Undead Origins

[Voadam]

Rappan Athuk Bestiary Swords and Wizardry Edition
Swords & Wizardry
Barrow Wight: Creatures hit by a barrow wight’s slam attack are drained of one level. Creatures killed by this level drain rise as barrow wights in 1d4 rounds and remain under their creator’s control until it is destroyed.
Devouring Mist: Spawned of the dreams of the Bloodwraith, devouring mists are undead composed of equal parts blood and malice, wedded together by negative energy.
If a victim’s constitution is reduced to 0 due to the devouring mist’s ability drain, the blood from the victim’s body forms into a new devouring mist in 1d4 rounds.
Juju Zombie: When a humanoid or monstrous humanoid is slain by an energy drain or a similar spell or spell-like ability, it may rise as a juju zombie.
Crimthann, Ghast Lord: The Mojango belonged to Crimthann, a dark priest of Orcus who abandoned the swamp to oversee a temple to his demon lord. The ship, powered by 11 juju zombies, still plies the swamps, searching on its own for a missing power source named the All-Seeing Eye of Mojango. This malevolent orb fits neatly into the empty tree trunk and foretells doom for all it surveys.
The Eye is also searching for the ship, appearing in the tallest trees randomly throughout the swamp to gain the best vantages. The Eye is dangerous, draining 1d4 levels from anyone touching it. Crimthann himself cast the orb off the boat for fear it would someday become powerful enough to overthrow even his master. His action cost him his life, and turned him into a ghast lord.
Meat Puppet: Meat puppets are boneless, skinless corpses reanimated after being exposed to necromantic energies.
The Bone Crusher artifact.
Otyugh Meat Puppet: The unfortunate otyugh, which the laboratory’s alchemist used as waste disposal, suffered from a necromantic explosion in the lab. The catastrophe transformed the creature into its current undead state.
Mordnaissant: Occasionally when a pregnant mother dies violently in a place infused with unholy or negative energies, the unborn child within her does not simply perish, but instead continues to grow, vitalized by dark power, until it is capable of clawing its way free from its dead mother.
The earth mother idol is a massive emerald-and-bamboo construction standing 15-feet-tall in the center of a jungle clearing. A low altar of black igneous rock stands before the statue of the earth goddess. Piled-up emerald stones form her head, shoulders and arms. Sharpened bamboo branches curve to form her fertile belly. Her legs are stone arches rising from the ground. The superstitious villagers sacrifice virgins each full moon by tying the women to the fast-growing bamboo. The sharp shoots slowly impale and kill the struggling women. Skeletons are still entwined in the thick bamboo, with more bones littering the jungle floor around the statue.
Unfortunately for the villagers, the last woman sacrificed was not a virgin. She was a few months pregnant, but hid her condition from the villagers. When the woman died on the sharpened stakes, her unborn child became a mordnaissant that inhabits the idol’s barren bamboo womb.
Undead Soldier: When not warring against rival demon princes, Orcus likes to travel the planes, particularly the Material Plane. Should a foolish spellcaster open a gate and speak his name, he is more than likely going to hear the call and step through to the Material Plane. What happens to the spellcaster that called him usually depends on the reason for the summons and the power of the spellcaster. Extremely powerful spellcasters are usually slain after a while and turned into undead soldiers or generals in his armies.
Undead General: When not warring against rival demon princes, Orcus likes to travel the planes, particularly the Material Plane. Should a foolish spellcaster open a gate and speak his name, he is more than likely going to hear the call and step through to the Material Plane. What happens to the spellcaster that called him usually depends on the reason for the summons and the power of the spellcaster. Extremely powerful spellcasters are usually slain after a while and turned into undead soldiers or generals in his armies.
Black Skeleton: ?

Zombie: ?
Skeleton: ?
Ghoul: ?
Ghast: ?
Wraith: ?
Wight: ?
Spectre: ?
Vampire: If a victim’s constitution is reduced to 0 due to the devouring mist’s ability drain, the blood from the victim’s body forms into a new devouring mist in 1d4 rounds. Further, the victim’s corpse rises as a vampire in 1d4 days unless the remains are blessed before this rising.

The ground rumbles and shakes as the Bone Crusher (AC 3 [16], 300 hit points) approaches. This five-ton contraption from hell is a massive stone roller carved with thousands of grinning skulls. Massive femurs attached on each end of the roller support a cobbled-together platform of bone that hovers above and slightly behind the massive roller. A single stone wheel below the platform serves as a steering mechanism. The roller inflicts 10d6 points of crushing damage to anything caught in its path.
Despite moving at a mere 15 ft., the Bone Crusher animates any living corporeal creature it crushes as a meat puppet in its wake. Currently, 6 human meat puppets follow the Bone Crusher. Commanding the massive crusher is the vrock, Beek Vrut, who carries a wand of paralyzing (15 charges) and a long spear.
Only those who serve Orcus can command the Bone Crusher or access its powers. If the juggernaut’s commander is slain, the entire machine falls into thousands of jumbled bones and stones. The Bone Crusher can only reform through months of vile rituals and the desecration of at least 100 graves.

