Voldemort is the best lich and I am NOT kidding

Voldemort is the best depiction of a lich in popular fantasy media. There, I said it. Let's talk about liches for a bit.

The Fantasy Lich & Their Problems
The concept of a Lich is an undead spellcaster, usually still retaining their intelligence and full magical power as when they were alive, often used as a method to cheat death or become immortal. They are usually high powered enemies in D&D fiction; being capable of being the primary antagonists of entire campaigns. If we consider the spectrum of dangerous, bestial monsters starting at wolves with dragons being the peak, then we could consider a spectrum of undead creatures to go from a skeleton to a lich at the peak. Not only having powerful spells, they also can't be killed, and keep coming back unless their special phylactery holding their soul is destroyed. The Lich as an archetype is extremely evocative, with robed skeletons commanding armies of the undead and mastering many magics.

But in context of the greater fantasy universe at play... don't you think Liches are kind of weird?

Consider the following; most people are afraid of death, and want to live longer, or forever. This is a common trope. Magic can be used to do many things, but the magic of immortality is often considered a very high or nigh-impossible goal to reach with magic. Ancient emperors and archmages wasting their limited time to try and find a way to live forever is a trope as old as time, and even happened in the real world on multiple occasions too; it's a sensible high concept goal similar to making life, turning lead into gold, visiting other dimensions, etc. often found as the motivations of high level spellcasters or mystics. Now consider that in the majority of fantasy settings with Lichs, the masterclass goal of these magic users is to become... a skeleton.

Doing this with good or neutral magic, like the arcane arts or healing magic if it exists, is often either impossible or a losing battle against entropy, casting a "reverse aging" spell or greater restoration every once in a while is the best you can get, and almost never can they bring themselves back from the dead with this magic, even if they can resurrect others. Dark magic, necromancy, or perhaps sorcery in general in some settings is considered a shortcut to power. As such, it stands to reason that becoming a lich is a "shortcut" to being truly immortal and alive with magic, which would help explain it. But remember, most people don't want to be an undead creature. Being undead sucks. If magic could do literally anything in a fantasy setting with no drawbacks, then no magic user would create the "become a lich" spell if it makes you into a skeleton like that; they'd just make the spell give you eternal youth, let you regrow limbs, reform your body after death, etc.

Similar to the above, there is a common thought I've seen on online discussions that a high level magic user should venture to become a master/true vampire instead of being a Lich; given that vampires have more powers and abilities and can retain their human appearance, though gaining a few weaknesses that Liches usually don't have, like sunlight. While I dislike this "fantasy catalogism"- as if people in the fantasy world know of every possible way to become immortal or powerful and can pick and choose as opposed to being limited by their knowledge and resources- it's still a valid criticism of lichdom.

Secondly, when most people want immortality either as the result of a wish or magical project, rarely do people want true immortality. As in, they don't want to literally never die ever. The idea of being truly immortal and being trapped somewhere forever, or being trapped out in space after the Earth explodes unable to do anything or talk to anything and having no way to end your suffering is a common existential nightmare, a "fate worse then death". The problem is a Lich and their phylactery are often written in such a way that implies that this could easily happen to them. Like if a lich puts their soul into a specific object and is then thrown into the ocean, every time they reform they will just reappear at the bottom of the sea, being crushed to death over and over until something finally discovers them. I think even considering the arrogance and short-sightedness of a dark wizard type they would be way more careful for their future eternal fate then wanting to put themselves in that kind of a situation.

The Phylactery and reformation process of a lich is also part of the issue I have with them. Part of this is just down to players and modern minds poking holes in fantasy literature; like yeah obviously the lich can't just decide "oh I'm going to make the moon my phylactery" or "oh I'll be a single unbreakable grain of sand that will be my vessel", it's a dumb subversion of the fantasy trope, but there is a certain nugget of truth to it. The whole "reform in 24 hours once destroyed" lacks any kind of gravitas or ability to "counter" the Lich's ability to reform from the dead, and feels overly video gamey. Even worse, the "turn into a lich" spell or ritual is often described or implied to be a sort of "raise undead but YOURSELF as the undead" being raised, thus you aren't under anyone else's control. I don't really like this, even though this could just be a "me" thing, as it literally feels like someone just took a look at the raise undead spell and thought of a clever way to use it on themselves to become a Lich, which once again goes against that immersive quality of fantasy worlds.

The other issue with the D&D Lich? It lacks a certain tragic quality. Truthfully, Liches are kinda supposed to be morally bankrupt, if not downright evil. Necromancy being used for good or neutral purposes if a subversion of the trope you see occasionally, which I personally don't mind if it's done in a smart way, but the issue with the fantasy lich is that it rarely ever seems like they're really suffering for their choice. They receive a major power up and have essentially sacrificed their humanity or mortality, to an extent they should be seen as tragic, cowardly, or in some ways pathetic. Of course, the character archetype of the "Lich doesn't actually have some evil plan and just wants to do research or have his pet project" is a fun trope too, but I feel like antagonistic liches are kind of core to their identity as big bads.

While there is a whole other can of worms to talk about how immortality or life-extending magic is rightfully (or wrongly?) cast as being morally wrong or how death-acceptance could be seen as a coping mechanism for death and not actually a "good" thing, in the fantasy world where morality tends to be a bit more objective, fate and karma are real forces, the Gods and souls have ultimate destinations and a higher purpose, etc. the concept of a Lich just being this sort of magic spell creation feels a bit thematically weak. This is then artificially justified with little things; like forcing a lich to do dark rituals involving sacrifice to create their phylactery or making undead inherently evil regardless of their intentions- but these feel like patch jobs. If you were going to die anyway, becoming a Lich wouldn't be a downside at all, and with they being undead who retain their free will, it takes away some of the punch of them being these flawed, scary, magically powerful monsters and more like a fantasy insurance plan to an otherwise powerful Wizard character.

But what about Voldemort?

Art @Shen Yi

Voldemort is cool as fuck
If we look at the above qualifications of being a fantasy Lich, Voldemort checks almost all of the boxes. He's immortal and cannot be killed without destroying his soul-vessels, in this case Horcruxes. He is a powerful dark magic user. He is creepy, evil, and the main antagonist of the work he is located in. But did you notice the subtle difference? Voldemort spends most of the Harry Potter series trying to come back to life.

This is a bit of a misnomer, but think about it. Other liches reform quickly, Voldemort has to otherwise scheme and squirm to find a way back into a normal body. Multiple times he is thwarted from returning to life, and his full power, by the heroes of the books and films. This to me defines him as the best Lich; he doesn't just come back ala D&D rules, stopping him from coming back is how you fight him. It works better as a recurring antagonist, as while you could theoretically fight a D&D lich multiple times, they tend to be extremely strong "boss fights", meaning multiple encounters of them are too deadly to be done consistently. Instead, trying to stop the dark wizard from coming back to his full strength is the repeating tension and part of the campaign. It's similar in nature to the "cultists serving a dark god" plotline you see in fantasy fiction roleplaying so much, allowing players to more reasonably and realistically take on this otherwise overwhelming and impossible foe in a way that is less immersion breaking. You could even define and scale a campaign around it, with defeating the weakest "shadows" of the lich for low level characters, fighting more powerful versions at higher levels, and the final fully incarnate version as a challenge for even the most veteran parties. This also secondarily means that it isn't quite as dangerous to travel with or keep a phylactery around. Just imagine an evil Wizard making their greatest staff or enchanted item their phylactery; knowing its safe from destruction from the greed of mankind. Yes, technically this thing is evil and means that the dark undead wizard is still yet to be banished from the world, but it's a really strong magic item. Or maybe it summons skeletons every midnight and constantly attacks us with dark magic and we don't know how to destroy it, so let's just bury it somewhere. It creates a more believable world that helps explain why these threats and undead beings aren't just banished immediately OR don't take over everything with their limitless power. It could even create this sense of temptation among the players, not wanting to give up a great treasure or magic item or perhaps even a high level soul-binding spell that means that as long as YOU live, the necromancer still has a foothold in the mortal world. Maybe even Sauron is a lich... But we aren't ready for that conversation.

