HOME | DD

Miki-Fauns — Undead Concepts II

#awakened #darklands #ectoplasm #ghost #lore #mage #moro #noble #posse #race #skeletonking #stray #traveler #wizard #worldbuilding #zombie #plasmin #moroan #necril #pathfinder1e #kingdomsofthorn #pathfinder #skeleton #sorceress #undead #wastelands #pathfinderrpg
Published: 2021-06-24 15:48:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 9846; Favourites: 32; Downloads: 1
Redirect to original
Description Left to Right: Awakened Skeleton, Awakened Zombie, Plasmin, and Stray

    Due to the nature of the Wastelands*, there are more undead than there are living inhabitants. As such, most undead have only themselves to keep each other company. Some form nomadic tribes or rudimentary townships where they essentially play pretend, going about as though they were not undead at all. These townships can look promising to foolish adventurers, but most citizens loathe the living as it reminds them of what they lost. It is common for these undead townsfolk to forcibly convert living adventurers into new citizens, damning them to the same fate as themselves.
    However, not all undead desire to pretend to be something as boring as a standard commoner. Some desire to relive their lives and take up adventuring. What else do they have to lose? Certainly not their lives. These undead adventuring parties, also called posses, pass their time by exploring the Wastelands. Posses are far safer than the living with mindless undead leaving them alone and with most townships being favorable towards them as they often help the townsfolk out with certain tasks for odd rewards. The undead, much like the living, have their rivalries and enemies so a posse’s work is never done, protecting certain townships from other, more hostile threats or looking for rare locations such as the Lost City of Moroa.
    Posses usually get together for one quest: to escape the Wastelands. Posses experience a unique predicament as they face the opposite problem as their living counterparts. It is relatively easy to get into the outer wastes with the interior becoming more and more hostile for living adventuring parties, but for posses it is the opposite: the outer wastes are rife with undead hunters who view a rag-tag group of sapient undead heroes the same as any other undead which crawls out of the wastes. This reaction isn’t entirely uncalled for as there are plenty of undead which actively hunt the undead hunters in return, but in the end it makes both the hunters and the often neutral-aligned undead adventurers’ existences harder and wastes resources which can be better spent on true threats. The posses which do manage to evade the hunters and escape are often met with a world unfamiliar to them as they have forgotten (or perhaps never experienced) the lively nature of the Outlands. It makes for an exciting, overwhelming, and dangerous experience as they pretend to be alive to avoid being lynched by the living much like how outland adventurers often pretend to be undead to prevent a similar fate in the Wastelands. Oh how the turns have tabled.

---

Awakened Zombie (22◊ RP)
    Akin to (but not quite like) zombie lords, awakened zombies are more intelligent variants of zombies. However, unlike zombie lords, undeath has not been so kind to them with much of their flesh rotted and though not mindless still suffering from mental deficiencies. These zombies are created from odd phenomena which are near impossible to replicate efficiently (though there are rumors of a group of awakened zombies known as the morticians which have discovered a way to bring back people as awakened zombies with almost 100% efficiency). Some come into being when an intelligent or psychically intune person succumbs to zombie rot, others are zombies who after being undead for so many years somehow find themselves gaining sapience, and on very rare occasions animate dead spells will produce one arbitrarily. However, the main cause of awakened zombies are when souls try to latch onto any vessel they can when they get stuck in the Ethereal Plane. Zombies, being already animated and empty of a soul, make for a decent vessel (at least compared to other options). Usually the soul latches onto their own animated body, but there are instances of souls inhabiting zombified corpses which aren’t their own.
    Physical Description: Awakened zombies run the gambit of looking not a day past their expiration to nearing a skeleton with their remaining flesh hanging on for dear unlife on the mostly rotted corpse. This variation is due to the plethora of ways an awakened zombie can come about.
    Society: It is said there is an entire underground empire near the Lost City of Moroa where thousands of awakened zombies mill about, but for the most part, awakened zombies are brought into unlife alone or in the company of those who are not awakened zombies.
    Relations: Being undead and appearing like their mindless kin, awakened zombies do not fare well when trying to integrate themselves into humanoid societies. Like all undead, mindless undead leave them alone if not provoked, and the mock cities set up by the bored sapient undead in the Wastelands do not interpret them as being a threat unless given a reason to.
    Alignment & Religion: Though undead, since most awakened zombies keep many of their memories of life, awakened zombies often continue to worship whatever deity they worshipped in life (usually ones pertaining to undeath). Goercia is the most common as her followers are the most likely to come back as awakened zombies, seeing it as a gift from their Mother in Undeath as a second chance at existing in the Material Plane.
    Adventurers: Like how awakened zombies can come about in all manner of ways, awakened zombies become adventurers in all manner of ways as well. Whether that be trying to find a way to resurrect themselves, taking advantage of what they may deem as a second chance at “life”, having to take up adventuring as they cannot stay in one place too long being undead, or to prove to the community they dwell in they are of good alignment, awakened zombies have many factors calling them to an unlife of adventure.

