Forsaken shell

Forsaken shells were a type of undead consisting of a full set of skin that had been removed from the body of a slain or still-living creature. These undead could arise from almost any type of living creature, so long as it had skin, even dragons or giants.
While sometimes created by necromancers, they could otherwise arise spontaneously from a corpse with the influence of necrotic energy or be created by the deliberate workings of another forsaken shell.
==Description==
These undead were best described as being rather long and slender in form. They moved in a coiling and slithering fashion, much like a serpent. Most common varieties weighed in at around .
==Personality==
These undead exhibited an average level of intellect. Forsaken shells were aggressive beings that felt kinship towards one another and would seek to carry out vengeance upon anyone that dared to harm others of their kind, especially those that had been spawned by them.
All instances of this undead had a predatory nature to them, driven to attack the living by a need to propagate more of their kind, though they also were known to simply enjoy attacking living creatures.
==Abilities==
These undead could see in areas of total darkness. They exhibited an incredible degree of elasticity, strength, and flexibility with their bodies. This allowed them to easily escape most restraints and hide themselves in confined spaces, by folding up their bodies.
Prior to the Spellplague, forsaken shells would not retain any sort of abilities from the creatures they were spawned from. Following the Spellplague, it was not uncommon for forsaken shells to exhibit abilities that they had in life; such was the case with dragon shells.
The most unique trait of these undead was their ability to propagate more of themselves. This was done by stripping off skin from a slain living creature that possessed skin. Prior to the Spellplague, this skin would spontaneously transform into new forsaken shells that were under the command of their creator. Following the Spellplague, forsaken shells instead assimilated this skin into themselves and would then excrete from their bodies a new forsaken shell. Given time, a forsaken shell could potentially spawn thousands of its kind.
==Combat==
Most forsaken shells were ambush predators, preferring to rely on stealth and speed to overwhelm lone opponents. They fought by tightly constricting themselves around other creatures. Following the Spellplague, they were noted as being able to emit a harmful surge of necrotic energy by slapping themselves at a living creature.
They were generally not fearless beings who'd fight regardless of the odds. Rather, most would retreat when met with an overwhelming number of opponents, but those that arose from the skin of dragons were particularly brave and relied upon strength over speed. However, even the more common varieties of forsaken shell could be driven to reckless fighting if it meant avenging injuries that had been done to their kind. Titan shells relied primarily on strength over anything else, neither focusing their rage upon one opponent at a time nor strategizing.
After successfully slaying a living creature, forsaken shells would proceed to attempt to hide the body of their victim. They would usually place them in secluded areas, such as unfrequented closets or under piles of unused stuff.
==Variants==
;Dragon shell:
: Forsaken shells that arose from the skin of dragons. They notably maintained the dragon breath that their body had in life and their bites were infused with the corresponding elemental energy, such as acid or fire if it arose from the body of respectively a black dragon or red dragon, for example. Out of all forsaken shells, they were particularly vulnerable to radiant energy.
;Titan shell:
: Forsaken shells that arose from the skin of giants.
==Society==
These undead were typically found either in groups with other forsaken shells, generally numbering around two to four, or in the company of other undead. These undead were usually those that had a penchant for eating flesh, such as carcass eaters, ghouls, and zombies. However, they could also be found around poltergeists.
They might be animated purposely by a necromancer or arose spontaneously as a result of necrotic energy.
===Habitats===
Beyond the Prime Material plane, these undead could be found in the Domains of Dread and the demiplane known as the Night Realm.
==History==
Around the , a group of adventurers traveling on the mercantile vessel Rosy Dawn from Veltalar to the city of Relkath's Foot by means of the sea route called the Greenborn River were ambushed by a group of undead that included a dragon shell made from the skin of a black dragon, two drowned ghosts, and four sea wraiths.
Around the same century, a group of adventurers traveled through a portal beneath the city of Myth Drannor, taking them into Shazryl's tower in the Shadowfell. There they encountered a great deal of creatures under the alhoon's command, including a trio of forsaken shells that guarded a room alongside a tombstone golem.
==Appendix==
===See Also===
* Boneless, a similar sort of undead that were almost exclusive to the Domains of Dread.
* Skin kite
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Creatures of chaotic evil alignment
Category:Creatures of unaligned alignment
Category:Creatures found in the Domains of Dread
Category:Creatures found in the Night Realm