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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 7845844" data-attributes="member: 2209"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/218399/The-Blight--Pathfinder?src=hottest_filtered?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">The Blight - Pathfinder</a>Pathfinder 1eAlchemic-Unliving Creature: Those who wish to live forever sometimes take this dark path through use of the proprietary means available with the elixir of life. Those who take this draught by choice hope to join the alchymic-undying*; those who fail in this endeavour are cursed to become the alchymic-unliving*. Those who are forced to take the elixir by cruel masters or terms of indenture almost invariably end up among the alchymic-unliving. The alchymic-unliving are creatures tainted by the curse of undeath through exposure to elixir of life. Those who partake in the forbidden fruits of such alchymic experimentation face a dismal future. It is true that death, or at least mortal death by aging, is no longer a concern, but the life left is bleak and bereft of any of the joys of the living. “Alchymic-Unliving Creature” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature that fails its Fortitude saving throw when exposed to elixir of life.There are also those who take the elixir of life but whose bodies do not react well to the unnatural infusion. Instead of shedding the shackles of ordinary mortality as alchymic-undying, these unlucky souls instead find themselves cursed with a progressive form of undeath that not only steals away their vitality and ability to experience sensation, but also their very reason and personality as well. These cursed folk are the alchymic-unliving, and when their curse becomes advanced enough, they lose every last shred of who they were and become simply one more zombie shuffling mindlessly to its master’s commands. Lucien died of consumption despite Lady Grey’s fanatical attempts to keep him alive, and her mind finally and fully snapped. Convinced that she must educate her child to spread the word of the Panacea, Lady Grey set about taking the natural path for her — to make the perfect child in Lucien’s image. From that time on, Lady Grey has been experimenting, becoming a homunculi wife set upon creating a perfect child. She has dabbled with cadavers, creating alchymic undead from some of the corpses of children Sprat and Marrow supplied her with. The chimney wing is Lady Grey’s latest addition to the manse. It contains her crucible where she creates alchymic undead, tries to raise children, and makes abominations. The sphere is the Cuckoo Womb Lady Grey uses to carry out her work. She binds her victims in the sphere, to make Staff of Life worms (see below) or to release them on some creature she intends to make into an alchymic undead or an abomination. To make an abomination, she bloats the worms on the blood of the creature she wishes to conjoin with the trapped creature and waits to see what happens. If she uses the works to try to create an alchymic undead, she uses worms fed on pigs or, if she can get them, fresh, healthy human, ideally without blemish or sickness. In her twisted mind, the purer the flesh, the better. The dose of Staff of Life worms is worth 150 gp or could be used to make an alchymic undead.The PCs hear more shouting at street corners, particularly the words “Staff of Life” and “the Elixir.” The foul substance is being used to make alchymic undead, many of whom are now being forced to work in manufacturies and mines after being killed in horrible accidents. Elixir of Life magic item.Stoic Guardian, Alchymic-Unliving Ogre Warrior 1: Created by Illuminati mages to guard entrances to their chapterhouses, stoic guardians simply stand and stare as their minds slowly slip away. Between Incarnate Nosferatu Sorcerer 8: ?Bileborn: The bileborn is an undead creature born of alchemical and necromantic experimentation. Its purpose and the identity of its creator are unknown, but the mistakes of this master have long since been paid, as the original bileborn ultimately escaped and slew its creator, incorporating his body among the rest. bileborn seeks to increase its mass by absorbing creatures into its body. This does not increase the creature’s size or change it in any fundamental way, but the crowd of body parts grows denser at its center. Then at some indeterminate point, the creature reproduces by fission. The fused conglomeration of rotten body parts splits down the middle, forming two bileborns of equal size and power. Ragefire: Ragefire