Undead in Dungeons and Dragons. Adventurers fear them. And with good reason. Undead are some of the most dangerous denizens of the dark places that adventurers make their living exploring. The unliving have terrifying powers. And they have risen from the grave itself!
There are many kinds of undead in Dungeons and Dragons. Too many, in fact, to discuss all of them in this one article. But I will discuss the basic ones that have existed in the game from the very beginning. Many more have been added to the game over the years. But the original undead species have existed in legend for far longer than Dungeons and Dragons has existed.
Skeletons
Skeletons are some of the weakest forms of undead. They are often the guardians of tombs, evil temples and sometimes even sunken pirate ships. They are the most basic form of undead. They are easy to defeat in combat but their skeletal form makes sharp and piercing types of weapons less effective against them.
Skeletons generally have few hit points and are easily turned. They are the lowest form of undead on the totem pole. They are often considered disposable for the evil clerics or higher forms of undead that may be commanding them. And magic users occasionally animate the dead and form more of these creatures for their own purposes.
Skeletons are mindless. But they are able to follow simple commands such as: attack, guard, follow, etc. They typically will carry simple weapons and sometimes may wear armor or carry shields. Some of the absolute best images that I have ever seen regarding skeletons in combat came from the old Sinbad movies. The stop action animation of that era was good enough to make these creatures come to life….so to speak…..
Zombies
Zombies are the next wrung of the undead food chain. Zombies are decayed or decaying humanoids or humans. They often appear as if they have just clawed their way out of the grave. Often they wear tattered clothes and have no weapons at all. They are slow and mindless. And they just keep on coming. They have no fear at all. Movies and television shows have popularized zombies. The Walking Dead has made the Zombie a household name.
Zombies are also capable of following limited commands. This makes them a popular minion for low level evil clerics and for higher forms of undead. While they are slow they are totally without fear. This makes them good guardians. Because they will just not quit. Ever.
Undead pirates often employ both skeletons and zombies as part of the crew. They are useful tools for raiding the coast of fantasy realms. As they are undead they are less greedy than your average pirate. They follow orders rather than their own private urges. They spend less time raping and pillaging and more time doing what they are told to do. This makes them popular with undead pirate captains.
But sometimes even the undead can be too greedy for their own good.
Ghouls and Ghasts
Ghouls and Ghasts are slightly higher in the pecking order. They tend to be a bit more independent than skeletons and zombies. They are not generally seen as minions. They are hungry for the flesh of the living. This alone makes them excellent guardians for a tomb even if they do not realize that they are guarding it at all. They have an insatiable hunger. While they are not completely mindless they are low in intelligence. But they do have cunning despite the lack of high intellect. They will follow the tactics that have worked for them in the past.
Often they are found in or around graveyards and tombs. When they cannot find the flesh of the living they sometimes satisfy themselves with the bones of the dead. Their mere touch has the power to paralyze others temporarily and this is often quite useful at feeding time. Of course…feeding time is all the time….
Ghasts are very similar in appearance to Ghouls. And they are often found with packs of Ghouls. Often the only way that one can tell that there is a Ghast present in the pack is the intense and foul smell of them. The smell is so horrible that it sometimes causes others to gag with nausea.
When Ghouls and Ghasts run in the same pack you can be sure that the Ghast will be leading it. He is stronger and more powerful than his brethren. And he will also be the hungriest of the bunch.
Ghouls and Ghasts are known for their long snaking tongues and long fingernails. The tend to have a sickly, and almost greenish, appearance. Often they have dirt on them and appear to have recently clawed their way out of their own graves. Which of course….they have…
Shadows
Shadows were next most dangerous form of undead. They love dark places where they cannot be easily seen. In the darkness it is easy for them to hide and ambush the living. And this is their favorite tactic.
Unlike more powerful undead the Shadow was not able to drain experience levels. But they did have the ability to drain strength. This gives them the ability to weaken their prey during the attack. They can be found in crypts, tombs, catacombs and other dark places. Even when torches or lanterns are in use these creatures are easily mistaken for the shadows of the adventurers themselves.
Wights
Next on the list is the wight. The wight was the first of the undead species which truly made adventurers pee in their armored greaves. For some undead in Dungeons and Dragons had the power to drain experience levels in early editions of the game. Nothing scares a player more than the possibility that her beloved character might be reduced in level because of a single encounter with one of these creatures. Wights were possibly the weakest of the undead creatures that had this ability. But this ability alone made them something to avoid at all costs.