 

[Voadam]

Rappan Athuk Expansions 1 - Swords and Wizardry
Swords & Wizardry
Fragmented Skeleton: The foul magic binding these skeletons together may disintegrate at any moment, and even if the skeletons survive the combat, they usually fall apart after an hour.
Undead Hummingbird: The darting shapes are undead hummingbirds, a wicked and terrible creation.
Shade: A shade is an undead creature that rises when a living creature willingly sacrifices itself in a ritual to Orcus.
White Lady: A white lady is a twisted 9ft tall monstrosity warped by the foul presence of the club it carries.
The ladies are not creations of this place; rather, it is their clubs that curse them and twist their flesh into their current form. The clubs were created by a priest of Orcus many years ago as an experiment and have no goodly use.
The marble table has a single twisted iron club resting on it. It is visually identical to the ones carried by the white ladies, except it looks cleaner and somehow fresher. It radiates a magical aura. An inscription next to the weapon reads: “To achieve victory, you will need to sacrifice part of yourself. The safety of the world must overrule the safety for one’s own self. Take up this weapon, and lose that which would doom you to defeat”
The weapon is a trap. The first person to pick up the weapon must make a saving throw each round he holds onto the weapon. If someone holding the club fails a save, he gains a sudden understanding of his own might as his muscles bulge. The victim’s strength and constitution immediately increase by 3 points each (to a maximum of 18). The curse continues to raise his strength by 1 point each day for the next 10 days (to a maximum of 18). Over that time, the person becomes increasingly emotionally distant, focusing only on killing those who stand between him and his goals. After the 10th day, he gains the ability to regenerate 3 hit points per round, like a troll. He marches inexorably toward his goal with no regard for personal safety, destroying everything in his path. He likely is killed in short order, although that doesn’t slow him down. The corpse continues its doomed march. Over the days that follow, he violently twists and morphs until he becomes another white lady.
Old Jim, Ghoul: Jim fell overboard during a violent storm “some time ago” and washed up on shore. He is now waiting for a boat to rescue him. If pressed, he tersely admits that he has not seen a single ship during his vigil.
Jim survived by going to the nearby stream and filling his helmet with water and scraps of meat floating by. He built a small fire on the beach and boiled a stew using the water and meat scraps. Because the wood was driftwood, it did not attract the attention of the aelom, although Jim’s unwise choice of food explains his current condition.
Alumaxis, Knight Gaunt: This is the last resting place for the former captain-of-the-guard-turned-architect, Alumaxis. A good soldier to the end, Alumaxis volunteered for the role of leader of this building site when he understood it would further the reach of Orcus in the world. What he didn’t know was the depth of deceit in the ranks of his “advisors”. As a man used to facing foes head-to-head, he did not see the treachery of the clergy until it was too late. To cover any evidence of their assassination, the clergy ordered this pyre built to honor their fallen “leader”. The captain’s body was laid to rest atop the bonfire, and he was immolated. Unexpectedly, the fire never burned itself out; it smolders even to this day, wafting smoky tendrils to remind the very stones of the dungeon what happened here.
Alumaxis himself was not fully consumed by the flame. He regained his material body after being scorched, and returned to the mortal realm as a knight gaunt, an undead horror normally created when a paladin falls in righteous combat against Chaos. Orcus himself found the humor in returning his soldier to the field in such a form.
Kenard, Warden of the Dead, Vampire: Along the southern wall, in a mundane but comfortable chair, flanked by two doors, sits the Warden of the Dead, a former ranger and hero who chose to be infected with vampirism to ensure the feral vampires in Area 3D-24 are never released from their prison.
In an abbreviated version of a long and tragic tale, the 3 feral vampires were brothers in life; terrible and loathsome louts that beat and stole from any who were weaker than them. One day, Judith, a fair and frail maiden, was travelling to meet her betrothed, Kenard, a ranger and protector of Good Hope Forest (as it was called, long ago by the local woodsman). She never made it, as she was set upon by the foul brothers. Rather than have a shred of kindness, and just kill her quickly, the brothers made sport of her torment. Eventually, Kenard discovered the abduction, and he raced to save his future bride, but when he found the trio of brutes and his love, it was far too late to save Judith. Unable to control his monumental rage, Kenard took spear and short sword to the brothers, unleashing all his hate and fury. So powerful was his retribution, the forest itself was shocked and outraged by the display. Kenard took days to dispatch the brothers, and in that time a powerful forest spirit, Aspen, came to the site. “This cannot go unpunished, Kenard. You are a good and lawful man. You did the wrong thing. You must atone for your own sins.” And with that, the brothers rose, staggered about, and were cursed as vampires.
Judith, with her last few breaths, smiled to Kenard and said, “You know Aspen to be true. Stop this hateful action, Protect. It is what you do.” “I will protect, Lady Judith. I will protect the land from such beings as those.”
The brothers looked to each other, and fell upon the pair, their newfound bloodlust too overpowering to be ignored. As the pair fell to the foul vampires, Kenard’s will kept him “alive” in a sense. He too rose as a vampire, able to overpower the brothers.
Feral Vampire Spawn: In an abbreviated version of a long and tragic tale, the 3 feral vampires were brothers in life; terrible and loathsome louts that beat and stole from any who were weaker than them. One day, Judith, a fair and frail maiden, was travelling to meet her betrothed, Kenard, a ranger and protector of Good Hope Forest (as it was called, long ago by the local woodsman). She never made it, as she was set upon by the foul brothers. Rather than have a shred of kindness, and just kill her quickly, the brothers made sport of her torment. Eventually, Kenard discovered the abduction, and he raced to save his future bride, but when he found the trio of brutes and his love, it was far too late to save Judith. Unable to control his monumental rage, Kenard took spear and short sword to the brothers, unleashing all his hate and fury. So powerful was his retribution, the forest itself was shocked and outraged by the display. Kenard took days to dispatch the brothers, and in that time a powerful forest spirit, Aspen, came to the site. “This cannot go unpunished, Kenard. You are a good and lawful man. You did the wrong thing. You must atone for your own sins.” And with that, the brothers rose, staggered about, and were cursed as vampires.
Tabitha Mirax, Shade: With a squad of undead on hand to keep the place clean and in good repair, they performed dark rituals to allow themselves to become ghost-like creatures while retaining their memories and free will.
The four shades that haunt the level are the spirits of the adventurers who built this place. While comparable to ghosts, these undead creatures are something new, a result of living creatures willingly sacrificing themselves as part of a ritual to rise again as intelligent undead.
Davith, Half-Orc Warrior of Orcus, Shade: With a squad of undead on hand to keep the place clean and in good repair, they performed dark rituals to allow themselves to become ghost-like creatures while retaining their memories and free will.
The four shades that haunt the level are the spirits of the adventurers who built this place. While comparable to ghosts, these undead creatures are something new, a result of living creatures willingly sacrificing themselves as part of a ritual to rise again as intelligent undead.
Vallis Blacklocke, Shade: With a squad of undead on hand to keep the place clean and in good repair, they performed dark rituals to allow themselves to become ghost-like creatures while retaining their memories and free will.
The four shades that haunt the level are the spirits of the adventurers who built this place. While comparable to ghosts, these undead creatures are something new, a result of living creatures willingly sacrificing themselves as part of a ritual to rise again as intelligent undead.
Kenneth, Lord Darkblade von Nightkill, Shade: With a squad of undead on hand to keep the place clean and in good repair, they performed dark rituals to allow themselves to become ghost-like creatures while retaining their memories and free will.
The four shades that haunt the level are the spirits of the adventurers who built this place. While comparable to ghosts, these undead creatures are something new, a result of living creatures willingly sacrificing themselves as part of a ritual to rise again as intelligent undead.
Kenneth, like many evil magic-users, turned to necromancy as a way of discovering a path to immortality, which he eventually found.
Kenneth Junior, Black Skeleton: ?
Juju Zombie Soldier: ?
Skeleton Archer: ?
Black Skeleton Champion: ?
Jawbone: Neither Vallis nor Kenneth has the power to properly animate such a creation, so they’ve taken a shortcut. As long as Vallis is not pinned by the Ghostbind, she can use her essence to activate the creature (Vallis assumes her incorporeal form and occupies the skeleton’s space, wearing it like armor). If Vallis is not present, one of the other shades takes control, although Jawbone loses its regeneration if controlled in this manner.
Kallinstraids, Vampiric Red Dragon, Bone Dragon, Undead Dragon: ?
Risen Goblin, Ghast: No one that goes into Rappan Athuk comes out the same, if they come out at all. This is just as true for monsters as it is for adventurers. These six goblins snuck into the early levels of Rappan Athuk hoping for treasure, or at least a place to hide. What they found was something darker, and in their desperate search for a way back to the surface they took to cannibalism to survive. Now they have escaped and roam the surface, their goblin appetites augmented with a hunger for flesh, bone and marrow.
One turn after one of these corrupted goblins dies its flesh tightens over its frame (regenerating if needed) and with a sickening crunch the now intact body rises as a ghast.
[Ravenous] Goblins that drop to 0 hit points or below rise as ghasts on the next combat round, retaining their place on the initiative order. This can be prevented by destroying the corpse with 5 points of fire damage, or pouring holy water over the corpse.

