Undead Origins

[Voadam]

Pathways 6

Pathways 6
Pathfinder 1e
Osirion Mummy: “Osirion mummy” is an acquired template that can be added to any living, corporeal creature.
Canopic Conversion spell.
Canopic Conversion Trap

Canopic Conversion
School necromancy [death, evil];
Level cleric/oracle9, sorcerer/wizard 9
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, F (four alabaster canopic jars worth 100 gp each), M (black onyx worth 100 gp per hit die of the target)
Range close (25 f. + 5 f./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Fortitude half;
Spell Resistance yes
This spell eviscerates the target, drawing forth his life essence as well as his internal organs. The target takes 1d6 hit points of damage per caster level (maximum 20d6). If this damage kills the target, the spell pulls his organs into a set of 4 canopic jars and seals them; 1d4 rounds later, the corpse revives as an undead with the Osirion mummy template.
The mummy is not under your control, but the canopic jars give the bearer certain powers over it. Anyone holding one of the jars can communicate with the mummy as if they share a common language. The bearer gains the benefits of protection from evil and sanctuary, but only against that mummy.
Unsealing or breaking a jar is a standard action, which dissipates its power (and protection) but lets the bearer issue a short command to the mummy, similar to a suggestion spell (Will DC 23 negates). You (and only you) may unseal all 4 jars in a 10-minute ritual to control the mummy with an effect similar to geas (Will DC 23 negates); most casters typically include a restriction that the mummy will not harm them, as unsealing the jars leaves them vulnerable.

Canopic Conversion Trap CR 10
Perception DC 34; Disable Device DC 34
Effects
Trigger touch Reset automatic
Effect spell effect (canopic conversion, caster level 18; 18d6 damage, on death creates mummy; DC 28 Fortitude half;

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 8

Pathways 8
Pathfinder 1e
Dread Revenant: Dread revenants are driven by the deities of wrath and vengeance. A dread revenant rises from the grave to hunt and kill its murderer, or who in life it perceived to be its murder, for a revenant is driven by a roaring rampage of revenge, not a quest for justice.
“Dread Revenant” is an acquired template that can be added to any living corporeal creature.
Dread Revenant Fire Giant: “The shapeshifting bastard, who had taken the form of my husband, slew me in my wedding bed. He then disguised as my chieftain and led my tribe through a trap that left them trapped between the seconds in the depths of the Obsidian Sea which lies in the lightless lands beneath Questhaven. They remain trapped there till this day. But for me there was no simple deathless sleep, trapped in time. No, my hate and grief touched Our Vicious Brother of Destruction and he sent me back for my revenge upon this nameless trickster.”
Excerpt from The Tragic Tale of Sinmara Surtdottier by Qwilion of Questhaven.
Animate Dead Revenant spell.

Animate Dread Revenant
School: Necromancy [Evil]; Level: Clr 9, Sor/Wiz 9
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, M (an onyx gem worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die of the dread revenant)
Range: Touch
Target: One corpse
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None(see text); Spell Resistance: no
You can only cast this spell on the corpse of one creature that has been slain by another living creature; it animates gaining the dread revenant creature template. If the subject's soul is not willing to return (it has no desire for vengeance), the spell does not work; therefore, a subject that wants to return receives no saving throw. The living creature that killed the dread revenant is the subject of its reason to hate special ability. Until that creature has been slain you cannot cast this spell again.

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 16

Pathways 16
Pathfinder 1e
Balor Lord Gahlgax Atarrith: Orcus personally gifted him with vampirism after Gahlgax slew a rival balor that sought (foolishly) to supplant the Prince of the Undead. In truth, the now long-forgotten balor did nothing of the sort, Gahlgax manipulated and miss-reported his rival’s actions so that it appeared he sought to steal Orcus’ famed wand. Slaying the balor, he then (humbly) presented his evidence to Orcus. Orcus, in rare good mood after torturing and dismembering a particularly obnoxious and strident paladin-hero, drank deeply of Gahlgax’s blood to create the unholy abomination that now serves him.
Gahlgax has been blessed by his patron with the powers of undeath and has all the standard undead immunities in addition to those enjoyed by normal demons.
Gravenknight Marilith Antipaladin 2 Sword of Orcus: ?
Spectral Tarantella: The souls of the two prostitutes Madam Matilda murdered during the dance haunt this room.
Mek'Madius, Human Lich Wizard 15: The Obelisk Order arrived at the projected impact location of the Shard of the Sun, faced one another and began the most powerful spell ever cast by mortals. Just as the Shard of the Sun appeared overhead, Mek’Madius sacrificed his nine apprentices and began a powerful spell of his own. The Obelisk Order was unable to stop him as their ritualistic arcane protection spell required they stay focused only on the Shard of the Sun. Mek’Madius focused the soul energy into a powerful absorption spell, attempting to siphon off a portion of the magical and radiant energy from the Shard. But Mek’Madius’s evil and selfish acts came with a price; as a fragment of the Shard of the Sun broke off and tumbled toward the earth, Mek’Madius’s very soul was drawn into the fragment. Mek’Madius’s selfishness and reckless abuse of power had transformed him into an undead creature, permanently bound to the fragment, destined to experience his living death in utter isolation.
Mek’Madius’s phylactery is not one he made by choice. Mek’Madius was reckless and utilized souls to engage his absorption spell, which in turn channeled energy through his own soul. At the same time as he completed his energy absorption, the Obelisk Order repelled the Sun Shard from impacting the planet, causing fragments to break off.
One of the largest fragments reflected the energy absorption back into Mek’Madius, pulling his soul out of his body. His soul was sucked into the sky and slammed into the fragment as it plummeted toward the earth. Mek’Madius had been transformed into a lich, and the fragment of the Shard of the Sun his phylactery. The entire event was a complete mistake, but he soon would come to see this curse as a blessing in disguise.

