Undead
| Undead | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Afflictions | |
| Affected Races | All |
| Contraction | Resurrection |
| Origins | The Beyond |
The stuff of nightmares for some, figments of folklore for others and the steadfast guardians of ancient faith to even fewer, the most prominent of the Beyond's influences in Aloria are the Undead, the results of the Shades of the deceased who return to the world of the living through one means or another. Undead take a variety of different forms, whether it be as a walking corpse or an incorporeal phantom, but they share a common trait in being Shades and not proper souls anymore: this means that they are mere conglomerations of memories of who they once were and not truly the person anymore, resulting in altered personalities, behaviors and wants. Undead have existed as long as anyone alive can remember and even longer than that, having had incarnations as varied as the living peoples they used to be: the adage goes that so long as there have been corpses in Aloria, Undead have persisted.
Becoming Undead
Playing an Undead in Regalia
Existing as an Undead in Regalia is almost entirely illegal and fraught with danger, and even the other illegal groups of Afflicted and Occult people in more remote parts of the city like Crookback often look upon Undead with revulsion. Nonetheless, the Sewers are generally safe, but an Undead should take care not to make too many enemies there and wear out what good will they have. Because they are completely incurable and permanent in their state of being, Undead are considered at all times to be destroyed on sight by the State Metropolitan, and so often have to hide as they are frequently hunted. Undead are always obvious in their nature and are easy to spot, making it rather difficult to safely exist in the city without making friends and finding sanctuary among other Undead and people who are sympathetic to their plight. There are some Undead, though, that still cling onto what few threads exist of their past lives and try their very best to live in normalcy. These Variant Undead are called Husks, working to find some degree of social acceptance in the capital outside of the darkest recesses of the Sewers.
Creation
Undead come to be via one of three methods. Firstly, they can return from the Beyond through sheer willpower and emotional force: those who die with unfinished business, unresolved trauma, far too young or far too disturbed are quite commonly returned in this way. After their Shade emerges in the Beyond, they can wander the realm for a variable amount of time before either finding one of the many scattered doorways into Aloria or stumbling across the mirrored location of their demise. All Shades have an intrinsic sort of connection to the place they died, and those that wander in the Beyond often find themselves drawn to it. If they ever do find it, and they have some reason to return as an Undead, then they will find a sort of metaphysical door there that they can enter and figuratively claw their way back to Aloria through. If there is anything left of their corpse they will inhabit it, but in cases where the corpse has been completely destroyed they might inhabit armor that belonged to them or even re-create an image of themselves as a Wraith. Secondly, Undead can rise from the grave as a result of some ambient Ordial presence near their resting place (like a particularly powerful artifact, magic embedded within a holy site or the influence of an Ordial God). The presence of Ordial Essence can dredge up dead Shades from the Beyond and force them back into their bodies nearby, or even cause things like suits of armor or other suitable vessels within proximity to become inhabited by Shades. In the case of places like temples or places of worship for Ordial Gods, this is something of an intrinsic defense mechanism for the latent essence and power in the location: it manufactures defenses for itself, seemingly magnetizing Shades there. Thirdly, Undead can be resurrected by the hand of an experienced necromancer or in extremely rare cases an Ordial God themselves. Necromancers resurrecting Undead are much more purposeful, able to pick and choose what sort of vessel the Shade will inhabit. Undead can be prevented from being resurrected via the rituals and abilities of people like the Bene Vixit Isldar or others with similar powers, and such practices are utilized by the Regalian Empire and its State Metropolitan to keep executed criminals from returning from beyond the grave. All Undead who ‘naturally’ or ‘accidentally’ are resurrected as Undead do so as Ghüls, the catch-all term for ‘basic’ Undead, while only necromancers can create a particularly empowered variant of Undead called Wights.
Characters who die on server may be made into Undead, but only if it was within 24 hours of their death, if there is a body left, and under the following umbrella: Players can choose to become Undead in their own personal roleplay, but they cannot decide to if other people (outside of their own RP friends/circles) are involved, such as the state. What this means is, you can coordinate with someone to have your character killed, and then revived, but if a character is executed by the State, they cannot be revived. Characters who have been dead for longer, state executed, or without body may be revived as Undead, but only through specific Event or unique mechanics.
