Race: Awakened Undead
Parent Race
Awakened Undead
THE MISTS CLING TO THE TALL, CHARRED PINES of the valeheart woods like clawed spectral fingers, as the billowing breeze breathing through the trees gives this maisma a sinister semblance of life. At once menacing and warding against outside visitors to this deathly realm, the locals know well of the evil nature of this forest, and how willing the very air of this place is to choke the life out of those foolish mortals that venture inside.
Nevertheless, a gnarled dwarf by the name of Blidwenn gazes into the opaque vapor streaming from the trees, his eyes more accustomed to the dim light of this place than the pure sunshine found in more wholesome lands. Brading a few errant strands of beard, Blidwenn continues his vigil for well on an hour; tracing the elusive forms in the mist for any sign of living movement. Clasping his braid in a ruddy, calloused hand, the dwarf lets loose a sigh and slowly raises to his feet.
His sharp dwarven eyes snap open and he pauses instantly mid-motion. Movement in the mists, shadows, a shape emerging from the woods. His vision traces the outline of a lean, solitary figure, set bone white against the grey fog. With slow, creaking footsteps, the creature emerges from the fog and advances on the steadfast dwarf.
That you, Clacks?" Blidwenn rumbles, his hammer suddenly finding itself in his large hands. "You see any thing in there?"
"Indeed, friend," the approaching skeleton replies dryly, holding aloft a faint, purple gem. "The master's old phylactery wasn't nearly as well defended as he would have us think."
Death comes for all things in a near-infinite variety of ways. So, too, are there many reasons that the dead might return from the grave. Directly-applied necromancy, cursed lands, and unfinished business are but a few, and all leave the newly-undead soul with a mere semblance of the life it had before. All undead carry the physical or emotional scars of what ended their mortal lives, though some may be far more subtle than others.
ability score increase:
+1 CON
age:
Any
alignment:
Any
Size:
Medium
speed:
Determined by your Past Life
Languages:
Common and one language available to the race you chose for your Past Life
race features:
Dead Immortality. You do not age. Given time, the necromantic energies that sustain you will heal most wounds you take at approximately the same rate as a mortal, and your hit dice function as normal. Past Life. Choose another living race besides this one. Before your death, you were a member of this race and appear as an undead version of it. Your size, height, and movement speed are the same as a typical member of that race. You do not retain special movement speeds from this race (such as swimming or flying), and, though you may choose to have formerly been a member of a subrace of a particular race, you derive no benefits from doing so. Undead. Raised from the dead as a being of undeath, you count as an undead creature for all spells and abilities that affect the undead (excluding healing spells). You are immune to disease and treat exhaustion as if it was one level less. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day. You do not dream in this state; you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal. Darkvision. Through the necromantic energy animating you, you are able to perceive with greater clarity that which lurks in the darkness. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Dead Immortality. You do not age. Given time, the necromantic energies that sustain you will heal most wounds you take at approximately the same rate as a mortal, and your hit dice function as normal. Past Life. Choose another living race besides this one. Before your death, you were a member of this race and appear as an undead version of it. Your size, height, and movement speed are the same as a typical member of that race. You do not retain special movement speeds from this race (such as swimming or flying), and, though you may choose to have formerly been a member of a subrace of a particular race, you derive no benefits from doing so. Undead. Raised from the dead as a being of undeath, you count as an undead creature for all spells and abilities that affect the undead (excluding healing spells). You are immune to disease and treat exhaustion as if it was one level less. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food and drink if you wish. Instead of sleeping, you enter an inactive state for 4 hours each day. You do not dream in this state; you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal. Darkvision. Through the necromantic energy animating you, you are able to perceive with greater clarity that which lurks in the darkness. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Dead and Reborn
Typically having no lands to call their own, undead with an awakened sense of self are typically perpetual foreigners, wnaders in a land and often a time not their own. Compounding matters, most mortal cultures carry within them an instinctual fear of death and the dead, and many associate necromancy specifically with dark tidings. This forms a wall of (often well-earned) prejudice and hatred that sentient undead find themselves up against, and many undead choose to hide their necrotic natures behind clothes, masks, and ungent perfumes when journeying into civilization. Depending on composition, humanoid undead typically range from a wide gamut from 20 to 300 pounds, and may possess empty eyes, a colored flame-like magical animus in their sockets, or harrowed, surprisingly mortal eyes burning with an inner fire. Hair (if they have it at all) is usually lank, dark, and wrought with grime and gravedirt that no amount of cleansing will fully remove.Service and Freedom
Undeath is effectively immortality, a strong reason why many mortal spellcasters of a certain moral bent consider it a viable alternative to actually dying. Still, it is not immortality without price -- senses and emotions dull, food and drink no longer have taste, and often an undead state comes alongside a subservience of will and unthinking service to a master who likely does not have the world's best intentions at heart. Some undead are born into freedom, while others earn it or have it thrust upon them. Regardless, all undead that have freedom greatly cherish it, as the reminders of what could easily happen were they not fortunate enought to possess free will abound throughout history. Many consider it their sacred duty to free other mindless undead, or simply to dispatch them wherever they may be found. The reasonin is straightforward enough: a final rest awarded to all mortals is greatly preferential to eternal slavery to the likes of a short-sighted, megalomaniacal wizard.Fallen Home, Forgotten Past
For many awakened undead, the past is a distant homeland to which they may never return, holding names and faces now partially forgotten, and loves and lives as dead as they are. The anguish of this loss is enought to drive many mad, but others use this rage and pain as a source of power and drive, carrying them further on the road to whatever dark destiny awaits. Frequently, entire countries, customs, and cultures the undead may be familiar with no longer exist, and the sentient dead behaves or speaks in an antiquated fashion because of this. It may be even more difficult than usual for such undead to relate to more modern mortals, and typically these undead leverage what companions they may have to bridge this epoch-long communication gap.Undead Names
Many undead that awaken into sentience prefer to keep the names they held in their mortal lives. For others, however, their mortal names are forgotten or have lost meaning. These undead often adopt nicknames given to them by their former masters or present companions, and hold them to be as true as any other creature's birth name. Examples of names given in this fashion may be seen below: Names. Rattlebones, Spore, Rotface, Raven, Bane, Carver, Drudge, Rook, Mort, Pale, Minion, Crumble, ShadeSubrace Blocks
Awakened Undead: Skeleton
An animated figure made of dry bones devoid of flesh and muscle, you were likely raised by a necromantic caster or dark, supernatural curse as a simple minion, completely without will and self knowledge. Something changed, however; perhaps your master was slain, the land cleansed, or you merely awoke one day to fragmented memories of your previous life. Whatever the case, possessed of a fragmented sense of self and newfound purpose, you struck out into the wider world to find a new destiny.
ability score increase:
+2 DEX or +2 INT
age:
Any
alignment:
Any
Size:
Medium
speed:
Determined by your Past Life
Languages:
Common and one language available to the race you chose for your Past Life
parent race:
Awakened Undead
race features:
Bloodless. You are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition. Bone Pile. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. If you do, you reduce yourself to a pile of bones, render yourself prone, and are considered to be under a similar effect to the feign death spell. while subject to this condition, you are unable to move or take actions other than using an action to end this effect. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest. Bone to Pick. Whenever both of your hands are free (not including equipped shields), you may choose to use a free hand and a bonus action to remove an arm. It counts as a weapon with the finesse property that deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage, and you have proficiency with your arm while you wield it. If you remove a hand, it counts as thieves' tools or a similar set of simple tools while you hold it. In either case, removed hands and arms may be re-attached by using another bonus action.
Bloodless. You are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition. Bone Pile. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. If you do, you reduce yourself to a pile of bones, render yourself prone, and are considered to be under a similar effect to the feign death spell. while subject to this condition, you are unable to move or take actions other than using an action to end this effect. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest. Bone to Pick. Whenever both of your hands are free (not including equipped shields), you may choose to use a free hand and a bonus action to remove an arm. It counts as a weapon with the finesse property that deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage, and you have proficiency with your arm while you wield it. If you remove a hand, it counts as thieves' tools or a similar set of simple tools while you hold it. In either case, removed hands and arms may be re-attached by using another bonus action.
