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Undead Origins

Jester David’s How-To Guide to Fantasy Worldbuilding
5e
Undead: ?
Undead Soldier: ?
Ghost: ?
Ghoul: ?
Lich, Standard Lich: ?
Evil Lich: ?
Animated Skeleton: ?
Skeletal Warrior: ?
Vampire: In War World, vampires might have originated as cursed followers of Tadir who kept the sacrifice blood or did not properly sacrifice animals, and now can only drink blood as a reminder of their sin.
Zombie: ?
Mindless Zombie: ?
Agricultural Zombie: ?
The Dead King, Death Knight: ?
Restless Dead: ?
Restless Spirit: ?
 

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Murkrag’s Compendium of Curios
5e
Undead: ?
Shadow: Shadowform Bolt magic item.
Minotaur Skeleton: Necromancer's Bauble magic item.
Trapped Will-o'-Wisp Creature: ?

SHADOWFORM BOLT
Ammunition (crossbow bolt), legendary
This bolt is pitch black and seems to absorb light. It has no separate fletching or head, both being carved of the same shadowy material. The result is a piece looking more like a large dart than a proper crossbow bolt.
When you hit a creature with this bolt, it must immediately make a DC 16 Charisma saving throw. On a successful save, the bolt's magic is expended with no effect. On a failed save, the target must repeat the saving throw at the end of their next turn, becoming unconscious and cursed on a second failure. While cursed in this way, the creature’s shadow is torn from its body, and it cannot regain consciousness while its shadow is separated. The shadow is loyal to you and obeys your spoken commands, but vanishes if its original body dies. The shadow has none of the memories of the affected creature. If the shadow is reduced to 0 hit points or the curse is lifted on the original target, the effect ends. The GM has the statistics for the shadow, which rolls its own initiative in combat. A shadow created this way cannot create additional shadows through its Strength Drain ability.
The bolt regains its magic at dusk of the next day.

NECROMANCER’S BAUBLE
Arcane focus (orb), very rare (requires attunement)
This misshapen orb is crafted from what appears to be a miniature bull’s skull coated in green glass. A pinprick of red light can be seen deep within the skull’s eye sockets.
As an action, you may hurl this skull up to 30 feet and speak its command word, transforming into a minotaur skeleton that obeys your verbal commands and acts on your turn in initiative. The GM has the statistics for the creature with the following adjustments:
● The creature regains 10 hp at the start of its turn. If the creature takes radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the creature’s next turn. The creature dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.
● It may not attune to any items.
● You may choose to end the effect at any time. If you do, or if the skeleton dies, the skeleton crumbles to dust, leaving behind the orb.
Once you’ve used this ability it cannot be used again until you complete a long rest.
 

Old Habits (Level 13 PCs)
Lord Erut-Ro the Undying, The Undying, Slave-Maker, Master of Chains, Lord of Sriss Alanor, Arak-Tet, Sovereign of Sriss Alanor, The Slaver's Coil, Mummy Lord, Terrifying Mummy Lord, Powerful Mummy Lord, Serpraxid Mummy Lord: Obsessed with power, Erut-Ro gathered his cursed serpraxids and clerics to prepare his body with the foul sorceries necessary to turn him into something immortal. After thirteen days and thirteen nights, the sovereign passed through life and death, arising as a terrifying mummy lord, and immediately returned to his merciless rule.
Mummy Noble: ?
Preserved Mage: ?
Oh Gods No What-Iss-That-, Zombie Tyrannosaurus Rex, Mummified Tyrannosaurus Rex, Undead Tyrannosaurus Rex, Rotting Corpse of Some Monstrosity From Another Age, Beast From a Forgotten Age, Monster With Swords for Teeth, Rotting Corpse of the Tyrannosaurus: ?
Mummy: ?
Lesser Mummy: Both tombs house the sarcophagi of lesser mummies Erut-Ro made of his most faithful serpraxid subjects.
Serpraxid Mummy: ?
Mummy Lord: ?
 
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One Night at the Red Vampire
5e
The Red Vampire, Vampire, Undead Count: ?
Agness, Vampire Spawn, Vampire's Bride: ?
Euphrosinia, Vampire Spawn, Vampire's Bride: ?
Melusine, Vampire Spawn, Vampire's Bride: ?
Skeleton: Unable to open the sarcophagus herself, Melusine animated some skeletons from the garbage room to help, but to no avail.
Zombie: ?
Alphonsine, Vampire Spawn, Vampire's Bride: ?
 