Mental Changes
Undead mentality is as varied as their forms and origins. At their basest, there are Undead who have completely lost all sense of their living selves and even any sapience: ghouls who act like nothing more than ravenous animals. These mindless Undead are a common result of ambient Ordial Essence creating them or they are created by Theurgists and amateur necromancers for the purposes of simple laborious tasks or to bolster the infantry of a wicked army. Even some that are resurrected as intelligent but are allowed to wander Aloria for so long that their memories and identities completely ebb away eventually turn to becoming mindless and feral. The ones not under the control of a specific necromancer tend to aimlessly wander Aloria until they collapse from the rot of their bodies or they are killed. Some have observed these feral Undead collecting themselves in ever-growing groups through some odd instinct of theirs. These hordes tend to be cut down to size before they can ever get too out of control and rampage over an entire village, but in remote and lifeless places like vast swaths of Ellador and the Sundered Lands there are some swarms of shambling dead that could easily overrun a town. Other Undead resemble completely intelligent and sapient beings, almost entirely indistinguishable from the living. Generally, though, Undead will cling to what memories remain of their lives, even if they are hazy, and typically do not change much from how they were. It is impossible to ignore the fact that the Shade itself is just an echo of the person they were in their life, however, and this affects the potential personality of the Undead: sometimes lacking empathy or the true intent of their feelings and memories. Undead resurrected for a particular purpose by necromancers or maybe by the influence of an Artifact at times feel innate attachments and drives to remain dedicated to and fulfill these purposes, leading to degrees of unnatural zealotry for some causes. The Undead guardians of the Sefakhem’s Vault of the Dead voluntarily allow themselves to be sealed within impenetrable layers of the great tombs for what is most likely an eternity, for example, and the ones making up the Bone King’s army will fight and die with completely mindless dedication to their cause.
Forms
Undead are primarily divided into three broad categories based on the physical form they take: Corpsefolk, Hollows and Wraiths. Each of these physical forms confers different abilities, specials and aesthetics. Furthermore, Undead can be one of a number of Variants on top of the form they take. All Undead choose 1 Form and 1 Variant, and by default gain the Racial Specials but not Abilities of the Race they were when they were alive. Undead who purchase Spell Point Buy and Theurgy packs can only have Ordial-aligned Magic and Theurgy.
Corpsefolk
The catch-all term used to refer to ‘general’ Undead, Corpsefolk make up the bulk of known, existing Undead in Aloria. They come in many shapes and sizes, varying just as wildly as Aloria’s many peoples themselves and also being both visually and mentally impacted by the nature of their death and resurrection. Many Corpsefolk still retain their faculties in their undead state, leading simple lives in regions of the world that are tolerant or outright amicable to their existence, such as the people beneath the Bone King’s throng. A great deal of them have withered and degenerated over the course of their years, though, wandering the world aimlessly as walking corpses reduced to their base selves.
Physically speaking, Corpsefolk are Shades inhabiting a dead cadaver in any state of decay ranging from entirely skeletal to freshly-dead. The cadaver can be of any Race and can have a varying amount of traits inherent to its state of decay that conflict with the original Race’s restrictions like their eyes being darkened, milky or even missing and their skin appearing mottled or pale in comparison. Additionally, they can bear impossible amounts of permanent decay and injury and other oddities thanks to their undead state like missing body parts, lethal burns, objects remaining embedded in them, plants growing throughout their body or even stitching to indicate their corpse shell was cobbled together by hand. If they are fully decayed like walking skeletons they can even have cloth, twine or other material binding their bones together for stability, visible Ordial Essence running through any exposed sections of their body, and Deathspeech runes etched into their very bones. All types of Corpsefolk can sometimes bear some Ordial Magic aesthetics like green tattoos and gaping wounds.
Corpsefolk Abilities
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Range | Ability Description | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weakening Poison | Mundane Technique | Self | Grants the user Weakening Poison | Undead Modifier |
| Instant Leap | Movement Power | Emote Range | Grants the user Instant Leap |
Corpsefolk Specials
- Corpsefolk Shell: Corpsefolk do not have to breathe, do not need to eat or drink, do not require sleep and are immune to Gas, Toxins, ingested Alchemical Substances and Diseases. They have a dulled sense of physical pain, though cannot ignore the actual debilitation that being tangibly wounded results in. They can only be killed through complete destruction of the head (or other mechanics that specifically target Undead or Ordial Afflicted), and do not require Maim Permissions to be maimed.
- Corpsefolk Mend: While out of combat, Corpsefolk can physically consume the flesh of either living or dead people or animals in order to heal their body up to the original point of their decay as an Undead. They must eat for an hour to restore wounds and surface level damage to the flesh, and must eat for 4 hours to repair any maims inflicted upon them. Severed pieces do not have to be recovered, and any regenerated flesh will appear as if it was the original piece of their body.