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 18

Pathways 18
Pathfinder 1e
Ghoul: A victim who dies of a necrowurm's necrotic fever transforms into a ghoul 10 minutes after death (a creature with 4 or more Hit Dice becomes a ghast).
To the living, the most frightening aspect of the necrowurm is the disease it carries, a necrotic fever more virulent than ghoul fever, but with the same eventual result.
Necrotic Fever disease.
Ghast: A victim who dies of a necrowurm's necrotic fever transforms into a ghoul 10 minutes after death (a creature with 4 or more Hit Dice becomes a ghast).
To the living, the most frightening aspect of the necrowurm is the disease it carries, a necrotic fever more virulent than ghoul fever, but with the same eventual result.
Necrotic Fever disease.

Necrotic Fever (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 19; onset 1 day; frequency 1 day; effect 1d4 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. A victim who dies of a necrowurm's necrotic fever transforms into a ghoul 10 minutes after death (a creature with 4 or more Hit Dice becomes a ghast).

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 19

Pathways 19
Pathfinder 1e
Witchfire Creature: The fell powers of undeath rejoice when an exceptionally vile female monstrosity dies (especially hags and witches), transforming these wicked crones into incorporeal undead known as witchfires.
“Witchfire” is an acquired template that can be added to any living, intelligent, female creature.
Mabyn The Burning Silence: ?
Black Shuck: It was many centuries ago that Black Shuck came to our world, brought on the tides of the Ancestor People of the Vikmordere. The tales of his origins are as lost as the beast itself, which wanders the land of the living, bringing only fear and death to the countryside.

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 20

Pathways 20
Pathfinder 1e
Iron Lich: Some creatures, in order to gain power and immortality, exchange their mortal flesh for a complex mechanical apparatus that sustains their existence. Its soul-powered furnace powers its intricate system of pumps and pistons granting it mobility and massive strength. Only the iron lich’s skull, floating inside its metallic hood, betrays its mortal origins, and announces its fell nature.
“Iron Lich” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature capable of creating the required mechanical body, or to any standard lich.
Soultill, Iron Lich Human Sorcerer 7/Harrower 7: ?

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 22

Pathways 22
Pathfinder 1e
Screaming C: Sometimes, when a gifted bard or other performer dies a sudden, unjust death, she creates a note of pure anguish that outlives her and seeks to inflict the pain of her demise on others.

Poltergeist: The rock fall is old – few use this trail – but as fate would have it, the fall did crush and kill a small group of lost travellers. Most of them were killed instantly, but an unlucky few survived the initial rock fall and were buried alive. These unlucky few died slowly of suffocation, unquenchable thirst or from slow blood loss from their shattered bodies. Of these, two had a maniacal, almost unshakeable grip on life, and death could not wholly claim them.
A few days after their death, these two rose again as poltergeists and have lurked in the rock fall’s vicinity ever since.

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 23

Pathways 23
Pathfinder 1e
Scorched Skeleton: Mek’Madius created this spell in an attempt to make a type of minor lich that was powered by the Fragment of the Sun Shard. They would be powerful, but not so powerful that he couldn’t control them. He wanted to create a new race of underlings, as the Aquamia was reticent to join him, and his shard-blessed creatures are not on his par intellectually. He wanted them to be able to think and reason like he did. Try as he might, he failed, leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. These bodies were taken and thrown into the cave system below the hideout and left to rot.
He began trying the spell with non-mages, hoping that a warrior would spawn as a lich and could be taught. This failed as well. While Mek’Madius didn’t achieve his goal, he did create something new. What he accomplished was the creation of quasi-intelligent undead that could remember some of their previous life, but not everything. These new creatures remember some of their training and some of the skills that they learned while they were alive, but their deeper memories, such as their name, the place they were born, or who their families are, are completely wiped away.
Curse of the Scorched Mind spell.

Undead: A character suffering from the curse Death’s Disrespect has made the terrible mistake of speaking too soon the name of one who has recently died—a terrible sign of disrespect. The curse manifests via the body or spirit of the dead returning as an undead and attacking the victim of the curse.

Curse of the Scorched Mind
School Necromancy (evil); Level Sorcerer/Wizard 7
Casting Time 10 minutes
Components V, S, M (Fragment of the Sun Shard)
Range Touch
Target One living creature touched
Duration Instantaneous
Saving Throw Fortitude partial; Will negates (see text); Spell Resistance No
This spell takes a small piece of the Sun Shard Fragment’s power and transfers it through Mek’Madius and into his target, killing the target unless it succeeds on a DC 23 Fortitude save. A successful save means the target still takes 7d6 of fire damage. A failed Fortitude save means that the target must then make a DC 23 Will save, or else its soul is trapped in its body as a pseudo-intelligent undead.
This spell functions like animate dead, except that it creates an advanced type of burning skeleton called a scorched skeleton.

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 27

Pathways 27
Pathfinder 1e
Unrotten Grott: The ogre Grott belonged to one of the Sisters of Black Ice until the crag linnorm Ponddraxithoss slew it, and the negative energies infusing the northlands brought the ogre’s body back to unlife as a frozen corpse creature.

 

[Voadam]

Pathways 28

Pathways 28
Pathfinder 1e
Lostling: Lostlings are the pitiful corpses of disoriented individuals who died in the wilderlands from starvation, accident, or madness.
“Lostling” is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature.
Any creature killed by a lostling, including those that die as an indirect result of its aura of disorientation, rises as a lostling in 1d4 days. If a lostling creature is CR 11 or higher this changes to 1d4 rounds.