C R E D I T S Visit our website at www.wizards.com/dnd D E S I G N ANDY COLLIINS, BRUCE R. CORDELL D E V E L O P M E N T T E A M JESSE DECKER, ANDREW H. FINCH, MIKE DONAIS E D I T O R S MICHELE CARTER, CINDI RICE M A N A G I N G E D I T O R KIM MOHAN D E S I G N M A N A G E R S ED STARK, CHRISTOPHER PERKINS D E V E L O P M E N T M A N A G E R ANDREW J. FINCH D I R E C T O R O F R P G R & D BILL SLAVICSEK P R O D U C T I O N M A N A G E R S JOSH FISCHER, RANDALL CREWS A R T D I R E C T O R DAWN MURIN C O V E R A R T I S T TOM KIDD I N T E R I O R A R T I S T S THOMAS BAXA, STEVE BELLEDIN, JEFF EASLEY, STEVE ELLIS, WAYNE ENGLAND, EMMANUELLE HUNTER, JEREMY JARVIS, CHUCK LUKACS, DAVID MARTIN, MICHAEL PHILLIPPI, STEVE PRESCOTT, WAYNE REYNOLDS, BRIAN SNODDY G R A P H I C D E S I G N E R DEE BARNETT, DAWN MURIN, TRISH YOCHUM C A R T O G R A P H E R DENNIS KAUTH G R A P H I C P R O D U C T I O N S P E C I A L I S T ANGELIKA LOKOTZ I M A G E T E C H N I C I A N CANDICE BAKER Swarm-shifter created by Matthew Sernett. Resources: “Among the Dead,” by Michael Mearls and “Blackguards,” by James Jacobs, Dragon #312. Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® rules created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and the new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison. 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Box 707 Renton WA 98057-0707 Questions? 1-800-324-6496 EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS Wizards of the Coast, Belgium T Hofveld 6d 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden Belgium +322-467-3360 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What You Need to Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What is an Undead? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Manifestations of Undeath . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Chapter 1: All About Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Origins of Undeath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Undead Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Undead Metabolism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Undead Propagation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Undead Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Undead Senses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Undead Outlook and Psychology . . . . . . . . . 12 Sentience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Time and Immortality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Compassion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Spawn 13 Undead Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Undead Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Deity Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Fighting Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Chapter 2: Character Options . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 New Feats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Divine Feats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Monstrous Feats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Feat Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Undead in the Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Undead Advantages and Disadvantages . 31 Level Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Templates and Monster Classes . . . . . . . . 32 Undead Cohorts and Followers . . . . . . . . 32 Undead Mounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Undead Monster Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Creating an Undead Character . . . . . . . . . 34 Entering an Undead Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 How Monster Classes Work . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Ghoul/Ghast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Mohrg 36 Mummy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Vampire Spawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Wight 40 Chapter 3: Prestige Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Death’s Chosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Dirgesinger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Master of Radiance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Master of Shrouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Pale Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Sacred Purifi er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 True Necromancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Undead Prestige Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Ephemeral Exemplar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Lurking Terror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Master Vampire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Tomb Warden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Chapter 4: Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Assassin Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Blackguard Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Cleric Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Cleric Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Deathbound Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Hunger Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Undeath Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Druid Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Paladin Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Sorcerer/Wizard Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Avascular Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Avasculate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Awaken Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Bite of the King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Blade of Pain and Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Bloodstar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Chill of the Grave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Clutch of Orcus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Consumptive Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Consumptive Field, Greater . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Death Ward, Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Ectoplasmic Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Ectoplasmic Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Energy Ebb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Eyes of the King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Fangs of the Vampire King . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Field of Ghouls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Ghost Touch Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Ghost Touch Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Ghost Trap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Ghostform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Ghoul Gauntlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Ghoul Gesture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Ghoul Glyph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Ghoul Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Haunt Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Incorporeal Enhancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Incorporeal Nova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Kiss of the Vampire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Necrotic Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Necrotic Bloat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Necrotic Burst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Necrotic Cyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Necrotic Domination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Necrotic Empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Necrotic Eruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Necrotic Scrying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Necrotic Tumor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Necrotic Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Night’s Caress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Plague of Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Protection from Negative Energy . . . . . . 70 Protection from Positive Energy . . . . . . . 70 Restoration, Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Revive Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Sheltered Vitality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Spark of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Spawn Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Spectral Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Summon Undead I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Summon Undead II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Summon Undead III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Summon Undead IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Summon Undead V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Undead Bane Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Veil of Undeath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Wither Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Chapter 5: Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Special Items and Alchemical Substances . 73 Positoxins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Magic Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Undead Grafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Chapter 6: New Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Using this Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Challenge Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Common Types and Subtypes . . . . . . . . . . 81 Angel of Decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Atropal Scion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Blaspheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Bleakborn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Blood Amniote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Bloodmote Cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Bone Rat Swarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Boneyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Brain in a Jar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Carcass Eater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Cinderspawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Corpse Rat Swarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Crypt Chanter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Deathlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Desiccator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Dire Maggot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Dream Vestige . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Entomber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Entropic Reaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Evolved Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Forsaken Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Ghost Brute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Gravetouched Ghoul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Grave Dirt Golem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Half-Vampire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Hooded Pupil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Hulking Corpse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Mummifi ed Creature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Murk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Necromental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Necropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Plague Blight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Quell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Raiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Revived