- Dead Familiar: Corpsefolk are often lonely in their undeath, and impart some small amount of their lingering essence into a resurrected animal to serve as a companion, choosing an animal from the Animals Page (barring Magus or Dragon species). The familiar takes on an Undead form itself, being composed of any degree of decaying flesh and bone. The familiar cannot inflict harm. If killed, the familiar will collapse into a pile of dead matter, after which the user can resurrect a new one from a graveyard, though can have a different aesthetic appearance. The familiar can carry a single object around and perform mundane tasks and hunt with the user to help retrieve flesh for the purposes of healing.
- Split Attention: Corpsefolk’s unique state of cadaverous being allows them to seamlessly detach and reattach their body parts at will, operating them with ease even while they are detached. They cannot ever leave emote range of their owner, but can act freely and even have an imparted personality (like a severed hand acting on its ‘own’). None of these functions may be used competitively, or mid-combat.
- Dead Sight: Corpsefolk are immune to Darkness, whether mundane or created by an Ability. They also have Night Vision, giving them perfect sight at night and in dark places.
- Death Speech: Undead are capable of speaking and understanding Death Speech or Shadetongue either when it is spoken by Ordial Entities, or by others. Death Speech is a unique language because it cannot be learned the traditional way, only specific Races and Afflictions have access to it. Additionally, it is also a language that has no defined alphabet and cannot be properly read, the runes and markings varying between the cultures and Ordial cults that use it, though it is always identifiable as Deathspeech. It also defies being recorded, as the sound just becomes gibberish when any type of recording medium is used to try and replay it, even memory Abilities.
- Corpsefolk Aesthetics: Corpsefolk are shambling cadavers held together with Ordial energies. Any summon or ability aesthetics should focus on rot and decay. Weapons should be made of bone or other necromancy-related imagery, and magical themes should be based on undeath.
Hollows
The restless sentinels and soldiers of the Dead, Hollows are specifically manufactured by their makers with purpose in mind for them. Whether that purpose is inevitably fulfilled, however, is up to fate. Hollows are most often seen forming the vanguard of the Bone King or other necromancer’s armies, or standing on eternal guard as wardens and watchers of sacred places in the case of those built to serve Unionism and its Everwatcher or similarly faithful purposes.
Hollows are a Shade inhabiting a vessel composed of inorganic or manufactured materials like a suit of armor or a person-sized doll, with a specially crafted binding runes inside that bind the Shade to the body. They are always placed within the torso of the vessel where their heart would be, and sometimes even artificially beat with energy like a heart would. A necromancer can transplant them from one vessel to another. These vessels can be as uniform and complete as a matching, clean set of armor or as patchwork and cobbled together as pieces of carved wood, animal bone and twine in the shape of a person. A Hollow Undead can be made of fundamentally anything except the cadaver(s) of people, but the inherent defensive effectiveness of its body will never be any stronger than the metal of armor. They can sometimes bear some Ordial Magic aesthetics like glowing green eyes, light or essence coming out from gaps in their bodies and ritual Deathspeech or symbolic markings.
Hollow Abilities
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Range | Ability Description | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deathmarch | Movement Power | Emote Range | Grants the user Deathmarch | N/A |
| Endless Watch | Movement Power | Emote Range | Grants the user Endless Watch | N/A |
Hollow Specials
- Hollow Shell: Hollows do not have to breathe, do not need to eat or drink, do not require sleep and are immune to Gas, Toxins, ingested Alchemical Substances and Diseases. They have a dulled sense of physical pain, though cannot ignore the actual debilitation that being tangibly wounded results in. They can only be killed through complete destruction of their body (or other mechanics that specifically target Undead or Ordial Afflicted), and do not require Maim Permissions to be maimed.
- Hollow Mend: While out of combat, Hollows can enter a state of self-repair by replacing any lost parts and restoring damage done to their vessel with scraps of whatever material they are composed of. They must spend an hour grafting material on to repair simple injuries, and must spend 4 hours replacing maimed parts. Severed pieces do not have to be recovered, and any replaced parts will appear as if they were original portions of their vessel.
- Body of Infinite Holding: The nature of a Hollow’s Shadecore results in the interior of their hollow body being a distorted space of indiscernible emptiness, allowing them to store an impossibly large amount of objects within themselves. Hollows contain roughly a 3x3 cube of space inside of their bodies, from which they can place and remove objects while outside of combat. Artifacts cannot be placed inside this storage space, and neither can people.
- Artificial Hands: As beings made of artificial, manufactured shells, Hollows gain an innate understanding of working with a mundane material. They gain access to one of the Crafting Point Buy packs for free.
- Dead Sight: Hollows are immune to Darkness, whether mundane or created by an Ability. They also have Night Vision, giving them perfect sight at night and in dark places.
