Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Special undead

Special Halloween post (a day early)! Certain beings beyond death are more dangerous or strange than others, or simply more rare.


Ghost

HD: 2
Found: solitary in abandoned homes, places of strange death, treachery, obsession, or terror

Appearance: withered ghostly light in the warped shape of the person who died, twisted by all-consuming emotion.
Voice: echoing and distant, as if from deep down an unseen hallway
Wants: to fulfill its obsession
Morality: wild, emotional, irrational
Tactics: careful, tricky, but aggressive

Attack: +2
Defense: +1
Speed: +2

Abilities

  1. Incorporeal: can remain invisible and intangible at will, unless its emotions are flared.
  2. Possession: able to possess the bodies of mortals who are emotionally inflamed.
Created when a mortal dies while engulfed in the extremes of emotion, be it terror, hatred, desire, or others. This emotion drives them far beyond human behavior, to wild acts that may seem impossible to their friends and loved ones in life. They become tied to an area or object, and cannot leave it beyond a certain range unless they possess the body of a mortal. 

Evocation - Stail Woman by Andrea Chiampo

Poltergeist

HD: 1
Found:

Appearance: completely invisible, shaped like a frail, crouching humanoid. Faint but distinct light glows from within when the command word is spoken.
Voice: echoing sounds, like a clattering or ringing with no apparent source
Wants: to serve its purpose, usually as a thief or personal guard for dark wizards, or to secure safety once abandoned.
Morality: flatly logical, cautious but not fearful
Tactics: evasive, avoids combatants while flinging heavy objects at them

Attack: -1
Defense: +1
Speed: +0

Abilities

  1. Unseen: cannot be seen naturally, though a small, candle-like blue light glows at its heart and it becomes immobile for 1d6 rounds when its command word is spoken.
  2. Telekinesis: with a clumsy force, the poltergeist can levitate a set of somewhat lightweight objects in a certain area, such as a chair and small items on a nearby table. Makes a launcher check with 2 stars.
Created by cutting out part of the soul and binding it to a word in a lengthy and horrific process that cripples the mind of its subject. Usually dark wizards will extract 1d6 poltergeists from a soul, inventing a new command word for each and using them as thieves or disparate guards.


Wraith

HD: 3
Found: 1d6 in the stillest of places

Appearance: somewhat like a dark, tattered robe floating in the air, shedding dust, ash, or whatever gave it form.
Voice: silence
Wants: stillness, silence, and deadness
Morality: inscrutable
Tactics: cautious, well considered, almost passive

Attack: +3
Defense: +1
Speed: +2

Abilities

  1. Withering touch: medium damage, deals a wound on 6.
  2. Discorporate: fades into particles briefly, becoming intangible for a round.
  3. Screams of Quietude: goes still for a round, damping all sounds within a long earshot.
Formed of particulate matter in places of deepest stillness, these strange elemental beings of deadness are formed seemingly on their own, almost always underground. Perhaps these taught the ancient necromancer lords their dark art, in a nearly successful bid to end life in our world. Perhaps the night sky is black with void wraiths, impatiently waiting for the moon and stars to die or abandon us so that they may finally put still this wretched land of flowing blue, swirling white, and creeping green.

They float through the air, and are absorbed by stone. While this weakens the spirit, it also corrupts the material. The result is a brittle rock called Wraithstone, which crumbles into needle-like shapes and is prized by alchemists.


Mummy

HD: 3
Found: solitary in rich tombs, the tops of mountains, buried under ancient temples, or lost in salt mines

Appearance: desiccated corpse from bygone eras, preserved by forces of man or nature and bearing a distinct strength in will and body.
Voice: soft and dry, but commanding and impossible to ignore
Wants: peace in the afterlife, to dispel invaders
Morality: similar to life
Tactics: careful, well considered but not aggressive

Attack: +3
Defense: +2
Speed: -1

Abilities
  1. Command: all undead who can hear it will obey its words without hesitation.
  2. Slam: heavy damage. Deals 1 damage to the mummy on successful hit.
  3. Mummy's Curse: whoever kills a mummy is stricken with a major curse.

Emperor of the Sands: interred deep within stone crypts lined with gold and history, draped in what were once fine silver wrappings and golden regalia. Guarded by twin stone guardians and possessed of divine favor.

Saltmen: lost workers in an ancient salt mine, their industry that ended their lives has now ironically preserved them beyond death.

Eternal Monk: preserved in a ritual of meditation, fasting, and special diet in order to achieve an eternal peace as they were lowered into sealed pits underneath holy places. Those who desecrate their place of burial may face the full might of long-lost martial arts, but the righteous seekers of their wisdom may find secrets which are unattainable by any other means.

Mummylands: tropical lands where the oldest of preserved dead can be found, hundreds if not thousands across the realm. Many of them are decorated with fine clothes, tattoos, and jewelry.

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