Undead Origins

[Voadam]

Slayer's Guide to Trolls
3.0
Undead: ?
Animated Skeleton: ?
Very Powerful Animated Troll Skeleton: Very powerful animated troll skeletons can be made when the cleric uses a complete set of her own bones, each ripped from her body and allowed to regrow. Such monstrosities have maximum hit points, the same strength score as the caster, and are turned as if they were two Hit Dice higher than normal. They can be mentally commanded by their creators without uttering a sound, so great is the link between the spellcaster and her own old set of bones. Fortunately, these forms of undead are extremely rare, for few chieftains have the luxury of cutting off their own heads to provide the skull for their unliving guardians without having their status as chieftain being challenged while they are in such a helpless state.
Very Powerful Animated Troll Skeleton, Monstrosity, Unliving Guardian: ?
Zombie: The flesh that regrows as a result of this [second helping] spell is fresh, as if the victim was just recently slain. The flesh rots to putrescence after 24 hours if not eaten, which is generally not a problem with most trolls. However, if second helping is cast upon a complete skeleton followed by an animate dead spell, the resulting undead will be a zombie rather than a skeleton, and the zombie’s dead flesh does not putrefy 24 hours after the casting of the second helping spell, as would normally be the case.

 

[Voadam]

Tales of Freeport
3.0
Undead: These are the remains of Hariot’s fallen troops, as far as he has been able to recover them, as well as bits and pieces that were insufficient to animate on their own. Hariot is keeping the parts in the hope that he will be able to use them to repair damaged undead, or even to create new undead from miscellaneous pieces.
Animated Corpse: ?
Undead Follower: ?
Undead Servitor: ?
Jebediah Morton, Ghost Expert 5, Actual Ghost, Angry Ghost, Phantom, Spirit, Tortured Spirit: Several years ago, Captain Ebenezer Frick crossed a merchant named Jebediah Morton in business. Morton was ruined; he and his family were turned out on the street and were forced to live in Tent Town. There, his wife and two children died of consumption. Unable to carry on, Morton committed suicide. Captain Frick, wealthier and more successful than ever, has returned to Freeport, and is staying at the Last Resort. The Captain has long forgotten about the incident, but the tortured Morton has not. Unable to rest, his spirit is out for revenge.
Ghost: ?
Ssvalish, The Ghostly Serpent Priest, Serpent Person Ghost Cleric 6, Spirit: ?
Vengeful Ghost: ?
Fiarella Donadrien, Elf Ghost Expert 6: ?
Lacedon, Aquatic Ghoul: However, the lacedons will eventually do what any predator does when faced with an abundant food supply—they will expand their population. Boat crews (and escorting mercenaries and adventurers) killed in their attacks will become lacedons in turn, and as the pack grows, it will need more food, and attacks on the Crematorium boats will become more frequent.
Ghoul: The cannibal cult at the Dead Pelican may ensure that their victims don’t come back by feeding their souls to their patron spirit, but no such prohibition is attached to the cultists themselves—or indeed, to those unknowing dupes who eat the flesh of the victims in the tavern’s famous pies.
As these individuals begin to die off—the lucky ones from natural causes, the less fortunate by violence—Freeport will begin to experience a plague of ghouls. To the cultists, this is a natural progression in the service of Oona, and they make preparations to guide their fellow-cultists through the transition to undeath and to keep them hidden and cared for afterwards. The unwitting customers, however, have no such protection.
The dietary needs of a growing ghoul population may cause the already high death rate in Scurvytown to rise to the point where the most lackadaisical authorities are forced to do something about it; on the bright side, though, the ghouls will require so much human flesh that there will not be enough left over to put in the pies, which will, at least, cause an eventual dip in the frequency of unsupervised ghoul creation.
A rash of ghoul incidents in Scurvytown may lead the PCs to investigate, and discover that the one thing everyone had in common before death was a fondness for the Pelican’s meat pies.
Lich: The mummified priest in Captain Horngold’s room comes to life, animated by the chanting of the living priest outside the window.
Mohrg: The mummified priest in Captain Horngold’s room comes to life, animated by the chanting of the living priest outside the window.
Standard Mummy: The mummified priest in Captain Horngold’s room comes to life, animated by the chanting of the living priest outside the window.
Vengeful Mummy: ?
Skeleton: The mummified priest in Captain Horngold’s room comes to life, animated by the chanting of the living priest outside the window.
First, he found the lizardfolk’s burial ground, and created an army of skeletons and zombies.
Medium Skeleton: ?
Vampire: ?
Lucrecia, Vampire: ?
Wraith: This room was once used to incubate the eggs of those serpent folk who were destined to become priests of Yig. When the temple fell, most of the eggs incubating here were destroyed, and K’Stallo has set up the altar to the memory of the unborn serpent folk who died in that disaster.
If the altar is disturbed or profaned in any way, the spirits of some of the unborn serpent folk will rise up from the floor and attack those responsible.
Wraith, Unborn Serpent Infant, Unborn Serpent Folk Spirit: ?
Zombie: The mummified priest in Captain Horngold’s room comes to life, animated by the chanting of the living priest outside the window.
First, he found the lizardfolk’s burial ground, and created an army of skeletons and zombies.
Medium Zombie: ?
Ogre Zombie, Large Zombie: ?
Swimming Dead: ?
Serpent Folk Spirit, Dead Serpent Folk Spirit: The lizardfolk were originally the servants of the Valossan serpent folk who founded the city. When the city was ruined in the great cataclysm that destroyed the continent of Valossa, the few surviving serpent folk carried on as best they could, waiting for some word to come from other survivors. Eventually, they died out, but their lizardfolk servants survived. Even after they died, some of the serpent folk could not bear to leave the city, and remained in spirit form to supervise the lizardfolk and keep alive what they could of Valossan civilization.