Skeleton: The ‘priest’ of this foul place is the goblin Jedra, who found a book about Orcus left here by a previous inhabitant. Jedra rather liked the idea of Orcus and built this chapel to honor him. Orcus was amused by this and granted Jedra some limited power which she is using to learn to raise undead. She hopes one day to replace her raiding parties with teams of undead lead by goblins, to supply them with all the food they could want.
At any time Jedra will be in the chapel, praising Orcus or experimenting on any bodies on which she can get her hands. She has so far carefully managed to raise a pair of skeletons, and is working on a corpse, this time attempting to make a zombie.
Ghoul: ?
Ghast: ?
Coffer Corpse: ?
Shadow: ?
Mummy: ?
Cadaver Lord: ?
Cadaver: ?
Strangling Ghost: ?
Fear Guard: The fear guards were former temple warriors, bound to this place after death.
Undead Mimic: The font is actually an undead mimic, a hideous creature that wandered into this place as a normal variety of mimic, and replaced the existing font, thinking to trap petitioners when they came to gather some of the water. The mimic waited so long, and was eventually infused with so much dark energy, when it perished from starvation it transformed into this undead version.
Guardian Cimota: The former collector of these scrolls, an injured soldier and neophyte acolyte of Orcus, was slain in here by a rival over hierarchy in the lower orders of the clergy. Maintaining his soldier’s sense of duty towards his collection, the acolyte rose eventually rose from death as a guardian cimota, forever tasked to guard these scrolls.
Undead Troll: This beast was a former guardian of the path to Level 3D, Section 2. After most of the living inhabitants died, the troll starved to death. The power of the chapel kept the beast from entering the afterlife, so he is confined here as an undead troll.
Pyre Zombie: ?
Brain-Eating Zombie: ?
Zombie: ?
Vampire: ?

