Undead were creatures that had died and then been animated by spiritual or magical forces.[2][3] Some deities employed undead as divine servants; for example, the dwarven god Dumathoin used undead dwarves as divine messengers.[4] Among the inhabitants of the Malatran Plateau, undead were known as the Headshrinker's children.[1]
Abilities[]
Undead were extremely resilient to a number of effects and substances that were extremely harmful to the living. They were immune to all mind-affecting effects, poison,[2][6] sleep effects,[2][7] paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects. In addition, it was not possible to drain their life force in any manner.[2]
Origins[]
There were six basic ways a living creature could become undead:
- Purposeful personal reanimation
- A living creature could willingly undergo the transformation to undeath. In most cases, the creature possessed a disposition towards evil, but this was not always the case. More common reasons included fear of dying of old age, fear of dying from a grievous wound, and a thirst for power.[9]
- Minions
- An intelligent creature might create undead servants as a means to their own ends. These mindless minions were created by malevolent spellcasters to serve as guards or otherwise carry out their bidding.[10]
- Atrocity calls to unlife
- Sometimes, a living creature committed an evil and heinous act that transformed them into an undead creature. The intensity and specificity of the required act was somewhat random and not entirely uncommon.[11]
- Unfinished business
- An intelligent creature died or was killed with an important deed left incomplete. In a similar manner to atrocities, the specifications surrounding undeath achieved in this manner were often left up to chance.[12]
- Dark forces
- Malign forces created undead beings seemingly at random. This had the potential to befall any creature, at any location and seemingly at any time.[13] In Cormyr, it was thought that wandering evil spirits would take over corpses and use them to slay and scare the living.[14]
- Death by wounds caused by another undead
- Many forms of undead creatures inflicted their undeath upon others when striking them with a mortal wound. Perhaps most famously, this occurred in the case of vampires and their bite.[15]
Aquatic[]
Aquatic undead[16][17][18] or marine undead were a subtype of undead that were better adapted to bodies of water and often risen from the bodies of those who had died in water.[19][20][21][22]
Aquatic undead in the Realms included aquatic remnants,[23] drowned ones or "sea zombies",[16][24] drowned dead,[25] lacedons or "marine ghouls",[16][19][20][21][22][24] the velya strain of vampirism,[26] and any aquatic animal risen from the dead, such as sharks.[20][21] There also existed a special shark form of monster zombie known as death sharks.[21][27] And though rare, there were aquatic variants of undead normally found on land, such as spectres, wights,[28][29] and wraiths.[30]
Some specialty priests of ocean deities in the Realms were granted a limited version of turn undead that could only affect aquatic undead.[16][17] These included the Anchors of the Church of Umberlee[17] and the Aquarians of the Church of Deep Sashelas.[16] Though all manner of aquatic undead were also considered servants of the goddess Umberlee,[18] who granted her priests the ability to call them up from the sea[31] or create them in order to defend their temples[20][28] or fight for them.[31]
In the 14th century DR, major populations of aquatic undead on Toril could be found in the Sea of Swords, where a horde subservient to the Myrkulyte temple Legacy of Deep Death terrorized those above and below the sea[32] and death sharks terrorized the Sword Coast,[27] and in the Sea of Fallen Stars where the remnants of Iakhovas's undead army continued to linger following his defeat in the Twelfth Serôs War.[24]
Appendix[]
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Further Reading[]
AD&D 1e[]
- Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- Don Turnbull (1981). Fiend Folio. (TSR Hobbies). ISBN 0-9356-9621-0.
- Ed Greenwood et al. (December 1988). Lords of Darkness. Edited by Scott Martin Bowles. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
AD&D 2e[]
- Monte Cook, ed. (1998). Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix III. Edited by Michele Carter and Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-7869-0751-7.
3e[]
- Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.
- Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
3.5e[]
- James Wyatt, Rob Heinsoo (February 2001). Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn. Edited by Duane Maxwell. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-1832-2.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tom Prusa, Daniel S. Donnelly (January 2000). Legacy of the Headshrinker. Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 317. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 7. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ Sean K. Reynolds (2002-05-04). Deity Do's and Don'ts (Zipped PDF). Web Enhancement for Faiths and Pantheons. Wizards of the Coast. p. 11. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2018-09-08.
- ↑ Interplay (December 1997). Designed by Chris Avellone, Robert Hanz. Descent to Undermountain. Interplay.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 83. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ R.A. Salvatore (July 2010). The Ghost King. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 181. ISBN 978-0-7869-5499-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (December 1988). “The Dread Lair of Alokkair”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 73. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Deborah Christian (December 1988). “Skeletons”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 8. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Jennell Jaquays (December 1988). “Ghouls and Ghasts”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 19. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Vince Garcia (December 1988). “Ghosts”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 57. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood et al. (December 1988). Lords of Darkness. Edited by Scott Martin Bowles. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 37, pp. 243, 245. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 297. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 107. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 John Terra (February 1996). Warriors and Priests of the Realms. Edited by Steven E. Schend. (TSR, Inc), p. 120. ISBN 0-7869-0368-6.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 107. ISBN 978-0786903849.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Ed Greenwood et al. (December 1988). Lords of Darkness. Edited by Scott Martin Bowles. (TSR, Inc.), p. 89. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Ed Greenwood (1994). Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast. (TSR, Inc), p. 51. ISBN 1-5607-6940-1.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Ed Greenwood (1991). “Campaign Guide to Undermountain”. In Steven E. Schend ed. The Ruins of Undermountain (TSR, Inc.), p. 81. ISBN 1-5607-6061-3.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Ed Greenwood (May 1984). “The Ecology of the Ixitxachitl”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #85 (TSR, Inc.), p. 24.
- ↑ Ed Gibson (May 1996). Slaves to Fashion. Living City (RPGA), pp. 11–12.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), pp. 43–44, 74. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ Black Isle Studios (August 2002). Designed by J.E. Sawyer. Icewind Dale II. Interplay.
- ↑ Matthew G. Adkins (March 2000). “The Akriloth”. Dungeon #79 (Wizards of the Coast) (79)., p. 59.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Ed Greenwood (1991). “Undermountain Adventures”. In Steven E. Schend ed. The Ruins of Undermountain (TSR, Inc.), p. 23. ISBN 1-5607-6061-3.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Roger N. Bert & Tom Nolan (June 1997). Descent into the Deep. Living City (RPGA), p. 8.
- ↑ Tom Nolan (May 2001). A Night at Sharkey's Bar and Grill. Living City (RPGA), p. 8.
- ↑ Playdek (November 21, 2013). Lords of Waterdeep. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Ed Greenwood (October 2012). Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 175. ISBN 0786960345.
- ↑ Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 126. ISBN 978-0786903849.