 

[Voadam]

The Avatar's Handbook
3.0
Uncalled: Most sentient creatures die before accomplishing everything they set out to do in life. Typically, the trivial unresolved issues, unfulfilled quests, and unpursued goals cause the dead creature’s soul no unrest. Occasionally, however, a good creature is slain while in pursuit of some significant goal—one with an importance that transcends its mortal shell. When such a quest coincides with the plans of a powerful good outsider, the soul may be placed back into its body so that it can pursue its goal once more. Such a creature, known as an uncalled, must complete its mission before it can find eternal rest.
An uncalled wanders the mortal realms, seeking always to complete whatever massive task it had been pursuing before death claimed it. The creature might have been attempting to free its home nation from enslavement by a nearby kingdom, or destroy a cabal of powerful sorcerers, or even bring about the death of a deity. The goals of an uncalled are never simple, minor tasks; they always seem monumental in scope.
“Uncalled” is a template that can be added to any good-aligned dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, monstrous humanoid, outsider, or shapechanger.
Uliy, Uncalled Stone Giant: Uliy was tribal champion of the Rrevik clan of stone giants. He lived to prove his prowess in combat and serve his tribe in whatever capacity he could. One day, while he was hunting in the mountains, a strange glow began filling the valley in which his tribe made its home. He quickly hurried back through the mountain passes to see what was happening. When he crested the last ridge overlooking the valley, he saw a massive hemisphere of light encompassing the entire village. As he sprinted toward his home, the light seemed to throb and expand. Then it winked out.
Uliy’s village had vanished. In its place was an immense, perfectly smooth hemispherical crater in the ground. All the gardens and animal pens, all the homes, and the giants were gone. Uliy had failed as tribal champion for his own village, but he was determined not to fail the other stone giant settlements in the mountains. He set out for a nearby village several miles away to warn the residents, but again he was too late—another perfectly smooth depression was all that remained. The same was true for the next village, and the next. All told, eight stone giant villages—all those in Uliy’s mountain range—were gone.
Uliy swore a blood oath to discover the fate of his people or die trying. As luck would have it, the latter event happened first. Barely a month after the disappearance, Uliy was ambushed by a family of manticores and slain.
But some power of good found Uliy’s quest worth pursuing, and there was no one else who could complete it, since Uliy had been the only sentient being who even knew about the missing stone giants. Thus, Uliy opened his eyes once more—this time as an uncalled. Now, driven by the need to discover the truth about his tribe’s fate, he searches the land for clues.
Undead, Undead Creature: ?

 

[Voadam]

The Hittites
3.0
Ghoul: ?
Ghast: ?
Human Ghost: ?
Wight: ?
Zombie: ?

 

[Voadam]

The Penumbral Pentagon
3.0
Chiruli, Unhallowed Forsaken Priest Cleric 15, Very Pleasant Sincere Sociable Man, Madman: Chiruli is a relic of the time before the gods’ triumph. He grew up during the era of the so-called 100 Republics that preceded the founding of Vesh and served Madriel as a particularly talented priest and healer. In those days, the war against the Slarecians still raged, and his other responsibilities included ministering to wounded troops alongside hundreds of other good clerics. That was when he first learned of the shadow worshippers, by eavesdropping on the interrogations of a few prisoners. Their supremely confident resolve impressed him, even as they died terribly. Later, the equally bold tactics of their brethren still at large impressed him again. He began to wonder if they possessed some fundamental insight that others should have as well and began a long, quiet search through the mysteries of divine magic.
A pair of human servants of the shadow worshipping Slarecians burst into his home one evening, fleeing a Veshian patrol. They intended to kill him and hide, but he had the presence of mind to repeat the few phrases of the shadow litany he'd learned, and they stopped in surprise and confusion. They let him live long enough to hear him out, debated his sincerity, and finally decided to accept him as one chosen to join the cause. From then on, Chiruli went about his priestly duties by day and slipped away to be instructed by the shadow-folk each night.
Soon his loyalty to and understanding of the shadow cause were both complete, and his master required him to prove his worth. Through careful deceit, he convinced one of his superiors in Madriel’s temple to call an emergency meeting of all clerics and healers who could possibly attend. Chiruli’s clerical powers no longer functioned and had not for some time, as his alignment had shifted too far from Madriel’s for him to remain her priest. Chiruli was undaunted, however. He simply locked the assembled priests of Madriel in the temple and triggered the magical device given him by the shadow worshippers. The temple was filled with poisoned shadows, and every priest in the room died, leaving Madriel’s army sorely lacking in healers the very night before an important battle.
A crime so heinous - against healers no less - committed by one who was still, in name at least, a priest of Madriel, was enough to twist Chiruli, body and soul, into another sort of being altogether. At the very moment the first trapped priest exhaled his last breath, Chiruli was transformed into an undead Forsaken Priest.
Unholy Child: ?
Unholy Child, Translucent Form of a Child, Ghost, Ghostly Child: ?
Undead: ?
Fundamentally Supernatural Being: ?
Formless Ghost: ?
Undead Ooze: ?
Shadow Lord: Pits in the floor each hold a slave tortured to death in the interests of testing an assistant’s theory about the origins of shadow lords. The assistant speculated that certain kinds of pain and anger unleashed the power necessary to transform a normal sentient being’s shadow into a shadow lord. The experiment proved to be partially successful. The four pits closest to the wall each contain a corpse that vomits out a shadow lord when disturbed.
Dar'Gartal, Vampire: ?