 

[Voadam]

Rappan Athuk Expansions 2 - Swords and Wizardry
Swords & Wizardry
Devron the Necromancer, Lich: Devron the necromancer swears himself to Arvonliet’s true nature, transforms into lich and is imprisoned below Barakus.
Gremag, Lich: ?
Lich-Queen Trystece: ?
Nadroj the Wraith: ?
Zelkor: Nadroj the wraith breaks Zelkor and makes him an undead minion of Orcus.
Slavish, Lich: ?
King Goov: ?
Zelkor, Lich: ?
Restless Spirits: ?
Exploding Skeleton: ?
Dissolving Zombie: ?
Bartholomew Ragusovitch, Red Jester: As one of Orcus’ few amusing creations, Bartholomew can be permanently destroyed only if the characters slay him while he is prone (Orcus granted him his deathly reward after accidently breaking his neck in a pratfall.)
Azraggad, Vampiric Cleric of Orcus: When Tsathogga’s followers infiltrated Rappan Athuk, Azraggad, a devout cleric of Orcus, swore his undying loyalty to the demon lord. To cement his pact, the priest joined the ranks of the undead as a vampire.
The Conductor, Lich MU 18: He amassed enough magical might that he was able to thwart death, and he has lived as a lich for millennia.

Black Skeleton: ?
Ghast: A human treasure-hunter became trapped in the oyster, transforming into a ghast after drowning.
Skeleton: This staff’s single purpose is to command the infamous Army of the Shoreline Dead. The members of this skeletal fighting force are believed to have been among the first settlers in the area around Rappan Athuk, and among its first victims. They died on or near the shore on which they arrived, falling prey to disease, in-fighting, native hazards, and sahuagin raids.
Nihiloplasm magic item.
Wraith: Unbeknownst to the sahuagin, this cave was once the private chamber of a high priest who swore fealty to the Profane Tides. Slain by a wraith while he slept, the priest was interred in the floor directly below his bed. Though that bed and all other evidence of the priest’s existence are gone, his spirit lingers. A successful search for secret doors reveals a section of mismatched stones in the floor, 6ft long by 2ft wide. Anyone spending half an hour with the proper tools can unearth a copper casket buried a few inches below the surface. The casket is sealed shut by time and moisture, requiring successful open door checks from 2 characters working together to lift the lid. Inside is a mostly crumbled skeleton … and the wraith the priest became after death.
Bone Swarm: Composed of tiny bits of bone culled from the remnants of fallen undead monsters as well as Azraggad’s past victims.
Wight: ?
Shadow Rat: ?
Feral Undead Cat: ?
Specter: ?
Ghost: The library is attended by a ghost, the damned spirit of a scribe who came here to steal but was slain by the lich in Area 5C-14.

Nihiloplasm
Appearing as a dull green, viscous fluid that has the instant effect of cause disease when it contacts living flesh. No saving throw is allowed. Nihiloplasm may be used as an ingredient in any number of malign magic items, but its primary purpose is to create skeletons and infuse them with negative energy so that they seek retribution on the living. For every cup of nihiloplasm poured onto the ground, 2d4 skeletons rise from the sizzling liquid, their eye sockets burning the same dull green color as the unusual material that created them. On the round following their appearance, the skeletons attack any living creature they see — including the person who summoned them. The skeletons behave as standard undead of their type. Despite the skeletons’ tendency to attack the nihiloplasm’s owner, clever users devise means of using the substance to their advantage.

 

[Voadam]

TG1 Lost Temple of Ibholtheg (SnW)
Swords & Wizardry
Wraith: The spectral remains of Ibholtheg’s human servants from Xilonoc, the wraith is a shadowy form of a near-naked man with an elaborate headdress.
Spectral Crocodile: The crocodiles of the Great Jungle have always been a sacred beast to the faithful of Ibholtheg (the creatures being one third of the Squamous Toad’s being). When the golden temple was built, the spirits of several of the animals were bound to defend it, creating spectral crocodiles.
Ghast: Human servants of Ibholtheg the Squamous Toad left to rot in the golden temple have devolved into ghasts.
There are 5 ghasts here who were once priests of Ibholtheg. The croaking in the chamber is a result of Ibholtheg’s movements and used to only occur on an infrequent basis. Now it never stops and it has called its priests back to the world of the living.
Slime Zombie: A slime zombie is the undead remnant of a Xilonoc resident who was not faithful to Ibholtheg. Now cursed with a vibrant green slime that coats their skin and oozes from their mouths, they exist only to serve the Squamous Toad.