spawn are under the control of the ragefire elemental that created them and remain enslaved until its death, or until they feed and become ragefire elementals themselves. Ragefire Spawn: As a full-round action, a Huge, greater, or elder ragefire elemental can create ragefire spawn by incinerating the corpse of a non-evil humanoid of at least 5 HD that it has killed within the last 10 rounds. Small Ragefire Elemental: As a full-round action, a Tiny, Small, Medium, or Large ragefire elemental can incinerate the corpse of a non-evil humanoid of at least half the elemental’s HD that it has killed within the last 10 rounds to gain a growth point. It gains a bonus equal to its growth point total on attack rolls, CMB rolls, Fortitude and Reflex saving throws, and skill checks. Its maximum hit points increase by 5 for each growth point it gains. For every 2 growth points, the DC for its burn special ability and its CR increase by +1. When a Tiny ragefire elemental gains 1 growth point, or a Small, Medium or Large ragefire elemental reaches 4 growth points, it increases in size, losing all of its growth points (and bonuses) but gaining the stats for a ragefire elemental of the next larger size. Medium Ragefire Elemental: As a full-round action, a Tiny, Small, Medium, or Large ragefire elemental can incinerate the corpse of a non-evil humanoid of at least half the elemental’s HD that it has killed within the last 10 rounds to gain a growth point. It gains a bonus equal to its growth point total on attack rolls, CMB rolls, Fortitude and Reflex saving throws, and skill checks. Its maximum hit points increase by 5 for each growth point it gains. For every 2 growth points, the DC for its burn special ability and its CR increase by +1. When a Tiny ragefire elemental gains 1 growth point, or a Small, Medium or Large ragefire elemental reaches 4 growth points, it increases in size, losing all of its growth points (and bonuses) but gaining the stats for a ragefire elemental of the next larger size.Large Ragefire Elemental: As a full-round action, a Tiny, Small, Medium, or Large ragefire elemental can incinerate the corpse of a non-evil humanoid of at least half the elemental’s HD that it has killed within the last 10 rounds to gain a growth point. It gains a bonus equal to its growth point total on attack rolls, CMB rolls, Fortitude and Reflex saving throws, and skill checks. Its maximum hit points increase by 5 for each growth point it gains. For every 2 growth points, the DC for its burn special ability and its CR increase by +1. When a Tiny ragefire elemental gains 1 growth point, or a Small, Medium or Large ragefire elemental reaches 4 growth points, it increases in size, losing all of its growth points (and bonuses) but gaining the stats for a ragefire elemental of the next larger size.Huge Ragefire Elemental: As a full-round action, a Tiny, Small, Medium, or Large ragefire elemental can incinerate the corpse of a non-evil humanoid of at least half the elemental’s HD that it has killed within the last 10 rounds to gain a growth point. It gains a bonus equal to its growth point total on attack rolls, CMB rolls, Fortitude and Reflex saving throws, and skill checks. Its maximum hit points increase by 5 for each growth point it gains. For every 2 growth points, the DC for its burn special ability and its CR increase by +1. When a Tiny ragefire elemental gains 1 growth point, or a Small, Medium or Large ragefire elemental reaches 4 growth points, it increases in size, losing all of its growth points (and bonuses) but gaining the stats for a ragefire elemental of the next larger size.Greater Ragefire Elemental: It is not known how a greater or elder ragefire elemental is created, but it is speculated that a Huge ragefire elemental that causes a large enough loss of sentient life may advance to these states. Elder Ragefire Elemental: It is not known how a greater or elder ragefire elemental is created, but it is speculated that a Huge ragefire elemental that causes a large enough loss of sentient life may advance to these states. Undead Horse: ?Animated Insect: ?Unliving Stole: ?Undead Moth: ?Undead Fox: ?Land of Long Night: ?Undead Sea Gull: ?Uriah: The Heaths rely upon the fierce reputation of their brutal former leader Uriah to do their work for them; Uriah had a dreadful reputation for violence and his name still causes fear among locals, who are convinced he is either not dead or will return as undead or alchymic-undying soon. Undead Bat Swarm: ?Undead Beetle: ?Undead Insect: ?Undead Minor Mammal: ?Undead Mouse: ?Undead Crow: ?Undead Roper: ?Undead Young Rat: ?Undead Rat: ?Undead Cat: ?Undead Bird: ?Undead Spider: ?Undead Cricket: ?Undead Dwarf Monkey: ?Undead Kitten: ?Her Gracious Occularis Paladin Lady Rachel Birch, Human Ghost Inquisitor of Mother Grace 9: She returned from the dead as a ghost.With that in mind, you might want to consider her death. It is too soon for her — she is tortured by the Beautiful and what it is offering but is an inquisitor and remains so until the ultimate end. Such a furious internal conflict is a good way to become a ghost. Mister Smyle, Gnome Ghost Expert 11: One of the most famous features of the city, the Clockwork House Inn is a strange invention created and continually expanded by its owner a Mister Smyle (LN gnome ghost expert 11). Smyle made his fortunes with his unique clockwork puppets, and when he retired he began work on his famous tavern. Entering the House is a curious experience. A clockwork hare doffs a walking cane, clockwork foxes stare from above the bar, and clockwork mice run across the ceiling. A trio of great clocks beat out the time, and from each a single clockwork (stuffed) dodo appears on the hour, pulls out a large pocket watch and squawks once for each hour. Some people find this garish mixture of stuffed animal, beast, and clockwork to be rather ghoulish, and as each room has its own curious feature (a room with a clockwork raven that wears a suit, a room with a clockwork rat chasing a clockwork cat with a carving knife, a room with a clock trio of magpies fighting over a clockwork rabbit and various others) there is no escape from the inventor’s madness. Unfortunately, the work took its toll on Smyle as well, he hanged himself from the bar in 1567. He haunts the place now as a reclusive ghost. Sister Oblivion, Ghoul Bard 4: ?Marriana Ragg, Ghoul Rogue 4: ?Grace Spindleshanked, Ghoul Rogue 1: ?Liza, Ghoul: ?Maude, Ghoul: ?Ghoul Pig: The straw is for 3 ghoul pigs the ghouls have infected with ghoul fever; one is little more than a piglet, and all show signs of being tormented. Slaken, Ghoul: ?Molly, Ghoul: ?Letty, Ghoul: ?Grace, Ghoul: ?Jacob, Ghoul: ?Logg, Ghoul: ?Sprat, Natural Wererat Ghoul Rogue 2: ?Urias Kemp, Ghast Expert 4: Following a disastrous appearance at the Crippled Lamb Gin House that resulted in a month-long protest boycott of the venue by all the local talent agents, Queenie had him thrown down a manhole. Having lain unconscious in the dark tunnel below for some time, Kemp was awoken by a weak old ghoul that, believing him already dead, had begun to feast upon one of his legs. Kemp smashed its head in with a chunk of masonry but the damage was done: at first, he was in too much pain to escape his plight, and then the ghoul fever took hold, sealing his fate. Guelder Winter, Ghast Bard 4/Rogue 3: ?The Only, Mother Mantis, Ghast Witch 4/Cleric of Lucifer 5: ?Master Trough, Swyne Ghast, Advanced Swyne Ghoul: A trio of insanely terrified swyne ghasts, the remains of visitors who once attended a filth feast, lurk herein but may be encountered anywhere in the palace. Young Grog, Swyne Ghast, Advanced Swyne Ghoul: A trio of insanely terrified swyne ghasts, the remains of visitors who once attended a filth feast, lurk herein but may be encountered anywhere in the palace. Mistress Binge, Swyne Ghast, Advanced Swyne Ghoul: A trio of insanely terrified swyne ghasts, the remains of visitors who once attended a filth feast, lurk herein but may be encountered anywhere in the palace. Lacedon Ghast: ?Count Strord, Lich Cleric of Flense 11: ?Musgrove I the Dead-Hearted, Lich-Like Monstrosity: Musgrove the Cold-Hearted, the very same uncle, reluctantly assumed the throne. Musgrove did not rule for long: his research into the properties of alchymic undeath — some say based upon research previously pursued by Quintus Cognate — led to his accidental self-poisoning and death after only eight years of power. It became a Castorhagi legend that his funeral was the only time the sealer of the Royal Crypt smiled while performing his duties. His son Musgrove II succeeded the father and immediately set about undoing many of the draconian measures that Musgrove I had put into place. Musgrove II’s reign was doomed to be short as well, however, for his father’s research had borne deadly fruit. Musgrove I emerged from his tomb as a lich-like monstrosity after resting for only four years, slew his own son — whom he named as the Usurper — and resumed his reign. Now, he styled himself as Musgrove the “Dead-Hearted,” rather than his former “Cold-Hearted.” Jonas Long-Tongue, Mohrg: ?The Watcher in the Shadows, Mohrg: ?Number