Undead Origins

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Mystical Kingdom of Monsters Haunted Eve Monster Pack

Mystical Kingdom of Monsters Haunted Eve Monster Pack
Pathfinder 1e
Festrog Pup: Haunted Eve is an important time of year for festrogs, especially within the Scribe’s Marsh. With the veil between life and death thin, the ghoul hounds form into packs able to create more of their own kind by awakening and transforming corpses through twisted magic.
Festrog: Haunted Eve is an important time of year for festrogs, especially within the Scribe’s Marsh. With the veil between life and death thin, the ghoul hounds form into packs able to create more of their own kind by awakening and transforming corpses through twisted magic.
Festrog Dire: Haunted Eve is an important time of year for festrogs, especially within the Scribe’s Marsh. With the veil between life and death thin, the ghoul hounds form into packs able to create more of their own kind by awakening and transforming corpses through twisted magic. The alphas who lead these packs also use this temporary boost in power to become dire festrogs.
Pumpkin Lord: The oldest of jack-o’-lanterns and scarecrows become pumpkin lords.
Crawling Claw: When the Scribe’s Brush started its twisted transformation into a swamp, investigators and slayers were hired by the king to find out why it was happening. On several occasions, the creatures that these adventurers found would lash out, maiming or outright killing them. Eventually, only slayers would venture into the marsh at night, and only under direct orders to do so. Still, many never returned whole.
As time passed and monster training became the prevalent occupation within the Kingdom, researchers and scouts would take the place of the slayers, capturing monsters and researching them. The magic used by the trainers seeped into the ground, filling the area in which so many had lost limb and life.
The side effect of these events is the crawling claw; a creature some fear for its eerie resemblance to a humanoid hand.
Nightwalker: Like the humans who are transformed into foulspawn, fey beings that are touched by the Void sometimes become shadowy monstorin known as nightshades.
Skeleton Monsters: Unlike traditional skeletons, skeleton monsters are not the reanimated remains of their dead ilk. They are, instead, a collection of monsters that take on the likeness of other creatures in order to gain access to their essence and magic. For this reason, a trainer’s normal monster cannot grow into a skeleton monster; he would have to capture one, but a breeder can augment hers using advanced monster growth. Some researchers have also been able to craft specialized monster scrolls that can change a monster into its skeleton monster counterpart, but such items are very difficult to find.
Skeleton monster is an inherent template (except when applied by breeders) that can be applied to any monster able to grant spells to a monster trainer.
Crurotaur Skeleton: ?
Owlbear Skeleton: ?
Scoundrite Skeleton: ?
Zombie Monster: Zombie monsters are brutish, unthinking recreations of their former selves. While any trainer with a flare for necromancy, or a friend with such talents, could technically create a zombie monster from what is left of their companions, doing so is seen as a perversion of monster training and of the bond between trainer and monster. As such, most zombie monsters are naturally occurring or brought into being by breeders who can change their companions without first killing them.
Zombie monster is an inherent template (except when applied by breeders) that can be applied to any monster able to grant spells to a monster trainer.
Gray Render Zombie: ?
Hydra Zombie: ?
Moncroak Zombie: During Haunted Eve, the moncroaks of the Scribe’s Marsh take on a disturbing visage as the magic of the holiday twists and tears their skin, changing them into zombies.
Treant Zombie: Treant zombies reanimate from the remains of treants left
in the swamps of the Kingdom during Haunted Eve.

 

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Monster Menagerie Oceans of Blood

Monster Menagerie Oceans of Blood
Pathfinder 1e
Toothwraith: Toothwraiths are apex predators that refused to release their grip on life. Originally massive sharks (or more rarely great crocodiles or dragon turtles), a toothwraith has willed itself back into existence.

Ghoul Lacedon: Creatures reduced to 0 levels by a toothwraith emerge as lacedons (aquatic ghouls) at the next high tide.

 

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Monster Menagerie Seasonal Stars Pumpkin Stalker

Monster Menagerie Seasonal Stars Pumpkin Stalker
Pathfinder 1e
Death-o-Lantern Pumpkin Stalker Mohrg: The death-o-lantern is among the most dangerous of pumpkin stalkers, generally created by powerful evil forces bargaining to grant a servant to a druid grieving terrible loss and seeking vengeance, a coven of hags, or powerful diabolist-necromancer.

Zombie Fast: Humanoid creatures killed by a pumpkin stalker mohrg rise immediately as fast zombies.

 

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Monster Movie Matinee

Monster Movie Matinee
Pathfinder 1e
Unstoppable Maniac: These human-looking abominations are created when a suitable victim dies does of neglect or another traumatic experience.