Fossil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Skin Kite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Skirr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Skulking Cyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Slaughter Wight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Slaymate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Spectral Lyrist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Swarm-Shifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Tomb Mote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Umbral Creature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Visage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Voidwraith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Wheep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Chapter 7: Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Incorporating Undead Into Your Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Undead as Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Undead as Masterminds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Undead-Themed Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . 134 Running Undead Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Using Sample Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Using Variant Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Ghosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Liches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Skeletons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Vampires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Zombies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Cults of Undeath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Academy Necromica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Eyes of Vecna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Lurkers in Shadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Minions of the Skull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 The Ruby Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Adventure Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Nuchar’s Tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 The Barrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Fanghurst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 The Warlord’s Subterfuge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Necromantic Vault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Catacomb of the Scion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 CHAPTER # Introduction It doesn’t take too much effort to unearth stories, histories, and legends of the walking dead, those horribly animate mon- strosities that prey upon the living. From haunted catacombs to the city necropolis, undead are something every adventurer is likely to encounter, again and again. In the face of such cer- tainty, it is best to be prepared with knowledge of unlife. Tales of the walking dead have entranced and horrified listeners, readers, and watch- ers for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. Almost every culture on the planet has its own legends of rest- less spirits, blood-drinking fiends, and the animate corps- es of beloved relatives coming back to haunt their unsus- pecting relations. Hundreds of books exist describing encounters with vampires, ghosts, and ghouls, and the motion picture industry has contributed an enormous list of new (and old) versions of these stories. Libris Mortis collects many of those bits of folklore, lit- erature, and pop culture and presents them in formats ap- propriate for D&D. Within these covers the DM can fi nd new horrors to include in his game, ideas for how to incor- porate the undead in his campaign world, tips and tricks for running undead encounters, and a range of sample undead and undead encounters to drop right into his game. If you’ve been looking for new ways to use familiar undead creatures, for new takes on familiar themes of death and unlife, or just a new scare to throw at your all-too-complacent players, this book is what you need. But the book doesn’t leave players out in the cold. Also in- cluded are optimal tactics for battling the undead, new tools for the fi ght—including equipment, magic items, spells, feats, and prestige classes—and even some guidelines for play- ing an undead creature as a player character. If roleplaying a horrible creature damned to eter- nal unlife—or perhaps someone dedicated to destroying such monstrosities—gets you in the mood to roll some dice, you’ve come to the right place. So whether you like your undead pustulent and hungry for brains or aristocratic and thirsty for blood, you won’t go wrong with this book. A word to the wise, though: You might want to leave the lights on while you read. An extra strand of garlic isn’t a bad idea either. WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY Libris Mortis makes use of the information in the three D&D core rulebooks—Player’s Hand- book, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. In addition, it includes references to material from several D&D supplements, including Monster Manual II, Fiend Folio, and Book of Vile Darkness. Although possession of any or all of these supplements will enhance your enjoyment of this book, they are not strictly necessary. 