Ruled by a Demi-Lich - Reatk Rolmph (The Dreaded)
Spells of Demi-Lich
Summon Undead - Create Undead - Control Undead - Create Higher Undead - Undead Servents - Create Ghost
This is an entre society that has as its one aim - to keep Lubikan the Demi-Lich happy. He has caused all of them to become undead and is absolute master of each and every one.

There are lots of them about, but most of them don't communicate with others. None of the sekletons talk or could tell if the party has invaded. Only those with some autonomy will react the the presence of the party (other than to try and kill them of course).
Lower level undead encountered have 20% with Protection against Turning amulets. They provide a +4 to turning rolls.

This level is much like the stone house. The litch in his time as a Rolmph made many "improvements" to the HOS, and this place has retained the same flavor.

Encounter Chart
Ghost
Spectre
Haunt
Copper Skeleton
Bronze Skeleton
Humanoid Skeleton
Phantom
Animal Skeleton (beast of burden)
Monster Skeleton (Firblogs and so on)
Zombies (mostly skin on bones, little flesh)
Zombies (mostly skin on bones, little flesh)
Humanoid Skeleton
Haunt
Red Skull Zombies
Phantom
Steel Skeleton
Mythral Skeleton
Krosnium Skeleton
Gold Skeleton
Zombie Lords
 
 

Metal Skeletons
These are skeletons that have been magicall altered. The surface of the bones of these skeleton has been fused with metal. The type of metal determines the abilities of the creature that results when it is put back together again. They are closely tied to the Negative Mat. Plane. They are quite dangerous as the metal not only makes them harder to hit, have more HP. The metal also makes them immune to many spells.
 

They call their level the Eternal Kingdom
 

Skeleton

 

	Skeleton	Animal	Monster
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:	Any	Any	Any
FREQUENCY:	Rare	Very rare	Very rare
ORGANIZATION:	Band	Band	Band
ACTIVITY CYCLE:	Any	Any	Any
DIET:	Nil	Nil	Nil
INTELLIGENCE:	Non- (0)	Non- (0)	Non- (0)
TREASURE:	Nil	See below	Nil
ALIGNMENT:	Neutral	Neutral	Neutral
NO. APPEARING:	3-30 (3d10)	2-20 (2d10)	1-6
ARMOR CLASS:	7	8	6
MOVEMENT:	12	6	12
HIT DICE:	1	1-1	6
THAC0:	19	20	15
NO. OF ATTACKS:	1	1	1
DAMAGE/ATTACK:	1-6 (weapon)	1- 4	Special
SPECIAL ATTACKS:	Nil	Nil	Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES:	See below	See below	See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE:	See below	See below	See below
SIZE:	M (6' tall)	S-M (3'- 5')	L-H (7'-15')
MORALE:	Special	Special	Special
XP VALUE:	65	65	650

All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests.
Skeletons appear to have no ligaments or musculature which would allow movement. Instead, the bones are magically joined together during the casting of an animate dead spell. Skeletons have no eyes or internal organs.
Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants.
Combat:Man-sized humanoid skeletons always fight with weapons, usually a rusty sword or spear. Because of their magical nature, they do not fight as well as living beings and inflict only 1-6 points of damage when they hit. Animal skeletons almost always bite for 1-4 points of damage, unless they would obviously inflict less (i.e., skeletal rats should inflict only 1-2 points, etc.). Monster skeletons, always constructed from humanoid creatures, use giant-sized weapons which inflict the same damage as their living counterparts but without any Strength bonuses.
Skeletons are immune to all sleep, charm, and hold spells. Because they are assembled from bones, cold-based attacks also do skeletons no harm. The fact that they are mostly empty means that edged or piercing weapons (like swords, daggers, and spears) inflict only half damage when employed against skeletons. Blunt weapons, with larger heads designed to break and crush bones, cause normal damage against skeletons. Fire also does normal damage against skeletons. Holy water inflicts 2-8 points of damage per vial striking the skeleton.
Skeletons are immune to fear spells and need never check morale, usually being magically commanded to fight to the death. When a skeleton dies, it falls to pieces with loud clunks and rattles.
Habitat/Society:Skeletons have no social life or interesting habits. They can be found anywhere there is a wizard or priest powerful enough to make them. Note that some neutral priests of deities of the dead or dying often raise whole armies of animated followers in times of trouble. Good clerics can make skeletons only if the dead being has granted permission (either before or after death) and if the cleric's deity has given express permission to do so. Otherwise, violating the eternal rest of any being or animal is something most good deities disapprove of highly.
Skeletons have almost no minds whatsoever, and can obey only the simplest one- or two-phrase orders from their creators. Skeletons fight in unorganized masses and tend to botch complex orders disastrously. It is not unheard of to find more than one type of skeleton (monsters with animals, animals with humans) working together to protect their master's dungeon or tower.
Ecology:Unless the skeleton's remains are destroyed or scattered far apart, the skeleton can be created anew with the application of another animate dead spell. Rumors of high-level animate dead spells which create skeletons capable of reforming themselves to continue fighting after being destroyed have not been reliably comfirmed.
Index
 

