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The Vorpal Tribble
2010-09-05, 10:20 PM
It seems that the undead arise from everything from planetary destruction to bowel movements.

If you die in water you come back as this, if you burned to death you come back as that, you die while tying your shoelaces brings about another shambling chunk of necrosis.

For fun and serious, list possible ways to die that'd be the basis for an undead creature. I'll put them here on the first page and homebrewers out there can look through them to use as inspiration (or amusement).


1. Won - This brute was blessed with luck his whole existence. Everything went his way, and his life charmed... but in the end he died like any other mortal. Unable to cope with losing, even to Death, he arises to bring bad luck and death to those still lucky to be breathing.
2. Giggling - This creature died while laughing so hard that it keeled over. It's spirit now seeks to bring laughter to others... telling tales so hilarious none living can bear it.
3. Sight - An undead creature that died right before losing his eyes. The original creature faithless and believed in only what he saw. Unable to see himself dead and his spirit left him, the corpse raised from the dead in order to see proof of it's death. The undead creature is only able to see the eyes of others: blind and deaf to all else. It hunts the living and futilely jams the eyes of its victims into its face in the sad hope of seeing the proof that would give it peace.
4. Math - This creature spent too long on a single math problem only to get it wrong, and barely at that. The frustration was too much to bear by its weakened body, and it died on the spot. Now it haunts forever speaking math incessantly to anyone within ear shot. And god forbid you be working on math, because all of his answers sound right, but are actually wrong.

Orzel
2010-09-05, 10:32 PM
3. Sight I once had an idea for an undead creature that died right before losing his eyes. The original living creature was faithless and believed in only what he saw. Unable to see himself dead and his spirit left him, the corpse raised from the dead in order to see proof of it's death. The undead creature is only able to see the eyes of others: blind and deaf to all else. It hunts the living and futilely jams the eyes of its victims into its face in the sad hope of seeing the proof that would give it peace.

watsyurname529
2010-09-05, 10:33 PM
4. Math: This creature spent too long on a single math problem only to get it wrong, and barely at that. The frustration was too much to bear by its weakened body, and it died on the spot. Now it haunts forever speaking math incessantly to anyone within ear shot. And god forbid you be working on math, because all of his answers sound right, but are actually wrong.

(Can anyone tell that I was just doing math homework?)

Edit: Number Ninja'd

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-09-05, 10:36 PM
4. Math: This creature spent too long on a single math problem only to get it wrong, and barely at that. The frustration was too much to bear by its weakened body, and it died on the spot.

http://www.gabeswebsite.com/images/funny/math_suicide.jpg

unosarta
2010-09-05, 10:40 PM
Snake Bite: This undead would come from a person being bit by a snake, and dying from the poison. It would secret a poison in their fangs, and have an especially powerful bite attack. Their skin appears almost scaly.

Decapitation: An undead whose head was cut off, this undead is funtionally blind, and is constantly searching for their head.

Bleeding Out: An undead who died from blood loss, this undead would be similar to a vampire, in that they would attempt to drink the blood of their victims. They would likely continue bleeding out from the same wound, so they wouldn't really gain any longterm benefits from the blood they drink, maybe only a short term bonus, or something. They appear to have blood seeping out from every pore, and are constantly licking themselves where the blood appears.

Disease: This undead died from a disease, and constantly spreads disease, wherever it goes. It would likely have an aura of pestilence. They have a sickening haze that spreads around them, killing plants and small animals.

Heart Failure: This undead died of heart failure. They have an aura of fear, or some-such, and appear as a regular undead, but where their heart would be is a gaping hole.

Brain Tumor: This undead died of brain cancer. Their head is swollen, and they have an insatiable need to eat brains (unlike most D&D zombies.)

Cut in Half: This undead was sliced in two, lengthwise. They are almost always together, but function as if two undead. When they are within close proximity, they usually attempt to press back together, unsuccessfully.

Electrocution: This undead died of massive amounts of electrical energy coursing through them. They still carry that electrical power, and use it to shock prey, before they eat it. Their skin smokes with the latent heat of the energy that resides within their body.

Hyperthermia: These undead died from extreme heat. They still retain the heat, and have a scalding touch. Their skin is slightly of a reddish color.

Hyopthermia: This undead died from extreme cold. They still are freezing to the touch. Their skin is slightly blue, and their lips are completely blue. Their eyes always stay unmoving, as if frozen in place.

Frozen to Death: These undead died from being literally frozen to death, all the bodily fluids frozen inside them. They are partially made from ice even now, which never melts.

Drowning: This undead died from drowning, and can force others to drown with a touch. They appear soaked and covered in aquatic plants.

Death via Acid (Hydroclauric is known to kill): These undead died by being totally immersed in Acid. They still drip acid off of their bodies. Their flesh appears to be barely held together.

Stomach Rupture (eating too much): These undead died when they ate too much food and their stomach ruptured. They appear as a lumbering, giant hulk, that is constantly hungry, and willing to eat almost anything.

Blunt Force Trauma: These undead had their bodies beaten into a pulp, and now are beaten and crushed corpses, barely able to walk.

Lit on Fire: These undead died when they were lit on fire. They still retain the fires that killed them, and they wreath around their bodies, creating ominous shadows and whisper and dance.


I could go on, but that would entail reading more of the 1000 ways to die Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1000_Ways_to_Die_episodes), and I am already feeling sick.

I can add ways for them to be undead if you want me to later, but for now I am going to go never think about that show again. :smalleek:

[Edit]: added back story and description.

Zaydos
2010-09-05, 10:45 PM
5. Rabbit-Food: This creature was killed by a small, white rabbit. It has risen again to hunt down and kill small, furry animals often putting them in conflict with druids.