4 Illus. by W. England pqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrs LIBRIS MORTIS This book takes its name from a set of tomes penned in a dia- lect of Celestial by an aasimar cleric of Pelor named Acrinus, who collected the information from a variety of other sources over the course of decades. Roughly translated, it means “From the Books of Dead,” though some sages claim that the current name is a bastardization of Acrinus’s original title. Since he’s long dead, and the dialect of Celestial is no longer used by living creatures, this is impossible to confirm. The elven tome Maie Firvain (“Beyond Death”) was one of the first treatises on the realities of undeath. Most sages find this work too detached and clinical to be very useful, but it has its share of supporters. Not to be outdone by their hated cousins, the drow also pur- sued this topic. Their most notable contribution, Tsabal Gulstrae (“Weavers of the Dark Void”), explored new depths of necroman- tic lore. The book is required reading in most drow academies of sorcery, and copies are on the shelves of many dark elven clerics as well. As befits their nature, dwarven scholars took a straightforward approach to the study of the undead. Thrakharaktor (“The Book of Dark and Restless Souls”) contributed many tactics for bat- tling such creatures, and its lessons have been passed down for generations among the races of stone. The most notable human approach to the topic is, of course, The Book of the Dead (also known as the Necronomicon). Though this work is perhaps the most well-known of any source material on the undead, its veracity is frequently questioned by those well informed on the topic. Some even claim that the book is a crafty attempt at disinformation, created by some necromancer or lich to thwart its enemies. pqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrs 5 Form/State Example Corporeal, rotting Zombie Corporeal, preserved Mummy Corporeal, preserved with feeding Vampire Incorporeal, transient Wraith Incorporeal, haunting Ghost Humanoid Wight Monstrous Nightcrawler Mindless Skeleton Sentient Lich One unifying element defi nes most undead creatures: Each must have been alive in the past, no matter how little of the original creature is left, even if just the spirit or memory remains. Although extreme and rare cases have seen small bits of the energy of unlife itself (negative energy) take on terrible form and purpose, almost all undead once had breath in their bodies before gaining their feared title. ORIGINS OF UNDEATH Numerous theories exist concerning the nature of undeath, and though some hypotheses compete with or contradict one another, others reinforce or overlap each other. While these conjectures may not agree on the origins of unlife, most of them at least assert that this condition is generally visited upon the bodies of recently deceased creatures. Below are some of the more widely accepted theories about the origins of this affl iction. his chapter presents the truth about undead—their origins, habits, physiology, and worldview. Moreover, it attempts to ascertain the nature of undeath itself, present- ing several theories concerning the energies that give rise to unlife. WHAT IS AN UNDEAD? “What lies at the end of a life well lived? Eons of cold servitude, your fl esh but a memory, your every tortured thought focused on one thing only: to feed on the living.” —Academician Drake Bleak Academy Necromancer “. . . uhhhnnsss . . .” —Nameless zombie Among scholars, debates rage about the multitude of forms, bodies, powers, and abilities to be found among the undead. Why are they not all alike? The differences spring from the source of unlife itself, the dark élan that suffuses the necrotic tissue of the dead. MANIFESTATIONS OF UNDEATH Undeath manifests itself in various ways. One need only fl ip through the pages of a necromancer’s bestiary to see the mul- titude of forms and states ascribed to the undead. Illus. by C. Lukacs Illus. by C. Lukacs 6 CHAPTER 1 ALL ABOUT UNDEAD pqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrs VARIANT RULE: HAUNTING PRESENCES Sometimes when undead are created, they come into being without a physical form and are merely presences of malign evil. Haunting presences can occur either spontaneously (see Atrocity Calls to Unlife, earlier in this section) or as a result of the spell haunt shift (see page 66). Tied to particular locations or objects, these beings may reveal their unquiet natures only indirectly, at least at first. As a haunting presence, an undead is impossible to affect or even directly sense. A haunting presence is more fleeting than undead that appear as incorporeal ghosts or wraiths, or even those undead enterprising enough to range the Ethereal Plane. In fact, a haunting presence is tied to an object or loca- tion, and only upon the destruction of the object or location is it dispelled. However, despite having no physicality, each haunting presence still possesses the identity of a specific kind of undead. For instance, one haunting presence may be similar to a vampire, while another is more like a wraith. The Haunting: Whenever an undead appears as a haunt- ing presence, it haunts an unattended, mundane object or location. Using the same decision-making process that he uses to populate a location or area with a standard monster, the DM simply chooses an unattended mundane object or location as the subject of a haunting presence. The DM also determines the variety of undead (skeleton, zombie, wraith, or other kind) that serves as the source of the haunting pres- ence. An undead may haunt a discrete object of at least Tiny size and no larger than Huge size. Items (both magical and mundane) currently in the possession of a character (often referred to as attended items) cannot be haunted. Unat- tended magic items receive a saving throw as if a spell was being cast upon the item (DC 10 + 1/2 the undead’s HD + the undead’s Cha modifier). A haunting presence becomes a part of the object or loca- tion haunted. Haunting presences are always aware of what is going on around the object that they haunt. They can see and hear up to 60 feet away (but do not gain blindsight). A haunting presence cannot be turned, rebuked, or destroyed while the presence remains immaterial (but see Exorcising a Haunting Presence, below). Normal vulnerabilities of a particular kind of undead do