The wight was commonly found where the dead could be found. Tombs, crypts, barrows and other such dismal places would be the favorite spots for these beasts to inhabit. They often have tattered clothes. Sometimes they use the weapons from their prior life but it is their very touch that does the most harm. The mere touch of one of these could drain a single experience level from an adventurer in 1st Edition Dungeons and Dragons.
Sometimes they are found in or around their own crypts. Often they feel tied to such places and will guard it eternally.
Like many of the denizens of the dark wights do not like the light. They often will avoid such light. And they hate it. But not as much as they hate the living. They hate all forms of life and will stop at nothing to snuff it out when they can.
Wraiths
Wraiths are similar in nature to the Wight but they are more strongly tied to the negative material plane. They like dark places and are typically found in tombs, catacombs and crypts. Anyplace where the dead can be found may contain a wraith or two as well. Like the Wight adventurers have good reason to fear the touch of these beings. Draining experience levels was their most dreaded attack in the earliest forms of Dungeons and Dragons. Only silver or magical weapons could hit Wraiths (or even Wights).
Wraiths were slightly more powerful than Wights. And they could be very intelligent. This could make them quite dangerous to the adventurer.
Spectres
Spectres are a cut above the Wraith and the Wight. They are highly intelligent and will use this to their advantage. Like other higher forms of undead these creatures could drain experience levels in the early versions of Dungeons and Dragons. And this made them terrifying to encounter. What made them more terrifying….is that they drained two experience levels at a time……
Spectres are similar to Ghosts in appearance sometimes. They haunt desolate places. They hate the sunlight. And they hate life itself. And especially hate the living. They are powerless in the daylight. So they avoid it like the plague.
Ghosts
Ghosts are legendary. Virtually every society has stories about the dead returning as a ghost. These creatures often haunt the places where they died. They like to roam at night. Like other forms of undead they do not like the light. Unlike many other forms of undead Ghosts are incorporeal. They travel in the ethereal plane as well as our own. And this makes them deadly.
There mere sight of one of these creatures could cause premature aging in early forms of Dungeons and Dragons. Their touch could cause extreme aging. Unlike other higher forms of undead they did not have the ability to drain experience levels. But they did have the ability to use magic jar against their enemies. This ability is essentially the ability to temporarily possess a body.
Dungeons and tombs are the favorite places for these creatures of the darkness. Striking them with a weapon can be a dicey proposition. A Ghost is often in the ethereal plane rather than the prime material one. Weapons may pass through a Ghost doing no harm at all. If it is semi-materialized it might be harmed by silver or magical weapons.
Mummies
The Mummy has been a beloved horror show creature in movies for generations. But they are not limited to Egypt. In fantasy realms any king that wanted to live forever could be found as a Mummy. Any of his advisers or important followers could be as well. Or anyone else who wanted to be preserved after death.
They are dangerous creatures. But even in the earliest forms of Dungeons and Dragons they could not drain experience levels. Instead they caused disease called “Mummy Rot” which could prove fatal. The sight of them causes fear in most mortals.
Often they are found in elaborate tombs, pyramids and ziggurats. They are often the boss of such places and the other undead who might be present may serve them. Mummies do have an important weakness though. Fire is their only fear.
Banshee
The Banshee was a true terror to adventurers in the earliest forms of Dungeons and Dragons as well as in the later ones. The wail of the Banshee can cause instant death to those unfortunate enough to hear it. In 1st Edition the Banshee was also often referred to as the “Groaning Spirit.”
Banshee are rare. They are always female. And they are formed from the spirit of an evil female elf. This makes them extraordinary. Because other than Drow what elves are evil? None of the editions of Dungeons and Dragons have really cleared this issue up. But will a Drow female become a Banshee if killed? I suspect not. But no official source seems to have really discussed this. From my own reading of the various monster manuals I conclude that only one of the races of Elves that are normally good aligned would become a Banshee upon death. But that is debatable.
Banshee like desolate moors and countrysides to roam during the dark hours of the night. Those who encounter them rarely live to tell the tale. Their death wail is deadly to all who hear it but the very bravest souls.
Vampires
Vampires are another legendary species of undead. Often they are the leader or boss of the undead that might be encountered in a dungeon. These are powerful creatures. They are extremely intelligent. They are physically very strong. And only a few limited methods can be employed to actually kill one. Often they bring the skills that they had in life into their unlife. They often have magical spell casting abilities. And their touch drained two experience levels in early editions of Dungeons and Dragons.
