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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]

Once an area is infested with undead, it becomes a gathering place for the foul things.

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[]

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.[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 and wraiths.[28][29]

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[30] or create them in order to defend their temples[20][28] or fight for them.[30]

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[31] 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[]

Further Reading[]

AD&D 1e[]

AD&D 2e[]

3e[]

3.5e[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Tom Prusa, Daniel S. Donnelly (January 2000). Legacy of the Headshrinker (PDF). Living Jungle (RPGA), p. 6.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Interplay (December 1997). Designed by Chris Avellone, Robert Hanz. Descent to Undermountain. Interplay.
  6. 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.
  7. Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (2014). Player's Handbook 5th edition. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 978-0-7869-6560-1.
  8. R.A. Salvatore (July 2010). The Ghost King. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 181. ISBN 978-0-7869-5499-5.
  9. 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.
  10. Deborah Christian (December 1988). “Skeletons”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 8. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
  11. Jennell Jaquays (December 1988). “Ghouls and Ghasts”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 19. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
  12. Vince Garcia (December 1988). “Ghosts”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 57. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
  13. Ed Greenwood et al. (December 1988). Lords of Darkness. Edited by Scott Martin Bowles. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
  14. Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 37, pp. 243, 245. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
  15. 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. 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. 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. 18.0 18.1 Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 107. ISBN 978-0786903849.
  19. 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. 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. 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. 22.0 22.1 Ed Greenwood (May 1984). “The Ecology of the Ixitxachitl”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #85 (TSR, Inc.), p. 24.
  23. Ed Gibson (May 1996). Slaves to Fashion. Living City (RPGA), pp. 11–12.
  24. 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.
  25. Black Isle Studios (August 2002). Designed by J.E. Sawyer. Icewind Dale II. Interplay.
  26. Matthew G. Adkins (March 2000). “The Akriloth”. Dungeon #79 (Wizards of the Coast) (79)., p. 59.
  27. 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. 28.0 28.1 Roger N. Bert & Tom Nolan (June 1997). Descent into the Deep. Living City (RPGA), p. 8.
  29. Tom Nolan (May 2001). A Night at Sharkey's Bar and Grill. Living City (RPGA), p. 8.
  30. 30.0 30.1 Ed Greenwood (October 2012). Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 175. ISBN 0786960345.
  31. Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 126. ISBN 978-0786903849.
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