Voadam
Legend
Last edited:
Undead Origins
- Thread starter Voadam
- Start date
Voadam
Legend
BX3 Temple of Mercy
Basic
Undead: The leader of the cult is Zain. He has begun reconstruction in the temple. This includes enchanting living statues, raising undead, and defiling ancient relics.
Ghast, Horrid Figure, Undead Figure: ?
Ghoul: ?
Mummy: ?
Shadow: ?
Skeleton: ?
Wight, Actual Wight: ?
Zombie: ?
Basic
Undead: The leader of the cult is Zain. He has begun reconstruction in the temple. This includes enchanting living statues, raising undead, and defiling ancient relics.
Ghast, Horrid Figure, Undead Figure: ?
Ghoul: ?
Mummy: ?
Shadow: ?
Skeleton: ?
Wight, Actual Wight: ?
Zombie: ?
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Voadam
Legend
BX6 Grave of the Green Flame BX RPG
Basic
Undead: ?
Shadow, Dark Shadow Man-Like in Appearance: ?
Zombie: ?
Soldier: Bury the Dead
Fortunately, each of the soldiers has his dog tags and their names are easy to match to the headstones. You drag them to their coffins and after an hour you have again interned the soldiers. As you set the shovel down a blustery wind comes out of the north. You stare in disbelief as three amorphous images appear next to the freshly covered graves. The transparent figures resemble the soldiers, but they are younger and full of life. One of them steps forward and you hear his words but you know he has not made a sound.
“We are in your debt. You have honorably returned our bodies to the grave and we will repay your selfless act. Call out our names in a time of need, either one or all, and you will be aided.”
Soldier, Amorphous Image, Transparent Figure, Figure, Shadowy Figure: ?
Basic
Undead: ?
Shadow, Dark Shadow Man-Like in Appearance: ?
Zombie: ?
Soldier: Bury the Dead
Fortunately, each of the soldiers has his dog tags and their names are easy to match to the headstones. You drag them to their coffins and after an hour you have again interned the soldiers. As you set the shovel down a blustery wind comes out of the north. You stare in disbelief as three amorphous images appear next to the freshly covered graves. The transparent figures resemble the soldiers, but they are younger and full of life. One of them steps forward and you hear his words but you know he has not made a sound.
“We are in your debt. You have honorably returned our bodies to the grave and we will repay your selfless act. Call out our names in a time of need, either one or all, and you will be aided.”
Soldier, Amorphous Image, Transparent Figure, Figure, Shadowy Figure: ?
Voadam
Legend
BX8 Ruins of the Red Moon BX RPG
Basic
Cryptfiend: When a cryptstalker slays any demi-human or humanoid, the slain creature will rise as a cryptfiend one turn after it is killed.
Pit Zombie: These foul undead were the result of a hundreds of elf prisoners left underground to perish in the Prison Vault of Balir.
If an elf is killed by a pit zombie, it will rise as a pit zombie in two rounds.
Ashen: When a creature is incinerated in a flash of fire or explosion there is chance its spirit survives - albeit twisted and evil. These undead remain at the location of the death and attempt to destroy any they encounter.
Shade Ghoul: A ghoul that is destroyed by the turning power of cleric has a 10% chance of rising again as a shade ghoul - which is a weaker version of its former self.
Cryptfiend, Corpse: ?
Cryptfiend, Woman: ?
Pit Zombie, Foul Undead, Ravenous Creature, Zombie-Like Creature, Zombie: ?
Ashen, Scorched Figure, Ashen Figure: ?
Undead: ?
Ghoul: ?
Zombie, Normal Zombie, Standard Zombie: ?
Basic
Cryptfiend: When a cryptstalker slays any demi-human or humanoid, the slain creature will rise as a cryptfiend one turn after it is killed.
Pit Zombie: These foul undead were the result of a hundreds of elf prisoners left underground to perish in the Prison Vault of Balir.
If an elf is killed by a pit zombie, it will rise as a pit zombie in two rounds.
Ashen: When a creature is incinerated in a flash of fire or explosion there is chance its spirit survives - albeit twisted and evil. These undead remain at the location of the death and attempt to destroy any they encounter.
Shade Ghoul: A ghoul that is destroyed by the turning power of cleric has a 10% chance of rising again as a shade ghoul - which is a weaker version of its former self.
Cryptfiend, Corpse: ?
Cryptfiend, Woman: ?
Pit Zombie, Foul Undead, Ravenous Creature, Zombie-Like Creature, Zombie: ?
Ashen, Scorched Figure, Ashen Figure: ?
Undead: ?
Ghoul: ?
Zombie, Normal Zombie, Standard Zombie: ?
Voadam
Legend
CASTLE OLDSKULL - Labyrinthine Bestiary
Basic
Undead: ?
Vampire: Giant Underworld Vampire Bat Necrotic Bite power.
Vrolokai, Bat-Winged Vampire: ?
Zombie, Mindless Zombie: ?
**Necrotic Bite
(Save vs. paralysis or fall unconscious, those drained of blood will rise as vampires)
Basic
Undead: ?
Vampire: Giant Underworld Vampire Bat Necrotic Bite power.
Vrolokai, Bat-Winged Vampire: ?
Zombie, Mindless Zombie: ?
**Necrotic Bite
(Save vs. paralysis or fall unconscious, those drained of blood will rise as vampires)
Voadam
Legend
CASTLE OLDSKULL - Oldskull Trolls
Basic
Trolghul, Foul Trolghul, Troll-Draugr, Cauldron Born, Remonstrations Unto Hyaenoghul, Rare Regenerated Remnants of Slain Trolls Not Completely Incinerated or Drenched in Acid: Trolghuls — known by arcane sages as the Remonstrations unto Hyaenoghul — are the rare, regenerated remnants of slain trolls which are not completely incinerated or drenched in acid. When a troll is hacked into pieces and strives to regenerate, it is frequently set upon by other starving trolls who devour the limbs even as these fight to re-mesh themselves into a composite being. If the limbs are left alone, they will reform as a scarred troll or (very rarely) as a trolghul. Trolghuls can be created only in places of evil, such as forsaken demon temples, haunted castles, or dungeons where terrible slaughters have taken place.
At times, the dark necromantic priests of Trogool — such priests are quite rare themselves — will gather up the leavings of a hacked-apart troll, or will even hack a Troll into pieces and throw the twitching and re-gathering remains into an enchanted regenerative cauldron. The cauldron is filled with ghul essence, rendered from slain ghuls either willing or unwilling. When the limbs in the cauldron regenerate, they will rise as the Cauldron Born … a clutch of from 1 to 6 Trolghuls, depending on the amount and intensity of ghul essence boiled and the size of the sacrificial troll.
Trolghuls rise as undead and sentient minions of the priests, hags, shamans, and/or witch doctors of Trogool.
Ghouls fear and avoid trolls. However, crones and troll spell casters gather ghouls because their essence can be used to create Trolghuls (and other horrific “cauldron critters” at the GM’s discretion.
Hobgoblins fear trolls, and will rarely associate with them unless they are forced to do so. But hobgoblin essence can be rendered into a brew which can be used to create Trolghuls, so hags sometimes keep them as slaves.
Are trolghuls a failed, second, or altered sub-species related to gug experimentation?
Trolghul, Undead Sentient Minion, Ghoul, Cauldron Critter: ?
Powerful Trolghul Spawn: These powerful undead [great ghouls] (HD 4, a “double ghoul” in most ways) are needed to create powerful Trolghul spawn.
Undead: Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Worse Thing: ?
Vile Undead: ?
Ghoul: ?
Shoal Ghast, Aquatic Ghast: Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Rarely otherwise [seen], aquatic ghasts can be risen by brine hags (who slay sailors with the Visage of Mung).
Aquatic Ghoul: Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Much like shoal ghasts, these creatures can be risen by brine hags.
Ghoul King: ?
Great Ghoul, Ghul: ?
Great Ghoul, Powerful Undead: ?
Earth-Ghoul: ?
Lich: ?
Lich, Foul Thing: ?
Lich Maiden, Hagath: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Lich Maiden, Annis: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Lich Maiden, Brinhilde: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Lich Maiden, Griselde: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Inhuman Lich: ?
Spectre: ?
Vampiric Maiden, Lilith: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Vampiric Maiden, Lamia: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Barrow Wight, Gruesome Undead Thing: ?
Wraith of the Topielce, Topielce Wraith: Rarely, these aquatic-dwelling spirits can be found as a result of the Mung-induced death magic wrought by the vile brine hags.
Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Wraith of the Topielce, Aquatic-Dwelling Spirit: ?
Drowned Zombie: These creatures are sometimes raised from the victims of brine trolls, but only if there were enough victims for the hags to become sated before all are devoured.
Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Basic
Trolghul, Foul Trolghul, Troll-Draugr, Cauldron Born, Remonstrations Unto Hyaenoghul, Rare Regenerated Remnants of Slain Trolls Not Completely Incinerated or Drenched in Acid: Trolghuls — known by arcane sages as the Remonstrations unto Hyaenoghul — are the rare, regenerated remnants of slain trolls which are not completely incinerated or drenched in acid. When a troll is hacked into pieces and strives to regenerate, it is frequently set upon by other starving trolls who devour the limbs even as these fight to re-mesh themselves into a composite being. If the limbs are left alone, they will reform as a scarred troll or (very rarely) as a trolghul. Trolghuls can be created only in places of evil, such as forsaken demon temples, haunted castles, or dungeons where terrible slaughters have taken place.
At times, the dark necromantic priests of Trogool — such priests are quite rare themselves — will gather up the leavings of a hacked-apart troll, or will even hack a Troll into pieces and throw the twitching and re-gathering remains into an enchanted regenerative cauldron. The cauldron is filled with ghul essence, rendered from slain ghuls either willing or unwilling. When the limbs in the cauldron regenerate, they will rise as the Cauldron Born … a clutch of from 1 to 6 Trolghuls, depending on the amount and intensity of ghul essence boiled and the size of the sacrificial troll.
Trolghuls rise as undead and sentient minions of the priests, hags, shamans, and/or witch doctors of Trogool.
Ghouls fear and avoid trolls. However, crones and troll spell casters gather ghouls because their essence can be used to create Trolghuls (and other horrific “cauldron critters” at the GM’s discretion.
Hobgoblins fear trolls, and will rarely associate with them unless they are forced to do so. But hobgoblin essence can be rendered into a brew which can be used to create Trolghuls, so hags sometimes keep them as slaves.
Are trolghuls a failed, second, or altered sub-species related to gug experimentation?
Trolghul, Undead Sentient Minion, Ghoul, Cauldron Critter: ?
Powerful Trolghul Spawn: These powerful undead [great ghouls] (HD 4, a “double ghoul” in most ways) are needed to create powerful Trolghul spawn.
Undead: Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Worse Thing: ?
Vile Undead: ?
Ghoul: ?
Shoal Ghast, Aquatic Ghast: Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Rarely otherwise [seen], aquatic ghasts can be risen by brine hags (who slay sailors with the Visage of Mung).
Aquatic Ghoul: Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Much like shoal ghasts, these creatures can be risen by brine hags.
Ghoul King: ?
Great Ghoul, Ghul: ?
Great Ghoul, Powerful Undead: ?
Earth-Ghoul: ?
Lich: ?
Lich, Foul Thing: ?
Lich Maiden, Hagath: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Lich Maiden, Annis: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Lich Maiden, Brinhilde: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Lich Maiden, Griselde: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Inhuman Lich: ?
Spectre: ?
Vampiric Maiden, Lilith: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Vampiric Maiden, Lamia: As told in the age-old fable of Arb-Rin-Hadith, there was once a terrible blood feud between Women and Men as a result of the years-long pestilence which ravaged the holy temple vale of Sidith. During this dark time, many blasphemies upon the near-blameless Matriarchy were committed. Many of the women who were slain by the terrible “Blood Ones” during this time were priestesses and prophetesses of considerable power. Some of them magically cursed the men who murdered them, and vowed to rise in undeath to wreak vengeance upon the bloodlines of their slayers.
These included the risen Lich Maidens Hagath, Annis, Brinhilde, and Griselde, and perhaps the Vampiric Maidens Lilith and Lamia as well.
Barrow Wight, Gruesome Undead Thing: ?
Wraith of the Topielce, Topielce Wraith: Rarely, these aquatic-dwelling spirits can be found as a result of the Mung-induced death magic wrought by the vile brine hags.
Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
Wraith of the Topielce, Aquatic-Dwelling Spirit: ?
Drowned Zombie: These creatures are sometimes raised from the victims of brine trolls, but only if there were enough victims for the hags to become sated before all are devoured.
Some hags are able to raise their horror-struck mortal victims as the undead, and such unfortunate souls rise in the form of drowned zombies, aquatic ghouls, shoal ghasts, Topielce wraiths, or even worse things besides.
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Voadam
Legend
CC2 Creature Cache
Basic
Alainn: An álainn is formed from the spirit of the most virtuous of female elves.
Atori: If a humanoid dies while infected [by an atori's disease], it will rise in 24 hours an atori, unless the corpse is burned before it rises.
Bat King: When a werebat is slain by a vampire while the werebat is in its man-sized bat form, there is a chance (10%) that it will rise from death as a bat king (instead of a vampire).
Cackler: ?
Cloud of Evil Faces: ?
Crypt Riddler: These solitary, gaunt beings begin life as witches and, upon their death, are granted “life beyond death” by remaining in service to the spirits with whom they formed the pact to originally receive their powers. The witch is then stripped of her powers and her sight, and (usually unknowingly) drafted into service as kind of “gatekeeper” to the spirits served.
Crypt Snitch: When the most devious of finks, traitors, and betrayers pass into the afterlife, they sometimes become a crypt snitch.
Dream Stalker: ?
Dychotic Spirit: When a human in life has both evil and good within them (e.g., those with multiple personalities, or two spirits magically inhabiting the same body), upon death the person’s spirit may be “split” by the negative and positive energy at odds with one another. This creates a dychotic spirit—a undead being with two distinct parts (one good and the other evil), spiritually tethered to one another.
Ghostlight, Aleya, Alyea: ?