 

[Voadam]

The Shaman's Hanbook
3.0
Undead, Undead Creature: Spirit masters also often delve into the secrets of creating and commanding the undead, which does little to endear them to their fellows.
Some Tibetan shamanic rites involved calling up ghosts or animating the dead (possibly the equivalent of an animate dead or create undead spell).
Corporeal Undead: ?
Incorporeal Undead: ?
Abomination: ?
Undead Spirit: ?
Incorporeal Undead, Creature of Darkness: ?
Allip, Spirit: ?
Ghost: At 8th level, a spirit master can create greater undead once per day as a spell-like ability. The spirit master’s caster level equals his class level. The spirit master can only create spectres and ghosts, and must supply the material components of the spell.
Spirit of the Dead: ?
Ghost, Undead Spirit, Spirit, Incorporeal Undead: ?
Ordinary Ghost: ?
Shadow: At 4th level, a spirit master gains the spell-like ability to create undead once per day. The spirit master’s caster level equals his class level, but the spirit master can only create shadows and wraiths. Otherwise the ability works exactly as the spell create undead and the spirit master must supply the material components.
Shadow, Incorporeal Undead, Creature of Darkness, Spirit: ?
Skeleton: ?
Spectre: At 8th level, a spirit master can create greater undead once per day as a spell-like ability. The spirit master’s caster level equals his class level. The spirit master can only create spectres and ghosts, and must supply the material components of the spell.
Spectre, Undead Spirit, Spirit, Incorporeal Undead: ?
Wraith: At 4th level, a spirit master gains the spell-like ability to create undead once per day. The spirit master’s caster level equals his class level, but the spirit master can only create shadows and wraiths. Otherwise the ability works exactly as the spell create undead and the spirit master must supply the material components.
Wraith, Undead Spirit, Spirit: ?
Zombie: ?

 

[Voadam]

The Unholy Warrior's Handbook
3.0
Undead: ?
Undead Servant: ?
Mindless Undead Ally: ?
Lich: Mourne's Peripeteia artifact.
Skeleton, Mindless Undead Ally: ?
Skeleton, Easy Prey: ?
Medium-Sized Skeleton, Undead Companion: ?
Zombie, Mindless Undead Ally, Easy Prey: ?

Mourne’s Peripeteia
This unique twisted rod of an unknown material bears 13 runes in 13 languages. Its first known user was a legendary dark elf who championed the cause of balance. In a distant land in an ancient era, he discovered this staff and recognized its raw chaotic energies and potential to aid his comrades if one or more of them fell in battle. Although he had noble reasons for taking up the artifact, he soon became corrupted by its influence. Every time he used the rod to restore life to a dead ally, it reincarnated her and transferred one of the runes onto his flesh. As more runes roosted on his body, he became more chaotic and corrupted, until one day his body, long gone to rot, spilled his intestines onto the ground, making an ideal target for a band of bloodthirsty kobolds in service of an ancient red wyrm.
The rod’s primary ability is to reincarnate the dead. When touching a dead character, the rod flares with energy, and the deceased is reincarnated as per the spell in the PHB. Dead characters have no choice, nor may they resist the powers of this artifact. The rod never restores the individual to his own race, and any roll resulting in such implies a result of GMs choice.
When the rod reincarnates a character, it transfers a rune onto the body of the caster. The process of gaining a rune is excruciatingly painful and inflicts 1 point of Constitution damage. In addition, each rune has a side effect, many of them none too pleasant. See the table on the next page for details.
Each use of the rod instills a perverse desire to use it more. Once the rod inscribes all 13 runes, it ceases to function and the wielder has a flash of sudden insight. At this point the character must succeed at a Will save against a DC 32 or go incurably insane as per the spell. As noted above, he has transformed into a lich. While this confers immortality, if his corporeal body is destroyed, the rod consumes his spirit and regains all 13 runes. The rod is intelligent (Int 24, Wis 18, Cha 24, Ego 30); it is capable of speech and telepathy, reads all languages and magic, and confers the following abilities onto its wielder in addition to the ones described above: Intuit Direction +14, Sense Motive +14, and free use of Evasion. The rod may assume the form of a 30 HD fiendish Black Pudding, may charm person (DC 18) on contact, and may use telekinesis at will (250 lb maximum) independent of the user, if it is so inclined. This item is a unique artifact crafted by a personification of raw Chaos.
Mourne’s Peripeteia’s Rune Effects
Runes Effect
1 -2 Strength and Constitution drain
2 Alignment shift one step towards chaotic
3 Alignment shift one step towards evil
4 -2 Wisdom drain
5 +2 enhancement bonus to Intelligence
6 +2 enhancement bonus to Strength
7 Alignment shift one step towards chaotic
8 Alignment shift one step towards evil
9 -2 Strength and Constitution drain
10 Grow old: one age category higher
11 See in Darkness (no penalty)
12 Damage Reduction 5/-
13 Lich transformation (phylactery is the rod; if the lich body is destroyed, the phylactery devours the soul and all 13 runes are restored). See MM for details on the Lich template.

