Undead Origins

CASTLE OLDSKULL - Oldskull Anti-Paladins
1e
Lord Mordred the Kin-Slayer, Undead Knight of Saigoth Black Knight 13, Undead Heir, Hateful Revenant: Whatever truly occurred, the terrible end is known: The curse which had destroyed the legacy of Camelot was twofold, and as a result of the defeated Mordred’s panicked pleas, demonic insanity reigned once more. Lord Mordred was entombed alive by noble men who were driven mad; horrifically, he was sealed into the tomb of Queen Guinevere herself. There in the utter dark, he was offered the embrace of one final pact of darkness by a banshee spirit who hailed from the Unseelie Court. This he accepted, and to save himself from starvation — and to empower the banshee’s terrible pact in his black heart — he ate of the dead flesh of Guinevere. In so doing he became an undead heir to the dread and ancient Knights of Saigoth, a hateful revenant. He was torn away into the dark faerie realm of the Unseelie and never seen again.
The slayer of King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann. Whether he was slain by Arthur, or barely survived, is unknown to many. It is whispered by the wisest that he was entombed alive with the body of Queen Guinevere, and that he ate of her flesh before he starved to death in the utter dark. If true he likely arose as an undead Knight of Saigoth.
Knight of Saigoth, Typical Knight of Saigoth, Undead Knight of Saigoth: The rite to become a Knight of Saigoth is rather horrific. When a high-level (at least level 13) NPC, but not Player Character, anti-paladin is near to death there is a chance that he will be visited by a powerful banshee of the Unseelie Court. The chance is up to the Game Master, but is highly dependent upon immediate circumstances. An anti-paladin who is slain by a party of good characters will die and have his soul taken before a banshee can appear to intervene. However an anti-paladin who is trapped by a cave-in and slowly dying, or drowning alone, or dying painfully in solitude, will probably be visited by the spirit.
Once the NPC anti-paladin agrees to the rite (which he almost always will), the banshee’s hymn will then bring forth a magically unearthed dead body, which might be years old or recently slain. The anti-paladin must eat of the dead body’s flesh and then swear to forever serve the Priesthood of Saigoth. When this is done the banshee will scream, fatally separating the anti-paladin’s soul from his body. The anti-paladin’s immortal patron will be cheated of the soul, and the banshee’s ensnaring power will stitch the soul into the corpse which has been unearthed. The corpse’s remaining flesh will wither away, to be only partially reformed into a vile and twisted countenance.
A magical mask will be conjured and seared into the animated corpse’s face. In 13 nights’ time, these tortured remnants will arise as a Knight of Saigoth, fully undead yet also possessing all of the fallen anti-paladin’s memories.
Before they could all be hunted down and wiped out by holier Men, however, some few of the arch-priests fled into the nether. There — seeking arcane and necromantic powers where divine magic had failed them — they made allegiance with the last of the Lich Maidens. (Which Maiden it was, some sayeth Hagath, others Annis, is unknown.) They twisted even the arts of Mung, who sent his own minions and the Monsters against them. But twenty-three of these arcane warriors of undeath endured these trials and torments, and rose in the World of Oldskull as terrible princely powers of wrath and hate.
These twenty-three were the Knights of Saigoth. They are warrior Liches of dreadful might, and each is worshipped by a death cult, lost in a different corner of the world.
Knight of Saigoth, Undead Chaotic Evil Knight of Terrible Power, Terrible Princely Power of Wrath and Hate, Warrior Lich of Dreadful Might: ?
Undead: ?
Undead Lord: ?
Undead Horror: ?
Banshee Spirit: ?
Powerful Banshee of the Unseelie Court: ?
Ghast: ?
Ghoul: ?
The Lich Queen, Deathless Triumphator: ?
Lich: ?
Lich Maiden: ?
Lich Maiden, Hagath: ?
Lich Maiden, Annis: ?
Mummy: ?
Shadow: ?
Dracula, Vlad Tepes, Vampire: ?
Vampire, Vampiress: ?
Vampire Lord, Lady Vampiress: ?
Vampire Patriarch, Vampiress Matriarch: ?
Limping Zombie: ?

Basic
Lord Mordred the Kin-Slayer, Undead Knight of Saigoth Black Knight 13, Undead Heir, Hateful Revenant: Whatever truly occurred, the terrible end is known: The curse which had destroyed the legacy of Camelot was twofold, and as a result of the defeated Mordred’s panicked pleas, demonic insanity reigned once more. Lord Mordred was entombed alive by noble men who were driven mad; horrifically, he was sealed into the tomb of Queen Guinevere herself. There in the utter dark, he was offered the embrace of one final pact of darkness by a banshee spirit who hailed from the Unseelie Court. This he accepted, and to save himself from starvation — and to empower the banshee’s terrible pact in his black heart — he ate of the dead flesh of Guinevere. In so doing he became an undead heir to the dread and ancient Knights of Saigoth, a hateful revenant. He was torn away into the dark faerie realm of the Unseelie and never seen again.
The slayer of King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann. Whether he was slain by Arthur, or barely survived, is unknown to many. It is whispered by the wisest that he was entombed alive with the body of Queen Guinevere, and that he ate of her flesh before he starved to death in the utter dark. If true he likely arose as an undead Knight of Saigoth.
Knight of Saigoth, Typical Knight of Saigoth, Undead Knight of Saigoth: The rite to become a Knight of Saigoth is rather horrific. When a high-level (at least level 13) NPC, but not Player Character, anti-paladin is near to death there is a chance that he will be visited by a powerful banshee of the Unseelie Court. The chance is up to the Game Master, but is highly dependent upon immediate circumstances. An anti-paladin who is slain by a party of good characters will die and have his soul taken before a banshee can appear to intervene. However an anti-paladin who is trapped by a cave-in and slowly dying, or drowning alone, or dying painfully in solitude, will probably be visited by the spirit.
Once the NPC anti-paladin agrees to the rite (which he almost always will), the banshee’s hymn will then bring forth a magically unearthed dead body, which might be years old or recently slain. The anti-paladin must eat of the dead body’s flesh and then swear to forever serve the Priesthood of Saigoth. When this is done the banshee will scream, fatally separating the anti-paladin’s soul from his body. The anti-paladin’s immortal patron will be cheated of the soul, and the banshee’s ensnaring power will stitch the soul into the corpse which has been unearthed. The corpse’s remaining flesh will wither away, to be only partially reformed into a vile and twisted countenance.