Flaming Ghoul: A flaming ghoul is an undead creature with ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire (e.g., particularly evil individuals who worship Chaotic fire gods will often become flaming ghouls).
Flowering Ghoul: A flowering ghoul begins as a normal ghoul, but transforms as it is corrupted even further by evil druidic magic, rendering their body grassy, and often flower-covered.
Tidal Ghoul: Tidal ghouls are the undead created by corrupted individuals who died at sea (evil pirate captains, etc.).
Hill Haunt: ?
Korper: A korper is an undead spellcaster created when a high-level magic-user attempting to become a lich has their phylactery rupture during the process.
Phantom Cavalryman: ?
Phantom Cloak, Animated Cloak: An animated cloak is an item that has been infused with the evil of its deceased former owner (who is most likely now a spectre).
Phantom Crawler: A phantom crawler is a spectral form of undead, a ghost-like thing that creeps around the tomb where it was laid to an uneasy rest. As its body rotted away, its spirit refused to let go of its physical presence, finally releasing its tether when nothing was left of its formal physical self except a pile of dust.
Most typically, phantom crawlers are created when a human dies suddenly and unexpectedly.
Repugnant: A repugnant is a ghoul-like undead creature whose atrocious actions in life make them particularly grotesque in death, their faces and features twisted and misshapen.
Ripper: ?
Ro Spirit: When an overzealous chaotic druid dies, they may come back as a ro spirit.
Rotting Crawler: ?
Soulmaster: ?
Spark of Fear: ?
Spectral Conclave: When particularly evil men conspire to do wicked things and ent[er] into blasphemous pacts with dark forces, they may become a spectral conclave. By surrendering their physical bodies, they become a sort of “spectral hydra.” A spectral conclave may have many members (usually no less than 3), but is treated as a single entity (even if each conclave member thinks independently).
Aquatic Spectre: When particularly evil and greedy seafarers drown and refuse for their souls to be separated from their treasure, the unfettered spirits becomes aquatic spectres.
Sweeping Enchanter: ?
Tethered Spirit: When a spectre rises from the grave, but it is too weak to truly escape the bounds of its former body, it becomes a tethered spirit—unable to move more than 120' from the body to which it is tied.
Vambat: ?
Shadow Vampire: ?
Vault Weaver: ?
Atori, Ruined Corpse, Corpse That is Conspicuously Stained Moldy Rotten: ?
Cackler, Menial Undead Creature: ?
Cloud of Evil Faces, Cloud-Like Formation With a Variety of Evil Faces: ?
Crypt Riddler, Solitary Gaunt Being, Gatekeeper: ?
Crypt Snitch, Self-Appointed Sentinel: ?
Crypt Snitch Whose Mouth is Sewn Shut: ?
Crypt Snitch Whose Mouth is Not Sewn Shut: ?
Dream Stalker, Spectral Skeleton: ?
Dychotic Spirit, Undead Being With Two Distinct Parts Spiritually Tethered to Each Other: ?
Flaming Ghoul, Undead Creature With Ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire: ?
Hill Haunt, Enormous Spectre-Like Creature That is Spiritually Tethered to an Outdoor Location of Particularly Resonant Evil: ?
Korper, Undead Spellcaster: ?
Phantom Cavalryman, Mounted Spectral Skeleton Warrior: ?
Phantom Crawler, Spectral Form of Undead, Ghost-Like Thing: ?
Repugnant, Ghoul-Like Undead Creature: ?
Ripper, Undead Being Driven By the Thirst to Kill: ?
Ro Spirit, Something Like a Druidic Spectre, Protector, Defender: ?
Soulmaster, Vengeful Spirit That Seeks to Corrupt the Religious and Devout, Spectral Being With a Normal Head and as a Skeleton From the Neck Down: ?
Spark of Fear, Ball of Negative Energy: ?
Spectral Conclave, Sort of Spectral Hydra: ?
Sweeping Enchanter, Undead Fey Spirit: ?
Vambat, Gnome-Sized Undead Creature With Bat-Like Wings That Span From Ankle to Wrist, Small Creature: ?
Shadow Vampire, Undead Creature Composed of Living Shadow, Unattached Shadow of Humanoid Form: ?
Vault Weaver, Coldly Shining Hueless Globe Round as a Puffball and Large as a Human Head: ?
Normal Ghoul: ?
Lich, Greater Undead: ?
Lich: ?
Lich, More Powerful Undead Creature: ?
Mummy: ?
Skeleton: Once per day, as a magical action, an octopith is able to animate 6 HD of skeletons (as the magic-user spell animate dead).
Spectre, Full-Strength Spectre, Normal Spectre: If the strike of a hill haunt kills a character, the character’s spirit will be tethered to the location (though the body may be moved), and will rise the next night as a spectre under the control of the hill haunt.
An animated cloak is an item that has been infused with the evil of its deceased former owner (who is most likely now a spectre).
If the tethered spirit’s body is fully destroyed (e.g., by burning or disintegrating it), the tether will be released. When this happens, there is a 50% chance the spirit will be immediately dispatched to the Negative Energy Plane, and a 50% chance it will become a full-strength spectre.
Druidic Spectre: ?
Vampire: When a werebat is slain by a vampire while the werebat is in its man-sized bat form, there is a chance (10%) that it will rise from death as a bat king (instead of a vampire).
Vampire, Greater Undead: ?
Wight: ?
Basic
Alainn: An álainn is formed from the spirit of the most virtuous of female elves.
Atori: If a humanoid dies while infected [by an atori's disease], it will rise in 24 hours an atori, unless the corpse is burned before it rises.
Bat King: When a werebat is slain by a vampire while the werebat is in its man-sized bat form, there is a chance (10%) that it will rise from death as a bat king (instead of a vampire).
Cackler: ?
Cloud of Evil Faces: ?
Crypt Riddler: These solitary, gaunt beings begin life as witches and, upon their death, are granted “life beyond death” by remaining in service to the spirits with whom they formed the pact to originally receive their powers. The witch is then stripped of her powers and her sight, and (usually unknowingly) drafted into service as kind of “gatekeeper” to the spirits served.
Crypt Snitch: When the most devious of finks, traitors, and betrayers pass into the afterlife, they sometimes become a crypt snitch.
Dream Stalker: ?
Dychotic Spirit: When a human in life has both evil and good within them (e.g., those with multiple personalities, or two spirits magically inhabiting the same body), upon death the person’s spirit may be “split” by the negative and positive energy at odds with one another. This creates a dychotic spirit—a undead being with two distinct parts (one good and the other evil), spiritually tethered to one another.
Ghostlight, Aleya, Alyea: ?
Flaming Ghoul: A flaming ghoul is an undead creature with ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire (e.g., particularly evil individuals who worship Chaotic fire gods will often become flaming ghouls).
Flowering Ghoul: A flowering ghoul begins as a normal ghoul, but transforms as it is corrupted even further by evil druidic magic, rendering their body grassy, and often flower-covered.
Tidal Ghoul: Tidal ghouls are the undead created by corrupted individuals who died at sea (evil pirate captains, etc.).
Hill Haunt: ?
Korper: A korper is an undead spellcaster created when a high-level magic-user attempting to become a lich has their phylactery rupture during the process.
Phantom Cavalryman: ?
Phantom Cloak, Animated Cloak: An animated cloak is an item that has been infused with the evil of its deceased former owner (who is most likely now a spectre).
Phantom Crawler: A phantom crawler is a spectral form of undead, a ghost-like thing that creeps around the tomb where it was laid to an uneasy rest. As its body rotted away, its spirit refused to let go of its physical presence, finally releasing its tether when nothing was left of its formal physical self except a pile of dust.
Most typically, phantom crawlers are created when a human dies suddenly and unexpectedly.
Repugnant: A repugnant is a ghoul-like undead creature whose atrocious actions in life make them particularly grotesque in death, their faces and features twisted and misshapen.
Ripper: ?
Ro Spirit: When an overzealous chaotic druid dies, they may come back as a ro spirit.
Rotting Crawler: ?
Soulmaster: ?
Spark of Fear: ?
Spectral Conclave: When particularly evil men conspire to do wicked things and ent[er] into blasphemous pacts with dark forces, they may become a spectral conclave. By surrendering their physical bodies, they become a sort of “spectral hydra.” A spectral conclave may have many members (usually no less than 3), but is treated as a single entity (even if each conclave member thinks independently).
Aquatic Spectre: When particularly evil and greedy seafarers drown and refuse for their souls to be separated from their treasure, the unfettered spirits becomes aquatic spectres.
Sweeping Enchanter: ?
Tethered Spirit: When a spectre rises from the grave, but it is too weak to truly escape the bounds of its former body, it becomes a tethered spirit—unable to move more than 120' from the body to which it is tied.
Vambat: ?
Shadow Vampire: ?
Vault Weaver: ?
Atori, Ruined Corpse, Corpse That is Conspicuously Stained Moldy Rotten: ?
Cackler, Menial Undead Creature: ?
Cloud of Evil Faces, Cloud-Like Formation With a Variety of Evil Faces: ?
Crypt Riddler, Solitary Gaunt Being, Gatekeeper: ?
Crypt Snitch, Self-Appointed Sentinel: ?
Crypt Snitch Whose Mouth is Sewn Shut: ?
Crypt Snitch Whose Mouth is Not Sewn Shut: ?
Dream Stalker, Spectral Skeleton: ?
Dychotic Spirit, Undead Being With Two Distinct Parts Spiritually Tethered to Each Other: ?
Flaming Ghoul, Undead Creature With Ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire: ?
Hill Haunt, Enormous Spectre-Like Creature That is Spiritually Tethered to an Outdoor Location of Particularly Resonant Evil: ?
Korper, Undead Spellcaster: ?
Phantom Cavalryman, Mounted Spectral Skeleton Warrior: ?
Phantom Crawler, Spectral Form of Undead, Ghost-Like Thing: ?
Repugnant, Ghoul-Like Undead Creature: ?
Ripper, Undead Being Driven By the Thirst to Kill: ?
Ro Spirit, Something Like a Druidic Spectre, Protector, Defender: ?
Soulmaster, Vengeful Spirit That Seeks to Corrupt the Religious and Devout, Spectral Being With a Normal Head and as a Skeleton From the Neck Down: ?
Spark of Fear, Ball of Negative Energy: ?
Spectral Conclave, Sort of Spectral Hydra: ?
Sweeping Enchanter, Undead Fey Spirit: ?
Vambat, Gnome-Sized Undead Creature With Bat-Like Wings That Span From Ankle to Wrist, Small Creature: ?
Shadow Vampire, Undead Creature Composed of Living Shadow, Unattached Shadow of Humanoid Form: ?
Vault Weaver, Coldly Shining Hueless Globe Round as a Puffball and Large as a Human Head: ?
Normal Ghoul: ?
Lich, Greater Undead: ?
Lich: ?
Lich, More Powerful Undead Creature: ?
Mummy: ?
Skeleton: Once per day, as a magical action, an octopith is able to animate 6 HD of skeletons (as the magic-user spell animate dead).
Spectre, Full-Strength Spectre, Normal Spectre: If the strike of a hill haunt kills a character, the character’s spirit will be tethered to the location (though the body may be moved), and will rise the next night as a spectre under the control of the hill haunt.
An animated cloak is an item that has been infused with the evil of its deceased former owner (who is most likely now a spectre).
If the tethered spirit’s body is fully destroyed (e.g., by burning or disintegrating it), the tether will be released. When this happens, there is a 50% chance the spirit will be immediately dispatched to the Negative Energy Plane, and a 50% chance it will become a full-strength spectre.
Druidic Spectre: ?
Vampire: When a werebat is slain by a vampire while the werebat is in its man-sized bat form, there is a chance (10%) that it will rise from death as a bat king (instead of a vampire).
Vampire, Greater Undead: ?
Wight: ?
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Voadam
Legend
Creature Feature Compendium vol. 1 (OSE)
Basic
Batos: A number of sages insist a batos is an example of an extremely ancient, undead spellcaster which has gained rank and recognition within the hierarchy of the infernal realms.
They possess no physical form, other than their skulls. And, their skulls are so heavily warded with protective magical contingencies that even if completely destroyed, they will reform in 3 days. This lends further fuel to the speculation they are an advanced form of lich, as liches are some of the few beings that have achieved similar states of such lasting permanence. And, as liches are known to persist beyond mere physical destruction by attaching their souls to specially engineered artifacts known as phylacteries. Some have speculated the weird armor of a batos functions similarly but none can truly say. Many sages familiar with batos lore insist they persist merely because they are demons and that any speculation about phylacteries is moot.
Blade Wraith: Undead assassins created from the accursed and bloodthirsty spirits of professional killers.
The corpses of the most notorious killers are sought by necromancers and resurrected as blade wraiths. Upon awakening to undeath, they are bound to a Black Blade and a geas is laid upon them. The geas binds them to the will of their creator for 666 days. At the end of this time they are freed but are forever unable to strike down their creator.
A Black Blade houses the soul of the undead, which cannot be destroyed until its blade is. The blades are nearly indestructible. Anyone foolish enough to wield a Black Blade will eventually become possessed by it and transformed into a blade wraith.
If slain, the body [of a blade wraith] will rapidly decay into a tarry black mess. Only its sword, a tattered cloak and the contents of its purse will remain. Anyone that wields the blade will eventually be possessed by the soul within and slowly transformed into a blade wraith.
Breghin, Manifestation of an Executioner That Revelled Overly Much in Their Appointed Tasks: In many cases the stars were simply right (or wrong) enough to allow the corrupted essence of the breghin to seep back into the mortal realm, sometimes many, many years after their death.
Chronocrat: Undead wizards that have escaped the grave via their ability to control time.
They are the undead remnants of wizards that delved too deeply into the study and manipulation of time. By application of their arcane craft, they have managed to transcend the mortal coil and reach beyond time (and space to a lesser degree). But for all their knowledge and skill, their mortal minds were shattered by that initial brush with a deeper layer of creation.
The party has been hired by a member of the nobility to investigate the disappearance of an eccentric uncle. The eccentric uncle dabbled a bit at being an occult scholar. Although, he never delved deeply into any specific topics and lacked the discipline to become a serious wizard. Recently he had acquired a dusty tome discoursing on the nature of the universe, especially temporal magic. He vanished not long after he began to study the tome.