Now of course I should mention that you don't have to really scale an entire campaign around just defeating one Lich. It's an option, but you could still just have the scary encounter in the deep dungeon with some newly generated NPC Lich as a high level encounter, a threat but not world-shaking, to get use out of their fantasy idea space and as a capstone for a undead themed dungeon delve. Liches can still scale in power- but the main point is that they aren't just these undead spellcasters, but instead a sort of broad spectrum of dark mages or undying beings. Perhaps they require stolen life force to fully manifest, or slowly reform their bodies by draining the blood or organs from other beings, ala Imhotep from The Mummy. Regardless of the reason, Liches have both a incentive and need to go out into the world and do things, not just "study arcane secrets" in the depths of the dusty tomb. This does give them a soft overlap with vampires, but I feel like that's fair. If anything, a Lich could be a vampire, a terrifying combination of supernatural forces. Their body is powerful, immortal, and fed with blood. But upon staking them in the heart, the Lich is not truly defeated, and returns as a ghost now scheming for a new way to return to the world of the living.

Secondly? The Horcruxs. The Horcruxes allow Voldy to not have one but multiple backups and phylacteries, once again leading to a campaign in and of itself, as well as having each being a powerful magic item and challenge in its own right. However, I'm in two minds about this. On the one hand, having an extremely powerful reforming Necromancer who also gets multiple backups and requires this much clever work to take down seems a bit too much, and the thematic importance and character-building of having this one special item that is this Lich's one weakness is really cool. But at the same time, I love the idea of multiple horcruxes and the character designs and concepts- imagine a Pharaoh Lich of an ancient Kingdom with the Crook and Flail being their two phylacteries, crossed over their arms and separated by a foolish graverobber. The possible fun of having to bring them all together again; maybe the normal lich rules of reforming into their full undead form apply but only if they're all together again- giving an incentive to not hide them all in each corner of the world but also a possible way to bring them out again for one final battle? There's a similar concept in Castlevania and The Elder Scrolls, with finding the pieces of Dracula or Lorgren Benirus in the basement of the haunted house you can buy in Oblivion.

For this one, I'd say your "average" Lich only has one phylactery, but an extra powerful one could have several. Not every one of them is a continent-spanning adventure, but you do have to hurry back to the local church to have this thing consecrated, else the Lich is plotting his return. But this entire time, I've been saving the real reason Voldemort is my favorite Lich. 

Voldemort is Pathetic
Harry Potter as a series has its problems, the writing has its flaws and cliches, the worldbuilding is nonsensical, and now it's impossible to discuss honestly due to the stink with its author (who I have been very careful to not bring up until now). The thing I really like about Harry Potter is the insistence on emotion, the spiritual, and "human scale" magic. It just feels like the most grounded and "lived in" style of high fantasy sparkly woosh magic "Magic" you can get, which is a huge plus for me. Typically fantasy settings get defined by how overt, powerful, or flashy their magic and magic systems are. You get the spectrum from folklore and real-world occultism with next to no overt effects all the way to high fantasy glowing runes floating in the air summoning big explosions from nowhere. But Harry Potter really straddles that middle ground I like so much; where magic is strong but not level 20 D&D Wizard types of busted overpowered.

Voldemort in the context of all fantasy media is a bit of a jobber. He wouldn't be as powerful as, say, Vecna or Koshchei, but in the context of his universe? He's pretty scary. He's a powerful dark Wizard with a cult of other dark Wizards, tons of magic items, multiple layers of defense with his Horcruxes, the Elder wand, and more. He can just straight up kill people, but he can't snap his fingers and obliterate an army, or move mountains, or do these other acts of high magic that are seen by the most epic and end-game sort of fantasy shenanigans that a high level D&D Lich could get up to.

Every few years I go back and read this blogpost about Dragons. It's one of my favorites, as something about it really resonated with me. The idea of dragons being these apocalyptic, unstoppable demigod beasts seemed to become so ingrained with popular fantasy culture that it's refreshing to take them down a few pegs, to make them threatening without it being overpowering. Dialing back the power scale and enjoying something more grounded. Voldemort is like that, but for Liches and the stereotypical "Evil Wizard" antagonist you see in tabletop games.

Voldemort is scary, and he is strong, but notice how he is strong. Most of his strength comes from his Death Eaters, the dark wizards who act as his agents and followers, caring for him and bringing him back each time he is defeated. Much of his power comes from his reputation, his magic items, and his years of preparation and planning- he doesn't have this insane CR meant to challenge demigod adventurers. Look at this clip to see what I mean. His spells are strong, but not unmatchable, Dumbledore was still able to drive him back at the Ministry of Magic long enough for help to arrive. Notice that he flees when the authorities arrive; he doesn't march in and take over the world with his undead army, at least not yet, he has to operate in the shadows. In a more generic fantasy world, I'd imagine a Lich to be about as strong as the above- capable of beating the shit out of lesser wizards and mundanes alike, but still being restrained and limited with their own weaknesses.

And secondly? Voldemort is a tragic, somewhat pathetic figure. He can come back from life when killed, yes, but it's always a false life. In the first film and book, Voldemort is a literal parasite living on someone else. Then, he's a memory. Finally when his body is fully reformed, he is mutated and twisted, looking unnaturally pale. Remember, nobody wants to become a lifeless, cold skeleton as a condition of their immortality. But imagine in your hubris and arrogance you can come back to life, but you can only do it in a hunched, pale, weakened body of an old man or twisted half alive creature, dependent on the blood or life force of other beings. It's being alive but at a cost, you are "alive" but pathetic. This to me is far more appealing as an end state of a "Lich" then simply being the undead skeleton with burning glowing eyes. Even in the metaphysics of the Potterverse, you will end up as worse off, "lesser", for creating a Horcrux. It will make you immortal, but you irreparably sever pieces of your soul to do it. You will get what you want, but at a price, and it's that perfect type of price that isn't obvious enough to the foolish or arrogant exactly what they are losing, but in the grand scheme, you know why they are doomed.

I write a lot of stuff about the nature of karma or inserting morality in fantasy. I don't do this because I have an axe to grind, moreso, it rubs against that nebulous "vibe" that classic fantasy, literature, and mythology have that I feel is so central to creating meaningful and immersive fantasy worlds and campaigns. Tabletop games are games, first and foremost, and cannot be approach the same way a planned piece of literature is. You can't foreshadow the fall of a character based on their choices and reactions to things, to make them pay the price for their actions, that's the players job and can only be interpreted after the fact. Unless you're playing a pure story or "railroaded" adventure, you can't guarantee the players will be able to break the final phylactery and banish the Lich's black soul for the final time when they fight them; they might just lose and the Lich will succeed their evil plan. But inherent in the media is room for these sort of things; the idea of someone being so afraid of death and so arrogant that they willingly give up the pleasures and joy of life to live forever, to make a mockery of life to continue on in fear of death or judgement or being forgotten, is something you can add into the game. You can give that thematic weight to a boss monster by how they are written or how they act, especially if it's inherent in what they are. And to me, that is what a Lich is. They aren't like a living person who can relax and unwind and sleep and heal from an injury or stressful time in their life, looking at their children playing in the bright green fields and think "life will go on"; they are instead constantly skulking, feeding, hiding away their secret items of power and shying away from life. It's not a necromancer who found "one simple trick" to become immortal using their own magic spell, it's someone who is trapped in a state of half-life, unable to move on or escape on their own power, terrifying and a threat to their foes, but in a way pathetic and even pitiable, trapped by their own choices and ultimately, cosmically wrong.

Just like Voldemort.

[ToM] Embalming Workshop

This room is filled with human-sized jars and snake artworks on the walls. Stucco paintings remain with vivid colors. Metal hooks hang from the ceiling, embedded in the stonework. Despite their age, they are as shining and clean as if they were just used; the oils put upon them and all other things in this chamber keep it almost timeless.

