Savage Species (3e)
3.0
Ghost Brute: Ghost brutes are the spectral remnants of animals, magical beasts, and sentient plants—creatures without the minimum Charisma needed to become normal ghosts.
A ghost brute most often results from the circumstances that caused its earthly companion or master to remain after death. It might be the mount of a betrayed paladin, the beloved pet of a child tragically killed, the scorched oak of a ghostly dryad, or a murdered druid’s animal companion. Generally, laying the associated being to rest also puts an end to the ghost brute.
Sometimes, though, a bizarre circumstance might produce a ghost brute without an intelligent companion. For example, a forest suddenly obliterated by a fell magical attack might remain as a ghostly grove populated by lingering spirits not even completely aware of their own destruction.
“Ghost brute” is an acquired template that can be added to any animal, magical beast, or plant with a Charisma score below 8.
Ghost Hound, Ghost Brute Large Riding Dog: ?
Mummified Creature: Mummies are undead creatures, embalmed using ancient necromantic lore.
“Mummified” is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal animal, giant, or humanoid.
The process of becoming a mummy is usually involuntary, but expressing the wish to become one to the proper priests, and paying the proper fees, can convince them to bring you back to life as a mummy—especially if some of your friends make sure the priests do what you paid them to do.
Mummified Ogre: ?
Spectral Creature: “Spectral creature” is an acquired template that can be added to any aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, or monstrous humanoid. The creature must have a Charisma score of at least 8.
Any aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, or monstrous humanoid slain by a spectral creature rises as a spectral creature in 1d4 rounds.
Any aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, or monstrous humanoid slain by a spectral cloaker rises as a spectral creature in 1d4 rounds.
Spectral creatures are not the spawn of spectres unless the base creature is humanoid.
Spectral Cloaker: ?
Umbral Creature: “Umbral creature” is an acquired template that can be added to any aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, or monstrous humanoid. The creature must have a Charisma score of at least 8.
Any aberration, animal, dragon,
giant, humanoid, magical beast, or monstrous humanoid reduced to Strength 0 by an umbral creature rises as an umbral creature in 1d4 rounds.
Any aberration, animal, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, or monstrous humanoid reduced to Strength 0 by an umbral ettin rises as an umbral creature in 1d4 rounds.
Umbral Ettin: ?
Wight: “Wight” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid.
Any humanoid slain by a wight rises as a wight in 1d4 rounds.
Any humanoid slain by a troglodyte wight rises as a wight in 1d4 rounds.
Shadow, Spectre, Wight, and Wraith: All four of these transformed creatures appear within rounds of when the victim was slain.
Wight Troglodyte: ?
Wraith, Wraith Creature: Wraiths are incorporeal creatures born of evil and darkness.
“Wraith” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid.
Any humanoid slain by a wraith rises as a wraith in 1d4 rounds.
Any humanoid slain by a kobold wraith rises as a wraith in 1d4 rounds.
Wraith creatures are not the spawn of wraiths unless the base creature is humanoid.
Shadow, Spectre, Wight, and Wraith: All four of these transformed creatures appear within rounds of when the victim was slain.
Kobold Wraith, Kobold Wraith Warrior 1: ?
Ghost Brute, Lingering Spirit: ?
Ghost Brute, Spectral Remnant of an Animal: ?
Ghost Brute, Spectral Remnant of a Magical Beast: ?
Ghost Brute, Spectral Remnant of a Plant: ?
Ghost Hound, Ethereal Creature: ?
Mummified Creature, Intelligent Corporeal Undead: ?
Mummified Eagle: ?
Spectral Creature, Incorporeal Undead: ?
Umbral Creature, Creature of Living Darkness, Incorporeal Undead: ?
Wraith, Corporeal Undead: ?
Wraith, Incorporeal Creature Born of Evil and Darkness, Incorporeal Undead: ?
Undead, Undead Creature, Undead Monster: ?
Intelligent Undead: ?
Unintelligent Undead: ?
Mindless Undead Creature, Mindless Undead: ?
Awakened Undead: Awaken Undead spell.
Corporeal Undead Creature: ?
Nonintelligent Undead: ?
Undead Spawn: ?
Incorporeal Undead: ?
Allip: ?
Bodak: A humanoid killed by a bodak’s death gaze becomes a bodak one day later, its type changing to undead.
Ghast: ?
Ghost, Normal Ghost: A monster or character may become a ghost after death.
The DM may allow deceased characters to remain in contact with their former lives by becoming ghosts.
Ghost, Horror: ?
Ghostly Creature: ?
Ghost Bugbear: ?
Ghostly Dryad: ?
Yuan-Ti Ghost: ?
Ghost Barghest: ?
Ghoul: ?
Freed Ghoul Spawn: ?
Emancipated Ghoul: ?
Yvine, Ghoul Spawn Fighter 10/Emancipated Spawn 3: ?
Weakest Ghoul: ?
Smart Ghoul: ?
5th-Level Ghoul: Any humanoid slain by a 5th-level ghoul rises as a 5th-level ghoul in 1d4 days. Casting protection from evil on a body before the end of that time averts the transformation.