A magical mask will be conjured and seared into the animated corpse’s face. In 13 nights’ time, these tortured remnants will arise as a Knight of Saigoth, fully undead yet also possessing all of the fallen anti-paladin’s memories.
Before they could all be hunted down and wiped out by holier Men, however, some few of the arch-priests fled into the nether. There — seeking arcane and necromantic powers where divine magic had failed them — they made allegiance with the last of the Lich Maidens. (Which Maiden it was, some sayeth Hagath, others Annis, is unknown.) They twisted even the arts of Mung, who sent his own minions and the Monsters against them. But twenty-three of these arcane warriors of undeath endured these trials and torments, and rose in the World of Oldskull as terrible princely powers of wrath and hate.
These twenty-three were the Knights of Saigoth. They are warrior Liches of dreadful might, and each is worshipped by a death cult, lost in a different corner of the world.
Knight of Saigoth, Undead Chaotic Evil Knight of Terrible Power, Terrible Princely Power of Wrath and Hate, Warrior Lich of Dreadful Might: ?
Undead: ?
Undead Lord: ?
Undead Horror: ?
Banshee Spirit: ?
Powerful Banshee of the Unseelie Court: ?
Ghast: ?
Ghoul: ?
The Lich Queen, Deathless Triumphator: ?
Lich: ?
Lich Maiden: ?
Lich Maiden, Hagath: ?
Lich Maiden, Annis: ?
Mummy: ?
Dracula, Vlad Tepes, Vampire: ?
Vampire, Vampiress: ?
Vampire Lord, Lady Vampiress: ?
Vampire Patriarch, Vampiress Matriarch: ?
Limping Zombie: ?
 
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LA2 Devil's Dung
1e
Spirit: Spirits are the remains of human, goblin, hobgoblin, orc, half-orc, or other humanoids of 1+2 or fewer hit dice (never a demi human), though the remains might have been any level of experience in life (including shaman and witchdoctors), that was an unburied dead or that was buried without any protections.
They are connected to their actual form (remains, skeleton, corpse) and if that form is destroyed/beheaded they die at once. Their corpse cannot be Raised or Animated until the spirit is destroyed. Blessed or otherwise protected corpses cannot become spirits. A spirit will arise from 1 corpse in 20 that is not protected or given a proper burial i.e., a priest or higher ranked cleric officiates at the burial) after a period of 72 hours and only if it is night at the time of arising. Only those who die a violent death (including execution/ assassination/ melee) can become a spirit.
Spirit, Wraith: ?
Undead: ?
Ghast: ?
Ghoul: ?
Skeleton, Animated Skeleton: ?
Wraith, Spirit: ?
Zombie: ?
 

Marmoreal Tomb Campaign Starter
1e
Amber Mummy, Bundled Amber Mummy: Amber mummies usually appear as bundles of linen drenched in solid amber and scented oils. These bundles are receptacles of multiple bodies mingled together in the afterlife. Most of the time, the remains contained within a single bundle will be related, but this isn’t the only possible reason, as their status as servants of the state or local public heroes may have joined them together in the memory of the people and culture who led them to rest.
Two alcoves, one on each side of the corridor, contain the horribly melded remains of the priests of Iyathar who, by casting the final spells that closed this passage to the world, changed themselves into the amber-cast wretches guarding it forever.
Black Bones, Black Bones Skeleton: Ashen Bones* (1d4) crawl their way out of the burner and animate (2-8) Black Bones* around the urn.
Ashen Bones: ?
Cremated Remains, The Flaming Dead: It seems that at some point, some ooligan oil was stored here, perhaps by the Gaelish themselves, and that the reserves somehow mixed with the surrounding dampness and tainted everything around them, including the mummified human remains that were still resting here.
Sabotage of the magical energies in and around Crom Caemloch will almost certainly cause the dead to animate in this area.
Dead victims [of a pryomantic medusa] not reduced to piles of ash will become cremated remains after 1d6 days.
Victims [of a pyromantic medusa] who died from self-combustion will rise as cremated remains within 1d6 days.
Manes: ?
Swarm Ghoul: ?
Strigoi Vampire, Undead Strigoi: HALLS OF MIRRORS. On each side of the corridor, mirrors are facing one another, all the way to the other side and the door to exit the area. Walking through, between the corridor, the party feels weakened with each step, as if it became increasingly hard to put one foot in front of the other. Looking around, the party members get a glimpse of their image in the mirror: it seems brighter and brighter, more vivid and full of life, to the point the discrepancy between their postures and their reflection cannot be ignored. Then they realize, looking at their hands, they are becoming see-through. The mirrors are sucking their essence from this reality until nothing will be left of them.
The party can become aware of the effect just after the first steps and the referee asks for a saving throw versus magical death. On a failure, the victims lose 2 CON, and they feel weaker. On a success, they can go on unscathed. A total of ten saving throws must be made to reach the other side. Anyone in the party can retreat to the door they came in through at any point, for no additional saving throws.
Those whose constitution falls to zero or below cease to exist, their essence now existing in the mirrors. The new characters will exit one of the mirrors at M-33, and no longer have any reflection in them. They will have become vampires, strigoi through and through.
Hive Zombie: Hive zombies are the infernal creations of the swarm ghouls who create entire colonies by killing their prey with their claws and fangs, while the bees burry under the skin and take control of the host just before its last breath.
If the victim [of a swarm ghoul's paralysis] dies while paralyzed, the swarm takes immediate control of the corpse, thus creating a new hive zombie on the spot.
Amber Mummy, Bundle of Linen Drenched in Solid Amber and Scented Oils, Absolute Horror, Mass of Linen Oils Perfumes and Body Parts All Encased in a Crust of Amber, Mummy: ?
Amber Mummy, Horribly Melded Remains of a Priest of Iyathar, Amber-Cast Wretch: ?
Black Bones, Variant Skeleton With Bones Black as Soot, Skeleton With Blackened Bones: ?
Ashen Bones, Skeleton, Skeleton With Malignant Eyes in Their Orbits and Dull Grey Bones: ?
Cremated Remains, Skeleton With Vestigial Organs That Burst on Fire: ?
Manes, Direct Emanation of Chaos, Inky Dark Glob of Goo: ?