 

[Voadam]

The Wise & The Wicked
3.0
Undead, Undead Creature: Now, with many of his peers calling him the “Black Messiah,” Lucian Daine feels he has at last garnered the power and influence that he always craved, and his experiments grow more and more elaborate. His current work on a true ritual intends to transform the entire population of a town or village into undead.
Yvestil's Create Undead power.
Undead Albadian Shaman: Andelais surmised that the shaman was a poor soul who had died aiding the Amaltheans but been brought back to a state of unlife by the druids of Khet.
Greater Undead: Credas can create greater undead up to CR 10.
Sentient Undead: ?
Undead Minion: ?
Undead Slave: ?
Free-Willed Undead: Daine’s research grew darker and more complex. He sought to understand the connection between free-willed undead, such as wraiths and spectres, and the souls of the departed. Were these creatures the entire soul of a dead being? Were they only a portion of that soul, an amalgam of many souls or entirely separate and distinct entities?
Insubstantial Undead Creature: ?
Necazzar, Undead Sentry Crow Familiar: ?
Galdor the Deathless, Leader of Lede, Undead Human, Terrifying Undead Warrior, Undead Monster, Unliving Thing: Galdor was already a fearsome warrior when the dark god Vangal took notice of him many years ago. Pleased with the young warrior, the Ravager bade his minions seek out Galdor and invite him to serve as their dark lord’s champion. Galdor enthusiastically accepted the offer and, infused with the power of his god, fought his way to a position of leadership within the notoriously fierce Horsemen of Vangal. Over time, he carved out an empire across the Plains of Lede, and his name struck fear into even the most powerful rulers’ hearts.
In time, adversaries appeared to challenge Galdor’s supremacy, such as paladins of Corean, seeking to destroy the evil warlord, and traitors from Galdor’s own ranks. For years, these challengers failed; their severed heads decorated the banner poles and saddles of Galdor’s horde. Ultimately, though, an adversary prevailed: one of Galdor’s most trusted lieutenants made secret pacts with agents of Vesh and led a faction of Galdor’s forces in rebellion. Taken by surprise, Galdor was cornered and defeated at the battle of Horsehead Canyon. Galdor slew nearly 100 foes, including his treacherous lieutenant, before he was finally brought down. Their lord slain, the horde disintegrated, its members fleeing headlong into the plains.
And that would have been the end of the matter, had Vangal himself not intervened.
No one quite knows why Vangal brought Galdor back. The Ravager usually forgets his slain champions, nurturing riew followers rather than resurrecting old ones. But not Galdor. Within a few years of the warlord’s fall, travelers began reporting the appearance of a terrifying, undead warrior riding the plains, gathering recruits and once more uniting the clans into a single horde. Investigating these reports, Mithril’s paladins discovered the awful truth: the new warlord was none other than Galdor himself, animate but unliving, Vangal’s twisted and evil tool.
His vanity and pride are limitless, even though he is an unliving thing, created and kept on Ghelspad by the will of Vangal alone, and any insult or slight is ruthlessly punished.
Jerhard Landeraux, False Lover Unhallowed, Deeply Bitter Unhappy Creature: Landereaux committed many crimes in his twilight years, both large and small, but his worst offense was committed against the servants of the gods he claimed to glorify. In the city of Shelzar, where the good-aligned gods struggled against the jaded, pleasure-besotted populace, Madriel maintained a temple that cared for the sick, the poor and the underprivileged, hoping to lead by example and inspire the Shelzarites to greater acts of charity. Landereaux agreed to perform at the temple, more out of his lust for High Priestess Iona than for any other reason. After the performance, Landereaux confronted Iona, demanding two-thirds of the gold that the wealthy of Shelzar had donated to the temple to see him. When she refused, Landereaux forced his attentions upon her and absconded with all the gold.
The now-infamous bard died soon after, slain by bandits for his ill-gotten gold. But his miserable existence was not over: he rose again, assuming an undead form that parodied his old self and becoming one of the Unhallowed.
He has begun to realize that the reward for his crimes against the gods is an eternity of betrayal and falsehood, and he grows increasingly desperate as a result.
Enslaved Undead: ?
Undead Titanspawn: ?
Aliastra Denier, Ghost: Bards and storytellers relate tales of Denier and her adventures, suggesting that she, far from real, is but a ghost or myth.
Spirit of a Bird, Spirit of a Departed Bird: ?
Spirit of an Animal, Spirit of a Departed Animal: ?
Ghost: ?
Credas, Lich: Credas may create a phylactery and become a lich if he so chooses. However, he has not chosen to do so and likely never will.
Mistress Yvestil, Crypt-Lady of Glivid-Autel, Lich: ?
Mummy, Elite Undead Bodyguard: ?
Powerful Mummy, Honor Guard: ?
Hostile Shadow: ?
Skeleton, Elite Undead Bodyguard: ?
Masterwork Skeleton: ?
Ragni, Undead Skeletal Servant, Faithful Undead Servant, Skeletal Undead Companion, Undead Bodyguard, Skeleton, Unfortunate Creature: Some wags claim that the bones of Traviak’s brother Ragni comprise this undead so that the duke can dominate his hated older sibling even after death.
Skeleton: Yvesti's Raise the Dead power.
Spectre: Daine’s research grew darker and more complex. He sought to understand the connection between free-willed undead, such as wraiths and spectres, and the souls of the departed. Were these creatures the entire soul of a dead being? Were they only a portion of that soul, an amalgam of many souls or entirely separate and distinct entities?
Spectre, Spectral Undead, Free-Willed Undead: ?
Spectre, Elite Undead Bodyguard: ?
Vampire, Elite Undead Bodyguard: ?
Wight: ?
Arrach, Ancient Wight-Lord: ?
Wraith: Daine’s research grew darker and more complex. He sought to understand the connection between free-willed undead, such as wraiths and spectres, and the souls of the departed. Were these creatures the entire soul of a dead being? Were they only a portion of that soul, an amalgam of many souls or entirely separate and distinct entities?
Wraith, Spectral Undead, Free-Willed Undead, Insubstantial Undead Creature: ?
Fearsome Wraith: ?
Zombie: Yvesti's Raise the Dead power.
Zombie, Elite Undead Bodyguard: ?