        +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence, and No Constitution Score: Zombies are strong and hardy, but much of their former memories and intellect have decayed along with their bodies. As undead, zombies lack a Constitution score. (0◊)
        Undead: Zombies have no Constitution score. Zombies use their Charisma score in place of their Constitution score when calculating hit points, Fortitude saves, and any special ability that relies on Constitution. Zombies are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain, and are immune to damage to physical ability scores (Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength), as well as to exhaustion and fatigue effects.
Zombies do not risk death from massive damage, but are immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or fewer. Zombies are not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect them. These spells turn them back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
Zombies do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. As such, zombies can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required to survive or stay in good health. (16)
        Medium: Zombies are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size. (0)
        Shambler: Zombies have a base speed of 20ft. A zombie’s speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance. (-1)
        Darkvision: Zombies can see in the dark up to 60ft. (0*)
    Undead Immunities: Zombies are immune to bleed damage, death effects, disease, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning along with any effects that require a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless). Zombies are also immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). (0*)
        Negative Energy Affinity: Zombies are harmed by positive energy and healed by negative energy. (0*)
        Toughness: Zombies gain +3 hit points. For every Hit Die possessed beyond 3, they gain an additional +1 hit point. If they have more than 3 Hit Dice, they gain +1 hit points whenever they gain a Hit Die (such as when gaining a level). (2)
        Slam: Like their mindless cousins, awakened zombies have a natural 1d4 slam attack. (1)
        Bonus Feat: Zombies, being as varied as they are, come in varying flavors and possess different unique abilities. Zombies select one extra feat at 1st level. (4)
        Languages: Zombies speak whatever languages they knew in life (usually Common, Moroan, and Necril). Zombies with high Intelligence scores can choose from the additional language options available to them from their living racial counterparts which is usually the following: Abyssal, Aklo, Dwarven, Elven, Infernal, Terran, or Undercommon. (0)
        ◊ Charisma bonuses technically count as both a bonus for Charisma and Constitution for undead. Consider this when considering ability score modification and RP score.
Alternate Racial Traits:
    Zombies, coming in all shapes and sizes, vary widely in forms and abilities.
        Carrier: Some unfortunate souls who died from a plague zombie carry its disease though they are sapient. The slam attack — as well as any other natural attacks — of these zombies carry the disease zombie rot. Zombie rot: slam; save Fort DC 11; onset 1d4 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d2 Con, this damage cannot be healed while the creature is infected; cure 2 consecutive saves. Anyone who dies while infected rises as a plague zombie in 2d6 hours. This trait replaces Toughness and Bonus Feat. (6)
        Channel Resistance: Some awakened zombies are especially resistant to the effects of channeled energy. These zombies have +2 channel resistance. This trait replaces Toughness. (2)
        Kin Charmer: Some awakened zombies have the innate ability to lead their mindless kin along with charming other undead. Zombies can use command undead once per day as a spell-like ability (caster level equal to the user’s class level). This trait replaces Toughness. (2)
Runner: Some zombies are exceptionally quick versus their counterparts. These zombies have a base speed of 40ft. This trait replaces Shambler and Bonus Feat. This trait cannot be taken in conjunction with the White Matter Deficiency alternate racial trait. (3)
        Small: When a small creature awakens as a zombie, they do not grow in size. Small zombies are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks. This trait replaces the Medium size racial trait. (0)
        Spellgorged: Some former spellcasters still possess arcane energy even in undeath which sometimes translates itself into stored spells within the zombie’s person. Choose one of the following energy types: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. Then pick either a 15ft cone or 20ft line. Once an energy type and damage range has been selected, it cannot be changed. Once per day, as a standard action, spellgorged zombies can make a supernatural breath weapon attack that deals 1d6 points of the damage type chosen in the area chosen. All creatures within the affected area must make a Reflex saving throw to avoid taking damage. The save DC against this breath weapon is 10 + 1/2 the user’s character level + the user’s Charisma modifier. Those who succeed at the save take no damage from the attack. This trait replaces Toughness. (1)
        Undead Intuition: Some awakened zombies have the innate ability to sense the living from the undead like their mindless kin. Detect undead is a constant spell-like ability for them with the caster level being equal to the zombie’s character level. This trait replaces Bonus Feat. (3)
        White Matter Deficiency: Undeath has affected these zombies white matter more than their gray matter, leaving much of their intelligence intact at the cost of delayed reaction time. These zombies have a -2 penalty to Dexterity instead of a -2 penalty to Intelligence. This trait affects ability score modification. This trait cannot be taken in conjunction with the Sprinter alternate racial trait. (0)

