich:</strong> See Alhoon, Illithilich.</p><p><strong>Inquisitor:</strong> Created by evil wizards centuries ago, inquisitors are a shambling, rotting, undead abomination, living on sheer terror. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Inquisitors are biologically immortal, cursed hundreds or thousands of years ago to forever cause pain and extract information. They cannot reproduce. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Created by evil wizards centuries ago, inquisitors are a shambling, rotting, undead abominations. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p>Inquisitors were cursed hundreds of years ago to forever cause pain and extract information. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Ironhand, Evirdel:</strong> See Zombie Thinking Human Templar 6, Evirdel Ironhand.</p><p><strong>Isu Rehkotep, Priest 9:</strong> If she perished, she might still be encountered in undead form. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Jagmargal:</strong> See Kaisharga Human Cleric 19, Jagmargal.</p><p><strong>Jezra Wagner:</strong> See Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen.</p><p><strong>Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki:</strong> See Gaki Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki.</p><p><strong>Jiki-Niku-Gaki:</strong> See Gaki Jiki-Niku-Gaki.</p><p><strong>Jugo Hesketh:</strong> See Ghoul Ghast, Jugo Hesketh.</p><p><strong>Kagonesti Wichtlin:</strong> See Wichtlin Kagonesti.</p><p><strong>Kaisharga, Dead Lord:</strong> They have sought undeath, unnaturally extending their lives past the endurance of their mortal frames. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>The kaisharga is a dreadful creature that has turned its back on the rightful order of things, trading life for power. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>The Dragon confers undeath on any of its servants who prove exceptionally capable, loyal, and efficient. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>They voluntarily sought undeath, believing it to be a form of immortality. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Kaisharga, Dregoth:</strong> Xontra was once a servant of Dregoth, the sorcerer-king. The powerful dragon kaisharga transformed her into a kaisharga using the same secret methods he had used upon himself. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Kaisharga, Hrutghel:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kaisharga Dray Defiler 21, Xontra:</strong> Xontra was once a servant of Dregoth, the sorcerer-king. The powerful dragon kaisharga transformed her into a kaisharga using the same secret methods he had used upon himself. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Kaisharga Human Cleric 19, Jagmargal:</strong> Jagmargal was a great hero of ages past. While he was a great priest, he was better known as an explorer. He was captured by Hrutghel, a powerful kaisharga who was Jagmargal's greatest enemy, and was transformed into a kaisharga himself. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Kaisharga Human Gladiator 23, Neltor:</strong> Neltor was a former gladiator who was a little past his prime. He was recently transformed into a kaisharga by the Dragon, Lord of the Ring of Fire. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Kedomir:</strong> See T'Liz Human Defiler 23, Kedomir.</p><p><strong>Kender Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Kender.</p><p><strong>Ker:</strong> See Ghost Ker.</p><p><strong>Knight Death:</strong> See Death Knight.</p><p><strong>Knight Haunt:</strong> A knight haunt is a floating suit of Solamnic armor, always accompanied by some sort of weapon. If the battle where the knight fell was one where more than 100 Solamnic knights died then it is always riding a suit of floating horse barding.</p><p>A knight haunt is sometimes (5% chance) created when an especially lawful good Knight with a Wisdom of 17 or higher dies in battle. The haunt rises with the next full moon phase of Solinari. If its armor has been taken away, the power of the spirit can magically teleport the armor back to the site of the battlefield. If its armor has been destroyed, the power that creates the haunt can create an exact duplicate of the armor it wore. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Krag:</strong> Krags are undead created when a cleric aligned to an element or para-element dies in the medium diametrically opposed to his own. The anguish and trauma of dying to the very force he devoted his life to opposing is sometimes enough to transform a cleric into a wicked and bitter undead. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) </p><p><strong>Kragling:</strong> Kraglings are creatures who have perished from the elemental transfusion attack of a krag. Anything that dies in this manner has a 45% chance of coming back as a kragling in 1-4 days. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Any creature can become a kragling if it was killed by the elemental transfusion of a krag. Silt spawn, humanoids, demihumans, humans, and even nonhumanoid monsters are all subject to the transfusion attack and thus can become kraglings. What type of kragling and how powerful it is depends on the creature’s Hit Dice. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>A character bitten by a krag must make a saving throw versus death, or his blood will slowly turn into the krag’s element. As the blood changes, the victim suffers 1d4 additional points of damage per round. If death results, there is a 45% chance that the victim will become a kragling in 1d4 days. This infection counts as a poison or a disease for purposes of countering, so sweet water or even a cure disease spell will halt the process instantly. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Kragling Greater:</strong> Greater kraglings are created when creatures with more than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag’s elemental transfusion. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Kragling Lesser:</strong> Lesser kraglings are created when creatures with less than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag’s elemental transfusion. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Kuei:</strong> A lesser spirit of the dead, the kuei is a manifestation of a human or humanoid who died by violence unavenged or with a purpose unfulfilled. The spirit's former body was not buried. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Lake Monster Undead:</strong> See Undead Lake Monster.</p><p><strong>Large Crypt Cat:</strong> See Crypt Cat Large.</p><p><strong>Lawkeeper of Bodach, 5th:</strong> See Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach.</p><p><strong>Legless Ghost:</strong> See Chu-U, Legless Ghost.</p><p><strong>Lesser Kragling:</strong> See Kragling Lesser.</p><p><strong>Lesser Shadowrath:</strong> See Shadowrath Lesser, Blackbones.</p><p><strong>Lesser Slow Shadow:</strong> See Slow Shadow Lesser.</p><p><strong>Lesser Spirit:</strong> See Racked Spirit Lesser Spirit.</p><p><strong>Lhiannan Shee, The Ghost of Obsession:</strong> It is thought to be the undead spirit of a woman who killed herself for the unrequited love of a bard or other artistically talented and desirable, but unobtainable or callous man. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> In order to become a lich, the wizard must prepare its phylactery by the use of the enchant an item, magic jar, permanency and reincarnation spells. The phylactery, which can be almost any manner of object, must be of the finest craftsmanship and materials with a value of not less than 1,500 gold pieces per level of the wizard. Once this object is created, the would-be lich must craft a potion of extreme toxicity, which is then enchanted with the following spells: wraithform, permanency, cone of cold, feign death, and animate dead. When next the moon is full, the potion is imbibed. Rather than death, the potion causes the wizard to undergo a transformation into its new state. A system shock survival throw is required, with failure indicating an error in the creation of the potion which kills the wizard and renders him forever dead. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Often in attempts to attain divine status through powerful rituals or the use of artifacts, failure (in the form of a tacit “no” from Ao) results in the mortal becoming a lich, being transformed into some other form of odd undead creature, or being totally destroyed. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p>In centuries past, the Black Lord had transformed over 35 living High Imperceptors at the end of their tenure into undead “Mouths of Bane”— Baneliches. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p>Throughout the domains of Ravenloft and in countless other worlds, there are few creatures more terrible than the lich. In most cases, these diabolical creatures seek out the means by which they attain unread status, willingly sacrificing their humanity in the quest for forbidden knowledge and unchecked power. In rare cases, the curse of eternal life has been thrust upon somone quite accidentally. Such tragedies are few and far between, but sadly they do occur. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>Horror literature contains many tales of people who were too involved in their pursuits, often magical research, to even notice their own deaths. Their concentration is intense enough to bind their spirits to their bodies, and to the Prime Material plane. (Dragon 162)</p><p>Perhaps at the time of their physical death, their concentration and willpower was intense enough to bind them to the material world, or perhaps the transition was the whim of a deity. (Dragon 162)</p><p>Throughout the domains of Ravenloft and in countless other worlds, there are few creatures more terrible than the lich. In most cases, these diabolical creatures seek out the means by which they attain undead status, willingly sacrificing their humanity in the quest for forbidden knowledge and unchecked power. In rare cases, the curse of eternal life has been thrust upon someone quite accidentally. Such tragedies are few and far between, but sadly they do occur. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Lich Archlich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich Bardic, Andres Duvall:</strong> Because of the unusual way in which Andres Duvall became undead, he does not have a phylactery or similar vessel containing his life force. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>As he explored this terrible place, Azalin discovered his trespasses and confronted him. Enraged at this violation of his hospitality, the lich unleashed a stroke of magical lightning at the bard. Reacting quickly, Duvall attempted to shield himself with the great book he had been about to examine. The lightning struck the tome, which happened to be one of Azalin's most potent books of spells, and a terrible explosion shook the castle. Showers of blazing fragments ignited fires around the room and thick, acrid smoke boiled into the air. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Lich Demilich:</strong> The demilich is not, as the name implies, a weaker form of the lich. Rather, it is the stage into which a lich will eventually evolve as the power which has sustained its physical form gradually begins to fail. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p><strong>Lich Githyanki Lich-Queen:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich-Queen:</strong> See Lich Githyanki Lich-Queen.</p><p><strong>Lich Lord of Darkon, Azalin:</strong> While visiting the elves of Neblus, he came upon the fragments of an ancient tome. This mysterious document told the tale of a young wizard who sought greater and greater power. At first, he found the story distracting. As he read more, he found it engrossing, though horrifying. In the end, he knew that he had found an account detailing the process by which Azalin, the Lord of Darkon, had become a lich. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Lich of Bane, Banelich, Mouth of Bane:</strong> Tired of his faithful becoming victims, every 50-60 years Bane chose the most powerful priest within the ranks of his clerics and revealed to him or her a foul rite that would transform the caster, through force of faith, strength of will, and Bane’s divine hand, into a powerful, immortal form – a lich of Bane, or Banelich. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Baneliches were at least 17th-level clerics before they were transformed, and several were 20th level or higher. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Lich Psionic:</strong> Psionic liches are powerful espers who have left behind the physical demands of life in pursuit of ultimate mental powers. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>Although the power that transformed them is natural (not supernatural, as it is with other liches), the extent to which psionic liches have pursued their goals is not natural. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>By far the most important aspect of the existence of the psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character.The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature’s spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns, and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist’s life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete the phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is closed it cannot be reopened. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist’s life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place the character must make a system shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. Only the powers of a deity are strong enough to revive a character who has died in this way; even a wish will not suffice. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character. (Dragon 174)</p><p>The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature's spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th-level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. (Dragon 174)</p><p>Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist's life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way that the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete a phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is “closed,” it cannot be reopened. (Dragon 174)</p><p>During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist's life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place, the character must make a system-shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of become undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. (Dragon 174)</p><p><strong>Lich Suel:</strong> These powerful wizards endure the centuries by transferring their life forces from one human host to the next. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>The Suel lich is an unholy amalgamation of the human body and energ from the Negative Material Plane. Upon transformation into a Suel lich, the essence of the wizard is converted to negative energy that needs a human body to inhabit. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Lightning Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Lightning.</p><p><strong>Lord Dead:</strong> See Kaisharga, Dead Lord.</p><p><strong>Lord of Barovia:</strong> See Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich. </p><p><strong>Lord of Darkon:</strong> See Lich Lord of Darkon, Azalin.</p><p><strong>Lord of Har'akir, Anhktepot:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lord of Sithicus:</strong> See Death Knight Lord of Sithicus, Lord Soth.</p><p><strong>Lord Soth:</strong> See Death Knight, Lord Soth.</p><p><strong>Lord Soth:</strong> See Death Knight Lord of Sithicus, Lord Soth.</p><p><strong>Lyssa Von Zarovich:</strong> See Vampire, Lyssa Von Zarovich.</p><p><strong>Magian:</strong> See The Magian.</p><p><strong>Malice:</strong> See Gray Philosopher Malice.</p><p><strong>Man Dark:</strong> See Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man.</p><p><strong>Man Deep:</strong> See Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man.</p><p><strong>Man Hanged:</strong> See Valpurgeist, Hanged Man.</p><p><strong>Mariner Ancient:</strong> See Ancient Mariner.</p><p><strong>Mariner Shadow:</strong> Any creature killed by the energy drain of an ancient mariner becomes an mariner shadow with most of the abilities of a normal shadow. (MC7 Monstrous Compenium Spelljammer Appendix)</p><p><strong>Master Vampire:</strong> See Vampire.</p><p><strong>Mayonaka:</strong> See Vampire Eastern, Mayonaka.</p><p><strong>Memedi Djim:</strong> Djim are spirits of deceased priests, typically appearing as elderly, bald men wearing long prayer robes. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Memedi Uwil:</strong> Uwil are derived from the spirit of dead sohei. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix)</p><p><strong>Meorty:</strong> Meorties were created long ago through the necromancies of high priests and through the use of long-lost psionic abilities for the purpose of serving as the protectors of various Green-Age domains. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Meorties are undead who were once protectors of domains that vanished more than 2,000 years ago. They were placed in crypts with large amounts of treasure, so they might continue to look after their realms in death. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>All meorties are of the old races (human, elf, dwarf, giant, and halfling). (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach:</strong> Odrela was one of the most respected law-keepers in the history of ancient Bodach. When the time came to select a new meorty to administer to the domain, she accepted her fate and joined the ranks of the undead protectors. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Meorty Human Fighter 20, Proctor Drelto of Antalus:</strong> Proctor Drelto was once a feared and powerful law-keeper in the long-forgotten province of Antalus. He was voluntarily transformed into a meorty so that he could continue to defend Antalus for eternity. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Minion Spectral:</strong> See Spectral Minion.</p><p><strong>Mist Horror:</strong> Mist horrors are the spirits of evil beings who, while not foul enough to receive their own domain, attracted the attention of the Dark Powers with their diabolical acts during life. Upon their deaths, their spirits leave their bodies to enter the mists. Throughout Ravenloft, there is a superstition that anyone buried on a foggy day will become a mist horror. This may or may not be true, but the Vistani themselves seem to take this belief very seriously and that lends great credence to it in the eyes of many. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>As mentioned above, mist horrors are the spirits of evil beings who did not merit a place as lord of their own domain. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>In essence, a mist horror is the evil soul of a being foul enough to draw the attention of the Dark Powers, but not so evil as to be rewarded/cursed with their own domain. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Mist Horror Wandering Horror:</strong> Wandering horrors appear as dark shapes that can be seen as they move through the mists. Unlike mist horrors, they are locked into a single shape—one that is based on the evil deed they did in life. For example, a cruel baron who ordered those he considered disloyal beheaded might well appear as a wandering figure without a head while a woman who murdered her lover with a poisonous spider might appear as a giant black widow. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The wandering horror is an evolutionary step above the mist horror. In essence, a mist horror is the evil soul of a being foul enough to draw the attention of the Dark Powers, but not so evil as to be rewarded/cursed with their own domain. After a period of time as a mist horror, however, this spirit may have caused enough fear and suffering (in short, done enough evil) to be elevated to the status of wandering horror. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Monster Mummy:</strong> See Mummy Creature Monster.</p><p><strong>Mount Ghost:</strong> See Ghost Mount.</p><p><strong>Mouth of Bane:</strong> See Lich of Bane, Banelich, Mouth of Bane.</p><p><strong>Mud Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Mud.</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> Mummies are corpses native to dry desert areas, where the dead are entombed by a process known as mummification. When their tombs are disturbed, the corpses become animated into a weird unlife state, whose unholy hatred of life causes them to attack living things without mercy. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Mummies are the product of an embalming process used on wealthy and important personages. Most mummies are corpses without magical properties. On occasion, perhaps due to powerful evil magic or perhaps because the individual was so greedy in life that he refuses to give up his treasure, the spirit of the mummified person will not die, but taps into energy from the Positive Material plane and is transformed into an undead horror. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>To create a mummy, a corpse should be soaked in a preserving solution (typically carbonate of soda) for several weeks and covered with spices and resins. Body organs, such as the heart, brain, and liver, are typically removed and sealed in jars. Sometimes gems are wrapped in the cloth. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10+2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10 + 2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>In most cases, a diseased person crumbles into dust when he or she dies. If Senmet chooses, however, he can convert someone infected with his rotting disease into a unique breed of zombie or an actual mummy. In either case, the newly created horror is completely under Senmet's control. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>In order to create a mummy, Senmet captures someone infected with his disease and takes his victim to his hidden temple. Here, he mummifies the person alive (a terrible and gruesome fate, to be certain). When the process is completed, the victim dies and promptly rises again as a mummy. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Characters infected by Senmet that are mummified alive (a gruesome process), become mummies under the control of Senmet. (RA3 Touch of Death)</p><p><em>Undeath After Death</em> spell. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p><strong>Mummy Bog:</strong> Bog mummies are formed when a corpse comes to rest in a marsh or swamp and is naturally mummified by being coated in a layer of mud. Eventually the body takes on the dark coloration of the earth and becomes as tough as tanned leather. The clothing is partially preserved and sticks to the corpse in patches, as does hair. The facial features are distorted in a permanent grimace and the hands are stiffened into clawlike hooks. When the corpse at last rises as an undead creature, it walks with an uneven gait, due to the stiffness of its limbs. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p>A bog mummy rises as an undead creature when a powerful burst of positive energy causes the dead person’s spirit to rejoin with a body preserved by the bog. Bog mummies might be created by a priest or another bog mummy from a fresh corpse taken into the bog. They might also be the result of the interplay of a powerful positive energy source and latent traumatic emotional forces. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Mummy Creature:</strong> Creature mummies are undead whose bodies are preserved, then animated by their restless spirits. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>Creature mummies may be created in a variety of ways. Their reanimation may result from intense death throes coupled by a will to live, invocation from dark priestly rituals, or creation by a necromancer or some powerful undead creature. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Mummy Creature Animal:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy Creature Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater, Anhktepot's Children:</strong> Also known as Anhktepot's Children, greater mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding of a burial place. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Greater mummies look just like their more common cousins save that they are almost always adorned with (un)holy symbols and wear the vestments of their religious order. They give off an odor that is said to be reminiscent of a spice cupboard because of the herbs used in the embalming process that created them. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Greater mummies are powerful undead creatures that are usually created from the mummified remains of powerful, evil priests. This being the case, the greater mummy now draws its mystical abilities from evil powers and darkness. In rare cases, however, the mummified priests served non-evil god in life and are still granted the powers they had in life from those gods. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the Lord of Har'akir, in the years before he became undead himself. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har'akir. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The so-called Children of Anhktepot are a horrible and sinister lot. Most were created by the dread lord of Har'Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Unlike all of the other greater mummies that guard Har'Akir's temples and tombs, Senmet was not created by Anhktepot. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater, Senmet:</strong> The so-called Children of Anhktepot are a horrible and sinister lot. Most were created by the dread lord of Har'Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. Senmet, however, was given his power and undead stature by Isu Rehkotep, a priestess who stumbled upon a magical scroll. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Unlike all of the other greater mummies that guard Har'Akir's temples and tombs, Senmet was not created by Anhktepot. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater 99 Years Old or Less:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater 100-199 Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater 200-299 Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater 300-199 Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater 400-199 Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater 500 or More Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Naga Bone:</strong> Bone nagas are created undead. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>Created by dark nagas and a few evil mages to serve as guardians, these spellcasting worms serve their master with absolute loyalty. Their creation is an exacting process, hence their rarity. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>Bone nagas are usually created by the nagara (evil nagakind, or dark nagas) to be guardians, especially of young nagas and nonmagical treasure. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Nameless Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:</strong> See Raaig Human Fighter 9, Nameless Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns.</p><p><strong>Nektar Spirit Warrior:</strong> See Spirit Warrior Nektar.</p><p><strong>Neltor:</strong> See Kaisharga Human Gladiator 23, Neltor.</p><p><strong>Nevarli:</strong> See T'Liz Human Defiler 19, Nevarli.</p><p><strong>Nikolos:</strong> See Wraith Athasian Human Fighter 11, Nikolos.</p><p><strong>Nin-Chu-Jugaki:</strong> See Gaki, Nin-Chu-Jugaki.</p><p><strong>Nonstandard Phantom Sight:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sight.</p><p><strong>Nonstandard Phantom Smell:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Smell.</p><p><strong>Nonstandard Phantom Sound:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sound.</p><p><strong>Obsidian Skeleton:</strong> See Skeleton Obsidian.</p><p><strong>Odic:</strong> See Spirit Odic.</p><p><strong>One Drowned:</strong> See Zombie Sea, Drowned One.</p><p><strong>Ordela:</strong> See Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach.</p><p><strong>Penanggalan:</strong> A female victim of a penanggalan will rise from the grave in three days as a penanggalan, as a free-willed undead. If an attempt is made to raise her within that three day period, the chances of resurrection survival are halved. Should an attempt to raise the victim succeed, the victim will be unable to do anything other than rest for a week, after which all damage done by the penanggalan is healed. Failure means that no further attempt can be made; the process by which the victim becomes a penanggalan is then inexorable. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix)</p><p><strong>Phantom:</strong> Phantoms are images left behind by a particularly strong death trauma. A phantom is like a three-dimensional motion picture image filmed at the time of a character's death, in the area where he died. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Phantom Evil:</strong> Of greater concern, there are some phantoms that are actually evil, created when powerful evil creatures from other planes are "slain" (forced to return to their home planes) in the Prime Material plane. These phantoms appear as per the evil creature's will 35% of the time, and can seriously misinform or endanger those it meets. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Smell:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sound:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom Sheet:</strong> See Sheet Phantom.</p><p><strong>Phantom Sight:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sight.</p><p><strong>Phantom Smell:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Smell.</p><p><strong>Phantom Sound:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sound.</p><p><strong>Philosopher Gray:</strong> See Gray Philosopher.</p><p><strong>Philosopher Spectral Minion:</strong> See Spectral Minion Philosopher.</p><p><strong>Poltergeist:</strong> Poltergeists are the spirits of restless dead. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two)</p><p>Some say that poltergeists are the spirits of those who committed heinous crimes that went unpunished in life. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Priestess Undead:</strong> See Undead Priestess.</p><p><strong>Proctor Drelto of Antalus:</strong> See Meorty Human Fighter 20, Proctor Drelto of Antalus.</p><p><strong>Proto-Dracolich:</strong> The dracolich is an undead creature resulting from the unnatural transformation of an evil dragon. The mysterious Cult of the Dragon practices the powerful magic necessary for the creation of the dracolich, though other practitioners are also rumored to exist. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>A dracolich can be created from any of the evil dragon subspecies. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>The creation of a dracolich is a complex process involving the transformation of an evil dragon by arcane magical forces, the most notorious practitioners of which are members of the Cult of the Dragon. The process is usually a cooperative effort between the evil dragon and the wizards, but especially powerful wizards have been known to coerce an evil dragon to undergo the transformation against its will. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Any evil dragon is a possible candidate for transformation, although old dragons or older with spell-casting abilities are preferred. Once a candidate is secured, the wizards first prepare the dragon's host, an inanimate object that will hold the dragon's life force. The host must be a solid item of not less than 2,000 gp value resistant to decay (wood, for instance, is unsuitable). A gemstone is commonly used for a host, particularly ruby, pearl, carbuncle, and jet, and is often set in the hilt of a sword or other weapon. The host is prepared by casting enchant an item upon it and speaking the name of the evil dragon; the item may resist the spell by successfully saving vs. spell as an llth-level wizard. If the spell is resisted, another item must be used for the host. If the spell is not resisted, the item can then function as a host. If desired, glassteel can be cast upon the host to protect it. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Next, a special potion is prepared for the evil dragon to consume. The exact composition of the potion varies according to the age and type of the dragon, but it must contain precisely seven ingredients, among them a potion of evil dragon control, a potion of invulnerability, and the blood of a vampire. When the evil dragon consumes the potion, the results are determined as follows (roll percentile dice): (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Roll Result</p><p>01-10 No effect. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>11-40 Potion does not work. The dragon suffers 2d12 points of damage and is helpless with convulsions for 1-2 rounds. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>41-50 Potion does not work. The dragon dies. A full wish or similar spell is needed to restore the dragon to life; a wish to transform the dragon into a dracolich results in another roll on this table. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>51-00 Potion works. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>If the potion works, the dragon's spirit transfers to the host, regardless of the distance between the dragon's body and the host. A dim light within the host indicates the presence of the spirit. While contained in the host, the spirit cannot take any actions; it cannot be contacted nor attacked by magic. The spirit can remain in the host indefinitely. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Once the spirit is contained in the host, the host must be brought within 90 feet of a reptilian corpse; under no circumstances can the spirit possess a living body. The spirit's original body is ideal, but the corpse of any reptilian creature that died or was killed within the previous 30 days is suitable. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>The wizard who originally prepared the host must touch the host, cast a magic jar spell while speaking the name of the dragon, then touch the corpse. The corpse must fail a saving throw vs. spell for the spirit to successfully possess it; if it saves, it will never accept the spirit. The following modifiers apply to the roll: (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>[*]10 if the corpse is the spirit's own former body (which can be dead for any length of time).</p><p>[*]4 if the corpse is of the same alignment as the dragon.</p><p>[*]4 if the corpse is that of a true dragon (any type).</p><p>[*]3 if the corpse is that of a firedrake, ice lizard, wyvern, or fire lizard.</p><p>[*]1 if the corpse is that of a dracolisk, dragonne, dinosaur, snake, or other reptile.</p><p>If the corpse accepts the spirit, it becomes animated by the spirit. If the animated corpse is the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a dracolich; however, it will not regain the use of its voice and breath weapon for another seven days (note that it will not be able to cast spells with verbal components during this time). At the end of seven days, the dracolich regains the use of its voice and breath weapon. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>If the animated corpse is not the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a proto-dracolich. A proto-dracolich has the mind and memories of its original form, but has the hit points and immunities to spells and priestly turning of a dracolich. A protodracolich can neither speak nor cast spells; further, it cannot cause chilling damage, use a breath weapon, or cause fear as a dracolich. Its strength, movement, and Armor Class are those of the possessed body. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>To become a full dracolich, a proto-dracolich must devour at least 10% of its original body. Unless the body has been dispatched to another plane of existence, a proto-dracolich can always sense the presence of its original body, regardless of the distance. A proto-dracolich will tirelessly seek out its original body to the exclusion of all other activities. If its original body has been burned, dismembered, or otherwise destroyed, the proto-dracolich need only devour the ashes or pieces equal to or exceeding 10% of its original body mass (total destruction of the original body is possible only through use of a disintegrate or similar spell; the body could be reconstructed with a wish or similar spell, so long as the spell is cast in the same plane as the disintegration). If a proto-dracolich is unable to devour its original body, it is trapped in its current form until slain. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Psionic Lich:</strong> See Lich Psionic.</p><p><strong>Raaig:</strong> Raaigs are incorporeal spirits sustained by their unwavering belief and sense of duty to ancient gods that no longer exist on Athas. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Eldena longs for companionship with others, but finds that she cannot be with the living for long periods of time without becoming depressed completely. She does have the power to turn a dead spirit into a Raaig, but only at the moment of the person's death, and only if the spirit is truly willing to become one. The new Raaig must always remain within 500 feet of Eldena, or fade away to nothing. She longs to be able to create such a companion for herself someday. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>All raaigs are at least 2,000 years old and all are of the old races (human, elf, dwarf, giant, and halfling).</p><p><strong>Raaig Elf Cleric 14, Eldena, Guardian of the Mountain Temple:</strong> Millennia ago, Eldena was the last high priestess of the mountain</p><p>temple before the great wars started that would destroy the world as she knew it. In hopes of protecting her temple, she called upon her god to transform her into one of the undead so she could always watch over the sacred place and protect it from the evils of the world.</p><p>The dieties do not recognize Athas. so their was nothing resulted from her plea. Despairing, she poisoned herself. However, Eldena's belief was so strong, that upon her death she was transformed into a raaig and remains bound to the temple. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Raaig Human Cleric 10, Varoxil Rante, Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Raaig Human Fighter 9, Nameless Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Racked Spirit:</strong> Racked spirits are the evil remnants of persons who committed acts during their lives that violated the very nature of their being. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Racked spirits single out happy individuals, attempting to ruin their lives through “bad luck”. They appear to those they have ruined to offer their help in exchange for services. The services they require always conflict with the strongest beliefs of the victims. If the victims refuse to do what the spirit requests, the spirit descends on them and drains their life energy. Those who agree and go against their own beliefs become full-strength racked spirits upon their deaths. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Thinking zombies might return as racked spirits because they were unable to complete their tasks as thinking zombies. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee:</strong> Dwarves who die before completing a major focus are often condemned to live out their afterlives as banshees. In unlife they haunt their unfinished work or quest, unable to bear the fact that someone else may complete what they could not. (MC 12 Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix Terrors of the Desert)</p><p>Racked spirits vary in race, but dwarven banshees are the most common. Dwarven banshees are created whenever dwarves forsake their life purpose. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. The dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose, is the most common. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Racked Spirit Lesser Spirit:</strong> A being drained of all its life energy by a racked spirit becomes a lesser spirit. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Radaga:</strong> See Undead Priestess, Radaga.</p><p><strong>Rante, Varoxil:</strong> See Raaig Human Cleric 10, Varoxil Rante, Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns.</p><p><strong>Ravenloft Siren:</strong> See Siren Ravenloft.</p><p><strong>Rehkotep, Isu:</strong> See Isu Rehkotep, Priest 9.</p><p><strong>Reveler Spectral Minion:</strong> See Spectral Minion Reveler.</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> Revenants are vengeful spirits that have risen from the grave to destroy their killers. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>Under exceptional circumstances, a character who has died a violent death may rise as a revenant from the grave to wreak vengeance on his killer(s). In order to make this transition, two requirements must be met. The dead character's Constitution must be 18 and either his Wisdom or Intelligence must be greater than 16. Also, the total of his six ability scores must be 90 or more. Even if these conditions are met, there is only a 5% chance that the dead character becomes a revenant. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>If both Intelligence and Wisdom are over 16, the chance increases to 10%. If Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution are all 18, the creature can shift at will into any freshly killed humanoid, if the revenant rolls a successful saving throw vs. death. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p>A character who is murdered and generates a phantom may also return as a revenant. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Rider:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Rom:</strong> Rom are thought to be all that remains of an ancient race of giant herdsmen. They lived in the hills and on the plains where their giant cows could graze, some practicing a limited form of agriculture. They were a quiet, peace-loving people whose end came when their wives produced only male children; there were no further generations. Shaking their fists at the sad destiny Fate had passed upon them, they built enormous stone cairns for themselves, fashioned out of monolithic granite slabs. Entire clans of rom descended into their self-made tombs, burying themselves alive. However, so great was their collective self-pity and anger at Fate, that their existence persisted beyond death. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix)</p><p><strong>Sacrol:</strong> They are spawned in sites of great death. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p>Sacrols are the collected angry spirits of the dead. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p>Sacrols arise in places of mass death, such as battlefields, sacked temples, and plague-ridden cities or countrysides. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Sailor's Demise:</strong> See Bowlyn, Sailor's Demise.</p><p><strong>Scion Spectral:</strong> See Spectral Scion.</p><p><strong>Sea Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Sea, Drowned One.</p><p><strong>Searcher Spectral Minion:</strong> See Spectral Minion Searcher.</p><p><strong>Senmet:</strong> See Mummy Greater, Senmet.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> If a human or demihuman opponent is reduced to zero Strength or zero hit points by a shadow, the shadow has drained the life force and the opponent becomes a shadow as well. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>According to most knowledgeable sages, shadows appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse laid upon some long-dead enemy. The curse affects only humans and demihumans so it would seem that it affects the soul or spirit. When victims no longer can resist, either through loss of consciousness (hit points) or physical prowess (Strength points), the curse is activated and the majority of the character's essence is shifted to the Negative Material plane. Only a shadow of their former self remains on the Prime Material plane, and the transformation always renders the victim both terribly insane and undeniably evil. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Slow shadows, like shadows, are believed to be a race of long-dead people cursed to madness and a split existence on the Prime and Negative Material planes. This curse drives slow shadows to hunt and transform living humanoids and demihumans into slow shadows like themselves. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>Sages speculate that shadows and slow shadows, when they lived, were bitter enemies. Their cruel, wicked ways and constant warfare brought down a terrible curse upon both races. Now the two people continue their ancient battle, never dying, cursed to insanity, recruiting new shadows and slow shadows from the living. On rare occasions, battles between shadows and slow shadows have been witnessed and it seems that vanquished slow shadows become shadows and vanquished shadows become slow shadows. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>Shadows “appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse.” (Dragon 162)</p><p>If the character rolls a 20 while using the Shadow Form psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, the dark side of his nature is freed and he becomes a shadow, as per the monster, under the control of the DM for 1-4 turns. (Dragon 174)</p><p>A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. (Dragon 205)</p><p><strong>Shadow Mariner:</strong> See Mariner Shadow.</p><p><strong>Shadow Slow:</strong> See Slow Shadow.</p><p><strong>Shadowrath:</strong> Shadowraths are created by a fell artifact, the Crown of Horns. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Shadowrath Greater:</strong> These powerful undead are also created by the Crown of Horns. Those slain by Myrkul’s hand, the other major power of the artifact, arise as greater shadowraths. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Shadowrath Lesser, Blackbones:</strong> They are created by the ray of undeath power of the artifact, Crown of Horns. Those killed by this ray arise as lesser shadowraths, also known as blackbones. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p>Lesser shadowraths are created by the Crown of Horns. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Sheet Ghoul:</strong> Sheet ghouls are created when sheet phantoms kill their victims. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix)</p><p>If the victim dies enveloped within the sheet phantom, the sheet phantom merges with the body, creating a sheet ghoul. This process takes 12 hours to complete. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix)</p><p><strong>Sheet Phantom:</strong> There are sufficient similarities between the sheet phantom and the lurker above for some scholars to speculate that the former is an undead form of the latter. However, other sages and scholars claim that sheet phantoms are actual sheets that have absorbed the life-essence of an evil person who died in their bed. The evil soul is trapped in the sheet, and forced to wander about as a sheet phantom. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix)</p><p><strong>Shikki-Gaki:</strong> See Gaki Shikki-Gaki.</p><p><strong>Sight Phantom:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sight.</p><p><strong>Siren Ravenloft:</strong> It is thought that the sirens are merfolk transformed by a cataclysmic burst of negative energy. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Skeletal Bat:</strong> See Skeleton Skeletal Bat.</p><p><strong>Skeletal Steed Strahd's:</strong> See Skeleton Strahd's Skeletal Steed.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Skeletons appear to have no ligaments or musculature which would allow movement. Instead, the bones are magically joined together during the casting of an animate dead spell. Skeletons have no eyes or internal organs. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Most skeletons and zombies are man-sized or smaller, but larger corpses such as mekillot skeletons and zombie giants are often animated by more powerful necromancers. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Produce Undead undead power. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>While some may be guardians of some site left by wizards, they are more often simply the still animated skeleton of a drowned one whose flesh became too rotted and putrid to remain attached to the bones. (Sea of Fallen Stars)</p><p>The only undead that are magically created are skeletons and zombies, which are created with the animate dead spell. (Dragon 156)</p><p>Skeletons and zombies are what I call “walking dead” rather than true undead. They have no intelligence and no independent will; they are always the servants of some other being and have simply been animated to serve his purposes. (Dragon 173)</p><p><em>Animate Dead</em> spell. (Player's Handbook)</p><p><em>Double Spell</em> spell. (Dragon 188)</p><p><em>Kolin's Undead Legion</em> spell. (DM's Option High Level Campaigns)</p><p><em>Undead Familiar</em> spell. (Pages from the Mages)</p><p><em>Undead Plague</em> spell. (Tome of Magic)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Spellbound)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Villain's Lorebook)</p><p><strong>Skeleton Animal:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Dust:</strong> Bones used to create dust skeletons must be specially dried to the point of crumbling, then coated with a special resin containing a paralyzing venom. Tansmute water to dust is used in conjunction with animate dead to complete the process. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Skeleton Giant:</strong> Giant skeletons are similar to the more common undead skeleton, but they have been created with a combination of spells and are, thus, far more deadly than their lesser counterparts. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>In actuality, they are simply human skeletons that have been magically enlarged. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The first giant skeletons to appear in Ravenloft were created by the undead priestess Radaga in her lair within the domain of Kartakass. Others have since mastered the spells and techniques required to create these monsters; thus, giant skeletons are gradually beginning to appear in other realms where the dead and undead lurk. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>They are created from the bones of those who have died and are abominations in the eyes of all who belief in the sanctity of life and goodness. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The process by which giant skeletons are created is dark and evil. Attempts to manufacture them outside of Ravenloft have failed, so it is clear that they are in some way linked to the Dark Powers themselves. In order to create a giant skeleton, a spell caster must have the intact skeleton of a normal human or demihuman. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>On a night when the land is draped in fog, they must cast an animate dead, produce fire, enlarge, and a resist fire spell over the bones. When the last spell is cast, the bones lengthen and thicken and the creatures rises up. The the creator must make a Ravenloft Powers check for his part in this evil undertaking. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Skeleton Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Obsidian:</strong> An obsidian jewel, inscribed with a special glyph, must be implanted in the skeleton’s forehead. A second animate dead spell must be cast in conjunction with the first, along with vampiric touch. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Skeleton Skeletal Bat:</strong> Skeletal bats are created by the use of an animate dead spell and are often associated with necromancers or evil priests. They are to bats what traditional skeletons are to humans — mindless animated remains. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Skeleton Spike:</strong> Each spike must be specially carved from bones taken from the same type of creature that is to be animated (for example, human bones for a human skeleton). A glyph is carved into each spike before it is attached to the skeleton. During animation, a shatter spell is cast in conjunction with the animate dead spell. After animation, the 6th-level necromancy spell imbue undead with spell ability is cast, along with Beltyn’s burning blood; these spells are also used to recharge a spike skeleton with this ability. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Skeleton Strahd's Skeletal Steed:</strong> Strahd's skeletal steeds are magically animated undead horses, created as guardians and warriors by the master vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Completely stripped of flesh, skeletal steeds are held together by magic. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Only Strahd Von Zarovich knows the arcane ritual necessary to make them. He can make them only from horse skeletons where 90% of the bones and the skull are present. It is not know if other animals can be animated from the same spell, but given the power of the Lord of Barovia, and his ties to the evil forces of necromancy, this seems probable. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Skeleton Warrior:</strong> Formerly powerful fighters, skeleton warriors are undead lords forced into their nightmarish states by powerful wizards or evil demigods who trapped their souls in golden circlets. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Skuz:</strong> Skuz attack by forming pseudo-arms from their slimy mass. In addition to causing physical damage, each touch of a skuz drains one life level from its victim. When a humanoid victim is weakened, the skuz pulls it beneath the water to drown it. When dead, the victim becomes a skuz. Humanoids who are killed by a skuz, but not drowned, do not become one of the unread. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix)</p><p><strong>Slow Shadow:</strong> Slow shadows, like shadows, are believed to be a race of long-dead people cursed to madness and a split existence on the Prime and Negative Material planes. This curse drives slow shadows to hunt and transform living humanoids and demihumans into slow shadows like themselves. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>Sages speculate that shadows and slow shadows, when they lived, were bitter enemies. Their cruel, wicked ways and constant warfare brought down a terrible curse upon both races. Now the two people continue their ancient battle, never dying, cursed to insanity, recruiting new shadows and slow shadows from the living. On rare occasions, battles between shadows and slow shadows have been witnessed and it seems that vanquished slow shadows become shadows and vanquished shadows become slow shadows. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p><strong>Slow Shadow Lesser:</strong> Humanoids killed by slow shadows become lesser slow shadows within one turn.</p><p>The change can be prevented by casting remove curse on the body. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p><strong>Smell Phantom:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Smell.</p><p><strong>Son of Kyuss:</strong> Sons of Kyuss are horrible undead beings that convert living humans and demihumans into cursed undead like themselves. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>In addition to flailing fists, one worm per round attempts to jump from a son of Kyuss's head to a character the son is meleeing. The worm needs only to roll a successful attack roll (same THACO as the son) to land on the victim. The worm burrows into the victim on the next round unless killed by the touch of cold iron, holy water, or a blessed object. After penetrating the victim's skin, the worm burrows toward the victim's brain, taking 1d4 rounds to reach it. During this time a remove curse or cure disease spell will kill the worm, and neutralize poison or dispel evil will delay the worm for 1d6 turns. If the worm reaches the brain, the victim dies immediately and becomes a son of Kyuss. Decay and putrification set in without further delay. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>Kyuss was an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>The worms are tied to the curse of the sons but exactly how remains a mystery. It is known that the worms cannot survive apart from a victim or on a son. Worms that fail to burrow into a victim die as soon as they touch the ground. Any worm removed from a son dies within one round of separation from the son who carried it. When a son is killed permanently, the worms die with him. Some sages have proposed that the worms might not be living creatures per se, but incarnations of the curse. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>Sons of Kyuss are horrible undead beings that convert living humans and demihumans into cursed undead like themselves. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>In addition to flailing fists, one worm per round attempts to jump from a son’s head to a character the son is meleeing. The worm needs only to roll a successful attack roll (same THAC0 as the son) to land on the victim. The worm burrows into the victim on the next round unless killed by the touch of cold iron, holy water, or a blessed object. After penetrating the victim's skin, the worm burrows toward the victim’s brain, taking 1d4 rounds to reach it. During this time a remove curse or cure disease spell will kill the worm, and neutralize poison or dispel evil will delay the worm for 1d6 turns. If the worm reaches the brain, the victim dies immediately and becomes a son of Kyuss. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Kyuss was an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>The worms are tied to the curse of the sons but exactly how remains a mystery. It is known that the worms cannot survive apart from a victim or on a son. Worms that fail to burrow into a victim die as soon as they touch the ground. Any worm removed from a son dies within one round of separation from the son who carried it. When a son is killed permanently, the worms die with him. Some sages have proposed that the worms might not be living creatures per se, but incarnations of the curse. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Soth:</strong> See Death Knight, Lord Soth.</p><p><strong>Soth:</strong> See Death Knight Lord of Sithicus, Lord Soth.</p><p><strong>Soul Beckoner:</strong> See Wraith Soul Beckoner.</p><p><strong>Sound Phantom:</strong> See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sound.</p><p><strong>Spectral Awnsheghlien:</strong> Summoned by the Cold Rider to serve his dark bidding in undeath, spectral awnsheghlien are the spirits of slain Abominations from the waking world. At their moments of death, the Cold Rider trapped their essences in the Shadow World—it would be a shame, after all, to let such pure, unmitigated evil merely scatter to the winds. (Blood Spawn)</p><p>When a Cerilian awnshegh dies, the bloodline of Azrai that it carried in its veins dissipates and travels to the Shadow World. This holds true even for awnshegh victims of bloodtheft. (Recall that even with a tighmaevril weapon, the attacker receives only 5 bloodline strength points; the rest dissipate.) Only an awnshegh who invests its bloodline before death is immune to the possibility of becoming a specter. (Blood Spawn)</p><p><strong>Spectral Scion:</strong> A spectral scion is the spirit of a bloodtheft victim who was killed with a tighmaevril weapon (which allows the slayer to steal powers associated with the victim’s bloodline). Not all those with a special bloodline killed in this way become spectral scions, but those who do daily relive the horror of losing their bloodlines, and are doomed to spend eternity seeking peace. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion:</strong> Spectral minions are the spirits of humans or demihumans who died before they could fulfill their vows. Even in death, spectral minions are bound to the vows or quests placed upon them while they were alive. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p>Spectral minions are cursed to relive the events leading to their death, endlessly trying to fulfill their vows. Outdoors, they must stay within 1,000 yards of where they died. Indoors, they must stay in the corridor or room where they lost their lives. On very rare occasions where a quest required them to perform an act over a wide area, they are free to roam within that area. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Berserker:</strong> Some spectral minions become overwhelmed by despair. Losing all hope of ever being freed from their charge, these minions are eventually driven into a berkserking frenzy. Others become mindless killers as soon as they become minions because of an unresolved obsession in their former lives; for instance, a spectral minion cook might become a berserker because someone in the past criticized his cooking and was no longer around to apologize for the remark. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p>In all cases, berserker spectral minions have rebelled against their quests and have no hope of ever being freed from their charges. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Guardian:</strong> These spectral minions were quested to defend a room, a passage, or an object. In most cases, they served as guards for some important location and died at their posts. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Philosopher:</strong> It is their curse to endlessly discuss philosophic issues left unresolved in their former lives. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Reveler:</strong> These minions are cursed to celebrate madly for all eternity. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Searcher:</strong> Searchers are spectral minions that stalk endlessly through their territory, searching for a particular object to fulfill their quest. These creatures were questing when they died in their original forms, and usually the object of the quest is not to be found within the searcher's range. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Warrior:</strong> These minions are the spirits of mortals who were locked in combat at the time of death, usually soldiers who died in bloody battles. Groups of 100 or more warrior spectral minions are typically encountered on a battlefield, including fighters of differing alignments from both sides of a battle. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spectral Wizard:</strong> They are created by a unique spell that functions on human and elf wizards and gnome illusionists, taking hold only on those whose bodies once channeled wizard magic. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>Spectral wizards are created artificially and have no ecological niche. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><em>Create Spectral Wizard</em> spell. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Any being totally drained of life energy by a spectre becomes a full-strength spectre.</p><p>No one knows who the first spectre was or how it came to be. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Each time a spectral awnshegh touches an opponent, it transforms some of the victim’s life essence to shadow and drains 1 Constitution point. Should a character’s Constitution drop to 0, the victim turns into a spectre. (Blood Spawn)</p><p>Lemures are occasionally chosen to form wraiths or spectres, as well. (MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix)</p><p>If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him. (Dragon 159)</p><p>A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. (Dragon 205)</p><p>Intelligent living creatures slain by a spectre dragon’s breath weapon arise as normal half-strength spectres upon the following sunset. (Dragon 234)</p><p><em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell. (Prayers from the Faithful)</p><p><strong>Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen:</strong> Jezra's end came as the winter solstice drew near one year. She and several of her friends were climbing the slopes of Mount Baratok, hoping to reach its summit and look out across the grandeur of the Balinoks. It was their hope to see the distant spire of Mount Nyid, which was said to be visible from the highest reaches of Baratok. Their expedition was ill-fated, however, and doom claimed it before they reached the mountain's crest. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Jezra was the first to hear the rumbling. Indeed, this is probably what saved her from the sudden death that claimed her companions. Shouting a cry of alarm, she forced her body into a narrow fissure as the avalanche swept past her, ripping her companions from their ropes and sending them down to their deaths. Those who were not slain by the long fall were crushed to death by the weight of the snow that fell upon them. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Jezra, perched in a narrow cleft, was unhurt. She found that the crack she had taken shelter in was in fact a small cave that ran some twenty or thirty feet back into the cliff. The avalanche, however, had sealed the entrance behind her. With horror, she realized that she had been entombed alive. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Several time she tried to dig her way out of the dark cave. Each time, she gave up the futile effort as more snow fell to seal the entrance. It was not long before her small stock of provisions ran low. The candles she had stored in her pack were all used up, the air in the cave was becoming sour, and her food was gone. Soon, she knew, she would die. Cold fear began to grip her heart as she grew drowsy with the approach of death. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>What happened next might be accredited to many things. Perhaps the air was growing thin and she was beginning to hallucinate as her brain slowly starved for oxygen. Perhaps the forces of evil saw their chance to claim this young innocent for their own and sent some dreadful agent to treat with her. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Whatever the truth, Jezra found herself bathed in a ghostly light. Her arms and legs had grown numb and frozen, the first victims of her frosty prison, and she sadly noted that this light brought no warmth with it. If anything, the temperature in the cave fell even lower. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Her interest aroused, she tried to draw herself back from the brink of death. Whatever this mysterious phenomenon was, she longed to know its cause before she died. Her eye focused on the source of the glow and delight welled up inside her. Giorggio, so long presumed dead, stood before her. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>The vision moved forward. Short and stocky, with the same charismatic smile that she herself had, this was indeed the exact image of her brother. He wore the travelling clothes that she had last seen him in, but they were tattered and torn. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>She reached out her hand to the shimmering vision, grimacing at the frigid fire in her lungs and hardly able to move her arm. The image of Giorggio knelt before her and looked at her with curious, almost unrecognizing eyes. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>"Save me," was all she could manage to whisper. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>"I cannot," came the reply. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Jezra began to cry, the tears freezing before they could fall from her face. The spirit faded away, leaving her alone and isolated in the darkness of her icy tomb. With her last breath, she cried out for someone, anyone, to save her from death, swearing that she would do anything to keep her existence from ending like this. Then</p><p>she closed her eyes and felt the bitter cold around her steal the pitiful remains of her body's warmth. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Somewhere in the darkness of Ravenloft, her pleas were heard. A strange darkness, deeper than the blackness of the cave, seeped out of the soul of the mountain. It coiled around the young woman's body like an ebony snake. Two pinpoints of red light like eyes smoldered to life, yet drove away none of the darkness. Then, like a cobra striking, the blackness plunged into Jezra's body. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>As the last traces of the shade vanished into the corporeal flesh of the woman, Jezra twitched and her face contorted in agony. Unseen in her tomb, her body thrashed about violently for several seconds and then was forever still. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Gradually, a cold glow filled the cave. Jezra blinked and opened her eyes. She could feel her hands and her feet again. The air no longer choked her. The cold, however, was redoubled. Her flesh seemed to tremble endlessly, and her bones pounded with an arthritic ache. She cried out in agony and rose to her feet. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Her only thought was to somehow escape from this icy darkness; had she looked down, she might have seen her own body, unmoving in death. Instead, she plunged desperately into the rocks and ice blocking her escape, passing through them as if they were but fog to her. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Not realizing that she had died in the frozen cave, Jezra spent the next several days wandering the slopes of Mount Baratok. Although her heart longed to return to her family estate, she delayed while she searched for her brother, not realizing that she had now become an undead creature, as had he. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Spike Skeleton:</strong> See Skeleton Spike.</p><p><strong>Spirit:</strong> Spirits are powerful undead beings which inhabit the bodies, or body parts, of others. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spirit Druj:</strong> Druj appear as body parts – a hand, an eye, or a skull – floating or crawling around in a horrible way. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spirit Groaning:</strong> See Banshee, Groaning Spirit.</p><p><strong>Spirit Odic:</strong> Odics are formless creatures that take possession of normal plants, usually shrubs or small trees. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Spirit Racked:</strong> See Racked Spirit.</p><p><strong>Spirit Sword:</strong> See Sword Spirit.</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior:</strong> Spirit warriors are weapons from the Unhuman Wars. There are three ways to acquire one: find one that has been abandoned, wrest one from its owner in combat, or grow one from an egg and perform the appropriate spells. Since the Wars ranged over a great area, the chance of finding an abandoned warrior is small. Also, those still piloted have most likely been around since the time of the Wars, so wresting one from its master in combat is also unlikely. This leaves the method of growing one from an egg, as follows: (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p>The would-be spirit warrior receives an egg. The fighter must incubate the pinhead-sized egg in a warm and secure environment, preferably next to the fighter's body. When the egg hatches, the warrior must nurture and protect the fragile larva from six months to a year, until it is mature. This nurturing involves close emotional contact with the insect (stroking, petting, cuddling, thinking pleasant thoughts) to develop a strong emotional bond as one would with a pet or familiar. After a year the insect is mature, and the spells of modification begin; however, for the strongest bond, this final process is delayed until after the insect has died of old age. If the spells are performed on a living insect, it dies during the ceremony. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p>The insect becomes a spirit warrior via spells that enlarge, animate, strengthen, and physically modify the insect's remains. These spells also link the minds of warrior and insect in an unbreakable bond, unaffected by magic, disease, physical attack, or mental control. The final stage of the process installs a special minor helm in the hollow chest cavity of the insect warrior.</p><p>During the Unhuman Wars, elvish mages created the warriors as armored, super-strong weapons to counter orcish monsters being released on various worlds. At first their years of research only worked up to a point: the giant undead insects ran amok, killing researchers and damaging Armada Noble itself. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p>An assistant, Rowan Starblade by name, discovered that the ceremonies failed because the researchers and the insects shared no emotional bond. When one of Rowan's "pet" research insects rampaged after the ill-fated ceremony, she threw herself in front of the beast, begging it to stop. To her surprise, the giant insect obeyed her command! (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p>Further experimentation with Rowan's pet zombie revealed that when she welded a modified minor helm in the insect's hollow chest cavity with gold and platinum wire, she could sit in the helm and pilot the insect with her speed and agility, and with the insect's strength. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior Carnivore:</strong> Carnivores descend from the praying mantis. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior Herbivore:</strong> Herbivores are based on the katydid. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior Nektar:</strong> Nektars descend from an insect similar to both a butterfly and a wasp. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior Zwarth:</strong> Zwarth construction resembles that of a spirit warrior. Growth and bonding processes are the same. (Yes, an entire party must undergo this process!) (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p><strong>Spirit Zhentarim:</strong> See Zhentarim Spirit.</p><p><strong>Spiritjam:</strong> A spiritjam is the soul of an evil cleric or wizard who died while spelljamming. The spirit of the cleric or wizard remained behind when the physical body perished. (MC7 Monstrous Compenium Spelljammer Appendix)</p><p><strong>Summoned Crypt Thing:</strong> See Crypt Thing Summoned.</p><p><strong>Stahnk:</strong> See Undead Beast Stahnk.</p><p><strong>Steed Strahd's Skeletal:</strong> See Skeleton Strahd's Skeletal Steed.</p><p><strong>Stellar Undead:</strong> Stellar undead are the corpses of spelljamming sailors returned to a semblance of life. The corpses are animated by raw energy from the Negative Material Plane. This energy warps the dying sailor's brains, twisting their final thoughts of home, safety, and friends into an unholy desire to walk again among the living, and to be warm again by drinking their blood. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p>Due to the vacuum of wildspace, most bodies decompose very slowly. When viewed from more than 3' away, stellar undead do not look dead, but much as they did in life. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II)</p><p><strong>Strahd Von Zarovich:</strong> See Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich. </p><p><strong>Strahd's Skeletal Steed:</strong> See Skeleton Strahd's Skeletal Steed.</p><p><strong>Suel Lich:</strong> See Lich Suel.</p><p><strong>Swamp Velya:</strong> See Vampire Velya Swamp.</p><p><strong>Sword Spirit:</strong> Sword spirits are the undead spirits of powerful warriors who perished in useless battles. (Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix II)</p><p><strong>Swordwraith:</strong> See Wraith Swordwraith.</p><p><strong>T'Liz:</strong> T’lizes are undead defilers whose spirits have outlived their bodies. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>All t'lizes were defilers in life and retain all their spell casting abilities. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>T’lizes are powerful defilers who died before completing their magical studies. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>T'Liz Human Defiler 19, Nevarli:</strong> Nevarli's love of magic was so powerful that when she found the spells and anointments that would sustain her in undeath so she could continue her magical studies, she used them. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>T'Liz Human Defiler 23, Kedomir:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>The Ghost of Obsession:</strong> See Lhiannan Shee, The Ghost of Obsession.</p><p><strong>The Ice Queen:</strong> See Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen.</p><p><strong>The Magian:</strong> The Magian is a powerful being, but he has not been alive for nearly 200 years. Sheer willpower and magic sustained it for much of that time. Now, he is immortal, as the blood of Azrai removed the frailties of his undead state. (Blood Enemies: Abominations of Cerilia)</p><p><strong>Thinking Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Thinking</p><p><strong>Topi:</strong> Topis are tiny undead humanoid creatures similar to zombies. Before these creatures are animated, however, the corpses are shrunk until they are only 2 feet tall. The process gives them dark, wrinkled, leathery skin Their eves are wide and bulging, and their lips are usually curled back, freezing their faces into permanent toothy grimaces (occasionally, however, the lips are sewn shut). (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p>Unlike zombies, topis do not have a rotting stench, as the shrinking process also preserves their flesh. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p>The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a topi. Only a few tribal spell casters know bow to shrink the corpses, however. The few travelers who have observed the process and have been lucky enough to return to tell the tale report that the corpse is boiled for several days in a mixture of water, herbs, and animal organs, then dried in the sun and animated, presumably with a variant animate dead spell. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Treant Undead:</strong> See Undead Treant.</p><p><strong>Tuyewera:</strong> The tuyewera is a horrible type of undead monster created by evil clerics in remote jungle villages. The cleric takes the corpse of a man slain by death magic spells and ritually removes the legs at the knees. The tongue is also severed. The cleric then enchants the corpse, bringing the ancestral spirit of a wizard or priest into it, which gives the corpse a horrid animation. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>The spells and counterspells used for creating tuyeweras are granted only by the deities of evil witch doctors in tropical lands. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>As created undead, tuyewera have nothing to contribute to the ecology. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Undead Beast:</strong> The undead beast is a mindless killer of unknown origin, compelled to destroy the living. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Undead Beast Anhkolox:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Beast Gholor:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Beast Stahnk:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Controlled:</strong> See Controlled Undead, Walking Dead.</p><p><strong>Undead Dragon Slayer:</strong> An undead dragon slayer is a horrifying creature returned from death to destroy dragons. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Most undead dragon slayers are called back from the grave by necromantic magic. Though it retains its own mind and agenda, it must obey the commands of the summoner – at least until its task is complete or it somehow wins its freedom. A small number of dragon slayers actually will themselves back from the dead. These individuals have the utmost faith in their cause, an undying hatred of dragons, and a supernatural strength of will. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>In the Council of Wyrms setting, undead dragon slayers were members of the vast army of human warriors who invaded the Io’s Blood isles in ages past. Any slayer of 9th level or greater who died before his holy task was finished can rise as an undead warrior. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Undead Dwarf:</strong> Undead dwarves are created by residual essence on the part of dwarves who are concerned, just before they die, that their final resting places will in some way be disturbed. It is this essence that allows the bodies of the dwarves to transform into protectors. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>There is no known understanding of how undead dwarves are formed or why they exist except to protect their sacred tombs. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Undead Faerie:</strong> See Faerie Unseelie Undead.</p><p><strong>Undead Freewilled:</strong> See Freewilled Undead.</p><p><strong>Undead Lake Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Priestess, Radaga:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Stellar:</strong> See Stellar Undead.</p><p><strong>Undead Treant:</strong> When an evil treant sees that its many years are soon to come to an end, it seldom accepts this fate quietly. For most, this means a final, wild orgy of violence and death. For a few, however, it means death and resurrection as a thing so dark and evil that even the Vistani will not speak of it. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Undead treants seem to be a natural stage in the life cycle of some evil treants. No doubt this is given as a "reward" for their evil lives by the Dark Powers. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Undead Unseelie:</strong> See Faerie Unseelie Undead.</p><p><strong>Unseelie Undead:</strong> See Faerie Unseelie Undead.</p><p><strong>Uwil:</strong> See Memedi Uwil.</p><p><strong>Valpurgeist, Hanged Man:</strong> The valpurgeist, or hanged man, is an undead creature that is sometimes manifested when an innocent man or woman is wrongly hanged for a crime. Unable to prove its innocence in life, the spirit returns after death to claim the lives of those who sent it to the gallows. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Valpurgeists are lonely souls who have felt the cold injustice of a world that would not believe their pleas of innocence. Because of this, they will have no kinship with any living thing in their afterlife. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>They are simply products of evil and darkness. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> As described in the RAVENLOFT Boxed Set, there are three ways to become a vampire. Each of these paths to darkness has its own unique character, but the end result is always a creature of unsurpassed evil and power. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The first path, generally known as that of deadly desire, is perhaps the most awful. In this case, the individual who is destined to become a vampire actually wishes to cross over and become undead. While it has been said that they must sacrifice their lives to attain this goal, a greater cost is often paid. Those who desire to live eternally and feed on the life essences of their fellow men must give up a portion of their spirits to the Dark Powers themselves. In this way, they are granted the powers of the undead, but also stripped of the last vestiges of their humanity. In the centuries to come, many find this loss too great to bear and seek out their own destruction. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The second path, that of the curse, is often the most insidious of the three. In this case, the individual is often unaware that he or she is destined to become a thing of the night. The transformation into "unlife" might occur because of a potent curse laid down by someone who has been wronged by the victim. Occasionally, an individual might find that he or she has inherited (or found) a beautiful and alluring magical ring—only to find that it cannot be removed and that the character is slowly . . . changing. There are those who accept this curse and embrace their new existence as a vampire, while others despise the things they have become. In nearly every case, these are the most passionate and "alive" examples of this evil race. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The final, and surely most tragic, path to vampirism is that of the victim. This is the route most commonly taken to vampirism, for it is the way in which those slain by a vampire become vampires themselves. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>When a vampire decides to create new slaves, it does so by taking their lives in some special way. For most, it is simply the draining of their life energies or the drinking of their blood. Whatever the end result, if the victim dies from the feeding of the beast, he or she rises again as a vampire. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>At their deaths, dhampir rise as vampires and irredeemable servants of evil. (A Guide to Transylvania)</p><p>Any human or humanoid creature slain by the life energy drain of a vampire is doomed to become a vampire himself. Thus, those who would hunt these lords of the undead must be very careful lest they find themselves condemned to a fate far worse than death. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of the creature. Those who are not actually buried, however, do not become undead and it is thus traditional that the bodies of a vampire's victims be burned or similarly destroyed. (Dragon 150)</p><p><em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell. (Prayers from the Faithful)</p><p><em>Undeath After Death</em> spell. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p><strong>Vampire, Count Dracula:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire, Lyssa Von Zarovich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Cerebral:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Companion:</strong> The process of vampiric bonding is as murky as the fog that often shrouds the vampire's movement. When the vampire decides to take a companion, it generally (although not always) seeks out an individual of the opposite sex that reminds them of someone they loved in life. The vampire repeatedly visits the victim, feeding on them until they are at the point of death. At the last, when all hope seems lost, the vampire draws away the last vestiges of the companion's life and infuses them with its own energies. The process is both traumatic and passionate, for this mingling of essences is far more intimate than any purely physical act of love. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>When the bonding is completed, both the vampire and its victim are exhausted and all but helpless for upwards of an hour. At the end of that time, the victim has become a vampire. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf, Dwarven Vampire:</strong> Any character reduced to a Constitution score of 0 by a dwarven vampire's vitality drain is instantly slain and will rise again as a vampire (of the appropriate type) in 3 days. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Those dwarves that fall prey to the undead will often become themselves undead. Three days after any character dies from the vampire's vitality draining, they will rise again if certain conditions are met. First, and most importantly, the victim must have been a dwarf. Vampire dwarves who kill elves or humans will not create new vampires, for only their own kind can be brought back to unlife by them. Further, the body must be intact. Second, the body must be placed in a stone coffin or sarcophagus and then entombed in some subterranean place. A typical burial service will meet this requirement, while placement in a crypt on the surface will not. Finally, the dwarven vampire must visit the body of its victim on the third night after burial and sprinkle the body with powdered metals. As soon as this is done, the new vampire is born. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf 0-99 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf 100-199 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf 200-299 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf 300-399 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf 400-499 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf 500+ Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Eastern:</strong> Any human slain by Mayonaka's life-energy drain will become a vampire in turn. The transformation into unlife occurs one day after burial. Those who are not buried will not rise as vampires; thus, tradition dictates that all who die at the hands of these undead be cremated. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Vampire Eastern, Mayonaka:</strong> Hours later, Mayonaka awoke on a ledge that protruded from the walls of the endless shaft. With much effort, he climbed the rough stone face and reached the vampire's lair. Much to his horror he found that the creature was fully recovered from its earlier wounds. Delighted to discover that it might still have a prisoner to torture, the vampire attacked. The battle was long and terrible. In the end, the samurai was triumphant. Sadly, he too was dying. The vampire had tasted his life essence and left his soul drained and tainted. With a final prayer to his ancestors, he died. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>To his surprise, he awoke a day or so later. His wounds, it seemed, were completely healed. Indeed, he felt better than he ever had before. He left the vampire's lair and headed out of the cave. With luck, he hoped to rejoin his sisters before they left the island. As he reached the cave's mouth and stepped out into the sunlight, he found himself wracked with horrible pain. He turned and tossed himself back into the cool darkness of the cavern just in time. With horror, he realized that he himself had become undead. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Vampire Elf, Elvish Vampire:</strong> Any elf or half-elf who dies from the elvish vampire's essence draining attack will become a vampire. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Any elf or half-elf who falls to the essence draining attack of an elven vampire will rise again as an elven vampire so long as the body is intact after three days. If the body has been destroyed or mutilated, the transformation is averted, and the dead character may rest in peace. However, any attempt to revive the slain character (with a resurrection spell, for example) has a flat 50% chance of transforming the character into a vampire once the spell is cast. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Elf 0-99 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Elf 100-199 Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Elf 200-299 Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Elf 300-399 Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Elf 400-499 Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Elf 500+ Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome, Gnomish Vampire:</strong> While the hand-to-hand blows of gnomish vampires are weak, however, they are not without a powerful debilitating affect. Those struck by such attacks will begin to feel the painful arthritic attack of the creature instantly, for each successful attack drains 2 points of Dexterity from the victim. The result is a painful stiffness in the joints and muscles that can, if the victim suffers several attacks, be crippling or even fatal. Those reduced to a Dexterity score of 0 will be slain as the creeping paralysis spreads through their lungs and heart, making it impossible for them to survive. Gnomes who die in this fashion may themselves become undead if steps are not taken to prevent this foul transformation. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Gnomish vampires seldom create others of their kind. When they opt to do so, however, the process is not without risk. The vampire must first slay a victim with its debilitating touch and then move the body to the sarcophagus in which the vampire itself sleeps. For the next three days, the body must lie in the coffin while the vampire rests atop it, allowing its essences to seep slowly into the evolving vampire. At the end of this time, the slain gnome rises as a fully functioning vampire, completely under the control of its creator. While the gnome vampire rests atop its coffin, it is unable to regenerate any lost hit points or employ any of its spell-like abilities. Thus, the creature is far more vulnerable to attack at this time than it normally might be. In addition, it cannot interrupt the creation process once it has begun or both the would-be vampire and its creator will die. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome 0-99 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome 100-199 Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome 200-299 Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome 300-399 Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome 400-499 Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome 500+ Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling:</strong> Those halflings who die from a halfling vampire's life draining attack will become vampires themselves. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The vampire can make more of its kind only by slaying other halflings with its energy-sapping attack. In order to create a new vampire, the halfling need do nothing more than keep the body of its victim intact for 7 days after death and a new vampire will be created. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling 0-99 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling 100-199 Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling 200-299 Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling 300-399 Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling 400-499 Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling 500+ Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Illithid:</strong> Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. The experiment was part of an ultimately successful attempt to transform the latter into a vampire. The "prototype" vampire illithids created by these experiments were believed to have been destroyed, but their regenerative powers enabled them to survive and escape into the wild, where they have flourished. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Vampire Illithid, Athaekeetha:</strong> Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. The experiment was part of an ultimately successful attempt to transform the latter into a vampire. The "prototype" vampire illithids created by these experiments were believed to have been destroyed, but their regenerative powers enabled them to survive and escape into the wild, where they have flourished. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p>Athaekeetha was the last vampire illithid created by Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master before they gave up on the experiment; its higher intelligence is proof that at least some progress was being made in the project. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Vampire Kender:</strong> Those kender who die from the spirit-rending attack of the kender vampire are in no danger of becoming vampires themselves, however, for these foul creatures are the product of dark sciences and magical experimentation that can only be duplicated with the direct intervention of Lord Soth of Sithicus. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The kender vampire is a solitary creature that exists only to do the bidding of Lord Soth of Sithicus. He is the father of their race, and, although they despise him for what he has done to them, they are unable to turn against him or act in any way contrary to his interests. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Knowing the revulsion that the elves who live in his domain feel for all manner of unnatural things, Soth felt that he could find no better slaves than a band of undead. Aware that undead elves might pose a threat to his own power, Soth set about the creation of a new breed of undead. Drawing a small kender village through the misty veils of Ravenloft and into his domain, he had them killed one by one so that he could study their sufferings and invoke carefully designed magical rituals over their bodies in attempts to make them rise as undead. By the time he had finished with these sad kender, fully half of them had died horrible deaths and suffered unspeakable torment at the hand of the dreaded deathknight. The results of his experiments were, however, satisfactory to Soth, for he discovered a formula that would create a race of vampires utterly loyal to him. It is believed that Soth has created no fewer than 10 such monsters and no more than 30, although hard evidence to support any given estimate is hard to come by. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Kender vampires can exist only within the confines of Lord Soth's domain of Sithicus. They are tied to that dark land in some mystical way that, no doubt, relates to the evil magic used in their creation. It is possible that Lord Soth was required to invoke the favor of the Dark Powers in his creation of these dreaded monsters and, thus, that he has paid some horrible price for their loyalty to him. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Lord of Gundarak, Vampire Lord, Duke Gundar:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Velya:</strong> They were once surface dwellers who became undead through an ancient curse.(Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) </p><p>Only a transfusion of the velya’s blood or the original curse, now forgotten, can make a velya. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Velya Swamp:</strong> Swamp Velyas origins are identical to ocean velya. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Vampire Wizard:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampiric Dread:</strong> See Dread Vampiric.</p><p><strong>Vampiric Wolf:</strong> See Wolf Vampiric.</p><p><strong>Varoxil Rante:</strong> See Raaig Human Cleric 10, Varoxil Rante, Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns.</p><p><strong>Velya:</strong> See Vampire Velya.</p><p><strong>Von Zarovich, Lyssa:</strong> See Vampire, Lyssa Von Zarovich.</p><p><strong>Von Zarovich, Strahd:</strong> See Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich. </p><p><strong>Wagner, Giorggio:</strong> See Giorggio Wagner.</p><p><strong>Wagner, Jezra:</strong> See Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen.</p><p><strong>Walking Dead:</strong> See Controlled Undead, Walking Dead.</p><p><strong>Wandering Horror:</strong> See Mist Horror Wandering Horror.</p><p><strong>Warrior Skeleton:</strong> See Skeleton Warrior.</p><p><strong>Warrior Spectral Minion:</strong> See Spectral Minion Warrior.</p><p><strong>Warrior Spirit:</strong> See Spirit Warrior.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. In their new form, they have all the powers and abilities of a normal wight but half their Hit Dice. If the wight who "created" them is slain, they will instantly be freed of its control and gain a portion of its power, acquiring the normal 4+3 Hit Dice of their kind. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Characters slain by a velya return from death after three days and become wights. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p>The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature then hunts down those men who served it in life and kills them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil band will again plague the lands. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him. (Dragon 159)</p><p>Any victim completely drained of life points by the king-wight becomes a full-strength wight. (Dragon 198)</p><p>The wights are the animated remains of the common excavators who were slain and dropped into the Undertomb. (Dragon 249)</p><p><em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell. (Prayers from the Faithful)</p><p><em>Undeath After Death</em> spell. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Spellbound)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Villain's Lorebook)</p><p><strong>Wight Half Hit Dice:</strong> Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. In their new form, they have all the powers and abilities of a normal wight but half their Hit Dice. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>An intelligent living creature completely drained of life levels by a wight dragon becomes a normal half-strength wight under the control of the wight dragon. (Dragon 234)</p><p><strong>Wichtlin:</strong> Wichtlin are a result of an ancient curse on the court of Queen Sylvyana, a Silvanesti elf also known as the Ghoul Queen. All known records of her reign were destroyed by the Silvanesti, and only fragments of rumors remain. When an elf of evil alignment dies violently, there is a 1 % chance that Chemosh, the Lord of the Undead, in conjunction with the spirit of Queen Sylvyana, claims his spirit and resurrects him as a wichtlin. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Wichtlin Kagonesti:</strong> If an evil Kagonesti elf meets a violent death while riding a wild stag mount, the spirit of the wild stag may also be claimed by Chemosh and resurrected along with the elf. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Wichtlin Wild Stag:</strong> If an evil Kagonesti elf meets a violent death while riding a wild stag mount, the spirit of the wild stag may also be claimed by Chemosh and resurrected along with the elf. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix)</p><p><strong>Wizard Spectral:</strong> See Spectral Wizard.</p><p><strong>Wolf Dread:</strong> These creatures were originally created by a renegade mage, but word of how to create these horrid creatures seems to have spread across the Prime Material Plane. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>As magically animated undead, dread wolves have no natural place in any ecosystem. To create these servants, a mage must be evil and at least 9th level, and he must have 3d4 wolves that have been dead for no more than a day. The spellcaster begins an incantation over the dead wolves that combines modified versions of animate dead, summon shadow, and dismissal. By doing this, the mage summons a shadow from the Negative Energy Plane and breaks it into parts which are infused into the wolves, creating the dread wolves. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>The spellcasting takes an hour. If the spell is interrupted, the energies of the shadow’s separate parts are unleashed. When this happens, the mage suffers 3d10 points of damage (no save) from the other-worldly energy blast. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>At the end of the hour, the mage will have 3d4 servants that can travel up to 50 miles away and enable him to see and hear everything they see and hear. The wolves are directly under the control of the mage’s mind within this distance. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>The wolves can venture outside the 50-mile limit, but they lose contact with the controlling mage. Unless previous commands prevent this, the wolves will immediately try to get back within the limit to regain contact. The dread wolves can be given a command of up to three short sentences (a total of 30 words), which they will cover any distance to fulfill. This command will always be fulfilled unless the dread wolves are destroyed first. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>For some unknown reason, the spell that makes dread wolves will not work on dogs. A mage who attempts this on dogs suffers 3d10 points of damage as described earlier. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>These creatures were originally created by a renegade mage, Galen Dracos of Krynn. (Dragon 174)</p><p>To create these servants, a mage must be evil and at least ninth level, and must have 3-12 wolves that have been dead for no more than a day. The spell-caster then begins a long incantation over the dead wolves that combines modified versions of animate dead, summon shadow, and dismissal. By doing this, the mage summons a shadow from the Negative Material plane and breaks it into parts. These parts are infused into the wolves as they animate, creating the dread wolves. (Dragon 174)</p><p>The spell-casting takes an hour. If the spell is interrupted, the energies of the shadow's separate parts are unleashed. When this happens, the mage takes 3d10 points of physical damage (no save) from the otherworldly energy blast, just as if he had been caught in an ice storm spell. (Dragon 174)</p><p>For some unknown reason, the spell that makes dread wolves will not work on dogs. If the mage tries to cast the spell on dogs, he will take 3d10 points of damage as described earlier. (Dragon 174)</p><p><strong>Wolf Vampiric:</strong> These foul undead creatures are the result of corrupting ceremonies used on normal wolf pups by evil clerics. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>In order to create these foul corruptions, a cleric must be evil and at least 9th level. He can use 3d6 pups from one or more wolf dens. The pups must be very close to being weaned, but cannot have tasted meat or they will be useless. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>The cleric first performs a ceremony using what amounts to the opposite of an atonement spell. Then, every day he must hand-feed the pups. The food can be no more than one day old and it must be infused with one or two drops of blood from a living human, or dust from a vampire and cursed using a reversed bless spell. This must continue every day for three months or the pups die. At the end of the three-month period, the pups are fully grown and must then be slain by poisoning; they then arise as vampiric wolves. If they are not slain at this time, the wolves must each make a saving throw vs. death magic or become greatly weakened (1 hp per Hit Die), living on as bloodthirsty but otherwise normal wolves. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>It is impossible to create vampiric dogs. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>These foul undead creatures are the result of corrupting ceremonies used on normal wolf pups by certain evil clerics. (Dragon 174)</p><p>In order to create these foul corruptions of nature, a cleric must be evil and at least ninth level. He can use 3-18 pups from one or more wolf dens. The pups must be very close to being weaned away from their mother, but cannot have tasted meat or they will be useless. (Dragon 174)</p><p>The evil cleric first performs a ceremony using what amounts to the opposite of an atonement spell. Then, every day he must hand feed the pups. The food can be no more than one day old; it must also be infused with one or two drops of blood from a living human or dust from a vampire and cursed using a reversed bless spell. This must continue every day for three months or the pups die. At the end of the three-month period, the pups are fully grown and must then be slain by poisoning; they then arise as vampiric wolves. (Dragon 174)</p><p>It should be noted that it is impossible to create vampiric dogs. Man's long partnership with dogs seems to have robbed them of some essential characteristic needed to make the change work. (Dragon 174)</p><p><strong>Wolf Zombie:</strong> Zombie wolves are not created by a wizard or a priest, but rise when wolves starve or freeze to death near areas frequented by undead such as graveyards and necroplises. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p>It is generally thought that the creatures gain this strange form of existence from incidental contact with the Negative Material Plane. Some sages speculate that the anguish of starvation and freezing provides just enough impetus to animate the simple animals when negative energy touches them. Others figure that another undead creature must consciously seek the dead wolves and give them unlife. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One)</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> The wraith is an evil undead spirit of a powerful human that seeks to absorb human life energy. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Any human killed by a wraith becomes a half-strength wraith under its control (e.g., a 10th-level fighter will become a 5 Hit Die wraith under the control of the wraith that slew him). (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>A wraith is an undead spirit of a powerful, evil human. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Lemures are occasionally chosen to form wraiths or spectres, as well. (MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix)</p><p>The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>Amiq rasol that do not feed for several years will fade away until they become wraiths. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>Any creature that rides a ghost mount must make an ability check using Wisdom (at a -2 penalty) when the journey begins. If the check is failed, the mount refuses to obey the rider's instructions and instead takes him deep into the nearest wilderness at full speed. Leaping from the mount when it is traveling at a gallop causes 3d6 points of damage, and items falling with the rider must make a saving throw against crushing blows. If the rider stays with the ghost mount, it will throw him after traveling at least 75 miles into the wilderness. Being thrown causes1d6 damage; a saving throw against falling for items carried by the thrown rider must also be made. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix)</p><p>If the initial Wisdom ability check is successful, the ghost mount obeys, but the rider must then make a saving throw versus death magic when the journey has reached a middle point. Failure indicates that the ghost mount's life energy drain has transformed the rider into a wraith. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix)</p><p>Amiq rasol that do not feed for several years will fade away until they become wraiths. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him. (Dragon 159)</p><p>When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate. (Dragon 186)</p><p>A wraith-king can drain life levels by gaze alone at the rate of one level per round for any one victim within clear view in a 30. range (the victim must save vs. death ray each round to avoid this effect). Any victim completely drained of life levels becomes a full-strength wraith under the control of the wraith-king. (Dragon 198)</p><p>A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. (Dragon 205)</p><p>Wraith dragons may employ their level-draining breath weapon every other round, three times per day. An intelligent living creature completely drained of life levels in this manner becomes a normal half-strength wraith under the control of the wraith dragon. (Dragon 234)</p><p><em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell. (Prayers from the Faithful)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Spellbound)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Villain's Lorebook)</p><p><strong>Wraith Soul Beckoner:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith Swordwraith:</strong> Swordwraiths are the spirits of warriors cut down during battle and kept from the dissolution of death by their indomitable wills. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>Swordwraiths were once professional soldiers for whom fighting was all there was in life. In many cases, they are too stubborn to even admit that they are dead. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p><strong>Wraith-Spider:</strong> Victims drained of all Constitution points by a wraith-spider die and have a 25% chance of becoming wraith-spiders themselves. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>Wraith-spiders were originally created as guardians of treasure or as guards for a particular area of a drow stronghold. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p>It is rumored that a wizard named Muiral created them; however, it is more likely that the wraith-spiders were created years before by the drow for their wars against the duergar. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two)</p><p><strong>Wraith Athasian:</strong> In the Gray, the spirits of the dead slowly dissolve and are absorbed. Some spirits, like wraiths, don’t suffer this fate. They are sustained by a force even more powerful than the Gray – their everlasting faith in a cause greater than themselves. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>All wraiths need something important from their lives to serve as magnets for their spirits. These items can be candles of faith, like in the Crimson shrine, or brilliant gems full of life force, such as the gems used by the Dragon’s wraith knights. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Athasian wraiths differ from other wraiths in that they voluntarily embraced undeath as a form of existence. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>A character slain by a t'liz through its life energy drain becomes an Athasian wraith under direct command of the t'liz. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Wraith Athasian Human Fighter 11, Nikolos:</strong> Nikolos was one of Borys the Thirteenth Champion's select knights during the Cleansing Wars of ages past. Like the other select knights, Nikolos continued to serve Borys after his death by becoming a wraith. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Wyrd:</strong> They are created when an evil spirit inhabits the dead body of an elf. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p>The process that creates wyrds is a mystery. It seems to be clear, however, that the spirit that animates a wyrd prefers to occupy elves who have died violently and been left unburied. Elves who have been abandoned by their fellow elves and left to die alone seem to be the most likely to become wyrds.(Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) Certain locales near places of ancient evil, such as ruined temples, battlefields where evil forces were once victorious, and scenes of great treachery also seem to be prone to produce wyrds. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Wyrd Greater:</strong> This more hideous variety of wyrd is created when an undead spirit occupies the body of an exceptionally high-level elf. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Zarovich, Lyssa:</strong> See Vampire, Lyssa Von Zarovich.</p><p><strong>Zarovich, Strahd:</strong> See Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich. </p><p><strong>Zhentarim Spirit:</strong> A Zhentarim spirit is the essence of a Zhentarim wizard who met with a horrible death at the hands of his or her enemies or treacherous comrades. The spirit of the wizard is extremely vengeful, and by sheer force of will is remaining on the Prime Material Plane until a task is complete or until it takes revenge on those who slew it. Zhentarim spirits are extremely rare, and only the death of a wizard who is greater than 14th level can bring about the creation of one of these spiteful spirits. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>The determination of Zhentarim spirits to annihilate their killers is exceptional, and these creatures defy final judgment for indefinite and extended periods to exact their revenge. This is done through these spirits’ force of will (minimum Wisdom of 16), aided by their connection with the magical arts (minimum of 14th-level wizard). (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>These spirits have so far only been linked with wizards of the Zhentarim, and many think the tendency of Zhentarim wizards to form these spirits is attributable to magical means that they use to extend their lives. A vengeful Zhentarim spirit is formed one to two days after the death of an appropriate Zhentarim wizard, and it immediately sets about planning its revenge. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Zombies are mindless, animated corpses controlled by their creator, usually an evil wizard or priest. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a zombie. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>A cure disease or remove curse spell will transform a son of Kyuss into a zombie, but both spells require that the priest touch the son. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>The odor of death that surrounds the zombie lord is so potent that it can cause horrible effects in those who breath it. On the first round that a character comes within 30 yards of the monster, he must save vs. poison or be affected in some way. The following results are possible: (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>1d6 Roll Effect</p><p>1 Weakness (as the spell)</p><p>2 Cause disease (as the spell)</p><p>3 -1 point of Constitution</p><p>4 Contagion (as the spell)</p><p>5 Character unable to act for 1d4 rounds due to nausea and vomiting</p><p>6 Character dies instantly and becomes a zombie under control of the zombie lord (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>A cure disease or remove curse spell will transform a son of Kyuss into a zombie, but both spells require that the priest touch the son. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three)</p><p>Most skeletons and zombies are man-sized or smaller, but larger corpses such as mekillot skeletons and zombie giants are often animated by more powerful necromancers. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Produce Undead undead power. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Zombie Lord odor of death ability. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II)</p><p>Any creature that is drained to zero level by an undead cloaker or its host will return from the grave in 1d4 days as a common zombie. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix III)</p><p>Creatures brought to 0 life levels by a desert wraith are transformed into zombies within 48 hours, even if raised, unless their bodies are washed in holy water. (FR 10 Old Empires)</p><p>With the coming of the next full moon, Coetlicrota performed a dark and evil magic ritual in which he vowed that he would gladly trade all of his magical powers for the chance to avenge his people. The Red Death, or some element of it, heard his pleas and acted upon them. As the ceremony was completed, Coetlicrota and all his followers fell dead, only to rise again at the next full moon as a pack of zombies under the absolute control of the zombie master Coetlicrota. (Masque of the Red Death)</p><p>Marcel Tarascon's odor of death. (RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead)</p><p>Marcel Tarascon's animate dead. (RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead)</p><p>The only undead that are magically created are skeletons and zombies, which are created with the animate dead spell. (Dragon 156)</p><p>Skeletons and zombies are what I call “walking dead” rather than true undead. They have no intelligence and no independent will; they are always the servants of some other being and have simply been animated to serve his purposes. (Dragon 173)</p><p>Elder bainligor can transform other creatures into undead. This requires a successful attack roll, and entitles the victim to a saving throw against death magic at +1/level or HD of the target (bainligor are not entitled to a saving throw). The creature becomes a zombie unless it is a bainligor, which becomes a Revered One with the HD it had in life. (Dragon 227)</p><p><em>Animate Dead</em> spell. (Player's Handbook)</p><p><em>Double Spell</em> spell. (Dragon 188)</p><p><em>Kolin's Undead Legion</em> spell. (DM's Option High Level Campaigns)</p><p><em>Undeath After Death</em> spell. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p><em>Undead Familiar</em> spell. (Pages From the Mages)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Spellbound)</p><p><em>Unlife</em> spell. (Villain's Lorebook)</p><p>Dead Zone trap. (Dragon 249)</p><p><strong>Zombie Common:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Desert:</strong> In most cases, a diseased person crumbles into dust when he or she dies. If Senmet chooses, however, he can convert someone infected with his rotting disease into a unique breed of zombie or an actual mummy. In either case, the newly created horror is completely under Senmet's control. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night)</p><p><strong>Zombie Juju:</strong> These foul creatures are made when a wizard drains the life force from a man-sized humanoid creature with an energy drain spell. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One)</p><p>Humans or humanoids slain by negative energy weapons can be animated as juju zombies, but unless the spell-caster is also the one who wielded the killing weapon, they will be free-willed. (Dragon 194)</p><p>Those who failed to repay their debt to the old man [Chicken Bone] soon fell ill and died. No magical or natural healing seemed able to save them. Once dead, these sorry souls are said to have risen anew as ju-ju zombies who now wander the marshes around Lake Noir. They are now the minions of the Voodan, repaying their obligation with an eternity of servitude. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night (2e))</p><p>Humans or humanoids slain by negative energy weapons can be animated as juju zombies, but unless the spell-caster is also the one who wielded the killing weapon, they will be free-willed. (Dragon 194)</p><p><em>Energy Drain</em> spell. (Player's Handbook)</p><p><em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell. (Prayers from the Faithful)</p><p><em>Undeath After Death</em> spell. (Faiths and Avatars)</p><p><strong>Zombie Lightning:</strong> Lightning zombies are undead creatures created when the bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids are bathed in exceptionally strong magical auras. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Zombie Lightning Greater:</strong> These creatures are created when a powerful character or leader dies and the body is exposed to awesome magical energies. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix)</p><p><strong>Zombie Lord:</strong> The zombie lord is a living creature that has taken on the foul powers and abilities of the undead. They are formed on rare occasions as the result of a raise dead spell cast while in the demiplane of Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p>The zombie lord comes into being by chance, and only under certain conditions. First, an evil human being (the soon-to-be zombie lord) must die at the hands of an undead creature. Second, an attempt to raise the slain character must be made. Third, and last, the character must fail his resurrection survival roll. It is believed that the zombie lord can be created only in Ravenloft, but this is not proven absolutely for they have been encountered in other lands from time to time. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix)</p><p><strong>Zombie Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Mud:</strong> Mud zombies are mindless, animated corpses that consist of a thick layer of slimy mud over a framework of bones. When the appropriate condition arises, they animate. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p>Mud zombies are made from whole or partial skeletons, usually human. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p>Mud zombies can be created wherever the raw materials to make them (bones and mud) are found. They are usually encountered on battlefields and in graveyards situated near a source of water (a river, bog, or lake). Climatic conditions must be just right at the time they are created or summoned forth. For example, if there has been a prolonged drought and the earth is dry and hard-packed, then a mud zombie cannot rise from its resting place. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four)</p><p><strong>Zombie Sea, Drowned One:</strong> Sea zombies (also known as drowned ones) are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed and are rumored to be animated by the will of the god Nerull the Reaper. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p>Many of the humans who become drowned ones were priests while alive, and they retain their powers as undead. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix)</p><p><strong>Zombie Thinking:</strong> A thinking zombie is a creature who has died and its spirit cannot rest until it has completed the task. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Creatures who die before completing an important task (often under the compulsion of a geas or quest spell) often become thinking zombies. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p>Many thinking zombies are giants and half-giants, as they are often selected for quests because of their size and strength. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Zombie Thinking Human Templar 6, Evirdel Ironhand:</strong> Evirdel served as a loyal templar in the service of Dictator Andropinis, sorcerer-king of Balic, until she was falsely accused and condemned as a traitor. She was tortured into a false confession before her peers, as an example, and then slain and revived as a thinking zombie. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Zombie Thinking Mul Gladiator 4, Claktor Bloodfist:</strong> Claktor was making a living as a burglar, working with a thief. The pair accidentally chose the wrong home to burglarize and were killed by the powerful defiler who lived there. The thieves were raised from the dead by the defiler almost as a joke. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr)</p><p><strong>Zombie Wolf:</strong> See Wolf Zombie.</p><p><strong>Zwarth Spirit Warrior:</strong> See Spirit Warrior Zwarth.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>2e TSR Books[spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/183092/MC1-Monstrous-Compendium-Volume-One-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Ghosts are the spirits of humans who were either so greatly evil in life or whose deaths were so unusually emotional they have been cursed with the gift of undead status.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Any human or demi-human (except elves) killed by a ghoulish attack will become a ghoul unless blessed (or blessed and then resurrected).</p><p><strong>Ghoul Lacedon:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> In order to become a lich, the wizard must prepare its phylactery by the use of the enchant an item, magic jar, permanency and reincarnation spells. The phylactery, which can be almost any manner of object, must be of the finest craftsmanship and materials with a value of not less than 1,500 gold pieces per level of the wizard. Once this object is created, the would-be lich must craft a potion of extreme toxicity, which is then enchanted with the following spells: wraithform, permanency, cone of cold, feign death, and animate dead. When next the moon is full, the potion is imbibed. Rather than death, the potion causes the wizard to undergo a transformation into its new state. A system shock survival throw is required, with failure indicating an error in the creation of the potion which kills the wizard and renders him forever dead.</p><p><strong>Lich Demilich:</strong> The demilich is not, as the name implies, a weaker form of the lich. Rather, it is the stage into which a lich will eventually evolve as the power which has sustained its physical form gradually begins to fail.</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> Mummies are corpses native to dry desert areas, where the dead are entombed by a process known as mummification. When their tombs are disturbed, the corpses become animated into a weird unlife state, whose unholy hatred of life causes them to attack living things without mercy.</p><p>Mummies are the product of an embalming process used on wealthy and important personages. Most mummies are corpses without magical properties. On occasion, perhaps due to powerful evil magic or perhaps because the individual was so greedy in life that he refuses to give up his treasure, the spirit of the mummified person will not die, but taps into energy from the Positive Material plane and is transformed into an undead horror.</p><p>To create a mummy, a corpse should be soaked in a preserving solution (typically carbonate of soda) for several weeks and covered with spices and resins. Body organs, such as the heart, brain, and liver, are typically removed and sealed in jars. Sometimes gems are wrapped in the cloth.</p><p>When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10+2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> If a human or demihuman opponent is reduced to zero Strength or zero hit points by a shadow, the shadow has drained the life force and the opponent becomes a shadow as well.</p><p>According to most knowledgeable sages, shadows appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse laid upon some long-dead enemy. The curse affects only humans and demihumans so it would seem that it affects the soul or spirit. When victims no longer can resist, either through loss of consciousness (hit points) or physical prowess (Strength points), the curse is activated and the majority of the character's essence is shifted to the Negative Material plane. Only a shadow of their former self remains on the Prime Material plane, and the transformation always renders the victim both terribly insane and undeniably evil.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests.</p><p>Skeletons appear to have no ligaments or musculature which would allow movement. Instead, the bones are magically joined together during the casting of an animate dead spell. Skeletons have no eyes or internal organs.</p><p>Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Animal:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Any being totally drained of life energy by a spectre becomes a full-strength spectre.</p><p>No one knows who the first spectre was or how it came to be.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. In their new form, they have all the powers and abilities of a normal wight but half their Hit Dice. If the wight who "created" them is slain, they will instantly be freed of its control and gain a portion of its power, acquiring the normal 4+3 Hit Dice of their kind.</p><p><strong>Half Hit Dice Wight:</strong> Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. In their new form, they have all the powers and abilities of a normal wight but half their Hit Dice.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> The wraith is an evil undead spirit of a powerful human that seeks to absorb human life energy.</p><p>Any human killed by a wraith becomes a half-strength wraith under its control (e.g., a 10th-level fighter will become a 5 Hit Die wraith under the control of the wraith that slew him).</p><p>A wraith is an undead spirit of a powerful, evil human.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Zombies are mindless, animated corpses controlled by their creator, usually an evil wizard or priest.</p><p>The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a zombie.</p><p><strong>Zombie Common:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Juju:</strong> These foul creatures are made when a wizard drains the life force from a man-sized humanoid creature with an energy drain spell.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16954/Blood-Enemies-Abominations-of-Cerilia-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Blood Enemies: Abominations of Cerilia</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>The Magian:</strong> The Magian is a powerful being, but he has not been alive for nearly 200 years. Sheer willpower and magic sustained it for much of that time. Now, he is immortal, as the blood of Azrai removed the frailties of his undead state.</p><p><strong>Rider:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Blood Spawn[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Faerie Unseelie Undead:</strong> Undead members of the Unseelie Court come into being when a faerie (of any alignment) dies in a battle between the two courts. The horror of kin slaying kin creates a ripple through the Seeming itself, preventing the deceased faerie from dissipating into it. The creature’s spirit becomes trapped, sentenced to eternally walk the Shadow World but stripped of the magical abilities it once had. It becomes an unthinking being, lashing out in anger and resentment at the living, held in check only by the Dark Queen.</p><p><strong>Spectral Awnsheghlien:</strong> Summoned by the Cold Rider to serve his dark bidding in undeath, spectral awnsheghlien are the spirits of slain Abominations from the waking world. At their moments of death, the Cold Rider trapped their essences in the Shadow World—it would be a shame, after all, to let such pure, unmitigated evil merely scatter to the winds.</p><p>When a Cerilian awnshegh dies, the bloodline of Azrai that it carried in its veins dissipates and travels to the Shadow World. This holds true even for awnshegh victims of bloodtheft. (Recall that even with a tighmaevril weapon, the attacker receives only 5 bloodline strength points; the rest dissipate.) Only an awnshegh who invests its bloodline before death is immune to the possibility of becoming a specter.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Each time a spectral awnshegh touches an opponent, it transforms some of the victim’s life essence to shadow and drains 1 Constitution point. Should a character’s Constitution drop to 0, the victim turns into a spectre.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16996/MC2-Monstrous-Compendium-Volume-Two-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Banshee, Groaning Spirit:</strong> The groaning spirit, or banshee, is the spirit of an evil female elf—a very rare thing indeed.</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> A haunt is the restless spirit of a person who died leaving some vital task unfinished.</p><p>The exact task to be accomplished varies, but the motives are always powerful (revenge, unfulfilled greed, love, and so forth). Often great distances need to be traveled before the task can be completed and a haunt will drive its host mercilessly toward the goal, ignoring all needs for food or sleep.</p><p><strong>Heucuva:</strong> Legends tell that heucuva are the restless spirits of monastic priests who were less than faithful to their holy vows. In punishment for their heresies, they are forced to roam the dark.</p><p><strong>Poltergeist:</strong> Poltergeists are the spirits of restless dead.</p><p>Some say that poltergeists are the spirits of those who committed heinous crimes that went unpunished in life.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17539/MC3-Monstrous-Compendium-Forgotten-Realms-Appendix-2e?it=1?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Crawling Claw:</strong> Since claws are the animated remains of hands or paws of living creatures, they are apt to be found in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.</p><p>Crawling claws are nothing more than the animated hands and paws of once-living creatures.</p><p>Crawling claws can be created by any mage or priest who has knowledge of the techniques required to do so. To begin with, the creator must assemble the severed limbs that are to animated. The maximum number of claws that can be created at any one time is equal to the level of the person enchanting them. The hands (or paws) can be either fresh, skeletal, or at any stage of decomposition in between.</p><p><strong>Dracolich:</strong> The dracolich is an undead creature resulting from the unnatural transformation of an evil dragon. The mysterious Cult of the Dragon practices the powerful magic necessary for the creation of the dracolich, though other practitioners are also rumored to exist.</p><p>A dracolich can be created from any of the evil dragon subspecies.</p><p>The c r e atio n of a dracolich is a complex process involving the transformation of an evil dragon by arcane magical forces, the most notorious practitioners of which are members of the Cult of the Dragon. The process is usually a cooperative effort between the evil dragon and the wizards, but especially powerful wizards have been known to coerce an evil dragon to undergo the transformation against its will.</p><p>Any evil dragon is a possible candidate for transformation, although old dragons or older with spell-casting abilities are preferred. Once a candidate is secured, the wizards first prepare the dragon's host, an inanimate object that will hold the dragon's life force. The host must be a solid item of not less than 2,000 gp value resistant to decay (wood, for instance, is unsuitable). A gemstone is commonly used for a host, particularly ruby, pearl, carbuncle, and jet, and is often set in the hilt of a sword or other weapon. The host is prepared by casting enchant an item upon it and speaking the name of the evil dragon; the item may resist the spell by successfully saving vs. spell as an llth-level wizard. If the spell is resisted, another item must be used for the host. If the spell is not resisted, the item can then function as a host. If desired, glassteel can be cast upon the host to protect it.</p><p>Next, a special potion is prepared for the evil dragon to consume. The exact composition of the potion varies according to the age and type of the dragon, but it must contain precisely seven ingredients, among them a potion of evil dragon control, a potion of invulnerability, and the blood of a vampire. When the evil dragon consumes the potion, the results are determined as follows (roll percentile dice):</p><p>Roll Result</p><p>01-10 No effect.</p><p>11-40 Potion does not work. The dragon suffers 2d12 points of damage and is helpless with convulsions for 1-2 rounds.</p><p>41-50 Potion does not work. The dragon dies. A full wish or similar spell is needed to restore the dragon to life; a wish to transform the dragon into a dracolich results in another roll on this table.</p><p>51-00 Potion works.</p><p>If the potion works, the dragon's spirit transfers to the host, regardless of the distance between the dragon's body and the host. A dim light within the host indicates the presence of the spirit. While contained in the host, the spirit cannot take any actions; it cannot be contacted nor attacked by magic. The spirit can remain in the host indefinitely.</p><p>Once the spirit is contained in the host, the host must be brought within 90 feet of a reptilian corpse; under no circumstances can the spirit possess a living body. The spirit's original body is ideal, but the corpse of any reptilian creature that died or was killed within the previous 30 days is suitable.</p><p>The wizard who originally prepared the host must touch the host, cast a magic jar spell while speaking the name of the dragon, then touch the corpse. The corpse must fail a saving throw vs. spell for the spirit to successfully possess it; if it saves, it will never accept the spirit. The following modifiers apply to the roll:</p><p>[*]10 if the corpse is the spirit's own former body (which can be dead for any length of time).</p><p>[*]4 if the corpse is of the same alignment as the dragon.</p><p>[*]4 if the corpse is that of a true dragon (any type).</p><p>[*]3 if the corpse is that of a firedrake, ice lizard, wyvern, or fire lizard.</p><p>[*]1 if the corpse is that of a dracolisk, dragonne, dinosaur, snake, or other reptile.</p><p>If the corpse accepts the spirit, it becomes animated by the spirit. If the animated corpse is the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a dracolich; however, it will not regain the use of its voice and breath weapon for another seven days (note that it will not be able to cast spells with verbal components during this time). At the end of seven days, the dracolich regains the use of its voice and breath weapon.</p><p>If the animated corpse is not the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a proto-dracolich. A proto-dracolich has the mind and memories of its original form, but has the hit points and immunities to spells and priestly turning of a dracolich. A protodracolich can neither speak nor cast spells; further, it cannot cause chilling damage, use a breath weapon, or cause fear as a dracolich. Its strength, movement, and Armor Class are those of the possessed body.</p><p>To become a full dracolich, a proto-dracolich must devour at least 10% of its original body. Unless the body has been dispatched to another plane of existence, a proto-dracolich can always sense the presence of its original body, regardless of the distance. A proto-dracolich will tirelessly seek out its original body to the exclusion of all other activities. If its original body has been burned, dismembered, or otherwise destroyed, the proto-dracolich need only devour the ashes or pieces equal to or exceeding 10% of its original body mass (total destruction of the original body is possible only through use of a disintegrate or similar spell; the body could be reconstructed with a wish or similar spell, so long as the spell is cast in the same plane as the disintegration). If a proto-dracolich is unable to devour its original body, it is trapped in its current form until slain.</p><p>A proto-dracolich transforms into a full dracolich within seven days after it devours its original body. When the transformation is complete, the dracolich resembles its original body; it can now speak, cast spells, and employ the breath weapon of its original body, in addition to having all of the abilities of a dracolich.</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> Revenants are vengeful spirits that have risen from the grave to destroy their killers.</p><p>Under exceptional circumstances, a character who has died a violent death may rise as a revenant from the grave to wreak vengeance on his killer(s). In order to make this transition, two requirements must be met. The dead character's Constitution must be 18 and either his Wisdom or Intelligence must be greater than 16. Also, the total of his six ability scores must be 90 or more. Even if these conditions are met, there is only a 5% chance that the dead character becomes a revenant.</p><p>If both Intelligence and Wisdom are over 16, the chance increases to 10%. If Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution are all 18, the creature can shift at will into any freshly killed humanoid, if the revenant rolls a successful saving throw vs. death.</p><p></p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16963/MC4-Monstrous-Compendium-Dragonlance-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead Beast:</strong> The undead beast is a mindless killer of unknown origin, compelled to destroy the living.</p><p><strong>Stahnk:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gholor:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Anhkolox:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Knight Haunt:</strong> A knight haunt is a floating suit of Solamnic armor, always accompanied by some sort of weapon. If the battle where the knight fell was one where more than 100 Solamnic knights died then it is always riding a suit of floating horse barding.</p><p>A knight haunt is sometimes (5% chance) created when an especially lawful good Knight with a Wisdom of 17 or higher dies in battle. The haunt rises with the next full moon phase of Solinari. If its armor has been taken away, the power of the spirit can magically teleport the armor back to the site of the battlefield. If its armor has been destroyed, the power that creates the haunt can create an exact duplicate of the armor it wore.</p><p><strong>Death Knight:</strong> A death knight is the horrifying corruption of a Knight of Solamnia, cursed by the gods to its terrible form as punishment for betraying the code of honor it held in its former life.</p><p>The death knights of Krynn are former Knights of Solamnia who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. (For instance, Lord Soth, the most famous of all death knights, murdered his wife so that he could continue an affair with an elf maid.) Death knights are cursed to remain in their former domains, usually castles or other strongholds. They are further condemned to remember their crime in song on any night when one of Krynn's three moons is full; few sounds are as terrifying as a death knight's chilling melody echoing through the moonlit countryside.</p><p><strong>Lord Soth, Death Knight:</strong> The death knights of Krynn are former Knights of Solamnia who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. (For instance, Lord Soth, the most famous of all death knights, murdered his wife so that he could continue an affair with an elf maid.)</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion:</strong> Spectral minions are the spirits of humans or demihumans who died before they could fulfill their vows. Even in death, spectral minions are bound to the vows or quests placed upon them while they were alive.</p><p>Spectral minions are cursed to relive the events leading to their death, endlessly trying to fulfill their vows. Outdoors, they must stay within 1,000 yards of where they died. Indoors, they must stay in the corridor or room where they lost their lives. On very rare occasions where a quest required them to perform an act over a wide area, they are free to roam within that area.</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Berserker:</strong> Some spectral minions become overwhelmed by despair. Losing all hope of ever being freed from their charge, these minions are eventually driven into a berkserking frenzy. Others become mindless killers as soon as they become minions because of an unresolved obsession in their former lives; for instance, a spectral minion cook might become a berserker because someone in the past criticized his cooking and was no longer around to apologize for the remark.</p><p>In all cases, berserker spectral minions have rebelled against their quests and have no hope of ever being freed from their charges.</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Guardian:</strong> These spectral minions were quested to defend a room, a passage, or an object. In most cases, they served as guards for some important location and died at their posts.</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Philosopher:</strong> It is their curse to endlessly discuss philosophic issues left unresolved in their former lives.</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Reveler:</strong> These minions are cursed to celebrate madly for all eternity.</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Searcher:</strong> Searchers are spectral minions that stalk endlessly through their territory, searching for a particular object to fulfill their quest. These creatures were questing when they died in their original forms, and usually the object of the quest is not to be found within the searcher's range.</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion Warrior:</strong> These minions are the spirits of mortals who were locked in combat at the time of death, usually soldiers who died in bloody battles. Groups of 100 or more warrior spectral minions are typically encountered on a battlefield, including fighters of differing alignments from both sides of a battle.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Warrior:</strong> Formerly powerful fighters, skeleton warriors are undead lords forced into their nightmarish states by powerful wizards or evil demigods who trapped their souls in golden circlets.</p><p><strong>Wichtlin:</strong> Wichtlin are a result of an ancient curse on the court of Queen Sylvyana, a Silvanesti elf also known as the Ghoul Queen. All known records of her reign were destroyed by the Silvanesti, and only fragments of rumors remain. When an elf of evil alignment dies violently, there is a 1 % chance that Chemosh, the Lord of the Undead, in conjunction with the spirit of Queen Sylvyana, claims his spirit and resurrects him as a wichtlin.</p><p><strong>Kagonesti Wichtlin:</strong> If an evil Kagonesti elf meets a violent death while riding a wild stag mount, the spirit of the wild stag may also be claimed by Chemosh and resurrected along with the elf.</p><p><strong>Wichtlin Wild Stag:</strong> If an evil Kagonesti elf meets a violent death while riding a wild stag mount, the spirit of the wild stag may also be claimed by Chemosh and resurrected along with the elf.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Groaning Spirit:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Juju Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lacedon:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Poltergeist:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17409/MC5-Monstrous-Compendium-Greyhawk-Adventures-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing Ancestral:</strong> Ancestral crypt things are the raised spirits of the dead that have returned to guard the tombs of their descendants. This happens only in rare cases (determined by the DM).</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing Summoned:</strong> Called into existence by a wizard or priest of at least 14th level.</p><p><em>Create Crypt Thing</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Son of Kyuss:</strong> Sons of Kyuss are horrible undead beings that convert living humans and demihumans into cursed undead like themselves.</p><p>In addition to flailing fists, one worm per round attempts to jump from a son of Kyuss's head to a character the son is meleeing. The worm needs only to roll a successful attack roll (same THACO as the son) to land on the victim. The worm burrows into the victim on the next round unless killed by the touch of cold iron, holy water, or a blessed object. After penetrating the victim's skin, the worm burrows toward the victim's brain, taking 1d4 rounds to reach it. During this time a remove curse or cure disease spell will kill the worm, and neutralize poison or dispel evil will delay the worm for 1d6 turns. If the worm reaches the brain, the victim dies immediately and becomes a son of Kyuss. Decay and putrification set in without further delay.</p><p>Kyuss was an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity.</p><p>The worms are tied to the curse of the sons but exactly how remains a mystery. It is known that the worms cannot survive apart from a victim or on a son. Worms that fail to burrow into a victim die as soon as they touch the ground. Any worm removed from a son dies within one round of separation from the son who carried it. When a son is killed permanently, the worms die with him. Some sages have proposed that the worms might not be living creatures per se, but incarnations of the curse.</p><p><strong>Vampire Wizard:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Slow Shadow:</strong> Slow shadows, like shadows, are believed to be a race of long-dead people cursed to madness and a split existence on the Prime and Negative Material planes. This curse drives slow shadows to hunt and transform living humanoids and demihumans into slow shadows like themselves.</p><p>Sages speculate that shadows and slow shadows, when they lived, were bitter enemies. Their cruel, wicked ways and constant warfare brought down a terrible curse upon both races. Now the two people continue their ancient battle, never dying, cursed to insanity, recruiting new shadows and slow shadows from the living. On rare occasions, battles between shadows and slow shadows have been witnessed and it seems that vanquished slow shadows become shadows and vanquished shadows become slow shadows.</p><p><strong>Lesser Slow Shadow:</strong> Humanoids killed by slow shadows become lesser slow shadows within one turn.</p><p>The change can be prevented by casting remove curse on the body.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> Slow shadows, like shadows, are believed to be a race of long-dead people cursed to madness and a split existence on the Prime and Negative Material planes. This curse drives slow shadows to hunt and transform living humanoids and demihumans into slow shadows like themselves.</p><p>Sages speculate that shadows and slow shadows, when they lived, were bitter enemies. Their cruel, wicked ways and constant warfare brought down a terrible curse upon both races. Now the two people continue their ancient battle, never dying, cursed to insanity, recruiting new shadows and slow shadows from the living. On rare occasions, battles between shadows and slow shadows have been witnessed and it seems that vanquished slow shadows become shadows and vanquished shadows become slow shadows.</p><p><strong>Swordwraith:</strong> Swordwraiths are the spirits of warriors cut down during battle and kept from the dissolution of death by their indomitable wills.</p><p>Swordwraiths were once professional soldiers for whom fighting was all there was in life. In many cases, they are too stubborn to even admit that they are dead.</p><p><strong>Soul Beckoner:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Sea Zombie, Drowned One:</strong> Sea zombies (also known as drowned ones) are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed and are rumored to be animated by the will of the god Nerull the Reaper.</p><p>Many of the humans who become drowned ones were priests while alive, and they retain their powers as undead.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> A cure disease or remove curse spell will transform a son of Kyuss into a zombie, but both spells require that the priest touch the son.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Juju Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lacedon:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p>Create Crypt Thing</p><p>7th-level Wizard or Priest spell (necromantic)</p><p>(Reversible)</p><p>Range: Touch Casting Time: 1 round</p><p>Components: V,S Area of Effect: 1 corpse</p><p>Duration: Permanent Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell enables the caster to cause a single dead body to animate and assume the status of a crypt thing. This spell can be cast only in the tomb or grave area the crypt thing is to protect; the spell requires that the caster touch the skull of the subject body. Once animated, the crypt thing remains until destroyed. Only one crypt thing may guard a given tomb.</p><p>A successful dispel magic spell returns the crypt thing to its original unanimated state. Attempts to restore the crypt thing before this is done fail for any magic short of a wish.</p><p>The reverse of this spell, destroy crypt thing, utterly annihilates any one such being as soon as it is touched by the caster. The target is allowed a saving throw vs. death magic to avoid destruction.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17319/MC6-Monstrous-Compendium-KaraTur-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Chu-U, Legless Ghost:</strong> If travelers agree to listen, the chu-u relates the story of its life as a human. The story is always sad and is told in great detail, beginning with the bad decisions the chu-u made as a child, continuing through its sorrowful experiences as an adult, and ending with the circumstances of its death, usually the result of cowardice or ineptitude.</p><p>They were neither virtuous enough to pass the judges' examinations nor malevolent enough to merit additional sentencing.</p><p><strong>Con-Tinh:</strong> The malicious con-tinh is a lesser spirit believed to be the spirit of a maiden who died before her time.</p><p>According to legend, the Celestial Bureaucracy creates a con-tinh from the spirit of a young maiden who has died before her time, usually as a result of a misdeed. The most common misdeed is an illicit love affair, which ends when the maiden is murdered by a rival or jealous spouse. On rare occasions, sisters who conspired in the same misdeed both become con-tinh, their lifeforces tied to identical, adjacent trees.</p><p><strong>Gaki, Nin-Chu-Jugaki:</strong> Gaki are lesser spirits derived from the wicked, who have returned to the Prime Material Plane in the form of horrible monsters as punishment for their sins. The name "gaki" refers to a variety of such spirits. They are also known as the "nin-chu-jugaki."</p><p>The type of gaki depends on the nature of the crimes committed in the spirit's former life.</p><p><strong>Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki:</strong> Jiki-ketsu-gaki are corrupted spirits of priests or other holy men who were guilty of heresy in their former lives.</p><p><strong>Jiki-Niku-Gaki:</strong> Jiki-niku-gaki are corrupted spirits of humans or humanoids who were guilty of excessive avarice in their former lives. Greedy merchants and miserly moneylenders often become these ghoulish, repulsive monsters.</p><p><strong>Shikki-Gaki:</strong> Most shikki-gaki are the corrupted spirits of irresponsible medical personnel or negligent servants. But about 15% once were lesser nature spirits that inhabited mushrooms or other fungi sprouting from the trunks of decaying trees. These nature spirits completely succumbed to their evil aspect. Usually, they developed a taste for bluebirds, butterflies, or similarly docile creatures. The Celestial Bureaucracy warned them to stop, but they persisted. As a result, they were destroyed and reborn as a mushroom shikki-gaki.</p><p><strong>Shinen-Gaki:</strong> Shinen-gaki may originate from the spirit of any wicked human, but often they're created from the spirit of a traitorous or cowardly soldier.</p><p><strong>Kuei:</strong> A lesser spirit of the dead, the kuei is a manifestation of a human or humanoid who died by violence unavenged or with a purpose unfulfilled. The spirit's former body was not buried.</p><p><strong>Memedi Djim:</strong> Djim are spirits of deceased priests, typically appearing as elderly, bald men wearing long prayer robes.</p><p><strong>Memedi Uwil:</strong> Uwil are derived from the spirit of dead sohei.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Groaning Spirit:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Eastern Vampire:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17244/MC7-Monstrous-Compendium-Spelljammer-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC7 Monstrous Compenium Spelljammer Appendix</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ancient Mariner:</strong> An ancient mariner is the undead spirit of a member of a long-lost evil race that once sailed the phlogiston seas.</p><p><strong>Mariner Shadow:</strong> Any creature killed by the energy drain of an ancient mariner becomes an mariner shadow with most of the abilities of a normal shadow.</p><p><strong>Spiritjam:</strong> A spiritjam is the soul of an evil cleric or wizard who died while spelljamming. The spirit of the cleric or wizard remained behind when the physical body perished.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16892/MC8-Monstrous-Compendium-Outer-Planes-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Githyanki Lich-Queen:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> </p><p><strong>Ghasts:</strong> A Nabassu's death gaze causes anyone they look at to save vs. spells or become a ghast (or ghoul if the victim is a demihuman).</p><p><strong>Ghouls:</strong> A Nabassu's death gaze causes anyone they look at to save vs. spells or become a ghast (or ghoul if the victim is a demihuman).</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Lemures are occasionally chosen to form wraiths or spectres, as well.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> Lemures are occasionally chosen to form wraiths or spectres, as well.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17261/MC9-Monstrous-Compendium-Spelljammer-Appendix-II-2e?filters=0_0_0_0_0_45347_0_0?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II (2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Firelich:</strong> Firelichs are high-level evil mages whose bodies were prepared for lichdom upon their death. Such mages, either through ignorance (such as in casting fire spells) or spell failure, exploded in the phlogiston. The lich-preparation spells in their bodies turned them into living fireballs of undeath, racing through wildspace, screaming in eternal pain and looking for something to collide with, as a way to extinguish the flames.</p><p>It is unknown how the wizard gets from the phlogiston to wildspace. Since the only wizards that can become fireliches are the ones that had made previous preparations for lichdom, some guess that the arcane lich ceremonies tear a temporary hole into wildspace. The energy to create this tear may come from the explosion that created the firelich. If this is true, the hole certainly closes immediately after the firelich enters wildspace.</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior:</strong> Spirit warriors are weapons from the Unhuman Wars. There are three ways to acquire one: find one that has been abandoned, wrest one from its owner in combat, or grow one from an egg and perform the appropriate spells. Since the Wars ranged over a great area, the chance of finding an abandoned warrior is small. Also, those still piloted have most likely been around since the time of the Wars, so wresting one from its master in combat is also unlikely. This leaves the method of growing one from an egg, as follows:</p><p>The would-be spirit warrior receives an egg. The fighter must incubate the pinhead-sized egg in a warm and secure environment, preferably next to the fighter's body. When the egg hatches, the warrior must nurture and protect the fragile larva from six months to a year, until it is mature. This nurturing involves close emotional contact with the insect (stroking, petting, cuddling, thinking pleasant thoughts) to develop a strong emotional bond as one would with a pet or familiar. After a year the insect is mature, and the spells of modification begin; however, for the strongest bond, this final process is delayed until after the insect has died of old age. If the spells are performed on a living insect, it dies during the ceremony.</p><p>The insect becomes a spirit warrior via spells that enlarge, animate, strengthen, and physically modify the insect's remains. These spells also link the minds of warrior and insect in an unbreakable bond, unaffected by magic, disease, physical attack, or mental control. The final stage of the process installs a special minor helm in the hollow chest cavity of the insect warrior.</p><p>During the Unhuman Wars, elvish mages created the warriors as armored, super-strong weapons to counter orcish monsters being released on various worlds. At first their years of research only worked up to a point: the giant undead insects ran amok, killing researchers and damaging Armada Noble itself.</p><p>An assistant, Rowan Starblade by name, discovered that the ceremonies failed because the researchers and the insects shared no emotional bond. When one of Rowan's "pet" research insects rampaged after the ill-fated ceremony, she threw herself in front of the beast, begging it to stop. To her surprise, the giant insect obeyed her command!</p><p>Further experimentation with Rowan's pet zombie revealed that when she welded a modified minor helm in the insect's hollow chest cavity with gold and platinum wire, she could sit in the helm and pilot the insect with her speed and agility, and with the insect's strength.</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior Carnivore:</strong> Carnivores descend from the praying mantis.</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior Herbivore:</strong> Herbivores are based on the katydid.</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior Nektar:</strong> Nektars descend from an insect similar to both a butterfly and a wasp.</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior Zwarth:</strong> Zwarth construction resembles that of a spirit warrior. Growth and bonding processes are the same. (Yes, an entire party must undergo this process!)</p><p><strong>Stellar Undead:</strong> Stellar undead are the corpses of spelljamming sailors returned to a semblance of life. The corpses are animated by raw energy from the Negative Material Plane. This energy warps the dying sailor's brains, twisting their final thoughts of home, safety, and friends into an unholy desire to walk again among the living, and to be warm again by drinking their blood.</p><p>Due to the vacuum of wildspace, most bodies decompose very slowly. When viewed from more than 3' away, stellar undead do not look dead, but much as they did in life.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17530/MC10-Monstrous-Compendium-Ravenloft-Appendix?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Bastellus:</strong> Any being reduced to below level 0 by the preying of a bastellus will die in its sleep, seemingly of a heart attack. If the body is not destroyed (via cremation, immersion in acid, or similar means), its spirit will rise in a number of days equal to the number of levels it lost to the bastellus. Thus, a 14th level wizard would rise up in two weeks. The new spirit is also a bastellus, but it has no connection with the monster that created it.</p><p>There are those who would argue that the bastellus is a creature from beyond the grave and, therefore, has no place in the biology of the natural world. In fact, there is a great deal of speculation that this is not the case. Numerous scholars have put forth the theory that the bastellus is actually a product of the unrecognized hopes and aspirations of living creatures. If this is true, then the bastellus is very much a by-product of the living world and at least nominally important to it. This debate has raged for countless centuries, however, and it seems that the scholars who put forth both arguments are no closer to a resolution of the issue than they were when the debate began.</p><p><strong>Skeletal Bat:</strong> Skeletal bats are created by the use of an animate dead spell and are often associated with necromancers or evil priests. They are to bats what traditional skeletons are to humans — mindless animated remains.</p><p><strong>Bowlyn, Sailor's Demise:</strong> Bowlyn are undead spirits who, like the poltergeist, do not rest easily in their graves. Without exception, they were sailors on ocean-going vessels who died due to an accident at sea. In life, they were cruel or selfish persons; in death they blame their shipmates for the mishap that took their lives. Thus, they return from their watery graves to force others beneath the icy waves.</p><p>Typical hauntings do not occur immediately after the death of the sailor fated to become a bowlyn. It takes the spirit of the seaman from 1-10 years to return from the grave. The first appearance of a bowlyn always takes place on the anniversary of its death and the haunting lasts for 1-6 weeks.</p><p><strong>Bussengeist:</strong> A bussengeist is the spectral form of someone who died in a great calamity brought on by their own action or inaction.</p><p>As a rule, only those persons who feel remorse for their actions will become bussengeists. For example, a traitor who allowed an invading force to gain access to a walled city and was himself slain in the ensuing battle might become a bussengeist. If he was killed without warning and felt no pity for those his actions had brought misery to, he would not be transformed. If, on the other hand, he knew that he was about to die and had reason to feel that he had acted in error, he might well become a bussengeist. In his afterlife, he would visit cities in the process of being raided by barbarians, castles being overrun by monsters, and similar scenes.</p><p><strong>Ghoul Lord:</strong> Ghoul lords are unique to the demiplane of Ravenloft. It is rumored that they were first created at the hands of an insane necromancer in some other dimension, but that they were so evil as to instantly draw the attention of the Dark Powers. The Mists of Ravenloft absorbed all of the existing ghoul lords and scattered them across the domains.</p><p><strong>Azalin, Lich, Lord of Darkon:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Strahd Von Zarovich, Master Vampire, Lord of Barovia:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mist Horror:</strong> Mist horrors are the spirits of evil beings who, while not foul enough to receive their own domain, attracted the attention of the Dark Powers with their diabolical acts during life. Upon their deaths, their spirits leave their bodies to enter the mists. Throughout Ravenloft, there is a superstition that anyone buried on a foggy day will become a mist horror. This may or may not be true, but the Vistani themselves seem to take this belief very seriously and that lends great credence to it in the eyes of many.</p><p>As mentioned above, mist horrors are the spirits of evil beings who did not merit a place as lord of their own domain.</p><p>In essence, a mist horror is the evil soul of a being foul enough to draw the attention of the Dark Powers, but not so evil as to be rewarded/cursed with their own domain.</p><p><strong>Wandering Horror:</strong> Wandering horrors appear as dark shapes that can be seen as they move through the mists. Unlike mist horrors, they are locked into a single shape—one that is based on the evil deed they did in life. For example, a cruel baron who ordered those he considered disloyal beheaded might well appear as a wandering figure without a head while a woman who murdered her lover with a poisonous spider might appear as a giant black widow.</p><p>The wandering horror is an evolutionary step above the mist horror. In essence, a mist horror is the evil soul of a being foul enough to draw the attention of the Dark Powers, but not so evil as to be rewarded/cursed with their own domain. After a period of time as a mist horror, however, this spirit may have caused enough fear and suffering (in short, done enough evil) to be elevated to the status of wandering horror.</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy, Anhktepot's Children:</strong> Also known as Anhktepot's Children, greater mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding of a burial place.</p><p>Greater mummies look just like their more common cousins save that they are almost always adorned with (un)holy symbols and wear the vestments of their religious order. They give off an odor that is said to be reminiscent of a spice cupboard because of the herbs used in the embalming process that created them.</p><p>Greater mummies are powerful undead creatures that are usually created from the mummified remains of powerful, evil priests. This being the case, the greater mummy now draws its mystical abilities from evil powers and darkness. In rare cases, however, the mummified priests served non-evil god in life and are still granted the powers they had in life from those gods.</p><p>The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the Lord of Har'akir, in the years before he became undead himself.</p><p>The process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har'akir.</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy 99 Years Old or Less:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy 100-199 Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft.</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy 200-299 Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft.</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy 300-199 Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft.</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy 400-199 Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft.</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy 500 or More Years Old:</strong> Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft.</p><p><strong>Anhktepot, Lord of Har'akir:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Giant Skeleton:</strong> Giant skeletons are similar to the more common undead skeleton, but they have been created with a combination of spells and are, thus, far more deadly than their lesser counterparts.</p><p>In actuality, they are simply human skeletons that have been magically enlarged.</p><p>The first giant skeletons to appear in Ravenloft were created by the undead priestess Radaga in her lair within the domain of Kartakass. Others have since mastered the spells and techniques required to create these monsters; thus, giant skeletons are gradually beginning to appear in other realms where the dead and undead lurk.</p><p>They are created from the bones of those who have died and are abominations in the eyes of all who belief in the sanctity of life and goodness.</p><p>The process by which giant skeletons are created is dark and evil. Attempts to manufacture them outside of Ravenloft have failed, so it is clear that they are in some way linked to the Dark Powers themselves. In order to create a giant skeleton, a spell caster must have the intact skeleton of a normal human or demihuman.</p><p>On a night when the land is draped in fog, they must cast an animate dead, produce fire, enlarge, and a resist fire spell over the bones. When the last spell is cast, the bones lengthen and thicken and the creatures rises up. The the creator must make a Ravenloft Powers check for his part in this evil undertaking.</p><p><strong>Undead Priestess, Radaga:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Strahd's Skeletal Steed:</strong> Strahd's skeletal steeds are magically animated undead horses, created as guardians and warriors by the master vampire Strahd Von Zarovich.</p><p>Completely stripped of flesh, skeletal steeds are held together by magic.</p><p>Only Strahd Von Zarovich knows the arcane ritual necessary to make them. He can make them only from horse skeletons where 90% of the bones and the skull are present. It is not know if other animals can be animated from the same spell, but given the power of the Lord of Barovia, and his ties to the evil forces of necromancy, this seems probable.</p><p><strong>Undead Treant:</strong> When an evil treant sees that its many years are soon to come to an end, it seldom accepts this fate quietly. For most, this means a final, wild orgy of violence and death. For a few, however, it means death and resurrection as a thing so dark and evil that even the Vistani will not speak of it.</p><p>Undead treants seem to be a natural stage in the life cycle of some evil treants. No doubt this is given as a "reward" for their evil lives by the Dark Powers.</p><p><strong>Valpurgeist, Hanged Man:</strong> The valpurgeist, or hanged man, is an undead creature that is sometimes manifested when an innocent man or woman is wrongly hanged for a crime. Unable to prove its innocence in life, the spirit returns after death to claim the lives of those who sent it to the gallows.</p><p>Valpurgeists are lonely souls who have felt the cold injustice of a world that would not believe their pleas of innocence. Because of this, they will have no kinship with any living thing in their afterlife.</p><p>They are simply products of evil and darkness.</p><p><strong>Duke Gundar, Lord of Gundarak, Vampire Lord:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Companion:</strong> The process of vampiric bonding is as murky as the fog that often shrouds the vampire's movement. When the vampire decides to take a companion, it generally (although not always) seeks out an individual of the opposite sex that reminds them of someone they loved in life. The vampire repeatedly visits the victim, feeding on them until they are at the point of death. At the last, when all hope seems lost, the vampire draws away the last vestiges of the companion's life and infuses them with its own energies. The process is both traumatic and passionate, for this mingling of essences is far more intimate than any purely physical act of love.</p><p>When the bonding is completed, both the vampire and its victim are exhausted and all but helpless for upwards of an hour. At the end of that time, the victim has become a vampire.</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf, Dwarven Vampire:</strong> Any character reduced to a Constitution score of 0 by a dwarven vampire's vitality drain is instantly slain and will rise again as a vampire (of the appropriate type) in 3 days.</p><p>Those dwarves that fall prey to the undead will often become themselves undead. Three days after any character dies from the vampire's vitality draining, they will rise again if certain conditions are met. First, and most importantly, the victim must have been a dwarf. Vampire dwarves who kill elves or humans will not create new vampires, for only their own kind can be brought back to unlife by them. Further, the body must be intact. Second, the body must be placed in a stone coffin or sarcophagus and then entombed in some subterranean place. A typical burial service will meet this requirement, while placement in a crypt on the surface will not. Finally, the dwarven vampire must visit the body of its victim on the third night after burial and sprinkle the body with powdered metals. As soon as this is done, the new vampire is born.</p><p><strong>Dwarven Vampire 0-99 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dwarven Vampire 100-199 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dwarven Vampire 200-299 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dwarven Vampire 300-399 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dwarven Vampire 400-499 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dwarven Vampire 500+ Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Elf, Elvish Vampire:</strong> Any elf or half-elf who dies from the elvish vampire's essence draining attack will become a vampire.</p><p>Any elf or half-elf who falls to the essence draining attack of an elven vampire will rise again as an elven vampire so long as the body is intact after three days. If the body has been destroyed or mutilated, the transformation is averted, and the dead character may rest in peace. However, any attempt to revive the slain character (with a resurrection spell, for example) has a flat 50% chance of transforming the character into a vampire once the spell is cast.</p><p><strong>Elvish Vampire 0-99 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Elvish Vampire 100-199 Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially.</p><p><strong>Elvish Vampire 200-299 Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially.</p><p><strong>Elvish Vampire 300-399 Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially.</p><p><strong>Elvish Vampire 400-499 Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially.</p><p><strong>Elvish Vampire 500+ Years Old:</strong> As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially.</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome, Gnomish Vampire:</strong> While the hand-to-hand blows of gnomish vampires are weak, however, they are not without a powerful debilitating affect. Those struck by such attacks will begin to feel the painful arthritic attack of the creature instantly, for each successful attack drains 2 points of Dexterity from the victim. The result is a painful stiffness in the joints and muscles that can, if the victim suffers several attacks, be crippling or even fatal. Those reduced to a Dexterity score of 0 will be slain as the creeping paralysis spreads through their lungs and heart, making it impossible for them to survive. Gnomes who die in this fashion may themselves become undead if steps are not taken to prevent this foul transformation.</p><p>Gnomish vampires seldom create others of their kind. When they opt to do so, however, the process is not without risk. The vampire must first slay a victim with its debilitating touch and then move the body to the sarcophagus in which the vampire itself sleeps. For the next three days, the body must lie in the coffin while the vampire rests atop it, allowing its essences to seep slowly into the evolving vampire. At the end of this time, the slain gnome rises as a fully functioning vampire, completely under the control of its creator. While the gnome vampire rests atop its coffin, it is unable to regenerate any lost hit points or employ any of its spell-like abilities. Thus, the creature is far more vulnerable to attack at this time than it normally might be. In addition, it cannot interrupt the creation process once it has begun or both the would-be vampire and its creator will die.</p><p><strong>Gnomish Vampire 0-99 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gnomish Vampire 100-199 Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful.</p><p><strong>Gnomish Vampire 200-299 Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful.</p><p><strong>Gnomish Vampire 300-399 Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful.</p><p><strong>Gnomish Vampire 400-499 Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful.</p><p><strong>Gnomish Vampire 500+ Years Old:</strong> As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful.</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling:</strong> Those halflings who die from a halfling vampire's life draining attack will become vampires themselves.</p><p>The vampire can make more of its kind only by slaying other halflings with its energy-sapping attack. In order to create a new vampire, the halfling need do nothing more than keep the body of its victim intact for 7 days after death and a new vampire will be created.</p><p><strong>Halfling Vampire 0-99 Years Old:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Halfling Vampire 100-199 Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age.</p><p><strong>Halfling Vampire 200-299 Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age.</p><p><strong>Halfling Vampire 300-399 Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age.</p><p><strong>Halfling Vampire 400-499 Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age.</p><p><strong>Halfling Vampire 500+ Years Old:</strong> As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age.</p><p><strong>Vampire Kender:</strong> Those kender who die from the spirit-rending attack of the kender vampire are in no danger of becoming vampires themselves, however, for these foul creatures are the product of dark sciences and magical experimentation that can only be duplicated with the direct intervention of Lord Soth of Sithicus.</p><p>The kender vampire is a solitary creature that exists only to do the bidding of Lord Soth of Sithicus. He is the father of their race, and, although they despise him for what he has done to them, they are unable to turn against him or act in any way contrary to his interests.</p><p>Knowing the revulsion that the elves who live in his domain feel for all manner of unnatural things, Soth felt that he could find no better slaves than a band of undead. Aware that undead elves might pose a threat to his own power, Soth set about the creation of a new breed of undead. Drawing a small kender village through the misty veils of Ravenloft and into his domain, he had them killed one by one so that he could study their sufferings and invoke carefully designed magical rituals over their bodies in attempts to make them rise as undead. By the time he had finished with these sad kender, fully half of them had died horrible deaths and suffered unspeakable torment at the hand of the dreaded deathknight. The results of his experiments were, however, satisfactory to Soth, for he discovered a formula that would create a race of vampires utterly loyal to him. It is believed that Soth has created no fewer than 10 such monsters and no more than 30, although hard evidence to support any given estimate is hard to come by.</p><p>Kender vampires can exist only within the confines of Lord Soth's domain of Sithicus. They are tied to that dark land in some mystical way that, no doubt, relates to the evil magic used in their creation. It is possible that Lord Soth was required to invoke the favor of the Dark Powers in his creation of these dreaded monsters and, thus, that he has paid some horrible price for their loyalty to him.</p><p><strong>Lord Soth, Lord of Sithicus, Death Knight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Lord:</strong> The zombie lord is a living creature that has taken on the foul powers and abilities of the undead. They are formed on rare occasions as the result of a raise dead spell cast while in the demiplane of Ravenloft.</p><p>The zombie lord comes into being by chance, and only under certain conditions. First, an evil human being (the soon-to-be zombie lord) must die at the hands of an undead creature. Second, an attempt to raise the slain character must be made. Third, and last, the character must fail his resurrection survival roll. It is believed that the zombie lord can be created only in Ravenloft, but this is not proven absolutely for they have been encountered in other lands from time to time.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith).</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast:</strong> The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed).</p><p>The bite of a ghoul lord causes the victim to contract a horrible rotting disease unless a saving throw vs. poison is made. Those afflicted with this illness will lose 1d10 hit points and 1 point from their Constitution and Charisma scores each day. If either ability score or their hit point totals reach 0, the person dies. If the body is not destroyed, they will rise as a ghast on the third night after their death. In such a state, they are wholly under the command of the creature that made them until such time as that horror is destroyed. At that point, they become free-willed creatures.</p><p>The rotting disease can be cured by nothing less than a heal spell. Once the progression of the disease is halted, the victim's Constitution score will return to its original value at the rate of 1 point per week. Their Charisma, however, will remain at its reduced level because of the horrible scars this ailment leaves on both body and soul.</p><p><strong>Ghoul Lacedon:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Groaning Spirit, Banshee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> </p><p><strong>Heucuva:</strong> </p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich Demilich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10 + 2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies.</p><p><strong>Poltergeist:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Animal:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> As described in the RAVENLOFT Boxed Set, there are three ways to become a vampire. Each of these paths to darkness has its own unique character, but the end result is always a creature of unsurpassed evil and power.</p><p>The first path, generally known as that of deadly desire, is perhaps the most awful. In this case, the individual who is destined to become a vampire actually wishes to cross over and become undead. While it has been said that they must sacrifice their lives to attain this goal, a greater cost is often paid. Those who desire to live eternally and feed on the life essences of their fellow men must give up a portion of their spirits to the Dark Powers themselves. In this way, they are granted the powers of the undead, but also stripped of the last vestiges of their humanity. In the centuries to come, many find this loss too great to bear and seek out their own destruction.</p><p>The second path, that of the curse, is often the most insidious of the three. In this case, the individual is often unaware that he or she is destined to become a thing of the night. The transformation into "unlife" might occur because of a potent curse laid down by someone who has been wronged by the victim. Occasionally, an individual might find that he or she has inherited (or found) a beautiful and alluring magical ring—only to find that it cannot be removed and that the character is slowly . . . changing. There are those who accept this curse and embrace their new existence as a vampire, while others despise the things they have become. In nearly every case, these are the most passionate and "alive" examples of this evil race.</p><p>The final, and surely most tragic, path to vampirism is that of the victim. This is the route most commonly taken to vampirism, for it is the way in which those slain by a vampire become vampires themselves. </p><p>When a vampire decides to create new slaves, it does so by taking their lives in some special way. For most, it is simply the draining of their life energies or the drinking of their blood. Whatever the end result, if the victim dies from the feeding of the beast, he or she rises again as a vampire.</p><p><strong>Vampire Oriental:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith).</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed).</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> The odor of death that surrounds the zombie lord is so potent that it can cause horrible effects in those who breath it. On the first round that a character comes within 30 yards of the monster, he must save vs. poison or be affected in some way. The following results are possible:</p><p>1d6 Roll Effect</p><p>1 Weakness (as the spell)</p><p>2 Cause disease (as the spell)</p><p>3 -1 point of Constitution</p><p>4 Contagion (as the spell)</p><p>5 Character unable to act for 1d4 rounds due to nausea and vomiting</p><p>6 Character dies instantly and becomes a zombie under control of the zombie lord</p><p><strong>Zombie Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Ju-ju:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crawling Claw:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Beast Stahnk:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Beast Gholor:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Knight Haunt:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Death Knight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectral Minion:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Warrior:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wichtlin:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Son of Kyuss:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Slow Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith Swordwraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith Soul Beckoner:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Sea Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Chu-U:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Con-Tinh:</strong> </p><p><strong>Gaki Jiki-Tetsu-Gaki:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gaki Jiki-Niku-Gaki:</strong> </p><p><strong>Gaki Shikki-Gaki:</strong> </p><p><strong>Gaki Shinen-Gaki:</strong> </p><p><strong>Kuei:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Memedi:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ancient Mariner:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spirit Jam:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Firelich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spirit Warrior:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Stellar Undead:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16798/MC11-Monstrous-Compendium-Forgotten-Realms-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix (2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Harrla:</strong> The harrla seems to be a natural creature. While some speculate that it is undead or of extraplanar origin, there seems to be little proof of this. Most sages agree that the harrla is not a product of the negative material plane, as most undead are.</p><p><strong>Inquisitor:</strong> Created by evil wizards centuries ago, inquisitors are a shambling, rotting, undead abomination, living on sheer terror.</p><p>Inquisitors are biologically immortal, cursed hundreds or thousands of years ago to forever cause pain and extract information. They cannot reproduce.</p><p><strong>Lhiannan Shee, The Ghost of Obsession:</strong> It is thought to be the undead spirit of a woman who killed herself for the unrequited love of a bard or other artistically talented and desirable, but unobtainable or callous man.</p><p><strong>Phantom:</strong> Phantoms are images left behind by a particularly strong death trauma. A phantom is like a three-dimensional motion picture image filmed at the time of a character's death, in the area where he died.</p><p><strong>Nonstandard Phantom Sight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Nonstandard Phantom Sound:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Nonstandard Phantom Smell:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Evil Phantom:</strong> Of greater concern, there are some phantoms that are actually evil, created when powerful evil creatures from other planes are "slain" (forced to return to their home planes) in the Prime Material plane. These phantoms appear as per the evil creature's will 35% of the time, and can seriously misinform or endanger those it meets.</p><p><strong>Skuz:</strong> Skuz attack by forming pseudo-arms from their slimy mass. In addition to causing physical damage, each touch of a skuz drains one life level from its victim. When a humanoid victim is weakened, the skuz pulls it beneath the water to drown it. When dead, the victim becomes a skuz. Humanoids who are killed by a skuz, but not drowned, do not become one of the unread.