Undead Origins


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Slaughter at Splinterfang Gorge (PF/5E)
5e
Undead: The bodies of fallen elven warriors were harnessed by necromantic magic and thrown into the fray against their living kin.
Spragnokk, The Scourge of Rewlunrain, Bugbear Mummy, Hulking Clearly Undead Bugbear, Imposing Figure: As they descended the Gorge, the goblinoids discovered an odd tomb. After ransacking the sepulcher, the acolytes placed Spragnokk’s body inside. The clerics did not perform the final rites for their leader’s passing though; they poured runes of malice and revenge over his corpse, preparing for his necromantic return instead.
A century ago the goblinoid followers of Spragnokk uncovered Haspsnapper’s tomb, unceremoniously chucked the dwarf’s corpse out of his sarcophagus, and sealed their leader inside. Now, with the skies in the full throes of the Garnet Gales Aurora, Rhekular has invoked the ritual to revive Spragnokk with the life essence of innocents…
Once PCs arrive at the area, Rhekular will have reached the end of his portion of the ritual, the uttering of eldritch runes invoking Spragnokk’s necromantic revival. If the PCs reached the gorge during daylight hours, the northern winds will have picked up to 20 mph (no effect on ranged attacks) over the chasm while the inside remains eerily still. If the party arrives at night, the Garnet Gales Aurora will be in full bloom and the color of blood. As the party gets within a hundred or so feet of the gorge, read or paraphrase the following:
The bugbear trail leads through a wide plane of uneven grassland. Up ahead you see an immense, jagged wound in the earth. The gap, preceded by an odd array of stones to the east, widens out at perhaps one hundred feet as it continues to run west. You can hear the cries of infants coming from within the fissure.
If the party looks down into the gorge before or after confronting the bugbear guards at Area 1, read or paraphrase the following:
The gorge, lined with steep, slick walls, descends gradually into the earth, the end of the downward slope not easily identifiable. The angled floor of the gorge is strewn with boulders large and small. At a point where you deem the ravine’s slope is 50’-to-60’ below the earth’s surface, a cloud of fog can be seen hugging an area not far from the north wall of the fissure. The wails of the infants are much stronger now, the acoustics of the gorge amplifying their outcries.
Rhekular (Area 2) had a premonition about the enemy forces arriving to disrupt Spragnokk’s return. Rhekular read off a scroll of obscuring mist (4th level, 2 minutes remaining) to hide both himself and the tomb’s entrance (Area 2a) so he could finish the ritual’s last remaining verses in relative peace. He tied up the elven infants one at a time to his shield and then lowered them into the tomb via 2a. Once the infant reached the bottom of the shaft, Rhekular upended the shield via ropes so the young would roll off onto the floor into Area 3 (no damage). The PCs arrive just as Rhekular drops in the last offering.
The ritual revived not only Spragnokk, but five bugbear guards as well.
The elven hide scroll Rhekular carries once held the divine runes responsible for Spragnokk’s revival, but the writing on the foul parchment faded away once the ritual was fully cast.
Spragnokk, The Scourge of Rewlunrain, Fully Restored Bugbear Mummy: The foul rite has empowered Spragnokk with the ability to absorb the souls of his enemies for the remaining duration of the Garnet Gales Aurora. Rhekular brought only half of the ten kidnapped infants to the gorge so he would have a bargaining chip of sorts to keep Spragnokk in check; the bugbear warlord of old was renowned for killing his own kind whenever it suited him. Rhekular knows that undeath will likely amplify his ancestor’s base nature. Rhekular doesn’t want to deal with a fully restored Spragnokk (a 10th level cleric) until he sees how the bugbear mummy reacts to being brought back.
Spragnokk’s temporary soul absorption ability is not limited to elven young; he can just as easily suck the energy out of PCs as well. Spragnokk is a perspicacious adversary though, thus will not disrupt combat to harvest soul energy as long as one opponent is still on his or her feet within the tomb. Woe to downed PCs left behind by their party! A single elven PC can restore one level of cleric back to Spragnokk; alternately two nonelven PCs must be harvested to grant Spragnokk one level in cleric. Characters actually slain in combat will be useless to Spragnokk’s reaping. A Constitution DC 20 is required for the dying PC to resist the absorption. PCs who resist the absorption will be ripped apart by Spragnokk and his minions. Spragnokk can max out as a 10th level cleric while the Garnet Gales Aurora is taking place, but only if he has enough victims to harvest.
Bugbear Ghoul, Undead Bodyguard, Newly Risen Undead, Lesser Undead: The ritual revived not only Spragnokk, but five bugbear guards as well. The five were murdered by Spragnokk’s acolytes and stowed in 3 to watch over their lord. Rhekular’s ritual infused negative energy into the guards’ corpses, turning them into ghouls.
The ghouls were once bugbear guards of Spragnokk, sacrificed by his acolytes to protect their lord during his “brief departure.” The acolytes were not powerful enough to grant the corpses of the guards with unlife at the time, but these lesser priests foresaw the sentinels rising up during the second coming of Spragnokk, so the servants’ blades were left just in case.
Mummy Lord: ?