Create Undead (Su): Creates one undead with a Challenge Rating less than 10.

Raise the Dead (Su): Yvestil may raise dead as skeletons and/or zombies for nine hours, once per day.

 

[Voadam]

The Witch's Handbook
3.0
Undead: ?
Troublesome Undead: ?
Skeleton: Cauldron of the Dead magic item.
Vampire: ?
Zombie: Cauldron of the Dead magic item.

Cauldron of the Dead
This heavy cauldron of dark iron is large enough to accommodate a Medium-sized creature. When filled with a mixture of water and rare herbs, the cauldron transforms any dead body placed in it into a zombie or skeleton per the animate dead spell (the user chooses whether or not a zombie or skeleton is created from an intact corpse). Each corpse animated uses up 50 gp in materials and the cauldron can animate a corpse in one round. The user of the cauldron commands the undead so created, up to 2 HD per character level, any further undead created over this limit are under the owner’s control, but previously created undead are freed.
Caster Level: 10th; Prerequisite: Craft Wondrous Item, animate dead; Market Price: 54,000 g; Cost to Create: 27,000 gp + 2,160 XP.

 

[Voadam]

Tome of Horrors
3.0
Apparition, Standard Apparition: Apparitions are undead spirits of creatures that died as the result of an accident.
A creature slain by an apparition rises in 1d4 hours as an apparition.
Barrow Wight: A humanoid slain by a barrow wight becomesabarrowwightin1d4rounds.
Bhuta: When a person is murdered, the spirit sometimes clings to the Material Plane, refusing to accept its mortal death. This spirit possesses its original body and seeks out those responsible for its murder. It will never rest until those responsible are sought out and slain.
Since the transformation into unlife is almost instant (occurring within 1-2 hours after death), the bhuta appears as it did in life. Close inspection
Bloody Bones: ?
Bog Mummy: When a corpse preserved by swamp mud is imbued with negative energy, it rises as a bog mummy.
Any humanoid that dies from bog rot becomes a bog mummy in 1d4 days unless a remove disease is cast (within one day after death) or the creature is brought back to life (raise dead is ineffective, but resurrection or true resurrection works).
Coffer Corpse: The coffer corpse is an undead creature formed as the result of an incomplete death ritual. They are found on stranded funeral barges or in other situations where corpses have not been delivered to their final rest.
Crypt Thing: Create Crypt Thing spell.
Crypt Guardian: ?
Darnoc: The darnoc are said to be the restless spirits of oppressive, cruel, and power hungry individuals cursed forever to a life of monotony and toil, forbidden by the gods to taste the spoils of the afterlife they so desperately craved in life.
Any humanoid slain by a darnoc becomes a darnoc in 1d4 rounds.
Draug: The draug is the vengeful spirit of a ship’s captain who died at sea, thus being denied a proper burial. If an entire ship sinks at sea with the loss of all hands, the ship itself and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers. The captain usually rises as a draug and his crew rises as brine zombies.
When a ship sinks beneath the waves, it and its entire crew may return as ghostly wanderers, especially if the captain and crew had a less than scrupulous profession (as pirates, for example). A sunken ship of this nature may undergo a transformation from the negative energy and evil surrounding it. When this happens, the ship rises from the deep, piloted by a draug and manned by skeletons, brine zombies, zombies, and lacedons.
Ghoul-Stirge: The origin of the ghoul-stirge has been lost, but it is believed to be the result of a failed magical experiment.
Groaning Spirit: The groaning spirit is the malevolent spirit of a female elf that is found haunting swamps, fens, moors, and other desolate places.
Haunt: The haunt is the spirit of a person who died before completing some vital task.
Huecuva: Huecuva are the undead spirits of good clerics who were unfaithful to their god and turned to the path of evil before death. As punishment for their transgression, their god condemned them to roam the earth as the one creature all good-aligned clerics despise — undead.