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Groaning Spirit:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> A character who is murdered and generates a phantom may also return as a revenant.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17180/MC12-Monstrous-Compendium-Dark-Sun-Appendix-Terrors-of-the-Desert-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC12 Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix Terrors of the Desert</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Banshee Dwarf, Dwarven Banshee:</strong> Dwarves who die before completing a major focus are often condemned to live out their afterlives as banshees. In unlife they haunt their unfinished work or quest, unable to bear the fact that someone else may complete what they could not.</p><p><strong>Dune Runner:</strong> Dune runners are elves who died running to complete a quest or deliver an important message.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16872/Monstrous-Compendium--AlQadim-Appendix?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost Mount:</strong> Ghost mounts are formed from the spirits of mistreated animals, creatures so brutally handled in life that they survive after death to take vengeance on all creatures who ride them. </p><p><strong>Great Ghul:</strong> The great ghuls are undead elemental cousins of the genies, the most wicked members of an inferior order of jann. </p><p><strong>Ghul:</strong> Only jann slain by great ghuls become ghuls themselves; all other races are simply slain and devoured. </p><p><strong>Great Ghul Mage:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Great Ghul Sha'ir:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Great Ghul Desert:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Great Ghul Mountain:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Rom:</strong> Rom are thought to be all that remains of an ancient race of giant herdsmen. They lived in the hills and on the plains where their giant cows could graze, some practicing a limited form of agriculture. They were a quiet, peace-loving people whose end came when their wives produced only male children; there were no further generations. Shaking their fists at the sad destiny Fate had passed upon them, they built enormous stone cairns for themselves, fashioned out of monolithic granite slabs. Entire clans of rom descended into their self-made tombs, burying themselves alive. However, so great was their collective self-pity and anger at Fate, that their existence persisted beyond death.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Ghost mounts are undead creatures which can help desperate or foolish travelers cover vast distances, but at a price. These beasts are aptly named, not only for their appearance, but also because those who ride a ghost mount may themselves become ghosts, doomed to wandering the deserts by night </p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> Any creature that rides a ghost mount must make an ability check using Wisdom (at a -2 penalty) when the journey begins. If the check is failed, the mount refuses to obey the rider's instructions and instead takes him deep into the nearest wilderness at full speed. Leaping from the mount when it is traveling at a gallop causes 3d6 points of damage, and items falling with the rider must make a saving throw against crushing blows. If the rider stays with the ghost mount, it will throw him after traveling at least 75 miles into the wilderness. Being thrown causes1d6 damage; a saving throw against falling for items carried by the thrown rider must also be made.</p><p>If the initial Wisdom ability check is successful, the ghost mount obeys, but the rider must then make a saving throw versus death magic when the journey has reached a middle point. Failure indicates that the ghost mount's life energy drain has transformed the rider into a wraith. </p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lacedon:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Monster Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16939/MC14-Monstrous-Compendium-Fiend-Folio-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix (2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Apparition:</strong> If an apparition's slain victim is not restored to life within 24 hours, he/she will rise as an apparition 2-8 hours later.</p><p><strong>Coffer Corpse:</strong> The coffer corpse is an undead creature seeking its final rest. It will always be encountered on a stranded funeral barge, unburnt pyre, or the scene of some other incomplete death ritual.</p><p><strong>Penanggalan:</strong> A female victim of a penanggalan will rise from the grave in three days as a penanggalan, as a free-willed undead. If an attempt is made to raise her within that three day period, the chances of resurrection survival are halved. Should an attempt to raise the victim succeed, the victim will be unable to do anything other than rest for a week, after which all damage done by the penanggalan is healed. Failure means that no further attempt can be made; the process by which the victim becomes a penanggalan is then inexorable.</p><p><strong>Sheet Ghoul:</strong> Sheet ghouls are created when sheet phantoms kill their victims.</p><p>If the victim dies enveloped within the sheet phantom, the sheet phantom merges with the body, creating a sheet ghoul. This process takes 12 hours to complete.</p><p><strong>Sheet Phantom:</strong> There are sufficient similarities between the sheet phantom and the lurker above for some scholars to speculate that the former is an undead form of the latter. However, other sages and scholars claim that sheet phantoms are actual sheets that have absorbed the life-essence of an evil person who died in their bed. The evil soul is trapped in the sheet, and forced to wander about as a sheet phantom.</p><p></p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17484/MC15-Monstrous-Compendium-Ravenloft-Appendix-II-Children-of-the-Night-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night (2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Strahd Von Zarovich, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Count Dracula:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Jugo Hesketh, Ghoul Ghast:</strong> Long ago, Hesketh was a senior priest in the cult of the false god Zhakata led by Yagno Petrovna, the lord of G'henna. As Petrovna's chief Inquisitor, among his horrid duties were dreadful acts of torture and sacrifice; secretly, he practiced cannibalism on the corpses of his hapless victims. Over the years, these unholy practices warped his soul and, upon his death, transformed him into an undead fiend.</p><p>When Hesketh died, a terrible curse fell upon him. The origins of this curse may lie in his own taste for human flesh or in the dying oaths of his countless victims. Whatever the source, this curse saw him transformed into a foul thing of the night.</p><p><strong>Azalin, Lord of Darkon, Lich:</strong> While visiting the elves of Neblus, he came upon the fragments of an ancient tome. This mysterious document told the tale of a young wizard who sought greater and greater power. At first, he found the story distracting. As he read more, he found it engrossing, though horrifying. In the end, he knew that he had found an account detailing the process by which Azalin, the Lord of Darkon, had become a lich.</p><p><strong>Andres Duvall, Bardic Lich:</strong> Because of the unusual way in which Andres Duvall became undead, he does not have a phylactery or similar vessel containing his life force.</p><p>As he explored this terrible place, Azalin discovered his trespasses and confronted him. Enraged at this violation of his hospitality, the lich unleashed a stroke of magical lightning at the bard. Reacting quickly, Duvall attempted to shield himself with the great book he had been about to examine. The lightning struck the tome, which happened to be one of Azalin's most potent books of spells, and a terrible explosion shook the castle. Showers of blazing fragments ignited fires around the room and thick, acrid smoke boiled into the air.</p><p><strong>Senmet, Greater Mummy:</strong> The so-called Children of Anhktepot are a horrible and sinister lot. Most were created by the dread lord of Har'Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. Senmet, however, was given his power and undead stature by Isu Rehkotep, a priestess who stumbled upon a magical scroll.</p><p>Unlike all of the other greater mummies that guard Har'Akir's temples and tombs, Senmet was not created by Anhktepot.</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy, Children of Anhktepot:</strong> The so-called Children of Anhktepot are a horrible and sinister lot. Most were created by the dread lord of Har'Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature.</p><p>Unlike all of the other greater mummies that guard Har'Akir's temples and tombs, Senmet was not created by Anhktepot.</p><p><strong>Desert Zombie:</strong> In most cases, a diseased person crumbles into dust when he or she dies. If Senmet chooses, however, he can convert someone infected with his rotting disease into a unique breed of zombie or an actual mummy. In either case, the newly created horror is completely under Senmet's control.</p><p><strong>Isu Rehkotep, Priest 9:</strong> If she perished, she might still be encountered in undead form.</p><p><strong>Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen, Spectre:</strong> Jezra's end came as the winter solstice drew near one year. She and several of her friends were climbing the slopes of Mount Baratok, hoping to reach its summit and look out across the grandeur of the Balinoks. It was their hope to see the distant spire of Mount Nyid, which was said to be visible from the highest reaches of Baratok. Their expedition was ill-fated, however, and doom claimed it before they reached the mountain's crest.</p><p>Jezra was the first to hear the rumbling. Indeed, this is probably what saved her from the sudden death that claimed her companions. Shouting a cry of alarm, she forced her body into a narrow fissure as the avalanche swept past her, ripping her companions from their ropes and sending them down to their deaths. Those who were not slain by the long fall were crushed to death by the weight of the snow that fell upon them.</p><p>Jezra, perched in a narrow cleft, was unhurt. She found that the crack she had taken shelter in was in fact a small cave that ran some twenty or thirty feet back into the cliff. The avalanche, however, had sealed the entrance behind her. With horror, she realized that she had been entombed alive.</p><p>Several time she tried to dig her way out of the dark cave. Each time, she gave up the futile effort as more snow fell to seal the entrance. It was not long before her small stock of provisions ran low. The candles she had stored in her pack were all used up, the air in the cave was becoming sour, and her food was gone. Soon, she knew, she would die. Cold fear began to grip her heart as she grew drowsy with the approach of death.</p><p>What happened next might be accredited to many things. Perhaps the air was growing thin and she was beginning to hallucinate as her brain slowly starved for oxygen. Perhaps the forces of evil saw their chance to claim this young innocent for their own and sent some dreadful agent to treat with her.</p><p>Whatever the truth, Jezra found herself bathed in a ghostly light. Her arms and legs had grown numb and frozen, the first victims of her frosty prison, and she sadly noted that this light brought no warmth with it. If anything, the temperature in the cave fell even lower.</p><p>Her interest aroused, she tried to draw herself back from the brink of death. Whatever this mysterious phenomenon was, she longed to know its cause before she died. Her eye focused on the source of the glow and delight welled up inside her. Giorggio, so long presumed dead, stood before her.</p><p>The vision moved forward. Short and stocky, with the same charismatic smile that she herself had, this was indeed the exact image of her brother. He wore the travelling clothes that she had last seen him in, but they were tattered and torn.</p><p>She reached out her hand to the shimmering vision, grimacing at the frigid fire in her lungs and hardly able to move her arm. The image of Giorggio knelt before her and looked at her with curious, almost unrecognizing eyes.</p><p>"Save me," was all she could manage to whisper.</p><p>"I cannot," came the reply.</p><p>Jezra began to cry, the tears freezing before they could fall from her face. The spirit faded away, leaving her alone and isolated in the darkness of her icy tomb. With her last breath, she cried out for someone, anyone, to save her from death, swearing that she would do anything to keep her existence from ending like this. Then</p><p>she closed her eyes and felt the bitter cold around her steal the pitiful remains of her body's warmth.</p><p>Somewhere in the darkness of Ravenloft, her pleas were heard. A strange darkness, deeper than the blackness of the cave, seeped out of the soul of the mountain. It coiled around the young woman's body like an ebony snake. Two pinpoints of red light like eyes smoldered to life, yet drove away none of the darkness. Then, like a cobra striking, the blackness plunged into Jezra's body.</p><p>As the last traces of the shade vanished into the corporeal flesh of the woman, Jezra twitched and her face contorted in agony. Unseen in her tomb, her body thrashed about violently for several seconds and then was forever still.</p><p>Gradually, a cold glow filled the cave. Jezra blinked and opened her eyes. She could feel her hands and her feet again. The air no longer choked her. The cold, however, was redoubled. Her flesh seemed to tremble endlessly, and her bones pounded with an arthritic ache. She cried out in agony and rose to her feet.</p><p>Her only thought was to somehow escape from this icy darkness; had she looked down, she might have seen her own body, unmoving in death. Instead, she plunged desperately into the rocks and ice blocking her escape, passing through them as if they were but fog to her.</p><p>Not realizing that she had died in the frozen cave, Jezra spent the next several days wandering the slopes of Mount Baratok. Although her heart longed to return to her family estate, she delayed while she searched for her brother, not realizing that she had now become an undead creature, as had he.</p><p><strong>Giorggio Wagner:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Athaekeetha, Illithid Vampire:</strong> Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. The experiment was part of an ultimately successful attempt to transform the latter into a vampire. The "prototype" vampire illithids created by these experiments were believed to have been destroyed, but their regenerative powers enabled them to survive and escape into the wild, where they have flourished.</p><p>Athaekeetha was the last vampire illithid created by Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master before they gave up on the experiment; its higher intelligence is proof that at least some progress was being made in the project.</p><p><strong>Illithid Vampire:</strong> Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. The experiment was part of an ultimately successful attempt to transform the latter into a vampire. The "prototype" vampire illithids created by these experiments were believed to have been destroyed, but their regenerative powers enabled them to survive and escape into the wild, where they have flourished.</p><p><strong>Lyssa Von Zarovich, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mayonaka, Eastern Vampire:</strong> Hours later, Mayonaka awoke on a ledge that protruded from the walls of the endless shaft. With much effort, he climbed the rough stone face and reached the vampire's lair. Much to his horror he found that the creature was fully recovered from its earlier wounds. Delighted to discover that it might still have a prisoner to torture, the vampire attacked. The battle was long and terrible. In the end, the samurai was triumphant. Sadly, he too was dying. The vampire had tasted his life essence and left his soul drained and tainted. With a final prayer to his ancestors, he died.</p><p>To his surprise, he awoke a day or so later. His wounds, it seemed, were completely healed. Indeed, he felt better than he ever had before. He left the vampire's lair and headed out of the cave. With luck, he hoped to rejoin his sisters before they left the island. As he reached the cave's mouth and stepped out into the sunlight, he found himself wracked with horrible pain. He turned and tossed himself back into the cool darkness of the cavern just in time. With horror, he realized that he himself had become undead.</p><p></p><p><strong>Harrla:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Inquisitor:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lhiannon Shee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skuz:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Banshee Dwarf:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dune Runner:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Mount:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Great Ghul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Rom:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Apparition:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Coffer Corpse:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Penanggalan:</strong> </p><p><strong>Sheet Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Sheet Phantom:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Any human or demihuman slain by Hesketh will become a ghoul; only if the body is blessed is this horrible fate averted. If the victim is raised or resurrected without being blessed, he or she will rise at once as a ravening ghoul. Of course, if the body is destroyed—for example, if Hesketh and his associates eat their victim—it cannot become a ghoul.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> Throughout the domains of Ravenloft and in countless other worlds, there are few creatures more terrible than the lich. In most cases, these diabolical creatures seek out the means by which they attain undead status, willingly sacrificing their humanity in the quest for forbidden knowledge and unchecked power. In rare cases, the curse of eternal life has been thrust upon someone quite accidentally. Such tragedies are few and far between, but sadly they do occur.</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> In most cases, a diseased person crumbles into dust when he or she dies. If Senmet chooses, however, he can convert someone infected with his rotting disease into a unique breed of zombie or an actual mummy. In either case, the newly created horror is completely under Senmet's control.</p><p>In order to create a mummy, Senmet captures someone infected with his disease and takes his victim to his hidden temple. Here, he mummifies the person alive (a terrible and gruesome fate, to be certain). When the process is completed, the victim dies and promptly rises again as a mummy.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Eastern:</strong> Any human slain by Mayonaka's life-energy drain will become a vampire in turn. The transformation into unlife occurs one day after burial. Those who are not buried will not rise as vampires; thus, tradition dictates that all who die at the hands of these undead be cremated.</p><p><strong>Ju-Ju Zombie:</strong> Those who failed to repay their debt to the old man [Chicken Bone] soon fell ill and died. No magical or natural healing seemed able to save them. Once dead, these sorry souls are said to have risen anew as ju-ju zombies who now wander the marshes around Lake Noir. They are now the minions of the Voodan, repaying their obligation with an eternity of servitude.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16944/Monstrous-Compendium-Annual--Volume-1-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Baelnorn:</strong> Baelnorn are elves who have sought undeath to serve their families, communities, or other purposes (usually to see a wrong righted, or to achieve a certain magical discovery or deed). </p><p>The process by which elves become baelnorn is old, secret, and complicated. </p><p><strong>Baneguard:</strong> Baneguards are skeletons, usually but not always human, which are animated by clerical spells to serve as guardian creatures. The create baneguard spell was originally researched by priests of Bane (of the Forgotten Realms setting), but in the years since the demise of that deity, the secret of the spell has been spread such that many other evil (and not-so-evil) deities allow their priests to use it. </p><p><em>Create Baneguard</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Direguard:</strong> The create direguard spell is as the create baneguard, but is a 7th-level spell and has a casting time of one round. </p><p><em>Create Direguard</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Blazing Bones:</strong> Blazing bones are undead accidentally created when a priest or wizard who has prepared or partially prepared contingency magic to prevent death is killed by fiery damage. The casted magic twists the contingency provisions so the unfortunate victim passes into undeath in the heart of a roaring column of flame. Tormented by the endless agony of fire, the priest’s or wizard’s nature (including alignment, Hit Dice, and thoughts) changes. </p><p>There have been cases where evil archmages or high priests have deliberately created blazing bones as guardians, by slaying underling wizards or priests after laying control magic on them. </p><p><strong>Crypt Servant:</strong> Though it is possible to create a crypt servant from any dead body, volunteers are usually preferred. Many ancient crypt servants actually volunteered for their posts, wishing to serve their masters in death as in life. </p><p>Because of their similar purpose and method of creation, crypt servants are sometimes associated with the crypt thing. The spells to create each are similar and probably have the same roots. </p><p><em>Create Crypt Servant</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Dread:</strong> These undead are created by wizards and priests to serve as guardians. The enchantment involves a set of instructions (similar to the specific triggering conditions for a magic mouth spell), in which the creator of the dread specifies where they are to operate; and under what circumstances they will and won’t attack. The spells also allow the bone to regenerate damage done to it, and to resist aging effects. </p><p><strong>Vampiric Dread:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Flameskull:</strong> These magically powered flying skulls are fashioned from human heads soon after their owners’ deaths. </p><p>They are studied by alchemists, priests, and wizards whenever possible in an effort to duplicate their powers or the means of their making (so far without reported success), or to find special properties that their flames might possess. </p><p><strong>Lich Psionic:</strong> Psionic liches are powerful espers who have left behind the physical demands of life in pursuit of ultimate mental powers. </p><p>Although the power that transformed them is natural (not supernatural, as it is with other liches), the extent to which psionic liches have pursued their goals is not natural. </p><p>By far the most important aspect of the existence of the psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character.The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature’s spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns, and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. </p><p>Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist’s life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete the phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. </p><p>Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is closed it cannot be reopened. </p><p>During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist’s life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place the character must make a system shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. Only the powers of a deity are strong enough to revive a character who has died in this way; even a wish will not suffice. </p><p><strong>Naga Bone:</strong> Bone nagas are created undead. </p><p>Created by dark nagas and a few evil mages to serve as guardians, these spellcasting worms serve their master with absolute loyalty. Their creation is an exacting process, hence their rarity. </p><p>Bone nagas are usually created by the nagara (evil nagakind, or dark nagas) to be guardians, especially of young nagas and nonmagical treasure. </p><p><strong>Spectral Wizard:</strong> They are created by a unique spell that functions on human and elf wizards and gnome illusionists, taking hold only on those whose bodies once channeled wizard magic. </p><p>Spectral wizards are created artificially and have no ecological niche. </p><p><em>Create Spectral Wizard</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Tuyewera:</strong> The tuyewera is a horrible type of undead monster created by evil clerics in remote jungle villages. The cleric takes the corpse of a man slain by death magic spells and ritually removes the legs at the knees. The tongue is also severed. The cleric then enchants the corpse, bringing the ancestral spirit of a wizard or priest into it, which gives the corpse a horrid animation. </p><p>The spells and counterspells used for creating tuyeweras are granted only by the deities of evil witch doctors in tropical lands. </p><p>As created undead, tuyewera have nothing to contribute to the ecology. </p><p><strong>Undead Dwarf:</strong> Undead dwarves are created by residual essence on the part of dwarves who are concerned, just before they die, that their final resting places will in some way be disturbed. It is this essence that allows the bodies of the dwarves to transform into protectors. </p><p>There is no known understanding of how undead dwarves are formed or why they exist except to protect their sacred tombs. </p><p><strong>Undead Lake Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wolf Dread:</strong> These creatures were originally created by a renegade mage, but word of how to create these horrid creatures seems to have spread across the Prime Material Plane. </p><p>As magically animated undead, dread wolves have no natural place in any ecosystem. To create these servants, a mage must be evil and at least 9th level, and he must have 3d4 wolves that have been dead for no more than a day. The spellcaster begins an incantation over the dead wolves that combines modified versions of animate dead, summon shadow, and dismissal. By doing this, the mage summons a shadow from the Negative Energy Plane and breaks it into parts which are infused into the wolves, creating the dread wolves. </p><p>The spellcasting takes an hour. If the spell is interrupted, the energies of the shadow’s separate parts are unleashed. When this happens, the mage suffers 3d10 points of damage (no save) from the other-worldly energy blast. </p><p>At the end of the hour, the mage will have 3d4 servants that can travel up to 50 miles away and enable him to see and hear everything they see and hear. The wolves are directly under the control of the mage’s mind within this distance. </p><p>The wolves can venture outside the 50-mile limit, but they lose contact with the controlling mage. Unless previous commands prevent this, the wolves will immediately try to get back within the limit to regain contact. The dread wolves can be given a command of up to three short sentences (a total of 30 words), which they will cover any distance to fulfill. This command will always be fulfilled unless the dread wolves are destroyed first. </p><p>For some unknown reason, the spell that makes dread wolves will not work on dogs. A mage who attempts this on dogs suffers 3d10 points of damage as described earlier. </p><p><strong>Wolf Vampiric:</strong> These foul undead creatures are the result of corrupting ceremonies used on normal wolf pups by evil clerics. </p><p>In order to create these foul corruptions, a cleric must be evil and at least 9th level. He can use 3d6 pups from one or more wolf dens. The pups must be very close to being weaned, but cannot have tasted meat or they will be useless. </p><p>The cleric first performs a ceremony using what amounts to the opposite of an atonement spell. Then, every day he must hand-feed the pups. The food can be no more than one day old and it must be infused with one or two drops of blood from a living human, or dust from a vampire and cursed using a reversed bless spell. This must continue every day for three months or the pups die. At the end of the three-month period, the pups are fully grown and must then be slain by poisoning; they then arise as vampiric wolves. If they are not slain at this time, the wolves must each make a saving throw vs. death magic or become greatly weakened (1 hp per Hit Die), living on as bloodthirsty but otherwise normal wolves. </p><p>It is impossible to create vampiric dogs.</p><p><strong>Wolf Zombie:</strong> Zombie wolves are not created by a wizard or a priest, but rise when wolves starve or freeze to death near areas frequented by undead such as graveyards and necroplises.</p><p>It is generally thought that the creatures gain this strange form of existence from incidental contact with the Negative Material Plane. Some sages speculate that the anguish of starvation and freezing provides just enough impetus to animate the simple animals when negative energy touches them. Others figure that another undead creature must consciously seek the dead wolves and give them unlife. [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man:</strong> Amiq Rasol, also called Deep Men or Dark Men, are undead corsairs who were lost at sea, murdered, or marooned. Corsairs who refused to acknowledge or turned away from the gods may also become amiq rasol. </p><p><strong>Arch-Shadow:</strong> As evil wizards and priests grow older and see their deaths before them, some decide to take their chances with becoming a lich. Most fail and die. The unlucky few who survive the process but fail to achieve lichdom become arch-shadows. </p><p>There are no recorded instances of a high-level priest or wizard striving to become an arch-shadow – misfortune leads to their existence. </p><p>During the process of achieving lichdom, the wizard or priest creates a special phylactery in which to store his or her life force. If this item fails during the process, there is a tremendous explosion and a 5% chance that the wizard or priest becomes an arch-shadow instead of being utterly destroyed. More often than not, faulty construction or some slight error in an incantation causes the delicate process to break down. </p><p>Once the lich-creation process has failed and the caster has successfully made the crossover to arch-shadow status, survival is not guaranteed. A system shock roll must be made, with failure indicating that the arch-shadow is drawn into the Plane of Negative Energy. If the roll is successful the arch-shadow is teleported to the location of an item of moderate to great power (a staff of curing, a +3 or better weapon, a ring of wizardry, or another item with an experience point value greater than 1,500), into which it can place its life force. An artifact is unsuitable, nor can the item be one owned by the arch-shadow or any former henchman; no item that was within 10 miles at the time of the failed attempt to become a lich is suitable. </p><p>The decision of which magical item to use is not made by the arch-shadow. The arch-shadow is teleported to a location where a suitable item exists. </p><p><strong>Arch-Shadow Demi-Shade:</strong> To become a demi-shade, the arch-shadow must drain life energy from creatures that have touched its receptacle within the last 24 hours. It usually takes eight life levels gathered within two hours for the change to occur, but an arch-shadow can gamble in order to gain more Hit Dice in the process of transforming. It typically accomplishes this by draining high level characters or powerful creatures. For each additional level over eight that the arch shadow drains, one extra Hit Die is gained. If the draining takes place in a particularly unhallowed place, the arch-shadow gains an additional Hit Die. The arch-shadow cannot exceed a total of 30 Hit Dice. </p><p><strong>Crypt Cat:</strong> Crypt cats are domestic cats that have been mummified.</p><p>Crypt cats are created by coating the corpse of a cat with a thin layer of clay that contains magical salves and oils. When dry, it is painted with brilliant colors in the pattern of the cat’s fur. Often, copious amounts of gilt paint are used. </p><p>The composition of the clay that animates a crypt cat is unknown, although it is assumed that high level necromantic spells are involved. </p><p><strong>Crypt Cat Large:</strong> Sometimes the bodies of larger felines are made into crypt cats. </p><p><strong>Curst:</strong> Curst are undead humans, trapped by an evil curse that will not let them die. They are created by a rare process: The victim’s skin pales to an unearthly white pallor, and his or her eyes turn black while the iris color deepens, becoming small pools of glinting dark color. Curst lose their sense of smell, often lose Intelligence, and develop erratic behaviour as their alignment changes to chaotic neutral. </p><p>In the process of becoming curst, humans lose their sense of smell, any magical abilities, and often their minds (but not their cunning); only 11% of the curst retain their full, former ability score, while most have a lowered Intelligence of 8. </p><p>Curst are created by the bestow curse spell (the reverse of the remove curse spell), and within four rounds adding a properly worded wish spell. Creating them is an evil act. </p><p>About 2% of curst are humanoid. </p><p><strong>Ekimmu:</strong> An ekimmu is an angry undead spirit that was once human. It is created when a human dies far from home and is not given proper burial rites.</p><p><strong>Ghost Casurua:</strong> The casurua is an undead manifestation that results from a group suffering traumatic death. It is most likely to form where a massacre has taken place, but could be found anywhere a group has suffered violent death, such as a burned-out building. </p><p>A casurua can form anywhere violent death occurs, especially unexpected or wrongful death. It is rarely found on a battlefield, because violent death there is expected and accepted. A casurua most often forms on a battlefield when the slain died by treachery. Casurua are most likely found on the sites of disaster, natural or otherwise. Ruins are prime habitats for casurua, especially places that were razed and looted. </p><p><strong>Ghost Ker:</strong> Popular tradition identifies keres with evil spirits of the dead. </p><p><strong>Ghul Great:</strong> The great ghuls are undead elemental cousins of the genies, the most wicked members of an inferior order of jann.</p><p><strong>Ghul Great Desert:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul Great Mage:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul Great Mountain:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul Great Sha'ir:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul-Kin</strong> The ghul-kin are related to the great ghuls, and like them are undead jann.</p><p><strong>Ghul-Kin Soultaker:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul-Kin Witherer:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich Suel:</strong> These powerful wizards endure the centuries by transferring their life forces from one human host to the next. </p><p>The Suel lich is an unholy amalgamation of the human body and energ from the Negative Material Plane. Upon transformation into a Suel lich, the essence of the wizard is converted to negative energy that needs a human body to inhabit. </p><p><strong>Mummy Creature:</strong> Creature mummies are undead whose bodies are preserved, then animated by their restless spirits.</p><p>Creature mummies may be created in a variety of ways. Their reanimation may result from intense death throes coupled by a will to live, invocation from dark priestly rituals, or creation by a necromancer or some powerful undead creature. </p><p><strong>Mummy Creature Animal:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy Creature Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith-Spider:</strong> Victims drained of all Constitution points by a wraith-spider die and have a 25% chance of becoming wraith-spiders themselves. </p><p>Wraith-spiders were originally created as guardians of treasure or as guards for a particular area of a drow stronghold. </p><p>It is rumored that a wizard named Muiral created them; however, it is more likely that the wraith-spiders were created years before by the drow for their wars against the duergar.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> Amiq rasol that do not feed for several years will fade away until they become wraiths.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16906/Monstrous-Compendium-Annual--Volume-III?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank"> Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Alhoon, Illithilich:</strong> Their bodies adapt only imperfectly to lich state; many magical steps of most lichdom processes used by others fail on a strongly-magic resistant mind flayer body. </p><p><strong>Banedead:</strong> Created from fanatical human worshipers.</p><p>Banedead derive their power from the Negative Energy Plane and from the clerical power of the ritual that created them. </p><p>Banedead are created by a special ritual that requires at least 12 worshipers (to be turned into Banedead), at least 24 living additional worshipers (to offer prayers), and a priest of Bane or Xvim of at least 12th level (to preside over the ritual). The ritual must be held in a place that is consecrated to either Bane or Xvim. People who are to become Banedead (also called the Promised Ones) must come forward voluntarily. Rumors of innocent folks captured by cultists and forcibly transformed into Banedead are patently false. At the end of the ritual, the new Banedead are placed under the control of their new master, the presiding priest. </p><p>Some scholars are still trying to discern how a new breed of undead could be formed by a deity who is supposed to have been destroyed. A few sages believe that it is not Bane at all, but rather Xvim, who has introduced this new horror to the Realms. These sages speculate that the spirits of the Promised Ones are in fact shunted into Xvim somehow to nourish him, building his power so that he can eventually fill the void left by his father’s death. </p><p><strong>Lich of Bane, Banelich:</strong> Tired of his faithful becoming victims, every 50-60 years Bane chose the most powerful priest within the ranks of his clerics and revealed to him or her a foul rite that would transform the caster, through force of faith, strength of will, and Bane’s divine hand, into a powerful, immortal form – a lich of Bane, or Banelich. </p><p>Baneliches were at least 17th-level clerics before they were transformed, and several were 20th level or higher. </p><p><strong>Bat Bonebat:</strong> Bonebats are not thought to occur naturally, but the secrets of their making have been known in the Realms for a very long time, and many have gone feral. </p><p>Bonebats are usually constructed by evil priests and wizards working together. An intact giant bat skeleton, or a skeleton assembled from the bones of several bats, is required. A spell known as Nulathoe’s ninemen is cast on the skeleton. In the case of a bonebat, this spell links the skeletal wing bones with an invisible membrane of force to allow flight. Fly, detect invisibility, infravision, and animate dead spells complete the process. Further spells may be necessary to train the bonebat to serve as an obedient aide, but the spells listed here must be cast within two rounds of each other, and in the order given, or the process will fail. </p><p><strong>Lich Archlich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bat Bonebat Battlebat:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Coffer Corpse:</strong> The coffer corpse is an undead creature seeking its final rest. It is always encountered on the scene of an incomplete death ritual: a stranded funeral barge, unburnt pyre, or so on. </p><p><strong>Dragon Ghost Dragon:</strong> A ghost dragon is created when an ancient dragon is slain and its hoard looted. </p><p>Only ancient dragons can become ghost dragons.</p><p><strong>Dread Warrior:</strong> Dread warriors are enhanced undead created by Szass Tam, Zulkir of Necromancy for the Red Wizards of Thay. Dread warriors are created immediately after a warrior’s death so that they retain at least minimal intelligence. They must be created from the bodies of fighters of at least 4th level who have been dead for less than a day. </p><p>Zulkir Szass Tam created the dread warriors over 20 years ago, intending them for an invasion of Rashemen. </p><p><strong>Son of Kyuss:</strong> Sons of Kyuss are horrible undead beings that convert living humans and demihumans into cursed undead like themselves. </p><p>In addition to flailing fists, one worm per round attempts to jump from a son’s head to a character the son is meleeing. The worm needs only to roll a successful attack roll (same THAC0 as the son) to land on the victim. The worm burrows into the victim on the next round unless killed by the touch of cold iron, holy water, or a blessed object. After penetrating the victim's skin, the worm burrows toward the victim’s brain, taking 1d4 rounds to reach it. During this time a remove curse or cure disease spell will kill the worm, and neutralize poison or dispel evil will delay the worm for 1d6 turns. If the worm reaches the brain, the victim dies immediately and becomes a son of Kyuss. </p><p>Kyuss was an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity. </p><p>The worms are tied to the curse of the sons but exactly how remains a mystery. It is known that the worms cannot survive apart from a victim or on a son. Worms that fail to burrow into a victim die as soon as they touch the ground. Any worm removed from a son dies within one round of separation from the son who carried it. When a son is killed permanently, the worms die with him. Some sages have proposed that the worms might not be living creatures per se, but incarnations of the curse. </p><p><strong>Undead Dragon Slayer:</strong> An undead dragon slayer is a horrifying creature returned from death to destroy dragons. </p><p>Most undead dragon slayers are called back from the grave by necromantic magic. Though it retains its own mind and agenda, it must obey the commands of the summoner – at least until its task is complete or it somehow wins its freedom. A small number of dragon slayers actually will themselves back from the dead. These individuals have the utmost faith in their cause, an undying hatred of dragons, and a supernatural strength of will. </p><p>In the Council of Wyrms setting, undead dragon slayers were members of the vast army of human warriors who invaded the Io’s Blood isles in ages past. Any slayer of 9th level or greater who died before his holy task was finished can rise as an undead warrior. </p><p><strong>Zhentarim Spirit:</strong> A Zhentarim spirit is the essence of a Zhentarim wizard who met with a horrible death at the hands of his or her enemies or treacherous comrades. The spirit of the wizard is extremely vengeful, and by sheer force of will is remaining on the Prime Material Plane until a task is complete or until it takes revenge on those who slew it. Zhentarim spirits are extremely rare, and only the death of a wizard who is greater than 14th level can bring about the creation of one of these spiteful spirits.</p><p>The determination of Zhentarim spirits to annihilate their killers is exceptional, and these creatures defy final judgment for indefinite and extended periods to exact their revenge. This is done through these spirits’ force of will (minimum Wisdom of 16), aided by their connection with the magical arts (minimum of 14th-level wizard).</p><p>These spirits have so far only been linked with wizards of the Zhentarim, and many think the tendency of Zhentarim wizards to form these spirits is attributable to magical means that they use to extend their lives. A vengeful Zhentarim spirit is formed one to two days after the death of an appropriate Zhentarim wizard, and it immediately sets about planning its revenge.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> A cure disease or remove curse spell will transform a son of Kyuss into a zombie, but both spells require that the priest touch the son. [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Inquisitor:</strong> Created by evil wizards centuries ago, inquisitors are a shambling, rotting, undead abominations. </p><p>Inquisitors were cursed hundreds of years ago to forever cause pain and extract information. </p><p><strong>Mummy Bog:</strong> Bog mummies are formed when a corpse comes to rest in a marsh or swamp and is naturally mummified by being coated in a layer of mud. Eventually the body takes on the dark coloration of the earth and becomes as tough as tanned leather. The clothing is partially preserved and sticks to the corpse in patches, as does hair. The facial features are distorted in a permanent grimace and the hands are stiffened into clawlike hooks. When the corpse at last rises as an undead creature, it walks with an uneven gait, due to the stiffness of its limbs. </p><p>A bog mummy rises as an undead creature when a powerful burst of positive energy causes the dead person’s spirit to rejoin with a body preserved by the bog. Bog mummies might be created by a priest or another bog mummy from a fresh corpse taken into the bog. They might also be the result of the interplay of a powerful positive energy source and latent traumatic emotional forces.</p><p><strong>Shadowrath:</strong> Shadowraths are created by a fell artifact, the Crown of Horns. </p><p><strong>Shadowrath Lesser, Blackbones:</strong> They are created by the ray of undeath power of the artifact, Crown of Horns. Those killed by this ray arise as lesser shadowraths, also known as blackbones. </p><p>Lesser shadowraths are created by the Crown of Horns. </p><p><strong>Shadowrath Greater:</strong> These powerful undead are also created by the Crown of Horns. Those slain by Myrkul’s hand, the other major power of the artifact, arise as greater shadowraths. </p><p><strong>Siren Ravenloft:</strong> It is thought that the sirens are merfolk transformed by a cataclysmic burst of negative energy.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Dust:</strong> Bones used to create dust skeletons must be specially dried to the point of crumbling, then coated with a special resin containing a paralyzing venom. Tansmute water to dust is used in conjunction with animate dead to complete the process. </p><p><strong>Skeleton Spike:</strong> Each spike must be specially carved from bones taken from the same type of creature that is to be animated (for example, human bones for a human skeleton). A glyph is carved into each spike before it is attached to the skeleton. During animation, a shatter spell is cast in conjunction with the animate dead spell. After animation, the 6th-level necromancy spell imbue undead with spell ability is cast, along with Beltyn’s burning blood; these spells are also used to recharge a spike skeleton with this ability. </p><p><strong>Skeleton Obsidian:</strong> An obsidian jewel, inscribed with a special glyph, must be implanted in the skeleton’s forehead. A second animate dead spell must be cast in conjunction with the first, along with vampiric touch.</p><p><strong>Spectral Scion:</strong> A spectral scion is the spirit of a bloodtheft victim who was killed with a tighmaevril weapon (which allows the slayer to steal powers associated with the victim’s bloodline). Not all those with a special bloodline killed in this way become spectral scions, but those who do daily relive the horror of losing their bloodlines, and are doomed to spend eternity seeking peace. </p><p><strong>Vampire Cerebral:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Mud:</strong> Mud zombies are mindless, animated corpses that consist of a thick layer of slimy mud over a framework of bones. When the appropriate condition arises, they animate.</p><p>Mud zombies are made from whole or partial skeletons, usually human. </p><p>Mud zombies can be created wherever the raw materials to make them (bones and mud) are found. They are usually encountered on battlefields and in graveyards situated near a source of water (a river, bog, or lake). Climatic conditions must be just right at the time they are created or summoned forth. For example, if there has been a prolonged drought and the earth is dry and hard-packed, then a mud zombie cannot rise from its resting place. </p><p></p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> A human or humanoid creature whose Intelligence or Wisdom is reduced to 0 by a cerebral vampire becomes a ghoul under its complete control.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17201/Dark-Sun-Monstrous-Compendium-Appendix-II-Terrors-beyond-Tyr-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Dhaot:</strong> Dhaots are incorporeal undead that are sometimes created when people die far away from their homes. The spirits of the deceased feel an overwhelming compulsion to return to their homes they had in life. </p><p>Many dhaots are halflings who died outside their forests.</p><p><strong>Fael:</strong> Faels are ravenous undead beings who never quenched their need for material consumption during life. </p><p>Rich humans and demihumans are often subject to this form of undeath. </p><p>Most faels are from the upper echelons of society and most are elves or humans.</p><p><strong>Kaisharga, Dead Lord:</strong> They have sought undeath, unnaturally extending their lives past the endurance of their mortal frames.</p><p>The kaisharga is a dreadful creature that has turned its back on the rightful order of things, trading life for power.</p><p>The Dragon confers undeath on any of its servants who prove exceptionally capable, loyal, and efficient.</p><p>They voluntarily sought undeath, believing it to be a form of immortality.</p><p><strong>Kaisharga, Dregoth:</strong> Xontra was once a servant of Dregoth, the sorcerer-king. The powerful dragon kaisharga transformed her into a kaisharga using the same secret methods he had used upon himself.</p><p><strong>Kaisharga, Hrutghel:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kaisharga Cleric 19, Jagmargal:</strong> Jagmargal was a great hero of ages past. While he was a great priest, he was better known as an explorer. He was captured by Hrutghel, a powerful kaisharga who was Jagmargal's greatest enemy, and was transformed into a kaisharga himself.</p><p><strong>Kaisharga Dray Defiler 21, Xontra:</strong> Xontra was once a servant of Dregoth, the sorcerer-king. The powerful dragon kaisharga transformed her into a kaisharga using the same secret methods he had used upon himself.</p><p><strong>Kaisharga Gladiator 23, Neltor:</strong> Neltor was a former gladiator who was a little past his prime. He was recently transformed into a kaisharga by the Dragon, Lord of the Ring of Fire.</p><p><strong>Krag:</strong> Krags are undead created when a cleric aligned to an element or para-element dies in the medium diametrically opposed to his own. The anguish and trauma of dying to the very force he devoted his life to opposing is sometimes enough to transform a cleric into a wicked and bitter undead. </p><p><strong>Kragling:</strong> Kraglings are creatures who have perished from the elemental transfusion attack of a krag. Anything that dies in this manner has a 45% chance of coming back as a kragling in 1-4 days. </p><p>Any creature can become a kragling if it was killed by the elemental transfusion of a krag. Silt spawn, humanoids, demihumans, humans, and even nonhumanoid monsters are all subject to the transfusion attack and thus can become kraglings. What type of kragling and how powerful it is depends on the creature’s Hit Dice. </p><p>A character bitten by a krag must make a saving throw versus death, or his blood will slowly turn into the krag’s element. As the blood changes, the victim suffers 1d4 additional points of damage per round. If death results, there is a 45% chance that the victim will become a kragling in 1d4 days. This infection counts as a poison or a disease for purposes of countering, so sweet water or even a cure disease spell will halt the process instantly. </p><p><strong>Kragling Lesser:</strong> Lesser kraglings are created when creatures with less than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag’s elemental transfusion. </p><p><strong>Kragling Greater:</strong> Greater kraglings are created when creatures with more than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag’s elemental transfusion. </p><p><strong>Meorty:</strong> Meorties were created long ago through the necromancies of high priests and through the use of long-lost psionic abilities for the purpose of serving as the protectors of various Green-Age domains. </p><p>Meorties are undead who were once protectors of domains that vanished more than 2,000 years ago. They were placed in crypts with large amounts of treasure, so they might continue to look after their realms in death.</p><p>All meorties are of the old races (human, elf, dwarf, giant, and halfling).</p><p><strong>Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach:</strong> Odrela was one of the most respected law-keepers in the history of ancient Bodach. When the time came to select a new meorty to administer to the domain, she accepted her fate and joined the ranks of the undead protectors.</p><p><strong>Meorty Human Fighter 20, Proctor Drelto of Antalus:</strong> Proctor Drelto was once a feared and powerful law-keeper in the long-forgotten province of Antalus. He was voluntarily transformed into a meorty so that he could continue to defend Antalus for eternity.</p><p><strong>Raaig:</strong> Raaigs are incorporeal spirits sustained by their unwavering belief and sense of duty to ancient gods that no longer exist on Athas. </p><p>Eldena longs for companionship with others, but finds that she cannot be with the living for long periods of time without becoming depressed completely. She does have the power to turn a dead spirit into a Raaig, but only at the moment of the person's death, and only if the spirit is truly willing to become one. The new Raaig must always remain within 500 feet of Eldena, or fade away to nothing. She longs to be able to create such a companion for herself someday.</p><p>All raaigs are at least 2,000 years old and all are of the old races (human, elf, dwarf, giant, and halfling).</p><p><strong>Raaig Elf Cleric 14, Eldena, Guardian of the Mountain Temple:</strong> Millennia ago, Eldena was the last high priestess of the mountain</p><p>temple before the great wars started that would destroy the world as she knew it. In hopes of protecting her temple, she called upon her god to transform her into one of the undead so she could always watch over the sacred place and protect it from the evils of the world.</p><p>The dieties do not recognize Athas. so their was nothing resulted from her plea. Despairing, she poisoned herself. However, Eldena's belief was so strong, that upon her death she was transformed into a raaig and remains bound to the temple.</p><p><strong>Raaig Human Fighter 9, Nameless Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Raaig Human Cleric 10, Varoxil Rante, Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Racked Spirit:</strong> Racked spirits are the evil remnants of persons who committed acts during their lives that violated the very nature of their being. </p><p>Racked spirits vary in race, but dwarven banshees are the most common. Dwarven banshees are created whenever dwarves forsake their life purpose. </p><p>Racked spirits single out happy individuals, attempting to ruin their lives through “bad luck”. They appear to those they have ruined to offer their help in exchange for services. The services they require always conflict with the strongest beliefs of the victims. If the victims refuse to do what the spirit requests, the spirit descends on them and drains their life energy. Those who agree and go against their own beliefs become full-strength racked spirits upon their deaths. </p><p>Thinking zombies might return as racked spirits because they were unable to complete their tasks as thinking zombies. </p><p>Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. The dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose, is the most common.</p><p><strong>Dwarven Banshee:</strong> Racked spirits vary in race, but dwarven banshees are the most common. Dwarven banshees are created whenever dwarves forsake their life purpose.</p><p>Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. The dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose, is the most common.</p><p><strong>Lesser Spirit:</strong> A being drained of all its life energy by a racked spirit becomes a lesser spirit.</p><p><strong>T'Liz:</strong> T’lizes are undead defilers whose spirits have outlived their bodies. </p><p>All t'lizes were defilers in life and retain all their spell casting abilities.</p><p>T’lizes are powerful defilers who died before completing their magical studies. </p><p><strong>T'Liz Human Defiler 19, Nevarli:</strong> Nevarli's love of magic was so powerful that when she found the spells and anointments that would sustain her in undeath so she could continue her magical studies, she used them.</p><p><strong>T'Liz Human Defiler 23, Kedomir:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Freewilled Undead:</strong> Freewilled undead once belonged to an intelligent species and in undeath continue to think for themselves.</p><p><strong>Controlled Undead, Walking Dead:</strong> Controlled undead are animated corpses such as skeletons and zombies that may not belong to an intelligent species. </p><p><strong>Wraith Athasian:</strong> In the Gray, the spirits of the dead slowly dissolve and are absorbed. Some spirits, like wraiths, don’t suffer this fate. They are sustained by a force even more powerful than the Gray – their everlasting faith in a cause greater than themselves. </p><p>All wraiths need something important from their lives to serve as magnets for their spirits. These items can be candles of faith, like in the Crimson shrine, or brilliant gems full of life force, such as the gems used by the Dragon’s wraith knights.</p><p>Athasian wraiths differ from other wraiths in that they voluntarily embraced undeath as a form of existence. </p><p>A character slain by a t'liz through its life energy drain becomes an Athasian wraith under direct command of the t'liz.</p><p><strong>Wraith Athasian Human Fighter 11, Nikolos:</strong> Nikolos was one of Borys the Thirteenth Champion's select knights during the Cleansing Wars of ages past. Like the other select knights, Nikolos continued to serve Borys after his death by becoming a wraith.</p><p><strong>Zombie Thinking:</strong> A thinking zombie is a creature who has died and its spirit cannot rest until it has completed the task. </p><p>Creatures who die before completing an important task (often under the compulsion of a geas or quest spell) often become thinking zombies.</p><p>Many thinking zombies are giants and half-giants, as they are often selected for quests because of their size and strength.</p><p><strong>Zombie Thinking Human Templar 6, Evirdel Ironhand:</strong> Evirdel served as a loyal templar in the service of Dictator Andropinis, sorcerer-king of Balic, until she was falsely accused and condemned as a traitor. She was tortured into a false confession before her peers, as an example, and then slain and revived as a thinking zombie.</p><p><strong>Zombie Thinking Mul Gladiator 4, Claktor Bloodfist:</strong> Claktor was making a living as a burglar, working with a thief. The pair accidentally chose the wrong home to burglarize and were killed by the powerful defiler who lived there. The thieves were raised from the dead by the defiler almost as a joke.</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> The type of undead a creature becomes upon death is based upon the motivation or event that caused the undead to resist death. While certain races are more likely to become certain types of undead, this is because members of that particular race often share similar motivations.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Most skeletons and zombies are man-sized or smaller, but larger corpses such as mekillot skeletons and zombie giants are often animated by more powerful necromancers.</p><p>Produce Undead undead power.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Most skeletons and zombies are man-sized or smaller, but larger corpses such as mekillot skeletons and zombie giants are often animated by more powerful necromancers.</p><p>Produce Undead undead power.</p><p><strong>Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee:</strong> Racked spirits vary in race, but dwarven banshees are the most common. Dwarven banshees are created whenever dwarves forsake their life purpose. </p><p>Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. The dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose, is the most common.</p><p></p><p>Produce Undead: The undead can produce one lesser controlled undead (animated skeletons or zombies) for each HD they have. This may be used once per day and there must be skeletons or corpses present.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16911/Monstrous-Compendium--Mystara-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Agarat:</strong> No one knows how these creatures came into being. </p><p><strong>Agarat Greater:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Darkhood:</strong> Legends say that darkhoods are the restless life forces of those who died in a state of extreme terror, especially terror of death itself. To maintain its connection to its territory, the darkhood feeds on the terror of other sapient beings, thus replenishing its own energies. No one has yet found a way to communicate with or adequately study a darkhood, and so the truth behind the legends remains unsubstantiated. </p><p><strong>Gray Philosopher:</strong> A gray philosopher is the undead spirit of an evil cleric who died with some important philosophical deliberation yet unresolved in his or her mind. </p><p>Certain clerics and academicians speculate that any powerful evil cleric who, at death becomes a gray philosopher may have been attempting to become one of the Immortals. </p><p><strong>Gray Philosopher Malice:</strong> These vindictive creatures are actually the gray philosopher’s evil thoughts, which have taken on substance and a will of their own. </p><p><strong>Sacrol:</strong> They are spawned in sites of great death.</p><p>Sacrols are the collected angry spirits of the dead.</p><p>Sacrols arise in places of mass death, such as battlefields, sacked temples, and plague-ridden cities or countrysides. </p><p><strong>Spirit:</strong> Spirits are powerful undead beings which inhabit the bodies, or body parts, of others. </p><p><strong>Spirit Druj:</strong> Druj appear as body parts – a hand, an eye, or a skull – floating or crawling around in a horrible way. </p><p><strong>Spirit Odic:</strong> Odics are formless creatures that take possession of normal plants, usually shrubs or small trees. </p><p><strong>Topi:</strong> Topis are tiny undead humanoid creatures similar to zombies. Before these creatures are animated, however, the corpses are shrunk until they are only 2 feet tall. The process gives them dark, wrinkled, leathery skin Their eves are wide and bulging, and their lips are usually curled back, freezing their faces into permanent toothy grimaces (occasionally, however, the lips are sewn shut). </p><p>Unlike zombies, topis do not have a rotting stench, as the shrinking process also preserves their flesh. </p><p>The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a topi. Only a few tribal spell casters know bow to shrink the corpses, however. The few travelers who have observed the process and have been lucky enough to return to tell the tale report that the corpse is boiled for several days in a mixture of water, herbs, and animal organs, then dried in the sun and animated, presumably with a variant animate dead spell. </p><p><strong>Vampire Velya:</strong> They were once surface dwellers who became undead through an ancient curse. </p><p>Only a transfusion of the velya’s blood or the original curse, now forgotten, can make a velya. </p><p><strong>Vampire Velya Swamp:</strong> Swamp Velyas origins are identical to ocean velya.</p><p><strong>Wyrd:</strong> They are created when an evil spirit inhabits the dead body of an elf.</p><p>The process that creates wyrds is a mystery. It seems to be clear, however, that the spirit that animates a wyrd prefers to occupy elves who have died violently and been left unburied. Elves who have been abandoned by their fellow elves and left to die alone seem to be the most likely to become wyrds. Certain locales near places of ancient evil, such as ruined temples, battlefields where evil forces were once victorious, and scenes of great treachery also seem to be prone to produce wyrds. </p><p><strong>Wyrd Greater:</strong> This more hideous variety of wyrd is created when an undead spirit occupies the body of an exceptionally high-level elf.</p><p><strong>Zombie Lightning:</strong> Lightning zombies are undead creatures created when the bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids are bathed in exceptionally strong magical auras. </p><p><strong>Zombie Lightning Greater:</strong> These creatures are created when a powerful character or leader dies and the body is exposed to awesome magical energies. </p><p></p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> Characters slain by a velya return from death after three days and become wights.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix II[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Sword Spirit:</strong> Sword spirits are the undead spirits of powerful warriors who perished in useless battles.[/spoiler] </p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17485/Monstrous-Compendium--Ravenloft-Appendices-I--II-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Bastellus:</strong> Any being reduced to below level 0 by the preying of a bastellus will die in its sleep, seemingly of a heart attack. If the body is not destroyed (via cremation, immersion in acid, or similar means), its spirit will rise in a number of days equal to the number of levels it lost to the bastellus. Thus, a 14th level wizard would rise up in two weeks. The new spirit is also a bastellus, but it has no connection with the monster that created it. </p><p><strong>Bat Skeletal:</strong> keletal bats are created by the use of an animate dead spell and are often associated with necromancers or evil priests. </p><p><strong>Bowlyn:</strong> Bowlyn are undead spirits who, like the poltergeist, do not rest easily in their graves. Without exception, they were sailors on ocean-going vessels who died due to an accident at sea. In life, they were cruel or selfish persons; in death they blame their shipmates for the mishap that took their lives. Thus, they return from their watery grave to force others beneath the icy waves. </p><p><strong>Bussengeist:</strong> A bussengeist is the spectral form of someone who died in a great calamity brought on by their own action or inaction. </p><p>As a rule, only those persons who feel remorse for their actions will become bussengeists. For example, a traitor who allowed an invading force to gain access to a walled city and was himself slain in the ensuing battle might become a bussengeist. If he was killed without warning and felt no pity for those his actions had brought misery to, he would not be transformed. If, on the other hand, he knew that he was about to die and had reason to feel that he had acted in error, he might well become a bussengeist. </p><p><strong>Ghoul Lord:</strong> It is rumored that they were first created at the hands of an insane necromancer in some other dimension, but that they were so evil as to instantly draw the attention of the Dark Powers. </p><p><strong>Mummy Greater:</strong> Also known as Anhktepot’s Children, greater ,mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding of a burial place. </p><p>The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the Lord of Har’akir, in the years before he became undead himself.</p><p>he process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har’akir. </p><p><strong>Skeleton Giant:</strong> Giant skeletons are similar to the more common undead skeleton, but they have been created with a combination of spells and are, thus, far more deadly than their lesser counterparts.</p><p>In actuality, they are simply human skeletons that have been magically enlarged. </p><p>The first giant skeletons to appear in Ravenloft were created by the undead priestess Radaga in her lair within the domain of Kartakass. Others have since mastered the spells and techniques required to create these monsters; thus, giant skeletons are gradually beginning to appear in other realms where the dead and undead lurk.</p><p>The process by which giant skeletons are created is dark and evil. Attempts to manufacture them outside of Ravenloft have failed, so it is clear that they are in some way linked to the Dark Powers themselves. In order to create a giant skeleton, a spell caster must have the intact skeleton of a normal human or demihuman. On a night when the land is draped in fog, they must cast an animate dead, produce fire, enlarge, and a resist fire spell over the bones. When the last spell is cast, the bones lengthen and thicken and the creatures rises up. The the creator must make a Ravenloft Powers check for his part in this evil undertaking.</p><p><strong>Strahd's Skeletal Steeds:</strong> Strahd’s skeletal steeds are magically animated undead horses, created as guardians and warriors by the master vampire Strahd Von Zarovich.</p><p>Further, only Strahd Von Zarovich knows the arcane ritual necessary to make them. He can make them only from horse skeletons where 90% of the bones and the skull are present. It is not known if other animals can be animated from the same spell, but given the power of the Lord of Barovia, and his ties to the evil forces of necromancy, this seems probable.</p><p><strong>Treant Undead:</strong> When an evil treant sees that its many years are soon to come to an end, it seldom accepts this fate quietly. For most, this means a final, wild orgy of violence and death. For a few, however, it means death and resurrection as a thing so dark and evil that even the Vistani will not speak of it.</p><p>Undead treants seem to be a natural stage in the life cycle of some evil treants. No doubt this is given as a “reward” for their evil lives by the Dark Powers.</p><p><strong>Valpurgeist:</strong> The valpurgeist, or hanged man, is an undead creature that is sometimes manifested when an innocent man or woman is wrongly hanged for a crime. Unable to prove its innocence in life, it returns after death to claim the lives of those who sent it to the gallows.</p><p><strong>Vampire Dwarf:</strong> Those dwarves that fall prey to the undead will often become themselves undead. Three days after any character dies from the vampire’s vitality draining, they will rise again if certain conditions are met. First, and most importantly, the victim must have been a dwarf. Vampire dwarves who kill elves or humans will not create new vampires, for only their own kind can be brought back to unlife by them. Further, the body must be intact. Second, the body must be placed in a stone coffin or sarcophagus and then entombed in some subterranean place. A typical burial service will meet this requirement, while placement in a crypt on the surface will not. Finally, the dwarven vampire must visit the body of its victim on the third night after burial and sprinkle the body with powdered metals. As soon as this is done, the new vampire is born. </p><p><strong>Vampire Elf:</strong> Any elf or half-elf who falls to the essence draining attack of an elven vampire will rise again as an elven vampire so long as the body is intact after three days. If the body has been destroyed or mutilated, the transformation is averted, and the dead character may rest in peace. However, any attempt to revive the slain character (with a resurrection spell, for example) has a flat 50% chance of transforming the character into a vampire once the spell is cast.</p><p><strong>Vampire Gnome:</strong> Gnomish vampires seldom create others of their kind. When they opt to do so, however, the process is not without risk. The vampire must first slay a victim with its debilitating touch and then move the body to the sarcophagus in which the vampire itself sleeps. For the next three days, the body must lie in the coffin while the vampire rests atop it, allowing its essences to seep slowly into the evolving vampire. At the end of this time, the slain gnome rises as a fully functioning vampire, completely under the control of its creator. While the gnome vampire rests atop its coffin, it is unable to regenerate any lost hit points or employ any of its spell-like abilities. Thus, the creature is far more vulnerable to attack at this time than it normally might be. In addition, it cannot interrupt the creation process once it has begun or both the would-be vampire and its creator will die.</p><p><strong>Vampire Halfling:</strong> The vampire can make more of its kind only by slaying other halflings with its energy-sapping attack. In order to create a new vampire, the halfling need do nothing more than keep the body of its victim intact for 7 days after death and a new vampire will be created.</p><p><strong>Vampire Kender:</strong> The strange and foul magics that created them have forged an unbreakable bond between them and the realm of Lord Soth. </p><p>Knowing the revulsion that the elves who live in his domain feel for all manner of unnatural things, Soth felt that he could find no better slaves than a band of undead. Aware that undead elves might pose a threat to his own power, Soth set about the creation of a new breed of undead. Drawing a small kender village through the misty veils of Ravenloft and into his domain, he had them killed one by one so that he could study their sufferings and invoke carefully designed magical rituals over their bodies in attempts to make them rise as undead. By the time he had finished with these sad kender, fully half of them had died horrible deaths and suffered unspeakable torment at the hand of the dreaded deathknight. The results of his experiments were, however, satisfactory to Soth, for he discovered a formula that would create a race of vampires utterly loyal to him. It is believed that Soth has created no fewer than 10 such monsters and no more than 30, although hard evidence to support any given estimate is hard to come by.</p><p>Kender vampires can exist only within the confines of Lord Soth’s domain of Sithicus. They are tied to that dark land in some mystical way that, no doubt, relates to the evil magic used in their creation. It is possible that Lord Soth was required to invoke the favor of the Dark Powers in his creation of these dreaded monsters and, thus, that he has paid some horrible price for their loyalty to him.</p><p><strong>Zombie Lord:</strong> The zombie lord is a living creature that has taken on the foul powers and abilities of the undead. They are formed on rare occasions as the result of a raise dead spell cast while in the demiplane of Ravenloft.</p><p>The zombie lord comes into being by chance, and only under certain conditions. First, an evil human being (the soon-to-be zombie lord) must die at the hands of an unread creature. Second, an attempt to raise the slain character must be made. Third, and last, the character must fail his resurrection survival roll.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature then hunts down those men who served it in life and kills them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil band will again plague the lands.</p><p>Any human or demihuman slain by Hesketh will become a ghoul; only if the body is blessed is this horrible fate averted. If the victim is raised or resurrected without being blessed, he or she will rise at once as a ravening ghoul. Of course, if the body is destroyed – for example, if Hesketh and his associates eat their victim – it cannot become a ghoul.</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast:</strong> The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed).</p><p>If the body of a ghoul lord's rotting disease victim is not destroyed, they will rise as a ghast on the third night after their death.</p><p>Long ago, Hesketh was a senior priest in the cult of the false god Zhakata led by Yagno Petrovna, the lord of G’henna. As Petrovna’s chief Inquisitor, among his horrid duties were dreadful arts of torture and sacrifice; secretly, he practiced cannibalism on the corpses of his hapless victims. Over the years, these unholy practices warped his soul and, upon his death, transformed him into an undead fiend.</p><p>When Hesketh died, a terrible curse fell upon him. The origins of this curse may lie in his own taste for human flesh or in the dying oaths of his countless victims. Whatever the source, this curse saw him transformed into a foul thing of the night. </p><p><strong>Lich Bardic:</strong> Throughout the domains of Ravenloft and in countless other worlds, there are few creatures more terrible than the lich. In most cases, these diabolical creatures seek out the means by which they attain unread status, willingly sacrificing their humanity in the quest for forbidden knowledge and unchecked power. In rare cases, the curse of eternal life has been thrust upon somone quite accidentally. Such tragedies are few and far between, but sadly they do occur. </p><p>As Andre Duvall explored this terrible place, Azalin discovered his trespasses and confronted him. Enraged at this violation of his hospitality, the lich unleashed a stroke of magical lightning at the bard. Reacting quickly, Duvall attempted to shield himself with the great book he had been about to examine. The lightning struck the tome, which happened to be one of Azalin’s most potent books of spells, and a terrible explosion shook the castle. Showers of blazing fragments ignited fires around the room and thick, acrid smoke boiled into the air.</p><p>Dazed, but amazed that he had survived at all, Duvall fled. Azalin, intent on saving his magical laboratory, did not pursue. Thus, Duvall escaped and went into hiding.</p><p>As the days passed, it became more and more clear to Duvall that the accident in the laboratory had made some great change in his body. To his horror, he found that his heart no longer beat and that he did not breathe. He had not survived the attack, after all. </p><p><strong>Mummy Greater:</strong> Most greater mummies were created by the dread lord of Har’Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. Senmet, however, was given his power and undead stature by Isu Rehkotep, a priestess who stumbled upon a magical scroll. </p><p>A young priestess named Isu Rehkotep discovered a magical scroll. She saw at once that it was the process by which Anhktepot created his dreadful greater mummies.</p><p>Now a minion of evil, Rehkotep recovered the mysterious scroll that she had hidden away so long ago. She began to study it and to make plans for its use. What Rehkotep did not fully understand at the time was that her scroll fragments were incomplete. She was able to awaken Senmet, but not to exercise complete control over his actions as she had expected. </p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> With her last breath, she cried out for someone, anyone, to save her from death, swearing that she would do anything to keep her existence from ending like this. Then she closed her eyes and felt the bitter cold around her steal the pitiful remains of her body’s warmth.</p><p>Somewhere in the darkness of Ravenloft, her pleas were heard. A strange darkness, deeper than the blackness of the cave, seeped out of the soul of the mountain. It coiled around the young woman’s body like an ebony snake. Two pinpoints of red light like eyes smoldered to life, yet drove away none of the darkness. Then, like a cobra striking, the blackness plunged into Jezra’s body.</p><p>As the last traces of the shade vanished into the corporeal flesh of the woman, Jezra twitched and her face contorted in agony. Unseen in her tomb, her body thrashed about violently for several seconds and then was forever still.</p><p>Gradually, a cold glow filled the cave. Jezra blinked and opened her eyes. She could feel her hands and her feet again. The air no longer choked her. The cold, however, was redoubled. Her flesh seemed to tremble endlessly, and her bones pounded with an arthritic ache. She cried out in agony and rose to her feet.</p><p>Her only thought was to somehow escape from this icy darkness; had she looked down, she might have seen her own body, unmoving in death. Instead, she plunged desperately into the rocks and ice blocking her escape, passing through them as if they were but fog to her.</p><p><strong>Vampire Illithid:</strong> Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. </p><p><strong>Vampire Eastern:</strong> In the end, the samurai was triumphant. Sadly, he too was dying. The vampire had tasted his life essence and left his soul drained and tainted. With a final prayer to his ancestors, he died. </p><p>To his surprise, he awoke a day or so later. His wounds, it seemed, were completely healed. Indeed, he felt better than he ever had before. He left the vampire’s lair and headed out of the cave. With luck, he hoped to rejoin his sisters before they left the island. As he reached the cave’s mouth and stepped out into the sunlight, he found himself wracked with horrible pain. He turned and tossed himself back into the cool darkness of the cavern just in time. With horror, he realized that he himself had become undead. </p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature then hunts down those men who served it in life and kills them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil band will again plague the lands.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed).</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Zombie Lord odor of death ability. [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17524/Monstrous-Compendium--Ravenloft-Appendix-III-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix III</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Akikage:</strong> The akikage (ah-ki-ka-gee), or shadow ninja, is the spirit of an oriental assassin who died while stalking an important victim. In life, the akikage was obsessed with duty and discipline. </p><p><strong>Boneless:</strong> Boneless are without doubt the most foul result of all dark inquiries into necromancy. Created out of corpses from which the bones have been stripped, these mindless creatures exist only to execute the commands of their creator. </p><p>These creatures are the result of dark experiments conducted by the wizard Faylorn while staying as a guest of the lich lord Azalin at his keep in Darkon. He found that, under the right conditions, he could animate the bones and body of a corpse quite independently. Since that time, Faylorn’s methodology has spread and others have learned how to create these foul things. </p><p>Boneless have no role in nature and are purely the result of dark magic. It is said that the magic by which they are created is similar in many ways to the well-known animate dead spell, but that its material components are somewhat different. There is much evidence to support the belief that this spell functions only within on the Demiplane of Dread.</p><p><strong>Cat Skeletal:</strong> Skeletal cats are the ambulatory remains of pets who have clawed their way back from the grave to avenge themselves upon masters who treated them poorly or ended their lives. </p><p>It can scarce be argued that cats are the most noble and majestic of household pets. When one of these stately creatures suffers and dies from the abuse of a cruel master, it sometimes returns in the form of a skeletal cat. </p><p><strong>Cloaker Undead:</strong> The undead cloaker is a foul and dangerous creature that is believed to be the earthly remains of a resplendent cloaker that has had its life drained away by the living dead. </p><p><strong>Corpse Candle:</strong> The corpse candle is the undead spirit of a murdered man or woman that coerces the living into bringing its killer to justice. </p><p><strong>Familiar Undead:</strong> An undead familiar is a sinister being that is created whenever a wizard is directly responsible for the death of his own familiar. By betraying the mystical bonds that link the spellcaster to his companion, the wizard brings into existence a vile creature that seeks only to destroy him. </p><p><strong>Geist:</strong> A geist is created when a person dies traumatically. Usually there is some deed left undone or some penance to be paid. The spirit of the person refuses to leave the plane (or demiplane) on which he died, becoming a geist instead. </p><p><strong>Geist Greater:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Animal:</strong> Animal ghosts are the spirits of woodland creatures that died under some unusual circumstance. In the case of pets, they may have been killed while attempting to serve their masters. For wild beasts, it may be that they died while in a panic or other emotionally charged state. </p><p><strong>Ghost Animal Bear:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Animal Boar Wild:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Animal Horse Wild:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Animal Lion Mountain:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Animal Stag:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Animal Wolf:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Hag Spectral:</strong> A spectral hag is the undead spirit of a hag who died during an evil ceremony. </p><p><strong>Hag Spectral Annis:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Hag Spectral :</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Hag Spectral :</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Hound Phantom:</strong> A phantom hound is a dog so devoted to its former master that it returns after its death to guard that master’s property or final resting place. </p><p>First noted in Sanguinia, a phantom hound is always some very large dog such as a mastiff, wolfhound, or Great Dane. Due to the corrupting influences of the Demiplane of Dread, the faithful canine is transformed into a terrifying, coal black creature with spectral eyes that glow a deep green. </p><p><strong>Hound Skeletal:</strong> Skeletal hounds are the magically animated skeletons of dogs created as guardians by evil wizards or priests. Originally created by Spelaka of Mordent, a reclusive necromancer, the creatures appear to have no ligaments, muscles, or joinings that would hold their bones together and allow movement, They lack internal organs, flesh, and eyes. They are given the semblance of life and held together by the magic of an animate dead spell. </p><p><em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Jolly Roger:</strong> A jolly roger is the undead spirit of a pirate or buccaneer who died at sea. These foul creatures were usually captains or officers while living, and retain their taste for command after death. </p><p>Jolly rogers are evil, undead creatures native to the demiplane of Ravenloft. For some reason, they are tied to that region and are never encountered elsewhere. </p><p><strong>Lich Defiler:</strong> In life, defiler liches were spellcasters of great power who learned to garner their magical energies from the very land around them. </p><p>No one seems to know where the first defiler lich came from. With the many gapes and portals existing in the demiplane, it is most likely that the foul things came from some other place far removed from Ravenloft. Rumors abound that the world of their origin was blasted into desert by their ilk, but thus far no proof has been offered of this theory. </p><p>Defiler liches gain their status in the same way that other liches do. This includes the construction of a phylactery and its enchantment. </p><p><strong>Demi-Defiler:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich Drow:</strong> Both drow and drider liches are created in the same manner as their human cousins, including the creation and enchantment of a phylactery. </p><p><strong>Lich Drow Drider:</strong> A very few driders have escaped to continue their studies, and perhaps even to seek revenge on those who twisted their bodies into their present state. Of these, a few have eventually pursued their black arts into the realm of lichdom. </p><p>Driders are the forlorn of Lolth. Years ago these pathetic wretches failed the cruel tests of their spider goddess and were sentenced to a lifetime of suffering in the miserable half-form of spider and drow. A few of these creature’s fates were tragic enough to attract the attentions of the Demiplane of Dread, and there the pitiful driders found a home. A very few of these continued in their magical research and eventually mastered the magics that made them liches. </p><p><strong>Lich Drow Wizard:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich Drow Priestess:</strong> Devout followers of the drow spider-goddess, Lolth, are sometimes rewarded with immortality through the transformation into lichdom. </p><p><strong>Demilich Drow:</strong> Wizard and priest drow may become demiliches in the usual manner. </p><p><strong>Lich Elemental:</strong> Elemental liches are diabolical wizards who studied and mastered the use of Ravenloft’s strange elements before or during their undeath. </p><p>An elemental lich’s phylactery must first be buried in a nearby grave. Then a great fire of burning bones is ignited on that spot. Blood is then poured over the ashes and allowed to soak into the ground. If the elemental powers decide to grant the lich its powers, the mists of the demiplane will roll in and obscure the site from prying eyes. </p><p><strong>Demi-Elemental Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich Psionic:</strong> There are few who dare to argue that the power of a master psionicist is any less than that of an archmage. Proof of this can be found in the fact that the most powerful psionicists are actually able to extend their lives beyond the spans granted them by nature, just as powerful wizards are known to do. </p><p>Psionic liches are powerful espers who have left behind the physical demands of life in pursuit of ultimate mental powers. </p><p>Although the power that transformed them is natural (not supernatural, as it is with other liches), the extent to which psionic liches have pursued their goals is not natural. By twisting the powers of their minds to extend their existence beyond the bounds of mortal life, psionic liches become exiles. Cast out from the land of the living, these creatures sometimes lament the foolishness that led them down the dark path of the undead. </p><p>By far the most important aspect of the existence of the psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character.The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature’s spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns, and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. </p><p>Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist’s life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete the phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. </p><p>Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is closed it cannot be reopened. </p><p>During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist’s life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place the character must make a system shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. Only the powers of a deity are strong enough to revive a character who has died in this way; even a wish will not suffice. </p><p><strong>Odem:</strong> Vicious or murderous characters of great willpower may become odems when they die. </p><p><strong>Radiant Spirit:</strong> A radiant spirit is the ghost of a powerful paladin or lawful good cleric killed while pursuing a holy cause. The anguish that fills his heart traps his spirit on the demiplane and taunts him with the failure of his quest. </p><p>A priest or paladin who dies while pursuing a just cause may rise as a radiant spirit 2-8 (2d4) months after his death. In order for a radiant spirit to be formed, however, the quest that the character was on must be one of extreme importance. As a rule, the failure of this mission must result in something as terrible as the utter collapse of the character’s church. </p><p><strong>Remnant Aquatic:</strong> Remnants are the spirits of humans and humanoids whose former bodies have been thrown into an unconsecrated, watery grave after they have died of acute stress and exhaustion. The callous way in which they have been disposed of after a torturous and miserable life leaves them in a state of such sorrow that they cannot completely leave the material world behind, and they lurk in the pools and rivers where their bodies were abandoned. </p><p><strong>Runner Dune:</strong> See Dune Runner.</p><p><strong>Rushlight:</strong> Rushlights are formed when an evil being is burned alive on a funeral pyre. The soul flees the smoldering shell and attempts to escape into the night. Before the spirit can break free of its earthly bonds, it merges with the all-consuming fires and acquires their power. </p><p><strong>Skeleton Archer:</strong> Archer skeletons are magically animated humanoid undead monsters created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests. Such creatures are crafted from the bones of dead archers using an animate dead spell. The creator must also bond a blooded arrowhead to the skull of each skeleton. During the animation process the arrowhead fuses with the skeleton’s skull. </p><p>Archer skeletons are said to have first been created by a zealous necromancer named Karakin. Karakin wished to murder all the people of his land so that he would be the only human living there. Once this was accomplished, Karakin would surround himself with undead courtiers far more loyal than any living vassals. Creating a vast army of archer skeletons and other undead, Karakin prepared to march, but the sheer force of his malice proved virulent enough to carry him instead through the mists and into Ravenloft. </p><p>Where Karakin resides now is unknown, but his skeletal archers and the secret of their construction have come into the hands of a growing number of nefarious individuals. </p><p><strong>Skeleton Insectiod:</strong> These nightmarish automatons are the animated exoskeletons of dead insects. Evil priests and wizards, bent on manipulating nature for their own nefarious purposes, create these chitinous monstrosities with animate dead spells in a process almost identical to that used in the creation of normal skeletons.</p><p>Insectoid skeletons are created with the use of a special version of the animate dead spell. It is believed that this spell was created by a drow necromancer, but the truth of that supposition is unknown. </p><p><strong>Skeleton Insectiod Giant Ant:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Insectiod Giant Tick:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Insectiod Stag Beetle:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Strahd:</strong> Strahd skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by Count Strahd Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of Barovia. </p><p>Only Strahd Von Zarovich knows the arcane ritual that brings about their creation. For raw material, he requires human skeletons that still include the skull and 90% of the bones. What other foul components might be required are known only to the dread master of Ravenloft.</p><p><strong>Spirit Psionic:</strong> Two theories exist as to the origin of psionic spirits. The first states that such monsters are actually psionicists who somehow become trapped within their shadow form. Eventually the torment of their hideous half-existence drives such individuals into madness, evil, and at the last into the arms of the Dark Powers, who grant the psionicist its ghostly form. The second theory simply asserts that psionic spirits were once evil psionicists who suffered a violent death while using their mental powers. Somehow the spirits of such psionicists remain in the world in the form of psionic ghosts.</p><p><strong>Vampire Drow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Nosferatu:</strong> Those who die from the nosferatu’s bloody kiss rise again as half-strength creatures subject to the will of their creator. </p><p><strong>Vampire Oriental:</strong> Any human slain by the life draining attack of an oriental vampire is doomed to become such a creature himself. The victim rises the night after burial, a powerful pawn to its evil creator. If the victim is never buried, he will not become a vampire. This is the reason it is traditional to cremate the bodies of those suspected to have lost their lives to a vampire. </p><p><strong>Zombie Cannibal:</strong> Anyone bitten by a cannibal zombie must make a saving throw vs. poison. Success indicates that the creature’s poisonous saliva has had no effect. Failure means that the victim will soon become a new cannibal zombie himself unless a cure disease spell is cast upon him quickly. Within 2-8 (2d4) rounds after failing the saving throw the victim begins to feel a gnawing hunger. Every other round thereafter the victim must make a Constitution check. When this check fails, the victim is killed by the fast-acting poison in his veins and moves to join his new brethren in attacking the fully living. Once this happens, a cure disease spell will have no effect on the new zombie. A slow poison spell will retard the poison’s onset, but this only delays the inevitable.</p><p>It is not known how cannibal zombies first came into existence. </p><p><strong>Zombie Desert:</strong> Desert zombies are animated corpses controlled by their creator, the evil mummy Senment. In recent years, rumors have arisen that other powerful spellcasters in the domain of Har’Akir have begun to create these things, but this has yet to be proven. </p><p>The greater mummy, Senmet, created the first desert zombies. He sacrificed all of his spell casting power to be able to create and control an army of these nightmares, as well as to take limited control over the domain of Har’Akir. </p><p>Any character who dies from the disease transmitted by the touch of the greater mummy becomes a desert zombie. It takes a full day after death for the corpse to animate. If the body is destroyed during that time, it will not be animated. </p><p><strong>Zombie Strahd:</strong> Strahd zombies are a unique form of undead created only by Count Strahd Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of Barovia. </p><p>They are created with an arcane formula known only to Strahd Von Zarovich. He can create them only from the dead bodies of humans.</p><p><strong>Zombie Wolf:</strong> Zombie Wolves are not created by a wizard or a priest, but are a creation of the domain of Forlorn itself. </p><p>Zombie wolves rise from the dead when the body of any regular wolf in the domain of Forlorn is not decapitated after it is killed. If this gruesome task is not carried out, the corpse of the wolf rises as a zombie 2d8 days after it has died.</p><p>It is generally thought that the creatures gain this strange form of existence from contact with the land itself, which channels energy from the Negative Material Plane. Some sages speculate that simply preventing the wolf carcass from having any contact with the ground for a full eight days will prevent it from rising as a zombie, but in the absence of any practical application of this theory, it remains unproven.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> If the mage is slain by his undead familiar he will rise again as a ghoul.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Whenever an archer skeleton's arrow fails to hit its target, the DM should make a saving throw vs. crushing blow for the arrow. If the saving throw fails the shaft simply breaks and becomes useless. If it is successful, however, the arrow remains intact and rapidly (1 round) grows into a skeleton with all the normal abilities of those undead. </p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Any creature that is drained to zero level by an undead cloaker or its host will return from the grave in 1d4 days as a common zombie.</p><p><strong>Zombie Sea:</strong> Those slain by a jolly roger’s touch will rise as sea zombies in 24 hours unless their bodies are blessed and then committed to the deep in a traditional burial at sea. Raise dead, resurrection, or wish will also counter this if used carefully and promptly. </p><p>Anyone living who attempts to board the jolly roger’s ship must save vs. death magic or be transformed into a sea zombie. [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Monstrous Compendium Savage Coast[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Arasheem:</strong> These undead araneas retain the High Intelligence of the spider-humanoid race and still possess superior magical ability. Though they are rumored to be failed liches, no proof of this fact has been discovered.</p><p><strong>Cursed One:</strong> The onset of the Red Curse always causes the loss of ability score points, and in some cases, cinnabryl cannot be found in time to stop this loss after the first point. When any of a person's ability scores is lowered to 0, that person dies. If special measures are not taken, that person will rise again as a cursed one.</p><p>To prevent the rise of a cursed one, one ounce of cinnabryl must be buried with the remains of anyone who dies from the attribute point loss brought on by the Red Curse.</p><p>Cursed ones are also sometimes created by the touch of an Inheritor lich. </p><p>The touch of an inheritor lich automatically kills any individual who has one or more attribute scores (with the exception of Charisma) reduced to 0 or less. The next night, however, that victim will rise as a cursed one. </p><p><strong>Deathmare:</strong> A deathmares is the spirit of a horse that was abused and killed by an evil, sadistic owner. They return from the dead to exact revenge on all horsemen, regardless of alignment, feeding on the life forces of the riders they kill.</p><p><strong>Lich Inheritor:</strong> These vile undead creatures are the remnants of high-level Inheritors who sought to increase their power. Through arcane, alchemical processes, they transform from living beings into powerful undead creatures. </p><p>Inheritor liches were once 15th-level Inheritors, possessing seven Legacies before transformation. No Inheritor lich of greater or lesser power has been reported. Some sages speculate that such a creature's power is limited by the transformation process, but others claim that the reason a more powerful Inheritor lich has not been encountered is because no Inheritor of greater power has attempted the transformation-yet.</p><p>To become an Inheritor lich, an Inheritor must first construct the item that will hold his life essence. This must be done by the prospective lich-never by a second party. Ideally, the red steel used in the creation of the item was worn as cinnabryl by the Inheritor. The Inheritor must also personally create a difficult alchemical preparation. This potion is something like crimson essence, but also contains steel seed, finely ground red steel, herbs, blood, and miscellaneous arcane and costly items. The exact formula is known only to a few, but it might be found in the journals of those who have attempted the process. Like crimson essence, the potion must be bathed in the magic of depleting cinnabryl for several weeks. When ready to become a lich, the Inheritor imbibes the potion; he must then make a successful system shock roll or die. If the roll is successful, the Inheritor becomes an Inheritor lich and immediately enters the Time of Change, transforming according to the Legacies possessed. However, no points are lost from ability scores during this process, and any that were subtracted previously are gained back.</p><p><strong>Nosferatu:</strong> Human or humanoid victims of a nosferatu may later become a nosferatu only if the original undead wishes it. If so, the victim rises from the dead three days after being drained of blood, unless its body was burned or totally destroyed.</p><p><strong>Spawn of Nimmur:</strong> When a powerful (11 or more Hit Die) Nimmurian manscorpion dies from exposure to sunlight, it has a 1% chance per Hit Die of becoming undead, rising as an avenging spawn of Nimmur when the sun sets. </p><p> If the ashes of a sun-burned manscorpion are sprinkled with holy water from a temple dedicated to the Immortal Idu (Ixion), blessed, and scattered to the four winds, the manscorpion cannot rise as a spawn of Nimmur.</p><p>Only very powerful manscorpions can "survive" the burning process to become true Spawn of Nimmur.</p><p><strong>Ziggurat Horror:</strong> Ziggurat horrors are intentionally made by Nimmurian priests, under carefully controlled conditions.</p><p><strong>Sprit Heroic:</strong> The heroic spirit is an undead entity who died while attempting to perform some especially heroic deed or defeat some dastardly villain.</p><p><strong>Yeshom:</strong> Yeshoms are the undead remnants of aranean mages who sought power, got it, and paid too high a price.</p><p>Yeshoms came into being about 1,500 years ago, when a group of Herathian mages cooperated in an effort to gain immortality, augment the natural shapechanging abilities of the aranean race, and gain additional spellcasting power.</p><p>Their research effort succeeded in all three of these goals, discovering a method by which a powerful aranea could be transformed into a new form with vastly greater power. A number of Herath's best and finest mages volunteered for the treatment and were transformed into yeshoms, before the process's horrible side effects were discovered. </p><p><strong>Zombie Red:</strong> Red zombies are usually formed when a wicked mage or priest uses the spell animate dead to enchant the corpse of an Afflicted person. A red zombie will sometimes spontaneously form when somebody dies from the "red blight," a form of illness that causes non-Legacy using creatures, or those beyond the limits of the Haze, who wear cinnabryl to lose 1 point of Constitution per day until dead. A person who dies from the red blight and is not blessed during the burial has a 10% chance of rising one day later as a red zombie.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16865/Monstrous-Manual-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Monstrous Manual</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Banshee, Groaning Spirit:</strong> The banshee or groaning spirit, is the spirit of an evil female elf -- a very rare thing indeed.</p><p><strong>Beholder Undead:</strong> Death tyrants occur spontaneously in very rare instances. In most cases, they are created through the magic of evil beings -- from human mages to illithid villains. Some outcast, magic-using beholders have even been known to create death tyrants from their own unfortunate brethren.</p><p>Death tyrants are created from dying beholders. A spell, thought to have been developed by human mages in the remote past, forces a beholder from a living to an undead state, and imprints its brain with instructions.</p><p><strong>Doomsphere:</strong> This ghost-like undead beholder is created by magical explosions.</p><p><strong>Kasharin:</strong> An undead beholder, it passes on the rotting disease which killed it.</p><p><strong>Crawling Claw:</strong> The much feared crawling claw is frequently employed as a guardian by those mages and priests who have learned the secret of its creation.</p><p>Claws are the animated remains of hands or paws of living creatures.</p><p>Crawling claws are nothing more than the animated hands and paws of once-living creatures.</p><p>Crawling claws can be created by any mage or priest who has knowledge of the techniques required to do so. To begin with, the creator must assemble the severed limbs that are to animated. The maximum number of claws that can be created at any one time is equal to the level of the person enchanting them. The hands (or paws) can be either fresh, skeletal, or at any stage of decomposition in between.</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing:</strong> There are two types of crypt things -- ancestral and summoned. The former type are “natural” creatures, while the others are called into existence by a wizard or priest of at least 14th level.</p><p>The most common crypt thing is the summoned variety. By use of a 7th-level spell, any caster capable of employing necromantic spells can create a crypt thing.</p><p>Ancestral crypt things are the raised spirits of the dead that have returned to guard the tombs of their descendants. This happens only in rare cases (determined by the DM).</p><p><strong>Death Knight:</strong> death knight is the horrifying corruption of a paladin or lawful good warrior cursed by the gods to its terrible form as punishment for betraying the code of honor it held in life.</p><p>Death knights are former good warriors who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason.</p><p><strong>Dracolich:</strong> The dracolich is an undead creature resulting from the unnatural transformation of an evil dragon. The mysterious Cult of the Dragon practices the powerful magic necessary for the creation of the dracolich, though other practitioners are also rumored to exist.</p><p>A dracolich can be created from any of the evil dragon subspecies.</p><p>The creation of a dracolich is a complex process involving the transformation of an evil dragon by arcane magical forces, the most notorious practitioners of which are members of the Cult of the Dragon. The process is usually a cooperative effort between the evil dragon and the wizards, but especially powerful wizards have been known to coerce an evil dragon to undergo the transformation against its will.</p><p>Any evil dragon is a possible candidate for transformation, although old dragons or older with spell-casting abilities are preferred. Once a candidate is secured, the wizards first prepare the dragon's host, an inanimate object that will hold the dragon's life force. The host must be a solid item of not less than 2,000 gp value resistant to decay (wood, for instance, is unsuitable). A gemstone is commonly used for a host, particularly ruby, pearl, carbuncle, and jet, and is often set in the hilt of a sword or other weapon. The host is prepared by casting enchant an item upon it and speaking the name of the evil dragon; the item may resist the spell by successfully saving vs. spell as an 11th-level wizard. If the spell is resisted, another item must be used for the host. If the spell is not resisted, the item can then function as a host. If desired, glassteel can be cast upon the host to protect it.</p><p>Next, a special potion is prepared for the evil dragon to consume. The exact composition of the potion varies according to the age and type of the dragon, but it must contain precisely seven ingredients, among them a potion of evil dragon control, a potion of invulnerability, and the blood of a vampire. When the evil dragon consumes the potion, the results are determined as follows (roll percentile dice):</p><p>Roll Result </p><p>01-10 No effect. </p><p>11-40 Potion does not work. The dragon suffers 2d12 points of damage and is helpless</p><p> with convulsions for 1-2 rounds. </p><p>41-50 Potion does not work. The dragon dies. A full wish or similar spell is needed to</p><p> restore the dragon to life; a wish to transform the dragon into a dracolich results </p><p> in another roll on this table.</p><p>51-00 Potion works.</p><p>If the potion works, the dragon's spirit transfers to the host, regardless of the distance between the dragon's body and the host. A dim light within the host indicates the presence of the spirit. While contained in the host, the spirit cannot take any actions; it cannot be contacted nor attacked by magic. The spirit can remain in the host indefinitely.</p><p>Once the spirit is contained in the host, the host must be brought within 90 feet of a reptilian corpse; under no circumstances can the spirit possess a living body. The spirit's original body is ideal, but the corpse of any reptilian creature that died or was killed within the previous 30 days is suitable.</p><p>The wizard who originally prepared the host must touch the host, cast a magic jar spell while speaking the name of the dragon, then touch the corpse. The corpse must fail a saving throw vs. spell for the spirit to successfully possess it; if it saves, it will never accept the spirit. The following modifiers apply to the roll:</p><p>-10 if the corpse is the spirit's own former body (which can be dead for any length of time).</p><p>-4 if the corpse is of the same alignment as the dragon.</p><p>-4 if the corpse is that of a true dragon (any type).</p><p>-3 if the corpse is that of a firedrake, ice lizard, wyvern, or fire lizard.</p><p>-1 if the corpse is that of a dracolisk, dragonne, dinosaur, snake, or other reptile.</p><p>If the corpse accepts the spirit, it becomes animated by the spirit. If the animated corpse is the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a dracolich; however, it will not regain the use of its voice and breath weapon for another seven days (note that it will not be able to cast spells with verbal components during this time). At the end of seven days, the dracolich regains the use of its voice and breath weapon.</p><p>If the animated corpse is not the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a proto-dracolich. A proto-dracolich has the mind and memories of its original form, but has the hit points and immunities to spells and priestly turning of a dracolich. A proto-dracolich can neither speak nor cast spells; further, it cannot cause chilling damage, use a breath weapon, or cause fear as a dracolich. Its strength, movement, and Armor Class are those of the possessed body.</p><p>To become a full dracolich, a proto-dracolich must devour at least 10% of its original body. Unless the body has been dispatched to another plane of existence, a proto-dracolich can always sense the presence of its original body, regardless of the distance. A proto-dracolich will tirelessly seek out its original body to the exclusion of all other activities. If its original body has been burned, dismembered, or otherwise destroyed, the proto-dracolich need only devour the ashes or pieces equal to or exceeding 10% of its original body mass (total destruction of the original body is possible only through use of a disintegrate or similar spell; the body could be reconstructed with a wish or similar spell, so long as the spell is cast in the same plane as the disintegration). If a proto-dracolich is unable to devour its original body, it is trapped in its current form until slain.</p><p>A proto-dracolich transforms into a full dracolich within seven days after it devours its original body. When the transformation is complete, the dracolich resembles its original body; it can now speak, cast spells, and employ the breath weapon of its original body, in addition to having all of the abilities of a dracolich.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Ghosts are the spirits of humans who were either so greatly evil in life or whose deaths were so unusually emotional they have been cursed with the gift of undead status.</p><p>Another common reason for an individual to become a ghost is the denial of a proper burial.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Any human or demi-human (except elves) killed by a ghoulish attack will become a ghoul unless blessed (or blessed and then resurrected).</p><p><strong>Ghoul Lacedon:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Heucuva:</strong> Legends tell that heucuva are the restless spirits of monastic priests who were less than faithful to their holy vows.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> In order to become a lich, the wizard must prepare its phylactery by the use of the enchant an item, magic jar, permanency and reincarnation spells. The phylactery, which can be almost any manner of object, must be of the finest craftsmanship and materials with a value of not less than 1,500 gold pieces per level of the wizard. Once this object is created, the would-be lich must craft a potion of extreme toxicity, which is then enchanted with the following spells: wraithform, permanency, cone of cold, feign death, and animate dead. When next the moon is full, the potion is imbibed. Rather than death, the potion causes the wizard to undergo a transformation into its new state. A system shock survival throw is required, with failure indicating an error in the creation of the potion which kills the wizard and renders him forever dead.</p><p><strong>Lich Demilich:</strong> It is the stage into which a lich will eventually evolve as the power which has sustained its physical form gradually begins to fail.</p><p><strong>Lich Archlich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> Mummies are corpses native to dry desert areas, where the dead are entombed by a process known as mummification. When their tombs are disturbed, the corpses become animated into a weird unlife state, whose unholy hatred of life causes them to attack living things without mercy.</p><p>Mummies are the product of an embalming process used on wealthy and important personages. Most mummies are corpses without magical properties. On occasion, perhaps due to powerful evil magic or perhaps because the individual was so greedy in life that he refuses to give up his treasure, the spirit of the mummified person will not die, but taps into energy from the Positive Material plane and is transformed into an undead horror.</p><p>To create a mummy, a corpse should be soaked in a preserving solution (typically carbonate of soda) for several weeks and covered with spices and resins. Body organs, such as the heart, brain, and liver, are typically removed and sealed in jars.</p><p>When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10+2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies.</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater:</strong> Also known as Anhktepot's Children, greater mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding of a burial place.</p><p>Greater mummies are powerful undead creatures that are usually created from the mummified remains of powerful, evil priests. This being the case, the greater mummy now draws its mystical abilities from evil powers and darkness. In rare cases, however, the mummified priests served non-evil god in life and are still granted the powers they had in life from those gods.</p><p>The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the Lord of Har'akir, in the years before he became undead himself.</p><p>The process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har'akir.</p><p><strong>Poltergeist:</strong> Some say that poltergeists are the spirits of those who committed heinous crimes that went unpunished in life. </p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> Revenants are vengeful spirits that have risen from the grave to destroy their killers.</p><p>Under exceptional circumstances, a character who has died a violent death may rise as a revenant from the grave to wreak vengeance on his killer(s). In order to make this transition, two requirements must be met. The dead character's Constitution must be 18 and either his Wisdom or Intelligence must be greater than 16. Also, the total of his six ability scores must be 90 or more. Even if these conditions are met, there is only a 5% chance that the dead character becomes a revenant.</p><p>If both Intelligence and Wisdom are over 16, the chance increases to 10%.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> If a human or demihuman opponent is reduced to zero Strength or zero hit points by a shadow, the shadow has drained the life force and the opponent becomes a shadow as well.</p><p>According to most knowledgeable sages, shadows appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse laid upon some long-dead enemy. The curse affects only humans and demihumans, so it would seem that it affects the soul or spirit. When victims no longer can resist, either through loss of consciousness (hit points) or physical prowess (Strength points), the curse is activated and the majority of the character's essence is shifted to the Negative Material Plane.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests.</p><p>Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Animal:</strong> All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests.</p><p>Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Monster:</strong> All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests.</p><p>Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Giant:</strong> Giant skeletons are similar to the more common undead skeleton, but they have been created with a combination of spells and are, thus, far more deadly than their lesser counterparts.</p><p>In actuality, they are simply human skeletons that have been magically enlarged.</p><p>The first giant skeletons to appear in Ravenloft were created by the undead priestess Radaga in her lair within the domain of Kartakass. Others have since mastered the spells and techniques required to create these monsters; thus, giant skeletons are gradually beginning to appear in other realms where the dead and undead lurk.</p><p>They are created from the bones of those who have died and are abominations in the eyes of all who believe in the sanctity of life and goodness.</p><p>The process by which giant skeletons are created is dark and evil. Attempts to manufacture them outside of Ravenloft have failed, so it is clear that they are in some way linked to the Dark Powers themselves. In order to create a giant skeleton, a spell caster must have the intact skeleton of a normal human or demihuman. On a night when the land is draped in fog, they must cast an animate dead, produce fire, enlarge, and a resist fire spell over the bones. When the last spell is cast, the bones lengthen and thicken and the creatures rises up. The the creator must make a Ravenloft Powers check for his part in this evil undertaking.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Warrior:</strong> Formerly powerful fighters, skeleton warriors are undead lords forced into their nightmarish states by powerful wizards or evil demigods who trapped their souls in golden circlets.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Any being totally drained of life energy by a spectre becomes a full-strength spectre under the control of the spectre which drained him.</p><p>No one knows who the first spectre was or how it came to be.</p><p><strong>Troll Spectral:</strong> It is noted that a humanoid slain by a spectral troll becomes one itself in three days, unless a proper burial ceremony is performed by a priest of the victim's religion.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> Any human or humanoid creature slain by the life energy drain of a vampire is doomed to become a vampire himself. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of the creature. Those who are not actually buried, however, do not become undead and it is thus traditional that the bodies of a vampire's victims be burned or similarly destroyed.</p><p><strong>Vampire Eastern:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> The wraith is an evil undead spirit of a powerful human.</p><p>Any human killed by a wraith becomes a half-strength wraith under its control (e.g., a 10th-level fighter will become a 5 Hit Die wraith under the control of the wraith that slew him).</p><p>A wraith is an undead spirit of a powerful, evil human. </p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Zombies are mindless, animated corpses controlled by their creators, usually evil wizards or priests.</p><p>The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a zombie.</p><p>Zombie lord odor of death power.</p><p><strong>Zombie Ju-Ju:</strong> These creatures are made when a wizard drains the life force from a man-sized humanoid creature with an energy drain spell. </p><p><strong>Zombie Lord:</strong> The zombie lord is a living creature that has taken on the foul powers and abilities of the undead. They are formed on rare occasions as the result of a raise dead spell gone awry.</p><p>The zombie lord comes into being by chance, and only under certain conditions. First, an evil human must die at the hand of an undead creatures. Second, an attempt to raise the character must be made. Third, the corpse must fail its resurrection survival roll. Fourth and last, a deity of evil must show “favor'” to the deceased, and curse him or her with the “gift of eternal life.” Within one week of the raise attempt, the corpse awakens as a zombie lord.</p><p><strong>Zombie Sea:</strong> Sea zombies (also known as drowned ones) are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed and are rumored to be animated by the will of the god Nerull the Reaper (or another similar evil deity). </p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17293/A-Guide-to-the-Ethereal-Plane-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">A Guide to the Ethereal Plane</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Apparition:</strong> Sometimes when a poor sod is slain, his spirit lingers on the Border Ethereal in the form of an apparition: a skeletal being loosely wrapped in ethereal tatters that resemble cloth bandages.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> When clueless primes of great evil perish or when poor sods die a particularly traumatic or untimely death, their spirits sometimes linger to haunt the site of their passing.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17518/A-Guide-to-Transylvania-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">A Guide to Transylvania</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> At their deaths, dhampir rise as vampires and irredeemable servants of evil.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/215464/A-Light-in-the-Belfry-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">A Light in the Belfry</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lambert, Phantom:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Morgoroth, Geist:</strong> Even if Morgoroth has been killed through the destruction of the mirror in the parlor, his spirit lives on as a geist—trapped in Avonleigh by the dark powers—and he is enraged beyond mortal bounds at the heroes' actions.</p><p></p><p><strong>Banshee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Geist:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Morgoroth animates the 33 rotted bodies that lie in here, who attack as ghouls.</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Armored:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16941/Birthright-Cities-of-the-Sun-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Birthright: Cities of the Sun</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>El-Sheighul, Lord of Ghouls, Wizard 19, Lost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>The Magian, Awnshegh, Wizard 20 Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>The Rider:</strong> Folks think them undead lords, called back to life by the awnshegh the Magian's foul sorcery.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Five skeletons lie moldering before the altar—the remains of some who once served here, killed by the Masetian troops. The spirits of these priests now guard this place.</p><p><strong>Iagostes, Ghost:</strong> The Masetian soldiers cornered the high priest in Area 5b and slew him, after he'd already taken magical steps to conceal the existence of the temple's undercrypt. His mortal remains—a few blackened pieces of bone—are burned into the center of a charred circle on the west wall.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/201381/Bleak-House-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Bleak House (2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Vampire Cerebral:</strong> Only the lord of Dominia, Daclaud Heinfroth, knows the secret behind their creation.</p><p>The secret of creating cerebral vampires is known only to Daclaud Heinfroth himself.</p><p>To this day, Heinfroth is the only person who knows how to create cerebral vampires.</p><p><strong>Dr. Dominiani, Daclaud Heinfroth, Lord of Dominia, Cerebral Vampire:</strong> When he began to feel the first pangs of madness, panic overcame Heinfroth. Trying to ignore the haunting voices that filled his head and the nightmarish visions that seemed to lurk just beyond the corners of his eyesight, he set about a series of radical procedures involving direct transfusion of spinal and cerebral fluid from healthy donors to madmen. The fact that these donors had been taken against their will and were left either dead or hopelessly insane by the process did not matter to Heinfroth. After some refinement, the process seemed to be a great success. Although he knew that more work should be done before any definitive conclusions could be drawn, Heinfroth pushed ahead. At last, unwilling to wait any longer for fear that the growing madness would consume him, Heinfroth kidnapped a young woman, drained her of her cerebral fluid, and injected into himself.</p><p>What Heinfroth did not realize was that the donor for his operation had recently been visited by Duke Gundar, the vampire lord of Gundarak. Indeed, this woman was of more than just passing interest to the Duke, for she was on the verge of becoming one of his vampire "brides."</p><p>While the tainted fluids of this donor did indeed halt Heinfroth's growing madness, they also transformed him into a unique vampire.</p><p><strong>Duke Gundar, Vampire Lord of Gundarak:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Captain Ridg Baykur, Cerebral Vampire:</strong> Baykur is a loyal minion of Heinfroth, who rescued the seaman from the brink of death and showed him a new existence beyond life itself.</p><p>Shortly after Dominia joined the Core, Baykur was a common seaman who served as a hand aboard the Wailing Spectre, a merchant ship that plied the waters of the Sea of Sorrows. When his ship was attacked by pirates, Baykur and a half-dozen companions were set adrift in a life raft.</p><p>With no supplies, Baykur was forced to kill and devour his companions to survive. Even that, however, barely kept him alive. By the time his raft fetched up on the shores of Dominia, he was little more than a skeleton. Further, his wounds had become infected, and both his arms were gangrenous. Still, Baykur clung to life.</p><p>Daclaud Heinfroth respected the spirit of this man who seemingly refused to die. He saved him by turning him into a cerebral vampire.</p><p><strong>Dr. Piotr Rehner, Cerebral Vampire:</strong> A professional acquaintance of Daclaud Heinfroth, Dr. Piotr Rehner has accepted a position on the asylum staff in order to conduct his own twisted experiments. Rehner's expertise is in pain and its effects, both physical and mental, on the human body. Proof of Rehner's dedication (or madness) may be found in the fact that he agreed to be transformed into a cerebral vampire in order to continue his work.</p><p>In short, the diary tells the heroes that Rehner was contacted by a man who expressed great interest in his work. Exactly what that work might be is unstated, but the nature of the other books in the chest offers some indication of its nature. This unidentified person offered Rehner the chance to continue his work for all time in the service of Daclaud Heinfroth on the island of Dominia. After serious consideration of the proposal, Rehner agreed and was transformed into a cerebral vampire.</p><p><strong>Young Colin, Cerebral Vampire:</strong> He was in his early teens when he was transformed into a cerebral vampire, and now he eternally wears the smile of an excitable lad.</p><p>Young Colin was a wide-eyed, 13 year old boy who thought that a life on the sea would be exciting and glamorous. He decided to start his career by stowing away on a merchant ship and then revealing himself once they had cleared port. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong ship to sneak aboard. After being beat within an inch of his life, as well as having been fed upon by Captain Baykur, Colin was brought before Heinfroth. The master of Dominia saw the use for evil wearing a mask of innocence and turned the boy into a cerebral vampire.</p><p><strong>Baron Metus, Mature Vampire:</strong> As he fled from Vistani retribution, Metus came under the protection of a member of the Kargat, the secret police force of Darkon. He also soon found himself transformed into a vampire by his supposed protector.</p><p>Recognizing that she needed the aid of a powerful corporeal ally if her plans were to see fruition, Radanavich arranged for the ashes of Baron Metus to be recovered and reanimated.</p><p><strong>Madame Radanavich, Lord of Bleak House, 4th Magnitude Ghost:</strong> An enraged Van Richten descended upon the tribe, supported by a ravenous horde of undead creatures that were led by the reanimated corpse of her own son. As Madame Radanavich fell beneath Radovan's claws, she uttered the curse that would fulfill the prophesy made at her birth: "Live you always among monsters, and see everyone you love fall beneath their claws, starting with your son!"</p><p>By kidnapping his son and then cursing him to live among monsters, Madame Radanavich had set Van Richten firmly on the path he would follow for 30 years, and had thus affected countless residents of the Mists, for good and ill. Also, in the moment of her death, Madame Radanavich was so filled with hate for Van Richten that she lived on.</p><p>Although she died that night, Madame Radanavich's hate sustained both her and her tribe. The vengeful spirit lingered among the reanimated remains of her relatives, and she took charge of them in death as she had in life.</p><p><strong>Dr. Black, Cerebral Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dr. White, Cerebral Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lord Azalin:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Tavelia, Mature Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Kargat Agent:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Heinfroth's Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Treant:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Erasmus van Richten, Vampire:</strong> I learned that they had sold my beloved child to Baron Metus, a vampire. By the time I reached the Baron's tower, he had already transformed Erasmus into a foul creature of the night.</p><p><strong>Animal Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Bear:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Sobbing Spirit, Banshee:</strong> Not long ago, Baron Metus murdered a young woman in this room. At the time, he was new to the city and had not yet established the subtle feeding patterns that he now employs. So terrified was the innocent lass that her ghost still haunts this room, attacking any male heroes who enter.</p><p><strong>Daylight Ghosts:</strong> The daylight ghosts of Bleak House are corporeal spirits who endlessly repeat the day of their demise. They are the servants who worked in the house during Van Richten's childhood, and they died during a night of passion, madness, and terror. They are not controlled by Madame Radanavich but have been given existence by the spirit of the house which, recognizing that its true master has come home, is attempting to help Van Richten.</p><p><strong>Josef Bierce, Daylight Ghost, Human 0:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Elise Bierce, Daylight Ghost, Human 0:</strong> When the fateful day came, Karl presented himself to Elise and was dumfounded when she rejected him. He forced his way into her room to argue with her, but when she tried to scream he clapped a heavy hand over her mouth. He squeezed her throat so tightly and for so long that she never made another sound.</p><p><strong>Casimir, Daylight Ghost, Fighter 1:</strong> Casimir's steadfast companion in life was his hound, Thane, who watched the gate at night while his master slept. Karl poisoned the dog a few hours before he planned to "elope" with Elise. Casimir spent his last living hours searching for his canine friend. Instead, he found death at the hands of Josef.</p><p>Unfortunately for Josef, his own guilt over his crimes made him increasingly paranoid. He suspected everyone of watching him, especially the half-breed Vistani. When Josef found his ledger missing on his last day of life, he was certain Casimir had stolen it to blackmail him. He sought out Casimir and murdered him.</p><p><strong>Karl Mueller, Daylight Ghost, Fighter 3:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gretta Bierce, Daylight Ghost, Human 0:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spirits of the Night:</strong> Madame Radanavich has captured the spirits of nine people who were close to Van Richten's heart.</p><p><strong>Alannthir, 3rd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:</strong> With other brave heroes, this half-elven druid aided Van Richten in tracking the lich known as Bloody Hand. Before the band ever reached the monster's lair, Alannthir was slain during a struggle with Bloody Hand's familiar, an undead redtailed hawk.</p><p><strong>Bloody Hand Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Red Tailed Hawk Familiar:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Davvyd, 2nd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:</strong> The only time Van Richten was utterly and totally defeated was when he faced the fiend known as Drigor. Davvyd, a devout young priest of Tyr, a god of justice, was among those who fell. Drigor took particular delight in killing Davvyd, taunting him with the fact that his god was doing nothing to save him.</p><p><strong>Dr. Harmon Ruscheider, 2nd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:</strong> Once a brilliant scientific mind, Harmon Ruscheider was corrupted by the influences of a lich and died in Van Richten's arms.</p><p><strong>Erasmus van Richten, 4th Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Geddar, 3rd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:</strong> Geddar the Dwarf was a retired watchman who ran an inn in Mordentshire. When a scoundrel died with stolen burial goods in his common room, Geddar joined Van Richten in a quest to return the items to their rightful place and mollify the angry spirits. The mission was successful, but not without the cost of Geddar's life.</p><p><strong>Ingrid van Richten, 2nd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:</strong> Ingrid, Rudolph's wife and mother to his son, Erasmus, was murdered in a most brutal fashion by Baron Metus as a retaliatory gesture.</p><p><strong>Ottelie Farringer, 3rd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:</strong> After the death of his wife, Rudolph van Richten lived for many years without any thought of love or companionship—until he met the brilliant and enchanting Ottelie Farringer. A scholar rivaling Van Richten's own skill and experience, Ottelie stood with him in the fateful confrontation with Drigor. Had she lived, Van Richten may have led a far different life.</p><p><strong>Samuel, 2nd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:</strong> A young man from Mordentshire, Samuel generally tended Van Richten's herb shop when the doctor was on the road. In the end, he took up arms and stood at the Doctor's side against Drigor.</p><p><strong>Claudia DeShanes:</strong> Before she met Van Richten, Claudia looked forward to being happily married and bearing healthy children some day. When her powerful psychic abilities were awakened by Van Richten and his comrades during a ghost hunt, she joined his crusade, but fell victim to the child vampire Merilee.</p><p><strong>Merilee, Child Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spirit of Bleak House:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Cannibal Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Thane, Phantom Hound:</strong> Casimir's steadfast companion in life was his hound, Thane, who watched the gate at night while his master slept. Karl poisoned the dog a few hours before he planned to "elope" with Elise. Casimir spent his last living hours searching for his canine friend. Instead, he found death at the hands of Josef.</p><p><strong>Radovan Radanavich, Fourth Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Radovan was the son of Madame Radanavich. In life, Radovan was not an evil man. Had events been different, he would never have hated Dr. Van Richten for failing to save his life. The corrupting influence of his transformation into an undead creature forced to lead an enemy to his own tribe broke Radovan's undead mind.</p><p><strong>Tasha, Animal Ghost:</strong> Like most animal ghosts who died serving their masters, Tasha is restless because she did not manage to carry Van Richten all the way to his destination.</p><p><strong>Ghostly Boar:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Any human or humanoid creature whose Intelligence or Wisdom score is reduced to 0 by the drain of cerebral vampires is doomed to become an undead creature himself. Unlike other vampires, however, these creatures do not breed true. The secret of creating cerebral vampires is known only to Daclaud Heinfroth himself.</p><p>Instead, the victims of a cerebral vampire rise as ghouls.</p><p>As mentioned in the general description of these monsters, victims slain by other cerebral vampires rise as ghouls.</p><p>Even in death the Corvara tribe followed Madame Radanavich, their shattered bodies rising as ghouls and zombies to walk with her as she entered the Mists in search of Van Richten.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Even in death the Corvara tribe followed Madame Radanavich, their shattered bodies rising as ghouls and zombies to walk with her as she entered the Mists in search of Van Richten.</p><p>While the children do indeed learn how to weave rugs, they are kept prisoners in the mills and are fed only enough to keep them alive. Dyreth, however, need not even do that. He is a necromancer who slays the children he "apprentices" and animates them as zombies.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17478/Carnival-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Caravan</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Skurra:</strong> So where are the ghosts? They are the ghosts! Oh, sure, some might disagree with me, but I know it's true. After all, at least one of their women came here after "escaping" the death squads in Invidia. Not likely is it? She made it out, all right, but I doubt she escaped those squads alive.</p><p>Try looking at the faces under those painted masks. It's not easy. That's because there are no faces, George! The Skurra, our faithful drivers, those harmless entertainers strolling through the Carnival while juggling knives and balls, are the restless spirits of Vistani who were murdered while apart from their tribes, and now they're unable to find their way home. Like so many other lost souls, they have come to lsolde and the Carnival to find peace. And the wagons they bring and drive for us? Obviously, they are the very vardos these Vistani once lived in.</p><p>Tindal has filled your head with nonsense, telling you that the Skurra are ghosts of Vistani who failed their tribes in life. Telling you that Isolde brought the Skurra back from the land of death to protect the Carnival in its travels. No doubt some Trouper will also tell you that the Skurra conceal themselves behind false faces to hide from Death, not from the Twisting.</p><p>Vistani blood flow through the veins of the Skurra, but they are mortu, as am I. Some Skurra have lost their tribes, others were cast out. In this way we are no longer truly Vistani. For our kind, to be mortu is to exist in a cold half-life, cut off from all that fuels our passions. The Troupers do not understand our ways. They have learned that mortu can mean “undead” in your tongue. This confuses them, and the constraints of the Skurra mask have led them to see us as ghosts. Are we simply mortu, or are we undead? Pah. The difference is in the truth you choose to believe.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/200442/Caravans-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Caravans</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghul Greater:</strong> While most great ghuls are former jann, lesser ghuls are former humans. A human slain by a mage ghul may become a lesser ghul if the mage ghul sits with the human corpse for an entire night, its hands on the corpse's head. At dawn, the corpse rises as a lesser ghul. Some entities, such as noble efreeti, can transform humans to lesser ghuls, lesser ghuls to great ghuls.</p><p><strong>Ghul Lesser:</strong> While most great ghuls are former jann, lesser ghuls are former humans. A human slain by a mage ghul may become a lesser ghul if the mage ghul sits with the human corpse for an entire night, its hands on the corpse's head. At dawn, the corpse rises as a lesser ghul. Some entities, such as noble efreeti, can transform humans to lesser ghuls, lesser ghuls to great ghuls.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17564/Castle-Spulzeer-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Castle Spulzeer</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Kartak Spellseer, Lich Wizard 20 (31):</strong> Meanwhile, in the Year of the Thorns (856 DR), Kartak died by his own hand, drinking a potion that would turn him into a lich.</p><p><strong>Marble, Unique Ghost:</strong> On that horrible night years ago, when Marble's life blood spewed onto Kartak's reconstructed corpse, she willed herself to avenger her murder. So strong was her hatred of the lich and her brother Chardath, so powerful was her will, that she actually recreated herself into a unique ghost of tremendous power.</p><p><strong>Sharill Beaufort, “Selune's Daughter”, Eastern Vampire:</strong> She was made an eastern vampire when a man claiming to be an itinerant Moonbathed Priest of Selune attacked her in her own quarters in the cellar under the temple.</p><p><strong>Ghostly Apparition:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Weeping Spirit:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> These restless spirits are mostly victims of atrocities committed in the castle by Kartak and the Spellseer/Spulzeer family over the centuries (some may even be the spirits of evil ancestors).</p><p><strong>Geist:</strong> A geist is the relatively harmless undead spirit of a person who died traumatically, a transparent image of the victim at the moment of death.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> These skeletons are the result of Chardath's experimentation with his newfound magical powers.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Banshee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17476/Castles-Forlorn-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Castles Forlorn</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Rivalin ApTosh:</strong> Rivalin had lain in the mud of the battlefield that day, hovering on the brink of death, until dusk descended. Hidden as he was by the muck of blood and rain, the warrior was overlooked by soldiers who came to collect the bodies of fallen comrades. Then, with the close of day came those that feed upon the dead—and upon those about to die. Thus the last of Rivalin's life force was drained away by a vampire. Two nights later, Rivalin arose with his own, aching thirst for blood. . . .</p><p><strong>Tristen ApBlanc:</strong> One dark night in the year 1609, when Tristen had reached his midteens, Rual's fears were realized. By the light of a baleful moon, she spied him in the woods, bent over the corpse of a young doe. She thought at first that he had been hunting, but when the boy arose from the body of the animal with a crimson-smeared face, Rual knew the boy's paternity was at last telling true. The toxins in Tristen's body were finally changing him into a vampire.</p><p>Ironically, the draining of Tristen's blood while he simultaneously assimilated Rual's, infused with holy water, amounted to a transfusion that washed away the tainted poison which would have eventually turned him into a full vampire. The process was excruciatingly painful to Tristen, leading him to believe he was dying, but it was actually affecting a cure.</p><p>Nevertheless, Rual set in motion the blurring of planar borders that would eventually draw Tristen and the surrounding lands into the demiplane of dread. Covered with unholy blood and outraged to the point of insanity by the murderous betrayal of her adopted child, the druid deprived Tristen of his cure and poisoned him again, this time with her deadly curse. As Rual laid her malediction upon Tristen, the sun sank below the horizon and her blood began to boil within his body. He fell to the ground and thrashed convulsively, screaming until his veins burst within him, and then he died.</p><p>But death is a relative term among the cursed, and it was certainly not the end of Tristen. He arose as a ghost that same night, and he discovered that he could not leave the sacred grove where Rual's body and his own lay.</p><p><strong>Flora ApBlanc:</strong> Flora became a ghost because of the anguish she suffered wondering if her child would survive the mob that lynched her.</p><p><strong>Rual:</strong> Flora became a ghost because of the anguish she suffered wondering if her child would survive the mob that lynched her.</p><p><strong>Isolt ApBlanc:</strong> The anguish and grief that Isolt felt as she died turned her into a ghost of the third magnitude.</p><p><strong>Gilan ApBlanc:</strong> Gilan saw the whole thing as he was getting dressed that morning. Racing across the courtyard, he threw himself upon the wolves in an effort to save his beloved pet. The wolves turned on the boy, instead.</p><p>Startled, Tristen called off the wolves, but it was too late. They had already torn the boy to pieces. Furious, he drew his sword and attacked them without quarter, but this only succeeded in sending a number of the beasts scuttling away from the keep. Some of them still carried pieces of the boy in their slavering jaws as they ran. As a result, there was little of Gilan left to bury.</p><p>The savage attack that took Gilan's life drove him mad. His ghost has blocked out all memory of the events of his death and he believes the dog in his arms to be alive.</p><p><strong>Morholt ApBlanc:</strong> He was 18 when he was killed, in Forfar year 1833. Doomed by the sudden nature of his death to become a spirit, the second son of Tristen and Isolt ApBlanc believes he is still alive. (Murdered in his sleep, Morholt never knew who his attacker was.)</p><p><strong>Aggie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Wolf:</strong> Zombie wolves are not created by a wizard or a priest, but are a creation of the domain of Forlorn itself.</p><p>Zombie wolves rise from the dead when the body of any regular wolf in the domain of Forlorn is not decapitated after it is killed. If this gruesome task is not carried out, the corpse of the wolf rises as a zombie 2d8 days after it has died.</p><p>It is generally thought that the creatures gain this strange form of existence from contact with the land itself, which channels energy from the Negative Material Plane. Some sages speculate that simply preventing the wolf carcass from having any contact with the ground for a full eight days will prevent it from rising as a zombie, but in the absence of any practical application of this theory, it remains unproven.</p><p><strong>Treant Undead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Geist:</strong> The spirit is the geist of Gregory, the druid who hid the horn of the sacred grove and later was torn to shreds by goblyns.</p><p>Generally speaking, geists are relatively harmless spirits that are undead manifestations of a person caught between mortality and immortality at the moment of death.</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17521/Children-of-the-Night-Ghosts-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Children of the Night Ghosts</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Mae Upton, First-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Mae Upton passed away on the very morning that the heroes entered Stangengrad. In a cruel twist of fate, her spirit did not go on to whatever final rest awaited it. Instead, Mae found herself still attached to this world, retaining all her memories but also awash in a dreadful epiphany; she was given complete understanding of exactly what had happened to Jimmy and exactly how it was all her fault. Another flash of inspiration told her that in order to escape the same fate she had unwittingly inflicted on her son, she would have to find a cure for his condition. To this end, she walks again in the world of the living for the sole purpose of securing the heroes’ aid. If they save Jimmy, they also save her.</p><p>On the day of Jimmy’s encounter with Fennelstock, Mae heard several neighbors tell tales of what happened. She became convinced that her son had been killed. The guilt she felt was overwhelming; she had lied to her only child and used his love for her to send him into a confrontation from which he never returned. She devoted the rest of her life to helping the poor, caring for the debilitated, and preaching the ways of honesty to her former partners in crime. She did all this in the hopes of regaining enough of her honor to be able to look her son in the face when they meet in the afterlife.</p><p><strong>Ghost Cat, Unfamiliar, Minor Fury:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wilhelm Pellman, First-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Wilhelm had been trying to find Mark, to warn him about Kole’s particularly angry mood that day. He caught up with his friend just in time to see the final blow. When he saw Mark’s body go limp and fall to the ground, Wilhelm screamed, turned, and fled into the street, where he was struck by an out-of-control cart carrying vegetables to the market.</p><p>Wilhelm lay where he fell, bleeding from a massive head wound. A local innkeeper known as Mother Ladria held him and tried to make sense of his last words as he died. Because of the violent scene that he witnessed just before his death, Wilhelm became a ghost.</p><p><strong>Susannah Joson, Third-Magnitude Geist:</strong> At last, Rafe convinced Susannah to go with him for a romantic boat ride on the pond, promising it would help “put to rest her torturous fears over what had happened to her family.” He pinned a red rose to her dress to win her over, and the tactic worked to his ends once more. Then, he rowed to the center of the pond and absently asked what she would give to learn her family’s fate, to which she responded “my life!”</p><p>“Fair enough,” said Rafe with a cruel chuckle. He plucked the rose from her shoulder and threw it into the water, where Susannah slowly focused upon her brothers and parents, just barely visible in the depths. As she screamed in horror, Rafe seized her from behind and held her head under the water so she could look into the vacant eyes of her dead family while she, herself, drowned. When she stopped struggling, he took a knife and cut her ring finger off, claiming the family heirloom of her grandmother’s wedding ring.</p><p>Susannah is a third-magnitude geist, owing to the fact that she died traumatically.</p><p><strong>Jediah Joson, Second-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Susannah’s parents and two brothers are all second-magnitude ghosts. Their ghostly origin is due to sudden death, strengthened by the betrayal of Rafe.</p><p><strong>Meriam Joson, Second-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Susannah’s parents and two brothers are all second-magnitude ghosts. Their ghostly origin is due to sudden death, strengthened by the betrayal of Rafe.</p><p><strong>Aldan Joson, Second-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Susannah’s parents and two brothers are all second-magnitude ghosts. Their ghostly origin is due to sudden death, strengthened by the betrayal of Rafe.</p><p><strong>Tomon Joson, Second-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Susannah’s parents and two brothers are all second-magnitude ghosts. Their ghostly origin is due to sudden death, strengthened by the betrayal of Rafe.</p><p><strong>Pond Zombie:</strong> The ghost Susannah’s passion and beauty have made quick work of many men, so lots of bodies lie in the pond. They rise much like the Josons do, as a variety of the common zombie.</p><p><strong>Theona Helsvar, Third-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Finally realizing what was happening as her sentence was read aloud by the mayor, Theona started invoking her spell. Unfortunately, she was tied to a stake before she could finish the spell. Searching out the figure of Monica, Theona stared at the girl as her body began to bum. As pain swept over her, Theona continued to stare at Monica until a wave of disorientation hit her. She blinked and found herself standing among the townspeople, watching as her dead former body was burned to ashes. Looking down at herself, she realized that she was in Monica’s body.</p><p><strong>Monica Ferrier, Second-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Instead of departing, Monica’s spirit managed to remain nearby, intent on regaining her stolen body.</p><p><strong>Lord Alexander von Lupinoff, Third-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Just as the moon reached its zenith, Alexander appeared at the edge of the clearing in wolf form. After the wolf killed the goat and settled down to its meal, the villagers opened fire with their bows and mortally wounded it. As the wolf lay dying, its form shifted into that of Alexander von Lupinoff. The villagers backed away in awe and terror. Fearful that Alexander might live long enough to understand what his former friend had done to him, Claude stepped up and delivered the final, killing blow with the same silver dagger he had used to kill the sorcerer. As Claude struck, Alexander fully realized his former friend’s part in the whole situation. While part of Alexander was saddened by his friends betrayal, another part of him, the aspect of Alexander that had been attracted to the wolf form, cursed his former friend and killer. He wished Claude to suffer the rage and despair that filled the final moments of his own life until such time as Claude confessed his crime.</p><p><strong>Lord Claude Hornberg, Second-Magnitude Ghost, Mutable Ghoul-Ghost Hybrid:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Sir Marcus Malvoy, Third-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> The beast found Marcus and tormented him. Sir Marcus cried for mercy and, finally, for death. The undead creature surrounded Sir Marcus with the bodies of his allies and animated them. They all cursed him with dead tongues, and Sir Marcus cried out, beseeching the monster for release.</p><p>Finally, the undead beast put Sir Marcus to death. Even then, Sir Marcus’s story did not end. Sir Marcus can no longer escape his torment, any more than he can escape his world.</p><p><strong>Hurrek the Giant, Fourth Magnitude Ghost Stone Giant:</strong> The temple remained hidden for about thirty years, but then a truly cruel warlord found it, and Hurrek died by torture. As he had tortured people in the past himself, his new nature made the experience even more unbearable as he realized the pain he had caused others. The agony brought him back from death as a very powerful but very sad ghost.</p><p><strong>Accalus, First-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Acchalus’s violent death and, more importantly, his failure to defend the temple, caused him to return as a ghost.</p><p><strong>Marta, Geist:</strong> This is Marta, a warrior who fell in the battle and arose as a geist, a harmless restless spirit.</p><p><strong>Lord Bryg Colvin, Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Nicholai Melantha, Third-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Enraged by this “back-talk,” the father proceeded to beat Nikolai harder and more violently than ever before. Nikolai died to the screams of his mother and sister. As life left him, his final words were: “Don’t you ever touch my sister again, you monster.”</p><p><strong>Intelligent Zombie:</strong> If a wizard or priest spends 1d4 minutes flipping through the pages of the book, the hero realizes that the text covers the creation of zombies through the use of a magic powder rather than the casting of actual spells. A pinch of the powder must be thrown into the face of the victim, and if he breathes any of it, or gets any in his eyes, he dies within a minute. After ten minutes, he reanimates as an intelligent zombie who is unwaveringly loyal to his creator. Only a dispel magic or neutralize poison spell will stop the process. (Slow poison delays the inevitable.)</p><p>Additionally, Nanette has one use of the magical powder that creates zombies. During the first round of combat, she throws it into the face of an attacking hero (with only a -1 penalty to her attack roll, due to the called-shot penalty being offset by her high Dexterity). The hero must then make a successful saving throw vs. death magic, or die within 1d4 rounds-only to rise again as a zombie under Nanette’s complete control (but with all his skills intact).</p><p><strong>Rhianna, Third-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Rhianna’s guilt at being involved in so many horrible deaths overpowered her so much that she has become a restless ghost.</p><p><strong>Duncan MacFarn, Fourth-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> When the door closed, Duncan barred it from the outside with a four-inch beam of solid oak that dropped into iron receivers two inches thick. His archers on the vented roof drew their ashen bows and rained death on Donal and his men from the murder holes Duncan had carved.</p><p>When the last man (Donal himself) twitched a final spasm, Duncan’s men opened the door, reentered the hall, and knifed any who showed brief signs of life. They removed the tables and the remains of the feast, and then returned with the paving blocks. Donal and his men were interred on the bare soil, and Duncan’s varlets laid the dressed floor stones atop their bleeding corpses. The hall they reset for dining, and the victors sat to drink and feast.</p><p>One year later, on the anniversary of that bloody, tragic night, Duncan MacFarn of MacFarn, Chief of Clan MacFarn, came home to celebrate his wedding in the ancient keep. The chief, his blushingly beautiful new bride, and the entire bridal party gathered in the feast hall. Just as the last guest entered, the oak door slammed shut. The four-inch beam, without human agency, fell into its thick receivers, and the stones of the floor began to fly. In their hundreds they flew, whirling and smashing about the room, striking and bashing and hammering; death rode bloody wings that night. Everyone was slain. Duncan lay smashed and broken, penetrated by granite shards.</p><p><strong>Ghost of Hospitality, Third Magnitude Ghost:</strong> When the door closed, Duncan barred it from the outside with a four-inch beam of solid oak that dropped into iron receivers two inches thick. His archers on the vented roof drew their ashen bows and rained death on Donal and his men from the murder holes Duncan had carved.</p><p>When the last man (Donal himself) twitched a final spasm, Duncan’s men opened the door, reentered the hall, and knifed any who showed brief signs of life. They removed the tables and the remains of the feast, and then returned with the paving blocks. Donal and his men were interred on the bare soil, and Duncan’s varlets laid the dressed floor stones atop their bleeding corpses. The hall they reset for dining, and the victors sat to drink and feast.</p><p>One year later, on the anniversary of that bloody, tragic night, Duncan MacFarn of MacFarn, Chief of Clan MacFarn, came home to celebrate his wedding in the ancient keep. The chief, his blushingly beautiful new bride, and the entire bridal party gathered in the feast hall. Just as the last guest entered, the oak door slammed shut. The four-inch beam, without human agency, fell into its thick receivers, and the stones of the floor began to fly. In their hundreds they flew, whirling and smashing about the room, striking and bashing and hammering; death rode bloody wings that night. Everyone was slain. Duncan lay smashed and broken, penetrated by granite shards.</p><p><strong>Vlana Waldershen, Fourth-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Two days after Vlana locked herself in the tower, the annual harvest festival took place in the village. As Thaeos reigned over the festivities, young Drugen enjoyed watching the jugglers and listening to the music of the minstrels. At the festival’s climax, Vlana appeared suddenly in her old Vistani garb and made long accusations about Thaeos’s treachery and deceitfulness. Just when her vituperative cries seemed to reach the pinnacle of ferocity and hatred, Vlana invoked a terrible curse, condemning the entire Waldershen line for Thaeos’s crimes against her. After her vile declaration, she leaped at him, but Thaeos was quicker. He ducked her charge and, grabbing a sword from his chief advisor, Bracy, struck the baroness through the heart. Vlana writhed in agony as the cold steel bit her flesh, and she died within moments. At her death, her shade caressed Drugen (using her cause wound ability) and then fled to the manor and took up residence in the mausoleum, where she has rested undisturbed ever since.</p><p><strong>Josephine de Monceau, Third-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ezekiel Preston, Fourth-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> One winter’s day, while trying to find a good spot to beg for more coins, he stumbled over a frozen corpse. Instead of seeing the corpse’s face, however, he saw his own. Fear settled deep into Preston’s bones. That night, while lying shivering in the poorhouse and brooding over Amalia’s love for another man, he vowed that death would never hold him. The next morning, his corpse was thrown onto a heap with several others while his ghost watched gleefully.</p><p><strong>Amalia Preston, Second-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> On a gloomy winter day precisely six months after Willem’s demise, Amalia sat straight up in her bed and spoke to her maid. Her figure was bony and her hair matted, but in her eyes danced the old sparkle of life. “I’ll soon see Willem!” she announced. “Help me get ready!” Then her voice dropped to a whisper. “Make sure that we are together in this world for all eternity.” Then Amalia fell back into her pillows and died.</p><p>Preston, despite her deathbed request, buried Amalia on the edge of the woods behind his home, with a white marble stone marking her grave.</p><p>When Willem turned thirteen, he and Amalia (who was eleven) stood under a spreading oak tree and promised themselves to each other forever, sealing their pact with a kiss. When Amalia turned fourteen and finished school, they planned to marry.</p><p>In the meantime, Amalia’s parents promised her hand to Ezekiel Preston. The young couple pleaded with Amalia’s father and mother to cancel the wedding, but the Wrights would not hear of it. Amalia cried every day as the wedding approached. Her parents realized that a bride who cried through her wedding day would be quite a spectacle and would not reflect favorably on anyone. They postponed the wedding until they could ensure that their daughter was restored to physical and mental health.</p><p>Overjoyed at her temporary freedom, Amalia ran from the house, saddled her horse, and set off to find Willem. At his home, however, she learned from a neighbor that he had left the house in a rage, carrying a sword and cursing Preston under his breath. Amalia rode swiftly to Preston’s home, hoping to prevent Willem from committing an act he would regret.</p><p>Upon reaching Preston Hill, she could hear angry shouts so she spurred her horse up the slope. As she crested the hill, she caught sight of Preston and Willem sparring with each other, but a sudden flash of steel in the moonlight told her she was too late. Willem staggered and crumpled to the ground, a victim of Preston’s quick dagger. The following day, Willem was laid to rest in the graveyard adjoining the school where he and Amalia played as children.</p><p><strong>Willem Tyson, Third-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> When Willem turned thirteen, he and Amalia (who was eleven) stood under a spreading oak tree and promised themselves to each other forever, sealing their pact with a kiss. When Amalia turned fourteen and finished school, they planned to marry.</p><p>In the meantime, Amalia’s parents promised her hand to Ezekiel Preston. The young couple pleaded with Amalia’s father and mother to cancel the wedding, but the Wrights would not hear of it. Amalia cried every day as the wedding approached. Her parents realized that a bride who cried through her wedding day would be quite a spectacle and would not reflect favorably on anyone. They postponed the wedding until they could ensure that their daughter was restored to physical and mental health.</p><p>Overjoyed at her temporary freedom, Amalia ran from the house, saddled her horse, and set off to find Willem. At his home, however, she learned from a neighbor that he had left the house in a rage, carrying a sword and cursing Preston under his breath. Amalia rode swiftly to Preston’s home, hoping to prevent Willem from committing an act he would regret.</p><p>Upon reaching Preston Hill, she could hear angry shouts so she spurred her horse up the slope. As she crested the hill, she caught sight of Preston and Willem sparring with each other, but a sudden flash of steel in the moonlight told her she was too late. Willem staggered and crumpled to the ground, a victim of Preston’s quick dagger. The following day, Willem was laid to rest in the graveyard adjoining the school where he and Amalia played as children.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bastellus:</strong> Rhianna’s mother discovered her limp body the next morning. In an effort to prevent further night terrors from springing from Rhianna’s death, her family cremated the body (which prevented her from becoming a bastellus like the one that killed her).</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> If the Waldershen have died and the heroes have not managed to banish Vlana from the manor grounds with her ashes, she takes control of the manor house and attempts to rule the lands around it. She begins terrorizing the village and turns her victims into ghosts bent-on serving her needs.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17200/City-By-the-Silt-Sea-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">City by the Silt Sea</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Dwarf Cursed Dead:</strong> Dregoth personally helped defeat the dwarves of Giustenal, and he watched as each of them was hanged from the trees in front of the place they sought to defend. When his troops set fire to the remains of the settlement, Dregoth cursed the dwarves for defying Kim. On that day the cursed dead were born.</p><p><strong>Krag:</strong> Krags are undead created when a cleric aligned to an element or para-element dies in the medium diametrically opposed to his own. The anguish and trauma of dying to the very force he devoted his life to opposing is sometimes enough to transform a cleric into a wicked and bitter undead.</p><p><strong>Kragling:</strong> Kraglings are creatures who have perished from the elemental transfusion attack of a krag. Anything that dies in this manner has a 45% chance of coming back as a kragling in 1-4 days. </p><p>If death results from a Krag's elemental transfusion, there is a 45% chance that the victim will become a kragling in 1d4 days.</p><p>Any creature can become a kragling if it was killed by the elemental transfusion of a krag. Silt spawn, humanoids, demihumans, humans, and even nonhumanoid monsters are all subject to the transfusion attack and thus can become kraglings. What type of kragling and how powerful it is depends on the creature's Hit Dice.</p><p>Greater kraglings are created when creatures with more than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag's elemental transfusion. Lesser kraglings are created via the same process, though the creatures must have less than 4 Hit Dice to fall into this weaker category.</p><p><strong>Venger:</strong> A venger is the animated remains of some strong-willed being who suffered a great wrong in life. The wrong must have been committed by an intelligent creature who survives beyond the death of the being who will become the venger. At the moment of death, the consciousness of the wronged person is trapped by its rage and frustration within its corpse, and it rises as an undead venger 2d6 days later.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/215918/Corsairs-of-the-Great-Sea-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Corsairs of the Great Sea</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Amiq Rasol:</strong> Amiq Rasol, also called Deep Men or Dark Men, are undead corsairs who were lost at sea, murdered, or marooned. Corsairs who refused to acknowledge or turned away from the Enlightened gods may also become amiq rasol.</p><p><strong>Ghul-Kin Soultaker:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghul-Kin Witherer:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17504/Dark-of-the-Moon-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Dark of the Moon</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Arayaska, Snow Wraith, Snow-People:</strong> Arayashka are the undead spirits of travelers killed by cold and exposure in some arctic lands. A person must possess an intense strength of will and a purpose that is left unfulfilled by death in order to become an arayashka.</p><p>Any character killed by an arayashka and interred anywhere near the location of death must be cremated while a bless spell is cast, or the PC rises as an arayashka the next time a winter storm rages. A character that is killed by an arayashka but is then interred in some warmer clime does not return as one.</p><p><strong>Antonina, Ghost:</strong> On the day of Alexei's 18th birthday, Gregor decided that he would bring his son into the ranks of the boyarsky. Mikhail was in Torgov, visiting his mother's kin. While Gregor and Alexei were away, Antonina came to see Sasha. "It is time you knew Gregor's secret and what he plans for Alexei," the old woman spitefully told her. "Tonight, you and I shall follow Gregor into the forest, and I will show you where he has been going all these years."</p><p>Sasha agreed, and as night fell the two women trailed stealthily after Alexei, Gregor, and his boyarsky. The boyar led his son and his warriors to a clearing in the woods, and there he gave a wolf skin to Alexei. Together, father and son donned the skins and transformed into great black wolves. The boyarsky changed as well, and the night was full of the howling of the pack.</p><p>Sasha was horrified and fled into the woods. The keen ears of the pack caught the sounds of her flight, and in a moment the wolves were bounding after their prey. The wolves chased Sasha to a steep ravine, and there she slipped and fell to her death in her attempt to escape.</p><p>Coming up behind the boyarsky, Gregor and Alexei in their wolf-shapes beheld the broken form of Sasha, lying in the snow-covered rocks. Gregor smelled the scent of Antonina on his dead wife, and in a moment of terrible understanding he knew that Sasha had been encouraged to spy on him. He raced off to track down his mother, his rage unspeakable, Alexei a step behind him. The boyar found Antonina near the clearing, and unable to contain his anger, he tore Antonina's throat out with his terrible fangs while Alexei howled in grief and rage.</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Undead can be found in various places, the restless spirits of those killed by Gregor and his pack or frozen as they traveled in the woods.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17483/Die-Vecna-Die-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Die Vecna Die</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Skeleton Elite:</strong> Elite skeletons in Cavitus are created by a lich from the bodies of common soldiers using the animate dead spell in a special ceremony.</p><p>Krakkat the Observant created the elite skeletons that populate Cavitius.</p><p><strong>True Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight Wizard:</strong> These corporeal undead share the same background as other wights here, but they were wizards, not warriors.</p><p><strong>Innova, Meekali, Lich possessing human body Wizard 19:</strong> The lich who has stolen Innova's body was in life an evil human mage named Meekali, from the realm of Sunndi. When the natural end of her life was only a few years away, she made plans to prevent it from arriving. Her first attempt involved casting magic jar on an elf maiden, but elven adventurers foiled her scheme. She then went through the steps to become a lich. During this process, she came to the attention of Vecna, who recruited her as one of his servants. Now, she occasionally uses magic jar to steal the body of a young human female from the unfortunate citizens of Citadel Cavitius.</p><p><strong>Krakkat the Observant, Lich Mage 18:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kyrie, Vampire Mage 2:</strong> Kyrie was turned into an undead by a vampire that was ultimately slain by a vengeful Xaven.</p><p><strong>Lord Haroln, The Arm of Vecna, Vampire Wizard 3 Priest 10:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Nine, Lich Mage 20:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Sir Loran of Trollpyre Keep, Death Knight:</strong> Sir Loran was the final master of Trollpyre Keep, a minor estate bordering the Vast Swamp on Oerth. Unlike his noble ancestors in Sunndi, he was an evil and twisted man who hid his true nature behind a veneer of stoicism and honor. He took a beautiful dancer as his wife, but when she bore him a daughter instead of a son, he slew them and their midwife moments after the birth with Trollpyre’s Defender, his magic sword. The dancer’s mother, a priestess, cursed Sir Loran to die painfully in battle, then rise as an undead, with the spirits of his slain family haunting him for eternity.</p><p><strong>Xaven, Vampire Mage 3:</strong> Kyrie was turned into an undead by a vampire that was ultimately slain by a vengeful Xaven. However, his love for Kyrie was such that he could not bring himself to kill her, so he joined her undeath.</p><p><strong>Vecna the Maimed God, Lord of Cavitus, Demigod, Lich:</strong> Once upon a time lost to history, there lived a mortal man called Vecna. Vecna plumbed the arts of magecraft, eventually becoming the most accomplished and powerful wizard of all times and spaces. When a betrayer’s blade maimed and cut him down, Vecna rose again, infused with secrets of magic no mortal was ever meant to know. He was now a true demigod, while the relics of his former body gained fame in their own right. His power magnified many times over, Vecna schemed, laying audacious plans designed to transform himself into a true god, possibly even a supreme god. Just when all portents aligned with Vecna’s will, the demigod was snatched from his former abode and forcibly caged in a misty realm.</p><p><strong>Ilya Noma, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Animate Greatcoat Minor:</strong> This item is sewn from integument harvested from powerful undead. </p><p><strong>Carrion Shambler:</strong> Taking their form from the piles of fleshy remains, carrion shamblers are undead agglomerates of undead tissue, first animated by cultist wizards, but now capable of reproducing on their own.</p><p><strong>Slave Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kaleb Hoddypeak, Mummy Priest 6:</strong> In life, Kaleb Hoddypeak was a half-elf from the Duchy of Geoff. He devoted a great deal of time secretly sabotaging the heroic undertakings of his famed half-brother Fonkin Hoddypeak, a full-blooded elf adventurer. Eventually, Kaleb discovered the Cult of Vecna and joined up, hoping the dark god would grant him secret knowledge to use in slandering Fonkin’s name. Before Kaleb could deal a crippling blow to Fonkin, villagers lynched him for his evil ways and threw his body into a bog. Vecna was impressed with Kaleb’s efforts and caused him to rise as a mummy.</p><p><strong>New Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ylan Tomas, Vampire Necromancer 5:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crassius, Lich Mage 18:</strong> Crassius and Vellan were twin brothers and archmages who worked for Vecna at the height of his empire, but were cast into Citadel Cavitius for various perceived deficiencies. They changed into liches in time and still serve Vecna as mage teachers.</p><p><strong>Vellan, Lich Mage 18:</strong> Crassius and Vellan were twin brothers and archmages who worked for Vecna at the height of his empire, but were cast into Citadel Cavitius for various perceived deficiencies. They changed into liches in time and still serve Vecna as mage teachers.</p><p><strong>Wight Mage Advanced Mage 5:</strong> This twisted soul has devoted himself to carrying out Vecna’s will for all eternity.</p><p><strong>Gundarc the Bald, Lich Mage 18:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight Mage:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Stigel, Vampire Mage 10:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Scribe:</strong> In life, these scribes served Vecna’s church on Oerth copying fragments of texts relating to his life and deeds. Once they passed from life, their bodies were drawn to Vecna's palace where they could continue the work they had started in life.</p><p><strong>The Unnamed, Lich Mage 20:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Mage 12:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Pilgrim Wizard 2 Priest 5:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kas the Bloody-Handed Death Knight:</strong> He is actually a warrior who came into possession of a false “Sword of Kas,” which corrupted his mind and body.</p><p><strong>Lyra, Third-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Sir Loran was the final master of Trollpyre Keep, a minor estate bordering the Vast Swamp on Oerth. Unlike his noble ancestors in Sunndi, he was an evil and twisted man who hid his true nature behind a veneer of stoicism and honor. He took a beautiful dancer as his wife, but when she bore him a daughter instead of a son, he slew them and their midwife moments after the birth with Trollpyre’s Defender, his magic sword. The dancer’s mother, a priestess, cursed Sir Loran to die painfully in battle, then rise as an undead, with the spirits of his slain family haunting him for eternity.</p><p><strong>Lich Templar:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Death Knight:</strong> Nearly all death knights in Vecna’s domain were once lawful good warriors, generals, and knights who fought against Vecna in life. However, they were corrupted by a constant and devastating campaign in which Vecna offered them a variety of dreadful secrets, with a promise of more knowledge and power if they would cease to resist his empire or even join his forces. Their reward was to be cast into Citadel Cavitius when it was a prison on the quasi-elemental plane of Ash, where they eventually became death knights.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> Some liches in this domain were once live mages in Vecna's ancient empire on Oerth, but were cast into the prison of Citadel Cavitius when they failed their master. They were changed into liches over time by the prison’s magical nature. Most, however, deliberately turned themselves into liches to become immortal and gain additional magical knowledge</p><p><strong>Minor Death:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Reaver:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeletal Steed:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> For every successful attack by a shadow, the target loses 1 point of Strength. Lost Strength points return 2d4 turns later. If a human or demihuman is reduced to 0 points of Strength, the victim’s body dissolves into shadow-stuff and the victim is immediately ”reborn” as a shadow, attacking all former comrades. </p><p><strong>Slow Shadow:</strong> Only a remove curse cast upon a slow shadow's victim at the time of death prevents the victim from arising as a slow shadow later on; otherwise, there is no recovery.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Animated skeletons are created from the bodies of dead human citizens of Cavitius, as well as executed criminals or unwanted prisoners.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Warrior:</strong> In life, the skeleton warriors of Citadel Cavitius were great fighters in Vecna’s ancient armies who were punished for failing their leader in any number of critical ways, from losing major battles to committing high treason.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Spectre-slain victims turn into spectres.</p><p>This accessway is haunted by two spectres of those slain here in the battle.</p><p>The two secret alcoves still contain a remnant of the force that once staffed them, in the form of haunted spectres, one to each alcove.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> The oldest vampires in this ghastly domain were once powerful adventurers who ran afoul of Vecna at some point in his career, then were cast into Citadel Cavitius when it was an extraplanar prison. There they were attacked and slain by the sole vampire in that prison, Kas the Destroyer himself.</p><p>Because Vecna is less fond of vampires than more lawful sorts of undead, he has standing orders to have the victims of vampires destroyed completely whenever possible, to prevent having his domain be overrun with them. Vampires go along with these orders, though once in a while they will bring a new member into their family by accident or design (in the latter case, the usually unwilling recruit is someone much favored by a particular vampire). The victim is given a quick burial, and one day later arises as a full-strength vampire enslaved to its creator.</p><p>The character was recently kidnapped (however long it was since the heroes had their first run-in with either the supporters of Iuz or Vecna). After being delivered to this terrible place, the character was subjected to mental and physical tortures, then turned into a vampire by two other vampires, male and female, covered in elaborate tattoos,</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> Wight-slain victims turn into wights.</p><p>A half-strength wight becomes the servant of its creator wight until its master is destroyed, at which time the minor wight gains full strength and free will. </p><p>The wights of Citadel Cavitius were formerly warriors or minor adventurers who were imprisoned within the Citadel when it was an extraplanar jail. These experienced prisoners, having run afoul of Vecna at some point, gradually turned into wights from the effects of the Negative Material Plane in their environment.</p><p><strong>Wight Half-Strength, Minor Wight:</strong> Half-strength wight-slain victims turn into wights.</p><p>All heroes and NPCs slain by a wight fall into this category. The transition to unlife takes place quickly, in only 2d8 rounds.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> Wraith-slain victims turn into wraiths.</p><p>A half-strength wraith becomes the servant of its creator wraith until its master is destroyed, at which time the minor wraith gains full strength and free will.</p><p>The wraiths of Cavitius have origins much like the wights, but their corporeal forms were destroyed, leaving only their corrupted spirits.</p><p><strong>Wraith Half-Strength, Minor Wraith:</strong> Half-strength wraith-slain victims turn into wraiths.</p><p>All heroes and NPCs slain by a wraith fall into this category. The transition to unlife takes place quickly, in only 2d6 rounds.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Like skeletons, zombies of Citadel Cavitius were created from dead human citizens, criminals, and prisoners of little worth to the rulers of the city</p><p><strong>Zombie Ju-Ju:</strong> In life, they were prisoners or criminals of exceptional note, hideously executed by energy drain spells cast by an archmage lich, or by finger of death spells after prolonged torture.</p><p><strong>Ghoul Lord:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> Anyone bitten by a ghoul lord contracts a horrible rotting disease unless a successful save vs. poison is rolled. An infected victim loses ld10 hit points and 1 point each from Constitution and Charisma scores each day until cured with a heal spell. Death occurs if any affected score is reduced to zero. About 60+4d6 hours after death, the victim rises again as a ghast controlled by the ghoul lord.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gigantic Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crawling Claw:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Inquisitor:</strong> Known as inquisitors, these horrid servants of Vecna are horrid, rotting terrors whose clawed hands are charred from decades of handling red-hot torture implements.</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Radiant Spirit:</strong> This is the restless spirit of a paladin, now transformed by his guilt over having failed in his quest into a type of incorporeal undead known as a radiant spirit.</p><p><strong>Poltergeist:</strong> This undead being was an unwise thief slain here less than a year ago, on a failed mission to steal from Vecna’s hoard.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon Fist [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Most commonly, ghosts are the po souls of those buried improperly who return to Earth.</p><p><strong>Vampire Hopping:</strong> When a body is buried improperly or in an inauspicious location, the po soul returns to the body and animates it; however, the hun soul has already moved on to Heaven. The po soul, already suffering after death, reverts to animalistic behavior and hungers to kill mortals. Without the heavenly spark of the hun soul, the body is not truly alive, so it retains the rigidity of death. The result is a hopping vampire.</p><p>Anyone who suffers more than 15 points of damage from a hopping vampire runs the risk of becoming a vampire in turn. Exactly how this occurs is a mystery, but most shamans agree it is a form of curse. After combat is over, the injured character must roll percentile dice. The chance of turning into a vampire is equal to the amount of damage he or she sustained (so if the vampire inflicted 20 points of damage, the chance would be 20%). Those who succumb to the curse slowly turn into vampires themselves, growing fangs and long fingernails and becoming more bestial as their po soul takes over. This process takes 1 day, plus an additional number of days equal to a Fortitude stunt roll. To stop the transformation, a shaman must cast the remove curse spell on the victim before the process is complete.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, usually the work of evil shamans with no respect for the dead.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Zombies are mindless, animated corpses serving the evil shamans that create them.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16866/Dungeon-Masters-Options-HighLevel-Campaigns?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Dungeon Master's Options: High-Level Campaigns</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> <em>Kolin's Undead Legion</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> <em>Kolin's Undead Legion</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Kolin’s Undead Legion</p><p>True Dweomer (Necromancy)</p><p>Type: Animate</p><p>Range: Plane</p><p>Duration: Instantaneous</p><p>Difficulty: 325</p><p>Final Difficulty: 45</p><p>Preparation Time: 1 Month</p><p>Casting Time: 1 Hour</p><p>Area of Effect: 5,000-foot square, 5 feet high </p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p> This spell animates 200 Hit Dice of skeletons or zombies from intact remains in an area up to 5,000 feet square anywhere on the same plane as the caster. The caster can give the legion one brief, simple command when the spell is cast, but he must be present to give detailed orders. The wizard Kolin typically dispatched an undead lieutenant to the scene to take command of the troops.