Tome of Beasts 3 for 5th Edition
5e
Bone Collector: ?
Bone Lord: A bone lord spawns spontaneously from a large pile of bones, generated by the collected psychic trauma—anguish, fear, grief, hate, loss, and other extreme emotions—of the atrocities that created the pile of bones. Sources of necromantic energy are required for a bone lord to form, or else bone lords would arise whenever there was mass slaughter, a great plague, or an interminable war. In spite of this, there is no definitive guiding hand in a bone lord’s creation. It is a thing born of the results of the worst of humanoid nature, and it rises with a desire to destroy those whose actions created it.
Forgotten Regent: Long ago, a kingdom in the frozen north had a ruler who was too young to lead a kingdom. A regent was appointed to guide the land until the rightful ruler came of age. Unfortunately, the regent’s actions brought a terrible tragedy to the land, leading to the death of the rightful ruler and many of the kingdom’s people. Though the kingdom fell, the regent remained after death, cursed to lead the damned souls of the people as punishment for failing to protect them in life.
The forgotten regent has been cursed to lead a kingdom of the damned in the frozen reaches of the world.
Ghost Knight Templar: When a ghost knight makes its 113th kill with its lance, the slain victim’s spirit fuses to the weapon. In a ceremony to promote the ghost knight to a templar, the order’s priests and priestesses break the lance over an altar. The ghost knight and its horse then absorb the victim’s spirit from the lance, transforming them into powerful creatures.
Lakescourage Lotus: The followers of an evil water god created the lakescourge lotus by implanting seeds in the chest of waterlogged corpses; the seeds spread vein-like roots and necrotic energy into the body.
Peat Mummy, Undead Remains of an Innocent Who Was Murdered by Drowning in a Swamp: Peat mummies are the undead remains of innocents who were murdered by drowning in a swamp. The mud of the bog preserves the body while the unquiet spirit festers within it. The resulting mummy is a rage-fueled shell that seeks vengeance against the people it blames for its condition. Since becoming a peat mummy can take decades, the unfortunates who suffer the creature’s wrath are often unaware of its existence.
Necrotech Bonecage Constrictor: This enormous, skeletal snake is crafted from innumerable humanoid skeletons, ribcage after ribcage linked together.
Rather than an army of skeletons, a powerful necromancer can instead assemble the bones of dozens of humanoids into something far more terrifying. Because of their mismatched parts, no two constrictors are exactly the same; however, they all resemble enormous serpents or centipedes: long stretches of rib cage supported by grasping hands or feet. Often, the head is made of several skulls, with the glittering lights of reanimation sparkling from dozens of eye sockets.
Necrotech Reaver: Necrotech reavers are made from the parts of multiple giants. The gaps between the disparate bodies are bridged with enchanted timber and iron reinforcements, then bladed chains are attached to the creature’s arms and torso. While acquiring the titanic corpses necessary to make a reaver is difficult, the process of stitching them together is relatively simple. Aggressive use of mundane components in the scaffolding and reinforcement allows even neophyte necromancers to participate in their construction and maintenance, while the relative disposability of parts means that a necrotech can be repaired and re-animated as long as dead giants are available as raw material.
Necrotech Thunderer: Their bodies are built from elephants, triceratops, or similarly massive quadrupeds, while their skulls and spines are carved open to make room for ballistae carved from slain treants. A thunderer’s body is then hardened against necrotic energy, allowing it to channel explosive bolts of necromantic magic through the siege weapon built into its spine.
Offal Walker: Offal walkers are patchwork undead designed by enterprising necromancers determined to put the spare intestines to use.
Necromantic Leftovers. An offal walker is constructed from a smattering of spare legs, and whatever animal bones are nearby, stitched together to provide a framework and anchoring point for hundreds of feet of coiled intestine.
Old Salt: An old salt is a sailor who was wrongly convicted of a crime and condemned to walk the plank. Just before drowning, the old salt swore an oath of vengeance against those who wronged it. Thirteen weeks later, the sailor washed ashore in a port where a false accuser resides.
Relentless Hound: Legend has it that a merciless thief made a network of caverns his base of operations. His only companions in his ruthless attacks from this network were abused hounds trained to do his dirty work. When the hounds refused to carry out orders to destroy a helpless family, the thief trapped them in the deepest cavern to die, alone and abandoned by their only master. There, their cries and howls went unheard, and one by one, they perished— but not before their grief turned to rage. Bound to the places where they were left to die, the ghosts of the maddened hounds lurk, stronger and more vicious than any living canine, looking for vengeance.
Ruin Scarab: These undead beetles were created by lords of undeath with just enough intelligence to be trainable.