Six, Human Skeleton: ?Beltane, King of Thorns, Master of Impaling, God Emperor of the Fetch, Karlingen Borxia, Vampire: Karlingen Borxia encounters Underguild, transformed into vampire.Princess Lilly, Vampire Aristocrat 4: ?The Gable-Man, Vampire, The Great Cleric Anthony Mackus: Rumour has it that Mackus is now none other than the Gable-Man, a vampire of legend that eats the happiness of old people, and that he was struck down by vampirism by none other than Beltane himself. Perdition, Dread Queen of Unbirth, Old Human Vampire Medium 9: ?The Brackish King, Between Vampire Rogue 7/Assassin 3: ?Young Human Vampire Commoner 1: ?Selene, Vampire Bride:Beltane visited Queen Selene in the night, twice, while the family made its preparations for departure, each time leaving her one step closer to immortal undeath. On the third night, Beltane stepped upon the ship’s deck to see the island suddenly sinking beneath the waves. He dove in and swam to the Queen’s chamber where he found her upon the verge of drowning — and bestowed upon her his final life-draining kiss. He then buried her deep in the sea mud to await the next night. When she arose as a vampire at the next nightfall, she found that Beltane had fashioned a coffin from her furnishings in the palace. The Singed Man, Infernal Tyrant, Vampire Lord: ?Father of Castorhage Qeudecce III, Vampire: ?Elisabeth Marnier, Human Vampire Bard 8: In fact, Elisabeth Marnier (N female human vampire bard 8) was infected with vampirism while festering in the lower jails within the Capitol, but escaped and fled here. Master of Ceremonies Rudyard Hasp, Human Vampire Bard 4: ?Qui, Human Vampire Sorcerer 6: ?Albie Otiose, Halfling Vampire Rogue 3: ?Xianbi, Grace of the Smiling Slumbering Dragon, Human Vampire Aristocrat 2/Illusionist 11: ?Callwell Carver, Human Vampire Ranger 4: ?Madame Rosetta Violet, Human Vampire Aristocrat 7: ?Blessed One, Young Human Vampire Rogue 4: The dates and causes of the fires have varied over the centuries, with the earliest recorded instance occurring as far back as –1322 R.C., and several of the later instances having inexact dates due to loss of early city records. The most recent instance, the Sixth Great Fire of Town Bridge, occurred in 1509 and charred stumps and the smell of ash are still reported in some parts of the current bridge. Scholars of the arcane and esoteric have speculated that the calamity, and rumours of the discovery of ragefire* — a malevolent living flame — are curiously similar in date, and, thus, appoint the Great Fire as the first encounter between men and ragefire itself. However, the truth is stranger. For in 1509, paladins of the Trinity of Life (see AQ17 in Chapter 2) hoping to discover and destroy Beltane, captured the boy who would become the Blessed One, then only a human but a thrall of one of the Fetch’s Deceivers. The vampire-hunting paladins carried a flask of the newly discovered ragefire with them for use against the vampire god-emperor when they found him. Underestimating the homeless waif they had captured, the hunters let down their guard only for a moment, but it was long enough for the child to turn their weapon against them and smash the flask upon the leader of the paladins (already their 187th mushaff*). The ragefire consumed the screaming paladins and grew larger before feasting upon the rest of the structure and thousands of Town Bridge’s residents. The resulting conflagration raged for a week and a day, and near consumed the entire bridge before a section collapsed beneath the ragefire and sent it to its doom in the waters of the Lyme below, and the rest of the blaze finally spent its fuel. Tales among the Fetch, tell that the boy only survived by falling, blazing, into the river below, where he was found by Beltane himself and blessed with the gift of unlife in reward for his loyalty. The Blessed One himself has stalked the streets of Town Bridge for centuries and it was he that was responsible for the last Great Fire to sweep Town Bridge 2 1/2 centuries ago (see sidebox). That fire caused terrible burns on the Blessed One when he was still living that healed into a terrible disfigurement with his resurrection as a vampire. Lady Mulminil Skarn, Hill Dwarf Vampire Aristocrat 5: ?Chamomile Bramble, Human Vampire Aristocrat 4: ?His Holiness the Droge of the Great Mother, Vampire Ex-Cleric of Mother Grace 9: ?Lady Fidelia Flax Shortstone, Gnome Vampire Aristocrat 6: ?Lord Hemlock, Human Vampire Aristocrat 7: ?Between Vampire: Between vampires do not have the ability to create spawn, but Threnody is one of the rare examples of