Eldritch Ghoul: Eldritch ghouls are undead abominations that trace their lineage to a debased royal house in the ancient past.
It is not known how exactly eldritch ghouls came about. Some surmise they are the undead revenants of a debased royal line that bartered away their souls in exchange for eternal youth and earthly power. Not an entirely unheard of thing in this dark world. But this pact was wrought with powerful beings within the Unseelie Court and as such the undead state of eldritch ghouls has a bit of fey magic to it.
Famine Hound: Undead beasts created from the spirits of selfish and treacherous folk. In life, they robbed and betrayed their families and communities during a period of starvation.
They are said to be the accursed spirits of those that betrayed their neighbors and kin during times of famine. Through some fickle twist of cosmic horror (or humor) they have been transmogrified into these unholy parodies of dogs. These wretched souls stole food from their communities and caused the death by starvation of many innocents.
Although, they are doomed souls cursed to wander for eternity in this abominable bestial form, they are highly intelligent.
Headhaunter: Gruesome, headless undead animated by a murderous rage.
Headhaunters are cunning and malicious undead spawned via hellish sorcery. They were all murderers that lost their head through some act of violence. In the afterlife, they struck a bargain with a powerful, demonic entity that has allowed them to persist in their current, gruesome state.
Holocaust Engine: These unholy machines are crafted by blasphemous sorcerers using the darkest of magic. The fuel that drives the engine is the perpetual rage of the insane, doomed soul within.
They are a form of undead bound to a golem body. It is said that the doomed souls that inhabit the arcane mechanism once belonged to victims that were cruelly tortured for extended periods of time, sometimes even years. All sorts of deprivations and injuries were inflicted upon them until finally they were driven mad and then burned alive. But, before their souls could escape they were bound to these metal shells. Their madness and rage fuel the supernatural fire which engulfs their undead forms, which in turn fuel the mechanisms within the golem body. The unholy, undead amalgam of rage, madness and nigh unbreakable metal create a formidable servant for those vile and skilled enough to work the necessary rituals.
Holocaust engines are accursed amalgams of undead flesh and mechanical artifice animated through dark magic.
The party has been contracted by a religious order known throughout the kingdom for their good works. They are chiefly known for their efforts to assist the downtrodden of the community. They heal the sick, feed the hungry and clothe the destitute. None in the kingdom can speak ill of the order, they are bastions of benevolence and philanthropy. And so, when the word goes out that a series of abductions from the church's orphanages has occurred, the common folk demand an investigation. As the party pieces together clues in their hunt for the missing children, they will eventually discover the children were taken by an evil wizard that hopes to use them to create holocaust engines. The wizard has tried and failed with adults, so this time her plan is to start with children in hopes that the necessary torture will be more effective on them.
The party has been traveling overland for quite some time. A break in the wilderness reveals a narrow road leading to a small hamlet. Weary to the bone, they decide to get some food and drink. The service is good and they decide to stay the night. Everyone is offered a nightcap before they retire to their beds. Unfortunately, they have been drugged. When they wake up they discover they are in some sort of dungeon. All of their companions are there with them. A few travelers they had seen at the inn are imprisoned with them as well. In the distance, the screams of someone in agony echo. [REFEREE'S NOTE: They have been sold to a mad wizard who is attempting to make his first holocaust engine.]
Ictshosh: They are the weird undead remnants of an ancient race of alien sorcerers. It is rumored that their civilization collapsed upon itself as the most powerful sorcerers within it discovered a way to cheat death by consuming the souls of their brethren.
Ignus Mortis: Ignus mortis were once mortal spellcasters with some red dragon blood in their lineage. Their draconic grandsire has granted them this boon of fiery undeath.
They are the undead revenants of spellcasters that had some red dragon in their lineage. At some point in their careers they discovered their ancestry allowed them a path to immortality should they choose to risk it. The supplicant must perform a ritual that transmutes their corporeal body into an astral state. Afterwards they rise through the planes seeking the grandsire of their draconic line. Once they transition to an astral state there really is no going back. And they may well wander the outer planes for eternity in search of the ancient wyrm. But should they prove successful, their grandsire grants them the peculiar boon of this form of undeath. Most are driven insane by the transformation but as they age and the centuries pass they often begin to recall their former lives.
They cannot reproduce and seem to prefer a solitary existence.
The party is contracted by a secretive conclave of wizards. The conclave wants to reclaim an ancient tome from the vaults beneath a tower of one of their esteemed alumni. According to their records, this archmage conducted a ritual to travel into the upper planes in search of the boon of immortality from an ancient dragon residing beyond the mortal realm. The conclave's records indicate the wizard has been gone for three centuries. In the many years since, they have studied the ritual he conducted and believe he may have returned to his tower in the form of an ignus mortis. They have some knowledge of the ignus mortis (so you can reveal a bit of the Lore section if you wish) but do not wish to engage the revenant of their old colleague directly for fear that his fiery wrath might be kindled against them.
Killdrone:Reanimated dead infected with an alien disease. They are transmogrified and forever enslaved as part of a vast collective serving some abominable, insectile hive queen.
Rumor holds that these strange beings were once normal folk. But, they have since been transmogrified into these monstrosities through some sort of infection. A number of learned individuals that have encountered them and lived to tell the tale claim these freaks are the reanimated corpses of those slain by other beings such as this. Apparently the creatures pass some sort of egg or spore into those they have slain. The infection then returns them to a warped, shambling semblance of life, granting them an unnatural vigor and completely stealing their minds. A warped shell and rending claws soon encase the converted victims. The carapace continues to grow throughout their weird half-life and they eventually grow into armored behemoths. Sages that have studied these strange monstrosities and their infectious taint speculate it may spread to any animal, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Little is known about the origin of these creatures. It is speculated they are extraplanar in origin.
The party is resting between quests in a quaint little village. When they are in the tavern word begins to spread of a recent tragedy in a nearby hamlet. A group of killdrones happened across some folk toiling in the fields there. All of those in the fields were slain (estimate around 2d6+6). [REFEREE'S NOTE:The village has gathered the corpses of their fallen brethren in a central building while awaiting the return of their priest from his annual pilgrimage. The corpses will soon reanimate and begin to slaughter for their queen. If only the villagers knew the impending doom within their midst.]
The party has gotten word of strange goings on from the local thieves guild. Many of their beggars and pickpockets have gone missing recently. [REFEREE'S NOTE: Unbeknownst to all, a killdrone that has retained its mind has been slowly spreading its taint amongst the castoffs of society. Many urchins, beggars and thieves have already been converted and serve the hive. The leader is planning a massive assault on an isolated ward of the city.]
Mantid Stitch Golem: Pack-hunting undead predators stitched together from various corpses, human and otherwise. The spirits that animate them are said to be arachnids drawn from some infernal realm.
Stitch golems are a recent development amongst some of the more imaginative necromantic circles. The first stitch golems were created when a group of pioneering black magicians realized what new realms of horror and utility could be discovered by integrating knowledge and techniques from flesh golem crafting with their own necromantic works.
This particular form of stitch golem is rumored to house a demonic insect or arachnid from some blasted hell dimension. This is where the creature gains its predatory nature and desire to hunt even though it need not eat to continue its loathsome existence.
A young and upcoming necromancer has decided to stake a claim to a sacred forest. He hopes to desecrate the wood and build a tower deep within it. The project is a bit ambitious and isn’t expected to be completed for a few years. At this point though he has been constructing mantid stitch golems to infest the forest.
A wicked and demented old wizard has been kidnapping children and taking them to his hidden lair deep below the sewers of the city. The way is treacherous and filled with all manner of beasts and demons, such as his newly crafted mantid stitch golems.
They are sapient fungal life forms that originate from the disgusting charnel soup that forms in mass graves. There is some evidence that indicates the dead from certain plagues are more likely to form the best and most unwholesome soil to generate these foul creatures.
Mournling: They grow from the rotten pits of mass graves.
They are often encountered in the vicinity of mass graves of plague victims. They are nasty little horrors that spring from the abject putrescence of concentrated necrosis.
Many scholars have suggested the mournlings' origins and abilities indicate the creatures are a form of undead. More research needs to be done on this. However, one strong argument that defies the undead hypothesis is the mournlings immunity to a cleric's turn undead ability.
The party will discover the merchant and his party contracted an aggressive pestilence of some sort in their final sojourn to the southern continent. The disease spread like wildfire amongst the manor's servants forcing them to heap the bodies into a pit in the neighboring woods. This mass grave spawned several mournlings that have since occupied the ruins of the manor house.
As the party explores deeper into the sewer, they discover a massive pit, easily 500 feet across with no telling how deep it is. The bizarre and macabre site appears to be something akin to a mass grave and a religious altar devoted to a god of decay. Several dozen strange fungal growths emerge from the rotting heaps of corpses within.
Ooze Lich: An ooze lich is a magic-user cursed to undeath as a toxic, oozing mass.
Legends say these creatures are the damned remnants of sorcerers and other such dabblers in the dark arts that made alliances with or somehow ran afoul of particular demonic forces aligned to a rawer, baser form of entropy than most of the demon lords.
The PCs are not aware that the wizard in question moved to this isolated area to commune with some foul spirit the mining had unearthed. The wizard has since been transformed into an ooze lich and loosed a plague that devastated the community.
REFEREE'S NOTE 1: Perhaps include the journal/diary of the ooze lich? What would such a journal detail? Maybe it details the methods by which they came to their present abominable state? If so, was it by their will or from a curse or accident? Is there a ritual of ooze lich transformation that the PCs might discover? Was the transformation instantaneous or did it progress like a wasting disease until they died only to re-awaken as an ooze lich?
Puker: These abominable flesh golems are wrought from the worst and most brutal of degenerate humanoid races.
These creatures are a form of necromantically crafted flesh golem often referred to as a puker. It is rumored their design originated in some debased northern kingdom where a guild of necromancers has risen to prominence.
This particular type of constructed undead has flourished due to an ample supply of building materials in that barbaric, mountainous place. For what it lacks in comfort, it makes up for in degenerate, brutal humanoid creatures such as ogres, orcs and hill giants. The abundance of pieces from which to assemble these noxious brutes, has made them an increasingly common sight in the fallen hinterlands of the north. Unfortunately, their dim brains only grow dimmer still upon reanimation and as such their commanders sometimes struggle to control them once blood is in the air.
Pukers are artificial beings, they are not truly alive. They are essentially a hybrid of a golem and a very large zombie. They are constructed from alchemically treated flesh harvested from numerous other creatures and granted motive spark through an infusion of the same eldritch, entropic forces that animate the undead.
The designs for these foul amalgamations of carrion monsters originate from the blasted reaches of a vast northern wasteland. However, there is nothing stopping an enterprising fleshsmith from other lands constructing more from local materials (or importing the necessary building materials from afar).
The party has been contracted by an old wizard to gather what he terms "research materials". He wants the party to bring him the corpses of large humanoids, especially ogres and hill giants. He can furnish them with maps to the locations of several tribes of these creatures. He has no interest in their treasures and encourages the party to keep them. As he does so, he jokes about having once been a destitute adventurer himself once. He offers 800gp per hill giant and 400gp per ogre. He will also pay 50gp for large orcs, 300gp for minotaurs and 75gp for bugbears. [REFEREE'S NOTE: If ever asked why he needs so many of these corpses, he will say he is using them to make various potions and magic items that draw upon their strength. This is a lie. He is a necromancer and has begun constructing his own pukers.
Sungsinger, Cursed Druid That has Made a Pact With a Dark Archfey, Cursed Nature Priest Who Delved Too Deeply Into Darkened Forbidden Woods and Made a Pact With the Maleficent and Capricious Fey That Dwell Therein: Sungsingers are cursed druids that have made pacts with dark archfey.
An elven settlement is seeking to retake one of their ancient sites. The whole site is an immense megalithic runestone roughly half a mile in diameter. It was lost to them centuries ago when its chief caretaker foolishly trusted an evil archfey. The unfortunate priest was twisted into a sungsinger which has haunted the site ever since.
Unborn Assassin, Horrific Born Undead Offspring of a Blood Witch: The unborn assassin are a form of undead that are actually birthed from the fetid, unholy womb of a blood witch. Although these monsters call a blood witch mother, none can truly say what species fathers them or if there is some form a peculiar alchemy or sorcery that causes them to develop as they do.
They are named unborn as they are born undead from the womb of a blood witch.
Unseelie Treant, Typical Unseelie Treant: Unseelie treants are suffused with the same unholy energy that animates undead, as such they share many of the same dark abilities. Chief amongst the unseelie treant's bag of tricks is its ability to inflict energy drain, those slain via this attack immediately become zombies under the control of the unseelie treant that slew them. This has caused many sages to ponder whether or not the unseelie treants themselves might actually be a form of undead.
An unseelie treant is usually (but not always) the result of an evil, darkling fey awakening a tree to sapience. Unseelie treants are also able to create others of their own kind through similar enchantments but usually it is a temporary animation. However the taint sometimes lingers and the minion becomes an independent creature. In rarer cases, these monsters come about through the degeneration or corruption of a normal treant. Some sages posit any sufficient corruption by necrotic energy could warp a normal treant into an unseelie treant. It's also rumored that some dark rituals exist that can birth an unseelie treant, the core component of this ritual is a mass slaughter within a dark forest. It's said that slaughter does not need to be fresh, so perhaps the remnants of an ancient battle where a forest has grown might suffice.
Unseelie treants are suffused with the same unholy energy that animates undead, as such they share many of the same dark abilities. Chief amongst the unseelie treant's bag of tricks is its ability to inflict energy drain, those slain via this attack immediately become zombies under the control of the unseelie treant that slew them. This has caused many sages to ponder whether or not the unseelie treants themselves might actually be a form of undead. Another similarity unseelie treants share with undead is a vulnerability to silver as well as sunlight.
Through some unknowable eldritch means, even newly awakened unseelie treants are gifted with knowledge and wisdom.
