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Intelligent undead

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Intelligent undead Ñ is a generalized name for all undead night creatures that are sentient (not zombies), yet don’t fit into the molds for vampires, necromancers, ghosts or mummies.

Intelligent undead are former historical figures, raised by necromancers to serve as lieutenants in their undead armies. Unlike zombies, intelligent undead retain much of their original personality once revived. The full extent of this is not known, however.

Intelligent undead all belong to a type, dependent on the secret known by the one who raised them. Each type is assigned a unique name and a set of magic powers, making no two types truly alike.

Naming

The phrase ”intelligent undead” does not actually appear within the game. Instead, each kind of intelligent undead receives a procedurally-generated name, composed of two parts. The first part alludes to it being undead (e.g. ”putrid”, ”risen”, ”grave”) or its nature as a night creature (e.g. ”night”, ”grim”). The second part is always a noun, and sometimes describes it as being undead (e.g. ”zombie”, ”ghoul”) but just as often, simply makes it sound threatening (e.g. ”one”, ”slayer”, ”butcher”, ”stalker”).

Powers

Each type of intelligent undead is given a set of magic powers. It seems they are normally given only a singular power, but may acquire more if they are raised multiple times by different necromancers. Undead may target themselves with their own powers, which has niche applications. The following powers have bee reported:

  • Blisters - Causes the target to grow blisters all over their bodies. Does not hamper fighting ability, making it mostly useless in a fight.
  • Dizziness - The target is affected by dizziness. May inconvenience them in combat.
  • Pain - The target is afflicted with pain, and may be stunned by it.
  • Suffocate - Causes the target to become winded. Does not last enough to kill by suffocation, but will make the target take longer to take actions.
  • Bleeding - The target suffers blood damage across the body. Can stack, leading to death by blood loss if multiple undead use it on the same target.
  • Sicken - The target becomes nauseated and starts vomiting, leaving them vulnerable.
  • Blind - The target loses their sight temporarily. Creatures with style="" are immune to this power.
  • Rot - A random body part of the target will suffer minor necrosis. Can lead to extreme fun if the body part ends up being your adventurer's eyes.
  • Paralysis - The target is completely paralyzed. Generally leads to near instant death in most creatures, as paralysis to the diaphragm leads to suffocation.
  • Raise Fog - The undead changes the weather and creates a temporary fog, limiting vision.
  • Ice Bolt - The undead launches a sharpened bolt of ice at the target, causing varying physical harm.
  • Vanish - The undead immediately enters stealth, becoming invisible. Players are unable to retaliate from the undead's attacks due to not being able to target them, but may hit them with thrown items. Creatures with style="" can see the undead normally, invalidating the power.
  • Propel Away - The undead blasts the target with force, launching them away from it. Effect varies on the foe's weight; smaller creatures can be seriously injured if they impact with a surface, while heavier targets can resist or flat out shrug off the blow. Can be used to free the undead from a grapple.