not apply to the haunting pres- ence of that undead. For instance, the haunting presence of a vampire haunting a fire poker is not destroyed if brought into sunlight. Effects of a Haunting: A presence haunting an object may do so in a couple of ways. Undead of fewer than 5 Hit Dice may use only one form of haunting, but undead of 5 or more HD can make their presence known using either of the meth- ods described below (impermanent home or poltergeist). No matter the way the haunting presence makes itself felt, the haunting presence of a sentient undead can always choose to speak to nearby creatures, usually in a whispery or incoherent voice that seems to come from the air. However, haunting presences are usually not much for conversation. Characters may note at times that the object they’ve found or the loca- tion they inhabit has a strange air, or the appearance of it is somehow “off” (with a successful DC 15 Intelligence check). Impermanent Home: An undead presence haunting an object or an area can sometimes become more than a pres- ence, actually taking corporeal or incorporeal form a number of times per week equal to the undead’s Hit Dice (that includes haunting presences that manifest “physically” as incorporeal undead). The presence that takes form does so anywhere within the location it haunts, or in the closest empty space adjacent to the object it haunts. A presence that takes form can remain so for up to a number of minutes equal to its HD. An undead that takes form can always choose to return to its haunting presence status earlier, but it must take a move action to do so. While in physical form, the undead can take any actions normal for an undead of its kind. It can attack, take damage, and even be destroyed. Unless it is a ghost, lich, or some other sort of undead that is resistant to destruction, the haunting presence is also permanently eradicated, though most attempt to return to their haunting presence status if threatened with such destruction. Poltergeist: If an object has parts that move, such as a wagon, a clock, or a crossbow, a haunting presence can con- trol the object’s movement, though the object will move no faster than the undead itself could move in its normal form. Thus, a wagon can be made to steer toward a pedestrian on a street or roll out of a stable with no horse pulling it. A clock can slow or run backward. A crossbow can cock and fire (but not aim or load itself). An undead with at least 10 HD and a Charisma score of 17 or higher can actually force an object with no moving parts to animate (see Animated Objects, page 13 of the Monster Manual), based on the object’s size. No undead, no matter how many Hit Dice it has or what its Charisma score is, can animate an object that has a higher Challenge Rating than its own. If a location instead of an object is haunted, the haunting presence can animate a number of objects equal to its HD at one time. Exorcising a Haunting Presence: No matter how a haunting presence chooses to reveal itself, it is subject to being discov- ered and destroyed. Unfortunately, a cleric’s turning ability generally has no direct effect on haunting presences, other than to irritate them and focus their attention on the cleric doing the turning. Something more is called for—an exorcist. Exorcism is a special ritual, involving a spoken formula calling upon one or more deities, used with the intention of driving out haunting presences. Exorcism of a haunting presence is essentially a two-step process—forcing a presence to become physical, then destroying the revealed undead in the most ex- peditious manner possible. First, the forced revelation can be achieved through the use of a special ritual, which is generally known to anyone with ranks in Knowledge (religion). It must be performed by an ex- orcist who spends ten consecutive full-round actions chanting or speaking the formula that pertains to exorcism, at the end of which time the exorcist must make a DC 20 Knowledge (re- ligion) check. If the exorcist’s concentration is interrupted, the ritual must begin again. If the ritual is successful, the haunt- ing presence becomes physical and must remain so for 1 full round. The exorcist’s next action can be used to either attempt to turn the revealed undead, or to continue the ritual, with an additional DC 20 Knowledge (religion) check required at the end of each round. Each successful check forces the undead to stay corporeal or incorporeal for 1 additional round. Even undead of 5 or fewer HD that normally haunt only as poltergeists are forced to take form by the exorcism ritual, as well as haunting presences that have already used up all their chances to take form for the week. Undead forced to take form usually use their actions to attempt to slay the exorcist before they themselves are destroyed, so exorcists generally bring along companions who can physically attack the revealed undead. pqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrs CHAPTER 1 ALL ABOUT UNDEAD 7 Atrocity Calls to Unlife: Evil acts can resonate in multiple dimensions, opening cracks in reality and letting the blight creep in. A suffi ciently heinous act may attract the attention of malicious spirits, bodiless and seeking to house themselves in fl esh, especially recently vacated vessels. Such spirits are often little more than nodes of unquenchable hunger, wishing only to feed. These comprise many of the mindless undead. Sometimes these evil infl uences also manage to reinvigorate the decaying memories of the body’s former host. Thus, some semblance of the original personality and memories remain, though the newly awakened being is invariably twisted by the inhabiting spirit, resulting in an evil, twisted, and intelligent creature. However, this being is not truly inhabited by the spirit of the original creature, which has left to seek its ultimate destiny in the Outer Planes. This