Woe Reaper, Undead Spirit of an Insane Farmer That Killed Their Family Out of a Sense of Misplaced Mercy During Famine, Undead Spirit of a Farmer Bound to a Crudely Wrought Golem Body That Resembles a Scarecrow, Doomed Soul of One That Killed Their Own Kin During a Period of Famine: They are the undead spirits of farmers bound to crudely wrought golem bodies that resemble scarecrows. The damned ghosts which animate these terrifying effigies all have the same macabre provenance. They are the doomed souls of those that killed their own kin during periods of famine.
They cannot reproduce themselves and are only wrought through very specific necromantic rituals. These rituals require the damned souls of farmers that murdered their own kin during a famine. This specific requirement has potent, occult significance and is absolutely necessary for the ritual to be effective. Some sages familiar with the lore of the woe reapers suggest the material used to construct the golem body of the things must also be taken from the land of the murderous farmer.
This area is haunted by 1d3+1 woe reapers. They are the murderous revenants of the farmer and his son(s). And, the owl in the barn is the familiar of the necromancer that resurrected them to their present accursed state. These are the first woe reapers the necromancer has created and she is immensely interested in seeing how they perform.
Wretched Orphan, Accursed Animated Husk of a Child That Died a Slow Lingering Death, Revenant of a Child Driven Mad With Frief and Pain Before Dying: The accursed, animated husk of a child that died a slow lingering death.
These strange undead are the revenants of children driven mad with grief and pain before dying. They usually befell some form of tragedy and torture which abruptly robbed them of their senses. Bereft of their wits and likely alone, they lingered on the brink of death for long periods of time. Not knowing day from night and always on the verge of expiration. Eventually, when they died they could not achieve final rest and awoke to this tormented twilight existence.
An adult humanoid slain by a wretched orphan rises 24 hours later as a ghoul under the wretched orphan's control, unless the humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed. A child slain by this attack will rise again within 24 hours as a wretched orphan with its own free will.
Batos, Ancient and Powerful Demonic Sorcerer, Tall Gangly Humanoid Clad in a Suit of Baroque Rusted Black Plate, Powerful Macabre Being, Demon, Extremely Ancient Undead Spellcaster Which has Gained Rank and Recognition Within the Hierarchy of the Infernal Realms, Independent Sovereign, Advanced Form of Lich, Powerful Being Immune to Mundane Attacks and Psychic Influence, Potent Spellcaster, Consummate Traveler, Incorporeal Demon With No Internal Process, Advanced Form of Undead: ?
Batos, Ruler, Fiend: ?
Blade Wraith, Undead Assassin, Hunched Figure Wrapped in a Tattered Cloak, Horrific Apparition, Corporeal Undead, Fleshless Spirit, Most Vicious of Black-Hearted Killers Risen from the Grave: ?
Breghin, Undead Shade of an Executioner, Tall Human-Sized Figure, Weird Creature, Corporeal Undead, Especially Dangerous Foe: ?
Chronocrat, Undead Wizard, Emaciated Robed Humanoid With a Monstrously Elongated Head, Freakish Apparition, Weird Figure, Malicious Revenant, Undead Remnants of a Wizard That Delved Too Deeply Into the Study and Manipulation of Time: ?
Enraged Chronocrat: ?
Eldritch Ghoul, Undead Abomination, Young Beautiful Noble, Large Lanky Nightmarish and Apparently Skinless Abomination, Undead Horror, Dapper Young Man of Means and Obvious Aristocratic Lineage, Cunning Cowardly Fiend, Undead Revenant, Foul Being, Mysterious Gentleman: ?
Eldritch Ghoul, Mysterious Nobleman, Master: ?
Famine Hound, Undead Beast, Large Dog-Like Monster Roughly 6 Feet in Length and Standing 3 or 4 Feet at the Shoulder, Weird Monster, Blasphemous Horror, Accursed Spirit of One That Betrayed Their neighbors and Kin During Times of Famine, Doomed Soul Cursed to Wander For Eternity in This Abominable Bestial Form, Formidable Adversary: ?
Headhaunter, Gruesome Headless Undead, Emaciated Headless Body, Emaciated Humanoid With a Flaming Head Floating Just Above the Stump of a Neck, Weird Creature, Brutal Killer, Cunning Malicious Undead: ?
Headhaunter, Desiccated Headless Corpse: ?
Headhaunter, Desiccated Headless Corpse With a Floating Head Wreathed in Flames: ?
Holocaust Engine, Unholy Machine, Engine, Large Gangly Four-Armed Humanoid Construct With a Flaming Skull in Place of a Head, Macabre Thing, Form of Undead Bound to a Golem Body, Unholy Undead Amalgam of Rage Madness and Nigh Unbreakable Metal, Accursed Amalgam of Undead Flesh and Mechanical Artifice, Undead Spirit, Perpetual Machine, Horror, Minion, Mechanical Monster: ?
Ictshosh, Undead Remnants of An Ancient Race of Alien Sorcerers, Immortal Fearless Tyrant, Armored Humanoid Roughly the Size of a Very Large Man, Weird Undead Remnants of an Ancient Race of Alien Sorcerers, Sorcerer of Legendary Power: ?
Ignus Mortis, Blazing Conflagration About 9 Feet Tall Apparently Attempting to Mimic a Humanoid Form, Swirling Inferno, Roaring Tumult of Supernatural Fire in the Rough Semblance of a Robed Man, Undead Revenant of a Spellcaster That Had Some Red Dragon in Their Lineage, Roaring Consumptive Fire Made Incarnate, Vengeful Spirit, Revenant, Undead Pyromaniacal Mage: ?
Killdrone, Reanimated Dead Infected With an Alien Disease, Weird Looking Humanoid, Strange Being, Monstrosity, Freak, Reanimated Corpse, Converted Victim, Armored Behemoth, Strange Monstrosity, Armored Monstrosity, Horrific Thing: ?
Killdrone, Beast Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals.
Killdrone, Bear Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals.
Killdrone, Deer Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals.
Killdrone, Wolf Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals.
Killdrone, Humanoid Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals. The wizard has slowly been mutating into a killdrone himself and his dreams are haunted by the honeyed promises of a hivequeen.
Mantid Stitch Golem, Pack-Hunting Undead Predator Stitched Together From Various Corpses, Large Wiry Assemblage of Several Stitched Together Bodies, Abomination, Loathsome Stitched Together Undead Thing, Stealthy Pack-Hunting Predator, Stitch Golem, Foul Monster: ?
Stitch Golem: Stitch golems are a recent development amongst some of the more imaginative necromantic circles. The first stitch golems were created when a group of pioneering black magicians realized what new realms of horror and utility could be discovered by integrating knowledge and techniques from flesh golem crafting with their own necromantic works.
Mournling, Weird Little Sapient Fungal Humanoid, Nauseating Sight, Small Nominally Humanoid Thing Roughly the Size of a Toddler, Strange Thing, Sapient Fungal Life Form, Foul Creature, Form of Fungal Life, Nasty Little Horror: ?
Ooze Lich, Toxic Oozing Mass, foul, Oozing Mass of Putrescence Vaguely Resembling a Humanoid Skeleton, Sickening Thing, Master of Illusion, Dangerous Tricksy Horror, Disgusting Thing, Agglomeration of Foulness: ?
Ooze Lich, Damned Remnant of a Sorcerer That Made Alliances With Particular Demonic Forces Aligned to a Rawer Baser Form of Entropy Than Most of the Demon Lords: ?
Ooze Lich, Damned Remnant of a Sorcerer That Somehow Ran Afoul of Particular Demonic Forces Aligned to a Rawer Baser Form of Entropy Than Most of the Demon Lords: ?
Ooze Lich, Damned Remnant of a Dabbler in the Dark Arts That Made Alliances With Particular Demonic Forces Aligned to a Rawer Baser Form of Entropy Than Most of the Demon Lords: ?
Ooze Lich, Damned Remnant of a Dabbler in the Dark Arts That Somehow Ran Afoul of Particular Demonic Forces Aligned to a Rawer Baser Form of Entropy Than Most of the Demon Lords: ?
Puker, Stitched Together Ghoulish Effigy of Abject Gluttony, Rotting Avatar of Unreasoning Violence, Abominable Flesh Golem, Hulking Rotten Creature Roughly the Size of Two Obese Ogres Stacked, Necromantically Crafted Flesh Golem, Constructed Undead, Noxious Brute, Fearsome Brute, Artificial Being, Hybrid of a Golem and a Very Large Zombie, Foul Amalgamation of Carrion Monsters, Cruel Beast: ?
Sungsinger, Six-Armed Skull Faced Humanoid With Long Antlers, Frightening Creature, Undead Nature Spirit, Unnatural Perversion of Nature's Tendency to Consume Itself, Malignant Spirit: ?
Sungsinger, Cursed Kindred: ?
Sungsinger, Cursed Brother: ?
Unborn Assassin, Small Creature Resembling the Skeleton of a Human Infant With Four Spidery Forelimbs Ending in Razor-Sharp Blades, Cunning Stealthy Pack Hunter: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animate Tree Writ Into a Vaguely Humanoid Aspect Possessed of Malevolent Sapience and Suffused with Necrotic Energy, Huge Gnarled Vaguely Humanoid Figure, Horrific Thing, Mutant Vegetation, Freakish Monster, Plant, Malignant Plant, Predator, Unclean Thing: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animated Tree But With Stamped With a Decidedly Ghoulish Aspect: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animated Tree But With Stamped With a Decidedly Demonic Aspect: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animated Plant But With Stamped With a Decidedly Ghoulish Aspect: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animated Plant But With Stamped With a Decidedly Demonic Aspect: ?
Woe Reaper, Tall Humanoid Figure, Wretched Apparition, Damned Ghost, Terrifying Effigy, Murderous Tatterdemalion Marionette, Dry Husk of Sticks and Straw, Undead Spirit, Murderous Revenant: ?
Wretched Orphan, Normal Child, Animated Cadaver of What Appears to be a Small Child, Horrid Thing, Shivering Waif, Strange Undead, Horrific Creature, Undead Fiend: ?
Wretched Orphan, Little Master: ?
Undead, Undead Being, Undead Creature, Undead Thing: A room in the abandoned monastery the players are exploring is being ransacked by a cerberan. The creature does not attack immediately but waits for the players to speak. If the party seems amenable, it offers them a king’s ransom for their assistance in tracking down the soul of a heretical monk that has escaped Tartarus. It describes the sins of the monk in gruesome detail and the players realize that a series of murders fitting that modus operandi have been occurring throughout the city recently. [REFEREE'S NOTE: Consider how might the monk’s soul appear now? Is he able to possess the flesh of another and control their actions? Or perhaps, is he some form of undead? If he is undead, is he corporeal or incorporeal?
They [pukers] are constructed from alchemically treated flesh harvested from numerous other creatures and granted motive spark through an infusion of the same eldritch, entropic forces that animate the undead.
Unseelie treants are suffused with the same unholy energy that animates undead, as such they share many of the same dark abilities.
Undead Minion: ?
Undead Thrall: And don't forget, she can cast animate dead repeatedly, as such she [the aurhai] is likely to have several undead thralls to defend her if she is forced to fight.
More Intelligent Undead: ?
Sapient Undead: ?
Corporeal Undead: ?
Incorporeal Undead: ?
Undead Servant, Undead Lackey: ?
Ghostly Shade: ?
Ghost: ?
Ghoul, Typical Ghoul: Any damage inflicted via the bolac's bite can only be healed by natural means (no magical healing is possible). Additionally, the points of damage inflicted by the bite of a bolac also indicate the percentage chance of the victim contracting a blood infection which will slowly kill them (in 2d20 days) and then transform them into a ghoul. No additional saving throw is allowed versus the disease. The percentage chance of infection is cumulative with multiple bites. The infection is supernatural in origin and can only be cured via a remove curse spell or similar magic.
Although their demonic lineage has never been proven, the bolac has an affinity for filth, rot and hunger that is far more than what a mortal creature should be capable of. In fact their great, tearing beaks can infect victims with a wasting disease that eventually transforms them into ghouls. According to many sages, such a thing should be impossible. They say a mortal being should not be able to transmit the curse of undeath, and yet the bolac can and do. And, the ghouls they beget can create other ghouls as well.
Unbeknownst to all, a bolac tribe has been instructed to form a ghoul horde by their demonic grandsire within the infernal realm. To this end, the bolac tribe has been slowly infesting outlying farming communities.
Within the cave are a handful of survivors (1d4+3). All are infected with the weird pestilence that will kill them and transform them into ghouls.
A person drained of all levels [by a fellsworne's energy drain power] becomes a ghoul immediately, under the control of the fellsworne.
They are also able to create ghouls via their energy drain ability, these creatures will generally be used as a barrier between the fellsworne and any melee threats.
Any slain by a fellsworne via this energy drain will immediately become a ghoul under the control of the fellsworne that killed them.
An adult humanoid slain by a wretched orphan rises 24 hours later as a ghoul under the wretched orphan's control, unless the humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed.
Ghoul, Ghoul Minion: ?
Ghoul, Roaming Undead: ?
Lich, Immensely Powerful and Malignant Being, Powerful Evil Monster, Monstrous Spellcaster: ?
Insectile Lich Queen: ?
Mummy: Targets [of a swamp leviathan's sting attack] must save versus poison or suffer from painful, jerking spasms for 2d6 turns. Those affected have a –4 penalty to attack rolls and AC. If the condition persists longer than 5 turns, they die and transform into mummies under the control of the swamp leviathan.
Shadow, Shadowy Undead Remnant: If reduced to 0 STR [from a batos's strength drain attack], the victim immediately becomes a shadow under the control of the batos that killed it.
A person drained of all levels [by a blade wraith's sword] becomes a shadow, under the control of the blade wraith that killed them.
If reduced to 0 STR [from a heartbreaker's strength drain attack], the victim becomes a shadow under the heartbreaker’s control.
Additionally those slain by the heartbreaker are torn loose from our reality and taken to the weird in-between place the heartbreakers hail from. They become shadowy undead remnants of themselves and are compelled to serve the heartbreaker.
A person drained of all levels [from a hound of Tindalos's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a shadow, under the control of the hound of tindalos that killed them.
