8 ways to UPGRADE the Undead in your D&D games! | Liches, Zombies, Vampires, Ghosts, and more!

[@demetriusdemarcus2134]

Im gonna run a One Shot where my players fight a super powerful wizard, and then run a full campaign where the wizard comes back as a lich to finish what he started

[@TheClericCorner]

That's so cool! I LOVE when the tables one shots interact with the campaign!

[@emilymitchell6823]

Love the idea of an Artificer Lich whose series of phylacteries are the Power Cores of Constructs that they can teleport into and pilot. Every single one of your videos sparks ideas!

[@TheClericCorner]

Thank you! Love your add!! Sounds so cool!

[@duncbot9000]

Is that just Robotnik? Creating constructs powered by the life force of captured people or critters!

[@danwebber9494]

I like the idea of a miles wide effect zone moving across the world as a powerful undead travels to… somewhere.

[@TheClericCorner]

Yeah! Even a traveling darkness no one knows what is within 👀

[@aaroncunningham8307]

Don't forget that you can make a surprising amount of creatures from just one corpse, and then make them work together! What appears to be one zombie could suddenly unravel into Skin Kites, a Skeleton, a Boneless made entirely of muscle, a Mohrg intestine, Dread arms, Crawling Claws and lord knows what else.

[@TheClericCorner]

Haha true! So much potential!

[@Ravenovia]

I’m not sure what video to put this comment under, but one move that I think is super underutilized is the idea of the Mole PC. Basically, you enlist one of your friends-maybe another DM who wants to play for a bit, or maybe even a Homebrew creator who wants to play test something before publishing it-to be a Twist Villain. Tell them what kind of general direction you’re wanting to go, and then collaborate with them on creating a character that accomplishes that. Have the Mole then join the party under the guise of wanting to be an adventurer in the campaign. Of course, this tactic won’t fit all groups, so make sure your players are comfortable with this sort of thing. Done wrong, it can break their trust, but done right, it can bring a powerful moment that leaves them gripping the edge of their seat.

[@TheClericCorner]

Great points! Personally haven't done this, but definitely on the bucket list!

[@rickthompson3843]

The druid-lich in Candlekeep Mysteries lead to one of my favorite scenes every played at a table. Without spoilers, it nearly split my party when they had to destroy its phylactery.

[@KrazyMateo]

Actually setting up a series of one shots involving a coming apocalypse by the release of a god of undead controlled by a Lich and the players have to survive undead hordes and the dead land that was once their home, so this came out at a fantastic time

[@scepta101]

I like to take inspiration from the cause of death or method of funerary rites. An undead who floats around in a semi-corporeal form made of burning ashes, with red hot coals as eyes because the person was cremated or burned on a pyre. An undead who underwent the horrific, Norse saga-inspired rite of blood eagle. This undead flies with wings made of its own ribs, and exists on a revenant-like vengeance quest to kill those who made it undergo the blood eagle in life. Maybe it kills people and steals their lungs, inserting the lungs into its own body so it can feel the ecstasy of getting to breathe again as if it were still alive, even if only briefly.

[@d4n737]

With a Death Knight character, I pretty much explored every single angle of how it feels to hopelessly travel the world as an outcast, constantly starving but with no stomach, constantly thirsty but with no mouth to drink. The loneliness and feeling of constantly falling apart to die. Then rise up. Again and again and again...

[@FlutesLoot]

Undead need to be scary again, so thank you for bringing up the many unexplored concepts surrounding them.

[@MusingsFromTheJohn00]

I'd like to see you do this with nature; plant, animal, fey, or elemental based monsters.

[@TheClericCorner]

Absolutely! It will often coincide with my magazine that I put out every month 👍

[@Dream-Reaver]

I’m in a friend’s homebrew campaign world called Eazra and his bbeg is a mummy lich that is made of crystals called eazite. All of these crystals are part of different schools of magic that are all over the world. The lich is trying to absorb these crystals into his body to gain enough power to restore his body and take over the world.

[@TheClericCorner]

OMG that's so cool!! If there is art for this lich, you need to drop it in the discord 😂

[@Dream-Reaver]

@@TheClericCorner Yeah sure I can send you a picture.

[@TheClericCorner]

@@Dream-Reaver great! Discord link is in the description if you aren't already in there. There is a channel for all art!