This room belonged to the Cult of the Eggeater. Used to preserve the bodies of the cult members in a bid for immortality, or to keep bodies fresh for necromantic rites; things which the people of Mozz despised. Wholesome Mozz' are always cremated to rejoin with the sacred skies; only these deviants or those harshly punished for heresy would have their corpses buried or preserved.

If you search the room, you find gold bindings (worth 2000 gp) of various sizes and lengths; ropes to bind corpses and undead who have gone feral. You will also find a dark magic implement; a Black Brain-Hook used to pull the brain out of a skull. The black hook increases the power of all necromantic spells cast with it- treating the caster as though they were one level higher for the spells' effects.

Making any noise in the room above a whisper causes the jars in the room to jostle and shake- the lids falling away as the disgusting goop within comes to life. These corpses were embalmed as well as the cultists could; but eons longer then even they could have predicted has led to a cursed state of undeath for all those kept in the huge jars- they don't even resemble birds anymore.

Jar Zombies (3+1 HD, 1d8+1 rotting slap, Wet, Undead)
Morale- N/A
Number- 2d8

The Jar Zombies are partially liquid, like a slime, and are resistant to fire (taking half damage), but are susceptible to lightning (taking double damage). As undead, they can be Turned. When Turned, these creatures slink back to their jars and shiver in fear. Breaking a jar open with a blunt weapon will stun the one inside for two rounds.

Additionally, this encounter will introduce a lot of chaos and filth to the room as the embalming jars are knocked over- causing it to fill with foul juices and miasma from the upturned jars. Everyone who participates in a combat in this room must save or catch a common disease; or take 1d2 damage to their Constitution score.

Thirsty Ghoul

Art by an Anonymous contributor

Thirsty Ghoul
HD: 3 to 5
AC: +3
To-Hit: +3
Attacks: Two Claws (1d6+1), Proboscis (1d4)
Powers: Dark Liquor, Lair

The Thirsty Ghoul is an undead creature. It is very solitary, and unlike most ghouls, has a great deal of intelligence. It is very fond of conversation; mostly with itself. The easiest way to avoid this monster is to listen for chuckles and witty observations coming from rank passages.

Like all ghouls, this creature has an unnatural hunger for dead flesh. But this one has no hunger- only thirst. It ferments the body parts of its victims and cadavers it finds, spitting their blood, marrow, and other fluids into canoptic jars in little corners of the dungeon; marked with little scratches to catalog their vintage. All of them will have a favorite vintage; perhaps the spinal fluid of a dwarf, or the lymph of a young human- it drinks these brews luxuriously with a long black proboscis- capable of punching through skin and muscle to drink blood beneath- though it much prefers room temperature. There is no quicker way to spur the wrath of a thirsty ghoul then busting up one of their "wine cellars".

If you are using a ruleset with "heroic actions" or "lair actions" for higher creatures, then this ghoul probably gets one of those.

In addition; this ghoul's attack do not paralyze. Instead, they inflict Drunkenness. All damage this ghoul deals adds up points of Drunkenness to the character wounded. Easy method; if the number of points equal your Constitution- you start flailing around and acting really drunk, getting disadvantage on anything requiring grace or thought. More granular? Bust out your favorite drunkenness or carousing table. The ghoul prefers to inflict its victims into a state of bumbling confusion, before gently removing their organs and tucking them away under some stone recess in the dungeon so one day, many decades later, they can finally savor its delicious taste; aged as fine as any wine.

Swordyface

Swordyface
The swordyface is an undead being, created by this spell. The magic user must themselves have some amount of fighting ability to cast this spell- and as such this spell is more suited to battlemages or evil emperors who do everything because they're big-bads and aren't constrained by a gameified class system.

The Swordyface is made by stabbing a sword through the face of a defeated opponent. Typically the swordyface is made with a humanoid creature, but any creature can be made. If the caster slayed the creature themselves with the sword used for this spell- the resultant creature has an unlimited morale and will always fight as its master demands. If the creature was made using a different sword, was stabbed into a corpse not created by the magic user's own hand, or you don't have any combat ability- it is created with a morale of 6 and is cowardly. These also have nothing to do with the Swerda, I swear.

The Swordyface has the same HD and abilities of the creature it was made with, with two exceptions. 

Firstly; It keeps biological and magical abilities; but not spells or divine powers or anything that would imply they retain the same knowledge or intelligence. It also counts as an undead creature, making it vulnerable to turning; but it gets a morale check to see if it flees or is destroyed from a turn undead roll. 

Secondly, the Swordyface does not retain the To-Hit, AC bonuses (besides armor) or other combat bonuses from the body it was made with; instead it inhereits these from the magic user who created it. The Magic User loses these abilities for the duration of this spell; which lasts until the Swordyface is destroyed or the sword is removed from its face, ending the spell. If the sword is removed by someone other then the magic user who made this spell; the magic user does not regain their fighting abilities until they get the sword back.

Lich Generator

All liches begin with;

• 5 HD
• AC of 12
• Morale of 14
• +3 To-Hit
• One Death Touch attack per round. Save vs Death to avoid.
  
• Immune to Necrotic Damage / Death-Spells
  
• Casts Spells x2 (Has Twice as many spells as its HD should)
• One Signature Spell
  
• Immortality - Returns after Death (Can only be slain permanently if its Phylactery is destroyed)
• Powerful Numen - Treat HD as 10 for purposes of Magic Spells/Special Moves/Etc.
• Undead Minions (10x1d4 HD worth of Undead encountered with the Lich if not surprised)
  
• Alignment of Lawful Evil

The Death Touch - Roll d6 to determine what kind of Death Touch this Lich has
[1] Dark Flame (Deals 3d6 fire damage on hit, cannot heal naturally) Cold, black fire.
[2] Black Bolt (Deals 2d8 shock damage on hit, attack chains to next nearest enemy with zero To-Hit bonus until an attack fails) Crackling, life-seeking lightning jumps from the lich's fingers.
[3] Cruel Ice (Deals 2d6 Ice damage on hit, save again or limb touched is frozen solid. If limb is struck with blunt weapon; shatters and is destroyed. Limb must be dethawed with warm fire, or a torch that has had Healing Potion drizzled over it) Freezing touch that locks joints into place.
[4] Necrotic (Deals 3d6 damage, save again on hit or have 1d6 levels drained) The power of the dead, sapping life from the living. Each time this death-touch hits, the Lich looks more whole and alive as he saps your life force, but it quickly rots away within mere hours. It is a living black hole.
[5] Corrupting (Deals 4d4 damage on hit, save again or shift alignment one step towards Evil, if Evil save or be Dominated by the Lich) The Lich's body pulses with the centipedes and unholy creatures crawling underneath its skin. The lich's touch sends them into your own body, corrupting you.
[6] Aging (Ages victim 2d20 years on hit, rusts and spoils equipment that isn't Magic) This Death-Touch doesn't deal direct damage, but ages the victim. Everything they're carrying also ages at the same rate; food spoils, potions go flat, metal rusts to nothing. Only eternal items are safe. has no direct effects but characters of advanced age for their species will probably take stat penalties, or just fall over dead.

Decaying Form - Roll d8
[1] Skull Face (+1 AC, +1 Morale) Living body with a bloody skeletal face, as though flayed.
[2] Corpulent (+1 HD, Can Float out of melee; hit by reach) Filled with corpse-gas.
[3] Mummy (Roll a 2nd Signature Spell) Bandages adorned with arcane symbols
[4] Rotten (+2 To-Hit, Inflicts Random Disease on hit with Death Touch) Rotting flesh.
[5] Wraith (Ethereal - Can only be hit with Magic weapons. Turn Undead is twice as effective) Not a physical form, but a smokey, cloaked wraith with glowing eyes. More vulnerable to the spirit.
[6] Cancerous (Resistant to Elements; takes half damage from Fire, Shock, Frost) Its bulbs and tumors are filled with all sorts of pus; arcane experiments on this disposable shell.
[7] Skeleton Jelly (Doesn't lose its body after dying- instead just regenerates from the single smallest remaining piece of itself. Phylactery gives it memory, Alignment to Neutral Evil) The Lich is a skeleton jelly- a skeleton with a goopy outer shell containing everything it was and is.
[8] Grafted (+3 Hit Points, has Sword attack at 1d6, doesn't count as Undead until harmed) Body is made up of many borrowed limbs, surgically attached. Detects as a living person until some of its stitches are split and ichor spilled. May be disguised as a regular person or adventurer.