Metal Skeleton

Metal skeletons are the hideous creations of the Lich.They are made by coating the prepared bones of a cursed victem and coating them weith metal. This metal coating combined with spells gives the skeletons their special properties. They also make them more difficult to turn. Some of them have received the minds of living men making them able to act with some intellegence. These creatures have no need for the Turning Protection amulets as the spell has been cast on them.
In most ways, they are like normal skeletons, but they are more powerful by far.
The gold version has the ability to direct other undead.
Those with electric strike do 2d6 of damage with each successful hit.
The Krosnium are the most feared as they are preternaturally fast.

Lich

 

	Lich	Demilich
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:	Any	Any
FREQUENCY:	Very rare	Very rare
ORGANIZATION:	Solitary	Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE:	Night	See below
DIET:	Nil	Nil
INTELLIGENCE:	Supra-genius (19-20)	Supra-genius (19-20)
TREASURE:	A	Z
ALIGNMENT:	Any evil	Any evil
NO. APPEARING:	1	1
ARMOR CLASS:	0	See below
MOVEMENT:	6	See below
HIT DICE:	11+	See below
THAC0:	9	9
NO. OF ATTACKS:	1	See below
DAMAGE/ATTACK:	1-10	See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS:	See below	See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES:	+1 or better magical	See below
	weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE:	Nil	See below
SIZE:	M (6' tall)	M (6' tall)
MORALE:	Fanatic (17-18)	Fanatic (17-18)
XP VALUE:	8,000	10,000