Superior Version of Manes, Deadly Entity, Stuff of Nightmares: ?
Swarm Ghoul, Once Human Being Whose Chest Cavity is Inhabited by a Hive: ?
Strigoi Vampire, Special Breed of Vampire, Creature of Corruption, Powerful Undead, Powerful Entity: ?
Particularly Strong Strigoi: ?
Sangreal Strigoi: ?
Malenescu Strigoi: ?
Strigoi, Troubled Spirit of the Dead: ?
Strigoi, Regular Customer, Benefactor: ?
Dariyus The Black Sphinx, Strigoi, Special Type of Sphinx: ?
Lea Grymaldi, Consort of Sangreal, Strigoi: ?
Sephia Malenescu, Consort of Sangreal, Strigoi: ?
Daniya Dyafed, Consort of Sangreal, Strigoi: ?
Hive Zombie, Infernal Creation: ?
Strigoi of House Sangreal: ?
Arymatheus Sangreal, Strigoi, Leader: ?
Undead, The Dead: “The magic of the Marmoreal Tomb can bring back people from the dead, but those who are brought back are never quite right in the head again.” (Inside the Tomb, not really, aside from being brought back as an undead, perhaps, but outside of the Tomb, the Font of Life guarded by the Centaurs could in theory raise the dead).
While the Stone Chalice, a minor artifact of the giants, was used to accomplish this task, the vast majority of the slaves, soldiers and minor servants of the King were ritually slain, and changed into the undead to keep the Tomb secure over the ages of the world.
Second, the menial servants, workers, and soldiers, on the other hand, who have been ritually slain by the same Canon and the other ancient, long dead priests of Aktum, to transform them all into the undead stored in some select rooms of this level and in the Crypts below.
Now, at least two such passages exist, dug through the rock patiently, over time, already giving free access to the corruption in the network of tunnels under the village. It would not take much to upset the balance, and start a cycle spawning more and more chaotic horrors on-site, making the tunnels more and more dangerous to tread.
First, such a trigger could come from the outside, in the form of humanoids or smugglers coming from the Midlands and entering the map through CT-3. They might create some horrible idol, desecrate the place, animate some undead.
With the circle of iron-plated protection poles CC-7 around the village, these crystals bring the energies of the Wild forward through a net or sieve that fuels the nexus on the island while keeping the corrupting influence of Chaos at bay. If the sieve were to fail or be damaged in some way, then the magical energies pouring it would start having an adverse effect on the area, starting with the tunnels, which would, in turn, start to spawn undead, animate carvings, and so on, so forth.
These are locations of nightmare, filled with the giant bees at the pupal stage from the point of view of the Shrine. On Ur-Shamath, the creature has entered the realm of Shrine time, and become semi-tangible in the hiveworld. These monsters feel like vampires the size of entire valleys, consuming all the life that touches them, spawning undead and aberrations in the Hiveworld as the bee in the Mellifluous Shrine grows and feeds itself from everything it can to become a fully functioning member of the colony.
The Sword of the Dead magic item.
The Pauper's Revenge magic item.
Meteoric Pipe Organ magic item.
Undead Haunting: Searching the room thoroughly might lead to the find of an Amulet of Life Protection hidden in the pouch of a Teddy Bear. Becomes a source of undead hauntings if the influence of Chaos grows within the area.
Undead Goblin: ?
Undead Hogre: These were ritually sacrificed when Garn Patuul was buried, and are therefore undead.
The Queen's Cook, Undead Hogre: ?
Ancient Undead Overlord: ?
Antlered Servant: The creatures slain by the Cochlean Beast through level drain become Antlered Servants. These can be any type of humanoids, who just become undead with antlers growing from their shoulder blades and along their spines in the back.
Undead Being of Unfathomable Power: ?
Corporeal Undead: ?
Guardian: ?
Incorporeal Undead Emanation of Chaos: ?
Undead Servant: ?
Juicy Undead: ?
Intelligent Undead: ?
Hungry Undead: ?
Simple Undead: ?
Energy-Draining Undead, Level Draining Undead: ?
Powerful Undead: ?
Incorporeal Undead: ?
Western Superior Undead: ?
Undead Bee Hive: ?
Ghast: The Sword of the Dead magic item.
Ghast, Undead Servant: ?
Ghost: “– Is that you, Belenor, my dear husband? I cannot see. Where are you, my husband? Did you save our son and daughter? What about our people? Who escaped? Oh, my husband, it was so hard to stand our ground and wait for your return. We were so quickly overrun. A massacre. And the great creature’s horns breaking down the doors. The eyes, the flaming eyes burning with lust and hatred. And his laughter as he tore my eyes from their sockets, exhorting me to reveal where the hammer was. Again. And again. The way he violated my mind, my body, my very soul ...” She seems to have a doubt. “So much pain. But everything is cold and still inside. What happened to me, my husband? He kept asking about the hammer you unearthed. Your pride and joy. See what brought to us! Fetch it now! Oh my husband, so much pain. How could you have brought this curse upon us? So much greed. So little care. You have been foolish, my husband. And now we must make repair...”
Ghost, Ghostly Figure, Beautiful Bearded Dwarven Lady: ?
Ghoul, Mundane Ghoul: [T]heir guardian is none other than Iyeb, sibling of Nubb, who spontaneously spawns ghouls with the black flames it exudes.
Ghoul, Undead Servant: ?
Ghoul Lacedon: ?
Risen Child of Iyeb, Ghoul: ?
The Nanny, Enormous Lacedon Ghoul, Huge Lacedon: ?
Samurai Ghoul: ?
Ghoul, Troublesome Ghoul: ?
Ghoul Impervious to Acid Attacks: Any creature that comes within 10 ft. of the Avatar of Iyeb takes 2d4 damage ongoing, every melee round, as life is being sucked by the black flame engulfing the entity (1d4), and the acid exuded by the Avatar eats at their flesh at the very same time (1d4). If a character dies from either this aura or the burst of black flames, they rise to become ghouls impervious to acid attacks 1d3 melee rounds later.
Ghoul, Menial Critter: ?
Ghoul, Horror: ?
Lich: ?
Bada Iyashin, Master of the Lotus Garden, Lich: ?