Operation: Nazi Smasher (5E)
5e
Nazi Skeleton: What lay within this room proves beyond a doubt the depravity and evil of the Reich’s forces—machines that reanimate the dead to resupply their fast-dwindling armies.
A series of wide metal steps lead down into this profane chamber and as you pass through the threshold from the hallway you feel the evil contained inside of this room slough over your very soul like scum on toxic pond water. Obscene markings along the concrete floor and walls seethe with power, all of them focusing on two large metallic vats—one to the west and crimson as blood, another to the north a sickly green.
A pair of metallic cranes are between them with a pile of corpses obscuring the northwest corner of the room. The eastern wall is taken up by a large device of unholy science festooned with dials, levers, valves, hydraulic pistons, and wiring in an array clearly designed by an unhinged mind. The smell of death is rank in the air, wafting from dead bodies in various states of decay laying on gurneys throughout the area.
The bank of mechanical controls and electronic equipment along the eastern wall controls all of the room’s functions and produces 1 Nazi Skeleton and 1 Nazi Zombie every round until destroyed (AC 14, 50 hit points, DC 17 Strength check to break) or disrupted with a DC 16 Intelligence check.
PCs might also try shattering the vats of liquid directly—the crimson red tank (AC 13, 80 hit points, DC 18 Strength check to break) forms zombies and the sickly green container (AC 12, 65 hit points, DC 17 Strength check to break) forms skeletons. Any undead created through this process are blank slates stripped of any soul and the memories of a past life as their spirit is consumed in the brutal magical science contained by the diabolical device.
Nazi Zombie, Zombified Nazi: What lay within this room proves beyond a doubt the depravity and evil of the Reich’s forces—machines that reanimate the dead to resupply their fast-dwindling armies.
A series of wide metal steps lead down into this profane chamber and as you pass through the threshold from the hallway you feel the evil contained inside of this room slough over your very soul like scum on toxic pond water. Obscene markings along the concrete floor and walls seethe with power, all of them focusing on two large metallic vats—one to the west and crimson as blood, another to the north a sickly green.
A pair of metallic cranes are between them with a pile of corpses obscuring the northwest corner of the room. The eastern wall is taken up by a large device of unholy science festooned with dials, levers, valves, hydraulic pistons, and wiring in an array clearly designed by an unhinged mind. The smell of death is rank in the air, wafting from dead bodies in various states of decay laying on gurneys throughout the area.
The bank of mechanical controls and electronic equipment along the eastern wall controls all of the room’s functions and produces 1 Nazi Skeleton and 1 Nazi Zombie every round until destroyed (AC 14, 50 hit points, DC 17 Strength check to break) or disrupted with a DC 16 Intelligence check.
PCs might also try shattering the vats of liquid directly—the crimson red tank (AC 13, 80 hit points, DC 18 Strength check to break) forms zombies and the sickly green container (AC 12, 65 hit points, DC 17 Strength check to break) forms skeletons. Any undead created through this process are blank slates stripped of any soul and the memories of a past life as their spirit is consumed in the brutal magical science contained by the diabolical device.
Nazi Wight: ?
Zombie: A humanoid slain by [a Nazi Wight's life drain] attack rises 24 hours later as a zombie under the Nazi Wight’s control, unless the humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed.
Undead: ?
Creature: ?
Humanoid Skeleton: ?
Skeleton Animated From Beyond the Grave: ?
 

Orcus on 34th Level (5e)
5e
Jackal of Darkness: ?
Naughty, Twisted Person With Horns Demonic Grin Hooved Feet and Stinger Tail: The Naughty were young people who fell from grace in their human lives because they never bent a knee in supplication to the Winter Spirit. Their acts of defiance earned them a place on Orcus’ Claws’ naughty list, and their souls were collected and transformed into the Naughty to serve the mighty Orcus’ Claws.
The creature is a mistletroll. Its job is to write threatening letters to children promising that Orcus’ Claws will sneak into their homes and steal them away from their parents to convert them into the Naughty so they can serve in Claws’ Candy Crypt for all eternity.
The belly laugh of Orcus’ Claws is more of a “Har-har-harrr” than a “Ho-ho-hooo!” Claws has delegated the task of summoning his beloved Nohell Claws to his able astrologer, Mr. Giggles, which allows Claws the time to convert more damned souls into his legion of the Naughty. It takes three combat rounds of Claws whispering into the ear of a soulless wretch to transform it into one of the Naughty. Claws cannot belly laugh and whisper to the soulless at the same time.
Undead: ?
Reflection Ghost: ?
Demonic Creature: ?
 

Out for Blood (Level 15 PCs)
5e
Vampire Hound: The castle courtyard is located in the southwest portion of the castle’s main floor. Its southern portion contains the castle’s kennels. The vampire Blaine has found his way here, and has transformed the lord’s dogs into vampire hounds.
Blaine, Vampire: ?
Mathias, Malthias, Vampire Warrior: ?
Master Ulthaire, Vampire:
Mistress Lucine, Lucy Night, Vampire Spellcaster: ?
True Vampire, Miserable Undead Wretch that Prolongs its Unholy Life With the Blood of Others: ?
Vampire Spawn: ?
Masked Vampire Spawn: ?
Wandering Vampire Spawn: ?
Free-Willed Creature: If any of the vampire spawn survive their encounters with the party, they become free-willed creatures left to feed on unfortunate villagers.
 
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Owner of a Broken Hart
5e
Zombie: A group of people are around the altar and a hooded person is performing some kind of ritual on a corpse that has been placed upon the altar.
An Intelligence (arcana) check of 13 will tell the performing character that the hooded figure is casting the spell animate dead upon the corpse.
Ghoul: ?
Bloodguard: [T]he ritual for create bloodguard.
Bloodguard Knight: ?
Bloodguard Captain: ?
Bloodguard Shield-Breaker: ?
Bloodguard Halberdier: ?
Magnificent Arcane Manticore Ephraim Argent, Neo-Lich Knight, Lich Knight, Undead Knight: Ephraim Argent was killed during his encounter with the characters at the Manticore’s Nest, however he had already begun the process of becoming a lich. So his death, in a sense, was just a step he was preparing to make anyways.
Ashbourne Assassin: ?
Crawling Claw: ?
Undead: ?
 

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