Lich: A spellcaster of at least 11th level can become a lich.
Transforming into a lich (see the template in the Monster Manual) requires a character to have at least eleven levels of cleric, sorcerer, or wizard just to create the phylactery.
Mohrg: ?
Mummy: ?
Mummy, Creature of the Dead: ?
Hostile Mummy: ?
Shadow, Normal Shadow, Undead Shadow: Any humanoid reduced to Strength 0 by Anastrianna’s incorporeal touch rises as a shadow in 1d4 rounds.
Any humanoid reduced to Strength 0 by a shadow of 6th level or higher rises as a shadow of the same level as the master in 1d4 rounds.
Shadow, Spectre, Wight, and Wraith: All four of these transformed creatures appear within rounds of when the victim was slain.
Many kinds of creatures are subjects of the creature that created them. Vampire spawn, shadows, and zombies created by mohrgs all fall into this category.
Shadow, Creature of Living Darkness, Shadow, Transformed Creature, Incorporeal Undead, Strange Spooky Undead Creature: ?
Freed Shadow Spawn: ?
Shadow Companion, Undead Shade, Summoned Shadow: ?
Anastrianna Galanodel, Shadow Sorcerer 4/Emancipated Spawn 3: Killed by a shadow while in search of an evil tome, Anastrianna rose from the dead as a shadow 3 rounds later. Shortly thereafter, she realized that her master had been destroyed and she was no longer under its control.
Low-Level Shadow: ?
Skeleton, Simple Skeleton: ?
Skeleton, Mindless Undead: ?
Skeletal Dog: ?
Skeletal Orc: ?
Loyal Skeleton: Skeletal Guard spell.
Spectre: Shadow, Spectre, Wight, and Wraith: All four of these transformed creatures appear within rounds of when the victim was slain.
Spectre, Transformed Creature: ?
Spectral Hound, Ghost Brute Wolf: ?
Vampire: A creature with 5 or more HD killed by a vampire may become a vampire.
Assuming a player character can convince a vampire to drain his or her Constitution via its blood drain attack rather than killing him or her outright via its energy drain attack, the transformation is relatively simple. If a character with 5 or more Hit Dice (from any combination of base creature HD and HD from class levels) dies because a vampire reduces his or her Constitution to 0, that character rises as a vampire 1d4 days after burial.
Vampire Spawn: Many kinds of creatures are subjects of the creature that created them. Vampire spawn, shadows, and zombies created by mohrgs all fall into this category.
Vampire, Mystical Creature: ?
Wight: Shadow, Spectre, Wight, and Wraith: All four of these transformed creatures appear within rounds of when the victim was slain.
Wight, Transformed Creature: ?
Wraith, Transformed Creature: ?
Zombie: Many kinds of creatures are subjects of the creature that created them. Vampire spawn, shadows, and zombies created by mohrgs all fall into this category.
Zombie, Mindless Undead: ?
Zombie Fighter: ?
Zombie Warhorse: ?
AWAKEN UNDEAD
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, M, XP
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. plus 5 ft./2 levels)
Targets: All mindless undead within a circle 25 ft. in radius plus 5 ft./2 levels
Duration: Permanent (D)
Saving Throw: None (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
This spell grants Intelligence to mindless undead such as skeletons and zombies. Undead with Intelligence scores are unaffected. Each mindless undead creature within the radius gains an Intelligence score of 1d6+4. A subject of the spell cannot gain a higher Intelligence than is typical for its original kind. A skeletal dog simply has Intelligence 2, while a skeletal orc uses the 1d6+4 die roll but can’t have a score higher than 8.
Awakened undead do not regain any skills, feats, or extraordinary abilities they had in life, but they do gain skill points ([4 + Int mod] × HD) and feats (one for first Hit Die, one for each three HD thereafter) normally after being awakened.
Undead regain the armor and weapon proficiencies they had in life (assume the undead were formerly NPC warriors unless your DM specifies otherwise) and will don armor and take up weapons while obeying your commands. A zombie fighter can wear any armor and wield any simple or martial weapon, while a zombie warhorse can wear any armor.
Awakened undead gain a +2 profane bonus on their Will saving throws to resist being controlled.
Material Component: A humanoid fingerbone.
XP Cost: 200 XP.
SKELETAL GUARD
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: One or more fingerbones
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
You create a number of loyal skeletons from fingerbones. All skeletons are Medium-size, with the normal Monster Manual statistics for their kind, except that their effective Hit Dice as far as turning is concerned is equal to your caster level. You can create one skeleton per caster level. These skeletons count toward the number of Hit Dice of undead you can have in your control (2 HD worth per caster level, as with the animate dead spell).
Unlike the animate dead spell, these skeletons try to remain within 60 feet of you. If this distance is exceeded, a skeleton becomes inert until you return to within 60 feet of it.
Material Component: One fingerbone from a Medium-size creature and one onyx gem worth 50 gp per skeleton to be created. The skeleton that forms from the fingerbone is that type of creature.