</p><p> The material components are an unbroken bone (common), dust from an undead spellcaster’s lair, a horn that has been played over a warrior’s grave, a copper dagger that has been bloodied in battle (rare), mold from a general’s shroud, and a battle standard carried into an ambush (exotic). [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17569/Faiths--Avatars-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Faiths and Avatars</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Baneguard:</strong> <em>Create Baneguard</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Skuz:</strong> There was a 1% chance that any high priest of Moander would be transformed into a skuz upon death. Such undead were known as Undying Minions.</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Often in attempts to attain divine status through powerful rituals or the use of artifacts, failure (in the form of a tacit “no” from Ao) results in the mortal becoming a lich, being transformed into some other form of odd undead creature, or being totally destroyed.</p><p>Devotees of Beshaba hold special ceremonies upon the deaths of important clergy. The funeral ceremony is known as the Passing. It is a rare time of dignity and tender piety among the clergy. The body of the departed is floated down a river amid floating candles in a spell ceremony designed to make the corpse into an undead creature and teleport it to a random location elsewhere in the Realms to wreak immediate havoc. Senior clergy use spells or magical items to scry from afar to see what damage is then done by the creature’s sudden appearance.</p><p>Bhaal could animate or create any type of undead creature indefinitely by touch.</p><p>Myrkul, the Lord of Bones could animate or create any type of undead creature indefinitely by touch.</p><p><strong>Beholder Undead:</strong> Those beholders that were slain while resisting possession by Moander the Darkbringer are transformed into rotting death tyrants (undead beholders) upon their demises.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> <em>Undeath After Death</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> <em>Undeath After Death</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> Often in attempts to attain divine status through powerful rituals or the use of artifacts, failure (in the form of a tacit “no” from Ao) results in the mortal becoming a lich, being transformed into some other form of odd undead creature, or being totally destroyed.</p><p>In centuries past, the Black Lord had transformed over 35 living High Imperceptors at the end of their tenure into undead “Mouths of Bane”— Baneliches.</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> <em>Undeath After Death</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> <em>Undeath After Death</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> <em>Undeath After Death</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> <em>Undeath After Death</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie Ju-Ju:</strong> <em>Undeath After Death</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>6th Level</p><p>Create Baneguard (Necromancy)</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Special</p><p>Casting Time : 9</p><p>Area of Effect: 1 skeletal body</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>The casting of this spell transforms one inanimate skeleton of size M or smaller into a Baneguard, a skeletal undead creature gifted with a degree of malicious intelligence. (For information on Baneguards, see the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM sheets included in the revised FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting or the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM Annual, Volume One.) The Baneguard is capable of using its abilities the round following creation and needs no special commands to attack.</p><p>The material components of this spell are the holy symbol of the priest and at least 20 drops of the blood of any sort of true dragon.</p><p></p><p>Undeath After Death (Alteration, Necromancy)</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 1 turn</p><p>Area of Effect: One Banite</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell is a closely guarded secret within the upper ranks of the church of Bane, and its use disappeared with the death of Bane. Undeath after death is cast on worshipers of Bane upon the moments of their deaths, transforming them into different forms of undead. Which form of undead a Banite becomes depends on his or her level of experience in life. The more powerful the Banite was in life, the stronger the type of undead. Vampires created by this spell retain character abilities. (If the DM chooses to use the optional rules presented for mummies in Van Richten’s Guide to the Ancient Dead, mummies created by this spell retain character abilities, also.) The level of the caster must be higher than the level of the spell’s recipient, or the caster must make a saving throw vs. death magic or perish in the casting. In such a case, however, the spell still acts normally on the recipient.</p><p>This spell is used only on Banite victims who are about to die (0 hp) or who have died (below 0 hp, or below -10 hp if that optional rule is in use). If the spell is cast upon a Banite after his or her death, it must be cast within one round per level of the caster after death occurs; otherwise, the spirit of the Banite is too far from the body to return and take control. If the caster waits too long, the spell works as an animate dead spell, creating a mundane, mindless zombie.</p><p>Level Type of Undead</p><p>1st-3rd Ghoul</p><p>4th-6th Ghast</p><p>7th-9th Ju-Ju zombie</p><p>10th-13th Wight</p><p>14th-17th Mummy</p><p>18th+ Vampire</p><p>The material component for this spell is a black obsidian heart into which is carved the recipient’s name and the symbol of Bane. This heart is shattered during the ceremony.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16829/FOR2-The-Drow-of-the-Underdark-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">FOR2 The Drow of the Underdark</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Spirit-Wraith:</strong> <em>Zin-Carla</em> spell.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Animal Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> If control over a spirit-wraith is lost, the wraith becomes a revenant, driven by hatred and the memory of its violation at the hands of the spellcaster.</p><p></p><p>Seventh-Level Spell</p><p>Zin-Carla (Necromancy)</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V.S.M.</p><p>Duration: Varies</p><p>Casting Time: 4 rounds</p><p>Area of Effect: One creature</p><p>Saving Throw: Special</p><p>This spell is "the highest gift of Lolth," granted rarely even to favored drow. It is a special form of animate dead, that enables the caster to create a special sort of zombie known as a spirit-wraith. Imbued with the skills (hit points, armor class, and THACO) it had in life, this creation is telepathically linked to —and controlled by—the caster of this spell, usually a drow matron mother.</p><p>This spell may not be instantaneously granted, or may be denied entirely, at Lolth's will. It is granted only for the completion of specific tasks, and these may never be purely to work revenge or bring harm on other drow. Failure in the task brings on the disfavor of Lolth.</p><p>Zin-carla involves the forcible return of a departed soul or spirit to its body. Only through the willpower and exacting, sleepless control of the caster are the undead being's desired skills kept separate from unwanted memories and emotions. The duration of the spell is limited by the needs of the task, the patience of Lolth, and the mental limits of the caster—for a total loss of control usually means failure.</p><p>So long as that control is maintained, the spirit-wraith cannot tire or be distracted from its task. It does not feel pain or disability, and will continue to function as long as it remains mobile.</p><p>A spirit-wraith cannot be made to cast spells without losing control over its mind entirely, but can fully use combat and craft-skills possessed in life. If control is lost, the wraith becomes a revenant, driven by hatred and the memory of its violation at the hands of the spellcaster. Uncontrolled spirit-wraiths do not stop until the zin-carla caster is destroyed.</p><p>A spirit-wraith driven to do something against its old nature has a chance of breaking free of its control (treat as a charm spell, with the same saving throw as in life). For example, one cannot successfully use this undead to destroy a being that it loved in life.</p><p>Spell-like natural powers (such as the levitation ability of drow) are retained and can be used by the undead. The spirit-wraith can use its former experience and memories, as much as allowed by the linked caster. Both the zombie and the caster are immune to the effects of spells that attack the mind, and similar spell-like powers (such as the mental blast of a mind flayer). It knows wariness, anger, glee, hatred, frustration, and triumph, but not fear. It cannot be controlled by the spells and priestly powers normally used to command encountered undead—and control of it cannot thereby be wrested away from the caster of the zin-carla.</p><p>Spirit-wraiths do not breathe, but can speak (if allowed to do so by their controller). They can utter command and activation words, and the controlling caster can speak through them directly, but spell incantations will have no effect if uttered by the undead.</p><p>To stop a spirit-wraith, it must be physically destroyed—if it is still able to even crawl, it will do so, tirelessly, searching for a way to complete its task.</p><p>The material components of this spell are the corpse to be animated, and a treasured object that belonged to the person to be controlled. If the corpse is badly decomposed or not whole, other spells (such as Nulathoe's ninemen) and magical unguents will also be required, to restore it to whole, supple condition.</p><p>Wizards and other powerful creatures (such as mind flayers, aboleth, or cloakers) who raid or despoil drow cities can expect to face either a full-scale attack—or a spirit-wraith or two.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16851/FOR7-Giantcraft-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">FOR7 Giantcraft (2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead Giant:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Veltig, High Knight of the Blood Riders:</strong> Their theories range from the benevolent (the spirit of the Blood Rider leapt from his own grave to continue his war against the Jotunbrud) to the unthinkable (even in death, the Blood Rider's spirit was defending the valley against the undead souls of the giants he slew in life; the angry spirits finally defeated the Rider and escaped through his tomb to haunt the whole valley).</p><p><strong>Counselor Trevon, Wraith:</strong> Fardo is a covetous, ambitious man. Before he was appointed to his position, he was a close aide to Counselor Trevon, his predecessor. Like Fardo, Trevon was a greedy and manipulative bureaucrat who was more than willing to take advantage of his authority for personal gain. In fact, it was these very traits that Fardo used to destroy his mentor, clearing the way for his own ascension. With the help of a couple of crooked merchants, Fardo led Trevon to believe that a bloc of local traders had discovered the ruins of an ancient temple in the fen located just east of Hartwick. Believing the ruins to be the source of the enormously valuable platinum artifacts that suddenly came to market in Hartsvale (actually, Fardo and his conspirators secretly imported these items and planted them on the market), the usually careful Trevon ventured into the fen without his bodyguards in order to loot the ruins himself. There, he found not an ancient temple filled with valuable artifacts, but Fardo and a band of cutthroats waiting to kill him. So great was Trevon's greed and hatred for his betrayer, however, that upon death he metamorphosed into a wraith. Though unable to leave the fens unassisted, Trevon vows that he will one day have his revenge upon his killers.</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16817/FR10-Old-Empires-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">FR 10 Old Empires</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Wraith Desert:</strong> Creatures killed by skriaxits are animated three days later as desert wraiths, malevolent spirits of the sands.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Creatures brought to 0 life levels by a desert wraith are transformed into zombies within 48 hours, even if raised, unless their bodies are washed in holy water.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17399/From-the-Ashes-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">From the Ashes</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Animus:</strong> The animus is a unique undead creature created by priests of the evil Power Hextor with the help of infernal, fiendish aid.</p><p>The exact processes by which animuses have been brought into being are unknown. What is known is that priests of Hextor, using a form of resurrection spell, together with fiends, work on the corpse and spirit of a slain human to create the animus, working its special defenses into its body and affecting its spirit. Ivid wanted single-minded, utterly loyal servants. What the priests and fiends created was a creature with the capacity to be ferociously single-minded and cold in its motivations and utterly implacable in its pursuit of what it wanted. How they did that, and whether the result was exactly what they wanted, is not clear.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17407/Greyhawk-Adventures-1e-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Greyhawk Adventures</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Swordwraith:</strong> Swordwraiths are the spirits of warriors cut down at the height of battle, and kept from the dissolution of death by their own indomitable will.</p><p>Swordwraiths were once professional soldiers: officers and mercenaries, or others for whom fighting was all there was in life. Though slain on the field of battle, their will was such that they were unable to leave behind the trade of violent death.</p><p><strong>Zombie Sea:</strong> Drowned ones (also known as sea zombies) are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed, and are rumored to be animated by the will of the god Nerull the Reaper.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17390/Guide-to-Hell-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Guide to Hell</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Undead are animated with energy from the Negative Material Plane, while fiends are simply creatures from one of the Lower Planes.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17508/Howls-in-the-Night-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Howls in the Night</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lord Godefroy, Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ann Campbell, Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> The zombies are the remnants of a hunting party. Trapped in the shack by the hounds, they eventually died of fear and horror. When their spirits left their bodies, the curse reanimated them and left them here for to attack any intruders.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/127234/Masque-of-the-Red-Death-and-Other-Tales-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">Masque of the Red Death</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Tanner Jacobbi, Heucuva:</strong> In the late 1700's, a lighthouse and monastery were built on the largest of the fragmentary Gull Islands. Construction was difficult due to bad weather and the uneven terrain of these rocky outcroppings, but the workers were indefatigable. Shortly thereafter, 25 members of the Order of the Flame of Saint Nicholas took up residence on the island.</p><p>One of the monks was a young man named Tanner Jacobbi, new to both the order and the strict devotions of the monastic life. Despite this, he found himself charged with manning the lighthouse one stormy night in January of 1775. The winds of a great nor'easter ripped at the dark sea, and an endless blanket of rain and snow made it all but impossible to see. Jacobbi sat at his post, watching the sea and maintaining the beacon of the lighthouse. It was not long, however, before the monotony of his duty and the almost hypnotic gale outside caused him to drift into a deep sleep.</p><p>Within an hour, the beacon of the lighthouse failed. Not far away, the British frigate Resplendent fought to keep afloat in the mighty storm. Bound for New England, she was destined to end her journey that night on the rocky coasts of the Gull Islands. When the frigate ran aground and shattered, her cargo of black powder ignited and exploded. Fire swept across the island, destroying the monastery and killing its inhabitants.</p><p>For Jacobbi, who died in the disaster, this was, the beginning of an endless torment.</p><p><strong>Dracula, Vampire:</strong> With his dying breath, he vowed that he would trade all that he held sacred for the chance to avenge himself. The Red Death heard his plea and responded. Dracula become one of the most dangerous and devoted servants of evil on the face of Gothic Earth.</p><p><strong>Coetlicrota, Zombie Lord:</strong> With the coming of the next full moon, Coetlicrota performed a dark and evil magic ritual in which he vowed that he would gladly trade all of his magical powers for the chance to avenge his people. The Red Death, or some element of it, heard his pleas and acted upon them. As the ceremony was completed, Coetlicrota and all his followers fell dead, only to rise again at the next full moon as a pack of zombies under the absolute control of the zombie master Coetlicrota.<strong>Coetlicrota, Zombie Lord:</strong> With the coming of the next full moon, Coetlicrota performed a dark and evil magic ritual in which he vowed that he would gladly trade all of his magical powers for the chance to avenge his people. The Red Death, or some element of it, heard his pleas and acted upon them. As the ceremony was completed, Coetlicrota and all his followers fell dead, only to rise again at the next full moon as a pack of zombies under the absolute control of the zombie master Coetlicrota.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> With the coming of the next full moon, Coetlicrota performed a dark and evil magic ritual in which he vowed that he would gladly trade all of his magical powers for the chance to avenge his people. The Red Death, or some element of it, heard his pleas and acted upon them. As the ceremony was completed, Coetlicrota and all his followers fell dead, only to rise again at the next full moon as a pack of zombies under the absolute control of the zombie master Coetlicrota.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Menzoberranzan[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Alhoon:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17444/Monstrous-Arcana-I-Tyrant-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">Monstrous Arcana I Tyrant</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead Beholder:</strong> Most undead beholders come into existence through the evil work of mages, beholder mages, elder orbs, or priests. Some of these undead, however, form as a result of magical accidents.</p><p>Death tyrants are created through the use of a magical spell cast upon the bodies of slain beholders.</p><p>A rogue death tyrant usually forms as a result of a magical accident.</p><p><strong>Doomsphere:</strong> It usually forms when a beholder dies in a magical explosion.</p><p><strong>Kasharin:</strong> Kasharin usually form when a wizard or priest transforms a malohurr infected beholder into a death tyrant. Sometimes, however, death tyrants spontaneously transform into kasharin.</p><p></p><p>Create Death Tryant</p><p>Eighth Level Wizard Spell</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Range: 20 Ft</p><p>Components: v</p><p>Duration: Instantaneous</p><p>Area Of Effect: 1 beholder/Hit Die</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell allows an elder orb or beholder mage to create death tyrants from the shells or corpses of dead beholders. The spell does not allow the permanent control of the undead beholders. The caster controls the death tyrants created by this spell for Idl2 rounds, plus 1 round per caster level. Thereafter, the caster must use a control death tyrant spell to maintain control.</p><p></p><p>Ninth-Level Spells</p><p>Create Death Tyrant (Necromancy)</p><p>Range: 2 Yards</p><p>Components: v, s, M</p><p>Duration: Special</p><p>Casting Time: 3 Turns</p><p>Area Of Effect: Special (1 dead beholder)</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell imbues a dead beholder with energy from the negative material plane, transforming it into a death tyrant. In addition, the spell allows the wizard to instruct the death tyrant as to how it will receive orders in the future. The death tyrant will obey the spellcaster for Id6 rounds plus 1 round for every level of the caster. After that amount of time, the spellcaster must use the control death tyrant spell in order to maintain control of the undead creature.</p><p>Most wizards eschew the use of this spell, as creating a death tyrant is a purely evil action. Good aligned wizards who cast this spell should be severely punished.</p><p>A 7th level clerical version of this spell exists. The spell falls under the necromantic sphere and is identical to the wizard spell. Again, creation of a death tyrant is an offensive and evil action. Good aligned priests should suffer great punishment for using this spell. At the very least, the cleric's deity will withold all spells and granted abilities until the cleric atones for his actions.</p><p>The creation of a death tyrant requires an elaborate ritual. The cost of the material components of this ritual averages about 3,000 gp.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17349/Night-of-the-Vampire-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Night of the Vampire (2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lord Andru Vandevic, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lady Natasha Troublicja, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lady Laina Vandevic, Minion Vampire:</strong> Andru attacks Laina again with the intention of turning her into a vampire bride, and is revealed as the vampire.</p><p>Unless the PCs are very lucky, Laina is transformed into a vampire.</p><p>Andru returns to Laina's room and transforms her into a minion vampire under his control.</p><p></p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> Any creature killed by a vampire's energy drain is doomed to rise as a vampire itself 1 day after burial. This can be prevented by burning or destroying the body.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16853/FOR8-Pages-from-the-Mages-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Pages From the Mages </a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Spectral Wizard:</strong> <em>Create Spectral Wizard</em> spell.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> <em>Undead Familiar</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> <em>Undead Familiar</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Undead Familiar</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Level: 5</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 1 turn</p><p>Area of Effect: 1 corpse or skeleton</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>Using this spell, an evil wizard animates a corpse to act as his familiar. The .subject. can be in any stage of decay to the point of being nothing more than a skeleton. Any human, demihuman, or humanoid corpse can be animated. The resulting zombie or skeleton has the same abilities and immunities as a normal undead creature of its type, but has 1d3 points of Intelligence. The wizard has an empathic link with the familiar and can issue mental commands at a distance of up to one mile. Empathic responses from the familiar are basic and unemotional, and such a familiar is unlikely to be distracted from its task.</p><p>If separated from the caster, the familiar loses 1 hit point each day, and is destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points. When the familiar is in physical contact with the wizard, it gains the wizard's saving throw against special attacks; it suffers damage as normal, according to whether or not it makes its saving throw. If the familiar is destroyed, the caster must immediately make a successful system shock check or die. Even if he survives this check, the wizard loses 1 point from his Constitution when the familiar is destroyed.</p><p>An undead familiar can be turned normally, but cannot be destroyed by turning. If within sight of its master, it is turned as a wight.</p><p>A wizard can have only one familiar of any type at any time. An undead familiar accepts more abuse than a normal familiar would.</p><p>The spell requires a corpse or skeleton and a silver ring that is placed on one of the familiar's fingers.</p><p></p><p>Create Spectral Wizard</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Level: 8</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 1 turn</p><p>Area of Effect: 1 wizard</p><p>Saving Throw: Special</p><p>This spell allows the caster to cause a human or elf wizard or a gnome illusionist to die and become a spectral wizard. If the spell is cast on an unwilling recipient, the victim is allowed a saving throw vs. death magic to negate the spell.</p><p>In the process of dying and becoming undead, the spell's recipient is drained of 1d4 levels. Once animated, the spectral wizard is free-willed, but any utterance from its creator acts as a suggestion spell upon it. Only a wish spell can free a spectral wizard of its undead state. A spectral wizard is restored to life has a 50% chance to be restored with his original levels intact. It is possible that another undiscovered process may restore the spectral wizard entirely.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16885/PHBR1-The-Complete-Fighters-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">PHBR1 The Complete Fighter's Handbook</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost Horse:</strong> A horse dies while attuned to a Saddle of the Spirit-Horse magic item.</p><p><strong>Ghost Donkey:</strong> A horse dies while attuned to a variant Saddle of the Spirit-Horse magic item.</p><p><strong>Ghost Camel:</strong> A horse dies while attuned to a variant Saddle of the Spirit-Horse magic item.</p><p><strong>Ghost Ground Animal:</strong> A horse dies while attuned to a variant Saddle of the Spirit-Horse magic item.</p><p><strong>Frozen Lich:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p>Saddle of the Spirit-Horse: This is a very strange magical item which may only be used by warriors (either single-, multi-, or dual-class).</p><p>To all appearances, it is an ordinary, worn leather saddle of good quality. However, it is a magical item. If worn by a single horse, it attunes itself to that horse when worn for three days. (It doesn't have to be worn continuously for 72 hours—just worn as an ordinary saddle is.)</p><p>Once it is attuned to the horse, nothing remarkable happens . . . unless the horse dies while wearing the saddle. If it does, the spirit of the horse stays with the saddle for another 24 hours. Half an hour after the horse died, the spirit of the horse will "awaken," and climb to its unseen feet, and prepare to carry its master wherever he wants to go. The ghost-horse continues to wear the saddle and to carry it around . . . and the horse's master or other favorite riders may ride it during that time.</p><p>For the next 24 hours, the horse-ghost will tirelessly carry its rider wherever he wants to go, at the full running speed the horse could manage when it was alive. But it's a spooky sight: The saddle floats in the air, four or five feet up (at the height the living horse carried it); the rider must mount normally, treat the horse as he did normally, and pretend all is as it ever was.</p><p>Other than running, the horse-spirit has no unusual abilities. It cannot be seen or touched. It can whinny and neigh, and it can buck . . . though only the saddle is seen to buck in the air. It cannot truly fly; when it comes to a ravine, for instance, it must descend to the bottom and climb the other slope as it would have had to do if it were alive.</p><p>This frightens living horses. No normal horse will approach the animated saddle within a hundred feet. For this reason, it is best used when the character is alone and, has his horse killed out from under him.</p><p>If a character kills his horse to get this 24 hours of fast, tireless service, the ghost-horse will remember this and be offended by it . . . even if the character did it secretly, by poison or long-distance magic, the horse will know it. It will allow him to mount the floating saddle, and behave normally for a while, but at some catastrophic time it will try to kill the character. It may jump off a cliff, or ride him straight back at the enemy he's trying to elude, or buck him off into a pit of snakes.</p><p>These saddles may also be made for donkeys, camels, or any other ground animals. They don't work with pegasi, griffons, or other flying beasts.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16886/PHBR2-Complete-Thiefs-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">PHBR2 Complete Thief's Handbook</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> Shadowcloak magic item.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p>Shadowcloak: This large, cowled cloak is made from pure black velvet. When worn by a thief it improves hide in shadows chances by 25% and makes a thief 50% likely to be invisible in near-darkness (even to infravision, ultravision, etc.). It can also be used to cast darkness, darkness 15' radius, and continual darkness once each per day (at 12th level of magic use). Finally, once per day the wearer can actually transform into a shadow (cf. Monstrous Compendium I) for up to 12 turns, becoming a shadow in all respects save for mental ones (thus, the wearer cannot be damaged by nonmagical weapons, undead take the wearer for a shadow and ignore him, etc.). Saves against light-based attacks (e.g., a light spell cast into the eyes) are always made at -2 by the wearer of a shadowcloak.</p><p> If a cleric successfully makes a turning attempt against the wearer in shadowform, the cloak wearer is permitted a saving throw (this is at -4 if the cleric is actually able to damn/destroy shadows). If the save fails, the wearer suffers 1d6 points of damage per level of the cleric and the shadowcloak is destroyed. If the save is made, the character takes half damage and must flee in fear from the cleric at maximum rate for one turn.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16888/PHBR3-The-Complete-Priests-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">PHBR3 The Complete Priest's Handbook</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Night-Spirit:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Because undead beings have been removed or removed themselves from this natural cycle, the priests of the life-death-rebirth cycle force are their sworn enemies.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16889/PHBR4-The-Complete-Wizards-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">PHBR4 The Complete Wizard's Handbook</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> If a human or demihuman victim is reduced to 0 hit points or 0 Strength by the caster in shadow form from the shadow form spell, the victim has lost all of his life force and is immediately drawn into the Negative Material Plane where he will forever after exist as a shadow. </p><p><em>Shadow Form</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ju-ju Zombie:</strong> <em>Zombie Double</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Shadow Form (Necromancy) </p><p>Eighth-Level Spell</p><p>Range: 0</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: 1 round/level</p><p>Casting Time: 1 round</p><p>Area of Effect: The caster</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p> By means of this spell, the caster temporarily changes himself into a shadow. The caster gains the movement rate, Armor Class, hit dice, and all abilities of a shadow. His chilling touch (requiring a normal attack roll) inflicts 2-5 (1d4+1) hit points of damage on his victims as well as draining one point of Strength. Lost Strength returns in 2-8 (2d4) turns after being touched. If a human or demihuman victim is reduced to 0 hit points or 0 Strength by the caster in shadow form, the victim has lost all of his life force and is immediately drawn into the Negative Material Plane where he will forever after exist as a shadow. </p><p> All of the caster's weapons and equipment stay with him, but he is unable to use them while in shadow form. He is also unable to cast spells while in shadow form, but he is immune to sleep, charm, and hold spells, and is unaffected by cold-based attacks. He is 90 percent undetectable in all but the brightest of surroundings. Unlike normal shadows, a wizard in shadow form cannot be turned by priests. At the end of the spell's duration, there is a 5% chance that the caster will permanently remain as a shadow. Nothing short of a wish can return the caster to his normal form. </p><p> The material components for this spell are the shroud from a corpse at least 100 years old and a black glass marble. </p><p></p><p>Zombie Double (Necromancy) </p><p>Seventh-Level Spell </p><p>Range: 0</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: 1 turn/level</p><p>Casting Time: 1 turn</p><p>Area of Effect: Special</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p> This spell creates a ju-ju zombie duplicate of the caster. The zombie double has the same memories, consciousness, and alignment as the caster; essentially, the caster now exists in two bodies simultaneously. In all other respects, the zombie double is the same as a normal ju-ju zombie (AC 6; MV 9; HD 3+12; #AT 1; Dmg 3-12; SA strike as a 6 HD monster; SD immune to all mind-affecting spells, including illusions; immune to sleep, charm, hold, death magic, magic missiles, electricity, poisons, and cold-based spells; edged and cleaving weapons inflict normal damage while blunt and piercing weapons inflict half- damage; magical and normal fire inflicts half-damage); THAC0 16. </p><p> The zombie double cannot cast spells, but it can use any weapons that the caster can use. It is also able to climb walls as a thief (92 percent). The zombie double can be turned as a spectre. If it strays more than 30 yards from the caster, the zombie double becomes inactive and collapses to the ground; it becomes active again the instant the caster moves within 30 yards. </p><p> The material components for this spell are a bit of wax from a black candle and a lock of hair from the caster.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16868/Players-Handbook-Revised-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Player's Handbook</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> If the character is energy drained to less than 0 levels by an undead's energy drain (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 who slew it.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> <em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> <em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Gnoll Zombie:</strong> <em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Fire Giant Zombie:</strong> <em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Dwarven Zombie:</strong> <em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Juju Zombie:</strong> <em>Finger of Death</em> spell.</p><p><em>Energy Drain</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p>Animate Dead</p><p>Fifth-Level Wizard (Necromancy)</p><p>Range: 10 yds. Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 5 rds.</p><p>Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None</p><p> This spell creates the lowest of the undead monsters--skeletons or zombies--usually from the bones or bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids. The spell causes existing remains to become animated and obey the simple verbal commands of the caster. The skeletons or zombies can follow the caster, remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific type of creature) entering the place, etc. The undead remain animated until they are destroyed in combat or are turned; the magic cannot be dispelled. The following types of dead creatures can be animated:</p><p> A) Humans, demihumans, and humanoids with 1 Hit Die. The wizard can animate one skeleton for each experience level he has attained, or one zombie for every two levels. The experience levels, if any, of the slain are ignored; the body of a newly dead 9th-level fighter is animated as a zombie with 2 Hit Dice, without special class or racial abilities.</p><p> B) Creatures with more than 1 Hit Die. The number of undead animated is determined by the monster Hit Dice (the total Hit Dice cannot exceed the wizard's level). Skeletal forms have the Hit Dice of the original creature, while zombie forms have one more Hit Die. Thus, a 12th-level wizard could animate four zombie gnolls (4 x [2+1 Hit Dice] = 12), or a single fire giant skeleton. Such undead have none of the special abilities they had in life.</p><p> C) Creatures with less than 1 Hit Die. The caster can animate two skeletons per level or one zombie per level. The creatures have their normal Hit Dice as skeletons and an additional Hit Die as zombies. Clerics receive a +1 bonus when trying to turn these.</p><p> This spell assumes that the bodies or bones are available and are reasonably intact (those of skeletons or zombies destroyed in combat won't be!).</p><p> It requires a drop of blood and a pinch of bone powder or a bone shard to complete the spell. The casting of this spell is not a good act, and only evil wizards use it frequently.</p><p></p><p>Animate Dead</p><p>Third-Level Priest (Necromancy)</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic</p><p>Range: 10 yds. Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 rd.</p><p>Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None</p><p> This spell creates the lowest of the undead monsters, skeletons or zombies, usually from the bones or bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids. The spell causes these remains to become animated and obey the simple verbal commands of the caster, regardless of how they communicated in life. The skeletons or zombies can follow the caster, remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific type of creature) entering the place, etc. The undead remain animated until they are destroyed in combat or are turned; the magic cannot be dispelled.</p><p> The priest can animate one skeleton or one zombie for each experience level he has attained. If creatures with more than 1+ Hit Dice are animated, the number is determined by the monster Hit Dice. Skeletal forms have the Hit Dice of the original creature, while zombie forms have 1 more Hit Die. Thus, a 12th-level priest could animate 12 dwarven skeletons (or six zombies), four zombie gnolls, or a single zombie fire giant. Note that this is based on the standard racial Hit Die norm; thus, a high-level adventurer would be animated as a skeleton or zombie of 1 or 2 Hit Dice, and without special class or racial abilities. The caster can, alternatively, animate two small animal skeletons (1-1 Hit Die or less) for every level of experience he has achieved.</p><p> The spell requires a drop of blood, a piece of flesh of the type of creature being animated, and a pinch of bone powder or a bone shard to complete the spell. Casting this spell is not a good act, and only evil priests use it frequently.</p><p></p><p>Finger of Death </p><p>Seventh-Level Wizard (Necromancy)</p><p>Range: 60 yds. Components: V, S</p><p>Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 5</p><p>Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: Neg.</p><p> The finger of death spell snuffs out the victim's life force. If successful, the victim can be neither raised nor resurrected. In addition, in human subjects the spell initiates changes to the body such that after three days the caster can, by means of a special ceremony costing not less than 1,000 gp plus 500 gp per body, animate the corpse as a juju zombie under the control of the caster. The changes can be reversed before animation by a limited wish or similar spell cast directly upon the body, and a full wish restores the subject to life.</p><p> The caster utters the finger of death spell incantation, points his index finger at the creature to be slain, and unless the victim succeeds in a saving throw vs. spell, death occurs. A creature successfully saving still receives 2d8+1 points of damage. If the subject dies of damage, no internal changes occur and the victim can then be revived normally.</p><p></p><p>Energy Drain </p><p>Ninth-Level Wizard (Evocation, Necromancy)</p><p>Range: Touch Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 3</p><p>Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: None</p><p> By casting this spell, the wizard opens a channel between the plane he is in and the Negative Energy plane, becoming the conductor between the two planes. As soon as he touches (equal to a hit if melee is involved) any living creature, the victim loses two levels (as if struck by a spectre). A monster loses 2 Hit Dice permanently, both for hit points and attack ability. A character loses levels, Hit Dice, hit points, and abilities permanently (until regained through adventuring, if applicable).</p><p> The material component of this spell is essence of spectre or vampire dust. Preparation requires mere moments; the material component is then cast forth, and, upon touching the victim, the wizard speaks the triggering word, causing the spell to take effect instantly.</p><p> The spell remains effective for only a single round. Humans or humanoids brought below zero energy levels by this spell can be animated as juju zombies under the control of the caster.</p><p> The caster always has a 5% (1 in 20) chance to be affected by the dust, losing one point of Constitution at the same time as the victim is drained. When the number of Constitution points lost equals the caster's original Constitution ability score, the caster dies and becomes a shade.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16857/Prayers-from-the-Faithful-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Prayers From the Faithful</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> <em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> <em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> <em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> <em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> <em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> <em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie Ju-Ju:</strong> <em>Create Undead Minion</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Create Undead Minion</p><p>(Alteration, Necromancy)</p><p>Level: 7</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 1 turn</p><p>Area of Effect: One living sentient being or the corpse of one</p><p>Saving Throw: Neg.</p><p>This spell is available only to faiths headed by deities of evil alignments. The caster of this spell creates the form of an undead creature. The type of undead creature created depends upon the level of the caster and the condition of the victim.</p><p>The spell may be cast on a living or a dead subject. Dead subjects must have died within the previous 24 hours, and their bodies must be in good shape. If dead subjects fail their saving throws vs. spell, they transform into ghouls, the only type of undead that can be created from a dead subject with this spell.</p><p>Subjects who are still alive when this spell is cast become more powerful undead minions. If such subjects fail their saving throws vs. spell, they transform into the type of undead indicated below, depending on the casting priest’s level. Casters can create any type of undead listed on the table up to their level limit. Thus, an 18th-level priest can create a ghoul or a ghast as easily as a vampire. Undead creatures of any sort created by this spell never retain character abilities.</p><p>Cleric Level Type of Undead</p><p>14th Ghoul</p><p>15th Ghast</p><p>16th Ju-ju zombie</p><p>17th Wight</p><p>18th Wraith</p><p>19th Spectre</p><p>20th+ Vampire</p><p>The transformation into an undead creature takes the full turn of the casting time to be completed. If the spell is interrupted (or dispelled) before the turn is complete, the subject is rendered unconscious for a turn and returns to normal at the end of that turn.</p><p>The undead creature created by this spell is under the complete control of the caster. If the controlling priest is later killed, the undead minion must make a successful saving throw vs. death magic or perish as well. Surviving undead creatures become free-willed.</p><p>The components of this spell are the holy symbol of the caster, dirt from a graveyard, and the fingernail of one of the forms of corporeal undead listed on the table above.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17487/RA2-Ship-of-Horror-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">RA2 Ship of Horror</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lebentod:</strong> The first lebendtod were created by a powerful necromancer. Thrilled with his new servants, he gave his creations the ability to turn their victims into lebendtod in order to propagate the “species”. Any lebendtod can create another lebendtod by killing a victim and breathing into its mouth as the victim breathes its last breath. The victim must then by isolated and left undisturbed for 72 hours. If these conditions are met, the victim awakens as a lebendtod.</p><p>Lebendtod can be created by high-level wizards or by the lebendtod themselves.</p><p>The Graben’s condition is the result of Meredoth’s necromancy. When the domain formed, Meredoth realized that he needed a way to maintain the supply of bodies required for his research. In time, he developed the necessary magic, poisoned the entire family, then converted their bodies to their current state.</p><p><strong>Jacob, Ghost:</strong> Jacob and Charlotte are likewise victims of Garvyn’s greed. He was paid to deliver their bodies to a mausoleum, but he took the money and dumped the bodies overboard.</p><p><strong>Charlotte, Ghost:</strong> Jacob and Charlotte are likewise victims of Garvyn’s greed. He was paid to deliver their bodies to a mausoleum, but he took the money and dumped the bodies overboard.</p><p><strong>Madeline Stern, Ghost:</strong> Garvyn was hired by a wealthy family to transport Madeline’s body to the family mausoleum on a small island. He was paid for the job, but instead of completing his mission, he dumped her body overboard rather than make the three-day journey to the island.</p><p><strong>Skeletal Shark:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Squirrel Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Rabbit Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ferret Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Chipmunk Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Cat Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Opossum Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bird Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Monkey Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Small Dog Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Sheep Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Pig Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Goat Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Large Bird Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Panther Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Cheetah Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wolf Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Coyote Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Large Dog Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mule Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Boar Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Badger Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kangaroo Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bear Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Moose Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Horse Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lion Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Elephant Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> If the body of a lebentod's victim is disturbed before 72 hours have elapsed, the victim awakens as a ghast.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17490/RA3-Touch-of-Death-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">RA3 Touch of Death</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Zombie Desert:</strong>Anyone struck by the mummies' attack becomes infected with a horrible rotting disease that kills in 1d12 days. On the day after the infection, the character loses 1 point of Strength and Constitution. Their skin begins to wither and flake like old parchment. They get shakes and convulsions making it impossible to cast spells. The only hope is a series of cure disease spells, all cast on the same day, one for each day that the disease has progressed.</p><p>Normally the person affected crumbles into dust when they die. However, Senmet has the ability to make the dead body retain its dried out shape and can transform the hapless victim into a desert zombie. He does this by strangling an infected character. Within 8 hours, the dead body withers and reanimates as a desert zombie.</p><p>The greater mummy, Senmet, created the first desert zombies. He sacrificed all of his spell casting power to be able to create and control an army of these zombies, as well as take limited control over the domain of Har'Akir.</p><p>Any character who dies from the disease transmitted by the touch of the greater mummy becomes a desert zombie. It takes a full day after the death to animate the corpse. If the body is destroyed during that time, then it cannot be animated as a desert zombie. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> Characters infected by Senmet that are mummified alive (a gruesome process), become mummies under the control of Senmet.</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater:</strong> Centuries later, Isu read from a magical scroll a fragment of the ceremony used by Anhktepot to create greater mummies. Senmet returned to control his undead body. [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17480/Requiem-The-Grim-Harvest-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Requiem: The Grim Harvest</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Mummy Bog:</strong> The wave from the Negative Energy Plane that swept across the domain when the doomsday device was activated, and the lesser wave of positive energy it pushed before it, had their effects upon the Boglands. The latter gave rise to a new form of mummy, while the former tainted what little arable soil existed in this region.</p><p>Bog mummies are formed when a corpse comes to rest in a marsh or swamp and is naturally mummified by being coated in a layer of mud. Eventually the body takes on the dark coloration of the earth and becomes as tough as tanned leather. The clothing is partially preserved and sticks to the corpse in patches, as does hair. The facial features are distorted in a permanent grimace and the hands are stiffened into clawlike hooks. When the corpse at last rises as an undead creature, it walks with an uneven gait, due to the stiffness of its limbs.</p><p>A bog mummy rises as an undead creature when a powerful burst of positive energy causes the dead person's spirit to rejoin with the preserved body. Bog mummies may be created by a priest or another mummy from the raw material of a corpse or may be the result of powerful emotional forces. In the domain of Necropolis, however, bog mummies are an accidental creation. It is theorized that, when the doomsday device was activated, the resulting shock wave of negative energy that it sent out pushed before it a wave of positive energy. When this wave struck Stagnus Lake and the Great Salt Swamp, it also sent a positive wave through the large number of bodies that lay beneath the mud. The swamps were, after all, a favorite place to dispose of murder victims and contained a great many corpses that were already charged with strong emotional energy. Bog mummies began to climb out of the mud and stalk the living of Necropolis.</p><p><strong>Trillen Mistwalker 3rd Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Trillen's obsession with finding the ruin and his grief over - his brother's death eventually drove him to madness. He died, destitute and raving, a few years later. Such was his force of will, however, that his spirit remained behind.</p><p><strong>Zombie Rats:</strong> The wave of negative energy thrown out by the doomsday device has infused Galf with a special power. By laying hands on a dead rodent, he can animate its corpse.</p><p>Galf recently "cleaned up" his house by voluntarily killing all of his pet rats. The council does not realize that he has raised his beloved rodents as zombies.</p><p><strong>Beryl Silvertress Dwarf Vampire:</strong> Beryl does not remember the name of the vampire who cursed her with the "gift" of unlife—a dwarf with a midnight-black beard who fled into the Ravenloft Mists. Her only clue as to his identity is that he has a palm-sized patch over his heart that is icy cold to the touch, a stigmata left by a stalagmite that once impaled him.</p><p>Beryl has no idea why this man kidnapped her from her carriage and turned her into a vampire. But she is vain enough to think that it was due to her beauty.</p><p><strong>Yako Vormoff Vassalich:</strong> Sensing the lad's intelligence and his talent at manipulating others, Azalin trained Yako in the arts of dark magic. He eventually "promoted" his young pupil above others of greater age and talent, performing the dread ritual that turned Yako into a vassalich.</p><p><strong>Damon Skragg Ghoul Lord:</strong> None know what happened on that evil isle, but it is thought that Damon fell victim to a necromancer's experiments. He returned to his ship a ghoul lord with a crew composed of ghasts, hollow shells of the sailors whose lives he had taken.</p><p><strong>Siren Ravenloft:</strong> It is thought that the sirens are merfolk who were transformed by the burst of negative energy that was released when the doomsday device was activated.</p><p><strong>Kristobal del Diego Mature Vampire:</strong> Originally a horticulturalist, he was accosted by a female vampire in the public rose garden late one night.</p><p><strong>Crow Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Death:</strong> Azalin instead used Lowellyn to build and test the infernal machine, a prototype for the doomsday device. As a result of this experiment, Lowellyn was transformed into the creature known as Death.</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Darkon is transformed by a wave of negative energy that is thrown out when the doomsday device is activated. The capital of the domain, Il Aluk, is swept clean of living things. Every living creature in the city (including the heroes) is transformed into an undead caricature of itself.</p><p>In fact, the wave of blackness that the heroes saw coming out of the exploding doomsday device was a shock wave from the Negative Energy Plane. Even as the heroes were killed, this energy washed over their bodies, infusing them with unlife and transforming them into undead creatures. At the same time, it transformed all of Il Aluk into a city of the dead and forever changed the domain of Darkon (henceforth known as Necropolis).</p><p>Every living thing in the city, from the lowliest rat to the highest Eternal Order priest, has been transformed into an undead creature by the doomsday device.</p><p>When the doomsday device was activated, it threw out a shock wave of negative energy so powerful that every living thing in Il Aluk was instantly slain. At the same time, the streets and buildings of the city were permeated with this force, which began to pulse within the city like a corrupted heartbeat. As a result of this powerful energy, the people and animals of Il Aluk were infused with unlife and rose as undead creatures on the morning that followed Darkest Night.</p><p>Il Aluk, the capital of Necropolis, has been swept clean of living things. There are no plants, no insects, no bacteria, nothing. So infused with the power of the Negative Energy Plane is this place that only the ranks of the living dead may come and go freely in this region. Any living creature who tries to enter the city is drained of life and becomes an undead thing.</p><p>Not every undead creature has the ability to create others of its kind. Only those with some manner of energy draining attack (whether it affects life energy, ability scores, or some other aspect of living characters) have the potential to create more undead. If a player wishes his character to have this ability, he must allocate an extra slot to the attack type that will be used to create new undead. In addition, the DM and player should specify some means by which the raising of the newly slain victim can be prevented.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Ghosts are the ethereal remnants of those who died an emotional and traumatic death.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> The lower ranking Kargat of Il Aluk have been transformed into ghouls.</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast:</strong> None know what happened on that evil isle, but it is thought that Damon fell victim to a necromancer's experiments. He returned to his ship a ghoul lord with a crew composed of ghasts, hollow shells of the sailors whose lives he had taken.</p><p>A successful bite by Damon inflicts 1d10 points of damage. Victims who do not make a successful saving throw vs. poison succumb to a horrid rotting disease that inflicts 1d10 points of damage per day. In addition, the disease reduces both Constitution and Charisma by 1 point per day. This affliction may only be cured by a heal spell; all other curative spells are ineffective in treating it. Once halted, the victim's Constitution score returns to its original value at a rate of 1 point per week. Charisma, however, is permanently reduced, due to the terrible scars left by the disease. Should the victim's hit points or one of his ability scores reach zero, he dies. Unless the body is destroyed, it will rise as a ghast three nights later and will join the Bountiful crew as an undead sailor wholly under Damon's command.</p><p>Any of the four Kargat officers who served in the Grim Fastness, and who were not killed by the heroes, have been transformed into ghasts by the doomsday device explosion.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> The emaciated figure is Grandmother Nichia, who was transformed into a lich by the shock wave of negative energy that swept through Il Aluk.</p><p>Born from a determination to resist death at all costs, these magicians are natural schemers whose subtle machinations often span decades or even centuries.</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> Those priests of the Eternal Order who were not inside the Grim Fastness (who were not transformed into zombie priests) are transformed into mummies.</p><p>For the purposes of these rules, a mummy is akin to a lich, save that it is the undead form of a Priest. Such a character need not have worshiped one of the gods of ancient Egypt.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> The average citizens of Il Aluk have been transformed into zombies or skeletons. A handful were also turned into shadows.</p><p>Shadows are beings of darkness, created when a human or demihuman has his essence drained away and replaced with energy from the Negative Energy Plane. This process destroys the creature's physical form, leaving behind nothing but an incorporeal, undead silhouette.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> The average citizens of Il Aluk have been transformed into zombies or skeletons.</p><p>A skeleton is the reanimated corpse of a human, demihuman, or humanoid which has been stripped of flesh.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> The apparition is an undead creature, a noblewoman by the name of Chauncy Hopcott who was transformed into a spectre by the wave of negative energy thrown out by the doomsday device.</p><p>Spectres are a terrible form of incorporeal creature created when a living person is either killed by an existing spectre or, in rare cases, frightened to death.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> When using her biting attack, Beryl can drain vitality; each successful attack permanently lowers her victim's Constitution by 2 points. Victims reduced to a Constitution of 0 are slain and rise as vampires in three days.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> The average citizens of Il Aluk have been transformed into zombies or skeletons.</p><p>Zombies are among the easiest of the undead to create and, conversely, to destroy. They are almost always created by means of an animate dead spell.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17473/Return-to-the-Tomb-of-Horrors-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Return to the Tomb of Horrors</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Bone Weird:</strong> It is doubtful that bone weirds are called into existence by mere chance; a wizard or necromancer of powerful ability is most commonly the cause for their appearance. </p><p>A strange essence inhabits the cast-off bony dross of this mom, drawn here and shaped by Acererak's ever-busy hands. In his efforts to understand and fully grasp the true nature of the Negative Energy Plane, Acererak's paradigm shifted enough so that he was able to think of the plane as just another elemental plane, albeit an anomalous one. Following this line of reasoning, he was able to coerce the nihilistic essences of the plane into the dead bones within this chamber (with the help of his former servant Deverus). In effect, he brought into being bone weirds-the first of their kind to exist.</p><p><strong>Moilian Heart:</strong> A moilian heart is an example of a previously undiscovered class of undead creatures created by the dissolution of the lost city of Moil. </p><p>The moilian heart is an entirely artificial monster, created by dark necromancy. </p><p>The artificial animation of moilian creatures involves a very rare spell researched and codified by the necromancer Drake of the Black Academy, who has discovered the unique undead creatures of Moil, the City That Waits. The moilian heart represents the necromancer’s first essay into this new avenue of the Dark Arts, but certainly not his last. </p><p>Drake is investigating many lines of research, but one of his most promising has produced the creature that he keeps safely locked away in this lead-lined vault. This line of research (among others) was actually illuminated to him when he encountered some of the denizens of The City That Waits (of all the necromancers in Skull City, only Drake has secretly penetrated thus far into Acererak's realm).</p><p><em>Animate Moilian</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Moilian Zombie:</strong> They lie as dead, although they are not marked by violence, as their deaths came to them in dark slumber. Neither is there any rot apparent, due to the supernatural cold which permeates the air in the city of their origin, Moil. </p><p>There was once a city called Moil that daily saw the light of the sun. The inhabitants of Moil were a foul people, as evidenced by their worship of the powerful tanar'ri lord called Orcus. With the passage of time the Moilians’ faith in their deity slipped. The tanar’ri lord sought vengeance, and placed a curse upon Moil; its inhabitants fell into an enchanted slumber which would lift only with the dawn. Orcus then removed the city from its natural site and transformed it into a nightmarish demiplane with ties to the Negative Energy Plane, assuring that the sun would never again shine upon Moil. Over time, the slumbering moilians all perished in their dark sleep. Because of their proximity to the Negative Energy Plane, the frozen forms of the inhabitants became undead moilian zombies. </p><p>Any character reduced to 0 hit points through a Moilian heart's draining dies and has a 13% chance of spontaneously animating as a Moilian zombie.</p><p>Predictably, Orcus was wroth. In horrible but unlooked-for vengeance, the entity cast what initially seemed a mild curse over Moil: its inhabitants fell into an enchanted sleep that could only be broken by the dawning of the sun. Orcus then physically removed the city from its natural site and transformed it into a nightmarish, lightless demiplane of its own, assuring that the sun would never shine upon its tall towers. Having completed this deed, Orcus dubbed the demiplane anew as The City That Waits.</p><p>Over time, the slumbering Moilians all perished in their dark sleep, leaving the place strewn with unquiet dead and dangerous dreams.</p><p><em>Animate Moilian</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Vestige, Undead Dream:</strong> The Vestige is a creature born from the nightmares of every citizen of the city of Moil as they died in cursed sleep. </p><p>With the advent of Orcus’s curse of sleep, the strengthened dream consciousness of the city’s citizenry survived beyond the death of their corporeal bodies; thus was born the Vestige.</p><p>Predictably, Orcus was wroth. In horrible but unlooked-for vengeance, the entity cast what initially seemed a mild curse over Moil: its inhabitants fell into an enchanted sleep that could only be broken by the dawning of the sun. Orcus then physically removed the city from its natural site and transformed it into a nightmarish, lightless demiplane of its own, assuring that the sun would never shine upon its tall towers. Having completed this deed, Orcus dubbed the demiplane anew as The City That Waits.</p><p>Over time, the slumbering Moilians all perished in their dark sleep, leaving the place strewn with unquiet dead and dangerous dreams.</p><p><strong>Winter-Wight:</strong> Acererak created winter-wights in his quest for knowledge and power. </p><p>Acererak creates winter-wights from lower forms of undead in a special process. This process involves the immersion of the undead in a bath of amplified radiation from the Negative Energy Plane, in conjunction with powerful rites of binding and animation. </p><p>The blank canister in the chamber is part and parcel of Acererak's researches. Acererak calls the device a Dim Forge, and with it he is able to enervate immensely powerful undead beings such as his most recent invention, the winter-wight (although a specific spell exists to create winter-wights, one of the material components of the spell is a negative-energy focusing device, such as the Dim Forge). While the Dim Forge is a potent tool for undead creation, it is prone to spawn failed experiments. Hundreds of unfavored beings have left the black canister of the forge only to be relegated to the Theater of the Dead.</p><p>Although not apparent to the observer, the crystal dome located above the Forge represents the endpoint of an array of magically protected antennas that reach into the Negative Energy Material Plane. The antennas are over a mile long and branch many times. Through a series of complex enchantments, Acererak has created a means of collecting, concentrating, and amplifying negative energy down the length of the antennas so that the crystal blister in the room acts to focus negative energy into the canister.</p><p>If the characters inspect the canister, they find only a latch and a pair of heavy-duty hinges that allow the weighty lid to be thrown back. Within the canister, there is a chill space large enough to contain One human-sized creature. Activation of the Dim Forge is automatically accomplished merely by closing the lid, as the PCs may discover-possibly to their dismay-with a minimum of experimentation.</p><p>Upon activation of the Dim Forge, the large unseen antennas draw in the essence of the Void. A thrum of magic vibrates through its mile-long length. The characters hear a gonglike thrum. The noise has no more volume than normal conversation during the first round, but quickly builds, reaching a thunderous crescendo three rounds later. At the end of the third round, the blister on the ceiling releases a single bolt of negative energy, so black that it appears to be a rip in the fabric of reality itself. The energy discharges from the ceiling pod into the black canister below. All is silent after the discharge, and nothing moves save for a bit of residual blackfire (as the spell; stand back!) upon the surface of the canister. The flames dissipate in the space of a round.</p><p>If a body of any size that can fit (living, dead, or undead) is within the closed Forge at the time of</p><p>discharge, consult the table below to determine the result of the concentrated annihilating energy. Even fully empowered undead (such as a winter-wight) can be destroyed by a second exposure to the Forge's energies. If the canister contains an inanimate object or is empty, a negative energy elemental is always generated. If the spell create winter-wight is cast in conjunction with the activation of the Dim Forge, add +2 to the die roll.</p><p>If the canister is open when the energy discharge strikes, the bolt fragments and showers the room with sparks of negative energy. Objects in the chamber suffer no ill effects, but creatures must attempt saving throws vs. breath weapon. All who fail suffer the effect noted on the table.</p><p>Dim Forge Activation Results (1d8)</p><p>1. Not even dust remains within the canister.</p><p>2. The object is destroyed and small carbon fragments burn fitfully with blackfire for ld6+6 rounds.</p><p>3. Body is burnt almost past recognizability; the smell is truly ghastly.</p><p>4. Burnt body animates as a standard zombie; no remnant of personality remains.</p><p>5. Body internalizes energy and animates as a standard spectre; no personality remains.</p><p>6. Body completely internalizes energy and is destroyed; negative energy elemental is generated and personality is lost.</p><p>7. Body internalizes energy and animates as a half-strength winter-wight (8 Hit Dice); original personality is destroyed.</p><p>8. Body internalizes energy and animates as a winter-wight; original personality, if any, survives with a successful Wisdom check.</p><p><em>Create Winter-Wight</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Acererak Lich:</strong> The balor (a true tanar’ri) called Tarnhem is held imprisoned in this chamber through powerful dweomers and Acererak’s knowledge of its truename: Maasgheldur. Acererak discovered the name because it was a requirement of his particular ritual of transformation from cambion to lich-he needed to know his supernatural father. Tarnhem’s ravishment of a human female engendered the half-tanar’ri child whom his mother named Acererak (see Desatysso’s Journal for details).</p><p><strong>Acererak Demilich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Blaesing, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Absalom, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Harrow, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Minor Death:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mistress Ferranifer, Vampire Scion Necromancer 18:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gustaeth:</strong> Of all the trophies mounted in the Tower of Test, three were infused with the energy of unlife by the Dark Intrusion.</p><p><strong>Tyr's Undead Hand:</strong> Those who believe the hand to truly be that of Tyr are not disappointed to discover that the hand truly does possess power from beyond the grave-it is animated. Unfortunately, it is animated by the Dark Intrusion.</p><p><strong>Faericles, Lord High Exultant, Moilian Zombie:</strong> Faericles was the last of the Lord High Exaltants, and his fate was the same as most of the rest of the populace of Moil: he perished in his sleep and became a Moilian zombie. However, Acererak found that he had use for such martial prowess and rejuvenated Faericles to the point where he now remains constantly animated. In the process, Faericles became empowered far beyond “normal” Moilian zombies.</p><p>He appears as a leathery-skinned human who is illuminated with an eerie violet glow; this is a side effect of the necromantic energization that allows him permanent animation.</p><p>Faericles spends at least 12 hours out of 24 on this mat in contemplation of the mysteries of his art. At the same time, the enchanted stones energize his body so that he can remain animate even without the nourishing presence of living beings. These stones (created by Acererak) emit a necromantic radiation capable of saturating living or once-living objects. This radiation has the effect of linking the saturated being with the Negative Energy Plane. For Faericles, an undead Moilian zombie, it means he can operate indefinitely as long as he gets his regular “fix.”</p><p><strong>Acererak Demilich Form:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Acererak Skeleton Form:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Acererak Winter Wight Form:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Statue:</strong> The statue in the corner was a human captured and brought to the Fortress of Conclusion by one of the resident tanar’ri. Isafel turned her stony gaze upon the poor fellow, turning him to stone, after which she subjected her new sculpture to the negative energies of the Dim Forge. In this one instant, Isafel knew success; in effect she had created an undead statue.</p><p><strong>Winter-Wight Giant Toad:</strong> Acererak experimented with nonhumanold forms during his research into the creation of the winter-wight. After some limited success, the spirit of the demilich abandoned these efforts due to his inability to graft sufficient intelligence into the creations for his purposes. Acererak destroyed every one of his mentally dim formulations save for the One that lingers yet in this chamber. In the mood for a bit of novelty, Acererak invested the skeletal structure of a giant toad with a blackfire link to the Negative Energy Plane after the manner of a true winter-wight.</p><p></p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> These wights were spontaneously animated by an outlying finger of the Dark Intrusion. They have been lying dead at the bottom of the river for a week and have only now gained the impetus to rise again.</p><p>They took the crew of Payvin’s Pearl with stealth and magic, drained their blood, then dropped the corpses into the concealing waters of the Thelly River. Payvin is alive only because they were just leaving as he came aboard, and it amused them to terrorize him. The bodies of the crew remained beneath the river for a week (a vampire's victims must be buried to become vampires themselves) before another surge of Negative Energy spontaneously animated them into evil wights.</p><p>Again, it is the Dim Triad who has been causing the deaths and disappearances in Pitchfield. The vampires do not return for many nights. However, on the second night after the PCs' arrival, a strange fog flows in from the river and the buried dead of the town's cemetery begin to animate in the night. Since the Dim Triad extracted blood for Mistress Ferranifer's necromantic experiments rather than merely drinking it themselves, their victims do not become vampires in turn but merely wights.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> A vampire's victims must be buried to become vampires themselves.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> The skeletal remains here have been infused with unlife by seepage from the Negative Energy Plane that surrounds the Fortress of Conclusion.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Any living creature of rat size or larger that is slain in the Tomb of Horrors has a 60% chance of spontaneously animating within 1d6 rounds as an undead zombie with the same Hit Dice as the original creature.</p><p>Any living creature of rat size or larger that is slain in The City That Waits has an 80% chance of spontaneously animating within 1d3 rounds as an undead zombie with the same Hit Dice as the original creature.</p><p>Any freshly slain living creature of rat size or larger that is slain in The Fortress of Conclusion has a 95% chance of spontaneously animating as a zombie of the same HD as the original creature. Naturally this applies to PCs who perish in combat or any of Acererak's fiendish traps. The animation takes 1 round.</p><p>The blank canister in the chamber is part and parcel of Acererak's researches. Acererak calls the device a Dim Forge, and with it he is able to enervate immensely powerful undead beings such as his most recent invention, the winter-wight (although a specific spell exists to create winter-wights, one of the material components of the spell is a negative-energy focusing device, such as the Dim Forge). While the Dim Forge is a potent tool for undead creation, it is prone to spawn failed experiments. Hundreds of unfavored beings have left the black canister of the forge only to be relegated to the Theater of the Dead.</p><p>Although not apparent to the observer, the crystal dome located above the Forge represents the endpoint of an array of magically protected antennas that reach into the Negative Energy Material Plane. The antennas are over a mile long and branch many times. Through a series of complex enchantments, Acererak has created a means of collecting, concentrating, and amplifying negative energy down the length of the antennas so that the crystal blister in the room acts to focus negative energy into the canister.</p><p>If the characters inspect the canister, they find only a latch and a pair of heavy-duty hinges that allow the weighty lid to be thrown back. Within the canister, there is a chill space large enough to contain One human-sized creature. Activation of the Dim Forge is automatically accomplished merely by closing the lid, as the PCs may discover-possibly to their dismay-with a minimum of experimentation.</p><p>Upon activation of the Dim Forge, the large unseen antennas draw in the essence of the Void. A thrum of magic vibrates through its mile-long length. The characters hear a gonglike thrum. The noise has no more volume than normal conversation during the first round, but quickly builds, reaching a thunderous crescendo three rounds later. At the end of the third round, the blister on the ceiling releases a single bolt of negative energy, so black that it appears to be a rip in the fabric of reality itself. The energy discharges from the ceiling pod into the black canister below. All is silent after the discharge, and nothing moves save for a bit of residual blackfire (as the spell; stand back!) upon the surface of the canister. The flames dissipate in the space of a round.</p><p>If a body of any size that can fit (living, dead, or undead) is within the closed Forge at the time of</p><p>discharge, consult the table below to determine the result of the concentrated annihilating energy. Even fully empowered undead (such as a winter-wight) can be destroyed by a second exposure to the Forge's energies. If the canister contains an inanimate object or is empty, a negative energy elemental is always generated. If the spell create winter-wight is cast in conjunction with the activation of the Dim Forge, add +2 to the die roll.</p><p>If the canister is open when the energy discharge strikes, the bolt fragments and showers the room with sparks of negative energy. Objects in the chamber suffer no ill effects, but creatures must attempt saving throws vs. breath weapon. All who fail suffer the effect noted on the table.</p><p>Dim Forge Activation Results (1d8)</p><p>1. Not even dust remains within the canister.</p><p>2. The object is destroyed and small carbon fragments burn fitfully with blackfire for ld6+6 rounds.</p><p>3. Body is burnt almost past recognizability; the smell is truly ghastly.</p><p>4. Burnt body animates as a standard zombie; no remnant of personality remains.</p><p>5. Body internalizes energy and animates as a standard spectre; no personality remains.</p><p>6. Body completely internalizes energy and is destroyed; negative energy elemental is generated and personality is lost.</p><p>7. Body internalizes energy and animates as a half-strength winter-wight (8 Hit Dice); original personality is destroyed.</p><p>8. Body internalizes energy and animates as a winter-wight; original personality, if any, survives with a successful Wisdom check.</p><p><strong>Bone Naga:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> “As part of the enchantment of their creation, undead 'siphon' a bit of the energy flowing toward the Negative Energy Plane. This 'stolen' energy serves as their energy of animation. More powerful types of undead have a stronger connection to the Negative Energy Plane and are therefore able to siphon even more energy for their own purposes before it is forever lost in the Final Void. This type of animation is known as "necromancy," but it could also be called Entropic Animancy. Other forms of enchantments exist that can link objects or corpses to the Positive Energy Plane; in this case the flow of energy is reversed. Undead linked to the Positive Energy Plane continually radiate energy and are able to siphon a bit of that energy for purposes of animation. Undead of this type often are associated with the control over living tissue, such as mummies. More powerful undead linked with the Positive Energy Plane are able to manipulate these energies with specific purposes and effects. This type of enchantment is sometimes known as Positive Animancy.”</p><p>Predictably, Orcus was wroth. In horrible but unlooked-for vengeance, the entity cast what initially seemed a mild curse over Moil: its inhabitants fell into an enchanted sleep that could only be broken by the dawning of the sun. Orcus then physically removed the city from its natural site and transformed it into a nightmarish, lightless demiplane of its own, assuring that the sun would never shine upon its tall towers. Having completed this deed, Orcus dubbed the demiplane anew as The City That Waits.</p><p>Over time, the slumbering Moilians all perished in their dark sleep, leaving the place strewn with unquiet dead and dangerous dreams.</p><p>These stones (created by Acererak) emit a necromantic radiation capable of saturating living or once-living objects. This radiation has the effect of linking the saturated being with the Negative Energy Plane. For Faericles, an undead Moilian zombie, it means he can operate indefinitely as long as he gets his regular “fix.”</p><p>For a living being the radiation from the stones causes a sharp pain after one round’ s exposure. An unaccountable feeling of dread also surfaces, along with a desire to move out of the glow of the stones.</p><p>An actual link to the Negative Energy Plane is forged at the end of the second round. At this point, the life force of the affected being is drawn forth in one continuous discharge, killing the being and transforming him or her into a free-willed undead in one turn. The newly formed undead retains the Hit Dice and hit points that he or she had upon “death,” as well as skills, proficiencies, spells, and class abilities (except for paladins, who lose all associated class abilities and become undead fighters).</p><p><strong>Flameskull:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith-Spider:</strong> Victims drained of all Constitution from a wraith-spider's venom die and have a 100% chance (here in the City) of coming back within 24 hours as wraith-spiders with humanoid heads.</p><p><strong>Nightwalker:</strong> These creatures seem to embody the principle of destructive entropy inherent in the Negative Energy Plane.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> The blank canister in the chamber is part and parcel of Acererak's researches. Acererak calls the device a Dim Forge, and with it he is able to enervate immensely powerful undead beings such as his most recent invention, the winter-wight (although a specific spell exists to create winter-wights, one of the material components of the spell is a negative-energy focusing device, such as the Dim Forge). While the Dim Forge is a potent tool for undead creation, it is prone to spawn failed experiments. Hundreds of unfavored beings have left the black canister of the forge only to be relegated to the Theater of the Dead.</p><p>Although not apparent to the observer, the crystal dome located above the Forge represents the endpoint of an array of magically protected antennas that reach into the Negative Energy Material Plane. The antennas are over a mile long and branch many times. Through a series of complex enchantments, Acererak has created a means of collecting, concentrating, and amplifying negative energy down the length of the antennas so that the crystal blister in the room acts to focus negative energy into the canister.</p><p>If the characters inspect the canister, they find only a latch and a pair of heavy-duty hinges that allow the weighty lid to be thrown back. Within the canister, there is a chill space large enough to contain One human-sized creature. Activation of the Dim Forge is automatically accomplished merely by closing the lid, as the PCs may discover-possibly to their dismay-with a minimum of experimentation.</p><p>Upon activation of the Dim Forge, the large unseen antennas draw in the essence of the Void. A thrum of magic vibrates through its mile-long length. The characters hear a gonglike thrum. The noise has no more volume than normal conversation during the first round, but quickly builds, reaching a thunderous crescendo three rounds later. At the end of the third round, the blister on the ceiling releases a single bolt of negative energy, so black that it appears to be a rip in the fabric of reality itself. The energy discharges from the ceiling pod into the black canister below. All is silent after the discharge, and nothing moves save for a bit of residual blackfire (as the spell; stand back!) upon the surface of the canister. The flames dissipate in the space of a round.</p><p>If a body of any size that can fit (living, dead, or undead) is within the closed Forge at the time of</p><p>discharge, consult the table below to determine the result of the concentrated annihilating energy. Even fully empowered undead (such as a winter-wight) can be destroyed by a second exposure to the Forge's energies. If the canister contains an inanimate object or is empty, a negative energy elemental is always generated. If the spell create winter-wight is cast in conjunction with the activation of the Dim Forge, add +2 to the die roll.</p><p>If the canister is open when the energy discharge strikes, the bolt fragments and showers the room with sparks of negative energy. Objects in the chamber suffer no ill effects, but creatures must attempt saving throws vs. breath weapon. All who fail suffer the effect noted on the table.</p><p>Dim Forge Activation Results (1d8)</p><p>1. Not even dust remains within the canister.</p><p>2. The object is destroyed and small carbon fragments burn fitfully with blackfire for ld6+6 rounds.</p><p>3. Body is burnt almost past recognizability; the smell is truly ghastly.</p><p>4. Burnt body animates as a standard zombie; no remnant of personality remains.</p><p>5. Body internalizes energy and animates as a standard spectre; no personality remains.</p><p>6. Body completely internalizes energy and is destroyed; negative energy elemental is generated and personality is lost.</p><p>7. Body internalizes energy and animates as a half-strength winter-wight (8 Hit Dice); original personality is destroyed.</p><p>8. Body internalizes energy and animates as a winter-wight; original personality, if any, survives with a successful Wisdom check.</p><p></p><p>Animate Moilian</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Level: 8</p><p>Range: 10 yds. Components V, S, M Duration: Pemranent Casting Time: 8 rounds</p><p>Area of Efffect 1 body or body part Saving Throw: None</p><p>This incantation allow the caster to animate bones, body fragments, or complete bodies of dead</p><p>humanoids of up to human size. Creature created in this way are referred to as Moilian (after Moil, the city because of their origin), rather than simply undead. This is because their energy of animation does not come from the Negative Energy Plane but rather from the life energies of living creatures nearby. Examples of creatures created by this spell include the Moilian heart and the Moilian zombie.</p><p>Moilians created by this spell obey simple verbal commands from the caster. Mobile Moilians can follow the caster, remain in an area to attack any intruders, and perform other uncomplicated tasks.</p><p>This spell only animates a single corpse or body part with each casting. Regardless of the caster’s level, the Moilian created has 3 Hit Dice if a body part or 6 Hit Dice if it is a full body. The magic cannot be dispelled, but creatures created can be turned at the appropriate Hit Dice.</p><p>The material components required are the body or body part, a drop of blood, a pinch of bone powder, and the perspiration of fear. Only evil beings would consider using this spell.</p><p></p><p>Create Winter-wight</p><p>(Necromancy) (Reversible)</p><p>Level 9 Range 10 yds. Components V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 round</p><p>Area of Effect: 1 body Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell turns a properly prepared body into a winter-wight. Preparation of the body requires many days, though the spell itself can be cast on the prepared body in only a single round. Create</p><p>winter-wight can only be cast in conjunction with unique devices (such as the Dim Forge) capable of focusing and concentrating Negative Energy into a skeleton as part of the preparation step. Even with the use of this spell with the proper Negative Energy focusing devices, the spell is only effective 1% to 10% (1d10) of the time. Failures range between mere dust to warped, fragmented undead of little mobility and wit.</p><p>Once properly animated, the winter-wight obeys the commands of its creator. The personality of the</p><p>created creature may vary widely but is certain to combine calculating intelligence with cold cruelty, unless animal bones are used in the process (in which case little intelligence can be found in the final deadly undead construct).</p><p>Once animated, the winter-wight remains active until physically destroyed. Destruction is also possible if the undead creature is subject to the reverse of this spell, destroy winter-wight, that utterly annihilates any single winter-wight that fails its saving throw vs. death magic.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17503/RM4-House-of-Strahd-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">RM4 House of Strahd</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Count Strahd Von Zarovich Vampire Necromancer 16:</strong> I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with his blood.</p><p>I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the Chapel. She fled from me. She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled within me. She had to understand the pact I made for her. I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever.</p><p>It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found. Mot even I know her final fate.</p><p>Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul, but 1 did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever.</p><p><strong>Count Strahd Von Zarovich Vampire Necromancer 10:</strong> I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with his blood.</p><p>I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the Chapel. She fled from me. She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled within me. She had to understand the pact I made for her. I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever.</p><p>It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found. Mot even I know her final fate.</p><p>Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul, but 1 did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> This man loved Marya and found that she loved someone else in his court. As Marya and her lover were dining, Endorovich put poison into the man's wine glass. The glasses were mixed up and the girl drank it instead. The lover was hanged for the deed and buried in the cemetery behind the church in Barovia township. Endorovich never got over his guilt and, in his madness, killed many in his lifetime.</p><p><strong>Vampire Maiden:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Strahd Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Strahd Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> This man loved Marya and found that she loved someone else in his court. As Marya and her lover were dining, Endorovich put poison into the man's wine glass. The glasses were mixed up and the girl drank it instead. The lover was hanged for the deed and buried in the cemetery behind the church in Barovia township. Endorovich never got over his guilt and, in his madness, killed many in his lifetime.</p><p>Patrina was an elf maiden who, having learned early in life a great deal of the black arts, was nearly a match for Strahd's powers. She felt a great bond with Strahd and desired to become one of his wives. Strahd, ever willing, agreed, but before the final draining of spirit from her soul could take place, her own people stoned her to death in mercy. Strahd demanded, and got, the body. She then became the banshee spirit found here.</p><p><strong>Meld Monster:</strong> This foul creature is the result of Strahd's experimentation with necromantic spells. The Count invented a spell which he calls Strahd's malefic meld. A full description of the spell is found in the Forbidden Lore boxed set. In brief, it merges the dead bodies of up to three monsters to create one horrid undead creature.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Groaning Spirit, Banshee:</strong> Patrina was an elf maiden who, having learned early in life a great deal of the black arts, was nearly a match for Strahd's powers. She felt a great bond with Strahd and desired to become one of his wives. Strahd, ever willing, agreed, but before the final draining of spirit from her soul could take place, her own people stoned her to death in mercy. Strahd demanded, and got, the body. She then became the banshee spirit found here.</p><p><strong>Meld Monster:</strong> This foul creature is the result of Strahd's experimentation with necromantic spells. The Count invented a spell which he calls Strahd's malefic meld. A full description of the spell is found in the Forbidden Lore boxed set. In brief, it merges the dead bodies of up to three monsters to create one horrid undead creature.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Ariel was a terrible man who sacrificed more than himself in his quest for wings.</p><p><strong>Spider-Hound:</strong> Using the spell Strahd's malefic meld, (detailed in the Forbidden Lore boxed set) the count has created an undead hybrid of hell hound and huge spider. The process of creating it removes the hell hound's ability to breath fire.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17493/RQ1-Night-of-the-Walking-Dead-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Marcel Tarascon, Zombie Lord:</strong> Jean took Marcel straight to the village shaman, who attempted to raise Marcel, but failed. Jean cried out in pain and left with his brother’s body. The shaman did not understand the true outcome of his failure, but Jean did, for his bond with his twin was strong. Instead of regaining life, Marcel had become an undead creature of the foulest sort. Marcel Tarascon had become a zombie lord!</p><p>He describes the stormy night on which Jean brought Marcel to him about a month ago. Marcel was quite dead, torn apart by undead hands. “I retrieved a scroll from my small collection and attempted to raise poor Marcel,” Brucian continues, “but something went wrong. Marcel remained dead, and Jean cried out in anguish. He spirited away the corpse of his brother. That was the last I saw of Marcel, and the last time I saw Jean alive.”</p><p><strong>Jeremiah d'Gris, Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Duncan d'Lute, Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Jordi, Ghoul:</strong> Jean Tarascon's servants have all become ghouls, turned into the foul creatures by eating carrion at the madman's insistence.</p><p>To fully participate in Marcel's new state of existence, Jean has ordered the family servants to feast on dead human flesh as well. This has turned his servants into ghouls.</p><p><strong>Teresa, Ghoul:</strong> Jean Tarascon's servants have all become ghouls, turned into the foul creatures by eating carrion at the madman's insistence.</p><p>To fully participate in Marcel's new state of existence, Jean has ordered the family servants to feast on dead human flesh as well. This has turned his servants into ghouls.</p><p><strong>Luc the Ghost:</strong> If Luc is killed anytime during the adventure, his ghost returns to haunt the PCs.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Marcel Tarascon's odor of death.</p><p>Marcel Tarascon's animate dead.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Jean Tarascon's servants have all become ghouls, turned into the foul creatures by eating carrion at the madman's insistence.</p><p>To fully participate in Marcel's new state of existence, Jean has ordered the family servants to feast on dead human flesh as well. This has turned his servants into ghouls.</p><p><strong>Ju-Ju Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Monster Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p>In addition, the odor of death that surrounds Marcel affects all living beings who come within 30 yards of him. Characters must save vs. poison or suffer one of the following effects:</p><p>1d6 Roll Effect</p><p>1 Weakness (as the spell)</p><p>2 Cause Disease (as the spell)</p><p>3 –1 Point of Constitution</p><p>4 Contagion (as the spell)</p><p>5 Character unable to act for 1d4 rounds due to nausea and vomiting</p><p>6 Character dies instantly and becomes a zombie under zombie lord's control</p><p></p><p>Three times per day, Marcel can cast animate dead to create zombies. By using this power on living beings, he can also turn them into zombies. In either case, the range of this innate power is 100 yards. If a living target fails a saving throw vs. death, he is instantly slain and rises in 1d4 rounds as a zombie under Marcel's control. (Marcel's ability to create zombies has been enhanced.)[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17495/RQ2-Thoughts-of-Darkness-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">RQ2 Thoughts of Darkness</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lyssa Von Zarovich:</strong> Ironically, Lyssa shares some of Strahd's own fate: In order to better oppose him, she struck her own dark pact and murdered her fiance to honor it.</p><p><strong>Vampire Mind Flayer:</strong> “Those monsters are the spawn of Von Zarovich.”</p><p>Vampire illithids are the result of evil experiments that were meant to be terminated. They were first created by Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master Illithid of Bluetspur in an attempt to create a creature that could successfully convert the High Master into a vampire (conventional methods were not viable). When the hatchlings proved insane and completely uncontrollable, they were destroyed and thrown into the common water dump, where all victims of mind flayers are thrown after they expire. The vampire illithids regenerated, however, and were washed out of the mind flayer complex. Now they run free across the surface of the realm.</p><p><strong>Remnant:</strong> The mind flayers throw the remains of their slaves into a watery pit when they die of exhaustion and abuse. The lack of a proper burial traps the remnants in these waters.</p><p>Remnants are the spirits of humans and humanoids whose former bodies have been thrown into an unconsecrated, watery grave after they have died of acute stress and exhaustion. The callous way in which they have been disposed of after a torturous and miserable life leaves them in a state of such sorrow that they cannot completely leave the Prime Material plane behind, and they lurk in the pools and rivers where their bodies were abandoned.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Strahd Von Zarovich:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17488/RR1-Darklords-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">RR1 Darklords</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Anhktepot, Lord of Har'Akir, Greater Mummy:</strong> Pharaoh Anhktepot ruled centuries ago in the great desert land of Har'Akir. The pharaoh, like most of his culture, was obsessed with death. The religion of the people revolved around death, and the pharaoh was the link between men and the gods. Anhktepot himself was a priest of Ra, the sun god.</p><p>Anhktepot commanded his priests to find a way for him to live forever. Many slaves and prisoners died horribly as subjects in Anhktepot's gruesome experiments. Totally frustrated with the lack of success, the pharaoh had several temples burned and razed. He stalked into the Kharn temple, greatest of all in Har'Akir, and cursed the gods for not granting him his heart's desire. Ra, sun god and patron of the pharaohs, answered Anhktepot. He told the pharaoh that he would live even after death, though he might wish otherwise. Ra did not elaborate.</p><p>Anhktepot left the temple elated but confused. He still did not know how to cheat death. That night, everyone he touched died. His wife, several servants, and his eldest child—all were dead. According to custom, they were mummified and entombed in great buildings in the desert.</p><p>One day the priests rebelled against the pharaoh and murdered him in his sleep. The funeral lasted for a month. During it, Anhktepot was awake and helpless, trapped inside his own corpse. His mind screamed as they mummified his body. He was nearly insane when they entombed him.</p><p>As the sun set, and Ra's power waned, the borders of Ravenloft seeped into the desert kingdom to steal away the tomb of Anhktepot and the nearby small village of Mudar.</p><p><strong>Strahd:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Nephyr, Greater Mummy:</strong> Pharaoh Anhktepot ruled centuries ago in the great desert land of Har'Akir. The pharaoh, like most of his culture, was obsessed with death. The religion of the people revolved around death, and the pharaoh was the link between men and the gods. Anhktepot himself was a priest of Ra, the sun god.</p><p>Anhktepot commanded his priests to find a way for him to live forever. Many slaves and prisoners died horribly as subjects in Anhktepot's gruesome experiments. Totally frustrated with the lack of success, the pharaoh had several temples burned and razed. He stalked into the Kharn temple, greatest of all in Har'Akir, and cursed the gods for not granting him his heart's desire. Ra, sun god and patron of the pharaohs, answered Anhktepot. He told the pharaoh that he would live even after death, though he might wish otherwise. Ra did not elaborate.</p><p>Anhktepot left the temple elated but confused. He still did not know how to cheat death. That night, everyone he touched died. His wife, several servants, and his eldest child—all were dead. According to custom, they were mummified and entombed in great buildings in the desert.</p><p>Soon the great pharaoh came to understand his curse. So long as Ra shone upon him, he was safe. But once he was no longer under the sun's watchful eye, whomever he touched died horribly.</p><p>Shortly after the final ceremony of his wife's funeral, Anhktepot was visited in the night. A mummy wrapped in funeral linens entered his chambers. By the vestments he knew it was Nephyr.</p><p><strong>The Banshee, Tristessa, Lord of Keening:</strong> Nearly all banshees were evil elves in life, but Tristessa was not born of an ordinary clan. She was a drow—a dark elf who lived underground with the rest of her black-hearted kind.</p><p>Sages in Darkon say that a party of Arak's drow arose from the dark kingdom one night, dragging Tristessa and her child along with them. Arak's surface was then lush and green. That night, the sky was cold and clear, and the blades of grass shone like silver in the moon's light. Tristessa's captors staked her to the ground, and laid her child beside her. Then they abandoned the pair.</p><p>Morning broke. As the sun climbed high in the sky, screams echoed across the landscape—screams so shrill that even the drow below could hear them. Tristessa and her infant could not survive the harsh rays. Mother and child dissolved into the wind, which rose, howling fiercely, and destroyed all life upon Arak's soil. The storm moved west, enveloping a nearby town with its fury. Then the town and storm disappeared, and Keening was formed.</p><p><strong>The Beggar Woman, Unique Wight:</strong> She is undead, held here only by the strange bonds of Ravenloft.</p><p><strong>The Beekeeper, Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Keening Crawling Claw:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeletal Rat:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Rotting Rat:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lady Kateri Shadowborn, Geist:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Headless Horseman:</strong> Nearly every domain haunted by the Headless Horseman knows a different tale of his origin. In Falkovnia, some say the spirit was a victim of Drakov's men, wrongfully beheaded. In Barovia, they say he sliced off his own head rather than fall prey to one of Strahd's minions, who later gave the head to Strahd.</p><p>In Borca, folk have the most specific tale, which they are sure is most true. Borcans say the Horseman was once a bard who had the misfortune of meeting Ivana Boritsi, the lord of Borca. Ivana invited him to her private baths (an offer he could not refuse). Unfortunately, she was in a fickle mood, and he was unable to entertain her. Inspired by the sickle shape of the moon, she had him beheaded, continuing her bath in his blood.</p><p>The headless body, as the story continues, was cast into the river near Levkarest. (As to what Ivana did with the head, no one is sure.) The corpse floated downstream until it neared the road to Sturben, where it became lodged beneath a bridge. On the night of the next sickle moon, the body arose.</p><p><strong>Heads:</strong> They are what became of the horseman's victims.</p><p><strong>Medusa Head:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Maedar Head:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>House of Lament:</strong> Perhaps Mara's spirit became one with the house, evolving from the tormented to the tormenter, until every timber and stone in the structure was the embodiment of evil. Or perhaps Mara still exists in the walls, alone and full of sorrow, and the house, wanting to comfort her, encourages the living to join her.</p><p>For in many lands it is understood that only the warm blood and flesh of the living can ease the cold misery of the dead.</p><p>The House of Lament is an entity of evil, of which the spirit that was Mara is only a part. How this came to be is not fully understood, yet some sages would say that the site was always a gathering point of malignancy and evil, even when Dranzorg first built his castle there. Then the malignancy only served to influence the mood of those within it. Mara's absorption was the catalyst that enabled it to grow.</p><p><strong>Mara:</strong> When dawn's first light was on the horizon, Dranzorg released Mara from her prison. His men brought her to his chambers. "Did you know," he asked, "that an offering must be made to the gods to fortify a keep?" It was a custom in those lands to entomb a cat or a stag in the walls of a castle as it was built, in order to strengthen it and bring good fortune. Mara knew well of this custom. She did not answer, suspecting what Lord Dranzorg had in mind.</p><p>As Dranzorg watched, his henchmen dragged Mara to the base of the tower, where the wall had been thickened on the inside. A small alcove with a bench lay open, cut back into the old wall, the opening flush with the new.</p><p>Bravely, Mara cursed Dranzorg and his men, and proclaimed that her father would see her death avenged. Dranzorg was amused. He ordered that her finger be pricked with a sedative, so that she would not disturb the work to come. When she collapsed, his men placed her limp body on the bench in the alcove, and proceeded to seal the wall. Mara was entombed alive.</p><p>By nightfall, her screams sounded throughout the castle. They continued through the night, and on through the days and nights to come. Each day, the men of the castle complained to Dranzorg, saying they could not</p><p>bear the unholy noise, for surely the woman should have died in less than a day. Finally Dranzorg agreed. He personally opened the tomb. The screams subsided. No one lay within.</p><p><strong>Baron Urik Von Kharkov, Nosferatu Vampire:</strong> Ulrik burned with hatred over the humiliation of being turned into an animal by Morphayus. It was in this frame of mind that he entered Darkon. There, an impoverished bard told Ulrik tales of the Kargat vampires. Lured by thoughts of immortality and dark power, Ulrik traveled to the city of Karg and sought out a vampire. Ulrik's dream of untold power and eternal life soon turned to ashes in his mouth. True, he became a vampire, but as an undead slave to his vampire master. Ulrik won immortality at the expense of his precious humanity.</p><p><strong>Merilee Markuza:</strong> As the brigands were about to depart, one of them spotted the young girl. In terror, she turned and fled. Her tiny feet had not carried her a dozen yards before a pair of crossbow bolts brought her down. Certain that she was dead, the criminals collected the last of their spoils and rode off.</p><p>Some time later, as the last of the child's vital energies were draining away, a dark figure came upon the wounded girl. The mysterious shadow seemed to move quickly over the scene of the murders, taking care to note something here or there. Merilee was too weak to call out for help, but managed a moan of pain. The stranger flashed to the side of the girl with supernatural speed.</p><p>Over the course of the next few days, Merilee was to learn much about her "rescuer." The mysterious figure was a tall, slender woman named Keesla. Many years before, Keesla had become a vampire. When she found Merilee, the woman knew that there was no earthly way to save the girl's life. Seeing in the innocent child a striking resemblance to her own daughter who had died decades earlier, she decided that Merilee would not die. Bending over the wounded girl, Keesla began the process that would eventually transform Merilee into a vampire.</p><p><strong>Keesla, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Tiyet, Mummy, Lord of Sebua:</strong> People of the Black Land believed that death was only a journey to another existence. In the afterlife, all would remain essentially as it had been before, provided one had been good and kind, provided one's heart had been true.</p><p>This is the story of a woman for whom that cycle held no comfort. Because her heart had been fouled with misdeeds, she knew that only horrors would await her. Terrified of judgment, she sacrificed life and spirit to avoid it. In the end, she only condemned herself to a fate that was far worse. She became one of the living dead, a mummy whose beauty is everlasting, but whose heart and hope are lost forever.</p><p>Tiyet returned to the temple and sought out Zordenahkt. She begged him to kill her, and perform the ceremony that would save her from terror in the Hall of Judgment. When Zordenahkt refused, she drew a dagger from her gown. Begging for the mercy of the god Apophis, she plunged the dagger into her chest.</p><p>Deep within the temple, Zordenahkt performed the ceremony that she had desired. He bathed Tiyet's body in the precious oils of a nobleman's embalmer, reciting a common spell to preserve her beauty. Then he made an incision in her chest, and removed her heart.</p><p>The idol of Apophis looked on, as it had looked on each day Tiyet and Zordenahkt met in his temple. It was a great, black serpent, made from cedarwood. Inlaid jewels and black glass served as its scales. Two rubies set in onyx were its eyes.</p><p>Zordenahkt placed Tiyet's heart in a stone jar filled with oils. He placed the jar before his serpent god. The words he spoke offered Tiyet's heart in return for her safety from torment in the Underworld. Then he wrapped Tiyet's body in linen, and carried it to his own family tomb. There he poisoned himself with the venom of an asp, and laid down beside her to die.</p><p>Tiyet rose the next night. She pulled the strips from her eyes, and saw the body of Zordenahkt beside her. Still wrapped in the linen swaddling of the dead, she crossed the desert and went to the estate of Khamose. Each heart within the house was audible to her, beating with a maddening pace. Loudest was the heart of Khamose, sounding like a drum, compelling her to seek it out.</p><p>Tiyet stole into his room, silent as a shadow. She placed her hand upon his chest, and found that the heartbeat slowed. Khamose stirred, and his eyes opened wide. His mouth gaped, but before he could scream, Tiyet paralyzed him with her gaze. Then, even as he lived, she reached through his chest and drew out his heart. Tiyet placed the bloody mass to her red lips and swallowed it. The audible beating of the other hearts in the household stopped; satiated, she could hear them no longer.</p><p>Tiyet returned to the tomb and lay down beside the still body of Zordenahkt. When she awoke, she was alone. She had become the lord of Sebua, a domain in Ravenloft.</p><p></p><p><strong>Banshee:</strong> Nearly all banshees were evil elves in life.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Ghosts of others the banshee has met on the mountain haunt the places of their demise.</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Greater Mummy:</strong> Pharaoh Anhktepot ruled centuries ago in the great desert land of Har'Akir. The pharaoh, like most of his culture, was obsessed with death. The religion of the people revolved around death, and the pharaoh was the link between men and the gods. Anhktepot himself was a priest of Ra, the sun god.</p><p>Anhktepot commanded his priests to find a way for him to live forever. Many slaves and prisoners died horribly as subjects in Anhktepot's gruesome experiments. Totally frustrated with the lack of success, the pharaoh had several temples burned and razed. He stalked into the Kharn temple, greatest of all in Har'Akir, and cursed the gods for not granting him his heart's desire. Ra, sun god and patron of the pharaohs, answered Anhktepot. He told the pharaoh that he would live even after death, though he might wish otherwise. Ra did not elaborate.</p><p>Anhktepot left the temple elated but confused. He still did not know how to cheat death. That night, everyone he touched died. His wife, several servants, and his eldest child—all were dead. According to custom, they were mummified and entombed in great buildings in the desert.</p><p>Soon the great pharaoh came to understand his curse. So long as Ra shone upon him, he was safe. But once he was no longer under the sun's watchful eye, whomever he touched died horribly.</p><p>Shortly after the final ceremony of his wife's funeral, Anhktepot was visited in the night. A mummy wrapped in funeral linens entered his chambers. By the vestments he knew it was Nephyr. He fled from her down the long halls of the palace. Finally she cornered him. Unable to talk, the mummy Nephyr tried to embrace Anhktepot. Horrified, he screamed for her to leave him forever. She turned and left. Nephyr walked into the desert and was never seen again. Her tomb remained open and empty.</p><p>Anhktepot was also visited by the mummified bodies of the others whom he had killed. He came to understand that he controlled them utterly. They did his every bidding. He used their strength and his own touch of death to tighten the reigns of his evil power over Har'Akir.</p><p>He killed many of the kingdom's priests, making them his undead slaves.</p><p>Any character who is mummified alive while infected by Anhktepot's rotting disease becomes a greater mummy under the control of Anhktepot.</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> Any character who is mummified alive while infected by Anhktepot's rotting disease becomes a greater mummy under the control of Anhktepot. If you don't have the RAVENLOFT Monstrous Compendium appendix, just make his minions regular mummies.</p><p>Tiyet sometimes creates new mummies, using the bodies of her victims. Death alone does not create them; she must mummify them in the common manner. At her disposal are the vats and supplies in an embalmer's house, which lies on the outskirts of Anhalla.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> The phantom can also animate the dead, who will claw their way out of the earth to grasp the ankles of passersby, and then slowly rise up to attack, like common zombies.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Nosferatu Vampire:</strong> Anyone who dies from being drained by Baron von Kharkov becomes a nosferatu vampire.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17489/RR2-Book-of-Crypts-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">RR2 Book of Crypts</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Vampire Nosferatu Fighter 6, Dante Lysin:</strong> During one midnight battle, a nosferatu drained Dante dry and he died. Shortly after, Dante’s slayer was killed, but not before Dante fell under the vampiric curse.</p><p><strong>Dara, Ghost:</strong> One year ago, Baggs decided to grow alfalfa on several acres of unused land to compete with the farm at Location 8. The girl was hired to tend the alfalfa and chase away birds in the fields. As harvest time approached, she was killed when the Malar worshiper set the field on fire. Her charred body lies in the prairie grasses, and her ghost now haunts the field.</p><p>“I am Dara, and I was killed,” the ghost wails in hauntingly beautiful tones that waft over the barren field. “I was killed by an evil man who sought to ruin this field. Alfalfa and a dark god filled his life, and for that I was killed. I now search for my murderer so that I can rest.”</p><p><strong>Nightblood, Kael Norbin of Thay, Lich 20:</strong> When the local villagers began to hunt him down, Kael decided to become a lich and join his love in death.</p><p>The night that he carried out this plan, the mists rolled in.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie Common:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17492/RR4-Islands-of-Terror-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">RR4 Islands of Terror</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Torrence Bleysmith:</strong> Count Rupert Bleysmith declared war on the neighboring duchy of Avergne, a land of infidels and heathens. He called upon his children and his retainers to gather together the army. He traveled the country searching for support among the other nobles. He left Sir August in charge of affairs while he was away.</p><p>Torrence, enraged at this perceived slight to himself, cast about wrathfully for some means of exacting revenge on his father and his elder brother. At last, he settled on a plan that would allow him to soothe his wounded pride. He began to sell the secrets of Staunton Bluffs to Commander Pierre Willis of the Avergnites in the hope that they would slay August during a raid.</p><p>August, however, was as adept at evading the traps as Torrence was, and it soon became clear to Torrence that he would have to personally oversee the murder of August. Even when he passed along the castle plans for the Avergnite assassins, they blundered and failed miserably.</p><p>Meanwhile, Torrence hid his feelings about August's superiority remarkably well and acted as August's chief advisor. August came to trust his brother in all things, seeing that Torrence had matured far more fully than he believed possible.</p><p>Eventually, Torrence arranged for the Avergnites to raid along the Staunton border, knowing that August had no choice but to personally repel the marauders. He suggested the best battle plans to his older brother, who agreed to follow them faithfully. That night, Torrence sent a dispatch to Willis telling him of his brother's location and how the Avergnites could best remove him from this position.</p><p>That next morning, August and some of Staunton's finest men rode straight into the Avergnite ambush. They hardly had a chance to draw their swords before they went down under a hail of arrows. Their blood spilled into the earth, turning it into a pasty, red mud. The Avergnites were heady with their victory over the hated Sir August Bleysmith. They rode even farther into Staunton, burning and pillaging everything in sight, contrary to the agreement with Torrence.</p><p>Torrence, aghast at their duplicity, attempted to turn back the tide of invaders, but it was too late. The Avergnites overran all the Stauntonian positions, slaughtering all the citizens they came upon. Willis and his men eventually arrived at the Bleysmith Estate and laid siege to Castle Stonecrest. Since Torrence had stupidly provided the maps of the castle, it fell easily to the invaders. So did the Bleysmith family, nearly alone in their estate, abandoned by most of their retainers.</p><p>Only Torrence escaped, hiding in the privy until the besiegers had gone. When he emerged, smeared with filth, he discovered the looted house in ruins around him. The defiled bodies of his family lay strewn about the estate like broken dolls. At the sight of his ancestral home violated like some commoner's house, Torrence broke down in a fit of grief, rage, and guilt. Had August survived the attack, the Avergnites would never have been able to advance this far. Torrence knew he would have to live with the knowledge that he had caused the downfall of Staunton Bluffs and the death of his family.</p><p>He retreated to the forests of Staunton to plot his revenge and vent his grief. He hoped to atone for his mistake by avenging the destruction of his family. Since he had studied some magic when he was younger, he was familiar with certain blasphemous rituals that would enable him to channel his anger. In his pride and wrath, he did not pause to consider the implications of his intended course.</p><p>At midnight of the fall equinox, the last Bleysmith began his sacrilege. With great workings of magic and dark promises, Torrence laid a massive spell on the surviving inhabitants of Staunton.</p><p>When the citizens arose the next misty morning, they felt compelled to take up whatever weapons they had available. En masse, they marched on the army of Avergne. Bleysmith, full of vanity, watched his makeshift army surprise the force of Avergnites. Torrence had been sure that his people could crush the army, since there were so many more of them and they had the advantage of surprise.</p><p>However, the Avergnites recovered from their initial shock much more quickly than anyone could have suspected. They slaughtered the subservient Stauntonians. The earth ran with the blood of guiltless citizens, the cries of the innocents echoing weirdly through the fog.</p><p>By now, half-crazed with shame and remorse, Sir Torrence Bleysmith hanged himself in the burnt shell of Castle Stonecrest. His dying thoughts were of revenge, hatred, and guilt. As his life faded from existence, so did the surrounding area.</p><p>The restfulness of natural death did not claim Torrence Bleysmith, however, for Ravenloft had other plans for him. His past, tainted as it was with pride, treachery, and disregard for human life, earned him a place in the demiplane.</p><p>Weeks after he hanged himself, flashes of reality and memory interrupted the utter blackness of oblivion in which Torrence dwelt. These glimmers grew longer and longer until at last they melded completely into a gray-washed, horrifying reality. His worst nightmares became his reality.</p><p>Sir Torrence Bleysmith had become a ghost, doomed to wander the halls of his castle and the woodlands of his domain. His rage and treachery combined with other darker forces to bring him back to a terrible unlife. He would see all that he once held sacred torn away and destroyed.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> This was the main forge for the county of Staunton, the finest for miles. It contains those things common to a smithy including two anvils, hammers, trenches, and a good supply of iron. There are some finely crafted blades lying in the soot, held firm in the death grasp of the smith and his apprentices. If anyone tries to take the swords, the smith and his helpers return from the peace of the grave to defend their best work.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> The guards are the incorporeal forms of the few soldiers who remained loyal to him after his treacherous betrayal of his own countrymen.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> The most dangerous prisoners were housed in these cells where the jailers could catch their mischief more quickly. Each of these cells contains a zombie wandering about constantly.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> The spirits of the Bleysmith family float through this room in a stately, eternal dance.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Horse:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Sea:</strong> Sea zombies, also known as drowned ones, are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed and are rumored to be animated by the very forces that hold Ravenloft together.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16878/Ruined-Kingdoms-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Ruined Kingdoms</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Raja al-Sadiq Abdul-Tisan, The Audacious Thunderer, Breaker of the Forbidden Seal, The First to be Summoned, Lich 15th Level Human Wizard Sha'ir:</strong> Months later, her task complete, Tisan was glad she had expended the effort to experiment with Raja. Of course, Tisan had made some minor mistakes and the sha'ir had to be slain a few more times than strictly necessary, but in the end Tisan still considered her research a complete success.</p><p><strong>Adil, Revenant:</strong> The unfortunate bearer of the seal is seemingly cursed. He cannot lose the seal or give it away, for it magically returns to his person the moment he ceases to concentrate upon it. Furthermore, if at any time Adil is slain, the seal resurrects him as many times as he has points of Constitution. Thereafter, Adil becomes a revenant or any other form of undead the DM finds appropriate.</p><p><strong>Adil, Undead:</strong> The unfortunate bearer of the seal is seemingly cursed. He cannot lose the seal or give it away, for it magically returns to his person the moment he ceases to concentrate upon it. Furthermore, if at any time Adil is slain, the seal resurrects him as many times as he has points of Constitution. Thereafter, Adil becomes a revenant or any other form of undead the DM finds appropriate.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Not to be left shorthanded, after the battle was over and the flesh of vanquished enemies devoured, Anaiz animated the human forms of the slain segarrans, turning them into guardians of the main entrance and outer temple ward.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17340/Sea-of-Blood-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Sea of Blood</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Velya, Marine Vampire:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16796/Sea-of-Fallen-Stars-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Sea of Fallen Stars</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Zombie Sea:</strong> Drowned ones, or sea zombies as they are sometimes better known, are the wretched remains of some few of those ill-fated men lost at sea or drowned in a storm or other mishap. Unlike “normal” undead, drowned ones need not be animated by a spellcaster; some unknown force brings them to unlife.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> While some may be guardians of some site left by wizards, they are more often simply the still animated skeleton of a drowned one whose flesh became too rotted and putrid to remain attached to the bones.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17520/Servants-of-Darkness-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Servants of Darkness</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Goblin Vampire:</strong> This ring of regeneration once belonged to the hags, but it was lost when an unusually brave goblin sneaked into their cottage and stole it. In order to punish the thief, the hags put a curse on their treasure.</p><p>Goblin vampires are created only by the unique curse placed on items stolen from the Three Sisters of Tepest. Anyone who carries the item gradually becomes a goblin vampire. The transformation takes twenty hours to complete. If the item is discarded before the change is concluded, the character stops changing. He does not, however, revert to normal.</p><p><strong>Aroun, Geist:</strong> He suffered a fatal stab wound to the heart, but the trauma of his death has tied him to the world of the living.</p><p><strong>Umbra:</strong> The umbra are undead shadow elves that dwell in the domain of Keening. Their devotion to Tristessa was so great in life that they continue to serve her long after death.</p><p><strong>Wraith-Spider:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dark Lord of Keening, Tristessa, Banshee:</strong> Tristessa was a powerful shadow elf priestess of Lloth in the now-lost domain of Arak. She was staked out above the surface with her newborn baby by Prince Loht for leading this outlawed religion. Exposure to the sun killed both mother and child, but Tristessa’s spirit was absorbed into the Mists, and the dark powers granted her the small, domain of Keening.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/216643/Spellbound-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Spellbound</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Dread Warrior:</strong> Dread warriors are enhanced undead created by the Thayan Zulkir of Necromancy, Szass Tam. Similar to zombies, dread warriors must be created immediately after death so that they retain at least minimal intelligence. They must be created from the body of a fighter of at least 4th level, dead for less than a day.</p><p><em>Animate Dread Warrior</em> spell.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Animate Dread Warrior</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V,S,M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 1 turn</p><p>Area of Effect: One creature</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell creates an undead creature known as a dread warrior.</p><p>The spell requires the corpse of a fighter of at least 4th level who has been dead for less than one full day. After casting, the corpse rises as a dread warrior under the control of the spell's caster.</p><p></p><p>Unlife</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V,S,M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 8</p><p>Area of Effect: One creature</p><p>Saving Throw: Negates</p><p>Used only by evil wizards, this spell enables the caster to transform a single victim into an undead creature under his or her control. The caster touches the subject, who must then save vs. death magic. If the save fails, the subject instantly dies and is transformed into an undead creature under the control of the caster.</p><p>The exact type of undead depends upon the level of the victim. Individuals of levels 1-3 become skeletons (50%) or zombies (50%). Those of levels 4-6 become ghouls, those of levels 7-8 become wights, and those of level 9 or higher become wraiths.</p><p>Using this spell, the caster can control a number of undead creatures equal to his or her level.</p><p>The material component of this spell is dirt from a freshly dug grave.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17263/Spelljammer-Adventures-in-Space-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Spelljammer: Adventures in Space</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ephemeral:</strong> Ephemerals are noncorporeal undead believed to be the spirits of individuals who have died in the phlogiston.</p><p>The touch of the ephemeral inflicts 1-4 points of damage and reduces the victim 's Intelligence by 1-2 points. Should the damage inflicted by an ephemeral kill a sentient humanoid, the latter will become an ephemeral in 2-8 days.</p><p>The origin of the ephemerals is a mystery. They might be the remains of a race of beings who managed to crack their crystal shell, letting the phlogiston into their sphere. Whatever their origin, they have propagated by preying on intelligent creatures that pass through the Flow.</p><p><strong>Ghast Double Normal Hit Dice:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mind Flayer Wight:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> These creatures are rare in space, as they are usually the result of intricate burial procedures. These procedures are followed by some subcults of Ptah, so there are mummies in all the Known Spheres.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Juju Zombie:</strong> Those humanoids affected by the wizardly energy drain spell.</p><p><strong>Monster Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> Mind flayers and other monstrous creatures are not immune to a vampire's energy drain, but do not turn into vampires upon being slain.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vecna, Lich:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Slavers [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Bone Colossus:</strong> Once per month, if the caster has access to twenty skeletons that he or she animated. the Bone Wheel of Nebirkors can cause the skeletons to fuse together into a larger undead entity called a bone colossus. [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139188/The-Awakening-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Awakening (2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Crypt Cat:</strong> Crypt cats begin life as pampered pets or as sacred animals of a cat-worshiping cult. Their bodies are placed in tombs beside those of their owners or beside a priest or priestess of the cult, so that their spirits might accompany that person into the afterlife. They will fight until destroyed to defend this former master. They will also rise from their sarcophagi to defend their tomb against desecration or robbery.</p><p> The composition of the clay that animates a crypt cat is unknown, although it is assumed that high-level necromancy spells are involved. </p><p><strong>Crypt Cat Large:</strong> Sometimes the bodies of larger felines are made into crypt cats.</p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy:</strong> As the tomb neared completion, the families of those who had died appealed to the followers of Set for aid, and that secret society quietly and efficiently arranged Sachmet's death. The next time Sachmet chose a man to "play with" in her private chambers, she unwittingly picked Kematef, a priest of Set who had been instructed to call attention to himself by harming one of the sacred cats. Kematef, whose teeth had been hollowed out, pretended to seduce Sachmet and then bit her neck, injecting her with a deadly poison. Because Set was a more powerful deity than Bast, Sachmet could not be cured—she died before nightfall. </p><p>Sachmet was carefully embalmed and laid to rest in the unfinished tomb, but the servants of Set were not finished with her. To prevent Sachmet from rising from her tomb, they placed a minor artifact—the staff of Set—at the entrance of the tomb, effectively forcing Sachmet into an eternal slumber and sealing her inside. As Set's minions crept away, a mist began to rise around the giant statue. All through the night it deepened. The next morning, when the mist cleared, Sachmet's tomb had vanished without trace. </p><p>As a high priestess of Bast, Sachmet was granted nine lives by the cat goddess. The first was her mortal life. To prepare Sachmet for her next eight incarnations, the priestesses of Bast embalmed her body with clays mixed with special oils and potions, using spells to make their effects permanent. This process sealed her ba (the portion of the soul that contains a person's physical vitality) inside her body. They then stored her ka (the portion of the soul that contains a person's mental vitality) inside magical canopic thought jars. </p><p>But the worshippers of Set had one final trick to play. Secretly, they slipped dust of dryness into one of the embalming oils. As a result, Sachmet's flesh shrivelled on her bones as the water leeched from her body. Hence, Sachmet is an emaciated corpse. Her flesh is shriveled like dried fruit and her bones are visible through parchment-yellow skin. Her hair clings in dark clumps to her scalp and her eyes are dried to husks. When she moves, her bones make a faint grinding noise. Her neck bears two puncture marks, a legacy of the attack by the priest of Set. Sachmet will rise from her tomb a total of eight times before she can be laid to rest permanently.</p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy First Awakening:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy Second Awakening:</strong> Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. </p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy Third Awakening:</strong> Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. </p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy Fourth Awakening:</strong> Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. </p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy Fifth Awakening:</strong> Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. </p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy Sixth Awakening:</strong> Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. </p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy Seventh Awakening:</strong> Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. </p><p><strong>Sachmet, Mummy Eighth Awakening:</strong> Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. </p><p><strong>Skeletal Mummy:</strong> When the tomb was nearing completion, those who had crafted its traps and constructed its tunnels were drowned here. The bones of nearly 50 stone masons, carpenters, and artists now molder under the brackish water. </p><p>The skeletons—actually skeletal mummies— rise up from their watery tomb to seek vengeance against those who murdered them. Unfortunately, the skeletons are no longer able to distinguish one human from the next.</p><p><strong>Zombie Monster Tiger:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Monster Cat:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kematef, Odem:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17512/The-Evil-Eye-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Evil Eye</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Apparition:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Leyla, 2nd-Magnitude Ghost:</strong> When she was alive, Leyla was a nurturing wife, but death robbed her of a chance to be a mother. The karmic resonance of her dying, augmented by Raul's violin of passion, brought some part of her back as a ghost. The ghost is more a twisted embodiment of Raul's grief, memory, and passion than an accurate representation of Leyla when she was alive. She is a pale echo of her former self.</p><p><strong>Corpse Candle:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Geist:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Odem:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lord Soth:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Count Strahd von Zarovich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17519/The-Forgotten-Terror-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Forgotten Terror</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Marble, Banshee, Fifth Magnitude Ghost:</strong> On the horrible night years ago when Marble’s life blood spewed onto Kartak’s reconstructed corpse, she willed herself to avenge her murder So strong was her hatred of the lich Kartak and her brother Chardath, so powerful was her will, that she actually recreated herself into a unique ghost of tremendous power.</p><p><strong>Kartak Spellseer, “The All-Seeing”, Lich:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17513/The-Gothic-Earth-Gazetteer-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Gothic Earth Gazetteer</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Sitting Bull, Ghost:</strong> What if the ghosts of Sitting Bull and his followers returned to exact vengeance on the men who slaughtered them?</p><p>The most common belief is simply that the ghosts of Sitting Bull and his people remain near the area where they were killed. Without a doubt, numerous reports of spectral beings, mysterious sounds, and unexplained deaths can be confirmed near Wounded Knee. Sitting Bull was certainly dedicated to his cause, and if ever there were a man with the passion to sustain himself after death, it was the great Sitting Bull.</p><p>It is impossible to say at this time whether the forces haunting Wounded Knee are aspects of Sitting Bull and his followers—spirits called into existence by the power of their ghost dances—or an unrelated phenomenon whose manifestation at this time and place is utterly unrelated to the massacre of the Sioux people.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> What if the ghosts of Sitting Bull and his followers returned to exact vengeance on the men who slaughtered them?</p><p>The most common belief is simply that the ghosts of Sitting Bull and his people remain near the area where they were killed. Without a doubt, numerous reports of spectral beings, mysterious sounds, and unexplained deaths can be confirmed near Wounded Knee. Sitting Bull was certainly dedicated to his cause, and if ever there were a man with the passion to sustain himself after death, it was the great Sitting Bull.</p><p>It is impossible to say at this time whether the forces haunting Wounded Knee are aspects of Sitting Bull and his followers—spirits called into existence by the power of their ghost dances—or an unrelated phenomenon whose manifestation at this time and place is utterly unrelated to the massacre of the Sioux people.</p><p>During the days of the race to build the transcontinental railroad, many lives were lost to accidents and mishaps. Not all of these souls rest easily in their graves.</p><p><strong>Count Dracula:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Banshee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crawling Claw:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crypt Thing:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Heucuva:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Living Wall:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mummy Greater:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Poltergeist:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Giant:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Warrior:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Baneguard:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Blazing Bones:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crypt Servant:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dread:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Flameskull:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich Psionic:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Naga Bone:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectral Wizard:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Tuyewera:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead Lake Monster:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Agarat:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dark Hood:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gray Philosopher:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Velya:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Lightning:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dhaot:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kaisharga:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Krag:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Kragling:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Meorty:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Raaig:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Racked Spirit:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith Athasian:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Thinking:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17526/The-Nightmare-Lands-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Nightmare Lands</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lost Soul:</strong> Lost souls are the animated mortal remains of wanderers who die in the Nightmare Lands. </p><p>When a wanderer dies in the Terrain Between, there is a chance (40%) that the innate power of the land will cause the remains to rise as a zombie-like being called a lost soul. Once a lost soul is created, it immediately searches for others of its undead kind. When it finds them, it merges with them to become a single entity made up of the tangled, rotting bodies of many dead wanderers. </p><p>A wanderer who dies in a dreamscape has a chance (60%) to become a somewhat different type of lost soul. A lost soul animated in a dreamscape is more insubstantial, more ghostlike. Like the zombie lost soul, the dream lost soul seeks out others of its kind and merges to form a mass of writhing, moaning spirits. </p><p><strong>The Ghost Dancer:</strong> As her name implies, she is an incorporeal creature who now searches the nightmares of the living in an effort to understand her own death. </p><p></p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> Shadow asps are 1-foot-long coils of shadow. Their bite can turn victims into shadows. </p><p>Shadow Asp shadow poison (Save vs. poison or become shadow in 5 rounds).</p><p><strong>Sea Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/16958/The-Rjurik-Highlands-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Rjurik Highlands</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Spectral Scion:</strong> A spectral scion is the spirit of a bloodtheft victim who was killed with a tighmaevril weapon. Not all people killed in such a manner become spectral scions, but those who do relive daily the horror of losing their bloodlines; they spend eternity attempting to find peace.</p><p>Because grief over their lost birthright fuels their existence, spectral scions often haunt their former domains. These spirits are not, however, confined to their former domains.</p><p><strong>Njalgrim, Spectral Scion:</strong> Njalgrim was slain by a bloodsilver weapon, leaving his spirit unable to find peace.</p><p><strong>Hrothwulf, Skeleton Warrior:</strong> The horrifying creature from the center mound is Hrothwulf, now transformed into a warrior skeleton by the various curses he accumulated during his wicked life.</p><p>Once a powerful, dangerous warlord, Hrothwulf raided and pillaged this region of Hogunmark, wielding the sword Kinharrower, a weapon whose evil nature invariably corrupted its user. Today, his evil nature has kept him bound to the land, surviving as an undead creature.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17482/The-Shadow-Rift-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Shadow Rift</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Crimson Bones:</strong> These gruesome undead monsters are created when a human being (or similar demihuman) is flayed alive by an evil Arak. Usually, they are created by the ranks of the powrle and teg.</p><p><strong>Saugh Dearg-Due:</strong> The saugh are an army of the dead created by Loht, Prince of the Sith, to serve him when he moves against the lands of mankind.</p><p><strong>Saugh Gossamer:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Rushlight:</strong> In death, one of these poor men became a vengeful rushlight. Unwilling to give up his battle against those who attacked Briggdarrow, this flaming spirit seeks to destroy any intruders who come near his body.</p><p><strong>Corpse Candle:</strong> For the briefest fraction of a second, you notice a flickering light In the eyes of the dead man. Then, suddenly, these embers bloom Into the grim features of an elvish countenance which laughs mockingly at you.</p><p>A brief wave of nausea washes over you, and you suddenly find yourself standing face to face with a lanky warrior clad in a kilt and wielding a flashing scimitar. Hts features are angular and sharp, not unlike those of an elf, but of a more sinister cast. Hts laughter; cold and derisive. mixes with screams of terror and agony in the distance.</p><p>You lash out with an axe that you did not realize you were holding. Although your attacker avoids the blow, the blade smashes one of the hinges on the door through which the elf has just entered. With a sharp crack, the hinge gives way, and the door falls to an odd angle.</p><p>The elf laughs even harder at your pitiful attack. He draws back his scimitar and drives it forward, running you through. A burning pain spreads out from the wound. With a gasp. you fall to your knees and then topple forward, your face slapping the wooden floor which Is already slick with your own blood.</p><p>Sobs escape your lips, and everything goes black. Suddenly, you are again leaning over the body of the slain tailor. a little bit dizzy but presumably none the worse for the wear.</p><p><strong>Kristov, Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Banshee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Radiant Spirit:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spirit Psionic:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Banedead:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Baneguard:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Blazing Bones:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Boneless:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Coffer Corpse:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dread Warrior:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Heucuva:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Archer:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Son of Kyuss:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Cannibal:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie Strahd:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bastellus:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17391/Tome-of-Magic-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">Tome of Magic</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> <em>Undead Plague</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Undead Plague (Necromancy) </p><p>Quest Spell</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic</p><p>Range: 1 mile</p><p>Duration: Special</p><p>Casting Time: 2 rounds</p><p>Area of Effect: 100-yard square/level</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p> By means of this potent spell, the priest summons many ranks of skeletons to do his bidding. The skeletons are formed from any and all humanoid bones within the area of effect. The number of skeletons depends on the terrain in the area of effect; a battlesite or graveyard will yield 10 skeletons per 100 square yards; a long-inhabited area will yield three skeletons per 100 square yards; and wilderness will yield one skeleton per 100 square yards.</p><p> The spell's maximum area of effect is 10,000 square yards. Thus, no more than 1,000 skeletons can be summoned by this spell.</p><p> The skeletons created by this spell are turned as zombies and remain in existence until destroyed or willed out of existence by the priest who created them. [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17531/Van-Richtens-Monster-Hunters-Compendium-Vol-1-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium Vol. 1</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> From still another place, called Oerth, a man has told me of a family curse that causes the firstborn male in every twelfth generation to rise after death to drink the blood of the family unless the body is burned at burial.</p><p>How did vampirism begin? If new vampires are spawned by other vampires, as virtually all tales would have us believe, how then was the first vampire created? These questions have plagued sages as long as the undead monsters themselves have plagued mankind. Perhaps the answer lies in Barovia.</p><p>According to most tales, a vampire can create another simply by killing a mortal either with its life-energy draining power or by exhausting the mortal of his or her blood supply. If the victim's body is not properly destroyed, it arises as a vampire, under the control of the creature who killed it, on the second night after burial.</p><p>This method is, thankfully, exceptionally rare. The saliva of certain vampires contains various necrological substances. First among these is a slow-acting but highly lethal poison. A single bite from a vampire can inject enough toxin to kill a robust warrior. Unlike most poisons, however, this toxin does not kill the subject for several days. Few people make the connection between the vampire bite and the victim's collapse, hence the body is quite likely to be buried improperly. Meanwhile within the dead body of the victim, other necrological agents from the vampire's saliva are having their effect. Several nights after the victim's death, he or she comes to consciousness as a vampire.</p><p>A character bitten by this type of vampire is entitled to a saving throw vs. poison. It is best if the DM makes this roll secretly, If the save is successful, the victim suffers only 2d4 points of damage; should this be enough to kill the victim on the spot, he or she won't rise as a vampire. If the character fails the save, 2d4 days later he or she will suffer sudden heart failure and drop instantly and painlessly dead. Within 1d4 days of burial the character will rise as a Fledgling vampire. under the control of its killer.</p><p>Some vampires have the ability to cast a special version of the unique priest spell, divine curse, once per day at most (DM's choice). The effects of this curse are always the same. Should the victim fail a saving throw vs. spell, every time the sun rises thereafter he or she loses 1 point of Strength. When the victim reaches 0 Strength, he or she dies and will rise as a vampire under the control of the monster who cast the curse.</p><p>Some of the monsters also have the dread ability to impart vampirism via a curse. With their voice and their gaze they are able to afflict a victim with a terrible wasting disease that drains the body's strength. After a number of days, the victim dies and then rises as a vampire the second night after burial. The only means of saving the victim known to me is to destroy the cursing vampire before the victim Finally</p><p>succumbs. Of course, the body can be destroyed to prevent it from rising, but this is obviously too late to help the victim. In general, any victim brought to death by any draining effects of a vampire, but not by normal combat or spell damage, is a candidate to become undead.</p><p>Where does this symbolic equivalency arise from? Some sages believe that it is a jest of the ancient and evil deities who originally set vampires loose upon the worlds of the universe. Others hold that a parallel arises from the very nature of reality; in other words, we know that evil preys upon good, and vampires vindicate this axiom on the supernatural level.</p><p>A young, naive man, raised in a sheltered and privileged family, was slain by a vampire passing through the neighborhood.</p><p>An intrepid vampire hunter was slain by one of the creatures she so tenaciously hunted: her colleagues immediately destroyed the monster that killed her. For whatever reason, these colleagues neglected to take the precautions to prevent the woman from rising as a vampire.</p><p>A man of good alignment was killed by a vampire, and became a vampire himself under the control of his dark master.</p><p><strong>Baron Metus:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Erasmus Van Richten, Vampire:</strong> The Baron was a vampire, and he had passed on that dark gift to my only son!</p><p><strong>Krynn Sea Elf Vampire:</strong> I have recorded tales of a place called Krynn, and a race of sea elves who claim that if one of their race is buried on land, it will rise from the dead to seek vengeance on its brothers by drinking their blood.</p><p><strong>Strahd von Zarovich, Vampire:</strong> The gift-or curse-of immortality was not thrust upon Strahd von Zarovich, Lord of Barovia, by another vampire; rather, he stole it from the lips of death. I quote the following text from the diary of the bard Gregorri Kolyan, who supposedly was captured by Strahd only to be released sometime later with the complete story of the creature. I do not know why Strahd allowed Gregorri to leave with this vital information. Perhaps the vampire felt a need to have his story told after years of exile and secrecy.</p><p>By Strahd’s account, the battle was fierce and will make for a great song, should I live to compose it. Both men were excellent swordsmen-Strahd from his years as a general and the officer from his constant training. Yet Strahd’s madness gave him the edge, and he finally struck down the officer . . . but not before he himself had taken a wound that would have slain a lesser man instantly.</p><p>Strahd von Zarovich was as good as dead. In his mind he knew that, but his hatred and rage would not allow his failing body peace. As the lifeblood poured from his body, Strahd made a pact with Death. He reached over, grabbed the dead guardsman, and drank the blood of the corpse.</p><p>Strahd would now live free from Death forever; cheating that dark and shadowy figure! But the pact required another act to be complete. He would have to kill his brother Sergei on his wedding day to finally seal the wicked contract.</p><p>Strahd hid the guard’s body, awaiting Sergei’s wedding day. As the time passed, Strahd found his charade more and more difficult to maintain. The daylight hours were becoming increasingly uncomfortable and the naked rays of the sun physically painful to his eyes and skin. He also found it difficult to eat food, which hardly satisfied his hunger. The transformation to whatever creature Death had in mind for him was beginning.</p><p>On the day of the wedding Strahd sought out Sergei and instigated a fight, intending in this way to give himself some justification for killing the young man. Strahd expected his young and fit brother to be a challenge to defeat, but quickly found that his physical strength had increased far beyond its previous limit. With but a single, cruel blow Strahd felled his brother and his pact with Death was complete. Strahd von Zarovich had become a vampire.</p><p><strong>Dwarven Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mature Vampire:</strong> 100 years as a vampire.</p><p><strong>Old Vampire:</strong> 200 years as a vampire.</p><p><strong>Very Old Vampire:</strong> 300 years as a vampire.</p><p><strong>Ancient Vampire:</strong> 400 years as a vampire.</p><p><strong>Eminent Vampire:</strong> 500 years as a vampire.</p><p><strong>Patriarch Vampire:</strong> 1,000 years as a vampire.</p><p><strong>Jarmin, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Batlas, Vampire:</strong> The thick mist appeared without warning, seeming to rise from the ground like a foul exhalation. At first we paid it little mind; at night, ground fogs are fairly common. But then we noticed how the fog was moving, swirling toward us even though there was no wind to drive it. What could we do? How can you fight a fog?</p><p>It was then that the leading tendril wrapped itself around Batlas, our scout. Poor Batlas screamed, screamed as though his soul was being torn from his mortal body. And then he collapsed lifeless into the mire.</p><p>Little did we think we would ever see Batlas again. . . .</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> I once faced a flesh golem who had the ability to animate any corpse it touched. The creature seemed to revel in animating the freshly killed bodies of its foes, and I remember with great sadness having to strike down the animated body of one of my companions in the very same battle in which he was killed. The animated corpses were not golems, of course, but some sort of lesser undead creatures.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Bride/Groom:</strong> Creating a bride or groom, although seemingly a simple process, requires an exhausting exercise of much power by the creating vampire. For this reason, only vampires of advanced age and capability can even assay this procedure. A bride or groom can be created only by a vampire of age category Ancient or greater, and not even all of those are capable of doing so.</p><p>The first step requires that the vampire find an appropriate mortal to be the bride. (Note: With apologies to the feminine gender, I shall use the term “bride” and the pronouns “she” and “her” to refer to both brides and grooms, Unless otherwise specified, there are no restrictions or differences in the procedure based on the sex of either the vampire or the victim.) usually this problem solves itself. Very rare is the vampire who decides in isolation, “I will make a bride,” and then seeks out a mortal to fill the bill. In the vast majority of cases, the process occurs in the reverse order. The vampire is drawn emotionally to the mortal and decides, because of the strength of this emotion, to make her his bride.</p><p>The nature of this emotion can vary widely. It may simply be hormonal lust (after all, the physiological systems related to such effects in mortals are still present, and sometimes still functional, in vampires). It may be an obsession dating from the days before the vampire became what he now is, as is the case with Strahd von Zarovich's obsession with women who resemble his lost Tatyana. In these cases, the vampire creates its bride in cold blood, for the sole purpose of satisfying its own desires.</p><p>Sometimes, however, the emotion may be close to what mortals classify as love. The happiness of the vampire becomes tied up with the prospective bride, and its well-being depends on hers. In these cases, the vampire might actually believe it is bestowing a gift when it turns the mortal into its bride—the gift of freedom from aging and death.</p><p>To actually create the bride, the vampire bestows what is known as the “Dark Kiss.” It samples the blood of its mortal paramour—once, twice, thrice—draining her almost to the point of death. This process causes the subject no pain; in fact it has been described as the most euphoric, ecstatic experience, in comparison to which all other pleasures fade into insignificance. Just as the subject is about to slip into the terminal coma from which there is no awakening, the vampire opens a gash in its own flesh—often in its own throat, wrist, or chest (being near the heart)--and holds the subject's mouth to the wound. As the burning draught that is the vampire's blood gushes into the subject's mouth, the primitive feeding instinct is triggered, and she drinks hungrily at the wound, enraptured. With the first taste of the blood, the subject is possessed of great and frenzied strength (Strength 18, if the character's isn't already higher), and will use it to prevent the vampire from separating her from the fountain of wonder that is the bleeding wound. It is at this point that the creator-vampire’s strength is most sorely tested. He is weakened by his own blood loss, and also by his own rapture as the “victim” of a dark kiss. Overcoming the sudden loss of strength and the inclinations of lust, the vampire must pull her away from its own wound, hopefully without harming her, before she has overfed. Should the subject be allowed to feed for too long (more than 2 rounds), she is driven totally and incurably insane, and will die in agony within 24 hours.</p><p>Once the subject has stopped feeding, she falls into a coma that lasts minutes or hours (2d12 turns), at the end of which time she dies. Several (1d3) hours later, she arises as a Fledgling vampire and her creator's bride.</p><p>The actual process of creating a bride inflicts some limited damage on the vampire. Even the small amount of blood the bride drinks weakens it for some time.</p><p>“Donating” blood to the prospective bride or groom inflicts 2d8 hit points of damage on the creating vampire. This damage—and only this damage—does not begin to regenerate until the first sunset after the bride is created.</p><p><strong>Countess Abalia, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire Nosferatu:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Wailing Spirit:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17532/Van-Richtens-Monster-Hunters-Compendium-Vol-2-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium Volume 2</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lord Azalin:</strong> I know not what he called himself-what his true name was--before he transformed himself to lichdom. It does not matter, though, since that person died with the drinking of the lethal potion that began the ritual.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creatures: anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> Ghosts, unlike vampires, draw power not from the passing of time, but from the forces present at the moment of their creation. At the exact instant that a person’s spirit is transformed into a spectral undead, its strength is set and locked by the emotions that surrounded it.</p><p>The instant of a ghost’s creation is subject to intense energies. Just as the shock of birth is overwhelming to a child (and the mother), so too is the sudden plunge into the frigid, black waters of unlife. The intensity of this shock is based wholly upon the emotional and karmic energies of the transformation. In other words, the stronger the emotional state of those present at the ghost’s creation, the more powerful the spirit that arises.</p><p>I have, over the years, collected hundreds of documents that profess to detail the origins of numerous ghosts. In many cases, I have been able to assemble a number of accounts detailing the “birth” of a single apparition. One might think that so many references could not help but provide a clear and insightful view of the events leading to the creation of a ghost. Rather, the converse is quite often true. In instances where two or more authors chronicle the details by which a specific haunting occurred, I have found myself confronted with conflicting facts, theories, conjectures, and opinions that cloud the matter as surely as the swirling clouds of autumn hide the face of the moon.</p><p>Still, putting aside the less reliable accounts, there does emerge a certain pattern in the creation of ghosts. Based on this pattern, I have been able to classify most ghosts according to eight origins. In some cases, this involves the manner of the person’s physical death; in others, it depends upon the events of the person’s life. Occasionally, events that occurred soon after death play a part.</p><p>The eight methods or motivations by which ghosts seem to originate include: sudden death, dedication, stewardship, justice, vengeance, reincarnation, curses, and dark pacts. There are likely to be other situations through which ghosts may form, but these seem the most common.</p><p>A ghost can be created when an individual unexpectedly dies. The spirit of the doomed person simply doesn’t realize he or she is dead. A spirit of this type tends to retain the alignment held in life-at least at first.</p><p>Some ghosts are drawn from beyond the grave out of devotion to a task or interest. A learned scholar who has spent her life researching ancient tomes in an effort to decipher a lost language might return to haunt her old library if she died before completing her studies.</p><p>In Staunton Bluffs, a young child died tragically at the hands of a transient rogue. The child was so horrified by the attack and so ridden with anxiety over separation from her mother that her spirit returned to haunt the meadow where she had been slain.</p><p>In my research on ghosts, I recorded many stories of unfortunates set upon by evidoers in the guise of friends, and of innocents fatally betrayed by loved ones. These tragic figure, by sheer force of will, reanimated their mortal shells to wreak vengeance on their murderers. While this type of reanimation is fueled by outraged spirits determined to forestall or avenge their own deaths, the state itself is not one specifically sought by the revenants. In such tales, once the revenants' goals are fulfilled, they happily seek the afterlife for which they were destined.</p><p>Mentalist liches differ from such beings on several points. First, and most obviously, the liches purposefully sought their undead state. Second, they do not end their unnatural lives with the accomplishment of any goal; rather, unflife is their goal, and it now serves them in the pursuit of further mental endeavors. Finally, these liches are masters of the mental disciplines, rather than unfortunates whose emotional state combined tragically with their force of will to enable them to gain a temporary extension of life.</p><p>Furthermore, the deliberate destruction of a body, no matter how well meaning, can set in motion a karmic resonance that creates a ghost. As I explained in some detail in an earlier work, the more charged with emotion a spirit is, the more powerful a ghost it becomes. Imagine the anger of a spirit that believes it has been denied blissful afterlife because its body has been desecrated!</p><p>Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creatures: anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few.</p><p><strong>Baron Metus, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>The Child Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>The Thundering Carriage:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>First Magnitude Ghost:</strong> The least powerful of the incorporeal undead, these creatures are created when just enough emotional energy is available to empower the transformation to an undead state. This is, fortunately, the most common type of spirit.</p><p>Ghosts of the first magnitude are created the same way as are other ghosts, but they tend to have less dramatic origins.</p><p><strong>The Loud Man of Lamordia, First Magnitude Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Second Magnitude Ghost:</strong> In order for a ghost of this type to form, the dying person must be in a state of some emotion. The emotion need not be overly consuming or of great duration, as is necessary for the more powerful spirits to form. For example, someone who dies during a spousal quarrel might have enough emotional energy to attain the second magnitude of unlife, as might an artist who is working on a painting that means a great deal to her. It is sometimes even possible for a person who knows he or she is going to die by the hangman’s noose, for example-to become a second-magnitude ghost. The so-called Laughing Man of Valachan is an example of this sort.</p><p><strong>Laughing Man of Valachan, Second Magnitude Ghost:</strong> It is sometimes even possible for a person who knows he or she is going to die by the hangman’s noose, for example-to become a second-magnitude ghost. The so-called Laughing Man of Valachan is an example of this sort.</p><p>Consider the case of the infamous Laughing Man, said to haunt the Valachan countryside. I have no fewer than five accounts of his “death.” While they differ in details, the important points match perfectly.</p><p>The Laughing Man was a hunter who often set traps in the woods near his home. Tending the trap line required him to spend the night in the woods, something many folk-myself included-are reluctant to do in that land. Because of this, the hunter would often go into the woods with several of his neighbors in the mistaken belief that there would be safety in numbers.</p><p>One night, the group completed the chores and settled down to an evening of stories around the campfire. While the hunter was consumed with laughter following the telling of a joke by one of his companions, a group of bandits attacked them. The hunter was slain by a single arrow that struck the back of his head. Magical conversations with the spirit of the Laughing Man reveal he did not know what happened to him by the fire.</p><p><strong>Third Magnitude Ghost:</strong> In order for a ghost of the third magnitude to form, a person must die while in a highly emotional state. An example would be a man forced to watch as his beloved family was slain by brigands before he himself was killed, dying in the grip of his overwhelming anguish. The karmic resonance of this tragedy might be strong enough to create a third-magnitude ghost. Similarly, someone enraged or horrified to an extreme degree at the time of death might attain this status.</p><p><strong>Fourth Magnitude Ghost:</strong> Among the most powerful of apparitions, ghosts of the fourth magnitude are created only through scenes of death that involve great emotional stress or energy. Spirits of this type are generally warped by the power of their emotions, becoming highly aggressive, evil, and cruel.</p><p>Rare indeed are the circumstances surrounding a person’s death that are powerful enough to create a ghost of this type. In my travels, I have encountered only a half dozen or so of these evil and dangerous monsters. In each of the cases I came across, the ghost had once been a person who had either embraced death with great fervor or felt himself so powerful that death could hold no sway over him.</p><p><strong>General Athoul, Fourth Magnitude Ghost:</strong> It is said that his devotion to Azalin was so great that even death only meant a new manner in which for him to serve his beloved commander.</p><p><strong>Martyr of the Moors, Fourth Magnitude Ghost:</strong> A man who sought death as the ultimate step in his devotion to a dark and evil deity, only to find that he had been cursed with eternal unlife.</p><p><strong>Fifth Magnitude Ghost:</strong> The emotional intensity needed to create a ghost of this power is so rare that it happens but once in a very great while. I would dare say that whole centuries might pass without a ghost of this type being formed, for which we can all be grateful.</p><p><strong>Tristessa, Banshee, Fifth Magnitude Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom Lover, Fifth Magnitude Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Incorporeal Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Semicorporeal Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Strangling Man of Gundarak:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Corporeal Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mutable Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vaporous Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectral Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Humanoid Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bestial Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom Hound:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Shark:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spirit Wolf, Ghost Wolf of Kartakass:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Monster Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Medusa Phantom:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Object Ghost:</strong> I believe that ghosts of this type are formed when an individual is greatly attached to or associated with a physical object. Upon the individual’s death, he is anchored to that object so strongly that the object itself is transformed into a ghostly state.</p><p>In half of these cases, the ghost object is physically transformed so that it bears the countenance of the individual, appearing to be a painting or engraving of a face or person somewhere on the object. Needless to say, this can be a difficult type of spirit to accurately identify. In other cases, the object itself appears ghostly and insubstantial.</p><p><strong>Phantom Axe of Gildabarren:</strong> With the aid of a talented spiritualist, however, we were able to uncover the truth: This weapon was imbued with the spirit of a dwarf warrior named Gildabarren. Gildabarren had been exiled from his community in his youth, and he had returned to haunt it upon his death. His spirit had focused its energy on the ax, an heirloom of great importance to his family. The karmic resonance surrounding his tragic drowning death was so strong that the ax itself became, in effect, Gildabarren's spirit.</p><p>Compilers' Note: Dr. Van Richten's many notes reveal that he considered the Phantom Ax of Gildabarren a true ghost and not merely the anchor for a ghost, though perhaps it once was merely an anchor. The battle ax was originally a nonmagical heirloom, but over time the attachment of the dwarf's spirit to it perhaps infused the weapon with magical abilities before it was absorbed into the ghost's essence, becoming the ghost of the dwarf himself. Possibly objects serving as the anchors for ghosts eventually go through this process and become ghosts themselves in a merging of the material and spiritual.</p><p><strong>Preserved Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Corrupted Ghost:</strong> It has happened that, where a body has been preserved, the ghost's visage remains unchanged though the ghost is, in fact, corrupted. I have heard stories from a reliable source in the distant land of Har'Akir of a ghost who rose from the body of a mummified priest when the rituals surrounding his death and burial were left incomplete. </p><p><strong>Distorted Ghost:</strong> Some apparitions have their physical appearance twisted and distorted in ways that can hardly be described. These creatures are nightmarish reflections of what they were in life. I have heard it said that they are</p><p>aspects of the madness that must surely exist in the tortured mind of a ghost.</p><p><strong>Baying Hound of Willisford:</strong> Its origin remains a mystery to me, as does its fate, for I don’t know if it still exists or if some brave adventurers have been able to dispatch it.</p><p><strong>Beauteous Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Steward Ghost, Sentinel Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Headless Gypsy:</strong> Here we have a man who was cast out from his people, the Vistani, for a crime he did not commit. When he returned to them in an effort to plead for reconsideration, he was sentenced to death and beheaded. That night, his spirit returned in the shape of a swirling cloud of sparkling, shimmering dust.</p><p><strong>Vengeful Spirit Ghost:</strong> This is the restless soul of someone who suffered a great wrong in life. Unable to avenge himself in the mortal world, this apparition rises from the grave to harass or destroy those who maltreated him in life.</p><p>It matters little, I believe, whether the wrong that has caused such a spirit to rise from the dead is real or imagined. Indeed, in many cases the most evil and powerful of these spirits thrive on the belief that they have been slighted when no evidence of prejudicial treatment exists.</p><p><strong>Reflection of Evil, Vengeful Spirit Ghost, Keni:</strong> It seems that a young woman named Keni was prone to jealousy whenever her husband Drakob even spoke to another woman. I have never found anyone who would even begin to suggest she had cause for this, for Drakob was as devoted and loving a spouse as any woman could want. Her jealousy became so consuming, however, that she was unable to stand the thought of his being gone from their home for more than a few hours at a time. One day, while Drakob was going about his business in the town of Viktal, a fire broke out in their home. Unable to escape the sudden, horrible blaze, Keni died.</p><p>As the months passed, Drakob mastered his grief. He eventually wooed a young woman named Zjen; two years after the death of Keni, he remarried. On Drakob’s wedding night, however, the image of his first wife appeared in the mirror on a dressing table. The frantic newlyweds destroyed the mirror, only to find that the one they replaced it with was promptly inhabited by the same apparition. Over and over again, they discarded or destroyed mirrors in an attempt to drive this phantom from their life. Eventually, they were forced to flee from their home, for every reflective surface began to bear the image of the dead first wife.</p><p>The couple’s new house seemed a safe enough refuge for the first few weeks, but soon the jealous eyes of Keni haunted it.</p><p><strong>Reincarnated Spirit Ghost, Descendant Ghost:</strong> A reincarnated (descendant) spirit appears when a being of exceptional willpower chooses to return to life by usurping or possessing the body of one of its descendants. The victim of this possession must be a direct relation; the importance of blood ties in this diabolical relationship cannot be overstated.</p><p><strong>Cursed Ghost:</strong> Ghosts of this type may be created by a curse that is external in origin. For example, a man may offend an ancient and powerful Vistani woman who chooses to retaliate with the dreaded evil eye of the gypsies. Under the power of such a spell, the offender might be condemned to live out eternity at the spot where his misstep was made, until the gypsy takes pity and releases him from the curse.</p><p>Ghosts may also be forged by a curse brought upon them by wrongs committed during life. These curses are far more horrible than those laid on by an outside party, for there is no quick solution by which the victims may be released from their suffering-suffering they themselves caused.</p><p><strong>Counting Man of Barovia, Cursed Ghost:</strong> My research indicates this is the spirit of a wealthy and powerful banker who had been miserly and stinting all his life. When he passed away, no one lamented the loss of such a cold, cruel person. On the anniversary of his death, the Counting Man was seen wandering the streets of Barovia at night, dressed in the rags of a pauper and begging for change.</p><p><strong>Dark Pact Ghost:</strong> The final method I record by which ghosts are formed is one that I shudder to mention. However, the truth is that some would willingly trade away their humanity for the eternal life of the undead, in order to gain some advantage. They make a pact with evil forces.</p><p>Of course, entering into a pact with some being or force is difficult, for creatures capable of bestowing the gift (or curse, rather) of immortal undeath in any form are rare. Most commonly, these pacts are made with the vile creatures that, the sages say, lurk in alien realms and planes outside our own world. Those who seek to strike a bargain with these forces of the supernatural must first locate such beings and attract their attention. This in itself is a dangerous and foolhardy thing to do. In almost every case, dealing with such powerful, evil creatures results only in tragedy and death.</p><p>Once someone makes contact with a creature capable of granting his wish for immortality, he must offer some payment for the "boon." In many cases, this favor will take the form of a service, as material wealth means little to fiends of this power. Often, the task will do nothing to further the goals of the beast, but will instead provide it with chaotic amusement.</p><p><strong>Eldrenn Van Dorn, Dark Pact Ghost:</strong> Over the course of the next few years, he began to study wizardry. His powers grew slowly at first, but he found he had a natural affinity for the working of magic. Eventually, he became quite powerful. In fact, he found he could learn nothing more from his studies and set out to contact the only man who seemed a suitable mentor to him-the dreaded Lord Azalin, master of Darkon. My poor friend seemed hesitant to say the name, and he was slow in telling me of the foul pact of obedience he swore to the dark lord.</p><p>What Eldrenn did not know, however, was that Azalin was teaching him powers he could never fully contain. In the end, those powers destroyed my friend-consuming his flesh and blood and stealing the magical power he had accumulated in his life. Tragically, death was not a release for Eldrenn. The powerful oath he had sworn anchored him to the servitude of Azalin for all time, even beyond death.</p><p><strong>Personal Anchored Spirit Steward Ghost:</strong> The majority of personal anchors are formed when a person has served as steward to a family line. If the karmic resonance surrounding the faithful servant’s death is strong enough, his soul is transformed into a ghost. His magnitude is dependent upon the emotional energy at the time of death, and he is also a ghost whose origin is that of stewardship. Likewise, in this instance, he is an anchored spirit, for he is anchored to the family he swore to serve.</p><p><strong>Personal Anchored Spirit Vengeful Ghost:</strong> Occasionally, an anchored spirit forms from someone who seeks revenge against a single person.</p><p><strong>Item Achor Ghost:</strong> Compilers' Note: Dr. Van Richten's many notes reveal that he considered the Phantom Ax of Gildabarren a true ghost and not merely the anchor for a ghost, though perhaps it once was merely an anchor. The battle ax was originally a nonmagical heirloom, but over time the attachment of the dwarf's spirit to it perhaps infused the weapon with magical abilities before it was absorbed into the ghost's essence, becoming the ghost of the dwarf himself. Possibly objects serving as the anchors for ghosts eventually go through this process and become ghosts themselves in a merging of the material and spiritual.</p><p>In order for a spirit to become anchored to an object, that object must have held great significance for the person in life.</p><p><strong>Gray Lady of Invidia:</strong> This woman was obsessed with a small cameo she wore constantly. I believe her young son gave the brooch to her as a birthday gift. The boy was killed in an accident that very day, and she fixed upon the item as a last link to her lost child.</p><p>When the woman died some years later, her will requested that the trinket be buried with her. Her sister, however, had always coveted the pretty brooch, and she removed it from the body just before the casket was sealed. I the months that followed, the spirit of the Gray Lady drove her to madness and death.</p><p><strong>Bussengeist:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bowlyn:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Groaning Spirit, Banshee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Knight Haunt:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ravenloft Scarecrow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Valachan Miser, Ghost:</strong> Consider a ghost I encountered some three or four years ago, the Valachan Miser. This spirit was all that remained of a large and powerful man who had, over the course of his life, brought great suffering to many people. He was a merchant noted for his greed and treachery in business practices. When he died, his tortured spirit continued to stand by the counting house where he had conducted his business in life. So strong were his ties to this establishment that no magical force seemed able to expel him from it.</p><p><strong>Desmiand L'Strange, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom Army, Mass Haunting Ghost:</strong> The origin of the Phantom Army dates back less than half a century. A pack of twisted mongrelmen from the dread domain of G’Henna fled from their native land and entered the southern reaches of Darkon. Here, they did their best to hide In the forests and live undisturbed. Although those who lived near the mongrelmen knew of their existence and avoided them, the mongrelmen kept to themselves and did not harass the common folk. The locals feared the mongrelmen, however, and they fabricated stories of the mongrelmen’s inhumane treatment of prisoners and of wild, cannibalistic feasts held under the light of the full moon.</p><p>In time, the mongrelmen became the masters of their recently claimed land. They came to know every aspect of their wooded refuge and were able to move quickly and quietly through the trees and brush. Some even said they had mastered the power of invisibility for use at will.</p><p>Eventually, the dread Kargat, the secret security force of Lord Azalin, took an interest in these intruders. A legion of Darkon’s most fearsome warriors journeyed south from Il Aluk and came at last to the woods of the mongrelmen. The leader of the legion was a dark and sinister man, a fellow known as Karuk Abjen. His men feared him and trembled In time, the mongrelmen became the at the mention of his name.</p><p>Abjen ordered his men forward into the forests. They found no sign of the mongrelmen in the outskirts of the wood, and they pressed inward. They did not know that the mongrelmen watched their every move, waiting to learn what these armored men wanted in the woods the mongrelmen called their own.</p><p>As night fell, one of the scouting parties happened upon a lone mongrelman and captured him. The prisoner was brought before Abjen and brutally tortured for information about his kindred and their purpose in Darkon. Abjen ranted and accused the pitiful creature of being a spy sent into Darkon to learn the secrets of Lord Azalin’s power. In the end, the mongrelman died from the abuse.</p><p>At the instant the creature’s body stiffened and went slack as the last vestige of life drained from its broken form, a long and terrible howl went up from the woods surrounding the camp. It lasted for many minutes, echoing like the lingering cry of a great, wounded beast. As suddenly as it had begun, the cry stopped. An ominous silence fell across the Kargat legion.</p><p>Abjen ordered his men to stand ready for battle. All that night, the dark watchmen waited eagerly in hope of earning favor with their vile commander by being the first to spot the mongrelmen massing for attack. Dawn came, but brought with it no sign of the beastly folk who had made the pitiful howling.</p><p>The Kargat commander called his men together and gloated before them. Abjen cried out that it was fear of the Kargat and its great lord Azalin that kept the mongrelmen in check. They would not dare to attack, he shouted, for none who challenged Azalin’s powers could survive. Finally, Abjen ordered a company of his men to move into the woods and set it afire. The mongrelmen and the forest they had defiled would be reduced to cinders.</p><p>As the troops dispersed, the mongrelmen attacked. They did not charge in sweeping waves filled with horribly twisted creatures; instead, they attacked in small, fast, silent strikes against individuals. The company of men sent to light the fires vanished, never to be seen again by their companions.</p><p>At sunset, another ringing cry went up from the mongrelmen. Their echoing howl drifted through the woods, stilling all conversation and sapping the morale of Abjen’s legion. His men were on the verge of panic, but the fiendish Abjen would not let them flee. He took command of a second company and forced them into the woods to discover what had happened to the first company. All night long they moved about, searching for their lost companions. At every step, they were met with flickering shadows, sounds of movement, and lingering traces of the mongrelmen, but never did they actually come across one.</p><p>As the cold glow of sunrise spread across the sky, Abjen and his tired men returned to camp. They had lost not a single soldier, but neither had they found one enemy body or seen so much as one of the mongrelman foe. To their horror, they found no sign of the dozens of men they had left behind the camp was deserted. Abjen chose to believe the mongrelmen had struck again, for he had vowed to kill any man who deserted him.</p><p>As Abjen ranted and raved at the dark woods around him, another of the mournful cries rolled out through the trees. Morale among Abjen’s men collapsed in full. They scattered and ran, hoping to find safe passage through the hidden ranks of mongrelmen. Many died instead. Abjen himself was captured by the mongrelmen he had vowed to destroy. It is said that they tortured him for days before he finally died. Those few who lived near the woods of the mongrelmen reported that his cries of pain and suffering were heard all through the night, and that his sobbing pleas for mercy and death filled the days. None moved to help him. </p><p><strong>Mass Haunting Ghost:</strong> It is very rare and happens only when many individuals share a common bond that links them after death as it did in life.