---

Awakened Skeleton (24 RP)
    Awakened skeletons are the skeleton equivalent to awakened zombies. Like awakened zombies, awakened skeletons keep their mental faculties though unlike their zombie counterparts, awakened skeletons actually become more quick witted in their transformation into undeath rather than dumber! It is believed this quality is related to the mindless skeleton’s ability to wield weapons, translating in an awakened skeleton as greater adeptness. The creation of an awakened skeleton is akin to the awakened zombie being near impossible to replicate (at least efficiently) though there are rumors the Skeleton King has found the key to the process with his legions consisting mainly of awakened skeletons.
    However, awakened skeletons usually come into being arbitrarily whether that be through a skeleton which after years of undeath out of the blue gains sapience, the once in a blue moon animate dead spell which raises an awakened skeleton rather than a mindless one, an especially stubborn necromancer whose negatively tainted soul animates its own corpse to continue its work, or the desperate souls of those trapped in the Ethereal Plane trying to inhabit something they can use to interact with the material world.
Physical Description: It’s a skeleton. What? Haven’t seen a skeleton before? In all seriousness, some skeletons do actually have some skin and flesh on them and appear more zombie-eque than skeletal, but they function as skeletons stat-wise. Some skeletons even have ghostly, incorporeal visages of their once living selves around their skeletal forms.
    Society: In the Cold North lies the Skeletal Lands ruled over by the Skeleton King himself. It is here the awakened skeletons have the greatest numbers with their own society with customs suspiciously similar to that of the Bernardites. However, awakened skeletons outside the Skeletal Kingdom or the Bernardite bands tend to be brought into unlife like their zombie kin: alone or in the company of those who are not awakened skeletons.
    Relations: The skeletons of the Skeletal Kingdom have good relations with the Bernardites, a band of rebels who believe the current monarchy of Crin is in power illegitimately and wish to see the Crin Empire dissolved. It is through the Bernardites that the Skeletal Kingdom gets its supply of new citizens, many donating their bodies in death to the Skeleton King who uses his secret magic to resurrect them as an awakened skeleton. In fact, some argue the Bernardites are but a living extension of the Skeletal Kingdom. Southern Bernardites tend to dismiss the idea as Crin propaganda while northern Bernardites would to an extent agree as the Skeletal Kingdom’s ranks consist mostly of former Bernardites.
    Their relations with the Inuin are shaky as Inuins sometimes kill awakened skeletons when hunting for caribou in the Skeletal Lands mistaking them for mindless undead. There is also the issue of some Inuin going into the region to track down and “put to rest” undead Inuin as to unclog the reincarnation cycle leading to further confrontations. However, awakened skeletons under the Skeleton King, though wary of the Inuins, are not antagonistic with the Inuins outright and will even help them with directions when they go on caribou hunts if approached carefully.
    Alignment & Religion: Unlike most undead, awakened skeletons actually tend towards the upper left area of the alignment chart, inheriting the sense of loyalty and justice that most possessed in life as Bernardites. That being said, some awakened skeletons have grown bitter over the years and do not maintain the loyal nature of their youth, instead devolving into a more typical undead mindset of lashing out at the living.
    Adventurers: Much like the Bernardites most awakened skeletons used to be, awakened skeletons feel a pull towards adventuring, often already being adventurers in life fighting what they saw as a just cause. In undeath, they see an opportunity to continue forth with their goals and furthering the agenda of the Band of the Moon and the Skeleton King. However, skeletons outside of the Cold North find themselves in a similar predicament as awakened zombies, wanting to find a way to resurrect themselves or trying to fit in a world where they are seen as a cancer rather than a potential friend.