[@simondimock]

Thanos mummy!!!!! Awesome.

[@MrSalvo2295]

I had plans for an archfey lich. They essentially brought the fury of the seasons upon a party and they tied in really well into one of my players backstories because they were their patrons paramour basically. And so you had them able to warp reality on their lair based on their emotions. Was really fun!

[@TheClericCorner]

Would love to see that lich in action!

[@jakob_mil8343]

I can’t wait for the Ravenloft vid!

[@TheClericCorner]

Soon 😈

[@trevynlane8094]

I ran a campaign where a small town was cursed by massive atrocities to make the area an undead spawning zone (mostly ghouls). Some notable undead that they met inside: the town blacksmith was a friendly dwarf ghost who doesn't realize he is dead and continues forging like nothing is wrong. The town leathersmith is a ghoul that is willing to exchange his crafts (some made with humanoid skin) for fresh meat. The local (desecrated) church is haunted by a ghost cleric that will actively aid any characters that visit her, providing healing words and a safe place to rest. There is a banshee in the town market who is the former town mage. She can provide lore, magical casting, and divination support. The town curse makes it so that any who die in town come back as an undead creature.

[@TheClericCorner]

Very creative! Love it

[@JamesWilliams-rp4ll]

An idea I had that could be used for both a PC and an NPC: a Monk vampire who feeds off ki, as they don't have enough of it and need it to survive. Stunning Strike would be reflavoured to the ki being siphoned from their enemies' souls. You could play a Way of the Long Death monk trying to prevent the inevitable, or have an underling Mercy Monk who only heals himself...

[@95mphtonberry54]

Everytime I hear someone talk about intelligent undead, the first thing I think of is the skeleton army in the movie, Army of Darkness, with one of them is playing a femur flute and later where one runs by yelling, "Let's get the hell out of here!" From what I've seen, I think more DMs should add the occasional piece of humor to their Curse of Strahd or gothic horror campaigns; a *little bit* of comedy sometimes makes the tragedy/horror more impactful, or it might slow the players down from becoming desensitized.

[@TheClericCorner]

Oh I need to see that! But totally agree with the humor thing. If done right, even humor can be scary

[@323starlight]

Pointy Hat proposed a pretty cool Bard lich. I forget the name but essentially its a Lich who lives on through the memory of their magnum opus.

[@Mandarb2002]

In one campaign, my players ran into something strange. They've been told that there are zombies about, but during their 1st night at the Inn... they awoke to strange noises. Those people who where still in the tavern where all silent and had dimmed the light as to not attract the undead. Unlucky for them one of the players fumbled their stealth dice and tumbled down that old staircase. That loud racket was of course then a reason for the undead to lay siege and break into the tavern. So far, nothing strange... I know. But those undead turned out to be zombie cows, sheep and dogs. Followed by your regular zombie townsfolk and a few zombie village guards. At the end, there was an artefact in that town that created all sorts of undead, and that had been activated by a cult. They wanted to study that artefact and it's abilities. Sadly, my players didn't manage to get it... there was an enemy NPC party that grabbed the artefact and fled with it. Just imaging what that thing would do if activated in the middle of major city. I agree, there it's fun to create other things that are undead! I pray you never have to face down two or more zombie cows who have cornered you in a tavern room, ready to crack your skull to get that tasty brain of yours :D

[@OwenOliver-xw5yx]

you're not the only one who thought about other classes as lichs for dnd

[@TheClericCorner]

Never claimed to!

[@voidjockey82]

Now I really enjoyed this and found the ideas and given examples all stellar. And to hopefully help the audience in letting their creativity make something spectacular, I have tried to summarize and explain them all as a fundamental idea/principle. So here's my whole take on the thing, let's get started: The most crucial factors for for creating any major undead entity is the personality of the character, their circumstances and their motivation. Let's start with an established concept; the traditional Lich is a wizard, i.e. they are a scholar of magic, who studied and practised Necromancy to extend their life. This is iregardless of their motivation, it was simply the means by which they did so. Therefore, anyone could theoretically become a Lich by this method as you only need access to the knowledge to replicate the effect, just like how anyone could study magic and become a wizard if they have the time and resources. So the question is: What made them seek out this specific version of undeath? And the answer to that lies in the three above mentioned factors. Here, the classic wizard wishes to extend their life to continue their research of magic, therefore they are open to any form of undeath that leaves their mind in-tact. Adding to that, being a scholar, they would know about Necromancy and so becoming the traditional Lich is an easy to make decision. But they could also know about different forms of undeath through their research which means they aren't restricted to merely that one. They could know about Vampires and hunt one down for its curse, have read about Demons and make a Pact, seek the strength of Gods of even Outer Beings, maybe they still do it by their magical prowess alone but instead of Necromancy they use Transmutation and alter their body. Now, we see that the same circumstances can lead to different methods as determined by personality and motivation. similarly For example, a druid would value the harmony and balance of nature, seeing death has its place and should not be messed with; they would never become undead via Necromancy. Instead, anything that could be considered natural would be something for them, such as seeking aid from a God of Death as they are still part of nature or perhaps the nature they protect itself sustains them. And the exact same could be achieved by a Paladin or Cleric of a God of Death or Nature. So if you wish to make a major undead entity, think about who they are/were, what the circumstances they existed in were and their motivation that led them to becoming undead (as it doesn't have to be the goal, it could also be a by-product). And it doesn't even have to be a sentient entity or could have become sentient through the process or maybe instead lost its intelligence. Go wild and have fun.

[@voidjockey82]

Now for an idea I have, it would be the inverse of the traditional Lich's evolution and slightly based on TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for those who don't know). The classic Lich, after having spent unknown time researching the intricacies of magic, has achieved the ability of discarding their body safe for a few residual parts to be even more in-tune with the magic itself, becoming a Demilich. My idea was what if instead of this ascension so to say, we have a devolution, a regression to something more crude, perhaps even something alive. What if the process of becoming a Lich was faulty or the Lich was defeated and their phylactery broken so now their undead and broken body slowly withers away with the soul inside? What happens to the Soul once vermin come, flies lying their eggs so the maggots can feast, rodents crawling from the gutters of their dungeon to nibble at what remains, carrion birds finally getting their meal? The idea is the Soul is connected to each of these being that consumed it (whether that be only one species, a certain number of beings but with different species, any in a certain region, etc.), a great and terrible hive-mind that can fight on a much grander scale, not necessarily with magic but with tooth and claw and sheer number. Though who knows, maybe they can inhabit parasites and possess people as such or maybe with enough numbers even the animals can conjure magic. What is important is that you need to get every last one to finally be rid of the monster... though maybe with each inhabited being slain, a piece of the soul and mind is lost as well?

[@milk_choc7889]

It might be a fun idea to tie a lich's phylactery to a _concept,_ like a spell that they invented. The players must destroy every instance of that spell on a spellbook, or even convince every spellcaster who knows it to give it up.

[@TheClericCorner]

Ooh...ooooooooohhhh

[@Lavenderlore1043]

One could say the variety of ideas on the undead are like a hoard. Love the video btw, very creative.

[@TheClericCorner]

Haha hoards and hoards of creativity! Lol

[@gwinnondavis9284]

I had an idea for a Druid Lich who's skeleton was partially visible with wooden muscles. Such as they still had their skull, but the lower jaw was replaced with a tree wood version. They also have Weeping Willow like "hair" as an addition.

[@TheClericCorner]

Ooh, I need art for something like that!

[@norikwiese8900]

You might want to read the "Burning Kingdoms" triology* by Tasha Suri. It Features a disease called "the rot" that Turns flesh Into Wood. You can propably take a Bunch of ideas for descriptions from there *the two of three Books that are released Thus far

[@Nethar6]

I am german and I have no idea what you tried to say at 7:00 the only german folklore creature matching your discription that I know of would be the "Wiedergänger". Could you write down the name you tried to pronounce there so I can look it up

[@CoatiNasua]

Yes, please! I‘ve got the same problem/curiosity, could you please write the name down for us?

[@TheClericCorner]

Nachzehrer :) Sorry if I didn't pronounce it right!

[@Nethar6]

@@TheClericCorner Ah, that translates as "After feeder" and I know it as a kind of ghost instead of a coporeal undead like a zombie. But folklore is full of small differences like that, go across the next river and you might hear the same tale differently. For better pronounciation make the "Ch" sound far in the back of your mouth and draw out the "zehr" part

[@TheClericCorner]

@@Nethar6 thanks for the tip!

[@Leniathan]

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