 

[Voadam]

TG2 Tongues of the Screaming Toad (SnW)
Swords & Wizardry
Zombie: In his studies of the forbidden arts, Natan has learned to create zombies from the corpses of the living. He has passed this knowledge down to his most devout disciples, who in turn use it to make good use of fallen enemies. The ritual to create a zombie takes many hours, however.
Inside, the stench of death is overpowering. The Noviortum House agents have reanimated the corpses of the Carrico family so that they serve now as 6 zombies in the house that lurch forward to attack anyone who isn’t affiliated with Noviortum House.
Black Tongue Victim: People who consume the egg of a cipactli are doomed to become black tongue victims. The abominable process generally takes a day or so to manifest, but when it does it takes over quickly, turning the victim into a brute that can withstand the toughest hits.
Natan experimented with the cipactli eggs on native slaves before unleashing them on Kraden’s Hill, and the 5 black tongue victims here were the first successful creations. They quickly fell to worshipping the statue of Ibholtheg the wizard brought here to study, a curious practice that Natan was studying to understand the effects of the black tongue better.
Lambert Glover, Black Tongue Victim: You’re just about to order another round of that spicy viper fruit drink when a gurgled choke catches your attention at the door. Night has fallen completely on Kraden’s Hill, and in from the darkness staggers a man clawing at his throat. He leans heavily on the wall, gasping and muttering for a moment, as the rest of the Thirsty Serpent patrons turn to see. “Lambert?” one man asks in a concerned voice as the man – Lambert apparently – lets loose a choked cry and falls to the floor. He retches and black vomit hits the dirty floor with a sickening splash.
Lambert Glover is currently suffering from the end of the second phase of the black tongue of Ibholtheg. People around him back up after the black vomit hits the floor and Lambert begins to mutter incoherent words – “ozalko,” z’dyrr’kuu,” and “yongulluu,” followed by a drawn out “Ibholtheg.”
The characters can try to push through to get to him but by the time they arrive the curse has taken full effect. Lambert Glover stands up suddenly, now fully a black tongue victim, his elongated tongue pitch black and hanging out of his mouth.

 

[Voadam]

TG3 Shadow Out of Sapphire Lake (SnW)
Swords & Wizardry
Wraith: In the Black Gulfs, victims that give in to the despair inherent on the plane are eventually transformed into wraiths – twisted, evil, shadowy apparitions of their former selves.
Mummy: The practice of mummification was common in Xilonoc, and priests and other leaders often enchanted loyal guards as mummies to live forever guarding a sacred site.

 

[Voadam]