        +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength, and No Constitution: Skeletons are naturally adept, but their lack of muscle leads to them being physically weak. (0)
        Undead: Skeletons have no Constitution score. Skeletons use their Charisma score in place of their Constitution score when calculating hit points, Fortitude saves, and any special ability that relies on Constitution. Skeletons are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain, and are immune to damage to physical ability scores (Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength), as well as to exhaustion and fatigue effects.
Skeletons do not risk death from massive damage, but are immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or fewer. Skeletons are not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect them. These spells turn them back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
Skeletons do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. As such, skeletons can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required to survive or stay in good health. (16)
        Medium: Skeletons are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size. (0)
        Normal Speed: Skeletons have a base speed of 30ft.
        Darkvision: Skeletons can see in the dark up to 60ft. (0*)
        Undead Immunities: Skeletons are immune to bleed damage, death effects, disease, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning along with any effects that require a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless). Skeletons are also immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). (0*)
        Negative Energy Affinity: Skeletons are harmed by positive energy and healed by negative energy. (0*)
        Skeletal Damage Reduction: Skeletons gain DR5/bludgeoning. (2)
        Cold Immunity: Skeletons are immune to cold damage. (4)
        Improved Initiative: Skeletons get a +4 bonus on initiative checks. (2)
        Languages: Skeletons speak whatever languages they knew in life (usually Common, Moroan, and Necril). Skeletons with high Intelligence scores can choose from the additional language options available to them from their living racial counterparts which is usually the following: Abyssal, Aklo, Dwarven, Elven, Infernal, Terran, or Undercommon. (0)
Alternate Racial Traits:
        Big Boned: Some skeletons are not physically weak. These skeletons do not possess the -4 Strength penalty other skeletons do. This trait replaces Cold Immunity. (Special††)
        Channel Resistance: Some awakened skeletons are especially resistant to the effects of channeled energy. These skeletons have +2 channel resistance. This trait replaces either  Skeletal Damage Reduction OR Improved Initiative. (2)
        Fire-Borne: Constantly on fire, these skeletons deal 1d6 fire damage whenever they strike a foe with a natural attack, unarmed strike, or melee weapon. These skeletons are immune to fire damage but vulnerable to cold damage. This trait replaces Cold Immunity, Skeletal Damage Reduction, and Improved Initiative. (8)
        Four Arms: Some skeletons are animated into being with extra limbs, specifically four arms. Four-armed skeletons can wield multiple weapons, but only one hand is its primary hand, and all others are off hands. They can also use their hands for other purposes that require free hands. This trait replaces Cold Immunity, Skeletal Damage Reduction, and Improved Initiative. (8)
        Ice-Borne: Usually located in the Frozen Wastes, these skeletons deal 1d6 cold damage whenever they strike a foe with a natural attack, unarmed strike, or melee weapon. These skeletons are vulnerable to fire damage. They are also fragile and cold in personality. Instead of a -2 penalty to Strength, they suffer from a -2 penalty to Charisma. This trait replaces Skeletal Damage Reduction and Improved Initiative. (~5◊*)
        Kin Charmer: Like some awakened zombies, some awakened skeletons have the innate ability to control their mindless kin and charm sapient undead. Skeletons can use command undead once per day as a spell-like ability (caster level equal to the user’s class level). This trait replaces Improved Initiative. (2)
        Milk Magic: Within these skeletons lies a bizarre but useful ability: once per day, a skeleton can drink a cup of milk and heal 1d8 points of damage + 1 point per 2 character levels (maximum +5). Drinking milk in this way functions like drinking a potion, taking a standard action and provoking an attack of opportunity. This trait replaces Skeletal Damage Reduction. (~1)
        ◊* Charisma bonuses technically count as both a bonus for Charisma and Constitution for undead. Thus penalty to Charisma qualities as both a penalty to Charisma and Constitution. Consider this when considering ability score modification and RP score.

