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The Undead are false form of creation, taking that which was once alive and granting it an unnatural and unholy mockery of life. Undead creatures are categorized by a metarace that indicates their relative state of decay rather than their original source metarace.

Turned Undead


The Turned Undead are those created from the bite of a true Vampire. Any being that is slain as a result of having their blood drained by a vampire will return to life in undeath on the night after they were bitten. This leaves only a narrow window of time to properly dispose of a body that has been killed by a vampire. The most reliable methods are to burn the body, however anointing with Holy water and some other forms of Holy Powers or rituals can also remove the vampires claim on the corpse.

The nature of turning leads some scholars to believe that the fangs of a vampire carry a specific disease of undeath that infects the body of the slain creature. Others similarly believe the the bite passes on an ancient curse from the first vampires. Whichever the case, it seems to typically only effect humanoid races of the third creation, though in very rare cases it has been known to effect beings of the second creature such as dragons.

Once the Turned Undead rise again they can take on two different forms:

Ghouls

All turned undead begin as ghouls and will remain so unless they are allowed to feed on the blood of the vampire that sired them. Their flesh quickly takes on the pallor of death and becomes eternal, never rotting or decaying, yet ever appearing dead. Ghouls also gain an insatiable hunger for the flesh of humanoids, preferring to eat it in a rotten and decayed state. This does not nourish their bodies, for they do not require true sustenance, but it does allow them to rejuvenate wounds they may have suffered. The more rotten the food source the more satisfaction it seems to give and as such Ghouls are sometimes known to hunt the living only to leave the bodies to rot before finally consuming them days or even weeks later.Read more…

Having been turned undead in such a short time period it is believed that the soul and spirit of the deceased remains trapped within the Ghoul. A fresh ghoul spawn will therefore retain is mind, will and emotions for a short time. However it is also irreversibly bound to the will of the vampire that created it and seeks to obey and appease its master. Provided the ghoul remains near its sire, it can retain some measure of its mental capacity, though the constant feeding on decayed humanoid remains tends to breed insanity. This leads to particular subspecies of Ghoul called  a Thrall, remaining in eternal servitude to its vampire master in an effort to cling to what remains of its humanity. For these Ghoulish Thralls the ultimate reward is to finally earn the right to taste the masters blood and become a vampire. However, this is a delicate matter and if a ghoul is denied a taste for too long, the masters blood may instead transform the Ghoul into the terrifying creature known as a Ghast.

Ghouls which are cast away by their masters or whose master is slain by some intrepid vampire hunter, quickly lose what remains of their soul or spirit and become little more than ravenous beasts, hunting in packs and lurking wherever death and corpses can be found in abundance. It is this form of Ghoul that is most often encountered in the wild. Though horrific to behold, there is some solace in the fact that these mindless monstrosities are not accompanied by a much more sinister vampire presence. 

Though wounds from a ghoul often fester, if they prove fatal they do not carry the ability to turn victims into more ghouls. Therefore, in most cases once a nest of Ghouls is destroyed, the local populace can rest easy.

Ghoulish Template

If using “ghoul” as a template for other creatures, apply the follow traits and modifiers:

  • Undead
  • Toughness II
  • Weakened (Holy)
  • Resistant III (Elemental)
  • Extra Perception V (Sense Rotten Flesh)
  • Pack Hunting (wild ghouls only)
  • Strength (+2), Agility (+5), Stamina (-2), Intellect (-6), Wisdom (-4), Avoidance (-2), Resolve (+4), Init (-2), Charm (-9)

 

Vampires

There are many legends regarding the first vampires and how they came to be, but since new vampires can only be created by other vampires its difficult to say what their origin truly is. Regardless, when a vampire bites a humanoid victim and drinks or drains its blood to the point of death, it first becomes a ghoul. If that ghoul is then allowed to taste the blood of the vampire which sired it, it becomes a vampire as well.

more coming soon…

Cadaverous Undead


Cadaverous Undead are created from the bodies of the freshly dead and include Walking Corpses, Soulbound Lazar, Revenants, Necrotech, and other Cadaverous Undead Creatures. In order to preserve their flesh in the most pristine manner possible, they must be raised before rot can set in. Most preferably this is done at the moment of deathor shortly there after. However care must be taken to ensure the soul has left the lifeless husk of the deceased, lest a soulbound creature is brought into the world.

more coming soon…

Zombified Undead


Zombified Undead are created from the rotten remains of the dead and include Zombies, Wights, and other Zombified Undead Creatures

more coming soon…

Skeletal Undead


Skeletal Undead are created from the bones of those long dead and include Skeletons, Living Bones, Liches, and other Skeletal Undead Creatures

more coming soon…

Mummified Undead


Mummified Undead are created from the preserved remains of the ancient dead and include Mummies, Royal Mummies, and other Mummified Undead Creatures

more coming soon…

Disembodied Undead


Disembodied Undead are created from some remnant of the soul or spirit of the dead and include Ghosts, Wraiths, Death Knights, and other Ethereal Undead Creatures

more coming soon…

Assembled Undead


Assembled Undead are created from an amalgamation of parts, stitched together by some combination of necromancy and unholy ingenuity. They are a special category that can include other versions previously mentioned, however they are formed from a variety of mismatched parts or even just a large quantity of parts and include things like Obelisks, Horrors, and Hulks.

More coming soon…

Codex of the Undead


The Codex of the Undead is the master list of all Undead creatures available for encounters and roleplaying for Realm of Strife GMs. While the framework for all known and theorized Undead exists, not all entries are currently complete. The Codex of the Undead continues to expand as designers create new entries.

If you are looking for an Undead creature that does not appear in this list please contact us and request that an entry be added to the codex and we will endeavor to publish your request in a timely manner.