Kamu the Hivemind, Eminence Grise of the Augurs of the Fifth Square, Demi-Lich, Hivemind, Remnant of an Intelligence, Powerful Cleric and Magic-User, Living Colony, Chief Scientist, Archmage, Ancient Cleric/Magic-User, Colony, Most Powerful Magic-User, Living Beehive: Kamu, the Demi-Lich, Hivemind of the Black Pyramids of Zakkura, is the last remnant of an intelligence preceding the creation of the Hiveworld and the desertification of the Red Shade of Iyon. A powerful cleric and magic-user, this intelligence devoted an eternity to the study of magic and the achievement of ultimate autonomy and survival for the Hiveworld of Ur-Shamath. Kamu is a living colony with itself, a skull-honeycomb with its cells, workers, and queen, as well as special bees carrying the soul gems breaking the primordial light of the world into prismatic shades of the Eurth allowing its unnatural life to continue.
Kamu is an ancient cleric/magic-user who was alive on the Red Shade of Iyon before the Hiveworld was ripped away from it. His consciousness is now alive in a skull plate that has been extended by genetically modified bees under his command to form a full skull as honeycomb, colony, and artificial brain of sorts, with the bees acting like neurons and connections in a network supported by the entire hive itself.
Mummy, Normal Mummy: ?
Kholdunic Mummy: One of the corpses here has actually been mummified by his companions on this very spot, an act of desperation, trapped as they became on this level in ancient past. The Kholduns of the time were sorcerers and warriors, having not yet rejected the ways of magic that later became their doom. The barbarian hero prepped himself and surrendered to the ritual performed by his companions which, along with the energies of Chaos permeating this entire place, changed him into a cursed undead ready to enact revenge on those who trapped them here.
Kholdunic Mummy, Cursed Undead: ?
Twin Vitiated Shadow: ?
Vitiated Shadow of Flame: ?
Skeleton, Undead Skeleton: A graveworm can use 1 to 3 remains inside its belly to project a single stream of bile and carrion 30-foot long and 5-foot wide in a melee round. The stream of decay has one of two effects: either 1d4 damage per remains expended or animate 1 HD of undead per remains expended (either skeletons for 1 HD or zombie for 2 HD).
Dire graveworms are just bigger, meaner versions of the original: they bite on two tentacle hits for 4d4 damage, can retain up to 3d6+6 humanoid remains within them. They can use these undigested remains to fuel a 30-foot long cone of decayed plasma worth 1d4 damage per remains expelled in such a fashion, up to six. Or, they can animate these remains right out of their guts, generating skeletons and zombies out of the maximum of six remains expelled, one remain for 1 HD of animated undead.
Each [grave]worm w/2-8 remains. Produce cone of carrion for D 1d4/remains expelled, or animate as skeletons or zombies.
Each [dire grave]worm w/3d6+6 remains. Produce cone of carrion for D 1d4/remains expelled, or animate as skeletons or zombies.
A graveworm’s bloated stomach usually contains 2-8 remains of organisms, though giant specimens have been observed in the Wild with even more. These remains can be expelled to produce a 30-foot long 5 ft. wide cone of decayed plasma remains (only three remains can be expended per round in such a way), or they animate as 1 HD (skeleton) or 2 HD (zombie) undead (three remains per round expended on HD per round maximum).
Destabilization of the forces of magic surrounding Crom Caemloch could very well animate the skeletons of this area.
This village used to harbor loggers and farmers eager to create new fertile patches of land and terraces to grow rice and crop and feed their families, but all these dreams are gone now. The Ghost Town, now only designated under this name, is a dark place best avoided altogether. There, some nefarious spirits have taken control of the dead and makes them reenact their daily tasks, as in a somber pantomime commenting on the fleeting nature of human life.
Half-functional zombies, skeletons, and sometimes worse crawl from their houses under a heavy cloud cover that never seems to lift entirely.
The Sword of the Dead magic item.
Skeleton, Material Dead: ?
Skeleton, Dead Slave: ?
Skeleton, Undead Servant: ?
Skeleton, Half-Functional Skeleton: ?
Skeleton of the Kholdun, Servant: ?
Spectre: ?
Vampire, Normal Vampire: The Sword of the Dead magic item.
Amal Khas, The Watcher of the Skies, Seeker of the North, He Who Touched the Sun, Most Cunning Warrior Burned by the Revelation of the Seven Gates, Master Among the Wild Creatures of the Night, Stone Giant Vampire King, Vampire, Beast, Undead King: It is both opposite and similar to the curse of vampirism affecting Amal Khas, the once Watcher trapped beneath the dungeons, linked with the powers of Un-Death.
Vampire Spawn: Amal Khas benefits from the same sleep, charm and hold immunities, and from the supernatural abilities as all vampires do, and can call servants and create vampire spawn in much the same way.
Vampire Lord: ?
Wight: The Sword of the Dead magic item.
Wight, Personal Assistant, Wight Servant: ?
Wraith: Caer Solus spawns lycanthropes, wraiths, and nightmares.
Two wraiths, the ancient remnants of malignant priests of the Demogorgon who stole devilish rituals of immortality, help summon and perform the sacrifices for the demon lord.
Pyrameon Vaal, Vitiate of the Mists, Wraith, Powerful Undead: Pyrameon is no longer a Chaplain, but now a Vitiate of Chaos. He has shed his form as a Cyclops completely and become a wraith.
Pyrameon, the Vitiate of the Mists, has in fact completely shed its physical form as a Cyclops, and assumed the next evolution step of along the path of corruption to become a Wraith himself.
Wraith of a Stone Giant: ?
Wraith, Ancient Remnant of a Malignant Priest: ?
Wraith, Incorporeal Undead: ?
Zombie, Undead Zombie, Mindless Zombie, Normal Zombie: A graveworm can use 1 to 3 remains inside its belly to project a single stream of bile and carrion 30-foot long and 5-foot wide in a melee round. The stream of decay has one of two effects: either 1d4 damage per remains expended or animate 1 HD of undead per remains expended (either skeletons for 1 HD or zombie for 2 HD).
Each [grave]worm w/2-8 remains. Produce cone of carrion for D 1d4/remains expelled, or animate as skeletons or zombies.
Dire graveworms are just bigger, meaner versions of the original: they bite on two tentacle hits for 4d4 damage, can retain up to 3d6+6 humanoid remains within them. They can use these undigested remains to fuel a 30-foot long cone of decayed plasma worth 1d4 damage per remains expelled in such a fashion, up to six. Or, they can animate these remains right out of their guts, generating skeletons and zombies out of the maximum of six remains expelled, one remain for 1 HD of animated undead.
