How to play as an undead PC?

[SociopathFriend]

Are there any guides for 5e and how to pull off playing a thinking undead that isn't a Lich/Vampire/Mummy?

I'd just really like to play a skeleton, zombie, ghoul, or just some manner of not-living but also not-dead being. I've always really liked semi-dead characters like Raziel from Soul Reaver or Stitch from the Barbarian game and would like to emulate that in D&D.

Any ideas for how to make such a concept usable in a campaign and not broken?

[nickl_2000]

Undead is 5e is very rough. All healing spells, except goodberry, have specific riders on them that they don't heal constructs or undead. Also the inflicts no longer heal undead like they did in previous editions. So, that makes for an almost impossible character.

[ChangeSumFlux]

I’d say the best place to start is talking to your DM. If they allow home brew, I bet there is home brew out there that you can find. Make sure it’s balanced according to your DM.
If all else fails, a pretty good way to do it is take the race you wanted, stout Halfling for example, and modify it. Keep the normal stat changes (+2 dex, +1 con) but swap the abilities like Luck and/or brave for not needing air/food/water. Or you could just use the normal halfling stuff and make it all roleplaying. Maybe mechanics don’t need to be changed, it’s all how your DM wants it.

As for roleplaying, you’d have to find some magic/disguise so you can interact with normal people without them getting frightened. If your DM is good he will keep this as a fun interaction a lot making you be careful talking to “normal” people. Powerful wizards and stuff might find your state interesting and want to study a sentient undead however you were created. Again all up to how the DM wants to play it.

For backstory there are plenty of options- some good ones are you dig yourself out of a grave, no memory of your past self, trying to brave the new world and figure out who you are/were (especially good if you still have recognizable features). Another option is the potential that you were created by necromancy and are an anomaly and have full sentience. Fun stuff like that.

To conclude, my advice it talk and manage expectations with your DM

[JellyPooga]

Homebrew race?

Ability Scores: +2 Con. Undead are resilient and tough.

Dead: Undead do not breathe, sleep or eat and have no requirement for such.

Darkvision 60ft

Subraces

Skeleton
Ability Scores: +1 Dex. No flesh meand skeletons move quickly.

Bones Malone: Proficiency with Musical Instrument: Trombone Resistance to Slashing and Piercing damage from non-magical weapons.

Zombie
Ability Scores: +1 Str. Dead flesh feels nothing and has fewer limits than living.

Undead Fortitude: (see MM)



...or something like that.

[solidork]

Theres a Vampire PC race from Planeshift: Zendikar. Also the Revenent subrace from the Gothic Heroes UA.

[Mortis_Elrod]

There arena couple ways to heal undead.
Very few spells, I thin good berry and Aura of Vitiality are the noteworthy ones.

A few class abilities though,
Balm of the summer court for dream Druid

Healing light for Celestial warlock

Song of rest on the Bard
Second wind on a fighter
Wholeness of body on a open palm monk

Map you def have options though the most undead like option might be undying warlock. Whole motif is everlasting life

[GlenSmash!]

Theres a Vampire PC race from Planeshift: Zendikar. Also the Revenent subrace from the Gothic Heroes UA.

Revenant would be the easiest way to do this.

Zendikar Vampires aren't undead.

[KingFerret]

This is a character concept that I've always loved too and have also played a couple of times in games so I feel obliged to reply here to pass on any wisdom I may (or may not) have.

You have a few options in 5e to represent an undead character, although as far as I know, none of them are entirely official.

Option 1: The Revenant race from an old unearthed arcana. I think it was called Gothic Heroes. This is the most 'official' option. I found it frustrating though as it lacks a lot of the flavour I want (e.g a revenant still needs to eat, breathe, sleep etc). If you don't care so much about that then this might be the easiest to get DM approval for.

Option 2: There are some homebrew undead races about on the internet. I don't care much for any single one in particular but there are a few around. DnD Wiki has a couple.

Option 3: Adapt a race from a previous edition. This one I'm not so sure on, as I am not very familiar with older editions, so maybe another playgrounder could advise better here, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the older editions of DnD had playable udnead races you could adapt for 5e and then use.