The lich is, perhaps, the single most powerful form of undead known to exist. They seek to further their own power at all costs and have little or no interest in the affairs of the living, except where those affairs interfere with their own.
A lich greatly resembles a wight or mummy, being gaunt and skeletal in form. The creature's eye sockets are black and empty save for the fierce pinpoints of light which serve the lich as eyes. The lich can see with normal vision in even the darkest of environments but is unaffected by even the brightest light. An aura of cold and darkness radiates from the lich which makes it an ominous and fearsome sight. They were originally wizards of at least 18th level.
Liches are often (75%) garbed in the rich clothes of nobility. If not so attired, the lich will be found in the robes of its former profession. In either case, the clothes will be tattered and rotting with a 25% chance of being magical in some way.
Combat:Although a lich will seldom engage in actual melee combat with those it considers enemies, it is more than capable of holding its own when forced into battle.
The aura of magical power which surrounds a lich is so potent that any creature of fewer than 5 Hit Dice (or 5th level) which sees it must save vs. spell or flee in terror for 5-20 (5d4) rounds.
Should the lich elect to touch a living creature, its aura of absolute cold will inflict 1-10 points of damage. Further, the victim must save vs. paralysis or be utterly unable to move. This paralysis lasts until dispelled in some manner.
Liches can themselves be hit only by weapons of at least +1, by magical spells, or by monsters with 6 or more Hit Dice and/or magical properties. The magical nature of the lich and its undead state make it utterly immune to charm, sleep, enfeeblement, polymorph, cold, electricity, insanity, or death spells. Priests of at least 8th level can attempt to turn a lich, as can paladins of no less than 10th level.
A lich is able to employ spells just as it did in life. It still requires the use of its spell books, magical components, and similar objects. It is important to note that most, if not all, liches have had a great deal of time in which to research and create new magical spells and objects. Thus, adventurers should be prepared to face magic the likes of which they have never seen before when stalking a lich. In addition, liches are able to use any magical objects which they might possess just as if they were still alive.
Defeating a lich in combat is difficult indeed, but managing to actually destroy the creature is harder still. In all cases, a lich will protect itself from annihilation with the creation of a phylactery in which it stores its life force. This is similar to a magic jar spell. In order to ensure the final destruction of a lich, its body must be wholly annihilated and its phylactery must be sought out and destroyed in some manner. Since the lich will always take great care to see to it that its phylactery is well hidden and protected this can be an undertaking fully as daunting as the defeat of the lich in its physical form.
Habitat/Society:Liches are usually solitary creatures. They have cast aside their places as living beings by choice and now want as little to do with the world of men as possible. From time to time, however, a lich's interest in the world at large may be reawakened by some great event of personal importance.
A lich will make its home in some ominous fortified area, often a strong keep or vast subterranean crypt.
When a lich does decide to become involved with the world beyond its lair, its keen intelligence makes it a dangerous adversary. In some cases, a lich will depend on its magical powers to accomplish its goals. If this is not sufficient, however, the lich is quite capable of animating a force of undead troops to act on its behalf. If such is the case, the lich's endless patience and cunning more than make up for the inherent disadvantages of the lesser forms of undead which it commands.
Although the lich has no interest in good or evil as we understand it, the creature will do whatever it must to further its own causes. Since it feels that the living are of little importance, the lich is often viewed as evil by those who encounter it. In rare cases, liches of a most unusual nature can be found which are of any alignment.
The lich can exist for centuries without change. Its will drives it onward to master new magics and harness mystical powers not available to it in its previous life. So obsessed does the monster become with its quest for power that it often forgets its former existence utterly. Few liches call themselves by their old names when the years have drained the last vestiges of their humanity from them. Instead, they often adopt pseudonyms like “the Black Hand” or “the Forgotten King.” Learning the true name of a lich is rumored to confer power over the creature.
Ecology:The lich is not a thing of this world. Although it was once a living creature, it has entered into an unnatural existence.