Mummy of the Deep: It is the result of an evil creature that was buried at sea for its sins in life. The wickedness permeating the former life has managed to cling even into unlife and revive the soul as a mummy of the deep.
Poltergeist: ?
Shadow Rat Common: ?
Shadow Rat Dire: ?
Lesser Shadow: According to ancient texts, an arcane creature known only as the Shadow Lord created beings of living darkness to aid him and protect him. These beings, called shadows, were formed through a combination of darkness and evil. He also created other beings of darkness, lesser beings, not quite as powerful as his original creations. These creatures became known as lesser shadows.
A creature drained to Strength 0 by a lesser shadow dies. Lesser shadows do not normally create spawn, though it is rumored that some lesser shadows do have this ability.
Skulleton: Believed to have been created by a lich or demilich, the skulleton resembles the latter creature in that it appears as a skull, pile of dust, and collection of bones. Several small gems (false — all are painted glass and worthless) are inset in its eye sockets and mouth. The skulleton is thought to have been created to detour would-be tomb plunderers in to thinking they had desecrated the lair of a demilich.
The ingredients required to create this creature are the skull of a humanoid, a few humanoid bones (they need not be from the same humanoid that the skull came from), and a large quantity of dust. Once the bones, dust, and skull are acquired, the creator must be at least 9th level and able to cast arcane spells. Completing the formula requires the successful casting of animate dead, contagion, fly, and stinking cloud.
Undead Ooze: When an ooze moves across the grave of a restless and evil soul, a transformation takes place. The malevolent spirit, still tied to the rotting flesh consumed by the ooze, melds with the ooze. The result is a creature filled with hatred of the living and an intelligence and cunningness not normally known among its kind.
Vampiric Ooze: The vampiric ooze is thought to have been created by a great undead spellcaster using ancient and forbidden magic. Some believe the vampiric ooze was formed when an ochre jelly slew a vampire and absorbed it.
Ghoul Wolf: ?
Shadow Wolf: ?
Brine Zombie: Brine zombies are the remnants of a ship’s crew that has perished at sea. They are mindless creatures, not very pleasant to look at, and relentless in their attacks on the living. The spark of evil that brought them back from the ocean depths drives them to seek the living so they may join them in their watery graves.
Juju Zombie: Juju zombies’ hatred of living creatures and the magic that created them are what holds them to the world of the living. When a living creature is slain as the result of an energy drain, enervation, or similar spell or spell-like ability, it may rise as a juju zombie.
Juju Zombie Tiny: ?
Juju Zombie Small: ?
Juju Zombie Medium: ?
Juju Zombie Large: ?
Juju Zombie Huge: ?
Juju Zombie Gargantuan: ?
Juju Zombie Colossal: ?
Bleeding Horror: Created by the blood axe, these foul creatures drip with the blood they were so willing to sacrifice to the hungry blade.
“Bleeding horror” is a template that can be added to any humanoid, monstrous humanoid, giant, beast, magical beast, outsider, or shapechanger (hereafter referred to as the “base creature”) that dies as a result of feeding the blood axe (see the sidebar for more details).
Any creature slain by the blood consumption attack of a bleeding horror becomes a bleeding horror under the command of the initial horror.
Any creature slain by the bleeding horror minotaur’s blood consumption attack becomes a bleeding horror under the command of the bleeding horror minotaur.
Blood Axe artifact.
Bleeding Horror Minotaur: ?
Skeleton Warrior: The skeleton warrior is a lich-like undead lord that was once a powerful fighter of at least 10th level. Legend tells that the skeleton warriors were forced into their undead state by a powerful demon prince that trapped each of their souls in a golden circlet.
“Skeleton Warrior” is a template that can be added to any humanoid creature.
The transformation into a skeleton warrior traps the character’s soul in a golden circlet.
Skeleton Warrior Human Fighter 12: ?