The monster appears and begins to feast upon the weakest mortals it can reach. Villagers, hirelings and tavern rabble die very quickly and return as shadows under the hound’s control.
The hound of tindalos has decimated apprentice mages by the score and many have returned as shadows.
Heartbreaker's Heartbreaker power.
Shadow, Undead Minion, Minion, Shadow Minion: ?
Skeleton: A person drained of all levels [by an ooze lich's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a skeleton, under the control of the ooze lich that killed them.
Skeleton, Undead Minion: ?
Skeleton, Roaming Undead: ?
Skeleton, Silent Hooded Stranger, Hooded Stranger: ?
Vampire: ?
Wight: Those slain from the melee attacks of an ictshosh immediately become wights under the control of the ictshosh which killed them.
As undead creatures, they do not reproduce biologically. But, those slain by the soul-wrenching chill of an ictshosh’s melee attacks will become wights under its control. Ictshosh will often use these wights to guard their innumerable lairs and hidden troves of esoteric lore. Occasionally an ictshosh will enact a series of rituals to imbue its wight servants with the power to cast magicuser spells. But, for the rituals to be successful the wight must have had some magical talent in its mortal life.
The ictshosh will always attempt to deliver the killing blow in melee so that its victim will return as a wight servant.
An ancient library has been attacked from within by an ictshosh and several (1d4+2) of its wight acolytes (able to cast as a magic-user of 1d4+5 levels). Unfortunately, the wizard and his students charged with guarding the library were no match for the creature and have already been converted to wights (1d4+2).
Clerics that renounce their faith and pledge themselves to an imhothaeyl can add three points to their ability scores. The points may be added to one or several scores. No score may be increased above 18. However, they must accept an alignment change to chaotic. And if they are ever slain they will be resurrected as wights to serve their new alien god. Additionally if they should ever try to renounce the imhothaeyl they must save versus death or become a wight immediately. They must do this everyday they resist the imhothaeyl.
A person drained of all levels [by a sungsinger's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a wight, under the control of the sungsinger that killed them.
Sungsingers have a variety of ways to create minions amongst their magical powers. They might also use their energy drain to create wights, perhaps even wights from animals.
Their [yodzhots] devastating attacks drain life from their victims, and those who are slain return as wights to serve them.
A person drained of all levels [by a yodzhot's energy drain attack] becomes a wight, under the control of the yodzhot that killed them.
Yodzhot can deliver terrifyingly powerful blows in melee that rend flesh, crush bone and drain life. Anyone that falls to such attacks will reanimate as wights to serve the will of the yodzhot.
Thaumagrue Vomit Wights power.
Wight, More Intelligent Undead: ?
Wight, Wight Servant, Wight Acolyte: ?
Wight, Undead Thrall, Wight Thrall: ?
Artificial Life Form: An organism slain by this [uathu's energy drain] attack essentially becomes an artificial life form. (Treat them as wights with no vulnerability to silver and a melee attack of 1d6.) These transformed beings are under the control of the uathau. They also must feed on the life energy of another creature in a similar manner within 1d4+1 days or collapse into a pile of nanodust. Those they feed upon will also be similarly transformed. All will obey the will of the uathau that started the chain.
Additionally, the uathau can discorporate the creatures it has sired and reform the eldritch metal of their bodies into all manner of structures, devices or even larger servants. An uathau may only control up to 3x its HD in creatures at a time. If the uathau opts to pool its minions into larger servants, simply add the HDs together and improve the AC and melee attack by one step per minion added (don’t forget to improve the THAC0 and SV to reflect the larger HD). If the uathau opts to use its minions to make a wall or similar structure, estimate that 1HD equals 5’.
This stuff that they so desire is created by the transmission of a peculiar eldritch virus that transforms living matter into an incredibly fine metallic dust (nanodust) which the uathau can shape at will. The life energy of the victim is also transferred to the uathau as nourishment. Sentient creatures transformed by the disease become artificial life forms. As the disease takes hold, their flesh is converted into metal, cogs, wires, etc. The transformed are compelled to serve the uathau that sired them. They in turn must feed in a similar manner within a few days or collapse into a pile of nanodust. The uathau can manipulate any of its servants or the dust at will. They can be remade into all manner of things. Those that have been transformed by the disease can transmit it as well, but they will never be masters of those they infect. All are subject to the will of the uathau that started the chain of infection. But, an uathau may only have direct influence over three times its HD in minions at one time.
Artificial Life Form, Transformed Being, Minion, Servant, Nanodust, Metallic Undead: ?
Wraith: A person drained of all levels [by a chronocrat's energy drain attack] becomes a wraith immediately, under the control of the chronocrat.
A person drained of all levels [by a zosara's energy drain attack] becomes a wraith immediately, under the control of the zosara.
Zombie: Eventually allow the party to learn of a cult ritual happening soon. If the party follows the rumor they find a debased orgiastic rite. The cultists are masked and rutting like beasts in a stinking, charnel pit before an effigy resembling a giant, horned grub. They are summoning their awrahim patron. When it appears, several cultists lay before it and commit ritual suicide. Moments later they rise as zombies and kneel before the awrahim.
Victims slain from this [decapitation from a breghin's vorpal] attack become zombies in eternal service to the breghin. Zombies created in this fashion appear totally unimpeded by the lack of a head. They are capable of sensing their environment and maneuvering within it even though headless.
Those who are decapitated by a breghin become headless zombies.
If reduced to 0 CON [by a dreg's constitution drain attack], the victim becomes a zombie.
Those slain by an eldritch ghoul become zombies 3 days later (under their killer’s control).
Any slain by an eldritch ghoul will return as zombies three days later under their killer’s control.
If reduced to 0 STR [from a mournling's strength drain attack], the victim becomes a zombie.
And, once they do so, the mournlings will deploy their weird, snaking tendrils. The tendrils are infused with the entropic energies that animate mournlings and allow them to drain STR from their victims. As the tendrils drain the life from their victims, it actually feels oddly pleasant. Victims of the attack have described it as feeling like being kissed by a puppy. Because the attack does not feel painful, victims will not be roused from their enchantment by it. Those that are slain from the attack become infested with some of the bizarre fungus that gives the mournlings life, and will reanimate as zombies under the mournling's control in short order.
They [obghryls] spew a toxic, greasy spittle that slowly kills. The slain return as zombies to serve the alien will of their new master.
The dead [from an obghryl's spit attack] reanimate as zombies in the next round to serve the alien will of the creature. Only a neutralize poison spell will remove the affliction [from the spit attack].
Word has reached the party that a cult accidentally summoned an obghryl a few days ago. The obghryl has since converted 3d12 of the cultists into zombies. The obghryl and its rotting minions seem to have taken up residence in the sewers beneath a corner of the city. The zombies continually abduct folk and drag them away to their master for conversion.
Eventually the party will learn that the obghryl has been entering the homes of folk throughout the city and spewing its toxin on them as they sleep. Those that succumb to the poison and die are zombies, but the obghryl wills them to remain motionless and appear as corpses.
A person drained of all levels [by a swamp leviathan's energy drain attack] becomes a zombie immediately, under the control of the swamp leviathan.
A person drained of all levels [by an unseelie treant's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a zombie, under the control of the unseelie treant that killed them.
Chief amongst the unseelie treant's bag of tricks is its ability to inflict energy drain, those slain via this attack immediately become zombies under the control of the unseelie treant that slew them.
A person drained of all levels [by a zahashur's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a zombie, under the control of the zahashur that killed them.
These creatures [zahashurs] drain the souls of their victims in a manner similar to that of some undead. Any slain by their soul draining hunger will return as animated corpses under the zahashur’s control.
Zombie, Shambling Undead, Animated Corpse: ?
Zombie, Table Servant: ?
Zombie, Headless Zombie Minion, Headless Zombie: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of a Beggar: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of an Urchin: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of a Drunk: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of a Vagrant: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of a Prostitute: ?
Zombie, Zombie Thrall, Rotting Minion, Zombie Minion: ?
Zombie, Silent Hooded Stranger, Hooded Stranger: ?
Zombie, Undead Guard: ?
• HEARTBREAKER Tears out target's heart on a natural 20 to-hit. The target dies immediately, becoming a shadow under the heartbreaker’s control. The heartbreaker regains HP equal to the amount of the victim's original STR score.
VOMIT WIGHTS Each round of combat, there is a 2-in-6 chance a thaumagrue will puke up 1d3 corpses which reanimate the next round as wights under its command.
Basic
Batos: A number of sages insist a batos is an example of an extremely ancient, undead spellcaster which has gained rank and recognition within the hierarchy of the infernal realms.
They possess no physical form, other than their skulls. And, their skulls are so heavily warded with protective magical contingencies that even if completely destroyed, they will reform in 3 days. This lends further fuel to the speculation they are an advanced form of lich, as liches are some of the few beings that have achieved similar states of such lasting permanence. And, as liches are known to persist beyond mere physical destruction by attaching their souls to specially engineered artifacts known as phylacteries. Some have speculated the weird armor of a batos functions similarly but none can truly say. Many sages familiar with batos lore insist they persist merely because they are demons and that any speculation about phylacteries is moot.
Blade Wraith: Undead assassins created from the accursed and bloodthirsty spirits of professional killers.
The corpses of the most notorious killers are sought by necromancers and resurrected as blade wraiths. Upon awakening to undeath, they are bound to a Black Blade and a geas is laid upon them. The geas binds them to the will of their creator for 666 days. At the end of this time they are freed but are forever unable to strike down their creator.
A Black Blade houses the soul of the undead, which cannot be destroyed until its blade is. The blades are nearly indestructible. Anyone foolish enough to wield a Black Blade will eventually become possessed by it and transformed into a blade wraith.
If slain, the body [of a blade wraith] will rapidly decay into a tarry black mess. Only its sword, a tattered cloak and the contents of its purse will remain. Anyone that wields the blade will eventually be possessed by the soul within and slowly transformed into a blade wraith.
Breghin, Manifestation of an Executioner That Revelled Overly Much in Their Appointed Tasks: In many cases the stars were simply right (or wrong) enough to allow the corrupted essence of the breghin to seep back into the mortal realm, sometimes many, many years after their death.
Chronocrat: Undead wizards that have escaped the grave via their ability to control time.
They are the undead remnants of wizards that delved too deeply into the study and manipulation of time. By application of their arcane craft, they have managed to transcend the mortal coil and reach beyond time (and space to a lesser degree). But for all their knowledge and skill, their mortal minds were shattered by that initial brush with a deeper layer of creation.
The party has been hired by a member of the nobility to investigate the disappearance of an eccentric uncle. The eccentric uncle dabbled a bit at being an occult scholar. Although, he never delved deeply into any specific topics and lacked the discipline to become a serious wizard. Recently he had acquired a dusty tome discoursing on the nature of the universe, especially temporal magic. He vanished not long after he began to study the tome.
Eldritch Ghoul: Eldritch ghouls are undead abominations that trace their lineage to a debased royal house in the ancient past.
It is not known how exactly eldritch ghouls came about. Some surmise they are the undead revenants of a debased royal line that bartered away their souls in exchange for eternal youth and earthly power. Not an entirely unheard of thing in this dark world. But this pact was wrought with powerful beings within the Unseelie Court and as such the undead state of eldritch ghouls has a bit of fey magic to it.
Famine Hound: Undead beasts created from the spirits of selfish and treacherous folk. In life, they robbed and betrayed their families and communities during a period of starvation.
They are said to be the accursed spirits of those that betrayed their neighbors and kin during times of famine. Through some fickle twist of cosmic horror (or humor) they have been transmogrified into these unholy parodies of dogs. These wretched souls stole food from their communities and caused the death by starvation of many innocents.
Although, they are doomed souls cursed to wander for eternity in this abominable bestial form, they are highly intelligent.
Headhaunter: Gruesome, headless undead animated by a murderous rage.
Headhaunters are cunning and malicious undead spawned via hellish sorcery. They were all murderers that lost their head through some act of violence. In the afterlife, they struck a bargain with a powerful, demonic entity that has allowed them to persist in their current, gruesome state.
Holocaust Engine: These unholy machines are crafted by blasphemous sorcerers using the darkest of magic. The fuel that drives the engine is the perpetual rage of the insane, doomed soul within.
They are a form of undead bound to a golem body. It is said that the doomed souls that inhabit the arcane mechanism once belonged to victims that were cruelly tortured for extended periods of time, sometimes even years. All sorts of deprivations and injuries were inflicted upon them until finally they were driven mad and then burned alive. But, before their souls could escape they were bound to these metal shells. Their madness and rage fuel the supernatural fire which engulfs their undead forms, which in turn fuel the mechanisms within the golem body. The unholy, undead amalgam of rage, madness and nigh unbreakable metal create a formidable servant for those vile and skilled enough to work the necessary rituals.
Holocaust engines are accursed amalgams of undead flesh and mechanical artifice animated through dark magic.
The party has been contracted by a religious order known throughout the kingdom for their good works. They are chiefly known for their efforts to assist the downtrodden of the community. They heal the sick, feed the hungry and clothe the destitute. None in the kingdom can speak ill of the order, they are bastions of benevolence and philanthropy. And so, when the word goes out that a series of abductions from the church's orphanages has occurred, the common folk demand an investigation. As the party pieces together clues in their hunt for the missing children, they will eventually discover the children were taken by an evil wizard that hopes to use them to create holocaust engines. The wizard has tried and failed with adults, so this time her plan is to start with children in hopes that the necessary torture will be more effective on them.
The party has been traveling overland for quite some time. A break in the wilderness reveals a narrow road leading to a small hamlet. Weary to the bone, they decide to get some food and drink. The service is good and they decide to stay the night. Everyone is offered a nightcap before they retire to their beds. Unfortunately, they have been drugged. When they wake up they discover they are in some sort of dungeon. All of their companions are there with them. A few travelers they had seen at the inn are imprisoned with them as well. In the distance, the screams of someone in agony echo. [REFEREE'S NOTE: They have been sold to a mad wizard who is attempting to make his first holocaust engine.]
Ictshosh: They are the weird undead remnants of an ancient race of alien sorcerers. It is rumored that their civilization collapsed upon itself as the most powerful sorcerers within it discovered a way to cheat death by consuming the souls of their brethren.
