Undead¶
Some serve as mindless soldiers and workers under the control of a necromancer. Others rise when they die a bitter death in a place infused with cursed magic. For a few, it was a choice to become something beyond mortal. However they arose, all undead were once living creatures who now walk the land after death in defiance of the natural order.
Rotting zombies, seductive vampires, wailing wraiths, and more undead stalk the widespread horror stories nobles and commoners alike tell each another around low-burning hearths. Even the most isolated hermits know that the dead can rise, eager to kill. These popular tales fuel many people's fears of the undead. Mere rumors of a nearby ghoul pack can send an entire community into a panic. When open graves appear in the churchyard or a translucent spirit is spotted on the street, local leaders are quick to hire adventurers to deal with the threat.
Content Warning: Body Horror
This section contains references to grisly body horror and viscera. To alleviate player discomfort, you can modify descriptions and abilities to be more spectral as needed.
Undead Stat Block Table¶
| Echelon | Name | Level | Organization | Role | EV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Crawling Claw | 1 | Minion | Harrier | 3 for four minions |
| 1st | Decrepit Skeleton | 1 | Minion | Artillery | 3 for four minions |
| 1st | Rotting Zombie | 1 | Minion | Brute | 3 for four minions |
| 1st | Shade | 1 | Minion | Ambusher | 3 for four minions |
| 1st | Ghoul | 1 | Horde | Harrier | 3 |
| 1st | Skeleton | 1 | Horde | Artillery | 3 |
| 1st | Specter | 1 | Horde | Hexer | 3 |
| 1st | Soulwight | 1 | Horde | Hexer | 3 |
| 1st | Umbral Stalker | 1 | Horde | Ambusher | 3 |
| 1st | Zombie | 1 | Horde | Brute | 3 |
| 1st | Ghost | 1 | Leader | - | 12 |
| 2nd | Fleshflayed Shambler Zombie | 4 | Minion | Brute | 6 for four minions |
| 2nd | Ghoul Craver | 4 | Minion | Harrier | 6 for four minions |
| 2nd | Hollowbone Launcher | 4 | Minion | Artillery | 6 for four minions |
| 2nd | Flesh Mournling | 4 | Horde | Defender | 6 |
| 2nd | Giant Zombie | 4 | Elite | Brute | 24 |
| 2nd | Mummy | 4 | Horde | Brute | 6 |
| 2nd | Vampire Spawn | 4 | Horde | Harrier | 6 |
| 2nd | Wraith | 4 | Horde | Hexer | 6 |
| 2nd | Mummy Lord | 4 | Leader | - | 24 |
| 3rd | Blood-Starved Vampire | 7 | Minion | Harrier | 9 for four minions |
| 3rd | Faded Echo Spirit | 7 | Minion | Hexer | 9 for four minions |
| 3rd | Mummy Rotwrap | 7 | Minion | Brute | 9 for four minions |
| 3rd | Dirt Mournling | 7 | Horde | Controller | 9 |
| 3rd | Haunt | 7 | Horde | Controller | 9 |
| 3rd | Koptourok | 7 | Horde | Hexer | 9 |
| 3rd | Waxen | 7 | Horde | Artillery | 9 |
| 3rd | Vampire | 7 | Horde | Hexer | 9 |
| 3rd | Vampire Lord | 7 | Leader | - | 36 |
| 4th | Giant Shambler Zombie | 10 | Minion | Brute | 12 for four minions |
| 4th | Skeleton Knight | 10 | Minion | Defender | 12 for four minions |
| 4th | Wraith Skulker | 10 | Minion | Harrier | 12 for four minions |
| 4th | Bonecage | 10 | Horde | Controller | 12 |
| 4th | Lithgekh | 10 | Horde | Hexer | 12 |
| 4th | Count Rhodar Von Glauer | 10 | Solo | - | 144 |
| 4th | Lich | 10 | Solo | - | 144 |
Dark Places¶
For many undead, sunlight is a nuisance that they naturally avoid. While rarely harmful to them, the sun's golden rays make them uncomfortable and shine far too bright to their dead eyes. Walking in the light of day also makes it easier for undead to be spotted by fearful mortals. Many undead avoid the sun entirely, hiding in tombs or ruins until nightfall when they can freely stalk their victims.
Encountered Together¶
Undead are often encountered in groups that include more than just a single kind of creature. A necromancer might raise zombies, skeletons, and ghouls to protect their mansion, as each serves a different function as a guardian. A lich could have wraiths as messengers and soulwights as laboratory assistants. An ancient tomb might have mummies and vampires within. The undead don't need to drink, eat, sleep, or breathe, and many share an affinity for lightless places, leading to these congregations.
Corporeal Undead¶
At their most innocuous, corporeal undead are a mockery of life, a body hoisted and dragged along by unnatural strings. At their worst, they are a violent scourge hungry for slaughter, and a perverse reflection of the mortal desire to exist for eternity. Ghouls, skeletons, soulwights, and zombies number among the lesser corporeal undead. Many lack a soul, and many can't think beyond the orders of their creators—unlike more powerful corporeal undead such as liches and vampires. Those who aren't controlled by others typically have a singular focus: the destruction of all living things.
The magic that animates a corpse removes the need for air, sleep, and sustenance. This magic also halts decay, preserving the undead at the stage of deterioration before they were animated. While most corporeal undead are brought to unlife by a creator, tales abound of zombies suddenly rising from graveyards during rare astronomical occurrences, skeletal soldiers emerging from mass graves on the anniversary of their death, and other seemingly spontaneous acts of necromancy.