- Death Speech: Undead are capable of speaking and understanding Death Speech or Shadetongue either when it is spoken by Ordial Entities, or by others. Death Speech is a unique language because it cannot be learned the traditional way, only specific Races and Afflictions have access to it. Additionally, it is also a language that has no defined alphabet and cannot be properly read, the runes and markings varying between the cultures and Ordial cults that use it, though it is always identifiable as Deathspeech. It also defies being recorded, as the sound just becomes gibberish when any type of recording medium is used to try and replay it, even memory Abilities.
- Hollow Aesthetics: Hollow Undead are suits of armor animated with Ordial energies. Any summon or ability aesthetics should focus on sickly green ordial light, or black metal. Weapons should be made of bone or other necromancy-related imagery, and magical themes should be based on undeath.
Wraiths
In comparison to their other Undead kin, Wraiths tend to prefer more solitary and reclusive existences. Their frail bodies are not suitable for combat or much in the way of physical exertion, and so most end up leading scholarly or dutiful un-lives. It is not unheard of for Wraiths to haunt the libraries they once studied in, the graveyards where they were buried, or the temples and holy places they once knelt in. Others who seek a more ‘driven’ purpose often find some use as informants and sometimes even employees of more quiet, out-of-sight businesses. A Wraith is specifically a Shade bearing a conjured physical husk, containing a phantasmal apparition within them. The husk appears like the person did in life, albeit much paler and with dark circles of cracked, decaying flesh beneath their eyes. Their eyes are always a shade of Ordial green. They can sometimes have parts of their body that are ebbing away to expose gaping holes, bone, green Ordial essence or whatever gaseous material their Wraith form is composed of. The Wraith form appears like some kind of ghostly specter, made up of a gaseous material (like ash, smoke, frost, vapor, etc.), sometimes wearing clothes or other garments, with distinct Ordial green eyes and is only ever shown in out-of-combat situations when the Wraith chooses. If they are ever attacked while showing off their Wraith form, they immediately revert to their physical husk.
Wraith Abilities
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Range | Ability Description | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thoughtseize | Instant Power | Self | Grants the user Thoughtseize | N/A |
| Rift Step | Movement Power | 10 Blocks | Grants the user Rift Step |
Wraith Specials
- Wraith Shell: Wraiths do not have to breathe, do not need to eat or drink, do not require sleep and are immune to Gas, Toxins, ingested Alchemical Substances and Diseases. They have a dulled sense of physical pain, though cannot ignore the actual debilitation that being tangibly wounded results in. Upon being physically wounded, they do not bleed and instead spew whatever gaseous material their Wraith form is made of. They can only be killed through complete destruction of the head (or other mechanics that specifically target Undead or Ordial Afflicted), and do not require Maim Permissions to be maimed.
- Wraith Mend: While out of combat, Wraiths can make direct contact with another and slowly sap away their energy in order to slowly heal their wounds and any Maims they have endured. They must spend 30 minutes sapping from another to restore simple wounds to their husk, and an hour sapping to replace a lost body part. While being drained from, the target experiences a distinct sensation of exhaustion and lethargy and physically grows paler and weaker-looking up to the point of unconsciousness if a Wraith spends more than an hour draining them, though a full night of sleep will restore them.
- Poltergeist: Because of their potential to haunt, Wraiths can remotely perform a variety of mundane tasks by sheer will alone such as letting a broom brush the floor by itself, letting dishes wash themselves, opening curtains with the wave of a hand, lighting candles with the flick of a finger, opening (unlocked) doors with the flick of a wrist and more. None of these functions may be involved in Combat Roleplay, but there is no limit to the amount that may be running at any given time, and there is no cooldown.
- Confront Mortality: As representations of Death, when Wraiths make physical contact with a person they can project a lucid vision of the person’s potential death in the near or distant future. The vision is one that the Wraith creates and imparts onto them, letting them control the details of the ghastly premonition.
- Dead Sight: Wraiths are immune to Darkness, whether mundane or created by an Ability. They also have Night Vision, giving them perfect sight at night and in dark places.
- Death Speech: Undead are capable of speaking and understanding Death Speech or Shadetongue either when it is spoken by Ordial Entities, or by others. Death Speech is a unique language because it cannot be learned the traditional way, only specific Races and Afflictions have access to it. Additionally, it is also a language that has no defined alphabet and cannot be properly read, the runes and markings varying between the cultures and Ordial cults that use it, though it is always identifiable as Deathspeech. It also defies being recorded, as the sound just becomes gibberish when any type of recording medium is used to try and replay it, even memory Abilities.