---

Plasmin (~22◊ RP)
    Plasmins are undead composed of a spirit inhabiting ectoplasm. Once a soul gets trapped into a sufficient amount of ectoplasm, they sometimes become plasmins rather than standard ectoplasmic creatures. Plasmins, unlike their more aggressive kin, are more corporeal (though able to switch into a semi-incorporeal state for a short time) allowing them better control over their gooey bodies and being in less agony than a regular ectoplasmic creature. Still, many plasmins report their bodies as feeling like they are made out of viscous lead.
    Physical Description: Plasmins are made solely of ectoplasm. Ectoplasm, coming in many forms ranging from runny to thick, clear to opaque, and coming in a variety of shades and hues, lends itself to creating a diverse array of creatures with varying stabilities, colors, and opacities. Some plasmins can barely hold their form (or do not bother to do so) looking more akin to a slime than a traditional plasmin while others barely let on they are undead, able to keep their form stable as easy as a living being breathes and can even get away with interacting with the living undetected. However, most are somewhere in between, being of moderate viscosity and having detailed upper halves and underdeveloped lower halves creating what appears like a ghost’s trail. In general, they look like a phantom given a corporeal form.
    Society: Unlike awakened skeletons or even awakened zombies, there are no plasmin societies. Plasmins are rare even as far as sapient undead counterparts of mindless undead creatures go so there is not a sufficient amount of them to create anything more than a small band. Most come into being alone or in the company of non-plasmins.
    Relations: As undead related to the notoriously aggressive ectoplasmic creatures, plasmins face greater troubles when interacting with the living than even the standard awakened undead would (which is saying a lot). Most must come up with ways to disguise themselves as less threatening creatures such as pretending to be a magic slime given life by a talented alchemist or pretending to be another party member’s phantom.
    Alignment & Religion: Plasmins tend to be the result of people who died from especially traumatic circumstances or with troubles which prevent them from properly passing into the afterlife so they tend towards the lower alignments.
    Adventurers: Plasmins rarely become adventurers given their often sour and unpredictable personalities and their animosity towards the living, but that is not to say it is impossible. The rare good-aligned plasmin is likely to take up adventuring as to find a way to free themselves from their ectoplasmic prison without reverting to another form of undeath or slipping into the Negative Energy Plane, or to complete and further the goals which they had in life.