Starving Specter: ?
Swampgas Shade, Aggrieved Soul of a Humanoid Murdered in a Swamp: A swampgas shade is the aggrieved soul of a humanoid murdered in a swamp. Mired in muck, the body cannot decompose, and spawns an undead instead. The soul is trapped on the Material Plane, tied to the area within a mile of its corpse.
Truant Devourer: ?
Underworld Sentinel: Dark Origins. Centuries ago, a sinister cult dedicated to the deity of death arose among a clan of deep-dwelling stone giants. Heeding the pronouncements of a herald of undeath (see Creature Codex), the giants gave up their natural lives in exchange for immortality and unholy power. Carving runes and symbols into their bodies in a dark ritual, they were transformed into the first underworld sentinels.
Vampiric Vanguard: Vampire lords often transform vanquished paladins and other protectors of light into vampiric vanguards, reveling in the horrid juxtaposition between life and undeath while utilizing their warriors’ spirit.
Wrackwraith: Humanoids that die when swept into the sea by the tide sometimes return to haunt the shores where they drowned.
Wrackwraiths form because others refused or were unable to help the drowning person, or because the person was purposely drowned. Wrackwraiths desire vengeance against the living.
Wraith Oathrot, Tormented Spirit of One Who Broke Solemn Vows Causing Tragedy By Doing So: Denied eternal rest, oathrot wraiths are the tormented spirits of those who broke solemn vows, causing tragedy by doing so. Unrepentant, they now roam the world constantly reminded of their weakness and failure.
Zombie Smokeplume: ?
Zombie Voidclaw: Voidclaw zombies are suffused with the magic of the Void, which twists their bodies into odd proportions, including overly large clawed hands, a shortened frame, increased intellect, and surprising speed. They are created in rituals invoking the Void, and they channel its dark energy.
Bone Collector, Fully Animate Vulture Carcass, Familiar, Gatherer, Eyes of the Dead, Minion: ?
Bone Lord, Giant Goat-Like Skeleton With a Four-Armed Humanoid Torso, Collective Amalgam of Various Bones, Bones of Darkness and Fury, Undead Menace: ?
Forgotten Regent, Dwarf, Ghostly Dwarf, Ally of the Damned, Cursed Ruler: ?
Ghost Knight Templar, Champion of Evil, Powerful Creature: ?
Lakescourage Lotus, Waterlogged Cadaver With a Gaping Hole in its Chest: ?
Peat Mummy, Common Villager Who Ran Into Trouble in the Swamp, Murderer of Murderers, Undead Horror: ?
Enraged Peat Mummy: ?
Necrotech: Necrotech creations are massive undead creatures made by a group of necromancers.
Necrotech, Massive Undead Creature: ?
Necrotech, Siege Weapon: ?
Necrotech, Powerful Mode of Transportation: ?
Experimental Necrotech: The darakhul of the Ghoul Imperium have long practiced necromancy, using the corpses and bones of Underworld denizens to create new undead servants and devise powerful war machines to aid in their conquest of the subterranean lands. Under Emperor Nicoforus, the darakhul necromancers, known as the Necrophagi, have prospered in their mission to develop experimental necrotech, and their progress has accelerated over the last decade, thanks to the blasphemous volumes of eldritch lore gifted to the ghouls by the vampires of Morgau and Doresh in exchange for their military aid against Krakova.
Necrotech Bonecage Constrictor, Enormous Skeletal Snake, Monstrous Creature, Necromantic Amalagam, Necrotic Prison: ?
Necrotech Reaver, Patchwork Undead its Top Half That of a Frost Giant its Bottom Half That of a Stone Giant: ?
Necrotech Reaver, Necromantic Vanguard, Specialist Necrotech Construct: ?
Necrotech Thunderer, Undead Elephant Who Has Had the Top of its Skull and Spine Carved Out Replaced With an Enormous Ballista of Polished Brass: ?
Necrotech Thunderer, Dedicated Undead Siege Weapon, Dedicated Artillery: ?
Offal Walker, Assemblage of Loose Limbs, Patchwork Undead, Necromantic Leftovers, Support Combatant: ?
Old Salt, Undead Sailor, Persistent Avenger: ?
Relentless Hound, Ghost, Multiplying Menace: ?
Spectral Hound: When struck while near death, the relentless hound splits, creating a duplicate of itself.
Relentless Hound mulitply power.
Ruin Scarab, Large Beetle, Undead Preparer of the Dead, Undead Pet, Undead Beetle, Fine Guard, Guard, Cleaner, Deterrent, Retriever: ?
