An Undead Primer

There is a certain group of creatures in this world that defy many natural laws: they are not extraplanar in origin, and yet, they lack many of the distinguishing characteristics of mortal life. Their consistent lack of these vital signs leads them to be referred to as undead.
Undead are invariably the product of magic. Arcanists and clerics alike can create these beings from mortal corpses or summon them from nothing; these mages are often referred to as necromancers, and the act of creating and commanding undead is usually seen as unsavoury at best. Certain areas or individuals impregnated with particular emotions can trigger Etherial magic that gives rise to “natural” undead, and particular rituals and infectious curses can even convert living mortals into undead creatures. Evidence suggests that extraplanar beings are incapable of being converted in this manner, and there have been no instances recorded of an undead being brought back to a state of life.
The most common sorts of undead are mindless, lacking sentience or wills beyond those given to them by their masters. Skeletons and zombies, thralls with the forms of corpses, are often used as menial labourers and rudimentary guards by unscrupulous mages, and they and their ilk sometimes wander wild in death-soaked lands. Ghosts, or lawful spirits bound in Etheria, are a sort of undead that occasionally appear where the borders between Etheria and Materia are weak; they usually lack any but the most single-minded of goals and memories. Deceased individuals, buildings, battlefields, and other things charged with a certain amount of arcana and a pervading negative emotion can give rise to a shocking variety of horrible, single-minded and particularly heinous creatures, all with their own unique forms and abilities. Undead that possess full-fledged wills and minds are rare, and are often the result of a conversion from a living being using a powerful curse or ritual. These creatures include liches, vampires, wights and certain mummies.
Many undead appear to be visually similar to mortal beings in some fashion, usually resembling the body or skeleton of whatever creature they were in life, often in a state of advanced decay. Undead are powered completely by magic, specifically negative magic energy. As such, positive energy tends to damage them considerably, and negative energy repairs their physical structure. The negative energy that fuels them is often recognizable to certain animals: dogs, horses and other domestic animals often find undead unsettling, or even terrifying.
Undead are all similar in that they lack most, if not all, of the characteristics required for mortal life. They do not require any sort of sustenance, need no sleep or rest, and function without blood, breath or organs. Because they are animated by magic and not their physical structure, they are impervious to many things that would incapacitate a living creature, such as poison, pain, fatigue and disease. Not only are they extremely hardy and difficult to incapacitate in any way beyond physical destruction, they are also completely immune to mental manipulation. Despite their lack of physical body parts in many cases, undead often possess acute senses, generally being capable of seeing in utter darkness. Certain undead possess a wide variety of unique traits, depending on their build and habitat; more intelligent and powerful undead often display magical abilities of some sort or another.
Though they require no nutritive sustenance, undead are usually gripped by a powerful addiction of the most frightful kind. Many of these creatures, especially the sorts which can convert other mortals into undead, are possessed with the burning desire to consume life. Whether it be blood or flesh, many undead are driven by a ravenous hunger, and are compelled to feed upon the living. This is very specific: undead with this particular affliction will never be satisfied with dead tissue, and must stalk the living. To this end, many undead are keen hunters, uncannily adept at sneaking up on unsuspecting prey. Regardless of form, undead possessed of this hunger always prefer sentient life over animal life, often ignoring lesser creatures as unsatisfying to their tastes. An undead must avail itself with regularity proportional to its strength; a weaker undead will more often be enslaved to its mindless passions. If unable to satiate its desires, an undead will become progressively weaker and more desperate, becoming increasingly ravenous and single-minded in its attempts to feed. Once it has eaten of human life, it will be bolstered for a short time, filled with vigour at having satisfied its addiction and becoming both more resistant to certain magics and heightened in their ability to locate further prey. This compulsion isn’t to be confused with actual hunger: an undead will persist regardless of whether it can fulfil its addiction or not.
Due to their frightful appearance, horrifying addictions and their tendency to be mindless, violent agents of destruction, undead are almost universally feared. They are a central theme in many children’s stories, often as the soldiers and weapons of vile warlords and wizards, or as terrifying foes that heroes must overcome. In less broad terms, they are considered wretched by several religious orders, particularly the congregations of Yoma, Lyevald, Liartia and Vordara, and the Church of Taiyo. These faiths all declare undead to be soulless mockeries of life, wholly separate from their respective gods’ creations, and deserving of quick and merciless destruction. The creation, distribution and use of undead is largely illegal in most civilized countries, either requiring particular licensing from the government, or banned outright.
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