        +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity, and No Constitution: Plasmins are strong, sturdy, and oddly alluring but their gooeyness makes movement difficult. As undead, plasmins lack a Constitution score. (0◊)
        Undead: Plasmins have no Constitution score. Plasmins use their Charisma score in place of their Constitution score when calculating hit points, Fortitude saves, and any special ability that relies on Constitution. Plasmins are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain, and are immune to damage to physical ability scores (Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength), as well as to exhaustion and fatigue effects.
Plasmins do not risk death from massive damage, but are immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or fewer. Plasmins are not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect them. These spells turn them back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
Plasmins do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. As such, plasmins can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required to survive or stay in good health. (16)
        Medium: Plasmins are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size. (0)
        Normal Speed: Plasmins have a base speed of 30ft.
        Darkvision: Plasmins can see in the dark up to 60ft. (0*)
        Undead Immunities: Plasmins are immune to bleed damage, death effects, disease, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning along with any effects that require a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless). Plasmins are also immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). (0*)
        Negative Energy Affinity: Plasmins are harmed by positive energy and healed by negative energy. (0*)
        Slam: Plasmins have a natural 1d4 slam attack. Any creature struck by a plasmin’s slam attack must succeed at a Will save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the plasmin’s level + the plasmin’s Charisma modifier) or be shaken for 1 round. (~3)
        Phase Lurch: Once per day, plasmins can use gaseous form as a spell-like ability (caster level equal to the user’s character level). (3)
        Languages: Plasmins speak whatever languages they knew in life (usually Common, Moroan, and Necril). Plasmins with high Intelligence scores can choose from the additional language options available to them from their living racial counterparts which is usually the following: Abyssal, Aklo, Dwarven, Elven, Infernal, Terran, or Undercommon. (0)
        ◊ Charisma bonuses technically count as both a bonus for Charisma and Constitution for undead. Consider this when considering ability score modification and RP score.
Alternative Racial Traits:
        Air Step: Some plasmins are able to “walk” or “float” on air. These plasmins can walk on air as per air step with no reduced speed over ground and half speed over water. If they have 1 rank in Fly, they can walk over water at full speed and do not take penalties to the Acrobatics, Climb, and Ride skill checks. The caster level is equal to the user’s character level. This trait replaces Slam and Phase Lurch. (~5)
        Damage Reduction: Some plasmins are especially resistant to most normal forms of physical attacks. These phasmins gain DR 5/slashing. This trait replaces Phase Lurch. (~2)
        Gooey Facade: Some very cohesive plasmins are able to pass as being a standard person (at least at a glance). These plasmins gain +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to appear as though they were alive. However, the plasmin still feels texturally like tough, gummy ectoplasm, not feeling like a living entity. This trait replaces Phase Lurch. (~2)

