Darketh's Guide to the Undead

"Don't you try to die, like me It's livid and it's lies and makes graves"

- Pantera

There are several varieties of the Undead. There are the spectral Undead, which comprises all non-corporeal entities that once lived as well as apparitions and phantoms left behind as psychic residue from someone's mortal existence. There are the walking dead—zombies, animated skeletons, and the like—these are generally non-sentient and created to serve necromancers' whims. There are a few non-living bodies that are each of unique origin and are kept in a state of half-life through technomancy or tied to their corpses through necromancy. Lastly, there are the lords of undeath, Vampires.

Spectral Undead run a large range of possibilities: from simple phantoms that repeat an action much like a projected image of, for example, their death; to fully sentient individuals that no longer have the burden of breathing; to anywhere in between. Most are somewhere in that midrange: such as someone who appears at the stroke of midnight and silently mouths the same plaintive request repeatedly—this ghost will approach someone and show frustration when the message isn't understood (reading-lips is impossible as the language is no longer spoken), but attempts nothing else but the same phrase endlessly. Alternate names for ghosts include: apparitions, geitster, lares, lemures, phantoms, restless spirits, shades, spectres (or specters), and wraiths.

Ghosts have a number of methods in which they manifest: cold spots, voices or other noises, objects moving, even visual manifestations. The visual appearance of ghosts—if they are visible at all, can potentially be: nearly invisible nebulous blobs (rather common, and called orbs or will o' the wisps), glowing and translucent, showing the wounds and manner of dress at their time of death, twisted and distorted, the appearance of a particularly emotional time in their lives (good or bad, wedding gowns are as common as war uniforms), skeletal, or even as full-fleshed normal living people—as in the story of the Argent Road hitch-hiker. Sounds can be footsteps, moaning, words—either clear or indistinct, crying, children's laughter, or sounds of the daily life from the ghost's living days. Most hauntings last up to four centuries, but there are a few more enduring exceptions. It is interesting to note that Elven ghosts are the subject of myths and fables, but are nearly unheard of in firsthand accounts—even amongst the close society and immortal memories of the Elves.

Haunting is usually confined to a single location—often, but not always, at the scene of death or where the body lies. Also common sites for a haunting are areas that were important to the ghost in life, such as their home, or a favoured play spot for the ghost of a child. However, ghosts have been known to wander from place to place—a phenomenon known as displacement—and the restless spirits of famous individuals have been reported at many strange locations. Occasionally a phantom will be associated with a particular person or object, rather than a fixed abode, such as their house. Examples include ghosts that haunt their murderer; a lady who died on her wedding night, and who now follows her ring; and a haunted painting that comes to life—painted in this instance after the death of its subject. Poltergeists in particular seem attracted to a single person, usually a youth, but this may indicate that it is unfocused psychic talent rather than the spirit of someone deceased.

How an apparition affects the living world around it may vary from case to case. Generally, however, a ghost is powerless to alter its surroundings such as to move an object. Even a ghost that seems completely material and solid may be seen to walk through a wall. There are exceptions to this, such as with poltergeist activity, where noises such as banging or screaming are heard, or where objects may be hurled, moved, or destroyed. Spectres do not generally leave a trace of their passing, such as footprints or disturbed objects, although in some reported cases, a strange gooey substance is left behind, often oozing from something the ghost touched, or where it passed through something solid. In most instances, a ghost is either seen, heard, or its presence felt, rarely are these elements combined. Sometimes only a psychically sensitive person may feel the presence of the apparition. In one case in the Killian Empire, psychics could feel a cold breeze blowing past them as the ghost crossed their path; no one else could feel anything, but the robes of the psychics could be seen to visibly wave gently from the phantom breeze.

One of the frightening things about ghosts is their ephemeral mysterious nature, they rarely appear before a large group, or in good lighting. At times, only one person will see, hear, or feel the wraith, or one person may be excluded from seeing it. A witness is often left with the impression that the encounter was overly vague, as though it were imaginary or otherwise took place only in the mind.

The walking dead are the creations of necromantic ritual and are, generally speaking, more like automatons than thinking beings. There are a few stories of zombies recognizing a loved one or demonstrating a phobia held in life, but these are more bards' stories than reliable accounts. Zombies are the most common type of mobile corpse, and will last up to 20 years before wearing out.

[Attributes for zombies, modified from when they were alive: Appearance: n/a (same as in life but -3), Personality and Grace: n/a, Knowledge: reduce to 1 (only understands simple instructions), Wits and Willpower: reduce to 0, Strength: +3, Agility: 8 (regardless of agility in life), Stamina: reduce to 0—they're dead, Speed: -6; Awareness: 7 (regardless of senses in life), Common Sense: n/a; 3D6 maximum hit points (regardless of hit point capacity in life), no life points (they're dead), combat modifiers including attributes: -1 total to attack, always acts last on initiative, no active defence, and no saving throw bonuses]

The control portion of the ritual that creates zombies is negated if the zombie ingests large quantities of salt, about an ounce or more. [In this case, the Personality, Knowledge, and Willpower increase by 1D8 each and the zombie's Strength is now only 2 higher than it was in life.] The zombie is no longer under the necromancer's control. For this reason many zombies' lips are sewn shut—this reduces the usefulness of the zombie to only about 3 years maximum before it wears out, as the zombie can no longer eat, and it uses up its body for energy. The walking dead can be worked about twice as long as they could have been in life without undue stress on their bodies—working a zombie for longer reduces longevity significantly. For example: a corpse slaving in a field for 16 hours a day will last up to 20 years; one with sewn-shut lips forced into 48 hours of labour at a stretch lasts less than a year. 48 hours is the maximum time a zombie may be forced into activity; past that point, it simply shuts down for about 8 hours. Burnout zombies are designed for maximum performance for a limited duration. They wear out after 3—4 weeks regardless of activity level, and don't need to eat.