Spectral Troll: “Spectral troll” is a template that can be added to any troll (hereafter referred to as the “base creature”).
Spectral Troll Troll: ?
Apparition, Undead Spirit of a Creature That Died as the Result of an Accident: ?
Barrow Wight, Twisted Insane Creature Standing About 6 Feet Tall: ?
Bloody Bones, Evil Undead Spirit, Skeletal Humanoid With Bits of Muscle and Sinew Hanging From its Body: ?
Coffer Corpse, Undead Creature Formed as the Result of an Incomplete Death Ritual: ?
Crypt Thing, Skeletal Humanoid: ?
Crypt Guardian, Variant of the Crypt Thing: ?
Darnoc, Corrupting Evil Presence, Restless Spirit of an Oppressive Cruel Power Hungry Individual, Vicious Combatant: ?
Demiurge, Undead Spirit of an Evil Human Returned From the Grave With a Wrathful Vengeance Against All Living Creatures That Enter its Domain, Humanoid With Sunken Nose Hollow Eye Sockets Sickly Pale White Semi-Transparent Flesh: ?
Draug, Vengeful Spirit of a Ship’s Captain Who Died at Sea Thus Being Denied a Proper Burial: ?
Draug, Ghostly Wanderer: ?
Draug, Death Token: ?
Ghoul-Stirge, Large Stirge With Rotting Flesh Broken Wings: ?
Groaning Spirit, Malevolent Spirit of a Female Elf, Translucent Image: ?
Haunt, Spirit of a Person Who Died Before Completing Some Vital Task: ?
Huecuva, Undead Spirit of a Good Cleric Who Was Unfaithful to Their God and Turned to the Path of Evil Before Death, Robed Skeleton: ?
Mummy of the Deep, Bloated Desiccated Humanoid Wrapped in Torn and Waterlogged Bandages: ?
Poltergeist, Undead Spirit: ?
Shadow Rat Common, Incorporeal Form of a Normal Rat: ?
Shadow Rat Dire, Incorporeal Form of a Dire Rat: ?
Lesser Shadow, Being of Darkness, Lesser Being, Creature of Living Darkness: ?
Skulleton, Skull Pile of Dust Collection of Bones: ?
Undead Ooze, Creature Filled With Hatred of the Living and an Intelligence and Cunningness not Normally Known Among its Kind, Large Viscous Black Mass From Which the Bones of its Previous Victims’ Protrude: ?
Vampiric Ooze, Giant Flowing Bubbling Mass of Mustard Yellow Ooze: ?
Shadow Wolf, Large Black hound Formed of Darkness, Nocturnal Hunter: ?
Brine Zombie, Remnant of a Ship’s Crew That Has Perished at Sea, Mindless Creature: ?
Brine Zombie, Ghostly Wanderer: ?
Juju Zombie, Hideous Humanoid Creature: ?
Bleeding Horror, Foul Creature: ?
Bleeding Horror, Skeleton Covered in and Continually Dripping Thick Red Blood: ?
Bleeding Horror, Sunken Corpse Covered in and Continually Dripping Thick Red Blood: ?
Skeleton Warrior, Lich-Like Undead Lord That Was Once a Powerful Fighter of at Least 10th Level, Lich-Like Creature: ?
Spectral Troll, Normal Troll But Jet Black in Color: ?
Undead, Undead Creature: Orcus is known as the Prince of the Undead, for it is said (in secret) that he alone created the first undead that walked the worlds.
Undead Particularly Vulnerable to Sunlight: ?
Great Undead Spellcaster: ?
Ghast: ?
Ghost: ?
Ghoul: ?
Lacedon: ?
Lacedon, Ghostly Wanderer: ?
Lich: ?
Demilich: ?
Mummy, Normal Mummy: ?
Shadow, Standard Shadow: According to ancient texts, an arcane creature known only as the Shadow Lord created beings of living darkness to aid him and protect him. These beings, called shadows, were formed through a combination of darkness and evil.
Shadow, Being of Living Darkness: ?
Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Statue: Once per day, the bone cobbler can animate up to 5 of its skeletal statues. A skeletal statue must be within 30 feet of the bone cobbler for this ability to take effect. These creatures fight as skeletons (see the MM), though their forms and structure do not necessarily resemble humanoid skeletons. This ability otherwise resembles the animate dead spell as cast by a 7th-level sorcerer.
Skeleton, Ghostly Wanderer: ?
Skeleton Ally: ?
Spectre: ?
Free-Willed Specter: Any humanoid killed by a spectral troll rises 1d3 days later as a free-willed spectre unless a cleric of the victim’s religion casts bless on the body.
Vampire, Undead That is Particularly Vulnerable to Sunlight: ?
Vampire: ?
Wight, Normal Wight: ?
Wraith: ?
Zombie: Any humanoid slain by a vampiric ooze becomes a zombie in 1d4 rounds.
Zombie, Ghostly Wanderer: ?
Animated Creature: The electrical aura of the fogwarden can animate dead creatures within 20 feet. This is otherwise identical with animate dead cast by a 4th-level cleric.