The Black Monastery (S&W)
Swords & Wizardry
Cimota: These undead creatures are the images of evil still imprinted on the place, acting out the roles and deeds of the long-dead monks.
Cimota are the physical manifestations of evil thoughts and actions. They manifest in the Prime Material as cloaked figures. Their existence is always tied to a specific area or artifact that is imbued with ancient and highly malevolent evil. A cimota is able to manifest itself anywhere within an accursed locale that has given it life, or within 300 feet of an evil artifact to which it is attached.
Cimota are bound to repeat the evil thoughts and actions that created them. When they manifest they will endlessly repeat the deeds that spawned them. So, for instance, a group of cimota may haunt a ruined temple, re-enacting evil rituals. Cimota may guard an unholy site such as a city, forest or building. They will fight to the death to defend these places. Cimota who are bound to an artifact may act out the intentions of that artifact.
These undead creatures are the images of evil still imprinted on the place, acting out the roles and deeds of the long-dead monks. The acts of human sacrifice and other evil deeds associated with the oracle stone are what have given the cimota power within the Black Monastery. They are echoes and reflections of the Black Brotherhood and the vile deeds they committed here. As long as the oracle stone exists, the Black Monastery will return and the cimota will continue their dark existence.
Ghost Strangling: Anyone strangled by a strangling ghost will rise as a strangling ghost within 1d6 days.
The ghosts of intruders who have died in the Black Monastery are trapped here, held prisoner in death.
Mohrg: Mohrgs are the animated corpses of mass murderers or similar villains who died without atoning for their crimes.
Buried six feet below the garden’s surface are the bodies of seven former members of the Black Brotherhood, condemned by their brethren for betraying the order. Digging in the garden has the potential of disturbing these corpses, which will rise as morhgs.
Black Skeleton: The Black Brotherhood created these undead warriors as the special guardians of their monastery and the dungeons below.
Black skeletons are the remnants of living creatures slain in an area where the ground is soaked through with evil. The bodies of fallen heroes are contaminated and polluted by such evil and within days after their death, the slain creatures rise as black skeletons, leaving their former lives and bodies behind.
Soul Knight: A soul knight is a suit of armor animated by the lingering soul of an evil knight, cursed to undeath as punishment for having committed betrayal, murder or other crimes. The evil spirit continues to inhabit its old armor, repeating the deeds that brought about the living knight’s ruin.
The Black Monastery: The twisted thoughts and evil deeds of the Black Brotherhood are long ended. There is no need to fully recite them here. Suffice to say that their actions included necromancy, pacts with evil outsiders and the human sacrifices those evil outsiders demand. The Black Monastery was the scene of dark sorcery and magical research that left behind many deadly traces. What manifests atop the Hill of Mornay from decade to decade is a lethal ghost of those repugnant deeds.
Ghost Relatively Weak: ?
Leader Cimota: ?
High Cimota: If the cloak of the high cimota is worn for a full 24 hours, the wearer will begin to fade out of existence, becoming the new high cimota. Nothing short of a wish spell can reverse this terrible fate.
Gareth the Reaper, Soul Knight: One of these soul knights was Gareth the Reaper, an adventurer who turned upon his comrades while adventuring in the Black Monastery out of greed and spite. Gareth himself was slain before he could escape the monastery’s halls and has remained to haunt this room ever since.
Undead: An appearance of the Black Monastery also carries curses for the local countryside. In an area of 20 miles around the monastery there is usually an outbreak of magical diseases announcing the return of the Black Brotherhood. Cases of fevers that cause the dead to rise as undead occur among local people without any known source of infection.
Banshee: ?
Ghoul: The four cots are all occupied by human commoners, including three women and a man. These are local peasants who have been infected with ghoul fever. In their growing madness, they have been drawn to the Black Monastery and have laid down on the cots. These sufferers are victims of the curses that always accompany Black Monastery’s evil presence. Although they are in the last stages of the disease, they are not beyond saving. A cure disease, or similar magical intervention, will revive them and allow these innocent people to return to their homes. If the party does not heal them within 24 hours, all four victims will be gone from this room. They will be transformed into full ghouls and off to run through the monastery halls in search of food.
Doctor Brutus, Ghoul: When the Black Monastery fell, Doctor Brutus was destroyed along with the other black monks, but it was not his fate to stay dead. Some of the potions Doctor Brutus tested on himself took hold and raised him to undeath as a powerful and abnormal ghoul. It is now his curse to live in undead twilight, bound to the Black Monastery.
Sacavious, Lich: Inside the room is a clay vessel studded with gems and bound with gold bands. The vessel has a value of at least 8,000gp. It is the jar that the lich Sacavious used to hold most of desiccated internal organs as part of the necromantic rituals that were intended to turn him into a lich.
At the time of the Black Monastery’s fall, Sacavious was coming to the end of his mortal life. His potions and experiments were no longer able to sustain his failing body, so he had completed the research, potions and incantations to transform himself into a lich. Sacavious had put off his final transformation for more than a decade when the monastery was besieged. His plan had included a betrayal of his brothers, whom he had intended to make his undead minions.
The Black Brotherhood’s violent end frustrated Sacavious’ plans and forced him to undergo his transformation only moments before the Black Monastery was immolated and disappeared in arcane fire. With his spells exhausted, and the monastery gates about to be breached, Sacavious rushed to his tower and drank down the final potion. He expected to become an immortal being of ultimate power. The result was something quite different.
