Undead

Undead are once-living creatures whose death did not end cleanly. Undeath, grave force, a spiritual binding, a curse, hunger, rot or some other unnatural persistence keeps them moving after life should have ended.

Senses: Ghostly Undead have no sight, hearing, smell or taste. They have Blindsense 15 feet (Strong Magnitude), sensing the living, the dead and strong emotion.

Subtypes

• Ghostly: defined by incorporeal, haunting, unstable and only partly present in the physical world (see Senses).
• Corpse-Bound: defined by rotting flesh, stubbornness and a refusal to stay down.
• Skeletal: defined by a rigid frame of bone with little reliance on flesh.
• Vampiric: defined by hunger, feeding, charm and stolen vitality.
• Necrotic / Deathly: defined by withering force, life drain and grave power.
• Shadowed: defined by darkness, gloom, concealment and predatory silence.
• Plague-Ridden: defined by infection, contamination, rot and corpse-taint.

Traits & Maneuvers

Each subtype grants the trait listed under it; a trait and its maneuver are one Build Selection.

Ghostly Phase (Ghostly)

Undead, Passive · Passive

Lacks sight, hearing, smell and taste (Blindsense 15 feet, Strong Magnitude, sensing the living, the dead and strong emotion). Ignores difficult terrain and moves through creatures and objects, but can't end inside them.

Crafting tags: Essence Space; Ingredients none.

Corpse-Bound (Corpse-Bound)

Undead, Reaction, Recharge · Reaction (1 RP)

Trigger: It would be reduced to 0 HP.

Spend the charge and 1 RP to drop to 1 HP instead and gain 5 temporary HP (Average Magnitude).

Crafting tags: Essence Death; Ingredients Animal, Preservative.

Skeletal (Skeletal)

Undead, Passive · Passive

Resistance to piercing. Whenever it takes bludgeoning damage it becomes Off-Guard until the start of its next turn.

Crafting tags: Essence Death; Ingredients Bone, Preservative.

Blood Drinker (Vampiric)

Undead, Maneuver · 1 AP

Make 1 natural melee attack against a creature it's grappling. If it deals damage, it gains 5 temporary HP (Average Magnitude), doubled if the target is Bloodied.

Crafting tags: Essence Blood; Ingredients none.

Deathly Aura (Necrotic / Deathly)

Undead, Passive · Passive

A living creature starting its turn within a 5-foot emanation (Average Magnitude) must succeed a Fortitude save against its action check or become Withered.

Crafting tags: Essence Death; Ingredients none.

Shadow Shroud (Shadowed)

Undead, Passive · Passive

While partly concealed, Perception saves and Investigation checks to find it suffer an extra Disadvantage. While fully concealed, it gains an extra Advantage on attacks against creatures that can't see it (Average Step for both).

Crafting tags: Essence Shadow; Ingredients none.

Corpse Taint (Trait) (Plague-Ridden)

Undead, Passive · Passive

When it damages a living creature with a natural weapon, the target must succeed a Fortitude save (DC 10 + half damage taken) or be afflicted with Corpse Taint.

Crafting tags: Essence Death; Ingredients Animal, Preservative.

Afflictions

Corpse Taint (affliction)

Delivered by an adversary ability. Save: Fortitude (DC per the delivering effect, or 15 + creature level). Stage interval 1 round.

1. Sickened 1
2. Sickened 1 and Drained 1
3. Sickened 2 and Drained 1 (conditions from Corpse Taint can't be recovered while it persists)