A being that was never born, exiting where it has no place. The zelengorsk are spirits of either once living beings or synthetic ones created to fulfill some purpose that have none of the needs or drives of living creatures. These spirits may inhabit physical forms that can range from corpses to rugs, and in so doing grant such objects a semblance of life.

Most of the time these sprits are meant to contain a measure of positive energy and inhabit fleshy physical forms of a certain type and design. When this is not so, there may be conflicts between the spirit and the body. Spirits which contain negative energies but were meant to hold positive that then inhabit fleshy bodies also designed to accept positively charged spirits give rise to beings classed as undead. A combination that is not compatible, such a being will typically begin to degrade physically until a point is reached that it can maintain, or the body breaks down totally. The stronger the negative charge the less degradation from rot will occur, but negative erosion may cause weak frames to degrade regardless. The incorporation of negative energies circumvents the need for vitality provided by living bodies and organs, allowing such a being to have a form of life without need for food and sleep as well as without worry of death from loss of vital organs. It is still the case that should the body sustain enough damage the spirit will be unable to maintain its hold. Should this happen the beings body dies, much as a true living creature may, forcing the spirit to either linger or move on.

A negatively charged spirit which inhabits a non-living form may cause it to move so long as such a form is physically capable of it. Objects such as carts or mannequins can be brought to move dictated by wheels and joints, while a table would be incapable of movement. Objects inhabited by an especially strong spirit may actually overcome this limitation and be granted the ability to move by flexing normally rigid parts or even flight, levitation or teleportation. Spirits that bleed some of their negative powers slowly into the environment will cause a degradation of the object they inhabit in proportion to the amount of power they bleed. This can be as minor as causing colours to fade up to degenerating the whole object to dust over time. This energy bleed also causing living things in the area to slowly expire at a rate dependant on their own life force. Microbes and fungi are effectively scoured from the area surrounding such a creature, making it a very sterile place. It is not uncommon for infected open wounds to be completely sterilized from simply being in close proximity to such a being.

On occasions it is possible for a spirit to become so charged with positive energies that it is able to maintain itself independent of the vital forces of a living body. Such strong spirits are fully capable of inhabiting physical objects and infusing them with a very strong semblance of life. If within a living body that is either provided without a spirit before hand or one that is commandeered, the being will be of phenomenal health. Damage or loss of vital organs will not cause the spirit any worry, as it is beyond the need of such means in order to maintain its hold on its body. Even if the heart were removed the being would continue to look alive in all other respects; able to feel emotion, enjoy tastes and sounds, even produce a family if the body still has such capacities. The body will continue to age in most cases, and will eventually die although much later than is normal for that body type. For all intense and purposes the body gains the Construct classification, although the mind is still open to the normal effects of mind-influence. Should the body be so damaged that the spirit can no longer hold it, the spirit must either linger over the corpse or move on (in essence the being dies). Corpses that are not to far damaged may also be successfully inhabited but such spirits and possess properties much like those of mummies. Decay and disease in their area is greatly accelerated, so much so that a touch upon a living creature may cause a rot to take hold forming from the microbes normally found on the surface of the body.

For hyper-charged positive spirits, corpses and objects hold little difference. They are but physical structures that the spirit may inhabit and cause to move or not once again dependant on physical constraints. These sorts of objects were never meant to hold a spirit and so will not display many properties associated with life and thus are not favoured by this form of spirit. Modes of movement for inhabited objects conform those given above for negative spirits.

Should a spirit be either designed for it or possess enough strength to do so it may exist free of a physical form and remain on the ethereal. These zelengorsk are incorporeal, invisible and are able to travel almost anywhere they wish. This class of zelengorsk is termed ghost, and this class is further divided into categories dependant on the personal qualities of any particular zelengorsk. Like their more corporeal counterparts ghosts may also be charged with either positive or negative energies and their properties are dictated by this difference.

Ghosts which are infused with negative energies possess the ability to sap essence from the living, equating to experience drain. The history of a living being that is etched into its spirit dependant on its intensity and importance are drawn away when this happens and are imparted to the ghost. In this way the living creature has some of its life as defined by experiences robbed while the ghost gains memories and sensations of a life not its own. No longer able to gain such experiences itself a ghost will greedily thirst for them, drawing whatever it can from those it is able to victimize. It is said that with enough of these life energies and experiences the ghost may be able to regain its former living state. This may be possible but if it is, the amount required would be quite large and prohibitive, but then again a ghost does not have to worry much about time.

Some weaker forms of zelengorsk are created using the Art as a means to obtain a few extra pairs of hands to accomplish a goal set by the wizard. These tend to be so weak that they would not have the power to stand if not for magical aid and also lack any supernatural attack forms. These beings are most often created in order to act as physical labour or combatants, in both these tasks they are able to perform well enough to make them worth creating.

A very simplistic form of zelengorsk that barely qualify for the term. These are but bits of bone held together with magic and animated by restoring the stability of the bodies former spirit and infusing it with mystical essence. They are mindless in the sense that they cannot think, learn or act for themselves but may understand what is spoken to them. Skeletons are not naturally occurring zelengorsk and only exist if created by artificial means, often for purposes of combat and servitude. While having a tendency to botch any complex instructions skeletons have the ability to work tirelessly and thus can be used to complete simple projects quickly and cheaply.

