Good "undead" type

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Before I go and homebrew my own take on the idea, I'm sure I 've read somewhere that there's some creature type that's effectively like an undead, but good aligned - like a friendly ghost, that sort of thing.

Anyone got any clues? I'm looking for Pathfinder 1st Ed, but D&D 3.x would be simple enough for a bit of conversion.

[Zanos]

You're probably thinking of the Eberron specific Deathless type, which are essentially undead powered by positive energy instead.

The lore for elves worshiping their unliving ancestors is neat but I thought the type itself was a bad idea.

[Aldrakan]

Before I go and homebrew my own take on the idea, I'm sure I 've read somewhere that there's some creature type that's effectively like an undead, but good aligned - like a friendly ghost, that sort of thing.

Anyone got any clues? I'm looking for Pathfinder 1st Ed, but D&D 3.x would be simple enough for a bit of conversion.


In Pathfinder there's the prana ghost, which is essentially a ghost that isn't directed towards being evil, powered by positive energy.

[Metastachydium]

The deathless type (good undead running on positive energy) is also featured in BoED (pp. 157–158), by the way (and that version has precious little to do with elves).

[Kurald Galain]

Ectoplasmic creatures are usually evil but not mandatorily evil; that's probably closest to what you're looking for. Ghosts and Wyrmskulls have no alignment restriction either.

[Prime32]

You're probably thinking of the Eberron specific Deathless type, which are essentially undead powered by positive energy instead.

The lore for elves worshiping their unliving ancestors is neat but I thought the type itself was a bad idea.
It's been around before Eberron, it just was never a big thing. IIRC "positive-energy undead" started with 2e mummies, then was extended to some Forgotten Realms creatures (including a type of good-aligned lich). Though Deathless as a separate type didn't exist until 3.0.

Both the FR- and Eberron-specific varieties of deathless are reminiscent of sokushinbutsu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu) monks, and Eberron's undying/ascendant councillors also resemble depictions of Chinese xian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xian_(Taoism)) (particularly the part about first achieving a "body of pure yang", then evolving further into "vapour" and gaining the ability to travel between realms).

[OrbanSirgen]

Well, you could always take a look at Ghostwalk...

[Fizban]

Before I go and homebrew my own take on the idea, I'm sure I 've read somewhere that there's some creature type that's effectively like an undead, but good aligned - like a friendly ghost, that sort of thing.

Anyone got any clues? I'm looking for Pathfinder 1st Ed, but D&D 3.x would be simple enough for a bit of conversion.
I expect what you're looking for specifically is the Sacred Watcher template, from Book of Exalted Deeds (unless Pathfinder made their own version). It's a one-for-one copy of the Ghost template, except deathless, with a different set of not-spooky-evil special attacks, and they're created when an particularly virtuous person dies protecting someone- continuing to protect that person until someone else can take over.

There's one more "friendly ghost" that I can't remember the name of, but I don't think it was deathless, and it was more of an "I like fighting so much I'm going to latch onto people and make them better at fighting even if it kills them!" sort of thing.

[Rynjin]

That would be...a Ghost (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/ghost/), the basic template. They're not required to be Evil or even necessarily angry or unfriendly in Patfhinder.

[RedMage125]

It's been around before Eberron, it just was never a big thing. IIRC "positive-energy undead" started with 2e mummies, then was extended to some Forgotten Realms creatures (including a type of good-aligned lich). Though Deathless as a separate type didn't exist until 3.0.


2e mummies were still undead, just not always evil. Namely because so many were created voluntarily for the sole purpose of defending a tomb from potential grave robbers.

The good-aligned liches in FR (baelnorns) were also still undead, and not animated by positive energy. Becoming a baelnorn was considered a sort of self-martyring sacrifice, because it required the individual to turn its back on a great deal of what elves stand for (being an abomination of nature), and never get to go to Arvandor (elf afterlife) in order to protect a place or family line forever. They were absolutely still undead, and not deathless.