Dark Artifact - Roll d10
The Lich carries the Dark Artifact on its person at all times. If killed, the artifact will drop with the Lich, and the Lich will become very angry at it being stolen- it will attempt to recover it with whatever means necessary. All Dark Artifacts are cursed; living beings who touch them must save or die unless its wrapped in white cloth.
[1] Sacrificial Dagger (1d4+1 Magic, steals one prepared spell on hit) Cruel wizard killer.
[2] Vial of Pure Darkness (All light sources dimmed nearby) Trapped primordial darkness.
[3] Chaos Medallion (Generate a Chaos Medallion) This Lich is a champion of evil gods.
[4] Witch Finger (Enemies get -2 to spell saves, Increase die size for all dice of Death Touch) Worn around the neck like a talisman.
[5] Capirote (Has two Necromancer apprentices at 4 HD / level- they cast Spells) Tall conical cap, black, like a cultist. Enslaves the minds of the foolish, and promises immortality through death.
[6] Flask of Unholy Water (Deals 1d6 damage if splashed on Good beings, restores 2d6 hit points to undead creatures) Dark, stagnant water. Water placed within becomes unblessed in 1d6 turns.
[7] Yew Wand (Spells deal +2 damage, Gains 1d6 Magic Blast attack at range - Requires To-Hit roll and deals damage typed as Necrotic) The Yew tree is poison and associated with dark magic.
[8] Stained Ring (Grants 25% Magic Resistance, alignment shifts toward Chaotic while worn) Golden ring that can never seem to be cleaned. The stains change every time you inspect it.
[9] Turnkey Raven (Delivers messages to minions; can carry things weighing less then 1 pound, indestructible) Lifelike raven with a turnkey slot. One crank lets it fly anywhere in the world.
[10] Skull Staff (1d4+1 Magic Staff, Necromancy spells deal +2 damage, can rattle the staff and raise up a corpse into a basic 1 HD skeleton or 2 HD zombie depending on its condition) Generic humanoid skull on a black wood staff. Charged with necromancer's power.

Signature Spell - Roll d8
[1] White Legion
The caster raises both their arms above their head and commands their army to rise. Every round, 1d10 skeletons (1 HD with 1d6 decayed weapons) rise from ancient soils- this effect continues even after the round the spell began, it's a constant effect, allowing the caster to fight while the ancient dead pour in from below.

This lasts until 100 skeletons have been raised or the ground is sanctified by a Holy Sword being shoved into the soil to stop the spell.

[2] Dispel Hope
Caster holds out their hand and strikes all within the range of their vision in front of them in the moment of casting. All struck become filled with despair, and loses a part of their will to live. Everyone hit by the spell has -2 to all saving throws. In addition; anyone under its effects automatically fails saves vs death if they have 50% of their hit points remaining. All Hirelings struck by this wave must also make a morale check to flee. On success, they stand their ground but lose -1 Loyalty.

This spell lasts until a rowdy fireplace song, a strong religious experience, or an exhilarating celebration of life.

[3] Electric Blue Tendrils
When cast, electric tendrils appear. Breaking free requires a supernatural level of Strength (+3 or greater) or several cuts with an axe or sword with a rubber handle. Each round you are trapped you take 2d8 shock damage. Trying to cut the tentacles with something not insulted will shock your hand instead, dealing 1d8 damage. The spell can target up to three human sized targets, or two significantly larger targets- assume each target has 1d4+2 tentacles wrapping around them- consider the tentacles as 1 HD creatures. This spells lasts for 3 rounds, or until all the tentacles are dead.

Most Lich spells are based on the dark arts of necromancy, or at least are powerful curses. Not this one. This spell conjures tentacles from random places they can crop up in the area; out from sand, poking up from sewer drains, out of boxes and bags, etc. These tentacles are being pulled in by an otherworldly entity, and are charged with unusual energies.

[4] Finger Beam
This spell is a ranged, nigh-inescapable version of the Death Touch attack the Lich has. The Lich's finger glows and fires out a beam that curves, sweeps, and spirals towards its target in a flashy rainbow lightshow. Save vs beams with disadvantage, or else you are hit with its effect.

If a PC or somebody else learns this spell, then the finger beam will do the same damage as their finger possibly could on a hard poke- so one damage if you aim for the eyes or something. You need to already have badass dark magic powers for this to be good, sorry.

[5] Pillars of Zircon
Conjures forth 2d6+2 pillars made of a strange, dull silvery metal. They rise from the ground, and are just about round enough for a man to stand on. The caster can ensure one appears under them on the round the turn this spell is cast, letting them ascend upwards.

These pillars can block an attack- consider each to have an AC of 14 and 2 HD in terms of raw durability. They are also totally immune to corrosion, and acidic or corrosive powers nearby them fail and weaken. You take -1 damage from acid attacks and spells if you're in the same room as the pillars, half damage if you are touching or standing on a pillar, and no damage from acid at all if you're standing among the pillars. Acidic liquid would turn to nasty water if splashed into the pillars, and the acid breath of a dragon would just turn into harmless wisps of vapor.

Note: These pillars don't do anything for the Lich's own Death Touch- as the only corrosive effect comes from magical aging. It does however seem to work against effects that speed up or create effects of advanced decay on undead creatures. Spells that putrefy are cancelled by these pillars.

[6] The Backwards Arm Curse
The target of this spell has all of their arms turn around backwards. The joints snap back (but don't cause damage). The arms will attack enemies of the spellcaster, and the victim of this spell is helpless to control his arms- the first round this spell is cast the arms will likely attack whoever was behind the target of this spell- stabbing and slashing with their own weapons- the cursed arms get the same attack bonuses, special moves, and magic items or weapons that the hands could have used. This means a powerful Fighter having their arm cursed means they'll attack with full strength to anyone who gets close enough- Meanwhile, the target of this spell loses their attacks or abilities that require hands, but still controls their voice and legs, so they can move others and warn them about their loss of control.

If the victim of this spell focuses all of their energies, they can make a saving throw vs spells to snap one of their arms back into place and regain control over it. Each arm takes a round to bring under control in this way.

[7] Orbs of Torment
This spell conjures forth three balls of dark energy; flashing with red lightning. The three orbs are summoned at the casting of this spell, but can be flung one orb per round by a simple point of a finger or order by the spellcaster. The orbs move slow enough that they can be avoided by running your full combat round away from them; no save otherwise.

These orbs are magical orbs of Torment. When they hit a living thing, they cut their current hitpoints by half. Getting struck by Torment feels like a mix of torture and exhaustion all over.

[8] Grotesque
This spell can be cast on anything within a stone's throw. Intelligent and living targets of this spell inherently resist it automatically if they are unwilling, as pretty much any living thing would object to being made into a Grotesque. If you are currently Dominated by the Lich, they you cannot resist the transformation. 

This spell utterly warps the subject, turning it into something loathsome and grotesque, hence its namesake. If this spell is cast on inanimate matter, it would turn it into a roughly animated golem or animated object(s) with stretched smiles, wrinkled faces, and cartoonish and frightening expressions. Living things are similarly made cartoonish, but always somewhat offensive and a sort of innate frightfulness like things that are scary to children. The Grotesque also acts like a caricature; its assumed and actual traits from before it was transformed taken to a absurd degree. For example, a Nobleman turned into a Grotesque would be very fat, lazy, and scream at everyone to pay taxes or order his "guards" (other monsters nearby) to take off their heads. All Grotesques are assumed to be Chaotic Evil, but will serve a more powerful master- a creature with higher HD. Remember; the Lich that made this thing counts as 10 HD for spells like this; so it will serve the Lich even if the Lich is more feeble then the Grotesque.