In order to become a lich, the wizard must prepare its phylactery by the use of the enchant an item, magic jar, permanency and reincarnation spells. The phylactery, which can be almost any manner of object, must be of the finest craftsmanship and materials with a value of not less than 1,500 gold pieces per level of the wizard. Once this object is created, the would-be lich must craft a potion of extreme toxicity, which is then enchanted with the following spells: wraithform, permanency, cone of cold, feign death, and animate dead. When next the moon is full, the potion is imbibed. Rather than death, the potion causes the wizard to undergo a transformation into its new state. A system shock survival throw is required, with failure indicating an error in the creation of the potion which kills the wizard and renders him forever dead.
Demilich
The demilich is not, as the name implies, a weaker form of the lich. Rather, it is the stage into which a lich will eventually evolve as the power which has sustained its physical form gradually begins to fail. In most cases, all that remains of a demilich's body are a skull, some bones, and a pile of dust.
When it has learned all that it feels it can in its undead life, the lich will continue its quest for power in strange planes unknown to even the wisest of sages. Since it has no use for its physical body at this point, the lich leaves it to decay as it should have done centuries ago.
If the final resting place of a demilich's remains are entered, the dust which was once its body will rise up and assume a man-like shape. In the case of the oldest demiliches (25%), the shape will advance and threaten, but dissipate without attacking in 3 rounds unless attacked. Younger demiliches (75%) still retain a link to their remains, however, and will form with the powers of a wraith. This dust form cannot be turned. In addition, it can store energy from attacks and use this power to engage its foes. If the dust form is attacked, each point of damage which is delivered to it is converted to an energy point. Since the demilich will fall back and seem to suffer injury from each attack (though none is actually inflicted), its attackers are likely to press on in their attempts to destroy it. Once the demilich has acquired 50 energy points, it will assume a manifestation which looks much like the lich's earlier undead form and has the powers and abilities of a ghost, but which cannot be turned.
If anyone touches the skull it will rise into the air and turn to face the most powerful of the intruders (a spell user will be chosen over a non-spell user). Instantly, it unleashes a howl which acts as a death ray, affecting all creatures within a 20' radius of the skull. Those who fail to save vs. death are permanently dead.
On the next round, the demilich will employ another manner of attack. In order to attain the status of a demilich, a lich must have replaced 5-8 (1d4+4) of its teeth with gems. Each of these gems now serves as a powerful magical device which can trap the soul of its adversaries. The physical body of someone hit with the demilich's spell collapses and rots away in a single round. Once it has drained the life essence from the most powerful member of the party, the skull sinks back to the floor. If it continues to be challenged, the demilich can repeat this attack until all of its gems are filled. An amulet of life protection will prevail over the gem, but the character's body will perish regardless.
In addition to the attacks mentioned above, a demilich can also pronounce a powerful curse on those who disturb it. These can be so mighty as to include: always being hit by one's enemies, never making a saving throw, or the inability to acquire new experience points. Demilich curses can be overcome with a remove curse, but the victim loses one point of charisma permanently when the curse is removed.
The skull of a demilich is Armor Class -6 and has 50 hit points. It can be affected by spells in only a few ways: a forget spell will cause it to sink down without attacking (either by howling or draining a soul), a dispel evil will do 5-8 (1d4+4) points of damage to it, a shatter spell will inflict 3-18 (3d6) points of damage to it, a holy word pronounced against it will deliver 5-30 (5d6) points of damage, and a power word kill spell cast by an ethereal or astral wizard will cause the skull to shatter (destroying it).
Most weapons will be unable to harm the skull of a demilich, but there are exceptions. A fighter or ranger with a vorpal sword, sword of sharpness, sword +5, or vorpal weapon can inflict normal damage on the skull, as can a paladin with a vorpal or +4 weapon. Further, any character with a +4 or better weapon or a mace of disruption can inflict 1 point of damage to the skull each time he strikes it.
Upon the destruction of the skull, those who have been trapped inside the gems must make a saving throw vs. spell. Those who fail are lost forever, having been consumed by the demilich to power its magical nature. If the character survives, the gem glows with a faint inner light, and true seeing will reveal a tiny figure trapped within. If the throw is made the soul can be freed by simply crushing the gem. A new body must be within 10 yards for the soul to enter or it will be lost. Such a body might be a clone or simulacrum . (See spells of those names.)
If the fragments of the destroyed skull are not destroyed by immersion in holy water and the casting of a dispel magic the demilich will reform in 1-10 days.
Archlich
From time to time, sages have heard rumors of liches having alignments other than evil, and even lawful good liches apparently have existed. There have even been reports of priests who, in extreme circumstances, have become liches. These reports have recently been verified, but the archlich is as rare as Roc's teeth.
Index