Spectral Undead¶
Umbral stalkers. Specters. Wraiths. Spectral undead come in many forms. One might be spawned by a person's vile actions in life, while another could be a soul lost to a necromancer's fell arts. Powerful undead can even manifest these shadowy beings into existence through sheer will. Regardless of how they come to be, though, all spectral undead are malice incarnate.
Spectral undead who are formed naturally from the souls of malicious, hate-filled creatures usually haunt the places where they died, while those manifested by another being typically dwell where ordered to by their creator. Left to their own devices, spectral undead stop at nothing to kill the living they encounter, with some stalking their quarry through miles of ruins or wilderness.
Spectral Undead and Phasing
All spectral undead have some kind of phasing trait that enables them to move through creatures and objects at their usual speed. However, they can't end this movement inside a creature or object while in combat. Outside of combat, a spectral undead might hide themself inside a statue, painting, or other object. But when battle begins, they can't remain within or fall back to that cover to prevent being attacked.
Undead Languages¶
Most undead speak (or at least understand) the languages they knew in life.
Bonecage¶
The weakness of many undead minions means that necromancers at war often find themselves shy of corpses when their forces lose more numbers than they slay. The bonecage offers a horrifi c solutio n t o thi problem. This hulking creature made from giants' bones is structured like a massive cage that they can cram dead and near-dead corpses into. Trawling the scenes of great battles, the bonecage fills themself with the fallen, stealing them away for ill purposes. Of course, when no mass casualty site presents itself, the bonecage is more than capable of making corpses of their own.
Lithgekh¶
Every mage who lives long enough eventually contends with the fact that their knowledge will one day leave the world. For those who can't stomach this idea, seeking the immortality of the lich often becomes an irresistible temptation. But many of those who try and fail to achieve lichdom become lithgekh—a word in the First Language meaning "lich corpse." Having failed to create a proper soul vessel, a lithgekh suffers an eternal hunger for magic to sustain themself. Liches will sometimes trick or tempt mortal mages into pursuing lichdom, only to sabotage them and create a lithgekh under the lich's control. These servants are prized by liches for their ability to disrupt enemy magic and empower their own.
1st Echelon¶
Crawling Claw
- FingernailsMain actionSignature
- DisorganizedTrait
Decrepit Skeleton
- Bone BowMain actionSignature
- BonetropsTrait
Ghost
- Heat DeathMain actionSignature
- HauntManeuver
- ShriekTriggered action1 Malice
- Phantom FlowTrait
- Paranormal ActivityVillain Action 1
- Spirited AwayVillain Action 2
- Awful WailVillain Action 3
- Corruptive PhasingTrait
Ghoul
- Razor ClawsMain actionSignature
- LeapManeuver
- AriseTrait
- HungerTrait
Rotting Zombie
- Rotting FistMain actionSignature
- Death GraspTrait
Shade
- Life DrainMain actionSignature
- Shadow PhasingTrait
Skeleton
- Bone ShardsMain actionSignature
- Bone SpurManeuver2 Malice
- AriseTrait
Soulwight
- Soulstealer LongswordMain actionSignature
- Stolen VitalityManeuver3 Malice
- AriseTrait
Specter
- Decaying TouchMain actionSignature
- Hidden MovementManeuver
- Corruptive PhasingTrait
2nd Echelon¶
Flesh Mournling
- Multiarm StrikeMain actionSignature
- Horrid WailMain action
- AriseTrait
- Immutable FormTrait
Fleshflayed Shambler Zombie
- Bone CarversMain actionSignature
- Fleshfused SpinesTrait
Ghoul Craver
- TasteMain actionSignature
- Ever So HungryTrait
- HungerTrait
Giant Zombie
- Rotten SmashMain actionSignature
- Knocking HeadsTriggered action1 Malice
- Endless KnightTrait
- Negative NervesTrait
Hollowbone Launcher
- Hollowbone SlugMain actionSignature
- Brittle RevengeTrait
Mummy Lord
- Accursed SlamMain actionSignature
- Binding CurseMain action1 Malice
- Summon My GuardTriggered action2 Malice
- Cursed TransferenceTrait
- Plague of FliesVillain Action 1
- Land's GuardianVillain Action 2
- Unbound HorrorsVillain Action 3
Mummy
- Accursed BindingsMain actionSignature
- Eldritch CurseMain action3 Malice
- Blast of Mummy DustTriggered action1 Malice
3rd Echelon¶
Blood-Starved Vampire
- Feeding FrenzyMain actionSignature
- Unslakable BloodthirstTrait
Dirt Mournling
- MudslideMain actionSignature
- Mourning CryMain action3 Malice
- AriseTrait
- Immutable FormTrait
- RuptureTrait
Faded Echo Spirit
- Hollow GraspMain actionSignature
- Corruptive PhasingTrait
Haunt
- Lash OutMain actionSignature
- Crushing DespairMain action3 Malice
- Invisible HorrorTrait
Koptourok
- Choking GraspMain actionSignature
- InhaleMain action3 Malice
- ExhaleTrait
Mummy Rotwrap
- Fetid WrappingsMain actionSignature
Vampire Lord
- Crimson EmbraceMain actionSignature
- Arise, My ChildrenManeuver2 Malice
- Redirected CharmFree triggered action3 Malice
- Lord's BloodthirstTrait
- Let Us Feast!Villain Action 1
- Red Mist RisingVillain Action 2
- SacrificeVillain Action 3
4th Echelon¶
Bonecage
- Ribcage ChompMain actionSignature
- Labyrinth of BoneMain action5 Malice
Giant Shambler Zombie
- Rotten KickMain actionSignature
- Meat ShieldTrait
Lithgekh
- HeartstopperMain actionSignature
- Mystic BatteryFree triggered action1 Malice
- Devour MagicTrait