 

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Monsters of Porphyra

Monsters of Porphyra
Pathfinder 1e
Barrow Wight: Any humanoid creature that is slain by a barrow wight becomes a barrow wight itself in only 1d4 rounds.
The barrow wight is a product of material greed. When a being so corrupted by their own greed dies through a covetous action or simple neglect for their own well-being, they possess the potential to rise as a barrow wight. This potential becomes a certainty, if they are buried alongside their wealth.
Fukuranbou: Its own vanity eventually led to the creature’s death and resurrection as an unholy abomination.
Iron Lich: “Ironclad Lich” is an acquired template that can be applied to any psionic creature capable for creating the required mechanical body.
An integral part of becoming an ironclad lich is the creation of the body in which the character stores his soul and the soul cages it traps its memory and psionic energy within.
Each ironclad lich must create its own ironclad body using the Craft Construct feat and its own soul cages by using the Craft Cognizance Crystal feat. The character must be able to manifest powers and have a manifester level of 11th or higher. The iron body costs 24,500 gp to create and its soul cages for 30,000 gp a piece.
The most common form of soul cage is a metal lantern with an embedded crystal that radiates light in a 30 ft. radius. The lantern is sealed and has psionic sigils covering its surface. The soul cage is tiny has 40 hit points, hardeness 20, and break DC of 40.
Pattern of Suffering Ironclad Lich Human Cryptic 11: ?
Knollman: ?
Octospine: The octospine is a hideous creature, believed to be the creation of a demon lord.
Sage Whisperer: Some say, that the sage whisperers are the undying souls of the lost Savants of the Fifth Element, but these are merely speculations.
Shebbah: Shebbah (translated to ‘pitied one’) is the restless spirit of a geniekind, its soul torn from its body by terrible divine magic.
Undead Elementals: ‘Ordinary’ elementals may also be bound to the Material Plane through energy level drain from spell or creature.
Vampiric Dragon: “Vampiric dragon” is an acquired template that can be applied to any dragon.
A dragon or magical beast slain by a vampiric dragon’s energy drain attack rises as a vampiric thrall 1d4 days after death.
The majority of vampiric dragons have been created by way of a vain, old dragon, or one with a task that needs a very long time to complete, trading a significant amount of treasure in exchange for a necromantic process that leaves the dragon a free-willed, though blood-desiring undead.
Auroscruour Ancient Vampiric Gold Dragon: He allowed the necromancers of The Empire of the Dead to transform him into a vampire.
Vampiric Thrall: A vampiric thrall is normally created when a living creature willingly takes a blood gift from a vampire or vampire scion. The master must give up at least 10 hp in blood (this heals normally), and gains 1 negative level for every 4 HD of thralls it creates (round down).
A vampiric dragon can also create a vampiric thrall simply by reducing a creature’s Constitution to 0 through blood drain. It does not incur negative levels for doing so.
“Vampiric thrall” is a acquired template that can be applied to any corporeal animal or magical beast.
Vampiric Thrall Giant Frog: ?
Vampiric Thrall Axe Beak: ?
Zombie Rat: Whenever one zombie rat dies, another 1d6 zombie rats spawns from its womb.

Ghoul: The sickness of vanity that consumed the soul of the fukuranbou now manifests itself as a powerful wasting curse that it can inflict with its claws. Several small villages have been lost to this curse. Victims who die this way sometimes come back from the dead as ghouls.

 

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Monsters of Sin Collection

Monsters of Sin Collection
Pathfinder 1e
Bone Swarm: Life drives the world forward in a way that the undead, even mindless undead like skeletons, recall and yearn to relive. On rare occasions, this yearning brings the pugnacious spirits of fallen undead together, bonded together by a common craving: to feel alive again. They gather up what is left of their bones from life, as well as any other bones they come across, and form bone swarms.
Lovelorn: Lovelorn are ghosts who died with broken hearts. Their lives were ruined when they were jilted in their every attempt at love or latched onto a selfish lover, the emotional damage they suffered remaining with them beyond death.
Spiteful Spirit: An undead spirit duplicate that rises from the body of a warrior killed in battle, a spiteful spirit is raw fury made manifest. Enraged by the manner in which it died, or just too caught up in the intensity of combat to notice that it’s dead, the combative core of the warrior continues to fight without thought until it’s defeated or it finally fades away.
“Spiteful Spirit” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature with 2 or more Hit Dice immediately after it dies.
A spiteful spirit rises instantly upon the death of its corporeal form.