The subject of this spell becomes a 6 HD Grotesque, with stats befitting its nature. If it had a higher HD before, then roll 6 HD and keep whichever Hit-Point Total is higher. The Grotesque gains a few magic attacks, can cast Spells, and has an AC and other stats/resistances based on its composite material, or once again based on whatever it had before it was transformed in the case of a living thing. For example, a Grotesque made of a pile of bricks would be slow, but have high AC, and can throw bricks at 1d4+1 damage at range, twice per round. Grotesques are not undead, but are considered supernatural evil creatures and can be Turned / Exorcised as undead can.

The Grotesque also has innately has three abilities;

• Aura of Cowardice which unnerves the weak willed; retainers must make a morale check or flee the first time they are hit by one of its attacks or spells.
  
• Aura of Hate, which makes enemy spells and attempts to Turn Undead or cast holy magic have a 50% chance to fail within its presence, which lasts until it dies.
• Black Speech, which just means the Grotesque is constantly speaking, insulting, and generally saying awful things. Every round, it has a 1 in 6 chance to send a Curse at you, based on what it says.
  

Turning someone or something into a Grotesque is permanent. If you slay a Grotesque and are of Lawful or Good alignment, the Gods will reward you by curing any curse or disease you are suffering from in that moment for your service in smiting something so awful, or hopefully remove some of the curses you got for fighting it.

What are this Lich's signature kind of undead minion? - Roll d10
[1] Plague rats. Like thirty thousand. Not really undead, but can swarm and fill rooms like water.
[2] Skeletons. The Lich is constantly frustrated by their bumbling antics and awful bone puns.
[3] Zombies. Specifically, ones with iron parts, tools, and weapons nailed into their flesh.
[4] Mummies. Desiccated corpses raised on mass from ancient evil desert tomb.
[5] Corpse-Golem. Roughly stitched together, raised in an industrial assembly line.
[6] Animal skeletons. You don't see this as much as you think you should. Bone birds still fly.
[7] Black Puddings. Has one really big one that ate most of the others, named Princess.
[8] Ghosts. "Keeps" all of them in one really cursed mirror. Don't break it, seriously.
[9] Tomb-Golems. Always in the forms of religious figures; animated creatures but technically undead as the souls and blood are infused within the stones. Can't move while you look at them.
[10] Grotesques. Just a few handfuls of them, each a totally unique bastard to deal with. Normally these "fluff" tables at the end don't change the monster stats- but you should probably give the Lich the Grotesque spell if you get this option so it makes sense.

How has this Lich been spending its Centuries in Undeath? - Roll d8
[1] You know, catching up on chores, reading, taking some time to itself. Still.
[2] Plotting world domination, of course.
[3] Uncovering arcane secrets. It's Signature Spell is one of many prototypes they've invented.
[4] Involved in a complex string of plots with another immortal creature; friendly rivals.
[5] Becoming the absolutely uncontested master in a game that nobody plays anymore.
[6] Learning how to play musical instruments. All of them.
[7] Opening tiny accounts in all the world's banks, accumulating massive interest over centuries, and starting wars by sending out chain letters and fake notices of inheritance over them.
[8] Mapping of the next life. Every time it "dies" it has some time to explore around the next hill or talk to the next weird angel spirit-guide thing. Isn't mad when you kill its body.

What is the Lich's Phylactery? - Roll d20
[1] Pin stuck in a stuffed heart stuffed in a doll stuffed in the belly of a stuffed dog.
[2] Really old tortoise. May or may not be undead; hard to tell.
[3] One shard of a broken magic sword in a museum owned by haughty nobles.
[4] Its diary from when it was alive. Protects it for embarrassing secrets more then anything.
[5] The old church bell that hasn't rung right for over a century.
[6] Its soul inhabits its manse. Burn the house down; the lich's soul burns with it.
[7] Tarnished silver coin; face of a queen with a cheeky wink. In some random bank vault.
[8] Jet gemstone. Dodecahedron cut.
[9] Looks like an owl chick with glowing red eyes, cowers in an old oak tree's hollow center.
[10] Very old, fat blind koi in the lich's serene garden pond.
[11] Vial of pure spring water. Drink it and the Lich will hunt you down before you can piss it out- which is what actually counts as destroying it. Otherwise, your blood will go in the next vial.
[12] Magic necklace with a glowing purple amethyst. Gives sweet magic bonuses, to dissuade people from destroying it.
[13] Black ooze in a shadowy corner. Takes the form of a viper with a poison bite if you approach it. Cut off its head to slay the lich for good.
[14] Ceremonial golden plaque on the cornerstone of a castle, which the lich helped fund for a good king a long time ago. Too arrogant to use a pseudonym.
[15] One black scale on a white dragon. The dragon knows about it- and keeps it on its body in exchange for a lot of juicy treasure.
[16] Eternal flower kept in a glass case. One petal falls off each time the lich feels any remorse for its actions; it will also die permanently if all the petals fall off. 1d6 petals are left.
[17] Golden tooth kept in its body. Most people take it and sell it- its enchanted to be totally immune to fire so if people try to melt it down the lich can just retrieve it later when they reform.
[18] Electrified heart, in a box. If you touch it or bring a metal weapon within an inch; shocks you with 1d8 damage as a kind of defense mechanism. Stab it with wood, or just shoot it with an arrow.
[19] Tiny little 3 year old, blonde w/ pigtails, totally innocent villager girl. Enchanted to be eternally young and continually orphaned when her adoptive parents die of "random undead attacks". It's supposed to be a moral conundrum to kill her to stop the lich but if you just get her to drink some holy water it kills the lich's soul inside while she is totally unharmed.
[20] The Moon. Fuck you.

Idea shamelessly stolen from an edgy Japanese Cartoon

When it comes to the undead, not all of them are raised by a necromancer. Perhaps some are self-raising from having an unjust or traumatic death, or maybe evil spirits stalk the land to inhabit the bodies of the dead; which is why a proper burial is preferred. But it could also be something that nobody has any control over; an astrological effect, or the result of necrotic energy that naturally raises the dead to attack the living.

In order to keep their numbers done, people are called to hunt down the zombies when they come out during the night of the year when they rise up from the dead; the living-dead night. While the zombies will burn and disappear when the sun comes up; having them able to wander around and try to break down barricades or find people hiding is bad, so distracting them with armed citizens called 'Exterminators' is the best way to prevent mass death. Some Exterminators may die, but for many its exhilarating.

As incentive to slay them and keep their numbers down during the night; the church has set up a prize system. Every dead person is buried with a metal plate in their neck, so when they rise again as a zombie the slayer can keep proof of their deeds. When enough plates are collected, you can turn them in for prizes.

But what sort of prizes do they offer?

(This is from Dorohedoro btw)

Living-Dead Plate Reward Table

P.	Prize
1	Hard candies, bag of chips, plastic noisemakers, paper charm. Shit prizes.
3	One ticket for a random lottery. The grand prize is like $1000. Seems like a lot but its a lottery and you risked your life to kill three whole zombies and you aren't going to win it.
5	“I survived Living-Dead Night and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt” T-Shirt
8	Coupon for a free lunch for you and your friends at a local restaurant.
10	Hand knit blanket or pillowcases
15	Cans of spraypaint, firecrackers, etc. Appeals to that one insane group of children who kill zombies every year for fun.
20	Pet rats- start with two. For every three extra plates you turn in, get another one.
25	Ninja sword. Will break if you try to use it next year.
40	Small and convenient household appliance. Toaster oven, handheld radio, etc.
80	Actually useful appliances for households or small businesses. Air conditioners, meat grinders, small fryers, etc. Your PCs are shooting for this.
300	New car!

Ghost Generator + New Ghost Rules

So look. D&D has a long history of undead. Undead are classic enemies. They represent a unique challenge and certain class features (like Clerics or Elf Paralysis immunity) are built around them.

Here's the thing- Undead are boring. Not in concept, mind you. But boring in execution.