her kind that can create a new generation of Between vampires. Every century or so, she becomes obsessed with reproduction. No act of procreation is required for such an event to occur and conclude. When it occurs, she grows to Large size as she bloats with a host of young, and her hunger to feed becomes almost a madness. She requires living hosts into which her young are birthed and prefers them to be sentient creatures of the mundane world. When birthed, the young occupy a large cyst in their host’s body where they feed for 1d3 days until they grow rudimentary wings 1d3 days later. At that point, they finish feeding upon the host and burrow out to make their escape, maturing to become full-grown Between vampires in a matter of weeks. When they first emerge from the host they are virtually helpless (AC 10, hp 1, fly 10 ft. [poor]), but after that they begin to gain HD at the rate of 1 per week and develop the natural abilities of their kind during this time.Wither, Human Vampire Aristocrat 1/Sorcerer 6: ?The Empty One, Human Weakened, Vampire Aristocrat 2/Fighter 4: The Empty One was once a knight who tried to destroy Wither. The vampire broke him on a wheel, ensuring that the calamity that remained was at the edge of death when it returned as a full-fledged vampire. The thing that was left, which Wither named the Empty One, is a broken, mangled creature.Threnody, Hungry Mother, Old Tenome Between Vampire: ?Ambergris, Human Vampire Fighter (Archer) 6: ?Elthanor Thorn, Human Vampire Aristocrat 4/Rogue 5: ?Battle-Duke Ormand, Vampire Spawn: ?Archibald Hegg, The Shadowy Tumbler, Vampire Spawn Bard 2: ?Nectra, Human Vampire Spawn Cleric of Lucifer 4: ?Algernon Alfonse Leptonia, Human Vampire Spawn Aristocrat 4: ?Gideon Murkwid, Human Vampire Spawn Expert 3: Ambergris is the “mother” (at least that is the term she uses) of Gideon Murkwid.Madame Kale, Human Vampire Spawn Illusionist 4: A member of the Panacea and vampire spawn child of Lord Hemlock, Madam Kale has a chamber here, which she uses to meet with Sallow and Algernon, discuss gossip at the Weary Palace, and to store secrets she does not wish Hemlock to discover. The Burnt One, Human Vampire Spawn Fighter 3: ?Spawn of Wither, Human Vampire Spawn Rogue 3: Consider that Wither can raise one spawn per night.Between Vampire Spawn: Meanwhile in the slums of the city, the other prepares her nest, ready for the birthing of a new brood. She calls herself Threnody, and Threnody is hungry. A Between vampire does not just take the lifeblood from a victim: They take everything, devouring the mind, the memories and the talents of their victims until they become bloated and monstrous. Most, thankfully, go mad and crawl into the dark to suffer. Threnody does not; she is ready to birth and slithers into the night to gather hosts for her brood. In Toiltown, she grows and lays her eggs into the warm flesh of those who will serve as the first meal of her thousand children. Threnody slips into the slums and begins, gathering hosts and stealing memories and loves and anger and lusts as she does so. Seeking a strong cover for her brood, after testing and tasting two accomplices of a petty street gang, she settles upon the mind of the most powerful local crime lord Uriah Strange, leader of the Renders. Devouring his soul and mind, she embarks upon an orgy of flesh, gathering hundreds to form the hosts of her children. And as she gathers, so she reaps, sending messages to confuse the followers and allies of Strange, weaving a web of deceit to hide her new brood behind. Strange’s closest allies are devoured or dominated, and the rest left leaderless, their suspicions growing stronger by the day. Even as Threnody stirs and steals and feasts, her touch festers into a sickness from Between, a misery that creates, not destroys, a pestilence that hungers and changes, rather than slays. They call the sickness the mocking plague as it distorts its victim’s humanity. It rips their faces into mocking grins and sick, distended smiles, when it leaves them with flesh at all. In three days, her brood will birth, and if they do, a plague of undeath that wears sickness as its skin will infect the city.There are scores of stacked bodies here and dangling in HS8 below, and each contains a germinating Between vampire spawn. The young Between vampires birth at a set time. The mother of the Darkest Day is being called the Hungry Mother in the slums of Toiltown where she has already birthed her brood, and this clutch of terror now suckles somewhere in the dark waiting for their eyes to open. They must not do so. The