Lord Zombie

Zombie, Red Skull
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Pack
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night
DIET: Carrion
INTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)
TREASURE: B
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
NO. OF APPEARING: 1-6
ARMOR CLASS: 8
MOVE: 9
HIT DICE: 2+3
THAC0: 17
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Dust of Death
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
SIZE: M (6’ tall)
MORAL: Average (8-10)
XP VALUE: 270
Red skull zombies look like humans with shriveled red skin. The most noticeable thing about them is that their heads are shriveled to the point where only a red skull remains.

COMBAT: These strange creatures attack by pummeling their opponents. Also, once every 5 rounds, a red skull zombie may breathe the " Dust of Death " on an opponent. If the opponent fails their save vs. breath weapon, they will take on the appearance of a red skull zombie, and die in 1-4 rounds, and arise a week later as a red skull zombie. Casting ** cure disease ** will prevent death, or if the character is already dead, stop them from arising as a red skull zombie. Red skull zombies are not undead, and are not affected by priests attempts to turn them, or by holy water. However, they can be slain by a ** cure disease ** spell.

HABITAT: Red skull zombies live in loosely organized packs. They were originally created by a mage’s experiment, and now reproduce by using the " Dust of Death " on humanoids.

ECOLOGY: Red skull zombies have no natural enemies, but fight as a way of " life ".
 

Ghost

 

CLIMATE/TERRAIN:	Any
FREQUENCY:	Very rare
ORGANIZATION:	Solitary
ACTIVE TIME:	Night
DIET:	None
INTELLIGENCE:	Highly (13-14)
TREASURE:	E, S
ALIGNMENT:	Lawful evil
NO. APPEARING:	1
ARMOR CLASS:	0 or 8 (see below)
MOVEMENT:	9
HIT DICE:	10
THAC0:	11
NO. OF ATTACKS:	1
DAMAGE/ATTACK:	Age 10-40 years
SPECIAL ATTACKS:	See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES:	See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE:	Nil
SIZE:	M (5'-6' tall)
MORALE:	Special
XP VALUE:	7,000

Ghosts are the spirits of humans who were either so greatly evil in life or whose deaths were so unusually emotional they have been cursed with the gift of undead status. Thus, they roam about at night or in places of darkness. These spirits hate goodness and life, hungering to draw the living essences from the living.
Combat:As ghosts are non-corporeal (ethereal), they are usually encountered only by creatures in a like state, although they can be seen by non-ethereal creatures. The supernatural power of a ghost is such, however, that the mere sight of one causes any humanoid being to age 10 years and flee in panic for 2-12 (2d6) turns unless a saving throw versus spell is made. Priests above 6th level are immune to this effect, and all other humanoids above 8th level may add +2 to their saving throws.
Any creatures within 60 yards of a ghost is subject to attack by magic jar. If the ghost fails to magic jar its chosen victim, it will then semi-materialize in order to attack by touch (in which case the ghost is Armor Class 0). Semi-materialized ghosts can be struck only by silver (half damage) or magical weapons (full damage). If they strike an opponent it ages him 10-40 (1d4x10) years. Note that ghosts can be attacked with spells only by creatures who are in an ethereal state. Any human or demi-human killed by a ghost is drained of its life essence and is forever dead.
If the ghost fails to become semi-material it can only be combatted by another in the Ethereal plane (in which case the ghost has an Armor Class of 8).
Ghosts can be turned by clerics after reaching 7th level and can be damaged by holy water while in their semi-material form.
Habitat/Society:In most cases, a ghost is confined to a small physical area, which the ghost haunts. Those who have heard stories of a haunted area can thus attempt to avoid it for their own safety.
A ghost often has a specific purpose in its haunting, sometimes trying to "get even" for something that happened during the ghost's life. Thus a woman who was jilted by a lover, and then committed suicide, might become a ghost and haunt the couple's secret trysting place. Similarly, a man who failed at business might appear each night at his storefront or, perhaps, at that of a former competitor.
Another common reason for an individual to become a ghost is the denial of a proper burial. A ghost might inhabit the area near its body, waiting for a passerby to promise to bury the remains. The ghost, in its resentment toward all life, becomes an evil creature intent on destruction and suffering.
In rare circumstances, more than one ghost will haunt the same location. The classic example of this is the haunted ship, a vessel lost at sea, now ethereal and crewed entirely by ghosts. These ships are most often encountered in the presence of St. Elmo's fire, an electrical discharge that causes mysterious lights to appear in the rigging of a ship.
In many cases, a ghost can be overcome by those who might be no match for it in combat simply by setting right whatever events led to the attainment of the ghost's undead status. For example, a young woman who was betrayed and murdered by someone who pretended to love her might be freed from her curse if the cad were humiliated and ruined. In many cases, however, a ghost's revenge will be far more demanding, often ending in the death of the offender.
Ecology:The dreadful fear caused by the ghost, which ages a victim 10 years, is not well understood by the common man, who often ascribes it to the fact that a ghost is "dead." If this were the case, then certainly skeletons and zombies would have the same effect, which they do not.
Common folklore further confuses this fact by relating details of the ghost's physical form: the classic example of which is the headless horseman, thought by many to be particularly frightening simply because he had no head. Under this belief, one could face a ghost if only one had the courage to stand up to him. Such a mistaken impression has cost many lives over the years. Actually, the fear is caused by the supernatural power of the ghost, and has nothing whatsoever to do with courage.
Index
Spectre