Vampires came in two varieties in the early editions of Dungeons and Dragons. The western version and the eastern one. Eastern ones were invisible.
Vampires in Dungeons and Dragons could be killed in only a few ways. Permanently killed I mean. These ways are:
- A wooden stake driven through the heart (but if the stake is removed the vampire will rise again. In order to finish the task the head should be cut off and filled with holy wafers)
- Immersion in running water
- Exposure to direct sunlight for an extended period of time
Vampires have the ability to charm. And they use this ability liberally to pick up chicks and to defeat enemies. But they hate garlic. And they coil from holy symbols. They avoid mirrors at all costs as they have no appearance in them and this reminds them that they are no longer among the living.
Lich
Arguably among the most powerful forms of Undead is the Lich. Granted….later editions and monster manual volumes came up with some even more dangerous types of undead creatures (see the Living Wall from 2nd Edition and the Dracolich and Demilich).
The Lich is the undead form of a wizard who gives up all in order to exist forever. A lifetime is too short for some wizards who want to engage in serious magical research. They want to live forever but they cannot. So they choose unlife forever instead. The process in which one becomes a Lich is described in little detail in the early editions of Dungeons and Dragons but is described in some later works which I will discuss later in this article.
The Lich is often the indisputable boss of the dungeon. He (or she perhaps) can be the most dangerous thing that an adventurer will ever encounter. Typically such beings were at least 20th level magic users in life. And they still have those spellcasting abilities in death. Undead follow them willingly. And they will gladly die again for them. While they do not have experience level draining abilities they really do not need them. For melee combat is not their strength. High level magic is.
Lich will almost always have very powerful (and numerous) guardians around them so that they can stand back and throw spells while their minions engage in melee. The intelligence of the Lich is off the charts high. They will have planned and foreseen every possible approach and will have set up their lairs accordingly for their own preservation.
The life essence of a Lich is bound to a Phylactery. The physical form of a Lich can be destroyed but the Lich is not slain until his Phylactery is destroyed. I myself have been struck down a couple of times but have survived due to my use of this wonderful device. Some Lich keep theirs with them. This is a mistake. If the Lich dies then the adventurers can easily destroy it forever. It is far better to hide it. And many Lich do so. But I personally have found that it is better to hide many of them in my lair. So many that the adventurers will never know if they find the correct one. And then greed shall be my ally. For phylactery are made from valuable gems and materials. The adventurers will not want to destroy such loot. Twice now mine has been sold instead of destroyed as the adventurers failed to determine which was the correct one. And which was just a pretty piece of expensive jewelry. Of course, the fact that I had so many of them, made this likely to occur.
Later in the life of Dungeons and Dragons a new and improved form of Lich was introduced. The DemiLich. The DemiLich is a very old Lich who has transformed into something else. One day soon perhaps I will evolve into such a being. But not quite yet. I have a blog to write.
Van Richten’s Guides to the Undead in Dungeons and Dragons
But there are more complete sources of information on the undead than this article. A mere mortal wrote a fantastic series of tomes for the Ravenloft campaign for 2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Rudoph Van Richten is a hunter of the Undead. He is a scientist and a scholar on the subject of the unliving. His works go into great depth about various forms of undead.
These tomes go into details far beyond any of the monster manuals. And most of the information is not really system specific. It can be easily put to use regardless of the edition of Dungeons and Dragons that you play.
As you can see from these pictures he covers a wide variety of subjects. He was quite good at what he did and was often the last face that many of my good friends ever saw. Obviously I hate this man but you just have to respect such dedication. You can find his works at the following links should you wish to investigate them further:
- Guide to Vampires
- Guide to Vistani
- Guide to Lich
- Guide to Ancient Dead
- Guide to Werebeast
- Guide to Ghosts
- Guide to the Created
- Guide to Fiends
What is truly amazing about these works for the would be Dungeon Master is that each of them gives options for modifying these undead creatures so as to confound and destroy the adventurers that explore your tombs and catacombs. Those pesky little rules lawyers who know all about the statistics of each creature will be shocked when the creatures do the unexpected and defeat them. Their metagaming will avail them naught. For these tomes give you the power to achieve every Lich’s undying dream…..the Total Party Kill!
Undead in Dungeons and Dragons Should Be Terrifying!
Mortals are not supposed to see the unliving in all their splendor. To see one should scare the wits from them. And perhaps the life from them as well! Powerful forces of darkness are required to bring the dead back to unlife. Undead in the Dungeons and Dragons may be the last thing your adventurers ever see. And that is a good thing isn’t it?