There are stats for zombies, skeletons, mummies, ghouls, stitched-up corpse golem things, vampires. Zombie dragons and zombie ogres or other monsters could also fill out entire books. Those are some corporeal dead- but you also have stats for ghosts, wraiths, wights, specters, phantoms, phantasms, spirits, and a bunch of other shit. This may sound hyperbolic but I know for a fact there are geists put into the rules as a separate entity to wraiths and ghosts and shit. It's absurd.

So instead, I'm going with something a little different.

How to Fight Ghosts
Ghosts are the spirits of the dead, stuck between this realm and the next. Ghosts are created when a person's death is very traumatic, or when the body and the last rites have not been given to the deceased. Both circumstances are very likely in monster infested dungeons, and as such, ghosts are very common there.

Ghosts are nonphysical beings. Though you can "touch" them and they can touch you, they aren't really physically there. Besides, they're spirits. Normal weapons don't hurt ghosts. You need magical or silver weapons to harm a ghost- or to use magic spells. If a ghost has its HP dropped to zero, it is temporarily banished. You can't kill something that is already dead. It is gone for this adventure.

The ghost will return to its haunt after one season, on the next visit to the dungeon, or if you keep strict time records; a number of weeks equal to its HD. It also makes sense that stronger ghosts come back faster instead of vice versa, so you could make it say 2d6 weeks - HD. If this is equal to zero or a negative number; the ghost can come back in one turn instead. This makes really powerful ghosts terrifying.

Every ghost is tied to something. Usually, this is where it died or where its remains are held. Sometimes it may be an object, which could be the item it was obsessed with before its death or lead to its death. Sometimes treasures can become incredibly cursed by people trying and failing to acquire it over and over- which could add an extra challenge for anyone trying to take it out of the dungeon. This is its haunt. Once you have separated yourself from the haunt, either by leaving the area, closing doors or portals that lead to it, or having washed yourself after touching the item involved with the ghost; the ghost can no longer attack you. Some ghosts are more aggressive then others, and some especially cursed ghosts may mark anyone who they haunt for death; chasing them to the ends of the Earth unless they can finally be banished.

The chance of a ghost manifesting once you disturb or enter its haunt an X in 6 chance, where X is its activity level. Antagonizing ghosts will make them appear immediately.

In my mind, ghosts should be like a spiritual version of a trap or hazard in the dungeon. "Don't stick around too long in the deep well room; a little ghost girl will crawl out and try to kill you." This may make them sound banal, but I disagree. The dungeon has a layer of spiritual or supernatural danger inherent in the stones itself, instead of it being just based on physical traps, magical spells, and the like.

Note: In my game, magic rods are available at character generation. They are 1d6 weapons that roll d20 + Intelligence modifier and shoot out generic beams of magic energy. They count as magic weapons, meaning early game characters are capable of damaging ghosts or other magical beings that are otherwise immune to normal attacks. Without these, ghosts may be impossible for low level characters to fight. You could also patch this over with things like magic sword oils, or force the players to rely more on their exorcism rolls.

Beyond fighting them directly, the main way to work around ghosts is to ward against them. There are several forms of magic that is commonly available and reliable that deal directly with ghosts.

• Magic Charms are small pieces of paper, wood, or bone that has been painted or carved with prayers or protective symbols. If placed over a doorway, window, hole, or other opening; a ghost cannot pass through this opening.
• Incense is a more expensive form of protection. Any place where the smell and smoke of the incense is present; ghosts don't like to manifest. It smells as bad to them as good as it does to you. Very aggressive spirits can only be driven away by the most pleasant of aromas. This essentially locks down a room as long as the incense is continually burnt. If you are a Cleric or Sage traveling around with a censer; you roll 1d10 on Activity Level rolls for ghosts.
  
• Puzzle Boxes are a form of trap for ghosts. If a ghost has lost half of their hit points or more, the next successful exorcism roll can force the ghost into the puzzle box. The ghost will be trapped inside until the puzzle box is solved and opened.
• Ofrenda or more simply "Ghost Bread" is a form of food that is left behind for ghosts. Every culture has a different form; some a bone wrapped in animal fat, another will be candies in the shape of skulls or bones. If left quietly in an area of a haunt, the ghost will be busy consuming the essence of the offering and will not appear for one exploration turn. However, this will also strengthen the ghost. Ghosts who consume the offering will gain +1 HD for the next week or until the next time they are defeated/banished.
  

Certain ghosts may be able to break these rules. Ghosts without noses (the ghosts of lepers or those disfigured/tortured before death) can't smell incense and as such ignore it. Some ghosts may also travel through walls, and as such, a magic charm won't work unless plastered all over a wall like wallpaper.

Notice how all these methods are temporary. Charms put in place to hold back spirits are likely to get taken down by curious monsters or slowly worn away by the elements. Puzzle boxes are a longer term solution, but its only a matter of time before the ghost slips loose. Perhaps the box gains an aura that draws people in to solve it, or perhaps the ghost slowly unwinds the gears and pulls free the nails until they can be freed. The ghosts are also influencing things; I imagine a wall haunted by a ghost will begin to bleed or stain over time, warping and decaying away the magic charms used to hold it back. Supernatural wind picks up and rips away a magic charm just as your party approaches the portal that was sealed to another ghost; but that may feel like the DM changing the rules for drama. If all the rolls were made in advance- then it's just a measure of presentation!

So these are all well and good, but how do you actually exorcise a spirit? I don't know. Why are you asking me? Do I look like an exorcist to you?

Below is a generator to make your own ghosts. Unless otherwise stated, roll once per table.

Ghost Generator
All ghosts begin with;

• 3 HD
• AC of 10
• Can only be hit with magic
• No Morale / Never Flees
  
• Activity level of 2
• Deals 1d6 damage on a hit
• Drains one level on a maximum damage roll
  
• Alignment of Neutral

Cause of Death - 1d12 (Roll 1d10 for spirits found in dungeons)
[1] Starvation (AC +1, Level drain on a damage roll of 5 or 6) Deathly thin.
[2] Drowning (+1 HD, 1 in 6 surprise) Bloated, hair floats. Can hide in murky pools.
[3] Combat (+1 activity level, +1 damage) Wounds visible. Murder makes unquiet dead.
[4] Poison (Save or be poisoned on hit; 1d6 damage per turn) They cough ectoplasm bile.
[5] Burning (+2 to hit) Eyes glow with embers, body is half ash and smoke.
[6] Suicide (-1 activity level, always surprised) Poor lost soul. Found crying or sitting silently.
[7] Decapitation (Throws head as weapon; deals 1d4) Laughs or screams in flight.
[8] Torture (+2 activity level) The more cruel and unjust, the more wrathful the spirit.
[9] Asphyxiation (Deals 1d8 damage on hit, grapples on hit- save modified by wisdom) Visibly wrapped in what strangled them.
[10] Eaten Alive / Acid (+1 HD and AC, has morale of 9 vs specific entity) Ghosts know no fear; except this one disappears if the one who ate it is made known. Form is horribly disfigured.
[11] Matyrdom (-1 activity level, add "Lawful-" to front of alignment, immune to Turning) They must have a good reason that they are still here. May guide the living, or rarely attack sinners.
[12] Old Age (-1 activity level and HD, alignment to Oblivious) Unusual to find in a dungeon. Will confuse party members with people from its life, act out things it died when alive. Weak spirit.

Form - Roll 1d10
[1-4] Ectoplasm (Can pass through walls) The default state of most ghosts. Slightly transparent, colors washed out and pale white skin. They do not have a physical body, but they leave behind a slight residue called Ectoplasm when they are "killed".
[5-6] Vapor (Deals 1 cold damage per round within melee range) These ghosts are made of dark or foggy vapor. They are still not physical, but are deathly cold and sap your strength if you are too close. The first clue you have when they manifest is you can see your breath in the room.
[7-8] Real (Always surprise unless you know they're a ghost) These ghosts appear exactly as they did in life; creating a very convincing astral form. They have a shadow and reflection. However, you can't touch them and will pass right through; but they are more "grounded" then ectoplasmic ghosts. The only hint that these are ghosts are their wounds that killed them.
[9] Formed (+1 damage, can be harmed by nonmagical weapons max of 1 damage) You can't actually see what these ghosts looked like in life; they are invisible but create "bodies" of materials like black water, goo, dust, blood, fire, etc. Because their bodies are slightly physical, nonmagical weapons can harm them, but only deal 1 damage.
[10] Light (Add Good to end of Alignment) This ghost is made of light. They may be blinding, or just softly glowing. Only very good, pure spirits can appear this way. They can still be banished unless they are religious spirits; but act as spirit guides. At the first sign of aggression, they'll just disappear and the dazzling light just disappears from the room along with the soul.