 

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Heroes of Horror

Heroes of Horror
3.5
Jonah Parsons Human Ghost Expert 4: Less than a year ago, Jonah and Annalee Parsons were a happy couple in a happy community. They had just found out that they were expecting a child. While Jonah, a researcher and scribe by profession, was working overtime to provide for all that they would soon need, Annalee was busily converting their unused barn into a study for her husband, now that his former study was going to become the new baby’s room.
Not long into the pregnancy, however, Jonah began to notice a change in his wife. She wasn’t doing anything different or unusual, but she just didn’t seem like the same person. The one person in whom he could confide his concerns blamed them on the combination of the changes of pregnancy and the anxiety felt by every expectant father. But Jonah was not convinced, and he began to investigate his wife’s condition. Within three months, Jonah was dead—stabbed to death by town guards in his own study; records indicate that he was “slain while attempting to resist a lawful arrest.”
What actually happened is that Jonah began to suspect that something had infected his wife’s mind, soul, or both. But before he could discover what was really going on, and perhaps find a way to bring back the Annalee he once knew, the thing inside her sensed his suspicion and contrived a way to silence him. The unholy scion made its mother, now some five months pregnant, scratch and beat herself before running in terror to the local constable. She claimed her husband had gone mad and locked himself into his study after nearly killing her. When the soldiers arrived, they took Jonah by surprise and, in the confusion, mortally wounded him.
The story picks up some five months after the death of Jonah Parsons. His daughter, Eve, was born recently, and with her birth came the return of her father as a ghost. What Jonah had begun to uncover is that inside his barn dwelled a dark entity that began to take over the unborn child growing inside his wife as she worked to convert the site into a study for him. Unknown to anyone, the site had once been the location of a shrine dedicated to Cas, the demigod of spite, and that lingering taint was an open invitation to demonic forces to take up residence in Cas’s absence.
Cas, rarely one to forgive a slight of any kind, offered Jonah’s restless soul a glimpse of what the Lord of Spite would see as hope. Jonah arose as a ghost, filled with the knowledge that the source of his wife’s madness and his own death was the child she had borne in her womb.
Haunting Presence: Sometimes when undead are created they come into being without a physical form and are merely presences of malign evil. Haunting presences usually occur as the result of atrocious crimes. Tied to particular locations or objects, these beings might reveal their unquiet natures only indirectly, at least at first.
As a haunting presence, an undead is impossible to affect or even sense directly. A haunting presence is more fleeting than undead who appear as incorporeal ghosts or wraiths, or even those undead enterprising enough to range the Ethereal Plane. Each haunting presence is tied to an object or location and can only be dispelled by exorcism or the destruction of the object or location. Despite having no physicality, each haunting presence still possesses the identity of a specific kind of undead. For instance, one haunting presence might be similar to a vampire, while another is more like a wraith.
Bane Wraith: They result when someone dies a violent and gruesome death, accompanied by the deaths of his family, friends, and everything he loved and worked for. Bane wraiths develop most frequently, but not exclusively, in or near tainted regions.
Bloodrot: While sages originally believed that bloodrots were slain oozes animated by necromantic spells, they have now come to understand that the bloodrot is not a true ooze at all, despite its oozelike form. Rather, a bloodrot is formed from the remaining fluids of a creature dissolved in acid or otherwise liquefied.
Tainted Minion: A tainted minion is a mortal who has been transformed into a horrific undead servant of evil.
“Tainted minion” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature with at least mild levels of both corruption and depravity (referred to hereafter as the base creature). It is most often applied to a creature that dies because its corruption score exceeds the maximum for severe corruption for a creature with its Constitution score.
Tainted Minion Human Fighter 5: ?

Undead: Any creature that dies in a tainted area animates in 1d4 hours as an undead creature, usually a zombie of the appropriate size. Burning a corpse protects it from this effect.
Oath of Blood spell.
Lich: When a dread necromancer attains 20th level, she undergoes a hideous transformation and becomes a lich.
A dread necromancer who is not humanoid does not gain this class feature.
Mummy: Whether it’s a mindless, shambling corpse or a spellcasting sorcerer, a mummy is usually the protector of a tomb or the victim of a curse. Either of these scenarios generates a worthwhile horror villain, but consider the possibility of a mummy not bound to a higher power. Perhaps an ancient necromancer chose mummification over lichdom in his bid for immortality. Or a mummy might indeed be cursed but potentially able to escape her eternal imprisonment if she can find another to take her place.
For a bizarre twist, consider the possibility that the power animating the mummy is in fact contained in the wrappings. Should even a scrap of the cloth survive the first mummy’s destruction, the next creature to touch it might find itself possessed by the ancient’s vengeful spirit.
Skeleton: Plague of Undead spell.
Vampire: Vampire myths older than Dracula (novel 1897, film 1931) attribute the existence of the undead to sinners and suicides unable to enter Heaven.
Wraith: Any humanoid slain by a bane wraith becomes a standard wraith in 1d4 rounds.
Zombie: Any creature that dies in a tainted area animates in 1d4 hours as an undead creature, usually a zombie of the appropriate size. Burning a corpse protects it from this effect.
Plague of Undead spell.
Corpse Gatherer: Mass graves and charnel pits sometimes give rise to large undead formed from multiple corpses, such as corpse gatherers.