- Wraith Aesthetics: Wraith Undead are ghostly creatures infused with Ordial energies. Any summon or ability aesthetics should focus on sickly green Ordial light, or shadows. Weapons should be made of bone or other necromancy-related imagery, and magical themes should be based on undeath.
- Phantom Form: A Wraith can, at any time, choose to unveil their ‘true’ phantasmal form to somebody, discarding the barely-present facade of life they put on and assuming a full ghostly image. The Phantom Form is fully aesthetic (with some caveats, as explained below), though can function as a disguise if the Wraith chooses for theirs to be unrecognizable.
- Phantom Forms may never imitate other Transformations of other Abilities or other Races. Additionally, some element of green must be prominent, but exactly where is up to the player.
- Phantom Forms must remain within the general aesthetic of being a ‘ghost’, though whether this means being a full spectral image or a cloaked wraith or anything else ghostlike is up to the player. Appearing like a ghost does not affect their combat capabilities at all, and they are still treated as corporeal.
- The Player may decide that their Phantom Form is unrecognizable from their normal appearance, or has the same face. It functioning as a disguise is optional.
Variants
While Undead Forms determine the physical body the Undead inhabits and some of their powers, Variants further specify them. Undead are created as different Variants depending on the kind of person they were in life or the purpose the necromancer had for them upon raising them. All Undead choose 1 Form and 1 Variant, recorded on their character app sequentially (i.e. Corpsefolk Titan) and by default gain the Racial Specials but not Abilities of the Race they were when they were alive. Undead who purchase Spell Point Buy and Theurgy packs can only have Ordial-aligned Magic and Theurgy.
Titans
Undead Titans are the strongest, resurrected and built for physical labor and combat. They often form the front ranks of Undead armies and are a terrifying force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Many are stitched together from piles of corpse-parts in order to achieve their impressive stature and body mass, as most living beings do not get so large, though the demand for Undead Titans does lead necromancers in need of cadavers to prefer those of larger races. Plenty of Titans are forged as Hollows too, becoming behemoths of metal and bone. The Bone King employs a force of them as siege weapons, able to cluster together and smash through enemy ranks and fortified defenses with ease.
Titan Abilities
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Range | Ability Description | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brawl Stampede | Mundane Technique | 10 Blocks | Grants the user Brawl Stampede | N/A |
Titan Specials
- The Bigger They Are: Titans break the Strength proficiency cap by 1, meaning they can invest up to 8 points, instead of 7.
- The Harder They Fall: Titans, however, cannot wield a Shield or use any abilities that require one.
- Colossus Strength: Titans can wield oversized weaponry, dual wield large weapons and use large objects as fully functional weapons, like swinging rubble on a chain around as a flail. This confers no benefits in CRP.
- Cursed: Titans can spend points in Curses Point Buy.
Warden
Undead Wardens are born with the purpose to defend what is most precious to them, be it family members or loved ones from their previous lives or places of faith to them or even the necromancers that created them. They are sometimes born more stoic and devoted in their personalities, fitting the purpose they were resurrected for, and develop both physical and emotional attachments to the places and people they defend. A host of impenetrable Sadeir Wardens defend the many locked doors leading to the inside of their goddess’ precious archive.
Warden Abilities
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Range | Ability Description | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader’s Rally | Mundane Technique | Emote Range | Grants the user Leader's Rally | N/A |
Warden Specials
- Warden’s Will: Wardens break the Constitution Proficiency cap by 1, meaning they can invest up to 8 points, instead of 7.
- Made to Serve: Wardens, however, constantly suffer a -2 to their Main Combat Stat.
- Eternal Watch: Wardens can seamlessly enter a hibernatory state while in a Clandestine Base or religious temple, appearing indistinguishable from statues or other decor.
- Cursed: Wardens can spend points in Curses Point Buy.
Lich
Undead Liches are magically potent and often begin as necromancers seeking to artificially extend their own lives by entering a magically-enhanced state of Undeath. Driven by the pursuits of absolute power and knowledge, those who become Liches are so ambitious that they would discard their very lives and mortal souls in order to become something they perceive as greater. It is no coincidence that of most Undead Variants, Liches tend to be the least sane and also the most ruthless and cruel. A nameless Lich who calls themselves ‘the Archmage’ and claims to be the last existing Archmage from the Allorn Empire is rumored to dwell within ancient ruins in the Sundered Lands.
Lich Abilities
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Range | Ability Description | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Hex | Control Power | Emote Range | Grants the user Power Hex | N/A |
Lich Specials
- Accursed Bargain: Liches break the Magic proficiency cap by 1, meaning they can invest up to 8 points, instead of 7. They can also choose an additional Greater Mage Spell Pack if they are a Greater Mage.