Option 4: Homebrew your own. When I have played an Undead character I've used a regular 5e race as the base, taking all of the usual races stuff, and then adding in the following things:


No need to eat or breathe. Become inert for four hours instead of sleeping for a long rest.
Resistance to poison damage and immune to the poisoned condition
Vulnerability to radiant damage
Change creature type to undead


This might not be the most balanced option, but my DM has always been fine with it. It helps if you don't pair these changes up with a class/multiclass combo that your DM considers op or munchkinny (e.g coffeelock)

Hope this helps!

Damn, when I started typing this there were no replies yet...I'm slow

[Sirithhyando]

Are there any guides for 5e and how to pull off playing a thinking undead that isn't a Lich/Vampire/Mummy?

Theres a Vampire PC race from Planeshift: Zendikar. Also the Revenent subrace from the Gothic Heroes UA.

It was asked to be un undead that isn't a vampire. :smallwink:
Anyway, the zendikar vampire isn't considered undead.

You could look up the "Revenant" from the UA Gothic Characters. In 4th ed it was considered undead but I just went to see ans this time... it isn't considered one.

Anyway, it's probably better to see with your DM, start with a regular skeleton and change it to make a playable character.

[SociopathFriend]

It was asked to be un undead that isn't a vampire. :smallwink:
Anyway, the zendikar vampire isn't considered undead.

You could look up the "Revenant" from the UA Gothic Characters. In 4th ed it was considered undead but I just went to see ans this time... it isn't considered one.

Anyway, it's probably better to see with your DM, start with a regular skeleton and change it to make a playable character.

Well Vampires in my experience would be horribly broken as a PC race/

[BlueHydra]

I think somewhere on this website is a comic strip with a long storyline on how to do just that.

[ToastyTobasco]

Talk with your DM about making an undead in the lines of Undead from Divinity Original Sin 2. Basically walking skeletons.

Healed by Poison, immune to bleeding, use fingers for lockpicks, can play dead to be ignored by enemies, hurt by healing magic and theres a device that lets you disguise as different races but you have to have to rip the faces off corpses for ot to work. People are terrified or hostile to your normal appearance most of the time.

In the game, you can even eat modly food to heal an undead (since it would harm normal people).

Theres ways to tinker and make it work. As long as you dont tack on a load of extra effects, it can be balanced and even fun. Need to check something for poison? Give it to the undead. Party should be wary if he says it tastes great.

[CTurbo]

I agree with Revenant. It's by far the easiest way to do this.

Talk to your Dm about being a Skeleton or Zombie. The quick homebrew above is a decent start.

Skeleton
+2 Con, +1 Dex
speed 30ft
saves Str and Con
immune to poison, charm, exhaustion
resistant to piercing damage
vulnerable to bludgeoning damage
Don't need eat or sleep
60ft darkvision
proficient with simple weapons and short sword



Zombie
+2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Dex, -2 Int
speed 20ft
saves Str and Wis
immune to poison, exhaustion
don't need eat or sleep
60ft darkvision

Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the zombie to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5+the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the zombie drops to 1 hit point instead.

[Grim Portent]

Apart from the Revenant subrace from UA, there's the two different Planeshift Vampires, though both lack the undead type.

Personally I use this homebrew (http://www.dmsguild.com/product/222229/WH-Awakened-Undead-Character-Race-Includes-five-subraces-for-Skeletons-Ghosts-Revenants-Ghouls-and-Mummies?sb=1). It's got stats for some good basic undead, none of them strike me as unbalanced, especially since the ghost subrace in it got revised to be less good at touching people to death.

[AnimusBane]

If you want to go for a homebrew race the hybrid nature trait from the UA with the centaur. I'd give it immunity to being destroyed by turning undead but still vulrable to the fear like effects of it.

[Joe the Rat]

Be in my game, get a psychopomp spirit to bind you to your familiar, and walk into a wall of instant death.

The net results: Fettered Soul (aka Junior Lich)

Undead Nature: You don't need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe. You must still take 8 hours to long rest to recharge that necroplasmic goop that powers your systems.