</p><p>A mass haunting always centers on one individual, a leader. It may be that this person is the only true ghost and that the others are merely reflections of its own curse, dragged into unlife by the power of the central figure. In almost every case, the ghost at the core of a mass haunting is of fourth or fifth magnitude.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Resident:</strong> A resident is a tormented soul, doomed to exist among the living until it can find self-forgiveness. In life, a resident was a person who was offered true love, but lacked the courage or conviction to accept the blessing and thus lost it, becoming embittered.</p><p><strong>Jonas, Resident:</strong> A typical "resident" tale tells of a lad named Jonas, who met a woman on a chance encounter. He befriended her and became very fond of her as time passed. Then she met a suitor who seemed to make her very happy. Jonas, unwilling to face up to the obligations of marriage but also unwilling to end their relationship, watched as his true love married her suitor and raised a family. Jonas tried to bury his anger, jealousy, and self-hatred, but he was unable to forgive himself and move on with his life. His corrupt spirit carried on his rage after his death.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> Sometimes, in exchange for assisting evil fiends from unseen planes who desire a foothold into our realm, unwise mages are granted great powers to wield over their fellows. I fear that too many mages pursue this opportunity over the considerations of the state of our world. For these mages, treachery awaits. Wizards who follow evil paths do not understand that one cannot trust a creature that, by its nature, lives to betray.</p><p>Still other mages seek those secrets of power of their own free will. They hope to gain knowledge that evil and powerful creatures jealously guard for themselves. Such a mage believes that it is better to enter the perilous halls of power himself, using his own efforts, than to rely upon the questionable graces of others. The magnitude of this struggle is great. Evil uses many secrets to pervert our world-secrets so elusive that a mortal must expend every ounce of his strength and spirit to acquire them.</p><p>This devotion is, no doubt, the means by which the mage is subverted and changed. He loses sight of the pursuits of normal life and becomes obsessed with seeking the keys to power. Eventually, the mage realizes that he cannot learn those secrets in his short lifetime. He finds that he must secure a method of continuing his researches and experiments for years, perhaps even centuries, to come.</p><p>For this incredibly ambitious wizard, there is but one way: He must transform himself into a different creature, one that will outlive his mortal shell so that he might continue his arcane efforts.</p><p>During a full moon, this mage imbibes a potion that instantly kills him-yet his spirit survives! His spirit actually dispossesses itself of his body. While in this state, the spirit acclimates itself to dark energies that are the source of pure evil. The spirit of the wizard becomes sympathetic to the heart of evil so that it may learn new and more potent secrets in the future.</p><p>The spirit eventually returns to the body, but in the interim the body shrivels and mummifies into a twisted mask of death. This corpse rises from its own grave, eyes alight with a scarlet lust for knowledge and power. The mage has died, yet it lives now and forever as a corpse. </p><p>One must wonder what texts the very First lich worked from, how that ill-fated mage first came by the formula that dispossessed his body of his spirit.</p><p>[The tanar’ri] first plotted to seed the world with his minions and take the world by force. This proved unsuccessful. Yet intent upon acquiring the world, [the tanar’ri] set about creating minions that were significantly more powerful than the troops previously used. It tempted the mages of the world with great power and knowledge, and it gave them instructions on how to transform their bodies, minds, and even spirits to a higher form of existence--one that would command great magic and allow [the tanar’ri] to assume control of the world with subtlety and plotting.</p><p>This fragment suggests the origin of the lich, and I am inclined to believe it. There had to be a first lich, someone to formalize a ritual for its creation. That a mortal should gamble without guidance with a ritual that would destroy him if it does not grant him unlife seems unlikely.</p><p>Considering the many complex factors involved in what is known about the ritual of lichdom, the odds that someone should get it right by pure coincidence are ludicrous. Perhaps these instructions came from a fiend from another plane of existence, perhaps not. But this fragment, couched as it is in mythic terms, is still as fair an explanation as I’ve encountered in my researches of the origin of the first lich.</p><p>The diary of Mirinalithiar chronicles her descent from humanity to lichdom. There are entries beginning almost from the moment she decided to become a lich to the moment she passed over. This has proved to be my most important source of information about the ritual and processes of becoming a lich. Of course, the existence of such a source is suspect in itself, as it might be a part of a subtle plan of the forces of evil.</p><p>Much of the journal is cryptic, extraneous, or highly empirical, but I will summarize some of the more pertinent data. Mirinalithiar began her quest for lichdom by investigating incidents of mysterious, high-powered magic. She was searching the telltale marks of what she surmised to be lich behavior. Mirinalithiar achieved a breakthrough when she happened upon an account of how, at a century-old battlefield, the dead rose from their graves-weapons, armor, and all-and marched into a nearby range of mountains. She began to study the history of the area wherein the peculiar events took place, paying particular attention to tales of the mages that lived there and their behavior. She found that the mages were quite powerful, but preferred absolute solitude in comparison to most other mages, who gained power through heroic adventuring. The reclusive wizards defended their abodes from every sort of threat, but only if their keeps or lands were directly in the path of danger.</p><p>The startling level of their powers was documented, however. Mirinalithiar found that the mages made occasional trips to magical colleges and guilds. There, they impressed and intimidated the high wizards with their abilities. Most importantly, those mages’ studies were invariably concerned with necromancy. All of them were especially interested in spells that allowed communication with the dead and those places where the dead reside.</p><p>It was Mirinalithiar’s belief that they were seeking information about the processes of becoming a lich. and about methods of contacting some long-dead spirit. Perhaps they sought that most ancient of fiends referred to in the Haedritic Manuscripts. Mirinalithiar attempted to follow that same path to knowledge, and apparently she succeeded.</p><p>Her journal became decreasingly coherent as she went about the business of summoning and speaking with the dead, and it is difficult to reconstruct the facts from her text. Even so, with a great deal of study and the assistance of several scholars, I believe I have discovered the basic formulae for achieving lichdom.</p><p>Be warned, you who would use this information for evil intent, that Mirinalithiar was not sane when she recorded these procedures. I offer them only to shed light on the unspeakable desperation of a wizard who would be immortal. Used in the cause of justice, this knowledge is indeed power; used for evil purpose, this knowledge is certain death!</p><p>According to Mirinalithiar’s journal, once the details of the transformation process are known, the scholar has to practice with rigor the newfound information.</p><p>Primary among the requirements is the ability to cast key spells. The spells themselves are rare, and only an wizard of great power and knowledge who fears not to dabble in the horrid art of necromancy can cast them. Still, this is not a particular hindrance to a mage whose hunger for knowledge is ravenous. As I have postulated, one cannot acquire great power without already having it. Hence, power is the key, power that begets power, ever corrupting the mage while preparing the mage to accumulate even more might.</p><p>Once the spellcasting considerations are satisfied, the wizard proceeds to the next, equally important step: the making of a phylactery, a vessel to house his spirit.</p><p>The phylactery usually is a small boxlike amulet made of common materials, highly crafted. Lead or another black or dark gray material is frequently used. Inspection of an amulet may reveal various arcane symbols carved into the interior walls of the box, and those grooves are filled with silver as pure as the mage can find. These amulets are never made of woad, and rarely of steel. Brightly colored metals, such as gold, are infrequently used. (Mirinalithiar's account is extremely unclear, but it may not be the color that is the problem. The relative softness of the material and its subsequent likelihood of being injured may create this restriction.)</p><p>The mage understandably has no desire for anyone to learn what ritual is being undertaken, or the appearance of the arcane symbols and etchings he must use. Thus, the mage alone will melt and forge those precious metals, as well as learn whatever other crafting skills are necessary to design and construct the phylactery.</p><p>The vessel that becomes a lich's phylactery must be of excellent craftsmanship, requiring an investment of not less than 1,500 gp per level of the mage, with more money needed for custom-shaped amulets. It is, of course, possible to obtain a normal amulet of good craftsmanship without paying for it, but the amulet to be used as a phylactery must be constructed for that specific purpose. The craftsman who builds the amulet need not know of its true intended purpose.</p><p>Though the phylactery is normally a box, it can be fashioned into virtually any item, provided that it has an interior space in which the lich can carve certain small magical designs. Silver is poured into these designs, and a permanency spell is cast on the whole. The designs include arcane symbols of power and the wizard's personal sigil. Should the Dungeon Master wish to actually illustrate them for the players, he or she should feel free to create unique designs to fit the campaign. The wizards personal sigil is a mystical sign of personal significance, and identifying it may convey great power over a lich.</p><p>Once the box is constructed and the designs are crafted and properly enchanted, four spells must be cast upon the phylactery: enchant an item, magic jar, permanency, and reincarnation. When all of these spells have been cast, the amulet is suitable for use as a phylactery, but only by the specific wizard who made it. The manner in which the spells are cast and the time at which they are cast are not important, except that the permanency spell must be cast last of all.</p><p>The rules governing the creation of a phylactery are not immutable. A Dungeon Master can create a wonderful adventure around the attempted creation of a phylactery by a would-be lich. The necessity of fine craftsmanship, the ritual casting of powerful spells, the occurrence of a rare astronomical event, and many other factors might come into play in the completion of the device. The Dungeon Master is encouraged to customize not only the phylactery, but the process of creating it, too.</p><p>The Potion of Transformation</p><p>With the phylactery constructed, the next step requires the mage to cast his spirit into his newly enchanted box. To do so, however, requires the inclusion of the most secret aspect of becoming the lich-the potion of transformation. The ingredients of this potion are unknown to me, and it was only by chance that I even came to know of its existence. Mirinalithiar’s journal mentions it but once as “that foul brew from the heart of evil.”</p><p>After consultation and speculation with my many scholarly sources, I have concluded that the poisonous venom of a number of rare creatures must be involved, as the potion kills the mortal wizard almost instantly. Of course, after my near fatal experience with my old friend Shauten, I am sure that another one of the ingredients is the heart of a sentient creature.</p><p>In any case, I do know (from Mirinalithiar’s journal) that the mage must drink the potion when the moon is full. If successful, the mage is transformed into a lich. Otherwise, the mage immediately dies. The success of the potion and the ability of the mage’s constitution to handle the consequences are the ultimate tests of the mage’s skill, knowledge, and fitness.</p><p>To initiate the transformation, to break the link between his body and spirit and forge it anew between his spirit and the phylactery, the mage must drink a special potion that is highly toxic. This potion, if properly made, will cause the mage to immediately transform into a lich. If any error is made in the formula or in the concoction and distillation of the potion, irrevocable death results.</p><p>To create the potion, the mage may blend several forms of natural poisons, including arsenic, belladonna, nightshade, heart’s worry, and the blood of any of a number of poisonous monsters. Also necessary are a heart, preferably from a sentient creature, and the venom from a number of rare creatures such as wyverns, giant scorpions, and exotic snakes.</p><p>When the ingredients are properly mixed, the following spells must be cast upon the potion: wraithform, cone of cold, feign death, animate dead, and permanency. The potion must be drunk during a night with a full moon. Upon ingestion, a System shock roll is required. If the mage passes the test, then he has been transformed by the potion into a dreaded lich.</p><p>If the mage doesn’t survive the shock, he is dead forever, with no hope of any sort of resurrection. Not even a wish will undo the lethal potion. Only the direct intervention of a deity (or the Dungeon Master) has any hope of resurrecting a mage killed in this manner.</p><p>In order to affect the world, the lich must have a method of interacting with it. This means the spirit of the lich must attach itself to a body. After entering the phylactery, the spirit must remain for at least three days (perhaps less for extremely powerful mages). After those days have passed, the lich may reenter the body from whence it came. This act of transference is quite demanding upon the host body. Because of this, the lich must rest for a week after reentering its former body. During this week, the lich is unable to cast spells or undertake strenuous physical labor. It is only able to exert enough energy to care for itself, and perhaps read and meditate.</p><p>A person has to possess a spirit at least tainted, if not twisted, by evil to want to become a lich. The realization of the goal is even more twisted.</p><p>Some of the ingredients in the potion of transformation are exotic and fatal poisons of mind-boggling strength. When drunk, these ingredients do more than alter the body-they alter the mind extensively as well.</p><p>A lich initiates and completes the process that transforms it from living being to undead. While the prospective lich still lives, it begins an elaborate, dangerous, and expensive ritual in which it is the principal, if not the only, player.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Lich Salient Ability Animate Dead by Touch.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Lich Salient Ability Animate Dead by Touch.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crimson Arcanus, Lich, Antirius the Red:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Moonbane, Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Malygris:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Phantom's Bane, Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mystical Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bloody Hand of Souragne, Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Quasimancer:</strong> Let us begin with two basic prerequisites. First, the use of wizard magic apparently requires some force of will. It is not enough to simply comprehend the workings of a spell: one must have the determination to drive magical forces to a desired end. Therefore, a candidate for quasimancer must retain at least part of its former life essence-its personality, if you will-in order to use magic. Second, the casting of magic almost always demands the use of the hands and other body parts in order to shape the spell. Therefore, a quasimancer must have a physical body, possessed of some dexterity.</p><p>Mummies, vampires, and liches satisfy both prerequisites, but mummies and vampires are difficult to control, even for a lich. (I do not believe it is possible for one lich to control another.) Also, both vampires and liches are already capable of wielding magic, so endowing them with spell abilities would be redundant.</p><p>I conclude, then, that the lich raises a special form of wight to serve as a quasimancer. The minion retains a small part of its former identity, and a freshly animated wight still maintains a viable physique for spellcasting.</p><p>Furthermore, such a creature is subject to the same absolute control exerted by the lich upon its lesser cousins, yet its orders from the “general” would include the use of offensive magic. To support my hypothesis, I have observed that quasimancers exhibit hand-to-hand combat techniques and other innate abilities common to the wight.</p><p>Let me caution the reader not to take this text too literally. The ghast also satisfies the prerequisites for a quasimancer. Perhaps the lich can endow even the lowly skeleton with the ability to cast magic. Then again, perhaps such magic is not possible. Whatever the case, we cannot rest upon absolutes, for liches make new breakthroughs in spell research even as I write this guide, and even as you read it.</p><p>The quasimancer is specially raised by the lich, then magically endowed (see the spells create minion and confer in the Dungeon Master Appendix later in this volume).</p><p><strong>Vassalich, Lesser Lich:</strong> ”Yes,yes! It was horrid, horrid! Not just dead things-living things too. Men! A man became a lich before my eyes! He swallowed a stone- diamond or something, I don’t know. Then the lich slit its rotted wrist open with its own fingernail and blood-no, not blood ooze, gray ooze ran from the black hole! And the man drank it! He drank the lich’s blood! He drank it, Dolf! And he fell down and screamed. And he changed. He shriveled. He died! He lay there, dead, and-”</p><p>“And what, Harmon?”</p><p>“He got up and spit the stone into the lich's hand. Then he was a lich, too. ”</p><p>It is sadly simple to conclude that a wizard of questionable values might strike a pact with a lich and become immortal, albeit undead. What mage does not crave the arcane secrets of the universe? What wizard would not consider the advantages of unlimited time to learn new magic? Who among any of u s does not wish to live forever?</p><p>These sentiments are the genesis of the vassalich: a wizard who undergoes the transformation to lichdom under the sponsorship of a full lich, thus becoming an undead magic-user long before he could accomplish the feat himself.</p><p>If a Dungeon Masters wishes to roleplay the creation of a vassalich, a number of conditions can be created to carry off a successful transformation. Heroes who prevent these conditions from occurring also prevent vassalich creation.</p><p>For example, the wizard might have to fail at least two powers check! before the transformation will work. Perhaps the phylactery must be a gem of not less than 10,000 gp value, which the lich can wear ornamentally or keep with the rest of its treasure. Perhaps the new vassalich must rest after the conversion, like its master, but for 10 full days.</p><p>The transformation itself might consist of joint spellcasting by the sponsor and aspirant. Perhaps the lich casts enchant an item on the phylactery while the wizard drinks the prepared potion (see Chapter One), then the wizard casts magic jar before he dies. Next, the lich casts reincarnation on the wizard‘s body, and the vassalich is created.</p><p>The vassaiich’s phylactery would likely not be nearly as magical as that of the lich. It might be destroyed merely by inflicting 25 points of damage upon it using any nonmagical weapon. (A saving throw vs. crushing blow might apply.)</p><p>A vassalich most likely undergoes a process similar to his master’s when he becomes undead. He might drink a poisonous potion or partake of the lich's body fluid as Ruscheider suggested, but his soul then occupies a phylactery.</p><p><strong>Lich Familiar:</strong> A wizard can take its familiar with it into lichdom by forcing it to drink the potion of transformation. After doing so, the familiar makes a System Shock roll at the same level as the wizard. If it fails, the familiar dies and the lich must make a second System Shock roll. If that roll fails, the lich dies irrevocably, just as if he had failed his first roll. If the roll succeeds, the lich still loses 1 point of Constitution permanently, and it must rest two full weeks before memorizing spells or conducting any strenuous activity.</p><p>The Dungeon Master may declare that a lich can create an undead version of virtually any living monster by casting raise dead upon the expired monster of its choice, then binding it by casting find familiar and charm monster, or something to that effect.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Redfist, Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Master Ulathar, Mentalist Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Mentalist Lich:</strong> These beasts are towers of iron fortitude, creating and driving their unlife not by magical means, but by the pure desire of their evil will to continue, to enlarge their mental prowess, to stand upon the pinnacle of all that is human and to look beyond at any cost to the rest of the world.</p><p>Although some liches command powers that are assuredly will-driven in nature or effect, a lich whose very undead</p><p>state is derived from its mesmeric abilities is quite rare indeed. </p><p>In my research on ghosts, I recorded many stories of unfortunates set upon by evidoers in the guise of friends, and of innocents fatally betrayed by loved ones. These tragic figure, by sheer force of will, reanimated their mortal shells to wreak vengeance on their murderers. While this type of reanimation is fueled by outraged spirits determined to forestall or avenge their own deaths, the state itself is not one specifically sought by the revenants. In such tales, once the revenants' goals are fulfilled, they happily seek the afterlife for which they were destined.</p><p>Mentalist liches differ from such beings on several points. First, and most obviously, the liches purposefully sought their undead state. Second, they do not end their unnatural lives with the accomplishment of any goal; rather, unflife is their goal, and it now serves them in the pursuit of further mental endeavors. Finally, these liches are masters of the mental disciplines, rather than unfortunates whose emotional state combined tragically with their force of will to enable them to gain a temporary extension of life.</p><p>Psionicists who have managed to achieve lichdom-not mystically, but through a very specific psionic process.</p><p>Psionic liches were once living psionicists who left behind the physical demands of life in pursuit of ultimate mental powers.</p><p>By far the most important aspect of the existence of any psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he or she must attain at least 18th level. In addition, the psionicist must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in new ways.</p><p>The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature’s spiritual resting place. A phylactery can come in any shape, from a ring to a crown, from a sword to an idol. The item is made from the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality or interests of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the psionicist. Thus, a 20th-level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his device.</p><p>Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist’s life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete a phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he or she possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a person has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he or she must complete the empowering of all telepathic powers before beginning to infuse the object with any metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is “closed,” it cannot ever be reopened.</p><p>During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he or she gives the phylactery a new power, the psionicist loses it forever. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist’s life and completes the transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place, the psionicist must make a System Shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his or her willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; the psionicist‘s spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him or her forever dead. Only the powers of a deity are strong enough to revive a psionicist who has died in this way: even a wish will not suffice.</p><p><strong>Priestly Lich:</strong> While mages are considered the most likely candidates to fall prey to the lure of lichdom, it should not be forgotten that priests may walk the road to unlife as well. In most respects, the processes are similar. The priest must, like the mage, discover the ritual to lichdom, whether it is revealed by beings from unseen planes, unearthed From ancient scriptures where it lay hidden in riddles, or unveiled by an evil deity through prayer. The priest, too, must manufacture a phylactery and concoct a poisonous potion to go with it. However, the transformation for a priest is based in priestly magic, ritual, and ceremony. A ritual designed for a mage would afford certain doom to a cleric.</p><p>During his research, a priest sometimes encounters the secrets to lichdom. Perhaps these secrets are given to him surreptitiously by an evil deity, or perhaps they are revealed by the priest’s own god as a test. Whatever the means, a priest who comes by the secret might elect to take full advantage of it for his own gains. He may justify his actions by saying that in this manner he will serve his deity better, perhaps more powerfully or more everlastingly, but these are rationalizations. The transformation to lichdom is always, at its heart, a selfish course of action.</p><p>Even acquiring the necessary components for the lichdom ritual--organs from slain, sentient beings and</p><p>It seems reasonable to me that priests who espouse neither morality nor immorality, neither good nor evil, are</p><p>the most likely to become cleric liches. In the main, these priest serve gods of knowledge, who are often reverenced by mages. These deities promote an ethic of rising to one's own level of ability by one's own hand, which promotes aspirations to lichdom.</p><p>It might be in the best interests of a neutral deity (for who am I to know the</p><p>ways of gods?) to allow a servant to remain on the mortal world long beyond the age of mortal men, in order to accumulate and relate knowledge and experience to the church. While potions of longeuity or elixirs of youth seem a logical resort in such a case, these concoctions are known to be of questionable effect. They cause stress in the normal fabric of a person's physical being, stretching it back and forth like a piece of rubber, until one potion too many is consumed, and snap!--the body disintegrates. One might rely on potions of longevity for a span of decades if one knew their mysteries (which I, alas, do not), but in due course the hand of death must close upon us all-or most of us, at any rate.</p><p>Therefore, in the mind of some coldly calculating and inhuman god, it might seem an eminently logical and necessary step to endow a faithful and trusted servant with the information needed to transform into a lich. The scrupulous performance of the research and processes necessary to complete the ritual of transformation, and the success or failure of the rite, would then prove the ultimate test of whether this servant was worthy of lichdom.</p><p>I have no doubt there are human fiends who strive to find proper candidates for lichdom, and I doubt not their success. Evil religions have their own dark goals to counter the forces of light. To tip the balance, some evil deities surely attempt to find priests among their followings to turn into liches, making them much more powerful tools in some evil design.</p><p>I have known some servants of these dark gods: they are a paranoid and elitist lot, certainly a mortal reflection of the vile things they worship. To earn the “gift” of lichdom (as I am sure they regard it), there are surely many trials of which only the priests themselves are aware. These tests must be extremely difficult, or I fear the world would be quite overrun with priestly liches; such a station would be highly prized by all creatures of evil bent.</p><p>Having some understanding of the hearts and minds of evil, I speculate that the tests of lichdom are particularly strenuous because the transformation into lichdom represents an increase in power so significant that the deity may have difficulty maintaining control over the lich. This simple conclusion explains rather well why evil cleric liches fall into two types: those fanatically devoted to their deities, and those madmen attempting to become deities themselves.</p><p>The fanatics are extremely rare (I know of only one in existence), but they actually are most open about their condition as liches, at least with other followers of their gods. (My knowledge of this was gained through, shall we say, eavesdropping.) They are the high priests of deities of death or disease. They preside over unspeakably foul rites in huge temple complexes, protected and sewed by legions of fanatic followers. Their deities reward their devotion with ever larger insights into the mysteries of magic, faith, and possibly the energies of that plane of negative energy. They are valuable generals in the ongoing battle between evil and good for the hearts and souls of mortals, and their gods reward their loyalty with bounteous prosperity, ample knowledge, and miraculous powers beyond those of even the “common” lich.</p><p>A cleric lich is more likely to have salient abilities than is a wizard lich. These may be abilities granted by the Iich’s deity (and thus removable by the deity), or they may be manifestations of a difference or improvement in the nature of the ritual of transformation that invests the priest with lichdom.</p><p>An evil lich attempting to become a deity is superficially identical to a fanatic, but it gradually subverts the devotion of its god's followers, first portraying itself as a mouthpiece, then as an actual personification of the god's power and desires. The lich walks a thin and twisted line of duplicity, hoping to amass enough of a following (and enough magical items, artifacts of power, and abilities) to promote itself to the status of a deity without its own go divining the lich's ultimate intent too soon and squashing the lich like the two-faced insect it is.</p><p>Although I certainly have no direct evidence to support it, I believe that a cleric lich has a psychology all its own. The mind of the priest is swept away, shriveled by the potion and shattered by the rites. A cleric is a person of faith, faith in himself, faith in his deity, faith in the steadfast workings of the universe. The change into lichdom is a profound leap of faith in a direction that goes against the grain of the very constants of the universe.</p><p>The mind of the being that exists after the transformation is profoundly different from the mind of the being that existed before, because it has taken it upon itself to defy the natural ordering of the gods with respect to itself. The cleric lich has set itself above its own god in the matter of the avoidance of its death, and the fact that it finds itself still in existence after the transformation, after having the temerity to defy the universal order, subtly but absolutely shifts the underpinnings of its mind.</p><p>The cleric lich is created through the same process as is the wizard lich, except that the spells it casts are obviously clerical in nature.</p><p><strong>Demilich:</strong> My best guess at the origins of a demilich is that it is an undead wizard who has lived so long, learned so much, and gathered such power that it has literally achieved a new level of existence. The creature's definition of power itself has evolved entirely beyond the grasp of the mortal mind, so the demilich has abandoned all mortal exploits in order to survey realms in which only the gods tread. Having no interest in the world that gave it form, the demilich surrenders that form, and its body crumbles to useless dust. All that remains is its skull.</p><p>By the time its body falls into ruin, the lich has learned virtually all the arcane secrets of its world-all things that both should and should never have been discovered. It has had millennia to reflect upon its evil and the nature of power, and it has mused upon things that even the blackest hearts would call vile.</p><p>Of any of these things, I can never be certain. All I can do is contemplate what they must be like, and, ironically, hope that I never learn the answers to my own questions!</p><p><strong>Hero's Bane the Invincible, Demilich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ancient Dead, Mummy:</strong> Most of the ancient dead were once living, breathing people, but they defied death to walk again among the living-as mummies. Their tortured spirits remain bound to now lifeless bodies.</p><p>I have infrequently discovered doomed spirits who were compelled to become ancient dead through no fault of their own. Most ancient dead, however, were not innocent victims of powers beyond their control.</p><p>After years of research and interviews with eyewitnesses who have encountered the unquiet dead (including two interviews conducted magically with the dead themselves), I have concluded that some spirits pass into death with a predilection for returning as mummies. The common factor among these cases seems to be a fascination with and desire for the trappings of the mortal world.</p><p>A mummy is created through a process in which the subject is only a passive participant. Though an individual can arrange to return from the dead as a mummy, it must depend upon others to carry out its wishes. Planned or otherwise, the process can truly begin only after the subject dies. The first step is embalming the corpse. True, a mummy can be created spontaneously through natural preservation of a body and the spirit’s own force of will. Even then, some external event triggers the mummy’s return.</p><p>When confronted with the question of the origins of the ancient dead, most sages and mediums are unable to give any credible answer at all. A few priests, adventurers, and seekers of forbidden lore speculate that those rituals and processes used to create the ancient dead were developed after some long-ago theorist witnessed a spontaneous occurrence. One of my colleagues, Deved de Weise of Il Aluk, in Darkon, has offered a succinct explanation of the reasoning behind this theory.</p><p>As to the probable origins of the creatures you call “ancient dead,” you [Van Richten] must concede that history is full of incidents involving the return of the dead to the world ofthe living. Here in Darkon, the rising of the dead is ingrained in local legend.</p><p>If as you seem to have documented, departed spirits can return to their preserved bodies through force of will, then it must have been inevitable that some priest, obsessed with death and hungering for an extended life (or desperate to grant such a “gift” to a demanding liege) must have come upon an account of such an incident just as you have) or actually witnessed the event.</p><p>Armed with this knowledge, the priest would need only the proper research materials and sufficient time to recreate the event.</p><p>Because I have uncovered conclusive proof that the ancient dead can rise unassisted, I find it hard to contradict de Weise’s reasoning and conclusion. There is a more sinister theory about the origins of the ancient dead, however, to which I must attach greater verisimilitude because it is derived from firsthand knowledge. It comes from the journal of De’rah, a wandering priestess and a gifted medium. This fair lady claims to have been only a visitor to these lands of ours, and in any event she has disappeared utterly. Before departing on her final journey, she entrusted a copy of her journal to a wandering Vistana, who delivered it to me. The fact that lady De’rah could induce any Vistana to serve as a reliable messenger only increases my admiration for her abilities.</p><p>Once the mummy lay quietly in its coffin again, we sought to discover some method of putting it to rest permanently. While my companions set about trying to decipher the numerous cartouches and hieroglyphs on the tomb‘s walls, l fingered my enchanted prayer beads and chanted a divination spell. Soon, I was conversing with the creature.</p><p>Q: Huseh Kah, why do you walk among the living?</p><p>A: Because of the curse of Anhktepot.</p><p>Q: Who is Anhktepot?</p><p>A: The first of my kind.</p><p>From the journal of De’rah</p><p>If Huseh Kah was correct in his belief that Anhktepot is the progenitor for all the ancient dead, then it appears that, in seeking his own immortality, Anhktepot loosed an entirely new evil into the land.</p><p>As noted in the previous chapter, a mummy’s powers are set, but not necessarily fixed, at the moment of its creation. The chief factors that determine the mummy‘s rank are the strength of its attachment to the mortal world, the deceased’s emotional state at the time of death, the intricacy of the ritual used to create the mummy, and the opulence of the mummy‘s tomb. In some cases, other factors can increase a mummy’s rank. These include the power of the creature or creatures creating the mummy, and the amount of respect, fear, or veneration a mummy receives from the living. The legend of the aforementioned Anhktepot of Har’Akir is a case in point.</p><p>Each ancient dead creature has a dual origin. First, a creature's mortal shell must be preserved so that it may house the spirit even after death. Second, the spirit itself must be compelled or induced to return to its body.</p><p>Every ancient dead creature I know about falls into one of three subcategories: accidental, created, and invoked. The terms refer only to the processes that preserve the creature's body, and not to its motives or psychic traumas, which I will discuss in a separate section. Be warned that ancient dead whose origins bear no semblance to what I describe here might stalk the land. Undeath is a phenomenon that often confounds mortal understanding.</p><p>It seems that an ancient dead can form when a corpse is naturally preserved after its living form is suddenly overcome by death. The creature also suffers, usually dying in great pain or turbulent emotion. In many cases, the medium that preserves a body was instrumental in bringing about death—perhaps even directly causing it.</p><p>Any environmental condition that prevents a body from decaying can create a natural mummy. The most common conditions include burial in dry sand, freezing, and immersion in swamps or bogs. Other conditions might naturally embalm a corpse. My colleague George Weathermay, a ranger of some renown, speculates that quicksand, the cool waters of subterranean pools, and tar pits might also preserve the dead.</p><p>Ancient dead creatures created unintentionally are extremely rare. They also tend to be among the weakest of mummies, since no outside agent exists to invest them with power.</p><p>The vast majority of ancient dead rise when preserved corpses are deliberately turned into undead creatures. The typical mummy found in many lands is created from the corpse of a priest, carefully embalmed and wrapped for the ritual that binds its spirit with its body once again. My observations and research lead me to believe that there are two types of created ancient dead: subservient and usurped.</p><p>Many powerful mummies (and a few of their lesser brethren) have the ability to create other ancient dead, usually by transforming their slain victims through some ritual or arcane process.</p><p>Sometimes a usurped mummy has a more insidious origin. Even the most reverent and well-intentioned funeral rites can lead to undeath for the deceased if an enemy subverts those rites and lays a curse on the corpse.</p><p>This subcategory includes the most terrible and powerful of all ancient dead. An Invoked mummy embraces undeath willingly, laying plans for a corrupted form of immortality while still alive.</p><p>Rather, the reader should understand that the ancient dead rise only under specific circumstances, and these factors often leave their mark on the resulting creature.</p><p>Servitor mummies are most often created by other mummies or by a mummy cult.</p><p>Servitor mummies are almost always deliberately created, usually by the creature that later controls them. The tomb guardians of Har'Akir, for example, were created for the express purpose of watching over a pharaoh's tomb.</p><p>Some ancient dead arise from the same circumstances that create ghosts. This is particularly true of accidental and invoked mummies: something in each creature's psyche maintains a link between spirit and body that outlasts death. This link can arise without a conscious desire on the dying person's part, perhaps providing a path through which an outside agent can create a mummy. This type of mummy strongly resembles a ghost, but the creature is fully corporeal.</p><p>Sometimes the ancient dead rise in response to events that occur long after their deaths. After many hours of study and countless interviews with priests and mediums who have had some experience with these matters, I have come to believe that beings can pass fully from the mortal world, only to be drawn back when certain conditions prevail. Some force or summons compels the spirits to reenter their mortal bodies.</p><p>In one case I documented, the creature returned in response to an ancient curse it had successfully avoided throughout its life. Strangely enough, when one of her descendants triggered the curse, the blight fell upon the dead ancestor. The curse was worded in such a way that the victim’s repose in death was interrupted so that she would waken and feel the curse’s effects.</p><p>I have acquired several accounts of guardian mummies rising to protect ancestral estates, temples, and other areas that were important to them in life. One case involved a dedicated priestess who was interred beneath a temple, returning when the building fell into disrepair. In each of the cases I labeled “recalled,” the individuals appear to have died and departed from</p><p>the world in the normal way, only to return in response to events that occurred long after their deaths.</p><p>The material I have on the priestess who returned to save her temple from ruin is fragmentary, but she might have been interred with the stipulation that she protect or maintain the temple when necessary. If this is true, as I suspect it is, she is an example of an invoked mummy, recalled by a specific trigger.</p><p>To many shortsighted individuals, the thought of physical immortality beckons like a sweet. radiant dream. It is true that our world offers many pleasures, but fate has decreed that only mortals may enjoy them. There is no shortage, however, of dark powers all too willing to indulge the misconceptions of the foolish.</p><p>Natural mummies occur only under conditions that prevent or retard decomposition. Generally, a body must be completely sealed off from environmental changes and protected from scavengers. The medium that covers the body must possess some preservative qualities and must not contain oxygen or plants, animals, or microorganisms that cause decay. All of the examples cited by Van Richten and Weathermay are suitable for creating natural mummies, except subterranean pools. A body immersed in plain water would tend to decay unless the water was very cold, or oxygen depleted, or both. Further, the water would have to be free of living organisms. A submerged body covered with sand or mud is much more likely to be preserved. Note, however, that any body allowed to lie undisturbed might become mummified, including one concealed in a cool, dry attic or cave, or hidden in a barrel of wine.</p><p>One factor Van Richten fails to note is the preserved body's age. Mummies cannot be created from fresh corpses: the body must be embalmed before it can house an ancient dead spirit. Natural embalming requires 10 to 100 years or more, depending on how quickly the preserving medium acts on the body. Immersion in a tar pit would transform a body fairly quickly. Preservation through freezing in ice or immersion in a bog takes much longer. Ultimately, the Dungeon Master must decide.</p><p>Many of the ancient dead possess the ability to create their own undead minions. Unlike vampires, ghosts, and lesser undead such as ghouls and wights, all of which create undead automatically, a mummy must take deliberate steps to create undead minions.</p><p>In addition to spells such as animate dead, some mummies understand the process of embalming and the funerary rituals required to create new mummies. Usually the victim must have died while afflicted with mummy rot, but death from mummy rot isn’t a requirement. Creating a mummy of the third rank or less requires 12-18 hours of effort to prepare the body, and a further 12-24 hours before the spirit becomes permanently fixed into the preserved body. A mummy of the fourth or fifth rank requires very careful embalming and funerary rituals on a massive scale: see Chapter Six for more details.</p><p>We watched in horrid fascination as the mummy performed a ritual over the bodies, accompanied by a throaty and vulgar chant from the assembly. Soon the corpses stirred with unlife, and an awestruck hush fell over the temple.</p><p>In Chapter Two, I briefly explained that the creation of an ancient dead being requires a preserved body and some reason for the departed spirit to return to that body. The first step, preserving the body, is not always sinister or evil. Embalming the dead, while not practiced everywhere, is an essential part of solemn and respectable funerary rituals in many lands. I have already warned the reader of the perils of interfering with such rituals. Still, the following particulars might prove to be useful in some circumstances.</p><p>The first step in preparing a body for proper (that is, ceremonial) disposal usually involves evisceration and</p><p>drying. This can take anywhere from 7 to 80 days. The residents of Har’Akir, for example, use an elaborate process that involves drying the body in a bed of natron (a naturally occurring salt) for 40 days. The internal organs are not discarded, but placed in sealed vessels called Canopic jars. Curiously, the Har’Akiri place the heart back after mummification-they consider it essential that this organ remain with the body. The body is then washed out, stuffed with various aromatic herbs, and carefully wrapped in linen bandages.</p><p>In other lands the ritual is considerably different and might involve baking the body, cremating it so that only the bones remain to be interred, or coating the body with waxes and resins.</p><p>It is at this stage that the true creation of an ancient dead begins. Powerful spells or alterations to the standard rituals serve to bind a spirit within its body, or to call it back from whatever afterlife to which it has gone. The conversion of a preserved body to an undead mummy usually is fairly rapid, regardless of the mourning period (usually no more than a few days). However, the resulting mummy often lies in “slumber” until wakened by an outside force.</p><p>In all my dealings with truly powerful mummies (creatures of at least the fourth rank), each deceased was given</p><p>full funerary rites, totaling 70 days or more, and interred in a resplendent tomb. </p><p>Lesser mummies, by contrast, might not receive any funerary rites at all. This is obviously the case with naturally mummified ancient dead and with most that were created by other mummies. In the latter case, a victim generally is subjected to a ritual that is similar to the local burial rites, but bent entirely toward creating an undead creature.</p><p>Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creatures: anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few.</p><p>Finally, a power is abroad in these lands of ours that visits doom upon the greedy and foolish. Through this power, the ancient dead become endlessly trapped in prisons of their own making. Take care not to join them.</p><p>A RECIPE FOR FINE MUMMIFICATION</p><p>Lay body on a stone slab.</p><p>Insert long metal instrument with hook through nostrils and pull brains out. Rinse brain cavity with palm wine.</p><p>To open torso, carefully slit skin of left flank with sharp stone knife. Withdraw all vital organs through opening: heart, intestines, liver, lungs, and so forth. Set aside. Rinse body cavity thoroughly with palm wine: rinse again with spice infusion. Pack body cavity with herbs and spices, especially myrhh and cassia.</p><p>To purify flesh, immerse body in oil and resins for no fewer than 40 days. Treat organs with spice and oils. Place treated lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines in individual Canopic jars of stone or alabaster, with stoppers.</p><p>Test body for doneness. When all flesh has been dissolved and naught but skin and bones remains, wash body again.</p><p>Plump body and face with bags of myrrh and cinnamon for a natural look.</p><p>Important: Return heart (center of intelligence and feeling) to chest. Return kidneys to abdominal cavity also, if desired.</p><p>Sew body incision if desired. Leave small opening so heart may be withdrawn for testing in the underworld.</p><p>Anoint body with scented oils, or treat with resin, or both.</p><p>Wrap body with strips of linen treated with gum. Enclose scarab over heart, along with other protective amulets.</p><p>Place mask over head.</p><p>Place Scrolls of the Dead between thighs so deceased can reach them easily in the underworld.</p><p>Place body inside series of coffins, including outer sarcophagus made of stone.</p><p>Store upright in a cool, dark place.</p><p><strong>Huseh Kah, Mummy:</strong> Once the mummy lay quietly in its coffin again, we sought to discover some method of putting it to rest permanently. While my companions set about trying to decipher the numerous cartouches and hieroglyphs on the tomb's walls, l fingered my enchanted prayer beads and chanted a divination spell. Soon, I was conversing with the creature.</p><p>Q: Huseh Kah, why do you walk among the living?</p><p>A: Because of the curse of Anhktepot.</p><p>Q: Who is Anhktepot?</p><p>A: The first of my kind.</p><p>From the journal of De’rah</p><p><strong>Anhktepot:</strong> I first heard the legend of Anhktepot during a visit to the land of Har’Akir, many years ago. According to Har’Akiri folktales, Anhktepot was an ancient king or pharaoh. He became so fond of ruling that he could not bear to think of his reign ending, even in death. He bent all his will toward cheating death and returning to his throne. When he finally died (murdered, some say), his burial was accompanied by a lavish ceremony and the ritual deaths of all his most valuable advisors. If Anhktepot does still walk the dunes of his arid country, he has truly gotten his wish.</p><p>If the tales are true, a desire to cheat death dominated Anhktepot’s thoughts during life. Furthermore, as a pharaoh, Anhktepot could indulge in his obsession to a degree unimaginable for a common man. He had the resources of a nation at his disposal, and he used them. Anhktepot commanded for himself embalming and funeral rites on a grand scale, with an elaborate tomb to match.</p><p>My investigations in the land of Har’Akir revealed that the tomb of Anhktepot has in excess of 80,000 square feet of floor space, including a complete temple to a deity of the underworld and no less than thirty subsidiary tombs for the pharaoh’s family, servants, and advisors. Most of the tomb is carved from solid rock, and the structure is filled with monumental statuary ranging from 1 foot high to titanic figures many feet tall. The tomb’s ultimate cost is incalculable by any standards.</p><p><strong>First Rank Mummy:</strong> Ancient dead of the first rank are created spontaneously, with little or no pomp and circumstance.</p><p><strong>Second Rank Mummy:</strong> In many cases, second-rank mummies rise spontaneously if the circumstances surrounding their deaths are sufficiently charged with emotion. In most other cases, mummies of this rank are created by evil spellcasters or by other undead.</p><p><strong>Third Rank Mummy:</strong> Mummies of the third rank do not normally rise spontaneously, though I have no evidence to suggest that they cannot do so. More typically, these types of mummies are created as the result of a powerful ritual or by the hand of a more powerful sort of ancient dead.</p><p><strong>Fourth Rank Mummy:</strong> Ancient dead creatures of fourth rank rise only after a powerful ritual has been completed and their bodies have been interred in elaborate tombs. Usually the deceased took active roles in planning their funeral rites and burial, fully intending to return to the physical world as mummies. Many of these individuals believe themselves to be so powerful that death has no sway over them; others actively embrace death in an attempt to seize greater power or to gain control over the afterlife.</p><p><strong>Lamenting Rake of Paridon, Timothy Strand, Invoked Fourth Rank Mummy:</strong> Most accounts identify this creature as a ghost, a spirit so consumed by excess and debauchery in a famine-plagued land that it was condemned to walk the city streets where it once lived and witness revelries it could no longer share.</p><p>The journal of the doomed man, however, reveals a different tale: Timothy Strand squandered a bright future and a family fortune by making his life a continuous frolic. When he felt an early death approaching, he poured all his remaining wealth into an ornate tomb, which also was to serve as a temple to an evil deity. As part of this dark pact, Timothy was guaranteed a continuing life, surrounded by comfort and luxury. To seal the pact, Timothy had himself slain and embalmed. He expected to return from death and did, as a mummy able to appreciate-but never to enjoy-the pleasures of the flesh.</p><p><strong>Fifth Rank Mummy:</strong> Fortunately, the wealth and labor of an entire nation is required to invest a mummy with this level of power.</p><p><strong>Bog Monster of Hroth, Mummy:</strong> The Bog Monster of Hroth was one of several armed raiders who were lured into a bog, entrapped, and slain by the defenders of a town the raiders meant to pillage. The raider who later returned as the bog monster must have felt a strange and awful mixture of fear, humiliation, and frustration as death overcame him.</p><p>Upon hearing his story, we questioned Jameld at length and discovered two key facts. First, the victim's corpses invariably rotted very quickly. Second, the bog had been the site of an unusual battle many years before.</p><p>According to Jameld, a band of minotaurs-strange creatures with the heads of bulls and the bodies of huge men-had once tried to raid the town. The elves, however, were wary and laid an ambush for the monsters. Using their superior woodcraft, they surprised the raiders near the bog and inexorably drove them into it. The last phases of the battle took place in pitch darkness, after the moon had set. Both sides relied on their night vision during the fight.</p><p>Further questioning revealed that the minotaur chieftain had been last to die in the battle. Volleys of arrows had driven the creature far into the bog until it finally sank from sight, thrashing and cursing.</p><p>It now seemed likely the monster from the bog was the restless, naturally mummified corpse of that minotaur chieftain.</p><p><strong>Lich-Priest Pythian:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Quinn Roche, Rotch, Mummy:</strong> I have recorded many stories involving a dedicated collector of fine armor. This wealthy man, Quinn Roche, ordered that the choicest items from his collection be placed in his tomb along with him. It is said that when one of the items was later stolen, Roche rose to regain it. A second account alleges that Roche rose when groundwater seeping into his tomb caused valuable armor to rust. The collector came forth not only to see that this armor was restored, but also to insure that his precious collection would not be so endangered again. Yet another tale maintains that Roche awoke to tirelessly pursue a victim who owned a rare suit of plate mail of etherealness, which Roche (spelled Rotch in this particular manuscript) sought to add to his collection. After studying these materials carefully, I concluded that these stories, which cover a span of 260 years, all refer to the same being, which rose several times for different but obviously related reasons.</p><p><strong>Ahmose Tanit, Iurudef Hamid, Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Animal Mummy:</strong> In some cases, the preserved body of a common animal can be reanimated as one of the ancient dead. Nearly every animal mummy is created deliberately, as an animal has neither the intelligence nor the force of will to return to the mortal world on its own.</p><p>Nevertheless, an extraordinary animal can return on its own, especially if it was carefully interred upon its death.</p><p><strong>Hissing Cat of Kantora, Mummy:</strong> In life, this creature was a mage's familiar that wasted away and died after its mistress, Caron de Annemi, met an untimely death. The slain wizardess's companions carefully laid the animal to rest to commemorate their fallen comrade, whose body could not be recovered. The cat returned a generation later when a foolish young wizard claimed de Annemi's research into illusions a s his own.</p><p><strong>Monster Mummy:</strong> Though many other types of creatures have physical bodies, not every body remains a suitable vessel for a spirit once death overtakes it. Evil spirits such as the rakshasas of Sri Raji, extraplanar creatures such as aerial servants, and created creatures that never were truly alive, such as golems, cannot return as ancient dead.</p><p>Monster mummies can be created only from living creatures native to the Prime Material Plane. Extraplanar creatures such as elementals and tanar'ri, or creatures that never were truly alive (such as golems), cannot become mummies.</p><p>Most humanoid race do not practice funerary customs elaborate enough to create mummies. When encountered at all, humanoid mummies are created servitors or naturally preserved creatures of the third rank or less.</p><p><strong>Composite Mummy:</strong> These mummies are almost certainly created. (My years of undead hunting have bred in me a sense of caution that prevents me from saying “always.”) They are constructed from bits and pieces of several different creatures, sewn or otherwise joined together in the same manner as flesh or bone golems are fashioned. Some humanoid parts invariably decorate the mix, and a humanoid spirit animates the mummy.</p><p>Parts of any creature with a corporeal body, however, can be used to construct a composite mummy.</p><p><strong>Baboon Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bull Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Cat Domestic Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Cat Great Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Crocodile Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dog Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Eagle Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Hawk Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Elephant Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Horse Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Camel Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Snake Constrictor Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Snake Venomous Animal Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Hugh Ignolia, Mummy:</strong> One such case immediately springs to mind: the tale of Hugh Ignolia, an aspiring artist in Il Aluk. lgnolia became obsessed with completing a massive, epic painting that he hoped to present to Lord Azalin. The artist expended a considerable fortune assembling the finest materials for the work, including some exquisite paintbrushes made from rare and exotic materials imported from distant lands. True to his nature. Lord Aralin ridiculed the artist when lgnolia presented his painting, and the poor wretch was driven mad. When lgnolia rose from the grave, he set about retrieving his rare paintbrushes, even though these implements had only led him to disappointment and madness.</p><p><strong>Sage of Levkarest, Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p>Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creatures: anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few.</p><p><strong>Imhoptep, Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Son of Kyuss:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Senmet:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Tiyet:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p>Confer </p><p>(Conjuration/Summoning, Invocation/Evocation, Necromancy)</p><p>Level: Wizard 9</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Duration: Special</p><p>Area of Effect: One creature</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Casting Time: 1 round</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell is cast in conjunction with create minion for the purpose of creating a quasimancer (see Chapter Seven). When the confer spell is cast upon the created minion, the undead creature's mind becomes attuned to spell memorization. The lich then plants the spell repertoire of a 9th-level wizard (including number of spells and levels) within the minion's mind. The quasimancer can afterward cast the implanted spells at its discretion, as if it were the wizard who memorized them. The lich must expend spell energy equal to the level of the spell placed in the quasimancer's head. In other words, to place a 5th-level spell in the quasimancer, the lich must expend the equivalent of a 5th-level spell from its daily allowance of carried magic. The quasimancer can receive spells from its master only once: when ill of its spells are cast, it becomes a nindless undead.</p><p>Note that the quasimancer must have all spell components necessary to cast the spells implanted in its mind. This spell cannot be cast upon any undead creature other than one raised by a create minion spell. Casting this spell upon a living person instantly causes insanity that can be cured only by a psionic being using psychic surgery or someone using a wish. The material components of this spell are the minion and a bit of brain tissue from a sentient being of at least average intelligence.</p><p></p><p>Create Minion</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Level: Wizard 9</p><p>Range: 10 feet</p><p>Duration 1-20 days</p><p>Area of Effect: One creature</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Casting Time: 1 round</p><p>Saving Throw: Special</p><p>This spell is used in conjunction with confer in order to create a quasimancer (see Chapter Seven). When the lich casts create minion, a corporeal undead minion is animated and reinstated with a portion its former life essence, giving it artificial intelligence and spellcasting potential.</p><p>In terms of physical traits, the minion becomes, in effect, a wight, having all the abilities and statistics of that creature (as per the Monstrous Manual tome). The newly created minion is entitled to a saving throw vs. spell (as a 5 HD creature) to avoid failing under control of the lich. If it succeeds, it will do its best to escape the lich, then go on a killing spree, resentful of the knowledge that its time of existence is limited. (Some created minions may attempt to find a wizard and force him to cast permanency upon them, thus negating the 1d20 day expiration of the spell.) A minion that fails its saving throw falls under complete control of the lich and acts as its master's agent in the field. Its intelligence allows it to command other undead in its master's name, and it remains susceptible to the confer spell.</p><p>A created minion under a lich's control makes all saving throws at the level of its master. It is immune</p><p>to enfeeblement, polymorph, electricity, insanity, charm, sleep, cold, and death spells. It exudes a fear aura, 5-foot radius, requiring a successful save vs. spell of an onlooker who must flee for 2d4 rounds if the save is failed.</p><p>Casting this spell upon a living person requires the victim to make a successful save vs. death magic or the person immediately dies, becoming a created minion entitled to the saving throw against control detailed above.</p><p>The material components of this spell are the body to be raised and a bit of brain matter from a being with at least average intelligence.</p><p></p><p>Animate dead by touch: The lich is able to cause zombies and skeletons to rise with a mere touch. Such creatures are turned by clerics at a level equal to the lich that raised them, as long as the lich is within 200 feet of those undead. The lich may raise as many creatures as are available. All undead created in this fashion rise as 2 Hit Die creatures that behave as common zombies and skeletons, except as noted above.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17481/Van-Richtens-Monster-Hunters-Compendium-Vol-3-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Van Richten's Monster Hunting Compendium 3</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> This spell is similar in some ways to the ritual that wizards and priests use to become liches, although the result is not quite as predictable and the effect does not grant the caster eternal life.</p><p><strong>Demilich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Azalin, Lord of Darkon, Wizard-Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Count Strahd von Zarovich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Baron Metus, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Unliving Animal:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectral Hag:</strong> In most cases, death marks the end of a being’s evil, even for a powerful creature such as a hag. Still, it is not unheard of for people of great strength of will to cling to this existence even beyond the end of their natural lives, especially if they die in a particularly emotional state or with the feeling that they have left a critical task unfinished. Hags are no different.</p><p><strong>Hasiaph, Spectral Hag:</strong> The monstrous crone let out a coughing moan and slipped to the floor. Even as she fell, Gondegal withdrew his sword and severed her head from her shoulders with a mighty blow. My legs gave out also, and a battered and bloody Gondegal rushed to help me to my feet. A question formed on my lips, but before I could ask how he had survived the fall from the parapet, I spotted movement behind Gondegal. He noticed the shift in my expression, because he whirled about, ready to face the new threat.</p><p>A fine mist rose from the blood spilling from Hasiaph’s body. It slowly coalesced into a large, humanoid shape. Gondegal and I recognized the form, uttering shocked gasps in unison: We were watching the formation of a spectral hag! Hasiaph’s hatred of my lineage was so strong that even death would not stop her from slaying me and wiping it out!</p><p><strong>Bowlyn:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Every touch from a spectral hag, from a caress to a savage blow, drains life energy from the victim with an intensity that mirrors that of the average vampire. As I demonstrated in my Guide to Ghosts, this ability is not unremarkable among evil spirits by itself. There is an additional twist to this power as it is displayed in the spectral hag, however: The souls of those so slain become trapped in an undead state as spectres under the undead hag’s command, serving her in death as her minions served her in life.</p><p><strong>Odem:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Death Knight:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie Lord:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Radiant Spirit:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Ghost Second Magnitude:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Ghost Third Magnitude:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Ghost Fourth Magnitude:</strong> <em>Borrowed Time</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Borrowed Time</p><p>Level: 5</p><p>Range: Self</p><p>Duration: Special</p><p>Area of Effect: Caster</p><p>Components: M</p><p>Casting Time: 3 days</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>Warlocks and witches often struggle against powerful foes or face tasks they cannot complete in their lifetimes. To achieve their objectives or even the odds with their enemies, they might turn to the Weave for help, to extend their lives.</p><p>This spell is similar in some ways to the ritual that wizards and priests use to become liches, although the result is not quite as predictable and the effect does not grant the caster eternal life. Instead, it allows the caster, once his life has ended through natural or unnatural means, to rise as an undead and to continue his existence in this form until a specific task has been completed. That task must be specified during the casting of the spell, which takes place over the course of three days and involves a series of purification rituals and meditations to focus the character's mind on the task to be done.</p><p>Regardless of the character's intention or the task to be completed, the single-mindedness that prompts someone to cast this spell attracts the attention of local evil powers, if the rules from Domains of Dread, Chapter Seven, are in play. Upon completion of the spell, the character must make a powers check with a 5% chance of failure.</p><p>If a character dies before the stated goal has been obtained, the caster rises again within 1d6+1 days as an undead. During this time, raise dead or resurrection spells have no effect. If the body is destroyed as a result of the circumstances surrounding the death, or it is destroyed before the caster returns from the dead, the caster become an incorporeal undead. (The type of undead that the caster becomes is determined by using a table later.) If the caster manages to complete the set task before death, the spell has no effect.</p><p>The character's undead existence lasts until three days after the specified task has been completed. The character then expires a second time and cannot be revived by any means at all, including a wish. The Weave provides the character with enough time to achieve the goal, then completely absorbs the caster as “interest” on the “borrowed time.” A character slain while in an undead state is forever destroyed. If the caster does not make constant progress toward achieving the goal, the Weave may claim the caster prematurely. Essentially the completion of the task should always be the character's top priority, although minor side trips and distractions are permissible for characters who are part of covens, or who want to continue to work with lifelong comrades. (The Dungeon Master decides whether the player is abusing this extra “lease on life” that the character has received.)</p><p>The witch or warlock retains the alignment and spellcasting abilities possessed in life. The character continues to become more adept in spell use by using the advancement system provided in the guidelines for characters who adopt the witch or warlock kit in play. The character earns 25% of the normally gained experience points. All other class benefits are lost except for basic weapon and nonweapon proficiencies. Hit Dice are the standard for the monster type assumed.</p><p>A hero who rises as an undead must add +5% to all powers checks made under the Domains of Dread rules. If a hero fails five such powers checks after starting this new existence, the hero is automatically destroyed and cannot be brought back to life through any means, even a wish. (Dungeon Masters might also consider making the hero roll a saving throw vs. death magic whenever the undead abilities are abused, used in offensive ways that do not relate directly to achieving the task set while casting the spell. Once five such saving throws have failed, the hero is destroyed as described above.)</p><p>In a RAVENLOFT campaign, however, there is a special risk. Upon dying again, a hero makes a saving throw vs. paralyzation as per a fighter of a level equal to the hero's Hit Dice. If the saving throw is successful, the character is absorbed by the Weave and gone forever from the campaign. If the save fails, the character rises again three nights later as a full-strength wraith, with a burning hatred for all living things, particularly former friends and loved ones.</p><p>Rorrowed Tme Conseqsences</p><p>1d100 Undead type</p><p>01-10 Odem*</p><p>11-20 Revenant</p><p>21-30 Death knight</p><p>3 1 4 5 Zombie lord*</p><p>46-56 Wraith</p><p>57-65 Radiant spirit**</p><p>66-75 Revenant</p><p>76-85 Ghost (second magnitude)***</p><p>86-90 Ghost (third magnitude)***</p><p>91-95 Ghost (fourth magnitude)***</p><p>96-00 Vampire</p><p>* See the first RAVENLOFT MONSTROUS COUPENDUM appendix, or else replace this with a ghost.</p><p>** See the RAVENLOFT MONSTROUS COMPENDUM Appendix III or else replace this with a revenant.</p><p>*** Ghost magnitude is detailed in Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Volume Two (TSR #11507). The Dungeon Master assigns appropriate salient abilities, determines the ghost's personality, and the circumstances under which the ghost was created. Otherwise, the ghost from the MONSTROUS MANUAL should be used.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17424/WGA4-Vecna-Lives-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Vecna Lives</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Kas the Terrible, Vampire:</strong> As he lived out the remainder of his years, Kas was steeped in the energies of the Negative Material plane. Slowly these accumulated and transformed him. The energy ate out his body from the inside. Finally, it seized his heart and soul, but Kas did not die. Instead, Kas the Terrible was transformed into one of the most fearsome of undead, a vampire.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17523/Vecna-Reborn-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Vecna Reborn</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Vecna:</strong> Vecna was an extraordinarily powerful wizard (some say the most powerful wizard of all time) who became a lich.</p><p>But because evil such as theirs can never completely fade, Vecna arose again, this time as a demigod. His servant and betrayer Kas returned as a powerful vampire.</p><p><strong>Kas:</strong> But because evil such as theirs can never completely fade, Vecna arose again, this time as a demigod. His servant and betrayer Kas returned as a powerful vampire.</p><p><strong>Reaver:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeletal Steed:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul Lord:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Jacairn, Spectral Hag Annis:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Haroln, Mage 3 Priest 10 Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Quoolarn, Ghoul Lord:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> Victims of Qoolarn's bite must save vs. poison or contract a disease. This disease causes the loss of 1 point of Constitution and Charisma each day. If either score reaches 0, the victim dies and rises again as a ghast. This disease is cured only by a heal spell.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> They are attacked by the spirits of slain warriors, condemned to spend all eternity in this battleground, in the form of the shadows.</p><p><strong>The Hideous Engine:</strong> Somewhere along the pass, the heroes encounter one of Vecna's hideous war machines, composed of undead bodies and spirits thrust and mangled together in unholy ways.</p><p><strong>Desert Zombie:</strong> Each full hour spent in the Ashen Waste, they lose one level or Hit Die. This loss continues until the victim dies, becoming a desert zombie under the control of Vecna.</p><p><strong>Undead Giant Vulture:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Gigantic Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17567/Villains-Lorebook-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Villain's Lorebook</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Dread Warrior:</strong> Dread Warriors are a form of undead created by SZASS TAM. They can be produced from any warrior of at least 4th level who's been dead less than 24 hours.</p><p><em>Animate Dread Warrior</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Blood Warriors:</strong> The Blood Warriors are a type of undead soldier created by Kazgaroth. The Beast used his corrupting mass charm ability to transform a troop of normal living beings into his fanatically loyal, undead servants.</p><p>Kazgaroth's final offensive power is perhaps its most insidious. A corrupted form of the mass charm spell, this ability transforms a troop (up to 500 persons) of living beings into the undead minions of Bhaal known as the Blood Warriors.</p><p><strong>Spirit Wraith:</strong> <em>Zin-Carla</em> spell.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> <em>Unlife</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Animate Dread Warrior</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Level: 6</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V,S,M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 1 turn</p><p>Area of Effect: One creature</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell creates an undead creature known as a dread warrior. The spell requires the corpse of a fighter of at least 4th level who has been dead for less than 24 hours. After casting, the corpse rises in 1-4 rounds as a dread warrior under the control of the spell's caster.</p><p></p><p>Unlife</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Level: 8</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V,S,M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 8</p><p>Area of Effect: One creature</p><p>Saving Throw: Neg.</p><p>Used only by evil wizards, this spell enables the caster to transform a single victim into an undead creature under his control. The caster touches the subject, who must then save vs. death magic. If the save fails, the subject instantly dies and is transformed into an undead creature under the control of the caster.</p><p>The exact type of undead depends upon the level of the victim. Individuals of 1st-3rd level become skeletons (50%) or zombies (50%). Those of 4th-6th level become ghouls, those of 7th-8th level become wights, and those of 9th level or higher become wraiths.</p><p>Using this spell, the caster can control a number of undead creatures equal to his level.</p><p>The material component of this spell is dirt from a freshly dug grave.</p><p></p><p>Zin-Carla</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Level: 7</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic (Lolth)</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V,S,M</p><p>Duration: Varies</p><p>Casting Time: 4 rounds</p><p>Area of Effect: One creature</p><p>Saving Throw: Special</p><p>This spell is “the highest gift of Lolth,” granted rarely even to favored drow priestesses. It is a special form of animate dead, which creates a special sort of zombie known as a spirit-wraith. Imbued with skills, hit points, armor class, and THAC0 it have in life, this creation is telepathically linked to and controlled by the caster of this spell, usually a drow matron mother.</p><p>This spell may not be instantaneously granted, or may be denied entirely, at Lolth's (as in the DM's) will. It is granted only for the completion of specific tasks, and these may never be purely to work revenge or bring harm on other drow. Failure in the task brings on the disfavor of Lolth.</p><p>Zin-carla involves the forcible return of a departed soul or spirit to its body. Only through the willpower and exacting, sleepless control of the caster are the undead being's desired skills kept separate from unwanted memories and emotions. The duration of the spell is limited by the needs of the task, the patience of Lolth, and the mental limits of the caster, for a total loss of control usually means failure.</p><p>So long as that control is maintained, the spiritwraith cannot tire or be distracted from its task. It does not feel pain or disability, and will continue to function as long as it remains mobile.</p><p>A spirit-wraith cannot be made to cast spells without losing control over its mind entirely, but can fully use combat and craft-skills possessed in life. If control is lost, the wraith becomes a revenant, driven by hatred and the memory of its violation at the hands of the zin-carla caster. Uncontrolled spiritwraiths do not stop until the zin-carla caster is destroyed.</p><p>A spirit-wraith driven to do something against its old nature has a chance of breaking free of its control (treat as a charm spell, with the same saving throw as in life). For example, one cannot successfully use this undead to destroy a being that it loved in life. (A fact that Matron Malice Do'Urden learned to her chagrin.)</p><p>Spell-like natural powers (such as the levitation ability of drow) are retained and can be used by the undead. The spirit-wraith can use its former experience and memories, as much as allowed by the spellcaster. Both the spirit-wraith and the caster are immune to the effects of spells that attack the mind, and similar spell-like powers (such as the mental blast of a mind flayer). It knows wariness, anger, glee, hatred, frustration, and triumph, but not fear. It cannot be controlled by the spells and priestly powers normally used to command encountered undead, and control of it cannot thereby be wrested away from the caster of the zin-carla.</p><p>Spirit-wraiths do not breathe, but can speak (if allowed to do so by their controller). They can utter command and activation words, and the controlling caster can speak through them directly, but spell incantations will take effect if uttered by the undead.</p><p>To stop a spirit-wraith it must be physically destroyed; if it is still able to even crawl, it will do so, tirelessly, searching for a way to complete its task.</p><p>The material components of this spell are the corpse to be re-animated, and a treasured object that belonged to the person to be controlled. If the corpse is badly decomposed or not whole, other spells (such as Nulathoe.s ninemen) and magical unguents also will be required, to restore it to a whole condition.</p><p>Wizards and other powerful creatures (such as mind flayers, aboleth, or cloakers) who raid and despoil drow cities can expect to face either a full-scale attack-or a spirit-wraith or two.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17363/WG8-Fate-of-Istus-1e-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">WG8 Fate of Istus (1e/2e)</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> This section of Re1 Mord was a crowded area of commoners' residences until a fire destroyed most of it in 1152 O.R. More than 500 persons died in the smoke and flames. After the fire, clean-up crews complained of hauntings and strange occurrences, and the area was abandoned.</p><p>This ghost is the spirit of an evil-worshiper who kept her nature secret. She's been disturbed from her slumbers by the activities of Mordel.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> The wight was once a brutal mercenary captain, who came to Harper's Hold to force Diambeth into giving him some information that the hard wished to keep secret. When it became obvious he had no choice, the bard summoned his guardian from room 2 to slay the captain. While there would he no legal consequences from his act, Diambeth decided it would be best if the captain's colleagues never found out about his fate. Rather than dumping the body outside his grounds as he would otherwise have done, the bard made other arrangements: a secret chamber, where the captain would remain undisturbed. As with others of great evil, however, the captain's spirit didn't find rest. Consumed with hatred for Diambeth-which, over the years, generalized to hatred for the living-the captain became a wight.</p><p><strong>Haunt:</strong> In life, the haunt was an elven cavalier who swore a mighty oath that she’d bring warning to the Theocrat himself that a large bandit force was massing on the border for an attack into the Pale. Since the cavalier died more than 20 years ago, her information is a little out of date, but her oath still binds her.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Mordel and his assistant had opened one of the crypts (the one marked “F” on the map), and had taken various unpleasant substances from within. Mordel’s activities around the cemetery have disquieted some of the dead, and the occupant of this crypt is no exception. In life, he was a lawful evil assassin who entered the city disguised as a visiting cleric of Pholtus. While in Wintershiven, he died in a tragic accident and was interred-ironically enough-with great honor. His spirit was already troubled over his body being buried with people so antithetic to his alignment; now this last desecration proved to be the last straw. Ten rounds after the combat with Mordel begins, the occupant rises as a spectre.</p><p><strong>Xaene the Accursed, Two-Headed Lich:</strong> Xaene, once ousted from the court wizard position he had coveted for such a long time, took to studying necromancy, an art he had become efficient in while creating Ivid’s various servants. While raiding graveyards and tombs he came upon the artifact described in room 17 above, as well as those detailed in room 11. All three artifacts are aligned to Nerull, especially the Tapestry of Nightmares. In unraveling the tapestry’s secret, Xaene was converted to neutral evil (from chaotic evil) and was transformed into a lich. However, his mind, strong as it was, could not stand (or fathom) the change; and his will persisted to such a stubborn degree that Nerull actually cursed Xaene, saying, “You have two minds-so have two heads to go with them!”</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Nerlax, Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Swordwraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Coffer Corpse:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Juju Zombie:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Bach:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Giant Bach:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17421/WGR1-Greyhawk-Ruins-2e?affiliate_id=17596"" target="_blank">WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins</a> [spoiler]</p><p><strong>Troll Spectral:</strong> It has recently been noted that humans slain by a spectral troll become spectral trolls themselves in three days, unless a proper burial ceremony is performed (by a priest of the victim’s own religion, of course).</p><p>There has been much speculation about the origin of spectral trolls. Some sages maintain that the spectral troll is simply a magical variant of normal troll, and they point to its lack of a negative material bond (i.e., no energy drain) as proof of their position.</p><p>However, others maintain that the lack of an energy drain is no proof that the troll wraith is not undead, as many admittedly undead creatures possess no such attack. They point to the skeleton, zombie, and even the lich as prime examples of their position.</p><p>Few believe that the troll wraith is a magical cross-breed, created by some mad wizard for his evil pleasure, as it is obvious to all that the solitary and belligerent nature of the creature makes it useless as a guardian or even as an assassin. If it was an experiment, they agree, it was certainly a failed one.</p><p>There is new speculation that the troll wraith is not undead at all, but is in fact the product of some powerful curse gone awry. New information from dubious sources also seems to link the fate of the troll wraith to that of the mysterious shades, rumored to dwell on the plane of Shadow.</p><p>In any case, the ecology and nature of the spectral troll, or troll wraith, is an active topic for debate among the many retired adventurers and sages-for-hire dwelling throughout Greyhawk. The actual truth behind the suspicions, allegations, and suppositions may never be known.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17528/When-Black-Roses-Bloom-2e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">When Black Roses Bloom</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lord Loren Soth, Lord of Sithicus, Death Knight:</strong> Lord Soth is a death knight (see the MONSTROUS MANUAL), a corrupted Knight of Solamnia who was cursed by the gods for betraying that order's sacred oaths of honor and service to the cause of good.</p><p>The blast of magical fire that turned Soth into an undead creature permanently blackened his armor; no amount of polishing can remove the fine layer of soot that covers it.</p><p>Honor. Devotion to duty. Chivalry. Love. Military law. Discipline.</p><p>As a Knight of Solamnia on the world of Krynn, the Lord Soth held these concepts dear.</p><p>He followed the Measure of his order, paying tribute to the gods, holding to the letter of his Oath, and fighting for good on behalf of Paladine, the father of all good and the patron god of all valiant warriors. In time, he was awarded the order's highest honor and became a Knight of the Rose.</p><p>"Est Sularus oth Mithas. My honor is my life."</p><p>Soth's dishonor became his death.</p><p>Cruelty. Jealousy and greed. Falsehood. Unbridled lust. Infidelity. Murder.</p><p>Through these acts, Soth became what he is today—a death knight, a fire-blackened, undead travesty of all he once stood for.</p><p>There once was a mighty warrior whose jealous passions and neglect of duty led him to lose all that was dear to him—his love, his life, his very spirit. His tale is a descent into darkness and evil.</p><p>His name is Lord Soth, and this is his story.</p><p>Long, long ago, Lord Soth was mortal. Nearly four centuries ago, he fought on the side of good in the distant land of Solamnia.</p><p>In those days, Lord Soth was a Knight of Solamnia. Through deeds of great daring and chivalry, he earned each of that order's honors—crown, sword, and rose. He built the mighty Dargaard Keep of rose-red stone, and married the beautiful Lady Gladria of Kalaman. Proud he was of his wife, though it was duty alone made him wed her. Proud he was of his fortress strong.</p><p>Pride. As we Vistani say, "The greater the pride, the farther the fall." And what caused this proud warrior to fall?</p><p>Desire for a woman who was forbidden to him. Possessing her would make a mockery of his wedding vows. Possessing him would contradict her own promise to the gods. But then, as we Vistani say, "The sweetest fruits lie behind the stoutest fence."</p><p>Lady Isolde was her name. She was an elf maid of Silvanost, travelling with thirteen other maids to the mighty city of Palanthas. There she would pledge herself to the god Paladine the Valiant Warrior, father of all good, platinum dragon of the evening sky.</p><p>The maids were beset by bandits and taken prisoner. There were dozens of the rogues, perhaps even hundreds. Somehow, they had known just where and when to strike.</p><p>Lord Soth met their leader, a fearsome ogre, in single combat. He fought the brute in accordance with the rules of fair combat, besting him even though the ogre resorted to trickery and unfair tactics. The bandits fled—and Lady Isolde fell into Lord Soth's arms. An innocent spark of love was kindled. All too soon it became the flame of lust.</p><p>The elf maid had vowed to serve her god but had not yet been sworn a priestess, and so had no formal oath to break. Lord Soth, however, was bound to his wife by sacred marriage oath. His vows were binding "until death parts us." There was only one way to break those vows. </p><p>And so Lord Soth committed the ultimate sin. He ordered his seneschal, a vain and evil man named Caradoc, to murder Lady Gladria. What should have been a bed of love was turned into a death bed. Blood on her bedclothes showed that murder had been done, though her body was never found.</p><p>With unseemly haste—and without a tear of mourning for his dead wife—Lord Soth took Lady Isolde to live with him in Dargaard Keep. His bloody secret seemed safe, but the elf maids who accompanied Isolde had sharp ears and keen eyes. Somehow, they learned of Lord Soth's crime. Somehow, their gossip reached the ears of the High Knights.</p><p>Called before a council of his peers, Lord Soth was found guilty of murder, adultery, and dishonoring the vows of his order. He was dragged through the streets of Palanthas in shame and sentenced to death. The execution would take place the very next day; according to tradition, Soth would die by his own sword.</p><p>That night, thirteen knights who had remained loyal to Lord Soth rescued him from his prison. By dark of night they stole away to Dargaard Keep.</p><p>The Knights of Solamnia besieged the keep, demanding that Soth emerge to meet his fate. They lifted the siege just long enough for Lord Soth to wed Isolde in a joyless, sparsely attended ceremony.</p><p>The siege was a long and harsh one, but Dargaard Keep held. Just as things were at their darkest, the god Paladine spoke to Lord Soth. The knight's sins would all be forgiven if he undertook one last, heroic task. Success would mean Soth's death—but also bring about his salvation.</p><p>Paladine ordered Lord Soth to journey to the city of Istar, where the Kingpriest of that city was about to demand of the gods the power to eradicate all evil from Krynn. Unless the priest could be stopped, the gods would retaliate by utterly destroying the city. Only Soth could prevent this cataclysm.</p><p>Lord Soth set out for Istar. But he never reached the city. What stopped him?</p><p>Soth never reached Istar because the fiery hand of jealousy gripped his heart. One of the elf maids whispered in his ear that Isolde had been unfaithful to him, that the son Isolde had borne was not Soth's own.</p><p>Infuriated, Lord Soth rode home to confront his wife with her imagined crimes. At the same moment that he raised his mailed fist to her, the Kingpriest of Istar raised his voice to the heavens. The furious gods hurled a mountain at the city—and hurled holy fire at Dargaard Keep.</p><p>Even as she was consumed by the flames, Lady Isolde begged her husband to save the life of Peradur, their newborn son. But Lord Soth turned away. He lost his wife, his son, his life, and his spirit that day. But something evil lived on inside his empty chest. And so Lord Soth was reborn as a death knight. A creature of darkness, a heartless servant of evil. A mockery of a man, with an icy voice and chilling touch. A fiend capable of killing with a mere word, of causing wracking pain with a mere glance. A creature capable of turning the bravest warrior's blood to ice, of burning the holiest priest to cinders with a mere thought. A creature who bends the shadows to his will and laughs in the face of the gods.</p><p><strong>Tickelmop Toothfang, Kender Vampire:</strong> Tickelmop is one of 50 kender whose village was drawn into Sithicus from Krynn some 15 years ago. Lord Soth killed half of them in hideous experiments, and the other half were turned into vampires.</p><p><strong>Caradoc, Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Baron Gundarak:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Count Strahd Von Zarovich:</strong> </p><p></p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> At will, Lord Soth can cause any dead warrior to rise from the ground as a zombie completely under his control.</p><p><strong>Kender Vampire:</strong> Tickelmop is one of 50 kender whose village was drawn into Sithicus from Krynn some 15 years ago. Lord Soth killed half of them in hideous experiments, and the other half were turned into vampires.</p><p><strong>Poltergeist:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeletal Warrior:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Banshee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton Animal:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>2e Dragon Magazine[spoiler]</p><p>Dragon 150[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> Any human or humanoid creature slain by the life energy drain of a vampire is doomed to become a vampire himself. Thus, those who would hunt these lords of the undead must be very careful lest they find themselves condemned to a fate far worse than death. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of the creature. Those who are not actually buried, however, do not become undead and it is thus traditional that the bodies of a vampire's victims be burned or similarly destroyed.</p><p><strong>Vampire Eastern:</strong> ?</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 156[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> The DM could rule that the normal undead-creation process (in which a being killed by certain undead beings becomes an undead creature, too) is magical.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> The only undead that are magically created are skeletons and zombies, which are created with the animate dead spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> The only undead that are magically created are skeletons and zombies, which are created with the animate dead spell.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 158[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Prikolic:</strong> The prikolics are dead werewolves that have been animated as zombies.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 159[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 162[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Archlich:</strong> Archliches are caring individuals who've deliberately become undead so they can better serve a cause or protect a beloved being or place.</p><p><strong>Skotos:</strong> Skotos are spirits that have broken free of the netherworld and now roam the world of the living as undead.</p><p><strong>Sluagh:</strong> The unforgiven dead.</p><p>The spirits of dead mortals.</p><p>The undead forms of warlike elves who turned on their fellow elves and were slain in battle.</p><p><strong>Ghost-Stone:</strong> Ghost-stones are just that: stones inhabited by ghosts. A powerful, evil individual may choose to send his malicious spirit into a specially prepared stone upon his death.</p><p><strong>Spiritus Animae:</strong> A spiritus anime is a type of undead created only when a human, demi-human or humanoid creature is buried alive, either intentionally (as a torture or sacrifice) or by accident (such as a landslide or the result of a tragedy involving a disease, a feign death spell, etc.). Many (40%) of those so buried become spiritus animes, desperate to escape burial and return to the surface.</p><p><strong>Ankou:</strong> The ankou is an undead creature who was a miserly farmer or peasant in life, a person so debased as to have murdered his own family out of greed or to have allowed his family to perish rather than share his hoard of food with them. When death claims such a person, his soul sometimes returns as an ankou.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ghosts are the souls of creatures who were either so evil or so emotional during life that, upon death, they were cursed with undead status.</p><p>Take the case of a person hopelessly in love with another (in literature, this is often a young girl who's fallen for a heartless cad). When the girl realizes that her love is unrequited, she falls into despair and kills herself. Her passion is so strong, even in death, that her soul remains bound to the Prime Material and Ethereal planes as a ghost.</p><p>The ghost's suicide might not be an attempt to escape from pain, but rather an act of anger, a spiteful “grand gesture.”</p><p>As with haunts (Monster Manual II, page 74), people who die leaving a vital task unfinished might remain bound to the world by their own indomitable will or sense of duty.</p><p>A ghost might be bound to the world not by its own will, but by the existence of a particular object. In literature, this “spiritual anchor” is sometimes an item that was of great emotional importance to the ghost while alive, hut more often it is a piece of the ghost's mortal body.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> Horror literature contains many tales of people who were too involved in their pursuits, often magical research, to even notice their own deaths. Their concentration is intense enough to bind their spirits to their bodies, and to the Prime Material plane.</p><p>Perhaps at the time of their physical death, their concentration and willpower was intense enough to bind them to the material world, or perhaps the transition was the whim of a deity.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> Shadows “appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse.”[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 167[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Animal Skeleton:</strong> <em>Animate Dead Animals</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Animal Zombie:</strong> <em>Animate Dead Animals</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Animate Dead Animals (Necromantic)</p><p>Level: 1 Components: V,S,M</p><p>Range: 10 yards CT: 2 rounds</p><p>Duration: Perm. Save: None</p><p>AE: Special</p><p>The use of this spell is often a necromancer's first experience with the animation of corpses. This spell creates undead skeletons and zombies from the bones and bodies of dead animals, specifically vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). The animated remains will obey simple verbal commands given by the caster. The caster need not use other magicks to communicate with these undead, as they will understand his commands no matter what language he uses. Only naturally occurring animals of semi-intelligence or less can be animated with this spell (e.g., lizards, cats, frogs, weasels, tigers, etc.), including minimals (see “Mammal, Minimal,” in the Monstrous Compendium) and nonmagical giant-sized animals. These undead remain animated until they are destroyed in combat or are turned; the animating magic cannot be dispelled.</p><p>The number of animal undead that a wizard can animate is determined by the animal's original number of hit dice, the caster's level, and the type of undead being created. The caster can create the following number of animal skeletons:</p><p>– Animals of ¼ HD or less: four skeletons per level of experience.</p><p>– Animals of ½ to 1 HD: two skeletons per level of experience.</p><p>– Animals of 1+ to 3 HD: one skeleton per level of experience.</p><p>– Animals of 3 + to 6 HD: one skeleton per two levels of experience.</p><p>– Animals of over 6 HD: one skeleton for every four levels of experience.</p><p>The caster is also able to create the following number of animal zombies:</p><p>– Animals of ¼ HD or less: two zombies per level of experience.</p><p>– Animals of ½ to 1- 1 HD: one zombie per level of experience.</p><p>– Animals of 1 to 3 HD: one zombie for every two levels of experience.</p><p>– Animals of over 3 HD: one zombie for every four levels of experience.</p><p>The animated skeletons of animals that had ¼ to 1 HD conform to the statistics of animal skeletons as given in the Monstrous Compendium (see .Skeleton.). Skeletons of animals that had less than ¼ HD conform to those statistics, with the following changes: AC 9; HD ¼; hp 1; #AT 1; Dmg 1. Skeletons of animals of over 1 HD conform to the statistics for the animal as given in the Monstrous Compendium, with the following changes: armor class is worsened by two (maximum of AC 10), damage per attack is reduced by two (minimum of 1 hp), and movement is reduced to half normal. Animal zombies conform to the statistics for the particular animal that has been animated, with the following changes: the animal's number of hit dice is increased by one, the armor class is worsened by three (to a maximum of AC 8), and movement is reduced by half.</p><p>Undead animals have special defenses only of the appropriate type of undead (e.g., immunity to cold-based, sleep, charm, and hold spells), with none of the special defenses that the natural animal might have had. Special physical attacks are those of the living animal only (e.g., raking of rear claws, swallowing whole, etc.). These undead cannot inject poison or emit, fluids such as musk or saliva. Swallowing does no further damage to the creature swallowed, except to trap it within the swallower's rib cage. Priests receive a +1 bonus on all attempts to turn these undead.</p><p>For this spell to work, the animal bodies or skeletons must be intact. The material components for this spell are a drop of blood and a bone chip from the type of animal that is to be animated (only one animal type may be animated per spell).[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 173[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Thinking Zombie:</strong> Thinking zombies are formed when a creature dies while under some powerful compulsion to perform a given task (such as when under the influence of a geas or quest spell). Such a creature's spirit continues striving to complete the task assigned to it.</p><p><strong>Fael:</strong> Faels are formed when a gluttonous person dies and his spirit still hungers for the excesses he knew during life.</p><p><strong>Raaigs:</strong> They are incorporeal spirits sustained by an unwavering and unshakable faith in their ancient gods.</p><p><strong>Meorty:</strong> When a great king of the ancients died, his body was specially preserved with salts and limes; it may or may not have been swathed in cloth. It was then laid to rest in a secret crypt with vast amounts of treasure, so that the king might continue to watch over the welfare of his realm.</p><p>The spirits of such rulers continue to abide with their bodies, sustained by the duty with which they were charged upon death.</p><p><strong>Racked Spirit:</strong> Racked spirits are the incorporeal, tortured remnants of persons who committed an act that violated the basic nature of their character. Their guilty spirits cannot rest even after death.</p><p>The most common type of racked spirit, of course, is the dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose.</p><p><strong>Dhaot:</strong> Dhaots are incorporeal undead created when an individual with a powerful love of home or some other special place dies far away. When the body dies, the spirit is overwhelmed by a desire to return home.</p><p><strong>T'liz:</strong> A t'liz is created when an extremely powerful defiler dies before completing his magical studies.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> After Darklight had used the wand (and the kender band had “found” all of the things there were to “find”), Waldorf was resurrected. But Waldorf had become a lich! The wand had malfunctioned and just happened to cast a spell that transformed the nuclear man into a mean and nasty undead.</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Sometimes, however, when a powerfully motivated person dies, his spirit does not perish. Instead, it either continues to reside in the dead body (most necromancers classify such as “corporeal”), or it separates from the body and does not fade away (in which case it is classified as “incorporeal“).</p><p>This spirit refuses to accept its destruction. The body dies, but the spirit continues to strive after what it pursued in life. In essence, by an act of willpower, it defies death and enters a state that is neither life nor death.</p><p>From my experiences on Athas, the type of undead that a person becomes upon his demise depends upon the nature of the compulsion that prevented his spirit from “going to the gray,” not upon what race he is. Of course, it cannot be denied that certain races have tendencies to fall into certain categories of undead, but this is a reflection of normal racial proclivities toward common types of motivations and behaviors. No force, natural or supernatural, determines whether a member of a given race will become a certain type of undead.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Skeletons and zombies are what I call “walking dead” rather than true undead. They have no intelligence and no independent will; they are always the servants of some other being and have simply been animated to serve his purposes.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Skeletons and zombies are what I call “walking dead” rather than true undead. They have no intelligence and no independent will; they are always the servants of some other being and have simply been animated to serve his purposes.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> “He forced me to carry the corpse he had selected to the site of the massacre of the farm's inhabitants and, as I followed him, I was followed by his trio of ghouls, all hoping to somehow get a taste of the body. I was ordered to place the corpse next to the remains of the newly dead. All-Fear-His-Howl then began to perform some ritual over the bodies.</p><p>“After an interminable period, the exhumed body began to twitch and rock, while the recent kills became flaccid and empty of all contents, now little more than a collection of bones and skin. And then, suddenly, the jerking corpse's eyes opened, and it stood up, the horrible stench of the dead assaulting my senses like never before. The witch doctor had created a more powerful undead servant in the form of a ghast.</p><p>Some 20% of flind shamans of 4th or higher level know of a special ritual to create a ghast.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 174[spoiler]<strong>Undead:</strong> Sucking the life from a humanoid creature, like marrow from the bone, from using the Death Field psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, may allow it to return from the grave to haunt the character. The type of undead created is usually whatever undead creature most closely matches the hit dice or level of the creature killed. Regardless of the creature's original hit dice, there is a 20% chance that the dead being will walk again as a revenant.</p><p>Like the death field power, creatures killed by the life draining psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft can become undead and seek revenge.</p><p><strong>Revenant:</strong> Sucking the life from a humanoid creature, like marrow from the bone, from using the Death Field psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, may allow it to return from the grave to haunt the character. The type of undead created is usually whatever undead creature most closely matches the hit dice or level of the creature killed. Regardless of the creature's original hit dice, there is a 20% chance that the dead being will walk again as a revenant.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> If the character rolls a 20 while using the Shadow Form psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, the dark side of his nature is freed and he becomes a shadow, as per the monster, under the control of the DM for 1-4 turns.</p><p><strong>Lich Psionic:</strong> Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character.</p><p>The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature's spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th-level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact.</p><p>Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist's life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way that the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete a phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is “closed,” it cannot be reopened.</p><p>During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist's life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place, the character must make a system-shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of become undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead.</p><p><strong>Dread Wolf:</strong> These creatures were originally created by a renegade mage, Galen Dracos of Krynn.</p><p>To create these servants, a mage must be evil and at least ninth level, and must have 3-12 wolves that have been dead for no more than a day. The spell-caster then begins a long incantation over the dead wolves that combines modified versions of animate dead, summon shadow, and dismissal. By doing this, the mage summons a shadow from the Negative Material plane and breaks it into parts. These parts are infused into the wolves as they animate, creating the dread wolves.</p><p>The spell-casting takes an hour. If the spell is interrupted, the energies of the shadow's separate parts are unleashed. When this happens, the mage takes 3d10 points of physical damage (no save) from the otherworldly energy blast, just as if he had been caught in an ice storm spell.</p><p>For some unknown reason, the spell that makes dread wolves will not work on dogs. If the mage tries to cast the spell on dogs, he will take 3d10 points of damage as described earlier.</p><p><strong>Vampiric Wolf:</strong> These foul undead creatures are the result of corrupting ceremonies used on normal wolf pups by certain evil clerics.</p><p>In order to create these foul corruptions of nature, a cleric must be evil and at least ninth level. He can use 3-18 pups from one or more wolf dens. The pups must be very close to being weaned away from their mother, but cannot have tasted meat or they will be useless.</p><p>The evil cleric first performs a ceremony using what amounts to the opposite of an atonement spell. Then, every day he must hand feed the pups. The food can be no more than one day old; it must also be infused with one or two drops of blood from a living human or dust from a vampire and cursed using a reversed bless spell. This must continue every day for three months or the pups die. At the end of the three-month period, the pups are fully grown and must then be slain by poisoning; they then arise as vampiric wolves.</p><p>It should be noted that it is impossible to create vampiric dogs. Man's long partnership with dogs seems to have robbed them of some essential characteristic needed to make the change work.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 184[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead Hulk:</strong> The undead hulk is a magical construction created through the use of special enhancements developed by the neogi. The creature is formed from the remains of dead umber hulks.</p><p>Undead hulks are created through a bizarre magical ritual developed by the neogi (the details of which are left up to the DM) and the magical joining of dead umber hulk parts. Each part (head, right arm, right leg, etc.) must come from a different umber hulk.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 185[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead Watroach:</strong> Typically, an adult watroach is sought out in the desert, surrounded, and killed. A psionic kill is preferred, leaving the corpse unmarred for future construction. Once taken back to a city (usually on a large wagon behind two or more mekillots or driks), the watroach's carcass is prepared. The brain and guts are removed, as is much of the honeycombed hive material. The drones are smoked out over large fires, and the dormant proto-adult is discarded. Usually, the top of the hive chamber is then opened and a platform installed, and a variety of other individual weapons positions are cut into all of the three body sections. Once finished, the beast is raised from the dead by templar magic.</p><p><strong>Alhoon, Illithilich:</strong> Alhoon are very rare, magic-using outcasts from mind-flayer society who have defied elder-brains to achieve lichdom, becoming “illithiliches.”[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 186[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Cariad Ysbryd:</strong> A cariad ysbryd, or “ghost lover,” is the spirit of a decidedly good female (usually sylvan) elf who has chosen to remain among the living after death so that she may continue to perform good deeds.</p><p><strong>Memento Mori:</strong> A memento mori is created by a priest's spell (see below) to serve as an everlasting remembrance of a dead person, and as an evervigilant guardian over its body.</p><p><strong>Tymher-Hyaid:</strong> When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate, but if a large number of them are killed at one time and place, and if they don't receive proper funerary rites, they may return as an exceedingly minor form of undead, called collectively a tymher-haid, or “ghost-swarm.”</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate.</p><p></p><p>Create memento mori (Necromantic)</p><p>Priest 3</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 2 hours, plus 1 hour for</p><p>every die of energy imparted</p><p>Area of Effect: Body touched</p><p>Saving Throw: See below</p><p>The casting of this spell on a dead body causes a sliver of the soul that once inhabited the body to return to the Prime Material plane and become a memento mori, standing guard over its body. Only one memento mori can be made from each person's soul, as a loss of a greater number of soul-slivers would be detrimental to the soul wherever it now rests. In addition, a memento mori cannot be created if the body of the deceased is not present, nor if the body or soul of the deceased has already been turned into some other form of undead. Unlike other spells that create undead, this use of create memento mori is not considered evil if, when he was alive, the person who becomes the memento mori was part of a culture believing in this practice as an accepted custom.</p><p>Each memento mori is able to cause a mild, static-electric effect that they use to defend their bodies against cowardly pests, and most are also imbued with electrical energy they can use in combat.</p><p>The material component for this spell is a collection of herbs, spices, oils, and precious substances that are placed in or about the body as it is prepared for internment. The cost of these stuffs is 500 gp, with an additional 25 gp worth of these things being required for every hit die of electrical energy the memento mori is to be imbued with (e.g., a memento mori to be imbued with two hit dice worth of energy would cost 550 gp, while 1,000 gp would produce a memento mori with 20 hit dice available to it). These oils and such are all incorporated into the body when the spell is cast and are not recoverable.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 188[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Flying Fingers:</strong> These flying hands are specially enchanted crawling claws (from MC3, the first FORGOTTEN REALMS supplement to the Monstrous Compendium) that have been imbued with the power of flight.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Champion:</strong> These rare undead are simply normal undead skeletons treated with secret necromantic spells so as to have extra powers.</p><p></p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> <em>Double Spell</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> <em>Double Spell</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Double spell</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Level: 3</p><p>Comp.: V,S,M</p><p>CT: 1 rnd.</p><p>AE: Special</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Dur.: Special</p><p>ST None</p><p>This rare spell affects only simple undead (basic zombies and skeletons from humans, demihumans, humanoids, and animals, but not the variants based on these body forms, such as crawling claws, ju-ju zombies, and baneguards). To take effect, this spell must be cast on newly created undead or remains that are to be immediately animated, within three rounds before or after the casting of the animate dead spell that creates the undead. It operates only if triggered, and the triggering can be one of two sorts, of which one must be chosen during casting.</p><p>The most commonly chosen trigger is magic. If any magic (including a dispel magic spell!) is cast on the undead or cast to include the undead in its area of effect, the undead vanishes, and two full-hit-point replacements appear in its place. Replacements appear at the beginning of the round after the one in which the original vanished. This is a one-time-only occurrence; multiple double spells won't work on the same undead, so “doubling” can't be made an ongoing process.</p><p>A separate double spell is required for each undead to be affected. This spell only creates duplicates of the targeted undead, not other sorts of undead. Any equipment carried by the original undead vanishes, consumed by the activated spell, and is not duplicated for either of the replacements (magical items are teleported away to a random location, not destroyed).</p><p>The second trigger is clerical turning or disruption. When these are used against the guarded undead, it vanishes and is replaced by two full-hit-point, identical replacements that are immune to turning or disruption! (The same restrictions on undead type, occurrence, and equipment apply as for the spell's other triggering.) The material components of this spell are a drop of blood, a small glass prism, two hairs (from any source) and the undead or remains to be affected.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 191[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Animus:</strong> Slaughtered by the Overking and resurrected by Hextor's priests as undead monstrosities.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 194[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Zombie Juju:</strong> Humans or humanoids slain by negative energy weapons can be animated as juju zombies, but unless the spell-caster is also the one who wielded the killing weapon, they will be free-willed.</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> If a negative energy weapon is used against energy-draining undead, the wielder loses 1-4 of his own hit points, as the weapon's dweomer interacts with the “energy vacuum” inside wights, wraiths, etc. A character who uses this weapon against undead can turn himself into an undead monster, even if the monster doesn't fight back!</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 197[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Flameskull:</strong> These magically powered flying skulls are fashioned from human heads soon after death, by a magical process first developed in long-lost Netheril and still practiced by a few evil priesthoods (such as that of Bane) and magical societies (such as those based in Zhentil Keep and Thay).[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 198[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ka:</strong> Once, the ka was a noble, king, or pharaoh. After death, the mummified body continued to live on in the tomb as an undead monster.</p><p><strong>Angreden:</strong> An angreden is the walking corpse of an individual who died under a curse, or who was so filled with hatred and anger in life that he refused to lie still in his grave.</p><p><strong>King-Wight:</strong> A king-wight was once a powerful evil</p><p>king. When he died, he became undead, continuing to rule the ranks of the walking dead. His death is often voluntary, a self-sacrifice made to gain a prolonged existence.</p><p><strong>Wraith King:</strong> Wraith-kings were once powerful individuals who so feared death that they made unholy bargains with an evil god. Each individual believed he was gaining immortality, but was instead turned into an undead monster.</p><p>A wraith-king became undead as the act of an evil god.</p><p><strong>Vartha:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> Any victim completely drained of life points by the king-wight becomes a full-strength wight.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> A wraith-king can drain life levels by gaze alone at the rate of one level per round for any one victim within clear view in a 30. range (the victim must save vs. death ray each round to avoid this effect). Any victim completely drained of life levels becomes a full-strength wraith under the control of the wraith-king.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 200[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> The curse of refusal. Death has refused to allow the Bokor entry to the realm of the dead, so all Bokor become undead upon their deaths. The exact form that an undead Bokor assumes depends on the level that the Bokor attained in life. Convert the character's level to hit dice and consult the table for turning undead for the appropriate form. For example, a 6th-level Bokor would become a ghast or wraith when he dies. If the Bokor is 12th level or higher when he dies (the “Special” category on the table), the character becomes an Orish-Nla (an African demon resembling a shadow fiend). The Bokor loses his spell-casting abilities upon death, unless the undead form taken is normally capable of casting spells.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 205[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead Dragon Slayer:</strong> An undead dragon slayer is a horrifying creature who returns from the dead to continue the pursuits it dedicated its former life to–namely, destroying dragons. Some dragon slayers return as the result of necromantic magic, others due to their own indomitable strength of will.</p><p>Any slayer of 9th level or greater who died before his holy task was finished can rise as an undead warrior. Most are called back from the grave by necromantic magic.</p><p>A small number of dragon slayers will themselves back from the dead. These individuals have the utmost faith in their cause, an undying hatred of dragons, and a supernatural strength of will.</p><p></p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre.</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 206[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead Steed:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Flying Skull:</strong> Tashara was brilliant at magecraft; she had the rare knack of being able to combine the enchantments of others into more powerful spells that hung together by themselves. Her power grew with great dispatch, until she mastered a means (doubtless by practicing on talentless farmers and later minor magelings, who ultimately became servants and guardians of her various abodes--and may survive still, in remote places around Faerun) of creating undead that retained their wits, yet were under her control.</p><p>Tashara perfected this undeath in the form of a flying, disembodied skull accompanied by animated skeletal hands--the former able to speak and cast spells, and the latter able to gesture and carry small, light items.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 210[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ekimmu:</strong> The Ekimmu was the departed spirit of a dead person unable to rest.</p><p>The ekimmu themselves were once humans. The ekimmu died far from home and were not given proper burial rites.</p><p><strong>Casurua:</strong> The casurua is an undead phenomenon that results from a group suffering traumatic death. It is most likely to form where a massacre has taken place, but could be found anywhere a group might suffer violent death, such as a battlefield or a burned-out building. It is possible for the actions of the player characters to result in a casurua forming (for example, a high-level fireball exploding in a packed room).</p><p>A casurua is partly a ghost, hence its need for ectoplasm. But a casurua also is a kind of bizarre “recording.” The trauma of multiple violent deaths has imprinted itself upon the physical surroundings where the deaths occurred.</p><p>A casurua could form any place where violent death is common. Battlefields are usually exempt because a soldier has adjusted to the thought of violent death. If treachery was added, however, a casurua could form on a battlefield. Otherwise, a casurua is most likely to be found on the sites of disasters (natural or otherwise). Ruins, especially places that were looted, are prime habitats for casurua.</p><p><strong>Keres:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Charuntes:</strong> Charuntes were once the priests of some neutral evil death god, goddess, or major fiend.</p><p><strong>Dark Lord:</strong> A dark lord is an extremely high level, chaotic evil NPC who was slain by a sphere of annihilation and has managed to return to the world as one of the undead. In essence, when the dark lord was killed, it was sucked into another dimension.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 224[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Dwarven tombs and mausoleums are never placed or marked above ground; such practices are only for elves and humans, and a dwarf buried less than 10' beneath the surface allegedly spends the afterlife in discomfort and might even rise again as undead.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 227[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Bainligor Revered Ones:</strong> Eventually, the eldest of the bainligor leave their tribes, compelled by an inner voice to seek out dry, empty caverns where their bodies are transformed for the last time. Once they return from their seclusion, they are undead creatures of 10+9 hit-dice, called Revered Ones.</p><p>Elder bainligor can transform other creatures into undead. This requires a successful attack roll, and entitles the victim to a saving throw against death magic at +1/level or HD of the target (bainligor are not entitled to a saving throw). The creature becomes a zombie unless it is a bainligor, which becomes a Revered One with the HD it had in life.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Elder bainligor can transform other creatures into undead. This requires a successful attack roll, and entitles the victim to a saving throw against death magic at +1/level or HD of the target (bainligor are not entitled to a saving throw). The creature becomes a zombie unless it is a bainligor, which becomes a Revered One with the HD it had in life.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 229[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Skeleton Warrior:</strong> <em>Bestow Major Curse</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Bestow Major Curse</p><p>(Abjuration/reversible)</p><p>Level: W9/P7</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Components: V, S, M</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Casting Time: 8</p><p>Area of Effect: Special</p><p>Saving Throw: Negates</p><p>By touching a victim, the caster bestows a major curse upon him. The caster can choose whatever effect or parameters he wishes from the list of major curse effects. The victim is allowed a saving throw vs. spell; if successful, the curse is negated. The material component required is a personal possession of the target, which is not consumed in the casting. Only a wish or the reverse of this spell, remove major curse, eliminates any of the major curse effects.</p><p></p><p>Undeath: This is believed to be how skeleton warriors originated. This curse transforms the PC instantly into an undead creature. He retains all intelligence and former abilities The accursed is under the caster’s control unless the caster does not specify it as so or the caster dies. A raise dead spell reverses the curse. DMs may choose to make the undead PC unable to function in daylight, or apply other effects, such as having the PC’s body begin to decay or desiccate.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 234[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead Dragon:</strong> Creation of an undead dragon is a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming task. The necromancer must have access to the animate dead spell as well as a fragment of the appropriate undead creature as an additional material component. The creation of a ghoul dragon, therefore, requires a bit of ghoul flesh, a spectre dragon requires a sample of spectre essence, etc. Finally, the project requires a reasonably intact dragon corpse, the exact condition of which depends upon the type of undead dragon to be created. Any true dragon species may be used, including dragon turtles. Dragonets and other creatures superficially resembling dragons, like wyverns and dragonnes, are unsuitable.</p><p>Once the required components are assembled, the necromancer must prepare the corpse so that it may receive the recalled spirit or — in the case of the non-corporeal undead types — serve as a link and guide to the departed spirit upon its return to the Prime Material Plane. The time and cost of this preparation are noted below for each undead type.</p><p>The process is not foolproof. As befits their powerful and magical nature, dragon spirits are extremely willful and difficult to control. Animation of the lesser undead types might require only a weak spirit or a small portion of the stronger one, but a necromancer seeking to create any of the intelligent undead types must summon the spirit of a comparatively powerful dragon and bend it to his own will — an arduous task for even an experienced mage. Once he has made his preparations and cast the necessary spells, the necromancer must then make a successful saving throw vs. spell (adjusted for Wisdom only), or the entire attempt has failed with a complete loss of time and money spent. This saving throw may require further adjustment depending upon the alignment, Hit Dice and personality of the original dragon. It is particularly difficult, for example, to force the lawful good spirit of a gold dragon into the form of a chaotic evil vampire dragon; apply a saving throw penalty of -1 for every degree of alignment difference between the undead type being created and the original dragon. Similarly, the intelligent undead tend to have certain personality traits in common (gluttonous ghouls and vengeful ghosts, for example); dragon species with the appropriate nature are noted in the individual descriptions below. Sympathetic traits allow the caster a +4 bonus to his save when attempting to create that type of undead dragon.</p><p>Attempts to create one of the more powerful undead dragon types are more likely to result in failure. The necromancer must not only summon and control increasingly powerful spirits but also allow the spirit a fair amount of self-will even as he strives to infuse it with power drawn from the Negative Material Plane. This bit of tricky magecraft incurs a further penalty to the saving throw for success determined by the undead type to be created. These penalties are noted in Table 1: Saving throw modifier summary. Likewise, older dragons possess stronger wills; therefore, a -1 saving throw penalty should be applied for every age category of the dragon beyond the adult stage, to a maximum of -6 in the case of a great wyrm.</p><p>By making his saving throw, the necromancer has successfully created an undead dragon under his direct control. Though this control could be temporarily suspended by clerical turning or a control undead spell, it is otherwise permanent.</p><p>If the saving throw fails, however, the necromancer has lost the battle of wills and must rest for a number of days equal to the difference between the saving throw rolled and the number required for success. If the saving throw roll would have failed even had no negative modifiers been applied, the dragon spirit has passed beyond reach and can never be recalled from the Outer Planes by that caster or any other. If the failed saving throw would have succeeded in the absence of any negative modifiers, however, the caster may try again at a later date when these modifiers have improved, either by attempting to create a more suitable undead type or when he has gained enough experience levels to improve his saving throw vs. spell.</p><p>Table 1: Saving throw modifier summary</p><p>Condition Modifier</p><p>Wisdom bonus of creator -4 to +4</p><p>Dragon species and undead type are different alignment -1 to -4</p><p>Dragon species is a “preferred” type +4</p><p>Dragon is a mature adult or older -1 to -6</p><p>Undead type being created see undead dragon summary </p><p>Example: A 9th-level necromancer (Wisdom 15) attempts to create a mummy dragon from an adult brass dragon of chaotic neutral alignment. His unmodified save vs. spell is 10, adjusted by +1 for Wisdom, -3 for three degrees of alignment difference (CN vs. LE), +4 for a preferred type, and -5 for a mummy dragon. A d20 roll of 13 grants success, a roll of 5–12 means failure, and a roll of 4 or lower means total failure and the spirit can never be recalled.</p><p><strong>Dragon Zombie:</strong> A relatively intact dragon corpse (i.e., one with no missing limbs) is all that is required to create this type of undead dragon. Dragon zombies are often created from young or small dragons — or following a failed attempt to create one of the intelligent undead types. Because a spirit other than that of the actual dragon corpse animates the dragon zombie, modifiers for alignment and species are not necessary, and all saves are made at +4. Repeated attempts at creating a dragon zombie are possible should the necromancer fail on his first attempt, though he must repeat the preparation time and purchase new materials.</p><p><strong>Dragon Skeleton:</strong> An intact dragon skeleton is not necessary for creation of this undead type; the skull, spine and claws of the dragon are the only pieces that are absolutely required. The bones of some other large creature may be substituted for any other part that is missing from the dragon skeleton. Dragon skeletons may be created ‘from any dragon species but are usually created from young or small dragons that are unsuitable for the creation of a more powerful undead types. As with dragon zombies, any available spirit can serve to animate the skeleton, and modifiers for alignment and species are unnecessary. Repeated attempts at creating a skeleton dragon are possible if the necromancer does not succeed on his first attempt.</p><p><strong>Ghoul Dragon:</strong> Ghoul and ghast dragons may be created from the intact corpse of any dragon of young age or older. Evil and greedy dragons make the most suitable ghoul and ghast dragons. The preferred types are red, white, black, topaz, deep, shadow, yellow, and brown dragons.</p><p><strong>Ghast Dragon:</strong> Ghoul and ghast dragons may be created from the intact corpse of any dragon of young age or older. Evil and greedy dragons make the most suitable ghoul and ghast dragons. The preferred types are red, white, black, topaz, deep, shadow, yellow, and brown dragons.</p><p><strong>Wight Dragon:</strong> A wight dragon spirit must inhabit an intact dragon corpse; however, the time required to prepare the body generally means that the animated body is in a state of advanced decomposition. Most are similar in appearance to a dragon zombie, except that they have glowing eyes (and could be mistaken for dracoliches). The dragon that supplies the corpse must have been at least of young adult age when it died; wight dragons are best created from especially vicious or territorial evil dragons. The black, red, white, topaz, and brown dragon species make excellent candidates.</p><p><strong>Wraith Dragon:</strong> To create a wraith dragon, a complete adult dragon corpse is necessary, though it may be ‘in any condition, even skeletal. The more cunning and intelligent dragon species are most suitable for the creation of a wraith dragon: blue, green, emerald, sapphire, and cloud dragons.</p><p><strong>Mummy Dragon:</strong> The method by which the mummy dragon is created is ancient, probably among the first methods known and used by early necromancers and cultists. Desert-dwelling dragons of adult age or older are most commonly made into mummy dragons; this includes blue, yellow, brass, sapphire, and brown dragons.</p><p>Creating this type of undead dragon is a long, labor-intensive process. The dragon corpse must be intact and relatively fresh and is prepared for mummification with surgery, wrapping, and treatment with preservatives. The body must then be desiccated, either by entombment in a dry environment (requiring another 3d6 weeks of creation time) or magically (with applications of dust of dryness, destroy water spells, etc.).</p><p><strong>Spectre Dragon:</strong> Exceptionally evil and cunning dragons of old age or older can become spectre dragons. Preferred species are blue, green, sapphire, deep, and shadow dragons. A spectre dragon appears to be a transparent, non-corporeal image of the dragon as it appeared in life.</p><p><strong>Ghost Dragon:</strong> Generally created to serve as guardians of powerful magic, only the most powerful and evil dragons can become ghost dragons. Blue, green, and sapphire dragons of adult age or above are usual.</p><p><strong>Vampire Dragon:</strong> They are best created from the most evil, chaotic, and powerful dragon species available; red, white, deep, shadow, and yellow dragons of old age or older are the most viable stock.</p><p><strong>Boneless:</strong> Boneless are the animated shells of humanoid creatures that have had their skeletons removed (generally for some nefarious purpose).</p><p><strong>Penanggalan:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Dracolich Daurgothoth the Creeping Doom:</strong> Daurgothoth was transformed into a dracolich by the crazed Cult mage Huulukharn.</p><p><strong>Bone Lurker:</strong> Created by the Creeping Doom.</p><p><strong>Spike Skeleton:</strong> A spike skeleton's thorns must be specially carved from bones taken from the same type of creature that is to be animated (i.e. human bones for a human skeleton). A glyph is carved into each thorn before it is attached to the skeleton with a resin made with fresh bone marrow. During animation, a shatter spell is cast in conjunction with animate dead. After animation, the 6th-level necromancy spell imbue undead with spell ability is cast, along with Beltyn’s burning blood.</p><p><strong>Acid Zombie:</strong> Before animation, each body must be coated in oil of acid resistance. The spell Melf’s acid arrow must be cast in conjunction with animate dead. A mixture of bear’s blood and snake scales must be poured into the body’s mouth before animation to “teach” the creature how to bear hug.</p><p><strong>Dust Skeleton:</strong> Bones used to create dust skeletons must be specially dried to the point where they are ready to crumble. A special resin containing a paralyzing venom is then used to coat the bones. Transmute water to dust is used in conjunction with animate dead to dry the bones further.</p><p><strong>Quick Zombie:</strong> A paste made from a potion of speed must be smeared on the bodies before animation. During animation, a haste spell must be cast.</p><p><strong>Absorbing Zombie:</strong> A protection from magic scroll must be burned and the ashes inserted into the mouth of the body before animation. Shocking grasp must be cast during animation.</p><p><strong>Defiling Skeleton:</strong> An obsidian jewel must be implanted in the skeleton’s forehead. The jewel is inscribed with a special glyph. A second animate dead spell must be cast in conjunction with the first, along with vampiric touch.</p><p></p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> A few undead dragons possess the power to create half-strength undead under their control.</p><p>The process of creating specialized undead is basically the same as the process for creating a magic item. The best materials must be used. Bodies to be animated have to be in almost perfect condition, as well as tougher and more resilient then the average corpse found moldering in a graveyard. Preparation is lengthy and complex, creating additional strains on the raw material.</p><p><strong>Crawling Claw:</strong> Crawling claws are made from the severed hands or paws of living creatures (although the creatures are killed in the process).</p><p><strong>Spectre:</strong> Intelligent living creatures slain by a spectre dragon’s breath weapon arise as normal half-strength spectres upon the following sunset.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> An intelligent living creature completely drained of life levels by a wight dragon becomes a normal half-strength wight under the control of the wight dragon.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> Wraith dragons may employ their level-draining breath weapon every other round, three times per day. An intelligent living creature completely drained of life levels in this manner becomes a normal half-strength wraith under the control of the wraith dragon.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 236[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Hill Giant Vampire Shaman, Morg:</strong> As monsters closed in on him, Morg uttered a desperate prayer to his evil deity, Grolantor, and he asked for the strength to survive the battle. He promised to dedicate his life to Grolantor in exchange for a reprieve from certain death. Something dark and foul took interest in the hill giants plight, and a cloud of blackness descended on Morg and his opponents.</p><p>When it lifted, Morg discovered that he had no further wounds and that the creatures in the dwarven stronghold served him. He also learned (quickly and painfully) that he could no longer abide sunlight; he had become a vampire. Somehow, a symbol of Grolantor was around his neck, and he was able to receive spells. Morg believed that it was his god who saved him, not knowing that it was really a far darker power that had come to his aid.</p><p><strong>Vampire Thief, Saestra Karanok, The Lady of the Night:</strong> Another notable family member is Naeros “the Marker” (CE F12), Saestra’s cruel older brother. He was responsible for his sister becoming undead. As a practical joke, Naeros locked her in a crypt for several days, but he did not know that it was the lair of a vampire. The creature took a liking to the attractive Saestra and made her his servant.</p><p><strong>Vampire Psionicist, Saed, Beast Chieftain of Veldorn:</strong> Saed put out discreet inquiries for potions of longevity to keep himself young and in power forever. A response came one dark night from a mysterious stranger from the north who promised him something better: immortality. All Saed had to do was follow the stranger to an abandoned shrine of the goddess Shar and swear loyalty on her altar. The stranger was a friendly, open fellow, and Saed trusted him, not realizing that he had fallen prey to vampiric charm.</p><p>Saed followed his new “friend” to the desolate place in an old city under a large hill, and he swore loyalty to Shar. The ruler of Turelve gained immortality, but he became a slave in the process.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 237[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Bog Mummy:</strong> The bog mummy is created through an intricate set of events. The death that causes one is never natural. Bog mummies are the product of a ritual killing. The victim is strangled with a garotte to avoid spilling blood and offending the gods. The body is then cast, while still alive, dying as the leather thong or cord cuts off its breath. Perhaps the victim was a criminal or other evil individual. Perhaps he was some feared enemy captured in battle who was sent back to his gods with all of his possessions. Whatever the circumstances, as life ceases, undeath begins.</p><p><strong>Ice Mummy:</strong> Ice mummies are the freeze-dried remains of travelers who lost their way in the icy wastes of the mountains. Bitter and afraid, they died alone, hating those who never came to their rescue.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 243[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Tome-Haunt:</strong> Darazell met an ironic fate when he himself was assassinated by unknown hands, his body found slumped over his beloved spellbook. It is a puzzle to those who know his tale that such an efficient killer was taken unawares and murdered. It is sometimes said that Darazell knew rare rituals and had made a pact with a dark power, one that would allow him to rise in eternal undeath. Indeed, it is said that Darazell ordered his own assassination as the final stage of the ritual.</p><p>A rumor persists that Darazell, cheated by the dark power, lives on within the book as a rare form of undead, a “tome-haunt.”</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 246[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Daemon Warrior:</strong> Daemon warriors are special undead beings created by Chaos to terrorize and slay his enemies.</p><p><strong>Wight Chaos:</strong> Chaos wights are the remnants of fallen Knights of Takhisis and Solamnia, as well as other unfortunate wretches, raised from death by Chaos.</p><p><strong>Wight Chaos Frost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Wight Chaos Shadow:</strong> ?</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 248[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Zombie Lord:</strong> <em>Faluzure's Curse</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Faluzure's Curse</p><p>(Necromancy)</p><p>Sphere: Necromantic</p><p>Level: 4</p><p>Range: 0</p><p>Components: V, M</p><p>Duration: 1 turn/level</p><p>Casting Time: 3</p><p>Area of Effect: Special</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>When this nefarious spell is cast, the dragon is surrounded by a layer of necromantic energy. This aura is completely invisible and cannot be detected by any means save for magic specifically designed to detect necromantic energies; a simple detect magic does not suffice.</p><p>While the spell lasts, any creature slain by the dragon via tooth and claw (or other body weapon, such as a tail or wing), rises as a zombie lord 24 hours later. These creatures are under the control of the dragon, and their loyalty cannot be swayed by any means, though they can be turned as usual. However, the number of zombie lords that can be animated via this spell cannot exceed the dragon's hit dice. Additional undead simply do not rise. This assumes, of course, that the dragon doesn't eat a slam victim prior to animation; consumed bodies are exempt from the effect. Obviously, this spell is useless against the undead, but creatures without corporeal bodies, other-planar creatures that can be categorized as “immortal” (e.g., fiends, elementals, etc.), and creatures native (or strongly linked) to the Negative Energy plane are immune to the spell as well. Similarly, any creature with a natural or magically-induced immunity to necromantic magic, or one that simply cannot be raised as an undead creature, is not susceptible to this spell.</p><p>The material component for this spell is the dragon's holy symbol. The symbol is not consumed by the spell.</p><p>This spell is granted only to those dragons who worship Faluzure.* Spell scrolls are safeguarded so that, if used by any other creature, the undead produced by the magic immediately attack the caster and persist until either they or the caster is slam. Should the caster be slain during such a battle, the necromantic energies that sustain the undead creatures ends, allowing their spirits to depart to the appropriate outer plane.</p><p>* Faluzure, the dragon god of death and decay, is detailed in Council of Wyrms, book two, page 48.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 249[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lich Wizard 16 Richelieu:</strong> Originally a sorcerer in rural Burgundy in the fourteenth century, Richelieu sought undeath in preference to the Black Death that had infected him.</p><p><strong>Wailing Wights:</strong> A few priests hired by Acererak to consecrate his new temple also found their unfortunate way into the mass grave of Acererak's treachery. In the fullness of time, two animated to form undead creatures.</p><p><strong>Arch-Shadow Moghadam:</strong> The most resourceful and dangerous resident of the Undertomb is the undead wizard-architect Moghadam, who was betrayed and slain with all the others by Acererak. The foulness of the deed combined with ambient energies later employed by Acererak himself together served to reanimate poor Moghadam; he became a creature similar to what the Wise might recognize as an arch-shadow [MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM ® Annual Volume 2]. An arch-shadow is a creature of unlife that nearly achieved lichdom but failed, but neither did it die completely. In the case of Moghadam, his essence congealed within the magical matrix of his enchanted weapon Ruinblade, making the weapon a phylactery of sorts. With Ruinblade holding his essence, his former body still functions, allowing Moghadam to wander the Undertomb at will.</p><p><strong>Arch-Shadow:</strong> An arch-shadow is a creature of unlife that nearly achieved lichdom but failed, but neither did it die completely.</p><p></p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Dead Zone trap.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> The wights are the animated remains of the common excavators who were slain and dropped into the Undertomb.</p><p></p><p>Dead Zone</p><p>This trap is actually centered upon one of the many cylindrical columns that appear to support the low ceiling of the Undertomb. Like the other columns, this one depicts stony faces screaming in terror, fangs, and claws; however, this column does indeed have the power to dismay and terrify; the column acts as a negative capacitor and holds a small store of Negative Energy.</p><p>Anyone approaching within 10 feet of this column enters into a dead zone where a strange, empty feeling is apparent, as well as a definite chill in the air that is immediately traceable to the column. A closer look at the column reveals that many of the bas relief faces of the pillar hold what appear to be small gems.</p><p>The touch of a living being triggers the full lethal effects of the column. The victim must save vs. death magic with a -2 penalty or suffer death by a searing bolt of Negative Energy; an undead zombie is born! The discharge of Negative Energy reduces a living brain to fouled protoplasm 98% of time, but there is a 2% chance that the mind of the new undead remains initially unaffected; however, a strange appetite for brains begins to manifest within the day . . .</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>Dragon 250[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Undead:</strong> Most aquatic undead are from drowned sailors and pirates.</p><p>The treasures of the ruins are guarded by hostile sea creatures and the undead forms of some of the people caught in the cities when they were sunk by the Cataclysm, cursed by the gods to guard their treasures forever.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>2e 3rd Party[spoiler]</p><p>DSE1 Dark Sun Excursions Lost Temple of Rahoon[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lightning Skeleton:</strong> Lightning skeletons are mindless undead empowered with a glimmer of electrical power. </p><p><strong>Lightning Skeleton, Mindless Undead Empowered With a Glimmer of Electrical Power:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Merak, Raaig:</strong> In ancient times before the devastation of Athas, Merak and Aubrae were minor nobles of House Tragus. Their devotion to Rahoon was absolute and although they focused on the well-being of their village and holdings, they dedicated most of their wealth to building a large temple complex. Merak was convinced that this act of piety would ensure his place after death. So, along with his wife Aubrae, he funded its construction and upon their deaths willingly transformed into Raaigs to protect the sanctity of the temple into eternity.</p><p><strong>Aubree, Raaig:</strong> In ancient times before the devastation of Athas, Merak and Aubrae were minor nobles of House Tragus. Their devotion to Rahoon was absolute and although they focused on the well-being of their village and holdings, they dedicated most of their wealth to building a large temple complex. Merak was convinced that this act of piety would ensure his place after death. So, along with his wife Aubrae, he funded its construction and upon their deaths willingly transformed into Raaigs to protect the sanctity of the temple into eternity. </p><p><strong>Raaig:</strong> In life, raaigs were devout individuals devoted to a specific faith. [/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>2e OSR Variants[spoiler]</p><p></p><p>For Gold & Glory[spoiler]</p><p></p><p>For Gold & Glory Cumulative[spoiler]</p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/156530/For-Gold--Glory?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">For Gold & Glory</a></p><p><strong>Animal Mournwood Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Mournwood Animal.</p><p><strong>Animal Zombie Mournwood:</strong> See Zombie Mournwood Animal.</p><p><strong>Berserker Ghoul:</strong> See Ghoul Berserker.</p><p><strong>Death Minor:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Fledgling Wight:</strong> See Wight Fledgling.</p><p><strong>Ghast:</strong> See Ghoul Ghast.</p><p><strong>Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost:</strong> Ghosts are ethereal animated spirits of the dead. In life their deeds were so great (whether they were evil or good) as to attract the attention of otherworldly powers (gods, demons, the vile forces of Pohjola), and these powers preserved them as ghosts after death. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p>Normally only humans can become ghosts, but on rare occasions demi-humans and other creatures suffer such a curse. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p><strong>Ghost Lesser:</strong> See Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost.</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Ghouls are undead creatures cursed with a hunger for the flesh of the living and the dead. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Ghoul Berserker:</strong> Thanic warriors who perish from either the cold or starvation—and especially from both—risk becoming berserker ghouls. Having died outside of combat and without enough glory for Valagard, they cannot reach the halls of the gods. The loss of Valagard, often coupled with other misfortunes—a run in with the energies of Pohjola, for example, or an actual curse from a powerful godi or deity—brings about this terrible fate. The warriors’ souls cling to their bodies, and they return to “unlife”, seeking to draw the attention of Uthin’s Shield Maidens by a fitting death in battle. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p>However, their existence transgresses the natural order of the worlds. Their return from death does not bring with it the subtler aspects of true life, such as humanity or rationality. Though perhaps once these warriors were dedicated to the purity of combat between equals, they now hunt women, children, the aged, old friends and allies, and even sacred holy men of the gods. Their new existence is fueled by wrath, pride, jealousy, and the berserker rage. Twisted and evil, they belong to the enemies of the gods they once worshipped. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p><strong>Ghoul Thane:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Juju Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Juju.</p><p><strong>Lesser Ghost:</strong> See Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost.</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> Among the most powerful of the undead, liches are priests and wizards who have attained immortality through foul necromancy. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>The horrible ceremonies used to become a lich require years of lonesome study, and most liches are solitary creatures. They rarely work with others, as they jealously guard their knowledge. Only the most powerful of spell casters can master the necessary rituals, and all liches are wizards or priests of at least 18th level. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>Becoming a lich is a long and arduous process, requiring years of study. The needed rituals focus on the creation of a phylactery, an arcane container crafted to keep a lich’s soul in the mortal world after death. A phylactery may be made to look like any object, but crafting it requires at least 1,500 gold pieces per level of the spell caster. It must be imbued with powerful necromantic magics unique to each potential lich, but often such spells as animate dead, death spell, magic jar, and reincarnation. Upon its completion, its crafter commits ritual suicide. If the phylactery is indeed flawless, the crafter rises as a lich, while even a single mistake in its construction utterly destroys the crafter’s soul. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Minor Death:</strong> See Death Minor.</p><p><strong>Mournwood Zombie:</strong> See Zombie Mournwood.</p><p><strong>Mournwood Zombie Animal:</strong> See Zombie Mournwood Animal.</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> Mummies are desiccated corpses animated by dark rituals into horrible unlife. They retain some semblance of their living appearances, but although their desiccation prevents decay, it also twists their features into leathery masks. The most common rituals used to animate a mummy involve wrapping a corpse in strips of linen, and many mummies retain these wrappings. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>New Wraith:</strong> See Wraith New.</p><p><strong>Ogre Skeletal:</strong> See Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre.</p><p><strong>Ogre Skeleton:</strong> See Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre.</p><p><strong>Shade of the Mortal Soul:</strong> See Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> A humanoid victim killed by a shadow is likely to become a shadow himself. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>With little to do with each other, shadows are ambivalent towards their own kind. When found together they are likely to be “families”–an elder shadow and its victims, now shadows themselves. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>The touch of a shadow drains 1 point of strength from its victim. Humanoids reduced to 0 hp or a strength of 0 by a shadow are doomed to rise as shadows themselves under the command of their killers; all other creatures killed by a shadow remain dead, while all other creatures reduced to a strength of 0 fall unconscious. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre:</strong> Skeleton ogres are the reanimated skeletal remains of ogres, reinforced with negative energy. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments, and are instead held together through magical force. A Skeleton ogre is an animated undead ogre comprised of bones. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Skeletons are the reanimated skeletal remains of humanoid creatures, reinforced with negative energy. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments, and are instead held together through magical force. Skeletons vary in size, depending on the remains of the humanoids they were created from. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>As mindless constructs of necromantic magics, skeletons have no interactions with other creatures, save to follow commands from their creators. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>Skeletons are the bones of humanoid creatures, animated by energy from the Negative Energy Plane. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments and are held together through magical force. Skeletons vary in size, depending on the race of humanoid that the bones came from. As mindless constructs of necromantic magics, skeletons have no interactions with other creatures, except to follow commands from their creators. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p><em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Skeleton Ogre:</strong> See Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre.</p><p><strong>Spawn Vampire:</strong> See Vampire Spawn.</p><p><strong>Specter:</strong> On rare occasions, several specters come to haunt the same location. These are usually a master and the thralls created from its victims. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>Any humanoid drained of all levels or hit dice by a specter dies and rises as a specter himself. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Thane Ghoul:</strong> See Ghoul Thane.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> Vampires are undead humanoids cursed to live forever as bloodthirsty parasites.</p><p>Should a vampire lord be destroyed, his spawn become fully-fledged, independent vampires themselves. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Vampire Spawn:</strong> When vampires are found in the company of their own, they are usually lord and spawn–an elder vampire and his victims, now vampires themselves. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>When touching a creature with his bare skin, a vampire may drain two levels or hit dice from his victim. Humanoids reduced to zero levels or hit dice, or drained of blood, rise as vampires themselves one night after their death unless their bodies are destroyed in the intervening time. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Warrior Wraith:</strong> See Wraith Warrior.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> Wights are undead creatures spawned by great pain and sorrow. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>If their master is slain, fledgling wights become free-willed and gain their full strength. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Wight Fledgling:</strong> Only rarely do wights gather together; these are almost always an elder and his children, created from his victims. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>Humanoid creatures slain by a wight’s energy drain rise as wights themselves, with half normal hit dice and under the absolute control of the one who slew them. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> Animated by hatred and spite, wraiths are the undead humanoid spirits of exceptional evil. They often form packs of several wraiths, whether through the death and undeath of several like-minded individuals or through the creation of new wraiths by existing wraiths. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>If the master wraith is killed, its minions instantly gain their full strength and free will. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Wraith New:</strong> They often form packs of several wraiths, whether through the death and undeath of several like-minded individuals or through the creation of new wraiths by existing wraiths. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>Humanoids killed by a wraith rise as wraiths themselves, with half the hit dice of their killers. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Wraith Warrior:</strong> Warrior Wraiths are a type of undead created from warriors killed in battle, and kept from the dissolution of death by their desire to fight. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Zombies are mindless animated corpses. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p>Zombies are mindless animated corpses. The animate dead spell opens a connection to the Negative Energy Plane that provides these fleshy corpses with the ability to move and follow simple commands given by their controller. Their controller can be the spell caster who created them or an evil-aligned priest who successfully dominates them. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from. They do not spawn. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p><em>Animate Dead</em> spell. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Zombie Juju:</strong> Juju zombies are the undead remains of humanoids killed through the use of energy drain spells. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><em>Energy Drain</em> spell. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><em>Finger of Death</em> spell. (For Gold & Glory)</p><p><strong>Zombie Mournwood:</strong> Mournwood Zombies are mindless animated corpses controlled by the vile curse of the forest. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, Mournwood Zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Mournwood Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from, however, they all have the same basic characteristic of vines and roots growing through their bodies, as if the very forest were using the dead bodies as puppets. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation)</p><p><strong>Zombie Mournwood Animal:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>For Gold & Glory Books[spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/156530/For-Gold--Glory?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">For Gold & Glory</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> Ghouls are undead creatures cursed with a hunger for the flesh of the living and the dead.</p><p><strong>Ghoul Ghast:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> Among the most powerful of the undead, liches are priests and wizards who have attained immortality through foul necromancy.</p><p>The horrible ceremonies used to become a lich require years of lonesome study, and most liches are solitary creatures. They rarely work with others, as they jealously guard their knowledge. Only the most powerful of spell casters can master the necessary rituals, and all liches are wizards or priests of at least 18th level.</p><p>Becoming a lich is a long and arduous process, requiring years of study. The needed rituals focus on the creation of a phylactery, an arcane container crafted to keep a lich’s soul in the mortal world after death. A phylactery may be made to look like any object, but crafting it requires at least 1,500 gold pieces per level of the spell caster. It must be imbued with powerful necromantic magics unique to each potential lich, but often such spells as animate dead, death spell, magic jar, and reincarnation. Upon its completion, its crafter commits ritual suicide. If the phylactery is indeed flawless, the crafter rises as a lich, while even a single mistake in its construction utterly destroys the crafter’s soul.</p><p><strong>Mummy:</strong> Mummies are desiccated corpses animated by dark rituals into horrible unlife. They retain some semblance of their living appearances, but although their desiccation prevents decay, it also twists their features into leathery masks. The most common rituals used to animate a mummy involve wrapping a corpse in strips of linen, and many mummies retain these wrappings.</p><p><strong>Shadow:</strong> A humanoid victim killed by a shadow is likely to become a shadow himself.</p><p>With little to do with each other, shadows are ambivalent towards their own kind. When found together they are likely to be “families”–an elder shadow and its victims, now shadows themselves.</p><p>The touch of a shadow drains 1 point of strength from its victim. Humanoids reduced to 0 hp or a strength of 0 by a shadow are doomed to rise as shadows themselves under the command of their killers; all other creatures killed by a shadow remain dead, while all other creatures reduced to a strength of 0 fall unconscious.</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Skeletons are the reanimated skeletal remains of humanoid creatures, reinforced with negative energy. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments, and are instead held together through magical force. Skeletons vary in size, depending on the remains of the humanoids they were created from.</p><p>As mindless constructs of necromantic magics, skeletons have no interactions with other creatures, save to follow commands from their creators.</p><p><em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Specter:</strong> On rare occasions, several specters come to haunt the same location. These are usually a master and the thralls created from its victims.</p><p>Any humanoid drained of all levels or hit dice by a specter dies and rises as a specter himself.</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> Vampires are undead humanoids cursed to live forever as bloodthirsty parasites.</p><p>Should a vampire lord be destroyed, his spawn become fully-fledged, independent vampires themselves.</p><p><strong>Vampire Spawn:</strong> When vampires are found in the company of their own, they are usually lord and spawn–an elder vampire and his victims, now vampires themselves.</p><p>When touching a creature with his bare skin, a vampire may drain two levels or hit dice from his victim. Humanoids reduced to zero levels or hit dice, or drained of blood, rise as vampires themselves one night after their death unless their bodies are destroyed in the intervening time.</p><p><strong>Wight:</strong> Wights are undead creatures spawned by great pain and sorrow.</p><p>If their master is slain, fledgling wights become free-willed and gain their full strength.</p><p><strong>Fledgling Wight:</strong> Only rarely do wights gather together; these are almost always an elder and his children, created from his victims.</p><p>Humanoid creatures slain by a wight’s energy drain rise as wights themselves, with half normal hit dice and under the absolute control of the one who slew them.</p><p><strong>Wraith:</strong> Animated by hatred and spite, wraiths are the undead humanoid spirits of exceptional evil. They often form packs of several wraiths, whether through the death and undeath of several like-minded individuals or through the creation of new wraiths by existing wraiths.</p><p>If the master wraith is killed, its minions instantly gain their full strength and free will.</p><p><strong>New Wraith:</strong> They often form packs of several wraiths, whether through the death and undeath of several like-minded individuals or through the creation of new wraiths by existing wraiths.</p><p>Humanoids killed by a wraith rise as wraiths themselves, with half the hit dice of their killers.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Zombies are mindless animated corpses. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from.</p><p><em>Animate Dead</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Juju Zombie:</strong> Juju zombies are the undead remains of humanoids killed through the use of energy drain spells.</p><p><em>Energy Drain</em> spell.</p><p><em>Finger of Death</em> spell.</p><p><strong>Ghost:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Minor Death:</strong> ?</p><p></p><p>Animate Dead (Necromancy)</p><p>Caster/Level (Sphere): Priest/3 (Necromantic),Wizard/5</p><p>Range: 10 yards</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Effective Area: Special</p><p>Components: V, S and M</p><p>Casting Time: 5 rounds</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell allows the caster to create the least of the undead creatures, skeletons and zombies, usually from the bones or bodies of dead humans, humanoids, demi-humans, and giants. Optionally, the caster can animate animal corpses. The animated undead remains obey simple commands given to them by the caster. The undead remain animated until destroyed or turned—they are not affected by dispel magic.</p><p>The total HD of undead animated by this spell cannot exceed the caster’s level. Humans, demi-humans, and humanoids with only 1 HD in life become 1 HD skeletons or 2 HD zombies, regardless of class levels, experience or HD they once had. Creatures and animals with less than 1 HD can be raised as 1/2 HD skeletons or 1 HD zombies, but clerics receive a +1 bonus to turn checks against these monsters. A creature or animal with 1 HD or more retains its HD when raised as a skeleton and gains one HD when raised as a zombie. Undead have none of the special abilities they had when alive.</p><p>While evil spell casters can use this spell whenever and however they wish, the lesser undead created are always neutral in alignment. Neutral spell casters can freely use the spell as long as the body is that of a fallen enemy from a non-PC race. Good spell casters prefer animating animals, and cast speak with dead on a humanoid body to gain express permission. A neutral spell caster may also cast speak with dead to gain permission to animate a PC or a member of a PC race. A neutral or good spell caster would never animate a corpse being prepared for a raise dead spell, because a soul requires it’s original body to be raised. If the body were animated, the victim would then need a full resurrection, reincarnate or similar spell, such as wish, to be brought back to life.</p><p>Even though animating undead is not automatically an evil act, undead are perversions of life, and as such their mere presence is disturbing to most creatures (animals avoid them entirely, unless specially trained). The charnel smell, particularly of a zombie, is quite nauseating. Few, if any, hirelings will sign on to a party that is known to travel with undead. Additionally, most civilizations have regulations regarding the creation of undead. Some cultures seek their immediate destruction, and even the most tolerant require undead servants to be tagged and registered. Lawful spell casters must get a permit (if possible) or simply avoid finding bodies in graveyards or battlefields, as local governments claim them and grave robbing is punishable harshly (usually by death).</p><p>The spell requires the body or bones of the creature to be animated, and the remains must be reasonably intact. Undead destroyed in combat cannot be re-animated. The spell requires a pinch of bone powder or bone shard.</p><p></p><p>Energy Drain (Evocation, Necromancy)</p><p>Caster/Level: Wizard/9</p><p>Range: Touch</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Effective Area: 1 creature</p><p>Components: V, S and M</p><p>Casting Time: 3</p><p>Saving Throw: None</p><p>This spell allows the caster to channel negative energy for one round, permanently draining 2 levels or HD from a creature on a successful touch attack. Hit points, saving throws, attacks and other level/HD related abilities are permanently lost (until regained by gaining experience or 2 restoration spells are cast on the victim). If the attack fails, the spell ends normally.</p><p>Human or humanoid creatures killed by this spell can be animated as juju zombies under the caster’s control. The undead cannot be negatively affected by this spell.</p><p>The material component is essence of specter or vampire dust. These are dangerous substances, and there’s a 5% chance that the caster loses one point of constitution while casting this spell, due to contact with either of them. If the caster dies through this loss, he becomes a shade. The caster’s alignment instantly becomes neutral evil, and he is then sucked into the Demiplane of Shadow.</p><p></p><p>Finger of Death (Necromancy)</p><p>Caster/Level: Wizard/7</p><p>Range: 60 yards</p><p>Duration: Permanent</p><p>Effective Area: 1 creature pointed to</p><p>Components: V and S</p><p>Casting Time: 5</p><p>Saving Throw: Negate</p><p>This spell attempts to utterly destroy a chosen victim’s life energy and body. The victim must make a successful saving throw or die immediately, unable to be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated. A wish spell can restore most victims to life, if, however, the victims are human, profane magic instantly begins to transform the bodies, and after 3 days, the caster is able to perform a special ritual, requiring materials costing 1,000 gp + 500 gp per body, to animate the dead humans as juju zombies under his control. The profane magic must be reversed with a limited wish spell before the juju animation ritual has begun, and then a wish spell can be used to bring the human back to life.</p><p>Creatures who make a successful saving throw only suffer 2d8 + 1 points of damage. If the victim dies due to this damage, they can be brought back to life normally.[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/265492/Ice-Kingdoms-Bestiary-Compilation?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost:</strong> Ghosts are ethereal animated spirits of the dead. In life their deeds were so great (whether they were evil or good) as to attract the attention of otherworldly powers (gods, demons, the vile forces of Pohjola), and these powers preserved them as ghosts after death.</p><p>Normally only humans can become ghosts, but on rare occasions demi-humans and other creatures suffer such a curse.</p><p><strong>Ghost Wraith:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Banshee:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghost Spectre:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul Berserker:</strong> Thanic warriors who perish from either the cold or starvation—and especially from both—risk becoming berserker ghouls. Having died outside of combat and without enough glory for Valagard, they cannot reach the halls of the gods. The loss of Valagard, often coupled with other misfortunes—a run in with the energies of Pohjola, for example, or an actual curse from a powerful godi or deity—brings about this terrible fate. The warriors’ souls cling to their bodies, and they return to “unlife”, seeking to draw the attention of Uthin’s Shield Maidens by a fitting death in battle.</p><p>However, their existence transgresses the natural order of the worlds. Their return from death does not bring with it the subtler aspects of true life, such as humanity or rationality. Though perhaps once these warriors were dedicated to the purity of combat between equals, they now hunt women, children, the aged, old friends and allies, and even sacred holy men of the gods. Their new existence is fueled by wrath, pride, jealousy, and the berserker rage. Twisted and evil, they belong to the enemies of the gods they once worshipped.</p><p><strong>Ghoul Thane:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Skeleton:</strong> Skeletons are the bones of humanoid creatures, animated by energy from the Negative Energy Plane. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments and are held together through magical force. Skeletons vary in size, depending on the race of humanoid that the bones came from. As mindless constructs of necromantic magics, skeletons have no interactions with other creatures, except to follow commands from their creators.</p><p><strong>Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre:</strong> Skeleton ogres are the reanimated skeletal remains of ogres, reinforced with negative energy. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments, and are instead held together through magical force. A Skeleton ogre is an animated undead ogre comprised of bones.</p><p><strong>Warrior Wraith:</strong> Warrior Wraiths are a type of undead created from warriors killed in battle, and kept from the dissolution of death by their desire to fight.</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> Zombies are mindless animated corpses. The animate dead spell opens a connection to the Negative Energy Plane that provides these fleshy corpses with the ability to move and follow simple commands given by their controller. Their controller can be the spell caster who created them or an evil-aligned priest who successfully dominates them. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from. They do not spawn.</p><p><strong>Mournwood Zombie:</strong> Mournwood Zombies are mindless animated corpses controlled by the vile curse of the forest. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, Mournwood Zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Mournwood Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from, however, they all have the same basic characteristic of vines and roots growing through their bodies, as if the very forest were using the dead bodies as puppets.</p><p><strong>Mournwood Zombie Animal:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Ghoul:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240960/The-Players-Guide-to-Adventurers?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Player's Guide to Adventurers</a>[spoiler]</p><p><strong>Lich:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Vampire:</strong> ?</p><p><strong>Zombie:</strong> ?[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Voadam, post: 7945152, member: 2209"] [b]2e AD&D[/b] 2e Compilation[spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] If the character is energy drained to less than 0 levels by an undead's energy drain (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 who slew it. (Player's Handbook) The type of undead a creature becomes upon death is based upon the motivation or event that caused the undead to resist death. While certain races are more likely to become certain types of undead, this is because members of that particular race often share similar motivations. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) The DM could rule that the normal undead-creation process (in which a being killed by certain undead beings becomes an undead creature, too) is magical. (Dragon 156) Sometimes, however, when a powerfully motivated person dies, his spirit does not perish. Instead, it either continues to reside in the dead body (most necromancers classify such as “corporeal”), or it separates from the body and does not fade away (in which case it is classified as “incorporeal”). (Dragon 173) This spirit refuses to accept its destruction. The body dies, but the spirit continues to strive after what it pursued in life. In essence, by an act of willpower, it defies death and enters a state that is neither life nor death. (Dragon 173) From my experiences on Athas, the type of undead that a person becomes upon his demise depends upon the nature of the compulsion that prevented his spirit from “going to the gray,” not upon what race he is. Of course, it cannot be denied that certain races have tendencies to fall into certain categories of undead, but this is a reflection of normal racial proclivities toward common types of motivations and behaviors. No force, natural or supernatural, determines whether a member of a given race will become a certain type of undead. (Dragon 173) Sucking the life from a humanoid creature, like marrow from the bone, from using the Death Field psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, may allow it to return from the grave to haunt the character. The type of undead created is usually whatever undead creature most closely matches the hit dice or level of the creature killed. Regardless of the creature's original hit dice, there is a 20% chance that the dead being will walk again as a revenant. (Dragon 174) Like the death field power, creatures killed by the life draining psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft can become undead and seek revenge. (Dragon 174) If a negative energy weapon is used against energy-draining undead, the wielder loses 1-4 of his own hit points, as the weapon's dweomer interacts with the “energy vacuum” inside wights, wraiths, etc. A character who uses this weapon against undead can turn himself into an undead monster, even if the monster doesn't fight back! (Dragon 194) The curse of refusal. Death has refused to allow the Bokor entry to the realm of the dead, so all Bokor become undead upon their deaths. The exact form that an undead Bokor assumes depends on the level that the Bokor attained in life. Convert the character's level to hit dice and consult the table for turning undead for the appropriate form. For example, a 6th-level Bokor would become a ghast or wraith when he dies. If the Bokor is 12th level or higher when he dies (the “Special” category on the table), the character becomes an Orish-Nla (an African demon resembling a shadow fiend). The Bokor loses his spell-casting abilities upon death, unless the undead form taken is normally capable of casting spells. (Dragon 200) A few undead dragons possess the power to create half-strength undead under their control. (Dragon 234) The process of creating specialized undead is basically the same as the process for creating a magic item. The best materials must be used. Bodies to be animated have to be in almost perfect condition, as well as tougher and more resilient then the average corpse found moldering in a graveyard. Preparation is lengthy and complex, creating additional strains on the raw material. (Dragon 234) Most aquatic undead are from drowned sailors and pirates. (Dragon 250) The treasures of the ruins are guarded by hostile sea creatures and the undead forms of some of the people caught in the cities when they were sunk by the Cataclysm, cursed by the gods to guard their treasures forever. (Dragon 250) [b]5th Lawkeeper of Bodach:[/b] See Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach. [b]Agarat:[/b] No one knows how these creatures came into being. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Agarat Greater:[/b] ? [b]Alhoon, Illithilich:[/b] Their bodies adapt only imperfectly to lich state; many magical steps of most lichdom processes used by others fail on a strongly-magic resistant mind flayer body. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man:[/b] Amiq Rasol, also called Deep Men or Dark Men, are undead corsairs who were lost at sea, murdered, or marooned. Corsairs who refused to acknowledge or turned away from the gods may also become amiq rasol. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Ancestral Crypt Thing:[/b] See Crypt Thing Ancestral. [b]Ancient Mariner:[/b] An ancient mariner is the undead spirit of a member of a long-lost evil race that once sailed the phlogiston seas. (MC7 Monstrous Compenium Spelljammer Appendix) [b]Andres Duvall:[/b] See Lich Bardic, Andres Duvall. [b]Anhkolox:[/b] See Undead Beast Anhkolox. [b]Anhktepot:[/b] See Lord of Har'akir, Anhktepot. [b]Anhktepot's Children:[/b] See Mummy Greater, Anhktepot's Children. [b]Animal Mummy:[/b] See Mummy Creature Animal. [b]Apparition:[/b] If an apparition's slain victim is not restored to life within 24 hours, he/she will rise as an apparition 2-8 hours later. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix) [b]Arch-Shadow:[/b] As evil wizards and priests grow older and see their deaths before them, some decide to take their chances with becoming a lich. Most fail and die. The unlucky few who survive the process but fail to achieve lichdom become arch-shadows. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) There are no recorded instances of a high-level priest or wizard striving to become an arch-shadow – misfortune leads to their existence. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) During the process of achieving lichdom, the wizard or priest creates a special phylactery in which to store his or her life force. If this item fails during the process, there is a tremendous explosion and a 5% chance that the wizard or priest becomes an arch-shadow instead of being utterly destroyed. More often than not, faulty construction or some slight error in an incantation causes the delicate process to break down. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) Once the lich-creation process has failed and the caster has successfully made the crossover to arch-shadow status, survival is not guaranteed. A system shock roll must be made, with failure indicating that the arch-shadow is drawn into the Plane of Negative Energy. If the roll is successful the arch-shadow is teleported to the location of an item of moderate to great power (a staff of curing, a +3 or better weapon, a ring of wizardry, or another item with an experience point value greater than 1,500), into which it can place its life force. An artifact is unsuitable, nor can the item be one owned by the arch-shadow or any former henchman; no item that was within 10 miles at the time of the failed attempt to become a lich is suitable. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) The decision of which magical item to use is not made by the arch-shadow. The arch-shadow is teleported to a location where a suitable item exists. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Arch-Shadow Demi-Shade:[/b] To become a demi-shade, the arch-shadow must drain life energy from creatures that have touched its receptacle within the last 24 hours. It usually takes eight life levels gathered within two hours for the change to occur, but an arch-shadow can gamble in order to gain more Hit Dice in the process of transforming. It typically accomplishes this by draining high level characters or powerful creatures. For each additional level over eight that the arch shadow drains, one extra Hit Die is gained. If the draining takes place in a particularly unhallowed place, the arch-shadow gains an additional Hit Die. The arch-shadow cannot exceed a total of 30 Hit Dice. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Archlich:[/b] See Lich Archlich. [b]Athaekeetha:[/b] See Vampire Illithid, Athaekeetha. [b]Athasian Wraith:[/b] See Wraith Athasian. [b]Awnsheghlien Spectral:[/b] See Spectral Awnsheghlien. [b]Azalin:[/b] See Lich Lord of Darkon, Azalin. [b]Baelnorn:[/b] Baelnorn are elves who have sought undeath to serve their families, communities, or other purposes (usually to see a wrong righted, or to achieve a certain magical discovery or deed). (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) The process by which elves become baelnorn is old, secret, and complicated. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Banedead:[/b] Created from fanatical human worshipers. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Banedead derive their power from the Negative Energy Plane and from the clerical power of the ritual that created them. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Banedead are created by a special ritual that requires at least 12 worshipers (to be turned into Banedead), at least 24 living additional worshipers (to offer prayers), and a priest of Bane or Xvim of at least 12th level (to preside over the ritual). The ritual must be held in a place that is consecrated to either Bane or Xvim. People who are to become Banedead (also called the Promised Ones) must come forward voluntarily. Rumors of innocent folks captured by cultists and forcibly transformed into Banedead are patently false. At the end of the ritual, the new Banedead are placed under the control of their new master, the presiding priest. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Some scholars are still trying to discern how a new breed of undead could be formed by a deity who is supposed to have been destroyed. A few sages believe that it is not Bane at all, but rather Xvim, who has introduced this new horror to the Realms. These sages speculate that the spirits of the Promised Ones are in fact shunted into Xvim somehow to nourish him, building his power so that he can eventually fill the void left by his father’s death. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Baneguard:[/b] Baneguards are skeletons, usually but not always human, which are animated by clerical spells to serve as guardian creatures. The create baneguard spell was originally researched by priests of Bane (of the Forgotten Realms setting), but in the years since the demise of that deity, the secret of the spell has been spread such that many other evil (and not-so-evil) deities allow their priests to use it. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [i]Create Baneguard[/i] spell. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Baneguard Direguard:[/b] The create direguard spell is as the create baneguard, but is a 7th-level spell and has a casting time of one round. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [i]Create Direguard[/i] spell. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Banelich:[/b] See Lich of Bane, Banelich, Mouth of Bane. [b]Banshee, Groaning Spirit:[/b] The groaning spirit, or banshee, is the spirit of an evil female elf—a very rare thing indeed. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two) [b]Banshee Dwarf:[/b] See Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee. [b]Bardic Lich:[/b] See Lich Bardic. [b]Bastellus:[/b] Any being reduced to below level 0 by the preying of a bastellus will die in its sleep, seemingly of a heart attack. If the body is not destroyed (via cremation, immersion in acid, or similar means), its spirit will rise in a number of days equal to the number of levels it lost to the bastellus. Thus, a 14th level wizard would rise up in two weeks. The new spirit is also a bastellus, but it has no connection with the monster that created it. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) There are those who would argue that the bastellus is a creature from beyond the grave and, therefore, has no place in the biology of the natural world. In fact, there is a great deal of speculation that this is not the case. Numerous scholars have put forth the theory that the bastellus is actually a product of the unrecognized hopes and aspirations of living creatures. If this is true, then the bastellus is very much a by-product of the living world and at least nominally important to it. This debate has raged for countless centuries, however, and it seems that the scholars who put forth both arguments are no closer to a resolution of the issue than they were when the debate began. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Bat Bonebat:[/b] Bonebats are not thought to occur naturally, but the secrets of their making have been known in the Realms for a very long time, and many have gone feral. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Bonebats are usually constructed by evil priests and wizards working together. An intact giant bat skeleton, or a skeleton assembled from the bones of several bats, is required. A spell known as Nulathoe’s ninemen is cast on the skeleton. In the case of a bonebat, this spell links the skeletal wing bones with an invisible membrane of force to allow flight. Fly, detect invisibility, infravision, and animate dead spells complete the process. Further spells may be necessary to train the bonebat to serve as an obedient aide, but the spells listed here must be cast within two rounds of each other, and in the order given, or the process will fail. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Bat Bonebat Battlebat:[/b] ? [b]Bat Skeletal:[/b] See Skeleton Skeletal Bat. [b]Battlebat:[/b] See Bat Bonebat Battlebat. [b]Beast Undead:[/b] See Undead Beast. [b]Beckoner Soul:[/b] See Wraith Soul Beckoner. [b]Berserker Spectral Minion:[/b] See Spectral Minion Berserker. [b]Blackbones:[/b] See Shadowrath Lesser, Blackbones. [b]Blazing Bones:[/b] Blazing bones are undead accidentally created when a priest or wizard who has prepared or partially prepared contingency magic to prevent death is killed by fiery damage. The casted magic twists the contingency provisions so the unfortunate victim passes into undeath in the heart of a roaring column of flame. Tormented by the endless agony of fire, the priest’s or wizard’s nature (including alignment, Hit Dice, and thoughts) changes. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) There have been cases where evil archmages or high priests have deliberately created blazing bones as guardians, by slaying underling wizards or priests after laying control magic on them. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Bloodfist, Claktor:[/b] See Zombie Thinking Mul Gladiator 4, Claktor Bloodfist. [b]Bog Mummy:[/b] See Mummy Bog. [b]Bone Naga:[/b] See Naga Bone. [b]Bonebat:[/b] See Bat Bonebat. [b]Bones Blazing:[/b] See Blazing Bones. [b]Bowlyn, Sailor's Demise:[/b] Bowlyn are undead spirits who, like the poltergeist, do not rest easily in their graves. Without exception, they were sailors on ocean-going vessels who died due to an accident at sea. In life, they were cruel or selfish persons; in death they blame their shipmates for the mishap that took their lives. Thus, they return from their watery graves to force others beneath the icy waves. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Typical hauntings do not occur immediately after the death of the sailor fated to become a bowlyn. It takes the spirit of the seaman from 1-10 years to return from the grave. The first appearance of a bowlyn always takes place on the anniversary of its death and the haunting lasts for 1-6 weeks. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Bussengeist:[/b] A bussengeist is the spectral form of someone who died in a great calamity brought on by their own action or inaction. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) As a rule, only those persons who feel remorse for their actions will become bussengeists. For example, a traitor who allowed an invading force to gain access to a walled city and was himself slain in the ensuing battle might become a bussengeist. If he was killed without warning and felt no pity for those his actions had brought misery to, he would not be transformed. If, on the other hand, he knew that he was about to die and had reason to feel that he had acted in error, he might well become a bussengeist. In his afterlife, he would visit cities in the process of being raided by barbarians, castles being overrun by monsters, and similar scenes. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Carnivore Spirit Warrior:[/b] See Spirit Warrior Carnivore. [b]Casurua:[/b] See Ghost Casurua. [b]Cat Crypt:[/b] See Crypt Cat. [b]Children Anhktepot's:[/b] See Mummy Greater, Anhktepot's Children. [b]Chu-U, Legless Ghost:[/b] If travelers agree to listen, the chu-u relates the story of its life as a human. The story is always sad and is told in great detail, beginning with the bad decisions the chu-u made as a child, continuing through its sorrowful experiences as an adult, and ending with the circumstances of its death, usually the result of cowardice or ineptitude. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) They were neither virtuous enough to pass the judges' examinations nor malevolent enough to merit additional sentencing. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Claktor Bloodfist:[/b] See Zombie Thinking Mul Gladiator 4, Claktor Bloodfist. [b]Claw Crawling:[/b] See Crawling Claw. [b]Coffer Corpse:[/b] The coffer corpse is an undead creature seeking its final rest. It will always be encountered on a stranded funeral barge, unburnt pyre, or the scene of some other incomplete death ritual. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix) The coffer corpse is an undead creature seeking its final rest. It is always encountered on the scene of an incomplete death ritual: a stranded funeral barge, unburnt pyre, or so on. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Con-Tinh:[/b] The malicious con-tinh is a lesser spirit believed to be the spirit of a maiden who died before her time. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) According to legend, the Celestial Bureaucracy creates a con-tinh from the spirit of a young maiden who has died before her time, usually as a result of a misdeed. The most common misdeed is an illicit love affair, which ends when the maiden is murdered by a rival or jealous spouse. On rare occasions, sisters who conspired in the same misdeed both become con-tinh, their lifeforces tied to identical, adjacent trees. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Controlled Undead, Walking Dead:[/b] Controlled undead are animated corpses such as skeletons and zombies that may not belong to an intelligent species. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Corpse Coffer:[/b] See Coffer Corpse. [b]Count Dracula:[/b] See Vampire, Count Dracula. [b]Crawling Claw:[/b] Since claws are the animated remains of hands or paws of living creatures, they are apt to be found in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Crawling claws are nothing more than the animated hands and paws of once-living creatures. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Crawling claws can be created by any mage or priest who has knowledge of the techniques required to do so. To begin with, the creator must assemble the severed limbs that are to animated. The maximum number of claws that can be created at any one time is equal to the level of the person enchanting them. The hands (or paws) can be either fresh, skeletal, or at any stage of decomposition in between. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Creature Mummy:[/b] See Mummy Creature. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Crypt Cat:[/b] Crypt cats are domestic cats that have been mummified. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) Crypt cats are created by coating the corpse of a cat with a thin layer of clay that contains magical salves and oils. When dry, it is painted with brilliant colors in the pattern of the cat’s fur. Often, copious amounts of gilt paint are used. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) The composition of the clay that animates a crypt cat is unknown, although it is assumed that high level necromantic spells are involved. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Crypt Cat Large:[/b] Sometimes the bodies of larger felines are made into crypt cats. [b]Crypt Servant:[/b] Though it is possible to create a crypt servant from any dead body, volunteers are usually preferred. Many ancient crypt servants actually volunteered for their posts, wishing to serve their masters in death as in life. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) Because of their similar purpose and method of creation, crypt servants are sometimes associated with the crypt thing. The spells to create each are similar and probably have the same roots. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [i]Create Crypt Servant[/i] spell. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Crypt Thing:[/b] ? [b]Crypt Thing Ancestral:[/b] Ancestral crypt things are the raised spirits of the dead that have returned to guard the tombs of their descendants. This happens only in rare cases (determined by the DM). (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) [b]Crypt Thing Summoned:[/b] Called into existence by a wizard or priest of at least 14th level. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) [i]Create Crypt Thing[/i] spell. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) [b]Curst:[/b] Curst are undead humans, trapped by an evil curse that will not let them die. They are created by a rare process: The victim’s skin pales to an unearthly white pallor, and his or her eyes turn black while the iris color deepens, becoming small pools of glinting dark color. Curst lose their sense of smell, often lose Intelligence, and develop erratic behaviour as their alignment changes to chaotic neutral. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) In the process of becoming curst, humans lose their sense of smell, any magical abilities, and often their minds (but not their cunning); only 11% of the curst retain their full, former ability score, while most have a lowered Intelligence of 8. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) Curst are created by the bestow curse spell (the reverse of the remove curse spell), and within four rounds adding a properly worded wish spell. Creating them is an evil act. About 2% of curst are humanoid. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Dark Man:[/b] See Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man. [b]Darkhood:[/b] Legends say that darkhoods are the restless life forces of those who died in a state of extreme terror, especially terror of death itself. To maintain its connection to its territory, the darkhood feeds on the terror of other sapient beings, thus replenishing its own energies. No one has yet found a way to communicate with or adequately study a darkhood, and so the truth behind the legends remains unsubstantiated. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Dead Lord:[/b] See Kaisharga, Dead Lord. [b]Dead Walking:[/b] See Controlled Undead, Walking Dead. [b]Death Knight:[/b] A death knight is the horrifying corruption of a Knight of Solamnia, cursed by the gods to its terrible form as punishment for betraying the code of honor it held in its former life. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) The death knights of Krynn are former Knights of Solamnia who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. (For instance, Lord Soth, the most famous of all death knights, murdered his wife so that he could continue an affair with an elf maid.) Death knights are cursed to remain in their former domains, usually castles or other strongholds. They are further condemned to remember their crime in song on any night when one of Krynn's three moons is full; few sounds are as terrifying as a death knight's chilling melody echoing through the moonlit countryside. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Death Knight, Lord Soth:[/b] The death knights of Krynn are former Knights of Solamnia who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. (For instance, Lord Soth, the most famous of all death knights, murdered his wife so that he could continue an affair with an elf maid.) (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Death Knight Lord of Sithicus, Lord Soth:[/b] ? [b]Deep Man:[/b] See Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man. [b]Demi-Shade:[/b] See Arch-Shadow Demi-Shade. [b]Demise Sailor's:[/b] See Bowlyn, Sailor's Demise. [b]Desert Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Desert. [b]Dhaot:[/b] Dhaots are incorporeal undead that are sometimes created when people die far away from their homes. The spirits of the deceased feel an overwhelming compulsion to return to their homes they had in life. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Many dhaots are halflings who died outside their forests. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Direguard:[/b] See Baneguard Direguard. [b]Djim:[/b] See Memedi Djim. [b]Dracolich:[/b] The dracolich is an undead creature resulting from the unnatural transformation of an evil dragon. The mysterious Cult of the Dragon practices the powerful magic necessary for the creation of the dracolich, though other practitioners are also rumored to exist. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) A dracolich can be created from any of the evil dragon subspecies. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) The creation of a dracolich is a complex process involving the transformation of an evil dragon by arcane magical forces, the most notorious practitioners of which are members of the Cult of the Dragon. The process is usually a cooperative effort between the evil dragon and the wizards, but especially powerful wizards have been known to coerce an evil dragon to undergo the transformation against its will. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Any evil dragon is a possible candidate for transformation, although old dragons or older with spell-casting abilities are preferred. Once a candidate is secured, the wizards first prepare the dragon's host, an inanimate object that will hold the dragon's life force. The host must be a solid item of not less than 2,000 gp value resistant to decay (wood, for instance, is unsuitable). A gemstone is commonly used for a host, particularly ruby, pearl, carbuncle, and jet, and is often set in the hilt of a sword or other weapon. The host is prepared by casting enchant an item upon it and speaking the name of the evil dragon; the item may resist the spell by successfully saving vs. spell as an llth-level wizard. If the spell is resisted, another item must be used for the host. If the spell is not resisted, the item can then function as a host. If desired, glassteel can be cast upon the host to protect it. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Next, a special potion is prepared for the evil dragon to consume. The exact composition of the potion varies according to the age and type of the dragon, but it must contain precisely seven ingredients, among them a potion of evil dragon control, a potion of invulnerability, and the blood of a vampire. When the evil dragon consumes the potion, the results are determined as follows (roll percentile dice): (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Roll Result 01-10 No effect. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) 11-40 Potion does not work. The dragon suffers 2d12 points of damage and is helpless with convulsions for 1-2 rounds. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) 41-50 Potion does not work. The dragon dies. A full wish or similar spell is needed to restore the dragon to life; a wish to transform the dragon into a dracolich results in another roll on this table. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) 51-00 Potion works. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) If the potion works, the dragon's spirit transfers to the host, regardless of the distance between the dragon's body and the host. A dim light within the host indicates the presence of the spirit. While contained in the host, the spirit cannot take any actions; it cannot be contacted nor attacked by magic. The spirit can remain in the host indefinitely. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Once the spirit is contained in the host, the host must be brought within 90 feet of a reptilian corpse; under no circumstances can the spirit possess a living body. The spirit's original body is ideal, but the corpse of any reptilian creature that died or was killed within the previous 30 days is suitable. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) The wizard who originally prepared the host must touch the host, cast a magic jar spell while speaking the name of the dragon, then touch the corpse. The corpse must fail a saving throw vs. spell for the spirit to successfully possess it; if it saves, it will never accept the spirit. The following modifiers apply to the roll: (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [*]10 if the corpse is the spirit's own former body (which can be dead for any length of time). [*]4 if the corpse is of the same alignment as the dragon. [*]4 if the corpse is that of a true dragon (any type). [*]3 if the corpse is that of a firedrake, ice lizard, wyvern, or fire lizard. [*]1 if the corpse is that of a dracolisk, dragonne, dinosaur, snake, or other reptile. If the corpse accepts the spirit, it becomes animated by the spirit. If the animated corpse is the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a dracolich; however, it will not regain the use of its voice and breath weapon for another seven days (note that it will not be able to cast spells with verbal components during this time). At the end of seven days, the dracolich regains the use of its voice and breath weapon. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) If the animated corpse is not the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a proto-dracolich. A proto-dracolich has the mind and memories of its original form, but has the hit points and immunities to spells and priestly turning of a dracolich. A protodracolich can neither speak nor cast spells; further, it cannot cause chilling damage, use a breath weapon, or cause fear as a dracolich. Its strength, movement, and Armor Class are those of the possessed body. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) To become a full dracolich, a proto-dracolich must devour at least 10% of its original body. Unless the body has been dispatched to another plane of existence, a proto-dracolich can always sense the presence of its original body, regardless of the distance. A proto-dracolich will tirelessly seek out its original body to the exclusion of all other activities. If its original body has been burned, dismembered, or otherwise destroyed, the proto-dracolich need only devour the ashes or pieces equal to or exceeding 10% of its original body mass (total destruction of the original body is possible only through use of a disintegrate or similar spell; the body could be reconstructed with a wish or similar spell, so long as the spell is cast in the same plane as the disintegration). If a proto-dracolich is unable to devour its original body, it is trapped in its current form until slain. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) A proto-dracolich transforms into a full dracolich within seven days after it devours its original body. When the transformation is complete, the dracolich resembles its original body; it can now speak, cast spells, and employ the breath weapon of its original body, in addition to having all of the abilities of a dracolich. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Dracula:[/b] See Vampire, Count Dracula. [b]Dragon Ghost:[/b] See Ghost Dragon. [b]Dragon Slayer Undead:[/b] See Undead Dragon Slayer. [b]Dread:[/b] These undead are created by wizards and priests to serve as guardians. The enchantment involves a set of instructions (similar to the specific triggering conditions for a magic mouth spell), in which the creator of the dread specifies where they are to operate; and under what circumstances they will and won’t attack. The spells also allow the bone to regenerate damage done to it, and to resist aging effects. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Dread Vampiric:[/b] ? [b]Dread Warrior:[/b] Dread warriors are enhanced undead created by Szass Tam, Zulkir of Necromancy for the Red Wizards of Thay. Dread warriors are created immediately after a warrior’s death so that they retain at least minimal intelligence. They must be created from the bodies of fighters of at least 4th level who have been dead for less than a day. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Zulkir Szass Tam created the dread warriors over 20 years ago, intending them for an invasion of Rashemen. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Dread Wolf:[/b] See Wolf Dread. [b]Dregoth:[/b] See Kaisharga, Dregoth. [b]Drelto of Antalus:[/b] See Meorty Human Fighter 20, Proctor Drelto of Antalus. [b]Drowned One:[/b] See Zombie Sea, Drowned One. [b]Druj:[/b] See Spirit Druj. [b]Dune Runner:[/b] Dune runners are elves who died running to complete a quest or deliver an important message. (MC 12 Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix Terrors of the Desert) [b]Dust Skeleton:[/b] See Skeleton Dust. [b]Duvall, Andres:[/b] See Lich Bardic, Andres Duvall. [b]Dwarf Banshee:[/b] See Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee. [b]Dwarf Undead:[/b] See Undead Dwarf. [b]Dwarf Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Dwarf, Dwarven Vampire. [b]Dwarven Banshee:[/b] See Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee. [b]Dwarven Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Dwarf, Dwarven Vampire. [b]Ekimmu:[/b] An ekimmu is an angry undead spirit that was once human. It is created when a human dies far from home and is not given proper burial rites. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Eldena:[/b] See Raaig Elf Cleric 14, Eldena, Guardian of the Mountain Temple. [b]Elf Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Elf, Elvish Vampire. [b]Elvish Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Elf, Elvish Vampire. [b]Evil Phantom:[/b] See Phantom Evil. [b]Evirdel Ironhand:[/b] See Zombie Thinking Human Templar 6, Evirdel Ironhand. [b]Fael:[/b] Faels are ravenous undead beings who never quenched their need for material consumption during life. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Rich humans and demihumans are often subject to this form of undeath. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Most faels are from the upper echelons of society and most are elves or humans. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Faerie Unseelie Undead:[/b] Undead members of the Unseelie Court come into being when a faerie (of any alignment) dies in a battle between the two courts. The horror of kin slaying kin creates a ripple through the Seeming itself, preventing the deceased faerie from dissipating into it. The creature’s spirit becomes trapped, sentenced to eternally walk the Shadow World but stripped of the magical abilities it once had. It becomes an unthinking being, lashing out in anger and resentment at the living, held in check only by the Dark Queen. (Blood Spawn) [b]Firelich:[/b] Firelichs are high-level evil mages whose bodies were prepared for lichdom upon their death. Such mages, either through ignorance (such as in casting fire spells) or spell failure, exploded in the phlogiston. The lich-preparation spells in their bodies turned them into living fireballs of undeath, racing through wildspace, screaming in eternal pain and looking for something to collide with, as a way to extinguish the flames. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) It is unknown how the wizard gets from the phlogiston to wildspace. Since the only wizards that can become fireliches are the ones that had made previous preparations for lichdom, some guess that the arcane lich ceremonies tear a temporary hole into wildspace. The energy to create this tear may come from the explosion that created the firelich. If this is true, the hole certainly closes immediately after the firelich enters wildspace. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) [b]Flameskull:[/b] These magically powered flying skulls are fashioned from human heads soon after their owners’ deaths. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) They are studied by alchemists, priests, and wizards whenever possible in an effort to duplicate their powers or the means of their making (so far without reported success), or to find special properties that their flames might possess. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Freewilled Undead:[/b] Freewilled undead once belonged to an intelligent species and in undeath continue to think for themselves. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Gaki, Nin-Chu-Jugaki:[/b] Gaki are lesser spirits derived from the wicked, who have returned to the Prime Material Plane in the form of horrible monsters as punishment for their sins. The name "gaki" refers to a variety of such spirits. They are also known as the "nin-chu-jugaki." (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) The type of gaki depends on the nature of the crimes committed in the spirit's former life. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Gaki Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki:[/b] Jiki-ketsu-gaki are corrupted spirits of priests or other holy men who were guilty of heresy in their former lives. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Gaki Jiki-Niku-Gaki:[/b] Jiki-niku-gaki are corrupted spirits of humans or humanoids who were guilty of excessive avarice in their former lives. Greedy merchants and miserly moneylenders often become these ghoulish, repulsive monsters. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Gaki Shikki-Gaki:[/b] Most shikki-gaki are the corrupted spirits of irresponsible medical personnel or negligent servants. But about 15% once were lesser nature spirits that inhabited mushrooms or other fungi sprouting from the trunks of decaying trees. These nature spirits completely succumbed to their evil aspect. Usually, they developed a taste for bluebirds, butterflies, or similarly docile creatures. The Celestial Bureaucracy warned them to stop, but they persisted. As a result, they were destroyed and reborn as a mushroom shikki-gaki. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Gaki Shinen-Gaki:[/b] Shinen-gaki may originate from the spirit of any wicked human, but often they're created from the spirit of a traitorous or cowardly soldier. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Gholor:[/b] See Undead Beast Gholor. [b]Ghost:[/b] Ghosts are the spirits of humans who were either so greatly evil in life or whose deaths were so unusually emotional they have been cursed with the gift of undead status. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Ghost mounts are undead creatures which can help desperate or foolish travelers cover vast distances, but at a price. These beasts are aptly named, not only for their appearance, but also because those who ride a ghost mount may themselves become ghosts, doomed to wandering the deserts by night. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix) When clueless primes of great evil perish or when poor sods die a particularly traumatic or untimely death, their spirits sometimes linger to haunt the site of their passing. (A Guide to the Ethereal Plane) If the Waldershen have died and the heroes have not managed to banish Vlana from the manor grounds with her ashes, she takes control of the manor house and attempts to rule the lands around it. She begins terrorizing the village and turns her victims into ghosts bent-on serving her needs. (Children of the Night Ghosts) Ghosts are the souls of creatures who were either so evil or so emotional during life that, upon death, they were cursed with undead status. (Dragon 162) Take the case of a person hopelessly in love with another (in literature, this is often a young girl who's fallen for a heartless cad). When the girl realizes that her love is unrequited, she falls into despair and kills herself. Her passion is so strong, even in death, that her soul remains bound to the Prime Material and Ethereal planes as a ghost. (Dragon 162) The ghost's suicide might not be an attempt to escape from pain, but rather an act of anger, a spiteful “grand gesture.” (Dragon 162) As with haunts (Monster Manual II, page 74), people who die leaving a vital task unfinished might remain bound to the world by their own indomitable will or sense of duty. (Dragon 162) A ghost might be bound to the world not by its own will, but by the existence of a particular object. In literature, this “spiritual anchor” is sometimes an item that was of great emotional importance to the ghost while alive, hut more often it is a piece of the ghost's mortal body. (Dragon 162) A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. (Dragon 205) [b]Ghost Casurua:[/b] The casurua is an undead manifestation that results from a group suffering traumatic death. It is most likely to form where a massacre has taken place, but could be found anywhere a group has suffered violent death, such as a burned-out building. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) A casurua can form anywhere violent death occurs, especially unexpected or wrongful death. It is rarely found on a battlefield, because violent death there is expected and accepted. A casurua most often forms on a battlefield when the slain died by treachery. Casurua are most likely found on the sites of disaster, natural or otherwise. Ruins are prime habitats for casurua, especially places that were razed and looted. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Ghost Dragon:[/b] A ghost dragon is created when an ancient dragon is slain and its hoard looted. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Only ancient dragons can become ghost dragons. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Ghost Ker:[/b] Popular tradition identifies keres with evil spirits of the dead. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Ghost Legless:[/b] See Chu-U, Legless Ghost. [b]Ghost Mount:[/b] Ghost mounts are formed from the spirits of mistreated animals, creatures so brutally handled in life that they survive after death to take vengeance on all creatures who ride them. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix) [b]Ghost of Obsession:[/b] See Lhiannan Shee, The Ghost of Obsession. [b]Ghoul:[/b] Any human or demi-human (except elves) killed by a ghoulish attack will become a ghoul unless blessed (or blessed and then resurrected). (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) A Nabassu's death gaze causes anyone they look at to save vs. spells or become a ghast (or ghoul if the victim is a demihuman). (MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix) The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Any human or demihuman slain by Hesketh will become a ghoul; only if the body is blessed is this horrible fate averted. If the victim is raised or resurrected without being blessed, he or she will rise at once as a ravening ghoul. Of course, if the body is destroyed—for example, if Hesketh and his associates eat their victim—it cannot become a ghoul. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) A human or humanoid creature whose Intelligence or Wisdom is reduced to 0 by a cerebral vampire becomes a ghoul under its complete control. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature then hunts down those men who served it in life and kills them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil band will again plague the lands. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) Any human or demihuman slain by Hesketh will become a ghoul; only if the body is blessed is this horrible fate averted. If the victim is raised or resurrected without being blessed, he or she will rise at once as a ravening ghoul. Of course, if the body is destroyed – for example, if Hesketh and his associates eat their victim – it cannot become a ghoul. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) If the mage is slain by his undead familiar he will rise again as a ghoul. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix III) Jean Tarascon's servants have all become ghouls, turned into the foul creatures by eating carrion at the madman's insistence. (RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead) To fully participate in Marcel's new state of existence, Jean has ordered the family servants to feast on dead human flesh as well. This has turned his servants into ghouls. (RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Spellbound) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Villain's Lorebook) [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. (Faiths and Avatars) [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. (Prayers from the Faithful) [b]Ghoul Ghast:[/b] A Nabassu's death gaze causes anyone they look at to save vs. spells or become a ghast (or ghoul if the victim is a demihuman). (MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix) The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The bite of a ghoul lord causes the victim to contract a horrible rotting disease unless a saving throw vs. poison is made. Those afflicted with this illness will lose 1d10 hit points and 1 point from their Constitution and Charisma scores each day. If either ability score or their hit point totals reach 0, the person dies. If the body is not destroyed, they will rise as a ghast on the third night after their death. In such a state, they are wholly under the command of the creature that made them until such time as that horror is destroyed. At that point, they become free-willed creatures. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The rotting disease can be cured by nothing less than a heal spell. Once the progression of the disease is halted, the victim's Constitution score will return to its original value at the rate of 1 point per week. Their Charisma, however, will remain at its reduced level because of the horrible scars this ailment leaves on both body and soul. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) If the body of a ghoul lord's rotting disease victim is not destroyed, they will rise as a ghast on the third night after their death. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) If the body of a lebentod's victim is disturbed before 72 hours have elapsed, the victim awakens as a ghast. (RA2 Ship of Horror) If the body of a lebentod's victim is disturbed before 72 hours have elapsed, the victim awakens as a ghast. (RA2 Ship of Horror) “He forced me to carry the corpse he had selected to the site of the massacre of the farm's inhabitants and, as I followed him, I was followed by his trio of ghouls, all hoping to somehow get a taste of the body. I was ordered to place the corpse next to the remains of the newly dead. All-Fear-His-Howl then began to perform some ritual over the bodies. (Dragon 173) “After an interminable period, the exhumed body began to twitch and rock, while the recent kills became flaccid and empty of all contents, now little more than a collection of bones and skin. And then, suddenly, the jerking corpse's eyes opened, and it stood up, the horrible stench of the dead assaulting my senses like never before. The witch doctor had created a more powerful undead servant in the form of a ghast. (Dragon 173) Some 20% of flind shamans of 4th or higher level know of a special ritual to create a ghast. (Dragon 173) [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. (Faiths and Avatars) [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. (Prayers from the Faithful) [b]Ghoul Ghast, Jugo Hesketh:[/b] Long ago, Hesketh was a senior priest in the cult of the false god Zhakata led by Yagno Petrovna, the lord of G'henna. As Petrovna's chief Inquisitor, among his horrid duties were dreadful acts of torture and sacrifice; secretly, he practiced cannibalism on the corpses of his hapless victims. Over the years, these unholy practices warped his soul and, upon his death, transformed him into an undead fiend. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) When Hesketh died, a terrible curse fell upon him. The origins of this curse may lie in his own taste for human flesh or in the dying oaths of his countless victims. Whatever the source, this curse saw him transformed into a foul thing of the night. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Long ago, Hesketh was a senior priest in the cult of the false god Zhakata led by Yagno Petrovna, the lord of G’henna. As Petrovna’s chief Inquisitor, among his horrid duties were dreadful arts of torture and sacrifice; secretly, he practiced cannibalism on the corpses of his hapless victims. Over the years, these unholy practices warped his soul and, upon his death, transformed him into an undead fiend. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) When Hesketh died, a terrible curse fell upon him. The origins of this curse may lie in his own taste for human flesh or in the dying oaths of his countless victims. Whatever the source, this curse saw him transformed into a foul thing of the night. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) [b]Ghoul Lacedon:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul Lord:[/b] Ghoul lords are unique to the demiplane of Ravenloft. It is rumored that they were first created at the hands of an insane necromancer in some other dimension, but that they were so evil as to instantly draw the attention of the Dark Powers. The Mists of Ravenloft absorbed all of the existing ghoul lords and scattered them across the domains. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Ghoul Sheet:[/b] See Sheet Ghoul. [b]Ghul:[/b] Only jann slain by great ghuls become ghuls themselves; all other races are simply slain and devoured. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix) [b]Ghul Great:[/b] The great ghuls are undead elemental cousins of the genies, the most wicked members of an inferior order of jann. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix) The great ghuls are undead elemental cousins of the genies, the most wicked members of an inferior order of jann. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Ghul Great Desert:[/b] ? [b]Ghul Great Mage:[/b] ? [b]Ghul Great Mountain:[/b] ? [b]Ghul Great Sha'ir:[/b] ? [b]Ghul-Kin[/b] The ghul-kin are related to the great ghuls, and like them are undead jann. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Ghul-Kin Soultaker:[/b] ? [b]Ghul-Kin Witherer:[/b] ? [b]Giant Skeleton:[/b] See Skeleton Giant. [b]Giorggio Wagner:[/b] ? [b]Githyanki Lich-Queen:[/b] See Lich Githyanki Lich-Queen. [b]Gnome Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Gnome, Gnomish Vampire. [b]Gnomish Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Gnome, Gnomish Vampire. [b]Gray Philosopher:[/b] A gray philosopher is the undead spirit of an evil cleric who died with some important philosophical deliberation yet unresolved in his or her mind. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) Certain clerics and academicians speculate that any powerful evil cleric who, at death becomes a gray philosopher may have been attempting to become one of the Immortals. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Gray Philosopher Malice:[/b] These vindictive creatures are actually the gray philosopher’s evil thoughts, which have taken on substance and a will of their own. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Great Ghul:[/b] See Ghul Great. [b]Greater Agarat:[/b] See Agarat Greater. [b]Greater Kragling:[/b] See Kragling Greater. [b]Greater Lightning Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Lightning Greater. [b]Greater Mummy, Anhktepot's Children:[/b] See Mummy Greater, Anhktepot's Children. [b]Greater Shadowrath:[/b] See Shadowrath Greater. [b]Greater Wyrd:[/b] See Wyrd Greater. [b]Greater Zombie Lightning:[/b] See Zombie Lightning Greater. [b]Groaning Spirit:[/b] See Banshee, Groaning Spirit. [b]Guardian of the Mountain Temple:[/b] See Raaig Elf Cleric 14, Eldena, Guardian of the Mountain Temple. [b]Guardian Spectral Minion:[/b] See Spectral Minion Guardian. [b]Half Hit Dice Wight:[/b] See Wight Half Hit Dice. [b]Halfling Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Halfling. [b]Hanged Man:[/b] See Valpurgeist, Hanged Man. [b]Harrla:[/b] The harrla seems to be a natural creature. While some speculate that it is undead or of extraplanar origin, there seems to be little proof of this. Most sages agree that the harrla is not a product of the negative material plane, as most undead are. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Haunt:[/b] A haunt is the restless spirit of a person who died leaving some vital task unfinished. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two) The exact task to be accomplished varies, but the motives are always powerful (revenge, unfulfilled greed, love, and so forth). Often great distances need to be traveled before the task can be completed and a haunt will drive its host mercilessly toward the goal, ignoring all needs for food or sleep. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two) [b]Haunt Knight:[/b] See Knight Haunt. [b]Herbivore Spirit Warrior:[/b] See Spirit Warrior Herbivore. [b]Hesketh, Jugo:[/b] See Ghoul Ghast, Jugo Hesketh. [b]Heucuva:[/b] Legends tell that heucuva are the restless spirits of monastic priests who were less than faithful to their holy vows. In punishment for their heresies, they are forced to roam the dark. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two) [b]Horror Mist:[/b] See Mist Horror. [b]Horror Wandering:[/b] See Mist Horror Wandering Horror. [b]Hrutghel:[/b] See Kaisharga, Hrutghel. [b]Ice Queen:[/b] See Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen. [b]Illithid Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Illithid. [b]Illithilich:[/b] See Alhoon, Illithilich. [b]Inquisitor:[/b] Created by evil wizards centuries ago, inquisitors are a shambling, rotting, undead abomination, living on sheer terror. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Inquisitors are biologically immortal, cursed hundreds or thousands of years ago to forever cause pain and extract information. They cannot reproduce. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Created by evil wizards centuries ago, inquisitors are a shambling, rotting, undead abominations. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) Inquisitors were cursed hundreds of years ago to forever cause pain and extract information. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Ironhand, Evirdel:[/b] See Zombie Thinking Human Templar 6, Evirdel Ironhand. [b]Isu Rehkotep, Priest 9:[/b] If she perished, she might still be encountered in undead form. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Jagmargal:[/b] See Kaisharga Human Cleric 19, Jagmargal. [b]Jezra Wagner:[/b] See Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen. [b]Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki:[/b] See Gaki Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki. [b]Jiki-Niku-Gaki:[/b] See Gaki Jiki-Niku-Gaki. [b]Jugo Hesketh:[/b] See Ghoul Ghast, Jugo Hesketh. [b]Kagonesti Wichtlin:[/b] See Wichtlin Kagonesti. [b]Kaisharga, Dead Lord:[/b] They have sought undeath, unnaturally extending their lives past the endurance of their mortal frames. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) The kaisharga is a dreadful creature that has turned its back on the rightful order of things, trading life for power. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) The Dragon confers undeath on any of its servants who prove exceptionally capable, loyal, and efficient. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) They voluntarily sought undeath, believing it to be a form of immortality. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kaisharga, Dregoth:[/b] Xontra was once a servant of Dregoth, the sorcerer-king. The powerful dragon kaisharga transformed her into a kaisharga using the same secret methods he had used upon himself. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kaisharga, Hrutghel:[/b] ? [b]Kaisharga Dray Defiler 21, Xontra:[/b] Xontra was once a servant of Dregoth, the sorcerer-king. The powerful dragon kaisharga transformed her into a kaisharga using the same secret methods he had used upon himself. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kaisharga Human Cleric 19, Jagmargal:[/b] Jagmargal was a great hero of ages past. While he was a great priest, he was better known as an explorer. He was captured by Hrutghel, a powerful kaisharga who was Jagmargal's greatest enemy, and was transformed into a kaisharga himself. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kaisharga Human Gladiator 23, Neltor:[/b] Neltor was a former gladiator who was a little past his prime. He was recently transformed into a kaisharga by the Dragon, Lord of the Ring of Fire. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kedomir:[/b] See T'Liz Human Defiler 23, Kedomir. [b]Kender Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Kender. [b]Ker:[/b] See Ghost Ker. [b]Knight Death:[/b] See Death Knight. [b]Knight Haunt:[/b] A knight haunt is a floating suit of Solamnic armor, always accompanied by some sort of weapon. If the battle where the knight fell was one where more than 100 Solamnic knights died then it is always riding a suit of floating horse barding. A knight haunt is sometimes (5% chance) created when an especially lawful good Knight with a Wisdom of 17 or higher dies in battle. The haunt rises with the next full moon phase of Solinari. If its armor has been taken away, the power of the spirit can magically teleport the armor back to the site of the battlefield. If its armor has been destroyed, the power that creates the haunt can create an exact duplicate of the armor it wore. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Krag:[/b] Krags are undead created when a cleric aligned to an element or para-element dies in the medium diametrically opposed to his own. The anguish and trauma of dying to the very force he devoted his life to opposing is sometimes enough to transform a cleric into a wicked and bitter undead. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kragling:[/b] Kraglings are creatures who have perished from the elemental transfusion attack of a krag. Anything that dies in this manner has a 45% chance of coming back as a kragling in 1-4 days. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Any creature can become a kragling if it was killed by the elemental transfusion of a krag. Silt spawn, humanoids, demihumans, humans, and even nonhumanoid monsters are all subject to the transfusion attack and thus can become kraglings. What type of kragling and how powerful it is depends on the creature’s Hit Dice. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) A character bitten by a krag must make a saving throw versus death, or his blood will slowly turn into the krag’s element. As the blood changes, the victim suffers 1d4 additional points of damage per round. If death results, there is a 45% chance that the victim will become a kragling in 1d4 days. This infection counts as a poison or a disease for purposes of countering, so sweet water or even a cure disease spell will halt the process instantly. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kragling Greater:[/b] Greater kraglings are created when creatures with more than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag’s elemental transfusion. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kragling Lesser:[/b] Lesser kraglings are created when creatures with less than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag’s elemental transfusion. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Kuei:[/b] A lesser spirit of the dead, the kuei is a manifestation of a human or humanoid who died by violence unavenged or with a purpose unfulfilled. The spirit's former body was not buried. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Lake Monster Undead:[/b] See Undead Lake Monster. [b]Large Crypt Cat:[/b] See Crypt Cat Large. [b]Lawkeeper of Bodach, 5th:[/b] See Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach. [b]Legless Ghost:[/b] See Chu-U, Legless Ghost. [b]Lesser Kragling:[/b] See Kragling Lesser. [b]Lesser Shadowrath:[/b] See Shadowrath Lesser, Blackbones. [b]Lesser Slow Shadow:[/b] See Slow Shadow Lesser. [b]Lesser Spirit:[/b] See Racked Spirit Lesser Spirit. [b]Lhiannan Shee, The Ghost of Obsession:[/b] It is thought to be the undead spirit of a woman who killed herself for the unrequited love of a bard or other artistically talented and desirable, but unobtainable or callous man. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Lich:[/b] In order to become a lich, the wizard must prepare its phylactery by the use of the enchant an item, magic jar, permanency and reincarnation spells. The phylactery, which can be almost any manner of object, must be of the finest craftsmanship and materials with a value of not less than 1,500 gold pieces per level of the wizard. Once this object is created, the would-be lich must craft a potion of extreme toxicity, which is then enchanted with the following spells: wraithform, permanency, cone of cold, feign death, and animate dead. When next the moon is full, the potion is imbibed. Rather than death, the potion causes the wizard to undergo a transformation into its new state. A system shock survival throw is required, with failure indicating an error in the creation of the potion which kills the wizard and renders him forever dead. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Often in attempts to attain divine status through powerful rituals or the use of artifacts, failure (in the form of a tacit “no” from Ao) results in the mortal becoming a lich, being transformed into some other form of odd undead creature, or being totally destroyed. (Faiths and Avatars) In centuries past, the Black Lord had transformed over 35 living High Imperceptors at the end of their tenure into undead “Mouths of Bane”— Baneliches. (Faiths and Avatars) Throughout the domains of Ravenloft and in countless other worlds, there are few creatures more terrible than the lich. In most cases, these diabolical creatures seek out the means by which they attain unread status, willingly sacrificing their humanity in the quest for forbidden knowledge and unchecked power. In rare cases, the curse of eternal life has been thrust upon somone quite accidentally. Such tragedies are few and far between, but sadly they do occur. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) Horror literature contains many tales of people who were too involved in their pursuits, often magical research, to even notice their own deaths. Their concentration is intense enough to bind their spirits to their bodies, and to the Prime Material plane. (Dragon 162) Perhaps at the time of their physical death, their concentration and willpower was intense enough to bind them to the material world, or perhaps the transition was the whim of a deity. (Dragon 162) Throughout the domains of Ravenloft and in countless other worlds, there are few creatures more terrible than the lich. In most cases, these diabolical creatures seek out the means by which they attain undead status, willingly sacrificing their humanity in the quest for forbidden knowledge and unchecked power. In rare cases, the curse of eternal life has been thrust upon someone quite accidentally. Such tragedies are few and far between, but sadly they do occur. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Lich Archlich:[/b] ? [b]Lich Bardic, Andres Duvall:[/b] Because of the unusual way in which Andres Duvall became undead, he does not have a phylactery or similar vessel containing his life force. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) As he explored this terrible place, Azalin discovered his trespasses and confronted him. Enraged at this violation of his hospitality, the lich unleashed a stroke of magical lightning at the bard. Reacting quickly, Duvall attempted to shield himself with the great book he had been about to examine. The lightning struck the tome, which happened to be one of Azalin's most potent books of spells, and a terrible explosion shook the castle. Showers of blazing fragments ignited fires around the room and thick, acrid smoke boiled into the air. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Lich Demilich:[/b] The demilich is not, as the name implies, a weaker form of the lich. Rather, it is the stage into which a lich will eventually evolve as the power which has sustained its physical form gradually begins to fail. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) [b]Lich Githyanki Lich-Queen:[/b] ? [b]Lich-Queen:[/b] See Lich Githyanki Lich-Queen. [b]Lich Lord of Darkon, Azalin:[/b] While visiting the elves of Neblus, he came upon the fragments of an ancient tome. This mysterious document told the tale of a young wizard who sought greater and greater power. At first, he found the story distracting. As he read more, he found it engrossing, though horrifying. In the end, he knew that he had found an account detailing the process by which Azalin, the Lord of Darkon, had become a lich. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Lich of Bane, Banelich, Mouth of Bane:[/b] Tired of his faithful becoming victims, every 50-60 years Bane chose the most powerful priest within the ranks of his clerics and revealed to him or her a foul rite that would transform the caster, through force of faith, strength of will, and Bane’s divine hand, into a powerful, immortal form – a lich of Bane, or Banelich. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Baneliches were at least 17th-level clerics before they were transformed, and several were 20th level or higher. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Lich Psionic:[/b] Psionic liches are powerful espers who have left behind the physical demands of life in pursuit of ultimate mental powers. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) Although the power that transformed them is natural (not supernatural, as it is with other liches), the extent to which psionic liches have pursued their goals is not natural. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) By far the most important aspect of the existence of the psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character.The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature’s spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns, and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist’s life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete the phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is closed it cannot be reopened. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist’s life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place the character must make a system shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. Only the powers of a deity are strong enough to revive a character who has died in this way; even a wish will not suffice. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character. (Dragon 174) The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature's spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th-level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. (Dragon 174) Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist's life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way that the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete a phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is “closed,” it cannot be reopened. (Dragon 174) During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist's life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place, the character must make a system-shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of become undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. (Dragon 174) [b]Lich Suel:[/b] These powerful wizards endure the centuries by transferring their life forces from one human host to the next. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) The Suel lich is an unholy amalgamation of the human body and energ from the Negative Material Plane. Upon transformation into a Suel lich, the essence of the wizard is converted to negative energy that needs a human body to inhabit. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Lightning Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Lightning. [b]Lord Dead:[/b] See Kaisharga, Dead Lord. [b]Lord of Barovia:[/b] See Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich. [b]Lord of Darkon:[/b] See Lich Lord of Darkon, Azalin. [b]Lord of Har'akir, Anhktepot:[/b] ? [b]Lord of Sithicus:[/b] See Death Knight Lord of Sithicus, Lord Soth. [b]Lord Soth:[/b] See Death Knight, Lord Soth. [b]Lord Soth:[/b] See Death Knight Lord of Sithicus, Lord Soth. [b]Lyssa Von Zarovich:[/b] See Vampire, Lyssa Von Zarovich. [b]Magian:[/b] See The Magian. [b]Malice:[/b] See Gray Philosopher Malice. [b]Man Dark:[/b] See Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man. [b]Man Deep:[/b] See Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man. [b]Man Hanged:[/b] See Valpurgeist, Hanged Man. [b]Mariner Ancient:[/b] See Ancient Mariner. [b]Mariner Shadow:[/b] Any creature killed by the energy drain of an ancient mariner becomes an mariner shadow with most of the abilities of a normal shadow. (MC7 Monstrous Compenium Spelljammer Appendix) [b]Master Vampire:[/b] See Vampire. [b]Mayonaka:[/b] See Vampire Eastern, Mayonaka. [b]Memedi Djim:[/b] Djim are spirits of deceased priests, typically appearing as elderly, bald men wearing long prayer robes. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Memedi Uwil:[/b] Uwil are derived from the spirit of dead sohei. (MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix) [b]Meorty:[/b] Meorties were created long ago through the necromancies of high priests and through the use of long-lost psionic abilities for the purpose of serving as the protectors of various Green-Age domains. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Meorties are undead who were once protectors of domains that vanished more than 2,000 years ago. They were placed in crypts with large amounts of treasure, so they might continue to look after their realms in death. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) All meorties are of the old races (human, elf, dwarf, giant, and halfling). (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach:[/b] Odrela was one of the most respected law-keepers in the history of ancient Bodach. When the time came to select a new meorty to administer to the domain, she accepted her fate and joined the ranks of the undead protectors. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Meorty Human Fighter 20, Proctor Drelto of Antalus:[/b] Proctor Drelto was once a feared and powerful law-keeper in the long-forgotten province of Antalus. He was voluntarily transformed into a meorty so that he could continue to defend Antalus for eternity. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Minion Spectral:[/b] See Spectral Minion. [b]Mist Horror:[/b] Mist horrors are the spirits of evil beings who, while not foul enough to receive their own domain, attracted the attention of the Dark Powers with their diabolical acts during life. Upon their deaths, their spirits leave their bodies to enter the mists. Throughout Ravenloft, there is a superstition that anyone buried on a foggy day will become a mist horror. This may or may not be true, but the Vistani themselves seem to take this belief very seriously and that lends great credence to it in the eyes of many. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) As mentioned above, mist horrors are the spirits of evil beings who did not merit a place as lord of their own domain. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) In essence, a mist horror is the evil soul of a being foul enough to draw the attention of the Dark Powers, but not so evil as to be rewarded/cursed with their own domain. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Mist Horror Wandering Horror:[/b] Wandering horrors appear as dark shapes that can be seen as they move through the mists. Unlike mist horrors, they are locked into a single shape—one that is based on the evil deed they did in life. For example, a cruel baron who ordered those he considered disloyal beheaded might well appear as a wandering figure without a head while a woman who murdered her lover with a poisonous spider might appear as a giant black widow. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The wandering horror is an evolutionary step above the mist horror. In essence, a mist horror is the evil soul of a being foul enough to draw the attention of the Dark Powers, but not so evil as to be rewarded/cursed with their own domain. After a period of time as a mist horror, however, this spirit may have caused enough fear and suffering (in short, done enough evil) to be elevated to the status of wandering horror. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Monster Mummy:[/b] See Mummy Creature Monster. [b]Mount Ghost:[/b] See Ghost Mount. [b]Mouth of Bane:[/b] See Lich of Bane, Banelich, Mouth of Bane. [b]Mud Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Mud. [b]Mummy:[/b] Mummies are corpses native to dry desert areas, where the dead are entombed by a process known as mummification. When their tombs are disturbed, the corpses become animated into a weird unlife state, whose unholy hatred of life causes them to attack living things without mercy. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Mummies are the product of an embalming process used on wealthy and important personages. Most mummies are corpses without magical properties. On occasion, perhaps due to powerful evil magic or perhaps because the individual was so greedy in life that he refuses to give up his treasure, the spirit of the mummified person will not die, but taps into energy from the Positive Material plane and is transformed into an undead horror. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) To create a mummy, a corpse should be soaked in a preserving solution (typically carbonate of soda) for several weeks and covered with spices and resins. Body organs, such as the heart, brain, and liver, are typically removed and sealed in jars. Sometimes gems are wrapped in the cloth. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10+2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10 + 2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) In most cases, a diseased person crumbles into dust when he or she dies. If Senmet chooses, however, he can convert someone infected with his rotting disease into a unique breed of zombie or an actual mummy. In either case, the newly created horror is completely under Senmet's control. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) In order to create a mummy, Senmet captures someone infected with his disease and takes his victim to his hidden temple. Here, he mummifies the person alive (a terrible and gruesome fate, to be certain). When the process is completed, the victim dies and promptly rises again as a mummy. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Characters infected by Senmet that are mummified alive (a gruesome process), become mummies under the control of Senmet. (RA3 Touch of Death) [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. (Faiths and Avatars) [b]Mummy Bog:[/b] Bog mummies are formed when a corpse comes to rest in a marsh or swamp and is naturally mummified by being coated in a layer of mud. Eventually the body takes on the dark coloration of the earth and becomes as tough as tanned leather. The clothing is partially preserved and sticks to the corpse in patches, as does hair. The facial features are distorted in a permanent grimace and the hands are stiffened into clawlike hooks. When the corpse at last rises as an undead creature, it walks with an uneven gait, due to the stiffness of its limbs. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) A bog mummy rises as an undead creature when a powerful burst of positive energy causes the dead person’s spirit to rejoin with a body preserved by the bog. Bog mummies might be created by a priest or another bog mummy from a fresh corpse taken into the bog. They might also be the result of the interplay of a powerful positive energy source and latent traumatic emotional forces. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Mummy Creature:[/b] Creature mummies are undead whose bodies are preserved, then animated by their restless spirits. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) Creature mummies may be created in a variety of ways. Their reanimation may result from intense death throes coupled by a will to live, invocation from dark priestly rituals, or creation by a necromancer or some powerful undead creature. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Mummy Creature Animal:[/b] ? [b]Mummy Creature Monster:[/b] ? [b]Mummy Greater, Anhktepot's Children:[/b] Also known as Anhktepot's Children, greater mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding of a burial place. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Greater mummies look just like their more common cousins save that they are almost always adorned with (un)holy symbols and wear the vestments of their religious order. They give off an odor that is said to be reminiscent of a spice cupboard because of the herbs used in the embalming process that created them. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Greater mummies are powerful undead creatures that are usually created from the mummified remains of powerful, evil priests. This being the case, the greater mummy now draws its mystical abilities from evil powers and darkness. In rare cases, however, the mummified priests served non-evil god in life and are still granted the powers they had in life from those gods. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the Lord of Har'akir, in the years before he became undead himself. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har'akir. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The so-called Children of Anhktepot are a horrible and sinister lot. Most were created by the dread lord of Har'Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Unlike all of the other greater mummies that guard Har'Akir's temples and tombs, Senmet was not created by Anhktepot. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Mummy Greater, Senmet:[/b] The so-called Children of Anhktepot are a horrible and sinister lot. Most were created by the dread lord of Har'Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. Senmet, however, was given his power and undead stature by Isu Rehkotep, a priestess who stumbled upon a magical scroll. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Unlike all of the other greater mummies that guard Har'Akir's temples and tombs, Senmet was not created by Anhktepot. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Mummy Greater 99 Years Old or Less:[/b] ? [b]Mummy Greater 100-199 Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Mummy Greater 200-299 Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Mummy Greater 300-199 Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Mummy Greater 400-199 Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Mummy Greater 500 or More Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Naga Bone:[/b] Bone nagas are created undead. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) Created by dark nagas and a few evil mages to serve as guardians, these spellcasting worms serve their master with absolute loyalty. Their creation is an exacting process, hence their rarity. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) Bone nagas are usually created by the nagara (evil nagakind, or dark nagas) to be guardians, especially of young nagas and nonmagical treasure. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Nameless Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:[/b] See Raaig Human Fighter 9, Nameless Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns. [b]Nektar Spirit Warrior:[/b] See Spirit Warrior Nektar. [b]Neltor:[/b] See Kaisharga Human Gladiator 23, Neltor. [b]Nevarli:[/b] See T'Liz Human Defiler 19, Nevarli. [b]Nikolos:[/b] See Wraith Athasian Human Fighter 11, Nikolos. [b]Nin-Chu-Jugaki:[/b] See Gaki, Nin-Chu-Jugaki. [b]Nonstandard Phantom Sight:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sight. [b]Nonstandard Phantom Smell:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Smell. [b]Nonstandard Phantom Sound:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sound. [b]Obsidian Skeleton:[/b] See Skeleton Obsidian. [b]Odic:[/b] See Spirit Odic. [b]One Drowned:[/b] See Zombie Sea, Drowned One. [b]Ordela:[/b] See Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach. [b]Penanggalan:[/b] A female victim of a penanggalan will rise from the grave in three days as a penanggalan, as a free-willed undead. If an attempt is made to raise her within that three day period, the chances of resurrection survival are halved. Should an attempt to raise the victim succeed, the victim will be unable to do anything other than rest for a week, after which all damage done by the penanggalan is healed. Failure means that no further attempt can be made; the process by which the victim becomes a penanggalan is then inexorable. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix) [b]Phantom:[/b] Phantoms are images left behind by a particularly strong death trauma. A phantom is like a three-dimensional motion picture image filmed at the time of a character's death, in the area where he died. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Phantom Evil:[/b] Of greater concern, there are some phantoms that are actually evil, created when powerful evil creatures from other planes are "slain" (forced to return to their home planes) in the Prime Material plane. These phantoms appear as per the evil creature's will 35% of the time, and can seriously misinform or endanger those it meets. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sight:[/b] ? [b]Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Smell:[/b] ? [b]Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sound:[/b] ? [b]Phantom Sheet:[/b] See Sheet Phantom. [b]Phantom Sight:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sight. [b]Phantom Smell:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Smell. [b]Phantom Sound:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sound. [b]Philosopher Gray:[/b] See Gray Philosopher. [b]Philosopher Spectral Minion:[/b] See Spectral Minion Philosopher. [b]Poltergeist:[/b] Poltergeists are the spirits of restless dead. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two) Some say that poltergeists are the spirits of those who committed heinous crimes that went unpunished in life. (MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two) [b]Priestess Undead:[/b] See Undead Priestess. [b]Proctor Drelto of Antalus:[/b] See Meorty Human Fighter 20, Proctor Drelto of Antalus. [b]Proto-Dracolich:[/b] The dracolich is an undead creature resulting from the unnatural transformation of an evil dragon. The mysterious Cult of the Dragon practices the powerful magic necessary for the creation of the dracolich, though other practitioners are also rumored to exist. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) A dracolich can be created from any of the evil dragon subspecies. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) The creation of a dracolich is a complex process involving the transformation of an evil dragon by arcane magical forces, the most notorious practitioners of which are members of the Cult of the Dragon. The process is usually a cooperative effort between the evil dragon and the wizards, but especially powerful wizards have been known to coerce an evil dragon to undergo the transformation against its will. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Any evil dragon is a possible candidate for transformation, although old dragons or older with spell-casting abilities are preferred. Once a candidate is secured, the wizards first prepare the dragon's host, an inanimate object that will hold the dragon's life force. The host must be a solid item of not less than 2,000 gp value resistant to decay (wood, for instance, is unsuitable). A gemstone is commonly used for a host, particularly ruby, pearl, carbuncle, and jet, and is often set in the hilt of a sword or other weapon. The host is prepared by casting enchant an item upon it and speaking the name of the evil dragon; the item may resist the spell by successfully saving vs. spell as an llth-level wizard. If the spell is resisted, another item must be used for the host. If the spell is not resisted, the item can then function as a host. If desired, glassteel can be cast upon the host to protect it. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Next, a special potion is prepared for the evil dragon to consume. The exact composition of the potion varies according to the age and type of the dragon, but it must contain precisely seven ingredients, among them a potion of evil dragon control, a potion of invulnerability, and the blood of a vampire. When the evil dragon consumes the potion, the results are determined as follows (roll percentile dice): (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Roll Result 01-10 No effect. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) 11-40 Potion does not work. The dragon suffers 2d12 points of damage and is helpless with convulsions for 1-2 rounds. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) 41-50 Potion does not work. The dragon dies. A full wish or similar spell is needed to restore the dragon to life; a wish to transform the dragon into a dracolich results in another roll on this table. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) 51-00 Potion works. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) If the potion works, the dragon's spirit transfers to the host, regardless of the distance between the dragon's body and the host. A dim light within the host indicates the presence of the spirit. While contained in the host, the spirit cannot take any actions; it cannot be contacted nor attacked by magic. The spirit can remain in the host indefinitely. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Once the spirit is contained in the host, the host must be brought within 90 feet of a reptilian corpse; under no circumstances can the spirit possess a living body. The spirit's original body is ideal, but the corpse of any reptilian creature that died or was killed within the previous 30 days is suitable. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) The wizard who originally prepared the host must touch the host, cast a magic jar spell while speaking the name of the dragon, then touch the corpse. The corpse must fail a saving throw vs. spell for the spirit to successfully possess it; if it saves, it will never accept the spirit. The following modifiers apply to the roll: (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [*]10 if the corpse is the spirit's own former body (which can be dead for any length of time). [*]4 if the corpse is of the same alignment as the dragon. [*]4 if the corpse is that of a true dragon (any type). [*]3 if the corpse is that of a firedrake, ice lizard, wyvern, or fire lizard. [*]1 if the corpse is that of a dracolisk, dragonne, dinosaur, snake, or other reptile. If the corpse accepts the spirit, it becomes animated by the spirit. If the animated corpse is the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a dracolich; however, it will not regain the use of its voice and breath weapon for another seven days (note that it will not be able to cast spells with verbal components during this time). At the end of seven days, the dracolich regains the use of its voice and breath weapon. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) If the animated corpse is not the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a proto-dracolich. A proto-dracolich has the mind and memories of its original form, but has the hit points and immunities to spells and priestly turning of a dracolich. A protodracolich can neither speak nor cast spells; further, it cannot cause chilling damage, use a breath weapon, or cause fear as a dracolich. Its strength, movement, and Armor Class are those of the possessed body. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) To become a full dracolich, a proto-dracolich must devour at least 10% of its original body. Unless the body has been dispatched to another plane of existence, a proto-dracolich can always sense the presence of its original body, regardless of the distance. A proto-dracolich will tirelessly seek out its original body to the exclusion of all other activities. If its original body has been burned, dismembered, or otherwise destroyed, the proto-dracolich need only devour the ashes or pieces equal to or exceeding 10% of its original body mass (total destruction of the original body is possible only through use of a disintegrate or similar spell; the body could be reconstructed with a wish or similar spell, so long as the spell is cast in the same plane as the disintegration). If a proto-dracolich is unable to devour its original body, it is trapped in its current form until slain. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Psionic Lich:[/b] See Lich Psionic. [b]Raaig:[/b] Raaigs are incorporeal spirits sustained by their unwavering belief and sense of duty to ancient gods that no longer exist on Athas. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Eldena longs for companionship with others, but finds that she cannot be with the living for long periods of time without becoming depressed completely. She does have the power to turn a dead spirit into a Raaig, but only at the moment of the person's death, and only if the spirit is truly willing to become one. The new Raaig must always remain within 500 feet of Eldena, or fade away to nothing. She longs to be able to create such a companion for herself someday. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) All raaigs are at least 2,000 years old and all are of the old races (human, elf, dwarf, giant, and halfling). [b]Raaig Elf Cleric 14, Eldena, Guardian of the Mountain Temple:[/b] Millennia ago, Eldena was the last high priestess of the mountain temple before the great wars started that would destroy the world as she knew it. In hopes of protecting her temple, she called upon her god to transform her into one of the undead so she could always watch over the sacred place and protect it from the evils of the world. The dieties do not recognize Athas. so their was nothing resulted from her plea. Despairing, she poisoned herself. However, Eldena's belief was so strong, that upon her death she was transformed into a raaig and remains bound to the temple. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Raaig Human Cleric 10, Varoxil Rante, Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:[/b] ? [b]Raaig Human Fighter 9, Nameless Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:[/b] ? [b]Racked Spirit:[/b] Racked spirits are the evil remnants of persons who committed acts during their lives that violated the very nature of their being. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Racked spirits single out happy individuals, attempting to ruin their lives through “bad luck”. They appear to those they have ruined to offer their help in exchange for services. The services they require always conflict with the strongest beliefs of the victims. If the victims refuse to do what the spirit requests, the spirit descends on them and drains their life energy. Those who agree and go against their own beliefs become full-strength racked spirits upon their deaths. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Thinking zombies might return as racked spirits because they were unable to complete their tasks as thinking zombies. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee:[/b] Dwarves who die before completing a major focus are often condemned to live out their afterlives as banshees. In unlife they haunt their unfinished work or quest, unable to bear the fact that someone else may complete what they could not. (MC 12 Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix Terrors of the Desert) Racked spirits vary in race, but dwarven banshees are the most common. Dwarven banshees are created whenever dwarves forsake their life purpose. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. The dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose, is the most common. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Racked Spirit Lesser Spirit:[/b] A being drained of all its life energy by a racked spirit becomes a lesser spirit. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Radaga:[/b] See Undead Priestess, Radaga. [b]Rante, Varoxil:[/b] See Raaig Human Cleric 10, Varoxil Rante, Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns. [b]Ravenloft Siren:[/b] See Siren Ravenloft. [b]Rehkotep, Isu:[/b] See Isu Rehkotep, Priest 9. [b]Reveler Spectral Minion:[/b] See Spectral Minion Reveler. [b]Revenant:[/b] Revenants are vengeful spirits that have risen from the grave to destroy their killers. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) Under exceptional circumstances, a character who has died a violent death may rise as a revenant from the grave to wreak vengeance on his killer(s). In order to make this transition, two requirements must be met. The dead character's Constitution must be 18 and either his Wisdom or Intelligence must be greater than 16. Also, the total of his six ability scores must be 90 or more. Even if these conditions are met, there is only a 5% chance that the dead character becomes a revenant. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) If both Intelligence and Wisdom are over 16, the chance increases to 10%. If Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution are all 18, the creature can shift at will into any freshly killed humanoid, if the revenant rolls a successful saving throw vs. death. (MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) A character who is murdered and generates a phantom may also return as a revenant. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Rider:[/b] ? [b]Rom:[/b] Rom are thought to be all that remains of an ancient race of giant herdsmen. They lived in the hills and on the plains where their giant cows could graze, some practicing a limited form of agriculture. They were a quiet, peace-loving people whose end came when their wives produced only male children; there were no further generations. Shaking their fists at the sad destiny Fate had passed upon them, they built enormous stone cairns for themselves, fashioned out of monolithic granite slabs. Entire clans of rom descended into their self-made tombs, burying themselves alive. However, so great was their collective self-pity and anger at Fate, that their existence persisted beyond death. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix) [b]Sacrol:[/b] They are spawned in sites of great death. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) Sacrols are the collected angry spirits of the dead. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) Sacrols arise in places of mass death, such as battlefields, sacked temples, and plague-ridden cities or countrysides. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Sailor's Demise:[/b] See Bowlyn, Sailor's Demise. [b]Scion Spectral:[/b] See Spectral Scion. [b]Sea Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Sea, Drowned One. [b]Searcher Spectral Minion:[/b] See Spectral Minion Searcher. [b]Senmet:[/b] See Mummy Greater, Senmet. [b]Shadow:[/b] If a human or demihuman opponent is reduced to zero Strength or zero hit points by a shadow, the shadow has drained the life force and the opponent becomes a shadow as well. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) According to most knowledgeable sages, shadows appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse laid upon some long-dead enemy. The curse affects only humans and demihumans so it would seem that it affects the soul or spirit. When victims no longer can resist, either through loss of consciousness (hit points) or physical prowess (Strength points), the curse is activated and the majority of the character's essence is shifted to the Negative Material plane. Only a shadow of their former self remains on the Prime Material plane, and the transformation always renders the victim both terribly insane and undeniably evil. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Slow shadows, like shadows, are believed to be a race of long-dead people cursed to madness and a split existence on the Prime and Negative Material planes. This curse drives slow shadows to hunt and transform living humanoids and demihumans into slow shadows like themselves. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) Sages speculate that shadows and slow shadows, when they lived, were bitter enemies. Their cruel, wicked ways and constant warfare brought down a terrible curse upon both races. Now the two people continue their ancient battle, never dying, cursed to insanity, recruiting new shadows and slow shadows from the living. On rare occasions, battles between shadows and slow shadows have been witnessed and it seems that vanquished slow shadows become shadows and vanquished shadows become slow shadows. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) Shadows “appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse.” (Dragon 162) If the character rolls a 20 while using the Shadow Form psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, the dark side of his nature is freed and he becomes a shadow, as per the monster, under the control of the DM for 1-4 turns. (Dragon 174) A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. (Dragon 205) [b]Shadow Mariner:[/b] See Mariner Shadow. [b]Shadow Slow:[/b] See Slow Shadow. [b]Shadowrath:[/b] Shadowraths are created by a fell artifact, the Crown of Horns. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Shadowrath Greater:[/b] These powerful undead are also created by the Crown of Horns. Those slain by Myrkul’s hand, the other major power of the artifact, arise as greater shadowraths. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Shadowrath Lesser, Blackbones:[/b] They are created by the ray of undeath power of the artifact, Crown of Horns. Those killed by this ray arise as lesser shadowraths, also known as blackbones. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) Lesser shadowraths are created by the Crown of Horns. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Sheet Ghoul:[/b] Sheet ghouls are created when sheet phantoms kill their victims. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix) If the victim dies enveloped within the sheet phantom, the sheet phantom merges with the body, creating a sheet ghoul. This process takes 12 hours to complete. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix) [b]Sheet Phantom:[/b] There are sufficient similarities between the sheet phantom and the lurker above for some scholars to speculate that the former is an undead form of the latter. However, other sages and scholars claim that sheet phantoms are actual sheets that have absorbed the life-essence of an evil person who died in their bed. The evil soul is trapped in the sheet, and forced to wander about as a sheet phantom. (MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix) [b]Shikki-Gaki:[/b] See Gaki Shikki-Gaki. [b]Sight Phantom:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sight. [b]Siren Ravenloft:[/b] It is thought that the sirens are merfolk transformed by a cataclysmic burst of negative energy. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Skeletal Bat:[/b] See Skeleton Skeletal Bat. [b]Skeletal Steed Strahd's:[/b] See Skeleton Strahd's Skeletal Steed. [b]Skeleton:[/b] All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Skeletons appear to have no ligaments or musculature which would allow movement. Instead, the bones are magically joined together during the casting of an animate dead spell. Skeletons have no eyes or internal organs. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Most skeletons and zombies are man-sized or smaller, but larger corpses such as mekillot skeletons and zombie giants are often animated by more powerful necromancers. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Produce Undead undead power. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) While some may be guardians of some site left by wizards, they are more often simply the still animated skeleton of a drowned one whose flesh became too rotted and putrid to remain attached to the bones. (Sea of Fallen Stars) The only undead that are magically created are skeletons and zombies, which are created with the animate dead spell. (Dragon 156) Skeletons and zombies are what I call “walking dead” rather than true undead. They have no intelligence and no independent will; they are always the servants of some other being and have simply been animated to serve his purposes. (Dragon 173) [i]Animate Dead[/i] spell. (Player's Handbook) [i]Double Spell[/i] spell. (Dragon 188) [i]Kolin's Undead Legion[/i] spell. (DM's Option High Level Campaigns) [i]Undead Familiar[/i] spell. (Pages from the Mages) [i]Undead Plague[/i] spell. (Tome of Magic) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Spellbound) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Villain's Lorebook) [b]Skeleton Animal:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Dust:[/b] Bones used to create dust skeletons must be specially dried to the point of crumbling, then coated with a special resin containing a paralyzing venom. Tansmute water to dust is used in conjunction with animate dead to complete the process. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Skeleton Giant:[/b] Giant skeletons are similar to the more common undead skeleton, but they have been created with a combination of spells and are, thus, far more deadly than their lesser counterparts. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) In actuality, they are simply human skeletons that have been magically enlarged. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The first giant skeletons to appear in Ravenloft were created by the undead priestess Radaga in her lair within the domain of Kartakass. Others have since mastered the spells and techniques required to create these monsters; thus, giant skeletons are gradually beginning to appear in other realms where the dead and undead lurk. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) They are created from the bones of those who have died and are abominations in the eyes of all who belief in the sanctity of life and goodness. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The process by which giant skeletons are created is dark and evil. Attempts to manufacture them outside of Ravenloft have failed, so it is clear that they are in some way linked to the Dark Powers themselves. In order to create a giant skeleton, a spell caster must have the intact skeleton of a normal human or demihuman. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) On a night when the land is draped in fog, they must cast an animate dead, produce fire, enlarge, and a resist fire spell over the bones. When the last spell is cast, the bones lengthen and thicken and the creatures rises up. The the creator must make a Ravenloft Powers check for his part in this evil undertaking. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Skeleton Monster:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Obsidian:[/b] An obsidian jewel, inscribed with a special glyph, must be implanted in the skeleton’s forehead. A second animate dead spell must be cast in conjunction with the first, along with vampiric touch. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Skeleton Skeletal Bat:[/b] Skeletal bats are created by the use of an animate dead spell and are often associated with necromancers or evil priests. They are to bats what traditional skeletons are to humans — mindless animated remains. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Skeleton Spike:[/b] Each spike must be specially carved from bones taken from the same type of creature that is to be animated (for example, human bones for a human skeleton). A glyph is carved into each spike before it is attached to the skeleton. During animation, a shatter spell is cast in conjunction with the animate dead spell. After animation, the 6th-level necromancy spell imbue undead with spell ability is cast, along with Beltyn’s burning blood; these spells are also used to recharge a spike skeleton with this ability. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Skeleton Strahd's Skeletal Steed:[/b] Strahd's skeletal steeds are magically animated undead horses, created as guardians and warriors by the master vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Completely stripped of flesh, skeletal steeds are held together by magic. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Only Strahd Von Zarovich knows the arcane ritual necessary to make them. He can make them only from horse skeletons where 90% of the bones and the skull are present. It is not know if other animals can be animated from the same spell, but given the power of the Lord of Barovia, and his ties to the evil forces of necromancy, this seems probable. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Skeleton Warrior:[/b] Formerly powerful fighters, skeleton warriors are undead lords forced into their nightmarish states by powerful wizards or evil demigods who trapped their souls in golden circlets. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Skuz:[/b] Skuz attack by forming pseudo-arms from their slimy mass. In addition to causing physical damage, each touch of a skuz drains one life level from its victim. When a humanoid victim is weakened, the skuz pulls it beneath the water to drown it. When dead, the victim becomes a skuz. Humanoids who are killed by a skuz, but not drowned, do not become one of the unread. (MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix) [b]Slow Shadow:[/b] Slow shadows, like shadows, are believed to be a race of long-dead people cursed to madness and a split existence on the Prime and Negative Material planes. This curse drives slow shadows to hunt and transform living humanoids and demihumans into slow shadows like themselves. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) Sages speculate that shadows and slow shadows, when they lived, were bitter enemies. Their cruel, wicked ways and constant warfare brought down a terrible curse upon both races. Now the two people continue their ancient battle, never dying, cursed to insanity, recruiting new shadows and slow shadows from the living. On rare occasions, battles between shadows and slow shadows have been witnessed and it seems that vanquished slow shadows become shadows and vanquished shadows become slow shadows. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) [b]Slow Shadow Lesser:[/b] Humanoids killed by slow shadows become lesser slow shadows within one turn. The change can be prevented by casting remove curse on the body. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) [b]Smell Phantom:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Smell. [b]Son of Kyuss:[/b] Sons of Kyuss are horrible undead beings that convert living humans and demihumans into cursed undead like themselves. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) In addition to flailing fists, one worm per round attempts to jump from a son of Kyuss's head to a character the son is meleeing. The worm needs only to roll a successful attack roll (same THACO as the son) to land on the victim. The worm burrows into the victim on the next round unless killed by the touch of cold iron, holy water, or a blessed object. After penetrating the victim's skin, the worm burrows toward the victim's brain, taking 1d4 rounds to reach it. During this time a remove curse or cure disease spell will kill the worm, and neutralize poison or dispel evil will delay the worm for 1d6 turns. If the worm reaches the brain, the victim dies immediately and becomes a son of Kyuss. Decay and putrification set in without further delay. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) Kyuss was an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) The worms are tied to the curse of the sons but exactly how remains a mystery. It is known that the worms cannot survive apart from a victim or on a son. Worms that fail to burrow into a victim die as soon as they touch the ground. Any worm removed from a son dies within one round of separation from the son who carried it. When a son is killed permanently, the worms die with him. Some sages have proposed that the worms might not be living creatures per se, but incarnations of the curse. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) Sons of Kyuss are horrible undead beings that convert living humans and demihumans into cursed undead like themselves. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) In addition to flailing fists, one worm per round attempts to jump from a son’s head to a character the son is meleeing. The worm needs only to roll a successful attack roll (same THAC0 as the son) to land on the victim. The worm burrows into the victim on the next round unless killed by the touch of cold iron, holy water, or a blessed object. After penetrating the victim's skin, the worm burrows toward the victim’s brain, taking 1d4 rounds to reach it. During this time a remove curse or cure disease spell will kill the worm, and neutralize poison or dispel evil will delay the worm for 1d6 turns. If the worm reaches the brain, the victim dies immediately and becomes a son of Kyuss. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Kyuss was an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) The worms are tied to the curse of the sons but exactly how remains a mystery. It is known that the worms cannot survive apart from a victim or on a son. Worms that fail to burrow into a victim die as soon as they touch the ground. Any worm removed from a son dies within one round of separation from the son who carried it. When a son is killed permanently, the worms die with him. Some sages have proposed that the worms might not be living creatures per se, but incarnations of the curse. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Soth:[/b] See Death Knight, Lord Soth. [b]Soth:[/b] See Death Knight Lord of Sithicus, Lord Soth. [b]Soul Beckoner:[/b] See Wraith Soul Beckoner. [b]Sound Phantom:[/b] See Phantom Nonstandard Phantom Sound. [b]Spectral Awnsheghlien:[/b] Summoned by the Cold Rider to serve his dark bidding in undeath, spectral awnsheghlien are the spirits of slain Abominations from the waking world. At their moments of death, the Cold Rider trapped their essences in the Shadow World—it would be a shame, after all, to let such pure, unmitigated evil merely scatter to the winds. (Blood Spawn) When a Cerilian awnshegh dies, the bloodline of Azrai that it carried in its veins dissipates and travels to the Shadow World. This holds true even for awnshegh victims of bloodtheft. (Recall that even with a tighmaevril weapon, the attacker receives only 5 bloodline strength points; the rest dissipate.) Only an awnshegh who invests its bloodline before death is immune to the possibility of becoming a specter. (Blood Spawn) [b]Spectral Scion:[/b] A spectral scion is the spirit of a bloodtheft victim who was killed with a tighmaevril weapon (which allows the slayer to steal powers associated with the victim’s bloodline). Not all those with a special bloodline killed in this way become spectral scions, but those who do daily relive the horror of losing their bloodlines, and are doomed to spend eternity seeking peace. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Spectral Minion:[/b] Spectral minions are the spirits of humans or demihumans who died before they could fulfill their vows. Even in death, spectral minions are bound to the vows or quests placed upon them while they were alive. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) Spectral minions are cursed to relive the events leading to their death, endlessly trying to fulfill their vows. Outdoors, they must stay within 1,000 yards of where they died. Indoors, they must stay in the corridor or room where they lost their lives. On very rare occasions where a quest required them to perform an act over a wide area, they are free to roam within that area. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Spectral Minion Berserker:[/b] Some spectral minions become overwhelmed by despair. Losing all hope of ever being freed from their charge, these minions are eventually driven into a berkserking frenzy. Others become mindless killers as soon as they become minions because of an unresolved obsession in their former lives; for instance, a spectral minion cook might become a berserker because someone in the past criticized his cooking and was no longer around to apologize for the remark. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) In all cases, berserker spectral minions have rebelled against their quests and have no hope of ever being freed from their charges. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Spectral Minion Guardian:[/b] These spectral minions were quested to defend a room, a passage, or an object. In most cases, they served as guards for some important location and died at their posts. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Spectral Minion Philosopher:[/b] It is their curse to endlessly discuss philosophic issues left unresolved in their former lives. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Spectral Minion Reveler:[/b] These minions are cursed to celebrate madly for all eternity. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Spectral Minion Searcher:[/b] Searchers are spectral minions that stalk endlessly through their territory, searching for a particular object to fulfill their quest. These creatures were questing when they died in their original forms, and usually the object of the quest is not to be found within the searcher's range. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Spectral Minion Warrior:[/b] These minions are the spirits of mortals who were locked in combat at the time of death, usually soldiers who died in bloody battles. Groups of 100 or more warrior spectral minions are typically encountered on a battlefield, including fighters of differing alignments from both sides of a battle. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Spectral Wizard:[/b] They are created by a unique spell that functions on human and elf wizards and gnome illusionists, taking hold only on those whose bodies once channeled wizard magic. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) Spectral wizards are created artificially and have no ecological niche. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [i]Create Spectral Wizard[/i] spell. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Spectre:[/b] Any being totally drained of life energy by a spectre becomes a full-strength spectre. No one knows who the first spectre was or how it came to be. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Each time a spectral awnshegh touches an opponent, it transforms some of the victim’s life essence to shadow and drains 1 Constitution point. Should a character’s Constitution drop to 0, the victim turns into a spectre. (Blood Spawn) Lemures are occasionally chosen to form wraiths or spectres, as well. (MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix) If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him. (Dragon 159) A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. (Dragon 205) Intelligent living creatures slain by a spectre dragon’s breath weapon arise as normal half-strength spectres upon the following sunset. (Dragon 234) [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. (Prayers from the Faithful) [b]Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen:[/b] Jezra's end came as the winter solstice drew near one year. She and several of her friends were climbing the slopes of Mount Baratok, hoping to reach its summit and look out across the grandeur of the Balinoks. It was their hope to see the distant spire of Mount Nyid, which was said to be visible from the highest reaches of Baratok. Their expedition was ill-fated, however, and doom claimed it before they reached the mountain's crest. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Jezra was the first to hear the rumbling. Indeed, this is probably what saved her from the sudden death that claimed her companions. Shouting a cry of alarm, she forced her body into a narrow fissure as the avalanche swept past her, ripping her companions from their ropes and sending them down to their deaths. Those who were not slain by the long fall were crushed to death by the weight of the snow that fell upon them. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Jezra, perched in a narrow cleft, was unhurt. She found that the crack she had taken shelter in was in fact a small cave that ran some twenty or thirty feet back into the cliff. The avalanche, however, had sealed the entrance behind her. With horror, she realized that she had been entombed alive. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Several time she tried to dig her way out of the dark cave. Each time, she gave up the futile effort as more snow fell to seal the entrance. It was not long before her small stock of provisions ran low. The candles she had stored in her pack were all used up, the air in the cave was becoming sour, and her food was gone. Soon, she knew, she would die. Cold fear began to grip her heart as she grew drowsy with the approach of death. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) What happened next might be accredited to many things. Perhaps the air was growing thin and she was beginning to hallucinate as her brain slowly starved for oxygen. Perhaps the forces of evil saw their chance to claim this young innocent for their own and sent some dreadful agent to treat with her. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Whatever the truth, Jezra found herself bathed in a ghostly light. Her arms and legs had grown numb and frozen, the first victims of her frosty prison, and she sadly noted that this light brought no warmth with it. If anything, the temperature in the cave fell even lower. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Her interest aroused, she tried to draw herself back from the brink of death. Whatever this mysterious phenomenon was, she longed to know its cause before she died. Her eye focused on the source of the glow and delight welled up inside her. Giorggio, so long presumed dead, stood before her. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) The vision moved forward. Short and stocky, with the same charismatic smile that she herself had, this was indeed the exact image of her brother. He wore the travelling clothes that she had last seen him in, but they were tattered and torn. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) She reached out her hand to the shimmering vision, grimacing at the frigid fire in her lungs and hardly able to move her arm. The image of Giorggio knelt before her and looked at her with curious, almost unrecognizing eyes. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) "Save me," was all she could manage to whisper. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) "I cannot," came the reply. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Jezra began to cry, the tears freezing before they could fall from her face. The spirit faded away, leaving her alone and isolated in the darkness of her icy tomb. With her last breath, she cried out for someone, anyone, to save her from death, swearing that she would do anything to keep her existence from ending like this. Then she closed her eyes and felt the bitter cold around her steal the pitiful remains of her body's warmth. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Somewhere in the darkness of Ravenloft, her pleas were heard. A strange darkness, deeper than the blackness of the cave, seeped out of the soul of the mountain. It coiled around the young woman's body like an ebony snake. Two pinpoints of red light like eyes smoldered to life, yet drove away none of the darkness. Then, like a cobra striking, the blackness plunged into Jezra's body. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) As the last traces of the shade vanished into the corporeal flesh of the woman, Jezra twitched and her face contorted in agony. Unseen in her tomb, her body thrashed about violently for several seconds and then was forever still. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Gradually, a cold glow filled the cave. Jezra blinked and opened her eyes. She could feel her hands and her feet again. The air no longer choked her. The cold, however, was redoubled. Her flesh seemed to tremble endlessly, and her bones pounded with an arthritic ache. She cried out in agony and rose to her feet. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Her only thought was to somehow escape from this icy darkness; had she looked down, she might have seen her own body, unmoving in death. Instead, she plunged desperately into the rocks and ice blocking her escape, passing through them as if they were but fog to her. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Not realizing that she had died in the frozen cave, Jezra spent the next several days wandering the slopes of Mount Baratok. Although her heart longed to return to her family estate, she delayed while she searched for her brother, not realizing that she had now become an undead creature, as had he. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Spike Skeleton:[/b] See Skeleton Spike. [b]Spirit:[/b] Spirits are powerful undead beings which inhabit the bodies, or body parts, of others. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Spirit Druj:[/b] Druj appear as body parts – a hand, an eye, or a skull – floating or crawling around in a horrible way. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Spirit Groaning:[/b] See Banshee, Groaning Spirit. [b]Spirit Odic:[/b] Odics are formless creatures that take possession of normal plants, usually shrubs or small trees. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Spirit Racked:[/b] See Racked Spirit. [b]Spirit Sword:[/b] See Sword Spirit. [b]Spirit Warrior:[/b] Spirit warriors are weapons from the Unhuman Wars. There are three ways to acquire one: find one that has been abandoned, wrest one from its owner in combat, or grow one from an egg and perform the appropriate spells. Since the Wars ranged over a great area, the chance of finding an abandoned warrior is small. Also, those still piloted have most likely been around since the time of the Wars, so wresting one from its master in combat is also unlikely. This leaves the method of growing one from an egg, as follows: (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) The would-be spirit warrior receives an egg. The fighter must incubate the pinhead-sized egg in a warm and secure environment, preferably next to the fighter's body. When the egg hatches, the warrior must nurture and protect the fragile larva from six months to a year, until it is mature. This nurturing involves close emotional contact with the insect (stroking, petting, cuddling, thinking pleasant thoughts) to develop a strong emotional bond as one would with a pet or familiar. After a year the insect is mature, and the spells of modification begin; however, for the strongest bond, this final process is delayed until after the insect has died of old age. If the spells are performed on a living insect, it dies during the ceremony. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) The insect becomes a spirit warrior via spells that enlarge, animate, strengthen, and physically modify the insect's remains. These spells also link the minds of warrior and insect in an unbreakable bond, unaffected by magic, disease, physical attack, or mental control. The final stage of the process installs a special minor helm in the hollow chest cavity of the insect warrior. During the Unhuman Wars, elvish mages created the warriors as armored, super-strong weapons to counter orcish monsters being released on various worlds. At first their years of research only worked up to a point: the giant undead insects ran amok, killing researchers and damaging Armada Noble itself. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) An assistant, Rowan Starblade by name, discovered that the ceremonies failed because the researchers and the insects shared no emotional bond. When one of Rowan's "pet" research insects rampaged after the ill-fated ceremony, she threw herself in front of the beast, begging it to stop. To her surprise, the giant insect obeyed her command! (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) Further experimentation with Rowan's pet zombie revealed that when she welded a modified minor helm in the insect's hollow chest cavity with gold and platinum wire, she could sit in the helm and pilot the insect with her speed and agility, and with the insect's strength. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) [b]Spirit Warrior Carnivore:[/b] Carnivores descend from the praying mantis. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) [b]Spirit Warrior Herbivore:[/b] Herbivores are based on the katydid. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) [b]Spirit Warrior Nektar:[/b] Nektars descend from an insect similar to both a butterfly and a wasp. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) [b]Spirit Warrior Zwarth:[/b] Zwarth construction resembles that of a spirit warrior. Growth and bonding processes are the same. (Yes, an entire party must undergo this process!) (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) [b]Spirit Zhentarim:[/b] See Zhentarim Spirit. [b]Spiritjam:[/b] A spiritjam is the soul of an evil cleric or wizard who died while spelljamming. The spirit of the cleric or wizard remained behind when the physical body perished. (MC7 Monstrous Compenium Spelljammer Appendix) [b]Summoned Crypt Thing:[/b] See Crypt Thing Summoned. [b]Stahnk:[/b] See Undead Beast Stahnk. [b]Steed Strahd's Skeletal:[/b] See Skeleton Strahd's Skeletal Steed. [b]Stellar Undead:[/b] Stellar undead are the corpses of spelljamming sailors returned to a semblance of life. The corpses are animated by raw energy from the Negative Material Plane. This energy warps the dying sailor's brains, twisting their final thoughts of home, safety, and friends into an unholy desire to walk again among the living, and to be warm again by drinking their blood. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) Due to the vacuum of wildspace, most bodies decompose very slowly. When viewed from more than 3' away, stellar undead do not look dead, but much as they did in life. (MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II) [b]Strahd Von Zarovich:[/b] See Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich. [b]Strahd's Skeletal Steed:[/b] See Skeleton Strahd's Skeletal Steed. [b]Suel Lich:[/b] See Lich Suel. [b]Swamp Velya:[/b] See Vampire Velya Swamp. [b]Sword Spirit:[/b] Sword spirits are the undead spirits of powerful warriors who perished in useless battles. (Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix II) [b]Swordwraith:[/b] See Wraith Swordwraith. [b]T'Liz:[/b] T’lizes are undead defilers whose spirits have outlived their bodies. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) All t'lizes were defilers in life and retain all their spell casting abilities. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) T’lizes are powerful defilers who died before completing their magical studies. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]T'Liz Human Defiler 19, Nevarli:[/b] Nevarli's love of magic was so powerful that when she found the spells and anointments that would sustain her in undeath so she could continue her magical studies, she used them. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]T'Liz Human Defiler 23, Kedomir:[/b] ? [b]The Ghost of Obsession:[/b] See Lhiannan Shee, The Ghost of Obsession. [b]The Ice Queen:[/b] See Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen. [b]The Magian:[/b] The Magian is a powerful being, but he has not been alive for nearly 200 years. Sheer willpower and magic sustained it for much of that time. Now, he is immortal, as the blood of Azrai removed the frailties of his undead state. (Blood Enemies: Abominations of Cerilia) [b]Thinking Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Thinking [b]Topi:[/b] Topis are tiny undead humanoid creatures similar to zombies. Before these creatures are animated, however, the corpses are shrunk until they are only 2 feet tall. The process gives them dark, wrinkled, leathery skin Their eves are wide and bulging, and their lips are usually curled back, freezing their faces into permanent toothy grimaces (occasionally, however, the lips are sewn shut). (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) Unlike zombies, topis do not have a rotting stench, as the shrinking process also preserves their flesh. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a topi. Only a few tribal spell casters know bow to shrink the corpses, however. The few travelers who have observed the process and have been lucky enough to return to tell the tale report that the corpse is boiled for several days in a mixture of water, herbs, and animal organs, then dried in the sun and animated, presumably with a variant animate dead spell. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Treant Undead:[/b] See Undead Treant. [b]Tuyewera:[/b] The tuyewera is a horrible type of undead monster created by evil clerics in remote jungle villages. The cleric takes the corpse of a man slain by death magic spells and ritually removes the legs at the knees. The tongue is also severed. The cleric then enchants the corpse, bringing the ancestral spirit of a wizard or priest into it, which gives the corpse a horrid animation. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) The spells and counterspells used for creating tuyeweras are granted only by the deities of evil witch doctors in tropical lands. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) As created undead, tuyewera have nothing to contribute to the ecology. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Undead Beast:[/b] The undead beast is a mindless killer of unknown origin, compelled to destroy the living. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Undead Beast Anhkolox:[/b] ? [b]Undead Beast Gholor:[/b] ? [b]Undead Beast Stahnk:[/b] ? [b]Undead Controlled:[/b] See Controlled Undead, Walking Dead. [b]Undead Dragon Slayer:[/b] An undead dragon slayer is a horrifying creature returned from death to destroy dragons. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Most undead dragon slayers are called back from the grave by necromantic magic. Though it retains its own mind and agenda, it must obey the commands of the summoner – at least until its task is complete or it somehow wins its freedom. A small number of dragon slayers actually will themselves back from the dead. These individuals have the utmost faith in their cause, an undying hatred of dragons, and a supernatural strength of will. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) In the Council of Wyrms setting, undead dragon slayers were members of the vast army of human warriors who invaded the Io’s Blood isles in ages past. Any slayer of 9th level or greater who died before his holy task was finished can rise as an undead warrior. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Undead Dwarf:[/b] Undead dwarves are created by residual essence on the part of dwarves who are concerned, just before they die, that their final resting places will in some way be disturbed. It is this essence that allows the bodies of the dwarves to transform into protectors. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) There is no known understanding of how undead dwarves are formed or why they exist except to protect their sacred tombs. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Undead Faerie:[/b] See Faerie Unseelie Undead. [b]Undead Freewilled:[/b] See Freewilled Undead. [b]Undead Lake Monster:[/b] ? [b]Undead Priestess, Radaga:[/b] ? [b]Undead Stellar:[/b] See Stellar Undead. [b]Undead Treant:[/b] When an evil treant sees that its many years are soon to come to an end, it seldom accepts this fate quietly. For most, this means a final, wild orgy of violence and death. For a few, however, it means death and resurrection as a thing so dark and evil that even the Vistani will not speak of it. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Undead treants seem to be a natural stage in the life cycle of some evil treants. No doubt this is given as a "reward" for their evil lives by the Dark Powers. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Undead Unseelie:[/b] See Faerie Unseelie Undead. [b]Unseelie Undead:[/b] See Faerie Unseelie Undead. [b]Uwil:[/b] See Memedi Uwil. [b]Valpurgeist, Hanged Man:[/b] The valpurgeist, or hanged man, is an undead creature that is sometimes manifested when an innocent man or woman is wrongly hanged for a crime. Unable to prove its innocence in life, the spirit returns after death to claim the lives of those who sent it to the gallows. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Valpurgeists are lonely souls who have felt the cold injustice of a world that would not believe their pleas of innocence. Because of this, they will have no kinship with any living thing in their afterlife. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) They are simply products of evil and darkness. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire:[/b] As described in the RAVENLOFT Boxed Set, there are three ways to become a vampire. Each of these paths to darkness has its own unique character, but the end result is always a creature of unsurpassed evil and power. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The first path, generally known as that of deadly desire, is perhaps the most awful. In this case, the individual who is destined to become a vampire actually wishes to cross over and become undead. While it has been said that they must sacrifice their lives to attain this goal, a greater cost is often paid. Those who desire to live eternally and feed on the life essences of their fellow men must give up a portion of their spirits to the Dark Powers themselves. In this way, they are granted the powers of the undead, but also stripped of the last vestiges of their humanity. In the centuries to come, many find this loss too great to bear and seek out their own destruction. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The second path, that of the curse, is often the most insidious of the three. In this case, the individual is often unaware that he or she is destined to become a thing of the night. The transformation into "unlife" might occur because of a potent curse laid down by someone who has been wronged by the victim. Occasionally, an individual might find that he or she has inherited (or found) a beautiful and alluring magical ring—only to find that it cannot be removed and that the character is slowly . . . changing. There are those who accept this curse and embrace their new existence as a vampire, while others despise the things they have become. In nearly every case, these are the most passionate and "alive" examples of this evil race. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The final, and surely most tragic, path to vampirism is that of the victim. This is the route most commonly taken to vampirism, for it is the way in which those slain by a vampire become vampires themselves. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) When a vampire decides to create new slaves, it does so by taking their lives in some special way. For most, it is simply the draining of their life energies or the drinking of their blood. Whatever the end result, if the victim dies from the feeding of the beast, he or she rises again as a vampire. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) At their deaths, dhampir rise as vampires and irredeemable servants of evil. (A Guide to Transylvania) Any human or humanoid creature slain by the life energy drain of a vampire is doomed to become a vampire himself. Thus, those who would hunt these lords of the undead must be very careful lest they find themselves condemned to a fate far worse than death. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of the creature. Those who are not actually buried, however, do not become undead and it is thus traditional that the bodies of a vampire's victims be burned or similarly destroyed. (Dragon 150) [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. (Prayers from the Faithful) [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. (Faiths and Avatars) [b]Vampire, Count Dracula:[/b] ? [b]Vampire, Lyssa Von Zarovich:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Cerebral:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Companion:[/b] The process of vampiric bonding is as murky as the fog that often shrouds the vampire's movement. When the vampire decides to take a companion, it generally (although not always) seeks out an individual of the opposite sex that reminds them of someone they loved in life. The vampire repeatedly visits the victim, feeding on them until they are at the point of death. At the last, when all hope seems lost, the vampire draws away the last vestiges of the companion's life and infuses them with its own energies. The process is both traumatic and passionate, for this mingling of essences is far more intimate than any purely physical act of love. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) When the bonding is completed, both the vampire and its victim are exhausted and all but helpless for upwards of an hour. At the end of that time, the victim has become a vampire. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Dwarf, Dwarven Vampire:[/b] Any character reduced to a Constitution score of 0 by a dwarven vampire's vitality drain is instantly slain and will rise again as a vampire (of the appropriate type) in 3 days. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Those dwarves that fall prey to the undead will often become themselves undead. Three days after any character dies from the vampire's vitality draining, they will rise again if certain conditions are met. First, and most importantly, the victim must have been a dwarf. Vampire dwarves who kill elves or humans will not create new vampires, for only their own kind can be brought back to unlife by them. Further, the body must be intact. Second, the body must be placed in a stone coffin or sarcophagus and then entombed in some subterranean place. A typical burial service will meet this requirement, while placement in a crypt on the surface will not. Finally, the dwarven vampire must visit the body of its victim on the third night after burial and sprinkle the body with powdered metals. As soon as this is done, the new vampire is born. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Dwarf 0-99 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Dwarf 100-199 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Dwarf 200-299 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Dwarf 300-399 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Dwarf 400-499 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Dwarf 500+ Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Eastern:[/b] Any human slain by Mayonaka's life-energy drain will become a vampire in turn. The transformation into unlife occurs one day after burial. Those who are not buried will not rise as vampires; thus, tradition dictates that all who die at the hands of these undead be cremated. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Vampire Eastern, Mayonaka:[/b] Hours later, Mayonaka awoke on a ledge that protruded from the walls of the endless shaft. With much effort, he climbed the rough stone face and reached the vampire's lair. Much to his horror he found that the creature was fully recovered from its earlier wounds. Delighted to discover that it might still have a prisoner to torture, the vampire attacked. The battle was long and terrible. In the end, the samurai was triumphant. Sadly, he too was dying. The vampire had tasted his life essence and left his soul drained and tainted. With a final prayer to his ancestors, he died. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) To his surprise, he awoke a day or so later. His wounds, it seemed, were completely healed. Indeed, he felt better than he ever had before. He left the vampire's lair and headed out of the cave. With luck, he hoped to rejoin his sisters before they left the island. As he reached the cave's mouth and stepped out into the sunlight, he found himself wracked with horrible pain. He turned and tossed himself back into the cool darkness of the cavern just in time. With horror, he realized that he himself had become undead. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Vampire Elf, Elvish Vampire:[/b] Any elf or half-elf who dies from the elvish vampire's essence draining attack will become a vampire. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Any elf or half-elf who falls to the essence draining attack of an elven vampire will rise again as an elven vampire so long as the body is intact after three days. If the body has been destroyed or mutilated, the transformation is averted, and the dead character may rest in peace. However, any attempt to revive the slain character (with a resurrection spell, for example) has a flat 50% chance of transforming the character into a vampire once the spell is cast. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Elf 0-99 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Elf 100-199 Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Elf 200-299 Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Elf 300-399 Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Elf 400-499 Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Elf 500+ Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Gnome, Gnomish Vampire:[/b] While the hand-to-hand blows of gnomish vampires are weak, however, they are not without a powerful debilitating affect. Those struck by such attacks will begin to feel the painful arthritic attack of the creature instantly, for each successful attack drains 2 points of Dexterity from the victim. The result is a painful stiffness in the joints and muscles that can, if the victim suffers several attacks, be crippling or even fatal. Those reduced to a Dexterity score of 0 will be slain as the creeping paralysis spreads through their lungs and heart, making it impossible for them to survive. Gnomes who die in this fashion may themselves become undead if steps are not taken to prevent this foul transformation. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Gnomish vampires seldom create others of their kind. When they opt to do so, however, the process is not without risk. The vampire must first slay a victim with its debilitating touch and then move the body to the sarcophagus in which the vampire itself sleeps. For the next three days, the body must lie in the coffin while the vampire rests atop it, allowing its essences to seep slowly into the evolving vampire. At the end of this time, the slain gnome rises as a fully functioning vampire, completely under the control of its creator. While the gnome vampire rests atop its coffin, it is unable to regenerate any lost hit points or employ any of its spell-like abilities. Thus, the creature is far more vulnerable to attack at this time than it normally might be. In addition, it cannot interrupt the creation process once it has begun or both the would-be vampire and its creator will die. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Gnome 0-99 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Gnome 100-199 Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Gnome 200-299 Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Gnome 300-399 Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Gnome 400-499 Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Gnome 500+ Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Halfling:[/b] Those halflings who die from a halfling vampire's life draining attack will become vampires themselves. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The vampire can make more of its kind only by slaying other halflings with its energy-sapping attack. In order to create a new vampire, the halfling need do nothing more than keep the body of its victim intact for 7 days after death and a new vampire will be created. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Halfling 0-99 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Halfling 100-199 Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Halfling 200-299 Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Halfling 300-399 Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Halfling 400-499 Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Halfling 500+ Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Illithid:[/b] Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. The experiment was part of an ultimately successful attempt to transform the latter into a vampire. The "prototype" vampire illithids created by these experiments were believed to have been destroyed, but their regenerative powers enabled them to survive and escape into the wild, where they have flourished. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Vampire Illithid, Athaekeetha:[/b] Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. The experiment was part of an ultimately successful attempt to transform the latter into a vampire. The "prototype" vampire illithids created by these experiments were believed to have been destroyed, but their regenerative powers enabled them to survive and escape into the wild, where they have flourished. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) Athaekeetha was the last vampire illithid created by Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master before they gave up on the experiment; its higher intelligence is proof that at least some progress was being made in the project. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Vampire Kender:[/b] Those kender who die from the spirit-rending attack of the kender vampire are in no danger of becoming vampires themselves, however, for these foul creatures are the product of dark sciences and magical experimentation that can only be duplicated with the direct intervention of Lord Soth of Sithicus. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The kender vampire is a solitary creature that exists only to do the bidding of Lord Soth of Sithicus. He is the father of their race, and, although they despise him for what he has done to them, they are unable to turn against him or act in any way contrary to his interests. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Knowing the revulsion that the elves who live in his domain feel for all manner of unnatural things, Soth felt that he could find no better slaves than a band of undead. Aware that undead elves might pose a threat to his own power, Soth set about the creation of a new breed of undead. Drawing a small kender village through the misty veils of Ravenloft and into his domain, he had them killed one by one so that he could study their sufferings and invoke carefully designed magical rituals over their bodies in attempts to make them rise as undead. By the time he had finished with these sad kender, fully half of them had died horrible deaths and suffered unspeakable torment at the hand of the dreaded deathknight. The results of his experiments were, however, satisfactory to Soth, for he discovered a formula that would create a race of vampires utterly loyal to him. It is believed that Soth has created no fewer than 10 such monsters and no more than 30, although hard evidence to support any given estimate is hard to come by. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Kender vampires can exist only within the confines of Lord Soth's domain of Sithicus. They are tied to that dark land in some mystical way that, no doubt, relates to the evil magic used in their creation. It is possible that Lord Soth was required to invoke the favor of the Dark Powers in his creation of these dreaded monsters and, thus, that he has paid some horrible price for their loyalty to him. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Lord of Gundarak, Vampire Lord, Duke Gundar:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Velya:[/b] They were once surface dwellers who became undead through an ancient curse.(Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) Only a transfusion of the velya’s blood or the original curse, now forgotten, can make a velya. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Vampire Velya Swamp:[/b] Swamp Velyas origins are identical to ocean velya. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Vampire Wizard:[/b] ? [b]Vampiric Dread:[/b] See Dread Vampiric. [b]Vampiric Wolf:[/b] See Wolf Vampiric. [b]Varoxil Rante:[/b] See Raaig Human Cleric 10, Varoxil Rante, Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns. [b]Velya:[/b] See Vampire Velya. [b]Von Zarovich, Lyssa:[/b] See Vampire, Lyssa Von Zarovich. [b]Von Zarovich, Strahd:[/b] See Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich. [b]Wagner, Giorggio:[/b] See Giorggio Wagner. [b]Wagner, Jezra:[/b] See Spectre, Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen. [b]Walking Dead:[/b] See Controlled Undead, Walking Dead. [b]Wandering Horror:[/b] See Mist Horror Wandering Horror. [b]Warrior Skeleton:[/b] See Skeleton Warrior. [b]Warrior Spectral Minion:[/b] See Spectral Minion Warrior. [b]Warrior Spirit:[/b] See Spirit Warrior. [b]Wight:[/b] Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. In their new form, they have all the powers and abilities of a normal wight but half their Hit Dice. If the wight who "created" them is slain, they will instantly be freed of its control and gain a portion of its power, acquiring the normal 4+3 Hit Dice of their kind. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Characters slain by a velya return from death after three days and become wights. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature then hunts down those men who served it in life and kills them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil band will again plague the lands. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him. (Dragon 159) Any victim completely drained of life points by the king-wight becomes a full-strength wight. (Dragon 198) The wights are the animated remains of the common excavators who were slain and dropped into the Undertomb. (Dragon 249) [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. (Prayers from the Faithful) [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. (Faiths and Avatars) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Spellbound) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Villain's Lorebook) [b]Wight Half Hit Dice:[/b] Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. In their new form, they have all the powers and abilities of a normal wight but half their Hit Dice. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) An intelligent living creature completely drained of life levels by a wight dragon becomes a normal half-strength wight under the control of the wight dragon. (Dragon 234) [b]Wichtlin:[/b] Wichtlin are a result of an ancient curse on the court of Queen Sylvyana, a Silvanesti elf also known as the Ghoul Queen. All known records of her reign were destroyed by the Silvanesti, and only fragments of rumors remain. When an elf of evil alignment dies violently, there is a 1 % chance that Chemosh, the Lord of the Undead, in conjunction with the spirit of Queen Sylvyana, claims his spirit and resurrects him as a wichtlin. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Wichtlin Kagonesti:[/b] If an evil Kagonesti elf meets a violent death while riding a wild stag mount, the spirit of the wild stag may also be claimed by Chemosh and resurrected along with the elf. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Wichtlin Wild Stag:[/b] If an evil Kagonesti elf meets a violent death while riding a wild stag mount, the spirit of the wild stag may also be claimed by Chemosh and resurrected along with the elf. (MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix) [b]Wizard Spectral:[/b] See Spectral Wizard. [b]Wolf Dread:[/b] These creatures were originally created by a renegade mage, but word of how to create these horrid creatures seems to have spread across the Prime Material Plane. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) As magically animated undead, dread wolves have no natural place in any ecosystem. To create these servants, a mage must be evil and at least 9th level, and he must have 3d4 wolves that have been dead for no more than a day. The spellcaster begins an incantation over the dead wolves that combines modified versions of animate dead, summon shadow, and dismissal. By doing this, the mage summons a shadow from the Negative Energy Plane and breaks it into parts which are infused into the wolves, creating the dread wolves. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) The spellcasting takes an hour. If the spell is interrupted, the energies of the shadow’s separate parts are unleashed. When this happens, the mage suffers 3d10 points of damage (no save) from the other-worldly energy blast. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) At the end of the hour, the mage will have 3d4 servants that can travel up to 50 miles away and enable him to see and hear everything they see and hear. The wolves are directly under the control of the mage’s mind within this distance. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) The wolves can venture outside the 50-mile limit, but they lose contact with the controlling mage. Unless previous commands prevent this, the wolves will immediately try to get back within the limit to regain contact. The dread wolves can be given a command of up to three short sentences (a total of 30 words), which they will cover any distance to fulfill. This command will always be fulfilled unless the dread wolves are destroyed first. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) For some unknown reason, the spell that makes dread wolves will not work on dogs. A mage who attempts this on dogs suffers 3d10 points of damage as described earlier. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) These creatures were originally created by a renegade mage, Galen Dracos of Krynn. (Dragon 174) To create these servants, a mage must be evil and at least ninth level, and must have 3-12 wolves that have been dead for no more than a day. The spell-caster then begins a long incantation over the dead wolves that combines modified versions of animate dead, summon shadow, and dismissal. By doing this, the mage summons a shadow from the Negative Material plane and breaks it into parts. These parts are infused into the wolves as they animate, creating the dread wolves. (Dragon 174) The spell-casting takes an hour. If the spell is interrupted, the energies of the shadow's separate parts are unleashed. When this happens, the mage takes 3d10 points of physical damage (no save) from the otherworldly energy blast, just as if he had been caught in an ice storm spell. (Dragon 174) For some unknown reason, the spell that makes dread wolves will not work on dogs. If the mage tries to cast the spell on dogs, he will take 3d10 points of damage as described earlier. (Dragon 174) [b]Wolf Vampiric:[/b] These foul undead creatures are the result of corrupting ceremonies used on normal wolf pups by evil clerics. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) In order to create these foul corruptions, a cleric must be evil and at least 9th level. He can use 3d6 pups from one or more wolf dens. The pups must be very close to being weaned, but cannot have tasted meat or they will be useless. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) The cleric first performs a ceremony using what amounts to the opposite of an atonement spell. Then, every day he must hand-feed the pups. The food can be no more than one day old and it must be infused with one or two drops of blood from a living human, or dust from a vampire and cursed using a reversed bless spell. This must continue every day for three months or the pups die. At the end of the three-month period, the pups are fully grown and must then be slain by poisoning; they then arise as vampiric wolves. If they are not slain at this time, the wolves must each make a saving throw vs. death magic or become greatly weakened (1 hp per Hit Die), living on as bloodthirsty but otherwise normal wolves. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) It is impossible to create vampiric dogs. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) These foul undead creatures are the result of corrupting ceremonies used on normal wolf pups by certain evil clerics. (Dragon 174) In order to create these foul corruptions of nature, a cleric must be evil and at least ninth level. He can use 3-18 pups from one or more wolf dens. The pups must be very close to being weaned away from their mother, but cannot have tasted meat or they will be useless. (Dragon 174) The evil cleric first performs a ceremony using what amounts to the opposite of an atonement spell. Then, every day he must hand feed the pups. The food can be no more than one day old; it must also be infused with one or two drops of blood from a living human or dust from a vampire and cursed using a reversed bless spell. This must continue every day for three months or the pups die. At the end of the three-month period, the pups are fully grown and must then be slain by poisoning; they then arise as vampiric wolves. (Dragon 174) It should be noted that it is impossible to create vampiric dogs. Man's long partnership with dogs seems to have robbed them of some essential characteristic needed to make the change work. (Dragon 174) [b]Wolf Zombie:[/b] Zombie wolves are not created by a wizard or a priest, but rise when wolves starve or freeze to death near areas frequented by undead such as graveyards and necroplises. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) It is generally thought that the creatures gain this strange form of existence from incidental contact with the Negative Material Plane. Some sages speculate that the anguish of starvation and freezing provides just enough impetus to animate the simple animals when negative energy touches them. Others figure that another undead creature must consciously seek the dead wolves and give them unlife. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One) [b]Wraith:[/b] The wraith is an evil undead spirit of a powerful human that seeks to absorb human life energy. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Any human killed by a wraith becomes a half-strength wraith under its control (e.g., a 10th-level fighter will become a 5 Hit Die wraith under the control of the wraith that slew him). (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) A wraith is an undead spirit of a powerful, evil human. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Lemures are occasionally chosen to form wraiths or spectres, as well. (MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix) The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) Amiq rasol that do not feed for several years will fade away until they become wraiths. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) Any creature that rides a ghost mount must make an ability check using Wisdom (at a -2 penalty) when the journey begins. If the check is failed, the mount refuses to obey the rider's instructions and instead takes him deep into the nearest wilderness at full speed. Leaping from the mount when it is traveling at a gallop causes 3d6 points of damage, and items falling with the rider must make a saving throw against crushing blows. If the rider stays with the ghost mount, it will throw him after traveling at least 75 miles into the wilderness. Being thrown causes1d6 damage; a saving throw against falling for items carried by the thrown rider must also be made. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix) If the initial Wisdom ability check is successful, the ghost mount obeys, but the rider must then make a saving throw versus death magic when the journey has reached a middle point. Failure indicates that the ghost mount's life energy drain has transformed the rider into a wraith. (MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix) Amiq rasol that do not feed for several years will fade away until they become wraiths. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him. (Dragon 159) When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate. (Dragon 186) A wraith-king can drain life levels by gaze alone at the rate of one level per round for any one victim within clear view in a 30. range (the victim must save vs. death ray each round to avoid this effect). Any victim completely drained of life levels becomes a full-strength wraith under the control of the wraith-king. (Dragon 198) A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. (Dragon 205) Wraith dragons may employ their level-draining breath weapon every other round, three times per day. An intelligent living creature completely drained of life levels in this manner becomes a normal half-strength wraith under the control of the wraith dragon. (Dragon 234) [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. (Prayers from the Faithful) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Spellbound) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Villain's Lorebook) [b]Wraith Soul Beckoner:[/b] ? [b]Wraith Swordwraith:[/b] Swordwraiths are the spirits of warriors cut down during battle and kept from the dissolution of death by their indomitable wills. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) Swordwraiths were once professional soldiers for whom fighting was all there was in life. In many cases, they are too stubborn to even admit that they are dead. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) [b]Wraith-Spider:[/b] Victims drained of all Constitution points by a wraith-spider die and have a 25% chance of becoming wraith-spiders themselves. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) Wraith-spiders were originally created as guardians of treasure or as guards for a particular area of a drow stronghold. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) It is rumored that a wizard named Muiral created them; however, it is more likely that the wraith-spiders were created years before by the drow for their wars against the duergar. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two) [b]Wraith Athasian:[/b] In the Gray, the spirits of the dead slowly dissolve and are absorbed. Some spirits, like wraiths, don’t suffer this fate. They are sustained by a force even more powerful than the Gray – their everlasting faith in a cause greater than themselves. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) All wraiths need something important from their lives to serve as magnets for their spirits. These items can be candles of faith, like in the Crimson shrine, or brilliant gems full of life force, such as the gems used by the Dragon’s wraith knights. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Athasian wraiths differ from other wraiths in that they voluntarily embraced undeath as a form of existence. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) A character slain by a t'liz through its life energy drain becomes an Athasian wraith under direct command of the t'liz. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Wraith Athasian Human Fighter 11, Nikolos:[/b] Nikolos was one of Borys the Thirteenth Champion's select knights during the Cleansing Wars of ages past. Like the other select knights, Nikolos continued to serve Borys after his death by becoming a wraith. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Wyrd:[/b] They are created when an evil spirit inhabits the dead body of an elf. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) The process that creates wyrds is a mystery. It seems to be clear, however, that the spirit that animates a wyrd prefers to occupy elves who have died violently and been left unburied. Elves who have been abandoned by their fellow elves and left to die alone seem to be the most likely to become wyrds.(Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) Certain locales near places of ancient evil, such as ruined temples, battlefields where evil forces were once victorious, and scenes of great treachery also seem to be prone to produce wyrds. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Wyrd Greater:[/b] This more hideous variety of wyrd is created when an undead spirit occupies the body of an exceptionally high-level elf. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Zarovich, Lyssa:[/b] See Vampire, Lyssa Von Zarovich. [b]Zarovich, Strahd:[/b] See Vampire Lord of Barovia, Master Vampire, Strahd Von Zarovich. [b]Zhentarim Spirit:[/b] A Zhentarim spirit is the essence of a Zhentarim wizard who met with a horrible death at the hands of his or her enemies or treacherous comrades. The spirit of the wizard is extremely vengeful, and by sheer force of will is remaining on the Prime Material Plane until a task is complete or until it takes revenge on those who slew it. Zhentarim spirits are extremely rare, and only the death of a wizard who is greater than 14th level can bring about the creation of one of these spiteful spirits. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) The determination of Zhentarim spirits to annihilate their killers is exceptional, and these creatures defy final judgment for indefinite and extended periods to exact their revenge. This is done through these spirits’ force of will (minimum Wisdom of 16), aided by their connection with the magical arts (minimum of 14th-level wizard). (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) These spirits have so far only been linked with wizards of the Zhentarim, and many think the tendency of Zhentarim wizards to form these spirits is attributable to magical means that they use to extend their lives. A vengeful Zhentarim spirit is formed one to two days after the death of an appropriate Zhentarim wizard, and it immediately sets about planning its revenge. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) [b]Zombie:[/b] Zombies are mindless, animated corpses controlled by their creator, usually an evil wizard or priest. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a zombie. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) A cure disease or remove curse spell will transform a son of Kyuss into a zombie, but both spells require that the priest touch the son. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) The odor of death that surrounds the zombie lord is so potent that it can cause horrible effects in those who breath it. On the first round that a character comes within 30 yards of the monster, he must save vs. poison or be affected in some way. The following results are possible: (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) 1d6 Roll Effect 1 Weakness (as the spell) 2 Cause disease (as the spell) 3 -1 point of Constitution 4 Contagion (as the spell) 5 Character unable to act for 1d4 rounds due to nausea and vomiting 6 Character dies instantly and becomes a zombie under control of the zombie lord (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) A cure disease or remove curse spell will transform a son of Kyuss into a zombie, but both spells require that the priest touch the son. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three) Most skeletons and zombies are man-sized or smaller, but larger corpses such as mekillot skeletons and zombie giants are often animated by more powerful necromancers. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Produce Undead undead power. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Zombie Lord odor of death ability. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II) Any creature that is drained to zero level by an undead cloaker or its host will return from the grave in 1d4 days as a common zombie. (Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix III) Creatures brought to 0 life levels by a desert wraith are transformed into zombies within 48 hours, even if raised, unless their bodies are washed in holy water. (FR 10 Old Empires) With the coming of the next full moon, Coetlicrota performed a dark and evil magic ritual in which he vowed that he would gladly trade all of his magical powers for the chance to avenge his people. The Red Death, or some element of it, heard his pleas and acted upon them. As the ceremony was completed, Coetlicrota and all his followers fell dead, only to rise again at the next full moon as a pack of zombies under the absolute control of the zombie master Coetlicrota. (Masque of the Red Death) Marcel Tarascon's odor of death. (RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead) Marcel Tarascon's animate dead. (RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead) The only undead that are magically created are skeletons and zombies, which are created with the animate dead spell. (Dragon 156) Skeletons and zombies are what I call “walking dead” rather than true undead. They have no intelligence and no independent will; they are always the servants of some other being and have simply been animated to serve his purposes. (Dragon 173) Elder bainligor can transform other creatures into undead. This requires a successful attack roll, and entitles the victim to a saving throw against death magic at +1/level or HD of the target (bainligor are not entitled to a saving throw). The creature becomes a zombie unless it is a bainligor, which becomes a Revered One with the HD it had in life. (Dragon 227) [i]Animate Dead[/i] spell. (Player's Handbook) [i]Double Spell[/i] spell. (Dragon 188) [i]Kolin's Undead Legion[/i] spell. (DM's Option High Level Campaigns) [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. (Faiths and Avatars) [i]Undead Familiar[/i] spell. (Pages From the Mages) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Spellbound) [i]Unlife[/i] spell. (Villain's Lorebook) Dead Zone trap. (Dragon 249) [b]Zombie Common:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Desert:[/b] In most cases, a diseased person crumbles into dust when he or she dies. If Senmet chooses, however, he can convert someone infected with his rotting disease into a unique breed of zombie or an actual mummy. In either case, the newly created horror is completely under Senmet's control. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night) [b]Zombie Juju:[/b] These foul creatures are made when a wizard drains the life force from a man-sized humanoid creature with an energy drain spell. (MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One) Humans or humanoids slain by negative energy weapons can be animated as juju zombies, but unless the spell-caster is also the one who wielded the killing weapon, they will be free-willed. (Dragon 194) Those who failed to repay their debt to the old man [Chicken Bone] soon fell ill and died. No magical or natural healing seemed able to save them. Once dead, these sorry souls are said to have risen anew as ju-ju zombies who now wander the marshes around Lake Noir. They are now the minions of the Voodan, repaying their obligation with an eternity of servitude. (MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night (2e)) Humans or humanoids slain by negative energy weapons can be animated as juju zombies, but unless the spell-caster is also the one who wielded the killing weapon, they will be free-willed. (Dragon 194) [i]Energy Drain[/i] spell. (Player's Handbook) [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. (Prayers from the Faithful) [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. (Faiths and Avatars) [b]Zombie Lightning:[/b] Lightning zombies are undead creatures created when the bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids are bathed in exceptionally strong magical auras. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Zombie Lightning Greater:[/b] These creatures are created when a powerful character or leader dies and the body is exposed to awesome magical energies. (Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix) [b]Zombie Lord:[/b] The zombie lord is a living creature that has taken on the foul powers and abilities of the undead. They are formed on rare occasions as the result of a raise dead spell cast while in the demiplane of Ravenloft. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) The zombie lord comes into being by chance, and only under certain conditions. First, an evil human being (the soon-to-be zombie lord) must die at the hands of an undead creature. Second, an attempt to raise the slain character must be made. Third, and last, the character must fail his resurrection survival roll. It is believed that the zombie lord can be created only in Ravenloft, but this is not proven absolutely for they have been encountered in other lands from time to time. (MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix) [b]Zombie Monster:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Mud:[/b] Mud zombies are mindless, animated corpses that consist of a thick layer of slimy mud over a framework of bones. When the appropriate condition arises, they animate. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) Mud zombies are made from whole or partial skeletons, usually human. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) Mud zombies can be created wherever the raw materials to make them (bones and mud) are found. They are usually encountered on battlefields and in graveyards situated near a source of water (a river, bog, or lake). Climatic conditions must be just right at the time they are created or summoned forth. For example, if there has been a prolonged drought and the earth is dry and hard-packed, then a mud zombie cannot rise from its resting place. (Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four) [b]Zombie Sea, Drowned One:[/b] Sea zombies (also known as drowned ones) are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed and are rumored to be animated by the will of the god Nerull the Reaper. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) Many of the humans who become drowned ones were priests while alive, and they retain their powers as undead. (MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix) [b]Zombie Thinking:[/b] A thinking zombie is a creature who has died and its spirit cannot rest until it has completed the task. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Creatures who die before completing an important task (often under the compulsion of a geas or quest spell) often become thinking zombies. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) Many thinking zombies are giants and half-giants, as they are often selected for quests because of their size and strength. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Zombie Thinking Human Templar 6, Evirdel Ironhand:[/b] Evirdel served as a loyal templar in the service of Dictator Andropinis, sorcerer-king of Balic, until she was falsely accused and condemned as a traitor. She was tortured into a false confession before her peers, as an example, and then slain and revived as a thinking zombie. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Zombie Thinking Mul Gladiator 4, Claktor Bloodfist:[/b] Claktor was making a living as a burglar, working with a thief. The pair accidentally chose the wrong home to burglarize and were killed by the powerful defiler who lived there. The thieves were raised from the dead by the defiler almost as a joke. (Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr) [b]Zombie Wolf:[/b] See Wolf Zombie. [b]Zwarth Spirit Warrior:[/b] See Spirit Warrior Zwarth. [/spoiler] 2e TSR Books[spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/183092/MC1-Monstrous-Compendium-Volume-One-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MCI Monstrous Compendium Volume One[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghost:[/b] Ghosts are the spirits of humans who were either so greatly evil in life or whose deaths were so unusually emotional they have been cursed with the gift of undead status. [b]Ghoul:[/b] Any human or demi-human (except elves) killed by a ghoulish attack will become a ghoul unless blessed (or blessed and then resurrected). [b]Ghoul Lacedon:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] In order to become a lich, the wizard must prepare its phylactery by the use of the enchant an item, magic jar, permanency and reincarnation spells. The phylactery, which can be almost any manner of object, must be of the finest craftsmanship and materials with a value of not less than 1,500 gold pieces per level of the wizard. Once this object is created, the would-be lich must craft a potion of extreme toxicity, which is then enchanted with the following spells: wraithform, permanency, cone of cold, feign death, and animate dead. When next the moon is full, the potion is imbibed. Rather than death, the potion causes the wizard to undergo a transformation into its new state. A system shock survival throw is required, with failure indicating an error in the creation of the potion which kills the wizard and renders him forever dead. [b]Lich Demilich:[/b] The demilich is not, as the name implies, a weaker form of the lich. Rather, it is the stage into which a lich will eventually evolve as the power which has sustained its physical form gradually begins to fail. [b]Mummy:[/b] Mummies are corpses native to dry desert areas, where the dead are entombed by a process known as mummification. When their tombs are disturbed, the corpses become animated into a weird unlife state, whose unholy hatred of life causes them to attack living things without mercy. Mummies are the product of an embalming process used on wealthy and important personages. Most mummies are corpses without magical properties. On occasion, perhaps due to powerful evil magic or perhaps because the individual was so greedy in life that he refuses to give up his treasure, the spirit of the mummified person will not die, but taps into energy from the Positive Material plane and is transformed into an undead horror. To create a mummy, a corpse should be soaked in a preserving solution (typically carbonate of soda) for several weeks and covered with spices and resins. Body organs, such as the heart, brain, and liver, are typically removed and sealed in jars. Sometimes gems are wrapped in the cloth. When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10+2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies. [b]Shadow:[/b] If a human or demihuman opponent is reduced to zero Strength or zero hit points by a shadow, the shadow has drained the life force and the opponent becomes a shadow as well. According to most knowledgeable sages, shadows appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse laid upon some long-dead enemy. The curse affects only humans and demihumans so it would seem that it affects the soul or spirit. When victims no longer can resist, either through loss of consciousness (hit points) or physical prowess (Strength points), the curse is activated and the majority of the character's essence is shifted to the Negative Material plane. Only a shadow of their former self remains on the Prime Material plane, and the transformation always renders the victim both terribly insane and undeniably evil. [b]Skeleton:[/b] All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests. Skeletons appear to have no ligaments or musculature which would allow movement. Instead, the bones are magically joined together during the casting of an animate dead spell. Skeletons have no eyes or internal organs. Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants. [b]Skeleton Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Animal:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Monster:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] Any being totally drained of life energy by a spectre becomes a full-strength spectre. No one knows who the first spectre was or how it came to be. [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. In their new form, they have all the powers and abilities of a normal wight but half their Hit Dice. If the wight who "created" them is slain, they will instantly be freed of its control and gain a portion of its power, acquiring the normal 4+3 Hit Dice of their kind. [b]Half Hit Dice Wight:[/b] Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. In their new form, they have all the powers and abilities of a normal wight but half their Hit Dice. [b]Wraith:[/b] The wraith is an evil undead spirit of a powerful human that seeks to absorb human life energy. Any human killed by a wraith becomes a half-strength wraith under its control (e.g., a 10th-level fighter will become a 5 Hit Die wraith under the control of the wraith that slew him). A wraith is an undead spirit of a powerful, evil human. [b]Zombie:[/b] Zombies are mindless, animated corpses controlled by their creator, usually an evil wizard or priest. The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a zombie. [b]Zombie Common:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Monster:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Juju:[/b] These foul creatures are made when a wizard drains the life force from a man-sized humanoid creature with an energy drain spell. [/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16954/Blood-Enemies-Abominations-of-Cerilia-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Blood Enemies: Abominations of Cerilia[/URL][spoiler] [b]The Magian:[/b] The Magian is a powerful being, but he has not been alive for nearly 200 years. Sheer willpower and magic sustained it for much of that time. Now, he is immortal, as the blood of Azrai removed the frailties of his undead state. [b]Rider:[/b] ?[/spoiler] Blood Spawn[spoiler] [b]Faerie Unseelie Undead:[/b] Undead members of the Unseelie Court come into being when a faerie (of any alignment) dies in a battle between the two courts. The horror of kin slaying kin creates a ripple through the Seeming itself, preventing the deceased faerie from dissipating into it. The creature’s spirit becomes trapped, sentenced to eternally walk the Shadow World but stripped of the magical abilities it once had. It becomes an unthinking being, lashing out in anger and resentment at the living, held in check only by the Dark Queen. [b]Spectral Awnsheghlien:[/b] Summoned by the Cold Rider to serve his dark bidding in undeath, spectral awnsheghlien are the spirits of slain Abominations from the waking world. At their moments of death, the Cold Rider trapped their essences in the Shadow World—it would be a shame, after all, to let such pure, unmitigated evil merely scatter to the winds. When a Cerilian awnshegh dies, the bloodline of Azrai that it carried in its veins dissipates and travels to the Shadow World. This holds true even for awnshegh victims of bloodtheft. (Recall that even with a tighmaevril weapon, the attacker receives only 5 bloodline strength points; the rest dissipate.) Only an awnshegh who invests its bloodline before death is immune to the possibility of becoming a specter. [b]Spectre:[/b] Each time a spectral awnshegh touches an opponent, it transforms some of the victim’s life essence to shadow and drains 1 Constitution point. Should a character’s Constitution drop to 0, the victim turns into a spectre. [/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16996/MC2-Monstrous-Compendium-Volume-Two-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two[/URL][spoiler] [b]Banshee, Groaning Spirit:[/b] The groaning spirit, or banshee, is the spirit of an evil female elf—a very rare thing indeed. [b]Haunt:[/b] A haunt is the restless spirit of a person who died leaving some vital task unfinished. The exact task to be accomplished varies, but the motives are always powerful (revenge, unfulfilled greed, love, and so forth). Often great distances need to be traveled before the task can be completed and a haunt will drive its host mercilessly toward the goal, ignoring all needs for food or sleep. [b]Heucuva:[/b] Legends tell that heucuva are the restless spirits of monastic priests who were less than faithful to their holy vows. In punishment for their heresies, they are forced to roam the dark. [b]Poltergeist:[/b] Poltergeists are the spirits of restless dead. Some say that poltergeists are the spirits of those who committed heinous crimes that went unpunished in life. [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17539/MC3-Monstrous-Compendium-Forgotten-Realms-Appendix-2e?it=1?affiliate_id=17596]MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix[/URL][spoiler] [b]Crawling Claw:[/b] Since claws are the animated remains of hands or paws of living creatures, they are apt to be found in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Crawling claws are nothing more than the animated hands and paws of once-living creatures. Crawling claws can be created by any mage or priest who has knowledge of the techniques required to do so. To begin with, the creator must assemble the severed limbs that are to animated. The maximum number of claws that can be created at any one time is equal to the level of the person enchanting them. The hands (or paws) can be either fresh, skeletal, or at any stage of decomposition in between. [b]Dracolich:[/b] The dracolich is an undead creature resulting from the unnatural transformation of an evil dragon. The mysterious Cult of the Dragon practices the powerful magic necessary for the creation of the dracolich, though other practitioners are also rumored to exist. A dracolich can be created from any of the evil dragon subspecies. The c r e atio n of a dracolich is a complex process involving the transformation of an evil dragon by arcane magical forces, the most notorious practitioners of which are members of the Cult of the Dragon. The process is usually a cooperative effort between the evil dragon and the wizards, but especially powerful wizards have been known to coerce an evil dragon to undergo the transformation against its will. Any evil dragon is a possible candidate for transformation, although old dragons or older with spell-casting abilities are preferred. Once a candidate is secured, the wizards first prepare the dragon's host, an inanimate object that will hold the dragon's life force. The host must be a solid item of not less than 2,000 gp value resistant to decay (wood, for instance, is unsuitable). A gemstone is commonly used for a host, particularly ruby, pearl, carbuncle, and jet, and is often set in the hilt of a sword or other weapon. The host is prepared by casting enchant an item upon it and speaking the name of the evil dragon; the item may resist the spell by successfully saving vs. spell as an llth-level wizard. If the spell is resisted, another item must be used for the host. If the spell is not resisted, the item can then function as a host. If desired, glassteel can be cast upon the host to protect it. Next, a special potion is prepared for the evil dragon to consume. The exact composition of the potion varies according to the age and type of the dragon, but it must contain precisely seven ingredients, among them a potion of evil dragon control, a potion of invulnerability, and the blood of a vampire. When the evil dragon consumes the potion, the results are determined as follows (roll percentile dice): Roll Result 01-10 No effect. 11-40 Potion does not work. The dragon suffers 2d12 points of damage and is helpless with convulsions for 1-2 rounds. 41-50 Potion does not work. The dragon dies. A full wish or similar spell is needed to restore the dragon to life; a wish to transform the dragon into a dracolich results in another roll on this table. 51-00 Potion works. If the potion works, the dragon's spirit transfers to the host, regardless of the distance between the dragon's body and the host. A dim light within the host indicates the presence of the spirit. While contained in the host, the spirit cannot take any actions; it cannot be contacted nor attacked by magic. The spirit can remain in the host indefinitely. Once the spirit is contained in the host, the host must be brought within 90 feet of a reptilian corpse; under no circumstances can the spirit possess a living body. The spirit's original body is ideal, but the corpse of any reptilian creature that died or was killed within the previous 30 days is suitable. The wizard who originally prepared the host must touch the host, cast a magic jar spell while speaking the name of the dragon, then touch the corpse. The corpse must fail a saving throw vs. spell for the spirit to successfully possess it; if it saves, it will never accept the spirit. The following modifiers apply to the roll: [*]10 if the corpse is the spirit's own former body (which can be dead for any length of time). [*]4 if the corpse is of the same alignment as the dragon. [*]4 if the corpse is that of a true dragon (any type). [*]3 if the corpse is that of a firedrake, ice lizard, wyvern, or fire lizard. [*]1 if the corpse is that of a dracolisk, dragonne, dinosaur, snake, or other reptile. If the corpse accepts the spirit, it becomes animated by the spirit. If the animated corpse is the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a dracolich; however, it will not regain the use of its voice and breath weapon for another seven days (note that it will not be able to cast spells with verbal components during this time). At the end of seven days, the dracolich regains the use of its voice and breath weapon. If the animated corpse is not the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a proto-dracolich. A proto-dracolich has the mind and memories of its original form, but has the hit points and immunities to spells and priestly turning of a dracolich. A protodracolich can neither speak nor cast spells; further, it cannot cause chilling damage, use a breath weapon, or cause fear as a dracolich. Its strength, movement, and Armor Class are those of the possessed body. To become a full dracolich, a proto-dracolich must devour at least 10% of its original body. Unless the body has been dispatched to another plane of existence, a proto-dracolich can always sense the presence of its original body, regardless of the distance. A proto-dracolich will tirelessly seek out its original body to the exclusion of all other activities. If its original body has been burned, dismembered, or otherwise destroyed, the proto-dracolich need only devour the ashes or pieces equal to or exceeding 10% of its original body mass (total destruction of the original body is possible only through use of a disintegrate or similar spell; the body could be reconstructed with a wish or similar spell, so long as the spell is cast in the same plane as the disintegration). If a proto-dracolich is unable to devour its original body, it is trapped in its current form until slain. A proto-dracolich transforms into a full dracolich within seven days after it devours its original body. When the transformation is complete, the dracolich resembles its original body; it can now speak, cast spells, and employ the breath weapon of its original body, in addition to having all of the abilities of a dracolich. [b]Revenant:[/b] Revenants are vengeful spirits that have risen from the grave to destroy their killers. Under exceptional circumstances, a character who has died a violent death may rise as a revenant from the grave to wreak vengeance on his killer(s). In order to make this transition, two requirements must be met. The dead character's Constitution must be 18 and either his Wisdom or Intelligence must be greater than 16. Also, the total of his six ability scores must be 90 or more. Even if these conditions are met, there is only a 5% chance that the dead character becomes a revenant. If both Intelligence and Wisdom are over 16, the chance increases to 10%. If Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution are all 18, the creature can shift at will into any freshly killed humanoid, if the revenant rolls a successful saving throw vs. death. [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16963/MC4-Monstrous-Compendium-Dragonlance-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix[/URL][spoiler] [b]Undead Beast:[/b] The undead beast is a mindless killer of unknown origin, compelled to destroy the living. [b]Stahnk:[/b] ? [b]Gholor:[/b] ? [b]Anhkolox:[/b] ? [b]Knight Haunt:[/b] A knight haunt is a floating suit of Solamnic armor, always accompanied by some sort of weapon. If the battle where the knight fell was one where more than 100 Solamnic knights died then it is always riding a suit of floating horse barding. A knight haunt is sometimes (5% chance) created when an especially lawful good Knight with a Wisdom of 17 or higher dies in battle. The haunt rises with the next full moon phase of Solinari. If its armor has been taken away, the power of the spirit can magically teleport the armor back to the site of the battlefield. If its armor has been destroyed, the power that creates the haunt can create an exact duplicate of the armor it wore. [b]Death Knight:[/b] A death knight is the horrifying corruption of a Knight of Solamnia, cursed by the gods to its terrible form as punishment for betraying the code of honor it held in its former life. The death knights of Krynn are former Knights of Solamnia who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. (For instance, Lord Soth, the most famous of all death knights, murdered his wife so that he could continue an affair with an elf maid.) Death knights are cursed to remain in their former domains, usually castles or other strongholds. They are further condemned to remember their crime in song on any night when one of Krynn's three moons is full; few sounds are as terrifying as a death knight's chilling melody echoing through the moonlit countryside. [b]Lord Soth, Death Knight:[/b] The death knights of Krynn are former Knights of Solamnia who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. (For instance, Lord Soth, the most famous of all death knights, murdered his wife so that he could continue an affair with an elf maid.) [b]Spectral Minion:[/b] Spectral minions are the spirits of humans or demihumans who died before they could fulfill their vows. Even in death, spectral minions are bound to the vows or quests placed upon them while they were alive. Spectral minions are cursed to relive the events leading to their death, endlessly trying to fulfill their vows. Outdoors, they must stay within 1,000 yards of where they died. Indoors, they must stay in the corridor or room where they lost their lives. On very rare occasions where a quest required them to perform an act over a wide area, they are free to roam within that area. [b]Spectral Minion Berserker:[/b] Some spectral minions become overwhelmed by despair. Losing all hope of ever being freed from their charge, these minions are eventually driven into a berkserking frenzy. Others become mindless killers as soon as they become minions because of an unresolved obsession in their former lives; for instance, a spectral minion cook might become a berserker because someone in the past criticized his cooking and was no longer around to apologize for the remark. In all cases, berserker spectral minions have rebelled against their quests and have no hope of ever being freed from their charges. [b]Spectral Minion Guardian:[/b] These spectral minions were quested to defend a room, a passage, or an object. In most cases, they served as guards for some important location and died at their posts. [b]Spectral Minion Philosopher:[/b] It is their curse to endlessly discuss philosophic issues left unresolved in their former lives. [b]Spectral Minion Reveler:[/b] These minions are cursed to celebrate madly for all eternity. [b]Spectral Minion Searcher:[/b] Searchers are spectral minions that stalk endlessly through their territory, searching for a particular object to fulfill their quest. These creatures were questing when they died in their original forms, and usually the object of the quest is not to be found within the searcher's range. [b]Spectral Minion Warrior:[/b] These minions are the spirits of mortals who were locked in combat at the time of death, usually soldiers who died in bloody battles. Groups of 100 or more warrior spectral minions are typically encountered on a battlefield, including fighters of differing alignments from both sides of a battle. [b]Skeleton Warrior:[/b] Formerly powerful fighters, skeleton warriors are undead lords forced into their nightmarish states by powerful wizards or evil demigods who trapped their souls in golden circlets. [b]Wichtlin:[/b] Wichtlin are a result of an ancient curse on the court of Queen Sylvyana, a Silvanesti elf also known as the Ghoul Queen. All known records of her reign were destroyed by the Silvanesti, and only fragments of rumors remain. When an elf of evil alignment dies violently, there is a 1 % chance that Chemosh, the Lord of the Undead, in conjunction with the spirit of Queen Sylvyana, claims his spirit and resurrects him as a wichtlin. [b]Kagonesti Wichtlin:[/b] If an evil Kagonesti elf meets a violent death while riding a wild stag mount, the spirit of the wild stag may also be claimed by Chemosh and resurrected along with the elf. [b]Wichtlin Wild Stag:[/b] If an evil Kagonesti elf meets a violent death while riding a wild stag mount, the spirit of the wild stag may also be claimed by Chemosh and resurrected along with the elf. [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Groaning Spirit:[/b] ? [b]Juju Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Lacedon:[/b] ? [b]Poltergeist:[/b] ? [b]Revenant:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17409/MC5-Monstrous-Compendium-Greyhawk-Adventures-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix[/URL][spoiler] [b]Crypt Thing:[/b] ? [b]Crypt Thing Ancestral:[/b] Ancestral crypt things are the raised spirits of the dead that have returned to guard the tombs of their descendants. This happens only in rare cases (determined by the DM). [b]Crypt Thing Summoned:[/b] Called into existence by a wizard or priest of at least 14th level. [i]Create Crypt Thing[/i] spell. [b]Son of Kyuss:[/b] Sons of Kyuss are horrible undead beings that convert living humans and demihumans into cursed undead like themselves. In addition to flailing fists, one worm per round attempts to jump from a son of Kyuss's head to a character the son is meleeing. The worm needs only to roll a successful attack roll (same THACO as the son) to land on the victim. The worm burrows into the victim on the next round unless killed by the touch of cold iron, holy water, or a blessed object. After penetrating the victim's skin, the worm burrows toward the victim's brain, taking 1d4 rounds to reach it. During this time a remove curse or cure disease spell will kill the worm, and neutralize poison or dispel evil will delay the worm for 1d6 turns. If the worm reaches the brain, the victim dies immediately and becomes a son of Kyuss. Decay and putrification set in without further delay. Kyuss was an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity. The worms are tied to the curse of the sons but exactly how remains a mystery. It is known that the worms cannot survive apart from a victim or on a son. Worms that fail to burrow into a victim die as soon as they touch the ground. Any worm removed from a son dies within one round of separation from the son who carried it. When a son is killed permanently, the worms die with him. Some sages have proposed that the worms might not be living creatures per se, but incarnations of the curse. [b]Vampire Wizard:[/b] ? [b]Slow Shadow:[/b] Slow shadows, like shadows, are believed to be a race of long-dead people cursed to madness and a split existence on the Prime and Negative Material planes. This curse drives slow shadows to hunt and transform living humanoids and demihumans into slow shadows like themselves. Sages speculate that shadows and slow shadows, when they lived, were bitter enemies. Their cruel, wicked ways and constant warfare brought down a terrible curse upon both races. Now the two people continue their ancient battle, never dying, cursed to insanity, recruiting new shadows and slow shadows from the living. On rare occasions, battles between shadows and slow shadows have been witnessed and it seems that vanquished slow shadows become shadows and vanquished shadows become slow shadows. [b]Lesser Slow Shadow:[/b] Humanoids killed by slow shadows become lesser slow shadows within one turn. The change can be prevented by casting remove curse on the body. [b]Shadow:[/b] Slow shadows, like shadows, are believed to be a race of long-dead people cursed to madness and a split existence on the Prime and Negative Material planes. This curse drives slow shadows to hunt and transform living humanoids and demihumans into slow shadows like themselves. Sages speculate that shadows and slow shadows, when they lived, were bitter enemies. Their cruel, wicked ways and constant warfare brought down a terrible curse upon both races. Now the two people continue their ancient battle, never dying, cursed to insanity, recruiting new shadows and slow shadows from the living. On rare occasions, battles between shadows and slow shadows have been witnessed and it seems that vanquished slow shadows become shadows and vanquished shadows become slow shadows. [b]Swordwraith:[/b] Swordwraiths are the spirits of warriors cut down during battle and kept from the dissolution of death by their indomitable wills. Swordwraiths were once professional soldiers for whom fighting was all there was in life. In many cases, they are too stubborn to even admit that they are dead. [b]Soul Beckoner:[/b] ? [b]Sea Zombie, Drowned One:[/b] Sea zombies (also known as drowned ones) are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed and are rumored to be animated by the will of the god Nerull the Reaper. Many of the humans who become drowned ones were priests while alive, and they retain their powers as undead. [b]Zombie:[/b] A cure disease or remove curse spell will transform a son of Kyuss into a zombie, but both spells require that the priest touch the son. [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Juju Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Lacedon:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] ? Create Crypt Thing 7th-level Wizard or Priest spell (necromantic) (Reversible) Range: Touch Casting Time: 1 round Components: V,S Area of Effect: 1 corpse Duration: Permanent Saving Throw: None This spell enables the caster to cause a single dead body to animate and assume the status of a crypt thing. This spell can be cast only in the tomb or grave area the crypt thing is to protect; the spell requires that the caster touch the skull of the subject body. Once animated, the crypt thing remains until destroyed. Only one crypt thing may guard a given tomb. A successful dispel magic spell returns the crypt thing to its original unanimated state. Attempts to restore the crypt thing before this is done fail for any magic short of a wish. The reverse of this spell, destroy crypt thing, utterly annihilates any one such being as soon as it is touched by the caster. The target is allowed a saving throw vs. death magic to avoid destruction.