Apostles of Doom

In all other respects, vampires and vampyrs are essentially the same in terms of abilities and vulnerabilities.

Spirits

Ghost:

A ghost is a spirit trapped on the aethereal plane. Upon death, the spirit leaves its body, but rather than ascend to an outer plane or flow back into the material realm, the spirit manages to enter the aethereal realm, where it can survive generally unmolested by the material world for as long as it desires.

Phantom:

A phantom is a ghost with the ability to appear visually on the material plane. While not physically present, a powerful phantom can appear completely normal and solid. However, they are insubstantial and unable to interact physically with the material plane.

Poltergeist:

A poltergeist is a ghost, or phantom, that can manipulate the material plane through sheer force of will. If the ghost is that of an animage, then it will be likely have some degree of kinetomastery and manipulate the physical world via this discipline. Other ghosts, over time, may naturally develop kinetomastery with sufficient practice.

Specter:

Specters are actually quite rare. A specter is a ghost, typically a poltergeist, who can form an anima body on a material plane for a short period of time. This is analogous to the anima bodies typically used by avatars who do not fully incarnate. The duration for which the specter can maintain the anima body depends on the specter’s available mana. Unlike ascended (or descended) beings, specters do not have an anchor to the Outer Planes or the Abyss, and thus have much more difficulty in maintaining their anima bodies.

Wraith:

A wraith is the spirit of someone recently deceased that has not yet “moved on.” It is animus that still retains animatic cohesion, at least for some period of time. If a wraith can figure out how to possess their old body, they can come back as a drauger or revenant. If they can figure out how to get to the aethereal plane, they become a ghost. With luck, the wraith has made afterlife arrangements and can follow links to their promised afterlife.

Undead Corpses

Drauger:

Drauger are self-willed, self-animated zombies. They are mortals who have refused to die and vacate their mortal remains. They often possess magical abilities, which is typically what allows them to hold on to their remains. However, great trauma or magical events can also be the source of the attachment. The remains are, while animated, dead and decaying. Drauger will eventually decay away until nothing remains, short of magical intervention from an artifact or necromancer.

Drauger are NOT Unlife. They are not contagious and can operate at any time of day or night. Drauger were often very powerful heroes or villains in life; larger-than-life personalities that could not be extinguished or persuaded to move on.

Jianghsi:

Jiangshi are very intelligent zombie vampires. Jiangshi are Unlife, and as with vampires, they draw animus from their victims, consuming it to survive. While not common, jiangshi can operate in daylight, but they are typically a bit more sluggish and disoriented. Jiangshi are very stiff and somewhat ungainly. They typically hop in order to move. However, they can be very quick and often have strong hand-to-hand combat skills. They may be spellcasters as well.

Lich:

Liches are necromancers who have essentially embalmed themselves and placed their vital organs in a phylactery, typically a sealed urn. This phylactery is where their primary animus resides. It is a very special form of anima jar. From this phylactery, the lich’s spirit animates its body. Liches are extremely powerful necromancers; they are very intelligent and dangerous. Liches are Unlife and consume animus, but they are not contagious. They can operate fine in daylight, although they prefer the night and the cold.

Liches preserve their flesh with very powerful cold spells. These preservation spells render them difficult to harm via cold or fire. Lightning does typically work, but is not as effective as one would expect.

Mummy:

Mummies are bandage-wrapped, embalmed corpses that are created by necromancers. They are most typically used as guards. The process of making a mummy is believed to be similar to that of creating a lich; however, liches create themselves, while mummies are created by liches and necromancers, often against the will of the deceased. As with a lich, a mummy’s animus is stored within its phylactery. If the mummy’s body is destroyed, eventually, given enough time, it will reassemble itself. This can, however, take a very long time. One must destroy the phylactery in order to end the curse that binds the deceased to the mortal realm.

Mummies are Unlife, but are not typically contagious — although they may have a number of parasites and other illnesses associated with them. Mummies have no issue with daylight, nor do they typically consume animus.

Revenant: