Undead

Expert/Creator: Kai

Table

undead LIFESPAN: varies by subrace CONCERNED DEITY (DEITIES): Reshtaha, Lucio, varies by subrace ORIGINAL CREATOR(S) / EXPERT(S): Kai, varies by subrace PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: varies by subrace; often simply animated, decaying corpses; reek of decay; often easily knocked down or have limbs removed; the more spiritual undead usually have more of a ethereal look SPECIAL SKILLS: flesh golems--immunity to mental attack, poison, death magic, don't radiate heat; spirits--same as flesh golem except vulnerable to mental attack; mostly incorporeal, can phase through solid objects, invisibility; shadow affinity MISC: Undead are usually made by necromancers and are usually flesh golems. Undead can also be created through god curses. Spirits can be created through necromancy (wraiths) or certain circumstances at death, such as the classic "unfinished business." One sign, usually, of the presence of zombies is their ungodly STENCH. Their greatest strength lies in their numbers and even though they are shriveling and falling apart, this is often a saving advantage.

lich LIFESPAN: unlimited (see misc) CONCERNED DEITY (DEITIES): Reshtaha, Nikumu, Lucio ORIGINAL CREATOR(S) / EXPERT(S): Archmage, Kai PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: looks like the creature that it was in life but: (1) is gaunt and skeletal looking, with very little flesh drawn tightly over the skeleton, (2) is eyeless, having red pinpoints of light instead; if the original form had wings, the skin on the lich's wings has become translucent, although tough SPECIAL SKILLS: heightened affinity and lust for magic; very resistant to shadow magic; vulnerability to light magic; phenomenal resistance to "mortal" diseases and poison MISC: Liches are created in one of two ways. The most common way is through the special preparation of a "phylactery", which serves as the container for the 'life force' of a lich, then drinking a prepared magical potion during the next full moon. Not all potential liches survive this process. The other way to create a lich is by pulling the greed and lust for power from the mind of a sufficiently evil being; this process must be done by a deity or by a VERY powerful demon. There still is a "phylactery", but the lich created seeks to slay the being from which it was spawned. The only way to permanently slay a lich is to destroy the body and then, within a day, destroy the "phylactery". This may be done the other way around as well. Liches spend their time researching new magic spells and plotting against heroes they knew while they were living, or, in the case of "mind-pulled" liches, those heroes the original being knew. Several different varieties of "phylacteries" exist. The only limits on what the "phylactery" is like are the potential lich's imagination and the value of everything they possess, though it costs a lot to make a "phylactery".

vampire LIFESPAN: maximum of 3000 yrs (see misc) CONCERNED DEITY (DEITIES): Lucio ORIGINAL CREATOR(S) / EXPERT(S): VampireJesterJinx, Kelne PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: very much like the race prior to becoming a vampire, but paler and with sharp, pointy teeth; it is common for skin to harden with age until the point that the oldest vampires are much like cold, moving marble statues SPECIAL SKILLS: non-reliance on oxygen, food, drink; unaging appearance; immunity to disease; often stronger and quicker than the average mortal, though this may be partly due to extended training; weak to sunlight and holy magic; allergies to garlic found in some vampires MISC: By artist Jesterlex, the vampire Jazz Tymisonn. By and large, the vampire race considers itself immortal, as do many others outside the race. However, this is in fact a myth. Eventually, the blood of the living simply ceases to sustain them, and they gradually decay. This is not a fact which is widely advertised, even amongst the vampires themselves. The young are allowed to believe that they will truly live forever, and, being young and secure in their own invincibility as vampires, will seldom make it past their fifth century. Those who do begin to approach the three millennium mark will become increasingly conscious of their own imminent demise, and will often go to great lengths to avoid it. There are few things more dangerous than an ancient vampire determined to cling to its own existence. It's not that being a vampire comes without its benefits, though--the lifespan itself, even, is almost invariably an extension of years. These, however, come at a price. Vampires can no longer bear the rays of the sun, and will be incinerated by true sunlight. The thirst for blood forever gnaws at them, and can drive them to do terrible things if they go too long without. Some groups have rather severe allergies to things such as garlic, and the ordinarily beneficial effects of holy magics will unravel their very beings.

Undead Properties

An undead creature does not functionally have (or need) a STA score. Its hit points are assigned based on its relative durability (which can be derived from the living creature's STA score if desired). An undead creature is immune to any effect that requires a STA check unless it also affects objects, and they never tire. Undead are typically mindless and immune to mental effects, illusions, and charm spells. They are fearless and immune to any effect that requires an opposed COU check. Undead are immune to poison, disease, stunning, and sleep effects. Some undead may not be vulnerable to critical hits with weapons. Undead do not need to eat or sleep. They are healed by shadow elemental magic and vulnerable to holy elemental magic (2x damage).

• Skeletons -- Typically, skeletal creatures are resistant to attacks with piercing weapons, such as spears. Treat a skeleton's AC as 10 points higher against such attacks. They are vulnerable to attacks with blunt weapons, such as maces. Treat a skeleton's AC as 10 points lower against such attacks.
• Vampires -- Vampires, unlike many undead, are not necessarily mindless, but they are still immune to most forms of charm magic. A typical vampire has several special attacks at his disposal, but not all vampires necessarily have access to all of them (PC vampires would need to take skills in order to use them at all).
  • A vampire can charm a target that fails to resist as a magic spell; the vampire's effective "magic attack" for such an effect is CHA*3 + 4 + (vampire's character level - 1)*2.
  • A vampire that engages in a successful grapple with a target can bite its neck and drain blood, dealing triple unarmed attack damage each round until the target "dies," at which point the target can be raised as a subservient vampire by exchanging blood with his/her killer.