Pathfinder 1e
Undead: The bodies of fallen elven warriors were harnessed by necromantic magic and thrown into the fray against their living kin.
Spragnokk, The Scourge of Rewlunrain, Bugbear Mummy, Hulking Clearly Undead Bugbear, Imposing Figure: As they descended the Gorge, the
goblinoids discovered an odd tomb. After ransacking the sepulcher, the acolytes placed Spragnokk’s body inside. The clerics did not perform the final rites for their leader’s passing though; they poured runes of malice and revenge over his corpse, preparing for his necromantic return instead.
A century ago the goblinoid followers of Spragnokk uncovered Haspsnapper’s tomb, unceremoniously chucked the dwarf’s corpse out of his sarcophagus, and sealed their leader inside. Now, with the skies in the full throes of the Garnet Gales Aurora, Rhekular has invoked the ritual to revive Spragnokk with the life essence of innocents…
Once PCs arrive at the area, Rhekular will have reached the end of his portion of the ritual, the uttering of eldritch runes invoking Spragnokk’s necromantic revival. If the PCs reached the gorge during daylight hours, the northern winds will have picked up to 20 mph (no effect on ranged attacks) over the chasm while the inside remains eerily still. If the party arrives at night, the Garnet Gales Aurora will be in full bloom and the color of blood. As the party gets within a hundred or so feet of the gorge, read or paraphrase the following:
The bugbear trail leads through a wide plane of uneven grassland. Up ahead you see an immense, jagged wound in the earth. The gap, preceded by an odd array of stones to the east, widens out at perhaps one hundred feet as it continues to run west. You can hear the cries of infants coming from within the fissure.
If the party looks down into the gorge before or after confronting the bugbear guards at Area 1, read or paraphrase the following:
The gorge, lined with steep, slick walls, descends gradually into the earth, the end of the downward slope not easily identifiable. The angled floor of the gorge is strewn with boulders large and small. At a point where you deem the ravine’s slope is 50’-to-60’ below the earth’s surface, a cloud of fog can be seen hugging an area not far from the north wall of the fissure. The wails of the infants are much stronger now, the acoustics of the gorge amplifying their outcries.
Rhekular (Area 2) had a premonition about the enemy forces arriving to disrupt Spragnokk’s return. Rhekular read off a scroll of obscuring mist (4th level, 2 minutes remaining) to hide both himself and the tomb’s entrance (Area 2a) so he could finish the ritual’s last remaining verses in relative peace. He tied up the elven infants one at a time to his shield and then lowered them into the tomb via 2a. Once the infant reached the bottom of the shaft, Rhekular upended the shield via ropes so the young would roll off onto the floor into Area 3 (no damage). The PCs arrive just as Rhekular drops in the last offering.
The ritual revived not only Spragnokk, but five bugbear guards as well.
The elven hide scroll Rhekular carries once held the divine runes responsible for Spragnokk’s revival, but the writing on the foul parchment faded away once the ritual was fully cast.
Spragnokk, The Scourge of Rewlunrain, Fully Restored Bugbear Mummy: The foul rite has empowered Spragnokk with the ability to absorb the souls of his enemies for the remaining duration of the Garnet Gales Aurora. Rhekular brought only half of the ten kidnapped infants to the gorge so he would have a bargaining chip of sorts to keep Spragnokk in check; the bugbear warlord of old was renowned for killing his own kind whenever it suited him. Rhekular knows that undeath will likely amplify his ancestor’s base nature. Rhekular doesn’t want to deal with a fully restored Spragnokk (a 10th level cleric) until he sees how the bugbear mummy reacts to being brought back.
Spragnokk’s temporary soul absorption ability is not limited to elven young; he can just as easily suck the energy out of PCs as well. Spragnokk is a perspicacious adversary though, thus will not disrupt combat to harvest soul energy as long as one opponent is still on his or her feet within the tomb. Woe to downed PCs left behind by their party! A single elven PC can restore one level of cleric back to Spragnokk; alternately two nonelven PCs must be harvested to grant Spragnokk one level in cleric. Characters actually slain in combat will be useless to Spragnokk’s reaping. A Fortitude DC 25 is required for the dying PC to resist the absorption. PCs who resist the absorption will be ripped apart by Spragnokk and his minions. Spragnokk can max out as a 10th level cleric while the Garnet Gales Aurora is taking place, but only if he has enough victims to harvest.
Bugbear Ghoul, Undead Bodyguard, Newly Risen Undead, Lesser Undead: The ritual revived not only Spragnokk, but five bugbear guards as well. The five were murdered by Spragnokk’s acolytes and stowed in 3 to watch over their lord. Rhekular’s ritual infused negative energy into the guards’ corpses, turning them into ghouls.
The ghouls were once bugbear guards of Spragnokk, sacrificed by his acolytes to protect their lord during his “brief departure.” The acolytes were not powerful enough to grant the corpses of the guards with unlife at the time, but these lesser priests foresaw the sentinels rising up during the second coming of Spragnokk, so the servants’ blades were left just in case.
 