The immolation of the Black Monastery unleashed forces unknown to Sacavious. Instead of falling to the floor and rising up as a free-willed wraith, ready to dominate his enemies, Sacavious’ mind was badly damaged by the arcane powers unleashed around him. The pieces of his conscious mind were scattered as wisps, blowing between the planes. Only fragments of these wisps returned to his animated corpse, trapping him forever in a dead shell, re-living his final moments as a mortal. What is left of Sacavious may be found in the large chamber at the top of his tower, waiting to destroy anyone who dares intrude on his eldritch domain.
Lich: The floor of this large chamber is covered with scrawled magical symbols and diagrams. These are various necromantic spells, spells a necromancer must gather and cast in order to become a lich. There are rags, pieces of candles, feathers, and patches of glittering dust scattered everywhere on the floor.
Sacavious, Lich Fully Armed and Operational Sacavious: In this variation, the Referee assumes that Sacavious completed his transformation into a lich and has been able to recuperate all of his spells.
Sacavious, Lich Depleted Sacavious: The necromancer has completed his botched transformation into a lich, but his spells have been seriously depleted by the final siege of the Black Monastery. This version of Sacavious is still a deadly threat, but has already exhausted most of his spells in the final battle. This broken remnant of the Black Brotherhood’s pet necromancer has been lying face down on his spell book ever since.
Sacavious, Lich Deranged and Crawling Sacavious: The necromancer’s failed transformation has left him almost completely broken. The Referee should assume that Sacavious has no spells, or possibly just a few left. At the Referee’s discretion, Sacavious should have his hit points and armor class reduced to reflect the fact that he has not cast spells in preparation for the party’s arrival. After he turns toward the party from his workbench, the lich emits a ragged gasp and either staggers toward the adventurers or falls to the floor. Sacavious is still capable of harming the party with his innate lich and necromancer powers, but is only a shell of what he might have been.
Mummy: When they drank the potions that Sacavious said would make them powerful and immortal, all four assistants were transformed into the equivalent of mummies. The transformation was agonizing and maddening.
Whenever these particular mummies move or fight a fine dust fills the air around them. This dust also covers the bodies on the floor. Anyone who suffers a wound from these mummies, or any other type of wound in this room, will be afflicted with a special type of mummy rot. Once a victim has succumbed to the disease, the corpse will rise as a mummy (although not wrapped) and shamble across any distance to return to this room. There, the victim will take his place as a new guardian of the dungeons beneath the Black Monastery.
Shadow: There is a bowl on top of a table in the middle of the room. The bowl is filled with water and inscribed with runes on its exterior. A Magic-User reading the incriptions will be able to identify that the inscriptions on the bowl are used as part of a necromantic ritual. If the Magic-User has an Intelligence score over 15, he will also discern that the bowl is specifically used in a ritual to create shadows.
These are the shades of 13 brothers who took the most pleasure in the displays put on here. Their doom, in death, has been to haunt the place where they did so many evil acts while they were living.
The Shadow of Kran the Dungeon Master is akin to a normal shadow, but much more powerful. If it drains a character’s strength to 0, the character will die and within 1d3 rounds the character’s spirit will rise as a normal shadow in Kran’s service.
Kran the Dungeon Master, Powerful Shadow: What remains of Kran the Dungeon Master is standing in this room. Kran’s body was destroyed in battle but his evil soul survived, cursed to haunt his tower forever as a powerful shadow.
Troll Skeleton: ?
Skeleton: ?
Undead Menagerie Human Skeleton: These animals were given experimental draughts of the various potions that Sacavious intended to use to transform himself into a lich.
Undead Critter: These animals were given experimental draughts of the various potions that Sacavious intended to use to transform himself into a lich.
Undead Menagerie Human Skeleton: ?
Undead Menagerie Wolf Skeleton: ?
Undead Menagerie Dried Dwarf Corpse: ?
Undead Menagerie Dried Elf Corpse: ?
Manticore Skeleton: ?
Spectre: ?
Vampire: ?
Samuel Knock, Wight: His former comrades locked him in this room weeks ago when he fell under the influence of a cursed amulet that changed him into a wight.
The amulet is still around Samuel’s neck. It is a silver skull, marked with the teardrop and pentagram symbol of the Black Brotherhood. The amulet can be removed by a remove curse spell, if it is cast within two hours of the moment the victim put it around his neck. It comes off easily if the wearer is slain.
Anyone who puts on Samuel’s amulet will immediately begin to scream gibberish and tear at his face and clothing. The transformation will be complete 12 hours later. Party members may only save their companion from a hideous fate by acting quickly to remove the amulet, or the new victim will suffer Samuel’s fate.
Wight: This unfortunate person was a member of an adventuring party that was trapped by the iron doors. The horror of his situation transformed him into a wight.
Wraith: ?
Zombie: Any character killed by mohrg will rise after 1d4 days as a zombie under the morhg’s control.
Two gold bracelets with a teardrop and pentagram engraved on each of them are suspended five feet off the ground, floating in mid-air. This is a pair of bracelets of undeath. If both bracelets are placed on both arms, the wearer gains certain traits of the undead: immunity to sleep, charm and hold spells. Cold-based attacks also have no effect on the wearer, who is also immune to all poisons.
Choosing to wear the bracers of undeath may be a fateful decision for a player character. For each week the bracers are worn the wearer must succeed on saving throw or fall under the bracers’ control, permanently changing the character’s alignment to Chaotic. A second failed saving throw means that the character will begin to lose 1d4 constitution points per day until death, or until a remove curse spell is cast on the character.
Anyone who dies from this effect will immediately rise as a zombie. The newly risen zombie will have the overwhelming urge to return the bracelets of undeath to their place in this room of the Black Monastery.
Sir Ralph Halifax, Zombie: ?
Zombie Sea Cat: ?