Tragedy - 1d10
Most people who die don't become ghosts unless their deaths were especially traumatic. Instead; spirits who remain are those with unfinished business or died unjustly. Some may seek revenge.
[1] Miserable (+1 HD) The ghost was simply a miserable, unfulfilled person.
[2] Wrathful (+2 to hit) This person died especially angry, or lived a life filled with violence.
[3] Cursed (Knows one 1^st level spell; once per day) Cursed to linger after death with dark magic.
[4] Obsessed (+1 activity level) Died still chasing something.
[5] Guilty (+1 AC, morale of 14) Died with a heavy heart. Possibly on the run.
[6] Lustful (Can possess sleeping people) Desperately wants to eat, drink, fuck- to feel alive again.
[7] Loss (Wail every-other round; 1d4 damage who all who hear it) Still cries out for their loved one.
[8] Forecasted (Instead of level drain; causes affected party member to roll a 1 on their next 20) This Ghost's death was known to it before it died. Might have died in bitterly ironic way.
[9] Diseased (Instead of level drain; infects with a disease) Harried by disease throughout life. May or may not have been actual cause of death.
[10] Abandoned (Causes irritability; party member who first spots this ghost loses -1 to all reaction checks until ritually purified) This ghost was abandoned by friends or betrayed before death.

Ghostly Power - 1d10
[1] Glow (Select a random stat. On hit; drains 1d4 of that stat) Unnatural, life-sapping glow.
[2] Red Eyes (+1 to hit, save vs paralysis or can't move if you make eye contact) Destined for hell.
[3] Bound (+2 AC, slow) Tied up in chains or heavy weights. Outrun by fast walk.
[4] Whispers (Treat HD as +1 for turn undead/exorcism rolls) Stained with spiritual energies.
[5] Knocker (Morale check for hirelings) Makes the sound of footsteps, slams doors.
[6] Darkness (+2 HD, dims light sources, torch=holy symbol) Powerful specter. Fears the light.
[7] Rotten (+1 HD and activity level) This is a punishment from the Gods; appear as your corpse.
[8] Giant (+2 to hit, reach) Ghost does not appear in scale from its life. It appears unnaturally large, either due to a deep routed dysphoria from its life or due to an inflated, undying ego.
[9] Poltergeist (Can launch objects- damage based on what's around) May remain invisible and simply attack with objects nearby; must throw a pinch of salt to reveal them.
[10] Blind (+1 damage, can't see) Maybe blinded before death, or lost sight as a spirit because they saw too far beyond the veil. Flails about. If you hold breath and stand still; can't attack you.

Visage
This is what the ghost appears as. Most of the time after death, the person will appear exactly as they did in life. But sometimes they appear differently. An old man may appear as his idealized younger self, a hunter as the animal they died trying to catch, or bad people appearing more grotesque as a spirit then their real body would suggest- their soul is no longer hidden in that shell.

Roll 1d10 for a normal ghost
Roll 1d10+10 for a weird ghost
Roll 1d20 for a totally random ghost

#	Normal	Unusual
1	Man or Woman	Man/Woman in ceremonial tribal garb
2	Child	Nearly featureless stone-statue
3	Elder	Swarm of rats / bats / snakes
4	Woman in a torn bridal gown	Weird Animal Person
5	Feral, naked wildman	Gigantic Beetle
6	Demihuman	Human-shaped mark on wall/floor
7	Horse or Wolf	Animated furniture; piano with teeth
8	Vague person-shaped slime creature	Localized weather effects
9	Generic faceless wraith w/hood	(Roll Normal) Tiny imp-sized version
10	Generic Bedsheet ghost	(Roll Normal) Levitating upside-down

Ghost's Haunt Table (Optional) - 1d8
The Ghost's haunt should be the place in the dungeon where it tied, or an object closely tied to its death. This table is optional to act as a launching point for ideas.
[1] Monster's lair. It's bones are in a big pile.
[2] Blank or seemingly empty room. Died there long ago. Just appears right behind you.
[3] Pool or well in the dungeon. Either drowned there, or body dumped there.
[4] Dirty mirror. If you look too far into it you'll see it in the reflection. Then it comes after you.
[5] Stairwell. Appears with a head twisted backwards; corpse at the bottom of shaft.
[6] Graffiti scrawled on a wall. It's the last thing they wrote. If you read it out loud, they manifest.
[7] Stone altar, dried with caked blood. If you hold a blade nearby; will confuse you for the evil high priest that sacrificed them to the dark gods and attack you.
[8] Golden ring. +1 Activity level if you're wearing it. Wedding band, or is the family seal of a noble who was murdered for it. Haunts you even after you dispose of the ring; give the money to charity.

Mechanics in Mechanics (Silence, Poison, Level Drain)

Silence

If you are under the effects of a Silence spell, you cannot cast spells. This is because you make no noise, and speaking is required to cast a magical spell. But the rest of your body makes no noise either, and as such you are now silent. Your footfalls are silent. You move like a silent film, creepy and weightless. You can only “speak” through pantomime, but you gain a great bonus to your stealth abilities. Either roll with advantage while sneaking or treat the Rogue skill of “move silently” at 100%

Ring of Silence

Ego- 3

If you wear this ring, you are silenced. You cannot speak or make any noise, though you do become incredibly stealthy. If your level + charisma moidifer is under this item's Ego score, it is cursed when you put it on and you cannot take it off without a curse removal spell or a Sage to cure it.

Poison

Everyone knows what poison does. It slowly drains your hit points unless you take an antidote, or outright kills you if it's a save vs death poison. As many people have stated, animals like snakes and spiders aren't technically poisonous, they are venomous, but the effect is called poison when it deals damage to you either way. But what if being bitten by something venomous makes you poisonous?

If an enemy bites you while you are suffering from a poison (made your save vs death poison less then one turn ago, OR you are suffering from a damage over time poison that has not yet been nullifed), the enemy who bit you must make a save vs poison or also be poisoned from tasting your infected blood. They get a +2 to the save for the second hand effect and weakening of the poison from it being in your blood, but if they fail the save they suffer from the same damage and effect the poison dealt to you. This means that getting poisoned and wading into battle with no armor against animals or monsters that perform bite attacks may not exactly be a valid tactic, but it could deal some damage back to your foes. Also, a character who is immune to poison may or may not be able to spread poison in this way; at the very least a character with an 18 Constitution may decide to drink some minor poison before fighting some blood sucking vampire-bats or something.

Level Drain = Unholy

In some games and settings, leveling up may literally be equivalent to gaining some god of godly Numen. Perhaps experience points are some kind of codified life energy, or literally gaining in some divine tract; as in some games the end-game for player characters may be to ascend to Godhood.

However, it could be thought that the concept of undead level drain (who coincidentally are also the enemies of the Gods, at least the Good Gods in most fantasy settings) is similar to being drained of this holy presence. But it could even be thought of as a form of infectious evil or UN-divinity. In the same way a man with a fever can touch you and you can feel just a fraction of his heat, a mortal who is drained of their levels can be anathema to the divine. You are still suffering more then the divine, but there is always the taint.

If you are suffering from at least one level of level drain, you can desecrate alters or holy items. The chance of success is X in 6, where X is the number of levels drained. It could be said that being level drained acts as a shield against the divine; perhaps even the followers of Gods you fight against will fail their smiting spells or lose their blessings if you touch them. You are like the opposite of clerical magic. Of course, evil gods who work with the undead maybe are either unaffected by this property, (such as their “numen” or godly essence is the opposite of life, in a sense, so level drain or negative energy is their primary energy?) or it is just that mortals who are highly level drained can desecrate and act as black holes for holy energy. There is no guarantee that offending the Gods in this manner will get you banished from their temples; or perhaps those suffering from one or more levels of level drain can be turned as undead; all the unclean ones are banished, even those who are still alive.

