Undead¶
"The priests of the Kalari and Rakkar will tell you that the Sancturi heathens are transitioning just fine … directly to Hell." — Doctrines of Death (S318)
The undead of Terrun are of two kinds. The Restless Dead rise on their own, spirits that failed to pass to the afterlife and came back to their bones or haunted the place of their death; the animated dead are made, by a runecaster's sigil, a necromancer's art or a demon's hunger, from corpses whose souls have gone. The distinction matters to those who fight them: the Namakan rune that breaks "unnatural connections between spirits and living bodies … is most effective against constructed forms (those animated by magic as opposed to the restless dead or demonically possessed)" (S253). This page covers why the dead rise, the corporeal undead that have no page of their own, and the necromancers and demons who make armies of them. The incorporeal dead are on Apparitions, the flesh-hungry on Ghouls and Wights, and the undying wizards on Liches.
Why the dead rise¶
The theology is Sancturi-era and turns on the death of Kalar. "With the death of Kalar and his most direct heir, Anariel; the spirits of the dead are in a state of unrest. Many of the dead do not end up transitioning successfully to the afterlife. The vast majority of the races are still under the dominion of Kalar or one of the other now defunct members of the Kalari. The faithful of the Rakkari are tied through hierarchical dominion to Kalar, and so they suffer the same issues. It is these spirits that get lost in the transition. Beings which are under the dominion of the Dark Gods are transitioning normally" (S318).
The faiths disagree about what this means. The priests of the Kalari and Rakkarim hold that "the faithful must simply walk the path of righteousness … Priests consecrate burial grounds/tombs and it is critical that the faithful dead be buried there in order to ensure their transition to heaven," and they sell "consecrated symbols for warriors or other nomads which serve as a replacement for consecrated ground, so long as they are buried with it" (S318). The Sancturi "preach that the Kalari and Rakkarim are powerless, impotent gods. The faithful of the Kalari/Rakkarim don't have anywhere to go after death and therefore remain behind to terrorize the living. This makes their worshippers dangerous, mis-informed fanatics in both life and death. It also reinforces why forced conversion is necessary" (S318).
The Restless Dead¶
"When a person dies with questionable dominion … they are very likely to end up as one of the Restless Dead. Which form they end up in depends greatly on a variety of complex factors, but theologians agree on some basic casuality" (S318). Lesser ghouls are the commonest, rising "some months after their death assuming their corpse is still in decent condition and the nature of their death was not overly traumatic and they were not tremendously evil in life"; ghouls and wights rise faster from the evil and the wronged; ghosts come "when the corpse was destroyed by either fire or animals"; spectres and wraiths from cruelty and injustice; and Abyssal variants of each "when the dead have been tainted by the hollowing" (S318). A spirit released from a runecaster's vessel "may transition to the afterlife or become Restless Dead. The circumstances and length of their containment, and cause of death will influence what happens" (S254).
Pyres, executions and the prevention of undeath¶
"Funeral pyres have gone out of fashion in Kalari lands, and are considered very dangerous and the practice of heathens. The problem is one of dominion. For someone of questionable dominion to have their body completely destroyed can result in a faster transition in to a haunting spirit: Ghost, Spectre or Wraith" (S318). The Sancturi burn witches "under the supervision of Namakan Runecasters, which entrap their souls to ensure that they are never reincarnated (these are added to Vigils). Also, all executions are performed under the supervision of the Sancturi Clergy and they are careful to mark heathens so that they will transition instead of turn" (S318); see Vigils. A Kalari rite "releases a soul from a dead corpse, allowing it to transition more quickly to the afterlife and preventing the soul from being consumed by demons or used to animate the dead. On particularly evil or troubled souls this can evoke an undead spirit during the ritual" (S004).
The animated dead¶
The Namakan Runebinders of the Sancturi Imperium made the study of animation a discipline; their rune-lore, written for the Animate form, is the fullest ecology of the corporeal undead (S253, S251; the rules are kept under Namakan Animate Form). Animation needs more than a corpse: "the soul residue must still be present (~10 years)" (S253).