An Obsidian jelly can spawn 1-4 zombies in a melee round per victim previously consumed. It does this by coalescing fluids with the production of obsidian shards serving as the bones of the zombies, giving them a frightful appearance of translucent, half-dissolved flesh wrapped around crystalline bones black as night.
Each [dire grave]worm w/3d6+6 remains. Produce cone of carrion for D 1d4/remains expelled, or animate as skeletons or zombies.
A graveworm’s bloated stomach usually contains 2-8 remains of organisms, though giant specimens have been observed in the Wild with even more. These remains can be expelled to produce a 30-foot long 5 ft. wide cone of decayed plasma remains (only three remains can be expended per round in such a way), or they animate as 1 HD (skeleton) or 2 HD (zombie) undead (three remains per round expended on HD per round maximum).
This is an obsidian jelly, which functions exactly like an ochre jelly, but tied to the substance of undeath that permeates the Obsidian Realms, making it able to spawn zombies from the flesh it consumes.
This jelly here was an ochre jelly, and was effectively mutated by the powers of the Realms emanating from the mirror. It is able to spawn 1-4 zombies in a melee round per victim previously consumed. They do this by coalescing the fluids with the production of obsidian shards that serve as the bones of the zombies, giving them a frightful appearance of translucent, half-dissolved flesh wrapped around crystalline bones black as night.
Several bodies were petrified before this whole area flooded, and the remains are now hidden from sight, at the bottom of the lake. If the magical energies in and around Crom Caemloch were to be affected, these remains could be corrupted by the Wild and reanimate.
The Sword of the Dead magic item.
Zombie, Material Dead: ?
Zombie, Dead Slave: ?
Zombie, Undead Servant: ?
Hill Giant Slave Zombie: ?
Zombie, Half-Functional Zombie: ?
Ogre Slave Zombie: ?
Ogre Slave Zombie, Dead Slave, Ogre, Big Fellow, Undead Ogre, Slave Zombie, Ogre Zombie: ?
Blood Vine Zombie, Vine Zombie: The [blood vines'] vines will reach into the water or on land to nearby bodies that just lost consciousness to predators (at 0 HP) and resuscitate them to serve as their zombies and source of sustenance between brushes with easy prey.
Hill Giant Executioner Zombie: The Pauper's Revenge magic item.
Hill Giant Executioner Zombie, Dead Giant, Shriveled Zombified Hill Giant, Poor Creature: ?
Hill Giant Zombie: ?
Ogre Zombie: ?
Apparition: ?
Corpsespinner: ?
Coffer Corpse: ?
Revenant: ?
Corpse Orgy: ?

METEORIC PIPE ORGAN. Just like the bell of blasting of the Sexton of Chaos can be heard throughout the level, the referee might decide to describe to the player-characters how, though they cannot possibly be sure at some distance of this area, they can hear the echoes of a strong, haunting wind instrument, like a pipe organ, or a collection of foghorns, reverberating along the walls of the Hearth of Chaos, tricking their senses, like the sound came out of nowhere and everywhere, in all directions, all at once.
The majestic instrument stands against the eastern wall of this 30’ x 30’ area now bereft of any furniture or a particular feature. Nowadays, this area has become a sort of common room, a meeting point for the oozes in servitude to the Jelly King. At any point when entering this room, there is a 50% chance to find 1-3 ochre jelly here, 30% 1-3 gray oozes, 20% a black pudding, the thrice-headed general, the ferrous magistrate, the Queen of Skulls, or the Jelly King, and 10% other oozes and jellies of the referee’s choice. Many undead skeletons (3d6) and zombies (2d6) will attend to the oozes wishes and patrol slowly between this chamber and the court at area L3-50.
The Queen of Skulls, using her growing intelligence, started playing this organ, randomly at first, but then something happened that spread a form of conscience among the oozes and jellies that instinctively started to follow her and the Jelly King’s leadership in these parts. The sounds, perhaps the vibrations of the organ made them commune together and share traits that made them all progressively more aware, and individually conscious, bounding them together in a form of ooze congregation or court, after a fashion.
The organ’s negative energies in turn connected with the undead, and they too join the nascent Court. Every time the Queen plays the organ, more undead are created not only within the Hearth of Chaos but beyond, in the Crypts, the Burial Vaults, all the way up to Grunn Galeb. Oozes and jellies tolerate and even communicate with one another, albeit how is a mystery to everyone around them. The members of the Seeping Court coordinate their actions, and that makes them potentially mighty. They are content with the territory they currently control, roughly sandwiched between the main eastern corridor of L3-45 and the flooded domain of the Deep north of this position.

THE PAUPER’S REVENGE, (2d4) magical rhomphaia, +0 (assumed +3 for purposes to hit), INT 16, EGO 16, AL CN, Empathy, Speech (ancient vyridian, danthean, gaelish, giant), Detect Gems, kind and number (5 feet radius), Detect Invisible (1o ft. radius), strength 1/day, teleportation 1/day, animate dead upon the wearer’s demise. The Pauper’s demise does not have modifiers to hit and damage, though it can change its size to match its wielder’s. It completely ignores any forms of physical armor, even magical armor, and targets AC 0 – Possible modifier of high dexterity from the target – any magical modifiers of shields and armor worn by the target. It is considered +3 only to determine what type of magical creatures it can and cannot hit. The Pauper’s Revenge can reanimate its wielder as an undead for an undetermined amount of time, and pass itself on to another wielder when it desires.
The Pauper’s Revenge has a singular purpose to get back at those in power who abuse their position to abuse their lessers. The influential but merciless lords and knights, the wealthy but decadent merchants, the authoritarian but lying priesthood, anyone who does not act of good faith and makes it a habit of taking advantage of those who do not enjoy the same privileges is an aberration and a stain upon the Eurth for the Pauper’s Revenge. It wants to taste the blood of the corrupt, regularly (once a day, or it will attempt control). The Pauper’s Revenge will reluctantly agree to go after the giants, if that is the party’s design, and will be even more motivated to go after the slave masters and the vitiates of the crypts under the Burial Vaults, since it blames them for the death of its previous wielder.