Sly Flourish's Fantastic Adventures
5e
Undead: One of the as-yet-unknown properties of voidwater sees dead bodies that are exposed to the substance for long periods transformed into undead. This is what caused Paulson Deepfathom and a number of other miners to rise as undead over the two months that their bodies were lost within the mine’s tunnels.
Paulson Deepfathom, Vengeful Ghast: During their investigation, the characters discover that the deaths in the mine are the result of workers killed in an accident two months before having been transformed into ravening ghouls that now roam the mine’s countless caverns. These undead are led by the vengeful ghast Paulson Deepfathom—Daronith’s twin brother. In the course of dealing with the undead, the adventurers discover the dark secret that long-term exposure to voidwater has caused this horrid transformation.
Daronith’s brother died in Deepfathom Well two months earlier, when an accident caused the mine’s drilling rig to crash down and seal the entrance shaft. His body was never found, and unknown to anyone else, that months-long exposure to voidwater has caused him to rise as a ghast that now lurks in the caverns of the mine.
One of the as-yet-unknown properties of voidwater sees dead bodies that are exposed to the substance for long periods transformed into undead. This is what caused Paulson Deepfathom and a number of other miners to rise as undead over the two months that their bodies were lost within the mine’s tunnels.
Ghast: ?
King Levendus Whitesparrow, Ghost, Pale Confused Benign Apparition: ?
Ravening Ghoul: During their investigation, the characters discover that the deaths in the mine are the result of workers killed in an accident two months before having been transformed into ravening ghouls that now roam the mine’s countless caverns. These undead are led by the vengeful ghast Paulson Deepfathom—Daronith’s twin brother. In the course of dealing with the undead, the adventurers discover the dark secret that long-term exposure to voidwater has caused this horrid transformation.
Ghoul: ?
Lizardfolk Ghoul: ?
Mummy: ?
Mummy With Bladed Hands, Blade-Handed Leather-Wrapped Mummy, Mummified Humanoid Arms Ending in Gleaming Blades: If things go poorly for Gloom, the fallen Lord of Murder responds by animating a mummy with bladed hands, which deals slashing damage instead of bludgeoning damage with its rotting fist attack.
Shadow: ?
Skeleton: ?
Specter: ?
Friendly Specter, Last Fading Essence of a Fallen Angel: As they travel across the crater, the characters might run into a friendly or hostile specter—the last fading essence of either a fallen angel or devil.
Hostile Specter, Last Fading Essence of a Devil: As they travel across the crater, the characters might run into a friendly or hostile specter—the last fading essence of either a fallen angel or devil.
 