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17319/MC6-Monstrous-Compendium-KaraTur-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MC6 Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix[/URL][spoiler] [b]Chu-U, Legless Ghost:[/b] If travelers agree to listen, the chu-u relates the story of its life as a human. The story is always sad and is told in great detail, beginning with the bad decisions the chu-u made as a child, continuing through its sorrowful experiences as an adult, and ending with the circumstances of its death, usually the result of cowardice or ineptitude. They were neither virtuous enough to pass the judges' examinations nor malevolent enough to merit additional sentencing. [b]Con-Tinh:[/b] The malicious con-tinh is a lesser spirit believed to be the spirit of a maiden who died before her time. According to legend, the Celestial Bureaucracy creates a con-tinh from the spirit of a young maiden who has died before her time, usually as a result of a misdeed. The most common misdeed is an illicit love affair, which ends when the maiden is murdered by a rival or jealous spouse. On rare occasions, sisters who conspired in the same misdeed both become con-tinh, their lifeforces tied to identical, adjacent trees. [b]Gaki, Nin-Chu-Jugaki:[/b] Gaki are lesser spirits derived from the wicked, who have returned to the Prime Material Plane in the form of horrible monsters as punishment for their sins. The name "gaki" refers to a variety of such spirits. They are also known as the "nin-chu-jugaki." The type of gaki depends on the nature of the crimes committed in the spirit's former life. [b]Jiki-Ketsu-Gaki:[/b] Jiki-ketsu-gaki are corrupted spirits of priests or other holy men who were guilty of heresy in their former lives. [b]Jiki-Niku-Gaki:[/b] Jiki-niku-gaki are corrupted spirits of humans or humanoids who were guilty of excessive avarice in their former lives. Greedy merchants and miserly moneylenders often become these ghoulish, repulsive monsters. [b]Shikki-Gaki:[/b] Most shikki-gaki are the corrupted spirits of irresponsible medical personnel or negligent servants. But about 15% once were lesser nature spirits that inhabited mushrooms or other fungi sprouting from the trunks of decaying trees. These nature spirits completely succumbed to their evil aspect. Usually, they developed a taste for bluebirds, butterflies, or similarly docile creatures. The Celestial Bureaucracy warned them to stop, but they persisted. As a result, they were destroyed and reborn as a mushroom shikki-gaki. [b]Shinen-Gaki:[/b] Shinen-gaki may originate from the spirit of any wicked human, but often they're created from the spirit of a traitorous or cowardly soldier. [b]Kuei:[/b] A lesser spirit of the dead, the kuei is a manifestation of a human or humanoid who died by violence unavenged or with a purpose unfulfilled. The spirit's former body was not buried. [b]Memedi Djim:[/b] Djim are spirits of deceased priests, typically appearing as elderly, bald men wearing long prayer robes. [b]Memedi Uwil:[/b] Uwil are derived from the spirit of dead sohei. [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Groaning Spirit:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Eastern Vampire:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL="www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17244/MC7-Monstrous-Compendium-Spelljammer-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]MC7 Monstrous Compenium Spelljammer Appendix[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Ancient Mariner:[/b] An ancient mariner is the undead spirit of a member of a long-lost evil race that once sailed the phlogiston seas. [b]Mariner Shadow:[/b] Any creature killed by the energy drain of an ancient mariner becomes an mariner shadow with most of the abilities of a normal shadow. [b]Spiritjam:[/b] A spiritjam is the soul of an evil cleric or wizard who died while spelljamming. The spirit of the cleric or wizard remained behind when the physical body perished.[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16892/MC8-Monstrous-Compendium-Outer-Planes-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix[/URL][spoiler] [b]Githyanki Lich-Queen:[/b] ? [b]Undead:[/b] [B]Ghasts:[/b] A Nabassu's death gaze causes anyone they look at to save vs. spells or become a ghast (or ghoul if the victim is a demihuman). [B]Ghouls:[/b] A Nabassu's death gaze causes anyone they look at to save vs. spells or become a ghast (or ghoul if the victim is a demihuman). [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] Lemures are occasionally chosen to form wraiths or spectres, as well. [b]Wraith:[/b] Lemures are occasionally chosen to form wraiths or spectres, as well. [/spoiler] [URL=https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17261/MC9-Monstrous-Compendium-Spelljammer-Appendix-II-2e?filters=0_0_0_0_0_45347_0_0?affiliate_id=17596]MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II (2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Firelich:[/b] Firelichs are high-level evil mages whose bodies were prepared for lichdom upon their death. Such mages, either through ignorance (such as in casting fire spells) or spell failure, exploded in the phlogiston. The lich-preparation spells in their bodies turned them into living fireballs of undeath, racing through wildspace, screaming in eternal pain and looking for something to collide with, as a way to extinguish the flames. It is unknown how the wizard gets from the phlogiston to wildspace. Since the only wizards that can become fireliches are the ones that had made previous preparations for lichdom, some guess that the arcane lich ceremonies tear a temporary hole into wildspace. The energy to create this tear may come from the explosion that created the firelich. If this is true, the hole certainly closes immediately after the firelich enters wildspace. [b]Spirit Warrior:[/b] Spirit warriors are weapons from the Unhuman Wars. There are three ways to acquire one: find one that has been abandoned, wrest one from its owner in combat, or grow one from an egg and perform the appropriate spells. Since the Wars ranged over a great area, the chance of finding an abandoned warrior is small. Also, those still piloted have most likely been around since the time of the Wars, so wresting one from its master in combat is also unlikely. This leaves the method of growing one from an egg, as follows: The would-be spirit warrior receives an egg. The fighter must incubate the pinhead-sized egg in a warm and secure environment, preferably next to the fighter's body. When the egg hatches, the warrior must nurture and protect the fragile larva from six months to a year, until it is mature. This nurturing involves close emotional contact with the insect (stroking, petting, cuddling, thinking pleasant thoughts) to develop a strong emotional bond as one would with a pet or familiar. After a year the insect is mature, and the spells of modification begin; however, for the strongest bond, this final process is delayed until after the insect has died of old age. If the spells are performed on a living insect, it dies during the ceremony. The insect becomes a spirit warrior via spells that enlarge, animate, strengthen, and physically modify the insect's remains. These spells also link the minds of warrior and insect in an unbreakable bond, unaffected by magic, disease, physical attack, or mental control. The final stage of the process installs a special minor helm in the hollow chest cavity of the insect warrior. During the Unhuman Wars, elvish mages created the warriors as armored, super-strong weapons to counter orcish monsters being released on various worlds. At first their years of research only worked up to a point: the giant undead insects ran amok, killing researchers and damaging Armada Noble itself. An assistant, Rowan Starblade by name, discovered that the ceremonies failed because the researchers and the insects shared no emotional bond. When one of Rowan's "pet" research insects rampaged after the ill-fated ceremony, she threw herself in front of the beast, begging it to stop. To her surprise, the giant insect obeyed her command! Further experimentation with Rowan's pet zombie revealed that when she welded a modified minor helm in the insect's hollow chest cavity with gold and platinum wire, she could sit in the helm and pilot the insect with her speed and agility, and with the insect's strength. [b]Spirit Warrior Carnivore:[/b] Carnivores descend from the praying mantis. [b]Spirit Warrior Herbivore:[/b] Herbivores are based on the katydid. [b]Spirit Warrior Nektar:[/b] Nektars descend from an insect similar to both a butterfly and a wasp. [b]Spirit Warrior Zwarth:[/b] Zwarth construction resembles that of a spirit warrior. Growth and bonding processes are the same. (Yes, an entire party must undergo this process!) [b]Stellar Undead:[/b] Stellar undead are the corpses of spelljamming sailors returned to a semblance of life. The corpses are animated by raw energy from the Negative Material Plane. This energy warps the dying sailor's brains, twisting their final thoughts of home, safety, and friends into an unholy desire to walk again among the living, and to be warm again by drinking their blood. Due to the vacuum of wildspace, most bodies decompose very slowly. When viewed from more than 3' away, stellar undead do not look dead, but much as they did in life.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17530/MC10-Monstrous-Compendium-Ravenloft-Appendix?affiliate_id=17596]MC10 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix[/URL][spoiler] [b]Bastellus:[/b] Any being reduced to below level 0 by the preying of a bastellus will die in its sleep, seemingly of a heart attack. If the body is not destroyed (via cremation, immersion in acid, or similar means), its spirit will rise in a number of days equal to the number of levels it lost to the bastellus. Thus, a 14th level wizard would rise up in two weeks. The new spirit is also a bastellus, but it has no connection with the monster that created it. There are those who would argue that the bastellus is a creature from beyond the grave and, therefore, has no place in the biology of the natural world. In fact, there is a great deal of speculation that this is not the case. Numerous scholars have put forth the theory that the bastellus is actually a product of the unrecognized hopes and aspirations of living creatures. If this is true, then the bastellus is very much a by-product of the living world and at least nominally important to it. This debate has raged for countless centuries, however, and it seems that the scholars who put forth both arguments are no closer to a resolution of the issue than they were when the debate began. [b]Skeletal Bat:[/b] Skeletal bats are created by the use of an animate dead spell and are often associated with necromancers or evil priests. They are to bats what traditional skeletons are to humans — mindless animated remains. [b]Bowlyn, Sailor's Demise:[/b] Bowlyn are undead spirits who, like the poltergeist, do not rest easily in their graves. Without exception, they were sailors on ocean-going vessels who died due to an accident at sea. In life, they were cruel or selfish persons; in death they blame their shipmates for the mishap that took their lives. Thus, they return from their watery graves to force others beneath the icy waves. Typical hauntings do not occur immediately after the death of the sailor fated to become a bowlyn. It takes the spirit of the seaman from 1-10 years to return from the grave. The first appearance of a bowlyn always takes place on the anniversary of its death and the haunting lasts for 1-6 weeks. [b]Bussengeist:[/b] A bussengeist is the spectral form of someone who died in a great calamity brought on by their own action or inaction. As a rule, only those persons who feel remorse for their actions will become bussengeists. For example, a traitor who allowed an invading force to gain access to a walled city and was himself slain in the ensuing battle might become a bussengeist. If he was killed without warning and felt no pity for those his actions had brought misery to, he would not be transformed. If, on the other hand, he knew that he was about to die and had reason to feel that he had acted in error, he might well become a bussengeist. In his afterlife, he would visit cities in the process of being raided by barbarians, castles being overrun by monsters, and similar scenes. [b]Ghoul Lord:[/b] Ghoul lords are unique to the demiplane of Ravenloft. It is rumored that they were first created at the hands of an insane necromancer in some other dimension, but that they were so evil as to instantly draw the attention of the Dark Powers. The Mists of Ravenloft absorbed all of the existing ghoul lords and scattered them across the domains. [b]Azalin, Lich, Lord of Darkon:[/b] ? [b]Strahd Von Zarovich, Master Vampire, Lord of Barovia:[/b] ? [b]Mist Horror:[/b] Mist horrors are the spirits of evil beings who, while not foul enough to receive their own domain, attracted the attention of the Dark Powers with their diabolical acts during life. Upon their deaths, their spirits leave their bodies to enter the mists. Throughout Ravenloft, there is a superstition that anyone buried on a foggy day will become a mist horror. This may or may not be true, but the Vistani themselves seem to take this belief very seriously and that lends great credence to it in the eyes of many. As mentioned above, mist horrors are the spirits of evil beings who did not merit a place as lord of their own domain. In essence, a mist horror is the evil soul of a being foul enough to draw the attention of the Dark Powers, but not so evil as to be rewarded/cursed with their own domain. [b]Wandering Horror:[/b] Wandering horrors appear as dark shapes that can be seen as they move through the mists. Unlike mist horrors, they are locked into a single shape—one that is based on the evil deed they did in life. For example, a cruel baron who ordered those he considered disloyal beheaded might well appear as a wandering figure without a head while a woman who murdered her lover with a poisonous spider might appear as a giant black widow. The wandering horror is an evolutionary step above the mist horror. In essence, a mist horror is the evil soul of a being foul enough to draw the attention of the Dark Powers, but not so evil as to be rewarded/cursed with their own domain. After a period of time as a mist horror, however, this spirit may have caused enough fear and suffering (in short, done enough evil) to be elevated to the status of wandering horror. [b]Greater Mummy, Anhktepot's Children:[/b] Also known as Anhktepot's Children, greater mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding of a burial place. Greater mummies look just like their more common cousins save that they are almost always adorned with (un)holy symbols and wear the vestments of their religious order. They give off an odor that is said to be reminiscent of a spice cupboard because of the herbs used in the embalming process that created them. Greater mummies are powerful undead creatures that are usually created from the mummified remains of powerful, evil priests. This being the case, the greater mummy now draws its mystical abilities from evil powers and darkness. In rare cases, however, the mummified priests served non-evil god in life and are still granted the powers they had in life from those gods. The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the Lord of Har'akir, in the years before he became undead himself. The process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har'akir. [b]Greater Mummy 99 Years Old or Less:[/b] ? [b]Greater Mummy 100-199 Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. [b]Greater Mummy 200-299 Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. [b]Greater Mummy 300-199 Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. [b]Greater Mummy 400-199 Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. [b]Greater Mummy 500 or More Years Old:[/b] Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time in Ravenloft. [b]Anhktepot, Lord of Har'akir:[/b] ? [b]Giant Skeleton:[/b] Giant skeletons are similar to the more common undead skeleton, but they have been created with a combination of spells and are, thus, far more deadly than their lesser counterparts. In actuality, they are simply human skeletons that have been magically enlarged. The first giant skeletons to appear in Ravenloft were created by the undead priestess Radaga in her lair within the domain of Kartakass. Others have since mastered the spells and techniques required to create these monsters; thus, giant skeletons are gradually beginning to appear in other realms where the dead and undead lurk. They are created from the bones of those who have died and are abominations in the eyes of all who belief in the sanctity of life and goodness. The process by which giant skeletons are created is dark and evil. Attempts to manufacture them outside of Ravenloft have failed, so it is clear that they are in some way linked to the Dark Powers themselves. In order to create a giant skeleton, a spell caster must have the intact skeleton of a normal human or demihuman. On a night when the land is draped in fog, they must cast an animate dead, produce fire, enlarge, and a resist fire spell over the bones. When the last spell is cast, the bones lengthen and thicken and the creatures rises up. The the creator must make a Ravenloft Powers check for his part in this evil undertaking. [b]Undead Priestess, Radaga:[/b] ? [b]Strahd's Skeletal Steed:[/b] Strahd's skeletal steeds are magically animated undead horses, created as guardians and warriors by the master vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. Completely stripped of flesh, skeletal steeds are held together by magic. Only Strahd Von Zarovich knows the arcane ritual necessary to make them. He can make them only from horse skeletons where 90% of the bones and the skull are present. It is not know if other animals can be animated from the same spell, but given the power of the Lord of Barovia, and his ties to the evil forces of necromancy, this seems probable. [b]Undead Treant:[/b] When an evil treant sees that its many years are soon to come to an end, it seldom accepts this fate quietly. For most, this means a final, wild orgy of violence and death. For a few, however, it means death and resurrection as a thing so dark and evil that even the Vistani will not speak of it. Undead treants seem to be a natural stage in the life cycle of some evil treants. No doubt this is given as a "reward" for their evil lives by the Dark Powers. [b]Valpurgeist, Hanged Man:[/b] The valpurgeist, or hanged man, is an undead creature that is sometimes manifested when an innocent man or woman is wrongly hanged for a crime. Unable to prove its innocence in life, the spirit returns after death to claim the lives of those who sent it to the gallows. Valpurgeists are lonely souls who have felt the cold injustice of a world that would not believe their pleas of innocence. Because of this, they will have no kinship with any living thing in their afterlife. They are simply products of evil and darkness. [b]Duke Gundar, Lord of Gundarak, Vampire Lord:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Companion:[/b] The process of vampiric bonding is as murky as the fog that often shrouds the vampire's movement. When the vampire decides to take a companion, it generally (although not always) seeks out an individual of the opposite sex that reminds them of someone they loved in life. The vampire repeatedly visits the victim, feeding on them until they are at the point of death. At the last, when all hope seems lost, the vampire draws away the last vestiges of the companion's life and infuses them with its own energies. The process is both traumatic and passionate, for this mingling of essences is far more intimate than any purely physical act of love. When the bonding is completed, both the vampire and its victim are exhausted and all but helpless for upwards of an hour. At the end of that time, the victim has become a vampire. [b]Vampire Dwarf, Dwarven Vampire:[/b] Any character reduced to a Constitution score of 0 by a dwarven vampire's vitality drain is instantly slain and will rise again as a vampire (of the appropriate type) in 3 days. Those dwarves that fall prey to the undead will often become themselves undead. Three days after any character dies from the vampire's vitality draining, they will rise again if certain conditions are met. First, and most importantly, the victim must have been a dwarf. Vampire dwarves who kill elves or humans will not create new vampires, for only their own kind can be brought back to unlife by them. Further, the body must be intact. Second, the body must be placed in a stone coffin or sarcophagus and then entombed in some subterranean place. A typical burial service will meet this requirement, while placement in a crypt on the surface will not. Finally, the dwarven vampire must visit the body of its victim on the third night after burial and sprinkle the body with powdered metals. As soon as this is done, the new vampire is born. [b]Dwarven Vampire 0-99 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Dwarven Vampire 100-199 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Dwarven Vampire 200-299 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Dwarven Vampire 300-399 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Dwarven Vampire 400-499 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Dwarven Vampire 500+ Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Elf, Elvish Vampire:[/b] Any elf or half-elf who dies from the elvish vampire's essence draining attack will become a vampire. Any elf or half-elf who falls to the essence draining attack of an elven vampire will rise again as an elven vampire so long as the body is intact after three days. If the body has been destroyed or mutilated, the transformation is averted, and the dead character may rest in peace. However, any attempt to revive the slain character (with a resurrection spell, for example) has a flat 50% chance of transforming the character into a vampire once the spell is cast. [b]Elvish Vampire 0-99 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Elvish Vampire 100-199 Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. [b]Elvish Vampire 200-299 Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. [b]Elvish Vampire 300-399 Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. [b]Elvish Vampire 400-499 Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. [b]Elvish Vampire 500+ Years Old:[/b] As time goes by, elvish vampires can become even more powerful than they are initially. [b]Vampire Gnome, Gnomish Vampire:[/b] While the hand-to-hand blows of gnomish vampires are weak, however, they are not without a powerful debilitating affect. Those struck by such attacks will begin to feel the painful arthritic attack of the creature instantly, for each successful attack drains 2 points of Dexterity from the victim. The result is a painful stiffness in the joints and muscles that can, if the victim suffers several attacks, be crippling or even fatal. Those reduced to a Dexterity score of 0 will be slain as the creeping paralysis spreads through their lungs and heart, making it impossible for them to survive. Gnomes who die in this fashion may themselves become undead if steps are not taken to prevent this foul transformation. Gnomish vampires seldom create others of their kind. When they opt to do so, however, the process is not without risk. The vampire must first slay a victim with its debilitating touch and then move the body to the sarcophagus in which the vampire itself sleeps. For the next three days, the body must lie in the coffin while the vampire rests atop it, allowing its essences to seep slowly into the evolving vampire. At the end of this time, the slain gnome rises as a fully functioning vampire, completely under the control of its creator. While the gnome vampire rests atop its coffin, it is unable to regenerate any lost hit points or employ any of its spell-like abilities. Thus, the creature is far more vulnerable to attack at this time than it normally might be. In addition, it cannot interrupt the creation process once it has begun or both the would-be vampire and its creator will die. [b]Gnomish Vampire 0-99 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Gnomish Vampire 100-199 Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. [b]Gnomish Vampire 200-299 Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. [b]Gnomish Vampire 300-399 Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. [b]Gnomish Vampire 400-499 Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. [b]Gnomish Vampire 500+ Years Old:[/b] As gnomish vampires age, they become more dangerous and more powerful. [b]Vampire Halfling:[/b] Those halflings who die from a halfling vampire's life draining attack will become vampires themselves. The vampire can make more of its kind only by slaying other halflings with its energy-sapping attack. In order to create a new vampire, the halfling need do nothing more than keep the body of its victim intact for 7 days after death and a new vampire will be created. [b]Halfling Vampire 0-99 Years Old:[/b] ? [b]Halfling Vampire 100-199 Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. [b]Halfling Vampire 200-299 Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. [b]Halfling Vampire 300-399 Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. [b]Halfling Vampire 400-499 Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. [b]Halfling Vampire 500+ Years Old:[/b] As with other demihuman vampires, halfling vampires become more powerful with age. [b]Vampire Kender:[/b] Those kender who die from the spirit-rending attack of the kender vampire are in no danger of becoming vampires themselves, however, for these foul creatures are the product of dark sciences and magical experimentation that can only be duplicated with the direct intervention of Lord Soth of Sithicus. The kender vampire is a solitary creature that exists only to do the bidding of Lord Soth of Sithicus. He is the father of their race, and, although they despise him for what he has done to them, they are unable to turn against him or act in any way contrary to his interests. Knowing the revulsion that the elves who live in his domain feel for all manner of unnatural things, Soth felt that he could find no better slaves than a band of undead. Aware that undead elves might pose a threat to his own power, Soth set about the creation of a new breed of undead. Drawing a small kender village through the misty veils of Ravenloft and into his domain, he had them killed one by one so that he could study their sufferings and invoke carefully designed magical rituals over their bodies in attempts to make them rise as undead. By the time he had finished with these sad kender, fully half of them had died horrible deaths and suffered unspeakable torment at the hand of the dreaded deathknight. The results of his experiments were, however, satisfactory to Soth, for he discovered a formula that would create a race of vampires utterly loyal to him. It is believed that Soth has created no fewer than 10 such monsters and no more than 30, although hard evidence to support any given estimate is hard to come by. Kender vampires can exist only within the confines of Lord Soth's domain of Sithicus. They are tied to that dark land in some mystical way that, no doubt, relates to the evil magic used in their creation. It is possible that Lord Soth was required to invoke the favor of the Dark Powers in his creation of these dreaded monsters and, thus, that he has paid some horrible price for their loyalty to him. [b]Lord Soth, Lord of Sithicus, Death Knight:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Lord:[/b] The zombie lord is a living creature that has taken on the foul powers and abilities of the undead. They are formed on rare occasions as the result of a raise dead spell cast while in the demiplane of Ravenloft. The zombie lord comes into being by chance, and only under certain conditions. First, an evil human being (the soon-to-be zombie lord) must die at the hands of an undead creature. Second, an attempt to raise the slain character must be made. Third, and last, the character must fail his resurrection survival roll. It is believed that the zombie lord can be created only in Ravenloft, but this is not proven absolutely for they have been encountered in other lands from time to time. [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). [b]Ghoul Ghast:[/b] The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). The bite of a ghoul lord causes the victim to contract a horrible rotting disease unless a saving throw vs. poison is made. Those afflicted with this illness will lose 1d10 hit points and 1 point from their Constitution and Charisma scores each day. If either ability score or their hit point totals reach 0, the person dies. If the body is not destroyed, they will rise as a ghast on the third night after their death. In such a state, they are wholly under the command of the creature that made them until such time as that horror is destroyed. At that point, they become free-willed creatures. The rotting disease can be cured by nothing less than a heal spell. Once the progression of the disease is halted, the victim's Constitution score will return to its original value at the rate of 1 point per week. Their Charisma, however, will remain at its reduced level because of the horrible scars this ailment leaves on both body and soul. [b]Ghoul Lacedon:[/b] ? [b]Groaning Spirit, Banshee:[/b] ? [b]Haunt:[/b] [b]Heucuva:[/b] [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Lich Demilich:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10 + 2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies. [b]Poltergeist:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Animal:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Monster:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] As described in the RAVENLOFT Boxed Set, there are three ways to become a vampire. Each of these paths to darkness has its own unique character, but the end result is always a creature of unsurpassed evil and power. The first path, generally known as that of deadly desire, is perhaps the most awful. In this case, the individual who is destined to become a vampire actually wishes to cross over and become undead. While it has been said that they must sacrifice their lives to attain this goal, a greater cost is often paid. Those who desire to live eternally and feed on the life essences of their fellow men must give up a portion of their spirits to the Dark Powers themselves. In this way, they are granted the powers of the undead, but also stripped of the last vestiges of their humanity. In the centuries to come, many find this loss too great to bear and seek out their own destruction. The second path, that of the curse, is often the most insidious of the three. In this case, the individual is often unaware that he or she is destined to become a thing of the night. The transformation into "unlife" might occur because of a potent curse laid down by someone who has been wronged by the victim. Occasionally, an individual might find that he or she has inherited (or found) a beautiful and alluring magical ring—only to find that it cannot be removed and that the character is slowly . . . changing. There are those who accept this curse and embrace their new existence as a vampire, while others despise the things they have become. In nearly every case, these are the most passionate and "alive" examples of this evil race. The final, and surely most tragic, path to vampirism is that of the victim. This is the route most commonly taken to vampirism, for it is the way in which those slain by a vampire become vampires themselves. When a vampire decides to create new slaves, it does so by taking their lives in some special way. For most, it is simply the draining of their life energies or the drinking of their blood. Whatever the end result, if the victim dies from the feeding of the beast, he or she rises again as a vampire. [b]Vampire Oriental:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature will then hunt down those men who served it in life and kill them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). [b]Wraith:[/b] The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1-6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). [b]Zombie:[/b] The odor of death that surrounds the zombie lord is so potent that it can cause horrible effects in those who breath it. On the first round that a character comes within 30 yards of the monster, he must save vs. poison or be affected in some way. The following results are possible: 1d6 Roll Effect 1 Weakness (as the spell) 2 Cause disease (as the spell) 3 -1 point of Constitution 4 Contagion (as the spell) 5 Character unable to act for 1d4 rounds due to nausea and vomiting 6 Character dies instantly and becomes a zombie under control of the zombie lord [b]Zombie Monster:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Ju-ju:[/b] ? [b]Crawling Claw:[/b] ? [b]Revenant:[/b] ? [b]Undead Beast Stahnk:[/b] ? [b]Undead Beast Gholor:[/b] ? [b]Knight Haunt:[/b] ? [b]Death Knight:[/b] ? [b]Spectral Minion:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Warrior:[/b] ? [b]Wichtlin:[/b] ? [b]Crypt Thing:[/b] ? [b]Son of Kyuss:[/b] ? [b]Slow Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Wraith Swordwraith:[/b] ? [b]Wraith Soul Beckoner:[/b] ? [b]Sea Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Chu-U:[/b] ? [b]Con-Tinh:[/b] [b]Gaki Jiki-Tetsu-Gaki:[/b] ? [b]Gaki Jiki-Niku-Gaki:[/b] [b]Gaki Shikki-Gaki:[/b] [b]Gaki Shinen-Gaki:[/b] [b]Kuei:[/b] ? [b]Memedi:[/b] ? [b]Ancient Mariner:[/b] ? [b]Spirit Jam:[/b] ? [b]Firelich:[/b] ? [b]Spirit Warrior:[/b] ? [b]Stellar Undead:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16798/MC11-Monstrous-Compendium-Forgotten-Realms-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MC11 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix (2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Harrla:[/b] The harrla seems to be a natural creature. While some speculate that it is undead or of extraplanar origin, there seems to be little proof of this. Most sages agree that the harrla is not a product of the negative material plane, as most undead are. [b]Inquisitor:[/b] Created by evil wizards centuries ago, inquisitors are a shambling, rotting, undead abomination, living on sheer terror. Inquisitors are biologically immortal, cursed hundreds or thousands of years ago to forever cause pain and extract information. They cannot reproduce. [b]Lhiannan Shee, The Ghost of Obsession:[/b] It is thought to be the undead spirit of a woman who killed herself for the unrequited love of a bard or other artistically talented and desirable, but unobtainable or callous man. [b]Phantom:[/b] Phantoms are images left behind by a particularly strong death trauma. A phantom is like a three-dimensional motion picture image filmed at the time of a character's death, in the area where he died. [b]Nonstandard Phantom Sight:[/b] ? [b]Nonstandard Phantom Sound:[/b] ? [b]Nonstandard Phantom Smell:[/b] ? [b]Evil Phantom:[/b] Of greater concern, there are some phantoms that are actually evil, created when powerful evil creatures from other planes are "slain" (forced to return to their home planes) in the Prime Material plane. These phantoms appear as per the evil creature's will 35% of the time, and can seriously misinform or endanger those it meets. [b]Skuz:[/b] Skuz attack by forming pseudo-arms from their slimy mass. In addition to causing physical damage, each touch of a skuz drains one life level from its victim. When a humanoid victim is weakened, the skuz pulls it beneath the water to drown it. When dead, the victim becomes a skuz. Humanoids who are killed by a skuz, but not drowned, do not become one of the unread. [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Groaning Spirit:[/b] ? [b]Haunt:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Revenant:[/b] A character who is murdered and generates a phantom may also return as a revenant.[/spoiler] [URL="www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17180/MC12-Monstrous-Compendium-Dark-Sun-Appendix-Terrors-of-the-Desert-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]MC12 Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix Terrors of the Desert[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Banshee Dwarf, Dwarven Banshee:[/b] Dwarves who die before completing a major focus are often condemned to live out their afterlives as banshees. In unlife they haunt their unfinished work or quest, unable to bear the fact that someone else may complete what they could not. [b]Dune Runner:[/b] Dune runners are elves who died running to complete a quest or deliver an important message.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16872/Monstrous-Compendium--AlQadim-Appendix?affiliate_id=17596]MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghost Mount:[/b] Ghost mounts are formed from the spirits of mistreated animals, creatures so brutally handled in life that they survive after death to take vengeance on all creatures who ride them. [b]Great Ghul:[/b] The great ghuls are undead elemental cousins of the genies, the most wicked members of an inferior order of jann. [b]Ghul:[/b] Only jann slain by great ghuls become ghuls themselves; all other races are simply slain and devoured. [b]Great Ghul Mage:[/b] ? [b]Great Ghul Sha'ir:[/b] ? [b]Great Ghul Desert:[/b] ? [b]Great Ghul Mountain:[/b] ? [b]Rom:[/b] Rom are thought to be all that remains of an ancient race of giant herdsmen. They lived in the hills and on the plains where their giant cows could graze, some practicing a limited form of agriculture. They were a quiet, peace-loving people whose end came when their wives produced only male children; there were no further generations. Shaking their fists at the sad destiny Fate had passed upon them, they built enormous stone cairns for themselves, fashioned out of monolithic granite slabs. Entire clans of rom descended into their self-made tombs, burying themselves alive. However, so great was their collective self-pity and anger at Fate, that their existence persisted beyond death. [b]Ghost:[/b] Ghost mounts are undead creatures which can help desperate or foolish travelers cover vast distances, but at a price. These beasts are aptly named, not only for their appearance, but also because those who ride a ghost mount may themselves become ghosts, doomed to wandering the deserts by night [b]Wraith:[/b] Any creature that rides a ghost mount must make an ability check using Wisdom (at a -2 penalty) when the journey begins. If the check is failed, the mount refuses to obey the rider's instructions and instead takes him deep into the nearest wilderness at full speed. Leaping from the mount when it is traveling at a gallop causes 3d6 points of damage, and items falling with the rider must make a saving throw against crushing blows. If the rider stays with the ghost mount, it will throw him after traveling at least 75 miles into the wilderness. Being thrown causes1d6 damage; a saving throw against falling for items carried by the thrown rider must also be made. If the initial Wisdom ability check is successful, the ghost mount obeys, but the rider must then make a saving throw versus death magic when the journey has reached a middle point. Failure indicates that the ghost mount's life energy drain has transformed the rider into a wraith. [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Lacedon:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Haunt:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Monster Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16939/MC14-Monstrous-Compendium-Fiend-Folio-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix (2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Apparition:[/b] If an apparition's slain victim is not restored to life within 24 hours, he/she will rise as an apparition 2-8 hours later. [b]Coffer Corpse:[/b] The coffer corpse is an undead creature seeking its final rest. It will always be encountered on a stranded funeral barge, unburnt pyre, or the scene of some other incomplete death ritual. [b]Penanggalan:[/b] A female victim of a penanggalan will rise from the grave in three days as a penanggalan, as a free-willed undead. If an attempt is made to raise her within that three day period, the chances of resurrection survival are halved. Should an attempt to raise the victim succeed, the victim will be unable to do anything other than rest for a week, after which all damage done by the penanggalan is healed. Failure means that no further attempt can be made; the process by which the victim becomes a penanggalan is then inexorable. [b]Sheet Ghoul:[/b] Sheet ghouls are created when sheet phantoms kill their victims. If the victim dies enveloped within the sheet phantom, the sheet phantom merges with the body, creating a sheet ghoul. This process takes 12 hours to complete. [b]Sheet Phantom:[/b] There are sufficient similarities between the sheet phantom and the lurker above for some scholars to speculate that the former is an undead form of the latter. However, other sages and scholars claim that sheet phantoms are actual sheets that have absorbed the life-essence of an evil person who died in their bed. The evil soul is trapped in the sheet, and forced to wander about as a sheet phantom. [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17484/MC15-Monstrous-Compendium-Ravenloft-Appendix-II-Children-of-the-Night-2e?affiliate_id=17596]MC15 Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix II: Children of the Night (2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Strahd Von Zarovich, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Count Dracula:[/b] ? [b]Jugo Hesketh, Ghoul Ghast:[/b] Long ago, Hesketh was a senior priest in the cult of the false god Zhakata led by Yagno Petrovna, the lord of G'henna. As Petrovna's chief Inquisitor, among his horrid duties were dreadful acts of torture and sacrifice; secretly, he practiced cannibalism on the corpses of his hapless victims. Over the years, these unholy practices warped his soul and, upon his death, transformed him into an undead fiend. When Hesketh died, a terrible curse fell upon him. The origins of this curse may lie in his own taste for human flesh or in the dying oaths of his countless victims. Whatever the source, this curse saw him transformed into a foul thing of the night. [b]Azalin, Lord of Darkon, Lich:[/b] While visiting the elves of Neblus, he came upon the fragments of an ancient tome. This mysterious document told the tale of a young wizard who sought greater and greater power. At first, he found the story distracting. As he read more, he found it engrossing, though horrifying. In the end, he knew that he had found an account detailing the process by which Azalin, the Lord of Darkon, had become a lich. [b]Andres Duvall, Bardic Lich:[/b] Because of the unusual way in which Andres Duvall became undead, he does not have a phylactery or similar vessel containing his life force. As he explored this terrible place, Azalin discovered his trespasses and confronted him. Enraged at this violation of his hospitality, the lich unleashed a stroke of magical lightning at the bard. Reacting quickly, Duvall attempted to shield himself with the great book he had been about to examine. The lightning struck the tome, which happened to be one of Azalin's most potent books of spells, and a terrible explosion shook the castle. Showers of blazing fragments ignited fires around the room and thick, acrid smoke boiled into the air. [b]Senmet, Greater Mummy:[/b] The so-called Children of Anhktepot are a horrible and sinister lot. Most were created by the dread lord of Har'Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. Senmet, however, was given his power and undead stature by Isu Rehkotep, a priestess who stumbled upon a magical scroll. Unlike all of the other greater mummies that guard Har'Akir's temples and tombs, Senmet was not created by Anhktepot. [b]Greater Mummy, Children of Anhktepot:[/b] The so-called Children of Anhktepot are a horrible and sinister lot. Most were created by the dread lord of Har'Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. Unlike all of the other greater mummies that guard Har'Akir's temples and tombs, Senmet was not created by Anhktepot. [b]Desert Zombie:[/b] In most cases, a diseased person crumbles into dust when he or she dies. If Senmet chooses, however, he can convert someone infected with his rotting disease into a unique breed of zombie or an actual mummy. In either case, the newly created horror is completely under Senmet's control. [b]Isu Rehkotep, Priest 9:[/b] If she perished, she might still be encountered in undead form. [b]Jezra Wagner, The Ice Queen, Spectre:[/b] Jezra's end came as the winter solstice drew near one year. She and several of her friends were climbing the slopes of Mount Baratok, hoping to reach its summit and look out across the grandeur of the Balinoks. It was their hope to see the distant spire of Mount Nyid, which was said to be visible from the highest reaches of Baratok. Their expedition was ill-fated, however, and doom claimed it before they reached the mountain's crest. Jezra was the first to hear the rumbling. Indeed, this is probably what saved her from the sudden death that claimed her companions. Shouting a cry of alarm, she forced her body into a narrow fissure as the avalanche swept past her, ripping her companions from their ropes and sending them down to their deaths. Those who were not slain by the long fall were crushed to death by the weight of the snow that fell upon them. Jezra, perched in a narrow cleft, was unhurt. She found that the crack she had taken shelter in was in fact a small cave that ran some twenty or thirty feet back into the cliff. The avalanche, however, had sealed the entrance behind her. With horror, she realized that she had been entombed alive. Several time she tried to dig her way out of the dark cave. Each time, she gave up the futile effort as more snow fell to seal the entrance. It was not long before her small stock of provisions ran low. The candles she had stored in her pack were all used up, the air in the cave was becoming sour, and her food was gone. Soon, she knew, she would die. Cold fear began to grip her heart as she grew drowsy with the approach of death. What happened next might be accredited to many things. Perhaps the air was growing thin and she was beginning to hallucinate as her brain slowly starved for oxygen. Perhaps the forces of evil saw their chance to claim this young innocent for their own and sent some dreadful agent to treat with her. Whatever the truth, Jezra found herself bathed in a ghostly light. Her arms and legs had grown numb and frozen, the first victims of her frosty prison, and she sadly noted that this light brought no warmth with it. If anything, the temperature in the cave fell even lower. Her interest aroused, she tried to draw herself back from the brink of death. Whatever this mysterious phenomenon was, she longed to know its cause before she died. Her eye focused on the source of the glow and delight welled up inside her. Giorggio, so long presumed dead, stood before her. The vision moved forward. Short and stocky, with the same charismatic smile that she herself had, this was indeed the exact image of her brother. He wore the travelling clothes that she had last seen him in, but they were tattered and torn. She reached out her hand to the shimmering vision, grimacing at the frigid fire in her lungs and hardly able to move her arm. The image of Giorggio knelt before her and looked at her with curious, almost unrecognizing eyes. "Save me," was all she could manage to whisper. "I cannot," came the reply. Jezra began to cry, the tears freezing before they could fall from her face. The spirit faded away, leaving her alone and isolated in the darkness of her icy tomb. With her last breath, she cried out for someone, anyone, to save her from death, swearing that she would do anything to keep her existence from ending like this. Then she closed her eyes and felt the bitter cold around her steal the pitiful remains of her body's warmth. Somewhere in the darkness of Ravenloft, her pleas were heard. A strange darkness, deeper than the blackness of the cave, seeped out of the soul of the mountain. It coiled around the young woman's body like an ebony snake. Two pinpoints of red light like eyes smoldered to life, yet drove away none of the darkness. Then, like a cobra striking, the blackness plunged into Jezra's body. As the last traces of the shade vanished into the corporeal flesh of the woman, Jezra twitched and her face contorted in agony. Unseen in her tomb, her body thrashed about violently for several seconds and then was forever still. Gradually, a cold glow filled the cave. Jezra blinked and opened her eyes. She could feel her hands and her feet again. The air no longer choked her. The cold, however, was redoubled. Her flesh seemed to tremble endlessly, and her bones pounded with an arthritic ache. She cried out in agony and rose to her feet. Her only thought was to somehow escape from this icy darkness; had she looked down, she might have seen her own body, unmoving in death. Instead, she plunged desperately into the rocks and ice blocking her escape, passing through them as if they were but fog to her. Not realizing that she had died in the frozen cave, Jezra spent the next several days wandering the slopes of Mount Baratok. Although her heart longed to return to her family estate, she delayed while she searched for her brother, not realizing that she had now become an undead creature, as had he. [b]Giorggio Wagner:[/b] ? [b]Athaekeetha, Illithid Vampire:[/b] Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. The experiment was part of an ultimately successful attempt to transform the latter into a vampire. The "prototype" vampire illithids created by these experiments were believed to have been destroyed, but their regenerative powers enabled them to survive and escape into the wild, where they have flourished. Athaekeetha was the last vampire illithid created by Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master before they gave up on the experiment; its higher intelligence is proof that at least some progress was being made in the project. [b]Illithid Vampire:[/b] Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. The experiment was part of an ultimately successful attempt to transform the latter into a vampire. The "prototype" vampire illithids created by these experiments were believed to have been destroyed, but their regenerative powers enabled them to survive and escape into the wild, where they have flourished. [b]Lyssa Von Zarovich, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Mayonaka, Eastern Vampire:[/b] Hours later, Mayonaka awoke on a ledge that protruded from the walls of the endless shaft. With much effort, he climbed the rough stone face and reached the vampire's lair. Much to his horror he found that the creature was fully recovered from its earlier wounds. Delighted to discover that it might still have a prisoner to torture, the vampire attacked. The battle was long and terrible. In the end, the samurai was triumphant. Sadly, he too was dying. The vampire had tasted his life essence and left his soul drained and tainted. With a final prayer to his ancestors, he died. To his surprise, he awoke a day or so later. His wounds, it seemed, were completely healed. Indeed, he felt better than he ever had before. He left the vampire's lair and headed out of the cave. With luck, he hoped to rejoin his sisters before they left the island. As he reached the cave's mouth and stepped out into the sunlight, he found himself wracked with horrible pain. He turned and tossed himself back into the cool darkness of the cavern just in time. With horror, he realized that he himself had become undead. [b]Harrla:[/b] ? [b]Inquisitor:[/b] ? [b]Lhiannon Shee:[/b] ? [b]Phantom:[/b] ? [b]Skuz:[/b] ? [b]Banshee Dwarf:[/b] ? [b]Dune Runner:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Mount:[/b] ? [b]Great Ghul:[/b] ? [b]Rom:[/b] ? [b]Apparition:[/b] ? [b]Coffer Corpse:[/b] ? [b]Penanggalan:[/b] [b]Sheet Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Sheet Phantom:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] Any human or demihuman slain by Hesketh will become a ghoul; only if the body is blessed is this horrible fate averted. If the victim is raised or resurrected without being blessed, he or she will rise at once as a ravening ghoul. Of course, if the body is destroyed—for example, if Hesketh and his associates eat their victim—it cannot become a ghoul. [b]Lich:[/b] Throughout the domains of Ravenloft and in countless other worlds, there are few creatures more terrible than the lich. In most cases, these diabolical creatures seek out the means by which they attain undead status, willingly sacrificing their humanity in the quest for forbidden knowledge and unchecked power. In rare cases, the curse of eternal life has been thrust upon someone quite accidentally. Such tragedies are few and far between, but sadly they do occur. [b]Mummy:[/b] In most cases, a diseased person crumbles into dust when he or she dies. If Senmet chooses, however, he can convert someone infected with his rotting disease into a unique breed of zombie or an actual mummy. In either case, the newly created horror is completely under Senmet's control. In order to create a mummy, Senmet captures someone infected with his disease and takes his victim to his hidden temple. Here, he mummifies the person alive (a terrible and gruesome fate, to be certain). When the process is completed, the victim dies and promptly rises again as a mummy. [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Eastern:[/b] Any human slain by Mayonaka's life-energy drain will become a vampire in turn. The transformation into unlife occurs one day after burial. Those who are not buried will not rise as vampires; thus, tradition dictates that all who die at the hands of these undead be cremated. [b]Ju-Ju Zombie:[/b] Those who failed to repay their debt to the old man [Chicken Bone] soon fell ill and died. No magical or natural healing seemed able to save them. Once dead, these sorry souls are said to have risen anew as ju-ju zombies who now wander the marshes around Lake Noir. They are now the minions of the Voodan, repaying their obligation with an eternity of servitude.[/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16944/Monstrous-Compendium-Annual--Volume-1-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume One[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Baelnorn:[/b] Baelnorn are elves who have sought undeath to serve their families, communities, or other purposes (usually to see a wrong righted, or to achieve a certain magical discovery or deed). The process by which elves become baelnorn is old, secret, and complicated. [b]Baneguard:[/b] Baneguards are skeletons, usually but not always human, which are animated by clerical spells to serve as guardian creatures. The create baneguard spell was originally researched by priests of Bane (of the Forgotten Realms setting), but in the years since the demise of that deity, the secret of the spell has been spread such that many other evil (and not-so-evil) deities allow their priests to use it. [i]Create Baneguard[/i] spell. [b]Direguard:[/b] The create direguard spell is as the create baneguard, but is a 7th-level spell and has a casting time of one round. [i]Create Direguard[/i] spell. [b]Blazing Bones:[/b] Blazing bones are undead accidentally created when a priest or wizard who has prepared or partially prepared contingency magic to prevent death is killed by fiery damage. The casted magic twists the contingency provisions so the unfortunate victim passes into undeath in the heart of a roaring column of flame. Tormented by the endless agony of fire, the priest’s or wizard’s nature (including alignment, Hit Dice, and thoughts) changes. There have been cases where evil archmages or high priests have deliberately created blazing bones as guardians, by slaying underling wizards or priests after laying control magic on them. [b]Crypt Servant:[/b] Though it is possible to create a crypt servant from any dead body, volunteers are usually preferred. Many ancient crypt servants actually volunteered for their posts, wishing to serve their masters in death as in life. Because of their similar purpose and method of creation, crypt servants are sometimes associated with the crypt thing. The spells to create each are similar and probably have the same roots. [i]Create Crypt Servant[/i] spell. [b]Dread:[/b] These undead are created by wizards and priests to serve as guardians. The enchantment involves a set of instructions (similar to the specific triggering conditions for a magic mouth spell), in which the creator of the dread specifies where they are to operate; and under what circumstances they will and won’t attack. The spells also allow the bone to regenerate damage done to it, and to resist aging effects. [b]Vampiric Dread:[/b] ? [b]Flameskull:[/b] These magically powered flying skulls are fashioned from human heads soon after their owners’ deaths. They are studied by alchemists, priests, and wizards whenever possible in an effort to duplicate their powers or the means of their making (so far without reported success), or to find special properties that their flames might possess. [b]Lich Psionic:[/b] Psionic liches are powerful espers who have left behind the physical demands of life in pursuit of ultimate mental powers. Although the power that transformed them is natural (not supernatural, as it is with other liches), the extent to which psionic liches have pursued their goals is not natural. By far the most important aspect of the existence of the psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character.The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature’s spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns, and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist’s life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete the phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is closed it cannot be reopened. During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist’s life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place the character must make a system shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. Only the powers of a deity are strong enough to revive a character who has died in this way; even a wish will not suffice. [b]Naga Bone:[/b] Bone nagas are created undead. Created by dark nagas and a few evil mages to serve as guardians, these spellcasting worms serve their master with absolute loyalty. Their creation is an exacting process, hence their rarity. Bone nagas are usually created by the nagara (evil nagakind, or dark nagas) to be guardians, especially of young nagas and nonmagical treasure. [b]Spectral Wizard:[/b] They are created by a unique spell that functions on human and elf wizards and gnome illusionists, taking hold only on those whose bodies once channeled wizard magic. Spectral wizards are created artificially and have no ecological niche. [i]Create Spectral Wizard[/i] spell. [b]Tuyewera:[/b] The tuyewera is a horrible type of undead monster created by evil clerics in remote jungle villages. The cleric takes the corpse of a man slain by death magic spells and ritually removes the legs at the knees. The tongue is also severed. The cleric then enchants the corpse, bringing the ancestral spirit of a wizard or priest into it, which gives the corpse a horrid animation. The spells and counterspells used for creating tuyeweras are granted only by the deities of evil witch doctors in tropical lands. As created undead, tuyewera have nothing to contribute to the ecology. [b]Undead Dwarf:[/b] Undead dwarves are created by residual essence on the part of dwarves who are concerned, just before they die, that their final resting places will in some way be disturbed. It is this essence that allows the bodies of the dwarves to transform into protectors. There is no known understanding of how undead dwarves are formed or why they exist except to protect their sacred tombs. [b]Undead Lake Monster:[/b] ? [b]Wolf Dread:[/b] These creatures were originally created by a renegade mage, but word of how to create these horrid creatures seems to have spread across the Prime Material Plane. As magically animated undead, dread wolves have no natural place in any ecosystem. To create these servants, a mage must be evil and at least 9th level, and he must have 3d4 wolves that have been dead for no more than a day. The spellcaster begins an incantation over the dead wolves that combines modified versions of animate dead, summon shadow, and dismissal. By doing this, the mage summons a shadow from the Negative Energy Plane and breaks it into parts which are infused into the wolves, creating the dread wolves. The spellcasting takes an hour. If the spell is interrupted, the energies of the shadow’s separate parts are unleashed. When this happens, the mage suffers 3d10 points of damage (no save) from the other-worldly energy blast. At the end of the hour, the mage will have 3d4 servants that can travel up to 50 miles away and enable him to see and hear everything they see and hear. The wolves are directly under the control of the mage’s mind within this distance. The wolves can venture outside the 50-mile limit, but they lose contact with the controlling mage. Unless previous commands prevent this, the wolves will immediately try to get back within the limit to regain contact. The dread wolves can be given a command of up to three short sentences (a total of 30 words), which they will cover any distance to fulfill. This command will always be fulfilled unless the dread wolves are destroyed first. For some unknown reason, the spell that makes dread wolves will not work on dogs. A mage who attempts this on dogs suffers 3d10 points of damage as described earlier. [b]Wolf Vampiric:[/b] These foul undead creatures are the result of corrupting ceremonies used on normal wolf pups by evil clerics. In order to create these foul corruptions, a cleric must be evil and at least 9th level. He can use 3d6 pups from one or more wolf dens. The pups must be very close to being weaned, but cannot have tasted meat or they will be useless. The cleric first performs a ceremony using what amounts to the opposite of an atonement spell. Then, every day he must hand-feed the pups. The food can be no more than one day old and it must be infused with one or two drops of blood from a living human, or dust from a vampire and cursed using a reversed bless spell. This must continue every day for three months or the pups die. At the end of the three-month period, the pups are fully grown and must then be slain by poisoning; they then arise as vampiric wolves. If they are not slain at this time, the wolves must each make a saving throw vs. death magic or become greatly weakened (1 hp per Hit Die), living on as bloodthirsty but otherwise normal wolves. It is impossible to create vampiric dogs. [b]Wolf Zombie:[/b] Zombie wolves are not created by a wizard or a priest, but rise when wolves starve or freeze to death near areas frequented by undead such as graveyards and necroplises. It is generally thought that the creatures gain this strange form of existence from incidental contact with the Negative Material Plane. Some sages speculate that the anguish of starvation and freezing provides just enough impetus to animate the simple animals when negative energy touches them. Others figure that another undead creature must consciously seek the dead wolves and give them unlife. [/spoiler] Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two [spoiler] [b]Amiq Rasol, Deep Man, Dark Man:[/b] Amiq Rasol, also called Deep Men or Dark Men, are undead corsairs who were lost at sea, murdered, or marooned. Corsairs who refused to acknowledge or turned away from the gods may also become amiq rasol. [b]Arch-Shadow:[/b] As evil wizards and priests grow older and see their deaths before them, some decide to take their chances with becoming a lich. Most fail and die. The unlucky few who survive the process but fail to achieve lichdom become arch-shadows. There are no recorded instances of a high-level priest or wizard striving to become an arch-shadow – misfortune leads to their existence. During the process of achieving lichdom, the wizard or priest creates a special phylactery in which to store his or her life force. If this item fails during the process, there is a tremendous explosion and a 5% chance that the wizard or priest becomes an arch-shadow instead of being utterly destroyed. More often than not, faulty construction or some slight error in an incantation causes the delicate process to break down. Once the lich-creation process has failed and the caster has successfully made the crossover to arch-shadow status, survival is not guaranteed. A system shock roll must be made, with failure indicating that the arch-shadow is drawn into the Plane of Negative Energy. If the roll is successful the arch-shadow is teleported to the location of an item of moderate to great power (a staff of curing, a +3 or better weapon, a ring of wizardry, or another item with an experience point value greater than 1,500), into which it can place its life force. An artifact is unsuitable, nor can the item be one owned by the arch-shadow or any former henchman; no item that was within 10 miles at the time of the failed attempt to become a lich is suitable. The decision of which magical item to use is not made by the arch-shadow. The arch-shadow is teleported to a location where a suitable item exists. [b]Arch-Shadow Demi-Shade:[/b] To become a demi-shade, the arch-shadow must drain life energy from creatures that have touched its receptacle within the last 24 hours. It usually takes eight life levels gathered within two hours for the change to occur, but an arch-shadow can gamble in order to gain more Hit Dice in the process of transforming. It typically accomplishes this by draining high level characters or powerful creatures. For each additional level over eight that the arch shadow drains, one extra Hit Die is gained. If the draining takes place in a particularly unhallowed place, the arch-shadow gains an additional Hit Die. The arch-shadow cannot exceed a total of 30 Hit Dice. [b]Crypt Cat:[/b] Crypt cats are domestic cats that have been mummified. Crypt cats are created by coating the corpse of a cat with a thin layer of clay that contains magical salves and oils. When dry, it is painted with brilliant colors in the pattern of the cat’s fur. Often, copious amounts of gilt paint are used. The composition of the clay that animates a crypt cat is unknown, although it is assumed that high level necromantic spells are involved. [b]Crypt Cat Large:[/b] Sometimes the bodies of larger felines are made into crypt cats. [b]Curst:[/b] Curst are undead humans, trapped by an evil curse that will not let them die. They are created by a rare process: The victim’s skin pales to an unearthly white pallor, and his or her eyes turn black while the iris color deepens, becoming small pools of glinting dark color. Curst lose their sense of smell, often lose Intelligence, and develop erratic behaviour as their alignment changes to chaotic neutral. In the process of becoming curst, humans lose their sense of smell, any magical abilities, and often their minds (but not their cunning); only 11% of the curst retain their full, former ability score, while most have a lowered Intelligence of 8. Curst are created by the bestow curse spell (the reverse of the remove curse spell), and within four rounds adding a properly worded wish spell. Creating them is an evil act. About 2% of curst are humanoid. [b]Ekimmu:[/b] An ekimmu is an angry undead spirit that was once human. It is created when a human dies far from home and is not given proper burial rites. [b]Ghost Casurua:[/b] The casurua is an undead manifestation that results from a group suffering traumatic death. It is most likely to form where a massacre has taken place, but could be found anywhere a group has suffered violent death, such as a burned-out building. A casurua can form anywhere violent death occurs, especially unexpected or wrongful death. It is rarely found on a battlefield, because violent death there is expected and accepted. A casurua most often forms on a battlefield when the slain died by treachery. Casurua are most likely found on the sites of disaster, natural or otherwise. Ruins are prime habitats for casurua, especially places that were razed and looted. [b]Ghost Ker:[/b] Popular tradition identifies keres with evil spirits of the dead. [b]Ghul Great:[/b] The great ghuls are undead elemental cousins of the genies, the most wicked members of an inferior order of jann. [b]Ghul Great Desert:[/b] ? [b]Ghul Great Mage:[/b] ? [b]Ghul Great Mountain:[/b] ? [b]Ghul Great Sha'ir:[/b] ? [b]Ghul-Kin[/b] The ghul-kin are related to the great ghuls, and like them are undead jann. [b]Ghul-Kin Soultaker:[/b] ? [b]Ghul-Kin Witherer:[/b] ? [b]Lich Suel:[/b] These powerful wizards endure the centuries by transferring their life forces from one human host to the next. The Suel lich is an unholy amalgamation of the human body and energ from the Negative Material Plane. Upon transformation into a Suel lich, the essence of the wizard is converted to negative energy that needs a human body to inhabit. [b]Mummy Creature:[/b] Creature mummies are undead whose bodies are preserved, then animated by their restless spirits. Creature mummies may be created in a variety of ways. Their reanimation may result from intense death throes coupled by a will to live, invocation from dark priestly rituals, or creation by a necromancer or some powerful undead creature. [b]Mummy Creature Animal:[/b] ? [b]Mummy Creature Monster:[/b] ? [b]Wraith-Spider:[/b] Victims drained of all Constitution points by a wraith-spider die and have a 25% chance of becoming wraith-spiders themselves. Wraith-spiders were originally created as guardians of treasure or as guards for a particular area of a drow stronghold. It is rumored that a wizard named Muiral created them; however, it is more likely that the wraith-spiders were created years before by the drow for their wars against the duergar. [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] Amiq rasol that do not feed for several years will fade away until they become wraiths.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16906/Monstrous-Compendium-Annual--Volume-III?affiliate_id=17596] Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three[/URL][spoiler] [b]Alhoon, Illithilich:[/b] Their bodies adapt only imperfectly to lich state; many magical steps of most lichdom processes used by others fail on a strongly-magic resistant mind flayer body. [b]Banedead:[/b] Created from fanatical human worshipers. Banedead derive their power from the Negative Energy Plane and from the clerical power of the ritual that created them. Banedead are created by a special ritual that requires at least 12 worshipers (to be turned into Banedead), at least 24 living additional worshipers (to offer prayers), and a priest of Bane or Xvim of at least 12th level (to preside over the ritual). The ritual must be held in a place that is consecrated to either Bane or Xvim. People who are to become Banedead (also called the Promised Ones) must come forward voluntarily. Rumors of innocent folks captured by cultists and forcibly transformed into Banedead are patently false. At the end of the ritual, the new Banedead are placed under the control of their new master, the presiding priest. Some scholars are still trying to discern how a new breed of undead could be formed by a deity who is supposed to have been destroyed. A few sages believe that it is not Bane at all, but rather Xvim, who has introduced this new horror to the Realms. These sages speculate that the spirits of the Promised Ones are in fact shunted into Xvim somehow to nourish him, building his power so that he can eventually fill the void left by his father’s death. [b]Lich of Bane, Banelich:[/b] Tired of his faithful becoming victims, every 50-60 years Bane chose the most powerful priest within the ranks of his clerics and revealed to him or her a foul rite that would transform the caster, through force of faith, strength of will, and Bane’s divine hand, into a powerful, immortal form – a lich of Bane, or Banelich. Baneliches were at least 17th-level clerics before they were transformed, and several were 20th level or higher. [b]Bat Bonebat:[/b] Bonebats are not thought to occur naturally, but the secrets of their making have been known in the Realms for a very long time, and many have gone feral. Bonebats are usually constructed by evil priests and wizards working together. An intact giant bat skeleton, or a skeleton assembled from the bones of several bats, is required. A spell known as Nulathoe’s ninemen is cast on the skeleton. In the case of a bonebat, this spell links the skeletal wing bones with an invisible membrane of force to allow flight. Fly, detect invisibility, infravision, and animate dead spells complete the process. Further spells may be necessary to train the bonebat to serve as an obedient aide, but the spells listed here must be cast within two rounds of each other, and in the order given, or the process will fail. [b]Lich Archlich:[/b] ? [b]Bat Bonebat Battlebat:[/b] ? [b]Coffer Corpse:[/b] The coffer corpse is an undead creature seeking its final rest. It is always encountered on the scene of an incomplete death ritual: a stranded funeral barge, unburnt pyre, or so on. [b]Dragon Ghost Dragon:[/b] A ghost dragon is created when an ancient dragon is slain and its hoard looted. Only ancient dragons can become ghost dragons. [b]Dread Warrior:[/b] Dread warriors are enhanced undead created by Szass Tam, Zulkir of Necromancy for the Red Wizards of Thay. Dread warriors are created immediately after a warrior’s death so that they retain at least minimal intelligence. They must be created from the bodies of fighters of at least 4th level who have been dead for less than a day. Zulkir Szass Tam created the dread warriors over 20 years ago, intending them for an invasion of Rashemen. [b]Son of Kyuss:[/b] Sons of Kyuss are horrible undead beings that convert living humans and demihumans into cursed undead like themselves. In addition to flailing fists, one worm per round attempts to jump from a son’s head to a character the son is meleeing. The worm needs only to roll a successful attack roll (same THAC0 as the son) to land on the victim. The worm burrows into the victim on the next round unless killed by the touch of cold iron, holy water, or a blessed object. After penetrating the victim's skin, the worm burrows toward the victim’s brain, taking 1d4 rounds to reach it. During this time a remove curse or cure disease spell will kill the worm, and neutralize poison or dispel evil will delay the worm for 1d6 turns. If the worm reaches the brain, the victim dies immediately and becomes a son of Kyuss. Kyuss was an evil high priest who created the first of these creatures, via a special curse, under instruction from an evil deity. The worms are tied to the curse of the sons but exactly how remains a mystery. It is known that the worms cannot survive apart from a victim or on a son. Worms that fail to burrow into a victim die as soon as they touch the ground. Any worm removed from a son dies within one round of separation from the son who carried it. When a son is killed permanently, the worms die with him. Some sages have proposed that the worms might not be living creatures per se, but incarnations of the curse. [b]Undead Dragon Slayer:[/b] An undead dragon slayer is a horrifying creature returned from death to destroy dragons. Most undead dragon slayers are called back from the grave by necromantic magic. Though it retains its own mind and agenda, it must obey the commands of the summoner – at least until its task is complete or it somehow wins its freedom. A small number of dragon slayers actually will themselves back from the dead. These individuals have the utmost faith in their cause, an undying hatred of dragons, and a supernatural strength of will. In the Council of Wyrms setting, undead dragon slayers were members of the vast army of human warriors who invaded the Io’s Blood isles in ages past. Any slayer of 9th level or greater who died before his holy task was finished can rise as an undead warrior. [b]Zhentarim Spirit:[/b] A Zhentarim spirit is the essence of a Zhentarim wizard who met with a horrible death at the hands of his or her enemies or treacherous comrades. The spirit of the wizard is extremely vengeful, and by sheer force of will is remaining on the Prime Material Plane until a task is complete or until it takes revenge on those who slew it. Zhentarim spirits are extremely rare, and only the death of a wizard who is greater than 14th level can bring about the creation of one of these spiteful spirits. The determination of Zhentarim spirits to annihilate their killers is exceptional, and these creatures defy final judgment for indefinite and extended periods to exact their revenge. This is done through these spirits’ force of will (minimum Wisdom of 16), aided by their connection with the magical arts (minimum of 14th-level wizard). These spirits have so far only been linked with wizards of the Zhentarim, and many think the tendency of Zhentarim wizards to form these spirits is attributable to magical means that they use to extend their lives. A vengeful Zhentarim spirit is formed one to two days after the death of an appropriate Zhentarim wizard, and it immediately sets about planning its revenge. [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] A cure disease or remove curse spell will transform a son of Kyuss into a zombie, but both spells require that the priest touch the son. [/spoiler] Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four[spoiler] [b]Inquisitor:[/b] Created by evil wizards centuries ago, inquisitors are a shambling, rotting, undead abominations. Inquisitors were cursed hundreds of years ago to forever cause pain and extract information. [b]Mummy Bog:[/b] Bog mummies are formed when a corpse comes to rest in a marsh or swamp and is naturally mummified by being coated in a layer of mud. Eventually the body takes on the dark coloration of the earth and becomes as tough as tanned leather. The clothing is partially preserved and sticks to the corpse in patches, as does hair. The facial features are distorted in a permanent grimace and the hands are stiffened into clawlike hooks. When the corpse at last rises as an undead creature, it walks with an uneven gait, due to the stiffness of its limbs. A bog mummy rises as an undead creature when a powerful burst of positive energy causes the dead person’s spirit to rejoin with a body preserved by the bog. Bog mummies might be created by a priest or another bog mummy from a fresh corpse taken into the bog. They might also be the result of the interplay of a powerful positive energy source and latent traumatic emotional forces. [b]Shadowrath:[/b] Shadowraths are created by a fell artifact, the Crown of Horns. [b]Shadowrath Lesser, Blackbones:[/b] They are created by the ray of undeath power of the artifact, Crown of Horns. Those killed by this ray arise as lesser shadowraths, also known as blackbones. Lesser shadowraths are created by the Crown of Horns. [b]Shadowrath Greater:[/b] These powerful undead are also created by the Crown of Horns. Those slain by Myrkul’s hand, the other major power of the artifact, arise as greater shadowraths. [b]Siren Ravenloft:[/b] It is thought that the sirens are merfolk transformed by a cataclysmic burst of negative energy. [b]Skeleton Dust:[/b] Bones used to create dust skeletons must be specially dried to the point of crumbling, then coated with a special resin containing a paralyzing venom. Tansmute water to dust is used in conjunction with animate dead to complete the process. [b]Skeleton Spike:[/b] Each spike must be specially carved from bones taken from the same type of creature that is to be animated (for example, human bones for a human skeleton). A glyph is carved into each spike before it is attached to the skeleton. During animation, a shatter spell is cast in conjunction with the animate dead spell. After animation, the 6th-level necromancy spell imbue undead with spell ability is cast, along with Beltyn’s burning blood; these spells are also used to recharge a spike skeleton with this ability. [b]Skeleton Obsidian:[/b] An obsidian jewel, inscribed with a special glyph, must be implanted in the skeleton’s forehead. A second animate dead spell must be cast in conjunction with the first, along with vampiric touch. [b]Spectral Scion:[/b] A spectral scion is the spirit of a bloodtheft victim who was killed with a tighmaevril weapon (which allows the slayer to steal powers associated with the victim’s bloodline). Not all those with a special bloodline killed in this way become spectral scions, but those who do daily relive the horror of losing their bloodlines, and are doomed to spend eternity seeking peace. [b]Vampire Cerebral:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Mud:[/b] Mud zombies are mindless, animated corpses that consist of a thick layer of slimy mud over a framework of bones. When the appropriate condition arises, they animate. Mud zombies are made from whole or partial skeletons, usually human. Mud zombies can be created wherever the raw materials to make them (bones and mud) are found. They are usually encountered on battlefields and in graveyards situated near a source of water (a river, bog, or lake). Climatic conditions must be just right at the time they are created or summoned forth. For example, if there has been a prolonged drought and the earth is dry and hard-packed, then a mud zombie cannot rise from its resting place. [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] A human or humanoid creature whose Intelligence or Wisdom is reduced to 0 by a cerebral vampire becomes a ghoul under its complete control. [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17201/Dark-Sun-Monstrous-Compendium-Appendix-II-Terrors-beyond-Tyr-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix II Terrors Beyond Tyr[/URL][spoiler] [b]Dhaot:[/b] Dhaots are incorporeal undead that are sometimes created when people die far away from their homes. The spirits of the deceased feel an overwhelming compulsion to return to their homes they had in life. Many dhaots are halflings who died outside their forests. [b]Fael:[/b] Faels are ravenous undead beings who never quenched their need for material consumption during life. Rich humans and demihumans are often subject to this form of undeath. Most faels are from the upper echelons of society and most are elves or humans. [b]Kaisharga, Dead Lord:[/b] They have sought undeath, unnaturally extending their lives past the endurance of their mortal frames. The kaisharga is a dreadful creature that has turned its back on the rightful order of things, trading life for power. The Dragon confers undeath on any of its servants who prove exceptionally capable, loyal, and efficient. They voluntarily sought undeath, believing it to be a form of immortality. [b]Kaisharga, Dregoth:[/b] Xontra was once a servant of Dregoth, the sorcerer-king. The powerful dragon kaisharga transformed her into a kaisharga using the same secret methods he had used upon himself. [b]Kaisharga, Hrutghel:[/b] ? [b]Kaisharga Cleric 19, Jagmargal:[/b] Jagmargal was a great hero of ages past. While he was a great priest, he was better known as an explorer. He was captured by Hrutghel, a powerful kaisharga who was Jagmargal's greatest enemy, and was transformed into a kaisharga himself. [b]Kaisharga Dray Defiler 21, Xontra:[/b] Xontra was once a servant of Dregoth, the sorcerer-king. The powerful dragon kaisharga transformed her into a kaisharga using the same secret methods he had used upon himself. [b]Kaisharga Gladiator 23, Neltor:[/b] Neltor was a former gladiator who was a little past his prime. He was recently transformed into a kaisharga by the Dragon, Lord of the Ring of Fire. [b]Krag:[/b] Krags are undead created when a cleric aligned to an element or para-element dies in the medium diametrically opposed to his own. The anguish and trauma of dying to the very force he devoted his life to opposing is sometimes enough to transform a cleric into a wicked and bitter undead. [b]Kragling:[/b] Kraglings are creatures who have perished from the elemental transfusion attack of a krag. Anything that dies in this manner has a 45% chance of coming back as a kragling in 1-4 days. Any creature can become a kragling if it was killed by the elemental transfusion of a krag. Silt spawn, humanoids, demihumans, humans, and even nonhumanoid monsters are all subject to the transfusion attack and thus can become kraglings. What type of kragling and how powerful it is depends on the creature’s Hit Dice. A character bitten by a krag must make a saving throw versus death, or his blood will slowly turn into the krag’s element. As the blood changes, the victim suffers 1d4 additional points of damage per round. If death results, there is a 45% chance that the victim will become a kragling in 1d4 days. This infection counts as a poison or a disease for purposes of countering, so sweet water or even a cure disease spell will halt the process instantly. [b]Kragling Lesser:[/b] Lesser kraglings are created when creatures with less than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag’s elemental transfusion. [b]Kragling Greater:[/b] Greater kraglings are created when creatures with more than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag’s elemental transfusion. [b]Meorty:[/b] Meorties were created long ago through the necromancies of high priests and through the use of long-lost psionic abilities for the purpose of serving as the protectors of various Green-Age domains. Meorties are undead who were once protectors of domains that vanished more than 2,000 years ago. They were placed in crypts with large amounts of treasure, so they might continue to look after their realms in death. All meorties are of the old races (human, elf, dwarf, giant, and halfling). [b]Meorty Human Fighter 15, Ordela, 5th Lawkeeper of Bodach:[/b] Odrela was one of the most respected law-keepers in the history of ancient Bodach. When the time came to select a new meorty to administer to the domain, she accepted her fate and joined the ranks of the undead protectors. [b]Meorty Human Fighter 20, Proctor Drelto of Antalus:[/b] Proctor Drelto was once a feared and powerful law-keeper in the long-forgotten province of Antalus. He was voluntarily transformed into a meorty so that he could continue to defend Antalus for eternity. [b]Raaig:[/b] Raaigs are incorporeal spirits sustained by their unwavering belief and sense of duty to ancient gods that no longer exist on Athas. Eldena longs for companionship with others, but finds that she cannot be with the living for long periods of time without becoming depressed completely. She does have the power to turn a dead spirit into a Raaig, but only at the moment of the person's death, and only if the spirit is truly willing to become one. The new Raaig must always remain within 500 feet of Eldena, or fade away to nothing. She longs to be able to create such a companion for herself someday. All raaigs are at least 2,000 years old and all are of the old races (human, elf, dwarf, giant, and halfling). [b]Raaig Elf Cleric 14, Eldena, Guardian of the Mountain Temple:[/b] Millennia ago, Eldena was the last high priestess of the mountain temple before the great wars started that would destroy the world as she knew it. In hopes of protecting her temple, she called upon her god to transform her into one of the undead so she could always watch over the sacred place and protect it from the evils of the world. The dieties do not recognize Athas. so their was nothing resulted from her plea. Despairing, she poisoned herself. However, Eldena's belief was so strong, that upon her death she was transformed into a raaig and remains bound to the temple. [b]Raaig Human Fighter 9, Nameless Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:[/b] ? [b]Raaig Human Cleric 10, Varoxil Rante, Sentinel of the Forbidden Caverns:[/b] ? [b]Racked Spirit:[/b] Racked spirits are the evil remnants of persons who committed acts during their lives that violated the very nature of their being. Racked spirits vary in race, but dwarven banshees are the most common. Dwarven banshees are created whenever dwarves forsake their life purpose. Racked spirits single out happy individuals, attempting to ruin their lives through “bad luck”. They appear to those they have ruined to offer their help in exchange for services. The services they require always conflict with the strongest beliefs of the victims. If the victims refuse to do what the spirit requests, the spirit descends on them and drains their life energy. Those who agree and go against their own beliefs become full-strength racked spirits upon their deaths. Thinking zombies might return as racked spirits because they were unable to complete their tasks as thinking zombies. Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. The dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose, is the most common. [b]Dwarven Banshee:[/b] Racked spirits vary in race, but dwarven banshees are the most common. Dwarven banshees are created whenever dwarves forsake their life purpose. Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. The dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose, is the most common. [b]Lesser Spirit:[/b] A being drained of all its life energy by a racked spirit becomes a lesser spirit. [b]T'Liz:[/b] T’lizes are undead defilers whose spirits have outlived their bodies. All t'lizes were defilers in life and retain all their spell casting abilities. T’lizes are powerful defilers who died before completing their magical studies. [b]T'Liz Human Defiler 19, Nevarli:[/b] Nevarli's love of magic was so powerful that when she found the spells and anointments that would sustain her in undeath so she could continue her magical studies, she used them. [b]T'Liz Human Defiler 23, Kedomir:[/b] ? [b]Freewilled Undead:[/b] Freewilled undead once belonged to an intelligent species and in undeath continue to think for themselves. [b]Controlled Undead, Walking Dead:[/b] Controlled undead are animated corpses such as skeletons and zombies that may not belong to an intelligent species. [b]Wraith Athasian:[/b] In the Gray, the spirits of the dead slowly dissolve and are absorbed. Some spirits, like wraiths, don’t suffer this fate. They are sustained by a force even more powerful than the Gray – their everlasting faith in a cause greater than themselves. All wraiths need something important from their lives to serve as magnets for their spirits. These items can be candles of faith, like in the Crimson shrine, or brilliant gems full of life force, such as the gems used by the Dragon’s wraith knights. Athasian wraiths differ from other wraiths in that they voluntarily embraced undeath as a form of existence. A character slain by a t'liz through its life energy drain becomes an Athasian wraith under direct command of the t'liz. [b]Wraith Athasian Human Fighter 11, Nikolos:[/b] Nikolos was one of Borys the Thirteenth Champion's select knights during the Cleansing Wars of ages past. Like the other select knights, Nikolos continued to serve Borys after his death by becoming a wraith. [b]Zombie Thinking:[/b] A thinking zombie is a creature who has died and its spirit cannot rest until it has completed the task. Creatures who die before completing an important task (often under the compulsion of a geas or quest spell) often become thinking zombies. Many thinking zombies are giants and half-giants, as they are often selected for quests because of their size and strength. [b]Zombie Thinking Human Templar 6, Evirdel Ironhand:[/b] Evirdel served as a loyal templar in the service of Dictator Andropinis, sorcerer-king of Balic, until she was falsely accused and condemned as a traitor. She was tortured into a false confession before her peers, as an example, and then slain and revived as a thinking zombie. [b]Zombie Thinking Mul Gladiator 4, Claktor Bloodfist:[/b] Claktor was making a living as a burglar, working with a thief. The pair accidentally chose the wrong home to burglarize and were killed by the powerful defiler who lived there. The thieves were raised from the dead by the defiler almost as a joke. [b]Undead:[/b] The type of undead a creature becomes upon death is based upon the motivation or event that caused the undead to resist death. While certain races are more likely to become certain types of undead, this is because members of that particular race often share similar motivations. [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] Most skeletons and zombies are man-sized or smaller, but larger corpses such as mekillot skeletons and zombie giants are often animated by more powerful necromancers. Produce Undead undead power. [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] Most skeletons and zombies are man-sized or smaller, but larger corpses such as mekillot skeletons and zombie giants are often animated by more powerful necromancers. Produce Undead undead power. [b]Racked Spirit Dwarven Banshee:[/b] Racked spirits vary in race, but dwarven banshees are the most common. Dwarven banshees are created whenever dwarves forsake their life purpose. Racked spirits are incorporeal undead animated by their own guilt over committing some act that violated their basic nature. The dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose, is the most common. Produce Undead: The undead can produce one lesser controlled undead (animated skeletons or zombies) for each HD they have. This may be used once per day and there must be skeletons or corpses present.[/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16911/Monstrous-Compendium--Mystara-Appendix-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Agarat:[/b] No one knows how these creatures came into being. [b]Agarat Greater:[/b] ? [b]Darkhood:[/b] Legends say that darkhoods are the restless life forces of those who died in a state of extreme terror, especially terror of death itself. To maintain its connection to its territory, the darkhood feeds on the terror of other sapient beings, thus replenishing its own energies. No one has yet found a way to communicate with or adequately study a darkhood, and so the truth behind the legends remains unsubstantiated. [b]Gray Philosopher:[/b] A gray philosopher is the undead spirit of an evil cleric who died with some important philosophical deliberation yet unresolved in his or her mind. Certain clerics and academicians speculate that any powerful evil cleric who, at death becomes a gray philosopher may have been attempting to become one of the Immortals. [b]Gray Philosopher Malice:[/b] These vindictive creatures are actually the gray philosopher’s evil thoughts, which have taken on substance and a will of their own. [b]Sacrol:[/b] They are spawned in sites of great death. Sacrols are the collected angry spirits of the dead. Sacrols arise in places of mass death, such as battlefields, sacked temples, and plague-ridden cities or countrysides. [b]Spirit:[/b] Spirits are powerful undead beings which inhabit the bodies, or body parts, of others. [b]Spirit Druj:[/b] Druj appear as body parts – a hand, an eye, or a skull – floating or crawling around in a horrible way. [b]Spirit Odic:[/b] Odics are formless creatures that take possession of normal plants, usually shrubs or small trees. [b]Topi:[/b] Topis are tiny undead humanoid creatures similar to zombies. Before these creatures are animated, however, the corpses are shrunk until they are only 2 feet tall. The process gives them dark, wrinkled, leathery skin Their eves are wide and bulging, and their lips are usually curled back, freezing their faces into permanent toothy grimaces (occasionally, however, the lips are sewn shut). Unlike zombies, topis do not have a rotting stench, as the shrinking process also preserves their flesh. The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a topi. Only a few tribal spell casters know bow to shrink the corpses, however. The few travelers who have observed the process and have been lucky enough to return to tell the tale report that the corpse is boiled for several days in a mixture of water, herbs, and animal organs, then dried in the sun and animated, presumably with a variant animate dead spell. [b]Vampire Velya:[/b] They were once surface dwellers who became undead through an ancient curse. Only a transfusion of the velya’s blood or the original curse, now forgotten, can make a velya. [b]Vampire Velya Swamp:[/b] Swamp Velyas origins are identical to ocean velya. [b]Wyrd:[/b] They are created when an evil spirit inhabits the dead body of an elf. The process that creates wyrds is a mystery. It seems to be clear, however, that the spirit that animates a wyrd prefers to occupy elves who have died violently and been left unburied. Elves who have been abandoned by their fellow elves and left to die alone seem to be the most likely to become wyrds. Certain locales near places of ancient evil, such as ruined temples, battlefields where evil forces were once victorious, and scenes of great treachery also seem to be prone to produce wyrds. [b]Wyrd Greater:[/b] This more hideous variety of wyrd is created when an undead spirit occupies the body of an exceptionally high-level elf. [b]Zombie Lightning:[/b] Lightning zombies are undead creatures created when the bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids are bathed in exceptionally strong magical auras. [b]Zombie Lightning Greater:[/b] These creatures are created when a powerful character or leader dies and the body is exposed to awesome magical energies. [b]Wight:[/b] Characters slain by a velya return from death after three days and become wights.[/spoiler] Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix II[spoiler] [b]Sword Spirit:[/b] Sword spirits are the undead spirits of powerful warriors who perished in useless battles.[/spoiler] *** [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17485/Monstrous-Compendium--Ravenloft-Appendices-I--II-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendices I & II[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Bastellus:[/b] Any being reduced to below level 0 by the preying of a bastellus will die in its sleep, seemingly of a heart attack. If the body is not destroyed (via cremation, immersion in acid, or similar means), its spirit will rise in a number of days equal to the number of levels it lost to the bastellus. Thus, a 14th level wizard would rise up in two weeks. The new spirit is also a bastellus, but it has no connection with the monster that created it. [b]Bat Skeletal:[/b] keletal bats are created by the use of an animate dead spell and are often associated with necromancers or evil priests. [b]Bowlyn:[/b] Bowlyn are undead spirits who, like the poltergeist, do not rest easily in their graves. Without exception, they were sailors on ocean-going vessels who died due to an accident at sea. In life, they were cruel or selfish persons; in death they blame their shipmates for the mishap that took their lives. Thus, they return from their watery grave to force others beneath the icy waves. [b]Bussengeist:[/b] A bussengeist is the spectral form of someone who died in a great calamity brought on by their own action or inaction. As a rule, only those persons who feel remorse for their actions will become bussengeists. For example, a traitor who allowed an invading force to gain access to a walled city and was himself slain in the ensuing battle might become a bussengeist. If he was killed without warning and felt no pity for those his actions had brought misery to, he would not be transformed. If, on the other hand, he knew that he was about to die and had reason to feel that he had acted in error, he might well become a bussengeist. [b]Ghoul Lord:[/b] It is rumored that they were first created at the hands of an insane necromancer in some other dimension, but that they were so evil as to instantly draw the attention of the Dark Powers. [b]Mummy Greater:[/b] Also known as Anhktepot’s Children, greater ,mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding of a burial place. The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the Lord of Har’akir, in the years before he became undead himself. he process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har’akir. [b]Skeleton Giant:[/b] Giant skeletons are similar to the more common undead skeleton, but they have been created with a combination of spells and are, thus, far more deadly than their lesser counterparts. In actuality, they are simply human skeletons that have been magically enlarged. The first giant skeletons to appear in Ravenloft were created by the undead priestess Radaga in her lair within the domain of Kartakass. Others have since mastered the spells and techniques required to create these monsters; thus, giant skeletons are gradually beginning to appear in other realms where the dead and undead lurk. The process by which giant skeletons are created is dark and evil. Attempts to manufacture them outside of Ravenloft have failed, so it is clear that they are in some way linked to the Dark Powers themselves. In order to create a giant skeleton, a spell caster must have the intact skeleton of a normal human or demihuman. On a night when the land is draped in fog, they must cast an animate dead, produce fire, enlarge, and a resist fire spell over the bones. When the last spell is cast, the bones lengthen and thicken and the creatures rises up. The the creator must make a Ravenloft Powers check for his part in this evil undertaking. [b]Strahd's Skeletal Steeds:[/b] Strahd’s skeletal steeds are magically animated undead horses, created as guardians and warriors by the master vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. Further, only Strahd Von Zarovich knows the arcane ritual necessary to make them. He can make them only from horse skeletons where 90% of the bones and the skull are present. It is not known if other animals can be animated from the same spell, but given the power of the Lord of Barovia, and his ties to the evil forces of necromancy, this seems probable. [b]Treant Undead:[/b] When an evil treant sees that its many years are soon to come to an end, it seldom accepts this fate quietly. For most, this means a final, wild orgy of violence and death. For a few, however, it means death and resurrection as a thing so dark and evil that even the Vistani will not speak of it. Undead treants seem to be a natural stage in the life cycle of some evil treants. No doubt this is given as a “reward” for their evil lives by the Dark Powers. [b]Valpurgeist:[/b] The valpurgeist, or hanged man, is an undead creature that is sometimes manifested when an innocent man or woman is wrongly hanged for a crime. Unable to prove its innocence in life, it returns after death to claim the lives of those who sent it to the gallows. [b]Vampire Dwarf:[/b] Those dwarves that fall prey to the undead will often become themselves undead. Three days after any character dies from the vampire’s vitality draining, they will rise again if certain conditions are met. First, and most importantly, the victim must have been a dwarf. Vampire dwarves who kill elves or humans will not create new vampires, for only their own kind can be brought back to unlife by them. Further, the body must be intact. Second, the body must be placed in a stone coffin or sarcophagus and then entombed in some subterranean place. A typical burial service will meet this requirement, while placement in a crypt on the surface will not. Finally, the dwarven vampire must visit the body of its victim on the third night after burial and sprinkle the body with powdered metals. As soon as this is done, the new vampire is born. [b]Vampire Elf:[/b] Any elf or half-elf who falls to the essence draining attack of an elven vampire will rise again as an elven vampire so long as the body is intact after three days. If the body has been destroyed or mutilated, the transformation is averted, and the dead character may rest in peace. However, any attempt to revive the slain character (with a resurrection spell, for example) has a flat 50% chance of transforming the character into a vampire once the spell is cast. [b]Vampire Gnome:[/b] Gnomish vampires seldom create others of their kind. When they opt to do so, however, the process is not without risk. The vampire must first slay a victim with its debilitating touch and then move the body to the sarcophagus in which the vampire itself sleeps. For the next three days, the body must lie in the coffin while the vampire rests atop it, allowing its essences to seep slowly into the evolving vampire. At the end of this time, the slain gnome rises as a fully functioning vampire, completely under the control of its creator. While the gnome vampire rests atop its coffin, it is unable to regenerate any lost hit points or employ any of its spell-like abilities. Thus, the creature is far more vulnerable to attack at this time than it normally might be. In addition, it cannot interrupt the creation process once it has begun or both the would-be vampire and its creator will die. [b]Vampire Halfling:[/b] The vampire can make more of its kind only by slaying other halflings with its energy-sapping attack. In order to create a new vampire, the halfling need do nothing more than keep the body of its victim intact for 7 days after death and a new vampire will be created. [b]Vampire Kender:[/b] The strange and foul magics that created them have forged an unbreakable bond between them and the realm of Lord Soth. Knowing the revulsion that the elves who live in his domain feel for all manner of unnatural things, Soth felt that he could find no better slaves than a band of undead. Aware that undead elves might pose a threat to his own power, Soth set about the creation of a new breed of undead. Drawing a small kender village through the misty veils of Ravenloft and into his domain, he had them killed one by one so that he could study their sufferings and invoke carefully designed magical rituals over their bodies in attempts to make them rise as undead. By the time he had finished with these sad kender, fully half of them had died horrible deaths and suffered unspeakable torment at the hand of the dreaded deathknight. The results of his experiments were, however, satisfactory to Soth, for he discovered a formula that would create a race of vampires utterly loyal to him. It is believed that Soth has created no fewer than 10 such monsters and no more than 30, although hard evidence to support any given estimate is hard to come by. Kender vampires can exist only within the confines of Lord Soth’s domain of Sithicus. They are tied to that dark land in some mystical way that, no doubt, relates to the evil magic used in their creation. It is possible that Lord Soth was required to invoke the favor of the Dark Powers in his creation of these dreaded monsters and, thus, that he has paid some horrible price for their loyalty to him. [b]Zombie Lord:[/b] The zombie lord is a living creature that has taken on the foul powers and abilities of the undead. They are formed on rare occasions as the result of a raise dead spell cast while in the demiplane of Ravenloft. The zombie lord comes into being by chance, and only under certain conditions. First, an evil human being (the soon-to-be zombie lord) must die at the hands of an unread creature. Second, an attempt to raise the slain character must be made. Third, and last, the character must fail his resurrection survival roll. [b]Ghoul:[/b] The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature then hunts down those men who served it in life and kills them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil band will again plague the lands. Any human or demihuman slain by Hesketh will become a ghoul; only if the body is blessed is this horrible fate averted. If the victim is raised or resurrected without being blessed, he or she will rise at once as a ravening ghoul. Of course, if the body is destroyed – for example, if Hesketh and his associates eat their victim – it cannot become a ghoul. [b]Ghoul Ghast:[/b] The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). If the body of a ghoul lord's rotting disease victim is not destroyed, they will rise as a ghast on the third night after their death. Long ago, Hesketh was a senior priest in the cult of the false god Zhakata led by Yagno Petrovna, the lord of G’henna. As Petrovna’s chief Inquisitor, among his horrid duties were dreadful arts of torture and sacrifice; secretly, he practiced cannibalism on the corpses of his hapless victims. Over the years, these unholy practices warped his soul and, upon his death, transformed him into an undead fiend. When Hesketh died, a terrible curse fell upon him. The origins of this curse may lie in his own taste for human flesh or in the dying oaths of his countless victims. Whatever the source, this curse saw him transformed into a foul thing of the night. [b]Lich Bardic:[/b] Throughout the domains of Ravenloft and in countless other worlds, there are few creatures more terrible than the lich. In most cases, these diabolical creatures seek out the means by which they attain unread status, willingly sacrificing their humanity in the quest for forbidden knowledge and unchecked power. In rare cases, the curse of eternal life has been thrust upon somone quite accidentally. Such tragedies are few and far between, but sadly they do occur. As Andre Duvall explored this terrible place, Azalin discovered his trespasses and confronted him. Enraged at this violation of his hospitality, the lich unleashed a stroke of magical lightning at the bard. Reacting quickly, Duvall attempted to shield himself with the great book he had been about to examine. The lightning struck the tome, which happened to be one of Azalin’s most potent books of spells, and a terrible explosion shook the castle. Showers of blazing fragments ignited fires around the room and thick, acrid smoke boiled into the air. Dazed, but amazed that he had survived at all, Duvall fled. Azalin, intent on saving his magical laboratory, did not pursue. Thus, Duvall escaped and went into hiding. As the days passed, it became more and more clear to Duvall that the accident in the laboratory had made some great change in his body. To his horror, he found that his heart no longer beat and that he did not breathe. He had not survived the attack, after all. [b]Mummy Greater:[/b] Most greater mummies were created by the dread lord of Har’Akir himself and are wholly loyal to that vile creature. Senmet, however, was given his power and undead stature by Isu Rehkotep, a priestess who stumbled upon a magical scroll. A young priestess named Isu Rehkotep discovered a magical scroll. She saw at once that it was the process by which Anhktepot created his dreadful greater mummies. Now a minion of evil, Rehkotep recovered the mysterious scroll that she had hidden away so long ago. She began to study it and to make plans for its use. What Rehkotep did not fully understand at the time was that her scroll fragments were incomplete. She was able to awaken Senmet, but not to exercise complete control over his actions as she had expected. [b]Spectre:[/b] With her last breath, she cried out for someone, anyone, to save her from death, swearing that she would do anything to keep her existence from ending like this. Then she closed her eyes and felt the bitter cold around her steal the pitiful remains of her body’s warmth. Somewhere in the darkness of Ravenloft, her pleas were heard. A strange darkness, deeper than the blackness of the cave, seeped out of the soul of the mountain. It coiled around the young woman’s body like an ebony snake. Two pinpoints of red light like eyes smoldered to life, yet drove away none of the darkness. Then, like a cobra striking, the blackness plunged into Jezra’s body. As the last traces of the shade vanished into the corporeal flesh of the woman, Jezra twitched and her face contorted in agony. Unseen in her tomb, her body thrashed about violently for several seconds and then was forever still. Gradually, a cold glow filled the cave. Jezra blinked and opened her eyes. She could feel her hands and her feet again. The air no longer choked her. The cold, however, was redoubled. Her flesh seemed to tremble endlessly, and her bones pounded with an arthritic ache. She cried out in agony and rose to her feet. Her only thought was to somehow escape from this icy darkness; had she looked down, she might have seen her own body, unmoving in death. Instead, she plunged desperately into the rocks and ice blocking her escape, passing through them as if they were but fog to her. [b]Vampire Illithid:[/b] Athaekeetha, like all of the vampire illithids, was created in a foul experiment conducted by the vampire Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master of the mind flayers. [b]Vampire Eastern:[/b] In the end, the samurai was triumphant. Sadly, he too was dying. The vampire had tasted his life essence and left his soul drained and tainted. With a final prayer to his ancestors, he died. To his surprise, he awoke a day or so later. His wounds, it seemed, were completely healed. Indeed, he felt better than he ever had before. He left the vampire’s lair and headed out of the cave. With luck, he hoped to rejoin his sisters before they left the island. As he reached the cave’s mouth and stepped out into the sunlight, he found himself wracked with horrible pain. He turned and tossed himself back into the cool darkness of the cavern just in time. With horror, he realized that he himself had become undead. [b]Wight:[/b] The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). This undead creature then hunts down those men who served it in life and kills them, transforming them into ghouls (if the darkling returns as a ghast) or wights (if it is a wraith). Thus, its evil band will again plague the lands. [b]Wraith:[/b] The death of a darkling usually (90%) draws the attention of the nearest Vistani group. Within a week, they arrive at the location of the demise, bury the body (if such is still available), and perform an ancient rite designed to soothe the spirit of their tortured brother and allow him to rest in eternal peace. If this ritual is not completed, there is a 90% chance that the darkling will return in 1 to 6 weeks as a ghast (if the body is intact) or as a wraith (if the body has been destroyed). [b]Zombie:[/b] Zombie Lord odor of death ability. [/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17524/Monstrous-Compendium--Ravenloft-Appendix-III-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix III[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Akikage:[/b] The akikage (ah-ki-ka-gee), or shadow ninja, is the spirit of an oriental assassin who died while stalking an important victim. In life, the akikage was obsessed with duty and discipline. [b]Boneless:[/b] Boneless are without doubt the most foul result of all dark inquiries into necromancy. Created out of corpses from which the bones have been stripped, these mindless creatures exist only to execute the commands of their creator. These creatures are the result of dark experiments conducted by the wizard Faylorn while staying as a guest of the lich lord Azalin at his keep in Darkon. He found that, under the right conditions, he could animate the bones and body of a corpse quite independently. Since that time, Faylorn’s methodology has spread and others have learned how to create these foul things. Boneless have no role in nature and are purely the result of dark magic. It is said that the magic by which they are created is similar in many ways to the well-known animate dead spell, but that its material components are somewhat different. There is much evidence to support the belief that this spell functions only within on the Demiplane of Dread. [b]Cat Skeletal:[/b] Skeletal cats are the ambulatory remains of pets who have clawed their way back from the grave to avenge themselves upon masters who treated them poorly or ended their lives. It can scarce be argued that cats are the most noble and majestic of household pets. When one of these stately creatures suffers and dies from the abuse of a cruel master, it sometimes returns in the form of a skeletal cat. [b]Cloaker Undead:[/b] The undead cloaker is a foul and dangerous creature that is believed to be the earthly remains of a resplendent cloaker that has had its life drained away by the living dead. [b]Corpse Candle:[/b] The corpse candle is the undead spirit of a murdered man or woman that coerces the living into bringing its killer to justice. [b]Familiar Undead:[/b] An undead familiar is a sinister being that is created whenever a wizard is directly responsible for the death of his own familiar. By betraying the mystical bonds that link the spellcaster to his companion, the wizard brings into existence a vile creature that seeks only to destroy him. [b]Geist:[/b] A geist is created when a person dies traumatically. Usually there is some deed left undone or some penance to be paid. The spirit of the person refuses to leave the plane (or demiplane) on which he died, becoming a geist instead. [b]Geist Greater:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Animal:[/b] Animal ghosts are the spirits of woodland creatures that died under some unusual circumstance. In the case of pets, they may have been killed while attempting to serve their masters. For wild beasts, it may be that they died while in a panic or other emotionally charged state. [b]Ghost Animal Bear:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Animal Boar Wild:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Animal Horse Wild:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Animal Lion Mountain:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Animal Stag:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Animal Wolf:[/b] ? [b]Hag Spectral:[/b] A spectral hag is the undead spirit of a hag who died during an evil ceremony. [b]Hag Spectral Annis:[/b] ? [b]Hag Spectral :[/b] ? [b]Hag Spectral :[/b] ? [b]Hound Phantom:[/b] A phantom hound is a dog so devoted to its former master that it returns after its death to guard that master’s property or final resting place. First noted in Sanguinia, a phantom hound is always some very large dog such as a mastiff, wolfhound, or Great Dane. Due to the corrupting influences of the Demiplane of Dread, the faithful canine is transformed into a terrifying, coal black creature with spectral eyes that glow a deep green. [b]Hound Skeletal:[/b] Skeletal hounds are the magically animated skeletons of dogs created as guardians by evil wizards or priests. Originally created by Spelaka of Mordent, a reclusive necromancer, the creatures appear to have no ligaments, muscles, or joinings that would hold their bones together and allow movement, They lack internal organs, flesh, and eyes. They are given the semblance of life and held together by the magic of an animate dead spell. [i]Animate Dead[/i] spell. [b]Jolly Roger:[/b] A jolly roger is the undead spirit of a pirate or buccaneer who died at sea. These foul creatures were usually captains or officers while living, and retain their taste for command after death. Jolly rogers are evil, undead creatures native to the demiplane of Ravenloft. For some reason, they are tied to that region and are never encountered elsewhere. [b]Lich Defiler:[/b] In life, defiler liches were spellcasters of great power who learned to garner their magical energies from the very land around them. No one seems to know where the first defiler lich came from. With the many gapes and portals existing in the demiplane, it is most likely that the foul things came from some other place far removed from Ravenloft. Rumors abound that the world of their origin was blasted into desert by their ilk, but thus far no proof has been offered of this theory. Defiler liches gain their status in the same way that other liches do. This includes the construction of a phylactery and its enchantment. [b]Demi-Defiler:[/b] ? [b]Lich Drow:[/b] Both drow and drider liches are created in the same manner as their human cousins, including the creation and enchantment of a phylactery. [b]Lich Drow Drider:[/b] A very few driders have escaped to continue their studies, and perhaps even to seek revenge on those who twisted their bodies into their present state. Of these, a few have eventually pursued their black arts into the realm of lichdom. Driders are the forlorn of Lolth. Years ago these pathetic wretches failed the cruel tests of their spider goddess and were sentenced to a lifetime of suffering in the miserable half-form of spider and drow. A few of these creature’s fates were tragic enough to attract the attentions of the Demiplane of Dread, and there the pitiful driders found a home. A very few of these continued in their magical research and eventually mastered the magics that made them liches. [b]Lich Drow Wizard:[/b] ? [b]Lich Drow Priestess:[/b] Devout followers of the drow spider-goddess, Lolth, are sometimes rewarded with immortality through the transformation into lichdom. [b]Demilich Drow:[/b] Wizard and priest drow may become demiliches in the usual manner. [b]Lich Elemental:[/b] Elemental liches are diabolical wizards who studied and mastered the use of Ravenloft’s strange elements before or during their undeath. An elemental lich’s phylactery must first be buried in a nearby grave. Then a great fire of burning bones is ignited on that spot. Blood is then poured over the ashes and allowed to soak into the ground. If the elemental powers decide to grant the lich its powers, the mists of the demiplane will roll in and obscure the site from prying eyes. [b]Demi-Elemental Lich:[/b] ? [b]Lich Psionic:[/b] There are few who dare to argue that the power of a master psionicist is any less than that of an archmage. Proof of this can be found in the fact that the most powerful psionicists are actually able to extend their lives beyond the spans granted them by nature, just as powerful wizards are known to do. Psionic liches are powerful espers who have left behind the physical demands of life in pursuit of ultimate mental powers. Although the power that transformed them is natural (not supernatural, as it is with other liches), the extent to which psionic liches have pursued their goals is not natural. By twisting the powers of their minds to extend their existence beyond the bounds of mortal life, psionic liches become exiles. Cast out from the land of the living, these creatures sometimes lament the foolishness that led them down the dark path of the undead. By far the most important aspect of the existence of the psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character.The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature’s spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns, and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist’s life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete the phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is closed it cannot be reopened. During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist’s life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place the character must make a system shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. Only the powers of a deity are strong enough to revive a character who has died in this way; even a wish will not suffice. [b]Odem:[/b] Vicious or murderous characters of great willpower may become odems when they die. [b]Radiant Spirit:[/b] A radiant spirit is the ghost of a powerful paladin or lawful good cleric killed while pursuing a holy cause. The anguish that fills his heart traps his spirit on the demiplane and taunts him with the failure of his quest. A priest or paladin who dies while pursuing a just cause may rise as a radiant spirit 2-8 (2d4) months after his death. In order for a radiant spirit to be formed, however, the quest that the character was on must be one of extreme importance. As a rule, the failure of this mission must result in something as terrible as the utter collapse of the character’s church. [b]Remnant Aquatic:[/b] Remnants are the spirits of humans and humanoids whose former bodies have been thrown into an unconsecrated, watery grave after they have died of acute stress and exhaustion. The callous way in which they have been disposed of after a torturous and miserable life leaves them in a state of such sorrow that they cannot completely leave the material world behind, and they lurk in the pools and rivers where their bodies were abandoned. [b]Runner Dune:[/b] See Dune Runner. [b]Rushlight:[/b] Rushlights are formed when an evil being is burned alive on a funeral pyre. The soul flees the smoldering shell and attempts to escape into the night. Before the spirit can break free of its earthly bonds, it merges with the all-consuming fires and acquires their power. [b]Skeleton Archer:[/b] Archer skeletons are magically animated humanoid undead monsters created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests. Such creatures are crafted from the bones of dead archers using an animate dead spell. The creator must also bond a blooded arrowhead to the skull of each skeleton. During the animation process the arrowhead fuses with the skeleton’s skull. Archer skeletons are said to have first been created by a zealous necromancer named Karakin. Karakin wished to murder all the people of his land so that he would be the only human living there. Once this was accomplished, Karakin would surround himself with undead courtiers far more loyal than any living vassals. Creating a vast army of archer skeletons and other undead, Karakin prepared to march, but the sheer force of his malice proved virulent enough to carry him instead through the mists and into Ravenloft. Where Karakin resides now is unknown, but his skeletal archers and the secret of their construction have come into the hands of a growing number of nefarious individuals. [b]Skeleton Insectiod:[/b] These nightmarish automatons are the animated exoskeletons of dead insects. Evil priests and wizards, bent on manipulating nature for their own nefarious purposes, create these chitinous monstrosities with animate dead spells in a process almost identical to that used in the creation of normal skeletons. Insectoid skeletons are created with the use of a special version of the animate dead spell. It is believed that this spell was created by a drow necromancer, but the truth of that supposition is unknown. [b]Skeleton Insectiod Giant Ant:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Insectiod Giant Tick:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Insectiod Stag Beetle:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Strahd:[/b] Strahd skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by Count Strahd Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of Barovia. Only Strahd Von Zarovich knows the arcane ritual that brings about their creation. For raw material, he requires human skeletons that still include the skull and 90% of the bones. What other foul components might be required are known only to the dread master of Ravenloft. [b]Spirit Psionic:[/b] Two theories exist as to the origin of psionic spirits. The first states that such monsters are actually psionicists who somehow become trapped within their shadow form. Eventually the torment of their hideous half-existence drives such individuals into madness, evil, and at the last into the arms of the Dark Powers, who grant the psionicist its ghostly form. The second theory simply asserts that psionic spirits were once evil psionicists who suffered a violent death while using their mental powers. Somehow the spirits of such psionicists remain in the world in the form of psionic ghosts. [b]Vampire Drow:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Nosferatu:[/b] Those who die from the nosferatu’s bloody kiss rise again as half-strength creatures subject to the will of their creator. [b]Vampire Oriental:[/b] Any human slain by the life draining attack of an oriental vampire is doomed to become such a creature himself. The victim rises the night after burial, a powerful pawn to its evil creator. If the victim is never buried, he will not become a vampire. This is the reason it is traditional to cremate the bodies of those suspected to have lost their lives to a vampire. [b]Zombie Cannibal:[/b] Anyone bitten by a cannibal zombie must make a saving throw vs. poison. Success indicates that the creature’s poisonous saliva has had no effect. Failure means that the victim will soon become a new cannibal zombie himself unless a cure disease spell is cast upon him quickly. Within 2-8 (2d4) rounds after failing the saving throw the victim begins to feel a gnawing hunger. Every other round thereafter the victim must make a Constitution check. When this check fails, the victim is killed by the fast-acting poison in his veins and moves to join his new brethren in attacking the fully living. Once this happens, a cure disease spell will have no effect on the new zombie. A slow poison spell will retard the poison’s onset, but this only delays the inevitable. It is not known how cannibal zombies first came into existence. [b]Zombie Desert:[/b] Desert zombies are animated corpses controlled by their creator, the evil mummy Senment. In recent years, rumors have arisen that other powerful spellcasters in the domain of Har’Akir have begun to create these things, but this has yet to be proven. The greater mummy, Senmet, created the first desert zombies. He sacrificed all of his spell casting power to be able to create and control an army of these nightmares, as well as to take limited control over the domain of Har’Akir. Any character who dies from the disease transmitted by the touch of the greater mummy becomes a desert zombie. It takes a full day after death for the corpse to animate. If the body is destroyed during that time, it will not be animated. [b]Zombie Strahd:[/b] Strahd zombies are a unique form of undead created only by Count Strahd Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of Barovia. They are created with an arcane formula known only to Strahd Von Zarovich. He can create them only from the dead bodies of humans. [b]Zombie Wolf:[/b] Zombie Wolves are not created by a wizard or a priest, but are a creation of the domain of Forlorn itself. Zombie wolves rise from the dead when the body of any regular wolf in the domain of Forlorn is not decapitated after it is killed. If this gruesome task is not carried out, the corpse of the wolf rises as a zombie 2d8 days after it has died. It is generally thought that the creatures gain this strange form of existence from contact with the land itself, which channels energy from the Negative Material Plane. Some sages speculate that simply preventing the wolf carcass from having any contact with the ground for a full eight days will prevent it from rising as a zombie, but in the absence of any practical application of this theory, it remains unproven. [b]Ghoul:[/b] If the mage is slain by his undead familiar he will rise again as a ghoul. [b]Skeleton:[/b] Whenever an archer skeleton's arrow fails to hit its target, the DM should make a saving throw vs. crushing blow for the arrow. If the saving throw fails the shaft simply breaks and becomes useless. If it is successful, however, the arrow remains intact and rapidly (1 round) grows into a skeleton with all the normal abilities of those undead. [b]Zombie:[/b] Any creature that is drained to zero level by an undead cloaker or its host will return from the grave in 1d4 days as a common zombie. [b]Zombie Sea:[/b] Those slain by a jolly roger’s touch will rise as sea zombies in 24 hours unless their bodies are blessed and then committed to the deep in a traditional burial at sea. Raise dead, resurrection, or wish will also counter this if used carefully and promptly. Anyone living who attempts to board the jolly roger’s ship must save vs. death magic or be transformed into a sea zombie. [/spoiler] Monstrous Compendium Savage Coast[spoiler] [b]Arasheem:[/b] These undead araneas retain the High Intelligence of the spider-humanoid race and still possess superior magical ability. Though they are rumored to be failed liches, no proof of this fact has been discovered. [b]Cursed One:[/b] The onset of the Red Curse always causes the loss of ability score points, and in some cases, cinnabryl cannot be found in time to stop this loss after the first point. When any of a person's ability scores is lowered to 0, that person dies. If special measures are not taken, that person will rise again as a cursed one. To prevent the rise of a cursed one, one ounce of cinnabryl must be buried with the remains of anyone who dies from the attribute point loss brought on by the Red Curse. Cursed ones are also sometimes created by the touch of an Inheritor lich. The touch of an inheritor lich automatically kills any individual who has one or more attribute scores (with the exception of Charisma) reduced to 0 or less. The next night, however, that victim will rise as a cursed one. [b]Deathmare:[/b] A deathmares is the spirit of a horse that was abused and killed by an evil, sadistic owner. They return from the dead to exact revenge on all horsemen, regardless of alignment, feeding on the life forces of the riders they kill. [b]Lich Inheritor:[/b] These vile undead creatures are the remnants of high-level Inheritors who sought to increase their power. Through arcane, alchemical processes, they transform from living beings into powerful undead creatures. Inheritor liches were once 15th-level Inheritors, possessing seven Legacies before transformation. No Inheritor lich of greater or lesser power has been reported. Some sages speculate that such a creature's power is limited by the transformation process, but others claim that the reason a more powerful Inheritor lich has not been encountered is because no Inheritor of greater power has attempted the transformation-yet. To become an Inheritor lich, an Inheritor must first construct the item that will hold his life essence. This must be done by the prospective lich-never by a second party. Ideally, the red steel used in the creation of the item was worn as cinnabryl by the Inheritor. The Inheritor must also personally create a difficult alchemical preparation. This potion is something like crimson essence, but also contains steel seed, finely ground red steel, herbs, blood, and miscellaneous arcane and costly items. The exact formula is known only to a few, but it might be found in the journals of those who have attempted the process. Like crimson essence, the potion must be bathed in the magic of depleting cinnabryl for several weeks. When ready to become a lich, the Inheritor imbibes the potion; he must then make a successful system shock roll or die. If the roll is successful, the Inheritor becomes an Inheritor lich and immediately enters the Time of Change, transforming according to the Legacies possessed. However, no points are lost from ability scores during this process, and any that were subtracted previously are gained back. [b]Nosferatu:[/b] Human or humanoid victims of a nosferatu may later become a nosferatu only if the original undead wishes it. If so, the victim rises from the dead three days after being drained of blood, unless its body was burned or totally destroyed. [b]Spawn of Nimmur:[/b] When a powerful (11 or more Hit Die) Nimmurian manscorpion dies from exposure to sunlight, it has a 1% chance per Hit Die of becoming undead, rising as an avenging spawn of Nimmur when the sun sets. If the ashes of a sun-burned manscorpion are sprinkled with holy water from a temple dedicated to the Immortal Idu (Ixion), blessed, and scattered to the four winds, the manscorpion cannot rise as a spawn of Nimmur. Only very powerful manscorpions can "survive" the burning process to become true Spawn of Nimmur. [b]Ziggurat Horror:[/b] Ziggurat horrors are intentionally made by Nimmurian priests, under carefully controlled conditions. [b]Sprit Heroic:[/b] The heroic spirit is an undead entity who died while attempting to perform some especially heroic deed or defeat some dastardly villain. [b]Yeshom:[/b] Yeshoms are the undead remnants of aranean mages who sought power, got it, and paid too high a price. Yeshoms came into being about 1,500 years ago, when a group of Herathian mages cooperated in an effort to gain immortality, augment the natural shapechanging abilities of the aranean race, and gain additional spellcasting power. Their research effort succeeded in all three of these goals, discovering a method by which a powerful aranea could be transformed into a new form with vastly greater power. A number of Herath's best and finest mages volunteered for the treatment and were transformed into yeshoms, before the process's horrible side effects were discovered. [b]Zombie Red:[/b] Red zombies are usually formed when a wicked mage or priest uses the spell animate dead to enchant the corpse of an Afflicted person. A red zombie will sometimes spontaneously form when somebody dies from the "red blight," a form of illness that causes non-Legacy using creatures, or those beyond the limits of the Haze, who wear cinnabryl to lose 1 point of Constitution per day until dead. A person who dies from the red blight and is not blessed during the burial has a 10% chance of rising one day later as a red zombie.[/spoiler] [URL="www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16865/Monstrous-Manual-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]Monstrous Manual[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Banshee, Groaning Spirit:[/b] The banshee or groaning spirit, is the spirit of an evil female elf -- a very rare thing indeed. [b]Beholder Undead:[/b] Death tyrants occur spontaneously in very rare instances. In most cases, they are created through the magic of evil beings -- from human mages to illithid villains. Some outcast, magic-using beholders have even been known to create death tyrants from their own unfortunate brethren. Death tyrants are created from dying beholders. A spell, thought to have been developed by human mages in the remote past, forces a beholder from a living to an undead state, and imprints its brain with instructions. [b]Doomsphere:[/b] This ghost-like undead beholder is created by magical explosions. [b]Kasharin:[/b] An undead beholder, it passes on the rotting disease which killed it. [b]Crawling Claw:[/b] The much feared crawling claw is frequently employed as a guardian by those mages and priests who have learned the secret of its creation. Claws are the animated remains of hands or paws of living creatures. Crawling claws are nothing more than the animated hands and paws of once-living creatures. Crawling claws can be created by any mage or priest who has knowledge of the techniques required to do so. To begin with, the creator must assemble the severed limbs that are to animated. The maximum number of claws that can be created at any one time is equal to the level of the person enchanting them. The hands (or paws) can be either fresh, skeletal, or at any stage of decomposition in between. [b]Crypt Thing:[/b] There are two types of crypt things -- ancestral and summoned. The former type are “natural” creatures, while the others are called into existence by a wizard or priest of at least 14th level. The most common crypt thing is the summoned variety. By use of a 7th-level spell, any caster capable of employing necromantic spells can create a crypt thing. Ancestral crypt things are the raised spirits of the dead that have returned to guard the tombs of their descendants. This happens only in rare cases (determined by the DM). [b]Death Knight:[/b] death knight is the horrifying corruption of a paladin or lawful good warrior cursed by the gods to its terrible form as punishment for betraying the code of honor it held in life. Death knights are former good warriors who were judged by the gods to be guilty of unforgivable crimes, such as murder or treason. [b]Dracolich:[/b] The dracolich is an undead creature resulting from the unnatural transformation of an evil dragon. The mysterious Cult of the Dragon practices the powerful magic necessary for the creation of the dracolich, though other practitioners are also rumored to exist. A dracolich can be created from any of the evil dragon subspecies. The creation of a dracolich is a complex process involving the transformation of an evil dragon by arcane magical forces, the most notorious practitioners of which are members of the Cult of the Dragon. The process is usually a cooperative effort between the evil dragon and the wizards, but especially powerful wizards have been known to coerce an evil dragon to undergo the transformation against its will. Any evil dragon is a possible candidate for transformation, although old dragons or older with spell-casting abilities are preferred. Once a candidate is secured, the wizards first prepare the dragon's host, an inanimate object that will hold the dragon's life force. The host must be a solid item of not less than 2,000 gp value resistant to decay (wood, for instance, is unsuitable). A gemstone is commonly used for a host, particularly ruby, pearl, carbuncle, and jet, and is often set in the hilt of a sword or other weapon. The host is prepared by casting enchant an item upon it and speaking the name of the evil dragon; the item may resist the spell by successfully saving vs. spell as an 11th-level wizard. If the spell is resisted, another item must be used for the host. If the spell is not resisted, the item can then function as a host. If desired, glassteel can be cast upon the host to protect it. Next, a special potion is prepared for the evil dragon to consume. The exact composition of the potion varies according to the age and type of the dragon, but it must contain precisely seven ingredients, among them a potion of evil dragon control, a potion of invulnerability, and the blood of a vampire. When the evil dragon consumes the potion, the results are determined as follows (roll percentile dice): Roll Result 01-10 No effect. 11-40 Potion does not work. The dragon suffers 2d12 points of damage and is helpless with convulsions for 1-2 rounds. 41-50 Potion does not work. The dragon dies. A full wish or similar spell is needed to restore the dragon to life; a wish to transform the dragon into a dracolich results in another roll on this table. 51-00 Potion works. If the potion works, the dragon's spirit transfers to the host, regardless of the distance between the dragon's body and the host. A dim light within the host indicates the presence of the spirit. While contained in the host, the spirit cannot take any actions; it cannot be contacted nor attacked by magic. The spirit can remain in the host indefinitely. Once the spirit is contained in the host, the host must be brought within 90 feet of a reptilian corpse; under no circumstances can the spirit possess a living body. The spirit's original body is ideal, but the corpse of any reptilian creature that died or was killed within the previous 30 days is suitable. The wizard who originally prepared the host must touch the host, cast a magic jar spell while speaking the name of the dragon, then touch the corpse. The corpse must fail a saving throw vs. spell for the spirit to successfully possess it; if it saves, it will never accept the spirit. The following modifiers apply to the roll: -10 if the corpse is the spirit's own former body (which can be dead for any length of time). -4 if the corpse is of the same alignment as the dragon. -4 if the corpse is that of a true dragon (any type). -3 if the corpse is that of a firedrake, ice lizard, wyvern, or fire lizard. -1 if the corpse is that of a dracolisk, dragonne, dinosaur, snake, or other reptile. If the corpse accepts the spirit, it becomes animated by the spirit. If the animated corpse is the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a dracolich; however, it will not regain the use of its voice and breath weapon for another seven days (note that it will not be able to cast spells with verbal components during this time). At the end of seven days, the dracolich regains the use of its voice and breath weapon. If the animated corpse is not the spirit's former body, it immediately becomes a proto-dracolich. A proto-dracolich has the mind and memories of its original form, but has the hit points and immunities to spells and priestly turning of a dracolich. A proto-dracolich can neither speak nor cast spells; further, it cannot cause chilling damage, use a breath weapon, or cause fear as a dracolich. Its strength, movement, and Armor Class are those of the possessed body. To become a full dracolich, a proto-dracolich must devour at least 10% of its original body. Unless the body has been dispatched to another plane of existence, a proto-dracolich can always sense the presence of its original body, regardless of the distance. A proto-dracolich will tirelessly seek out its original body to the exclusion of all other activities. If its original body has been burned, dismembered, or otherwise destroyed, the proto-dracolich need only devour the ashes or pieces equal to or exceeding 10% of its original body mass (total destruction of the original body is possible only through use of a disintegrate or similar spell; the body could be reconstructed with a wish or similar spell, so long as the spell is cast in the same plane as the disintegration). If a proto-dracolich is unable to devour its original body, it is trapped in its current form until slain. A proto-dracolich transforms into a full dracolich within seven days after it devours its original body. When the transformation is complete, the dracolich resembles its original body; it can now speak, cast spells, and employ the breath weapon of its original body, in addition to having all of the abilities of a dracolich. [b]Ghost:[/b] Ghosts are the spirits of humans who were either so greatly evil in life or whose deaths were so unusually emotional they have been cursed with the gift of undead status. Another common reason for an individual to become a ghost is the denial of a proper burial. [b]Ghoul:[/b] Any human or demi-human (except elves) killed by a ghoulish attack will become a ghoul unless blessed (or blessed and then resurrected). [b]Ghoul Lacedon:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Heucuva:[/b] Legends tell that heucuva are the restless spirits of monastic priests who were less than faithful to their holy vows. [b]Lich:[/b] In order to become a lich, the wizard must prepare its phylactery by the use of the enchant an item, magic jar, permanency and reincarnation spells. The phylactery, which can be almost any manner of object, must be of the finest craftsmanship and materials with a value of not less than 1,500 gold pieces per level of the wizard. Once this object is created, the would-be lich must craft a potion of extreme toxicity, which is then enchanted with the following spells: wraithform, permanency, cone of cold, feign death, and animate dead. When next the moon is full, the potion is imbibed. Rather than death, the potion causes the wizard to undergo a transformation into its new state. A system shock survival throw is required, with failure indicating an error in the creation of the potion which kills the wizard and renders him forever dead. [b]Lich Demilich:[/b] It is the stage into which a lich will eventually evolve as the power which has sustained its physical form gradually begins to fail. [b]Lich Archlich:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] Mummies are corpses native to dry desert areas, where the dead are entombed by a process known as mummification. When their tombs are disturbed, the corpses become animated into a weird unlife state, whose unholy hatred of life causes them to attack living things without mercy. Mummies are the product of an embalming process used on wealthy and important personages. Most mummies are corpses without magical properties. On occasion, perhaps due to powerful evil magic or perhaps because the individual was so greedy in life that he refuses to give up his treasure, the spirit of the mummified person will not die, but taps into energy from the Positive Material plane and is transformed into an undead horror. To create a mummy, a corpse should be soaked in a preserving solution (typically carbonate of soda) for several weeks and covered with spices and resins. Body organs, such as the heart, brain, and liver, are typically removed and sealed in jars. When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process requires 12-18 hours (10+2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally held or charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place. Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies. [b]Mummy Greater:[/b] Also known as Anhktepot's Children, greater mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding of a burial place. Greater mummies are powerful undead creatures that are usually created from the mummified remains of powerful, evil priests. This being the case, the greater mummy now draws its mystical abilities from evil powers and darkness. In rare cases, however, the mummified priests served non-evil god in life and are still granted the powers they had in life from those gods. The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the Lord of Har'akir, in the years before he became undead himself. The process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har'akir. [b]Poltergeist:[/b] Some say that poltergeists are the spirits of those who committed heinous crimes that went unpunished in life. [b]Revenant:[/b] Revenants are vengeful spirits that have risen from the grave to destroy their killers. Under exceptional circumstances, a character who has died a violent death may rise as a revenant from the grave to wreak vengeance on his killer(s). In order to make this transition, two requirements must be met. The dead character's Constitution must be 18 and either his Wisdom or Intelligence must be greater than 16. Also, the total of his six ability scores must be 90 or more. Even if these conditions are met, there is only a 5% chance that the dead character becomes a revenant. If both Intelligence and Wisdom are over 16, the chance increases to 10%. [b]Shadow:[/b] If a human or demihuman opponent is reduced to zero Strength or zero hit points by a shadow, the shadow has drained the life force and the opponent becomes a shadow as well. According to most knowledgeable sages, shadows appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse laid upon some long-dead enemy. The curse affects only humans and demihumans, so it would seem that it affects the soul or spirit. When victims no longer can resist, either through loss of consciousness (hit points) or physical prowess (Strength points), the curse is activated and the majority of the character's essence is shifted to the Negative Material Plane. [b]Skeleton:[/b] All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests. Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants. [b]Skeleton Animal:[/b] All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests. Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants. [b]Skeleton Monster:[/b] All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests. Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants. [b]Skeleton Giant:[/b] Giant skeletons are similar to the more common undead skeleton, but they have been created with a combination of spells and are, thus, far more deadly than their lesser counterparts. In actuality, they are simply human skeletons that have been magically enlarged. The first giant skeletons to appear in Ravenloft were created by the undead priestess Radaga in her lair within the domain of Kartakass. Others have since mastered the spells and techniques required to create these monsters; thus, giant skeletons are gradually beginning to appear in other realms where the dead and undead lurk. They are created from the bones of those who have died and are abominations in the eyes of all who believe in the sanctity of life and goodness. The process by which giant skeletons are created is dark and evil. Attempts to manufacture them outside of Ravenloft have failed, so it is clear that they are in some way linked to the Dark Powers themselves. In order to create a giant skeleton, a spell caster must have the intact skeleton of a normal human or demihuman. On a night when the land is draped in fog, they must cast an animate dead, produce fire, enlarge, and a resist fire spell over the bones. When the last spell is cast, the bones lengthen and thicken and the creatures rises up. The the creator must make a Ravenloft Powers check for his part in this evil undertaking. [b]Skeleton Warrior:[/b] Formerly powerful fighters, skeleton warriors are undead lords forced into their nightmarish states by powerful wizards or evil demigods who trapped their souls in golden circlets. [b]Spectre:[/b] Any being totally drained of life energy by a spectre becomes a full-strength spectre under the control of the spectre which drained him. No one knows who the first spectre was or how it came to be. [b]Troll Spectral:[/b] It is noted that a humanoid slain by a spectral troll becomes one itself in three days, unless a proper burial ceremony is performed by a priest of the victim's religion. [b]Vampire:[/b] Any human or humanoid creature slain by the life energy drain of a vampire is doomed to become a vampire himself. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of the creature. Those who are not actually buried, however, do not become undead and it is thus traditional that the bodies of a vampire's victims be burned or similarly destroyed. [b]Vampire Eastern:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] Persons who are slain by the energy draining powers of a wight are doomed to rise again as wights under the direct control of their slayer. [b]Wraith:[/b] The wraith is an evil undead spirit of a powerful human. Any human killed by a wraith becomes a half-strength wraith under its control (e.g., a 10th-level fighter will become a 5 Hit Die wraith under the control of the wraith that slew him). A wraith is an undead spirit of a powerful, evil human. [b]Zombie:[/b] Zombies are mindless, animated corpses controlled by their creators, usually evil wizards or priests. The dead body of any humanoid creature can be made into a zombie. Zombie lord odor of death power. [b]Zombie Ju-Ju:[/b] These creatures are made when a wizard drains the life force from a man-sized humanoid creature with an energy drain spell. [b]Zombie Lord:[/b] The zombie lord is a living creature that has taken on the foul powers and abilities of the undead. They are formed on rare occasions as the result of a raise dead spell gone awry. The zombie lord comes into being by chance, and only under certain conditions. First, an evil human must die at the hand of an undead creatures. Second, an attempt to raise the character must be made. Third, the corpse must fail its resurrection survival roll. Fourth and last, a deity of evil must show “favor'” to the deceased, and curse him or her with the “gift of eternal life.” Within one week of the raise attempt, the corpse awakens as a zombie lord. [b]Zombie Sea:[/b] Sea zombies (also known as drowned ones) are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed and are rumored to be animated by the will of the god Nerull the Reaper (or another similar evil deity). [/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17293/A-Guide-to-the-Ethereal-Plane-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']A Guide to the Ethereal Plane[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Apparition:[/b] Sometimes when a poor sod is slain, his spirit lingers on the Border Ethereal in the form of an apparition: a skeletal being loosely wrapped in ethereal tatters that resemble cloth bandages. [b]Ghost:[/b] When clueless primes of great evil perish or when poor sods die a particularly traumatic or untimely death, their spirits sometimes linger to haunt the site of their passing.[/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17518/A-Guide-to-Transylvania-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']A Guide to Transylvania[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Vampire:[/b] At their deaths, dhampir rise as vampires and irredeemable servants of evil.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/215464/A-Light-in-the-Belfry-2e?affiliate_id=17596]A Light in the Belfry[/URL][spoiler] [b]Lambert, Phantom:[/b] ? [b]Morgoroth, Geist:[/b] Even if Morgoroth has been killed through the destruction of the mirror in the parlor, his spirit lives on as a geist—trapped in Avonleigh by the dark powers—and he is enraged beyond mortal bounds at the heroes' actions. [b]Banshee:[/b] ? [b]Geist:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] Morgoroth animates the 33 rotted bodies that lie in here, who attack as ghouls. [b]Haunt:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Phantom:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Armored:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16941/Birthright-Cities-of-the-Sun-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Birthright: Cities of the Sun[/URL][spoiler] [b]El-Sheighul, Lord of Ghouls, Wizard 19, Lost:[/b] ? [b]The Magian, Awnshegh, Wizard 20 Lich:[/b] ? [b]The Rider:[/b] Folks think them undead lords, called back to life by the awnshegh the Magian's foul sorcery. [b]Spectre:[/b] Five skeletons lie moldering before the altar—the remains of some who once served here, killed by the Masetian troops. The spirits of these priests now guard this place. [b]Iagostes, Ghost:[/b] The Masetian soldiers cornered the high priest in Area 5b and slew him, after he'd already taken magical steps to conceal the existence of the temple's undercrypt. His mortal remains—a few blackened pieces of bone—are burned into the center of a charred circle on the west wall.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/201381/Bleak-House-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Bleak House (2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Vampire Cerebral:[/b] Only the lord of Dominia, Daclaud Heinfroth, knows the secret behind their creation. The secret of creating cerebral vampires is known only to Daclaud Heinfroth himself. To this day, Heinfroth is the only person who knows how to create cerebral vampires. [b]Dr. Dominiani, Daclaud Heinfroth, Lord of Dominia, Cerebral Vampire:[/b] When he began to feel the first pangs of madness, panic overcame Heinfroth. Trying to ignore the haunting voices that filled his head and the nightmarish visions that seemed to lurk just beyond the corners of his eyesight, he set about a series of radical procedures involving direct transfusion of spinal and cerebral fluid from healthy donors to madmen. The fact that these donors had been taken against their will and were left either dead or hopelessly insane by the process did not matter to Heinfroth. After some refinement, the process seemed to be a great success. Although he knew that more work should be done before any definitive conclusions could be drawn, Heinfroth pushed ahead. At last, unwilling to wait any longer for fear that the growing madness would consume him, Heinfroth kidnapped a young woman, drained her of her cerebral fluid, and injected into himself. What Heinfroth did not realize was that the donor for his operation had recently been visited by Duke Gundar, the vampire lord of Gundarak. Indeed, this woman was of more than just passing interest to the Duke, for she was on the verge of becoming one of his vampire "brides." While the tainted fluids of this donor did indeed halt Heinfroth's growing madness, they also transformed him into a unique vampire. [b]Duke Gundar, Vampire Lord of Gundarak:[/b] ? [b]Captain Ridg Baykur, Cerebral Vampire:[/b] Baykur is a loyal minion of Heinfroth, who rescued the seaman from the brink of death and showed him a new existence beyond life itself. Shortly after Dominia joined the Core, Baykur was a common seaman who served as a hand aboard the Wailing Spectre, a merchant ship that plied the waters of the Sea of Sorrows. When his ship was attacked by pirates, Baykur and a half-dozen companions were set adrift in a life raft. With no supplies, Baykur was forced to kill and devour his companions to survive. Even that, however, barely kept him alive. By the time his raft fetched up on the shores of Dominia, he was little more than a skeleton. Further, his wounds had become infected, and both his arms were gangrenous. Still, Baykur clung to life. Daclaud Heinfroth respected the spirit of this man who seemingly refused to die. He saved him by turning him into a cerebral vampire. [b]Dr. Piotr Rehner, Cerebral Vampire:[/b] A professional acquaintance of Daclaud Heinfroth, Dr. Piotr Rehner has accepted a position on the asylum staff in order to conduct his own twisted experiments. Rehner's expertise is in pain and its effects, both physical and mental, on the human body. Proof of Rehner's dedication (or madness) may be found in the fact that he agreed to be transformed into a cerebral vampire in order to continue his work. In short, the diary tells the heroes that Rehner was contacted by a man who expressed great interest in his work. Exactly what that work might be is unstated, but the nature of the other books in the chest offers some indication of its nature. This unidentified person offered Rehner the chance to continue his work for all time in the service of Daclaud Heinfroth on the island of Dominia. After serious consideration of the proposal, Rehner agreed and was transformed into a cerebral vampire. [b]Young Colin, Cerebral Vampire:[/b] He was in his early teens when he was transformed into a cerebral vampire, and now he eternally wears the smile of an excitable lad. Young Colin was a wide-eyed, 13 year old boy who thought that a life on the sea would be exciting and glamorous. He decided to start his career by stowing away on a merchant ship and then revealing himself once they had cleared port. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong ship to sneak aboard. After being beat within an inch of his life, as well as having been fed upon by Captain Baykur, Colin was brought before Heinfroth. The master of Dominia saw the use for evil wearing a mask of innocence and turned the boy into a cerebral vampire. [b]Baron Metus, Mature Vampire:[/b] As he fled from Vistani retribution, Metus came under the protection of a member of the Kargat, the secret police force of Darkon. He also soon found himself transformed into a vampire by his supposed protector. Recognizing that she needed the aid of a powerful corporeal ally if her plans were to see fruition, Radanavich arranged for the ashes of Baron Metus to be recovered and reanimated. [b]Madame Radanavich, Lord of Bleak House, 4th Magnitude Ghost:[/b] An enraged Van Richten descended upon the tribe, supported by a ravenous horde of undead creatures that were led by the reanimated corpse of her own son. As Madame Radanavich fell beneath Radovan's claws, she uttered the curse that would fulfill the prophesy made at her birth: "Live you always among monsters, and see everyone you love fall beneath their claws, starting with your son!" By kidnapping his son and then cursing him to live among monsters, Madame Radanavich had set Van Richten firmly on the path he would follow for 30 years, and had thus affected countless residents of the Mists, for good and ill. Also, in the moment of her death, Madame Radanavich was so filled with hate for Van Richten that she lived on. Although she died that night, Madame Radanavich's hate sustained both her and her tribe. The vengeful spirit lingered among the reanimated remains of her relatives, and she took charge of them in death as she had in life. [b]Dr. Black, Cerebral Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Dr. White, Cerebral Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Lord Azalin:[/b] ? [b]Tavelia, Mature Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Kargat Agent:[/b] ? [b]Heinfroth's Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Undead Treant:[/b] ? [b]Erasmus van Richten, Vampire:[/b] I learned that they had sold my beloved child to Baron Metus, a vampire. By the time I reached the Baron's tower, he had already transformed Erasmus into a foul creature of the night. [b]Animal Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Bear:[/b] ? [b]Sobbing Spirit, Banshee:[/b] Not long ago, Baron Metus murdered a young woman in this room. At the time, he was new to the city and had not yet established the subtle feeding patterns that he now employs. So terrified was the innocent lass that her ghost still haunts this room, attacking any male heroes who enter. [b]Daylight Ghosts:[/b] The daylight ghosts of Bleak House are corporeal spirits who endlessly repeat the day of their demise. They are the servants who worked in the house during Van Richten's childhood, and they died during a night of passion, madness, and terror. They are not controlled by Madame Radanavich but have been given existence by the spirit of the house which, recognizing that its true master has come home, is attempting to help Van Richten. [b]Josef Bierce, Daylight Ghost, Human 0:[/b] ? [b]Elise Bierce, Daylight Ghost, Human 0:[/b] When the fateful day came, Karl presented himself to Elise and was dumfounded when she rejected him. He forced his way into her room to argue with her, but when she tried to scream he clapped a heavy hand over her mouth. He squeezed her throat so tightly and for so long that she never made another sound. [b]Casimir, Daylight Ghost, Fighter 1:[/b] Casimir's steadfast companion in life was his hound, Thane, who watched the gate at night while his master slept. Karl poisoned the dog a few hours before he planned to "elope" with Elise. Casimir spent his last living hours searching for his canine friend. Instead, he found death at the hands of Josef. Unfortunately for Josef, his own guilt over his crimes made him increasingly paranoid. He suspected everyone of watching him, especially the half-breed Vistani. When Josef found his ledger missing on his last day of life, he was certain Casimir had stolen it to blackmail him. He sought out Casimir and murdered him. [b]Karl Mueller, Daylight Ghost, Fighter 3:[/b] ? [b]Gretta Bierce, Daylight Ghost, Human 0:[/b] ? [b]Spirits of the Night:[/b] Madame Radanavich has captured the spirits of nine people who were close to Van Richten's heart. [b]Alannthir, 3rd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:[/b] With other brave heroes, this half-elven druid aided Van Richten in tracking the lich known as Bloody Hand. Before the band ever reached the monster's lair, Alannthir was slain during a struggle with Bloody Hand's familiar, an undead redtailed hawk. [b]Bloody Hand Lich:[/b] ? [b]Undead Red Tailed Hawk Familiar:[/b] ? [b]Davvyd, 2nd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:[/b] The only time Van Richten was utterly and totally defeated was when he faced the fiend known as Drigor. Davvyd, a devout young priest of Tyr, a god of justice, was among those who fell. Drigor took particular delight in killing Davvyd, taunting him with the fact that his god was doing nothing to save him. [b]Dr. Harmon Ruscheider, 2nd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:[/b] Once a brilliant scientific mind, Harmon Ruscheider was corrupted by the influences of a lich and died in Van Richten's arms. [b]Erasmus van Richten, 4th Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:[/b] ? [b]Geddar, 3rd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:[/b] Geddar the Dwarf was a retired watchman who ran an inn in Mordentshire. When a scoundrel died with stolen burial goods in his common room, Geddar joined Van Richten in a quest to return the items to their rightful place and mollify the angry spirits. The mission was successful, but not without the cost of Geddar's life. [b]Ingrid van Richten, 2nd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:[/b] Ingrid, Rudolph's wife and mother to his son, Erasmus, was murdered in a most brutal fashion by Baron Metus as a retaliatory gesture. [b]Ottelie Farringer, 3rd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:[/b] After the death of his wife, Rudolph van Richten lived for many years without any thought of love or companionship—until he met the brilliant and enchanting Ottelie Farringer. A scholar rivaling Van Richten's own skill and experience, Ottelie stood with him in the fateful confrontation with Drigor. Had she lived, Van Richten may have led a far different life. [b]Samuel, 2nd Magnitude Ghost, Spirit of the Night:[/b] A young man from Mordentshire, Samuel generally tended Van Richten's herb shop when the doctor was on the road. In the end, he took up arms and stood at the Doctor's side against Drigor. [b]Claudia DeShanes:[/b] Before she met Van Richten, Claudia looked forward to being happily married and bearing healthy children some day. When her powerful psychic abilities were awakened by Van Richten and his comrades during a ghost hunt, she joined his crusade, but fell victim to the child vampire Merilee. [b]Merilee, Child Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Spirit of Bleak House:[/b] ? [b]Cannibal Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Thane, Phantom Hound:[/b] Casimir's steadfast companion in life was his hound, Thane, who watched the gate at night while his master slept. Karl poisoned the dog a few hours before he planned to "elope" with Elise. Casimir spent his last living hours searching for his canine friend. Instead, he found death at the hands of Josef. [b]Radovan Radanavich, Fourth Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Radovan was the son of Madame Radanavich. In life, Radovan was not an evil man. Had events been different, he would never have hated Dr. Van Richten for failing to save his life. The corrupting influence of his transformation into an undead creature forced to lead an enemy to his own tribe broke Radovan's undead mind. [b]Tasha, Animal Ghost:[/b] Like most animal ghosts who died serving their masters, Tasha is restless because she did not manage to carry Van Richten all the way to his destination. [b]Ghostly Boar:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] Any human or humanoid creature whose Intelligence or Wisdom score is reduced to 0 by the drain of cerebral vampires is doomed to become an undead creature himself. Unlike other vampires, however, these creatures do not breed true. The secret of creating cerebral vampires is known only to Daclaud Heinfroth himself. Instead, the victims of a cerebral vampire rise as ghouls. As mentioned in the general description of these monsters, victims slain by other cerebral vampires rise as ghouls. Even in death the Corvara tribe followed Madame Radanavich, their shattered bodies rising as ghouls and zombies to walk with her as she entered the Mists in search of Van Richten. [b]Zombie:[/b] Even in death the Corvara tribe followed Madame Radanavich, their shattered bodies rising as ghouls and zombies to walk with her as she entered the Mists in search of Van Richten. While the children do indeed learn how to weave rugs, they are kept prisoners in the mills and are fed only enough to keep them alive. Dyreth, however, need not even do that. He is a necromancer who slays the children he "apprentices" and animates them as zombies.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17478/Carnival-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Caravan[/URL][spoiler] [b]Skurra:[/b] So where are the ghosts? They are the ghosts! Oh, sure, some might disagree with me, but I know it's true. After all, at least one of their women came here after "escaping" the death squads in Invidia. Not likely is it? She made it out, all right, but I doubt she escaped those squads alive. Try looking at the faces under those painted masks. It's not easy. That's because there are no faces, George! The Skurra, our faithful drivers, those harmless entertainers strolling through the Carnival while juggling knives and balls, are the restless spirits of Vistani who were murdered while apart from their tribes, and now they're unable to find their way home. Like so many other lost souls, they have come to lsolde and the Carnival to find peace. And the wagons they bring and drive for us? Obviously, they are the very vardos these Vistani once lived in. Tindal has filled your head with nonsense, telling you that the Skurra are ghosts of Vistani who failed their tribes in life. Telling you that Isolde brought the Skurra back from the land of death to protect the Carnival in its travels. No doubt some Trouper will also tell you that the Skurra conceal themselves behind false faces to hide from Death, not from the Twisting. Vistani blood flow through the veins of the Skurra, but they are mortu, as am I. Some Skurra have lost their tribes, others were cast out. In this way we are no longer truly Vistani. For our kind, to be mortu is to exist in a cold half-life, cut off from all that fuels our passions. The Troupers do not understand our ways. They have learned that mortu can mean “undead” in your tongue. This confuses them, and the constraints of the Skurra mask have led them to see us as ghosts. Are we simply mortu, or are we undead? Pah. The difference is in the truth you choose to believe.[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/200442/Caravans-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Caravans[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghul Greater:[/b] While most great ghuls are former jann, lesser ghuls are former humans. A human slain by a mage ghul may become a lesser ghul if the mage ghul sits with the human corpse for an entire night, its hands on the corpse's head. At dawn, the corpse rises as a lesser ghul. Some entities, such as noble efreeti, can transform humans to lesser ghuls, lesser ghuls to great ghuls. [b]Ghul Lesser:[/b] While most great ghuls are former jann, lesser ghuls are former humans. A human slain by a mage ghul may become a lesser ghul if the mage ghul sits with the human corpse for an entire night, its hands on the corpse's head. At dawn, the corpse rises as a lesser ghul. Some entities, such as noble efreeti, can transform humans to lesser ghuls, lesser ghuls to great ghuls.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17564/Castle-Spulzeer-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Castle Spulzeer[/URL][spoiler] [b]Kartak Spellseer, Lich Wizard 20 (31):[/b] Meanwhile, in the Year of the Thorns (856 DR), Kartak died by his own hand, drinking a potion that would turn him into a lich. [b]Marble, Unique Ghost:[/b] On that horrible night years ago, when Marble's life blood spewed onto Kartak's reconstructed corpse, she willed herself to avenger her murder. So strong was her hatred of the lich and her brother Chardath, so powerful was her will, that she actually recreated herself into a unique ghost of tremendous power. [b]Sharill Beaufort, “Selune's Daughter”, Eastern Vampire:[/b] She was made an eastern vampire when a man claiming to be an itinerant Moonbathed Priest of Selune attacked her in her own quarters in the cellar under the temple. [b]Ghostly Apparition:[/b] ? [b]Weeping Spirit:[/b] ? [b]Undead:[/b] These restless spirits are mostly victims of atrocities committed in the castle by Kartak and the Spellseer/Spulzeer family over the centuries (some may even be the spirits of evil ancestors). [b]Geist:[/b] A geist is the relatively harmless undead spirit of a person who died traumatically, a transparent image of the victim at the moment of death. [b]Skeleton:[/b] These skeletons are the result of Chardath's experimentation with his newfound magical powers. [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Crypt Thing:[/b] ? [b]Banshee:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17476/Castles-Forlorn-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Castles Forlorn[/URL][spoiler] [b]Rivalin ApTosh:[/b] Rivalin had lain in the mud of the battlefield that day, hovering on the brink of death, until dusk descended. Hidden as he was by the muck of blood and rain, the warrior was overlooked by soldiers who came to collect the bodies of fallen comrades. Then, with the close of day came those that feed upon the dead—and upon those about to die. Thus the last of Rivalin's life force was drained away by a vampire. Two nights later, Rivalin arose with his own, aching thirst for blood. . . . [b]Tristen ApBlanc:[/b] One dark night in the year 1609, when Tristen had reached his midteens, Rual's fears were realized. By the light of a baleful moon, she spied him in the woods, bent over the corpse of a young doe. She thought at first that he had been hunting, but when the boy arose from the body of the animal with a crimson-smeared face, Rual knew the boy's paternity was at last telling true. The toxins in Tristen's body were finally changing him into a vampire. Ironically, the draining of Tristen's blood while he simultaneously assimilated Rual's, infused with holy water, amounted to a transfusion that washed away the tainted poison which would have eventually turned him into a full vampire. The process was excruciatingly painful to Tristen, leading him to believe he was dying, but it was actually affecting a cure. Nevertheless, Rual set in motion the blurring of planar borders that would eventually draw Tristen and the surrounding lands into the demiplane of dread. Covered with unholy blood and outraged to the point of insanity by the murderous betrayal of her adopted child, the druid deprived Tristen of his cure and poisoned him again, this time with her deadly curse. As Rual laid her malediction upon Tristen, the sun sank below the horizon and her blood began to boil within his body. He fell to the ground and thrashed convulsively, screaming until his veins burst within him, and then he died. But death is a relative term among the cursed, and it was certainly not the end of Tristen. He arose as a ghost that same night, and he discovered that he could not leave the sacred grove where Rual's body and his own lay. [b]Flora ApBlanc:[/b] Flora became a ghost because of the anguish she suffered wondering if her child would survive the mob that lynched her. [b]Rual:[/b] Flora became a ghost because of the anguish she suffered wondering if her child would survive the mob that lynched her. [b]Isolt ApBlanc:[/b] The anguish and grief that Isolt felt as she died turned her into a ghost of the third magnitude. [b]Gilan ApBlanc:[/b] Gilan saw the whole thing as he was getting dressed that morning. Racing across the courtyard, he threw himself upon the wolves in an effort to save his beloved pet. The wolves turned on the boy, instead. Startled, Tristen called off the wolves, but it was too late. They had already torn the boy to pieces. Furious, he drew his sword and attacked them without quarter, but this only succeeded in sending a number of the beasts scuttling away from the keep. Some of them still carried pieces of the boy in their slavering jaws as they ran. As a result, there was little of Gilan left to bury. The savage attack that took Gilan's life drove him mad. His ghost has blocked out all memory of the events of his death and he believes the dog in his arms to be alive. [b]Morholt ApBlanc:[/b] He was 18 when he was killed, in Forfar year 1833. Doomed by the sudden nature of his death to become a spirit, the second son of Tristen and Isolt ApBlanc believes he is still alive. (Murdered in his sleep, Morholt never knew who his attacker was.) [b]Aggie:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Wolf:[/b] Zombie wolves are not created by a wizard or a priest, but are a creation of the domain of Forlorn itself. Zombie wolves rise from the dead when the body of any regular wolf in the domain of Forlorn is not decapitated after it is killed. If this gruesome task is not carried out, the corpse of the wolf rises as a zombie 2d8 days after it has died. It is generally thought that the creatures gain this strange form of existence from contact with the land itself, which channels energy from the Negative Material Plane. Some sages speculate that simply preventing the wolf carcass from having any contact with the ground for a full eight days will prevent it from rising as a zombie, but in the absence of any practical application of this theory, it remains unproven. [b]Treant Undead:[/b] ? [b]Geist:[/b] The spirit is the geist of Gregory, the druid who hid the horn of the sacred grove and later was torn to shreds by goblyns. Generally speaking, geists are relatively harmless spirits that are undead manifestations of a person caught between mortality and immortality at the moment of death. [b]Haunt:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17521/Children-of-the-Night-Ghosts-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Children of the Night Ghosts[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Mae Upton, First-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Mae Upton passed away on the very morning that the heroes entered Stangengrad. In a cruel twist of fate, her spirit did not go on to whatever final rest awaited it. Instead, Mae found herself still attached to this world, retaining all her memories but also awash in a dreadful epiphany; she was given complete understanding of exactly what had happened to Jimmy and exactly how it was all her fault. Another flash of inspiration told her that in order to escape the same fate she had unwittingly inflicted on her son, she would have to find a cure for his condition. To this end, she walks again in the world of the living for the sole purpose of securing the heroes’ aid. If they save Jimmy, they also save her. On the day of Jimmy’s encounter with Fennelstock, Mae heard several neighbors tell tales of what happened. She became convinced that her son had been killed. The guilt she felt was overwhelming; she had lied to her only child and used his love for her to send him into a confrontation from which he never returned. She devoted the rest of her life to helping the poor, caring for the debilitated, and preaching the ways of honesty to her former partners in crime. She did all this in the hopes of regaining enough of her honor to be able to look her son in the face when they meet in the afterlife. [b]Ghost Cat, Unfamiliar, Minor Fury:[/b] ? [b]Wilhelm Pellman, First-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Wilhelm had been trying to find Mark, to warn him about Kole’s particularly angry mood that day. He caught up with his friend just in time to see the final blow. When he saw Mark’s body go limp and fall to the ground, Wilhelm screamed, turned, and fled into the street, where he was struck by an out-of-control cart carrying vegetables to the market. Wilhelm lay where he fell, bleeding from a massive head wound. A local innkeeper known as Mother Ladria held him and tried to make sense of his last words as he died. Because of the violent scene that he witnessed just before his death, Wilhelm became a ghost. [b]Susannah Joson, Third-Magnitude Geist:[/b] At last, Rafe convinced Susannah to go with him for a romantic boat ride on the pond, promising it would help “put to rest her torturous fears over what had happened to her family.” He pinned a red rose to her dress to win her over, and the tactic worked to his ends once more. Then, he rowed to the center of the pond and absently asked what she would give to learn her family’s fate, to which she responded “my life!” “Fair enough,” said Rafe with a cruel chuckle. He plucked the rose from her shoulder and threw it into the water, where Susannah slowly focused upon her brothers and parents, just barely visible in the depths. As she screamed in horror, Rafe seized her from behind and held her head under the water so she could look into the vacant eyes of her dead family while she, herself, drowned. When she stopped struggling, he took a knife and cut her ring finger off, claiming the family heirloom of her grandmother’s wedding ring. Susannah is a third-magnitude geist, owing to the fact that she died traumatically. [b]Jediah Joson, Second-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Susannah’s parents and two brothers are all second-magnitude ghosts. Their ghostly origin is due to sudden death, strengthened by the betrayal of Rafe. [b]Meriam Joson, Second-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Susannah’s parents and two brothers are all second-magnitude ghosts. Their ghostly origin is due to sudden death, strengthened by the betrayal of Rafe. [b]Aldan Joson, Second-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Susannah’s parents and two brothers are all second-magnitude ghosts. Their ghostly origin is due to sudden death, strengthened by the betrayal of Rafe. [b]Tomon Joson, Second-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Susannah’s parents and two brothers are all second-magnitude ghosts. Their ghostly origin is due to sudden death, strengthened by the betrayal of Rafe. [b]Pond Zombie:[/b] The ghost Susannah’s passion and beauty have made quick work of many men, so lots of bodies lie in the pond. They rise much like the Josons do, as a variety of the common zombie. [b]Theona Helsvar, Third-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Finally realizing what was happening as her sentence was read aloud by the mayor, Theona started invoking her spell. Unfortunately, she was tied to a stake before she could finish the spell. Searching out the figure of Monica, Theona stared at the girl as her body began to bum. As pain swept over her, Theona continued to stare at Monica until a wave of disorientation hit her. She blinked and found herself standing among the townspeople, watching as her dead former body was burned to ashes. Looking down at herself, she realized that she was in Monica’s body. [b]Monica Ferrier, Second-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Instead of departing, Monica’s spirit managed to remain nearby, intent on regaining her stolen body. [b]Lord Alexander von Lupinoff, Third-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Just as the moon reached its zenith, Alexander appeared at the edge of the clearing in wolf form. After the wolf killed the goat and settled down to its meal, the villagers opened fire with their bows and mortally wounded it. As the wolf lay dying, its form shifted into that of Alexander von Lupinoff. The villagers backed away in awe and terror. Fearful that Alexander might live long enough to understand what his former friend had done to him, Claude stepped up and delivered the final, killing blow with the same silver dagger he had used to kill the sorcerer. As Claude struck, Alexander fully realized his former friend’s part in the whole situation. While part of Alexander was saddened by his friends betrayal, another part of him, the aspect of Alexander that had been attracted to the wolf form, cursed his former friend and killer. He wished Claude to suffer the rage and despair that filled the final moments of his own life until such time as Claude confessed his crime. [b]Lord Claude Hornberg, Second-Magnitude Ghost, Mutable Ghoul-Ghost Hybrid:[/b] ? [b]Sir Marcus Malvoy, Third-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] The beast found Marcus and tormented him. Sir Marcus cried for mercy and, finally, for death. The undead creature surrounded Sir Marcus with the bodies of his allies and animated them. They all cursed him with dead tongues, and Sir Marcus cried out, beseeching the monster for release. Finally, the undead beast put Sir Marcus to death. Even then, Sir Marcus’s story did not end. Sir Marcus can no longer escape his torment, any more than he can escape his world. [b]Hurrek the Giant, Fourth Magnitude Ghost Stone Giant:[/b] The temple remained hidden for about thirty years, but then a truly cruel warlord found it, and Hurrek died by torture. As he had tortured people in the past himself, his new nature made the experience even more unbearable as he realized the pain he had caused others. The agony brought him back from death as a very powerful but very sad ghost. [b]Accalus, First-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Acchalus’s violent death and, more importantly, his failure to defend the temple, caused him to return as a ghost. [b]Marta, Geist:[/b] This is Marta, a warrior who fell in the battle and arose as a geist, a harmless restless spirit. [b]Lord Bryg Colvin, Wight:[/b] ? [b]Nicholai Melantha, Third-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Enraged by this “back-talk,” the father proceeded to beat Nikolai harder and more violently than ever before. Nikolai died to the screams of his mother and sister. As life left him, his final words were: “Don’t you ever touch my sister again, you monster.” [b]Intelligent Zombie:[/b] If a wizard or priest spends 1d4 minutes flipping through the pages of the book, the hero realizes that the text covers the creation of zombies through the use of a magic powder rather than the casting of actual spells. A pinch of the powder must be thrown into the face of the victim, and if he breathes any of it, or gets any in his eyes, he dies within a minute. After ten minutes, he reanimates as an intelligent zombie who is unwaveringly loyal to his creator. Only a dispel magic or neutralize poison spell will stop the process. (Slow poison delays the inevitable.) Additionally, Nanette has one use of the magical powder that creates zombies. During the first round of combat, she throws it into the face of an attacking hero (with only a -1 penalty to her attack roll, due to the called-shot penalty being offset by her high Dexterity). The hero must then make a successful saving throw vs. death magic, or die within 1d4 rounds-only to rise again as a zombie under Nanette’s complete control (but with all his skills intact). [b]Rhianna, Third-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Rhianna’s guilt at being involved in so many horrible deaths overpowered her so much that she has become a restless ghost. [b]Duncan MacFarn, Fourth-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] When the door closed, Duncan barred it from the outside with a four-inch beam of solid oak that dropped into iron receivers two inches thick. His archers on the vented roof drew their ashen bows and rained death on Donal and his men from the murder holes Duncan had carved. When the last man (Donal himself) twitched a final spasm, Duncan’s men opened the door, reentered the hall, and knifed any who showed brief signs of life. They removed the tables and the remains of the feast, and then returned with the paving blocks. Donal and his men were interred on the bare soil, and Duncan’s varlets laid the dressed floor stones atop their bleeding corpses. The hall they reset for dining, and the victors sat to drink and feast. One year later, on the anniversary of that bloody, tragic night, Duncan MacFarn of MacFarn, Chief of Clan MacFarn, came home to celebrate his wedding in the ancient keep. The chief, his blushingly beautiful new bride, and the entire bridal party gathered in the feast hall. Just as the last guest entered, the oak door slammed shut. The four-inch beam, without human agency, fell into its thick receivers, and the stones of the floor began to fly. In their hundreds they flew, whirling and smashing about the room, striking and bashing and hammering; death rode bloody wings that night. Everyone was slain. Duncan lay smashed and broken, penetrated by granite shards. [b]Ghost of Hospitality, Third Magnitude Ghost:[/b] When the door closed, Duncan barred it from the outside with a four-inch beam of solid oak that dropped into iron receivers two inches thick. His archers on the vented roof drew their ashen bows and rained death on Donal and his men from the murder holes Duncan had carved. When the last man (Donal himself) twitched a final spasm, Duncan’s men opened the door, reentered the hall, and knifed any who showed brief signs of life. They removed the tables and the remains of the feast, and then returned with the paving blocks. Donal and his men were interred on the bare soil, and Duncan’s varlets laid the dressed floor stones atop their bleeding corpses. The hall they reset for dining, and the victors sat to drink and feast. One year later, on the anniversary of that bloody, tragic night, Duncan MacFarn of MacFarn, Chief of Clan MacFarn, came home to celebrate his wedding in the ancient keep. The chief, his blushingly beautiful new bride, and the entire bridal party gathered in the feast hall. Just as the last guest entered, the oak door slammed shut. The four-inch beam, without human agency, fell into its thick receivers, and the stones of the floor began to fly. In their hundreds they flew, whirling and smashing about the room, striking and bashing and hammering; death rode bloody wings that night. Everyone was slain. Duncan lay smashed and broken, penetrated by granite shards. [b]Vlana Waldershen, Fourth-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Two days after Vlana locked herself in the tower, the annual harvest festival took place in the village. As Thaeos reigned over the festivities, young Drugen enjoyed watching the jugglers and listening to the music of the minstrels. At the festival’s climax, Vlana appeared suddenly in her old Vistani garb and made long accusations about Thaeos’s treachery and deceitfulness. Just when her vituperative cries seemed to reach the pinnacle of ferocity and hatred, Vlana invoked a terrible curse, condemning the entire Waldershen line for Thaeos’s crimes against her. After her vile declaration, she leaped at him, but Thaeos was quicker. He ducked her charge and, grabbing a sword from his chief advisor, Bracy, struck the baroness through the heart. Vlana writhed in agony as the cold steel bit her flesh, and she died within moments. At her death, her shade caressed Drugen (using her cause wound ability) and then fled to the manor and took up residence in the mausoleum, where she has rested undisturbed ever since. [b]Josephine de Monceau, Third-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ezekiel Preston, Fourth-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] One winter’s day, while trying to find a good spot to beg for more coins, he stumbled over a frozen corpse. Instead of seeing the corpse’s face, however, he saw his own. Fear settled deep into Preston’s bones. That night, while lying shivering in the poorhouse and brooding over Amalia’s love for another man, he vowed that death would never hold him. The next morning, his corpse was thrown onto a heap with several others while his ghost watched gleefully. [b]Amalia Preston, Second-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] On a gloomy winter day precisely six months after Willem’s demise, Amalia sat straight up in her bed and spoke to her maid. Her figure was bony and her hair matted, but in her eyes danced the old sparkle of life. “I’ll soon see Willem!” she announced. “Help me get ready!” Then her voice dropped to a whisper. “Make sure that we are together in this world for all eternity.” Then Amalia fell back into her pillows and died. Preston, despite her deathbed request, buried Amalia on the edge of the woods behind his home, with a white marble stone marking her grave. When Willem turned thirteen, he and Amalia (who was eleven) stood under a spreading oak tree and promised themselves to each other forever, sealing their pact with a kiss. When Amalia turned fourteen and finished school, they planned to marry. In the meantime, Amalia’s parents promised her hand to Ezekiel Preston. The young couple pleaded with Amalia’s father and mother to cancel the wedding, but the Wrights would not hear of it. Amalia cried every day as the wedding approached. Her parents realized that a bride who cried through her wedding day would be quite a spectacle and would not reflect favorably on anyone. They postponed the wedding until they could ensure that their daughter was restored to physical and mental health. Overjoyed at her temporary freedom, Amalia ran from the house, saddled her horse, and set off to find Willem. At his home, however, she learned from a neighbor that he had left the house in a rage, carrying a sword and cursing Preston under his breath. Amalia rode swiftly to Preston’s home, hoping to prevent Willem from committing an act he would regret. Upon reaching Preston Hill, she could hear angry shouts so she spurred her horse up the slope. As she crested the hill, she caught sight of Preston and Willem sparring with each other, but a sudden flash of steel in the moonlight told her she was too late. Willem staggered and crumpled to the ground, a victim of Preston’s quick dagger. The following day, Willem was laid to rest in the graveyard adjoining the school where he and Amalia played as children. [b]Willem Tyson, Third-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] When Willem turned thirteen, he and Amalia (who was eleven) stood under a spreading oak tree and promised themselves to each other forever, sealing their pact with a kiss. When Amalia turned fourteen and finished school, they planned to marry. In the meantime, Amalia’s parents promised her hand to Ezekiel Preston. The young couple pleaded with Amalia’s father and mother to cancel the wedding, but the Wrights would not hear of it. Amalia cried every day as the wedding approached. Her parents realized that a bride who cried through her wedding day would be quite a spectacle and would not reflect favorably on anyone. They postponed the wedding until they could ensure that their daughter was restored to physical and mental health. Overjoyed at her temporary freedom, Amalia ran from the house, saddled her horse, and set off to find Willem. At his home, however, she learned from a neighbor that he had left the house in a rage, carrying a sword and cursing Preston under his breath. Amalia rode swiftly to Preston’s home, hoping to prevent Willem from committing an act he would regret. Upon reaching Preston Hill, she could hear angry shouts so she spurred her horse up the slope. As she crested the hill, she caught sight of Preston and Willem sparring with each other, but a sudden flash of steel in the moonlight told her she was too late. Willem staggered and crumpled to the ground, a victim of Preston’s quick dagger. The following day, Willem was laid to rest in the graveyard adjoining the school where he and Amalia played as children. [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Bastellus:[/b] Rhianna’s mother discovered her limp body the next morning. In an effort to prevent further night terrors from springing from Rhianna’s death, her family cremated the body (which prevented her from becoming a bastellus like the one that killed her). [B]Ghost:[/b] If the Waldershen have died and the heroes have not managed to banish Vlana from the manor grounds with her ashes, she takes control of the manor house and attempts to rule the lands around it. She begins terrorizing the village and turns her victims into ghosts bent-on serving her needs.