---

Stray (~21◊** RP)
    In Zorast they are known as Maythayim meaning undead wanderer, in Necril they are known as Monbotaa (ⲙⲟⲛⲃ͒ⲟⲧⲁ) meaning no place, but to most they are referred to as strays. Strays are a type of undead which are the result of travelers losing their way, slowly succumbing to the elements often with their feet mangled from their futile attempts to survive their final trek.
    As a result, most strays loathe travelers and attempt to misguide foolhardy adventurers to their demise using their silky tongues and their living facade. All strays have the ability to appear as they did in life making tricking the living all the more easy.
    Physical Description: Most appear as wretched beings appearing as emaciated, zombie-like creatures with mangled feet, often with only stubs left to shamble with. Almost all of the strays in the Wastelands lack toes as it is a common practice for those in especially dire straits to eat their own toes giving strays the colloquial name of “toeless” around Celia. In a stray’s living guise, they appear as they did in life though some tells such as a lack of breath, cold flesh, and lack of a pulse and heartbeat can give away their undead nature.
    Society: Most strays travel alone so as to not rouse suspicion when tricking unwitting adventurers with false directions. Being in groups also reminds them of who they once were and what they lost making them severely uncomfortable. Sometimes strays accidentally catfish each other in their attempts to trick the living which usually results in harsh words being shared between the two once they figure out the other’s true nature with brawls being a common outcome of their verbal assaults.
    Relations: Most strays are bitter things, wanting to see others fail just as they had. However, strays, though not the best in weighing their limitations, understand that every fight is not one they can win and with their slow escape speed, every fight must be fought to the bitter end. This is why many employ alternate tactics to trick their foes. A common tactic is to pretend to be an experienced scavenger and give adventurers false directions. Often these directions will lead to dangerous areas such as a church of huecuvas or where zombies are especially present. Some even pretend to be lost adventurers who claim to be the only survivor from another adventuring party. These false friends then infiltrate the group and follow the party, watching with hidden glee as their new “friends” succumb to the elements. An especially favored tactic is to lead a party into an area infested with mindless undead and sit back as the hordes rip the living adventurers to pieces while leaving the undead stray alone, watching as their prey realize the true nature of their new companion before their untimely demise. Wastelanders know well of strays and have many cautionary folktales surrounding them. They know better than to trust anything in the wastes so strays tend to either go for a more direct approach such as a physical trap or merely follow them from a distance, hoping to be able to watch the show when something inevitably goes down. Outlanders are their true prey as most people outside of the Wastelands are unfamiliar with Wasteland fauna and are often desperate for any help they can get when trekking through the lifeless tundra. Sometimes strays will form pseudo-parties with other undead inhabitants in the Wastelands, usually as a result of joining what they thought was a living party which they could trick then finding themselves integrated into their posse’s group upon discovering the party’s true nature.
    Alignment & Religion: Almost all strays are chaotic evil, wanting to bring everyone down with them. Usually resigning to their hopeless fate, most strays do not pray to any gods for they believe their pleas will fall upon deaf ears. When deities are worshipped, they usually center around misfortune, trickery, or undeath such as Grot, Oba, Pridellius, or other more obscure deities of said nature. Grot is especially popular as the strays’ subtle plots and clever games makes appeasing the god of dramatic irony an easy feat.
    Adventurers: Though usually the bane of adventuring parties, some would-be saboteurs end up accidentally becoming party members themselves, finding the comfort of companionship fills the hole in their heart much more than killing those they envy ever could. Many have personalities which have them take to their former roots as experienced travelers when given the opportunity with a friendly “do you need help?” or “would you like to come with us?” being enough to sway them. However, if there is one thing a bitter stray hates most, it’s a stray which has come to terms with its unlife and is finding happiness in travel and friends once again. If a standard stray sees that a stray has joined an adventuring party and appears to have a happy nature to it, they will go out of their way to sabotage the stray back into an unlife of lonely wandering. Young strays are the most likely to join an adventuring party (especially a good-aligned one) as they still hold out hope that someone can help them out of their unfortunate predicament. Some fledgling strays experience denial over their undeath, claiming to be alive even if evidence suggests otherwise. An in-denial stray, though annoying in their constant assurance that they are in fact alive, tends to be the safest type of stray and even a potential asset. Just don’t ask them for directions.

