People die but communities... don't (3.5, PEACH)

[Realms of Chaos]

Necropoli
Medium Undead (Incorporeal)
HD 6d12 (39 hp)
Speed 10 ft. (2 squares); Fly 10 ft. (perfect)
Init: +6
AC 18 (+3 Dex, +5 Deflection); touch 18; flat-footed 15
BAB +3; Grp --
Attack Slam +6 melee (1d6 damage)
Full-Attack Slam +6 melee (1d6 damage)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Call Forth the Dead, Master of the Dead
Special Qualities Blindsight 60 feet, City-Bound, Incorporeal Traits, Undead Traits
Saves Fort +2 Ref +4 Will +8
Abilities Str --, Dex 16, Con --, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 20
Skills Hide +13, Intimidate +13, Listen +13
Feats Improved Initiative, Ghostly Grasp (LM), Improved Turn Resistance (LM)
Environment Any Urban
Organization Solitary or Damning (2-5)
Challenge Rating 6
Treasure None
Alignment Usually Neutral Evil
Advancement 7-9 HD (Medium); 10-12 HD (Large); 13-15 HD (Huge); 16-18 HD (Gargantuan); 19-21 HD (Colossal)

No two necropoli look exactly the same, each one reflecting the nature of their town and the means by which it’s citizens were slain. The only features that they hold in common is that no necropoli has ever been known to possess a face.

Necropoli are odd and terrible beings, created when an entire community is slain nearly at once. Though some claim that these necropoli are the undead remnants of zeitgeists, there is little evidence to support this claim. Whatever the case, the existence of necropoli frequently prompt conquering nations to consecrate the lands of their slain enemies and bury the dead a good distance away, lest they be slain by the very foes they vanquished. As far as behavior, necropoli are a diverse lot but it all of them inhabit a town and use the dead of that town to fortify its buildings from further attacks. It isn’t uncommon for a necropoli to guard their town until almost nothing yet remains aside from a rough facsimile of a town formed of ancient, rotting bodies. Some are more curious and “playful” than others but they are all cruel and sadistic creatures.
Necropoli know all languages that were spoken by those who lived in the community, though it can’t speak through its own body.

Combat
Although necropoli can wield traditional weaponry, most prefer to use their bare hands if they choose to fight at all. Most of them prefer to fight indirectly, using the dead bodies at their disposal.

Call Forth the Dead (Su): As a full-round action, a necropoli can call forth dead bodies from the ground, calling upon those that died before the community was even established. 1d4 zombies or skeletons (necropoli’s choice) with equal or fewer HD than the necropoli claw their way to the surface anywhere within 30 feet, traveling through any material with up to 10 hardness and leaving no usable tunnel behind before falling lifelessly back to the ground.

City-Bound (Su): A necropoli can’t willingly move further than 1 mile from their community and are immune to all forms of teleportation that would force them beyond this boundary. If somehow pushed beyond this boundary or if the community is completely destroyed, the necropoli perishes.

Master of the Dead (Su): As a swift action, a necropoli can manipulate any dead body that they are aware of within one mile of their community. The necropolis chooses one of the following functions:
1. Corpse Animation: The necropoli can animate a dead body as a zombie or skeleton (as appropriate) so long as it would possess equal or fewer HD than itself. The necropoli can control these undead from any distance and without spending any action. No single body may be animated for more rounds each day than the necropoli’s Charisma modifier (5 for an average necropoli). The undead remain animated until the necropoli ends the animation as a free action or until the maximum duration has ended.
2. Corpse Explosion: The body explodes in a show of gore and/or splintering of bone, dealing 1d8 damage + 1 damage/HD of the necropoli to all creatures within 30 feet. A successful DC 18 Reflex save negates this damage. The corpse is effectively destroyed in this way, preventing future use.
3. Corpse Sight: The necropoli can see the world through a body (even one with rotted eyes or no head) for 1 round, gaining all senses (including Spot and Listen modifiers and supernatural senses) that the body possessed in life. They continue to percieve the world through their own bodies during this time.
4. Corpse Voice: The necropoli can talk through a body (even one otherwise unable to talk due to injuries or rot) using any languages the necropoli knows for 1 round. The voice used to speak, however, belongs to that of the dead body.
All bodies who have been targeted at least once by any use of this ability possess a faint evil and undead aura, are detected as undead by deathwatch, and fail to respond to speak with dead spells and effects, though no other spells or abilities actually treat them as undead. Undead are immune to this ability.

I've always wanted to run an encounter where players were genuinely terrified of normal dead bodies. Now I can.

[Fable Wright]

This is a really cool monster. I have no real beefs with it, but one thought- you never specified what kind of community it had to be. What would be the stats on, say, the necropoli who rose from a dragon community? Just a larger one, or would it have any special powers?

[Realms of Chaos]

Not in particular... one of the great mysteries surrounding necropoli, I suppose.

Then again, if you want to homebrew feats for them or something...

[Lix Lorn]

If you used a dragon community, Master of the Dead would make dragon zombies. :3
And maybe Corpse Explosion would increase it's die size wit the size of the corpse?

Also? This rocks.