- Fragile Soul: Liches, however, cannot invest any points in Constitution.
- Polymath: Liches have access to every Special from Spell Point Buy.
- Cursed: Liches can spend points in Curses Point Buy.
Reaper
Undead Reapers are the persistent, unstoppable pursuers of Death: almost always seen mounted and hunting down their quarry, there are many a folktale in remote corners of Aloria about their terrifying presence and the fear that their thundering hooves in the distance creates. A regiment of Khannar’s Claws, The Basalt Raptors, ride wicked steeds made of Elven bones and Living Metal twisted together and hunt down their prey with vicious swiftness atop them. The Reaper Variant is only for Server Donators with the Supremium Rank, as the Mount Technique requires access to the Pets Plugin. The Pets Plugin has the Mounting feature limited to the Supremium Rank to help support funding for the server which runs on Donations.
Reaper Abilities
| Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Range | Ability Description | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Hunt | Mount Technique | Emote Range | Grants the user Wild Hunt | N/A |
Reaper Specials
- Born to Ride: Reapers can choose 2 of the Cavalry Point Buy Packs for free, gaining the Cavalry Summon ability with them.
- Unearthed Mount: Reapers can summon and use their Mount in places where Mounts are normally disallowed, such as the Regalian Sewers, using their magic to avoid problems a Mundane Horse would have.
- Soulbound Steed: Reapers may ride an Undead mount with unique magical aesthetics, so long as the mount’s appearance obeys the aesthetic guidelines of Undead and it is still recognizable as a mount.
- Cursed: Reapers can spend points in Curses Point Buy.
Husk
Undead Husks are those Undead that still cling to who they once were in life, holding onto fragmented memories in hopes they might exist in normalcy again. As a result, they are able to disguise their affliction with relevant Disguise-granting abilities while other Undead cannot, but can only disguise using full body coverings due to their natural decay (meaning they can never use disguises to look like a completely mundane person with no coverings). They do not gain any Abilities or Specials besides the one from their Form, but have access to their Racial Abilities. Wights cannot be Husks.
Wights
Wights are Undead that possess notable power above those of the more common Undead around them, and typically are created by way of some particularly powerful Necromancer, Ordial Artifact or even one of the Beyond's entities themselves. While there is no specific numerical benchmark, an Undead that displays commitment and accuracy to the lore and fulfills a needed niche in the scope of Undead and Ordial roleplay in general can initiate a discussion with Lore Staff for a Wight Custom Kit, which will remain in effect for as long as the Undead character continues to exhibit these traits and sufficient activity. This Custom Kit will have a written set of Abilities and Specials, and as such, this section is very short, as their Ability read-out will depend on what is written for them.
The Black Convent
The Black Convent is a ritual that creates a unique type of ex-Undead, transformed by Soothsayer Archon. The Black Convent is a mutual and willing agreement between a Soothsayer, and an Undead, to purge the Undead of their maligned form and putrid body, and turn them into a Primal Revenant. The only type of Primal Revenant that such an ex-Undead can be turned into, is an Anchored Spirit, however a Black Convent Primal Revenant works somewhat differently than normal Primal Revenants. Firstly, Soothsayers have no upper limit of Primal Revenant Anchors in them, so they can attach the ex-Undead to themselves, but they can also attach them to any other willing Archon present in the area of the Undead's "death". Secondly, Black Convent Primal Revenants must continue to be played by the player who played the Undead, and must abandon their body, thus creating a new body from imagination manifestation, or a more ghostly (purple or white or black) appearance of their pre-death self. Additionally, instead of the normal 12 Proficiency Points Anchored Spirits can spend, Black Convent Primal Revenants can spend 14, and cannot invest points into Spell, Theurgy, Thaumaturgy, or Technician Point Buy, but are allowed to spend points elsewhere at will. Black Convent Primal Revenants cannot be killed without Kill Perms (because when killed, they do not respawn), may retain their old name, are still recognizable as their pre-Convent Undead self, and aren't forced to the 6 healthpool, or to hate Ordial things. Note, The Black Convent is irreversible, but also saves the soul from The Beyond, instead anchoring it to the Dragon Worship afterlife. Black Convent Primal Revenants are not treated as detestable Spirits by the Regalian State, so long as they shapeshift in public to appear relatively normal, or passable (for example disguising with armor). Black Convent Primal Revenants who appear like monsters in the streets will still be attacked.