Hungry Mother has birthed hundreds of her vampire spawn from Between who are but a legend amongst the older stories of the Fetch. Advanced Wight: One of the statues has birthed an undead that slowly mumbles to itself, much to Algernon’s amusement. If quizzed, Algernon claims that his genius breathes life into his creations from time to time, as does Sallow’s. The creature, an advanced wight, is held rigid by the substance it is embalmed in, but if the object’s skin is breached, the shell shatters and the creature within emerges and attacks, raving as it does. If Algernon or Sallow are present, the creature ignores all other opponents in preference to them. In truth, Algernon purchased 4 inmates of a sanatorium who suffered from elephantiasis from Stompton, Hogg and Gryme — Corpse Purveyors at great expense, and these are what he regards as his finest creations — so far. Juju Zombie House Cat: ?Zombie Horse, Undead Dray, Advanced Zombie Horse: ?Zombie Mule: ?Dead Cat, Zombie Cat: ?Young Human Fast Zombie: ?Rullan Bread, Human Zombie: ?Dark Creeper Fast Zombie: ?Created, Zombie: The other figures are a mixture of statues made by Algernon Alfonce Leptonia (see L4: Decay), except that these figures move, albeit very slowly. The others figures are disgusting creations that have had life breathed into them. They are part carcass, part art, and each has animal and monster and human parts but, unless attacked, they merely follow the PCs, perhaps touching their hair or fingers. If attacked, use Medium zombie statistics. Black Swan Zombie, Fast Zombie Swan: ?Forgotten Princess, Greater Banshee: The Forgotten Palace fell in a single night, and her occupants did not notice until it was too late. In truth, some still deny the truth, particularly the Forgotten Princess, who still resides here preparing to meet her betrothed for the very first time. Magnus Melancholy, Human Nosferatu Necromancer 10: ?Meadow, The Bride, Coffer Corpse: ?Mocking Gull, Between-Touched Goul-Stirge: ?The Child of Folly, Unique Advanced Undead Ooze: ?Penitent One, Blight Ghoul Rogue 7: ?Egger Kask, Human Blight Ghoul Brawler 9: ?Fecule, Blight Ghoul Rogue (Spy) 8: ?His Tattered Majesty, Grim-Cakor I, Dwarf Blight Ghoul Fighter 7/Rogue 3: Grim-Cacor (literally the “Deep Demon”) was once the chief steward of Grim-Mathen’s thane but personally devoured his liege after the first few months of enforced isolation as the ghoul fever began to take hold among the entrapped populace and assumed control of those who remained as undead. Isaac Maggot, Human Blight Ghoul Rogue (Thug) 7/Assassin 2: ?Abomination Essay Swarm: ?Undead: Butcher’s Bride This madwoman vanished into the night about ten years ago and has remained unseen since. Her speciality was disembowelling her victims and creating undead statuary from them. The creatures that dwell here are feral, unlikely to be humanoid, and are joined by myriad types of undead that occupy the swamp due to the long practice of bog burials conducted by the Great Cemetery in the Hollow and Broken Hills.His small cult, the Cult of Revenants, actively seeks to bring the unwary to their destined vengeance much sooner than their natural lifespan would otherwise warrant. If they catch a lone victim, they force this doctrine upon him by sacrificing him to “unleash their thwarted justice.” That these victims rarely volunteer and that the undead creature created from the sacrifice simply serves as a slave to a member of the cult is disregarded by its members. All those who worship the god are bound by a terrible dark pact they commit to in blood and soul when they become an acolyte of Flense. The pact grants the worshipper a terrible retribution. Upon dying, the devotee of Flense is reborn anew as a “revenant” creature, torn from the mortal body of his unworthy subject to become a thing of vengeance. The creature the devotee rises as is always free-willed and equal to the CR of the cleric in life +1. Such new forms are not bound by a requirement to be undead (though frequently they are undead) and can come in any form the god chooses on a whim. Usually the form given is most commonly associated in some way with the life or personality of the deceased follower. For example, a follower who lives far away from civilisation may return as a dire animal bent upon vengeance. In addition to all of the above, since the passage of The Corpse [Laying to Rest] Act of 1770, the Carcass has also served as a repository of stinking, rotting bodies claimed by the City for failure to pay the Death Duty, but for which it currently has no immediate use. Instead, tens