Mind flayers, undeath, and resurrection oh my!

[Inevitability]

Okay, I stumbled upon a real weird bit of rule text and would like to know how it works.


Eventual Comeback (Ex) The Far Realm parasite that powers a Thoon infiltrator can survive the death of its host, then revive that host. When a Thoon infiltrator reaches –10 hit points, it doesn’t actually die. All life functions cease, however, and the Thoon infiltrator is functionally a corpse for the purpose of resolving spells that affect dead bodies.

It takes a DC 25 Search check to detect a slight vibration in the neck-tentacles that indicates that the creature is not fully dead. Removing the tentacles from the neck (a bloody process that requires a full-round action) kills a Thoon infiltrator for good.

If the tentacles aren’t removed, a Thoon infiltrator can effectively resurrect itself. After it has spent a month in the near-death state, a Thoon infiltrator returns to consciousness at full normal hit points. It then frees itself from burial with dimension door and tries to reestablish contact with its mind flayer masters.

It is considered a corpse, you say? Well, how interesting... (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/animateDead.htm)

If you animate the infiltrator, though, what happens after a month? Does the zombie suddenly burst apart, revealing the infiltrator? Does the infiltrator return to life, albeit still looking like a zombie? How about making it a skeleton? I'm pretty sure those neck-tentacles are attached to the spine.

[Segev]

I've seen two ways to run animate dead wrt skeletons vs zombies:

1) The caster chooses at time of casting (as long as there's anything but a skeleton left), and if he chooses "skeleton," the remaining flesh drops/explodes/sloughs off; and

2) The choice of which it comes back as depends on whether there's enough flesh to count as a "zombie" left on the corpse.

In case 1), I would argue that the parasite counts as "flesh" which is removed by the skeletonization process. In case 2), the corpse re-animates long before it would decay to skeletonized state.

In either case, a zombie of a thoon infiltrator likely returns to being a thoon infiltrator of the appropriate creature type, ceasing to be undead (or under the control of its animator, unless its animator is also its illithid master).

[ExLibrisMortis]

The ability doesn't mention the resurrection spell, which is a bit odd.
The resurrection spell, which works like true resurrection in this regard, states:

You can resurrect someone [...] who has been turned into an undead creature and then destroyed. [...] undead creatures can’t be resurrected.

As long as the zombie remains animated, it can't be resurrected.

I agree with Segev, noting that under interpretation 2, it's just a little more gruesome to manually remove all the flesh (which will definitely expose the parasite).

[Flickerdart]

Nothing suggests that the Thoon Infiltrator stops being undead. By RAW, after a month has passed the zombie that was formerly a Thoon Infiltrator suddenly heals to full HP and wanders off to look for its former masters.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Nothing suggests that the Thoon Infiltrator stops being undead. By RAW, after a month has passed the zombie that was formerly a Thoon Infiltrator suddenly heals to full HP and wanders off to look for its former masters.
Well, it would've lost its intelligence score and memories, so it wouldn't know who its former masters would be. Good point on the undead-ness, though. Animating an infiltrator gives you one free heal, for full health, one month after their death. That's it.

[Flickerdart]

I suppose you could interpret "returns to consciousness" as regaining its old self, since a zombie's undead pseudomind is definitely not consciousness of any sort.

Oh, also, if the zombie was for some reason buried then it would free itself with dimension door - despite no longer being able to use that ability normally.

[Segev]

Hm. Strict RAW-reading is tricky, here. It says it "can effectively resurrect itself." It doesn't say "as the spell," and the wiggle-word "effectively" steps it off a little further from any strict reading of the spell's effects. Corpses are not creatures; it is treated as a corpse for all effects until that month has passed. So when it "regains consciousness," it clearly stops being considered a corpse. Lacking any contrary RAW, it would seem it comes back as what it was before.

However, when animate dead is used on a corpse, it becomes a(n undead) creature. Undead creatures cannot be resurrected (as the spell), but can they be "effectively resurrected," that is, returned to life? Definitely well into "DM can call it either way" territory.

As DM, I'd go with allowing it, because aberrations are weird, and Thoon is weird even by their standards.

[atemu1234]

I like this.

Also, what would a skeleton with neck thing attached look like?

[Flickerdart]

I like this.

Also, what would a skeleton with neck thing attached look like?
Like a skeleton with neck things attached.

[Segev]

It does specify that it revives the host. This actually gives more RAW support to it returning the thing to life. Technically, too, it states it's treated AS a corpse. Not that it stops being what it is, as well.

Since it frees itself with dimension door, it would seem it never loses its traits as the original Thoon Infiltrator. Thus, I suspect that it remains a Thoon Infiltrator after revival. Interestingly, it might revert to being a zombie when it "dies" again, though.