History
It is impossible to discern when the Undead first emerged in Aloria proper. If the Seraph left behind corpses and any became Undead, none of them remain to this day, but their first recorded appearance is marked in the myths and legends of the Dewamenet Empire as servants of the necromantic mystic Imeshret the Night-Gazer. They aided in the creation of the Sefakhem’s great Vault of the Dead, and if anyone could ever enter its impenetrable depths they’d most likely find mummified bodies encased in sarcophagal armor still wandering the labyrinthian halls of embalmed corpses. Imeshret was said to have even bolstered the Dewamenet forces with Undead he resurrected: it is theorized that what few necromancers emerged among the Teledden both before and during the age of the Allorn Empire learned first of the existence of Undead while combating them, and then took the practice of Undead creation from the Asha peoples they oppressed and nearly obliterated. For these few Teledden, they saw Undead as a way to preserve bodies and legacies and even serve their gods, albeit with a more singular or devoted purpose than they had in life. Undead attendants would come to guard certain temples, and their nature was widely lauded by some zealots for centuries, even as the Allorn Empire declined. Fringe cults like the Children of Kruphos even employed them as soldiers and venerated undeath as a sort of hallowed status, being closer to their great God of the Beyond. At the same time, the Undead still held something of a positive significance for the Asha Race, but the destruction of their empire, along with their centuries of enslavement, largely reduced this to mere legend and myth told by the slaves of their past lives. However, it seems that with the Cataclysm, the Wildering and all the changes since then, the Undead have earned a somewhat darker reputation. The Grand Temple fell into disrepair, and the Undead populace that still lingered there grew aggressive and unwieldy without the control of their masters. As for wider Aloria, the Undead had an abysmal reputation among most of the Ailor, mainly for religious reasons. A majority of faiths saw the resurrection of the dead as unnatural and an abomination against the will of the universe and their gods, Human souls returned to or entered a new plane after leaving Aloria, and it was torture and unjust to drag them back and force them to remain. Unionism specifically developed practices to prevent Undeadism, such as removing significant organs, burning bodies, and decapitating someone after death. There are some exceptions seen in certain (entirely heretical) cults like Therin’s Tongues. The same proved true in many other faiths that emerged as the decades wore on after the Cataclysm, but the real anti-Undead fervor broke out only several decades ago.
The leading cause for these feelings was continued problems with the Undead on Etosil, which were actively concerning the Regalian Empire's military officials. But then came an event that changed the course of Alorian history, the Undead Scare. Emperor Justinian II, the last Ivrae Emperor of Regalia, had three sons: Therin the youngest, Juvi, the middle, and the elder Augustus. In 279 AC, Therin attacked Juvin and slew him in his bed-chamber, after which he proceeded to confront Augustus to do the same and claim the throne for himself. While Augustus overpowered his brother and had him formally hanged, Therin rose from the family catacombs in the night as an Undead and sought his revenge. He crept back into Augustus' bedroom and murdered him in his sleep. The guards arrived too late and were horrified to see the corpse of Therin gnawing on Augustus’s throat. This single Undead attack distinguished the future of the Ivrae family. Justinian II had no male heirs left, and his brother had only sired daughters. The throne passed to House Kade 23 years later, where it has remained to this day. Opinions against the Undead increased after that evening, and they have long been slain on sight across the Empire as a result. This situation has continued into today, though ironically, Aetosians and the Undead are at somewhat of a more positive position than any point prior in the past thanks to the Undead’s attacks against the Bone Horrors during the Bone Horror Crisis several years ago, thus saving most of Etosil. As of the present day, the Emperor has allowed some Undead to peacefully exist so long as they adhere and practice as good Unionists, though the rest are still treated with the same abhorrence.
Culture
There is no defining ‘Undead Culture’ to speak of, because Undead are all born of different races and cultures from their past lives: a great many of them still remember aspects of the lifestyles and peoples they came from and still adhere to them, while others adopt the cultures of those who resurrect them. Not every Undead in the Bone King’s army was born Aetosian or grew up Evintarian, but they certainly become so once they’ve been returned for their new King’s designs. Undead quite frequently engage in Ordial Cultism as the majority of the cults accept and even encourage their existence, giving them a new home and place in the world after their resurrection.