amalgamation is something entirely new. Other times, atrocious deeds call dark, reanimating spirits into the fl eshy form of the newly deceased, leaving the original spirit intact. This might happen if the person was already evil, or was tempted to evil in life. Alternatively, some good spirits might be unnaturally trapped within their bodies, slowly being perverted to evil as the dark spirits convert the body to undead status. Negative Energy as a Supportive Force: While atrocity may serve as a trigger for unlife, it is not enough to bring about a transformation of this magnitude on its own. It requires the very energy that drives dark spirits and their unquenchable thirst for life. That which is dead has no vitality, so where does the energy of animation come from? Negative energy—a force that is marshaled, stored, and utilized mostly by evil creatures, malign deities, and their servants—provides the power for this metamorphosis. Just as blood suffuses living creatures, negative energy suffuses undead, providing them all their abilities, from mobility to sentience, from fl esh-eating to soul-devouring. Negative Energy as a Draining Force: Some claim that undead exist concurrently on the Material Plane and the Nega- tive Energy Plane. More precisely, they believe that undead on the Material Plane are linked to the Negative Energy Plane via a conduit, just as life itself somehow partakes of positive energy. The Negative Energy Plane is the heart of darkness—the hunger that devours souls. It is a barren, empty place, a void without end, and a place of vacant, suffocating night. Worse, it is a needy, greedy plane, sucking the life out of anything vulner- able to its grasp. Heat, fi re, and life itself are all drawn into the maw of this plane, which perpetually hungers for more. The very existence of even the weakest undead produces a constant drain on the energies of the Material Plane, which accounts for sensations of cold often attributed to the unliving. As part of the enchantment of their creation, undead “siphon” a bit of the energy fl owing from the Material Plane toward the Negative Energy Plane. This “stolen” energy serves to power their ongoing existence. More powerful undead have a stronger connection to the Negative Energy Plane and are therefore able to siphon even more Material Plane energy for their own purposes before it is forever lost in the Final Void. This type of animation is known as necromancy, but it could also be called entropic animancy. Wizards speculate that magic might be able to link objects or corpses to the Positive Energy Plane, in this case reversing the fl ow of energy. Undeath as Contagion: Many undead have methods of propagating their curse among their previously living victims. For instance, those infected by the diseased bite of a ghoul may contract ghoul fever. Those who perish from this rotting illness rise at the next midnight as ghouls themselves. In this way, some undead recruit the formerly living into their shuffl ing ranks. Undead propagate in a sick parody of life’s method of mul- tiplying. Worse yet, undead proliferation is far quicker, easier, and doesn’t require the consent of the creature to be made undead—only a victim’s inability to drive off the grave-born attacker. Purposeful Reanimation: Count on the knowledge-seek- ers to pursue too far the spark of life, and the dark fruits of death. Some seek death’s secrets out of fear, thinking that by overcoming mortality, they will have no more to dread. Mages who tread this road to its conclusion sometimes embrace death completely, though they do not become immortal but simply enduring. Spellcasters who adopt this existence are commonly known as liches. To their sorrow, most fi nd that forsaking all the pleasures of life while continuing to exist is a fate worse than the absolution of true death. Others probe the boundaries between one’s last breath and the fi nal silence solely for the sake of knowledge. Shorn of conscience or any passion other than the need to know the truth, these dabblers have been responsible for plagues of zombies, soul-snuffi ng winds, and other atrocities. Sometimes these learned mages also experiment with animation of inert matter that shares many properties with the animation of undead, especially when the inert matter in question is composed of the cast-off body parts of once-living creatures. Such creations are commonly known as fl esh golems. However, as similar as a fl esh golem (or any other construct) may appear to a zombie, constructs and undead remain sepa- rate entities, for two main reasons. First, negative energy is not a requisite power for any common construct, including fl esh golems. Negative energy does not energize constructs, nor does negative energy play a part in the methods whereby constructs can affl ict foes. Second, constructs are not animated by evil spirits, but rather by elemental spirits. By some people’s estimation, this similarity is too close for comfort, but most feel that the difference is great enough to warrant a clear separation of type. UNDEAD PHYSIOLOGY “Necromantic metabolism and faith are indistinguishable. What is animation of fallow tissue if not faith so pure and undiluted that it can reach past the grave?” —Gulthias, vampiric head of Ashardalon’s Cult “I know only this—I feed to live, and live to feed.” —Redbone, wight assassin Barring misfortune or their purposeful destruction, undead can expect to survive in good health for thousands of years, pos- sibly even a great deal longer. Undead creatures differ from the living in far more ways than just longevity, however. This section expands on the undead traits already noted in the description of the undead type on page 317 of the Monster Manual. CHAPTER 1 ALL ABOUT UNDEAD 8 UNDEAD METABOLISM With rare exceptions, undead have little or no metabolism to speak of. Undead are essentially animated by negative