OATH OF BLOOD
Necromancy
Level: Cleric 5, sorcerer/wizard 5
Components: V, S, M, DF
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One living creature
Duration: See below
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
Oath of blood functions only when cast on a creature that has recently been subject to a geas or similar spell. It extends the reach of the geas beyond death. If the individual subject to the geas dies before completing the task, oath of blood animates him as an undead creature in order that he might continue his quest. The nature of the undead creature is determined by the caster level of this spell, as per create undead. Once the task is complete or the original geas (or similar spell) expires, the magic animating the subject ends and he returns to death.
Material Component: Grave dirt mixed with powdered onyx worth at least 40 gp per HD of the target.

PLAGUE OF UNDEAD
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Cleric 9, dread necromancer 9, sorcerer/wizard 9
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Targets: One or more corpses within range
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spell unleashes great necromantic power, raising a host of undead creatures. Plague of undead turns the bones or bodies of dead creatures within the spell’s range into undead skeletons or zombies with maximum hit points for their Hit Dice. The undead remain animated until destroyed. (A destroyed zombie or skeleton can’t be animated again.)
Regardless of the specific numbers or kinds of undead created with this spell, a single casting of plague of undead can’t create more HD of undead than four times your caster level.
The undead you create remain under your control indefinitely and follow your spoken commands. However, no matter how many times you use this spell or animate dead, you can only control 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level; creatures you animate with either spell count against this limit. If you exceed this number, newly created creatures fall under your control and any excess undead from previous castings of this spell or animate dead become uncontrolled. Anytime this limit causes you to release some of the undead you control through this spell or animate dead, you choose which undead are released.
The bones and bodies required for this spell follow the same restrictions as animate dead. All the material to be animated by this spell must be within range when the spell is cast.
Material Component: A black sapphire worth 100 gp or several black sapphires with total value of 100 gp.

 

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Nightmares and Dreams

Nightmares and Dreams
3.0
Bloated: Any character that dies as a result of bloat fever will become a bloated in 1d3 days, unless measures are taken to prevent the character's return.
To create a bloated requires the body of someone who died as a result of a festering disease. The creator must then harvest some bloat fly maggots and let them burrow into the body's flesh. The body must then be allowed to sit for several days to allow the maggots to spread the bloat fever contagion around. The creator must then cast a contagion spell followed by a permanency spell upon the body to keep it in a festering state. Once that is done, the body can be raised as normal by the spell animate dead.
Grimguard: Grimguards are created when a lawful good entity dies suddenly while combating evil. If his deeds were worthy, he was well liked by his comrades, and the conditions are just right, he may come back as a grimguard to continue his quest.
Grimguard Human Fighter 5: ?
Incinerated: The incinerated are a special type of zombie created from the bodies of people who have died as a result of fire.
To create an incinerated requires the body of a person that has died as a result of fire. The body must then be soaked in oil for three days and then set on fire. Once the body is completely engulfed in flames it can be animated using the animate dead spell. Once animated, most of the flames will extinguish themselves leaving behind seared flesh that will burn anything it touches. Only one incinerated can be created per casting of animate dead, regardless of the caster's level.
Lost One: Any humanoid reduced to 0 or less Wisdom by the lost one's poison becomes a lost one in the following round.
Physiquer: The physiquer is a dream of a guilt-ridden guard who was present when an innocent man was executed by the state. He cannot forget the event or forgive himself, or the others who were present at the execution.
Silent Horror: ?
Mirror Creep: ?
Undead Visceral Mass: ?