Noteworthy Undead and Groups
The Sadeir
The Undead servants of the Ordial God Seleya, the Sadeir is the collective name for all the Undead beneath her command and are comprised of resurrected Sariyd who perished in the Great Storm alongside a litany of vile Undead constructs made by Seleya and the strongest necromancers in her service. With their corpses so old and almost entirely obliterated by the sands that killed them, the Sadeir are almost entirely Hollows and Wraiths with even some spectral Dune Phantoms among their number. They tend to be cobbled together from fragments of old Sariyd technology and the salvaged parts of desert-dwelling animals, even taking on spider or scorpion-like physical traits in their construction like additional limbs and appendages. They constantly war with the Songaskian forces in Farahdeen and are what the Lantern worshippers and Mages among the Songaskian spend most of their time and resources combating. Most notorious of them is Allehgazh Nine-Eyes, a powerful Wight in Seleya’s inner circle and the keeper of the only existing key to her sacred, secret archive. Allehgazh fused themselves with a mechanical scorpion, becoming a sort of part-Undead part-clockwork monstrosity that terrorizes the dunes when they emerge to fight the Songaskian forces. Rumors and fear mongers return from the Undead-infested deserts with chilling stories about a titanic war-machine that the Sadeir are building: a massive city-sized spider forged from the remnants of the Sariyd’s most magnanimous creations left beneath the dunes. Whether it exists or not is less concerning to some than the idea of where it could be pointed, and when it might be ready.
The Bone King
Perhaps the single most infamous Undead in Aloria is the Bone King of Etosil himself. Born a nameless Ailor slave who escaped with others and took up residence on the lawless isle of Etosil, the man who would become the Bone King took up the moniker Thyemos after the arrival of the Ailor Evintarians who were expelled from Regalia and migrated there, bringing order to the island. Thyemos would not find peace or satisfaction with his new rulers, though, as he had escaped slavery once before and resolved that no man would ever be his master again. He would lead an ill-fated rebellion against his town’s governance that resulted in nothing but his sparse gaggle of supporters dying upon the spears of the local militia, sending him fleeing to the rocky cliffs and shores of the island. It would be there that his fate changed forever, stumbling across an old doorway mostly covered by rubble and boulders. Forcing his way inside, he came across the deserted ruins of what was once a temple dedicated to the Allorn god Amelaan and home to a long-dead contingent of the Allorn-era Ordial Cult, the Children of Kruphos. At first, he found nothing but dust, cobwebs, desiccated tomes, and filthy skeletons among the wreckage, but the sounds of soldiers outside forced him deeper into the temple and into its sanctum. There he found an alien altar of some kind, and upon it, a crown forged of black iron and spikes of bone. It spoke to him, and what exactly it said is known only to the Bone King himself, but whatever it was, it was compelling enough to prompt him to put the crown on. The guards outside were horrified as they witnessed an army of Allorn skeletons come crawling out of the temple’s ruins, all commanded by the crown-wearing Thyemos himself, and soon enough the guards were made part of his new Undead army. The Bone King’s story from then on is clear enough to most: making a name for himself by waging war with his ever-growing Undead army, forcing victims into his sarcophagi made of bone and slaying them only to resurrect them with the crown’s power as a new soldier. He would eventually be convinced to find peace with Aetosil thanks to the urging of Emperor Cedromar during the Bone Horror Crisis, as the Exist-influenced horrors were an affront even to a servant of the Beyond like the Bone King. What his motives and goals now are entirely uncertain, but the peace has lasted: for now.
Therin’s Tongues
Within the many individual sects and cults of the Unionist faith, there is a rather secretive and completely illegally heretical subsect of Evintarian Unionism that typically refers to themselves as Therin’s Tongues. Formed primarily of Undead who still retain devotion to the Everwatcher and Divines after their resurrection, the Tongues take their name and the core of their beliefs from the youngest son of the deceased Emperor Justinian II, Therin, who was tangled up in a bloody conflict with his brothers that resulted in his resurrection as an Undead and subsequent murder of his elder sibling. The Tongues believe his return from the land of the dead was a holy mission and even brought about by the Everwatcher and so his murder was justified. As far as their practices are concerned, not much differs from typical Unionism aside from a reverence for their fellow Undead as all being souls returned by the Everwatcher’s will, and possessing some sort of holy duty being the reason for their resurrection. The most devout even remove their own tongues in an extreme vow of silence, keeping said tongues in phylacteries of their own for safeguarding, as the secrets of Death are not theirs to tell. Some even go a step further and take the tongues of others who they consider to have committed heinous crimes against their faith, collecting them in a similar fashion.
Trivia
- In places where necromancy is either legal or looked over, some necromancers turn a very healthy profit by resurrecting the dead pets of the wealthy who can’t bear to be parted from their favorite companions.
- With the rise in publicity of knowledge about Ordial powers and Undead, so too has the paranoia of those who hate them risen, leading the most radical of conspiracy theorists to believe that the Regalian Empire may be entirely controlled by phantom-possessed people.
- A rumor for nearly two decades after it happened was that the Emperor couldn’t bear to kill his last remaining son, despite his Undead status. Instead, he kept him chained and secured away in the deepest reaches of the Imperial Palace.
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