of thousands of mouldering corpses lie heaped in niches, half-made catacombs, abandoned wells and oubliettes and virtually every other sort of space imaginable, while the infestation of rats, ghouls, and Blight ghoulsTOBH, and many spontaneously forming undead, is almost unthinkable. He believes Mother Grace brought undead into the world to cleanse it of its mortal sins, but keeps this belief secret. Inside, the place is crammed with Leptonia and Sallow’s artwork. The vampire spawn has a peculiar artistic trick involving abducting waifs and strays, drugging them with a concoction or chloroform* and oil of taggit, and embalming them in a substance made from equal parts lime concrete, clay, and an alchemic discovery known as Blight grasp. This substance hardens very quickly (in a matter of minutes), and Algernon has been using it to create living statues — slowly engulfing his victims in the stone substance over a period of weeks, and eventually covering them completely, thoughtfully providing an air hole for them to breathe through to enjoy his work to the last and infuse the statues with the occasional angry spirits. That this process occasionally creates an undead merely adds to Algernon’s belief that he is a living (or more accurately, unliving) genius. Mists cloak the isle above, and the dour spirits of the fallen, the regretful, the wicked, and the innocent sing through the air. These only occasionally manifest as undead, but feel free to have shapes and faces loom out of the mist. Incorporeal Undead: ?Ghost: The Old Dockyard is barely used these days, the piers are dangerously rotten, and the pools below are infamous for quicksand. A small group of local dandies and artists have made their home here, these struggling dilettantes revel in their self-enforced poverty. The occasional pie shop or opium den opens up here to serve the aristocrats but generally doesn’t last long. Some say the old docks are haunted by the ghosts of shipbuilders from the past, and most infamously the Lady Rose, a gigantic ship that burnt during construction, killing 118 and eight workers, for which the first ironclad dreadnought Lady Ruin was later named (itself sunk in the Battle of the Kraken’s Teeth in 1751). Parts of the Lady Rose’s hulk can still be seen when the waters of the Lyme (rarely) clear, its skeletal black timbers lurking at the furthest pier in the docks, a perilous place to reach even in the best weather. Ghoul: ?Ghast: ?Lacedon: The Great Whale is indeed big enough to accommodate people living inside it, and these unwelcome squatters live within the rear parts of the vast whale’s mouth, dwelling in safe havens they have fashioned into crude fleshy dwellings that form air pockets whilst the whale is beneath the sea. They are not alone. So vast is the thing that lacedons — the undead remains of sailors who have lived and died here — also dwell within it. Lich: ?Mohrg: Ornamie Elias Hogg (1722–?), city’s longest-serving Watch Inspector. Disappeared Chill 17th, 1772, while chasing Jonas Long-Tongue, the feared mohrg assassin capable of infecting his victims with his own form.Mummy: ?Skeleton: ?Spectre: The spirits of two nest hunters who fell while hunting for eggs long ago haunt the cliffs here. Vampire: ?Vampire Spawn: ?Wight Spawn: Any humanoid creature that is slain by an advanced wight becomes a wight spawn itself in only 1d4 rounds.Wight: Spawn are under the command of the wight that created them and remain enslaved until its death, at which point they lose their spawn penalties and become full-fledged and free-willed wights.  Wraith: ?Zombie: For in Castorhage, the great experimenters discovered the great possibility and cheap availability of necromancy, not simply in the obvious sense of animating legions of zombie labourers, but rather in its application through necrocraft and golem innovation. While the many technological innovations that power Castorhage incorporate steam power or clockworks, at the core is their reliance preservation and animation of once-living flesh to supply their labour and energy needs. These cursed folk are the alchymic-unliving, and when their curse becomes advanced enough, they lose every last shred of who they were and become simply one more zombie shuffling mindlessly to its master’s commands. These cursed folk are the alchymic-unliving, and when their curse becomes advanced enough, they lose every last shred of who they were and become simply one more zombie shuffling mindlessly to its master’s commands. An alchymic-unliving creature that reaches 0 Intelligence loses the alchymic-unliving template