Undead Culture

See Theice.

Incorporeal Undead

Ghosts are undead who function mainly on the shadow plain without a corporeal body. Their abilities vary widely based on their "age" and power. This range of potential abilities must be accounted for in any discussion of their essential nature.

This variety extends into every aspect of a ghost's nature, as there are likely thousands of ghosts who are no longer even really sentient, but remain as psychic fingerprints in a reality they can no longer participate in.

A note: Not all "ghosts" are the lingering intellects of deceased creatures. At least one case has been verified of an incorporeal creature who can communicate with sensitive mortals and even dominate the spirits of the dead... but who has never possessed a corporeal body. It is highly-likely that such creatures are not ghosts in any precise sense, but rather shadow elementals, of a similar nature to water or air elementals.

Physical Nature

Due to their corporeally-challenged nature, most ghosts are unable to affect the material world in any way. This includes physically harming individuals by striking them or taking up nearby objects as weapons. Most ghosts exist in a state of near-total sensory deprivation, unable to smell, taste, or touch anything around them except for other ghosts. Those rare few who can are referred to as poltergeists.

Ghosts are often able to manifest themselves visually for the benefit of the living, but to do this requires more energy than they have to spare. As a result, only at great need (whatever that means for the individual ghost) will it bother.

Supernatural Abilities

There are nearly as many varieties of ghost as there are among mortal mages. Some ghosts can affect the material plane with a great expenditure of effort, whereas others can cast magic using the energy of the shadow plane the same way living mages manipulate the astral. Others concentrate mainly on manipulating mortals, possessing them and causing varying degrees of annoyance or danger.

Psychology

Most ghosts end up lingering after death because they fixated on something in their lives. It's the classic "unfinished business" scenario. This can be anything from abandonment by loved ones to, in one case, a desire for those left behind to recognize their accomplishments.

Along with this fixation is a near-universal resentment of the living. This stems from the ability of most ghosts to observe the material world and its sensual pleasures (things like food, drink, warmth, sex, and other sources of physical comfort), but not to take part. This hatred of their static and unending existence, and of their own seeming irrelevance, drives many ghosts to contact any receptive mortal they can in an effort to reaffirm their own existence. Many ghosts simply wish to relieve their own loneliness, while in others this desire turns somewhat darker, becoming an effort to punish the living for the priveleges they enjoy.

PC Ghosts: Zea's Ghosts

Passing On

Until very recently, it was more or less accepted among agents of Reshtaha that ghosts could not be processed. They simply did not have enough energy to survive the procedure. Zea Mazuo developed a procedure that renewed their energy, repairing damage to their forms and their minds by altering her own life force and infusing them with the now-shadow-aligned energy. For more details on this procedure, see Dominion.

Undead Summons

Taken from Zea Mazuo's sheet.

Typical Humanoid Zombie
Stats
HP: 50
AT/PA: 10/10
Initiative: 2+2d6
MBlock: 10
Missile Evade: 12
AC: 0
Move Speed: 3 spaces
Attacks
Claw 10+1d6
Special Abilities
Creature Type Properties - Undead. Takes double damage from holy effects and fire effects. Shadow effects instead heal an undead creature for the amount of damage that would be dealt. Zombies are immune to poison, do not need to breathe, etc. Zombies have essentially no intelligence and can only obey simple orders. They will defend themselves if attacked, but have no actual self-preservation instincts. Zombies have none of the skills they had in life. Zombies are mindless and immune to all illusions and other mind-affecting spells. A zombie can be equipped with a weapon. If so, consider the zombie's STR to be +2. All normal weapon use rules apply. A zombie has no skill with any weapon. These statistics are for a human zombie and assumes that the zombie is wearing no equipment. Zombies animated from other types of corpses may have slightly varying statistics. The GM is free to designate specifics.

Typical Humanoid Skeleton
Stats
HP: 40
AT/PA: 8/8
Initiative: 4+2d6
MBlock: 10
Missile Evade: 12
AC: 6
Move Speed: 4 spaces
Attacks
Claw 10+1d6
Special Abilities
Creature Type Properties - Undead. Takes double damage from holy effects and fire effects. Shadow effects instead heal an undead creature for the amount of damage that would be dealt. Skeletons are immune to poison, do not need to breathe, etc. Skeletons have essentially no intelligence and can only obey simple orders. They will defend themselves if attacked, but have no actual self-preservation instincts. Skeletons have none of the skills they had in life. Skeletons are mindless and immune to all illusions and other mind-affecting spells. A skeleton can be equipped with a weapon. If so, consider the skeleton's STR to be +2. All normal weapon use rules apply. A skeleton has no skill with any weapon. These statistics are for a human skeleton and assumes that the skeleton is wearing no equipment. Skeletons animated from other types of corpses may have slightly varying statistics. The GM is free to designate specifics. Treat a skeleton's AC as 10 points higher against attacks with piercing weapons such as spears. They are vulnerable to attacks with blunt weapons, such as maces. Treat a skeleton's AC as 10 points lower against such attacks.