Ignus Mortis: Ignus mortis were once mortal spellcasters with some red dragon blood in their lineage. Their draconic grandsire has granted them this boon of fiery undeath.
They are the undead revenants of spellcasters that had some red dragon in their lineage. At some point in their careers they discovered their ancestry allowed them a path to immortality should they choose to risk it. The supplicant must perform a ritual that transmutes their corporeal body into an astral state. Afterwards they rise through the planes seeking the grandsire of their draconic line. Once they transition to an astral state there really is no going back. And they may well wander the outer planes for eternity in search of the ancient wyrm. But should they prove successful, their grandsire grants them the peculiar boon of this form of undeath. Most are driven insane by the transformation but as they age and the centuries pass they often begin to recall their former lives.
They cannot reproduce and seem to prefer a solitary existence.
The party is contracted by a secretive conclave of wizards. The conclave wants to reclaim an ancient tome from the vaults beneath a tower of one of their esteemed alumni. According to their records, this archmage conducted a ritual to travel into the upper planes in search of the boon of immortality from an ancient dragon residing beyond the mortal realm. The conclave's records indicate the wizard has been gone for three centuries. In the many years since, they have studied the ritual he conducted and believe he may have returned to his tower in the form of an ignus mortis. They have some knowledge of the ignus mortis (so you can reveal a bit of the Lore section if you wish) but do not wish to engage the revenant of their old colleague directly for fear that his fiery wrath might be kindled against them.
Killdrone:Reanimated dead infected with an alien disease. They are transmogrified and forever enslaved as part of a vast collective serving some abominable, insectile hive queen.
Rumor holds that these strange beings were once normal folk. But, they have since been transmogrified into these monstrosities through some sort of infection. A number of learned individuals that have encountered them and lived to tell the tale claim these freaks are the reanimated corpses of those slain by other beings such as this. Apparently the creatures pass some sort of egg or spore into those they have slain. The infection then returns them to a warped, shambling semblance of life, granting them an unnatural vigor and completely stealing their minds. A warped shell and rending claws soon encase the converted victims. The carapace continues to grow throughout their weird half-life and they eventually grow into armored behemoths. Sages that have studied these strange monstrosities and their infectious taint speculate it may spread to any animal, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Little is known about the origin of these creatures. It is speculated they are extraplanar in origin.
The party is resting between quests in a quaint little village. When they are in the tavern word begins to spread of a recent tragedy in a nearby hamlet. A group of killdrones happened across some folk toiling in the fields there. All of those in the fields were slain (estimate around 2d6+6). [REFEREE'S NOTE:The village has gathered the corpses of their fallen brethren in a central building while awaiting the return of their priest from his annual pilgrimage. The corpses will soon reanimate and begin to slaughter for their queen. If only the villagers knew the impending doom within their midst.]
The party has gotten word of strange goings on from the local thieves guild. Many of their beggars and pickpockets have gone missing recently. [REFEREE'S NOTE: Unbeknownst to all, a killdrone that has retained its mind has been slowly spreading its taint amongst the castoffs of society. Many urchins, beggars and thieves have already been converted and serve the hive. The leader is planning a massive assault on an isolated ward of the city.]
Mantid Stitch Golem: Pack-hunting undead predators stitched together from various corpses, human and otherwise. The spirits that animate them are said to be arachnids drawn from some infernal realm.
Stitch golems are a recent development amongst some of the more imaginative necromantic circles. The first stitch golems were created when a group of pioneering black magicians realized what new realms of horror and utility could be discovered by integrating knowledge and techniques from flesh golem crafting with their own necromantic works.
This particular form of stitch golem is rumored to house a demonic insect or arachnid from some blasted hell dimension. This is where the creature gains its predatory nature and desire to hunt even though it need not eat to continue its loathsome existence.
A young and upcoming necromancer has decided to stake a claim to a sacred forest. He hopes to desecrate the wood and build a tower deep within it. The project is a bit ambitious and isn’t expected to be completed for a few years. At this point though he has been constructing mantid stitch golems to infest the forest.
A wicked and demented old wizard has been kidnapping children and taking them to his hidden lair deep below the sewers of the city. The way is treacherous and filled with all manner of beasts and demons, such as his newly crafted mantid stitch golems.
They are sapient fungal life forms that originate from the disgusting charnel soup that forms in mass graves. There is some evidence that indicates the dead from certain plagues are more likely to form the best and most unwholesome soil to generate these foul creatures.
Mournling: They grow from the rotten pits of mass graves.
They are often encountered in the vicinity of mass graves of plague victims. They are nasty little horrors that spring from the abject putrescence of concentrated necrosis.
Many scholars have suggested the mournlings' origins and abilities indicate the creatures are a form of undead. More research needs to be done on this. However, one strong argument that defies the undead hypothesis is the mournlings immunity to a cleric's turn undead ability.
The party will discover the merchant and his party contracted an aggressive pestilence of some sort in their final sojourn to the southern continent. The disease spread like wildfire amongst the manor's servants forcing them to heap the bodies into a pit in the neighboring woods. This mass grave spawned several mournlings that have since occupied the ruins of the manor house.
As the party explores deeper into the sewer, they discover a massive pit, easily 500 feet across with no telling how deep it is. The bizarre and macabre site appears to be something akin to a mass grave and a religious altar devoted to a god of decay. Several dozen strange fungal growths emerge from the rotting heaps of corpses within.
Ooze Lich: An ooze lich is a magic-user cursed to undeath as a toxic, oozing mass.
Legends say these creatures are the damned remnants of sorcerers and other such dabblers in the dark arts that made alliances with or somehow ran afoul of particular demonic forces aligned to a rawer, baser form of entropy than most of the demon lords.
The PCs are not aware that the wizard in question moved to this isolated area to commune with some foul spirit the mining had unearthed. The wizard has since been transformed into an ooze lich and loosed a plague that devastated the community.
REFEREE'S NOTE 1: Perhaps include the journal/diary of the ooze lich? What would such a journal detail? Maybe it details the methods by which they came to their present abominable state? If so, was it by their will or from a curse or accident? Is there a ritual of ooze lich transformation that the PCs might discover? Was the transformation instantaneous or did it progress like a wasting disease until they died only to re-awaken as an ooze lich?
Puker: These abominable flesh golems are wrought from the worst and most brutal of degenerate humanoid races.
These creatures are a form of necromantically crafted flesh golem often referred to as a puker. It is rumored their design originated in some debased northern kingdom where a guild of necromancers has risen to prominence.
This particular type of constructed undead has flourished due to an ample supply of building materials in that barbaric, mountainous place. For what it lacks in comfort, it makes up for in degenerate, brutal humanoid creatures such as ogres, orcs and hill giants. The abundance of pieces from which to assemble these noxious brutes, has made them an increasingly common sight in the fallen hinterlands of the north. Unfortunately, their dim brains only grow dimmer still upon reanimation and as such their commanders sometimes struggle to control them once blood is in the air.
Pukers are artificial beings, they are not truly alive. They are essentially a hybrid of a golem and a very large zombie. They are constructed from alchemically treated flesh harvested from numerous other creatures and granted motive spark through an infusion of the same eldritch, entropic forces that animate the undead.
The designs for these foul amalgamations of carrion monsters originate from the blasted reaches of a vast northern wasteland. However, there is nothing stopping an enterprising fleshsmith from other lands constructing more from local materials (or importing the necessary building materials from afar).
The party has been contracted by an old wizard to gather what he terms "research materials". He wants the party to bring him the corpses of large humanoids, especially ogres and hill giants. He can furnish them with maps to the locations of several tribes of these creatures. He has no interest in their treasures and encourages the party to keep them. As he does so, he jokes about having once been a destitute adventurer himself once. He offers 800gp per hill giant and 400gp per ogre. He will also pay 50gp for large orcs, 300gp for minotaurs and 75gp for bugbears. [REFEREE'S NOTE: If ever asked why he needs so many of these corpses, he will say he is using them to make various potions and magic items that draw upon their strength. This is a lie. He is a necromancer and has begun constructing his own pukers.
Sungsinger, Cursed Druid That has Made a Pact With a Dark Archfey, Cursed Nature Priest Who Delved Too Deeply Into Darkened Forbidden Woods and Made a Pact With the Maleficent and Capricious Fey That Dwell Therein: Sungsingers are cursed druids that have made pacts with dark archfey.
An elven settlement is seeking to retake one of their ancient sites. The whole site is an immense megalithic runestone roughly half a mile in diameter. It was lost to them centuries ago when its chief caretaker foolishly trusted an evil archfey. The unfortunate priest was twisted into a sungsinger which has haunted the site ever since.
Unborn Assassin, Horrific Born Undead Offspring of a Blood Witch: The unborn assassin are a form of undead that are actually birthed from the fetid, unholy womb of a blood witch. Although these monsters call a blood witch mother, none can truly say what species fathers them or if there is some form a peculiar alchemy or sorcery that causes them to develop as they do.
They are named unborn as they are born undead from the womb of a blood witch.
Unseelie Treant, Typical Unseelie Treant: Unseelie treants are suffused with the same unholy energy that animates undead, as such they share many of the same dark abilities. Chief amongst the unseelie treant's bag of tricks is its ability to inflict energy drain, those slain via this attack immediately become zombies under the control of the unseelie treant that slew them. This has caused many sages to ponder whether or not the unseelie treants themselves might actually be a form of undead.
An unseelie treant is usually (but not always) the result of an evil, darkling fey awakening a tree to sapience. Unseelie treants are also able to create others of their own kind through similar enchantments but usually it is a temporary animation. However the taint sometimes lingers and the minion becomes an independent creature. In rarer cases, these monsters come about through the degeneration or corruption of a normal treant. Some sages posit any sufficient corruption by necrotic energy could warp a normal treant into an unseelie treant. It's also rumored that some dark rituals exist that can birth an unseelie treant, the core component of this ritual is a mass slaughter within a dark forest. It's said that slaughter does not need to be fresh, so perhaps the remnants of an ancient battle where a forest has grown might suffice.
Unseelie treants are suffused with the same unholy energy that animates undead, as such they share many of the same dark abilities. Chief amongst the unseelie treant's bag of tricks is its ability to inflict energy drain, those slain via this attack immediately become zombies under the control of the unseelie treant that slew them. This has caused many sages to ponder whether or not the unseelie treants themselves might actually be a form of undead. Another similarity unseelie treants share with undead is a vulnerability to silver as well as sunlight.
Through some unknowable eldritch means, even newly awakened unseelie treants are gifted with knowledge and wisdom.
Woe Reaper, Undead Spirit of an Insane Farmer That Killed Their Family Out of a Sense of Misplaced Mercy During Famine, Undead Spirit of a Farmer Bound to a Crudely Wrought Golem Body That Resembles a Scarecrow, Doomed Soul of One That Killed Their Own Kin During a Period of Famine: They are the undead spirits of farmers bound to crudely wrought golem bodies that resemble scarecrows. The damned ghosts which animate these terrifying effigies all have the same macabre provenance. They are the doomed souls of those that killed their own kin during periods of famine.
They cannot reproduce themselves and are only wrought through very specific necromantic rituals. These rituals require the damned souls of farmers that murdered their own kin during a famine. This specific requirement has potent, occult significance and is absolutely necessary for the ritual to be effective. Some sages familiar with the lore of the woe reapers suggest the material used to construct the golem body of the things must also be taken from the land of the murderous farmer.
This area is haunted by 1d3+1 woe reapers. They are the murderous revenants of the farmer and his son(s). And, the owl in the barn is the familiar of the necromancer that resurrected them to their present accursed state. These are the first woe reapers the necromancer has created and she is immensely interested in seeing how they perform.
Wretched Orphan, Accursed Animated Husk of a Child That Died a Slow Lingering Death, Revenant of a Child Driven Mad With Frief and Pain Before Dying: The accursed, animated husk of a child that died a slow lingering death.
These strange undead are the revenants of children driven mad with grief and pain before dying. They usually befell some form of tragedy and torture which abruptly robbed them of their senses. Bereft of their wits and likely alone, they lingered on the brink of death for long periods of time. Not knowing day from night and always on the verge of expiration. Eventually, when they died they could not achieve final rest and awoke to this tormented twilight existence.
An adult humanoid slain by a wretched orphan rises 24 hours later as a ghoul under the wretched orphan's control, unless the humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed. A child slain by this attack will rise again within 24 hours as a wretched orphan with its own free will.
Batos, Ancient and Powerful Demonic Sorcerer, Tall Gangly Humanoid Clad in a Suit of Baroque Rusted Black Plate, Powerful Macabre Being, Demon, Extremely Ancient Undead Spellcaster Which has Gained Rank and Recognition Within the Hierarchy of the Infernal Realms, Independent Sovereign, Advanced Form of Lich, Powerful Being Immune to Mundane Attacks and Psychic Influence, Potent Spellcaster, Consummate Traveler, Incorporeal Demon With No Internal Process, Advanced Form of Undead: ?
Batos, Ruler, Fiend: ?
Blade Wraith, Undead Assassin, Hunched Figure Wrapped in a Tattered Cloak, Horrific Apparition, Corporeal Undead, Fleshless Spirit, Most Vicious of Black-Hearted Killers Risen from the Grave: ?
Breghin, Undead Shade of an Executioner, Tall Human-Sized Figure, Weird Creature, Corporeal Undead, Especially Dangerous Foe: ?
Chronocrat, Undead Wizard, Emaciated Robed Humanoid With a Monstrously Elongated Head, Freakish Apparition, Weird Figure, Malicious Revenant, Undead Remnants of a Wizard That Delved Too Deeply Into the Study and Manipulation of Time: ?
Enraged Chronocrat: ?
Eldritch Ghoul, Undead Abomination, Young Beautiful Noble, Large Lanky Nightmarish and Apparently Skinless Abomination, Undead Horror, Dapper Young Man of Means and Obvious Aristocratic Lineage, Cunning Cowardly Fiend, Undead Revenant, Foul Being, Mysterious Gentleman: ?
Eldritch Ghoul, Mysterious Nobleman, Master: ?