energy, though this anima- tion is sometimes dependent upon the undead’s ability to feed. Still, while biology plays little part in the existence of these creatures, the undead do have some similarities to living beings. Like ectothermic (cold-blooded) creatures, the unliving lack the ability to produce their own heat and must depend on their environment for warmth. This inability to produce heat is a defi ning undead characteristic, most remarked upon by scholars and those who encounter them, and often compared to the chill of the grave. To classify undead as cold- blooded creatures would be inaccurate, however, since undead are mostly bloodless. Like ectotherms, undead take on the temperature of their surround- ings. However, unlike cold-blooded living creatures, undead are not unduly harmed by particularly low temperatures (unless they become frozen solid) or particularly high temperatures (unless they begin to smolder and burn). Diet Some undead exist for centuries without interact- ing with any living beings, while others seem to require, or at least crave with an unstoppable pas- sion, the fl esh, energy, or life force of the still living. However, even undead that do not need to eat may have a preferred morsel. Essentially, some undead can choose to eat if they desire, even if they have no requirement to consume. They could eat even ordinary food, if they desired to appear normal or were interested in trying to tease out some hint of fl avor; undead with tongues, such as ghouls and skirrs (see page 120) actually retain their sense of taste. Some undead glory in their ability to feed off the living. Others, especially the more intelligent, romanticize or even eroticize their need to feed on the living to maintain their strength (or to feed their addiction). Still, despite the fact that this feeding ability is often dangerous (or even deadly) to those who oppose them, the hunger behind it is a major weakness for many undead. With all of this in mind, undead feeding require- ments can be broken into three types: not required, inescapable craving, and diet dependent. Not Required: Some undead have no feeding requirements, existing solely on negative energy. Inescapable Craving: Some undead have no “bodily” requirement to feed, and could continue to exist solely on negative energy, but are driven to their diet all the same by inescapable cravings. These cravings, denied too long, could turn even a sentient undead to mindless hunger. Once the feeding is accomplished and the hunger sated, the intensity of the craving drops back to a tolerable level, but it is a cycle doomed to repeat itself. Illus. by W. England CHAPTER 1 ALL ABOUT UNDEAD 9 Table 1–1: Undead Diet Undead Not Inescapable Diet Variety Required Craving Dependent Abyssal ghoulFF Wis1 — — Angel of decayLM — — — Atropal scionLM — — — Allip — Wis1 — BansheeM2 Cha1 — — BhutFF — — — BlasphemeLM — Str1 — BleakbornLM — — Warmth Blood amnioteLM — Blood1 — Bloodmote cloudLM — — Blood1 Bodak — — — Bone nagaM2 — — — Bone rat swarmLM — — — BoneclawM3 — — — BonedrinkerM3 — Con1 — BoneyardLM — Bones1 — Brain in a jarLM — — — Carcass eaterLM Flesh — — Charnel houndM3 Bodies — — CinderspawnLM — Cha1 — Corpse gathererM2 — Flesh — Corpse rat swarmLM — — — Crawling headFF Heads — — Crimson deathM2 — Blood1 — Crypt chanterLM — — — Crypt thingFF — — — Death knightM2, T — — — DeathbringerM2 — — — DeathlockLM — — — DeathshriekerM3 — Cha1 — Demon, blood fiendFF Life force2 Blood1 — DesiccatorLM — Water — Devourer — — Life force2 Dire maggotLM — — — Dream vestigeLM — Bodies1 — DrownedM3 — — — Dust wightM3 — Metal or — stone items Effi gyM — Life force2 — EntomberLM — — — Entropic reaperLM — — — Ephemeral swarmM3 — Str1 — Famine spiritM2 — Food — Forsaken shellLM — — — GhostT — — — Ghost bruteLM, T — — — Ghoul — — Flesh Ghoul (ghast) — — Flesh GravecrawlerM2 Con1 — — Gravetouched — — Flesh ghoulLM, T Grave dirt golemLM — — — GrimweirdM3 — Life force2 — Half-vampireLM, T — — Blood1 Hooded pupilLM, T Blood1 — — HuecuvaFF, T — — — Hulking corpseLM — — — HullathoinFF — — — JahiM2 — Cha1 — LichT — — — Mohrg — — — Undead Not Inescapable Diet Variety Required Craving Dependent Mummified — — — creatureLM, T Mummy — — — MurkLM — Wis1 — NecromentalLM, T Life force2 — — NecronautM3 — Bodies — NecropolitanLM, T — — — Nightshades: Nightcrawler — Life force2 — Nightwalker — — — Nightwing — Magic3 — Plague blightLM — — — Plague spewerM3 — — — QuellLM — — — Quth-marenFF — — — RagewindM2 — — — RaimentLM — — — Revived fossilLM, T — — — Salt mummyM3 — — — Shadow — Str1 — Shadow, greater — Str1 — SkeletonT — — — Skin kiteLM — — Skin SkirrLM — — Flesh Skulking cystLM — Blood1 — Slaughter wightLM — Life force2 — SlaymateLM — — — Spawn of KyussM2 — — — Spectre — Life force2 — Spectral lyristLM — Cha1 — Spellstitched — — — creatureM2, T Swarm-shifterLM, T — — — SwordwraithFF — — — Symbiont — — — (ghostly visage)FF Tomb moteLM — — — UlgurstastaFF — Bodies (Int) — Umbral creatureLM, T — Str1 — VampireT — Life force2 Blood1 Vampire spawn — Life force2 Blood1 VasuthantM3 — Str1 — VisageLM — — — VoidwraithLM — Con1 — WheepLM — — — Wight — Life force2 — Wraith — Con1 — Wraith, dread — Con1 — ZombieT — — — 1 Causes ability drain or damage, which may also provide the undead with temporary hit points. 2 Undead drains victim’s life force, resulting in negative levels. 3 Undead drains magical charge from items. M2 From Monster Manual II. M3 From Monster Manual III. FF From Fiend Folio. LM New monster or template in this book. T Template. 