Category:Undead

Canon Information

This section contains canon info from officially published sources

The undead are creatures who were once alive, died, and yet still haunt the world, reanimated by negative energy. Many forms of undead exist, ranging from the completely mindless skeleton to the completely free-willed and vastly intelligent lich to the very human seeming vampire to the utterly incorporeal spectre.

In the case of undead with no physiological feeding requirements, say a ghost or a zombie, all the energy they will ever need is supplied to them via their connection with the Negative Energy Plane. Were this connection to be temporarily severed, they would become perfectly inert. Indeed a vampire struck through the heart with a stake has most probably had its connection with the Negative Energy Plane temporarily severed and it remains inert as long as the stake remains in place. Undead with physiological feeding requirements can be starved of energy, variously weakening them severely, rendering them inert, or even destroying them.

The Demiplane of Dread offers the undead substantial boons and protections not seen in other realms. For example, if targeted by spells that detect thoughts such as Detect Thoughts, sentient undead can mask their thoughts with whatever they please.^[1][2][3]. Against spells such as Detect Undead, the undead may attempt Will saves (or the equivalent) to be avoid notice altogether.^[4][5][6] The Land of Mists may offer the undead some kind of defensive boon against a handful of spells or effects that specifically target the undead, such as a bonus on saving throws against Disruption Weapons.^[7] Within sinkholes of evil, a cleric finds it much harder to turn the undead.^[8][9][10] Finally, certain undead may have unusual salient powers not seen in other realms.

Undead are found throughout the Demiplane of Dread. In the domain of Barovia, any kind of undead save liches may be encountered^[11][12]. In the domains of Darkon^[13][14], Sanguinia^[15], Sithicus^[16][17], and Valachan^[18][19] any variety of undead may be encountered. Any variety of undead could be encountered in the former domain of Gundarak, and thus may now be encountered in Barovia and Invidia^[20]. In the domain of Keening, any form of undead can be encountered, save liches and those that must feed, such as vampires and ghouls^[21][22]. Any form of undead may be encountered in Mordent, though vampires and liches avoid the area around Gryphon Hill^[23][24]. In Souragne, any undead may be encountered, though only weaker undead such as skeletons and zombies appear with any frequency to be called "incidental" encounters.^[25]

References