Resistance to poison or necrotic damage (pick one).

Inconvenient Lack of Biological Functions: Normal healing magics and potions do not work for you. With a little research time, you can cook up a variant formulation or spell variant that will work for you as well as the living. (It wasn't an issue for our game, as the genius in question is also the resident medic). You also lack certain other bodily functions. Like not digesting things. Or being able to put your dangerous allure as a walking corpse to romantic use.

F is for Fetch, Fetter and Phylactery: Your familiar is what is keeping your soul bound to the world, and you are its purpose for being. So long as one of the two is intact, the other can be brought back. (Specifics should be established). This also means that losing both reduces you to a mundane corpse, ripe for minion creation. How ironic.

Note that you can use objects as your link (a fetter) instead of a spirit creature... I didn't have that route come up yet. As your connection between here and beyond, you must have your fetch or fetter with you to benefit from a long rest. This is why you don't stick it in a safety deposit box on another Plane for safekeeping. Maybe you ought to figure out how that indestructible mummy heart thing works.

[Particle_Man]

If your undead is immune to exhaustion that makes the berserker Barbarian attractive.

I think the dmg has rules for npc races including skeleton and zombie fwiw.

[SociopathFriend]

Huh, it turns out my current DM was okay with the idea if I use the idea under him (previously he was not but that was months ago), though with some heavy stipulations.

1st off- I had to use the Kobold Template. I am not an undead Kobold but he clearly wanted the strength restriction for the skeleton factor.
I do not get Pack Tactics nor do I know Draconic (he still intends for me to pick a race/background which would give the extra language besides Common) but otherwise I get the -2 Str, +2 Dex, Darkvision, Grovel/Cower/Beg, and Sunlight Sensitivity.

2nd off- My current undead virtues that we talked out:
No need of food, drink, or breath
Resistant to piercing
I am vulnerable to turn undead
I am not immune to mental spells
Healing hurts
Necromatic heals
Restored with rest
And I mentioned I would like to store daggers in my rib-cage and he did not say that was a no-go, so hidden items is good to go.

3rd off- While unrelated to the concept I thought I might as well list my rolled scores (unassigned)
17 - 12 - 13 - 10 - 8 - 17

Seems like a bit of a challenge but I knew that going in when trying to run an undead PC.


If your undead is immune to exhaustion that makes the berserker Barbarian attractive.

I think the dmg has rules for npc races including skeleton and zombie fwiw.

I knew I forgot something- exhaustion. Oh well, I'll bring that up when we start a new campaign and I run the concept. Do Warforged get exhausted?

[nickl_2000]

I knew I forgot something- exhaustion. Oh well, I'll bring that up when we start a new campaign and I run the concept. Do Warforged get exhausted?

Yes, but not from lack of sleep.

[Sception]

A note on not needing to eat/sleep/breathe: for most characters, in most campaigns, these traits are little more than ribbons. If you're basing your homebrew on an existing race and sub out one or more actually meaningful mechanics for these features, the result will probably be significantly weaker than the race you started with.

[SociopathFriend]

A note on not needing to eat/sleep/breathe: for most characters, in most campaigns, these traits are little more than ribbons. If you're basing your homebrew on an existing race and sub out one or more actually meaningful mechanics for these features, the result will probably be significantly weaker than the race you started with.

To be fair we wrapped up the undead-talk at the last minute, I'm quite sure we'll talk about it more the next time we get together and/or when we playtest it.

Currently I probably am going to be weaker than the average party member (especially with the only negative-stat race in the game as the template) but I'm willing to bet additional advantages will make themselves apparent before long.

No poison and no disease for example were not specifically mentioned during the "Zero session write down all the details of this oddity" talk of the character but these would obviously rise up as benefits once he says I take poison damage and I respond with the point that he had very specifically stated I would be a skeleton- which has no muscles, flesh, blood, lungs, nor anything else of moving poison through the body.

[Vogie]

If you want to take a look at the Undying Warlock patron, it's effectively that, just without the undead creature type. Some things to glean as possible class features would include that always-on Sanctuary towards other undead, slow aging & immunity to magical aging, lack of need of food/water/air, and the ability to reattach limbs while healing.

