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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Book of the Dead / Playing Undead

Playable Undead Options

Source Book of the Dead pg. 44
This chapter provides options for playing undead characters. Most leave a fair amount of your previous “self” intact, so they're presented as archetypes. The skeleton is the exception—when reduced to bones, your old body doesn't make as big a difference. Because these types of undead characters occur so seldom, and because a game using them needs special adjustments to play out like a normal campaign, these archetypes and ancestry are all rare. The options are ghost, ghoul, lich, mummy, skeleton, vampire, and zombie.

Becoming Undead

If your character dies and rises as an undead, work with your GM to determine the best way to alter your PC’s mechanics to fit the new character. For most groups, it works fine for you to retrain any number of your class feats into archetype feats for your undead type. If you’re playing a skeleton, rebuild your character, replacing only your ancestry and any feats or other options that no longer serve a purpose due to you being a skeleton.

Starting Out as Undead

Undead archetypes, like most archetypes, begin with a 2nd-level dedication feat so you can attain them as you progress. However, it might make sense for you to start out as undead at 1st level. In this case, the GM can allow you to start with the archetype. You get the benefits of the dedication feat right away but must select the dedication feat at 2nd level.

Healing Undead

Because of negative healing many typical means of healing don’t work on undead. The heal spell can’t heal undead, but harm and soothe can. Healing potions and elixirs of life are no use, but an oil of unlife can heal undead. In addition, a character can take the Stitch Flesh skill feat to heal undead with Treat Wounds.

Basic Undead Benefits

Source Book of the Dead pg. 44
The archetypes and skeleton ancestry that follow can give the basic undead benefits detailed here. These are somewhat different from the normal undead creature abilities to better fit player characters.

Necril: You know the Necril language.
Undead Vision: You gain low-light vision, or you gain darkvision if your ancestry already has low-light vision.
Negative Healing: You are damaged by positive damage and aren't healed by positive healing effects. You don't take negative damage and are healed by negative effects that heal undead.
Negative Survival: Unlike normal undead, you aren't destroyed when reduced to 0 Hit Points. Instead, powerful negative energy attempts to keep you from being destroyed even in dire straits. You are knocked out and begin dying when reduced to 0 Hit Points. Because you're undead, many methods of bringing someone back from dying, such as stabilize, don't benefit you. When you would die, you're destroyed rather than dead, just like other undead.
Immunity to Death Effects: You're immune to death effects. This keeps you from being automatically killed or from having your dying value automatically increase, but it doesn't make you immune to other parts of the spell or effect. For example, you can still take mental damage and become frightened by a phantasmal killer, you just don't instantly die from it.
Disease and Poison Protection: You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws (or any other defense) against disease and poison.
Undead Hunger: While you don't eat or drink the same food as humanoids do, you usually have thirsts and hungers related to your undead state, such as a ghoul's hunger for humanoid flesh, a zombie's craving for brains, and a vampire's desire for blood. Additionally, while you don't sleep, you enter a state of quiescence for at least 4 hours a day to recuperate, which lets your undead flesh reknit and recover naturally. Many undead choose to rest when the sun is at its highest.

Advanced Undead Benefits

Source Book of the Dead pg. 44
If your archetype has a feat that gives you advanced undead benefits, you gain the following.

Darkvision: You gain darkvision if you don't already have it.
Greater Disease and Poison Protection: Your bonus against disease and poison increases to +2. You gain poison resistance equal to half your level.
Paralysis and Sleep Protection: You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws (or any other defense) against effects that would make you paralyzed or have the sleep trait.