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-09-05, 10:49 PM
I could go on, but that would entail reading more of the 1000 ways to die Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1000_Ways_to_Die_episodes), and I am already feeling sick.
Wow, the Darwin Awards were a show!

My first thoughts as I'm looking through those is 'please, please tell me they haven't produced offspring...'

unosarta
2010-09-05, 10:56 PM
Wow, the Darwin Awards were a show!

My first thoughts as I'm looking through those is 'please, please tell me they haven't produced offspring...'

Well, they are all dead now...

Obligatory Rimshot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yl3UMO-TkE).

I am writing up possible backgrounds for the deaths now. A couple had to be cut because they were just sort of implausible, but the rest look OK.

[Edit]: ...And, done.

Fable Wright
2010-09-05, 11:09 PM
Another way for undead-
Arcane death: A human, elf, or other humanoid spent at least 5 years or more trying to learn the "Impossible Spell", the spell that is undecipherable, can come back as an arcane dead. Encoded for a thousand years in cave glyphs, many arcane scholars attempted to decode the meaning, and way to use, the spell. However, many who worked on it would mysteriously die. Most of them close to their 5-year mark working on the spell. After this point, they have finally managed to decipher the meanings of the spell. It turns out that the spell's only use was that when someone learned to use it, a really annoying song gets stuck in their heads for eternity. After just one night of hearing it, their soul gives up and leaves their bodies behind. Unfortunately, they can still hear the song. These spirits wander the world, turning other arcane spellcaster's spell slots and prepared spells into really annoying songs stuck in their heads, dealing damage to the caster's sanity and willpower.

Xallace
2010-09-06, 06:34 AM
Death by Chocolate: This creature was enjoying its time eating a favorite ice cream flavor... when suddenly one of the chunks of chocolate got lodged in its throat! Now this spirit noiselessly wanders the world, wracked by regret and invoking chilly, sugary vengeance upon those who would get in its way!

Quietly in Your Sleep: This spirit lived a long, good life and died peacefully in his sleep. WHAT A SHAME. Enraged by his lack of truly interesting death, this coporeal undead shambles through the night, saving creatures from their doom so that they will never know the glory that was taken from him!

Pig Eater: This creature was completely misanthropic and died soon after unrelatedly eating the flesh of a pig. Now, its rotting, half-human-half-pig form bounds across the world, summoning armies of undead pigs and inciting small children to kill each other on deserted islands.

SlyGuyMcFly
2010-09-06, 07:00 AM
Blaze of Glory: This undead died a true heroe's death charging headlong into the enemy, and went down swinging and with their boots on. While their soul has moved on to better places, their body recalls the surge of pure adrenaline and battle-frenzy of it's last instants and attempts to replicate it by cutting a swathe of mindless destruction until put down again.

Procrastination: In life, this person was a veritable master of putting things off for later. Naturally, once dead, they attempt to put that off for later. Usually a minor nuisance at best, given their laziness.

Malbordeus
2010-09-06, 07:12 AM
Death by Disintegration - the dust of the creature, infused with negative energy swirls angrily around aattempting to get inside a living creature to just have a body again for a little while...

Peregrine
2010-09-06, 07:51 AM
By my count, we're up to...

28. For Want of Brain Bleach
Yes, it's possible to die from too much SAN loss. You just don't hear about it much, because most people headed for that fate get consumed by unspeakable eldritch horrors first. But there are things that can destroy the unprepared mind just as effectively as Cthulhu. And if you look into the eyes of this undead horror, you just might see such a sight reflected in the lifeless blackness...

(For some reason, this reflection is often bright, rectangular, and has a small orange fox or a blue letter e in one corner.)

29. Insanely Overpowered Fireballs
This hapless ex-adventurer's spirit was slain by an evocation-happy mage who was supposed to be on its side. Its incorporeal form, looking like a puff of oily smoke and presaged by the smell of sulphur, now traps and slays mages who use fire spells.

Yes, Irregular Webcomic (http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=189&theme=2&dir=first5) is a ripe source of ideas for this thread.


Quietly in Your Sleep: This spirit lived a long, good life and died peacefully in his sleep. WHAT A SHAME. Enraged by his lack of truly interesting death, this coporeal undead shambles through the night, saving creatures from their doom so that they will never know the glory that was taken from him!

Alternatively, this creature roams the world, killing anyone, especially the elderly and bedridden -- but always taking time to make the death as spectacular as possible -- so that they will not have an uneventful entry to the afterlife.


Procrastination: In life, this person was a veritable master of putting things off for later. Naturally, once dead, they attempt to put that off for later. Usually a minor nuisance at best, given their laziness.

Died from falling injuries, after putting off fixing that loose step one time too many.

ArcanistSupreme
2010-09-06, 09:47 AM
30. In Pursuit of Knowledge
In life, this being sought to discover and catalog the secrets of the universe. When it's death came too soon for it to reach it's goal, it refused to accept failure and wrenched itself back from the void. Now it wanders the multiverse, relentlessly pursuing ancient artifacts, new species, and unique forms of magic. And as a famous field researcher once said, you can't make a revolutionary discovery without dissecting a few adventurers.

Debihuman
2010-09-07, 10:00 PM
31. Death from Food Poisoning. The ultimate undead barf as a "breath" weapon.

Temotei
2010-09-07, 10:22 PM
32. Death by Great Sound

This being was subject to an immense sound. Whether from a dragon's best roar or from a powerful sonic spell, their hearing somehow caused their demise. Upon hearing this great sound, they died. Various explanations have been given, such as the eardrums exploding, or the part of the brain registering sound simply dying, causing the other parts to die with it. These are just theories, however, as these beings are never easy to research, as they scream so loudly when a creature draws near that die in the same way this poor being did--by great sound.