You could make the argument that it would be either an decrease of physical stats (as you're mostly dead, thus less strong, dexterous, and easy to defeat, con-wise) or the increase of physical stats (as you will have no limbic limitations to strength, may have literal holes in your body to exploit to "dodge" attacks, and are incredibly resilient, as you were already dead).

[Exocist]

Undead (specifically Zombies and Skeletons) are statted as Races in the NPC races section - you could ask to use one of those.

[SociopathFriend]

Undead (specifically Zombies and Skeletons) are statted as Races in the NPC races section - you could ask to use one of those.

For the longest time I kept looking at my DMG and failing to find this section- then I realized my pdf was for 4e. I feel bad. Can you post the relevant sections because I'm having no luck finding a 5e DMG pdf.

[Exocist]

For the longest time I kept looking at my DMG and failing to find this section- then I realized my pdf was for 4e. I feel bad. Can you post the relevant sections because I'm having no luck finding a 5e DMG pdf.

Sure thing, their stats aren’t great (they’re pretty horrible) though

Zombie
+2 Con, +1 Str, -6 Int, -4 Wis, -4 Cha
Immune to poison damage and poisoned condition
Undead fortitude
Darkvision 60ft
Can’t speak but understands the languages it knew in life

Skeleton
+2 Dex, -4 Int, -4 Cha
Vulnerable to bludgeoning damage
Immune to poison damage and poisoned condition
Immune to exhaustion (frenzy barbarian viable?)
Darkvision 60ft
Can’t speak but understands the languages it knew in life

[Greywander]

It so happens that I've been working on and playtesting a homebrew undead race, and even came up with (what I believe to be) a zero-sum template (i.e. you are neither stronger nor weaker, just different).

So, you would still pick a race, and then apply the template below:

Undead Nature. Your creature type becomes Undead. This results in both benefits and penalties:
Benefits. You are immune to disease. You do not need to eat or breathe, but you can ingest food or drink if you wish. Although you are still able to sleep, you do not require sleep, and can choose to remain awake while resting. (Note: you still need to rest to refresh abilities and recover HP.)
Penalties. While spells and effects that only target humanoids, such as hold person, no longer work on you, spells and effects that target undead, such as detect evil and good, protection from evil and good, and Turn Undead now affect you.
Most magical healing specifically does not affect undead, and therefore does not affect you.
Most humanoids that learn of your undead nature will assume you are evil and a monster.

Darkvision. Even the most elementary undead are able to see in the dark. You have darkvision out to 60 feet.

Immunities. You are immune to poison damage. You are immune to the exhausted and poisoned conditions.

For this undead race, I have a skeleton subrace. Removing the paralyzing touch (borrowed from the lich), you can also get a zero-sum skeleton template by adding the following to the above:

False Appearance. While you remain motionless, you are indistinguishable from a normal skeleton.

Dismembership. You can freely detach body parts without causing any damage to yourself, and dismembered body parts can be reattached. Dismembered body parts are able to continue to move and act and can be controlled by you. Each individual part has blindsight out to 1 foot, but can only discern the tactile nature of things within its blindsight.
You can only reattach your own body parts, you aren’t able to, for example, replace a missing arm with an arm from another creature. If you regrow a detached body part, such as with the regenerate spell, the detached part becomes inert and turns to ash.

Brittle. You have vulnerability to bludgeoning damage.

Pass Straight Through. You are resistant to piercing damage.

I can attest that the bludgeoning vulnerability is a major liability, as many forms of damage, such as falling, are bludgeoning. In one playtest, I got one-shotted by a priest with a mace.

I also have a subrace for a "fleshy" undead, but it's largely inspired by vampires. For example, they get a draining touch attack and are harmed by running water.

The full race/template also has a few racial features to mitigate the difficulty in healing yourself. These shift it from being zero-sum to being stronger with the template than without, but you can talk to your DM if he thinks these are acceptable or not.

