7 Ways to Raise the Dead (And 1 Way to Explode them)
There are many methods to get the dead to rise. Intents and methods vary from village to village, what is taboo to do the dead here may be acceptable one ridge over. Travelers would do well to learn these types of dead.
One: Anyone killed in absolute cold blood will rise again in the morning to begrudgingly follow their killer. They will not take commands or orders. When their killer is slain they are free to roam the world.
Stats as zombies.
Two: Approach the witches in low lying caves with a remarkable tribute to their past glory. Over the next seven days they will feed you bitter remedies and drain your blood three times. Then take your jars to the nearest delta and make a man of mud and fill its insides with your blood. For as many fingers there are in the river that many ghouls will rise in your likeness. They are obedient, but may never learn. Upon the last one being killed the caster turns to mud.
Stats as ghouls.
Three: One life is much too short to get what needs to be done finished. Those who have read the relevant grimoires can sacrifice a level to rise again after death. Each level sacrificed is tied to a task the reverent must take on. Upon completing that task the level is lost. Once a reverent finishes all their task they are finally at rest. This should not be confused for eternal life. Only 1 month per sacrificed level is given to the undead before it is dragged to the underworld, work finished or otherwise.
Stats per sacrificed level(s).
Four: Necromancers are some of the most charismatic folks to be met. Their entire exigence relies on it. Death is the ultimate logic. For a necromancer to raise the dead they must convince the dead that they are still alive with sound arguments of logic. The undead raised by these charlatans are fully sentient, remembering their lives in full. A necromancer may raise one sentient undead per HD. Upon encountering something that would contradict the assertion that raised them the undead must Save vs Breath or dissolve fully.
Example. A grave robber convinces a knight his wounds were superficial and that the grave robber is in service to the lord. The undead knight will follow him loyally. In battle the knight's innards are spilled revealing the rotten flesh inside. He fails the save and becomes vapor in the night.
A lucky necromancer 8HD finds the corpse of a giant 6HD killed by famed hero. It talks the giant's corpse back to life by convincing it through the assertion that the hero never existed. The necromancer spends 6HD to raise the giant.
Five: Undead abominations and constructs usually outlive their masters. Fuzing parts of beast, man, and monster can quickly leave the tethers of control. For every aspect of a creature 1,000 gold must be stitched into the corpse. Constructs will not obey masters that have two HD less than them. Every 1,000 gold equals 1HD for the abomination.
A researcher 3HD takes the body of a dog and the head of a dragon and stitches them together. The construct can breathe fire as a dragon and has the speed of a hunting hound. The construct is 2HD and will listen to its creator.
An acolyte 5HD makes a construct out of eight different creatures. The resulting beast does not obey its commands and flees the laboratory to skulk the countryside.
Six: Bury anything with the weapon that killed it and the corpse will vanish. The essence and life going into the cold steel.
Stats as ghost. Damage as weapon.
Seven: Dig up the bones of a beloved leader and fashion them into armor. Hunt and slay a predator of the land, water, and air to gather their blood. Paint the armor in the gore and sing an old marching tune in the middle of a graveyard. An army of the dead will follow you so long as you wear the armor and wet their bones with the blood of the blood of the living. After the first battle they will demand flesh, after the second clothes, the third weapons, and finally after the fourth they will demand souls.
Corpse Explosion Preserve the congealed blood of a stubborn nag in honey. Look upon the corpse you want to explode and eat the preserve. The corpse will explode dealing its HD in damage. Save against Death or catch the rotting disease if caught in the blast. Causes 2d6 hours of intense UV nausea.