[Attributes for burnout zombies, modified from when they were alive: Appearance: n/a (same as in life but -3), Personality and Grace: -8, Knowledge: -5 (severe memory and identification loss), Wits: +4, Willpower: +4, Strength: +5, Agility: +3, Stamina: reduce to 0 (still dead), Speed: +10, Awareness: -3, Common Sense: -4; 4D6 maximum hit point capacity (regardless of hit point capacity in life), no life points (they're dead); +3 initiative; +2 to attacks]

The burnout variety of zombie is usually what is used for ravagers—zombies used to fulfill a specific function… other than slave labour. The official term for this type of zombie is todesracher, but they are usually referred to by the more colloquial name, or—perhaps to assuage fears—by such unflattering terms as 'stiff-mission stiffs'. Ravagers are programmed with a definite task, such as killing a certain person. Once created, nothing will stop a ravager from completing its task save its destruction—including contrary instructions from its creator. Ravagers are zombies programmed for specialized, rather than general, service; i.e. the first words it hears being either: "Kill the Archduke, let nothing stand in your way;" or "Slay anyone who enters this door," or even "Deliver this message to Lord Brownshue." One can even declare to a ravager zombie, "I am your master, you will serve me in all things," however this is fraught with its own perils, as there are times when you want a zombie to act on its own simple recognizance, such as telling it to sweep the floor—a ravager instructed to "Always obey me" would either sweep continuously until told to stop, or would continuously pester its master for further instructions after every pass of the broom; it may possibly even shut itself off after sweeping. This is a noteworthy characteristic of a zombie created to be a ravager—it ceases to function upon completion of its assignment—it returns to being an inanimate corpse. A ravager lets nothing stand in its way; even a necromancer's ability to control the Undead does not override its mission.

Other, less frequent forms of walking dead are called trap skeletons or treasure guardians. These are created in order to protect an item or location, such as a buried treasure chest. A person is killed or knocked unconscious and left sealed up with the item or area to be guarded. The first person unfortunate enough to unseal the area is attacked ferociously. The guardian can last undisturbed for centuries (which is why they are almost always encountered as skeletons), but last only a few minutes after being triggered. At least one person involved in creating a trap skeleton must personally know the unfortunate used as the guardian—the feelings of betrayal fuel the Undead form as much as its rage and hatred. The treasure being guarded must lie undisturbed for at least a year and a day while the resentment foments, or the trap is ruined and the skeleton will never rise.

[Attributes for trap skeletons (A.K.A. treasure guardians): Appearance-0 (skeletal), Personality and Grace-0, Knowledge-0 (only understands the need to kill), Wits and Willpower-0, Strength and Agility-8 (regardless of abilities in life), Stamina-0, Speed-12, Awareness and Common Sense-n/a; 2D6 maximum hit point capacity (regardless of hit point capacity in life), no life points (they're dead); always last on initiative (but typically gains at least one round of surprise); +1 to attacks and damage; 50% resistance to stabbing weapons, no active defence]

Another variety of walking dead is comprised of those who achieved that state due to their own efforts. More commonly known as the Sorcerous Undead, these are self-created via a long ritual known only to the most powerful necromancers and high-ranking members of the Crimson Order of the Knights of the Shadows (a.k.a. the shadow lords or death knights). The preparatory ritual involves a full month of effort, and culminates in the death of the spellbinder. An additional month of stillness in the grave is followed by the reanimation of the magus into a sorcerous Undead. There are a number of changes to the body and 'life' of the sorcerous Undead. Their heart no longer beats, and their blood does not flow. This causes their flesh to be decidedly cool to the touch, and is usually paler than in life. They no longer need to breathe, save for speech. No longer can they eat or drink—they violently spew forth their stomach's contents [Willpower check to swallow and again for each minute to keep from vomiting]. Furthermore, the very essence of life leaves their bodies completely, to be replaced by an unholy mystic force [life point capacity is completely lost, but hit point maximums are increased: +1D6 maximum hit points for necromancers, +2D6 for shadow lords; Stamina is reduced to zero].

There are other variants of walking corpses, such as those temporarily animated by a spell or created through technomancy, which will be addressed as needed. Ghouls are often confused with the Undead, but are in fact a living species. (However, there are such things as Undead Ghouls…)

None of the walking dead heals damage received. Hits taken do not recover without magical assistance.

As was mentioned in the introduction, Vampires are the undisputed masters of undeath. Vampires are created solely by other Vampires. Their origins are lost, possibly even to themselves. However, their preoccupation with the extent of the 'purity' of their blood seems to imply a common ancestral creator. I cannot find a reason why a member of any sentient species may not be turned into a Vampire, however Humans are by far the large majority.

Daketh's Guide continues with much more information on Vampires