 

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Mythic Mastery Mythic Mummies

Mythic Mastery Mythic Mummies
Pathfinder 1e
Dry Mummy: Unlike most types of mummies, dry mummies are generally created by accident, when a humanoid creature dies in a particularly dry and sandy area that is protected enough from the elements to preserve its corpse. Not all creatures that are accidentally mummified become dry mummies, and in fact the transformation is very rare. It is generally believed that dry mummies tend to arise when a particular confluence of factors surrounding the death occur: the most important seems to be the means of death, with dry mummies being far more likely to come from those who die of thirst or starvation, as opposed to those who die a violent death. The religious beliefs of the subject also seem to carry some weight, but not as much as that person’s overall force of will and personality.
Of course, dry mummies are occasionally created intentionally, usually by necromancers located in desert regions, who find their particular suite of abilities to be useful. While it is rumored that there are spells that can transform any corpse into a dry mummy, such claims have not been substantiated, and most necromancers in need of a dry mummy are forced to starve and dehydrate their victims. Suffusing the suffering victim with necrotic energies during this period increases the odds of creating a dry mummy substantially, but even then, success is not guaranteed.
Mythic Dry Mummy: ?
Pitch Mummy: It is common practice for a mummified creature to be filled with a black, tar-like substance in order to help preserve the body against the ravages of time. One heretical sect takes this practice further, however, and stuffs their mummified corpses with a magical black tar that not only preserves the corpse, but also serves as the source of its animation.
Mythic Pitch Mummy: Mythic pitch mummies are believed to have been created in much the same way as a standard pitch mummy, though since the process of their creation was deliberately destroyed millennia ago, it is difficult to say for certain why some pitch mummies become mythic and others do not. Theories abound on the subject, ranging from it being dependent on the status of the individual being mummified, to being a matter of age (with pitch mummies becoming mythic pitch mummies if they survive long enough), to how much pitch was used in their creation, or the possibility that the nature of the pitch itself might be different. Each of these theories has its merits, and scholars that support it, but without further historical evidence, all that can be said is that mythic pitch mummies are very different from their lesser kin.

 

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Mythic Nabasu and Shadow Demons

Mythic Nabasu and Shadow Demons
Pathfinder 1e
Mythic Ghoul: A humanoid who dies of a mythic ghoul's ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast. A humanoid with a mythic rank or mythic tier of 1 or higher rises as a mythic ghoul.
There are several ways for mythic ghouls to come about. A mythic character that succumbs to ghoul fever rises as a mythic ghoul more often than as a normal ghoul, although both outcomes are possible. Many creatures are capable of creating mythic ghouls, either with powerful necromancy spells, or with innate abilities, such as those possessed by the mythic nabasu. In very rare cases, it is rumored that particularly obscene acts of cannibalism, such as eating the corpse of one’s brother, may be enough to cause an individual to become a mythic ghoul, but such claims are generally poorly documented.
Whenever a mythic nabasu creates a ghoul with its gaze attack, it can expend one use of mythic power. If it does, the ghoul that is created is a mythic ghoul. Mythic ghouls created in this way are unstable, and their mythic power fades with time if it is not maintained: each day, the mythic nabasu must expend uses of mythic power each day to maintain the mythic status of ghouls under its control. Each use of mythic power it expends in this way is enough to maintain up to three mythic ghouls. Mythic ghouls that are not maintained become non-mythic ghouls, but remain under the mythic nabasu’s control.

Ghoul: As a free action once per day per growth point (minimum of 1/day), a mythic nabasu can activate its death-stealing gaze for a full round. All living creatures within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save or gain a negative level. A humanoid slain in this manner immediately transforms into a ghoul under the mythic nabasu’s control. A mythic nabasu’s gaze can only create one ghoul per round—if multiple humans perish from the gaze in a round, the mythic nabasu picks which human becomes a ghoul. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Whenever a mythic nabasu creates a ghoul with its gaze attack, it can expend one use of mythic power. If it does, the ghoul that is created is a mythic ghoul. Mythic ghouls created in this way are unstable, and their mythic power fades with time if it is not maintained: each day, the mythic nabasu must expend uses of mythic power each day to maintain the mythic status of ghouls under its control. Each use of mythic power it expends in this way is enough to maintain up to three mythic ghouls. Mythic ghouls that are not maintained become non-mythic ghouls, but remain under the mythic nabasu’s control.
A humanoid who dies of a mythic ghoul's ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast. A humanoid with a mythic rank or mythic tier of 1 or higher rises as a mythic ghoul.
There are several ways for mythic ghouls to come about. A mythic character that succumbs to ghoul fever rises as a mythic ghoul more often than as a normal ghoul, although both outcomes are possible.
Ghoul Ghast: A humanoid who dies of a mythic ghoul's ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast. A humanoid with a mythic rank or mythic tier of 1 or higher rises as a mythic ghoul.