Risen

In the world of Acarn, no spells can bring back the dead to life, but there are alternatives. The Risen are humanoid creatures brought back to life through the Raise Dead spell. While these creatures have the memories of their past life and initially retain mostly the same personality, they are resolutely Undead and not the same person they were in life. The trauma of death, reamination and many aspects of their condition scars and transform them psychologically, usually not for the best. Furthermore, the caster performing the spell automatically places a geas on the Risen, forcing a measure of compliance into them. That control is rather subtle and has its limits. Most Risen will just believe that they serve the caster for returning them to life, or some semblance thereof.

Risen have no requirement for air, food or drink, though they do require another form of sustenance (see below). They can use their lungs to speak. They can consume food and drink but everything will taste like ashes. They will also have to eave ingested solids back up, unless they want an ever expanding stomach. Risen can still get drunk and be under the effect of most drugs. However, those are usually not happy inebriations. Other pleasures of the flesh are similarly off the table for the Risen.

In order to sustain themselves, Risen must drain the life out of a living being, at least the size of a rat. They must kill the creature themselves, in a somewhat ritualistic fashion, outside of combat. They may strangle, bleed or drown, the creature. As the ritual is conducted, the creature’s body will wither and waste away, leaving only bone and ash. Not performing this ritual killing has the same effect as not eating. A Tiny sized creature is the base requirement and doesn’t provide much satisfaction. Sentient creatures provide much richer sustenance, regardless of size.

The Risen’s body retain the wounds they had upon reanimation and while they can be sown up, their appearance will never heal. Otherwise, their body does not deteriorate further and only vaguely smell of rot. Risen do require sleep and while they do, they are indistinguishable from a corpse.