Skeletons and zombies¶
"A skeleton can be animated from a bones or a corpse, any remaining flesh will rot and slough off. However, a zombie must have a fairly intact corpse to be animated" (S253). What they can do depends on how much mind is given them. A drone "has no memories and no skills … only capable of performing tasks that a toddler is capable of understanding (2-3 word commands). Things like lift rock, push cart, dig hole, walk to barn … It is not capable of any problem solving and will mindlessly obey its given task regardless of any hazards in its path." A drudge "can perform several tasks in a specific order," and "compulsions from its former life and skills mean that when it is idle it attempts to perform familiar tasks." A slave has "simple decision making skills" and is "very common as servants and assistants. They are also often put in charge of commanding drudges and drones as part of a Herd" (S253). Zombies are hard to put down; only a critical blow or radiant light reliably ends one (S253). A pen rune can lure the idle dead to one spot, though "fully sentient undead, such as vampires, and liches, are immune," and "only non-sentient undead that can't understand hazards will do self-harm" (S253).
Skeletons and zombies are everywhere the dead are many. They "roam the marshes" of the Vale of Aren with ghouls, where legend adds "Will-o-wisps, Shamblers and Blights (Undead+Plants)" (S073); a Rakkari relic, the Trumpet of Xecheros, "aligned to Azrael, Lord of the Undead … summons/animates corpses in the nearby area to serve the caller" (S010); witches in the ruins of Angorath "are using undead to excavate the ruins. Most undead have directions to dig (not attack)" (S328); and "fungal zombies" infest the caverns of the Underdark (S328). The Sancturi legions in Danar met "armies of corporeal and incorporeal undead, as well as undead plagues, blights and roaming monsters" that drove them off the island (S326).
Plague undead¶
The Nexa-Vinian necromancer Malathar the Pestilent woke in his tomb needing lifeforce and "devised a magical plague that will kill the host while extracting their lifeforce. But the bodies are needed" (S047). The first to rise were Plague-Rats, then Plague-Zombies made of the expedition that opened the tomb, with a Plague-Ghoul to guard it; the zombies "have attacked Banbridge, spreading the plague" (S047, S058). At his later keep he kept high-elven zombies who were still arcanists, "Perithus - steward, ex-royal guard … Lescilla - lab worker … Otksalon - head apprentice," each with eyes of a different colour, and "an undead army (innumerable skeletons)" of armoured warriors and unarmoured minions under two captains, the Jailer, a frost skeleton, and the Warden, a fire skeleton (S049, S050). The Warden captured and the Jailer tortured the companions who broke in (S050). In the Fourth Age a "demonic plague" called the Pig-Pox moved through Arnyr (S359).
Corpserot undead¶
In the Demonblight of the bone demonlord Vileryth, Lord of Corpserot, the dead are soaked in his ichor: the Corpserot Warrior, "a powerful skeleton which is covered with, and grown from Corpserot Ichor"; the Corpserot Wight, "a corporeal undead capable of making ranged attacks by hurling balls of corpserot ichor"; the Rot-Wraith, "semi-corporeal skeletal creature drenched in Corpserot Ichor"; and the Druagr-Ghast, "corporeal (possessed). Paralytic touch. Necrotic stench. When their host dies, they will search for a new one in Druagr-Ghost form. New corpses and weak-willed living creatures are their primary targets" (S050). The demons that march with them are on Demonic Forms.
Spawn of Caricytos¶
A Namakan parasite rune "animates parasite infested zombies from corpses" (S253). The Spawn of Caricytos is such a zombie, riddled with Burrowing Worms: a strike plants a worm that "burrows under the target's skin," and if the victim dies "it rises again 10 minutes later as a Spawn of Caricytos." The spawn heals constantly unless in sunlight or running water, and a word from its maker makes it burst, flinging worms at everyone near. A cure for disease or a lifted curse withers the worms (S253). The Caricytos whose name it bears is a Figure (Minor Figures of the Magical Orders).
Revenants¶
The Namakan runes include an Animate Revenant, "animation fueled by hate and revenge," written on the Heart of the Revenant (S231). When a bound soul that was being devoured for power is freed, "the released spirit will often form a Spectral Revenant at the location within a few days, targeting the creator of this Rune" (S254); the spectral kind is on Apparitions.
Gap
Beyond "hate and revenge" the sources do not describe a revenant's form, mind or how it is laid to rest.
The Necromancer's dead¶
Rodrizhal, the arch-lich known only as the Necromancer, rules Delvarn with undead of his own design (S153), and the Sancturi Griffon Legions learned that his boundary markers, "usually skulls on sticks," trigger "an assault by a horde of undead" (S326):
- Boneclaws, "improved zombie/skeletons with retractable metal claws. The prevalent 'grunt' of the Necromancer's forces."
