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Undead Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 72
Sometimes you might need to create a creature with undead attributes in a hurry. Like the elite and weak adjustments detailed in each Bestiary, the following special adjustments can be used to quickly customize any creature into an undead.

As with any adjustments, these changes are meant to be fast, not comprehensive. It's best to check whether the adjustment breaks the creature in combat. For example, a creature with an important 3-action ability won't work well with zombie adjustments due to the slow ability. On the other hand, an adjustment lending a fly Speed to a creature with powerful ranged attacks might make the creature too able to harry the PCs from the air, especially at low levels.

The undead adjustments below work for turning a creature into a type of undead that doesn't fall into any of the major undead categories, and the adjustments after that mimic more specific varieties of undead.

Undead Adjustments

This creature is a reanimated corpse.

Ghost Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 72
The ephemeral form of a ghostly creature lets it pass through solid objects and float in the air. For simplicity, a creature with these adjustments isn't truly incorporeal, nor does it necessarily return after being destroyed.
  • Add the ghost, spirit, and undead traits.
  • Add the Necril language.
  • Add the following immunities: death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, precision, unconscious.
  • Add the following weaknesses, with a value based on the creature's level: force, ghost touch, positive.
  • If the creature can't fly, change its highest Speed to a fly Speed. Remove all other Speeds.
  • The damage of the creature's physical Strikes changes to negative damage, and those Strikes are magical.
  • Add the following abilities.
    Darkvision
    Negative Healing
    Ghostly Passage [one-action] The creature Flies and, during this movement, can pass through walls, creatures, and other material obstacles as though incorporeal. It must begin and end its movement outside of any physical obstacles, and passing through solid material is difficult terrain.

Ghost Adjustments

LevelWeaknesses
3 or lower3
4–85
9–1310
14+15

Ghoul Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 72
Ghoul creatures are typically hairless and gaunt with blue or purple skin and pointed ears.
  • Add the ghoul and undead traits.
  • Add the following immunities: death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, unconscious.
  • Decrease all saving throw modifiers by 1.
  • Add the paralysis ability to the creature's jaws, fangs, or similar unarmed attack. If the creature doesn't have one, add one with the same attack and damage as its strongest melee attack.
  • Add the following abilities.
    Darkvision
    Negative Healing
    Paralysis (occult, necromancy) When the creature gets a critical hit with its jaws against a living, non-elf foe of the creature's level or lower, the foe is paralyzed until the end of the foe's next turn.
    Swift Leap [one-action] (move) The creature jumps up to half its Speed. This movement doesn't trigger reactions.

Mummy Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 72
All types of creatures can have their corpses preserved and rise as mummies.

Mummy Adjustment

LevelWeakness to Fire
3 or lower3
4–85
9–1310
14+15

Shadow Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 72
A shadow creature is little more than a sentient shadow powered by negative energy. Shadows can easily travel to and from the Shadow Plane.
  • Add the undead trait.
  • Add the Necril language.
  • Add Stealth with a modifier equal to its highest skill modifier.
  • Add the following immunities: death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, precision, unconscious.
  • Add the following weaknesses, with a value based on the creature's level: force, ghost touch, positive.
  • If the creature can't fly, change its highest Speed to a fly Speed. Remove all other Speeds.
  • The damage of the creature's physical Strikes changes to negative damage, and those Strikes are magical.
  • Add darkness as an innate divine spell usable once per day.
  • Add the following abilities.
    Darkvision
    Negative Healing
    Slink in Shadows The creature can Hide or end its Sneak in a creature's or object's shadow.

Shadow Adjustment

LevelWeaknesses
3 or lower3
4–85
9–1310
14+15

Skeleton Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 73
Most skeletons are mindless and follow either the basic instincts they had in life or orders given by their creator.

Skeleton Adjustment

LevelHP DecreaseResistances
–1–22
0–1–42
2–5–103
6–10–205
11+–4010

Vampire Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 73
A vampiric creature consumes the blood of the living for sustenance. It might also possess the compulsions and revulsions of a specific vampire bloodline.
  • Add the undead and vampire traits.
  • Add the Necril language.
  • Decrease the creature's HP based on its level.
  • Add the following immunities: death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, sleep.
  • Add resistance to physical damage, with a value based on the creature's level. Choose one type of material that bypasses this resistance: cold iron (vetalarana), silver (moroi), or wood (jiang-shi or nosferatu).
  • Add a fangs Strike. It deals damage equal to the creature's lowest melee Strike and can be used to Feed. If the creature already has a jaws or fangs Strike, just add the Feed ability.
  • Add the following abilities.
    Darkvision
    Negative Healing
    Feed [one-action] (divine, necromancy) Requirements The vampiric creature's most recent action was a successful jaws Strike that dealt damage; Effect The vampiric creature drains blood from its victim, dealing minimum jaws damage and regaining HP based on its level.

Vampire Adjustment

LevelHP DecreaseResistance/Feed HP
–1–32
0–1–52
2–5–103
6–10–205
11+–4010

Wight Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 73
All wights can drain life through their unarmed attacks, but some can draw life force through weapons as well.

Zombie Adjustments

Source Book of the Dead pg. 73
A zombified creature is a mindless, rotting corpse that attacks everything it perceives.

Zombie Adjustment

LevelHP IncreaseWeaknesses
1 or lower105
2–5205
6–105010
11–157515
16–1910020
20+15025

Related Rules

Adjusting Creatures (Source Bestiary pg. 6)