CREATE CRYPT THING
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Clr 7, Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Close (25 ft. +5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One corpse
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
You may create a crypt thing with this spell. The spell must be cast in the area where the crypt thing will make its lair. A crypt thing can be created only from a mostly intact corpse or skeleton. The corpse must have bones (so, no oozes, worms, or the like). If a crypt thing is made from a corpse, the flesh falls from the bones. The statistics for the crypt thing depend on its size, not on what abilities the creature may have possessed while alive. Only one crypt thing is created with this spell, and it remains in the area where it was created until destroyed.
Material Component: A black pearl gem worth at least 300 gp. The gem is placed inside the mouth of the corpse. Once the corpse is animated into a crypt thing, the gem is destroyed.

MINOR ARTIFACT: THE AXE OF BLOOD
Description: Wielded until recently by the famous dwarf fighter Rhezenuduk, legend holds that the axe of blood was lost on a quest to another plane of existence. The axe itself is rather nondescript, being made of dull iron. Only the large, strange rune carved into the side of its double-bladed head gives any immediate indication that the axe may be more than it seems. The rune is one of lesser life stealing, carved on it long ago by a sect of evil sorcerers. This is, in fact, the only remaining copy of that particular rune, thus making the axe a valuable item. Further inspection reveals another strange characteristic: the entire length of the axe’s long haft of darkwood is wrapped in a thick leather thong stained black from years of being soaked in blood and sticky to the touch. When held, the axe feels strangely heavy but well balanced, and it possesses a keenly sharp blade.
Powers: At first blush, the axe appears to be no more than a keen battle axe. If legend lore is consulted or the history of the axe unearthed in some other fashion, its true powers can be tapped. The rune of lesser life stealing does not afflict those struck by the axe. Instead, the rune draws power from its wielder to become a mighty magic weapon. Each day, the wielder of the axe can choose to “feed” the axe, sacrificing some of his blood to the axe in a strange ritual. This ritual takes 30 minutes and may be done only at dawn or the axe cannot be powered that day.
Using the axe, the wielder opens a wound on his person (causing 1d6 damage) and feeds the axe with his own blood. The rough metal absorbs the ichor hungrily. In this ritual, the wielder sacrifices Constitution to the axe. The axe gains +1 to attack and +1 to damage per point of Constitution sacrificed, up to a total of +5 to attack and +5 to damage. The lost Constitution also, of course, reduces the wielder’s hit points and Fortitude save accordingly. Hit points lost due to a reduction in Constitution may not be healed by any means and are recovered only on the morning of the day following the sacrifice. Similarly, the damage caused by the opening of the wound to power the axe also may not be healed by any means until the sacrificed Constitution is regained. Note that the axe retains its keen quality when powered.
If the axe is powered to an amount less than the full +5 during the morning ritual and the wielder subsequently wishes that day to power the axe further, the wielder may again wound himself (a full-round action causing 1d6 damage) and sacrifice additional Constitution. In this instance where such a “second feeding” is done, however, the wielder must sacrifice 2 points of Constitution per additional +1 to attack and damage (up to the same maximum of +5).
For example, for the third day in a row, Drekuthar powers the axe by sacrificing Constitution. On this particular day, he sacrifices 2 points of Constitution in the morning ritual, wounding himself for 4 points of damage in doing so (in addition to the hit points lost by the sacrificed Constitution). Later in the day, Drekuthar encounters a golem that is only hit by +4 or better weapons. Reluctantly, Drekuthar gives his axe a “second feeding,” wounding himself for another 3 hit points of damage and sacrificing 4 Constitution points to increase the enhancement bonus of the axe from +2 to +4.
There is a chance that the Constitution sacrificed to the axe is lost permanently. If the wielder always skips a day in between powering the axe and always powers the axe with the morning ritual, there is no chance of permanent loss. If, however, the axe is fed on consecutive days or powered in a second feeding, there is a 1% chance plus a 1% cumulative chance per consecutive day the axe is powered that Constitution sacrificed to the axe on that day is permanently lost. This check must be made for each point of Constitution sacrificed to the axe that day. The wielder will not know this until the next morning, when he fails to recover the Constitution points as usual. In the example of Drekuthar above, because this is the third consecutive day he has fed the axe, there is a 3% chance for each point sacrificed that the sacrificed Constitution is permanently lost. In addition, when he feeds the axe a second time, he must make another check to see whether any of that batch of Constitution points is permanently lost as well. If reduced to Con 0 permanently as a result of feeding the axe, the wielder becomes a bleeding horror. See the Templates Appendix for details on this horrible creature.
Until activated, the axe is just a keen battle axe. The wielder must consult legend lore or some other similar source of information to learn the ritual required to feed the axe. Despite the gruesome ritual required to power the axe, the axe is not evil but is instead neutral. Bound inside it is a rather savage earth spirit.
Caster Level: 20th; Prerequisites: energy drain, symbol.