This article is about the living dead. For the novel in The Haunted Lands trilogy, see Undead (novel).
Undead were once-living creatures that had been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces.[1] Some deities employed undead as divine servants; for example, the dwarven god Dumathoin used undead dwarves as divine messengers.[2]
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,[3] sleep effects,[4] paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects. In addition, it was not possible to drain their life force in any manner.[citation needed]
“
Once an area is infested with undead, it becomes a gathering place for the foul things.
”
Origins[]
“
Undead. They got back up and started fighting again—this time, against the rest of us... They fell, they died, they got back up.
”
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.[7]
- 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.[8]
- 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.[9]
- 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.[10]
- 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.[11] In Cormyr, it was thought that wandering evil spirits would take over corpses and use them to slay and scare the living.[12]
- 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.[13]
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.
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 and Monte Cook (October 2000). Monster Manual 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-1552-1.
3.5e[]
- James Wyatt and Rob Heinsoo (February 2001). Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-1832-2.
References[]
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
- ↑ Interplay (December 1997). Designed by Chris Avellone, Robert Hanz. Descent to Undermountain. Interplay.
- ↑ R.A. Salvatore (July 2010). The Ghost King. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 181. ISBN 978-0-7869-5499-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood et al. (1989). Lords of Darkness. (TSR, Inc), p. 73. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood et al. (1989). Lords of Darkness. (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood et al. (1989). Lords of Darkness. (TSR, Inc), p. 19. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood et al. (1989). Lords of Darkness. (TSR, Inc), p. 57. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood et al. (1989). Lords of Darkness. (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.