Famine Hound, Undead Beast, Large Dog-Like Monster Roughly 6 Feet in Length and Standing 3 or 4 Feet at the Shoulder, Weird Monster, Blasphemous Horror, Accursed Spirit of One That Betrayed Their neighbors and Kin During Times of Famine, Doomed Soul Cursed to Wander For Eternity in This Abominable Bestial Form, Formidable Adversary: ?
Headhaunter, Gruesome Headless Undead, Emaciated Headless Body, Emaciated Humanoid With a Flaming Head Floating Just Above the Stump of a Neck, Weird Creature, Brutal Killer, Cunning Malicious Undead: ?
Headhaunter, Desiccated Headless Corpse: ?
Headhaunter, Desiccated Headless Corpse With a Floating Head Wreathed in Flames: ?
Holocaust Engine, Unholy Machine, Engine, Large Gangly Four-Armed Humanoid Construct With a Flaming Skull in Place of a Head, Macabre Thing, Form of Undead Bound to a Golem Body, Unholy Undead Amalgam of Rage Madness and Nigh Unbreakable Metal, Accursed Amalgam of Undead Flesh and Mechanical Artifice, Undead Spirit, Perpetual Machine, Horror, Minion, Mechanical Monster: ?
Ictshosh, Undead Remnants of An Ancient Race of Alien Sorcerers, Immortal Fearless Tyrant, Armored Humanoid Roughly the Size of a Very Large Man, Weird Undead Remnants of an Ancient Race of Alien Sorcerers, Sorcerer of Legendary Power: ?
Ignus Mortis, Blazing Conflagration About 9 Feet Tall Apparently Attempting to Mimic a Humanoid Form, Swirling Inferno, Roaring Tumult of Supernatural Fire in the Rough Semblance of a Robed Man, Undead Revenant of a Spellcaster That Had Some Red Dragon in Their Lineage, Roaring Consumptive Fire Made Incarnate, Vengeful Spirit, Revenant, Undead Pyromaniacal Mage: ?
Killdrone, Reanimated Dead Infected With an Alien Disease, Weird Looking Humanoid, Strange Being, Monstrosity, Freak, Reanimated Corpse, Converted Victim, Armored Behemoth, Strange Monstrosity, Armored Monstrosity, Horrific Thing: ?
Killdrone, Beast Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals.
Killdrone, Bear Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals.
Killdrone, Deer Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals.
Killdrone, Wolf Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals.
Killdrone, Humanoid Covered in Some Weird Shell: Several farming communities in the hinterlands have reported attacks from armored monstrosities that swarm out of the forests and slaughter those at work in the fields. Most of the creatures look like beasts such as bears, deer and wolves covered in some weird shells, but a growing number of them appear to be humanoid. Luckily the horrific things are slowed by their armored plating and many folk were able to flee and request aid from their lords. It is no longer safe to tend the crops and most of the people hide in their homes behind barred doors and boarded up windows. The lords of these rural counties have been unable to remedy the situation and have decided to seek the aid of the party. [REFEREE'S NOTE: A foolish wizard has been studying the contagion which creates killdrones. He succeeded in spreading it into animals but in the process was bitten by one of the infected animals. The wizard has slowly been mutating into a killdrone himself and his dreams are haunted by the honeyed promises of a hivequeen.
Mantid Stitch Golem, Pack-Hunting Undead Predator Stitched Together From Various Corpses, Large Wiry Assemblage of Several Stitched Together Bodies, Abomination, Loathsome Stitched Together Undead Thing, Stealthy Pack-Hunting Predator, Stitch Golem, Foul Monster: ?
Stitch Golem: Stitch golems are a recent development amongst some of the more imaginative necromantic circles. The first stitch golems were created when a group of pioneering black magicians realized what new realms of horror and utility could be discovered by integrating knowledge and techniques from flesh golem crafting with their own necromantic works.
Mournling, Weird Little Sapient Fungal Humanoid, Nauseating Sight, Small Nominally Humanoid Thing Roughly the Size of a Toddler, Strange Thing, Sapient Fungal Life Form, Foul Creature, Form of Fungal Life, Nasty Little Horror: ?
Ooze Lich, Toxic Oozing Mass, foul, Oozing Mass of Putrescence Vaguely Resembling a Humanoid Skeleton, Sickening Thing, Master of Illusion, Dangerous Tricksy Horror, Disgusting Thing, Agglomeration of Foulness: ?
Ooze Lich, Damned Remnant of a Sorcerer That Made Alliances With Particular Demonic Forces Aligned to a Rawer Baser Form of Entropy Than Most of the Demon Lords: ?
Ooze Lich, Damned Remnant of a Sorcerer That Somehow Ran Afoul of Particular Demonic Forces Aligned to a Rawer Baser Form of Entropy Than Most of the Demon Lords: ?
Ooze Lich, Damned Remnant of a Dabbler in the Dark Arts That Made Alliances With Particular Demonic Forces Aligned to a Rawer Baser Form of Entropy Than Most of the Demon Lords: ?
Ooze Lich, Damned Remnant of a Dabbler in the Dark Arts That Somehow Ran Afoul of Particular Demonic Forces Aligned to a Rawer Baser Form of Entropy Than Most of the Demon Lords: ?
Puker, Stitched Together Ghoulish Effigy of Abject Gluttony, Rotting Avatar of Unreasoning Violence, Abominable Flesh Golem, Hulking Rotten Creature Roughly the Size of Two Obese Ogres Stacked, Necromantically Crafted Flesh Golem, Constructed Undead, Noxious Brute, Fearsome Brute, Artificial Being, Hybrid of a Golem and a Very Large Zombie, Foul Amalgamation of Carrion Monsters, Cruel Beast: ?
Sungsinger, Six-Armed Skull Faced Humanoid With Long Antlers, Frightening Creature, Undead Nature Spirit, Unnatural Perversion of Nature's Tendency to Consume Itself, Malignant Spirit: ?
Sungsinger, Cursed Kindred: ?
Sungsinger, Cursed Brother: ?
Unborn Assassin, Small Creature Resembling the Skeleton of a Human Infant With Four Spidery Forelimbs Ending in Razor-Sharp Blades, Cunning Stealthy Pack Hunter: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animate Tree Writ Into a Vaguely Humanoid Aspect Possessed of Malevolent Sapience and Suffused with Necrotic Energy, Huge Gnarled Vaguely Humanoid Figure, Horrific Thing, Mutant Vegetation, Freakish Monster, Plant, Malignant Plant, Predator, Unclean Thing: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animated Tree But With Stamped With a Decidedly Ghoulish Aspect: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animated Tree But With Stamped With a Decidedly Demonic Aspect: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animated Plant But With Stamped With a Decidedly Ghoulish Aspect: ?
Unseelie Treant, Animated Plant But With Stamped With a Decidedly Demonic Aspect: ?
Woe Reaper, Tall Humanoid Figure, Wretched Apparition, Damned Ghost, Terrifying Effigy, Murderous Tatterdemalion Marionette, Dry Husk of Sticks and Straw, Undead Spirit, Murderous Revenant: ?
Wretched Orphan, Normal Child, Animated Cadaver of What Appears to be a Small Child, Horrid Thing, Shivering Waif, Strange Undead, Horrific Creature, Undead Fiend: ?
Wretched Orphan, Little Master: ?
Undead, Undead Being, Undead Creature, Undead Thing: A room in the abandoned monastery the players are exploring is being ransacked by a cerberan. The creature does not attack immediately but waits for the players to speak. If the party seems amenable, it offers them a king’s ransom for their assistance in tracking down the soul of a heretical monk that has escaped Tartarus. It describes the sins of the monk in gruesome detail and the players realize that a series of murders fitting that modus operandi have been occurring throughout the city recently. [REFEREE'S NOTE: Consider how might the monk’s soul appear now? Is he able to possess the flesh of another and control their actions? Or perhaps, is he some form of undead? If he is undead, is he corporeal or incorporeal?
They [pukers] are constructed from alchemically treated flesh harvested from numerous other creatures and granted motive spark through an infusion of the same eldritch, entropic forces that animate the undead.
Unseelie treants are suffused with the same unholy energy that animates undead, as such they share many of the same dark abilities.
Undead Minion: ?
Undead Thrall: And don't forget, she can cast animate dead repeatedly, as such she [the aurhai] is likely to have several undead thralls to defend her if she is forced to fight.
More Intelligent Undead: ?
Sapient Undead: ?
Corporeal Undead: ?
Incorporeal Undead: ?
Undead Servant, Undead Lackey: ?
Ghostly Shade: ?
Ghost: ?
Ghoul, Typical Ghoul: Any damage inflicted via the bolac's bite can only be healed by natural means (no magical healing is possible). Additionally, the points of damage inflicted by the bite of a bolac also indicate the percentage chance of the victim contracting a blood infection which will slowly kill them (in 2d20 days) and then transform them into a ghoul. No additional saving throw is allowed versus the disease. The percentage chance of infection is cumulative with multiple bites. The infection is supernatural in origin and can only be cured via a remove curse spell or similar magic.
Although their demonic lineage has never been proven, the bolac has an affinity for filth, rot and hunger that is far more than what a mortal creature should be capable of. In fact their great, tearing beaks can infect victims with a wasting disease that eventually transforms them into ghouls. According to many sages, such a thing should be impossible. They say a mortal being should not be able to transmit the curse of undeath, and yet the bolac can and do. And, the ghouls they beget can create other ghouls as well.
Unbeknownst to all, a bolac tribe has been instructed to form a ghoul horde by their demonic grandsire within the infernal realm. To this end, the bolac tribe has been slowly infesting outlying farming communities.
Within the cave are a handful of survivors (1d4+3). All are infected with the weird pestilence that will kill them and transform them into ghouls.
A person drained of all levels [by a fellsworne's energy drain power] becomes a ghoul immediately, under the control of the fellsworne.
They are also able to create ghouls via their energy drain ability, these creatures will generally be used as a barrier between the fellsworne and any melee threats.
Any slain by a fellsworne via this energy drain will immediately become a ghoul under the control of the fellsworne that killed them.
An adult humanoid slain by a wretched orphan rises 24 hours later as a ghoul under the wretched orphan's control, unless the humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed.
Ghoul, Ghoul Minion: ?
Ghoul, Roaming Undead: ?
Lich, Immensely Powerful and Malignant Being, Powerful Evil Monster, Monstrous Spellcaster: ?
Insectile Lich Queen: ?
Mummy: Targets [of a swamp leviathan's sting attack] must save versus poison or suffer from painful, jerking spasms for 2d6 turns. Those affected have a –4 penalty to attack rolls and AC. If the condition persists longer than 5 turns, they die and transform into mummies under the control of the swamp leviathan.
Shadow, Shadowy Undead Remnant: If reduced to 0 STR [from a batos's strength drain attack], the victim immediately becomes a shadow under the control of the batos that killed it.
A person drained of all levels [by a blade wraith's sword] becomes a shadow, under the control of the blade wraith that killed them.
If reduced to 0 STR [from a heartbreaker's strength drain attack], the victim becomes a shadow under the heartbreaker’s control.
Additionally those slain by the heartbreaker are torn loose from our reality and taken to the weird in-between place the heartbreakers hail from. They become shadowy undead remnants of themselves and are compelled to serve the heartbreaker.
A person drained of all levels [from a hound of Tindalos's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a shadow, under the control of the hound of tindalos that killed them.
The monster appears and begins to feast upon the weakest mortals it can reach. Villagers, hirelings and tavern rabble die very quickly and return as shadows under the hound’s control.
The hound of tindalos has decimated apprentice mages by the score and many have returned as shadows.
Heartbreaker's Heartbreaker power.
Shadow, Undead Minion, Minion, Shadow Minion: ?
Skeleton: A person drained of all levels [by an ooze lich's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a skeleton, under the control of the ooze lich that killed them.
Skeleton, Undead Minion: ?
Skeleton, Roaming Undead: ?
Skeleton, Silent Hooded Stranger, Hooded Stranger: ?
Vampire: ?
Wight: Those slain from the melee attacks of an ictshosh immediately become wights under the control of the ictshosh which killed them.
As undead creatures, they do not reproduce biologically. But, those slain by the soul-wrenching chill of an ictshosh’s melee attacks will become wights under its control. Ictshosh will often use these wights to guard their innumerable lairs and hidden troves of esoteric lore. Occasionally an ictshosh will enact a series of rituals to imbue its wight servants with the power to cast magicuser spells. But, for the rituals to be successful the wight must have had some magical talent in its mortal life.
The ictshosh will always attempt to deliver the killing blow in melee so that its victim will return as a wight servant.
An ancient library has been attacked from within by an ictshosh and several (1d4+2) of its wight acolytes (able to cast as a magic-user of 1d4+5 levels). Unfortunately, the wizard and his students charged with guarding the library were no match for the creature and have already been converted to wights (1d4+2).
Clerics that renounce their faith and pledge themselves to an imhothaeyl can add three points to their ability scores. The points may be added to one or several scores. No score may be increased above 18. However, they must accept an alignment change to chaotic. And if they are ever slain they will be resurrected as wights to serve their new alien god. Additionally if they should ever try to renounce the imhothaeyl they must save versus death or become a wight immediately. They must do this everyday they resist the imhothaeyl.
A person drained of all levels [by a sungsinger's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a wight, under the control of the sungsinger that killed them.
Sungsingers have a variety of ways to create minions amongst their magical powers. They might also use their energy drain to create wights, perhaps even wights from animals.
Their [yodzhots] devastating attacks drain life from their victims, and those who are slain return as wights to serve them.
A person drained of all levels [by a yodzhot's energy drain attack] becomes a wight, under the control of the yodzhot that killed them.
Yodzhot can deliver terrifyingly powerful blows in melee that rend flesh, crush bone and drain life. Anyone that falls to such attacks will reanimate as wights to serve the will of the yodzhot.
Thaumagrue Vomit Wights power.
Wight, More Intelligent Undead: ?
Wight, Wight Servant, Wight Acolyte: ?
Wight, Undead Thrall, Wight Thrall: ?
