Undead taxonomy

[hong]

Having got the Worlds & Monsters book (which reinforces my belief that it's a good time to be WotC's bitch), I was just wondering how the 1e6 different undead species might be categorised.

Body only: skeleton, zombie

Body + animus: wight, ghoul <-- no soul = no superego = kill, kill, kill

Body + soul: vampire, lich, death knight <-- no animus = no bodily desires, only the memory thereof = lots of mechanical, joyless sex with your undead bloodsucking groupies

Animus only: shadow, wraith, spectre

Animus + soul: ?? (maybe ancestor spirits/deathless)

Soul only: ghost

 

[Fallen Seraph]

That sounds good to me, I also imagine a just "Soul" to have a lot of possession/inanimate object possession.

So a Soul enters a person but is slightly warped by the animus.

A Soul enters a house/item it appears to act out on its own free will. Animus could probably do this too (but it be more random and chaotic).

Perhaps a Animus + Soul be more along the lines of a poltergeist, the Soul uses the Animus to physical touch/interact with the world like how the animus gave movement and vitality but in this instance gives it the ability to be active in the real-world.

 

[hong]

A poltergeist sounds more like a special case of a ghost to me. Basically the ghost possesses a physical object instead of a person.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Ehh, I never really pictured poltergeists to be ones the inhabit objects. I have always imagined them to be the ones that have gained enough power (in this case animus) to actually physically effect the world. So say a comb goes flying across the room, the poltergeist didn't possess the comb it actually flung it across the room.

This way too, a poltergeist is more dangerous since it can actually physically push and pull living creatures.

So really it is a matter of personal view/opinion and who knows what WoTC be

 

[Incenjucar]

:\

I don't think Souls can be undead on their own. You need an animus to do any acting in the living world.

All undead should have animus. Corporeal ones will have bodies, and, how shall we say, 'unliving' undead will have souls.

But the animus is always there, otherwise you just have an ineffectual spirit.

I would assume a ghost to be animus+soul.. poltergeist may just be a very powerful animus.

 

[DreamChaser]

Corporeal Undead

zombie / skeleton = body + weak animus
wight / ghoul = body + strong animus
lich / vampire / mummy = body + strong animus + soul

Incorporeal Undead

shadow = weak animus
wraith / specter = strong animus
ghost = strong animus + soul

Animus is the link between the physical world / body and the soul. I don't think one can have just a body or just a soul and still have a creature able to interact with the physical world.

DC

 

[hong]

Well, W&M does say that necrotic energy can do all kinds of wacky things. Maybe even substitute for missing parts of the triumvirate body/animus/soul.

 

[Incenjucar]

Well, W&M does say that necrotic energy can do all kinds of wacky things. Maybe even substitute for missing parts of the triumvirate body/animus/soul.

If it could make up for the animus then it would make the animus a wasted concept.

 

[hong]

If it could make up for the animus then it would make the animus a wasted concept.

Er, why? The point of this thread (well, one of the points) is to see how you could split up the various undead types according to what is or isn't present. Remove the animus, and the categorisation changes completely.

 

[Incenjucar]

The body is what makes something solid.

The animus is what makes something active and mobile in the world.

The soul is what makes something able to grow as an individual.


No body? No big whup, the animus can still act.

No soul? No big whup, a souless creature can still kill you even if it never gets any better at doing so.

No animus? Nothing happens. At best, you have a corpse with a completely harmless soul floating over it.