THE SWORD OF THE DEAD: Broadsword, INT 17, EGO 17+. AL Chaotic Neutral. The Sword of the Dead has a base damage of 2d4, no pluses, but ignores all physical armor when striking (targets AC 10 – Dex mod – any magical modifier to armor). It hits as a +3 weapon for the purpose of determining eligible targets and damage. Abilities : animate dead, speak with dead, each 3/day, using the wielder’s overall level in lieu of cleric levels where relevant. Can make the wielder invisible to undead (one melee round per character level), and detect undead in a 30-foot radius. The Sword of the Dead can help dominate the undead using the wielder’s HD as an Evil Cleric of the same level. This is a large, two-handed executioner’s broadsword, with a square tip and single razor sharp edge, not unlike the Executioner’s Sword of Saint Luuk at area E-5, with which it otherwise has little in common.
The Sword of the Dead is something of a fine connoisseur in meat cuisine, butchering cuts of meats which it will want to enjoy (cook in exotic ways and eat) through its owner, if able. The Sword of the Dead wants mayhem from which blood can flow in abundance. Anyone killed wielding this blade will become an undead, the type of which depends on the exact circumstances and character level upon death. Mundane wielders will become zombies, skeletons if incinerated and otherwise stripped of their flesh. Heroic characters are likely to become wights, ghasts, and mummies.
Super heroic characters will become vampires or worse.
The Sword will hide this fact from its wielder, but will not hesitate to force his or her hand towards a quick death if the Sword feels unsatisfied with him or her. Note the Intelligence and Ego of the blade : The Sword of the Dead is smart, and will not behave as an insane caricature of the Chaotic Neutral alignment. It is manipulative, clever, has taste and a peculiar sense of artistry. It is patient and indestructible. Take it into account while role playing it.
 
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Monsters of Myth
1e
Barrow Corpse: ?
Crawling Corpse: Crawling corpses are created (usually unintentionally) when animate dead is cast upon skeletons or corpses with damaged legs, or when normally created undead are damaged after being animated.
Deceived of Set: The Deceived of Set were once priests of Set. Greedy and sadistic, they were misled by their superiors into thinking that they would be granted great status in the afterlife by performing a series of hideous rituals upon themselves. However, these rituals instead cursed them, condemning them to an eternity of torment and madness.
A Deceived of Set in many ways resembles a mummy, but its head has been removed and replaced with the rotting skull of an ass.
Ghoul Monkey, Ordinary Ghoul Monkey: Whatever foul magic is used to animate and control simian undead in this form is not widely known, but these loathsome creatures are found from time to time in the service of witch doctors or other evil spellcasters. More commonly, however, they are created without human agency, in places where there is a residue of great evil such as ancient sacrificial sites, forgotten temples, and similar locales. When monkeys die near such places, their corpses may rise as ghoul monkeys, filled with vile cunning and hungry for living flesh.
Ishabti: Ishabti are undead warriors embalmed and preserved with many of the same techniques used in mummification.
Rimmeserker, Undead Remnants of a Berserker Who Died By Freezing to Death Instead of Falling in Hornorable Battle, Typical Rimmeserker: Rimmeserkers are the undead remnants of berserkers who died by freezing to death instead of falling in honorable battle. While alive, these battle-mad killers sought entry into a warrior’s heaven (Valhalla, for those following the Norse gods), but by failing to die in battle they have consigned themselves to a lesser status in the afterlife. It is said that their very rage keeps them tied to the material plane, refusing to move on to an afterlife they will not accept. They wait eternally for the Valkyries to come and bring them to the Heroes’ Hall they fought throughout their lives to reach.
Such defiance of the natural cycle of life and death not only offends and insults the gods, but it drives the berserker’s spirit insane, stripping away all remnants of humanity and reason that the living human being might have had, fueled as it is by nothing but wrath, pride, and jealousy.
Shade Walker: On very rare occasions, the tortured soul of an evil person manages to escape somehow from the nether planes, fleeing into the prime material plane by unknown means. These escaped souls become shade walkers.
Skeleton Altered: An altered skeleton is the undead skeleton of a large animal, its bones rearranged to suit the purposes of the necromancer who animated it.
The creation of an altered skeleton requires the use of a special manual for the reconstruction and alteration of animal skeletons prior to animation. Most such tomes contain instructions for both the tauran and equine forms of altered skeletons, and some are reputed to contain formulae for other types beyond these two.
Skeleton Slime, Jelleton: Slime skeletons are odd undead creatures resulting from a skeleton’s long-term immersion in living slimes, jellies, or oozes. What process prevents the digestion of a victim’s bones is not known, but seems to be related to unholy influences in the area where the victim fell prey to the slime.
Eventually, the rubbery horror rises from its place of death and walks the earth again, dripping (harmless) drops of slime from its bones.
Sleeper: They are created when a powerful chaotic evil cleric, and his congregation (of at least 13), purposefully commit suicide in the hopes of returning as a single, undead entity. When successful (which is very rare), such an entity is composed of not only the souls of the cleric and his congregation, but also the souls of any who are killed by the evil entity.
Zuul-Koar, The Forgotten: ?
Ktthjj: Sages say they are “made of dreams, decay and old magic” and they are creatures of strong chaos.
Some seem to breed with creatures called Stoorwyrms, or other greater chaos creatures to procreate; others are formed from men.
Shadow Vampire: ?
Fell Troll: ?
Crawling Corpse, Damaged Undead: ?
Crawling Corpse Formed From a Skeleton: ?
Ghoul Monkey, Particularly Vicious and Dangerous Type of Undead, Loathsome Creature, Simian Undead, Hunter of the Living: ?
Ishabti, Undead Warrior, Desiccated Well-Preserved Zombie: ?
Ishabti, Servitor: ?
Ishabti, Bodyguard: ?
Rimmeserker, Berserker Rimed With Ice and Snow: ?
Shade Walker, Escaped Soul, Fugitive Soul, Quick Moving Oddly Indistinct Figure: ?
Skeleton Altered, Undead Skeleton of a Large Animal Its Bones Rearranged: ?
Skeleton Altered, Shock Trooper: ?
Skeleton Altered Equine: Altered equine skeletons are created from horse skeletons, and can carry a rider (which, of course, prevents them from using weapons).