Dirt Simple Turn Undead

By popular request.

Trying out a drawing tablet

Dirt Simple Turn Undead

Everyone can Turn Undead. All you need is a holy symbol. I like more animist religious stuff, so I divide it into Magic Charms (one use, but cheap) and Holy Symbols (unlimited uses, but expensive). You can also put a Magic Charm over a doorway or something and it keeps spirits from going through it if you've already turned them, or like lock the spirit back in its coffin, but it's just a slip of paper so if somebody tears it off the spirit is free that easy. Really expensive holy symbols like gold ankhs or portable altars and the like give you +1 or +2 for the contest.

Everybody can only turn undead 3 times a day, regardless of the symbol.

When you decide to turn undead, the user holds up the holy symbol and says a prayer. Then, compare the level/HD of the Turner to the unholy creature;

If the Monster has a higher HD then the Turner's HD, then the monster cannot attack them for one round. Even a powerful demon or wraith will pause at the sight of the cross.

If the Monster has a lower or equal HD then the Turner's HD, the monster is turned and must flee.

If the Monster has less remaining Hit Points then the Turner's HD, the monster is destroyed.

Clerics, Sages, or other classes with a role involving dealing with spirits and the undead treat their level as being higher for the purposes of Turning. Something like +1 starting at 2^nd level, and going up every other level. So at 2^nd level they can turn a 3 HD Undead, at 4^th level Turner counts as 6 HD and are guaranteed to destroy a 1 HD skeleton, etc.

Also also; this is mostly a single target thing, but a really high level Sage could totally split up their HD worth of turning power to rebuke a whole room of zombies. If you don't like the idea of a 1^st or 2^nd level Sage/Cleric being able to destroy undead this early on in the game, just make it so you have also have a higher level then the monster's HD in addition to beating it's current Hit Points

Also 3: Add your Wisdom modifier to this contest, because it fits and Wisdom sucks anyway. Gives a little more character variation and makes Cleric or Sage-types more likely to want to play them if they get a high Wisdom at character creation.

Undead Simplification + Ideas

I'm kind of annoyed by monster manuals. Certain things are cool, like making up new monsters and the like, but some things are annoying. It comes with the territory of course; but the fact there needs to be slightly different rules and write ups for virtually identical creatures, or basically inventing new creatures based on commonly used words to refer to many at once, is just a sort of normal tabletop thing. It's not even necessarily bad, it just agitates me a bit.

No where more is this obvious, at least to me, then undead. Like I get the difference between zombies, skeletons, ghosts, and vampires. Things like that. But then you ghouls, wights, mummies, wraiths, ghasts, phantoms, all kinds of silly shit. In D&D, I'm pretty sure all of these are write ups for different creatures that fall under the class of undead being. Once again, I understand why this is done; it's to create more varied monsters to encounter, and undead being an important type of monster its important to keep all of these as unique entities of varying power levels for use in games.

But what about simplicity for the sake of simplicity? Here's some equally pointless reductionism.

Ghouls are the most basic type of undead, and usually result from a corpse being disturbed or buried improperly. They are unliving corpses, animated by sheer malevolence. They tend to be very hungry, living out things they did in life stupidly. Skeletons and zombies are incomplete or weak Ghouls; draining more blood and life force will make them more whole. Maybe really powerful ones explain vampires or liches or something; they just ate their fill and have regained mortal cleverness.

Wraiths are ghostly entities, more like spirits. They may be dead who were cremated, or a dead person missing body parts; returning their body parts to their corpse and resting place may be enough to put them down. They aren't totally physical, and as such can only be hurt by magic weapons or spells. They are usually made of grave dust and always appear as that generic hooded figure floating around.

Ghosts are a separate thing. They aren't undead and typically can't manifest enough to hurt anyone. They're just the spirit of someone who died and hasn't like “passed on” yet.

Death = Sleep

When people die, their corpse shouldn't be disturbed. The best “rest” a dead person gets is when their body is entombed around family members, with treasures of their life, in a sanctified tomb, and so on. The less of these qualities that they have, the more “unrest” they get. Highway bandits killing a person and leaving their corpse for the birds is very likely to create a very unhappy corpse, and that corpse is likely to get up and start haunting people. Sometimes this creates a revenant, an undead obsessed with killing those who killed it.

More commonly though, undead are created when people disturb their tombs, or they weren't buried in the first place. Raising zombies and skeleton minions through necromancy is more just about disturbed and defiling tombs, and then binding the spirits into your service once they wake up; hence the whole “zombies secretly hate the necromancer and will kill them the moment their chains are broken” sort of trope we see a lot in fantasy media.

It should also be noted that more powerful beings leave more powerful corpses, hence they're more likely to get up if not placated. Of course, the corpse could be the actual person just sleeping in the ground, or a different “soul” if you subscribe to that theory. This is why ancient Kings and Heroes are always buried with tons of treasure and around traps and stuff; otherwise you'll have a powerful spirit on your hand.

[Class] Thanturion

You are a Legionnaire with a very special skill. You are among the rank of the Immunes, a soldier with specialist skills, making you exempt from guard duty and some of the most grunt work in the legion, but still expected to fight. Your special talent, especially, is not particularly desirable.

There are some people close to death. Like those with a special connection to their Lares, or family's house spirit, except yours is for the dead. Your voice and face calms them, and you can lead them. The Thanturions are a special group of individuals in the Roman Legion, meant to lead the spirits of the dead away from the camp or fortress, so they do not seek revenge or haunt the men. You bang raise a black standard and bang on a tin drum which makes a horrible noise, and lead these spirits of Rome's fallen foes away from the Empire's expanding border. Sometimes, you're called to do this in battle, among enemy fire or appearing as though you are deserting simply to divert the forces of the dead and undead away from your men. Maybe you deserted for good, got separated in a strange land, or maybe you are a veteran and discharged after a long degree of military service. You still have your talent, and the dead still follow you.

Thanturion

HD- d8

Maximum AC- 16 / Minimum Starting Hit-Points- 5

The Thanturion is a legionnaire with a very specific duty. You can sense the spirits of the dead nearby better then most, and are likewise more visible to them. You're a mix of a soldier and a cleric. You are well trained in the use of all standard legion weapons, carry heavy armor, and can march all day. Set your Constitution to 12 if it is lower.

At 2^nd, 5^th, 8^th, and 10^th level, add +1 to hit with all weapons.

At 4^th and 7^th level, add +1 to damage with all attacks.

You cannot turn undead, even with magic items. Even in a game where everyone can turn undead, you can't do it. Instead, you only bring attention to the dead on yourself by moving, speaking, and especially by playing instruments or waving a black standard. By getting the attention of the dead, they follow you. Undead will not attack you unless you are leading them to a place they cannot follow (such as a church) or unless if you mock or spite them. Even though you may be a member of the army that conquered their people, they don't see you as a foe by default.

You can successful enrapture spiritual undead, such as noncorporeal beings like ghosts, revenants, or anything that has risen from its grave on its own power, equal to your level in HD. If your level is twice that of the undead's HD, they will be put to rest if led to a peaceful or spiritual place.

You can successful enrapture physical undead, such as ghouls, Frakenstien-esque medical monsters, or flesh golems as equal to half your level in HD, rounding down. If your level is thrice that of the undead you are leading, they will be disabled for 1d6 exploration turns if lead to a peaceful or spiritual place.

At 10^th level, you become a Morturion. By wearing a special silver mask, you can hide your presence from the undead, becoming invisible to them. By waving a black standard, you can also rally any undead following you to attack your foes as though they were a spiritual legion. Their morale for the attack is equal to a 10 + your Charisma modifier.

Additionally, if you are still with the legion, you become the leader of the Thanturion Immunes and receive double pay.