Artificial Life Form: An organism slain by this [uathu's energy drain] attack essentially becomes an artificial life form. (Treat them as wights with no vulnerability to silver and a melee attack of 1d6.) These transformed beings are under the control of the uathau. They also must feed on the life energy of another creature in a similar manner within 1d4+1 days or collapse into a pile of nanodust. Those they feed upon will also be similarly transformed. All will obey the will of the uathau that started the chain.
Additionally, the uathau can discorporate the creatures it has sired and reform the eldritch metal of their bodies into all manner of structures, devices or even larger servants. An uathau may only control up to 3x its HD in creatures at a time. If the uathau opts to pool its minions into larger servants, simply add the HDs together and improve the AC and melee attack by one step per minion added (don’t forget to improve the THAC0 and SV to reflect the larger HD). If the uathau opts to use its minions to make a wall or similar structure, estimate that 1HD equals 5’.
This stuff that they so desire is created by the transmission of a peculiar eldritch virus that transforms living matter into an incredibly fine metallic dust (nanodust) which the uathau can shape at will. The life energy of the victim is also transferred to the uathau as nourishment. Sentient creatures transformed by the disease become artificial life forms. As the disease takes hold, their flesh is converted into metal, cogs, wires, etc. The transformed are compelled to serve the uathau that sired them. They in turn must feed in a similar manner within a few days or collapse into a pile of nanodust. The uathau can manipulate any of its servants or the dust at will. They can be remade into all manner of things. Those that have been transformed by the disease can transmit it as well, but they will never be masters of those they infect. All are subject to the will of the uathau that started the chain of infection. But, an uathau may only have direct influence over three times its HD in minions at one time.
Artificial Life Form, Transformed Being, Minion, Servant, Nanodust, Metallic Undead: ?
Wraith: A person drained of all levels [by a chronocrat's energy drain attack] becomes a wraith immediately, under the control of the chronocrat.
A person drained of all levels [by a zosara's energy drain attack] becomes a wraith immediately, under the control of the zosara.
Zombie: Eventually allow the party to learn of a cult ritual happening soon. If the party follows the rumor they find a debased orgiastic rite. The cultists are masked and rutting like beasts in a stinking, charnel pit before an effigy resembling a giant, horned grub. They are summoning their awrahim patron. When it appears, several cultists lay before it and commit ritual suicide. Moments later they rise as zombies and kneel before the awrahim.
Victims slain from this [decapitation from a breghin's vorpal] attack become zombies in eternal service to the breghin. Zombies created in this fashion appear totally unimpeded by the lack of a head. They are capable of sensing their environment and maneuvering within it even though headless.
Those who are decapitated by a breghin become headless zombies.
If reduced to 0 CON [by a dreg's constitution drain attack], the victim becomes a zombie.
Those slain by an eldritch ghoul become zombies 3 days later (under their killer’s control).
Any slain by an eldritch ghoul will return as zombies three days later under their killer’s control.
If reduced to 0 STR [from a mournling's strength drain attack], the victim becomes a zombie.
And, once they do so, the mournlings will deploy their weird, snaking tendrils. The tendrils are infused with the entropic energies that animate mournlings and allow them to drain STR from their victims. As the tendrils drain the life from their victims, it actually feels oddly pleasant. Victims of the attack have described it as feeling like being kissed by a puppy. Because the attack does not feel painful, victims will not be roused from their enchantment by it. Those that are slain from the attack become infested with some of the bizarre fungus that gives the mournlings life, and will reanimate as zombies under the mournling's control in short order.
They [obghryls] spew a toxic, greasy spittle that slowly kills. The slain return as zombies to serve the alien will of their new master.
The dead [from an obghryl's spit attack] reanimate as zombies in the next round to serve the alien will of the creature. Only a neutralize poison spell will remove the affliction [from the spit attack].
Word has reached the party that a cult accidentally summoned an obghryl a few days ago. The obghryl has since converted 3d12 of the cultists into zombies. The obghryl and its rotting minions seem to have taken up residence in the sewers beneath a corner of the city. The zombies continually abduct folk and drag them away to their master for conversion.
Eventually the party will learn that the obghryl has been entering the homes of folk throughout the city and spewing its toxin on them as they sleep. Those that succumb to the poison and die are zombies, but the obghryl wills them to remain motionless and appear as corpses.
A person drained of all levels [by a swamp leviathan's energy drain attack] becomes a zombie immediately, under the control of the swamp leviathan.
A person drained of all levels [by an unseelie treant's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a zombie, under the control of the unseelie treant that killed them.
Chief amongst the unseelie treant's bag of tricks is its ability to inflict energy drain, those slain via this attack immediately become zombies under the control of the unseelie treant that slew them.
A person drained of all levels [by a zahashur's energy drain attack] immediately becomes a zombie, under the control of the zahashur that killed them.
These creatures [zahashurs] drain the souls of their victims in a manner similar to that of some undead. Any slain by their soul draining hunger will return as animated corpses under the zahashur’s control.
Zombie, Shambling Undead, Animated Corpse: ?
Zombie, Table Servant: ?
Zombie, Headless Zombie Minion, Headless Zombie: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of a Beggar: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of an Urchin: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of a Drunk: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of a Vagrant: ?
Zombie, Reanimated Corpse of a Prostitute: ?
Zombie, Zombie Thrall, Rotting Minion, Zombie Minion: ?
Zombie, Silent Hooded Stranger, Hooded Stranger: ?
Zombie, Undead Guard: ?
• HEARTBREAKER Tears out target's heart on a natural 20 to-hit. The target dies immediately, becoming a shadow under the heartbreaker’s control. The heartbreaker regains HP equal to the amount of the victim's original STR score.
VOMIT WIGHTS Each round of combat, there is a 2-in-6 chance a thaumagrue will puke up 1d3 corpses which reanimate the next round as wights under its command.
Voadam
Legend
Voadam
Legend
Creature Feature Quarterly vol. 11 (OSE)
Basic
Shambler Fungus: An infectious alien spore that kills and reanimates mammals. It uses the shambling, reanimated husks of its victims as vehicles to spread its vile contagion. Although the reanimated cadavers resemble zombies, they do not spring from necromantic magic. However, they are still vulnerable to the turn undead ability of clerics. This has led to much speculation about the origins of the alien spore.
Any mammal slain by shambler fungus spores or the attacks of a shambler fungus host will return from death as a shamber fungus host in 1d4 turns.
These silent shambling horrors are often mistaken for zombies, but they are not spawned by necromancy. No, these macabre things are birthed from an alien spore that fell to our plane about a decade hence. As the story goes, a falling star crashed near a mining community in the far north. When the locals went to investigate, they found a hot black rock the size of a cart. They also spotted what appeared to be a vein of gold in its crust. So they let the rock cool, then two stout men took their picks to it. It was hard going at first, but once they had cracked the black shell they did indeed find gold. A layer of the stuff several inches thick all along the interior of the crust.
And so, having found gold, they dug deeper. They discovered the deeper they dug that most of the stone was composed of a stinking, fibrous matter. Some compared it to a dead tree, others to a rotten mushroom. But their greed compelled them to dig deeper still. Soon one of the picks punctured a bladder in the core of the thing and plumes of black spores burst from it. Those in the vicinity took to coughing. Some lost consciousness.
All that were there fell ill. At first the malady only seemed to weaken some, others fell into a deep slumber. All of the infected were dead within hours. The sheriff insisted the bodies be gathered in one building. It was there that he observed the corpses, believing something more malign to be afoot. As he watched, the corpses began to shrivel. Almost immediately strange fungal growths began to run riot in their dead flesh. Puffy purplish bladders, vine-like growths, and long thorns emerged within less than two hours. He was transfixed at the horror of the scene.
Recognizing a contagion, he called for oil and torches and set the building alight. Those that watched the building burn that night, say they saw the dead stumbling around in the blaze. By the morning, nothing but ash and charred bone remained. After the macabre events, they noticed a creeping silence in the surrounding woods over the next few days. Before the week was out infected woodland creatures began to approach the town.
These shambling cadavers are desiccated husks an alien fungus has colonized and reanimated. Curiously, the spores only affect mammals. They exist solely as vehicles to spread their infectious eldritch spores. Once the spores have infected a host, they quickly kill them and drain the fluid from the soft tissues of the body. The fluids are used to fuel the rapid development of fungal growths throughout the host. The musculature remains but becomes withered and leathery, just barely sufficient to enable movement. [REFEREE'S NOTE: Although these disgusting abominations are not the product of necromancy, they are vulnerable to the turn undead ability of clerics. This has led to considerable speculation regarding the origin of the spores and the fallen stars that bring them.]
A royal feast is nigh and the huntsman has returned with a large boar. [REFEREE'S NOTE: Unfortunately the boar was recently infected with shambler fungus. The beast had not yet begun to show symptoms but will spread the contagion to anyone that eats its flesh. Is there a reason for the party to be at the feast or in the vicinity? Perhaps the huntsman knew of the taint and betrayed the king? Perhaps the huntsman included the party in his plot? Clever adventurers of questionable morals might take advantage of this gruesome happening. Before the sun rises the next day, the whole palace could be infected. The king and his court would be mindlessly shuffling the corridors with all their finery intact and the treasury unguarded.
Shambler Fungus, Vehicle for the Spores Which Infest Their Flesh, Loathsome Thing, Silent Shambling Horror, Shambling Cadaver, Desiccated Husk, Disgusting Abomination, Host, Husk, Infected: ?
Shambler Fungus, Gaunt Humanoid Figure: ?
Shambler Fungus, Infected Woodland Creature: ?
Undead, Restless Dead: They [blood witches] harvest the seed of mortal males and use it to give birth to myriad monsters, mutants and even undead.
They utilize the seed of male captives to birth monsters. A blood witch once satiated will lay an egg that can develop into various aberrant things. Somewhat paradoxically, a blood witch can even give birth to undead.
Aberrant Progeny: ?
Lesser Undead: The standard method of golem construction rips an unknown and unwilling spirit from a random elemental plane and forces it to animate a crudely wrought vessel. The same basic principle is applied to creating lesser undead as well.
Zombie: ?
Basic
Shambler Fungus: An infectious alien spore that kills and reanimates mammals. It uses the shambling, reanimated husks of its victims as vehicles to spread its vile contagion. Although the reanimated cadavers resemble zombies, they do not spring from necromantic magic. However, they are still vulnerable to the turn undead ability of clerics. This has led to much speculation about the origins of the alien spore.
Any mammal slain by shambler fungus spores or the attacks of a shambler fungus host will return from death as a shamber fungus host in 1d4 turns.
These silent shambling horrors are often mistaken for zombies, but they are not spawned by necromancy. No, these macabre things are birthed from an alien spore that fell to our plane about a decade hence. As the story goes, a falling star crashed near a mining community in the far north. When the locals went to investigate, they found a hot black rock the size of a cart. They also spotted what appeared to be a vein of gold in its crust. So they let the rock cool, then two stout men took their picks to it. It was hard going at first, but once they had cracked the black shell they did indeed find gold. A layer of the stuff several inches thick all along the interior of the crust.
And so, having found gold, they dug deeper. They discovered the deeper they dug that most of the stone was composed of a stinking, fibrous matter. Some compared it to a dead tree, others to a rotten mushroom. But their greed compelled them to dig deeper still. Soon one of the picks punctured a bladder in the core of the thing and plumes of black spores burst from it. Those in the vicinity took to coughing. Some lost consciousness.
All that were there fell ill. At first the malady only seemed to weaken some, others fell into a deep slumber. All of the infected were dead within hours. The sheriff insisted the bodies be gathered in one building. It was there that he observed the corpses, believing something more malign to be afoot. As he watched, the corpses began to shrivel. Almost immediately strange fungal growths began to run riot in their dead flesh. Puffy purplish bladders, vine-like growths, and long thorns emerged within less than two hours. He was transfixed at the horror of the scene.
Recognizing a contagion, he called for oil and torches and set the building alight. Those that watched the building burn that night, say they saw the dead stumbling around in the blaze. By the morning, nothing but ash and charred bone remained. After the macabre events, they noticed a creeping silence in the surrounding woods over the next few days. Before the week was out infected woodland creatures began to approach the town.
These shambling cadavers are desiccated husks an alien fungus has colonized and reanimated. Curiously, the spores only affect mammals. They exist solely as vehicles to spread their infectious eldritch spores. Once the spores have infected a host, they quickly kill them and drain the fluid from the soft tissues of the body. The fluids are used to fuel the rapid development of fungal growths throughout the host. The musculature remains but becomes withered and leathery, just barely sufficient to enable movement. [REFEREE'S NOTE: Although these disgusting abominations are not the product of necromancy, they are vulnerable to the turn undead ability of clerics. This has led to considerable speculation regarding the origin of the spores and the fallen stars that bring them.]
A royal feast is nigh and the huntsman has returned with a large boar. [REFEREE'S NOTE: Unfortunately the boar was recently infected with shambler fungus. The beast had not yet begun to show symptoms but will spread the contagion to anyone that eats its flesh. Is there a reason for the party to be at the feast or in the vicinity? Perhaps the huntsman knew of the taint and betrayed the king? Perhaps the huntsman included the party in his plot? Clever adventurers of questionable morals might take advantage of this gruesome happening. Before the sun rises the next day, the whole palace could be infected. The king and his court would be mindlessly shuffling the corridors with all their finery intact and the treasury unguarded.
Shambler Fungus, Vehicle for the Spores Which Infest Their Flesh, Loathsome Thing, Silent Shambling Horror, Shambling Cadaver, Desiccated Husk, Disgusting Abomination, Host, Husk, Infected: ?
Shambler Fungus, Gaunt Humanoid Figure: ?
Shambler Fungus, Infected Woodland Creature: ?
Undead, Restless Dead: They [blood witches] harvest the seed of mortal males and use it to give birth to myriad monsters, mutants and even undead.
They utilize the seed of male captives to birth monsters. A blood witch once satiated will lay an egg that can develop into various aberrant things. Somewhat paradoxically, a blood witch can even give birth to undead.
Aberrant Progeny: ?
Lesser Undead: The standard method of golem construction rips an unknown and unwilling spirit from a random elemental plane and forces it to animate a crudely wrought vessel. The same basic principle is applied to creating lesser undead as well.
Zombie: ?
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