Subraces
There are dozens of types of undead, but they fall mainly into three groups. These are corporeal insentient undead with bodies but no minds, corporeal sentient undead with bodies and minds, and incorporeal undead with minds but no bodies.
Corporeal Insentient: The most common type of undead have bodies, but no intelligence. Without commands from a necromancer, they seek only to destroy any living thing they can see. Corporeal undead are zombies if they still have flesh or animated skeletons if their flesh has rotted away.
Corporeal Sentient: Corporeal sentient undead have bodies and sentience, but they are not necessarily the same as they were in life. Many of them hate the lives that were taken from them and actively seek to harm their previous friends and family if given the opportunity.
Many corporeal sentient undead are able to produce another of their kind when they kill a living creature. Wights, ghouls, vampires, and bodaks all create spawn in this fashion. Ghouls can also spawn naturally from the unconsecrated corpse of a cannibal.
Other corporeal sentient undead have unique methods of creation. Revenants are possessed to seek revenge against their murderers. Death knights are created as Hades’s personal servants. Spellcasters can become liches by placing their soul inside an object via a profane sacrifice ritual. King Aeëtes made himself into a curst, but his method has never been repeated.
Incorporeal: Incorporeal undead have no bodies, but they still possess a sentient mind that powers their unsettled spirit. Incorporeal undead are driven by a psychological obsession that rules them even beyond death. Many incorporeal undead create spawn through killing just as many corporeal sentient undead do. While many ghosts can be defeated by magical purification and exorcism, others require that the underlying reason for their obsession to be settled or resolved in some final way. Once their unfinished business is ended, a ghost can let go and pass on to the Underworld.
Location
Undead can be found in dark and evil places throughout Cimmeria. Their main location is Crux, the undead city. Thousands of undead reside in Crux, serving the mortals that live there as well. There are other larger pockets of undead and solitary undead monsters all over the Earth.
Relations with Other Races
Undead despise all other races. Their hatred for life knows no bounds. A vengeful undead may hate a particular race more than others. In this case, it may set aside its hate for all life to harm the hated race. In some cases, aiding such an undead will even allow it to let go of its unnatural hold on the world and pass on to the Underworld.
Common Deities
All intelligent undead must swear an oath to serve Hades or risk him collecting their souls for his kingdom. He hates losing any subjects unless they continue to serve him in the Material Plane. Thus, most undead worship Hades in at least some way. While most intelligent undead only pray to Hades, other favorites are Nyx and Hecate, who protect the evil creatures of the night. A few undead continue to worship the deities they were faithful to in life.
Place in Adventuring
Undead abhor all life. The only place for undead in an adventurer’s life is at the end of a blade. The variety of undead makes different kinds suitable for all sorts of adventurers, from beginners all the way up to the most experienced heroes.
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