 

CLIMATE/TERRAIN:	Desolate dungeons and ruins
FREQUENCY:	Rare
ORGANIZATION:	Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE:	Darkness and night
DIET:	Nil
INTELLIGENCE:	High (13-14)
TREASURE:	Q(x3), X, Y
ALIGNMENT:	Lawful evil
NO. APPEARING:	1-6
ARMOR CLASS:	2
MOVEMENT:	15, Fl 30 (B)
HIT DICE:	7+3
THAC0:	13
NO. OF ATTACKS:	1
DAMAGE/ATTACK:	1-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS:	Energy drain
SPECIAL DEFENSES:	+1 or better weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE:	See below
SIZE:	M (6' tall)
MORALE:	Champion (15)
XP VALUE:	3,000

Spectres are powerful undead that haunt the most desolate and deserted of places. They hate all life and light.
Spectres appear as semitransparent beings and are often mistaken for haunts or ghosts. Unlike most undead, spectres retain the semblance and manner of dress of their former life and can be recognized by old friends or through paintings of the persons they used to be.
Combat:Spectres exist primarily on the Negative Material Plane and can therefore be attacked by beings on the Prime Material Plane only with magical weapons. Daylight makes spectres powerless by weakening their ties to the Negative Material Plane.
The chilling touch of a spectre drains energy from living creatures. A successful attack inflicts 1-8 points of damage and drains two life energy levels from the victim. Any being totally drained of life energy by a spectre becomes a full-strength spectre under the control of the spectre which drained him. The victim loses all control of his personality and may become more or less powerful than before, depending on his level and class before becoming a spectre.
Spectres are immune to all sleep, charm, hold, and cold-based spells, as well as poisons and paralyzation attacks. Holy water inflicts 2-8 points of damage when it strikes a spectre. The water can be splashed on a spectre successfully. A raise dead spell apparently reverses the undead status, destroying the spectre immediately if a saving throw versus spell is failed.
Habitat/Society:Most spectres are solitary, but some enclaves exist where a particularly powerful or lucky spectre has managed to drain mortals of life. This lead spectre is known as the master spectre (always with maximum hit points per die), while the others are known collectively as the followers. In this arrangement, the master spectre almost never engages enemies personally, but instead sends his minions in for the kill. Mortals drained of life by follower spectres are subservient to the master spectre, not the followers. Note that if the master spectre is slain, all followers become independent and can travel anywhere they wish in hopes of becoming master spectres themselves. Once a character becomes a spectre, recovery is nearly impossible, requiring a special quest.
Spectres hate light and all life, as both remind them of their undead existence. They are therefore encountered only in places of extreme darkness and desolation, like long-abandoned ruins, dungeons, and subterranean sewers.
Contrary to popular mythology, spectres remain highly intelligent and generally rational after the transformation to undeath. Life makes them lament their unlife, and they bear a strong hatred for all those lucky enough to live and truly die.
Spectres have enough cunning to plan their attacks, and rival vampires in their skill at remaining hidden from the general populace.
Ecology:No one knows who the first spectre was or how it came to be; the few facts detailed above are all that is known with any degree of certainty.
Index
 

Haunt

 