Vigor Mortis. Using a bonus action you can spend a hit die to heal yourself, rolling the hit die and adding your Constitution modifier to the amount rolled to determine the number of hit points you restore.
You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Finishing a short rest restores one use of this feature, while finishing a long rest restores all uses of this feature.

Immortal Dead. Whenever you are reduced to 0 hit points, you automatically stabilize. Even decapitation can’t kill you, although it will probably remove your ability to see, hear, or speak (Note: not for skeletons, though; see Dismembership feature). There are only a few ways you can be permanently killed:
If you received enough damage to kill you instantly, as described on page 197 of the Player’s Handbook.
If your body is disintegrated, as with the disintegrate spell.
If your body is completely destroyed in acid or fire. While at 0 hit points, when you take acid or fire damage, your maximum hit points decreases by that amount instead. This reduction lasts until you finish a long rest. If your maximum hit points reaches 0, you die.
If the lichstone that resides in your chest is destroyed. Your lichstone can only be attacked while you are at 0 hit points, and is immune to all damage except bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from magical weapons. The lichstone is a black pearl with 20 hit points and AC 25.
If you take radiant damage that reduces you to 0 hit points or while at 0 hit points, you do not stabilize and must make death saving throws like normal. Subsequent radiant damage causes you to fail death saving throws as normal, but all other damage does not.

This list specifically includes multiple ways to permanently kill you that a peasant village would be able to put together if they knew you were undead (including the most popular of all, fire, but throwing off a cliff works, too), but gives you a lot of leeway to come back after a fight if your enemies don't know you are undead or what your weaknesses are. Also note that if you go with a skeleton, falling down the stairs can literally kill you from massive damage. A skeleton with a fear of heights, now that's an interesting character concept.

[JellyPooga]

Hmm...just a thought, but assuming a homebrew skeleton race, would you allow it to speak? I mean, no lungs; no voice, right? Might be implications for spellcasters.

[Greywander]

Hmm...just a thought, but assuming a homebrew skeleton race, would you allow it to speak? I mean, no lungs; no voice, right? Might be implications for spellcasters.
I actually came up with an interesting justification for a skeleton that can speak, eat, and drink, as well as why gagging or blindfolding them would stop them from speaking or seeing.

Basically, if we think of a ghost, it has a ghost-body with ghost-eyes and a ghost-mouth and a ghost-stomach, etc. This gives the ghost limited physicality, as it takes a strong willpower for the ghost to manifest enough to affect the physical world. But it does explain why the ghost can see and talk, and, when they do manifest physically, they can move things and eat and drink etc.

Now, in a sense, a living person is just a body that is "possessed" by that person's own ghost. The body provides the physicality so that the ghost doesn't need to manifest physicality. Thus, an undead is similar: a corpse "possessed" by a ghost. In the case of a skeleton, it only provides partial physicality; the skeleton can physically move things around but obviously lacks any kind of organs, or even muscles. The "ghost-body" then acts like a puppeteer, manipulating the bones like muscles to move them. Since the body is its own, it requires much less willpower to manifest to the point that it can move its own skeleton. The skeleton can see using its "ghost-eye", which can be covered with a blindfold. The skeleton can talk because it has "ghost-lungs" and "ghost-lips" and a "ghost-tongue", thus gagging it prevents it from speaking. It also has a "ghost-stomach", so it can eat and drink, and, more importantly, benefit from potions. But it can also just let food and drink pour out of its rib cage by not manifesting the "ghost-stomach".

This justification is kind of sketchy, and it raises further questions (can you manifest a ghost limb to replace a missing limb? is the ghost body visible while manifesting? do you need to actually breathe in order to talk e.g. with an audible inhale?), but it at least offers some kind of explanation as to why it works and how to counter it (for example, blindfolding and gagging a skeleton wizard works just as well as it does for a living wizard).

[Sception]

Hmm...just a thought, but assuming a homebrew skeleton race, would you allow it to speak? I mean, no lungs; no voice, right? Might be implications for spellcasters.

by the same logic the skeletons shouldn't be allowed to move, given the lack of muscles, ligaments, nervous system, blood, etc. If you allow animate skeletons, I see no reason not to allow articulate skeletons.