 

[Voadam]

The Ghost Woods Adventure
Swords & Wizardry
Valen Darkfast, Lich Lord: ?
Cursed Headless Woman: ?
Undead Raven: ?
Skeletal Horse: ?

Undead:?
Ghoul: ?
Zombie: Valen Darkfast's touch drains a level (save to avoid loss, if all levels are lost the character dies and turns into a zombie).
Skeleton: ?
Spectre: A spectre haunts this area, looking to kill and transform characters into new spectres.

 

[Voadam]

The Kingdom of Richard
Swords & Wizardry
Valen Darkfast, Lich: The Darkfasts were cunning necromancers and when the father was mortally wounded in a battle, he was turned into a lich.
Ghost: The ruined villages along the Ruined Coast on the Katarian Sea have been largely ignored by the Elves who sacked them since their destruction over 100 years ago. Today, they are a strange and dangerous collection of ruins that are haunted by monsters, pirates, and the ghosts of those who died there.
Undead: ?

 

[Voadam]

The Lost City of Barakus (S&W)
Swords & Wizardry
Undead Doppelganger: ?
Undead: Many years ago, a wicked cleric named Asgaroth came to this area to build a shrine to himself and his god. He gathered about him a cluster of undead and began the construction of his temple. Unfortunately, while searching for a powerful evil relic, he was slain by a paladin named Van-Doren, and thus his shrine remained incomplete.
The undead, however, remained. Asgaroth had succeeded in infusing so much evil into the place that the undead he placed here to guard it remained, ever vigilant. Over the years, other undead, primarily ghouls and ghasts, have been attracted to this place for its evil aura. What’s more, all creatures slain anywhere in these caves eventually rise as an undead creatures themselves.
Girda, Ghost: The hovel is haunted by the ghost, Girda, the deceased half-orc wife of Klar, the orc vampire who now resides in Barakus. When Klar was transformed into a vampire, instead of draining Girda’s blood so she could join in his hellish undeath, he chose to kill her in her sleep with his bare hands and then banished himself to Barakus. Girda, tormented by her terrible end, haunts this shack where she and Klar once lived.
Gilbert, Ghoul: ?
Klerk, Ghoul: ?
Ghoul: The cave floor [of the Totem Cavern of the Cave of the Dead] is strewn with the discarded belongings of defeated explorers who arose as zombies or ghouls themselves [from dying in the Caves of the Dead].
Heaped in the northern corner of this small cave are the bodies of two humans: One dressed in chain mail and carrying a quarterstaff, the other dressed in leather armor with a rapier at his side. These two unfortunate fellows, along with three other party members, perished at the hands of the ghouls. The ghouls ate the other three, but Thelkor instructed his minions to leave these bodies be as he wished to add them to his ranks once they have risen. In two days they become ghouls. If the party cleric casts bless on the bodies, however, they can prevent this from occurring.
Thelkor, Ghoul Lord: ?
Devron, Lich Magic-User 8: ?
Lich: ?
Devron, Lich Magic-User 14: ?
Mummy: ?
Shadow: ?
Cave Bear Skeleton, Large Skeleton: Within the offering bowl is a medallion depicting a beautiful human eye attached to a simple silver necklace. Wearing the amulet grants the wearer protection from charm and sleep (see Sidebox). However, if the amulet is removed by anyone with an alignment other than Neutral, the bones on the cave floor below assemble themselves into a large skeleton that attacks the possessor of the amulet and anyone associated with him.
Skeleton: The cave floor [of the Totem Cavern of the Cave of the Dead] is strewn with the discarded belongings of defeated explorers who arose as zombies or ghouls themselves [from dying in the Caves of the Dead].
Years ago, Asgaroth, the evil cleric described in Area I in the Wilderness, discovered Area 2-12 and placed special guards here to protect it. Using a ritual similar to that in Area I2, he placed several totems in this area which enacted a permanent animate dead spell that is recast on the area once per week. Thus, anyone slain within the shaded area comes back to life as a zombie (or, in the case of the hobgoblin, should he be moved, a skeleton) and like the creatures that slew him, is charged with guarding the chamber against intruders.
Vampire: ?
Osmund Pulanti, Vampire: ?
Kurant Pulanti, Vampire: ?
Esmerelda Pulanti, Vampire: ?
Thelonius Pulanti, Vampire: ?
Klar, Orc Vampire: Further, the Pulantis have recently been in contact with Klar, the orc vampire residing in Barakus. Klar, an old victim of theirs, has invited them to join him in Barakus “away from the prying eyes of daylight-afflicted society.”
Wight: ?
Wraith: At one time, a small number of frog-cultists, including four under-priests, rebelled against their demonic master, forsaking their perverted ways. Alas, the revolt was short-lived and the priests were placed alive in this former ante-chamber in perpetual imprisonment. Four barred niches, too low to stand up or move comfortably, contain the corpses of the priests. They remain as wraiths, envious of the living.
Zombie: The cave floor [of the Totem Cavern of the Cave of the Dead] is strewn with the discarded belongings of defeated explorers who arose as zombies or ghouls themselves [from dying in the Caves of the Dead].
Years ago, Asgaroth, the evil cleric described in Area I in the Wilderness, discovered Area 2-12 and placed special guards here to protect it. Using a ritual similar to that in Area I2, he placed several totems in this area which enacted a permanent animate dead spell that is recast on the area once per week. Thus, anyone slain within the shaded area comes back to life as a zombie (or, in the case of the hobgoblin, should he be moved, a skeleton) and like the creatures that slew him, is charged with guarding the chamber against intruders.
Human Zombie: Years ago, Asgaroth, the evil cleric described in Area I in the Wilderness, discovered Area 2-12 and placed special guards here to protect it. Using a ritual similar to that in Area I2, he placed several totems in this area which enacted a permanent animate dead spell that is recast on the area once per week. Thus, anyone slain within the shaded area comes back to life as a zombie (or, in the case of the hobgoblin, should he be moved, a skeleton) and like the creatures that slew him, is charged with guarding the chamber against intruders. A number of curious souls have met their end here, and at the moment there are 5 zombies standing around the chamber: 2 humans, 1 orc, 1 dwarf, and 1 drow.
Orc Zombie: Years ago, Asgaroth, the evil cleric described in Area I in the Wilderness, discovered Area 2-12 and placed special guards here to protect it. Using a ritual similar to that in Area I2, he placed several totems in this area which enacted a permanent animate dead spell that is recast on the area once per week. Thus, anyone slain within the shaded area comes back to life as a zombie (or, in the case of the hobgoblin, should he be moved, a skeleton) and like the creatures that slew him, is charged with guarding the chamber against intruders. A number of curious souls have met their end here, and at the moment there are 5 zombies standing around the chamber: 2 humans, 1 orc, 1 dwarf, and 1 drow.
Dwarf Zombie: Years ago, Asgaroth, the evil cleric described in Area I in the Wilderness, discovered Area 2-12 and placed special guards here to protect it. Using a ritual similar to that in Area I2, he placed several totems in this area which enacted a permanent animate dead spell that is recast on the area once per week. Thus, anyone slain within the shaded area comes back to life as a zombie (or, in the case of the hobgoblin, should he be moved, a skeleton) and like the creatures that slew him, is charged with guarding the chamber against intruders. A number of curious souls have met their end here, and at the moment there are 5 zombies standing around the chamber: 2 humans, 1 orc, 1 dwarf, and 1 drow.
Drow Zombie: Years ago, Asgaroth, the evil cleric described in Area I in the Wilderness, discovered Area 2-12 and placed special guards here to protect it. Using a ritual similar to that in Area I2, he placed several totems in this area which enacted a permanent animate dead spell that is recast on the area once per week. Thus, anyone slain within the shaded area comes back to life as a zombie (or, in the case of the hobgoblin, should he be moved, a skeleton) and like the creatures that slew him, is charged with guarding the chamber against intruders. A number of curious souls have met their end here, and at the moment there are 5 zombies standing around the chamber: 2 humans, 1 orc, 1 dwarf, and 1 drow.
Gaston, Ghast Butler: ?
Ghast: ?
Basil, Strangling Ghost: ?
Allip: ?
Fear Guard: ?
Juju Zombie: ?