Undead

Every undead being was once alive, and was either directly transformed into that state, or roused from their grave. The living dead are usually classified as either "greater" or "lesser" undead. Greater undead are those which have retained their living intelligence even in undeath, and they are usually physically more powerful and more resistant to attack than others. Lesser undead are usually totally mindless and very destructive.

All undead take damage from healing spells, and heal when necromancy is cast upon them. Gustav's Spirit Evictor and Folson's Somnolent Vapors spells do not affect them, nor do poisons. All undead are immune to ice-based spells, Charm, and paralyze. Undead cannot be waylaid. Many types of undead cannot stand sunlight.

Banshee:
A banshee is the spirit of an evil human or elven female who was unjustly killed. These greenish-white glowing ghosts are unable to move far from their physical remains and are often found weeping over their corpses. Once a living being is within their sight, however, banshees will begin to wail, bringing death to those around them. Despite this fearsome attack, a banshee does not possess much strength of body; a Destroy Undead spell will reduce it to dust.

Death Knight/Lord/Rogue:
Death knights, lords, and rogues are powerful, intelligent undead, their might eclipsed only by liches and vampires. Formal magic is used to transform a living creature into a decaying corpse and to grant innate enchantment to their weapons. They possess the ability to resist magical spells and are totally unaffected by blows from un-enchanted weapons. They can phase through weapon strikes a few times a day. They may also spellstrike with Thorna's Accelerated Entropy. Death knights are known to be able to control lesser undead with the sound of their voice.

Ghast/Ghoul:
These undead are very similar, except ghasts are a little stronger. They may be older versions of the same creatures. They possess a ravenous hunger for living flesh and will generally try to eat any victim they paralyze with their deadly claws. They smell horrible and may cause nausea in those around them. A Destroy Undead spell or a Lightning Storm should kill either type of creature.

Liche:
Liches are among the most powerful of the greater undead. They can raise and control the living dead at will and have the ability to resist magical spells cast upon them and phase through physical blows. Enchanted weapons are needed to affect them. Much like vampires, the abilities of each individual liche are different.

Mummy:
Beware the Mummy's Curse. If this cloth-wrapped zombie-like undead strikes you down and administers a killing strike, you will be beyond the reach of Angelica's Death Bane. They may bring disease or paralysis to their victims with their claw-like hands, but they move very slowly. They possess the strength to rip out of Pin and Bind spells. A Dragon's Breath will nearly kill a mummy, and one Destroy Undead will certainly do it.

Revenant:
Revenants resemble zombies, but are much more powerful. For example, they may rip out of Peranore's Minor Binding and Lasset's Mystic Binding spells. Spells are much more useful against revenants than swords, for their undead bodies seem to deflect half the damage a weapon strike does. I believe it takes at least a Dragon's Breath and a Lightning Bolt to destroy a revenant, but Destroy Undead works wonders. There are natural revenants, called "Spirits of Vengeance," created when a person suffers his final death from a vampire's bite or, sometimes, when death comes unjustly. These cannot be destroyed but will go away with the sun, or once they have avenged their death.

Skeleton:
These undead have lost all their flesh and are walking bones held together by magical forces. Their lack of skin makes it difficult to harm them with weapons, it seems that weapon strikes harm them only half as much as they would a living being. A Lightning Bolt will finish most skeletons; two are needed for the bigger ones. A Harm Undead will destroy the smaller ones and almost finish the biggest skeletons.

Spectre:
Spectres are ghostly humanoid figures. They usually retain their intelligence beyond the grave and with it the ability to speak. Most of them chose not to exercise this, though. They are immune to binding spells and require silver or magical weapons to affect them. Their bodies are weak, however, and a Harm Undead spell will almost dissipate a spectre. They can resist a few spells thrown at them, and even will their bodies totally insubstantial so that a few weapon strikes will phase through them as well. All spectres have hands stretched into terrible claws, which they can use as weapons, but many choose to wield physical weapons as a memory of life. Regardless, the cold of a spectre's unbeating heart is so terrible that it can reach you even at the end of claw or blade and leave you bereft of strength or life essence.

Vampire:
Vampires are a curious form of undead. They are not created by spell or ritual, yet they have the taint of chaos upon them and are harmed by earth magicks. The elders of their kind possess incredible powers and are near immortal, but they are cursed with a craving for the blood of the living. Each vampire is different, and there is little that is common among them save those things that are common to all undead. Most vampires have the ability to turn their bodies into a mist, which makes it difficult to capture them. They can also bind a person in a powerful enslavement merely by staring into his eyes. Most vampires are unharmed by normal weapons. Only the very oldest and most powerful of their kind can walk in sunlight. There is a great deal of superstition concerning vampires. Rumors persist that they cannot enter residential dwellings unbidden, cross lines of poppy or mustard seeds, or cross running water. It is said that if the vampire believes in them, it will be affected by such constraints.

Wraith:
These undead are very similar to spectres, but they like to scream a lot. Some say wraiths retain their intelligence initially, but they are usually insane. They are unaffected by normal weapons, but rarely have the ability to resist magical attacks. Much like spectres, wraiths have the ability to drain life essence with their very touch.

Zombie:
Zombies are the lowest forms of undead. They are mindless walking corpses that can barely follow the orders of their creator. They have minimal skill with weapons and cannot cast spells. A Cure Serious Wounds spell or a Flame Bolt will destroy most zombies.