Starving Specter, Ghostly Being, The Forgotten, Tragic Horror: ?
Swampgas Shade, Ethereal Shadow of Hatred and Swampgas, Ghostly Undead: ?
Truant Devourer, Decaying Form, Enforcer of the Lords of Death, Servant of the Undying, Devourer of the Damned: ?
Underworld Sentinel, Huge Emaciated Giant, Undead Giant Sworn to Serve the Gods of Death and Undeath, Passage Guardian: ?
Underworld Sentinel, Guard: ?
Vampiric Vanguard, Excellent Shock Trooper: ?
Vampiric Vanguard, Excellent Linebreaker: ?
Vampiric Vanguard, Tragic Champion: ?
Wrackwraith, Pile of Seaweed and Other Detritus, Vaguely Humanoid Shape, Angry Dead: ?
Zombie Smokeplume, Massive Zombie: ?
Zombie Smokeplume, Shock Trooper: ?
Zombie Smokeplume, Weapon of Terror: ?
Zombie Voidclaw, Efficient Killer, Surprisingly Capable Killer: ?
Ghost Knight Templar: Ghost knights were once living creatures who accepted the blessing of undeath and rose through the ranks of their dark kingdom’s armies.
Some orders of knighthood require service after death; ghost knights templar are one such group. Both the willing and the conscripts entering the order as living men and women, and those who serve bravely and loyally for five years or more are “raised up” into the ranks of the undead by their undead lords.
Undead Warhorse: ?
Ghostly Mount: When a ghost knight makes its 113th kill with its lance, the slain victim’s spirit fuses to the weapon. In a ceremony to promote the ghost knight to a templar, the order’s priests and priestesses break the lance over an altar. The ghost knight and its horse then absorb the victim’s spirit from the lance, transforming them into powerful creatures.
Ghostly Mount, Flying Undead Warhorse, Powerful Creature, Flying Mount, Steed, Mount: ?
Undead, Undead Creature: Vampire lords animate many undead creatures to serve their various needs.
Servant of Darkness, Undead That Lurks at Night: ?
Incorporeal Undead: ?
Undead Lord: ?
Undead Servant: ?
Lesser Umdead: ?
Ghost: ?
Ghost, Incorporeal Undead, Spirit: ?
Ghoul: ?
Ghoul, Supernatural Creature: ?
Virtuoso Lich: ?
Lich, More Powerful Minion: ?
Deranged Lich: ?
Deranged Visionary Lich: ?
Mummy Lord: ?
Shadow: Alternatively, the shadow lurker can combine two stolen shadows into a shadow instead.
Skeleton: Vetala Demon Raise Corpse power.
Vetala Demon Master of Death power.
Warhorse Skeleton: ?
Specter, Servant of Darkness, Undead That Lurks at Night, Spirit: ?
Vampire, Servant of Darkness, Undead That Lurks at Night, More Powerful Minion, Supernatural Creature, Creature That Feeds on Blood: ?
Vampire Lord: ?
Vampire Spawn: ?
Wight: ?
Wraith, Incorporeal Undead: ?
Shambling Undead Zombie: ?
Zombie: A Humanoid or Beast slain by this [barnacle shivers] disease rises 24 hours later as a zombie.
A Humanoid slain by [a cave sovereign's consume soul] attack rises 1d4 rounds later as a zombie under the cave sovereign’s control, unless the Humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed.
When a creature dies while trapped inside a drudge pitcher’s pitcher, the drudge pitcher regains 11 (2d10) hp, and the corpse of the creature rises as a zombie.
Vetala Demon Raise Corpse power.
Vetala Demon Master of Death power.
Zombie, Frontline Trooper: ?
Darakhul: ?
Emperor Nicoforus: ?
The Necrophagi, Darakhul Necromancer: ?
Glacial Corruptor: ?
Master of Undeath. A Humanoid killed by the vetala or an Undead under its control rises 1 minute later as a skeleton or zombie (the vetala’s choice), unless the Humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed. The vetala can have no more than 20 total skeletons and zombies under its control at one time.
Multiply (3/Day). When the relentless hound takes damage while below half its hp maximum, it creates a spectral hound. The spectral hound uses the statistics of a shadow, except it doesn’t have the Sunlight Weakness trait and it can’t make new shadows when it kills Humanoids. It appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the relentless hound and acts on the same initiative as that hound. After the spectral hound finishes a long rest, it becomes a relentless hound.
Raise Corpse. One Humanoid corpse the vetala can see within 30 feet of it rises as a skeleton or zombie (the vetala’s choice) under the vetala’s control.