CLIMATE/TERRAIN:	Any
FREQUENCY:	Very rare
ORGANIZATION:	Individual
ACTIVITY CYCLE:	Any
DIET:	Nil
INTELLIGENCE:	Non- (0)
TREASURE:	Nil
ALIGNMENT:	Any
NO. APPEARING:	1
ARMOR CLASS:	0/victim's AC
MOVEMENT:	6/as victim
HIT DICE:	5/victim's hp
THAC0:	15
NO. OF ATTACKS:	1/1, as 5-HD monster
DAMAGE/ATTACK:	See below/by weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS:	See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES:	See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE:	Nil
SIZE:	Variable
MORALE:	Champion (16)
XP VALUE:	2,000

(Note: Statistics separated by a slash: those to the left refer to the natural state, those to the right are for a possessed victim.)
A haunt is the restless spirit of a person who died leaving some vital task unfinished. Its sole purpose is to take over a living body and use it to complete the task, thus gaining a final release from this world.
Haunts may assume either of two forms, at will: a hovering luminescent ball of light (identical in appearance to a will-o-wisp) or a nebulous, translucent image of the haunt's former body. In the later state, haunts look like groaning spirits, spectres, or ghosts, and are often mistaken for them. Transformation from one state to the other takes one round.
Combat: A haunt must remain within 60 yards of where it died, unless it takes control of a victim's body. This 60-yard radius is called the haunt's domain.
A haunt attacks mindlessly, and always targets the first human or demihuman that enters its domain. It will continue to attack until possession is achieved or the intended victim leaves the haunt's domain.
The touch of a haunt drains 2 points of Dexterity per hit. As the character's Dexterity is drained, he suffers not only the penalties of lowered Dexterity, but increasing numbness creeps over his body. If Dexterity reaches 0, the haunt slips into the body and possesses it. Once the body is possessed, Dexterity returns to normal.
The haunt uses the host's body to complete its unfulfilled task. The task need not be dangerous, although it often is. Once the task is completed, the haunt passes on to its final rest and the victim regains control of his body. When the haunt leaves a victim, the character has a Dexterity of 3. Lost Dexterity points are regained at the rate of 1 point for each turn of complete rest. If a haunt's possessed body is slain, it will haunt the place where that body was killed.
If the victim has an alignment opposite to that of the haunt (good vs. evil), the haunt will try to strangle the victim using the victim's own hands. Unless the victim's arms are being restrained, the strangulation begins the round after the haunt takes control of the body. On the first round the victim suffers 1 point of damage, on the second 2, on the third 4, and so on, doubling each round until the victim is dead or the haunt is driven off.
Attacks on a possessed character will cause full damage to the character's body. If attacked, the haunt will use whatever weapons and armor the victim carries, but it cannot use any items that would require special knowledge (spells, scrolls, rings). The only safe way to free the victim is by casting hold person or dispel evil (good). If hold person is cast, the haunt must make a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation or be ejected from the body; dispel evil (good) destroys the haunt forever.
Haunts are linked to the sites where they died and therefore cannot be turned by priests. When in the natural state (i.e., not possessing a body) haunts may be struck only by silver or magical weapons, or by fire. Weapons cause only 1 point of damage, plus the magical bonus (if any). Normal fire causes 1 point of damage per round, but magical fire inflicts full damage. If a haunt is reduced to 0 hit points, it loses control of its form and fades away. The haunt reforms in one week to haunt the same location again until its task is completed.
Habitat/Society: The exact task to be accomplished varies, but the motives are always powerful -- revenge, greed, love, hate. Often great distances need to be traveled before a task can be completed, and haunts will drive their hosts mercilessly toward the goal, ignoring the need for food or sleep.
A few haunts (10%) retain some knowledge of their former lives and can be communicated with. Often these haunts feel remorse at having to prey upon the living, but the force of the uncompleted task is too powerful for the haunt to resist.
Ecology: Haunts cling to this world by force of will alone. They have no treasure of their own unless it is connected to their quest. They prey only on humans and demihumans.
Index
 

Phantom

 