and gains the zombie template. Human Zombie: ?Fast Zombie: Slain zombies are engulfed by the undead ooze and can be reanimated and expelled again in 1d2 hours. Demi-Lich: ?Draugr: ?Pickled Punk: ?Apparition: A humanoid slain by an apparition becomes an apparition itself in 1d4 rounds. Spawn so created are less powerful than typical apparitions, and suffer a –2 penalty on all d20 rolls and checks. They also receive –2 hp per HD, and a –2 penalty to the Will save DC of their spectral strangulation ability. Spawn are under the command of the apparition that created them and remain enslaved until its death, at which point they lose their spawn penalties and become full-fledged and free-willed apparitions.Shortly before arriving at O12, the PCs become aware of a woman’s voice calling out, asking if one of the PCs is “Pherran, my love.” The woman’s voice ignores any answers that are given, but continues to ask, becoming more urgent and claiming that she has come for her true love. Eventually she cries out, “Don’t make me do it again! I flung myself from the Wall once to be with you in death! Don’t ask it of me again!” She then breaks down into sobs and begins to complain of the cold and the feel of her skin. She begs a male character not to be angry with how she looks now, that her rose has withered but her soul remains his. Eventually, this bittersweet apparition emerges through the gloom, her undead body drawn into unlife to look for her true love. Bog Mummy: ?Bogeyman: ?Brykolakas: ?Cadaver: ?Corpse Candle: ?Draug: ?Ghoul-Stirge: ?Shadow Rat: ?Brine Zombie: ?Ghoul Wolf: ?Blight Ghoul: A creature that dies of Blight ghoul fever rises as a Blight ghoul at the next midnight. Blight Ghoul Fever disease.ELIXIR OF LIFE Aura faint necromancy; CL varies Slot none; Price varies; Weight — DESCRIPTION A living creature that does not have the outsider or ooze type that is injected with elixir of life (an infusion process that takes an hour and requires either a helpless or willing recipient) must make an immediate Fortitude save based on the quality of the elixir. Creatures that are immune to poison or death magic are not affected by the elixir. If the save is successful, the creature dies and rises again in 1d4 hours as a “Reborn” with the alchymic undying template. If the save is failed, the individual immediately dies and rises in 1d10 minutes as an undead creature with the alchymic unliving template. If the elixir is applied to a creature of the appropriate types (as described above) that has died within the last 24 hours but whose corpse is still relatively intact, the creature still gets a Fortitude save as if it were still alive with outcome of becoming either an alchymic undying or an alchemic unliving creature, but the saving throw is made at a cumulative –1 penalty for every 2 hours since it died (not including the hour required for infusion). If used in conjunction with a Cuckoo Womb and pieces of only partial cadavers in order to create a new-made form of life (as adjudicated by the GM), the elixir likewise has a quality-based saving throw to determine the stability of this outcome. If this saving throw is successful, the resulting creature is stable as a new type of living creature. If the save is unsuccessful, the new-made creature is unsuccessful, is in extensive pain, and dies in 1d4 days as its body literally falls apart. Anything of medium-grade elixir or lower is unpredictable, short lived, and prone to sudden violent unravelling. For each year of life or unlife for low-grade elixir, each month for pig-grade elixir, and each week for street-grade elixir, the initial Fortitude save must be made again or the creature rapidly (and often revoltingly) unmakes itself just as if a new-made creature had failed its initial saving throw. There are some exceptional cases (again at the GM’s discretion), where such an unmaking does not fully destroy the creature but instead forces it to live in a pain-filled, half-life of indeterminate length and horror. CONSTRUCTION Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, poison, raise dead, Between worms; Cost 10,000 gp (true elixir), 5,000 gp (medium-grade elixir), 500 gp (low-grade elixir), 250 gp (pig-grade elixir), 50 gp (street-grade elixir) Disease (Su) Blight Ghoul Fever: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 17; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Con and 1d3 Dex damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Charisma-based. A creature that dies of Blight ghoul fever rises as a Blight ghoul at the next midnight.</blockquote>

Verification