Undead

They must have been very surprised, they who first saw the dead rise and walk again, not living anew, but still visibly deceased. To those whom the idea has merely been described, it is – disquieting, perhaps, but the shock of seeing bones, absent skin and muscle, tendon and flesh, puppeted by strange magics… it does not convey through words alone. Yes, they must have been very surprised indeed.

• Antioch of Jerroh, Sermon on the Scourge of Undeath (1745 A.T.)

Though not seen everywhere, Undead are a common threat to the living throughout the Lakes Region. Animated corpses given motion and some agency through magic that moves them like puppets, and trapped and tormented spirits, the undead may be found anywhere that the dead lie. Although most undead are made from bipedal humanoids, there is no theoretical limit.

In recent years, the undead have become more of an obvious threat in the Lakes Region. Before their final defeat, the Twins called upon long-buried forces that awoke from ancient slumber and made hazardous the roads and highways of the Lakes Region. Nevertheless, most people have never encountered the undead in their day to day lives, and the menace of the undead is an intimidating one to most people living in Ariel.

Necromancy

It is often the case that the undead do not rise on their own. Wizards or clerics (often clerics of Stasa, goddess of undeath and necromancers among other disciplines) may cast spells that give a shadow of true life to a corpse, or grant them control over a spirit, wracking or tormenting it. Still others may work magic to become undead themselves; such rituals may grant power, or free them from the fear of age, but at cost to their personalities; even the undead who retain some measure of their minds become aloof from the cares of the world, and may come to hate the living.

The act of necromancy is reviled in much of the civilized world. So often it goes hand in-hand with grave robbing, and the proud living do not wish to see their corpses so objectified. As well, necromancy covers assaults upon the spirit – with the rituals that create wraiths and ghouls literally torturing bare souls until they take the form of the undead, enslaved to the caster. In many lands, necromancers will face the death penalty at the very least – in some lands, they are Finished (a process in which a spirit is raised from the dead and then executed again until the spirit ceases to be able to resurrect).

Naturally Occurring Undead

Under certain circumstances, undead can arise without any spells being cast whatever. The most common and well known of these are wraiths – spirits that have lingered too long in the mortal plane without being resurrected, or moving on to What Comes Next. Ghouls, although also afflicted spirits, are thought to arise from those who in life consumed the flesh of their fellows to survive, before starving (somewhat disputed).

Zombies and skeletons have been known to rise in crypts that have been desecrated, or robbed of grave goods buried with the body. Although returning such goods (or setting right the desecration through prayer and action) has sometimes been known to lay to rest these undead, it is not guaranteed to work; another reason why robbing the dead and desecration of tombs is a reviled crime within many nations.

Hauntings have been known to occur anywhere that enough death has occurred in a short enough time. The sensation of being watched when crossing an old battlefield, or in a house where something truly Bad happened, are often attributed to hauntings. Less is known about this phenomenon, which can take on many different forms.

Types of Undead

Although there are different kinds of undead, they fall into broad categories. There is enough diversity in undead types that there are likely some undead that defy even these categories, but describing undead in these ways will often be understood as a useful description for most undead.

Corporeal undead have bodies – most often, the bodies that they had in life, reanimated using cast or natural magic to give movement to dead flesh. Skeletons, zombies, and other undead with bodies count as corporeal. Incorporeal undead are wraiths or similar spirits – lacking bodies, they can also be more difficult to injure or destroy, as they are most responsive to magic, and lack bodies that can be harmed with weapons of steel or wood.

Unintelligent undead have no will of their own, and will either obey the commands of the necromancer that raised them, undertake a task related to the reason why they arose (such as slaying a grave-robber), or otherwise take no action, apart from opportunistically attacking the living. Intelligent undead often have or are spirits, and while they can make decisions on their own, there is a slight trend toward even intelligent undead being unable (or having great difficulty) to come up with creative solutions to problems.

Naturally Occurring undead will often have no fixed instructions or commands (and are more often than not unintelligent undead). As mentioned previously, naturally occurring undead will most often arise when a spirit is injured or affected by too long a time spent in the living world, or when a tomb is desecrated. Because a great variety of causes can create undead, they have a much greater variety than necromantic undead, which are the result of specific spells and rituals. Necromantic undead are typically under the command of the caster that raised them (or are the caster themselves). Although some particularly ambitious necromancers may create their own types of undead, most use commonly understood spells, and as a result, create skeletons, zombies, wraiths, ghouls, skeleton lords, and liches.

Undead in Warfare

The use of undead in warfare shows up not infrequently in the history of Ariel. Undead, after all, do not require food or rest; most seek no plunder, enriching those that control them further. Many undead are physically stronger than the average human, and with claw-like fingers and mighty blows from their dead limbs, many can also be very effective with minimal equipment. Barring magical effects, most undead do not experience breaks in morale, and do not noticeably suffer from fear or anger.

Unfortunately, the same things that provide a benefit to undead armies also comprise their weaknesses. While undead do not require food nor rest, some will actively fall to pieces due to neglect, and they possess no ability to naturally heal injuries. While many need no weapons or armour, many have no capacity to use either, limiting their options. Finally, while not experiencing breaks in morale, the majority of undead armies are substantially made up of mindless undead, which have little capacity to adapt to changing tactics or unexpected circumstances on the battlefield.

Authored by: Jared Hindle
Fantasy Alive Lore Team 2021
Copyright © Endless Adventures Ontario

Revised by: Andrew Dunlop
Fantasy Alive Lore Team 2026
Copyright © Endless Adventures Ontario