- Reapers, "a killing machine part incorporeal undead and part physical. They have metal claws, are unnaturally fast and despise the living. They will indiscriminately kill living creatures when set loose in an area, focusing on any that are actively resisting first. Used heavily against the Sancturi and rebel villages/towns … they are only harmed by radiant. It is unknown how they are formed."
- Gaunts, "white, tall and skinny zombies that can sniff out demons, hollowlocks/magic users, clerics, spies (Sancturi) and witches."
- Nightwings, noted with a question mark as "a flying shadow which comes out at night."
His wight patrols, liches and Baelim Necromages are on Ghouls and Wights, Liches and the Figures page; his government is Dominion of the Necromancer.
Demons and the dead¶
The Rot Aspect of the demons governs "disease, decay, undeath" (S333), and the demonlords of the Fourth Age Demonlands field the dead as armies. Cuoridaz the Necrolord, "Arch-wraith," commands the Pale Host of wraith soldiers under a wraith-knight, "a towering matron-wraith who whispers despair into armies," a "lich-like demon wrapped in iron coffins" who "manages undead reinforcements and necroforges," dozens of Wraithborn Knights, "elite undead warriors bound by Dominion Marks," and the Pale Legion, "hundreds–thousands" of "skeletons, revenants, shadow-elves, ghostly archers" (S336). Grozzurash's bone-smith "crafts undead colossi" and a Marrow-Queen "commands the Marrow Legion (undead giants)," using "domination techniques on undead. 'The bones obey her voice'" (S336). In the Fifth Age the Bone Devil Ir'Gonuz "animated" the "abyssal dead" of the Kilmarn necropolis (S163), and in the sewers of Redallion a Demonic Abomination, "undead semi-humanoid maw glutton with 2 tentacles, 4 arms and massive mouth," guarded a shrine where sixty skeletons stood in a ring and spiked prisoners fed a black sphere; it could "vomit up Imps & Bloodworms" and wake dormant wights, under an Undead Necromonger, "a commander of undead, can touch an orb to ask for undead to be sent" (S328).
The oldest Death Magic made a deathfiend of a fresh corpse: "a dark, shadowy wraith-like animal claws its way out of the corpse … a strong but unstable wraith-like fiend who will obey your commands," lasting only moments before "breaking apart" (S414).
Vampires¶
Vampires are named and never described. The Namakan rune-lore counts them with liches among the "fully sentient undead" that no lure can move (S253). In the ruins of Anoth-Urulien "a semi-insane corrupted Boreal Elf Vampire makes his home" at the Limeris Dam, "not outwardly hostile," who "given the chance … will try to get someone alone to drain their blood," and the Bound Warden, "a High Elf Champion Protector (Vampire) corrupted by Teneb'Vari," wanders the city (S056).
Gap
No source says what a vampire of Terrun is, how one is made, or how it is destroyed.
Earlier accounts¶
The Overview of the Gods assigns the undead to the gods of the dead: Moros, "Lord of the Dead, Keeper of Souls (also, Lord of Undead)," is "creator of various corporeal Undead and Bone-Demons," and Necatus "creator of Dark Elves, Goblins, Shade-Demons and various non-corporeal Undead" (S429); the Rakkari relic above names Azrael "Lord of the Undead" instead (S010), and Orcus, a Demon Prince, bears the same title and "commanded legions of the dead during the Demon Wars" (S384; see Archdemons). The oldest Death Magic treatise held that "death magic deals with the destruction and consumption of lifeforce and life energies. A hallmark of death magic is the dark energy it commands. Black, insubstaintial smokey trails and creatures are the products of death magic" (S414), and that souls could be caught in vessels and spent to make shadows and wraiths (S371, S414); that lore is now Death Magic.
In Play¶
Undead are met as a plague's aftermath, a necromancer's border, a demonlord's legion, or a haunted shrine where the slain "will reform after death unless remains are destroyed" (S008). Weapons blessed against them are common currency: a hammer "of Disruption" (S328), a spear enchanted "+3 vs Demons, Undead and Outsiders" (S005), a holy symbol that steadies the hand against "Demons & Undead" (S328). Radiant light is the one thing every source agrees they fear. The laws of the Riven kingdoms differ on whether the dead may walk: some tolerate "existing slaves and even Undead," in Delvarn they rule, and in the lands of Kalar's priests "slavery and the Undead are not tolerated" (S319).