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Snakes & Saloons v1.3 (5e)
5e
Wendigo, Skinny Boney Creature That is Humanoid But Has the Head of a Deer's Skull: Wendigo are rumored to be creatures that are spawned from cannibalistic demons possessing and completely merging with the bodies of vulnerable outlanders. This transformation makes the new creature formed, the Wendigo, exist in a state of not quite being fully alive but it’s body also being unable rest until it’s unending hunger is finally sated.
Undead, Undead Creature: ?
Ghast: ?
Ghost: ?
Ghoul: ?
Lich: ?
Shadow: ?
Skeleton: ?
Specter: ?
Spirit: ?
Poltergeist: ?
Wight: ?
Will-o'-Wisp: ?
Wraith: ?
Zombie: ?
 



Spaceships and Starwyrms: Core Sourcebook
5e
Cyber Zombie: A cyber zombie is created when a normal humanoid with biological functions has replaced so much of their body with machinery that their biological mind goes into shock and spirals toward death. Exactly how much cyberware is required for a given person to enter this state varies, but the key factor that keeps this shock and death spiral from killing the humanoid and instead makes them a monster is how much of the cyberware is able to support their required bodily function and brain activity.
Regardless of what popular culture may postulate, becoming a cyber zombie starts with the death of the person. They are dead bodies animated by the cybertechnology integrated into their bodies. Though the energy that animates them is not necrotic, they retain features of both undead creatures and constructs such as the ancient flesh golems that magical societies perpetuated long ago. Because the creature is acting from electrical pulses of their own cyber systems, if left unchecked, they turn to aggressive instinct.
Undead, Undead Creature: ?
Undead Creature With a Physical Body: ?
Undead Humanoid Creature: ?
Ghoul: ?
Ghast: ?
Ghost: ?
Lich: ?
Shadow: ?
Skeleton: ?
Specter: ?
Vampire: ?
Will-o'-Wisp: ?
Wight: ?
Wraith: ?
Zombie: ?
 
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St. Alcatraz's Temple KHF2
5e
Shadow: The two evil undead from Area 9 have killed to create shadows to attack any trespassers.
Hangul Wraith Create Shadow power.
Eulji Mundeok, Hangul Wraith, Evil Undead Being, Ghost: The evil spirits of a twin brother and sister Hangul Wizards, Eulji Mundeok and Yi Sun Mundeok were buried in two lead sealed sarcophagi here. They became, over the intervening aeons Hangul Wraiths, but remained trapped within the lead sealed sarcophagi.
Yi Sun Mundeok, Hangul Wraith, Evil Undead Being, Ghost: The evil spirits of a twin brother and sister Hangul Wizards, Eulji Mundeok and Yi Sun Mundeok were buried in two lead sealed sarcophagi here. They became, over the intervening aeons Hangul Wraiths, but remained trapped within the lead sealed sarcophagi.
Specter: ?
Banshee: ?

Create Shadow. The wraith targets a humanoid within 10 feet of it that has been dead for no longer than 1 minute and died violently. The target's spirit rises as a Shadow in the space of its corpse or in the nearest unoccupied space. The Shadow is under the wraith's control.
 

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