CLIMATE/TERRAIN:	Any/Land
FREQUENCY:	Very rare
ORGANIZATION:	Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE:	Any
DIET:	Nil
INTELLIGENCE:	Nil
TREASURE:	Nil
ALIGNMENT:	Neutral
NO. APPEARING:	1
ARMOR CLASS:	Nil
MOVEMENT:	9
HIT DICE:	Nil
THAC0:	Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS:	Nil
DAMAGE/ATTACK:	Nil
SPECIAL ATTACKS:	Fear
SPECIAL DEFENSES:	Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE:	See below
SIZE:	Varies, usually M
MORALE:	Nil
XP VALUE:	Nil

Phantoms are images left behind by particularly strong death traumas. A phantom is like a three-dimensional movie image filmed at the time of death, in the place where it died.
The standard phantom may appear as almost anything. It often appears as the character who experienced the trauma-a transparent image re-enacting the death scene. Alternatively, it could represent whatever was foremost in the victim's mind at the time of death; an attacker, or some goal left unachieved. Phantoms are experienced in faded colors, by all senses.
Combat: It is difficult to fight phantoms, since they are merely images and have no power to directly cause harm. They cannot themselves be harmed. Swinging weapons or casting spells into the area of the image does not interfere with the projection, and they cannot be reasoned with. A phantom is not intelligent and does not exist for any real reason; tracking down its killer or completing its quest will not get rid of a phantom.
Phantoms are often mistaken for ghosts, haunts, or groaning spirits, but they can not be turned as undead. Only a priest spell remove curse, cast at 12th level, can dispel a phantom.
Although a phantom cannot directly do any actual harm, it is the very essence of magic and calls up a superstitious awe in anyone who sees one. The enchantment is such that the phantom affects both the mind and the senses of the observer. Creatures without minds (such as undead) are immune to the effects of phantoms, as are those rare beings who are somehow unable to experience them (since the phantom is present to all senses, blindness is not normally protection against one).
Characters witnessing a phantom must roll a successful saving throw vs. death magic, with a -2 penalty, or immediately panic and run away as per the effects of a fear spell. Particularly vivid phantoms may require those who fail their saving throw to make a system shock roll, with a +10 bonus to the roll. Failure results in death for the unfortunate victim. Such a character can be raised normally, however.
There are other difficulties with the fear effect; the cause of the phantom's death might still be around. Even after centuries, traps and undead monsters can be just as effective and deadly, and running away in panic is usually not the best defense.
Of course, a phantom may provide characters with important information, either forewarning careful characters of an upcoming danger, or finding a lost and treasured object.
There is a slight chance that a character's death may engender a phantom. This chance should be minuscule to nonexistent for 0-level or very low-level characters, or for those who were expecting to die-those dying of natural causes or in war. However, characters of 4th level or above, dying suddenly or by surprise might have a 1-2% chance of becoming phantoms. If those characters were on an important mission or were subject to geas or quest spells, this chance might rise to 5-6 percent. The percentage chance for generating a phantom should never be higher than the level of the character at the time of death. (Characters killed by energy-draining undead rarely produce phantoms.) It is up to the DM to decide what the precise image presents. A character who is murdered and generates a phantom may also return as a revenant.
There are nonstandard types of phantoms that affect only one of the senses. Often, these are purely visual images, but they can also manifest themselves as sounds (explosions, moaning, or quiet whispering) or smells. Most of these phantoms require saving throws, but the effects of failure may differ. A gloomy whispering of danger might produce despair (as per the symbol spells) effects. A foul stench might induce the retching effects of a ghast. Suffocating pressure, temperature extremes, the sounds of a swarm of bats, might all carrydifferent consequences of failing the saving throw.
Of greater concern, however is that there are some phantoms that are actually evil, created when powerful evil creatures from other planes are "slain" (forced to return to their home planes) in the Prime material plane. These phantoms appear at the will of the evil creature 35% of the time, and can seriously misinform or endanger any character it meets. These phantoms can be detected with a detect evil spell; dispel evil can neutralize the phantom for a number of turns equal to the caster's level.
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