The creation of an altered skeleton requires the use of a special manual for the reconstruction and alteration of animal skeletons prior to animation. Most such tomes contain instructions for both the tauran and equine forms of altered skeletons, and some are reputed to contain formulae for other types beyond these two.
Skeleton Altered Tauran: Altered tauran skeletons are created from bull skeletons, and although they cannot carry a rider they can use their horned skulls to gore their enemies.
The creation of an altered skeleton requires the use of a special manual for the reconstruction and alteration of animal skeletons prior to animation. Most such tomes contain instructions for both the tauran and equine forms of altered skeletons, and some are reputed to contain formulae for other types beyond these two.
Skeleton Slime, Odd Undead Creature, Rubbery Horror: ?
Sleeper, Extremely Rare Form of Undead, Evil Entity, Inky Black Fog With 8 ft. Shadowy Wispy Tendrils: ?
Zuul-Koar, Undead From Beyond the Material Plane, Tall Humanoid Being With Branching Horns That Curl and Twist Around a Skeletal Head, Malignant Entity: ?
Zuul-Koar, Servant of a Forgotten Deity of the Undead: ?
Ktthjj, Extremely Dangerous Foe, Creature of Strong Chaos: ?
Ktthjj, Huge Undead Magical Leech That Walks on Legs Like a Spider: ?
Ktthjj, Huge Undead Magical Leech That Walks on Legs Like a Man: ?
Ktthjj, Huge Undead Magical Leech That Walks on Legs Like a Crab: ?
Ktthjj Spellcaster: ?
Ktthjj With the Power to Reflect Damage Inflicted on It: ?
Ktthjj Immune to Fire: ?
Ktthjj Immune to Cold: ?
Ktthjj Immune to Lightning: ?
Nascent Form of Ktthjj, Chaos-Tainted Protoplasm: ?
Ktthjj, Corrupted Form of a Man: ?
Ktthjj, Corrupted Form of a Spider: ?
Ktthjj, Corrupted Form of a Crab: ?
Ktthjj, Corrupted Form of a Lizard: ?
Fell Troll, Rubbery-Skinned Scaly-Clad Chaos Tainted Creature: ?
Old Fell Troll: ?
Ancient Fell Troll: ?
Undead, Undead Creature, Undead Entity: ?
Minor Ancillary Undead: ?
Lesser Undead: ?
Simian Undead: ?
Witch: ?
Ghast: ?
Ghost: ?
Ghoul, True Ghoul: ?
Lich: ?
Mummy: ?
Shadow, True Shadow: ?
Skeleton, Ordinary Skeleton: ?
Skeleton, Minor Ancillary Undead: ?
Vampire: ?
Great Vampire Troll of Chaos: ?
Wight: ?
Wraith: ?
Zombie, Ordinary Zombie: ?
Desiccated Well-Preserved Zombie: ?
 
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Original Adventures Reincarnated #7: Dark Tower (5E)
5e
Frost Giant Skeleton: ?
Mummy Cat, Mummified Cat: ?
Shadow Human: ?
Skeletal Camel: ?
Skeletal Dog: ?
Skeletal Warrior: When the door is opened, the unquiet souls of the two skeletons animate as skeletal warriors (see appendix B).
Swarm of Mummified Rats, Mummified Rat Swarm: ?
Swarm of Skeletons: ?
Swarm of Snakes: ?
Pnessutt, Scion of Evil, Prince of Dark Deeds, Lich High Priest, Lich, 20th-Level Spellcaster, Human Lich Cleric, Evil Lich, Former High Priest, Desiccated Skeletal Form of a Male Humanoid, Master of the Dark Tower, Staunch Ally, Crazed Undead Priest, Lich With the Spellcasting Capabilities of a 20th-Level Cleric, Most Powerful Ally, Powerful Lich: Male human lich cleric of Set; gifted with undeath by Set himself, he is the true high priest; his phylactery is an invisible cymophane gemstone of great value.
Sitting atop the throne is Pnessutt (see appendix C), a former high priest of Set granted the gift of undeath by his dark master.
Racox, Skeletal Warrior, Skeletal Form, Skeleton: Male skeletal warrior; a former paladin of an age past, now cursed to undeath.
Servant of Caphet: Not one to waste the skills of experienced adventurers, Caphet occasionally instructs his priests to mummify captured adventurers. He then reanimates these mummies to serve as additional guardians in his temples.
To assist the guardians, Caphet commanded his priests to mummify adventurers caught trespassing in the temples.
Lashmag, Necryclops, Hulking Brute, Guardian: Five hundred years ago, three adventurers named Chuskra, Blimbull, and Lashmag assaulted one of Caphet’s temples hoping to ransom the Chosen Son’s heart shard in exchange for wealth and power. Though they failed in this endeavor, Caphet was so impressed by their audacity that he raised the adventurers from the dead and transformed them into the guardians of his three temples, giving each of them a weapon he felt would enhance that guardian’s specific abilities.
As punishment for attempting to steal his heart shard, Caphet reincarnated Lashmag into an undead creature known as a necryclops.
Giant Crocodile Zombie: ?
Frost Giant Skeleton, Skeleton: ?
Mighty Sam, Frost Giant Skeleton: Mighty Sam (see appendix C) was once a frost giant. As he lay dying, Sam begged the god Set to save him. Set transferred the giant’s spirit to this humiliating stone statue, promising that the statue would become flesh and blood once Sam delivered the girding of Mitra to the evil god.
Along the west wall, buried beneath 2 feet of soft earth and straw, is the complete, 21-foot-tall skeleton of Mighty Sam the frost giant (see area 2-5). If the characters touch any of the treasure (see below), the frost giant skeleton (see appendix B) animates, clawing its way out of the earth to attack.
Mummy Cat, Small Feline Form: ?
Shadow Human, Wispy Humanoid Shape Apparently Formed From Living Shadow: ?
Glowing Humanoid Shape, Glowing Figure: ?
Skeletal Camel, Equine-Like Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Dog, Skeletal Canine, Dog: ?
Skeletal Warrior, Humanoid Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Warrior, Animated Invisible Skeletal Warrior, Invisible Skeletal Guard, Invisible Guard: ?
Skeletal Warrior, Human Skeleton, Skeleton: ?
Swarm of Mummified Rats, Horde of Linen-Shrouded Desiccated Rats: ?
Mummified Rat: ?