[/spoiler] [URL="www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17200/City-By-the-Silt-Sea-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]City by the Silt Sea[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Dwarf Cursed Dead:[/b] Dregoth personally helped defeat the dwarves of Giustenal, and he watched as each of them was hanged from the trees in front of the place they sought to defend. When his troops set fire to the remains of the settlement, Dregoth cursed the dwarves for defying Kim. On that day the cursed dead were born. [b]Krag:[/b] Krags are undead created when a cleric aligned to an element or para-element dies in the medium diametrically opposed to his own. The anguish and trauma of dying to the very force he devoted his life to opposing is sometimes enough to transform a cleric into a wicked and bitter undead. [b]Kragling:[/b] Kraglings are creatures who have perished from the elemental transfusion attack of a krag. Anything that dies in this manner has a 45% chance of coming back as a kragling in 1-4 days. If death results from a Krag's elemental transfusion, there is a 45% chance that the victim will become a kragling in 1d4 days. Any creature can become a kragling if it was killed by the elemental transfusion of a krag. Silt spawn, humanoids, demihumans, humans, and even nonhumanoid monsters are all subject to the transfusion attack and thus can become kraglings. What type of kragling and how powerful it is depends on the creature's Hit Dice. Greater kraglings are created when creatures with more than 4 Hit Dice are killed by a krag's elemental transfusion. Lesser kraglings are created via the same process, though the creatures must have less than 4 Hit Dice to fall into this weaker category. [b]Venger:[/b] A venger is the animated remains of some strong-willed being who suffered a great wrong in life. The wrong must have been committed by an intelligent creature who survives beyond the death of the being who will become the venger. At the moment of death, the consciousness of the wronged person is trapped by its rage and frustration within its corpse, and it rises as an undead venger 2d6 days later.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/215918/Corsairs-of-the-Great-Sea-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Corsairs of the Great Sea[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Amiq Rasol:[/b] Amiq Rasol, also called Deep Men or Dark Men, are undead corsairs who were lost at sea, murdered, or marooned. Corsairs who refused to acknowledge or turned away from the Enlightened gods may also become amiq rasol. [b]Ghul-Kin Soultaker:[/b] ? [b]Ghul-Kin Witherer:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.dmsguild.com/product/17504/Dark-of-the-Moon-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Dark of the Moon[/URL][spoiler] [b]Arayaska, Snow Wraith, Snow-People:[/b] Arayashka are the undead spirits of travelers killed by cold and exposure in some arctic lands. A person must possess an intense strength of will and a purpose that is left unfulfilled by death in order to become an arayashka. Any character killed by an arayashka and interred anywhere near the location of death must be cremated while a bless spell is cast, or the PC rises as an arayashka the next time a winter storm rages. A character that is killed by an arayashka but is then interred in some warmer clime does not return as one. [b]Antonina, Ghost:[/b] On the day of Alexei's 18th birthday, Gregor decided that he would bring his son into the ranks of the boyarsky. Mikhail was in Torgov, visiting his mother's kin. While Gregor and Alexei were away, Antonina came to see Sasha. "It is time you knew Gregor's secret and what he plans for Alexei," the old woman spitefully told her. "Tonight, you and I shall follow Gregor into the forest, and I will show you where he has been going all these years." Sasha agreed, and as night fell the two women trailed stealthily after Alexei, Gregor, and his boyarsky. The boyar led his son and his warriors to a clearing in the woods, and there he gave a wolf skin to Alexei. Together, father and son donned the skins and transformed into great black wolves. The boyarsky changed as well, and the night was full of the howling of the pack. Sasha was horrified and fled into the woods. The keen ears of the pack caught the sounds of her flight, and in a moment the wolves were bounding after their prey. The wolves chased Sasha to a steep ravine, and there she slipped and fell to her death in her attempt to escape. Coming up behind the boyarsky, Gregor and Alexei in their wolf-shapes beheld the broken form of Sasha, lying in the snow-covered rocks. Gregor smelled the scent of Antonina on his dead wife, and in a moment of terrible understanding he knew that Sasha had been encouraged to spy on him. He raced off to track down his mother, his rage unspeakable, Alexei a step behind him. The boyar found Antonina near the clearing, and unable to contain his anger, he tore Antonina's throat out with his terrible fangs while Alexei howled in grief and rage. [b]Undead:[/b] Undead can be found in various places, the restless spirits of those killed by Gregor and his pack or frozen as they traveled in the woods.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17483/Die-Vecna-Die-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Die Vecna Die[/URL][spoiler] [b]Skeleton Elite:[/b] Elite skeletons in Cavitus are created by a lich from the bodies of common soldiers using the animate dead spell in a special ceremony. Krakkat the Observant created the elite skeletons that populate Cavitius. [b]True Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Wight Wizard:[/b] These corporeal undead share the same background as other wights here, but they were wizards, not warriors. [b]Innova, Meekali, Lich possessing human body Wizard 19:[/b] The lich who has stolen Innova's body was in life an evil human mage named Meekali, from the realm of Sunndi. When the natural end of her life was only a few years away, she made plans to prevent it from arriving. Her first attempt involved casting magic jar on an elf maiden, but elven adventurers foiled her scheme. She then went through the steps to become a lich. During this process, she came to the attention of Vecna, who recruited her as one of his servants. Now, she occasionally uses magic jar to steal the body of a young human female from the unfortunate citizens of Citadel Cavitius. [b]Krakkat the Observant, Lich Mage 18:[/b] ? [b]Kyrie, Vampire Mage 2:[/b] Kyrie was turned into an undead by a vampire that was ultimately slain by a vengeful Xaven. [b]Lord Haroln, The Arm of Vecna, Vampire Wizard 3 Priest 10:[/b] ? [b]Nine, Lich Mage 20:[/b] ? [b]Sir Loran of Trollpyre Keep, Death Knight:[/b] Sir Loran was the final master of Trollpyre Keep, a minor estate bordering the Vast Swamp on Oerth. Unlike his noble ancestors in Sunndi, he was an evil and twisted man who hid his true nature behind a veneer of stoicism and honor. He took a beautiful dancer as his wife, but when she bore him a daughter instead of a son, he slew them and their midwife moments after the birth with Trollpyre’s Defender, his magic sword. The dancer’s mother, a priestess, cursed Sir Loran to die painfully in battle, then rise as an undead, with the spirits of his slain family haunting him for eternity. [b]Xaven, Vampire Mage 3:[/b] Kyrie was turned into an undead by a vampire that was ultimately slain by a vengeful Xaven. However, his love for Kyrie was such that he could not bring himself to kill her, so he joined her undeath. [b]Vecna the Maimed God, Lord of Cavitus, Demigod, Lich:[/b] Once upon a time lost to history, there lived a mortal man called Vecna. Vecna plumbed the arts of magecraft, eventually becoming the most accomplished and powerful wizard of all times and spaces. When a betrayer’s blade maimed and cut him down, Vecna rose again, infused with secrets of magic no mortal was ever meant to know. He was now a true demigod, while the relics of his former body gained fame in their own right. His power magnified many times over, Vecna schemed, laying audacious plans designed to transform himself into a true god, possibly even a supreme god. Just when all portents aligned with Vecna’s will, the demigod was snatched from his former abode and forcibly caged in a misty realm. [b]Ilya Noma, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Animate Greatcoat Minor:[/b] This item is sewn from integument harvested from powerful undead. [b]Carrion Shambler:[/b] Taking their form from the piles of fleshy remains, carrion shamblers are undead agglomerates of undead tissue, first animated by cultist wizards, but now capable of reproducing on their own. [b]Slave Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Kaleb Hoddypeak, Mummy Priest 6:[/b] In life, Kaleb Hoddypeak was a half-elf from the Duchy of Geoff. He devoted a great deal of time secretly sabotaging the heroic undertakings of his famed half-brother Fonkin Hoddypeak, a full-blooded elf adventurer. Eventually, Kaleb discovered the Cult of Vecna and joined up, hoping the dark god would grant him secret knowledge to use in slandering Fonkin’s name. Before Kaleb could deal a crippling blow to Fonkin, villagers lynched him for his evil ways and threw his body into a bog. Vecna was impressed with Kaleb’s efforts and caused him to rise as a mummy. [b]New Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Ylan Tomas, Vampire Necromancer 5:[/b] ? [b]Crassius, Lich Mage 18:[/b] Crassius and Vellan were twin brothers and archmages who worked for Vecna at the height of his empire, but were cast into Citadel Cavitius for various perceived deficiencies. They changed into liches in time and still serve Vecna as mage teachers. [b]Vellan, Lich Mage 18:[/b] Crassius and Vellan were twin brothers and archmages who worked for Vecna at the height of his empire, but were cast into Citadel Cavitius for various perceived deficiencies. They changed into liches in time and still serve Vecna as mage teachers. [b]Wight Mage Advanced Mage 5:[/b] This twisted soul has devoted himself to carrying out Vecna’s will for all eternity. [b]Gundarc the Bald, Lich Mage 18:[/b] ? [b]Wight Mage:[/b] ? [b]Stigel, Vampire Mage 10:[/b] ? [b]Undead Scribe:[/b] In life, these scribes served Vecna’s church on Oerth copying fragments of texts relating to his life and deeds. Once they passed from life, their bodies were drawn to Vecna's palace where they could continue the work they had started in life. [b]The Unnamed, Lich Mage 20:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Mage 12:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Pilgrim Wizard 2 Priest 5:[/b] ? [b]Kas the Bloody-Handed Death Knight:[/b] He is actually a warrior who came into possession of a false “Sword of Kas,” which corrupted his mind and body. [b]Lyra, Third-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Sir Loran was the final master of Trollpyre Keep, a minor estate bordering the Vast Swamp on Oerth. Unlike his noble ancestors in Sunndi, he was an evil and twisted man who hid his true nature behind a veneer of stoicism and honor. He took a beautiful dancer as his wife, but when she bore him a daughter instead of a son, he slew them and their midwife moments after the birth with Trollpyre’s Defender, his magic sword. The dancer’s mother, a priestess, cursed Sir Loran to die painfully in battle, then rise as an undead, with the spirits of his slain family haunting him for eternity. [b]Lich Templar:[/b] ? [b]Death Knight:[/b] Nearly all death knights in Vecna’s domain were once lawful good warriors, generals, and knights who fought against Vecna in life. However, they were corrupted by a constant and devastating campaign in which Vecna offered them a variety of dreadful secrets, with a promise of more knowledge and power if they would cease to resist his empire or even join his forces. Their reward was to be cast into Citadel Cavitius when it was a prison on the quasi-elemental plane of Ash, where they eventually became death knights. [b]Lich:[/b] Some liches in this domain were once live mages in Vecna's ancient empire on Oerth, but were cast into the prison of Citadel Cavitius when they failed their master. They were changed into liches over time by the prison’s magical nature. Most, however, deliberately turned themselves into liches to become immortal and gain additional magical knowledge [b]Minor Death:[/b] ? [b]Reaver:[/b] ? [b]Skeletal Steed:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] For every successful attack by a shadow, the target loses 1 point of Strength. Lost Strength points return 2d4 turns later. If a human or demihuman is reduced to 0 points of Strength, the victim’s body dissolves into shadow-stuff and the victim is immediately ”reborn” as a shadow, attacking all former comrades. [b]Slow Shadow:[/b] Only a remove curse cast upon a slow shadow's victim at the time of death prevents the victim from arising as a slow shadow later on; otherwise, there is no recovery. [b]Skeleton:[/b] Animated skeletons are created from the bodies of dead human citizens of Cavitius, as well as executed criminals or unwanted prisoners. [b]Skeleton Warrior:[/b] In life, the skeleton warriors of Citadel Cavitius were great fighters in Vecna’s ancient armies who were punished for failing their leader in any number of critical ways, from losing major battles to committing high treason. [b]Spectre:[/b] Spectre-slain victims turn into spectres. This accessway is haunted by two spectres of those slain here in the battle. The two secret alcoves still contain a remnant of the force that once staffed them, in the form of haunted spectres, one to each alcove. [b]Vampire:[/b] The oldest vampires in this ghastly domain were once powerful adventurers who ran afoul of Vecna at some point in his career, then were cast into Citadel Cavitius when it was an extraplanar prison. There they were attacked and slain by the sole vampire in that prison, Kas the Destroyer himself. Because Vecna is less fond of vampires than more lawful sorts of undead, he has standing orders to have the victims of vampires destroyed completely whenever possible, to prevent having his domain be overrun with them. Vampires go along with these orders, though once in a while they will bring a new member into their family by accident or design (in the latter case, the usually unwilling recruit is someone much favored by a particular vampire). The victim is given a quick burial, and one day later arises as a full-strength vampire enslaved to its creator. The character was recently kidnapped (however long it was since the heroes had their first run-in with either the supporters of Iuz or Vecna). After being delivered to this terrible place, the character was subjected to mental and physical tortures, then turned into a vampire by two other vampires, male and female, covered in elaborate tattoos, [b]Wight:[/b] Wight-slain victims turn into wights. A half-strength wight becomes the servant of its creator wight until its master is destroyed, at which time the minor wight gains full strength and free will. The wights of Citadel Cavitius were formerly warriors or minor adventurers who were imprisoned within the Citadel when it was an extraplanar jail. These experienced prisoners, having run afoul of Vecna at some point, gradually turned into wights from the effects of the Negative Material Plane in their environment. [b]Wight Half-Strength, Minor Wight:[/b] Half-strength wight-slain victims turn into wights. All heroes and NPCs slain by a wight fall into this category. The transition to unlife takes place quickly, in only 2d8 rounds. [b]Wraith:[/b] Wraith-slain victims turn into wraiths. A half-strength wraith becomes the servant of its creator wraith until its master is destroyed, at which time the minor wraith gains full strength and free will. The wraiths of Cavitius have origins much like the wights, but their corporeal forms were destroyed, leaving only their corrupted spirits. [b]Wraith Half-Strength, Minor Wraith:[/b] Half-strength wraith-slain victims turn into wraiths. All heroes and NPCs slain by a wraith fall into this category. The transition to unlife takes place quickly, in only 2d6 rounds. [b]Zombie:[/b] Like skeletons, zombies of Citadel Cavitius were created from dead human citizens, criminals, and prisoners of little worth to the rulers of the city [b]Zombie Ju-Ju:[/b] In life, they were prisoners or criminals of exceptional note, hideously executed by energy drain spells cast by an archmage lich, or by finger of death spells after prolonged torture. [b]Ghoul Lord:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] Anyone bitten by a ghoul lord contracts a horrible rotting disease unless a successful save vs. poison is rolled. An infected victim loses ld10 hit points and 1 point each from Constitution and Charisma scores each day until cured with a heal spell. Death occurs if any affected score is reduced to zero. About 60+4d6 hours after death, the victim rises again as a ghast controlled by the ghoul lord. [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Gigantic Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Crawling Claw:[/b] ? [b]Inquisitor:[/b] Known as inquisitors, these horrid servants of Vecna are horrid, rotting terrors whose clawed hands are charred from decades of handling red-hot torture implements. [b]Crypt Thing:[/b] ? [b]Radiant Spirit:[/b] This is the restless spirit of a paladin, now transformed by his guilt over having failed in his quest into a type of incorporeal undead known as a radiant spirit. [b]Poltergeist:[/b] This undead being was an unwise thief slain here less than a year ago, on a failed mission to steal from Vecna’s hoard.[/spoiler] Dragon Fist [spoiler] [b]Ghost:[/b] Most commonly, ghosts are the po souls of those buried improperly who return to Earth. [b]Vampire Hopping:[/b] When a body is buried improperly or in an inauspicious location, the po soul returns to the body and animates it; however, the hun soul has already moved on to Heaven. The po soul, already suffering after death, reverts to animalistic behavior and hungers to kill mortals. Without the heavenly spark of the hun soul, the body is not truly alive, so it retains the rigidity of death. The result is a hopping vampire. Anyone who suffers more than 15 points of damage from a hopping vampire runs the risk of becoming a vampire in turn. Exactly how this occurs is a mystery, but most shamans agree it is a form of curse. After combat is over, the injured character must roll percentile dice. The chance of turning into a vampire is equal to the amount of damage he or she sustained (so if the vampire inflicted 20 points of damage, the chance would be 20%). Those who succumb to the curse slowly turn into vampires themselves, growing fangs and long fingernails and becoming more bestial as their po soul takes over. This process takes 1 day, plus an additional number of days equal to a Fortitude stunt roll. To stop the transformation, a shaman must cast the remove curse spell on the victim before the process is complete. [b]Skeleton:[/b] Skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, usually the work of evil shamans with no respect for the dead. [b]Zombie:[/b] Zombies are mindless, animated corpses serving the evil shamans that create them.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16866/Dungeon-Masters-Options-HighLevel-Campaigns?affiliate_id=17596]Dungeon Master's Options: High-Level Campaigns[/URL][spoiler] [b]Skeleton:[/b] [i]Kolin's Undead Legion[/i] spell. [b]Zombie:[/b] [i]Kolin's Undead Legion[/i] spell. Kolin’s Undead Legion True Dweomer (Necromancy) Type: Animate Range: Plane Duration: Instantaneous Difficulty: 325 Final Difficulty: 45 Preparation Time: 1 Month Casting Time: 1 Hour Area of Effect: 5,000-foot square, 5 feet high Saving Throw: None This spell animates 200 Hit Dice of skeletons or zombies from intact remains in an area up to 5,000 feet square anywhere on the same plane as the caster. The caster can give the legion one brief, simple command when the spell is cast, but he must be present to give detailed orders. The wizard Kolin typically dispatched an undead lieutenant to the scene to take command of the troops. The material components are an unbroken bone (common), dust from an undead spellcaster’s lair, a horn that has been played over a warrior’s grave, a copper dagger that has been bloodied in battle (rare), mold from a general’s shroud, and a battle standard carried into an ambush (exotic). [/spoiler] [URL="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17569/Faiths--Avatars-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]Faiths and Avatars[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Baneguard:[/b] [i]Create Baneguard[/i] spell. [b]Skuz:[/b] There was a 1% chance that any high priest of Moander would be transformed into a skuz upon death. Such undead were known as Undying Minions. [b]Undead:[/b] Often in attempts to attain divine status through powerful rituals or the use of artifacts, failure (in the form of a tacit “no” from Ao) results in the mortal becoming a lich, being transformed into some other form of odd undead creature, or being totally destroyed. Devotees of Beshaba hold special ceremonies upon the deaths of important clergy. The funeral ceremony is known as the Passing. It is a rare time of dignity and tender piety among the clergy. The body of the departed is floated down a river amid floating candles in a spell ceremony designed to make the corpse into an undead creature and teleport it to a random location elsewhere in the Realms to wreak immediate havoc. Senior clergy use spells or magical items to scry from afar to see what damage is then done by the creature’s sudden appearance. Bhaal could animate or create any type of undead creature indefinitely by touch. Myrkul, the Lord of Bones could animate or create any type of undead creature indefinitely by touch. [b]Beholder Undead:[/b] Those beholders that were slain while resisting possession by Moander the Darkbringer are transformed into rotting death tyrants (undead beholders) upon their demises. [b]Ghast:[/b] [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. [b]Ghoul:[/b] [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. [b]Lich:[/b] Often in attempts to attain divine status through powerful rituals or the use of artifacts, failure (in the form of a tacit “no” from Ao) results in the mortal becoming a lich, being transformed into some other form of odd undead creature, or being totally destroyed. In centuries past, the Black Lord had transformed over 35 living High Imperceptors at the end of their tenure into undead “Mouths of Bane”— Baneliches. [b]Mummy:[/b] [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. [b]Vampire:[/b] [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. [b]Wight:[/b] [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. [b]Zombie:[/b] [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. [b]Zombie Ju-Ju:[/b] [i]Undeath After Death[/i] spell. 6th Level Create Baneguard (Necromancy) Sphere: Necromantic Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: Special Casting Time : 9 Area of Effect: 1 skeletal body Saving Throw: None The casting of this spell transforms one inanimate skeleton of size M or smaller into a Baneguard, a skeletal undead creature gifted with a degree of malicious intelligence. (For information on Baneguards, see the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM sheets included in the revised FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting or the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM Annual, Volume One.) The Baneguard is capable of using its abilities the round following creation and needs no special commands to attack. The material components of this spell are the holy symbol of the priest and at least 20 drops of the blood of any sort of true dragon. Undeath After Death (Alteration, Necromancy) Sphere: Necromantic Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 turn Area of Effect: One Banite Saving Throw: None This spell is a closely guarded secret within the upper ranks of the church of Bane, and its use disappeared with the death of Bane. Undeath after death is cast on worshipers of Bane upon the moments of their deaths, transforming them into different forms of undead. Which form of undead a Banite becomes depends on his or her level of experience in life. The more powerful the Banite was in life, the stronger the type of undead. Vampires created by this spell retain character abilities. (If the DM chooses to use the optional rules presented for mummies in Van Richten’s Guide to the Ancient Dead, mummies created by this spell retain character abilities, also.) The level of the caster must be higher than the level of the spell’s recipient, or the caster must make a saving throw vs. death magic or perish in the casting. In such a case, however, the spell still acts normally on the recipient. This spell is used only on Banite victims who are about to die (0 hp) or who have died (below 0 hp, or below -10 hp if that optional rule is in use). If the spell is cast upon a Banite after his or her death, it must be cast within one round per level of the caster after death occurs; otherwise, the spirit of the Banite is too far from the body to return and take control. If the caster waits too long, the spell works as an animate dead spell, creating a mundane, mindless zombie. Level Type of Undead 1st-3rd Ghoul 4th-6th Ghast 7th-9th Ju-Ju zombie 10th-13th Wight 14th-17th Mummy 18th+ Vampire The material component for this spell is a black obsidian heart into which is carved the recipient’s name and the symbol of Bane. This heart is shattered during the ceremony.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16829/FOR2-The-Drow-of-the-Underdark-2e?affiliate_id=17596]FOR2 The Drow of the Underdark[/URL][spoiler] [b]Spirit-Wraith:[/b] [i]Zin-Carla[/i] spell. [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Animal Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Revenant:[/b] If control over a spirit-wraith is lost, the wraith becomes a revenant, driven by hatred and the memory of its violation at the hands of the spellcaster. Seventh-Level Spell Zin-Carla (Necromancy) Sphere: Necromantic Range: Touch Components: V.S.M. Duration: Varies Casting Time: 4 rounds Area of Effect: One creature Saving Throw: Special This spell is "the highest gift of Lolth," granted rarely even to favored drow. It is a special form of animate dead, that enables the caster to create a special sort of zombie known as a spirit-wraith. Imbued with the skills (hit points, armor class, and THACO) it had in life, this creation is telepathically linked to —and controlled by—the caster of this spell, usually a drow matron mother. This spell may not be instantaneously granted, or may be denied entirely, at Lolth's will. It is granted only for the completion of specific tasks, and these may never be purely to work revenge or bring harm on other drow. Failure in the task brings on the disfavor of Lolth. Zin-carla involves the forcible return of a departed soul or spirit to its body. Only through the willpower and exacting, sleepless control of the caster are the undead being's desired skills kept separate from unwanted memories and emotions. The duration of the spell is limited by the needs of the task, the patience of Lolth, and the mental limits of the caster—for a total loss of control usually means failure. So long as that control is maintained, the spirit-wraith cannot tire or be distracted from its task. It does not feel pain or disability, and will continue to function as long as it remains mobile. A spirit-wraith cannot be made to cast spells without losing control over its mind entirely, but can fully use combat and craft-skills possessed in life. If control is lost, the wraith becomes a revenant, driven by hatred and the memory of its violation at the hands of the spellcaster. Uncontrolled spirit-wraiths do not stop until the zin-carla caster is destroyed. A spirit-wraith driven to do something against its old nature has a chance of breaking free of its control (treat as a charm spell, with the same saving throw as in life). For example, one cannot successfully use this undead to destroy a being that it loved in life. Spell-like natural powers (such as the levitation ability of drow) are retained and can be used by the undead. The spirit-wraith can use its former experience and memories, as much as allowed by the linked caster. Both the zombie and the caster are immune to the effects of spells that attack the mind, and similar spell-like powers (such as the mental blast of a mind flayer). It knows wariness, anger, glee, hatred, frustration, and triumph, but not fear. It cannot be controlled by the spells and priestly powers normally used to command encountered undead—and control of it cannot thereby be wrested away from the caster of the zin-carla. Spirit-wraiths do not breathe, but can speak (if allowed to do so by their controller). They can utter command and activation words, and the controlling caster can speak through them directly, but spell incantations will have no effect if uttered by the undead. To stop a spirit-wraith, it must be physically destroyed—if it is still able to even crawl, it will do so, tirelessly, searching for a way to complete its task. The material components of this spell are the corpse to be animated, and a treasured object that belonged to the person to be controlled. If the corpse is badly decomposed or not whole, other spells (such as Nulathoe's ninemen) and magical unguents will also be required, to restore it to whole, supple condition. Wizards and other powerful creatures (such as mind flayers, aboleth, or cloakers) who raid or despoil drow cities can expect to face either a full-scale attack—or a spirit-wraith or two.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16851/FOR7-Giantcraft-2e?affiliate_id=17596]FOR7 Giantcraft (2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Undead Giant:[/b] ? [b]Veltig, High Knight of the Blood Riders:[/b] Their theories range from the benevolent (the spirit of the Blood Rider leapt from his own grave to continue his war against the Jotunbrud) to the unthinkable (even in death, the Blood Rider's spirit was defending the valley against the undead souls of the giants he slew in life; the angry spirits finally defeated the Rider and escaped through his tomb to haunt the whole valley). [b]Counselor Trevon, Wraith:[/b] Fardo is a covetous, ambitious man. Before he was appointed to his position, he was a close aide to Counselor Trevon, his predecessor. Like Fardo, Trevon was a greedy and manipulative bureaucrat who was more than willing to take advantage of his authority for personal gain. In fact, it was these very traits that Fardo used to destroy his mentor, clearing the way for his own ascension. With the help of a couple of crooked merchants, Fardo led Trevon to believe that a bloc of local traders had discovered the ruins of an ancient temple in the fen located just east of Hartwick. Believing the ruins to be the source of the enormously valuable platinum artifacts that suddenly came to market in Hartsvale (actually, Fardo and his conspirators secretly imported these items and planted them on the market), the usually careful Trevon ventured into the fen without his bodyguards in order to loot the ruins himself. There, he found not an ancient temple filled with valuable artifacts, but Fardo and a band of cutthroats waiting to kill him. So great was Trevon's greed and hatred for his betrayer, however, that upon death he metamorphosed into a wraith. Though unable to leave the fens unassisted, Trevon vows that he will one day have his revenge upon his killers. [b]Undead:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL="www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16817/FR10-Old-Empires-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]FR 10 Old Empires[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Wraith Desert:[/b] Creatures killed by skriaxits are animated three days later as desert wraiths, malevolent spirits of the sands. [b]Zombie:[/b] Creatures brought to 0 life levels by a desert wraith are transformed into zombies within 48 hours, even if raised, unless their bodies are washed in holy water.[/spoiler] [URL="www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17399/From-the-Ashes-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]From the Ashes[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Animus:[/b] The animus is a unique undead creature created by priests of the evil Power Hextor with the help of infernal, fiendish aid. The exact processes by which animuses have been brought into being are unknown. What is known is that priests of Hextor, using a form of resurrection spell, together with fiends, work on the corpse and spirit of a slain human to create the animus, working its special defenses into its body and affecting its spirit. Ivid wanted single-minded, utterly loyal servants. What the priests and fiends created was a creature with the capacity to be ferociously single-minded and cold in its motivations and utterly implacable in its pursuit of what it wanted. How they did that, and whether the result was exactly what they wanted, is not clear.[/spoiler] [URL="www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17407/Greyhawk-Adventures-1e-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]Greyhawk Adventures[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Swordwraith:[/b] Swordwraiths are the spirits of warriors cut down at the height of battle, and kept from the dissolution of death by their own indomitable will. Swordwraiths were once professional soldiers: officers and mercenaries, or others for whom fighting was all there was in life. Though slain on the field of battle, their will was such that they were unable to leave behind the trade of violent death. [b]Zombie Sea:[/b] Drowned ones (also known as sea zombies) are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed, and are rumored to be animated by the will of the god Nerull the Reaper.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17390/Guide-to-Hell-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Guide to Hell[/URL][spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] Undead are animated with energy from the Negative Material Plane, while fiends are simply creatures from one of the Lower Planes.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17508/Howls-in-the-Night-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Howls in the Night[/URL][spoiler] [b]Lord Godefroy, Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ann Campbell, Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] The zombies are the remnants of a hunting party. Trapped in the shack by the hounds, they eventually died of fear and horror. When their spirits left their bodies, the curse reanimated them and left them here for to attack any intruders.[/spoiler] [URL='www.drivethrurpg.com/product/127234/Masque-of-the-Red-Death-and-Other-Tales-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']Masque of the Red Death[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Tanner Jacobbi, Heucuva:[/b] In the late 1700's, a lighthouse and monastery were built on the largest of the fragmentary Gull Islands. Construction was difficult due to bad weather and the uneven terrain of these rocky outcroppings, but the workers were indefatigable. Shortly thereafter, 25 members of the Order of the Flame of Saint Nicholas took up residence on the island. One of the monks was a young man named Tanner Jacobbi, new to both the order and the strict devotions of the monastic life. Despite this, he found himself charged with manning the lighthouse one stormy night in January of 1775. The winds of a great nor'easter ripped at the dark sea, and an endless blanket of rain and snow made it all but impossible to see. Jacobbi sat at his post, watching the sea and maintaining the beacon of the lighthouse. It was not long, however, before the monotony of his duty and the almost hypnotic gale outside caused him to drift into a deep sleep. Within an hour, the beacon of the lighthouse failed. Not far away, the British frigate Resplendent fought to keep afloat in the mighty storm. Bound for New England, she was destined to end her journey that night on the rocky coasts of the Gull Islands. When the frigate ran aground and shattered, her cargo of black powder ignited and exploded. Fire swept across the island, destroying the monastery and killing its inhabitants. For Jacobbi, who died in the disaster, this was, the beginning of an endless torment. [b]Dracula, Vampire:[/b] With his dying breath, he vowed that he would trade all that he held sacred for the chance to avenge himself. The Red Death heard his plea and responded. Dracula become one of the most dangerous and devoted servants of evil on the face of Gothic Earth. [b]Coetlicrota, Zombie Lord:[/b] With the coming of the next full moon, Coetlicrota performed a dark and evil magic ritual in which he vowed that he would gladly trade all of his magical powers for the chance to avenge his people. The Red Death, or some element of it, heard his pleas and acted upon them. As the ceremony was completed, Coetlicrota and all his followers fell dead, only to rise again at the next full moon as a pack of zombies under the absolute control of the zombie master Coetlicrota.[b]Coetlicrota, Zombie Lord:[/b] With the coming of the next full moon, Coetlicrota performed a dark and evil magic ritual in which he vowed that he would gladly trade all of his magical powers for the chance to avenge his people. The Red Death, or some element of it, heard his pleas and acted upon them. As the ceremony was completed, Coetlicrota and all his followers fell dead, only to rise again at the next full moon as a pack of zombies under the absolute control of the zombie master Coetlicrota. [b]Zombie:[/b] With the coming of the next full moon, Coetlicrota performed a dark and evil magic ritual in which he vowed that he would gladly trade all of his magical powers for the chance to avenge his people. The Red Death, or some element of it, heard his pleas and acted upon them. As the ceremony was completed, Coetlicrota and all his followers fell dead, only to rise again at the next full moon as a pack of zombies under the absolute control of the zombie master Coetlicrota. [/spoiler] Menzoberranzan[spoiler] [b]Alhoon:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17444/Monstrous-Arcana-I-Tyrant-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']Monstrous Arcana I Tyrant[/URL][spoiler] [b]Undead Beholder:[/b] Most undead beholders come into existence through the evil work of mages, beholder mages, elder orbs, or priests. Some of these undead, however, form as a result of magical accidents. Death tyrants are created through the use of a magical spell cast upon the bodies of slain beholders. A rogue death tyrant usually forms as a result of a magical accident. [b]Doomsphere:[/b] It usually forms when a beholder dies in a magical explosion. [b]Kasharin:[/b] Kasharin usually form when a wizard or priest transforms a malohurr infected beholder into a death tyrant. Sometimes, however, death tyrants spontaneously transform into kasharin. Create Death Tryant Eighth Level Wizard Spell (Necromancy) Range: 20 Ft Components: v Duration: Instantaneous Area Of Effect: 1 beholder/Hit Die Saving Throw: None This spell allows an elder orb or beholder mage to create death tyrants from the shells or corpses of dead beholders. The spell does not allow the permanent control of the undead beholders. The caster controls the death tyrants created by this spell for Idl2 rounds, plus 1 round per caster level. Thereafter, the caster must use a control death tyrant spell to maintain control. Ninth-Level Spells Create Death Tyrant (Necromancy) Range: 2 Yards Components: v, s, M Duration: Special Casting Time: 3 Turns Area Of Effect: Special (1 dead beholder) Saving Throw: None This spell imbues a dead beholder with energy from the negative material plane, transforming it into a death tyrant. In addition, the spell allows the wizard to instruct the death tyrant as to how it will receive orders in the future. The death tyrant will obey the spellcaster for Id6 rounds plus 1 round for every level of the caster. After that amount of time, the spellcaster must use the control death tyrant spell in order to maintain control of the undead creature. Most wizards eschew the use of this spell, as creating a death tyrant is a purely evil action. Good aligned wizards who cast this spell should be severely punished. A 7th level clerical version of this spell exists. The spell falls under the necromantic sphere and is identical to the wizard spell. Again, creation of a death tyrant is an offensive and evil action. Good aligned priests should suffer great punishment for using this spell. At the very least, the cleric's deity will withold all spells and granted abilities until the cleric atones for his actions. The creation of a death tyrant requires an elaborate ritual. The cost of the material components of this ritual averages about 3,000 gp.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17349/Night-of-the-Vampire-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Night of the Vampire (2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Lord Andru Vandevic, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Lady Natasha Troublicja, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Lady Laina Vandevic, Minion Vampire:[/b] Andru attacks Laina again with the intention of turning her into a vampire bride, and is revealed as the vampire. Unless the PCs are very lucky, Laina is transformed into a vampire. Andru returns to Laina's room and transforms her into a minion vampire under his control. [b]Vampire:[/b] Any creature killed by a vampire's energy drain is doomed to rise as a vampire itself 1 day after burial. This can be prevented by burning or destroying the body.[/spoiler] [URL="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16853/FOR8-Pages-from-the-Mages-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]Pages From the Mages [/URL] [spoiler] [b]Spectral Wizard:[/b] [i]Create Spectral Wizard[/i] spell. [b]Skeleton:[/b] [i]Undead Familiar[/i] spell. [b]Zombie:[/b] [i]Undead Familiar[/i] spell. Undead Familiar (Necromancy) Level: 5 Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 turn Area of Effect: 1 corpse or skeleton Saving Throw: None Using this spell, an evil wizard animates a corpse to act as his familiar. The .subject. can be in any stage of decay to the point of being nothing more than a skeleton. Any human, demihuman, or humanoid corpse can be animated. The resulting zombie or skeleton has the same abilities and immunities as a normal undead creature of its type, but has 1d3 points of Intelligence. The wizard has an empathic link with the familiar and can issue mental commands at a distance of up to one mile. Empathic responses from the familiar are basic and unemotional, and such a familiar is unlikely to be distracted from its task. If separated from the caster, the familiar loses 1 hit point each day, and is destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points. When the familiar is in physical contact with the wizard, it gains the wizard's saving throw against special attacks; it suffers damage as normal, according to whether or not it makes its saving throw. If the familiar is destroyed, the caster must immediately make a successful system shock check or die. Even if he survives this check, the wizard loses 1 point from his Constitution when the familiar is destroyed. An undead familiar can be turned normally, but cannot be destroyed by turning. If within sight of its master, it is turned as a wight. A wizard can have only one familiar of any type at any time. An undead familiar accepts more abuse than a normal familiar would. The spell requires a corpse or skeleton and a silver ring that is placed on one of the familiar's fingers. Create Spectral Wizard (Necromancy) Level: 8 Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 turn Area of Effect: 1 wizard Saving Throw: Special This spell allows the caster to cause a human or elf wizard or a gnome illusionist to die and become a spectral wizard. If the spell is cast on an unwilling recipient, the victim is allowed a saving throw vs. death magic to negate the spell. In the process of dying and becoming undead, the spell's recipient is drained of 1d4 levels. Once animated, the spectral wizard is free-willed, but any utterance from its creator acts as a suggestion spell upon it. Only a wish spell can free a spectral wizard of its undead state. A spectral wizard is restored to life has a 50% chance to be restored with his original levels intact. It is possible that another undiscovered process may restore the spectral wizard entirely.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16885/PHBR1-The-Complete-Fighters-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=17596]PHBR1 The Complete Fighter's Handbook[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghost Horse:[/b] A horse dies while attuned to a Saddle of the Spirit-Horse magic item. [b]Ghost Donkey:[/b] A horse dies while attuned to a variant Saddle of the Spirit-Horse magic item. [b]Ghost Camel:[/b] A horse dies while attuned to a variant Saddle of the Spirit-Horse magic item. [b]Ghost Ground Animal:[/b] A horse dies while attuned to a variant Saddle of the Spirit-Horse magic item. [b]Frozen Lich:[/b] ? [b]Undead:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? Saddle of the Spirit-Horse: This is a very strange magical item which may only be used by warriors (either single-, multi-, or dual-class). To all appearances, it is an ordinary, worn leather saddle of good quality. However, it is a magical item. If worn by a single horse, it attunes itself to that horse when worn for three days. (It doesn't have to be worn continuously for 72 hours—just worn as an ordinary saddle is.) Once it is attuned to the horse, nothing remarkable happens . . . unless the horse dies while wearing the saddle. If it does, the spirit of the horse stays with the saddle for another 24 hours. Half an hour after the horse died, the spirit of the horse will "awaken," and climb to its unseen feet, and prepare to carry its master wherever he wants to go. The ghost-horse continues to wear the saddle and to carry it around . . . and the horse's master or other favorite riders may ride it during that time. For the next 24 hours, the horse-ghost will tirelessly carry its rider wherever he wants to go, at the full running speed the horse could manage when it was alive. But it's a spooky sight: The saddle floats in the air, four or five feet up (at the height the living horse carried it); the rider must mount normally, treat the horse as he did normally, and pretend all is as it ever was. Other than running, the horse-spirit has no unusual abilities. It cannot be seen or touched. It can whinny and neigh, and it can buck . . . though only the saddle is seen to buck in the air. It cannot truly fly; when it comes to a ravine, for instance, it must descend to the bottom and climb the other slope as it would have had to do if it were alive. This frightens living horses. No normal horse will approach the animated saddle within a hundred feet. For this reason, it is best used when the character is alone and, has his horse killed out from under him. If a character kills his horse to get this 24 hours of fast, tireless service, the ghost-horse will remember this and be offended by it . . . even if the character did it secretly, by poison or long-distance magic, the horse will know it. It will allow him to mount the floating saddle, and behave normally for a while, but at some catastrophic time it will try to kill the character. It may jump off a cliff, or ride him straight back at the enemy he's trying to elude, or buck him off into a pit of snakes. These saddles may also be made for donkeys, camels, or any other ground animals. They don't work with pegasi, griffons, or other flying beasts.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16886/PHBR2-Complete-Thiefs-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=17596]PHBR2 Complete Thief's Handbook[/URL][spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] Shadowcloak magic item. [b]Vampire:[/b] ? Shadowcloak: This large, cowled cloak is made from pure black velvet. When worn by a thief it improves hide in shadows chances by 25% and makes a thief 50% likely to be invisible in near-darkness (even to infravision, ultravision, etc.). It can also be used to cast darkness, darkness 15' radius, and continual darkness once each per day (at 12th level of magic use). Finally, once per day the wearer can actually transform into a shadow (cf. Monstrous Compendium I) for up to 12 turns, becoming a shadow in all respects save for mental ones (thus, the wearer cannot be damaged by nonmagical weapons, undead take the wearer for a shadow and ignore him, etc.). Saves against light-based attacks (e.g., a light spell cast into the eyes) are always made at -2 by the wearer of a shadowcloak. If a cleric successfully makes a turning attempt against the wearer in shadowform, the cloak wearer is permitted a saving throw (this is at -4 if the cleric is actually able to damn/destroy shadows). If the save fails, the wearer suffers 1d6 points of damage per level of the cleric and the shadowcloak is destroyed. If the save is made, the character takes half damage and must flee in fear from the cleric at maximum rate for one turn.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16888/PHBR3-The-Complete-Priests-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=17596]PHBR3 The Complete Priest's Handbook[/URL][spoiler] [b]Night-Spirit:[/b] ? [b]Undead:[/b] Because undead beings have been removed or removed themselves from this natural cycle, the priests of the life-death-rebirth cycle force are their sworn enemies. [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16889/PHBR4-The-Complete-Wizards-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=17596]PHBR4 The Complete Wizard's Handbook[/URL][spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] If a human or demihuman victim is reduced to 0 hit points or 0 Strength by the caster in shadow form from the shadow form spell, the victim has lost all of his life force and is immediately drawn into the Negative Material Plane where he will forever after exist as a shadow. [i]Shadow Form[/i] spell. [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ju-ju Zombie:[/b] [i]Zombie Double[/i] spell. Shadow Form (Necromancy) Eighth-Level Spell Range: 0 Components: V, S, M Duration: 1 round/level Casting Time: 1 round Area of Effect: The caster Saving Throw: None By means of this spell, the caster temporarily changes himself into a shadow. The caster gains the movement rate, Armor Class, hit dice, and all abilities of a shadow. His chilling touch (requiring a normal attack roll) inflicts 2-5 (1d4+1) hit points of damage on his victims as well as draining one point of Strength. Lost Strength returns in 2-8 (2d4) turns after being touched. If a human or demihuman victim is reduced to 0 hit points or 0 Strength by the caster in shadow form, the victim has lost all of his life force and is immediately drawn into the Negative Material Plane where he will forever after exist as a shadow. All of the caster's weapons and equipment stay with him, but he is unable to use them while in shadow form. He is also unable to cast spells while in shadow form, but he is immune to sleep, charm, and hold spells, and is unaffected by cold-based attacks. He is 90 percent undetectable in all but the brightest of surroundings. Unlike normal shadows, a wizard in shadow form cannot be turned by priests. At the end of the spell's duration, there is a 5% chance that the caster will permanently remain as a shadow. Nothing short of a wish can return the caster to his normal form. The material components for this spell are the shroud from a corpse at least 100 years old and a black glass marble. Zombie Double (Necromancy) Seventh-Level Spell Range: 0 Components: V, S, M Duration: 1 turn/level Casting Time: 1 turn Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None This spell creates a ju-ju zombie duplicate of the caster. The zombie double has the same memories, consciousness, and alignment as the caster; essentially, the caster now exists in two bodies simultaneously. In all other respects, the zombie double is the same as a normal ju-ju zombie (AC 6; MV 9; HD 3+12; #AT 1; Dmg 3-12; SA strike as a 6 HD monster; SD immune to all mind-affecting spells, including illusions; immune to sleep, charm, hold, death magic, magic missiles, electricity, poisons, and cold-based spells; edged and cleaving weapons inflict normal damage while blunt and piercing weapons inflict half- damage; magical and normal fire inflicts half-damage); THAC0 16. The zombie double cannot cast spells, but it can use any weapons that the caster can use. It is also able to climb walls as a thief (92 percent). The zombie double can be turned as a spectre. If it strays more than 30 yards from the caster, the zombie double becomes inactive and collapses to the ground; it becomes active again the instant the caster moves within 30 yards. The material components for this spell are a bit of wax from a black candle and a lock of hair from the caster.[/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16868/Players-Handbook-Revised-2e?affiliate_id=17596']Player's Handbook[/URL][spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] If the character is energy drained to less than 0 levels by an undead's energy drain (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 who slew it. [B]Skeleton:[/B] [I]Animate Dead[/I] spell. [B]Zombie:[/B] [I]Animate Dead[/I] spell. [B]Gnoll Zombie:[/B] [I]Animate Dead[/I] spell. [B]Fire Giant Zombie:[/B] [I]Animate Dead[/I] spell. [B]Dwarven Zombie:[/B] [I]Animate Dead[/I] spell. [b]Juju Zombie:[/b] [I]Finger of Death[/I] spell. [I]Energy Drain[/I] spell. [B]Spectre:[/B] ? [B]Vampire:[/B] ? [B]Ghost:[/B] ? [B]Ghoul:[/B] ? [B]Mummy:[/B] ? [B]Lich:[/B] ? [B]Shadow:[/B] ? [B]Wight:[/B] ? [B]Ghast:[/B] ? [B]Wraith:[/B] ? Animate Dead Fifth-Level Wizard (Necromancy) Range: 10 yds. Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 5 rds. Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None This spell creates the lowest of the undead monsters--skeletons or zombies--usually from the bones or bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids. The spell causes existing remains to become animated and obey the simple verbal commands of the caster. The skeletons or zombies can follow the caster, remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific type of creature) entering the place, etc. The undead remain animated until they are destroyed in combat or are turned; the magic cannot be dispelled. The following types of dead creatures can be animated: A) Humans, demihumans, and humanoids with 1 Hit Die. The wizard can animate one skeleton for each experience level he has attained, or one zombie for every two levels. The experience levels, if any, of the slain are ignored; the body of a newly dead 9th-level fighter is animated as a zombie with 2 Hit Dice, without special class or racial abilities. B) Creatures with more than 1 Hit Die. The number of undead animated is determined by the monster Hit Dice (the total Hit Dice cannot exceed the wizard's level). Skeletal forms have the Hit Dice of the original creature, while zombie forms have one more Hit Die. Thus, a 12th-level wizard could animate four zombie gnolls (4 x [2+1 Hit Dice] = 12), or a single fire giant skeleton. Such undead have none of the special abilities they had in life. C) Creatures with less than 1 Hit Die. The caster can animate two skeletons per level or one zombie per level. The creatures have their normal Hit Dice as skeletons and an additional Hit Die as zombies. Clerics receive a +1 bonus when trying to turn these. This spell assumes that the bodies or bones are available and are reasonably intact (those of skeletons or zombies destroyed in combat won't be!). It requires a drop of blood and a pinch of bone powder or a bone shard to complete the spell. The casting of this spell is not a good act, and only evil wizards use it frequently. Animate Dead Third-Level Priest (Necromancy) Sphere: Necromantic Range: 10 yds. Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 rd. Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None This spell creates the lowest of the undead monsters, skeletons or zombies, usually from the bones or bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids. The spell causes these remains to become animated and obey the simple verbal commands of the caster, regardless of how they communicated in life. The skeletons or zombies can follow the caster, remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific type of creature) entering the place, etc. The undead remain animated until they are destroyed in combat or are turned; the magic cannot be dispelled. The priest can animate one skeleton or one zombie for each experience level he has attained. If creatures with more than 1+ Hit Dice are animated, the number is determined by the monster Hit Dice. Skeletal forms have the Hit Dice of the original creature, while zombie forms have 1 more Hit Die. Thus, a 12th-level priest could animate 12 dwarven skeletons (or six zombies), four zombie gnolls, or a single zombie fire giant. Note that this is based on the standard racial Hit Die norm; thus, a high-level adventurer would be animated as a skeleton or zombie of 1 or 2 Hit Dice, and without special class or racial abilities. The caster can, alternatively, animate two small animal skeletons (1-1 Hit Die or less) for every level of experience he has achieved. The spell requires a drop of blood, a piece of flesh of the type of creature being animated, and a pinch of bone powder or a bone shard to complete the spell. Casting this spell is not a good act, and only evil priests use it frequently. Finger of Death Seventh-Level Wizard (Necromancy) Range: 60 yds. Components: V, S Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 5 Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: Neg. The finger of death spell snuffs out the victim's life force. If successful, the victim can be neither raised nor resurrected. In addition, in human subjects the spell initiates changes to the body such that after three days the caster can, by means of a special ceremony costing not less than 1,000 gp plus 500 gp per body, animate the corpse as a juju zombie under the control of the caster. The changes can be reversed before animation by a limited wish or similar spell cast directly upon the body, and a full wish restores the subject to life. The caster utters the finger of death spell incantation, points his index finger at the creature to be slain, and unless the victim succeeds in a saving throw vs. spell, death occurs. A creature successfully saving still receives 2d8+1 points of damage. If the subject dies of damage, no internal changes occur and the victim can then be revived normally. Energy Drain Ninth-Level Wizard (Evocation, Necromancy) Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 3 Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: None By casting this spell, the wizard opens a channel between the plane he is in and the Negative Energy plane, becoming the conductor between the two planes. As soon as he touches (equal to a hit if melee is involved) any living creature, the victim loses two levels (as if struck by a spectre). A monster loses 2 Hit Dice permanently, both for hit points and attack ability. A character loses levels, Hit Dice, hit points, and abilities permanently (until regained through adventuring, if applicable). The material component of this spell is essence of spectre or vampire dust. Preparation requires mere moments; the material component is then cast forth, and, upon touching the victim, the wizard speaks the triggering word, causing the spell to take effect instantly. The spell remains effective for only a single round. Humans or humanoids brought below zero energy levels by this spell can be animated as juju zombies under the control of the caster. The caster always has a 5% (1 in 20) chance to be affected by the dust, losing one point of Constitution at the same time as the victim is drained. When the number of Constitution points lost equals the caster's original Constitution ability score, the caster dies and becomes a shade.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16857/Prayers-from-the-Faithful-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Prayers From the Faithful[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghoul:[/b] [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. [b]Ghast:[/b] [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. [b]Spectre:[/b] [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. [b]Vampire:[/b] [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. [b]Wight:[/b] [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. [b]Wraith:[/b] [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. [b]Zombie Ju-Ju:[/b] [i]Create Undead Minion[/i] spell. Create Undead Minion (Alteration, Necromancy) Level: 7 Sphere: Necromantic Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 turn Area of Effect: One living sentient being or the corpse of one Saving Throw: Neg. This spell is available only to faiths headed by deities of evil alignments. The caster of this spell creates the form of an undead creature. The type of undead creature created depends upon the level of the caster and the condition of the victim. The spell may be cast on a living or a dead subject. Dead subjects must have died within the previous 24 hours, and their bodies must be in good shape. If dead subjects fail their saving throws vs. spell, they transform into ghouls, the only type of undead that can be created from a dead subject with this spell. Subjects who are still alive when this spell is cast become more powerful undead minions. If such subjects fail their saving throws vs. spell, they transform into the type of undead indicated below, depending on the casting priest’s level. Casters can create any type of undead listed on the table up to their level limit. Thus, an 18th-level priest can create a ghoul or a ghast as easily as a vampire. Undead creatures of any sort created by this spell never retain character abilities. Cleric Level Type of Undead 14th Ghoul 15th Ghast 16th Ju-ju zombie 17th Wight 18th Wraith 19th Spectre 20th+ Vampire The transformation into an undead creature takes the full turn of the casting time to be completed. If the spell is interrupted (or dispelled) before the turn is complete, the subject is rendered unconscious for a turn and returns to normal at the end of that turn. The undead creature created by this spell is under the complete control of the caster. If the controlling priest is later killed, the undead minion must make a successful saving throw vs. death magic or perish as well. Surviving undead creatures become free-willed. The components of this spell are the holy symbol of the caster, dirt from a graveyard, and the fingernail of one of the forms of corporeal undead listed on the table above.[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17487/RA2-Ship-of-Horror-2e?affiliate_id=17596]RA2 Ship of Horror[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Lebentod:[/b] The first lebendtod were created by a powerful necromancer. Thrilled with his new servants, he gave his creations the ability to turn their victims into lebendtod in order to propagate the “species”. Any lebendtod can create another lebendtod by killing a victim and breathing into its mouth as the victim breathes its last breath. The victim must then by isolated and left undisturbed for 72 hours. If these conditions are met, the victim awakens as a lebendtod. Lebendtod can be created by high-level wizards or by the lebendtod themselves. The Graben’s condition is the result of Meredoth’s necromancy. When the domain formed, Meredoth realized that he needed a way to maintain the supply of bodies required for his research. In time, he developed the necessary magic, poisoned the entire family, then converted their bodies to their current state. [b]Jacob, Ghost:[/b] Jacob and Charlotte are likewise victims of Garvyn’s greed. He was paid to deliver their bodies to a mausoleum, but he took the money and dumped the bodies overboard. [b]Charlotte, Ghost:[/b] Jacob and Charlotte are likewise victims of Garvyn’s greed. He was paid to deliver their bodies to a mausoleum, but he took the money and dumped the bodies overboard. [b]Madeline Stern, Ghost:[/b] Garvyn was hired by a wealthy family to transport Madeline’s body to the family mausoleum on a small island. He was paid for the job, but instead of completing his mission, he dumped her body overboard rather than make the three-day journey to the island. [b]Skeletal Shark:[/b] ? [b]Squirrel Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Rabbit Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Ferret Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Chipmunk Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Cat Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Opossum Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Bird Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Monkey Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Small Dog Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Sheep Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Pig Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Goat Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Large Bird Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Panther Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Cheetah Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Wolf Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Coyote Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Large Dog Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Mule Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Boar Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Badger Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Kangaroo Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Bear Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Moose Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Horse Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Lion Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Elephant Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] If the body of a lebentod's victim is disturbed before 72 hours have elapsed, the victim awakens as a ghast. [b]Skeleton:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17490/RA3-Touch-of-Death-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']RA3 Touch of Death[/URL][spoiler] [b]Zombie Desert:[/b]Anyone struck by the mummies' attack becomes infected with a horrible rotting disease that kills in 1d12 days. On the day after the infection, the character loses 1 point of Strength and Constitution. Their skin begins to wither and flake like old parchment. They get shakes and convulsions making it impossible to cast spells. The only hope is a series of cure disease spells, all cast on the same day, one for each day that the disease has progressed. Normally the person affected crumbles into dust when they die. However, Senmet has the ability to make the dead body retain its dried out shape and can transform the hapless victim into a desert zombie. He does this by strangling an infected character. Within 8 hours, the dead body withers and reanimates as a desert zombie. The greater mummy, Senmet, created the first desert zombies. He sacrificed all of his spell casting power to be able to create and control an army of these zombies, as well as take limited control over the domain of Har'Akir. Any character who dies from the disease transmitted by the touch of the greater mummy becomes a desert zombie. It takes a full day after the death to animate the corpse. If the body is destroyed during that time, then it cannot be animated as a desert zombie. [b]Mummy:[/b] Characters infected by Senmet that are mummified alive (a gruesome process), become mummies under the control of Senmet. [b]Mummy Greater:[/b] Centuries later, Isu read from a magical scroll a fragment of the ceremony used by Anhktepot to create greater mummies. Senmet returned to control his undead body. [/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17480/Requiem-The-Grim-Harvest-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Requiem: The Grim Harvest[/URL][spoiler] [b]Mummy Bog:[/b] The wave from the Negative Energy Plane that swept across the domain when the doomsday device was activated, and the lesser wave of positive energy it pushed before it, had their effects upon the Boglands. The latter gave rise to a new form of mummy, while the former tainted what little arable soil existed in this region. Bog mummies are formed when a corpse comes to rest in a marsh or swamp and is naturally mummified by being coated in a layer of mud. Eventually the body takes on the dark coloration of the earth and becomes as tough as tanned leather. The clothing is partially preserved and sticks to the corpse in patches, as does hair. The facial features are distorted in a permanent grimace and the hands are stiffened into clawlike hooks. When the corpse at last rises as an undead creature, it walks with an uneven gait, due to the stiffness of its limbs. A bog mummy rises as an undead creature when a powerful burst of positive energy causes the dead person's spirit to rejoin with the preserved body. Bog mummies may be created by a priest or another mummy from the raw material of a corpse or may be the result of powerful emotional forces. In the domain of Necropolis, however, bog mummies are an accidental creation. It is theorized that, when the doomsday device was activated, the resulting shock wave of negative energy that it sent out pushed before it a wave of positive energy. When this wave struck Stagnus Lake and the Great Salt Swamp, it also sent a positive wave through the large number of bodies that lay beneath the mud. The swamps were, after all, a favorite place to dispose of murder victims and contained a great many corpses that were already charged with strong emotional energy. Bog mummies began to climb out of the mud and stalk the living of Necropolis. [b]Trillen Mistwalker 3rd Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Trillen's obsession with finding the ruin and his grief over - his brother's death eventually drove him to madness. He died, destitute and raving, a few years later. Such was his force of will, however, that his spirit remained behind. [b]Zombie Rats:[/b] The wave of negative energy thrown out by the doomsday device has infused Galf with a special power. By laying hands on a dead rodent, he can animate its corpse. Galf recently "cleaned up" his house by voluntarily killing all of his pet rats. The council does not realize that he has raised his beloved rodents as zombies. [b]Beryl Silvertress Dwarf Vampire:[/b] Beryl does not remember the name of the vampire who cursed her with the "gift" of unlife—a dwarf with a midnight-black beard who fled into the Ravenloft Mists. Her only clue as to his identity is that he has a palm-sized patch over his heart that is icy cold to the touch, a stigmata left by a stalagmite that once impaled him. Beryl has no idea why this man kidnapped her from her carriage and turned her into a vampire. But she is vain enough to think that it was due to her beauty. [b]Yako Vormoff Vassalich:[/b] Sensing the lad's intelligence and his talent at manipulating others, Azalin trained Yako in the arts of dark magic. He eventually "promoted" his young pupil above others of greater age and talent, performing the dread ritual that turned Yako into a vassalich. [b]Damon Skragg Ghoul Lord:[/b] None know what happened on that evil isle, but it is thought that Damon fell victim to a necromancer's experiments. He returned to his ship a ghoul lord with a crew composed of ghasts, hollow shells of the sailors whose lives he had taken. [b]Siren Ravenloft:[/b] It is thought that the sirens are merfolk who were transformed by the burst of negative energy that was released when the doomsday device was activated. [b]Kristobal del Diego Mature Vampire:[/b] Originally a horticulturalist, he was accosted by a female vampire in the public rose garden late one night. [b]Crow Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Death:[/b] Azalin instead used Lowellyn to build and test the infernal machine, a prototype for the doomsday device. As a result of this experiment, Lowellyn was transformed into the creature known as Death. [b]Undead:[/b] Darkon is transformed by a wave of negative energy that is thrown out when the doomsday device is activated. The capital of the domain, Il Aluk, is swept clean of living things. Every living creature in the city (including the heroes) is transformed into an undead caricature of itself. In fact, the wave of blackness that the heroes saw coming out of the exploding doomsday device was a shock wave from the Negative Energy Plane. Even as the heroes were killed, this energy washed over their bodies, infusing them with unlife and transforming them into undead creatures. At the same time, it transformed all of Il Aluk into a city of the dead and forever changed the domain of Darkon (henceforth known as Necropolis). Every living thing in the city, from the lowliest rat to the highest Eternal Order priest, has been transformed into an undead creature by the doomsday device. When the doomsday device was activated, it threw out a shock wave of negative energy so powerful that every living thing in Il Aluk was instantly slain. At the same time, the streets and buildings of the city were permeated with this force, which began to pulse within the city like a corrupted heartbeat. As a result of this powerful energy, the people and animals of Il Aluk were infused with unlife and rose as undead creatures on the morning that followed Darkest Night. Il Aluk, the capital of Necropolis, has been swept clean of living things. There are no plants, no insects, no bacteria, nothing. So infused with the power of the Negative Energy Plane is this place that only the ranks of the living dead may come and go freely in this region. Any living creature who tries to enter the city is drained of life and becomes an undead thing. Not every undead creature has the ability to create others of its kind. Only those with some manner of energy draining attack (whether it affects life energy, ability scores, or some other aspect of living characters) have the potential to create more undead. If a player wishes his character to have this ability, he must allocate an extra slot to the attack type that will be used to create new undead. In addition, the DM and player should specify some means by which the raising of the newly slain victim can be prevented. [b]Ghost:[/b] Ghosts are the ethereal remnants of those who died an emotional and traumatic death. [b]Ghoul:[/b] The lower ranking Kargat of Il Aluk have been transformed into ghouls. [b]Ghoul Ghast:[/b] None know what happened on that evil isle, but it is thought that Damon fell victim to a necromancer's experiments. He returned to his ship a ghoul lord with a crew composed of ghasts, hollow shells of the sailors whose lives he had taken. A successful bite by Damon inflicts 1d10 points of damage. Victims who do not make a successful saving throw vs. poison succumb to a horrid rotting disease that inflicts 1d10 points of damage per day. In addition, the disease reduces both Constitution and Charisma by 1 point per day. This affliction may only be cured by a heal spell; all other curative spells are ineffective in treating it. Once halted, the victim's Constitution score returns to its original value at a rate of 1 point per week. Charisma, however, is permanently reduced, due to the terrible scars left by the disease. Should the victim's hit points or one of his ability scores reach zero, he dies. Unless the body is destroyed, it will rise as a ghast three nights later and will join the Bountiful crew as an undead sailor wholly under Damon's command. Any of the four Kargat officers who served in the Grim Fastness, and who were not killed by the heroes, have been transformed into ghasts by the doomsday device explosion. [b]Lich:[/b] The emaciated figure is Grandmother Nichia, who was transformed into a lich by the shock wave of negative energy that swept through Il Aluk. Born from a determination to resist death at all costs, these magicians are natural schemers whose subtle machinations often span decades or even centuries. [b]Mummy:[/b] Those priests of the Eternal Order who were not inside the Grim Fastness (who were not transformed into zombie priests) are transformed into mummies. For the purposes of these rules, a mummy is akin to a lich, save that it is the undead form of a Priest. Such a character need not have worshiped one of the gods of ancient Egypt. [b]Shadow:[/b] The average citizens of Il Aluk have been transformed into zombies or skeletons. A handful were also turned into shadows. Shadows are beings of darkness, created when a human or demihuman has his essence drained away and replaced with energy from the Negative Energy Plane. This process destroys the creature's physical form, leaving behind nothing but an incorporeal, undead silhouette. [b]Skeleton:[/b] The average citizens of Il Aluk have been transformed into zombies or skeletons. A skeleton is the reanimated corpse of a human, demihuman, or humanoid which has been stripped of flesh. [b]Spectre:[/b] The apparition is an undead creature, a noblewoman by the name of Chauncy Hopcott who was transformed into a spectre by the wave of negative energy thrown out by the doomsday device. Spectres are a terrible form of incorporeal creature created when a living person is either killed by an existing spectre or, in rare cases, frightened to death. [b]Vampire:[/b] When using her biting attack, Beryl can drain vitality; each successful attack permanently lowers her victim's Constitution by 2 points. Victims reduced to a Constitution of 0 are slain and rise as vampires in three days. [b]Zombie:[/b] The average citizens of Il Aluk have been transformed into zombies or skeletons. Zombies are among the easiest of the undead to create and, conversely, to destroy. They are almost always created by means of an animate dead spell.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17473/Return-to-the-Tomb-of-Horrors-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Return to the Tomb of Horrors[/URL][spoiler] [b]Bone Weird:[/b] It is doubtful that bone weirds are called into existence by mere chance; a wizard or necromancer of powerful ability is most commonly the cause for their appearance. A strange essence inhabits the cast-off bony dross of this mom, drawn here and shaped by Acererak's ever-busy hands. In his efforts to understand and fully grasp the true nature of the Negative Energy Plane, Acererak's paradigm shifted enough so that he was able to think of the plane as just another elemental plane, albeit an anomalous one. Following this line of reasoning, he was able to coerce the nihilistic essences of the plane into the dead bones within this chamber (with the help of his former servant Deverus). In effect, he brought into being bone weirds-the first of their kind to exist. [b]Moilian Heart:[/b] A moilian heart is an example of a previously undiscovered class of undead creatures created by the dissolution of the lost city of Moil. The moilian heart is an entirely artificial monster, created by dark necromancy. The artificial animation of moilian creatures involves a very rare spell researched and codified by the necromancer Drake of the Black Academy, who has discovered the unique undead creatures of Moil, the City That Waits. The moilian heart represents the necromancer’s first essay into this new avenue of the Dark Arts, but certainly not his last. Drake is investigating many lines of research, but one of his most promising has produced the creature that he keeps safely locked away in this lead-lined vault. This line of research (among others) was actually illuminated to him when he encountered some of the denizens of The City That Waits (of all the necromancers in Skull City, only Drake has secretly penetrated thus far into Acererak's realm). [i]Animate Moilian[/i] spell. [b]Moilian Zombie:[/b] They lie as dead, although they are not marked by violence, as their deaths came to them in dark slumber. Neither is there any rot apparent, due to the supernatural cold which permeates the air in the city of their origin, Moil. There was once a city called Moil that daily saw the light of the sun. The inhabitants of Moil were a foul people, as evidenced by their worship of the powerful tanar'ri lord called Orcus. With the passage of time the Moilians’ faith in their deity slipped. The tanar’ri lord sought vengeance, and placed a curse upon Moil; its inhabitants fell into an enchanted slumber which would lift only with the dawn. Orcus then removed the city from its natural site and transformed it into a nightmarish demiplane with ties to the Negative Energy Plane, assuring that the sun would never again shine upon Moil. Over time, the slumbering moilians all perished in their dark sleep. Because of their proximity to the Negative Energy Plane, the frozen forms of the inhabitants became undead moilian zombies. Any character reduced to 0 hit points through a Moilian heart's draining dies and has a 13% chance of spontaneously animating as a Moilian zombie. Predictably, Orcus was wroth. In horrible but unlooked-for vengeance, the entity cast what initially seemed a mild curse over Moil: its inhabitants fell into an enchanted sleep that could only be broken by the dawning of the sun. Orcus then physically removed the city from its natural site and transformed it into a nightmarish, lightless demiplane of its own, assuring that the sun would never shine upon its tall towers. Having completed this deed, Orcus dubbed the demiplane anew as The City That Waits. Over time, the slumbering Moilians all perished in their dark sleep, leaving the place strewn with unquiet dead and dangerous dreams. [i]Animate Moilian[/i] spell. [b]Vestige, Undead Dream:[/b] The Vestige is a creature born from the nightmares of every citizen of the city of Moil as they died in cursed sleep. With the advent of Orcus’s curse of sleep, the strengthened dream consciousness of the city’s citizenry survived beyond the death of their corporeal bodies; thus was born the Vestige. Predictably, Orcus was wroth. In horrible but unlooked-for vengeance, the entity cast what initially seemed a mild curse over Moil: its inhabitants fell into an enchanted sleep that could only be broken by the dawning of the sun. Orcus then physically removed the city from its natural site and transformed it into a nightmarish, lightless demiplane of its own, assuring that the sun would never shine upon its tall towers. Having completed this deed, Orcus dubbed the demiplane anew as The City That Waits. Over time, the slumbering Moilians all perished in their dark sleep, leaving the place strewn with unquiet dead and dangerous dreams. [b]Winter-Wight:[/b] Acererak created winter-wights in his quest for knowledge and power. Acererak creates winter-wights from lower forms of undead in a special process. This process involves the immersion of the undead in a bath of amplified radiation from the Negative Energy Plane, in conjunction with powerful rites of binding and animation. The blank canister in the chamber is part and parcel of Acererak's researches. Acererak calls the device a Dim Forge, and with it he is able to enervate immensely powerful undead beings such as his most recent invention, the winter-wight (although a specific spell exists to create winter-wights, one of the material components of the spell is a negative-energy focusing device, such as the Dim Forge). While the Dim Forge is a potent tool for undead creation, it is prone to spawn failed experiments. Hundreds of unfavored beings have left the black canister of the forge only to be relegated to the Theater of the Dead. Although not apparent to the observer, the crystal dome located above the Forge represents the endpoint of an array of magically protected antennas that reach into the Negative Energy Material Plane. The antennas are over a mile long and branch many times. Through a series of complex enchantments, Acererak has created a means of collecting, concentrating, and amplifying negative energy down the length of the antennas so that the crystal blister in the room acts to focus negative energy into the canister. If the characters inspect the canister, they find only a latch and a pair of heavy-duty hinges that allow the weighty lid to be thrown back. Within the canister, there is a chill space large enough to contain One human-sized creature. Activation of the Dim Forge is automatically accomplished merely by closing the lid, as the PCs may discover-possibly to their dismay-with a minimum of experimentation. Upon activation of the Dim Forge, the large unseen antennas draw in the essence of the Void. A thrum of magic vibrates through its mile-long length. The characters hear a gonglike thrum. The noise has no more volume than normal conversation during the first round, but quickly builds, reaching a thunderous crescendo three rounds later. At the end of the third round, the blister on the ceiling releases a single bolt of negative energy, so black that it appears to be a rip in the fabric of reality itself. The energy discharges from the ceiling pod into the black canister below. All is silent after the discharge, and nothing moves save for a bit of residual blackfire (as the spell; stand back!) upon the surface of the canister. The flames dissipate in the space of a round. If a body of any size that can fit (living, dead, or undead) is within the closed Forge at the time of discharge, consult the table below to determine the result of the concentrated annihilating energy. Even fully empowered undead (such as a winter-wight) can be destroyed by a second exposure to the Forge's energies. If the canister contains an inanimate object or is empty, a negative energy elemental is always generated. If the spell create winter-wight is cast in conjunction with the activation of the Dim Forge, add +2 to the die roll. If the canister is open when the energy discharge strikes, the bolt fragments and showers the room with sparks of negative energy. Objects in the chamber suffer no ill effects, but creatures must attempt saving throws vs. breath weapon. All who fail suffer the effect noted on the table. Dim Forge Activation Results (1d8) 1. Not even dust remains within the canister. 2. The object is destroyed and small carbon fragments burn fitfully with blackfire for ld6+6 rounds. 3. Body is burnt almost past recognizability; the smell is truly ghastly. 4. Burnt body animates as a standard zombie; no remnant of personality remains. 5. Body internalizes energy and animates as a standard spectre; no personality remains. 6. Body completely internalizes energy and is destroyed; negative energy elemental is generated and personality is lost. 7. Body internalizes energy and animates as a half-strength winter-wight (8 Hit Dice); original personality is destroyed. 8. Body internalizes energy and animates as a winter-wight; original personality, if any, survives with a successful Wisdom check. [i]Create Winter-Wight[/i] spell. [b]Acererak Lich:[/b] The balor (a true tanar’ri) called Tarnhem is held imprisoned in this chamber through powerful dweomers and Acererak’s knowledge of its truename: Maasgheldur. Acererak discovered the name because it was a requirement of his particular ritual of transformation from cambion to lich-he needed to know his supernatural father. Tarnhem’s ravishment of a human female engendered the half-tanar’ri child whom his mother named Acererak (see Desatysso’s Journal for details). [b]Acererak Demilich:[/b] ? [b]Blaesing, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Absalom, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Harrow, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Minor Death:[/b] ? [b]Mistress Ferranifer, Vampire Scion Necromancer 18:[/b] ? [b]Gustaeth:[/b] Of all the trophies mounted in the Tower of Test, three were infused with the energy of unlife by the Dark Intrusion. [b]Tyr's Undead Hand:[/b] Those who believe the hand to truly be that of Tyr are not disappointed to discover that the hand truly does possess power from beyond the grave-it is animated. Unfortunately, it is animated by the Dark Intrusion. [b]Faericles, Lord High Exultant, Moilian Zombie:[/b] Faericles was the last of the Lord High Exaltants, and his fate was the same as most of the rest of the populace of Moil: he perished in his sleep and became a Moilian zombie. However, Acererak found that he had use for such martial prowess and rejuvenated Faericles to the point where he now remains constantly animated. In the process, Faericles became empowered far beyond “normal” Moilian zombies. He appears as a leathery-skinned human who is illuminated with an eerie violet glow; this is a side effect of the necromantic energization that allows him permanent animation. Faericles spends at least 12 hours out of 24 on this mat in contemplation of the mysteries of his art. At the same time, the enchanted stones energize his body so that he can remain animate even without the nourishing presence of living beings. These stones (created by Acererak) emit a necromantic radiation capable of saturating living or once-living objects. This radiation has the effect of linking the saturated being with the Negative Energy Plane. For Faericles, an undead Moilian zombie, it means he can operate indefinitely as long as he gets his regular “fix.” [b]Acererak Demilich Form:[/b] ? [b]Acererak Skeleton Form:[/b] ? [b]Acererak Winter Wight Form:[/b] ? [b]Undead Statue:[/b] The statue in the corner was a human captured and brought to the Fortress of Conclusion by one of the resident tanar’ri. Isafel turned her stony gaze upon the poor fellow, turning him to stone, after which she subjected her new sculpture to the negative energies of the Dim Forge. In this one instant, Isafel knew success; in effect she had created an undead statue. [b]Winter-Wight Giant Toad:[/b] Acererak experimented with nonhumanold forms during his research into the creation of the winter-wight. After some limited success, the spirit of the demilich abandoned these efforts due to his inability to graft sufficient intelligence into the creations for his purposes. Acererak destroyed every one of his mentally dim formulations save for the One that lingers yet in this chamber. In the mood for a bit of novelty, Acererak invested the skeletal structure of a giant toad with a blackfire link to the Negative Energy Plane after the manner of a true winter-wight. [b]Wight:[/b] These wights were spontaneously animated by an outlying finger of the Dark Intrusion. They have been lying dead at the bottom of the river for a week and have only now gained the impetus to rise again. They took the crew of Payvin’s Pearl with stealth and magic, drained their blood, then dropped the corpses into the concealing waters of the Thelly River. Payvin is alive only because they were just leaving as he came aboard, and it amused them to terrorize him. The bodies of the crew remained beneath the river for a week (a vampire's victims must be buried to become vampires themselves) before another surge of Negative Energy spontaneously animated them into evil wights. Again, it is the Dim Triad who has been causing the deaths and disappearances in Pitchfield. The vampires do not return for many nights. However, on the second night after the PCs' arrival, a strange fog flows in from the river and the buried dead of the town's cemetery begin to animate in the night. Since the Dim Triad extracted blood for Mistress Ferranifer's necromantic experiments rather than merely drinking it themselves, their victims do not become vampires in turn but merely wights. [b]Vampire:[/b] A vampire's victims must be buried to become vampires themselves. [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] The skeletal remains here have been infused with unlife by seepage from the Negative Energy Plane that surrounds the Fortress of Conclusion. [b]Zombie:[/b] Any living creature of rat size or larger that is slain in the Tomb of Horrors has a 60% chance of spontaneously animating within 1d6 rounds as an undead zombie with the same Hit Dice as the original creature. Any living creature of rat size or larger that is slain in The City That Waits has an 80% chance of spontaneously animating within 1d3 rounds as an undead zombie with the same Hit Dice as the original creature. Any freshly slain living creature of rat size or larger that is slain in The Fortress of Conclusion has a 95% chance of spontaneously animating as a zombie of the same HD as the original creature. Naturally this applies to PCs who perish in combat or any of Acererak's fiendish traps. The animation takes 1 round. The blank canister in the chamber is part and parcel of Acererak's researches. Acererak calls the device a Dim Forge, and with it he is able to enervate immensely powerful undead beings such as his most recent invention, the winter-wight (although a specific spell exists to create winter-wights, one of the material components of the spell is a negative-energy focusing device, such as the Dim Forge). While the Dim Forge is a potent tool for undead creation, it is prone to spawn failed experiments. Hundreds of unfavored beings have left the black canister of the forge only to be relegated to the Theater of the Dead. Although not apparent to the observer, the crystal dome located above the Forge represents the endpoint of an array of magically protected antennas that reach into the Negative Energy Material Plane. The antennas are over a mile long and branch many times. Through a series of complex enchantments, Acererak has created a means of collecting, concentrating, and amplifying negative energy down the length of the antennas so that the crystal blister in the room acts to focus negative energy into the canister. If the characters inspect the canister, they find only a latch and a pair of heavy-duty hinges that allow the weighty lid to be thrown back. Within the canister, there is a chill space large enough to contain One human-sized creature. Activation of the Dim Forge is automatically accomplished merely by closing the lid, as the PCs may discover-possibly to their dismay-with a minimum of experimentation. Upon activation of the Dim Forge, the large unseen antennas draw in the essence of the Void. A thrum of magic vibrates through its mile-long length. The characters hear a gonglike thrum. The noise has no more volume than normal conversation during the first round, but quickly builds, reaching a thunderous crescendo three rounds later. At the end of the third round, the blister on the ceiling releases a single bolt of negative energy, so black that it appears to be a rip in the fabric of reality itself. The energy discharges from the ceiling pod into the black canister below. All is silent after the discharge, and nothing moves save for a bit of residual blackfire (as the spell; stand back!) upon the surface of the canister. The flames dissipate in the space of a round. If a body of any size that can fit (living, dead, or undead) is within the closed Forge at the time of discharge, consult the table below to determine the result of the concentrated annihilating energy. Even fully empowered undead (such as a winter-wight) can be destroyed by a second exposure to the Forge's energies. If the canister contains an inanimate object or is empty, a negative energy elemental is always generated. If the spell create winter-wight is cast in conjunction with the activation of the Dim Forge, add +2 to the die roll. If the canister is open when the energy discharge strikes, the bolt fragments and showers the room with sparks of negative energy. Objects in the chamber suffer no ill effects, but creatures must attempt saving throws vs. breath weapon. All who fail suffer the effect noted on the table. Dim Forge Activation Results (1d8) 1. Not even dust remains within the canister. 2. The object is destroyed and small carbon fragments burn fitfully with blackfire for ld6+6 rounds. 3. Body is burnt almost past recognizability; the smell is truly ghastly. 4. Burnt body animates as a standard zombie; no remnant of personality remains. 5. Body internalizes energy and animates as a standard spectre; no personality remains. 6. Body completely internalizes energy and is destroyed; negative energy elemental is generated and personality is lost. 7. Body internalizes energy and animates as a half-strength winter-wight (8 Hit Dice); original personality is destroyed. 8. Body internalizes energy and animates as a winter-wight; original personality, if any, survives with a successful Wisdom check. [b]Bone Naga:[/b] ? [b]Undead:[/b] “As part of the enchantment of their creation, undead 'siphon' a bit of the energy flowing toward the Negative Energy Plane. This 'stolen' energy serves as their energy of animation. More powerful types of undead have a stronger connection to the Negative Energy Plane and are therefore able to siphon even more energy for their own purposes before it is forever lost in the Final Void. This type of animation is known as "necromancy," but it could also be called Entropic Animancy. Other forms of enchantments exist that can link objects or corpses to the Positive Energy Plane; in this case the flow of energy is reversed. Undead linked to the Positive Energy Plane continually radiate energy and are able to siphon a bit of that energy for purposes of animation. Undead of this type often are associated with the control over living tissue, such as mummies. More powerful undead linked with the Positive Energy Plane are able to manipulate these energies with specific purposes and effects. This type of enchantment is sometimes known as Positive Animancy.” Predictably, Orcus was wroth. In horrible but unlooked-for vengeance, the entity cast what initially seemed a mild curse over Moil: its inhabitants fell into an enchanted sleep that could only be broken by the dawning of the sun. Orcus then physically removed the city from its natural site and transformed it into a nightmarish, lightless demiplane of its own, assuring that the sun would never shine upon its tall towers. Having completed this deed, Orcus dubbed the demiplane anew as The City That Waits. Over time, the slumbering Moilians all perished in their dark sleep, leaving the place strewn with unquiet dead and dangerous dreams. These stones (created by Acererak) emit a necromantic radiation capable of saturating living or once-living objects. This radiation has the effect of linking the saturated being with the Negative Energy Plane. For Faericles, an undead Moilian zombie, it means he can operate indefinitely as long as he gets his regular “fix.” For a living being the radiation from the stones causes a sharp pain after one round’ s exposure. An unaccountable feeling of dread also surfaces, along with a desire to move out of the glow of the stones. An actual link to the Negative Energy Plane is forged at the end of the second round. At this point, the life force of the affected being is drawn forth in one continuous discharge, killing the being and transforming him or her into a free-willed undead in one turn. The newly formed undead retains the Hit Dice and hit points that he or she had upon “death,” as well as skills, proficiencies, spells, and class abilities (except for paladins, who lose all associated class abilities and become undead fighters). [b]Flameskull:[/b] ? [b]Wraith-Spider:[/b] Victims drained of all Constitution from a wraith-spider's venom die and have a 100% chance (here in the City) of coming back within 24 hours as wraith-spiders with humanoid heads. [b]Nightwalker:[/b] These creatures seem to embody the principle of destructive entropy inherent in the Negative Energy Plane. [b]Spectre:[/b] The blank canister in the chamber is part and parcel of Acererak's researches. Acererak calls the device a Dim Forge, and with it he is able to enervate immensely powerful undead beings such as his most recent invention, the winter-wight (although a specific spell exists to create winter-wights, one of the material components of the spell is a negative-energy focusing device, such as the Dim Forge). While the Dim Forge is a potent tool for undead creation, it is prone to spawn failed experiments. Hundreds of unfavored beings have left the black canister of the forge only to be relegated to the Theater of the Dead. Although not apparent to the observer, the crystal dome located above the Forge represents the endpoint of an array of magically protected antennas that reach into the Negative Energy Material Plane. The antennas are over a mile long and branch many times. Through a series of complex enchantments, Acererak has created a means of collecting, concentrating, and amplifying negative energy down the length of the antennas so that the crystal blister in the room acts to focus negative energy into the canister. If the characters inspect the canister, they find only a latch and a pair of heavy-duty hinges that allow the weighty lid to be thrown back. Within the canister, there is a chill space large enough to contain One human-sized creature. Activation of the Dim Forge is automatically accomplished merely by closing the lid, as the PCs may discover-possibly to their dismay-with a minimum of experimentation. Upon activation of the Dim Forge, the large unseen antennas draw in the essence of the Void. A thrum of magic vibrates through its mile-long length. The characters hear a gonglike thrum. The noise has no more volume than normal conversation during the first round, but quickly builds, reaching a thunderous crescendo three rounds later. At the end of the third round, the blister on the ceiling releases a single bolt of negative energy, so black that it appears to be a rip in the fabric of reality itself. The energy discharges from the ceiling pod into the black canister below. All is silent after the discharge, and nothing moves save for a bit of residual blackfire (as the spell; stand back!) upon the surface of the canister. The flames dissipate in the space of a round. If a body of any size that can fit (living, dead, or undead) is within the closed Forge at the time of discharge, consult the table below to determine the result of the concentrated annihilating energy. Even fully empowered undead (such as a winter-wight) can be destroyed by a second exposure to the Forge's energies. If the canister contains an inanimate object or is empty, a negative energy elemental is always generated. If the spell create winter-wight is cast in conjunction with the activation of the Dim Forge, add +2 to the die roll. If the canister is open when the energy discharge strikes, the bolt fragments and showers the room with sparks of negative energy. Objects in the chamber suffer no ill effects, but creatures must attempt saving throws vs. breath weapon. All who fail suffer the effect noted on the table. Dim Forge Activation Results (1d8) 1. Not even dust remains within the canister. 2. The object is destroyed and small carbon fragments burn fitfully with blackfire for ld6+6 rounds. 3. Body is burnt almost past recognizability; the smell is truly ghastly. 4. Burnt body animates as a standard zombie; no remnant of personality remains. 5. Body internalizes energy and animates as a standard spectre; no personality remains. 6. Body completely internalizes energy and is destroyed; negative energy elemental is generated and personality is lost. 7. Body internalizes energy and animates as a half-strength winter-wight (8 Hit Dice); original personality is destroyed. 8. Body internalizes energy and animates as a winter-wight; original personality, if any, survives with a successful Wisdom check. Animate Moilian (Necromancy) Level: 8 Range: 10 yds. Components V, S, M Duration: Pemranent Casting Time: 8 rounds Area of Efffect 1 body or body part Saving Throw: None This incantation allow the caster to animate bones, body fragments, or complete bodies of dead humanoids of up to human size. Creature created in this way are referred to as Moilian (after Moil, the city because of their origin), rather than simply undead. This is because their energy of animation does not come from the Negative Energy Plane but rather from the life energies of living creatures nearby. Examples of creatures created by this spell include the Moilian heart and the Moilian zombie. Moilians created by this spell obey simple verbal commands from the caster. Mobile Moilians can follow the caster, remain in an area to attack any intruders, and perform other uncomplicated tasks. This spell only animates a single corpse or body part with each casting. Regardless of the caster’s level, the Moilian created has 3 Hit Dice if a body part or 6 Hit Dice if it is a full body. The magic cannot be dispelled, but creatures created can be turned at the appropriate Hit Dice. The material components required are the body or body part, a drop of blood, a pinch of bone powder, and the perspiration of fear. Only evil beings would consider using this spell. Create Winter-wight (Necromancy) (Reversible) Level 9 Range 10 yds. Components V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 round Area of Effect: 1 body Saving Throw: None This spell turns a properly prepared body into a winter-wight. Preparation of the body requires many days, though the spell itself can be cast on the prepared body in only a single round. Create winter-wight can only be cast in conjunction with unique devices (such as the Dim Forge) capable of focusing and concentrating Negative Energy into a skeleton as part of the preparation step. Even with the use of this spell with the proper Negative Energy focusing devices, the spell is only effective 1% to 10% (1d10) of the time. Failures range between mere dust to warped, fragmented undead of little mobility and wit. Once properly animated, the winter-wight obeys the commands of its creator. The personality of the created creature may vary widely but is certain to combine calculating intelligence with cold cruelty, unless animal bones are used in the process (in which case little intelligence can be found in the final deadly undead construct). Once animated, the winter-wight remains active until physically destroyed. Destruction is also possible if the undead creature is subject to the reverse of this spell, destroy winter-wight, that utterly annihilates any single winter-wight that fails its saving throw vs. death magic.[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17503/RM4-House-of-Strahd-2e?affiliate_id=17596]RM4 House of Strahd[/URL][spoiler] [b]Count Strahd Von Zarovich Vampire Necromancer 16:[/b] I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with his blood. I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the Chapel. She fled from me. She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled within me. She had to understand the pact I made for her. I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever. It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found. Mot even I know her final fate. Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul, but 1 did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever. [b]Count Strahd Von Zarovich Vampire Necromancer 10:[/b] I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with his blood. I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the Chapel. She fled from me. She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled within me. She had to understand the pact I made for her. I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever. It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found. Mot even I know her final fate. Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul, but 1 did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever. [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] This man loved Marya and found that she loved someone else in his court. As Marya and her lover were dining, Endorovich put poison into the man's wine glass. The glasses were mixed up and the girl drank it instead. The lover was hanged for the deed and buried in the cemetery behind the church in Barovia township. Endorovich never got over his guilt and, in his madness, killed many in his lifetime. [b]Vampire Maiden:[/b] ? [b]Strahd Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Strahd Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] This man loved Marya and found that she loved someone else in his court. As Marya and her lover were dining, Endorovich put poison into the man's wine glass. The glasses were mixed up and the girl drank it instead. The lover was hanged for the deed and buried in the cemetery behind the church in Barovia township. Endorovich never got over his guilt and, in his madness, killed many in his lifetime. Patrina was an elf maiden who, having learned early in life a great deal of the black arts, was nearly a match for Strahd's powers. She felt a great bond with Strahd and desired to become one of his wives. Strahd, ever willing, agreed, but before the final draining of spirit from her soul could take place, her own people stoned her to death in mercy. Strahd demanded, and got, the body. She then became the banshee spirit found here. [b]Meld Monster:[/b] This foul creature is the result of Strahd's experimentation with necromantic spells. The Count invented a spell which he calls Strahd's malefic meld. A full description of the spell is found in the Forbidden Lore boxed set. In brief, it merges the dead bodies of up to three monsters to create one horrid undead creature. [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Groaning Spirit, Banshee:[/b] Patrina was an elf maiden who, having learned early in life a great deal of the black arts, was nearly a match for Strahd's powers. She felt a great bond with Strahd and desired to become one of his wives. Strahd, ever willing, agreed, but before the final draining of spirit from her soul could take place, her own people stoned her to death in mercy. Strahd demanded, and got, the body. She then became the banshee spirit found here. [b]Meld Monster:[/b] This foul creature is the result of Strahd's experimentation with necromantic spells. The Count invented a spell which he calls Strahd's malefic meld. A full description of the spell is found in the Forbidden Lore boxed set. In brief, it merges the dead bodies of up to three monsters to create one horrid undead creature. [b]Ghost:[/b] Ariel was a terrible man who sacrificed more than himself in his quest for wings. [b]Spider-Hound:[/b] Using the spell Strahd's malefic meld, (detailed in the Forbidden Lore boxed set) the count has created an undead hybrid of hell hound and huge spider. The process of creating it removes the hell hound's ability to breath fire.[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17493/RQ1-Night-of-the-Walking-Dead-2e?affiliate_id=17596]RQ1 Night of the Walking Dead[/URL][spoiler] [b]Marcel Tarascon, Zombie Lord:[/b] Jean took Marcel straight to the village shaman, who attempted to raise Marcel, but failed. Jean cried out in pain and left with his brother’s body. The shaman did not understand the true outcome of his failure, but Jean did, for his bond with his twin was strong. Instead of regaining life, Marcel had become an undead creature of the foulest sort. Marcel Tarascon had become a zombie lord! He describes the stormy night on which Jean brought Marcel to him about a month ago. Marcel was quite dead, torn apart by undead hands. “I retrieved a scroll from my small collection and attempted to raise poor Marcel,” Brucian continues, “but something went wrong. Marcel remained dead, and Jean cried out in anguish. He spirited away the corpse of his brother. That was the last I saw of Marcel, and the last time I saw Jean alive.” [b]Jeremiah d'Gris, Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Duncan d'Lute, Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Jordi, Ghoul:[/b] Jean Tarascon's servants have all become ghouls, turned into the foul creatures by eating carrion at the madman's insistence. To fully participate in Marcel's new state of existence, Jean has ordered the family servants to feast on dead human flesh as well. This has turned his servants into ghouls. [b]Teresa, Ghoul:[/b] Jean Tarascon's servants have all become ghouls, turned into the foul creatures by eating carrion at the madman's insistence. To fully participate in Marcel's new state of existence, Jean has ordered the family servants to feast on dead human flesh as well. This has turned his servants into ghouls. [b]Luc the Ghost:[/b] If Luc is killed anytime during the adventure, his ghost returns to haunt the PCs. [b]Zombie:[/b] Marcel Tarascon's odor of death. Marcel Tarascon's animate dead. [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] Jean Tarascon's servants have all become ghouls, turned into the foul creatures by eating carrion at the madman's insistence. To fully participate in Marcel's new state of existence, Jean has ordered the family servants to feast on dead human flesh as well. This has turned his servants into ghouls. [b]Ju-Ju Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Monster Zombie:[/b] ? In addition, the odor of death that surrounds Marcel affects all living beings who come within 30 yards of him. Characters must save vs. poison or suffer one of the following effects: 1d6 Roll Effect 1 Weakness (as the spell) 2 Cause Disease (as the spell) 3 –1 Point of Constitution 4 Contagion (as the spell) 5 Character unable to act for 1d4 rounds due to nausea and vomiting 6 Character dies instantly and becomes a zombie under zombie lord's control Three times per day, Marcel can cast animate dead to create zombies. By using this power on living beings, he can also turn them into zombies. In either case, the range of this innate power is 100 yards. If a living target fails a saving throw vs. death, he is instantly slain and rises in 1d4 rounds as a zombie under Marcel's control. (Marcel's ability to create zombies has been enhanced.)[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17495/RQ2-Thoughts-of-Darkness-2e?affiliate_id=17596]RQ2 Thoughts of Darkness[/URL][spoiler] [b]Lyssa Von Zarovich:[/b] Ironically, Lyssa shares some of Strahd's own fate: In order to better oppose him, she struck her own dark pact and murdered her fiance to honor it. [b]Vampire Mind Flayer:[/b] “Those monsters are the spawn of Von Zarovich.” Vampire illithids are the result of evil experiments that were meant to be terminated. They were first created by Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master Illithid of Bluetspur in an attempt to create a creature that could successfully convert the High Master into a vampire (conventional methods were not viable). When the hatchlings proved insane and completely uncontrollable, they were destroyed and thrown into the common water dump, where all victims of mind flayers are thrown after they expire. The vampire illithids regenerated, however, and were washed out of the mind flayer complex. Now they run free across the surface of the realm. [b]Remnant:[/b] The mind flayers throw the remains of their slaves into a watery pit when they die of exhaustion and abuse. The lack of a proper burial traps the remnants in these waters. Remnants are the spirits of humans and humanoids whose former bodies have been thrown into an unconsecrated, watery grave after they have died of acute stress and exhaustion. The callous way in which they have been disposed of after a torturous and miserable life leaves them in a state of such sorrow that they cannot completely leave the Prime Material plane behind, and they lurk in the pools and rivers where their bodies were abandoned. [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Strahd Von Zarovich:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17488/RR1-Darklords-2e?affiliate_id=17596]RR1 Darklords[/URL][spoiler] [b]Anhktepot, Lord of Har'Akir, Greater Mummy:[/b] Pharaoh Anhktepot ruled centuries ago in the great desert land of Har'Akir. The pharaoh, like most of his culture, was obsessed with death. The religion of the people revolved around death, and the pharaoh was the link between men and the gods. Anhktepot himself was a priest of Ra, the sun god. Anhktepot commanded his priests to find a way for him to live forever. Many slaves and prisoners died horribly as subjects in Anhktepot's gruesome experiments. Totally frustrated with the lack of success, the pharaoh had several temples burned and razed. He stalked into the Kharn temple, greatest of all in Har'Akir, and cursed the gods for not granting him his heart's desire. Ra, sun god and patron of the pharaohs, answered Anhktepot. He told the pharaoh that he would live even after death, though he might wish otherwise. Ra did not elaborate. Anhktepot left the temple elated but confused. He still did not know how to cheat death. That night, everyone he touched died. His wife, several servants, and his eldest child—all were dead. According to custom, they were mummified and entombed in great buildings in the desert. One day the priests rebelled against the pharaoh and murdered him in his sleep. The funeral lasted for a month. During it, Anhktepot was awake and helpless, trapped inside his own corpse. His mind screamed as they mummified his body. He was nearly insane when they entombed him. As the sun set, and Ra's power waned, the borders of Ravenloft seeped into the desert kingdom to steal away the tomb of Anhktepot and the nearby small village of Mudar. [b]Strahd:[/b] ? [b]Nephyr, Greater Mummy:[/b] Pharaoh Anhktepot ruled centuries ago in the great desert land of Har'Akir. The pharaoh, like most of his culture, was obsessed with death. The religion of the people revolved around death, and the pharaoh was the link between men and the gods. Anhktepot himself was a priest of Ra, the sun god. Anhktepot commanded his priests to find a way for him to live forever. Many slaves and prisoners died horribly as subjects in Anhktepot's gruesome experiments. Totally frustrated with the lack of success, the pharaoh had several temples burned and razed. He stalked into the Kharn temple, greatest of all in Har'Akir, and cursed the gods for not granting him his heart's desire. Ra, sun god and patron of the pharaohs, answered Anhktepot. He told the pharaoh that he would live even after death, though he might wish otherwise. Ra did not elaborate. Anhktepot left the temple elated but confused. He still did not know how to cheat death. That night, everyone he touched died. His wife, several servants, and his eldest child—all were dead. According to custom, they were mummified and entombed in great buildings in the desert. Soon the great pharaoh came to understand his curse. So long as Ra shone upon him, he was safe. But once he was no longer under the sun's watchful eye, whomever he touched died horribly. Shortly after the final ceremony of his wife's funeral, Anhktepot was visited in the night. A mummy wrapped in funeral linens entered his chambers. By the vestments he knew it was Nephyr. [b]The Banshee, Tristessa, Lord of Keening:[/b] Nearly all banshees were evil elves in life, but Tristessa was not born of an ordinary clan. She was a drow—a dark elf who lived underground with the rest of her black-hearted kind. Sages in Darkon say that a party of Arak's drow arose from the dark kingdom one night, dragging Tristessa and her child along with them. Arak's surface was then lush and green. That night, the sky was cold and clear, and the blades of grass shone like silver in the moon's light. Tristessa's captors staked her to the ground, and laid her child beside her. Then they abandoned the pair. Morning broke. As the sun climbed high in the sky, screams echoed across the landscape—screams so shrill that even the drow below could hear them. Tristessa and her infant could not survive the harsh rays. Mother and child dissolved into the wind, which rose, howling fiercely, and destroyed all life upon Arak's soil. The storm moved west, enveloping a nearby town with its fury. Then the town and storm disappeared, and Keening was formed. [b]The Beggar Woman, Unique Wight:[/b] She is undead, held here only by the strange bonds of Ravenloft. [b]The Beekeeper, Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Keening Crawling Claw:[/b] ? [b]Skeletal Rat:[/b] ? [b]Rotting Rat:[/b] ? [b]Lady Kateri Shadowborn, Geist:[/b] ? [b]Headless Horseman:[/b] Nearly every domain haunted by the Headless Horseman knows a different tale of his origin. In Falkovnia, some say the spirit was a victim of Drakov's men, wrongfully beheaded. In Barovia, they say he sliced off his own head rather than fall prey to one of Strahd's minions, who later gave the head to Strahd. In Borca, folk have the most specific tale, which they are sure is most true. Borcans say the Horseman was once a bard who had the misfortune of meeting Ivana Boritsi, the lord of Borca. Ivana invited him to her private baths (an offer he could not refuse). Unfortunately, she was in a fickle mood, and he was unable to entertain her. Inspired by the sickle shape of the moon, she had him beheaded, continuing her bath in his blood. The headless body, as the story continues, was cast into the river near Levkarest. (As to what Ivana did with the head, no one is sure.) The corpse floated downstream until it neared the road to Sturben, where it became lodged beneath a bridge. On the night of the next sickle moon, the body arose. [b]Heads:[/b] They are what became of the horseman's victims. [b]Medusa Head:[/b] ? [b]Maedar Head:[/b] ? [b]House of Lament:[/b] Perhaps Mara's spirit became one with the house, evolving from the tormented to the tormenter, until every timber and stone in the structure was the embodiment of evil. Or perhaps Mara still exists in the walls, alone and full of sorrow, and the house, wanting to comfort her, encourages the living to join her. For in many lands it is understood that only the warm blood and flesh of the living can ease the cold misery of the dead. The House of Lament is an entity of evil, of which the spirit that was Mara is only a part. How this came to be is not fully understood, yet some sages would say that the site was always a gathering point of malignancy and evil, even when Dranzorg first built his castle there. Then the malignancy only served to influence the mood of those within it. Mara's absorption was the catalyst that enabled it to grow. [b]Mara:[/b] When dawn's first light was on the horizon, Dranzorg released Mara from her prison. His men brought her to his chambers. "Did you know," he asked, "that an offering must be made to the gods to fortify a keep?" It was a custom in those lands to entomb a cat or a stag in the walls of a castle as it was built, in order to strengthen it and bring good fortune. Mara knew well of this custom. She did not answer, suspecting what Lord Dranzorg had in mind. As Dranzorg watched, his henchmen dragged Mara to the base of the tower, where the wall had been thickened on the inside. A small alcove with a bench lay open, cut back into the old wall, the opening flush with the new. Bravely, Mara cursed Dranzorg and his men, and proclaimed that her father would see her death avenged. Dranzorg was amused. He ordered that her finger be pricked with a sedative, so that she would not disturb the work to come. When she collapsed, his men placed her limp body on the bench in the alcove, and proceeded to seal the wall. Mara was entombed alive. By nightfall, her screams sounded throughout the castle. They continued through the night, and on through the days and nights to come. Each day, the men of the castle complained to Dranzorg, saying they could not bear the unholy noise, for surely the woman should have died in less than a day. Finally Dranzorg agreed. He personally opened the tomb. The screams subsided. No one lay within. [b]Baron Urik Von Kharkov, Nosferatu Vampire:[/b] Ulrik burned with hatred over the humiliation of being turned into an animal by Morphayus. It was in this frame of mind that he entered Darkon. There, an impoverished bard told Ulrik tales of the Kargat vampires. Lured by thoughts of immortality and dark power, Ulrik traveled to the city of Karg and sought out a vampire. Ulrik's dream of untold power and eternal life soon turned to ashes in his mouth. True, he became a vampire, but as an undead slave to his vampire master. Ulrik won immortality at the expense of his precious humanity. [b]Merilee Markuza:[/b] As the brigands were about to depart, one of them spotted the young girl. In terror, she turned and fled. Her tiny feet had not carried her a dozen yards before a pair of crossbow bolts brought her down. Certain that she was dead, the criminals collected the last of their spoils and rode off. Some time later, as the last of the child's vital energies were draining away, a dark figure came upon the wounded girl. The mysterious shadow seemed to move quickly over the scene of the murders, taking care to note something here or there. Merilee was too weak to call out for help, but managed a moan of pain. The stranger flashed to the side of the girl with supernatural speed. Over the course of the next few days, Merilee was to learn much about her "rescuer." The mysterious figure was a tall, slender woman named Keesla. Many years before, Keesla had become a vampire. When she found Merilee, the woman knew that there was no earthly way to save the girl's life. Seeing in the innocent child a striking resemblance to her own daughter who had died decades earlier, she decided that Merilee would not die. Bending over the wounded girl, Keesla began the process that would eventually transform Merilee into a vampire. [b]Keesla, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Tiyet, Mummy, Lord of Sebua:[/b] People of the Black Land believed that death was only a journey to another existence. In the afterlife, all would remain essentially as it had been before, provided one had been good and kind, provided one's heart had been true. This is the story of a woman for whom that cycle held no comfort. Because her heart had been fouled with misdeeds, she knew that only horrors would await her. Terrified of judgment, she sacrificed life and spirit to avoid it. In the end, she only condemned herself to a fate that was far worse. She became one of the living dead, a mummy whose beauty is everlasting, but whose heart and hope are lost forever. Tiyet returned to the temple and sought out Zordenahkt. She begged him to kill her, and perform the ceremony that would save her from terror in the Hall of Judgment. When Zordenahkt refused, she drew a dagger from her gown. Begging for the mercy of the god Apophis, she plunged the dagger into her chest. Deep within the temple, Zordenahkt performed the ceremony that she had desired. He bathed Tiyet's body in the precious oils of a nobleman's embalmer, reciting a common spell to preserve her beauty. Then he made an incision in her chest, and removed her heart. The idol of Apophis looked on, as it had looked on each day Tiyet and Zordenahkt met in his temple. It was a great, black serpent, made from cedarwood. Inlaid jewels and black glass served as its scales. Two rubies set in onyx were its eyes. Zordenahkt placed Tiyet's heart in a stone jar filled with oils. He placed the jar before his serpent god. The words he spoke offered Tiyet's heart in return for her safety from torment in the Underworld. Then he wrapped Tiyet's body in linen, and carried it to his own family tomb. There he poisoned himself with the venom of an asp, and laid down beside her to die. Tiyet rose the next night. She pulled the strips from her eyes, and saw the body of Zordenahkt beside her. Still wrapped in the linen swaddling of the dead, she crossed the desert and went to the estate of Khamose. Each heart within the house was audible to her, beating with a maddening pace. Loudest was the heart of Khamose, sounding like a drum, compelling her to seek it out. Tiyet stole into his room, silent as a shadow. She placed her hand upon his chest, and found that the heartbeat slowed. Khamose stirred, and his eyes opened wide. His mouth gaped, but before he could scream, Tiyet paralyzed him with her gaze. Then, even as he lived, she reached through his chest and drew out his heart. Tiyet placed the bloody mass to her red lips and swallowed it. The audible beating of the other hearts in the household stopped; satiated, she could hear them no longer. Tiyet returned to the tomb and lay down beside the still body of Zordenahkt. When she awoke, she was alone. She had become the lord of Sebua, a domain in Ravenloft. [b]Banshee:[/b] Nearly all banshees were evil elves in life. [b]Ghost:[/b] Ghosts of others the banshee has met on the mountain haunt the places of their demise. [b]Undead:[/b] ? [b]Greater Mummy:[/b] Pharaoh Anhktepot ruled centuries ago in the great desert land of Har'Akir. The pharaoh, like most of his culture, was obsessed with death. The religion of the people revolved around death, and the pharaoh was the link between men and the gods. Anhktepot himself was a priest of Ra, the sun god. Anhktepot commanded his priests to find a way for him to live forever. Many slaves and prisoners died horribly as subjects in Anhktepot's gruesome experiments. Totally frustrated with the lack of success, the pharaoh had several temples burned and razed. He stalked into the Kharn temple, greatest of all in Har'Akir, and cursed the gods for not granting him his heart's desire. Ra, sun god and patron of the pharaohs, answered Anhktepot. He told the pharaoh that he would live even after death, though he might wish otherwise. Ra did not elaborate. Anhktepot left the temple elated but confused. He still did not know how to cheat death. That night, everyone he touched died. His wife, several servants, and his eldest child—all were dead. According to custom, they were mummified and entombed in great buildings in the desert. Soon the great pharaoh came to understand his curse. So long as Ra shone upon him, he was safe. But once he was no longer under the sun's watchful eye, whomever he touched died horribly. Shortly after the final ceremony of his wife's funeral, Anhktepot was visited in the night. A mummy wrapped in funeral linens entered his chambers. By the vestments he knew it was Nephyr. He fled from her down the long halls of the palace. Finally she cornered him. Unable to talk, the mummy Nephyr tried to embrace Anhktepot. Horrified, he screamed for her to leave him forever. She turned and left. Nephyr walked into the desert and was never seen again. Her tomb remained open and empty. Anhktepot was also visited by the mummified bodies of the others whom he had killed. He came to understand that he controlled them utterly. They did his every bidding. He used their strength and his own touch of death to tighten the reigns of his evil power over Har'Akir. He killed many of the kingdom's priests, making them his undead slaves. Any character who is mummified alive while infected by Anhktepot's rotting disease becomes a greater mummy under the control of Anhktepot. [b]Mummy:[/b] Any character who is mummified alive while infected by Anhktepot's rotting disease becomes a greater mummy under the control of Anhktepot. If you don't have the RAVENLOFT Monstrous Compendium appendix, just make his minions regular mummies. Tiyet sometimes creates new mummies, using the bodies of her victims. Death alone does not create them; she must mummify them in the common manner. At her disposal are the vats and supplies in an embalmer's house, which lies on the outskirts of Anhalla. [b]Zombie:[/b] The phantom can also animate the dead, who will claw their way out of the earth to grasp the ankles of passersby, and then slowly rise up to attack, like common zombies. [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Nosferatu Vampire:[/b] Anyone who dies from being drained by Baron von Kharkov becomes a nosferatu vampire.[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17489/RR2-Book-of-Crypts-2e?affiliate_id=17596]RR2 Book of Crypts[/URL][spoiler] [b]Vampire Nosferatu Fighter 6, Dante Lysin:[/b] During one midnight battle, a nosferatu drained Dante dry and he died. Shortly after, Dante’s slayer was killed, but not before Dante fell under the vampiric curse. [b]Dara, Ghost:[/b] One year ago, Baggs decided to grow alfalfa on several acres of unused land to compete with the farm at Location 8. The girl was hired to tend the alfalfa and chase away birds in the fields. As harvest time approached, she was killed when the Malar worshiper set the field on fire. Her charred body lies in the prairie grasses, and her ghost now haunts the field. “I am Dara, and I was killed,” the ghost wails in hauntingly beautiful tones that waft over the barren field. “I was killed by an evil man who sought to ruin this field. Alfalfa and a dark god filled his life, and for that I was killed. I now search for my murderer so that I can rest.” [b]Nightblood, Kael Norbin of Thay, Lich 20:[/b] When the local villagers began to hunt him down, Kael decided to become a lich and join his love in death. The night that he carried out this plan, the mists rolled in. [b]Zombie Common:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17492/RR4-Islands-of-Terror-2e?affiliate_id=17596]RR4 Islands of Terror[/URL][spoiler] [b]Torrence Bleysmith:[/b] Count Rupert Bleysmith declared war on the neighboring duchy of Avergne, a land of infidels and heathens. He called upon his children and his retainers to gather together the army. He traveled the country searching for support among the other nobles. He left Sir August in charge of affairs while he was away. Torrence, enraged at this perceived slight to himself, cast about wrathfully for some means of exacting revenge on his father and his elder brother. At last, he settled on a plan that would allow him to soothe his wounded pride. He began to sell the secrets of Staunton Bluffs to Commander Pierre Willis of the Avergnites in the hope that they would slay August during a raid. August, however, was as adept at evading the traps as Torrence was, and it soon became clear to Torrence that he would have to personally oversee the murder of August. Even when he passed along the castle plans for the Avergnite assassins, they blundered and failed miserably. Meanwhile, Torrence hid his feelings about August's superiority remarkably well and acted as August's chief advisor. August came to trust his brother in all things, seeing that Torrence had matured far more fully than he believed possible. Eventually, Torrence arranged for the Avergnites to raid along the Staunton border, knowing that August had no choice but to personally repel the marauders. He suggested the best battle plans to his older brother, who agreed to follow them faithfully. That night, Torrence sent a dispatch to Willis telling him of his brother's location and how the Avergnites could best remove him from this position. That next morning, August and some of Staunton's finest men rode straight into the Avergnite ambush. They hardly had a chance to draw their swords before they went down under a hail of arrows. Their blood spilled into the earth, turning it into a pasty, red mud. The Avergnites were heady with their victory over the hated Sir August Bleysmith. They rode even farther into Staunton, burning and pillaging everything in sight, contrary to the agreement with Torrence. Torrence, aghast at their duplicity, attempted to turn back the tide of invaders, but it was too late. The Avergnites overran all the Stauntonian positions, slaughtering all the citizens they came upon. Willis and his men eventually arrived at the Bleysmith Estate and laid siege to Castle Stonecrest. Since Torrence had stupidly provided the maps of the castle, it fell easily to the invaders. So did the Bleysmith family, nearly alone in their estate, abandoned by most of their retainers. Only Torrence escaped, hiding in the privy until the besiegers had gone. When he emerged, smeared with filth, he discovered the looted house in ruins around him. The defiled bodies of his family lay strewn about the estate like broken dolls. At the sight of his ancestral home violated like some commoner's house, Torrence broke down in a fit of grief, rage, and guilt. Had August survived the attack, the Avergnites would never have been able to advance this far. Torrence knew he would have to live with the knowledge that he had caused the downfall of Staunton Bluffs and the death of his family. He retreated to the forests of Staunton to plot his revenge and vent his grief. He hoped to atone for his mistake by avenging the destruction of his family. Since he had studied some magic when he was younger, he was familiar with certain blasphemous rituals that would enable him to channel his anger. In his pride and wrath, he did not pause to consider the implications of his intended course. At midnight of the fall equinox, the last Bleysmith began his sacrilege. With great workings of magic and dark promises, Torrence laid a massive spell on the surviving inhabitants of Staunton. When the citizens arose the next misty morning, they felt compelled to take up whatever weapons they had available. En masse, they marched on the army of Avergne. Bleysmith, full of vanity, watched his makeshift army surprise the force of Avergnites. Torrence had been sure that his people could crush the army, since there were so many more of them and they had the advantage of surprise. However, the Avergnites recovered from their initial shock much more quickly than anyone could have suspected. They slaughtered the subservient Stauntonians. The earth ran with the blood of guiltless citizens, the cries of the innocents echoing weirdly through the fog. By now, half-crazed with shame and remorse, Sir Torrence Bleysmith hanged himself in the burnt shell of Castle Stonecrest. His dying thoughts were of revenge, hatred, and guilt. As his life faded from existence, so did the surrounding area. The restfulness of natural death did not claim Torrence Bleysmith, however, for Ravenloft had other plans for him. His past, tainted as it was with pride, treachery, and disregard for human life, earned him a place in the demiplane. Weeks after he hanged himself, flashes of reality and memory interrupted the utter blackness of oblivion in which Torrence dwelt. These glimmers grew longer and longer until at last they melded completely into a gray-washed, horrifying reality. His worst nightmares became his reality. Sir Torrence Bleysmith had become a ghost, doomed to wander the halls of his castle and the woodlands of his domain. His rage and treachery combined with other darker forces to bring him back to a terrible unlife. He would see all that he once held sacred torn away and destroyed. [b]Skeleton:[/b] This was the main forge for the county of Staunton, the finest for miles. It contains those things common to a smithy including two anvils, hammers, trenches, and a good supply of iron. There are some finely crafted blades lying in the soot, held firm in the death grasp of the smith and his apprentices. If anyone tries to take the swords, the smith and his helpers return from the peace of the grave to defend their best work. [b]Ghast:[/b] The guards are the incorporeal forms of the few soldiers who remained loyal to him after his treacherous betrayal of his own countrymen. [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] The most dangerous prisoners were housed in these cells where the jailers could catch their mischief more quickly. Each of these cells contains a zombie wandering about constantly. [b]Spectre:[/b] The spirits of the Bleysmith family float through this room in a stately, eternal dance. [b]Skeleton Horse:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Sea:[/b] Sea zombies, also known as drowned ones, are the animated corpses of humans who died at sea. Although similar to land-dwelling zombies, they are free-willed and are rumored to be animated by the very forces that hold Ravenloft together.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16878/Ruined-Kingdoms-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Ruined Kingdoms[/URL][spoiler] [b]Raja al-Sadiq Abdul-Tisan, The Audacious Thunderer, Breaker of the Forbidden Seal, The First to be Summoned, Lich 15th Level Human Wizard Sha'ir:[/b] Months later, her task complete, Tisan was glad she had expended the effort to experiment with Raja. Of course, Tisan had made some minor mistakes and the sha'ir had to be slain a few more times than strictly necessary, but in the end Tisan still considered her research a complete success. [b]Adil, Revenant:[/b] The unfortunate bearer of the seal is seemingly cursed. He cannot lose the seal or give it away, for it magically returns to his person the moment he ceases to concentrate upon it. Furthermore, if at any time Adil is slain, the seal resurrects him as many times as he has points of Constitution. Thereafter, Adil becomes a revenant or any other form of undead the DM finds appropriate. [b]Adil, Undead:[/b] The unfortunate bearer of the seal is seemingly cursed. He cannot lose the seal or give it away, for it magically returns to his person the moment he ceases to concentrate upon it. Furthermore, if at any time Adil is slain, the seal resurrects him as many times as he has points of Constitution. Thereafter, Adil becomes a revenant or any other form of undead the DM finds appropriate. [b]Zombie:[/b] Not to be left shorthanded, after the battle was over and the flesh of vanquished enemies devoured, Anaiz animated the human forms of the slain segarrans, turning them into guardians of the main entrance and outer temple ward.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17340/Sea-of-Blood-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Sea of Blood[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Velya, Marine Vampire:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16796/Sea-of-Fallen-Stars-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Sea of Fallen Stars[/URL][spoiler] [b]Zombie Sea:[/b] Drowned ones, or sea zombies as they are sometimes better known, are the wretched remains of some few of those ill-fated men lost at sea or drowned in a storm or other mishap. Unlike “normal” undead, drowned ones need not be animated by a spellcaster; some unknown force brings them to unlife. [b]Skeleton:[/b] While some may be guardians of some site left by wizards, they are more often simply the still animated skeleton of a drowned one whose flesh became too rotted and putrid to remain attached to the bones.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17520/Servants-of-Darkness-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Servants of Darkness[/URL][spoiler] [b]Goblin Vampire:[/b] This ring of regeneration once belonged to the hags, but it was lost when an unusually brave goblin sneaked into their cottage and stole it. In order to punish the thief, the hags put a curse on their treasure. Goblin vampires are created only by the unique curse placed on items stolen from the Three Sisters of Tepest. Anyone who carries the item gradually becomes a goblin vampire. The transformation takes twenty hours to complete. If the item is discarded before the change is concluded, the character stops changing. He does not, however, revert to normal. [b]Aroun, Geist:[/b] He suffered a fatal stab wound to the heart, but the trauma of his death has tied him to the world of the living. [b]Umbra:[/b] The umbra are undead shadow elves that dwell in the domain of Keening. Their devotion to Tristessa was so great in life that they continue to serve her long after death. [b]Wraith-Spider:[/b] ? [b]Dark Lord of Keening, Tristessa, Banshee:[/b] Tristessa was a powerful shadow elf priestess of Lloth in the now-lost domain of Arak. She was staked out above the surface with her newborn baby by Prince Loht for leading this outlawed religion. Exposure to the sun killed both mother and child, but Tristessa’s spirit was absorbed into the Mists, and the dark powers granted her the small, domain of Keening.[/spoiler] [URL=http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/216643/Spellbound-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Spellbound[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Dread Warrior:[/b] Dread warriors are enhanced undead created by the Thayan Zulkir of Necromancy, Szass Tam. Similar to zombies, dread warriors must be created immediately after death so that they retain at least minimal intelligence. They must be created from the body of a fighter of at least 4th level, dead for less than a day. [i]Animate Dread Warrior[/i] spell. [b]Ghoul:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. [b]Skeleton:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. [b]Wight:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. [b]Wraith:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. [b]Zombie:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. Animate Dread Warrior (Necromancy) Range: Touch Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 turn Area of Effect: One creature Saving Throw: None This spell creates an undead creature known as a dread warrior. The spell requires the corpse of a fighter of at least 4th level who has been dead for less than one full day. After casting, the corpse rises as a dread warrior under the control of the spell's caster. Unlife (Necromancy) Range: Touch Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 8 Area of Effect: One creature Saving Throw: Negates Used only by evil wizards, this spell enables the caster to transform a single victim into an undead creature under his or her control. The caster touches the subject, who must then save vs. death magic. If the save fails, the subject instantly dies and is transformed into an undead creature under the control of the caster. The exact type of undead depends upon the level of the victim. Individuals of levels 1-3 become skeletons (50%) or zombies (50%). Those of levels 4-6 become ghouls, those of levels 7-8 become wights, and those of level 9 or higher become wraiths. Using this spell, the caster can control a number of undead creatures equal to his or her level. The material component of this spell is dirt from a freshly dug grave.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17263/Spelljammer-Adventures-in-Space-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Spelljammer: Adventures in Space[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ephemeral:[/b] Ephemerals are noncorporeal undead believed to be the spirits of individuals who have died in the phlogiston. The touch of the ephemeral inflicts 1-4 points of damage and reduces the victim 's Intelligence by 1-2 points. Should the damage inflicted by an ephemeral kill a sentient humanoid, the latter will become an ephemeral in 2-8 days. The origin of the ephemerals is a mystery. They might be the remains of a race of beings who managed to crack their crystal shell, letting the phlogiston into their sphere. Whatever their origin, they have propagated by preying on intelligent creatures that pass through the Flow. [b]Ghast Double Normal Hit Dice:[/b] ? [b]Mind Flayer Wight:[/b] ? [b]Undead:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] These creatures are rare in space, as they are usually the result of intricate burial procedures. These procedures are followed by some subcults of Ptah, so there are mummies in all the Known Spheres. [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Juju Zombie:[/b] Those humanoids affected by the wizardly energy drain spell. [b]Monster Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] Mind flayers and other monstrous creatures are not immune to a vampire's energy drain, but do not turn into vampires upon being slain. [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Vecna, Lich:[/b] ?[/spoiler] Slavers [spoiler] [b]Bone Colossus:[/b] Once per month, if the caster has access to twenty skeletons that he or she animated. the Bone Wheel of Nebirkors can cause the skeletons to fuse together into a larger undead entity called a bone colossus. [/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139188/The-Awakening-2e?affiliate_id=17596]The Awakening (2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Crypt Cat:[/b] Crypt cats begin life as pampered pets or as sacred animals of a cat-worshiping cult. Their bodies are placed in tombs beside those of their owners or beside a priest or priestess of the cult, so that their spirits might accompany that person into the afterlife. They will fight until destroyed to defend this former master. They will also rise from their sarcophagi to defend their tomb against desecration or robbery. The composition of the clay that animates a crypt cat is unknown, although it is assumed that high-level necromancy spells are involved. [b]Crypt Cat Large:[/b] Sometimes the bodies of larger felines are made into crypt cats. [b]Sachmet, Mummy:[/b] As the tomb neared completion, the families of those who had died appealed to the followers of Set for aid, and that secret society quietly and efficiently arranged Sachmet's death. The next time Sachmet chose a man to "play with" in her private chambers, she unwittingly picked Kematef, a priest of Set who had been instructed to call attention to himself by harming one of the sacred cats. Kematef, whose teeth had been hollowed out, pretended to seduce Sachmet and then bit her neck, injecting her with a deadly poison. Because Set was a more powerful deity than Bast, Sachmet could not be cured—she died before nightfall. Sachmet was carefully embalmed and laid to rest in the unfinished tomb, but the servants of Set were not finished with her. To prevent Sachmet from rising from her tomb, they placed a minor artifact—the staff of Set—at the entrance of the tomb, effectively forcing Sachmet into an eternal slumber and sealing her inside. As Set's minions crept away, a mist began to rise around the giant statue. All through the night it deepened. The next morning, when the mist cleared, Sachmet's tomb had vanished without trace. As a high priestess of Bast, Sachmet was granted nine lives by the cat goddess. The first was her mortal life. To prepare Sachmet for her next eight incarnations, the priestesses of Bast embalmed her body with clays mixed with special oils and potions, using spells to make their effects permanent. This process sealed her ba (the portion of the soul that contains a person's physical vitality) inside her body. They then stored her ka (the portion of the soul that contains a person's mental vitality) inside magical canopic thought jars. But the worshippers of Set had one final trick to play. Secretly, they slipped dust of dryness into one of the embalming oils. As a result, Sachmet's flesh shrivelled on her bones as the water leeched from her body. Hence, Sachmet is an emaciated corpse. Her flesh is shriveled like dried fruit and her bones are visible through parchment-yellow skin. Her hair clings in dark clumps to her scalp and her eyes are dried to husks. When she moves, her bones make a faint grinding noise. Her neck bears two puncture marks, a legacy of the attack by the priest of Set. Sachmet will rise from her tomb a total of eight times before she can be laid to rest permanently. [b]Sachmet, Mummy First Awakening:[/b] ? [b]Sachmet, Mummy Second Awakening:[/b] Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. [b]Sachmet, Mummy Third Awakening:[/b] Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. [b]Sachmet, Mummy Fourth Awakening:[/b] Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. [b]Sachmet, Mummy Fifth Awakening:[/b] Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. [b]Sachmet, Mummy Sixth Awakening:[/b] Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. [b]Sachmet, Mummy Seventh Awakening:[/b] Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. [b]Sachmet, Mummy Eighth Awakening:[/b] Each time Sachmet is reduced to 0 hit points, her body crumbles to dust and her ba flies back to her tomb, where a new body forms inside her sarcophagus for it to enter. This body is identical in appearance to each of her previous undead bodies. It requires 1d4 turns to form. [b]Skeletal Mummy:[/b] When the tomb was nearing completion, those who had crafted its traps and constructed its tunnels were drowned here. The bones of nearly 50 stone masons, carpenters, and artists now molder under the brackish water. The skeletons—actually skeletal mummies— rise up from their watery tomb to seek vengeance against those who murdered them. Unfortunately, the skeletons are no longer able to distinguish one human from the next. [b]Zombie Monster Tiger:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Monster Cat:[/b] ? [b]Kematef, Odem:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17512/The-Evil-Eye-2e?affiliate_id=17596]The Evil Eye[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Apparition:[/b] ? [b]Leyla, 2nd-Magnitude Ghost:[/b] When she was alive, Leyla was a nurturing wife, but death robbed her of a chance to be a mother. The karmic resonance of her dying, augmented by Raul's violin of passion, brought some part of her back as a ghost. The ghost is more a twisted embodiment of Raul's grief, memory, and passion than an accurate representation of Leyla when she was alive. She is a pale echo of her former self. [b]Corpse Candle:[/b] ? [b]Geist:[/b] ? [b]Odem:[/b] ? [b]Lord Soth:[/b] ? [b]Count Strahd von Zarovich:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17519/The-Forgotten-Terror-2e?affiliate_id=17596]The Forgotten Terror[/URL][spoiler] [b]Marble, Banshee, Fifth Magnitude Ghost:[/b] On the horrible night years ago when Marble’s life blood spewed onto Kartak’s reconstructed corpse, she willed herself to avenge her murder So strong was her hatred of the lich Kartak and her brother Chardath, so powerful was her will, that she actually recreated herself into a unique ghost of tremendous power. [b]Kartak Spellseer, “The All-Seeing”, Lich:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17513/The-Gothic-Earth-Gazetteer-2e?affiliate_id=17596]The Gothic Earth Gazetteer[/URL][spoiler] [b]Sitting Bull, Ghost:[/b] What if the ghosts of Sitting Bull and his followers returned to exact vengeance on the men who slaughtered them? The most common belief is simply that the ghosts of Sitting Bull and his people remain near the area where they were killed. Without a doubt, numerous reports of spectral beings, mysterious sounds, and unexplained deaths can be confirmed near Wounded Knee. Sitting Bull was certainly dedicated to his cause, and if ever there were a man with the passion to sustain himself after death, it was the great Sitting Bull. It is impossible to say at this time whether the forces haunting Wounded Knee are aspects of Sitting Bull and his followers—spirits called into existence by the power of their ghost dances—or an unrelated phenomenon whose manifestation at this time and place is utterly unrelated to the massacre of the Sioux people. [b]Ghost:[/b] What if the ghosts of Sitting Bull and his followers returned to exact vengeance on the men who slaughtered them? The most common belief is simply that the ghosts of Sitting Bull and his people remain near the area where they were killed. Without a doubt, numerous reports of spectral beings, mysterious sounds, and unexplained deaths can be confirmed near Wounded Knee. Sitting Bull was certainly dedicated to his cause, and if ever there were a man with the passion to sustain himself after death, it was the great Sitting Bull. It is impossible to say at this time whether the forces haunting Wounded Knee are aspects of Sitting Bull and his followers—spirits called into existence by the power of their ghost dances—or an unrelated phenomenon whose manifestation at this time and place is utterly unrelated to the massacre of the Sioux people. During the days of the race to build the transcontinental railroad, many lives were lost to accidents and mishaps. Not all of these souls rest easily in their graves. [b]Count Dracula:[/b] ? [b]Banshee:[/b] ? [b]Crawling Claw:[/b] ? [b]Crypt Thing:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Haunt:[/b] ? [b]Heucuva:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Living Wall:[/b] ? [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Mummy Greater:[/b] ? [b]Poltergeist:[/b] ? [b]Revenant:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Giant:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Warrior:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Baneguard:[/b] ? [b]Blazing Bones:[/b] ? [b]Crypt Servant:[/b] ? [b]Dread:[/b] ? [b]Flameskull:[/b] ? [b]Lich Psionic:[/b] ? [b]Naga Bone:[/b] ? [b]Spectral Wizard:[/b] ? [b]Tuyewera:[/b] ? [b]Undead Lake Monster:[/b] ? [b]Agarat:[/b] ? [b]Dark Hood:[/b] ? [b]Gray Philosopher:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Velya:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Lightning:[/b] ? [b]Dhaot:[/b] ? [b]Kaisharga:[/b] ? [b]Krag:[/b] ? [b]Kragling:[/b] ? [b]Meorty:[/b] ? [b]Raaig:[/b] ? [b]Racked Spirit:[/b] ? [b]Undead:[/b] ? [b]Wraith Athasian:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Thinking:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17526/The-Nightmare-Lands-2e?affiliate_id=17596]The Nightmare Lands[/URL][spoiler] [b]Lost Soul:[/b] Lost souls are the animated mortal remains of wanderers who die in the Nightmare Lands. When a wanderer dies in the Terrain Between, there is a chance (40%) that the innate power of the land will cause the remains to rise as a zombie-like being called a lost soul. Once a lost soul is created, it immediately searches for others of its undead kind. When it finds them, it merges with them to become a single entity made up of the tangled, rotting bodies of many dead wanderers. A wanderer who dies in a dreamscape has a chance (60%) to become a somewhat different type of lost soul. A lost soul animated in a dreamscape is more insubstantial, more ghostlike. Like the zombie lost soul, the dream lost soul seeks out others of its kind and merges to form a mass of writhing, moaning spirits. [b]The Ghost Dancer:[/b] As her name implies, she is an incorporeal creature who now searches the nightmares of the living in an effort to understand her own death. [b]Shadow:[/b] Shadow asps are 1-foot-long coils of shadow. Their bite can turn victims into shadows. Shadow Asp shadow poison (Save vs. poison or become shadow in 5 rounds). [b]Sea Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.dmsguild.com/product/16958/The-Rjurik-Highlands-2e?affiliate_id=17596]The Rjurik Highlands[/URL][spoiler] [b]Spectral Scion:[/b] A spectral scion is the spirit of a bloodtheft victim who was killed with a tighmaevril weapon. Not all people killed in such a manner become spectral scions, but those who do relive daily the horror of losing their bloodlines; they spend eternity attempting to find peace. Because grief over their lost birthright fuels their existence, spectral scions often haunt their former domains. These spirits are not, however, confined to their former domains. [b]Njalgrim, Spectral Scion:[/b] Njalgrim was slain by a bloodsilver weapon, leaving his spirit unable to find peace. [b]Hrothwulf, Skeleton Warrior:[/b] The horrifying creature from the center mound is Hrothwulf, now transformed into a warrior skeleton by the various curses he accumulated during his wicked life. Once a powerful, dangerous warlord, Hrothwulf raided and pillaged this region of Hogunmark, wielding the sword Kinharrower, a weapon whose evil nature invariably corrupted its user. Today, his evil nature has kept him bound to the land, surviving as an undead creature. [b]Skeleton:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17482/The-Shadow-Rift-2e?affiliate_id=17596]The Shadow Rift[/URL][spoiler] [b]Crimson Bones:[/b] These gruesome undead monsters are created when a human being (or similar demihuman) is flayed alive by an evil Arak. Usually, they are created by the ranks of the powrle and teg. [b]Saugh Dearg-Due:[/b] The saugh are an army of the dead created by Loht, Prince of the Sith, to serve him when he moves against the lands of mankind. [b]Saugh Gossamer:[/b] ? [b]Rushlight:[/b] In death, one of these poor men became a vengeful rushlight. Unwilling to give up his battle against those who attacked Briggdarrow, this flaming spirit seeks to destroy any intruders who come near his body. [b]Corpse Candle:[/b] For the briefest fraction of a second, you notice a flickering light In the eyes of the dead man. Then, suddenly, these embers bloom Into the grim features of an elvish countenance which laughs mockingly at you. A brief wave of nausea washes over you, and you suddenly find yourself standing face to face with a lanky warrior clad in a kilt and wielding a flashing scimitar. Hts features are angular and sharp, not unlike those of an elf, but of a more sinister cast. Hts laughter; cold and derisive. mixes with screams of terror and agony in the distance. You lash out with an axe that you did not realize you were holding. Although your attacker avoids the blow, the blade smashes one of the hinges on the door through which the elf has just entered. With a sharp crack, the hinge gives way, and the door falls to an odd angle. The elf laughs even harder at your pitiful attack. He draws back his scimitar and drives it forward, running you through. A burning pain spreads out from the wound. With a gasp. you fall to your knees and then topple forward, your face slapping the wooden floor which Is already slick with your own blood. Sobs escape your lips, and everything goes black. Suddenly, you are again leaning over the body of the slain tailor. a little bit dizzy but presumably none the worse for the wear. [b]Kristov, Wight:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Banshee:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Radiant Spirit:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Spirit Psionic:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Banedead:[/b] ? [b]Baneguard:[/b] ? [b]Blazing Bones:[/b] ? [b]Boneless:[/b] ? [b]Coffer Corpse:[/b] ? [b]Dread Warrior:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Heucuva:[/b] ? [b]Revenant:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Archer:[/b] ? [b]Son of Kyuss:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Cannibal:[/b] ? [b]Zombie Strahd:[/b] ? [b]Bastellus:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL='http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17391/Tome-of-Magic-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']Tome of Magic[/URL][spoiler] [b]Skeleton:[/b] [i]Undead Plague[/i] spell. Undead Plague (Necromancy) Quest Spell Sphere: Necromantic Range: 1 mile Duration: Special Casting Time: 2 rounds Area of Effect: 100-yard square/level Saving Throw: None By means of this potent spell, the priest summons many ranks of skeletons to do his bidding. The skeletons are formed from any and all humanoid bones within the area of effect. The number of skeletons depends on the terrain in the area of effect; a battlesite or graveyard will yield 10 skeletons per 100 square yards; a long-inhabited area will yield three skeletons per 100 square yards; and wilderness will yield one skeleton per 100 square yards. The spell's maximum area of effect is 10,000 square yards. Thus, no more than 1,000 skeletons can be summoned by this spell. The skeletons created by this spell are turned as zombies and remain in existence until destroyed or willed out of existence by the priest who created them. [/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17531/Van-Richtens-Monster-Hunters-Compendium-Vol-1-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium Vol. 1[/URL][spoiler] [b]Vampire:[/b] From still another place, called Oerth, a man has told me of a family curse that causes the firstborn male in every twelfth generation to rise after death to drink the blood of the family unless the body is burned at burial. How did vampirism begin? If new vampires are spawned by other vampires, as virtually all tales would have us believe, how then was the first vampire created? These questions have plagued sages as long as the undead monsters themselves have plagued mankind. Perhaps the answer lies in Barovia. According to most tales, a vampire can create another simply by killing a mortal either with its life-energy draining power or by exhausting the mortal of his or her blood supply. If the victim's body is not properly destroyed, it arises as a vampire, under the control of the creature who killed it, on the second night after burial. This method is, thankfully, exceptionally rare. The saliva of certain vampires contains various necrological substances. First among these is a slow-acting but highly lethal poison. A single bite from a vampire can inject enough toxin to kill a robust warrior. Unlike most poisons, however, this toxin does not kill the subject for several days. Few people make the connection between the vampire bite and the victim's collapse, hence the body is quite likely to be buried improperly. Meanwhile within the dead body of the victim, other necrological agents from the vampire's saliva are having their effect. Several nights after the victim's death, he or she comes to consciousness as a vampire. A character bitten by this type of vampire is entitled to a saving throw vs. poison. It is best if the DM makes this roll secretly, If the save is successful, the victim suffers only 2d4 points of damage; should this be enough to kill the victim on the spot, he or she won't rise as a vampire. If the character fails the save, 2d4 days later he or she will suffer sudden heart failure and drop instantly and painlessly dead. Within 1d4 days of burial the character will rise as a Fledgling vampire. under the control of its killer. Some vampires have the ability to cast a special version of the unique priest spell, divine curse, once per day at most (DM's choice). The effects of this curse are always the same. Should the victim fail a saving throw vs. spell, every time the sun rises thereafter he or she loses 1 point of Strength. When the victim reaches 0 Strength, he or she dies and will rise as a vampire under the control of the monster who cast the curse. Some of the monsters also have the dread ability to impart vampirism via a curse. With their voice and their gaze they are able to afflict a victim with a terrible wasting disease that drains the body's strength. After a number of days, the victim dies and then rises as a vampire the second night after burial. The only means of saving the victim known to me is to destroy the cursing vampire before the victim Finally succumbs. Of course, the body can be destroyed to prevent it from rising, but this is obviously too late to help the victim. In general, any victim brought to death by any draining effects of a vampire, but not by normal combat or spell damage, is a candidate to become undead. Where does this symbolic equivalency arise from? Some sages believe that it is a jest of the ancient and evil deities who originally set vampires loose upon the worlds of the universe. Others hold that a parallel arises from the very nature of reality; in other words, we know that evil preys upon good, and vampires vindicate this axiom on the supernatural level. A young, naive man, raised in a sheltered and privileged family, was slain by a vampire passing through the neighborhood. An intrepid vampire hunter was slain by one of the creatures she so tenaciously hunted: her colleagues immediately destroyed the monster that killed her. For whatever reason, these colleagues neglected to take the precautions to prevent the woman from rising as a vampire. A man of good alignment was killed by a vampire, and became a vampire himself under the control of his dark master. [b]Baron Metus:[/b] ? [b]Erasmus Van Richten, Vampire:[/b] The Baron was a vampire, and he had passed on that dark gift to my only son! [b]Krynn Sea Elf Vampire:[/b] I have recorded tales of a place called Krynn, and a race of sea elves who claim that if one of their race is buried on land, it will rise from the dead to seek vengeance on its brothers by drinking their blood. [b]Strahd von Zarovich, Vampire:[/b] The gift-or curse-of immortality was not thrust upon Strahd von Zarovich, Lord of Barovia, by another vampire; rather, he stole it from the lips of death. I quote the following text from the diary of the bard Gregorri Kolyan, who supposedly was captured by Strahd only to be released sometime later with the complete story of the creature. I do not know why Strahd allowed Gregorri to leave with this vital information. Perhaps the vampire felt a need to have his story told after years of exile and secrecy. By Strahd’s account, the battle was fierce and will make for a great song, should I live to compose it. Both men were excellent swordsmen-Strahd from his years as a general and the officer from his constant training. Yet Strahd’s madness gave him the edge, and he finally struck down the officer . . . but not before he himself had taken a wound that would have slain a lesser man instantly. Strahd von Zarovich was as good as dead. In his mind he knew that, but his hatred and rage would not allow his failing body peace. As the lifeblood poured from his body, Strahd made a pact with Death. He reached over, grabbed the dead guardsman, and drank the blood of the corpse. Strahd would now live free from Death forever; cheating that dark and shadowy figure! But the pact required another act to be complete. He would have to kill his brother Sergei on his wedding day to finally seal the wicked contract. Strahd hid the guard’s body, awaiting Sergei’s wedding day. As the time passed, Strahd found his charade more and more difficult to maintain. The daylight hours were becoming increasingly uncomfortable and the naked rays of the sun physically painful to his eyes and skin. He also found it difficult to eat food, which hardly satisfied his hunger. The transformation to whatever creature Death had in mind for him was beginning. On the day of the wedding Strahd sought out Sergei and instigated a fight, intending in this way to give himself some justification for killing the young man. Strahd expected his young and fit brother to be a challenge to defeat, but quickly found that his physical strength had increased far beyond its previous limit. With but a single, cruel blow Strahd felled his brother and his pact with Death was complete. Strahd von Zarovich had become a vampire. [b]Dwarven Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Mature Vampire:[/b] 100 years as a vampire. [b]Old Vampire:[/b] 200 years as a vampire. [b]Very Old Vampire:[/b] 300 years as a vampire. [b]Ancient Vampire:[/b] 400 years as a vampire. [b]Eminent Vampire:[/b] 500 years as a vampire. [b]Patriarch Vampire:[/b] 1,000 years as a vampire. [b]Jarmin, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Batlas, Vampire:[/b] The thick mist appeared without warning, seeming to rise from the ground like a foul exhalation. At first we paid it little mind; at night, ground fogs are fairly common. But then we noticed how the fog was moving, swirling toward us even though there was no wind to drive it. What could we do? How can you fight a fog? It was then that the leading tendril wrapped itself around Batlas, our scout. Poor Batlas screamed, screamed as though his soul was being torn from his mortal body. And then he collapsed lifeless into the mire. Little did we think we would ever see Batlas again. . . . [b]Zombie:[/b] I once faced a flesh golem who had the ability to animate any corpse it touched. The creature seemed to revel in animating the freshly killed bodies of its foes, and I remember with great sadness having to strike down the animated body of one of my companions in the very same battle in which he was killed. The animated corpses were not golems, of course, but some sort of lesser undead creatures. [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Bride/Groom:[/b] Creating a bride or groom, although seemingly a simple process, requires an exhausting exercise of much power by the creating vampire. For this reason, only vampires of advanced age and capability can even assay this procedure. A bride or groom can be created only by a vampire of age category Ancient or greater, and not even all of those are capable of doing so. The first step requires that the vampire find an appropriate mortal to be the bride. (Note: With apologies to the feminine gender, I shall use the term “bride” and the pronouns “she” and “her” to refer to both brides and grooms, Unless otherwise specified, there are no restrictions or differences in the procedure based on the sex of either the vampire or the victim.) usually this problem solves itself. Very rare is the vampire who decides in isolation, “I will make a bride,” and then seeks out a mortal to fill the bill. In the vast majority of cases, the process occurs in the reverse order. The vampire is drawn emotionally to the mortal and decides, because of the strength of this emotion, to make her his bride. The nature of this emotion can vary widely. It may simply be hormonal lust (after all, the physiological systems related to such effects in mortals are still present, and sometimes still functional, in vampires). It may be an obsession dating from the days before the vampire became what he now is, as is the case with Strahd von Zarovich's obsession with women who resemble his lost Tatyana. In these cases, the vampire creates its bride in cold blood, for the sole purpose of satisfying its own desires. Sometimes, however, the emotion may be close to what mortals classify as love. The happiness of the vampire becomes tied up with the prospective bride, and its well-being depends on hers. In these cases, the vampire might actually believe it is bestowing a gift when it turns the mortal into its bride—the gift of freedom from aging and death. To actually create the bride, the vampire bestows what is known as the “Dark Kiss.” It samples the blood of its mortal paramour—once, twice, thrice—draining her almost to the point of death. This process causes the subject no pain; in fact it has been described as the most euphoric, ecstatic experience, in comparison to which all other pleasures fade into insignificance. Just as the subject is about to slip into the terminal coma from which there is no awakening, the vampire opens a gash in its own flesh—often in its own throat, wrist, or chest (being near the heart)--and holds the subject's mouth to the wound. As the burning draught that is the vampire's blood gushes into the subject's mouth, the primitive feeding instinct is triggered, and she drinks hungrily at the wound, enraptured. With the first taste of the blood, the subject is possessed of great and frenzied strength (Strength 18, if the character's isn't already higher), and will use it to prevent the vampire from separating her from the fountain of wonder that is the bleeding wound. It is at this point that the creator-vampire’s strength is most sorely tested. He is weakened by his own blood loss, and also by his own rapture as the “victim” of a dark kiss. Overcoming the sudden loss of strength and the inclinations of lust, the vampire must pull her away from its own wound, hopefully without harming her, before she has overfed. Should the subject be allowed to feed for too long (more than 2 rounds), she is driven totally and incurably insane, and will die in agony within 24 hours. Once the subject has stopped feeding, she falls into a coma that lasts minutes or hours (2d12 turns), at the end of which time she dies. Several (1d3) hours later, she arises as a Fledgling vampire and her creator's bride. The actual process of creating a bride inflicts some limited damage on the vampire. Even the small amount of blood the bride drinks weakens it for some time. “Donating” blood to the prospective bride or groom inflicts 2d8 hit points of damage on the creating vampire. This damage—and only this damage—does not begin to regenerate until the first sunset after the bride is created. [b]Countess Abalia, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Vampire Nosferatu:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Wailing Spirit:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17532/Van-Richtens-Monster-Hunters-Compendium-Vol-2-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium Volume 2[/URL][spoiler] [b]Lord Azalin:[/b] I know not what he called himself-what his true name was--before he transformed himself to lichdom. It does not matter, though, since that person died with the drinking of the lethal potion that began the ritual. [b]Vampire:[/b] Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creatures: anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few. [b]Ghost:[/b] Ghosts, unlike vampires, draw power not from the passing of time, but from the forces present at the moment of their creation. At the exact instant that a person’s spirit is transformed into a spectral undead, its strength is set and locked by the emotions that surrounded it. The instant of a ghost’s creation is subject to intense energies. Just as the shock of birth is overwhelming to a child (and the mother), so too is the sudden plunge into the frigid, black waters of unlife. The intensity of this shock is based wholly upon the emotional and karmic energies of the transformation. In other words, the stronger the emotional state of those present at the ghost’s creation, the more powerful the spirit that arises. I have, over the years, collected hundreds of documents that profess to detail the origins of numerous ghosts. In many cases, I have been able to assemble a number of accounts detailing the “birth” of a single apparition. One might think that so many references could not help but provide a clear and insightful view of the events leading to the creation of a ghost. Rather, the converse is quite often true. In instances where two or more authors chronicle the details by which a specific haunting occurred, I have found myself confronted with conflicting facts, theories, conjectures, and opinions that cloud the matter as surely as the swirling clouds of autumn hide the face of the moon. Still, putting aside the less reliable accounts, there does emerge a certain pattern in the creation of ghosts. Based on this pattern, I have been able to classify most ghosts according to eight origins. In some cases, this involves the manner of the person’s physical death; in others, it depends upon the events of the person’s life. Occasionally, events that occurred soon after death play a part. The eight methods or motivations by which ghosts seem to originate include: sudden death, dedication, stewardship, justice, vengeance, reincarnation, curses, and dark pacts. There are likely to be other situations through which ghosts may form, but these seem the most common. A ghost can be created when an individual unexpectedly dies. The spirit of the doomed person simply doesn’t realize he or she is dead. A spirit of this type tends to retain the alignment held in life-at least at first. Some ghosts are drawn from beyond the grave out of devotion to a task or interest. A learned scholar who has spent her life researching ancient tomes in an effort to decipher a lost language might return to haunt her old library if she died before completing her studies. In Staunton Bluffs, a young child died tragically at the hands of a transient rogue. The child was so horrified by the attack and so ridden with anxiety over separation from her mother that her spirit returned to haunt the meadow where she had been slain. In my research on ghosts, I recorded many stories of unfortunates set upon by evidoers in the guise of friends, and of innocents fatally betrayed by loved ones. These tragic figure, by sheer force of will, reanimated their mortal shells to wreak vengeance on their murderers. While this type of reanimation is fueled by outraged spirits determined to forestall or avenge their own deaths, the state itself is not one specifically sought by the revenants. In such tales, once the revenants' goals are fulfilled, they happily seek the afterlife for which they were destined. Mentalist liches differ from such beings on several points. First, and most obviously, the liches purposefully sought their undead state. Second, they do not end their unnatural lives with the accomplishment of any goal; rather, unflife is their goal, and it now serves them in the pursuit of further mental endeavors. Finally, these liches are masters of the mental disciplines, rather than unfortunates whose emotional state combined tragically with their force of will to enable them to gain a temporary extension of life. Furthermore, the deliberate destruction of a body, no matter how well meaning, can set in motion a karmic resonance that creates a ghost. As I explained in some detail in an earlier work, the more charged with emotion a spirit is, the more powerful a ghost it becomes. Imagine the anger of a spirit that believes it has been denied blissful afterlife because its body has been desecrated! Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creatures: anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few. [b]Baron Metus, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]The Child Vampire:[/b] ? [b]The Thundering Carriage:[/b] ? [b]First Magnitude Ghost:[/b] The least powerful of the incorporeal undead, these creatures are created when just enough emotional energy is available to empower the transformation to an undead state. This is, fortunately, the most common type of spirit. Ghosts of the first magnitude are created the same way as are other ghosts, but they tend to have less dramatic origins. [b]The Loud Man of Lamordia, First Magnitude Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Second Magnitude Ghost:[/b] In order for a ghost of this type to form, the dying person must be in a state of some emotion. The emotion need not be overly consuming or of great duration, as is necessary for the more powerful spirits to form. For example, someone who dies during a spousal quarrel might have enough emotional energy to attain the second magnitude of unlife, as might an artist who is working on a painting that means a great deal to her. It is sometimes even possible for a person who knows he or she is going to die by the hangman’s noose, for example-to become a second-magnitude ghost. The so-called Laughing Man of Valachan is an example of this sort. [b]Laughing Man of Valachan, Second Magnitude Ghost:[/b] It is sometimes even possible for a person who knows he or she is going to die by the hangman’s noose, for example-to become a second-magnitude ghost. The so-called Laughing Man of Valachan is an example of this sort. Consider the case of the infamous Laughing Man, said to haunt the Valachan countryside. I have no fewer than five accounts of his “death.” While they differ in details, the important points match perfectly. The Laughing Man was a hunter who often set traps in the woods near his home. Tending the trap line required him to spend the night in the woods, something many folk-myself included-are reluctant to do in that land. Because of this, the hunter would often go into the woods with several of his neighbors in the mistaken belief that there would be safety in numbers. One night, the group completed the chores and settled down to an evening of stories around the campfire. While the hunter was consumed with laughter following the telling of a joke by one of his companions, a group of bandits attacked them. The hunter was slain by a single arrow that struck the back of his head. Magical conversations with the spirit of the Laughing Man reveal he did not know what happened to him by the fire. [b]Third Magnitude Ghost:[/b] In order for a ghost of the third magnitude to form, a person must die while in a highly emotional state. An example would be a man forced to watch as his beloved family was slain by brigands before he himself was killed, dying in the grip of his overwhelming anguish. The karmic resonance of this tragedy might be strong enough to create a third-magnitude ghost. Similarly, someone enraged or horrified to an extreme degree at the time of death might attain this status. [b]Fourth Magnitude Ghost:[/b] Among the most powerful of apparitions, ghosts of the fourth magnitude are created only through scenes of death that involve great emotional stress or energy. Spirits of this type are generally warped by the power of their emotions, becoming highly aggressive, evil, and cruel. Rare indeed are the circumstances surrounding a person’s death that are powerful enough to create a ghost of this type. In my travels, I have encountered only a half dozen or so of these evil and dangerous monsters. In each of the cases I came across, the ghost had once been a person who had either embraced death with great fervor or felt himself so powerful that death could hold no sway over him. [b]General Athoul, Fourth Magnitude Ghost:[/b] It is said that his devotion to Azalin was so great that even death only meant a new manner in which for him to serve his beloved commander. [b]Martyr of the Moors, Fourth Magnitude Ghost:[/b] A man who sought death as the ultimate step in his devotion to a dark and evil deity, only to find that he had been cursed with eternal unlife. [b]Fifth Magnitude Ghost:[/b] The emotional intensity needed to create a ghost of this power is so rare that it happens but once in a very great while. I would dare say that whole centuries might pass without a ghost of this type being formed, for which we can all be grateful. [b]Tristessa, Banshee, Fifth Magnitude Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Phantom Lover, Fifth Magnitude Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Incorporeal Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Semicorporeal Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Strangling Man of Gundarak:[/b] ? [b]Corporeal Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Mutable Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Vaporous Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Spectral Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Humanoid Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Bestial Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Phantom Hound:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Shark:[/b] ? [b]Spirit Wolf, Ghost Wolf of Kartakass:[/b] ? [b]Monster Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Medusa Phantom:[/b] ? [b]Object Ghost:[/b] I believe that ghosts of this type are formed when an individual is greatly attached to or associated with a physical object. Upon the individual’s death, he is anchored to that object so strongly that the object itself is transformed into a ghostly state. In half of these cases, the ghost object is physically transformed so that it bears the countenance of the individual, appearing to be a painting or engraving of a face or person somewhere on the object. Needless to say, this can be a difficult type of spirit to accurately identify. In other cases, the object itself appears ghostly and insubstantial. [b]Phantom Axe of Gildabarren:[/b] With the aid of a talented spiritualist, however, we were able to uncover the truth: This weapon was imbued with the spirit of a dwarf warrior named Gildabarren. Gildabarren had been exiled from his community in his youth, and he had returned to haunt it upon his death. His spirit had focused its energy on the ax, an heirloom of great importance to his family. The karmic resonance surrounding his tragic drowning death was so strong that the ax itself became, in effect, Gildabarren's spirit. Compilers' Note: Dr. Van Richten's many notes reveal that he considered the Phantom Ax of Gildabarren a true ghost and not merely the anchor for a ghost, though perhaps it once was merely an anchor. The battle ax was originally a nonmagical heirloom, but over time the attachment of the dwarf's spirit to it perhaps infused the weapon with magical abilities before it was absorbed into the ghost's essence, becoming the ghost of the dwarf himself. Possibly objects serving as the anchors for ghosts eventually go through this process and become ghosts themselves in a merging of the material and spiritual. [b]Preserved Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Corrupted Ghost:[/b] It has happened that, where a body has been preserved, the ghost's visage remains unchanged though the ghost is, in fact, corrupted. I have heard stories from a reliable source in the distant land of Har'Akir of a ghost who rose from the body of a mummified priest when the rituals surrounding his death and burial were left incomplete. [b]Distorted Ghost:[/b] Some apparitions have their physical appearance twisted and distorted in ways that can hardly be described. These creatures are nightmarish reflections of what they were in life. I have heard it said that they are aspects of the madness that must surely exist in the tortured mind of a ghost. [b]Baying Hound of Willisford:[/b] Its origin remains a mystery to me, as does its fate, for I don’t know if it still exists or if some brave adventurers have been able to dispatch it. [b]Beauteous Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Steward Ghost, Sentinel Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Headless Gypsy:[/b] Here we have a man who was cast out from his people, the Vistani, for a crime he did not commit. When he returned to them in an effort to plead for reconsideration, he was sentenced to death and beheaded. That night, his spirit returned in the shape of a swirling cloud of sparkling, shimmering dust. [b]Vengeful Spirit Ghost:[/b] This is the restless soul of someone who suffered a great wrong in life. Unable to avenge himself in the mortal world, this apparition rises from the grave to harass or destroy those who maltreated him in life. It matters little, I believe, whether the wrong that has caused such a spirit to rise from the dead is real or imagined. Indeed, in many cases the most evil and powerful of these spirits thrive on the belief that they have been slighted when no evidence of prejudicial treatment exists. [b]Reflection of Evil, Vengeful Spirit Ghost, Keni:[/b] It seems that a young woman named Keni was prone to jealousy whenever her husband Drakob even spoke to another woman. I have never found anyone who would even begin to suggest she had cause for this, for Drakob was as devoted and loving a spouse as any woman could want. Her jealousy became so consuming, however, that she was unable to stand the thought of his being gone from their home for more than a few hours at a time. One day, while Drakob was going about his business in the town of Viktal, a fire broke out in their home. Unable to escape the sudden, horrible blaze, Keni died. As the months passed, Drakob mastered his grief. He eventually wooed a young woman named Zjen; two years after the death of Keni, he remarried. On Drakob’s wedding night, however, the image of his first wife appeared in the mirror on a dressing table. The frantic newlyweds destroyed the mirror, only to find that the one they replaced it with was promptly inhabited by the same apparition. Over and over again, they discarded or destroyed mirrors in an attempt to drive this phantom from their life. Eventually, they were forced to flee from their home, for every reflective surface began to bear the image of the dead first wife. The couple’s new house seemed a safe enough refuge for the first few weeks, but soon the jealous eyes of Keni haunted it. [b]Reincarnated Spirit Ghost, Descendant Ghost:[/b] A reincarnated (descendant) spirit appears when a being of exceptional willpower chooses to return to life by usurping or possessing the body of one of its descendants. The victim of this possession must be a direct relation; the importance of blood ties in this diabolical relationship cannot be overstated. [b]Cursed Ghost:[/b] Ghosts of this type may be created by a curse that is external in origin. For example, a man may offend an ancient and powerful Vistani woman who chooses to retaliate with the dreaded evil eye of the gypsies. Under the power of such a spell, the offender might be condemned to live out eternity at the spot where his misstep was made, until the gypsy takes pity and releases him from the curse. Ghosts may also be forged by a curse brought upon them by wrongs committed during life. These curses are far more horrible than those laid on by an outside party, for there is no quick solution by which the victims may be released from their suffering-suffering they themselves caused. [b]Counting Man of Barovia, Cursed Ghost:[/b] My research indicates this is the spirit of a wealthy and powerful banker who had been miserly and stinting all his life. When he passed away, no one lamented the loss of such a cold, cruel person. On the anniversary of his death, the Counting Man was seen wandering the streets of Barovia at night, dressed in the rags of a pauper and begging for change. [b]Dark Pact Ghost:[/b] The final method I record by which ghosts are formed is one that I shudder to mention. However, the truth is that some would willingly trade away their humanity for the eternal life of the undead, in order to gain some advantage. They make a pact with evil forces. Of course, entering into a pact with some being or force is difficult, for creatures capable of bestowing the gift (or curse, rather) of immortal undeath in any form are rare. Most commonly, these pacts are made with the vile creatures that, the sages say, lurk in alien realms and planes outside our own world. Those who seek to strike a bargain with these forces of the supernatural must first locate such beings and attract their attention. This in itself is a dangerous and foolhardy thing to do. In almost every case, dealing with such powerful, evil creatures results only in tragedy and death. Once someone makes contact with a creature capable of granting his wish for immortality, he must offer some payment for the "boon." In many cases, this favor will take the form of a service, as material wealth means little to fiends of this power. Often, the task will do nothing to further the goals of the beast, but will instead provide it with chaotic amusement. [b]Eldrenn Van Dorn, Dark Pact Ghost:[/b] Over the course of the next few years, he began to study wizardry. His powers grew slowly at first, but he found he had a natural affinity for the working of magic. Eventually, he became quite powerful. In fact, he found he could learn nothing more from his studies and set out to contact the only man who seemed a suitable mentor to him-the dreaded Lord Azalin, master of Darkon. My poor friend seemed hesitant to say the name, and he was slow in telling me of the foul pact of obedience he swore to the dark lord. What Eldrenn did not know, however, was that Azalin was teaching him powers he could never fully contain. In the end, those powers destroyed my friend-consuming his flesh and blood and stealing the magical power he had accumulated in his life. Tragically, death was not a release for Eldrenn. The powerful oath he had sworn anchored him to the servitude of Azalin for all time, even beyond death. [b]Personal Anchored Spirit Steward Ghost:[/b] The majority of personal anchors are formed when a person has served as steward to a family line. If the karmic resonance surrounding the faithful servant’s death is strong enough, his soul is transformed into a ghost. His magnitude is dependent upon the emotional energy at the time of death, and he is also a ghost whose origin is that of stewardship. Likewise, in this instance, he is an anchored spirit, for he is anchored to the family he swore to serve. [b]Personal Anchored Spirit Vengeful Ghost:[/b] Occasionally, an anchored spirit forms from someone who seeks revenge against a single person. [b]Item Achor Ghost:[/b] Compilers' Note: Dr. Van Richten's many notes reveal that he considered the Phantom Ax of Gildabarren a true ghost and not merely the anchor for a ghost, though perhaps it once was merely an anchor. The battle ax was originally a nonmagical heirloom, but over time the attachment of the dwarf's spirit to it perhaps infused the weapon with magical abilities before it was absorbed into the ghost's essence, becoming the ghost of the dwarf himself. Possibly objects serving as the anchors for ghosts eventually go through this process and become ghosts themselves in a merging of the material and spiritual. In order for a spirit to become anchored to an object, that object must have held great significance for the person in life. [b]Gray Lady of Invidia:[/b] This woman was obsessed with a small cameo she wore constantly. I believe her young son gave the brooch to her as a birthday gift. The boy was killed in an accident that very day, and she fixed upon the item as a last link to her lost child. When the woman died some years later, her will requested that the trinket be buried with her. Her sister, however, had always coveted the pretty brooch, and she removed it from the body just before the casket was sealed. I the months that followed, the spirit of the Gray Lady drove her to madness and death. [b]Bussengeist:[/b] ? [b]Bowlyn:[/b] ? [b]Groaning Spirit, Banshee:[/b] ? [b]Knight Haunt:[/b] ? [b]Ravenloft Scarecrow:[/b] ? [b]Valachan Miser, Ghost:[/b] Consider a ghost I encountered some three or four years ago, the Valachan Miser. This spirit was all that remained of a large and powerful man who had, over the course of his life, brought great suffering to many people. He was a merchant noted for his greed and treachery in business practices. When he died, his tortured spirit continued to stand by the counting house where he had conducted his business in life. So strong were his ties to this establishment that no magical force seemed able to expel him from it. [b]Desmiand L'Strange, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Phantom Army, Mass Haunting Ghost:[/b] The origin of the Phantom Army dates back less than half a century. A pack of twisted mongrelmen from the dread domain of G’Henna fled from their native land and entered the southern reaches of Darkon. Here, they did their best to hide In the forests and live undisturbed. Although those who lived near the mongrelmen knew of their existence and avoided them, the mongrelmen kept to themselves and did not harass the common folk. The locals feared the mongrelmen, however, and they fabricated stories of the mongrelmen’s inhumane treatment of prisoners and of wild, cannibalistic feasts held under the light of the full moon. In time, the mongrelmen became the masters of their recently claimed land. They came to know every aspect of their wooded refuge and were able to move quickly and quietly through the trees and brush. Some even said they had mastered the power of invisibility for use at will. Eventually, the dread Kargat, the secret security force of Lord Azalin, took an interest in these intruders. A legion of Darkon’s most fearsome warriors journeyed south from Il Aluk and came at last to the woods of the mongrelmen. The leader of the legion was a dark and sinister man, a fellow known as Karuk Abjen. His men feared him and trembled In time, the mongrelmen became the at the mention of his name. Abjen ordered his men forward into the forests. They found no sign of the mongrelmen in the outskirts of the wood, and they pressed inward. They did not know that the mongrelmen watched their every move, waiting to learn what these armored men wanted in the woods the mongrelmen called their own. As night fell, one of the scouting parties happened upon a lone mongrelman and captured him. The prisoner was brought before Abjen and brutally tortured for information about his kindred and their purpose in Darkon. Abjen ranted and accused the pitiful creature of being a spy sent into Darkon to learn the secrets of Lord Azalin’s power. In the end, the mongrelman died from the abuse. At the instant the creature’s body stiffened and went slack as the last vestige of life drained from its broken form, a long and terrible howl went up from the woods surrounding the camp. It lasted for many minutes, echoing like the lingering cry of a great, wounded beast. As suddenly as it had begun, the cry stopped. An ominous silence fell across the Kargat legion. Abjen ordered his men to stand ready for battle. All that night, the dark watchmen waited eagerly in hope of earning favor with their vile commander by being the first to spot the mongrelmen massing for attack. Dawn came, but brought with it no sign of the beastly folk who had made the pitiful howling. The Kargat commander called his men together and gloated before them. Abjen cried out that it was fear of the Kargat and its great lord Azalin that kept the mongrelmen in check. They would not dare to attack, he shouted, for none who challenged Azalin’s powers could survive. Finally, Abjen ordered a company of his men to move into the woods and set it afire. The mongrelmen and the forest they had defiled would be reduced to cinders. As the troops dispersed, the mongrelmen attacked. They did not charge in sweeping waves filled with horribly twisted creatures; instead, they attacked in small, fast, silent strikes against individuals. The company of men sent to light the fires vanished, never to be seen again by their companions. At sunset, another ringing cry went up from the mongrelmen. Their echoing howl drifted through the woods, stilling all conversation and sapping the morale of Abjen’s legion. His men were on the verge of panic, but the fiendish Abjen would not let them flee. He took command of a second company and forced them into the woods to discover what had happened to the first company. All night long they moved about, searching for their lost companions. At every step, they were met with flickering shadows, sounds of movement, and lingering traces of the mongrelmen, but never did they actually come across one. As the cold glow of sunrise spread across the sky, Abjen and his tired men returned to camp. They had lost not a single soldier, but neither had they found one enemy body or seen so much as one of the mongrelman foe. To their horror, they found no sign of the dozens of men they had left behind the camp was deserted. Abjen chose to believe the mongrelmen had struck again, for he had vowed to kill any man who deserted him. As Abjen ranted and raved at the dark woods around him, another of the mournful cries rolled out through the trees. Morale among Abjen’s men collapsed in full. They scattered and ran, hoping to find safe passage through the hidden ranks of mongrelmen. Many died instead. Abjen himself was captured by the mongrelmen he had vowed to destroy. It is said that they tortured him for days before he finally died. Those few who lived near the woods of the mongrelmen reported that his cries of pain and suffering were heard all through the night, and that his sobbing pleas for mercy and death filled the days. None moved to help him. [b]Mass Haunting Ghost:[/b] It is very rare and happens only when many individuals share a common bond that links them after death as it did in life. A mass haunting always centers on one individual, a leader. It may be that this person is the only true ghost and that the others are merely reflections of its own curse, dragged into unlife by the power of the central figure. In almost every case, the ghost at the core of a mass haunting is of fourth or fifth magnitude. [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Resident:[/b] A resident is a tormented soul, doomed to exist among the living until it can find self-forgiveness. In life, a resident was a person who was offered true love, but lacked the courage or conviction to accept the blessing and thus lost it, becoming embittered. [b]Jonas, Resident:[/b] A typical "resident" tale tells of a lad named Jonas, who met a woman on a chance encounter. He befriended her and became very fond of her as time passed. Then she met a suitor who seemed to make her very happy. Jonas, unwilling to face up to the obligations of marriage but also unwilling to end their relationship, watched as his true love married her suitor and raised a family. Jonas tried to bury his anger, jealousy, and self-hatred, but he was unable to forgive himself and move on with his life. His corrupt spirit carried on his rage after his death. [b]Lich:[/b] Sometimes, in exchange for assisting evil fiends from unseen planes who desire a foothold into our realm, unwise mages are granted great powers to wield over their fellows. I fear that too many mages pursue this opportunity over the considerations of the state of our world. For these mages, treachery awaits. Wizards who follow evil paths do not understand that one cannot trust a creature that, by its nature, lives to betray. Still other mages seek those secrets of power of their own free will. They hope to gain knowledge that evil and powerful creatures jealously guard for themselves. Such a mage believes that it is better to enter the perilous halls of power himself, using his own efforts, than to rely upon the questionable graces of others. The magnitude of this struggle is great. Evil uses many secrets to pervert our world-secrets so elusive that a mortal must expend every ounce of his strength and spirit to acquire them. This devotion is, no doubt, the means by which the mage is subverted and changed. He loses sight of the pursuits of normal life and becomes obsessed with seeking the keys to power. Eventually, the mage realizes that he cannot learn those secrets in his short lifetime. He finds that he must secure a method of continuing his researches and experiments for years, perhaps even centuries, to come. For this incredibly ambitious wizard, there is but one way: He must transform himself into a different creature, one that will outlive his mortal shell so that he might continue his arcane efforts. During a full moon, this mage imbibes a potion that instantly kills him-yet his spirit survives! His spirit actually dispossesses itself of his body. While in this state, the spirit acclimates itself to dark energies that are the source of pure evil. The spirit of the wizard becomes sympathetic to the heart of evil so that it may learn new and more potent secrets in the future. The spirit eventually returns to the body, but in the interim the body shrivels and mummifies into a twisted mask of death. This corpse rises from its own grave, eyes alight with a scarlet lust for knowledge and power. The mage has died, yet it lives now and forever as a corpse. One must wonder what texts the very First lich worked from, how that ill-fated mage first came by the formula that dispossessed his body of his spirit. [The tanar’ri] first plotted to seed the world with his minions and take the world by force. This proved unsuccessful. Yet intent upon acquiring the world, [the tanar’ri] set about creating minions that were significantly more powerful than the troops previously used. It tempted the mages of the world with great power and knowledge, and it gave them instructions on how to transform their bodies, minds, and even spirits to a higher form of existence--one that would command great magic and allow [the tanar’ri] to assume control of the world with subtlety and plotting. This fragment suggests the origin of the lich, and I am inclined to believe it. There had to be a first lich, someone to formalize a ritual for its creation. That a mortal should gamble without guidance with a ritual that would destroy him if it does not grant him unlife seems unlikely. Considering the many complex factors involved in what is known about the ritual of lichdom, the odds that someone should get it right by pure coincidence are ludicrous. Perhaps these instructions came from a fiend from another plane of existence, perhaps not. But this fragment, couched as it is in mythic terms, is still as fair an explanation as I’ve encountered in my researches of the origin of the first lich. The diary of Mirinalithiar chronicles her descent from humanity to lichdom. There are entries beginning almost from the moment she decided to become a lich to the moment she passed over. This has proved to be my most important source of information about the ritual and processes of becoming a lich. Of course, the existence of such a source is suspect in itself, as it might be a part of a subtle plan of the forces of evil. Much of the journal is cryptic, extraneous, or highly empirical, but I will summarize some of the more pertinent data. Mirinalithiar began her quest for lichdom by investigating incidents of mysterious, high-powered magic. She was searching the telltale marks of what she surmised to be lich behavior. Mirinalithiar achieved a breakthrough when she happened upon an account of how, at a century-old battlefield, the dead rose from their graves-weapons, armor, and all-and marched into a nearby range of mountains. She began to study the history of the area wherein the peculiar events took place, paying particular attention to tales of the mages that lived there and their behavior. She found that the mages were quite powerful, but preferred absolute solitude in comparison to most other mages, who gained power through heroic adventuring. The reclusive wizards defended their abodes from every sort of threat, but only if their keeps or lands were directly in the path of danger. The startling level of their powers was documented, however. Mirinalithiar found that the mages made occasional trips to magical colleges and guilds. There, they impressed and intimidated the high wizards with their abilities. Most importantly, those mages’ studies were invariably concerned with necromancy. All of them were especially interested in spells that allowed communication with the dead and those places where the dead reside. It was Mirinalithiar’s belief that they were seeking information about the processes of becoming a lich. and about methods of contacting some long-dead spirit. Perhaps they sought that most ancient of fiends referred to in the Haedritic Manuscripts. Mirinalithiar attempted to follow that same path to knowledge, and apparently she succeeded. Her journal became decreasingly coherent as she went about the business of summoning and speaking with the dead, and it is difficult to reconstruct the facts from her text. Even so, with a great deal of study and the assistance of several scholars, I believe I have discovered the basic formulae for achieving lichdom. Be warned, you who would use this information for evil intent, that Mirinalithiar was not sane when she recorded these procedures. I offer them only to shed light on the unspeakable desperation of a wizard who would be immortal. Used in the cause of justice, this knowledge is indeed power; used for evil purpose, this knowledge is certain death! According to Mirinalithiar’s journal, once the details of the transformation process are known, the scholar has to practice with rigor the newfound information. Primary among the requirements is the ability to cast key spells. The spells themselves are rare, and only an wizard of great power and knowledge who fears not to dabble in the horrid art of necromancy can cast them. Still, this is not a particular hindrance to a mage whose hunger for knowledge is ravenous. As I have postulated, one cannot acquire great power without already having it. Hence, power is the key, power that begets power, ever corrupting the mage while preparing the mage to accumulate even more might. Once the spellcasting considerations are satisfied, the wizard proceeds to the next, equally important step: the making of a phylactery, a vessel to house his spirit. The phylactery usually is a small boxlike amulet made of common materials, highly crafted. Lead or another black or dark gray material is frequently used. Inspection of an amulet may reveal various arcane symbols carved into the interior walls of the box, and those grooves are filled with silver as pure as the mage can find. These amulets are never made of woad, and rarely of steel. Brightly colored metals, such as gold, are infrequently used. (Mirinalithiar's account is extremely unclear, but it may not be the color that is the problem. The relative softness of the material and its subsequent likelihood of being injured may create this restriction.) The mage understandably has no desire for anyone to learn what ritual is being undertaken, or the appearance of the arcane symbols and etchings he must use. Thus, the mage alone will melt and forge those precious metals, as well as learn whatever other crafting skills are necessary to design and construct the phylactery. The vessel that becomes a lich's phylactery must be of excellent craftsmanship, requiring an investment of not less than 1,500 gp per level of the mage, with more money needed for custom-shaped amulets. It is, of course, possible to obtain a normal amulet of good craftsmanship without paying for it, but the amulet to be used as a phylactery must be constructed for that specific purpose. The craftsman who builds the amulet need not know of its true intended purpose. Though the phylactery is normally a box, it can be fashioned into virtually any item, provided that it has an interior space in which the lich can carve certain small magical designs. Silver is poured into these designs, and a permanency spell is cast on the whole. The designs include arcane symbols of power and the wizard's personal sigil. Should the Dungeon Master wish to actually illustrate them for the players, he or she should feel free to create unique designs to fit the campaign. The wizards personal sigil is a mystical sign of personal significance, and identifying it may convey great power over a lich. Once the box is constructed and the designs are crafted and properly enchanted, four spells must be cast upon the phylactery: enchant an item, magic jar, permanency, and reincarnation. When all of these spells have been cast, the amulet is suitable for use as a phylactery, but only by the specific wizard who made it. The manner in which the spells are cast and the time at which they are cast are not important, except that the permanency spell must be cast last of all. The rules governing the creation of a phylactery are not immutable. A Dungeon Master can create a wonderful adventure around the attempted creation of a phylactery by a would-be lich. The necessity of fine craftsmanship, the ritual casting of powerful spells, the occurrence of a rare astronomical event, and many other factors might come into play in the completion of the device. The Dungeon Master is encouraged to customize not only the phylactery, but the process of creating it, too. The Potion of Transformation With the phylactery constructed, the next step requires the mage to cast his spirit into his newly enchanted box. To do so, however, requires the inclusion of the most secret aspect of becoming the lich-the potion of transformation. The ingredients of this potion are unknown to me, and it was only by chance that I even came to know of its existence. Mirinalithiar’s journal mentions it but once as “that foul brew from the heart of evil.” After consultation and speculation with my many scholarly sources, I have concluded that the poisonous venom of a number of rare creatures must be involved, as the potion kills the mortal wizard almost instantly. Of course, after my near fatal experience with my old friend Shauten, I am sure that another one of the ingredients is the heart of a sentient creature. In any case, I do know (from Mirinalithiar’s journal) that the mage must drink the potion when the moon is full. If successful, the mage is transformed into a lich. Otherwise, the mage immediately dies. The success of the potion and the ability of the mage’s constitution to handle the consequences are the ultimate tests of the mage’s skill, knowledge, and fitness. To initiate the transformation, to break the link between his body and spirit and forge it anew between his spirit and the phylactery, the mage must drink a special potion that is highly toxic. This potion, if properly made, will cause the mage to immediately transform into a lich. If any error is made in the formula or in the concoction and distillation of the potion, irrevocable death results. To create the potion, the mage may blend several forms of natural poisons, including arsenic, belladonna, nightshade, heart’s worry, and the blood of any of a number of poisonous monsters. Also necessary are a heart, preferably from a sentient creature, and the venom from a number of rare creatures such as wyverns, giant scorpions, and exotic snakes. When the ingredients are properly mixed, the following spells must be cast upon the potion: wraithform, cone of cold, feign death, animate dead, and permanency. The potion must be drunk during a night with a full moon. Upon ingestion, a System shock roll is required. If the mage passes the test, then he has been transformed by the potion into a dreaded lich. If the mage doesn’t survive the shock, he is dead forever, with no hope of any sort of resurrection. Not even a wish will undo the lethal potion. Only the direct intervention of a deity (or the Dungeon Master) has any hope of resurrecting a mage killed in this manner. In order to affect the world, the lich must have a method of interacting with it. This means the spirit of the lich must attach itself to a body. After entering the phylactery, the spirit must remain for at least three days (perhaps less for extremely powerful mages). After those days have passed, the lich may reenter the body from whence it came. This act of transference is quite demanding upon the host body. Because of this, the lich must rest for a week after reentering its former body. During this week, the lich is unable to cast spells or undertake strenuous physical labor. It is only able to exert enough energy to care for itself, and perhaps read and meditate. A person has to possess a spirit at least tainted, if not twisted, by evil to want to become a lich. The realization of the goal is even more twisted. Some of the ingredients in the potion of transformation are exotic and fatal poisons of mind-boggling strength. When drunk, these ingredients do more than alter the body-they alter the mind extensively as well. A lich initiates and completes the process that transforms it from living being to undead. While the prospective lich still lives, it begins an elaborate, dangerous, and expensive ritual in which it is the principal, if not the only, player. [b]Skeleton:[/b] Lich Salient Ability Animate Dead by Touch. [b]Zombie:[/b] Lich Salient Ability Animate Dead by Touch. [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Crimson Arcanus, Lich, Antirius the Red:[/b] ? [b]Moonbane, Lich:[/b] ? [b]Malygris:[/b] ? [b]Phantom's Bane, Lich:[/b] ? [b]Mystical Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Bloody Hand of Souragne, Lich:[/b] ? [b]Quasimancer:[/b] Let us begin with two basic prerequisites. First, the use of wizard magic apparently requires some force of will. It is not enough to simply comprehend the workings of a spell: one must have the determination to drive magical forces to a desired end. Therefore, a candidate for quasimancer must retain at least part of its former life essence-its personality, if you will-in order to use magic. Second, the casting of magic almost always demands the use of the hands and other body parts in order to shape the spell. Therefore, a quasimancer must have a physical body, possessed of some dexterity. Mummies, vampires, and liches satisfy both prerequisites, but mummies and vampires are difficult to control, even for a lich. (I do not believe it is possible for one lich to control another.) Also, both vampires and liches are already capable of wielding magic, so endowing them with spell abilities would be redundant. I conclude, then, that the lich raises a special form of wight to serve as a quasimancer. The minion retains a small part of its former identity, and a freshly animated wight still maintains a viable physique for spellcasting. Furthermore, such a creature is subject to the same absolute control exerted by the lich upon its lesser cousins, yet its orders from the “general” would include the use of offensive magic. To support my hypothesis, I have observed that quasimancers exhibit hand-to-hand combat techniques and other innate abilities common to the wight. Let me caution the reader not to take this text too literally. The ghast also satisfies the prerequisites for a quasimancer. Perhaps the lich can endow even the lowly skeleton with the ability to cast magic. Then again, perhaps such magic is not possible. Whatever the case, we cannot rest upon absolutes, for liches make new breakthroughs in spell research even as I write this guide, and even as you read it. The quasimancer is specially raised by the lich, then magically endowed (see the spells create minion and confer in the Dungeon Master Appendix later in this volume). [b]Vassalich, Lesser Lich:[/b] ”Yes,yes! It was horrid, horrid! Not just dead things-living things too. Men! A man became a lich before my eyes! He swallowed a stone- diamond or something, I don’t know. Then the lich slit its rotted wrist open with its own fingernail and blood-no, not blood ooze, gray ooze ran from the black hole! And the man drank it! He drank the lich’s blood! He drank it, Dolf! And he fell down and screamed. And he changed. He shriveled. He died! He lay there, dead, and-” “And what, Harmon?” “He got up and spit the stone into the lich's hand. Then he was a lich, too. ” It is sadly simple to conclude that a wizard of questionable values might strike a pact with a lich and become immortal, albeit undead. What mage does not crave the arcane secrets of the universe? What wizard would not consider the advantages of unlimited time to learn new magic? Who among any of u s does not wish to live forever? These sentiments are the genesis of the vassalich: a wizard who undergoes the transformation to lichdom under the sponsorship of a full lich, thus becoming an undead magic-user long before he could accomplish the feat himself. If a Dungeon Masters wishes to roleplay the creation of a vassalich, a number of conditions can be created to carry off a successful transformation. Heroes who prevent these conditions from occurring also prevent vassalich creation. For example, the wizard might have to fail at least two powers check! before the transformation will work. Perhaps the phylactery must be a gem of not less than 10,000 gp value, which the lich can wear ornamentally or keep with the rest of its treasure. Perhaps the new vassalich must rest after the conversion, like its master, but for 10 full days. The transformation itself might consist of joint spellcasting by the sponsor and aspirant. Perhaps the lich casts enchant an item on the phylactery while the wizard drinks the prepared potion (see Chapter One), then the wizard casts magic jar before he dies. Next, the lich casts reincarnation on the wizard‘s body, and the vassalich is created. The vassaiich’s phylactery would likely not be nearly as magical as that of the lich. It might be destroyed merely by inflicting 25 points of damage upon it using any nonmagical weapon. (A saving throw vs. crushing blow might apply.) A vassalich most likely undergoes a process similar to his master’s when he becomes undead. He might drink a poisonous potion or partake of the lich's body fluid as Ruscheider suggested, but his soul then occupies a phylactery. [b]Lich Familiar:[/b] A wizard can take its familiar with it into lichdom by forcing it to drink the potion of transformation. After doing so, the familiar makes a System Shock roll at the same level as the wizard. If it fails, the familiar dies and the lich must make a second System Shock roll. If that roll fails, the lich dies irrevocably, just as if he had failed his first roll. If the roll succeeds, the lich still loses 1 point of Constitution permanently, and it must rest two full weeks before memorizing spells or conducting any strenuous activity. The Dungeon Master may declare that a lich can create an undead version of virtually any living monster by casting raise dead upon the expired monster of its choice, then binding it by casting find familiar and charm monster, or something to that effect. [b]Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Redfist, Lich:[/b] ? [b]Master Ulathar, Mentalist Lich:[/b] ? [b]Mentalist Lich:[/b] These beasts are towers of iron fortitude, creating and driving their unlife not by magical means, but by the pure desire of their evil will to continue, to enlarge their mental prowess, to stand upon the pinnacle of all that is human and to look beyond at any cost to the rest of the world. Although some liches command powers that are assuredly will-driven in nature or effect, a lich whose very undead state is derived from its mesmeric abilities is quite rare indeed. In my research on ghosts, I recorded many stories of unfortunates set upon by evidoers in the guise of friends, and of innocents fatally betrayed by loved ones. These tragic figure, by sheer force of will, reanimated their mortal shells to wreak vengeance on their murderers. While this type of reanimation is fueled by outraged spirits determined to forestall or avenge their own deaths, the state itself is not one specifically sought by the revenants. In such tales, once the revenants' goals are fulfilled, they happily seek the afterlife for which they were destined. Mentalist liches differ from such beings on several points. First, and most obviously, the liches purposefully sought their undead state. Second, they do not end their unnatural lives with the accomplishment of any goal; rather, unflife is their goal, and it now serves them in the pursuit of further mental endeavors. Finally, these liches are masters of the mental disciplines, rather than unfortunates whose emotional state combined tragically with their force of will to enable them to gain a temporary extension of life. Psionicists who have managed to achieve lichdom-not mystically, but through a very specific psionic process. Psionic liches were once living psionicists who left behind the physical demands of life in pursuit of ultimate mental powers. By far the most important aspect of the existence of any psionic lich is the creation of its phylactery. To understand this mystical device, it is important to understand the process by which a psionicist becomes a lich. Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he or she must attain at least 18th level. In addition, the psionicist must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in new ways. The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature’s spiritual resting place. A phylactery can come in any shape, from a ring to a crown, from a sword to an idol. The item is made from the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality or interests of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the psionicist. Thus, a 20th-level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his device. Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist’s life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete a phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he or she possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a person has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he or she must complete the empowering of all telepathic powers before beginning to infuse the object with any metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is “closed,” it cannot ever be reopened. During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he or she gives the phylactery a new power, the psionicist loses it forever. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist’s life and completes the transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place, the psionicist must make a System Shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his or her willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of becoming undead; the psionicist‘s spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him or her forever dead. Only the powers of a deity are strong enough to revive a psionicist who has died in this way: even a wish will not suffice. [b]Priestly Lich:[/b] While mages are considered the most likely candidates to fall prey to the lure of lichdom, it should not be forgotten that priests may walk the road to unlife as well. In most respects, the processes are similar. The priest must, like the mage, discover the ritual to lichdom, whether it is revealed by beings from unseen planes, unearthed From ancient scriptures where it lay hidden in riddles, or unveiled by an evil deity through prayer. The priest, too, must manufacture a phylactery and concoct a poisonous potion to go with it. However, the transformation for a priest is based in priestly magic, ritual, and ceremony. A ritual designed for a mage would afford certain doom to a cleric. During his research, a priest sometimes encounters the secrets to lichdom. Perhaps these secrets are given to him surreptitiously by an evil deity, or perhaps they are revealed by the priest’s own god as a test. Whatever the means, a priest who comes by the secret might elect to take full advantage of it for his own gains. He may justify his actions by saying that in this manner he will serve his deity better, perhaps more powerfully or more everlastingly, but these are rationalizations. The transformation to lichdom is always, at its heart, a selfish course of action. Even acquiring the necessary components for the lichdom ritual--organs from slain, sentient beings and It seems reasonable to me that priests who espouse neither morality nor immorality, neither good nor evil, are the most likely to become cleric liches. In the main, these priest serve gods of knowledge, who are often reverenced by mages. These deities promote an ethic of rising to one's own level of ability by one's own hand, which promotes aspirations to lichdom. It might be in the best interests of a neutral deity (for who am I to know the ways of gods?) to allow a servant to remain on the mortal world long beyond the age of mortal men, in order to accumulate and relate knowledge and experience to the church. While potions of longeuity or elixirs of youth seem a logical resort in such a case, these concoctions are known to be of questionable effect. They cause stress in the normal fabric of a person's physical being, stretching it back and forth like a piece of rubber, until one potion too many is consumed, and snap!--the body disintegrates. One might rely on potions of longevity for a span of decades if one knew their mysteries (which I, alas, do not), but in due course the hand of death must close upon us all-or most of us, at any rate. Therefore, in the mind of some coldly calculating and inhuman god, it might seem an eminently logical and necessary step to endow a faithful and trusted servant with the information needed to transform into a lich. The scrupulous performance of the research and processes necessary to complete the ritual of transformation, and the success or failure of the rite, would then prove the ultimate test of whether this servant was worthy of lichdom. I have no doubt there are human fiends who strive to find proper candidates for lichdom, and I doubt not their success. Evil religions have their own dark goals to counter the forces of light. To tip the balance, some evil deities surely attempt to find priests among their followings to turn into liches, making them much more powerful tools in some evil design. I have known some servants of these dark gods: they are a paranoid and elitist lot, certainly a mortal reflection of the vile things they worship. To earn the “gift” of lichdom (as I am sure they regard it), there are surely many trials of which only the priests themselves are aware. These tests must be extremely difficult, or I fear the world would be quite overrun with priestly liches; such a station would be highly prized by all creatures of evil bent. Having some understanding of the hearts and minds of evil, I speculate that the tests of lichdom are particularly strenuous because the transformation into lichdom represents an increase in power so significant that the deity may have difficulty maintaining control over the lich. This simple conclusion explains rather well why evil cleric liches fall into two types: those fanatically devoted to their deities, and those madmen attempting to become deities themselves. The fanatics are extremely rare (I know of only one in existence), but they actually are most open about their condition as liches, at least with other followers of their gods. (My knowledge of this was gained through, shall we say, eavesdropping.) They are the high priests of deities of death or disease. They preside over unspeakably foul rites in huge temple complexes, protected and sewed by legions of fanatic followers. Their deities reward their devotion with ever larger insights into the mysteries of magic, faith, and possibly the energies of that plane of negative energy. They are valuable generals in the ongoing battle between evil and good for the hearts and souls of mortals, and their gods reward their loyalty with bounteous prosperity, ample knowledge, and miraculous powers beyond those of even the “common” lich. A cleric lich is more likely to have salient abilities than is a wizard lich. These may be abilities granted by the Iich’s deity (and thus removable by the deity), or they may be manifestations of a difference or improvement in the nature of the ritual of transformation that invests the priest with lichdom. An evil lich attempting to become a deity is superficially identical to a fanatic, but it gradually subverts the devotion of its god's followers, first portraying itself as a mouthpiece, then as an actual personification of the god's power and desires. The lich walks a thin and twisted line of duplicity, hoping to amass enough of a following (and enough magical items, artifacts of power, and abilities) to promote itself to the status of a deity without its own go divining the lich's ultimate intent too soon and squashing the lich like the two-faced insect it is. Although I certainly have no direct evidence to support it, I believe that a cleric lich has a psychology all its own. The mind of the priest is swept away, shriveled by the potion and shattered by the rites. A cleric is a person of faith, faith in himself, faith in his deity, faith in the steadfast workings of the universe. The change into lichdom is a profound leap of faith in a direction that goes against the grain of the very constants of the universe. The mind of the being that exists after the transformation is profoundly different from the mind of the being that existed before, because it has taken it upon itself to defy the natural ordering of the gods with respect to itself. The cleric lich has set itself above its own god in the matter of the avoidance of its death, and the fact that it finds itself still in existence after the transformation, after having the temerity to defy the universal order, subtly but absolutely shifts the underpinnings of its mind. The cleric lich is created through the same process as is the wizard lich, except that the spells it casts are obviously clerical in nature. [b]Demilich:[/b] My best guess at the origins of a demilich is that it is an undead wizard who has lived so long, learned so much, and gathered such power that it has literally achieved a new level of existence. The creature's definition of power itself has evolved entirely beyond the grasp of the mortal mind, so the demilich has abandoned all mortal exploits in order to survey realms in which only the gods tread. Having no interest in the world that gave it form, the demilich surrenders that form, and its body crumbles to useless dust. All that remains is its skull. By the time its body falls into ruin, the lich has learned virtually all the arcane secrets of its world-all things that both should and should never have been discovered. It has had millennia to reflect upon its evil and the nature of power, and it has mused upon things that even the blackest hearts would call vile. Of any of these things, I can never be certain. All I can do is contemplate what they must be like, and, ironically, hope that I never learn the answers to my own questions! [b]Hero's Bane the Invincible, Demilich:[/b] ? [b]Ancient Dead, Mummy:[/b] Most of the ancient dead were once living, breathing people, but they defied death to walk again among the living-as mummies. Their tortured spirits remain bound to now lifeless bodies. I have infrequently discovered doomed spirits who were compelled to become ancient dead through no fault of their own. Most ancient dead, however, were not innocent victims of powers beyond their control. After years of research and interviews with eyewitnesses who have encountered the unquiet dead (including two interviews conducted magically with the dead themselves), I have concluded that some spirits pass into death with a predilection for returning as mummies. The common factor among these cases seems to be a fascination with and desire for the trappings of the mortal world. A mummy is created through a process in which the subject is only a passive participant. Though an individual can arrange to return from the dead as a mummy, it must depend upon others to carry out its wishes. Planned or otherwise, the process can truly begin only after the subject dies. The first step is embalming the corpse. True, a mummy can be created spontaneously through natural preservation of a body and the spirit’s own force of will. Even then, some external event triggers the mummy’s return. When confronted with the question of the origins of the ancient dead, most sages and mediums are unable to give any credible answer at all. A few priests, adventurers, and seekers of forbidden lore speculate that those rituals and processes used to create the ancient dead were developed after some long-ago theorist witnessed a spontaneous occurrence. One of my colleagues, Deved de Weise of Il Aluk, in Darkon, has offered a succinct explanation of the reasoning behind this theory. As to the probable origins of the creatures you call “ancient dead,” you [Van Richten] must concede that history is full of incidents involving the return of the dead to the world ofthe living. Here in Darkon, the rising of the dead is ingrained in local legend. If as you seem to have documented, departed spirits can return to their preserved bodies through force of will, then it must have been inevitable that some priest, obsessed with death and hungering for an extended life (or desperate to grant such a “gift” to a demanding liege) must have come upon an account of such an incident just as you have) or actually witnessed the event. Armed with this knowledge, the priest would need only the proper research materials and sufficient time to recreate the event. Because I have uncovered conclusive proof that the ancient dead can rise unassisted, I find it hard to contradict de Weise’s reasoning and conclusion. There is a more sinister theory about the origins of the ancient dead, however, to which I must attach greater verisimilitude because it is derived from firsthand knowledge. It comes from the journal of De’rah, a wandering priestess and a gifted medium. This fair lady claims to have been only a visitor to these lands of ours, and in any event she has disappeared utterly. Before departing on her final journey, she entrusted a copy of her journal to a wandering Vistana, who delivered it to me. The fact that lady De’rah could induce any Vistana to serve as a reliable messenger only increases my admiration for her abilities. Once the mummy lay quietly in its coffin again, we sought to discover some method of putting it to rest permanently. While my companions set about trying to decipher the numerous cartouches and hieroglyphs on the tomb‘s walls, l fingered my enchanted prayer beads and chanted a divination spell. Soon, I was conversing with the creature. Q: Huseh Kah, why do you walk among the living? A: Because of the curse of Anhktepot. Q: Who is Anhktepot? A: The first of my kind. From the journal of De’rah If Huseh Kah was correct in his belief that Anhktepot is the progenitor for all the ancient dead, then it appears that, in seeking his own immortality, Anhktepot loosed an entirely new evil into the land. As noted in the previous chapter, a mummy’s powers are set, but not necessarily fixed, at the moment of its creation. The chief factors that determine the mummy‘s rank are the strength of its attachment to the mortal world, the deceased’s emotional state at the time of death, the intricacy of the ritual used to create the mummy, and the opulence of the mummy‘s tomb. In some cases, other factors can increase a mummy’s rank. These include the power of the creature or creatures creating the mummy, and the amount of respect, fear, or veneration a mummy receives from the living. The legend of the aforementioned Anhktepot of Har’Akir is a case in point. Each ancient dead creature has a dual origin. First, a creature's mortal shell must be preserved so that it may house the spirit even after death. Second, the spirit itself must be compelled or induced to return to its body. Every ancient dead creature I know about falls into one of three subcategories: accidental, created, and invoked. The terms refer only to the processes that preserve the creature's body, and not to its motives or psychic traumas, which I will discuss in a separate section. Be warned that ancient dead whose origins bear no semblance to what I describe here might stalk the land. Undeath is a phenomenon that often confounds mortal understanding. It seems that an ancient dead can form when a corpse is naturally preserved after its living form is suddenly overcome by death. The creature also suffers, usually dying in great pain or turbulent emotion. In many cases, the medium that preserves a body was instrumental in bringing about death—perhaps even directly causing it. Any environmental condition that prevents a body from decaying can create a natural mummy. The most common conditions include burial in dry sand, freezing, and immersion in swamps or bogs. Other conditions might naturally embalm a corpse. My colleague George Weathermay, a ranger of some renown, speculates that quicksand, the cool waters of subterranean pools, and tar pits might also preserve the dead. Ancient dead creatures created unintentionally are extremely rare. They also tend to be among the weakest of mummies, since no outside agent exists to invest them with power. The vast majority of ancient dead rise when preserved corpses are deliberately turned into undead creatures. The typical mummy found in many lands is created from the corpse of a priest, carefully embalmed and wrapped for the ritual that binds its spirit with its body once again. My observations and research lead me to believe that there are two types of created ancient dead: subservient and usurped. Many powerful mummies (and a few of their lesser brethren) have the ability to create other ancient dead, usually by transforming their slain victims through some ritual or arcane process. Sometimes a usurped mummy has a more insidious origin. Even the most reverent and well-intentioned funeral rites can lead to undeath for the deceased if an enemy subverts those rites and lays a curse on the corpse. This subcategory includes the most terrible and powerful of all ancient dead. An Invoked mummy embraces undeath willingly, laying plans for a corrupted form of immortality while still alive. Rather, the reader should understand that the ancient dead rise only under specific circumstances, and these factors often leave their mark on the resulting creature. Servitor mummies are most often created by other mummies or by a mummy cult. Servitor mummies are almost always deliberately created, usually by the creature that later controls them. The tomb guardians of Har'Akir, for example, were created for the express purpose of watching over a pharaoh's tomb. Some ancient dead arise from the same circumstances that create ghosts. This is particularly true of accidental and invoked mummies: something in each creature's psyche maintains a link between spirit and body that outlasts death. This link can arise without a conscious desire on the dying person's part, perhaps providing a path through which an outside agent can create a mummy. This type of mummy strongly resembles a ghost, but the creature is fully corporeal. Sometimes the ancient dead rise in response to events that occur long after their deaths. After many hours of study and countless interviews with priests and mediums who have had some experience with these matters, I have come to believe that beings can pass fully from the mortal world, only to be drawn back when certain conditions prevail. Some force or summons compels the spirits to reenter their mortal bodies. In one case I documented, the creature returned in response to an ancient curse it had successfully avoided throughout its life. Strangely enough, when one of her descendants triggered the curse, the blight fell upon the dead ancestor. The curse was worded in such a way that the victim’s repose in death was interrupted so that she would waken and feel the curse’s effects. I have acquired several accounts of guardian mummies rising to protect ancestral estates, temples, and other areas that were important to them in life. One case involved a dedicated priestess who was interred beneath a temple, returning when the building fell into disrepair. In each of the cases I labeled “recalled,” the individuals appear to have died and departed from the world in the normal way, only to return in response to events that occurred long after their deaths. The material I have on the priestess who returned to save her temple from ruin is fragmentary, but she might have been interred with the stipulation that she protect or maintain the temple when necessary. If this is true, as I suspect it is, she is an example of an invoked mummy, recalled by a specific trigger. To many shortsighted individuals, the thought of physical immortality beckons like a sweet. radiant dream. It is true that our world offers many pleasures, but fate has decreed that only mortals may enjoy them. There is no shortage, however, of dark powers all too willing to indulge the misconceptions of the foolish. Natural mummies occur only under conditions that prevent or retard decomposition. Generally, a body must be completely sealed off from environmental changes and protected from scavengers. The medium that covers the body must possess some preservative qualities and must not contain oxygen or plants, animals, or microorganisms that cause decay. All of the examples cited by Van Richten and Weathermay are suitable for creating natural mummies, except subterranean pools. A body immersed in plain water would tend to decay unless the water was very cold, or oxygen depleted, or both. Further, the water would have to be free of living organisms. A submerged body covered with sand or mud is much more likely to be preserved. Note, however, that any body allowed to lie undisturbed might become mummified, including one concealed in a cool, dry attic or cave, or hidden in a barrel of wine. One factor Van Richten fails to note is the preserved body's age. Mummies cannot be created from fresh corpses: the body must be embalmed before it can house an ancient dead spirit. Natural embalming requires 10 to 100 years or more, depending on how quickly the preserving medium acts on the body. Immersion in a tar pit would transform a body fairly quickly. Preservation through freezing in ice or immersion in a bog takes much longer. Ultimately, the Dungeon Master must decide. Many of the ancient dead possess the ability to create their own undead minions. Unlike vampires, ghosts, and lesser undead such as ghouls and wights, all of which create undead automatically, a mummy must take deliberate steps to create undead minions. In addition to spells such as animate dead, some mummies understand the process of embalming and the funerary rituals required to create new mummies. Usually the victim must have died while afflicted with mummy rot, but death from mummy rot isn’t a requirement. Creating a mummy of the third rank or less requires 12-18 hours of effort to prepare the body, and a further 12-24 hours before the spirit becomes permanently fixed into the preserved body. A mummy of the fourth or fifth rank requires very careful embalming and funerary rituals on a massive scale: see Chapter Six for more details. We watched in horrid fascination as the mummy performed a ritual over the bodies, accompanied by a throaty and vulgar chant from the assembly. Soon the corpses stirred with unlife, and an awestruck hush fell over the temple. In Chapter Two, I briefly explained that the creation of an ancient dead being requires a preserved body and some reason for the departed spirit to return to that body. The first step, preserving the body, is not always sinister or evil. Embalming the dead, while not practiced everywhere, is an essential part of solemn and respectable funerary rituals in many lands. I have already warned the reader of the perils of interfering with such rituals. Still, the following particulars might prove to be useful in some circumstances. The first step in preparing a body for proper (that is, ceremonial) disposal usually involves evisceration and drying. This can take anywhere from 7 to 80 days. The residents of Har’Akir, for example, use an elaborate process that involves drying the body in a bed of natron (a naturally occurring salt) for 40 days. The internal organs are not discarded, but placed in sealed vessels called Canopic jars. Curiously, the Har’Akiri place the heart back after mummification-they consider it essential that this organ remain with the body. The body is then washed out, stuffed with various aromatic herbs, and carefully wrapped in linen bandages. In other lands the ritual is considerably different and might involve baking the body, cremating it so that only the bones remain to be interred, or coating the body with waxes and resins. It is at this stage that the true creation of an ancient dead begins. Powerful spells or alterations to the standard rituals serve to bind a spirit within its body, or to call it back from whatever afterlife to which it has gone. The conversion of a preserved body to an undead mummy usually is fairly rapid, regardless of the mourning period (usually no more than a few days). However, the resulting mummy often lies in “slumber” until wakened by an outside force. In all my dealings with truly powerful mummies (creatures of at least the fourth rank), each deceased was given full funerary rites, totaling 70 days or more, and interred in a resplendent tomb. Lesser mummies, by contrast, might not receive any funerary rites at all. This is obviously the case with naturally mummified ancient dead and with most that were created by other mummies. In the latter case, a victim generally is subjected to a ritual that is similar to the local burial rites, but bent entirely toward creating an undead creature. Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creatures: anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few. Finally, a power is abroad in these lands of ours that visits doom upon the greedy and foolish. Through this power, the ancient dead become endlessly trapped in prisons of their own making. Take care not to join them. A RECIPE FOR FINE MUMMIFICATION Lay body on a stone slab. Insert long metal instrument with hook through nostrils and pull brains out. Rinse brain cavity with palm wine. To open torso, carefully slit skin of left flank with sharp stone knife. Withdraw all vital organs through opening: heart, intestines, liver, lungs, and so forth. Set aside. Rinse body cavity thoroughly with palm wine: rinse again with spice infusion. Pack body cavity with herbs and spices, especially myrhh and cassia. To purify flesh, immerse body in oil and resins for no fewer than 40 days. Treat organs with spice and oils. Place treated lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines in individual Canopic jars of stone or alabaster, with stoppers. Test body for doneness. When all flesh has been dissolved and naught but skin and bones remains, wash body again. Plump body and face with bags of myrrh and cinnamon for a natural look. Important: Return heart (center of intelligence and feeling) to chest. Return kidneys to abdominal cavity also, if desired. Sew body incision if desired. Leave small opening so heart may be withdrawn for testing in the underworld. Anoint body with scented oils, or treat with resin, or both. Wrap body with strips of linen treated with gum. Enclose scarab over heart, along with other protective amulets. Place mask over head. Place Scrolls of the Dead between thighs so deceased can reach them easily in the underworld. Place body inside series of coffins, including outer sarcophagus made of stone. Store upright in a cool, dark place. [b]Huseh Kah, Mummy:[/b] Once the mummy lay quietly in its coffin again, we sought to discover some method of putting it to rest permanently. While my companions set about trying to decipher the numerous cartouches and hieroglyphs on the tomb's walls, l fingered my enchanted prayer beads and chanted a divination spell. Soon, I was conversing with the creature. Q: Huseh Kah, why do you walk among the living? A: Because of the curse of Anhktepot. Q: Who is Anhktepot? A: The first of my kind. From the journal of De’rah [b]Anhktepot:[/b] I first heard the legend of Anhktepot during a visit to the land of Har’Akir, many years ago. According to Har’Akiri folktales, Anhktepot was an ancient king or pharaoh. He became so fond of ruling that he could not bear to think of his reign ending, even in death. He bent all his will toward cheating death and returning to his throne. When he finally died (murdered, some say), his burial was accompanied by a lavish ceremony and the ritual deaths of all his most valuable advisors. If Anhktepot does still walk the dunes of his arid country, he has truly gotten his wish. If the tales are true, a desire to cheat death dominated Anhktepot’s thoughts during life. Furthermore, as a pharaoh, Anhktepot could indulge in his obsession to a degree unimaginable for a common man. He had the resources of a nation at his disposal, and he used them. Anhktepot commanded for himself embalming and funeral rites on a grand scale, with an elaborate tomb to match. My investigations in the land of Har’Akir revealed that the tomb of Anhktepot has in excess of 80,000 square feet of floor space, including a complete temple to a deity of the underworld and no less than thirty subsidiary tombs for the pharaoh’s family, servants, and advisors. Most of the tomb is carved from solid rock, and the structure is filled with monumental statuary ranging from 1 foot high to titanic figures many feet tall. The tomb’s ultimate cost is incalculable by any standards. [b]First Rank Mummy:[/b] Ancient dead of the first rank are created spontaneously, with little or no pomp and circumstance. [b]Second Rank Mummy:[/b] In many cases, second-rank mummies rise spontaneously if the circumstances surrounding their deaths are sufficiently charged with emotion. In most other cases, mummies of this rank are created by evil spellcasters or by other undead. [b]Third Rank Mummy:[/b] Mummies of the third rank do not normally rise spontaneously, though I have no evidence to suggest that they cannot do so. More typically, these types of mummies are created as the result of a powerful ritual or by the hand of a more powerful sort of ancient dead. [b]Fourth Rank Mummy:[/b] Ancient dead creatures of fourth rank rise only after a powerful ritual has been completed and their bodies have been interred in elaborate tombs. Usually the deceased took active roles in planning their funeral rites and burial, fully intending to return to the physical world as mummies. Many of these individuals believe themselves to be so powerful that death has no sway over them; others actively embrace death in an attempt to seize greater power or to gain control over the afterlife. [b]Lamenting Rake of Paridon, Timothy Strand, Invoked Fourth Rank Mummy:[/b] Most accounts identify this creature as a ghost, a spirit so consumed by excess and debauchery in a famine-plagued land that it was condemned to walk the city streets where it once lived and witness revelries it could no longer share. The journal of the doomed man, however, reveals a different tale: Timothy Strand squandered a bright future and a family fortune by making his life a continuous frolic. When he felt an early death approaching, he poured all his remaining wealth into an ornate tomb, which also was to serve as a temple to an evil deity. As part of this dark pact, Timothy was guaranteed a continuing life, surrounded by comfort and luxury. To seal the pact, Timothy had himself slain and embalmed. He expected to return from death and did, as a mummy able to appreciate-but never to enjoy-the pleasures of the flesh. [b]Fifth Rank Mummy:[/b] Fortunately, the wealth and labor of an entire nation is required to invest a mummy with this level of power. [b]Bog Monster of Hroth, Mummy:[/b] The Bog Monster of Hroth was one of several armed raiders who were lured into a bog, entrapped, and slain by the defenders of a town the raiders meant to pillage. The raider who later returned as the bog monster must have felt a strange and awful mixture of fear, humiliation, and frustration as death overcame him. Upon hearing his story, we questioned Jameld at length and discovered two key facts. First, the victim's corpses invariably rotted very quickly. Second, the bog had been the site of an unusual battle many years before. According to Jameld, a band of minotaurs-strange creatures with the heads of bulls and the bodies of huge men-had once tried to raid the town. The elves, however, were wary and laid an ambush for the monsters. Using their superior woodcraft, they surprised the raiders near the bog and inexorably drove them into it. The last phases of the battle took place in pitch darkness, after the moon had set. Both sides relied on their night vision during the fight. Further questioning revealed that the minotaur chieftain had been last to die in the battle. Volleys of arrows had driven the creature far into the bog until it finally sank from sight, thrashing and cursing. It now seemed likely the monster from the bog was the restless, naturally mummified corpse of that minotaur chieftain. [b]Lich-Priest Pythian:[/b] ? [b]Quinn Roche, Rotch, Mummy:[/b] I have recorded many stories involving a dedicated collector of fine armor. This wealthy man, Quinn Roche, ordered that the choicest items from his collection be placed in his tomb along with him. It is said that when one of the items was later stolen, Roche rose to regain it. A second account alleges that Roche rose when groundwater seeping into his tomb caused valuable armor to rust. The collector came forth not only to see that this armor was restored, but also to insure that his precious collection would not be so endangered again. Yet another tale maintains that Roche awoke to tirelessly pursue a victim who owned a rare suit of plate mail of etherealness, which Roche (spelled Rotch in this particular manuscript) sought to add to his collection. After studying these materials carefully, I concluded that these stories, which cover a span of 260 years, all refer to the same being, which rose several times for different but obviously related reasons. [b]Ahmose Tanit, Iurudef Hamid, Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Animal Mummy:[/b] In some cases, the preserved body of a common animal can be reanimated as one of the ancient dead. Nearly every animal mummy is created deliberately, as an animal has neither the intelligence nor the force of will to return to the mortal world on its own. Nevertheless, an extraordinary animal can return on its own, especially if it was carefully interred upon its death. [b]Hissing Cat of Kantora, Mummy:[/b] In life, this creature was a mage's familiar that wasted away and died after its mistress, Caron de Annemi, met an untimely death. The slain wizardess's companions carefully laid the animal to rest to commemorate their fallen comrade, whose body could not be recovered. The cat returned a generation later when a foolish young wizard claimed de Annemi's research into illusions a s his own. [b]Monster Mummy:[/b] Though many other types of creatures have physical bodies, not every body remains a suitable vessel for a spirit once death overtakes it. Evil spirits such as the rakshasas of Sri Raji, extraplanar creatures such as aerial servants, and created creatures that never were truly alive, such as golems, cannot return as ancient dead. Monster mummies can be created only from living creatures native to the Prime Material Plane. Extraplanar creatures such as elementals and tanar'ri, or creatures that never were truly alive (such as golems), cannot become mummies. Most humanoid race do not practice funerary customs elaborate enough to create mummies. When encountered at all, humanoid mummies are created servitors or naturally preserved creatures of the third rank or less. [b]Composite Mummy:[/b] These mummies are almost certainly created. (My years of undead hunting have bred in me a sense of caution that prevents me from saying “always.”) They are constructed from bits and pieces of several different creatures, sewn or otherwise joined together in the same manner as flesh or bone golems are fashioned. Some humanoid parts invariably decorate the mix, and a humanoid spirit animates the mummy. Parts of any creature with a corporeal body, however, can be used to construct a composite mummy. [b]Baboon Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Bull Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Cat Domestic Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Cat Great Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Crocodile Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Dog Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Eagle Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Hawk Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Elephant Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Horse Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Camel Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Snake Constrictor Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Snake Venomous Animal Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Hugh Ignolia, Mummy:[/b] One such case immediately springs to mind: the tale of Hugh Ignolia, an aspiring artist in Il Aluk. lgnolia became obsessed with completing a massive, epic painting that he hoped to present to Lord Azalin. The artist expended a considerable fortune assembling the finest materials for the work, including some exquisite paintbrushes made from rare and exotic materials imported from distant lands. True to his nature. Lord Aralin ridiculed the artist when lgnolia presented his painting, and the poor wretch was driven mad. When lgnolia rose from the grave, he set about retrieving his rare paintbrushes, even though these implements had only led him to disappointment and madness. [b]Sage of Levkarest, Mummy:[/b] ? Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creatures: anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few. [b]Imhoptep, Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Son of Kyuss:[/b] ? [b]Senmet:[/b] ? [b]Tiyet:[/b] ? Confer (Conjuration/Summoning, Invocation/Evocation, Necromancy) Level: Wizard 9 Range: Touch Duration: Special Area of Effect: One creature Components: V, S, M Casting Time: 1 round Saving Throw: None This spell is cast in conjunction with create minion for the purpose of creating a quasimancer (see Chapter Seven). When the confer spell is cast upon the created minion, the undead creature's mind becomes attuned to spell memorization. The lich then plants the spell repertoire of a 9th-level wizard (including number of spells and levels) within the minion's mind. The quasimancer can afterward cast the implanted spells at its discretion, as if it were the wizard who memorized them. The lich must expend spell energy equal to the level of the spell placed in the quasimancer's head. In other words, to place a 5th-level spell in the quasimancer, the lich must expend the equivalent of a 5th-level spell from its daily allowance of carried magic. The quasimancer can receive spells from its master only once: when ill of its spells are cast, it becomes a nindless undead. Note that the quasimancer must have all spell components necessary to cast the spells implanted in its mind. This spell cannot be cast upon any undead creature other than one raised by a create minion spell. Casting this spell upon a living person instantly causes insanity that can be cured only by a psionic being using psychic surgery or someone using a wish. The material components of this spell are the minion and a bit of brain tissue from a sentient being of at least average intelligence. Create Minion (Necromancy) Level: Wizard 9 Range: 10 feet Duration 1-20 days Area of Effect: One creature Components: V, S, M Casting Time: 1 round Saving Throw: Special This spell is used in conjunction with confer in order to create a quasimancer (see Chapter Seven). When the lich casts create minion, a corporeal undead minion is animated and reinstated with a portion its former life essence, giving it artificial intelligence and spellcasting potential. In terms of physical traits, the minion becomes, in effect, a wight, having all the abilities and statistics of that creature (as per the Monstrous Manual tome). The newly created minion is entitled to a saving throw vs. spell (as a 5 HD creature) to avoid failing under control of the lich. If it succeeds, it will do its best to escape the lich, then go on a killing spree, resentful of the knowledge that its time of existence is limited. (Some created minions may attempt to find a wizard and force him to cast permanency upon them, thus negating the 1d20 day expiration of the spell.) A minion that fails its saving throw falls under complete control of the lich and acts as its master's agent in the field. Its intelligence allows it to command other undead in its master's name, and it remains susceptible to the confer spell. A created minion under a lich's control makes all saving throws at the level of its master. It is immune to enfeeblement, polymorph, electricity, insanity, charm, sleep, cold, and death spells. It exudes a fear aura, 5-foot radius, requiring a successful save vs. spell of an onlooker who must flee for 2d4 rounds if the save is failed. Casting this spell upon a living person requires the victim to make a successful save vs. death magic or the person immediately dies, becoming a created minion entitled to the saving throw against control detailed above. The material components of this spell are the body to be raised and a bit of brain matter from a being with at least average intelligence. Animate dead by touch: The lich is able to cause zombies and skeletons to rise with a mere touch. Such creatures are turned by clerics at a level equal to the lich that raised them, as long as the lich is within 200 feet of those undead. The lich may raise as many creatures as are available. All undead created in this fashion rise as 2 Hit Die creatures that behave as common zombies and skeletons, except as noted above.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17481/Van-Richtens-Monster-Hunters-Compendium-Vol-3-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Van Richten's Monster Hunting Compendium 3[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghost:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Vampire:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Lich:[/b] This spell is similar in some ways to the ritual that wizards and priests use to become liches, although the result is not quite as predictable and the effect does not grant the caster eternal life. [b]Demilich:[/b] ? [b]Azalin, Lord of Darkon, Wizard-Lich:[/b] ? [b]Count Strahd von Zarovich:[/b] ? [b]Baron Metus, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Unliving Animal:[/b] ? [b]Spectral Hag:[/b] In most cases, death marks the end of a being’s evil, even for a powerful creature such as a hag. Still, it is not unheard of for people of great strength of will to cling to this existence even beyond the end of their natural lives, especially if they die in a particularly emotional state or with the feeling that they have left a critical task unfinished. Hags are no different. [b]Hasiaph, Spectral Hag:[/b] The monstrous crone let out a coughing moan and slipped to the floor. Even as she fell, Gondegal withdrew his sword and severed her head from her shoulders with a mighty blow. My legs gave out also, and a battered and bloody Gondegal rushed to help me to my feet. A question formed on my lips, but before I could ask how he had survived the fall from the parapet, I spotted movement behind Gondegal. He noticed the shift in my expression, because he whirled about, ready to face the new threat. A fine mist rose from the blood spilling from Hasiaph’s body. It slowly coalesced into a large, humanoid shape. Gondegal and I recognized the form, uttering shocked gasps in unison: We were watching the formation of a spectral hag! Hasiaph’s hatred of my lineage was so strong that even death would not stop her from slaying me and wiping it out! [b]Bowlyn:[/b] ? [b]Spectre:[/b] Every touch from a spectral hag, from a caress to a savage blow, drains life energy from the victim with an intensity that mirrors that of the average vampire. As I demonstrated in my Guide to Ghosts, this ability is not unremarkable among evil spirits by itself. There is an additional twist to this power as it is displayed in the spectral hag, however: The souls of those so slain become trapped in an undead state as spectres under the undead hag’s command, serving her in death as her minions served her in life. [b]Odem:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Revenant:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Death Knight:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Zombie Lord:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Wraith:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Radiant Spirit:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Ghost Second Magnitude:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Ghost Third Magnitude:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. [b]Ghost Fourth Magnitude:[/b] [i]Borrowed Time[/i] spell. Borrowed Time Level: 5 Range: Self Duration: Special Area of Effect: Caster Components: M Casting Time: 3 days Saving Throw: None Warlocks and witches often struggle against powerful foes or face tasks they cannot complete in their lifetimes. To achieve their objectives or even the odds with their enemies, they might turn to the Weave for help, to extend their lives. This spell is similar in some ways to the ritual that wizards and priests use to become liches, although the result is not quite as predictable and the effect does not grant the caster eternal life. Instead, it allows the caster, once his life has ended through natural or unnatural means, to rise as an undead and to continue his existence in this form until a specific task has been completed. That task must be specified during the casting of the spell, which takes place over the course of three days and involves a series of purification rituals and meditations to focus the character's mind on the task to be done. Regardless of the character's intention or the task to be completed, the single-mindedness that prompts someone to cast this spell attracts the attention of local evil powers, if the rules from Domains of Dread, Chapter Seven, are in play. Upon completion of the spell, the character must make a powers check with a 5% chance of failure. If a character dies before the stated goal has been obtained, the caster rises again within 1d6+1 days as an undead. During this time, raise dead or resurrection spells have no effect. If the body is destroyed as a result of the circumstances surrounding the death, or it is destroyed before the caster returns from the dead, the caster become an incorporeal undead. (The type of undead that the caster becomes is determined by using a table later.) If the caster manages to complete the set task before death, the spell has no effect. The character's undead existence lasts until three days after the specified task has been completed. The character then expires a second time and cannot be revived by any means at all, including a wish. The Weave provides the character with enough time to achieve the goal, then completely absorbs the caster as “interest” on the “borrowed time.” A character slain while in an undead state is forever destroyed. If the caster does not make constant progress toward achieving the goal, the Weave may claim the caster prematurely. Essentially the completion of the task should always be the character's top priority, although minor side trips and distractions are permissible for characters who are part of covens, or who want to continue to work with lifelong comrades. (The Dungeon Master decides whether the player is abusing this extra “lease on life” that the character has received.) The witch or warlock retains the alignment and spellcasting abilities possessed in life. The character continues to become more adept in spell use by using the advancement system provided in the guidelines for characters who adopt the witch or warlock kit in play. The character earns 25% of the normally gained experience points. All other class benefits are lost except for basic weapon and nonweapon proficiencies. Hit Dice are the standard for the monster type assumed. A hero who rises as an undead must add +5% to all powers checks made under the Domains of Dread rules. If a hero fails five such powers checks after starting this new existence, the hero is automatically destroyed and cannot be brought back to life through any means, even a wish. (Dungeon Masters might also consider making the hero roll a saving throw vs. death magic whenever the undead abilities are abused, used in offensive ways that do not relate directly to achieving the task set while casting the spell. Once five such saving throws have failed, the hero is destroyed as described above.) In a RAVENLOFT campaign, however, there is a special risk. Upon dying again, a hero makes a saving throw vs. paralyzation as per a fighter of a level equal to the hero's Hit Dice. If the saving throw is successful, the character is absorbed by the Weave and gone forever from the campaign. If the save fails, the character rises again three nights later as a full-strength wraith, with a burning hatred for all living things, particularly former friends and loved ones. Rorrowed Tme Conseqsences 1d100 Undead type 01-10 Odem* 11-20 Revenant 21-30 Death knight 3 1 4 5 Zombie lord* 46-56 Wraith 57-65 Radiant spirit** 66-75 Revenant 76-85 Ghost (second magnitude)*** 86-90 Ghost (third magnitude)*** 91-95 Ghost (fourth magnitude)*** 96-00 Vampire * See the first RAVENLOFT MONSTROUS COUPENDUM appendix, or else replace this with a ghost. ** See the RAVENLOFT MONSTROUS COMPENDUM Appendix III or else replace this with a revenant. *** Ghost magnitude is detailed in Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Volume Two (TSR #11507). The Dungeon Master assigns appropriate salient abilities, determines the ghost's personality, and the circumstances under which the ghost was created. Otherwise, the ghost from the MONSTROUS MANUAL should be used.[/spoiler] [URL="www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17424/WGA4-Vecna-Lives-2e?affiliate_id=17596"]Vecna Lives[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Kas the Terrible, Vampire:[/b] As he lived out the remainder of his years, Kas was steeped in the energies of the Negative Material plane. Slowly these accumulated and transformed him. The energy ate out his body from the inside. Finally, it seized his heart and soul, but Kas did not die. Instead, Kas the Terrible was transformed into one of the most fearsome of undead, a vampire.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17523/Vecna-Reborn-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Vecna Reborn[/URL][spoiler] [b]Vecna:[/b] Vecna was an extraordinarily powerful wizard (some say the most powerful wizard of all time) who became a lich. But because evil such as theirs can never completely fade, Vecna arose again, this time as a demigod. His servant and betrayer Kas returned as a powerful vampire. [b]Kas:[/b] But because evil such as theirs can never completely fade, Vecna arose again, this time as a demigod. His servant and betrayer Kas returned as a powerful vampire. [b]Reaver:[/b] ? [b]Skeletal Steed:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul Lord:[/b] ? [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Jacairn, Spectral Hag Annis:[/b] ? [b]Haroln, Mage 3 Priest 10 Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Quoolarn, Ghoul Lord:[/b] ? [b]Ghast:[/b] Victims of Qoolarn's bite must save vs. poison or contract a disease. This disease causes the loss of 1 point of Constitution and Charisma each day. If either score reaches 0, the victim dies and rises again as a ghast. This disease is cured only by a heal spell. [b]Shadow:[/b] They are attacked by the spirits of slain warriors, condemned to spend all eternity in this battleground, in the form of the shadows. [b]The Hideous Engine:[/b] Somewhere along the pass, the heroes encounter one of Vecna's hideous war machines, composed of undead bodies and spirits thrust and mangled together in unholy ways. [b]Desert Zombie:[/b] Each full hour spent in the Ashen Waste, they lose one level or Hit Die. This loss continues until the victim dies, becoming a desert zombie under the control of Vecna. [b]Undead Giant Vulture:[/b] ? [b]Gigantic Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17567/Villains-Lorebook-2e?affiliate_id=17596]Villain's Lorebook[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Dread Warrior:[/b] Dread Warriors are a form of undead created by SZASS TAM. They can be produced from any warrior of at least 4th level who's been dead less than 24 hours. [i]Animate Dread Warrior[/i] spell. [b]Blood Warriors:[/b] The Blood Warriors are a type of undead soldier created by Kazgaroth. The Beast used his corrupting mass charm ability to transform a troop of normal living beings into his fanatically loyal, undead servants. Kazgaroth's final offensive power is perhaps its most insidious. A corrupted form of the mass charm spell, this ability transforms a troop (up to 500 persons) of living beings into the undead minions of Bhaal known as the Blood Warriors. [b]Spirit Wraith:[/b] [i]Zin-Carla[/i] spell. [b]Ghoul:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. [b]Skeleton:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. [b]Wight:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. [b]Wraith:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. [b]Zombie:[/b] [i]Unlife[/i] spell. Animate Dread Warrior (Necromancy) Level: 6 Range: Touch Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 1 turn Area of Effect: One creature Saving Throw: None This spell creates an undead creature known as a dread warrior. The spell requires the corpse of a fighter of at least 4th level who has been dead for less than 24 hours. After casting, the corpse rises in 1-4 rounds as a dread warrior under the control of the spell's caster. Unlife (Necromancy) Level: 8 Range: Touch Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 8 Area of Effect: One creature Saving Throw: Neg. Used only by evil wizards, this spell enables the caster to transform a single victim into an undead creature under his control. The caster touches the subject, who must then save vs. death magic. If the save fails, the subject instantly dies and is transformed into an undead creature under the control of the caster. The exact type of undead depends upon the level of the victim. Individuals of 1st-3rd level become skeletons (50%) or zombies (50%). Those of 4th-6th level become ghouls, those of 7th-8th level become wights, and those of 9th level or higher become wraiths. Using this spell, the caster can control a number of undead creatures equal to his level. The material component of this spell is dirt from a freshly dug grave. Zin-Carla (Necromancy) Level: 7 Sphere: Necromantic (Lolth) Range: Touch Components: V,S,M Duration: Varies Casting Time: 4 rounds Area of Effect: One creature Saving Throw: Special This spell is “the highest gift of Lolth,” granted rarely even to favored drow priestesses. It is a special form of animate dead, which creates a special sort of zombie known as a spirit-wraith. Imbued with skills, hit points, armor class, and THAC0 it have in life, this creation is telepathically linked to and controlled by the caster of this spell, usually a drow matron mother. This spell may not be instantaneously granted, or may be denied entirely, at Lolth's (as in the DM's) will. It is granted only for the completion of specific tasks, and these may never be purely to work revenge or bring harm on other drow. Failure in the task brings on the disfavor of Lolth. Zin-carla involves the forcible return of a departed soul or spirit to its body. Only through the willpower and exacting, sleepless control of the caster are the undead being's desired skills kept separate from unwanted memories and emotions. The duration of the spell is limited by the needs of the task, the patience of Lolth, and the mental limits of the caster, for a total loss of control usually means failure. So long as that control is maintained, the spiritwraith cannot tire or be distracted from its task. It does not feel pain or disability, and will continue to function as long as it remains mobile. A spirit-wraith cannot be made to cast spells without losing control over its mind entirely, but can fully use combat and craft-skills possessed in life. If control is lost, the wraith becomes a revenant, driven by hatred and the memory of its violation at the hands of the zin-carla caster. Uncontrolled spiritwraiths do not stop until the zin-carla caster is destroyed. A spirit-wraith driven to do something against its old nature has a chance of breaking free of its control (treat as a charm spell, with the same saving throw as in life). For example, one cannot successfully use this undead to destroy a being that it loved in life. (A fact that Matron Malice Do'Urden learned to her chagrin.) Spell-like natural powers (such as the levitation ability of drow) are retained and can be used by the undead. The spirit-wraith can use its former experience and memories, as much as allowed by the spellcaster. Both the spirit-wraith and the caster are immune to the effects of spells that attack the mind, and similar spell-like powers (such as the mental blast of a mind flayer). It knows wariness, anger, glee, hatred, frustration, and triumph, but not fear. It cannot be controlled by the spells and priestly powers normally used to command encountered undead, and control of it cannot thereby be wrested away from the caster of the zin-carla. Spirit-wraiths do not breathe, but can speak (if allowed to do so by their controller). They can utter command and activation words, and the controlling caster can speak through them directly, but spell incantations will take effect if uttered by the undead. To stop a spirit-wraith it must be physically destroyed; if it is still able to even crawl, it will do so, tirelessly, searching for a way to complete its task. The material components of this spell are the corpse to be re-animated, and a treasured object that belonged to the person to be controlled. If the corpse is badly decomposed or not whole, other spells (such as Nulathoe.s ninemen) and magical unguents also will be required, to restore it to a whole condition. Wizards and other powerful creatures (such as mind flayers, aboleth, or cloakers) who raid and despoil drow cities can expect to face either a full-scale attack-or a spirit-wraith or two.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17363/WG8-Fate-of-Istus-1e-2e?affiliate_id=17596]WG8 Fate of Istus (1e/2e)[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghost:[/b] This section of Re1 Mord was a crowded area of commoners' residences until a fire destroyed most of it in 1152 O.R. More than 500 persons died in the smoke and flames. After the fire, clean-up crews complained of hauntings and strange occurrences, and the area was abandoned. This ghost is the spirit of an evil-worshiper who kept her nature secret. She's been disturbed from her slumbers by the activities of Mordel. [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] The wight was once a brutal mercenary captain, who came to Harper's Hold to force Diambeth into giving him some information that the hard wished to keep secret. When it became obvious he had no choice, the bard summoned his guardian from room 2 to slay the captain. While there would he no legal consequences from his act, Diambeth decided it would be best if the captain's colleagues never found out about his fate. Rather than dumping the body outside his grounds as he would otherwise have done, the bard made other arrangements: a secret chamber, where the captain would remain undisturbed. As with others of great evil, however, the captain's spirit didn't find rest. Consumed with hatred for Diambeth-which, over the years, generalized to hatred for the living-the captain became a wight. [b]Haunt:[/b] In life, the haunt was an elven cavalier who swore a mighty oath that she’d bring warning to the Theocrat himself that a large bandit force was massing on the border for an attack into the Pale. Since the cavalier died more than 20 years ago, her information is a little out of date, but her oath still binds her. [b]Spectre:[/b] Mordel and his assistant had opened one of the crypts (the one marked “F” on the map), and had taken various unpleasant substances from within. Mordel’s activities around the cemetery have disquieted some of the dead, and the occupant of this crypt is no exception. In life, he was a lawful evil assassin who entered the city disguised as a visiting cleric of Pholtus. While in Wintershiven, he died in a tragic accident and was interred-ironically enough-with great honor. His spirit was already troubled over his body being buried with people so antithetic to his alignment; now this last desecration proved to be the last straw. Ten rounds after the combat with Mordel begins, the occupant rises as a spectre. [b]Xaene the Accursed, Two-Headed Lich:[/b] Xaene, once ousted from the court wizard position he had coveted for such a long time, took to studying necromancy, an art he had become efficient in while creating Ivid’s various servants. While raiding graveyards and tombs he came upon the artifact described in room 17 above, as well as those detailed in room 11. All three artifacts are aligned to Nerull, especially the Tapestry of Nightmares. In unraveling the tapestry’s secret, Xaene was converted to neutral evil (from chaotic evil) and was transformed into a lich. However, his mind, strong as it was, could not stand (or fathom) the change; and his will persisted to such a stubborn degree that Nerull actually cursed Xaene, saying, “You have two minds-so have two heads to go with them!” [b]Mummy:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Shadow:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Nerlax, Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Swordwraith:[/b] ? [b]Coffer Corpse:[/b] ? [b]Juju Zombie:[/b] ? [b]Bach:[/b] ? [b]Giant Bach:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL='www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17421/WGR1-Greyhawk-Ruins-2e?affiliate_id=17596"']WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins[/URL] [spoiler] [b]Troll Spectral:[/b] It has recently been noted that humans slain by a spectral troll become spectral trolls themselves in three days, unless a proper burial ceremony is performed (by a priest of the victim’s own religion, of course). There has been much speculation about the origin of spectral trolls. Some sages maintain that the spectral troll is simply a magical variant of normal troll, and they point to its lack of a negative material bond (i.e., no energy drain) as proof of their position. However, others maintain that the lack of an energy drain is no proof that the troll wraith is not undead, as many admittedly undead creatures possess no such attack. They point to the skeleton, zombie, and even the lich as prime examples of their position. Few believe that the troll wraith is a magical cross-breed, created by some mad wizard for his evil pleasure, as it is obvious to all that the solitary and belligerent nature of the creature makes it useless as a guardian or even as an assassin. If it was an experiment, they agree, it was certainly a failed one. There is new speculation that the troll wraith is not undead at all, but is in fact the product of some powerful curse gone awry. New information from dubious sources also seems to link the fate of the troll wraith to that of the mysterious shades, rumored to dwell on the plane of Shadow. In any case, the ecology and nature of the spectral troll, or troll wraith, is an active topic for debate among the many retired adventurers and sages-for-hire dwelling throughout Greyhawk. The actual truth behind the suspicions, allegations, and suppositions may never be known.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17528/When-Black-Roses-Bloom-2e?affiliate_id=17596]When Black Roses Bloom[/URL][spoiler] [b]Lord Loren Soth, Lord of Sithicus, Death Knight:[/b] Lord Soth is a death knight (see the MONSTROUS MANUAL), a corrupted Knight of Solamnia who was cursed by the gods for betraying that order's sacred oaths of honor and service to the cause of good. The blast of magical fire that turned Soth into an undead creature permanently blackened his armor; no amount of polishing can remove the fine layer of soot that covers it. Honor. Devotion to duty. Chivalry. Love. Military law. Discipline. As a Knight of Solamnia on the world of Krynn, the Lord Soth held these concepts dear. He followed the Measure of his order, paying tribute to the gods, holding to the letter of his Oath, and fighting for good on behalf of Paladine, the father of all good and the patron god of all valiant warriors. In time, he was awarded the order's highest honor and became a Knight of the Rose. "Est Sularus oth Mithas. My honor is my life." Soth's dishonor became his death. Cruelty. Jealousy and greed. Falsehood. Unbridled lust. Infidelity. Murder. Through these acts, Soth became what he is today—a death knight, a fire-blackened, undead travesty of all he once stood for. There once was a mighty warrior whose jealous passions and neglect of duty led him to lose all that was dear to him—his love, his life, his very spirit. His tale is a descent into darkness and evil. His name is Lord Soth, and this is his story. Long, long ago, Lord Soth was mortal. Nearly four centuries ago, he fought on the side of good in the distant land of Solamnia. In those days, Lord Soth was a Knight of Solamnia. Through deeds of great daring and chivalry, he earned each of that order's honors—crown, sword, and rose. He built the mighty Dargaard Keep of rose-red stone, and married the beautiful Lady Gladria of Kalaman. Proud he was of his wife, though it was duty alone made him wed her. Proud he was of his fortress strong. Pride. As we Vistani say, "The greater the pride, the farther the fall." And what caused this proud warrior to fall? Desire for a woman who was forbidden to him. Possessing her would make a mockery of his wedding vows. Possessing him would contradict her own promise to the gods. But then, as we Vistani say, "The sweetest fruits lie behind the stoutest fence." Lady Isolde was her name. She was an elf maid of Silvanost, travelling with thirteen other maids to the mighty city of Palanthas. There she would pledge herself to the god Paladine the Valiant Warrior, father of all good, platinum dragon of the evening sky. The maids were beset by bandits and taken prisoner. There were dozens of the rogues, perhaps even hundreds. Somehow, they had known just where and when to strike. Lord Soth met their leader, a fearsome ogre, in single combat. He fought the brute in accordance with the rules of fair combat, besting him even though the ogre resorted to trickery and unfair tactics. The bandits fled—and Lady Isolde fell into Lord Soth's arms. An innocent spark of love was kindled. All too soon it became the flame of lust. The elf maid had vowed to serve her god but had not yet been sworn a priestess, and so had no formal oath to break. Lord Soth, however, was bound to his wife by sacred marriage oath. His vows were binding "until death parts us." There was only one way to break those vows. And so Lord Soth committed the ultimate sin. He ordered his seneschal, a vain and evil man named Caradoc, to murder Lady Gladria. What should have been a bed of love was turned into a death bed. Blood on her bedclothes showed that murder had been done, though her body was never found. With unseemly haste—and without a tear of mourning for his dead wife—Lord Soth took Lady Isolde to live with him in Dargaard Keep. His bloody secret seemed safe, but the elf maids who accompanied Isolde had sharp ears and keen eyes. Somehow, they learned of Lord Soth's crime. Somehow, their gossip reached the ears of the High Knights. Called before a council of his peers, Lord Soth was found guilty of murder, adultery, and dishonoring the vows of his order. He was dragged through the streets of Palanthas in shame and sentenced to death. The execution would take place the very next day; according to tradition, Soth would die by his own sword. That night, thirteen knights who had remained loyal to Lord Soth rescued him from his prison. By dark of night they stole away to Dargaard Keep. The Knights of Solamnia besieged the keep, demanding that Soth emerge to meet his fate. They lifted the siege just long enough for Lord Soth to wed Isolde in a joyless, sparsely attended ceremony. The siege was a long and harsh one, but Dargaard Keep held. Just as things were at their darkest, the god Paladine spoke to Lord Soth. The knight's sins would all be forgiven if he undertook one last, heroic task. Success would mean Soth's death—but also bring about his salvation. Paladine ordered Lord Soth to journey to the city of Istar, where the Kingpriest of that city was about to demand of the gods the power to eradicate all evil from Krynn. Unless the priest could be stopped, the gods would retaliate by utterly destroying the city. Only Soth could prevent this cataclysm. Lord Soth set out for Istar. But he never reached the city. What stopped him? Soth never reached Istar because the fiery hand of jealousy gripped his heart. One of the elf maids whispered in his ear that Isolde had been unfaithful to him, that the son Isolde had borne was not Soth's own. Infuriated, Lord Soth rode home to confront his wife with her imagined crimes. At the same moment that he raised his mailed fist to her, the Kingpriest of Istar raised his voice to the heavens. The furious gods hurled a mountain at the city—and hurled holy fire at Dargaard Keep. Even as she was consumed by the flames, Lady Isolde begged her husband to save the life of Peradur, their newborn son. But Lord Soth turned away. He lost his wife, his son, his life, and his spirit that day. But something evil lived on inside his empty chest. And so Lord Soth was reborn as a death knight. A creature of darkness, a heartless servant of evil. A mockery of a man, with an icy voice and chilling touch. A fiend capable of killing with a mere word, of causing wracking pain with a mere glance. A creature capable of turning the bravest warrior's blood to ice, of burning the holiest priest to cinders with a mere thought. A creature who bends the shadows to his will and laughs in the face of the gods. [b]Tickelmop Toothfang, Kender Vampire:[/b] Tickelmop is one of 50 kender whose village was drawn into Sithicus from Krynn some 15 years ago. Lord Soth killed half of them in hideous experiments, and the other half were turned into vampires. [b]Caradoc, Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Baron Gundarak:[/b] ? [b]Count Strahd Von Zarovich:[/b] [b]Skeleton:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] At will, Lord Soth can cause any dead warrior to rise from the ground as a zombie completely under his control. [b]Kender Vampire:[/b] Tickelmop is one of 50 kender whose village was drawn into Sithicus from Krynn some 15 years ago. Lord Soth killed half of them in hideous experiments, and the other half were turned into vampires. [b]Poltergeist:[/b] ? [b]Skeletal Warrior:[/b] ? [b]Banshee:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton Animal:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [/spoiler] 2e Dragon Magazine[spoiler] Dragon 150[spoiler] [b]Vampire:[/b] Any human or humanoid creature slain by the life energy drain of a vampire is doomed to become a vampire himself. Thus, those who would hunt these lords of the undead must be very careful lest they find themselves condemned to a fate far worse than death. The transformation takes place one day after the burial of the creature. Those who are not actually buried, however, do not become undead and it is thus traditional that the bodies of a vampire's victims be burned or similarly destroyed. [b]Vampire Eastern:[/b] ? [/spoiler] Dragon 156[spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] The DM could rule that the normal undead-creation process (in which a being killed by certain undead beings becomes an undead creature, too) is magical. [b]Skeleton:[/b] The only undead that are magically created are skeletons and zombies, which are created with the animate dead spell. [b]Zombie:[/b] The only undead that are magically created are skeletons and zombies, which are created with the animate dead spell.[/spoiler] Dragon 158[spoiler] [b]Prikolic:[/b] The prikolics are dead werewolves that have been animated as zombies.[/spoiler] Dragon 159[spoiler] [b]Spectre:[/b] If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him. [b]Wight:[/b] If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him. [b]Wraith:[/b] If a character is killed by a spectre, wight, or wraith using its energy drain, then he is doomed to become one of the creatures that killed him.[/spoiler] Dragon 162[spoiler] [b]Archlich:[/b] Archliches are caring individuals who've deliberately become undead so they can better serve a cause or protect a beloved being or place. [b]Skotos:[/b] Skotos are spirits that have broken free of the netherworld and now roam the world of the living as undead. [b]Sluagh:[/b] The unforgiven dead. The spirits of dead mortals. The undead forms of warlike elves who turned on their fellow elves and were slain in battle. [b]Ghost-Stone:[/b] Ghost-stones are just that: stones inhabited by ghosts. A powerful, evil individual may choose to send his malicious spirit into a specially prepared stone upon his death. [b]Spiritus Animae:[/b] A spiritus anime is a type of undead created only when a human, demi-human or humanoid creature is buried alive, either intentionally (as a torture or sacrifice) or by accident (such as a landslide or the result of a tragedy involving a disease, a feign death spell, etc.). Many (40%) of those so buried become spiritus animes, desperate to escape burial and return to the surface. [b]Ankou:[/b] The ankou is an undead creature who was a miserly farmer or peasant in life, a person so debased as to have murdered his own family out of greed or to have allowed his family to perish rather than share his hoard of food with them. When death claims such a person, his soul sometimes returns as an ankou. [b]Ghost:[/b] ghosts are the souls of creatures who were either so evil or so emotional during life that, upon death, they were cursed with undead status. Take the case of a person hopelessly in love with another (in literature, this is often a young girl who's fallen for a heartless cad). When the girl realizes that her love is unrequited, she falls into despair and kills herself. Her passion is so strong, even in death, that her soul remains bound to the Prime Material and Ethereal planes as a ghost. The ghost's suicide might not be an attempt to escape from pain, but rather an act of anger, a spiteful “grand gesture.” As with haunts (Monster Manual II, page 74), people who die leaving a vital task unfinished might remain bound to the world by their own indomitable will or sense of duty. A ghost might be bound to the world not by its own will, but by the existence of a particular object. In literature, this “spiritual anchor” is sometimes an item that was of great emotional importance to the ghost while alive, hut more often it is a piece of the ghost's mortal body. [b]Lich:[/b] Horror literature contains many tales of people who were too involved in their pursuits, often magical research, to even notice their own deaths. Their concentration is intense enough to bind their spirits to their bodies, and to the Prime Material plane. Perhaps at the time of their physical death, their concentration and willpower was intense enough to bind them to the material world, or perhaps the transition was the whim of a deity. [b]Shadow:[/b] Shadows “appear to have been magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient curse.”[/spoiler] Dragon 167[spoiler] [b]Animal Skeleton:[/b] [i]Animate Dead Animals[/i] spell. [b]Animal Zombie:[/b] [i]Animate Dead Animals[/i] spell. Animate Dead Animals (Necromantic) Level: 1 Components: V,S,M Range: 10 yards CT: 2 rounds Duration: Perm. Save: None AE: Special The use of this spell is often a necromancer's first experience with the animation of corpses. This spell creates undead skeletons and zombies from the bones and bodies of dead animals, specifically vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). The animated remains will obey simple verbal commands given by the caster. The caster need not use other magicks to communicate with these undead, as they will understand his commands no matter what language he uses. Only naturally occurring animals of semi-intelligence or less can be animated with this spell (e.g., lizards, cats, frogs, weasels, tigers, etc.), including minimals (see “Mammal, Minimal,” in the Monstrous Compendium) and nonmagical giant-sized animals. These undead remain animated until they are destroyed in combat or are turned; the animating magic cannot be dispelled. The number of animal undead that a wizard can animate is determined by the animal's original number of hit dice, the caster's level, and the type of undead being created. The caster can create the following number of animal skeletons: – Animals of ¼ HD or less: four skeletons per level of experience. – Animals of ½ to 1 HD: two skeletons per level of experience. – Animals of 1+ to 3 HD: one skeleton per level of experience. – Animals of 3 + to 6 HD: one skeleton per two levels of experience. – Animals of over 6 HD: one skeleton for every four levels of experience. The caster is also able to create the following number of animal zombies: – Animals of ¼ HD or less: two zombies per level of experience. – Animals of ½ to 1- 1 HD: one zombie per level of experience. – Animals of 1 to 3 HD: one zombie for every two levels of experience. – Animals of over 3 HD: one zombie for every four levels of experience. The animated skeletons of animals that had ¼ to 1 HD conform to the statistics of animal skeletons as given in the Monstrous Compendium (see .Skeleton.). Skeletons of animals that had less than ¼ HD conform to those statistics, with the following changes: AC 9; HD ¼; hp 1; #AT 1; Dmg 1. Skeletons of animals of over 1 HD conform to the statistics for the animal as given in the Monstrous Compendium, with the following changes: armor class is worsened by two (maximum of AC 10), damage per attack is reduced by two (minimum of 1 hp), and movement is reduced to half normal. Animal zombies conform to the statistics for the particular animal that has been animated, with the following changes: the animal's number of hit dice is increased by one, the armor class is worsened by three (to a maximum of AC 8), and movement is reduced by half. Undead animals have special defenses only of the appropriate type of undead (e.g., immunity to cold-based, sleep, charm, and hold spells), with none of the special defenses that the natural animal might have had. Special physical attacks are those of the living animal only (e.g., raking of rear claws, swallowing whole, etc.). These undead cannot inject poison or emit, fluids such as musk or saliva. Swallowing does no further damage to the creature swallowed, except to trap it within the swallower's rib cage. Priests receive a +1 bonus on all attempts to turn these undead. For this spell to work, the animal bodies or skeletons must be intact. The material components for this spell are a drop of blood and a bone chip from the type of animal that is to be animated (only one animal type may be animated per spell).[/spoiler] Dragon 173[spoiler] [b]Thinking Zombie:[/b] Thinking zombies are formed when a creature dies while under some powerful compulsion to perform a given task (such as when under the influence of a geas or quest spell). Such a creature's spirit continues striving to complete the task assigned to it. [b]Fael:[/b] Faels are formed when a gluttonous person dies and his spirit still hungers for the excesses he knew during life. [b]Raaigs:[/b] They are incorporeal spirits sustained by an unwavering and unshakable faith in their ancient gods. [b]Meorty:[/b] When a great king of the ancients died, his body was specially preserved with salts and limes; it may or may not have been swathed in cloth. It was then laid to rest in a secret crypt with vast amounts of treasure, so that the king might continue to watch over the welfare of his realm. The spirits of such rulers continue to abide with their bodies, sustained by the duty with which they were charged upon death. [b]Racked Spirit:[/b] Racked spirits are the incorporeal, tortured remnants of persons who committed an act that violated the basic nature of their character. Their guilty spirits cannot rest even after death. The most common type of racked spirit, of course, is the dwarven banshee, created when a dwarf forsakes his life purpose. [b]Dhaot:[/b] Dhaots are incorporeal undead created when an individual with a powerful love of home or some other special place dies far away. When the body dies, the spirit is overwhelmed by a desire to return home. [b]T'liz:[/b] A t'liz is created when an extremely powerful defiler dies before completing his magical studies. [b]Lich:[/b] After Darklight had used the wand (and the kender band had “found” all of the things there were to “find”), Waldorf was resurrected. But Waldorf had become a lich! The wand had malfunctioned and just happened to cast a spell that transformed the nuclear man into a mean and nasty undead. [b]Undead:[/b] Sometimes, however, when a powerfully motivated person dies, his spirit does not perish. Instead, it either continues to reside in the dead body (most necromancers classify such as “corporeal”), or it separates from the body and does not fade away (in which case it is classified as “incorporeal“). This spirit refuses to accept its destruction. The body dies, but the spirit continues to strive after what it pursued in life. In essence, by an act of willpower, it defies death and enters a state that is neither life nor death. From my experiences on Athas, the type of undead that a person becomes upon his demise depends upon the nature of the compulsion that prevented his spirit from “going to the gray,” not upon what race he is. Of course, it cannot be denied that certain races have tendencies to fall into certain categories of undead, but this is a reflection of normal racial proclivities toward common types of motivations and behaviors. No force, natural or supernatural, determines whether a member of a given race will become a certain type of undead. [b]Skeleton:[/b] Skeletons and zombies are what I call “walking dead” rather than true undead. They have no intelligence and no independent will; they are always the servants of some other being and have simply been animated to serve his purposes. [b]Zombie:[/b] Skeletons and zombies are what I call “walking dead” rather than true undead. They have no intelligence and no independent will; they are always the servants of some other being and have simply been animated to serve his purposes. [b]Ghast:[/b] “He forced me to carry the corpse he had selected to the site of the massacre of the farm's inhabitants and, as I followed him, I was followed by his trio of ghouls, all hoping to somehow get a taste of the body. I was ordered to place the corpse next to the remains of the newly dead. All-Fear-His-Howl then began to perform some ritual over the bodies. “After an interminable period, the exhumed body began to twitch and rock, while the recent kills became flaccid and empty of all contents, now little more than a collection of bones and skin. And then, suddenly, the jerking corpse's eyes opened, and it stood up, the horrible stench of the dead assaulting my senses like never before. The witch doctor had created a more powerful undead servant in the form of a ghast. Some 20% of flind shamans of 4th or higher level know of a special ritual to create a ghast.[/spoiler] Dragon 174[spoiler][b]Undead:[/b] Sucking the life from a humanoid creature, like marrow from the bone, from using the Death Field psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, may allow it to return from the grave to haunt the character. The type of undead created is usually whatever undead creature most closely matches the hit dice or level of the creature killed. Regardless of the creature's original hit dice, there is a 20% chance that the dead being will walk again as a revenant. Like the death field power, creatures killed by the life draining psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft can become undead and seek revenge. [b]Revenant:[/b] Sucking the life from a humanoid creature, like marrow from the bone, from using the Death Field psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, may allow it to return from the grave to haunt the character. The type of undead created is usually whatever undead creature most closely matches the hit dice or level of the creature killed. Regardless of the creature's original hit dice, there is a 20% chance that the dead being will walk again as a revenant. [b]Shadow:[/b] If the character rolls a 20 while using the Shadow Form psychometabolic discipline in Ravenloft, the dark side of his nature is freed and he becomes a shadow, as per the monster, under the control of the DM for 1-4 turns. [b]Lich Psionic:[/b] Before a psionicist can cross over into the darkness that is undeath, he must attain at least 18th level. In addition, he must be possessed of a great array of powers that can be bent and focused in ways new to the character. The first step in the creation of a phylactery is the crafting of the physical object that will become the creature's spiritual resting place. Phylacteries come in all shapes, from rings to crowns and from swords to idols. They are made from only the finest materials and must be fashioned by master craftsmen. Generally, a phylactery is fashioned in a shape that reflects the personality of the psionicist. The cost of creating a phylactery is 5,000 gp per level of the character. Thus, a 20th-level psionicist must spend 100,000 gp on his artifact. Once the phylactery is fashioned, it must be readied to receive the psionicist's life force. This is generally done by means of the metapsionic empower ability, with some subtle changes in the way that the psionicist uses the power that alters its outcome. In order to complete a phylactery, the psionicist must empower it with each and every psionic ability that he possesses. Although an object cannot normally be empowered with psychic abilities in more than one discipline, the unusual nature of the phylactery allows this rule to be broken. However, before “opening” a new discipline within the object, the would-be lich must transfer all of his powers from the first discipline into it. For example, if a character has telepathic and metapsionic abilities, he must complete the empowering of all of his telepathic powers before he begins to infuse the object with his metapsionic ones. Once a discipline is “closed,” it cannot be reopened. During the creation of the phylactery, the psionicist is very vulnerable to attack. Each time that he gives his phylactery a new power, he loses it himself. Thus, the process strips away the powers of the psionicist as it continues. Obviously, the last power that is transferred into the phylactery is the empower ability. The effort of placing this ability within the phylactery drains the last essences of the psionicist's life from him and completes his transformation into a psionic lich. At the moment that the transformation takes place, the character must make a system-shock survival roll. Failure indicates that his willpower was not strong enough to survive the trauma of become undead; his spirit breaks up and dissipates, making him forever dead. [b]Dread Wolf:[/b] These creatures were originally created by a renegade mage, Galen Dracos of Krynn. To create these servants, a mage must be evil and at least ninth level, and must have 3-12 wolves that have been dead for no more than a day. The spell-caster then begins a long incantation over the dead wolves that combines modified versions of animate dead, summon shadow, and dismissal. By doing this, the mage summons a shadow from the Negative Material plane and breaks it into parts. These parts are infused into the wolves as they animate, creating the dread wolves. The spell-casting takes an hour. If the spell is interrupted, the energies of the shadow's separate parts are unleashed. When this happens, the mage takes 3d10 points of physical damage (no save) from the otherworldly energy blast, just as if he had been caught in an ice storm spell. For some unknown reason, the spell that makes dread wolves will not work on dogs. If the mage tries to cast the spell on dogs, he will take 3d10 points of damage as described earlier. [b]Vampiric Wolf:[/b] These foul undead creatures are the result of corrupting ceremonies used on normal wolf pups by certain evil clerics. In order to create these foul corruptions of nature, a cleric must be evil and at least ninth level. He can use 3-18 pups from one or more wolf dens. The pups must be very close to being weaned away from their mother, but cannot have tasted meat or they will be useless. The evil cleric first performs a ceremony using what amounts to the opposite of an atonement spell. Then, every day he must hand feed the pups. The food can be no more than one day old; it must also be infused with one or two drops of blood from a living human or dust from a vampire and cursed using a reversed bless spell. This must continue every day for three months or the pups die. At the end of the three-month period, the pups are fully grown and must then be slain by poisoning; they then arise as vampiric wolves. It should be noted that it is impossible to create vampiric dogs. Man's long partnership with dogs seems to have robbed them of some essential characteristic needed to make the change work.[/spoiler] Dragon 184[spoiler] [b]Undead Hulk:[/b] The undead hulk is a magical construction created through the use of special enhancements developed by the neogi. The creature is formed from the remains of dead umber hulks. Undead hulks are created through a bizarre magical ritual developed by the neogi (the details of which are left up to the DM) and the magical joining of dead umber hulk parts. Each part (head, right arm, right leg, etc.) must come from a different umber hulk. [/spoiler] Dragon 185[spoiler] [b]Undead Watroach:[/b] Typically, an adult watroach is sought out in the desert, surrounded, and killed. A psionic kill is preferred, leaving the corpse unmarred for future construction. Once taken back to a city (usually on a large wagon behind two or more mekillots or driks), the watroach's carcass is prepared. The brain and guts are removed, as is much of the honeycombed hive material. The drones are smoked out over large fires, and the dormant proto-adult is discarded. Usually, the top of the hive chamber is then opened and a platform installed, and a variety of other individual weapons positions are cut into all of the three body sections. Once finished, the beast is raised from the dead by templar magic. [b]Alhoon, Illithilich:[/b] Alhoon are very rare, magic-using outcasts from mind-flayer society who have defied elder-brains to achieve lichdom, becoming “illithiliches.”[/spoiler] Dragon 186[spoiler] [b]Cariad Ysbryd:[/b] A cariad ysbryd, or “ghost lover,” is the spirit of a decidedly good female (usually sylvan) elf who has chosen to remain among the living after death so that she may continue to perform good deeds. [b]Memento Mori:[/b] A memento mori is created by a priest's spell (see below) to serve as an everlasting remembrance of a dead person, and as an evervigilant guardian over its body. [b]Tymher-Hyaid:[/b] When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate, but if a large number of them are killed at one time and place, and if they don't receive proper funerary rites, they may return as an exceedingly minor form of undead, called collectively a tymher-haid, or “ghost-swarm.” [b]Wight:[/b] When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate. [b]Spectre:[/b] When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate. [b]Ghost:[/b] When powerful evil people or creatures are slain, there is a chance that they will return to plague the living as undead, such as wights, spectres, and ghosts. Weaker and less evil creatures usually do not suffer this fate. Create memento mori (Necromantic) Priest 3 Sphere: Necromantic Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 2 hours, plus 1 hour for every die of energy imparted Area of Effect: Body touched Saving Throw: See below The casting of this spell on a dead body causes a sliver of the soul that once inhabited the body to return to the Prime Material plane and become a memento mori, standing guard over its body. Only one memento mori can be made from each person's soul, as a loss of a greater number of soul-slivers would be detrimental to the soul wherever it now rests. In addition, a memento mori cannot be created if the body of the deceased is not present, nor if the body or soul of the deceased has already been turned into some other form of undead. Unlike other spells that create undead, this use of create memento mori is not considered evil if, when he was alive, the person who becomes the memento mori was part of a culture believing in this practice as an accepted custom. Each memento mori is able to cause a mild, static-electric effect that they use to defend their bodies against cowardly pests, and most are also imbued with electrical energy they can use in combat. The material component for this spell is a collection of herbs, spices, oils, and precious substances that are placed in or about the body as it is prepared for internment. The cost of these stuffs is 500 gp, with an additional 25 gp worth of these things being required for every hit die of electrical energy the memento mori is to be imbued with (e.g., a memento mori to be imbued with two hit dice worth of energy would cost 550 gp, while 1,000 gp would produce a memento mori with 20 hit dice available to it). These oils and such are all incorporated into the body when the spell is cast and are not recoverable.[/spoiler] Dragon 188[spoiler] [b]Flying Fingers:[/b] These flying hands are specially enchanted crawling claws (from MC3, the first FORGOTTEN REALMS supplement to the Monstrous Compendium) that have been imbued with the power of flight. [b]Skeleton Champion:[/b] These rare undead are simply normal undead skeletons treated with secret necromantic spells so as to have extra powers. [b]Skeleton:[/b] [i]Double Spell[/i] spell. [b]Zombie:[/b] [i]Double Spell[/i] spell. Double spell (Necromancy) Level: 3 Comp.: V,S,M CT: 1 rnd. AE: Special Range: Touch Dur.: Special ST None This rare spell affects only simple undead (basic zombies and skeletons from humans, demihumans, humanoids, and animals, but not the variants based on these body forms, such as crawling claws, ju-ju zombies, and baneguards). To take effect, this spell must be cast on newly created undead or remains that are to be immediately animated, within three rounds before or after the casting of the animate dead spell that creates the undead. It operates only if triggered, and the triggering can be one of two sorts, of which one must be chosen during casting. The most commonly chosen trigger is magic. If any magic (including a dispel magic spell!) is cast on the undead or cast to include the undead in its area of effect, the undead vanishes, and two full-hit-point replacements appear in its place. Replacements appear at the beginning of the round after the one in which the original vanished. This is a one-time-only occurrence; multiple double spells won't work on the same undead, so “doubling” can't be made an ongoing process. A separate double spell is required for each undead to be affected. This spell only creates duplicates of the targeted undead, not other sorts of undead. Any equipment carried by the original undead vanishes, consumed by the activated spell, and is not duplicated for either of the replacements (magical items are teleported away to a random location, not destroyed). The second trigger is clerical turning or disruption. When these are used against the guarded undead, it vanishes and is replaced by two full-hit-point, identical replacements that are immune to turning or disruption! (The same restrictions on undead type, occurrence, and equipment apply as for the spell's other triggering.) The material components of this spell are a drop of blood, a small glass prism, two hairs (from any source) and the undead or remains to be affected.[/spoiler] Dragon 191[spoiler] [b]Animus:[/b] Slaughtered by the Overking and resurrected by Hextor's priests as undead monstrosities.[/spoiler] Dragon 194[spoiler] [b]Zombie Juju:[/b] Humans or humanoids slain by negative energy weapons can be animated as juju zombies, but unless the spell-caster is also the one who wielded the killing weapon, they will be free-willed. [b]Undead:[/b] If a negative energy weapon is used against energy-draining undead, the wielder loses 1-4 of his own hit points, as the weapon's dweomer interacts with the “energy vacuum” inside wights, wraiths, etc. A character who uses this weapon against undead can turn himself into an undead monster, even if the monster doesn't fight back! [/spoiler] Dragon 197[spoiler] [b]Flameskull:[/b] These magically powered flying skulls are fashioned from human heads soon after death, by a magical process first developed in long-lost Netheril and still practiced by a few evil priesthoods (such as that of Bane) and magical societies (such as those based in Zhentil Keep and Thay).[/spoiler] Dragon 198[spoiler] [b]Ka:[/b] Once, the ka was a noble, king, or pharaoh. After death, the mummified body continued to live on in the tomb as an undead monster. [b]Angreden:[/b] An angreden is the walking corpse of an individual who died under a curse, or who was so filled with hatred and anger in life that he refused to lie still in his grave. [b]King-Wight:[/b] A king-wight was once a powerful evil king. When he died, he became undead, continuing to rule the ranks of the walking dead. His death is often voluntary, a self-sacrifice made to gain a prolonged existence. [b]Wraith King:[/b] Wraith-kings were once powerful individuals who so feared death that they made unholy bargains with an evil god. Each individual believed he was gaining immortality, but was instead turned into an undead monster. A wraith-king became undead as the act of an evil god. [b]Vartha:[/b] ? [b]Wight:[/b] Any victim completely drained of life points by the king-wight becomes a full-strength wight. [b]Wraith:[/b] A wraith-king can drain life levels by gaze alone at the rate of one level per round for any one victim within clear view in a 30. range (the victim must save vs. death ray each round to avoid this effect). Any victim completely drained of life levels becomes a full-strength wraith under the control of the wraith-king.[/spoiler] Dragon 200[spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] The curse of refusal. Death has refused to allow the Bokor entry to the realm of the dead, so all Bokor become undead upon their deaths. The exact form that an undead Bokor assumes depends on the level that the Bokor attained in life. Convert the character's level to hit dice and consult the table for turning undead for the appropriate form. For example, a 6th-level Bokor would become a ghast or wraith when he dies. If the Bokor is 12th level or higher when he dies (the “Special” category on the table), the character becomes an Orish-Nla (an African demon resembling a shadow fiend). The Bokor loses his spell-casting abilities upon death, unless the undead form taken is normally capable of casting spells. [/spoiler] Dragon 205[spoiler] [b]Undead Dragon Slayer:[/b] An undead dragon slayer is a horrifying creature who returns from the dead to continue the pursuits it dedicated its former life to–namely, destroying dragons. Some dragon slayers return as the result of necromantic magic, others due to their own indomitable strength of will. Any slayer of 9th level or greater who died before his holy task was finished can rise as an undead warrior. Most are called back from the grave by necromantic magic. A small number of dragon slayers will themselves back from the dead. These individuals have the utmost faith in their cause, an undying hatred of dragons, and a supernatural strength of will. [b]Shadow:[/b] A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. [b]Wraith:[/b] A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. [b]Ghost:[/b] A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. [b]Spectre:[/b] A spirit will rise to the heavens only if the corpse is given a proper burial by his fellow tribesmen. A man who was scalped, strangled, or not given the proper burial has a 10% chance to arise as a type of undead spirit; roll 1d6 to see what he becomes: 1-3 shadow; 4 wraith; 5 ghost; 6 spectre. [/spoiler] Dragon 206[spoiler] [b]Undead Steed:[/b] ? [b]Flying Skull:[/b] Tashara was brilliant at magecraft; she had the rare knack of being able to combine the enchantments of others into more powerful spells that hung together by themselves. Her power grew with great dispatch, until she mastered a means (doubtless by practicing on talentless farmers and later minor magelings, who ultimately became servants and guardians of her various abodes--and may survive still, in remote places around Faerun) of creating undead that retained their wits, yet were under her control. Tashara perfected this undeath in the form of a flying, disembodied skull accompanied by animated skeletal hands--the former able to speak and cast spells, and the latter able to gesture and carry small, light items. [/spoiler] Dragon 210[spoiler] [b]Ekimmu:[/b] The Ekimmu was the departed spirit of a dead person unable to rest. The ekimmu themselves were once humans. The ekimmu died far from home and were not given proper burial rites. [b]Casurua:[/b] The casurua is an undead phenomenon that results from a group suffering traumatic death. It is most likely to form where a massacre has taken place, but could be found anywhere a group might suffer violent death, such as a battlefield or a burned-out building. It is possible for the actions of the player characters to result in a casurua forming (for example, a high-level fireball exploding in a packed room). A casurua is partly a ghost, hence its need for ectoplasm. But a casurua also is a kind of bizarre “recording.” The trauma of multiple violent deaths has imprinted itself upon the physical surroundings where the deaths occurred. A casurua could form any place where violent death is common. Battlefields are usually exempt because a soldier has adjusted to the thought of violent death. If treachery was added, however, a casurua could form on a battlefield. Otherwise, a casurua is most likely to be found on the sites of disasters (natural or otherwise). Ruins, especially places that were looted, are prime habitats for casurua. [b]Keres:[/b] ? [b]Charuntes:[/b] Charuntes were once the priests of some neutral evil death god, goddess, or major fiend. [b]Dark Lord:[/b] A dark lord is an extremely high level, chaotic evil NPC who was slain by a sphere of annihilation and has managed to return to the world as one of the undead. In essence, when the dark lord was killed, it was sucked into another dimension. [/spoiler] Dragon 224[spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] Dwarven tombs and mausoleums are never placed or marked above ground; such practices are only for elves and humans, and a dwarf buried less than 10' beneath the surface allegedly spends the afterlife in discomfort and might even rise again as undead. [/spoiler] Dragon 227[spoiler] [b]Bainligor Revered Ones:[/b] Eventually, the eldest of the bainligor leave their tribes, compelled by an inner voice to seek out dry, empty caverns where their bodies are transformed for the last time. Once they return from their seclusion, they are undead creatures of 10+9 hit-dice, called Revered Ones. Elder bainligor can transform other creatures into undead. This requires a successful attack roll, and entitles the victim to a saving throw against death magic at +1/level or HD of the target (bainligor are not entitled to a saving throw). The creature becomes a zombie unless it is a bainligor, which becomes a Revered One with the HD it had in life. [b]Zombie:[/b] Elder bainligor can transform other creatures into undead. This requires a successful attack roll, and entitles the victim to a saving throw against death magic at +1/level or HD of the target (bainligor are not entitled to a saving throw). The creature becomes a zombie unless it is a bainligor, which becomes a Revered One with the HD it had in life.[/spoiler] Dragon 229[spoiler] [b]Skeleton Warrior:[/b] [i]Bestow Major Curse[/i] spell. Bestow Major Curse (Abjuration/reversible) Level: W9/P7 Range: Touch Components: V, S, M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 8 Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: Negates By touching a victim, the caster bestows a major curse upon him. The caster can choose whatever effect or parameters he wishes from the list of major curse effects. The victim is allowed a saving throw vs. spell; if successful, the curse is negated. The material component required is a personal possession of the target, which is not consumed in the casting. Only a wish or the reverse of this spell, remove major curse, eliminates any of the major curse effects. Undeath: This is believed to be how skeleton warriors originated. This curse transforms the PC instantly into an undead creature. He retains all intelligence and former abilities The accursed is under the caster’s control unless the caster does not specify it as so or the caster dies. A raise dead spell reverses the curse. DMs may choose to make the undead PC unable to function in daylight, or apply other effects, such as having the PC’s body begin to decay or desiccate.[/spoiler] Dragon 234[spoiler] [b]Undead Dragon:[/b] Creation of an undead dragon is a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming task. The necromancer must have access to the animate dead spell as well as a fragment of the appropriate undead creature as an additional material component. The creation of a ghoul dragon, therefore, requires a bit of ghoul flesh, a spectre dragon requires a sample of spectre essence, etc. Finally, the project requires a reasonably intact dragon corpse, the exact condition of which depends upon the type of undead dragon to be created. Any true dragon species may be used, including dragon turtles. Dragonets and other creatures superficially resembling dragons, like wyverns and dragonnes, are unsuitable. Once the required components are assembled, the necromancer must prepare the corpse so that it may receive the recalled spirit or — in the case of the non-corporeal undead types — serve as a link and guide to the departed spirit upon its return to the Prime Material Plane. The time and cost of this preparation are noted below for each undead type. The process is not foolproof. As befits their powerful and magical nature, dragon spirits are extremely willful and difficult to control. Animation of the lesser undead types might require only a weak spirit or a small portion of the stronger one, but a necromancer seeking to create any of the intelligent undead types must summon the spirit of a comparatively powerful dragon and bend it to his own will — an arduous task for even an experienced mage. Once he has made his preparations and cast the necessary spells, the necromancer must then make a successful saving throw vs. spell (adjusted for Wisdom only), or the entire attempt has failed with a complete loss of time and money spent. This saving throw may require further adjustment depending upon the alignment, Hit Dice and personality of the original dragon. It is particularly difficult, for example, to force the lawful good spirit of a gold dragon into the form of a chaotic evil vampire dragon; apply a saving throw penalty of -1 for every degree of alignment difference between the undead type being created and the original dragon. Similarly, the intelligent undead tend to have certain personality traits in common (gluttonous ghouls and vengeful ghosts, for example); dragon species with the appropriate nature are noted in the individual descriptions below. Sympathetic traits allow the caster a +4 bonus to his save when attempting to create that type of undead dragon. Attempts to create one of the more powerful undead dragon types are more likely to result in failure. The necromancer must not only summon and control increasingly powerful spirits but also allow the spirit a fair amount of self-will even as he strives to infuse it with power drawn from the Negative Material Plane. This bit of tricky magecraft incurs a further penalty to the saving throw for success determined by the undead type to be created. These penalties are noted in Table 1: Saving throw modifier summary. Likewise, older dragons possess stronger wills; therefore, a -1 saving throw penalty should be applied for every age category of the dragon beyond the adult stage, to a maximum of -6 in the case of a great wyrm. By making his saving throw, the necromancer has successfully created an undead dragon under his direct control. Though this control could be temporarily suspended by clerical turning or a control undead spell, it is otherwise permanent. If the saving throw fails, however, the necromancer has lost the battle of wills and must rest for a number of days equal to the difference between the saving throw rolled and the number required for success. If the saving throw roll would have failed even had no negative modifiers been applied, the dragon spirit has passed beyond reach and can never be recalled from the Outer Planes by that caster or any other. If the failed saving throw would have succeeded in the absence of any negative modifiers, however, the caster may try again at a later date when these modifiers have improved, either by attempting to create a more suitable undead type or when he has gained enough experience levels to improve his saving throw vs. spell. Table 1: Saving throw modifier summary Condition Modifier Wisdom bonus of creator -4 to +4 Dragon species and undead type are different alignment -1 to -4 Dragon species is a “preferred” type +4 Dragon is a mature adult or older -1 to -6 Undead type being created see undead dragon summary Example: A 9th-level necromancer (Wisdom 15) attempts to create a mummy dragon from an adult brass dragon of chaotic neutral alignment. His unmodified save vs. spell is 10, adjusted by +1 for Wisdom, -3 for three degrees of alignment difference (CN vs. LE), +4 for a preferred type, and -5 for a mummy dragon. A d20 roll of 13 grants success, a roll of 5–12 means failure, and a roll of 4 or lower means total failure and the spirit can never be recalled. [b]Dragon Zombie:[/b] A relatively intact dragon corpse (i.e., one with no missing limbs) is all that is required to create this type of undead dragon. Dragon zombies are often created from young or small dragons — or following a failed attempt to create one of the intelligent undead types. Because a spirit other than that of the actual dragon corpse animates the dragon zombie, modifiers for alignment and species are not necessary, and all saves are made at +4. Repeated attempts at creating a dragon zombie are possible should the necromancer fail on his first attempt, though he must repeat the preparation time and purchase new materials. [b]Dragon Skeleton:[/b] An intact dragon skeleton is not necessary for creation of this undead type; the skull, spine and claws of the dragon are the only pieces that are absolutely required. The bones of some other large creature may be substituted for any other part that is missing from the dragon skeleton. Dragon skeletons may be created ‘from any dragon species but are usually created from young or small dragons that are unsuitable for the creation of a more powerful undead types. As with dragon zombies, any available spirit can serve to animate the skeleton, and modifiers for alignment and species are unnecessary. Repeated attempts at creating a skeleton dragon are possible if the necromancer does not succeed on his first attempt. [b]Ghoul Dragon:[/b] Ghoul and ghast dragons may be created from the intact corpse of any dragon of young age or older. Evil and greedy dragons make the most suitable ghoul and ghast dragons. The preferred types are red, white, black, topaz, deep, shadow, yellow, and brown dragons. [b]Ghast Dragon:[/b] Ghoul and ghast dragons may be created from the intact corpse of any dragon of young age or older. Evil and greedy dragons make the most suitable ghoul and ghast dragons. The preferred types are red, white, black, topaz, deep, shadow, yellow, and brown dragons. [b]Wight Dragon:[/b] A wight dragon spirit must inhabit an intact dragon corpse; however, the time required to prepare the body generally means that the animated body is in a state of advanced decomposition. Most are similar in appearance to a dragon zombie, except that they have glowing eyes (and could be mistaken for dracoliches). The dragon that supplies the corpse must have been at least of young adult age when it died; wight dragons are best created from especially vicious or territorial evil dragons. The black, red, white, topaz, and brown dragon species make excellent candidates. [b]Wraith Dragon:[/b] To create a wraith dragon, a complete adult dragon corpse is necessary, though it may be ‘in any condition, even skeletal. The more cunning and intelligent dragon species are most suitable for the creation of a wraith dragon: blue, green, emerald, sapphire, and cloud dragons. [b]Mummy Dragon:[/b] The method by which the mummy dragon is created is ancient, probably among the first methods known and used by early necromancers and cultists. Desert-dwelling dragons of adult age or older are most commonly made into mummy dragons; this includes blue, yellow, brass, sapphire, and brown dragons. Creating this type of undead dragon is a long, labor-intensive process. The dragon corpse must be intact and relatively fresh and is prepared for mummification with surgery, wrapping, and treatment with preservatives. The body must then be desiccated, either by entombment in a dry environment (requiring another 3d6 weeks of creation time) or magically (with applications of dust of dryness, destroy water spells, etc.). [b]Spectre Dragon:[/b] Exceptionally evil and cunning dragons of old age or older can become spectre dragons. Preferred species are blue, green, sapphire, deep, and shadow dragons. A spectre dragon appears to be a transparent, non-corporeal image of the dragon as it appeared in life. [b]Ghost Dragon:[/b] Generally created to serve as guardians of powerful magic, only the most powerful and evil dragons can become ghost dragons. Blue, green, and sapphire dragons of adult age or above are usual. [b]Vampire Dragon:[/b] They are best created from the most evil, chaotic, and powerful dragon species available; red, white, deep, shadow, and yellow dragons of old age or older are the most viable stock. [b]Boneless:[/b] Boneless are the animated shells of humanoid creatures that have had their skeletons removed (generally for some nefarious purpose). [b]Penanggalan:[/b] ? [b]Dracolich Daurgothoth the Creeping Doom:[/b] Daurgothoth was transformed into a dracolich by the crazed Cult mage Huulukharn. [b]Bone Lurker:[/b] Created by the Creeping Doom. [b]Spike Skeleton:[/b] A spike skeleton's thorns must be specially carved from bones taken from the same type of creature that is to be animated (i.e. human bones for a human skeleton). A glyph is carved into each thorn before it is attached to the skeleton with a resin made with fresh bone marrow. During animation, a shatter spell is cast in conjunction with animate dead. After animation, the 6th-level necromancy spell imbue undead with spell ability is cast, along with Beltyn’s burning blood. [b]Acid Zombie:[/b] Before animation, each body must be coated in oil of acid resistance. The spell Melf’s acid arrow must be cast in conjunction with animate dead. A mixture of bear’s blood and snake scales must be poured into the body’s mouth before animation to “teach” the creature how to bear hug. [b]Dust Skeleton:[/b] Bones used to create dust skeletons must be specially dried to the point where they are ready to crumble. A special resin containing a paralyzing venom is then used to coat the bones. Transmute water to dust is used in conjunction with animate dead to dry the bones further. [b]Quick Zombie:[/b] A paste made from a potion of speed must be smeared on the bodies before animation. During animation, a haste spell must be cast. [b]Absorbing Zombie:[/b] A protection from magic scroll must be burned and the ashes inserted into the mouth of the body before animation. Shocking grasp must be cast during animation. [b]Defiling Skeleton:[/b] An obsidian jewel must be implanted in the skeleton’s forehead. The jewel is inscribed with a special glyph. A second animate dead spell must be cast in conjunction with the first, along with vampiric touch. [b]Undead:[/b] A few undead dragons possess the power to create half-strength undead under their control. The process of creating specialized undead is basically the same as the process for creating a magic item. The best materials must be used. Bodies to be animated have to be in almost perfect condition, as well as tougher and more resilient then the average corpse found moldering in a graveyard. Preparation is lengthy and complex, creating additional strains on the raw material. [b]Crawling Claw:[/b] Crawling claws are made from the severed hands or paws of living creatures (although the creatures are killed in the process). [b]Spectre:[/b] Intelligent living creatures slain by a spectre dragon’s breath weapon arise as normal half-strength spectres upon the following sunset. [b]Wight:[/b] An intelligent living creature completely drained of life levels by a wight dragon becomes a normal half-strength wight under the control of the wight dragon. [b]Wraith:[/b] Wraith dragons may employ their level-draining breath weapon every other round, three times per day. An intelligent living creature completely drained of life levels in this manner becomes a normal half-strength wraith under the control of the wraith dragon. [/spoiler] Dragon 236[spoiler] [b]Hill Giant Vampire Shaman, Morg:[/b] As monsters closed in on him, Morg uttered a desperate prayer to his evil deity, Grolantor, and he asked for the strength to survive the battle. He promised to dedicate his life to Grolantor in exchange for a reprieve from certain death. Something dark and foul took interest in the hill giants plight, and a cloud of blackness descended on Morg and his opponents. When it lifted, Morg discovered that he had no further wounds and that the creatures in the dwarven stronghold served him. He also learned (quickly and painfully) that he could no longer abide sunlight; he had become a vampire. Somehow, a symbol of Grolantor was around his neck, and he was able to receive spells. Morg believed that it was his god who saved him, not knowing that it was really a far darker power that had come to his aid. [b]Vampire Thief, Saestra Karanok, The Lady of the Night:[/b] Another notable family member is Naeros “the Marker” (CE F12), Saestra’s cruel older brother. He was responsible for his sister becoming undead. As a practical joke, Naeros locked her in a crypt for several days, but he did not know that it was the lair of a vampire. The creature took a liking to the attractive Saestra and made her his servant. [b]Vampire Psionicist, Saed, Beast Chieftain of Veldorn:[/b] Saed put out discreet inquiries for potions of longevity to keep himself young and in power forever. A response came one dark night from a mysterious stranger from the north who promised him something better: immortality. All Saed had to do was follow the stranger to an abandoned shrine of the goddess Shar and swear loyalty on her altar. The stranger was a friendly, open fellow, and Saed trusted him, not realizing that he had fallen prey to vampiric charm. Saed followed his new “friend” to the desolate place in an old city under a large hill, and he swore loyalty to Shar. The ruler of Turelve gained immortality, but he became a slave in the process.[/spoiler] Dragon 237[spoiler] [b]Bog Mummy:[/b] The bog mummy is created through an intricate set of events. The death that causes one is never natural. Bog mummies are the product of a ritual killing. The victim is strangled with a garotte to avoid spilling blood and offending the gods. The body is then cast, while still alive, dying as the leather thong or cord cuts off its breath. Perhaps the victim was a criminal or other evil individual. Perhaps he was some feared enemy captured in battle who was sent back to his gods with all of his possessions. Whatever the circumstances, as life ceases, undeath begins. [b]Ice Mummy:[/b] Ice mummies are the freeze-dried remains of travelers who lost their way in the icy wastes of the mountains. Bitter and afraid, they died alone, hating those who never came to their rescue. [/spoiler] Dragon 243[spoiler] [b]Tome-Haunt:[/b] Darazell met an ironic fate when he himself was assassinated by unknown hands, his body found slumped over his beloved spellbook. It is a puzzle to those who know his tale that such an efficient killer was taken unawares and murdered. It is sometimes said that Darazell knew rare rituals and had made a pact with a dark power, one that would allow him to rise in eternal undeath. Indeed, it is said that Darazell ordered his own assassination as the final stage of the ritual. A rumor persists that Darazell, cheated by the dark power, lives on within the book as a rare form of undead, a “tome-haunt.” [/spoiler] Dragon 246[spoiler] [b]Daemon Warrior:[/b] Daemon warriors are special undead beings created by Chaos to terrorize and slay his enemies. [b]Wight Chaos:[/b] Chaos wights are the remnants of fallen Knights of Takhisis and Solamnia, as well as other unfortunate wretches, raised from death by Chaos. [b]Wight Chaos Frost:[/b] ? [b]Wight Chaos Shadow:[/b] ? [/spoiler] Dragon 248[spoiler] [b]Zombie Lord:[/b] [i]Faluzure's Curse[/i] spell. Faluzure's Curse (Necromancy) Sphere: Necromantic Level: 4 Range: 0 Components: V, M Duration: 1 turn/level Casting Time: 3 Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None When this nefarious spell is cast, the dragon is surrounded by a layer of necromantic energy. This aura is completely invisible and cannot be detected by any means save for magic specifically designed to detect necromantic energies; a simple detect magic does not suffice. While the spell lasts, any creature slain by the dragon via tooth and claw (or other body weapon, such as a tail or wing), rises as a zombie lord 24 hours later. These creatures are under the control of the dragon, and their loyalty cannot be swayed by any means, though they can be turned as usual. However, the number of zombie lords that can be animated via this spell cannot exceed the dragon's hit dice. Additional undead simply do not rise. This assumes, of course, that the dragon doesn't eat a slam victim prior to animation; consumed bodies are exempt from the effect. Obviously, this spell is useless against the undead, but creatures without corporeal bodies, other-planar creatures that can be categorized as “immortal” (e.g., fiends, elementals, etc.), and creatures native (or strongly linked) to the Negative Energy plane are immune to the spell as well. Similarly, any creature with a natural or magically-induced immunity to necromantic magic, or one that simply cannot be raised as an undead creature, is not susceptible to this spell. The material component for this spell is the dragon's holy symbol. The symbol is not consumed by the spell. This spell is granted only to those dragons who worship Faluzure.* Spell scrolls are safeguarded so that, if used by any other creature, the undead produced by the magic immediately attack the caster and persist until either they or the caster is slam. Should the caster be slain during such a battle, the necromantic energies that sustain the undead creatures ends, allowing their spirits to depart to the appropriate outer plane. * Faluzure, the dragon god of death and decay, is detailed in Council of Wyrms, book two, page 48. [/spoiler] Dragon 249[spoiler] [b]Lich Wizard 16 Richelieu:[/b] Originally a sorcerer in rural Burgundy in the fourteenth century, Richelieu sought undeath in preference to the Black Death that had infected him. [b]Wailing Wights:[/b] A few priests hired by Acererak to consecrate his new temple also found their unfortunate way into the mass grave of Acererak's treachery. In the fullness of time, two animated to form undead creatures. [b]Arch-Shadow Moghadam:[/b] The most resourceful and dangerous resident of the Undertomb is the undead wizard-architect Moghadam, who was betrayed and slain with all the others by Acererak. The foulness of the deed combined with ambient energies later employed by Acererak himself together served to reanimate poor Moghadam; he became a creature similar to what the Wise might recognize as an arch-shadow [MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM ® Annual Volume 2]. An arch-shadow is a creature of unlife that nearly achieved lichdom but failed, but neither did it die completely. In the case of Moghadam, his essence congealed within the magical matrix of his enchanted weapon Ruinblade, making the weapon a phylactery of sorts. With Ruinblade holding his essence, his former body still functions, allowing Moghadam to wander the Undertomb at will. [b]Arch-Shadow:[/b] An arch-shadow is a creature of unlife that nearly achieved lichdom but failed, but neither did it die completely. [b]Zombie:[/b] Dead Zone trap. [b]Wight:[/b] The wights are the animated remains of the common excavators who were slain and dropped into the Undertomb. Dead Zone This trap is actually centered upon one of the many cylindrical columns that appear to support the low ceiling of the Undertomb. Like the other columns, this one depicts stony faces screaming in terror, fangs, and claws; however, this column does indeed have the power to dismay and terrify; the column acts as a negative capacitor and holds a small store of Negative Energy. Anyone approaching within 10 feet of this column enters into a dead zone where a strange, empty feeling is apparent, as well as a definite chill in the air that is immediately traceable to the column. A closer look at the column reveals that many of the bas relief faces of the pillar hold what appear to be small gems. The touch of a living being triggers the full lethal effects of the column. The victim must save vs. death magic with a -2 penalty or suffer death by a searing bolt of Negative Energy; an undead zombie is born! The discharge of Negative Energy reduces a living brain to fouled protoplasm 98% of time, but there is a 2% chance that the mind of the new undead remains initially unaffected; however, a strange appetite for brains begins to manifest within the day . . . [/spoiler] Dragon 250[spoiler] [b]Undead:[/b] Most aquatic undead are from drowned sailors and pirates. The treasures of the ruins are guarded by hostile sea creatures and the undead forms of some of the people caught in the cities when they were sunk by the Cataclysm, cursed by the gods to guard their treasures forever. [/spoiler] [/spoiler] 2e 3rd Party[spoiler] DSE1 Dark Sun Excursions Lost Temple of Rahoon[spoiler] [b]Lightning Skeleton:[/b] Lightning skeletons are mindless undead empowered with a glimmer of electrical power. [b]Lightning Skeleton, Mindless Undead Empowered With a Glimmer of Electrical Power:[/b] ? [b]Merak, Raaig:[/b] In ancient times before the devastation of Athas, Merak and Aubrae were minor nobles of House Tragus. Their devotion to Rahoon was absolute and although they focused on the well-being of their village and holdings, they dedicated most of their wealth to building a large temple complex. Merak was convinced that this act of piety would ensure his place after death. So, along with his wife Aubrae, he funded its construction and upon their deaths willingly transformed into Raaigs to protect the sanctity of the temple into eternity. [b]Aubree, Raaig:[/b] In ancient times before the devastation of Athas, Merak and Aubrae were minor nobles of House Tragus. Their devotion to Rahoon was absolute and although they focused on the well-being of their village and holdings, they dedicated most of their wealth to building a large temple complex. Merak was convinced that this act of piety would ensure his place after death. So, along with his wife Aubrae, he funded its construction and upon their deaths willingly transformed into Raaigs to protect the sanctity of the temple into eternity. [b]Raaig:[/b] In life, raaigs were devout individuals devoted to a specific faith. [/spoiler] [/spoiler] 2e OSR Variants[spoiler] For Gold & Glory[spoiler] For Gold & Glory Cumulative[spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/156530/For-Gold--Glory?affiliate_id=17596]For Gold & Glory[/URL] [b]Animal Mournwood Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Mournwood Animal. [b]Animal Zombie Mournwood:[/b] See Zombie Mournwood Animal. [b]Berserker Ghoul:[/b] See Ghoul Berserker. [b]Death Minor:[/b] ? [b]Fledgling Wight:[/b] See Wight Fledgling. [b]Ghast:[/b] See Ghoul Ghast. [b]Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost:[/b] Ghosts are ethereal animated spirits of the dead. In life their deeds were so great (whether they were evil or good) as to attract the attention of otherworldly powers (gods, demons, the vile forces of Pohjola), and these powers preserved them as ghosts after death. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) Normally only humans can become ghosts, but on rare occasions demi-humans and other creatures suffer such a curse. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) [b]Ghost Lesser:[/b] See Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost. [b]Ghoul:[/b] Ghouls are undead creatures cursed with a hunger for the flesh of the living and the dead. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Ghoul Berserker:[/b] Thanic warriors who perish from either the cold or starvation—and especially from both—risk becoming berserker ghouls. Having died outside of combat and without enough glory for Valagard, they cannot reach the halls of the gods. The loss of Valagard, often coupled with other misfortunes—a run in with the energies of Pohjola, for example, or an actual curse from a powerful godi or deity—brings about this terrible fate. The warriors’ souls cling to their bodies, and they return to “unlife”, seeking to draw the attention of Uthin’s Shield Maidens by a fitting death in battle. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) However, their existence transgresses the natural order of the worlds. Their return from death does not bring with it the subtler aspects of true life, such as humanity or rationality. Though perhaps once these warriors were dedicated to the purity of combat between equals, they now hunt women, children, the aged, old friends and allies, and even sacred holy men of the gods. Their new existence is fueled by wrath, pride, jealousy, and the berserker rage. Twisted and evil, they belong to the enemies of the gods they once worshipped. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) [b]Ghoul Thane:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Juju Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Juju. [b]Lesser Ghost:[/b] See Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost. [b]Lich:[/b] Among the most powerful of the undead, liches are priests and wizards who have attained immortality through foul necromancy. (For Gold & Glory) The horrible ceremonies used to become a lich require years of lonesome study, and most liches are solitary creatures. They rarely work with others, as they jealously guard their knowledge. Only the most powerful of spell casters can master the necessary rituals, and all liches are wizards or priests of at least 18th level. (For Gold & Glory) Becoming a lich is a long and arduous process, requiring years of study. The needed rituals focus on the creation of a phylactery, an arcane container crafted to keep a lich’s soul in the mortal world after death. A phylactery may be made to look like any object, but crafting it requires at least 1,500 gold pieces per level of the spell caster. It must be imbued with powerful necromantic magics unique to each potential lich, but often such spells as animate dead, death spell, magic jar, and reincarnation. Upon its completion, its crafter commits ritual suicide. If the phylactery is indeed flawless, the crafter rises as a lich, while even a single mistake in its construction utterly destroys the crafter’s soul. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Minor Death:[/b] See Death Minor. [b]Mournwood Zombie:[/b] See Zombie Mournwood. [b]Mournwood Zombie Animal:[/b] See Zombie Mournwood Animal. [b]Mummy:[/b] Mummies are desiccated corpses animated by dark rituals into horrible unlife. They retain some semblance of their living appearances, but although their desiccation prevents decay, it also twists their features into leathery masks. The most common rituals used to animate a mummy involve wrapping a corpse in strips of linen, and many mummies retain these wrappings. (For Gold & Glory) [b]New Wraith:[/b] See Wraith New. [b]Ogre Skeletal:[/b] See Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre. [b]Ogre Skeleton:[/b] See Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre. [b]Shade of the Mortal Soul:[/b] See Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost. [b]Shadow:[/b] A humanoid victim killed by a shadow is likely to become a shadow himself. (For Gold & Glory) With little to do with each other, shadows are ambivalent towards their own kind. When found together they are likely to be “families”–an elder shadow and its victims, now shadows themselves. (For Gold & Glory) The touch of a shadow drains 1 point of strength from its victim. Humanoids reduced to 0 hp or a strength of 0 by a shadow are doomed to rise as shadows themselves under the command of their killers; all other creatures killed by a shadow remain dead, while all other creatures reduced to a strength of 0 fall unconscious. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre:[/b] Skeleton ogres are the reanimated skeletal remains of ogres, reinforced with negative energy. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments, and are instead held together through magical force. A Skeleton ogre is an animated undead ogre comprised of bones. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) [b]Skeleton:[/b] Skeletons are the reanimated skeletal remains of humanoid creatures, reinforced with negative energy. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments, and are instead held together through magical force. Skeletons vary in size, depending on the remains of the humanoids they were created from. (For Gold & Glory) As mindless constructs of necromantic magics, skeletons have no interactions with other creatures, save to follow commands from their creators. (For Gold & Glory) Skeletons are the bones of humanoid creatures, animated by energy from the Negative Energy Plane. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments and are held together through magical force. Skeletons vary in size, depending on the race of humanoid that the bones came from. As mindless constructs of necromantic magics, skeletons have no interactions with other creatures, except to follow commands from their creators. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) [i]Animate Dead[/i] spell. [b]Skeleton Ogre:[/b] See Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre. [b]Spawn Vampire:[/b] See Vampire Spawn. [b]Specter:[/b] On rare occasions, several specters come to haunt the same location. These are usually a master and the thralls created from its victims. (For Gold & Glory) Any humanoid drained of all levels or hit dice by a specter dies and rises as a specter himself. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Thane Ghoul:[/b] See Ghoul Thane. [b]Vampire:[/b] Vampires are undead humanoids cursed to live forever as bloodthirsty parasites. Should a vampire lord be destroyed, his spawn become fully-fledged, independent vampires themselves. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Vampire Spawn:[/b] When vampires are found in the company of their own, they are usually lord and spawn–an elder vampire and his victims, now vampires themselves. (For Gold & Glory) When touching a creature with his bare skin, a vampire may drain two levels or hit dice from his victim. Humanoids reduced to zero levels or hit dice, or drained of blood, rise as vampires themselves one night after their death unless their bodies are destroyed in the intervening time. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Warrior Wraith:[/b] See Wraith Warrior. [b]Wight:[/b] Wights are undead creatures spawned by great pain and sorrow. (For Gold & Glory) If their master is slain, fledgling wights become free-willed and gain their full strength. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Wight Fledgling:[/b] Only rarely do wights gather together; these are almost always an elder and his children, created from his victims. (For Gold & Glory) Humanoid creatures slain by a wight’s energy drain rise as wights themselves, with half normal hit dice and under the absolute control of the one who slew them. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Wraith:[/b] Animated by hatred and spite, wraiths are the undead humanoid spirits of exceptional evil. They often form packs of several wraiths, whether through the death and undeath of several like-minded individuals or through the creation of new wraiths by existing wraiths. (For Gold & Glory) If the master wraith is killed, its minions instantly gain their full strength and free will. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Wraith New:[/b] They often form packs of several wraiths, whether through the death and undeath of several like-minded individuals or through the creation of new wraiths by existing wraiths. (For Gold & Glory) Humanoids killed by a wraith rise as wraiths themselves, with half the hit dice of their killers. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Wraith Warrior:[/b] Warrior Wraiths are a type of undead created from warriors killed in battle, and kept from the dissolution of death by their desire to fight. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) [b]Zombie:[/b] Zombies are mindless animated corpses. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from. (For Gold & Glory) Zombies are mindless animated corpses. The animate dead spell opens a connection to the Negative Energy Plane that provides these fleshy corpses with the ability to move and follow simple commands given by their controller. Their controller can be the spell caster who created them or an evil-aligned priest who successfully dominates them. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from. They do not spawn. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) [i]Animate Dead[/i] spell. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Zombie Juju:[/b] Juju zombies are the undead remains of humanoids killed through the use of energy drain spells. (For Gold & Glory) [i]Energy Drain[/i] spell. (For Gold & Glory) [i]Finger of Death[/i] spell. (For Gold & Glory) [b]Zombie Mournwood:[/b] Mournwood Zombies are mindless animated corpses controlled by the vile curse of the forest. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, Mournwood Zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Mournwood Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from, however, they all have the same basic characteristic of vines and roots growing through their bodies, as if the very forest were using the dead bodies as puppets. (Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation) [b]Zombie Mournwood Animal:[/b] ? [/spoiler] For Gold & Glory Books[spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/156530/For-Gold--Glory?affiliate_id=17596]For Gold & Glory[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghoul:[/b] Ghouls are undead creatures cursed with a hunger for the flesh of the living and the dead. [b]Ghoul Ghast:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] Among the most powerful of the undead, liches are priests and wizards who have attained immortality through foul necromancy. The horrible ceremonies used to become a lich require years of lonesome study, and most liches are solitary creatures. They rarely work with others, as they jealously guard their knowledge. Only the most powerful of spell casters can master the necessary rituals, and all liches are wizards or priests of at least 18th level. Becoming a lich is a long and arduous process, requiring years of study. The needed rituals focus on the creation of a phylactery, an arcane container crafted to keep a lich’s soul in the mortal world after death. A phylactery may be made to look like any object, but crafting it requires at least 1,500 gold pieces per level of the spell caster. It must be imbued with powerful necromantic magics unique to each potential lich, but often such spells as animate dead, death spell, magic jar, and reincarnation. Upon its completion, its crafter commits ritual suicide. If the phylactery is indeed flawless, the crafter rises as a lich, while even a single mistake in its construction utterly destroys the crafter’s soul. [b]Mummy:[/b] Mummies are desiccated corpses animated by dark rituals into horrible unlife. They retain some semblance of their living appearances, but although their desiccation prevents decay, it also twists their features into leathery masks. The most common rituals used to animate a mummy involve wrapping a corpse in strips of linen, and many mummies retain these wrappings. [b]Shadow:[/b] A humanoid victim killed by a shadow is likely to become a shadow himself. With little to do with each other, shadows are ambivalent towards their own kind. When found together they are likely to be “families”–an elder shadow and its victims, now shadows themselves. The touch of a shadow drains 1 point of strength from its victim. Humanoids reduced to 0 hp or a strength of 0 by a shadow are doomed to rise as shadows themselves under the command of their killers; all other creatures killed by a shadow remain dead, while all other creatures reduced to a strength of 0 fall unconscious. [b]Skeleton:[/b] Skeletons are the reanimated skeletal remains of humanoid creatures, reinforced with negative energy. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments, and are instead held together through magical force. Skeletons vary in size, depending on the remains of the humanoids they were created from. As mindless constructs of necromantic magics, skeletons have no interactions with other creatures, save to follow commands from their creators. [i]Animate Dead[/i] spell. [b]Specter:[/b] On rare occasions, several specters come to haunt the same location. These are usually a master and the thralls created from its victims. Any humanoid drained of all levels or hit dice by a specter dies and rises as a specter himself. [b]Vampire:[/b] Vampires are undead humanoids cursed to live forever as bloodthirsty parasites. Should a vampire lord be destroyed, his spawn become fully-fledged, independent vampires themselves. [b]Vampire Spawn:[/b] When vampires are found in the company of their own, they are usually lord and spawn–an elder vampire and his victims, now vampires themselves. When touching a creature with his bare skin, a vampire may drain two levels or hit dice from his victim. Humanoids reduced to zero levels or hit dice, or drained of blood, rise as vampires themselves one night after their death unless their bodies are destroyed in the intervening time. [b]Wight:[/b] Wights are undead creatures spawned by great pain and sorrow. If their master is slain, fledgling wights become free-willed and gain their full strength. [b]Fledgling Wight:[/b] Only rarely do wights gather together; these are almost always an elder and his children, created from his victims. Humanoid creatures slain by a wight’s energy drain rise as wights themselves, with half normal hit dice and under the absolute control of the one who slew them. [b]Wraith:[/b] Animated by hatred and spite, wraiths are the undead humanoid spirits of exceptional evil. They often form packs of several wraiths, whether through the death and undeath of several like-minded individuals or through the creation of new wraiths by existing wraiths. If the master wraith is killed, its minions instantly gain their full strength and free will. [b]New Wraith:[/b] They often form packs of several wraiths, whether through the death and undeath of several like-minded individuals or through the creation of new wraiths by existing wraiths. Humanoids killed by a wraith rise as wraiths themselves, with half the hit dice of their killers. [b]Zombie:[/b] Zombies are mindless animated corpses. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from. [i]Animate Dead[/i] spell. [b]Juju Zombie:[/b] Juju zombies are the undead remains of humanoids killed through the use of energy drain spells. [i]Energy Drain[/i] spell. [i]Finger of Death[/i] spell. [b]Ghost:[/b] ? [b]Minor Death:[/b] ? Animate Dead (Necromancy) Caster/Level (Sphere): Priest/3 (Necromantic),Wizard/5 Range: 10 yards Duration: Permanent Effective Area: Special Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 5 rounds Saving Throw: None This spell allows the caster to create the least of the undead creatures, skeletons and zombies, usually from the bones or bodies of dead humans, humanoids, demi-humans, and giants. Optionally, the caster can animate animal corpses. The animated undead remains obey simple commands given to them by the caster. The undead remain animated until destroyed or turned—they are not affected by dispel magic. The total HD of undead animated by this spell cannot exceed the caster’s level. Humans, demi-humans, and humanoids with only 1 HD in life become 1 HD skeletons or 2 HD zombies, regardless of class levels, experience or HD they once had. Creatures and animals with less than 1 HD can be raised as 1/2 HD skeletons or 1 HD zombies, but clerics receive a +1 bonus to turn checks against these monsters. A creature or animal with 1 HD or more retains its HD when raised as a skeleton and gains one HD when raised as a zombie. Undead have none of the special abilities they had when alive. While evil spell casters can use this spell whenever and however they wish, the lesser undead created are always neutral in alignment. Neutral spell casters can freely use the spell as long as the body is that of a fallen enemy from a non-PC race. Good spell casters prefer animating animals, and cast speak with dead on a humanoid body to gain express permission. A neutral spell caster may also cast speak with dead to gain permission to animate a PC or a member of a PC race. A neutral or good spell caster would never animate a corpse being prepared for a raise dead spell, because a soul requires it’s original body to be raised. If the body were animated, the victim would then need a full resurrection, reincarnate or similar spell, such as wish, to be brought back to life. Even though animating undead is not automatically an evil act, undead are perversions of life, and as such their mere presence is disturbing to most creatures (animals avoid them entirely, unless specially trained). The charnel smell, particularly of a zombie, is quite nauseating. Few, if any, hirelings will sign on to a party that is known to travel with undead. Additionally, most civilizations have regulations regarding the creation of undead. Some cultures seek their immediate destruction, and even the most tolerant require undead servants to be tagged and registered. Lawful spell casters must get a permit (if possible) or simply avoid finding bodies in graveyards or battlefields, as local governments claim them and grave robbing is punishable harshly (usually by death). The spell requires the body or bones of the creature to be animated, and the remains must be reasonably intact. Undead destroyed in combat cannot be re-animated. The spell requires a pinch of bone powder or bone shard. Energy Drain (Evocation, Necromancy) Caster/Level: Wizard/9 Range: Touch Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 1 creature Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 3 Saving Throw: None This spell allows the caster to channel negative energy for one round, permanently draining 2 levels or HD from a creature on a successful touch attack. Hit points, saving throws, attacks and other level/HD related abilities are permanently lost (until regained by gaining experience or 2 restoration spells are cast on the victim). If the attack fails, the spell ends normally. Human or humanoid creatures killed by this spell can be animated as juju zombies under the caster’s control. The undead cannot be negatively affected by this spell. The material component is essence of specter or vampire dust. These are dangerous substances, and there’s a 5% chance that the caster loses one point of constitution while casting this spell, due to contact with either of them. If the caster dies through this loss, he becomes a shade. The caster’s alignment instantly becomes neutral evil, and he is then sucked into the Demiplane of Shadow. Finger of Death (Necromancy) Caster/Level: Wizard/7 Range: 60 yards Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 1 creature pointed to Components: V and S Casting Time: 5 Saving Throw: Negate This spell attempts to utterly destroy a chosen victim’s life energy and body. The victim must make a successful saving throw or die immediately, unable to be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated. A wish spell can restore most victims to life, if, however, the victims are human, profane magic instantly begins to transform the bodies, and after 3 days, the caster is able to perform a special ritual, requiring materials costing 1,000 gp + 500 gp per body, to animate the dead humans as juju zombies under his control. The profane magic must be reversed with a limited wish spell before the juju animation ritual has begun, and then a wish spell can be used to bring the human back to life. Creatures who make a successful saving throw only suffer 2d8 + 1 points of damage. If the victim dies due to this damage, they can be brought back to life normally.[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/265492/Ice-Kingdoms-Bestiary-Compilation?affiliate_id=17596]Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation[/URL][spoiler] [b]Ghost, Shade of the Mortal Soul, Lesser Ghost:[/b] Ghosts are ethereal animated spirits of the dead. In life their deeds were so great (whether they were evil or good) as to attract the attention of otherworldly powers (gods, demons, the vile forces of Pohjola), and these powers preserved them as ghosts after death. Normally only humans can become ghosts, but on rare occasions demi-humans and other creatures suffer such a curse. [b]Ghost Wraith:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Banshee:[/b] ? [b]Ghost Spectre:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul Berserker:[/b] Thanic warriors who perish from either the cold or starvation—and especially from both—risk becoming berserker ghouls. Having died outside of combat and without enough glory for Valagard, they cannot reach the halls of the gods. The loss of Valagard, often coupled with other misfortunes—a run in with the energies of Pohjola, for example, or an actual curse from a powerful godi or deity—brings about this terrible fate. The warriors’ souls cling to their bodies, and they return to “unlife”, seeking to draw the attention of Uthin’s Shield Maidens by a fitting death in battle. However, their existence transgresses the natural order of the worlds. Their return from death does not bring with it the subtler aspects of true life, such as humanity or rationality. Though perhaps once these warriors were dedicated to the purity of combat between equals, they now hunt women, children, the aged, old friends and allies, and even sacred holy men of the gods. Their new existence is fueled by wrath, pride, jealousy, and the berserker rage. Twisted and evil, they belong to the enemies of the gods they once worshipped. [b]Ghoul Thane:[/b] ? [b]Skeleton:[/b] Skeletons are the bones of humanoid creatures, animated by energy from the Negative Energy Plane. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments and are held together through magical force. Skeletons vary in size, depending on the race of humanoid that the bones came from. As mindless constructs of necromantic magics, skeletons have no interactions with other creatures, except to follow commands from their creators. [b]Skeletal Ogre, Skeleton Ogre:[/b] Skeleton ogres are the reanimated skeletal remains of ogres, reinforced with negative energy. They bear no flesh, musculature, or ligaments, and are instead held together through magical force. A Skeleton ogre is an animated undead ogre comprised of bones. [b]Warrior Wraith:[/b] Warrior Wraiths are a type of undead created from warriors killed in battle, and kept from the dissolution of death by their desire to fight. [b]Zombie:[/b] Zombies are mindless animated corpses. The animate dead spell opens a connection to the Negative Energy Plane that provides these fleshy corpses with the ability to move and follow simple commands given by their controller. Their controller can be the spell caster who created them or an evil-aligned priest who successfully dominates them. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from. They do not spawn. [b]Mournwood Zombie:[/b] Mournwood Zombies are mindless animated corpses controlled by the vile curse of the forest. As the magic that animates them does not prevent their decay, Mournwood Zombies are often bloated, rotting, or desiccated, depending on their surrounding environment. Mournwood Zombies vary in size depending on the kind of corpses they are animated from, however, they all have the same basic characteristic of vines and roots growing through their bodies, as if the very forest were using the dead bodies as puppets. [b]Mournwood Zombie Animal:[/b] ? [b]Ghoul:[/b] ? [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [URL=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240960/The-Players-Guide-to-Adventurers?affiliate_id=17596]The Player's Guide to Adventurers[/URL][spoiler] [b]Lich:[/b] ? [b]Vampire:[/b] ? [b]Zombie:[/b] ?[/spoiler] [/spoiler] [/spoiler] [/spoiler] [/QUOTE]
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