        +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom, -4 Dexterity, and No Constitution: Though hardy and oddly crafty, strays are maldriotic and mentally tortured. As undead, strays lack a Constitution score. (-3◊**)
        Undead: Strays have no Constitution score. Strays use their Charisma score in place of their Constitution score when calculating hit points, Fortitude saves, and any special ability that relies on Constitution. Strays are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain, and are immune to damage to physical ability scores (Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength), as well as to exhaustion and fatigue effects.
Strays do not risk death from massive damage, but are immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or fewer. Strays are not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect them. These spells turn them back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
Strays do not breathe, eat, or sleep, unless they want to gain some beneficial effect from one of these activities. As such, strays can drink potions to benefit from their effects and can sleep in order to regain spells, but neither of these activities is required to survive or stay in good health. (16)
        Medium: Strays are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size. (0)
        Shambler: Strays have a base speed of 20ft. A stray’s speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance. (-1)
        Darkvision: Strays can see in the dark up to 60ft. (0*)
        Undead Immunities: Strays are immune to bleed damage, death effects, disease, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning along with any effects that require a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless). Strays are also immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). (0*)
        Negative Energy Affinity: Strays are harmed by positive energy and healed by negative energy. (0*)
        Clawed: Strays have two 1d4 claw attacks. (2)
        Beguiling Liar: Strays are fond of pretending to be helpful and giving travellers false directions which usually lead to further danger. Strays gain a +4 racial bonus on Bluff checks to convince others that what they are saying is true when they tell a lie. (2)
        Living Guise: Strays can assume the appearance they had in life. Strays gain +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to appear as though they were alive. Changing shape is a standard action. This trait otherwise functions as per alter self, save that the stray does not adjust their ability scores. (3)
        Disorienting Mists: Once per day, a stray can use haunting mists as a spell-like ability (caster level equal to the user’s character level). (2)
        Astray: A stray is uncomfortable around the trade routes it used to travel in life. When a stray enters a well maintained road, they must succeed at a DC 15 Will save or become shaken for 1 minute. (~-2)
        Languages: Strays speak whatever languages they knew in life (usually Common, Moroan, and Necril). Strays with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages like Druidic). (1)
        ◊** Charisma bonuses technically count as both a bonus for Charisma and Constitution. However with strays, since they have the Greater Weakness Ability Score Modifier, this is less of an issue, only bringing the total RP up by 1 at best.
Alternative Racial Traits:
        Chill Touch: Two times per day, strays can use chill touch as a spell-like ability. The caster level is equal to the user’s character level. The DC for this spell-like ability is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the user’s Charisma modifier. This trait replaces Clawed OR Disorienting Mists. (2)
        Nipper: Instead of claws, these strays possess a devastating bite. These strays have a 1d6 bite attack. This trait replaces Clawed and Beguiling Liar. (3)
        Soul Seer: A stray’s favorite pastime is watching others befall to a similar fate as them. Some strays gain deathwatch as a constant spell-like ability. This trait replaces Beguiling Liar and Disorienting Mists. (4)
        Trader’s Knowhow: Many strays were once established travelers and merchants in life. These strays receive either a +2 racial bonus on one Knowledge skill or a +1 racial bonus on two Knowledge skills of their choice. This trait replaces Beguiling Liar. (2)
        Well-Travelled: Some strays overcome their discomfort of trade routes. This trait replaces Clawed and Astray. (Special††)

Subraces
    Undead Traveller:
        These strays have the Trader’s Knowhow and Well-Travelled alternate racial traits.
    Child:
        Often lost children will become strays if they die in the Wastelands.
            +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity, -4 Wisdom, and No Constitution Score: Their child-like bodies give them more dexterity than other strays, but the experience of becoming undead is especially mentally scarring for children. As undead, child strays lack a Constitution score. This trait replaces the standard stray ability score modifiers. (-3◊**)
            Small: Child strays are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks. This trait replaces Medium. (0)
            Child’s Sprint: Though small, child strays maintain the standard stray base speed of 20ft. This trait replaces Shambler. (-1)

---

*The Wastelands are a barren waste in the Darklands where necrotic energy is especially potent and where life is especially stunted. The Wastelands are the origin of the dark taint which permeates the Darklands and as such is the most inhospitable area in all of Thorn more akin to the Shadowfell than the Material Plane in terms of landscape. Undead make up the majority of the population of the Wastelands. 

    A Note On Subraces: Though less applicable to this deviation as there are only subraces for the Stray which are rudimentary compared to what I have planned for the Deadlings and Vamplings, alternate racial traits specified in subraces cannot be mixed and matched. For example, the child stray's variant ability score modifiers cannot be applied to a standard stray like regular alternate racial traits being exclusive to the child subrace. However, if a trait isn't specified to be replaced/apart of the build, the subrace can replace that trait with another alternate racial trait. For example, a child stray can have the Nipper alternate racial trait as it has no traits which replace the ones which are replaced when taking the Nipper alternate racial trait (Beguiling Liar and Disorienting Mists). Hope this helps. 

More on the Wastelands: 
Moroans: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…
Moroans II: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…

More Undead: 
Pallidi Ghouls: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…
Undead Concepts 1: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…
Undead Concepts 3: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…
Undead Concepts 3.5: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…

Skeleton King Hidden Lore?: 
Bernardites: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…
The Flower King: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…
Prince Lark: www.deviantart.com/miki-fauns/…

Feel free to play test and/or incorporate into your own campaigns/settings or whatever. I worked really hard on the lore and such for these guys. If you want stats for another version like Pathfinder 2e or something, hit me up since I plan on making some more things with these four concepts. 

Main Universe: Kingdoms of Thorn
Related content
Comments: 0