10 If a player controls an undead with an inescapable craving, use the Variant Rule: Handling Undead Hunger sidebar on page 10. Diet Dependent: Some undead must feed on the living to retain either their mobility or some of their other abilities. The link to the Negative Energy Plane for undead of these sort grows increasingly tenuous the longer they are denied the necessary food. At some point, their mobility or one or more specifi c abilities are suppressed until they can feed again. However, no matter how enervated by lack of feeding, undead cannot be starved to the point of permanent deanimation. A fresh infusion of their preferred food can always bring them back to their full abilities. Most diet-dependent undead can go for 3d6 months before losing all mobility. If a player controls an undead with a diet-dependent exis- tence, use the Variant Rule: Handling Undead Hunger sidebar on this page. Undead Hunger: Undead that have an inescapable craving do not have the option to not feed; their hellish hunger cannot be denied. Likewise, diet-dependent undead know that they require sustenance as well. Mindless undead do not care if their hunger drives them into the open or into tactically questionable attacks, but intelligent undead prefer to direct their own actions. However, if an intelligent undead is too long denied that which it desires most, its actions may soon drive it into a frenzy, despite its desire to remain hidden or anonymous. Similarly, those that depend on a steady diet to supplement their existence will take steps to see that their ability to feed is not compromised. The DM determines when insatiable hunger may play a role in an undead monster’s or NPC’s motivation. Undead Healing A living creature that is lethally hurt may become disabled or dying. During this time, aid or good luck can return the creature back to health and eventually full strength. Undead are not so fortunate. What would disable or render unconscious a living creature destroys an undead creature beyond recall. (In game terms, when an undead is reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is per- manently destroyed.) No aid, magical or mundane, is suffi cient to restore the undead to its previous state of animation. Since they are already dead, undead that are destroyed cannot be returned to existence through raise dead or reincarnate. Resur- rection and true resurrection can affected undead, but these spells turn undead back into the living creatures they were before they became undead. Only undead with Intelligence scores can recover lost hit points, usually through necromantic healing (see below) or through the application of negative energy. An undead with the fast healing ability does not require an Intelligence score to benefi t from that ability. Necromantic Healing: With 8 or more consecutive hours of inactivity in any 24-hour period, an undead with an Intel- ligence score recovers 1 hit point per Hit Die. If such an undead is completely inactive for a full 24-hour period, it recovers 2 hit points per Hit Die. Magical Healing: The application of negative energy, such as an infl ict spell, can restore hit points to an undead. Generally, any spell that would harm a living creature by the application of negative energy heals the same number of lost hit points when cast on an undead. Healing Ability Damage: Ability damage is temporary, just as is hit point damage. Ability damage returns at the rate of 1 point per 24 hours (although ability damage taken through failure to satiate an undead’s inescapable craving to feed or to satisfy an undead’s diet dependence does not heal naturally in this manner). Necrotic Reserve: Some undead that have the ability to feed on the living can use this ability to invigorate their bodies on a daily basis, granting them some small reprieve from immediate destruction when they take damage. See the Necrotic Reserve feat, page 28, for more details. Sleeping Undead do not sleep, and they almost never require rest (though some may receive healing benefi ts from rest, as outlined above). CHAPTER 1 ALL ABOUT UNDEAD pqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrs pqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqrs VARIANT RULE: HANDLING UNDEAD HUNGER This variant rule is best applied to undead player characters that are diet dependent or have inescapable cravings. These rules work less well for undead that spend years or more locked away in tombs before getting a chance to feed. However, the DM may decide to use these rules on a case-by-case basis for NPC or monster undead as well. The hunger felt by an undead with the need for sustenance is akin to an addiction. Like living creatures with an extreme crav- ing for some chemical substance, hungry undead are prone to erratic, violent, and sometimes self-destructive behavior if they are denied their preferred morsels. Hunger Type Satiation Will DC Damage Inescapable craving 1 day 25 1d6 Wis Diet dependent 3 days 15 2d4 Wis Satiation: An undead with an inescapable craving takes abil- ity damage each day unless it makes a successful DC 25 Will save. A diet-dependent undead takes ability damage every three days unless it makes a successful DC 15 Will save. Each time an undead feeds on its preferred morsel, it is satiated and need not make these saving throws for the satiation period noted on the table. After the satiation period wears off, the undead once again grows hungry. Damage: An undead’s need to feed is like a mental spike boring into its awareness, dealing the indicated damage each day unless the undead succeeds on the saving throw or feeds. An undead immediately gains back all of the ability damage it has taken if it manages to feed. As the undead goes longer and longer without feeding, poten- tially losing Wisdom all the while, the undead grows increasingly unbalanced. It mulls over plans that would allow it to feed— plans it would likely consider too risky were it completely sane. When the undead reaches 0 Wisdom, it retains no volition of its own, no judgment to deter it from seeking its preferred morsel, even if the undead’s utter destruction seems likely thereafter. (A player character who reaches 0 Wisdom from a failure to feed is temporarily remanded to the DM, who plays the undead as a...