Awakened Undead: Revenant
When a brutal murder or an atrocious crime slays an innocent soul endowed with sufficient willpower, there is rare occasion where the victim refuses to stand by and stay dead. You were created not at the whim of a mortal spellcaster, but when you were slain and either a god of death, vengeance, or justice, or you yourself, took enough umbridge at the death to raise you from the grave, typically at least a full day (though sometimes up to centuries, if the revenge is still relevant) after your death occurred. Born again out of an undying thirst for vengeance, you will not rest until the wrongs surrounding your death have been righted. Though you superficially appear similar to a zombie, complete with tattered flesh and sporadic decay, your eyes gleam with an intelligent intent, a burning passionate fury that will lay low all in your way.
ability score increase:
+2 CHA or +2 STR
age:
Any
alignment:
Any
Size:
Medium
speed:
Determined by your Past Life
Languages:
Common and one language available to the race you chose for your Past Life
parent race:
Awakened Undead
race features:
Eternal Vengeance. You know at all times the general direction of and relative distance to a creature of the DM's choosing against whom you seek revenge for your death, even if the creature and you are on different planes of existence. Should this creature die by your hand or that of another, you instantly know, and your DM chooses another creature also responsible for your death for this feature to apply to, should such a creature exist. Poison Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage. Unnatural Vitality. When you drop to 0 hit points, you may choose to stay conscious instead of falling unconscious. If you do, you gain temporary hit points equal to your total character level. In this state, you may take an action or bonus action on your turn, but not both, and you make death saving throws at the end of your turn as usual. You can remain in this state until you fail your first death saving throw (at which point you fall unconscious and continue making death saving throws until you stabilize or regain additional hit points) or die outright to massive damage. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Eternal Vengeance. You know at all times the general direction of and relative distance to a creature of the DM's choosing against whom you seek revenge for your death, even if the creature and you are on different planes of existence. Should this creature die by your hand or that of another, you instantly know, and your DM chooses another creature also responsible for your death for this feature to apply to, should such a creature exist. Poison Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage. Unnatural Vitality. When you drop to 0 hit points, you may choose to stay conscious instead of falling unconscious. If you do, you gain temporary hit points equal to your total character level. In this state, you may take an action or bonus action on your turn, but not both, and you make death saving throws at the end of your turn as usual. You can remain in this state until you fail your first death saving throw (at which point you fall unconscious and continue making death saving throws until you stabilize or regain additional hit points) or die outright to massive damage. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
Awakened Undead: Ghost
Lingering souls of the dead and departed, ghosts are raised as servants by potent necromancers or hold onto the world themselves when there is unfinished business they have yet to accomplish. Adventurous ghosts such as yourself typically either escape the masters that raised them or have something unresolved their days amongst the living that requires they journey far and wide. If a ghost is charged with unfinished business, it can take many forms, from protecting a loved one to keeping a particular item safe to simple revenge. Ghosts are spectral and luminous, but solid to the touch, and can interact with objects as mortals do. All ghosts carry obvious and sometimes twisted marks of what caused their death, which are often quite disturbing to all but the most jaded mortals.
ability score increase:
+2 CHA or +2 WIS
age:
Any
alignment:
Any
Size:
Medium
speed:
Determined by your Past Life; Flight. You gain a fly speed equal to half your land speed, rounded up to the nearest 5 feet.
Languages:
Common and one language available to the race you chose for your Past Life
parent race:
Awakened Undead
race features:
Bloodless. You gain a fly speed equal to half your land speed, rounded up to the nearest 5 feet. Withering Touch. You have proficiency with unarmed strikes, and any damage dealt by it is necrotic damage. Incorporeal Stride. You can move through other creatures and objects other than walls (or ceilings) as if they were difficult terrain. Once per short rest, you may pass through up to 10 feet of solid walls (treating them as difficult terrain) as a part of your move action. You take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside an object or a wall, and are immediately ejected to the closest available space if within a wall. Ghostly Magic.
Optional Feat.
You must take a feat to gain this trait; it does not come as part of the ghost package.
Bloodless. You gain a fly speed equal to half your land speed, rounded up to the nearest 5 feet. Withering Touch. You have proficiency with unarmed strikes, and any damage dealt by it is necrotic damage. Incorporeal Stride. You can move through other creatures and objects other than walls (or ceilings) as if they were difficult terrain. Once per short rest, you may pass through up to 10 feet of solid walls (treating them as difficult terrain) as a part of your move action. You take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside an object or a wall, and are immediately ejected to the closest available space if within a wall. Ghostly Magic.
Optional Feat.
You must take a feat to gain this trait; it does not come as part of the ghost package.
Ghostly Magic
Awakened Undead (Ghost)
Your soul is especially powerful, and you may channel its power into a semblance of mortal magic. Each day, you may cast up to three of the following spells: blink, catapult, charm person, fear, and invisibility (self only). You regain the ability to cast these spells when you finish a long rest. When you take this feat, choose either Charisma or Wisdom as your spellcasting ability for these spells, and you cast any spells gained by this feat at their lowest possible levels.