Swarm of Skeletons, Humanoid Skeletons, Mass of Bony Appendages, Skeletons With Malevolent Green-Glowing Eyes: ?
Swarm of Snakes, Writhing Tangled Mass of Snakes: ?
Servant of Caphet, Mockery of Life, Mummy: ?
Servant of Caphet, Guardian: ?
Candra Windspeaker, Servant of Caphet: ?
Hann Darkflame, Servant of Caphet: ?
Kolric Stonefist, Servant of Caphet: ?
Milar Skyblaze, Servant of Caphet: ?
Necryclops, Undead Cyclops: ?
Giant Crocodile Zombie, Mindless Undead: ?
Undead, Undead Creature, Unquiet Dead: Due to the curse that plagues the village [of Mitra's Fist], no inhabitant is less than 300 years old! The few villagers who die through unnatural causes become undead in the service of the cult of Set.
“Sadiq has created well over a dozen undead from those we’ve kidnapped from Thinis.”
Undead Minion: ?
Ankharet the Cursed, The Sphinx Queen, Queen Ankharet, Sphinx Demigod, Immortal Daughter, Evil Sphinx Queen: ?
Ghast, Unclad Humanoid With Dirty Talons and an Elongated Tongue: ?
Vresnor Agalla, Human Ghost: Male human ghost; he first discovered the forces of evil tunneling up from below the village; unleashing evil on the land cursed him to undeath.
The ghost of Vresnor Agalla, the man who first discovered the evil that was tunneling up from the buried village, haunts this chamber. The burden of unwillingly unleashing such an evil into the world torments his soul and prevents him from enjoying his eternal rest.
Pharaoh Senakhet, Ghost: The old Khonsurian histories speak of the Black Fortress of Necherophet, where the Pharaoh Senakhet was murdered by his usurper brother Novurath. The ghost of the slain pharaoh is said to endlessly walk the corridors of the Black Fortress in search of vengeance.
Sufku, Ghost: Thousands of years ago, Sufku was an arrogant cartographer from the city of Anhkthue. A devout follower of the Sphinx Queen, his maps were legendary, as was his passion for a board game called senet. One day the Sphinx Queen assumed mortal form and challenged him to a game of senet. In his arrogance, Sufku wagered his soul on the outcome of the game. When he lost, the Sphinx Queen condemned him to haunt this hall as a ghost until another person beats him at a game of senet.
Ghost, Apparition of a Weapons Master’s Former Apprentice: ?
Ghost, Apparition of a Squire: ?
Ghost of a Dead Priest: ?
Reginald, Hero of Mitra's Fist, Defender of The Three Gates, Ghost, Apparition of a Hero: ?
Humphrey, Hero of Mitra's Fist, Defender of The Three Gates, Ghost, Apparition of a Hero: ?
Gideon, Hero of Mitra's Fist, Defender of The Three Gates, Ghost, Apparition of a Hero: ?
Ghoul: Unless blessed by a gentle repose spell or similar magic, the fallen adventurers [who were slain by ghouls] rise as ghouls in 1d4 rounds and join the battle.
Ghoul, Unclad Humanoid With Dirty Talons and an Elongated Tongue: ?
Lich: ?
Evil Lich: ?
Mummy: Pnessutt used foul sorcery to curse his former minion, transforming him into a mummy.
Mummy, Creature That is Vulnerable to Fire: ?
Mummy Lord: ?
Al-Sadiki, Mummy Lord, Former Priest: ?
Shadow: ?
Cursed Soul: ?
Skeleton, Animated Skeleton, Normal Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Servant: ?
Skeletal Guard, Skeleton, Skeletal Form: ?
Skeleton, Undead Guard: ?
Skeleton With Golden Bones: ?
Skeleton, Human Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Guard, Unarmored Skeleton, Skeleton: ?
Medium Skeleton: ?
Specter, Undead Guardian: ?
Spirit of a Victim Sacrificed to Set, Sacrificed Spirit: ?
Avvaar, Wight: ?
Will-o'-Wisp: ?
Wraith: ?
Shamling, Wraith: ?
Wraith, Undead Guardian: ?
Zombie: ?
Zombie, Undead Guard: ?
Zombie, Desiccated Corpse: ?

1e
Undead: It should be noted that the people of the village [of Mitra's Fist] are all no less than 300 years old. The few that do die become undead in the service of the pits below.
Normal Undead: ?
Ghast: ?
Vresnor Agalla, Ghost: ?
Ghoul: ?
Pnessutt, Scion of Evil, Prince of Dark Deeds, Lich Cleric 21, Evil High Priest Lich, Lich, Evil Lich: ?
Mummy: The mummy was once a medium level evil magic user in the service of the Lich, but a disagreement developed and he was wrapped up and entombed alive in this crypt, with magic to change him to his current state.
Mummy, Cloth Wrapped Horror: ?
Mummy, Guardian Mummy: ?
Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Servant: ?
Golden Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Warrior: ?
Skeletal Dog: ?
Racox, 5 HD Skeleton: ?
The Mighty Sam, Giant Skeleton: Sam was once a frost giant, who as he lay dying, begged the god, Set, to save him.
Human Skeleton: ?
Animated Skeleton: ?
Avvaar, Wight: ?
Wraith: ?
Zombie: ?
 
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SERPENTINE - Oldskull Serpent Folk
1e
Lost Soul: Non-Player Character Soul Slaver serpent people acquire a legion of souls. This effect is not experienced by Player Characters, because they are free-willed (and are sworn in eternity to neither Yig, nor to Tsathoggua). Non-Soul Slavers do not gain this effect either, as it is a result of killing sentient creatures with foul magic.
Skeleton: ?
 

Sethotep
1e
Animal Skeleton, Mummified Crocodile, Animal Skeleton Crocodile: ?
Ghoul: ?
Poltergeist: ?
Skeleton: ?
Zombie: Despite Appearances, these are four zombies – dead priests whom Sethotep has re-animated to serve the temple once more.
Zombie, Mummified Figure: ?

Dragonquest
Animal Skeleton, Mummified Crocodile, Skeletal Crocodile: ?
Ghost, Normal Ghost: ?
Ghoul: ?
Poltergeist: ?
Skeleton: ?
Zombie: Despite Appearances, these are four zombies – dead priests whom Sethotep has re-animated to serve the temple once more.
Zombie, Mummified Figure: ?
 

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