Much like skeletons but are animated from corpses that have not lost all their flesh to decay yet. They are slower and just as thick but are able to take more punishment than a skeleton due to the flesh they still wear. Zombies are not suited for labour because of their lack of speed and the stench of decay that accompanies them. This leaves them viable only for purposes of combat, and in this they are adequate.

A highly specialized form of zelengorsk produced by zamonudi, either deliberately or by mistake. A dragon's victim must be absorbed totally (100%, with no loss of essence due to resistance or inefficiency), drawing from them not only their essence, but their very spirit as well, parceling the package in the dragon's own aura. At some point later, the spirit of the victim is re-infused into their remains, while the flesh that was dissolved is replaced with gleeah that now follows the contours and imprint of their spirit, shaping to form organs, muscle, skin, fur and hair. These are only shadows cast by the spirit and made to have physical form by gleeah, they are all false and bloodless, having little function besides the brain, which works well enough to allow the spirit to learn and remember again. The creature formed may be infused with additional essence from the dragon's own stores to either boost its essence beyond normal capacity or enhance the resulting creature by improving Strength or resilience for example. The resulting being is then coughed up from the stomach, back into the world, to whatever fates await it there.

The very nature of both dragon born and their creators ensures that in contrast to cult members, which are predominantly male, dragon born are to best knowledge all female. Some of these are of low quality, accidentally created by a dragon that stumbles upon the method, producing a dragon born from its last meal. More often, they are created deliberately after the method is discovered from cult members or other volunteers who agree to perform any variety of services for the dragon in exchange for the immortality that accompanies this dubious gift. Dragon born who are freed from obligations to their creator, for reasons such as its death, are left to their own lives in much the same way as progeny zelengorsk created by their now destroyed killer.

While typically looking and feeling much as it did in life, a dragon born has a number of notable changes. Firstly, they are immortal. Such a being does not age by natural or supernatural means. Second, they no longer have a need to breath, eat or sleep, however, they will reach a point a fatigue (essentially they become drowsy) as most creatures do that will not subside until they sleep. Third, as a zelengorsk they do not possess vital organs, the ones they have do work but are not needed to live and so are immune to critical hits, although heavy blows to their head can cause memory loss of the last few minutes. Fourth, they are no longer fertile and may never produce offspring.. Fifth, they do not have a maximum limit to the essence they may have, although they cannot regain it naturally as living creatures do and are forced to take essence to replace or increase their own. Sixth, they are unable to keep or gain strong auras, they will appear white and vibrant but have little resistance to attacks upon their essence, which is struck ten times as hard as normal (for example a chill touch will deal 10d6 to a dragon born). Seventh, should they be reduced to zero hit points, dragon born do not "die" but instead lose the capacity to maintain their solid form and flow from their bones as gleeah. This gleeah can be attacked with enchanted weapons to directly harm the dragon born's essence pool. They may at any time spend a minimum of one essence to regain one hit point allowing them to re-solidify (they cannot be forced past 0 hp, so one is all that is needed to reach a positive total of hit points). Should all essence be lost, a dragon born will be unable to reform and the last of its spirit is ravenously consumed by the gleeah that composed it. Eighth, they can no longer heal normally, and recover lost hit points to their body at a rate of one point per day by collecting ambient energies with which to restore themselves.

As time passes, dragon born expend essence just to remain in existence. The amount is small, but one essence used in a typical week, but what essence is possessed won’t last forever and so must be replenished. A dragon born must feed upon the essence of living creatures, although it is a rather cumbersome process if they do not possess the Sip Essence skill. Dragon born must will themselves to return to the gleeah they are composed of, flowing off of their bones and then over their victim in order to consume them. This occurs just as it does within a dragon, at a rate of 5 + Drink Essence skill (which they may now take as a class skill) per day. It is common for a dragon born to restrain their victim first and then place them in something such as a bathtub before attempting to drain their life. It is thought that the victim might have to be the same sex as the dragon born for their essence to be able to mix, but as only feminine dragon born have been found all known victims have thus been female. The essence taken is simply added to that of the dragon born and thereafter acts as normal. This method is sometimes used to accumulate essence before returning to their creator, who then swallows them and extracts this essence. In exchange for this service, the dragon may use a portion of the essence gained to modify the dragon born as was stated above. While a dragon born may still partake of food and drink, none of these do them any good. While not flesh in the case of hare dragon born, the gleeah that comprises their organs will tend to eventually dissolve whatever was eaten, converting it mostly to gasses much like their zamonudi parents would. This means that what goes in, typically does not come out, something that often mystifies and worries new dragon born, now possessed of a nature that removes their need to use the bathroom and causes them to burp excessively and chronically at meals. This problem tends to subside quickly, as even though they may miss treats they liked in life for a while, dragon born tend to quickly swear off mundane meals (except for appearances sake) once they get their first euphoric sip of another’s living essence.

Dragon born may employ the nature of their gleeah upon any spirits not shielded by physical matter, as are ghouls. With but a touch (touch attack) in the space occupied by a free spirit such as a ghost, a dragon born may make a drain attack dealing 5 + Drink Essence in essence damage to positively charged spirits. This property makes dragon born VERY poor candidates for possession by positive spirits as they tend to be consumed should they try. Taking essence from negatively charged spirits does deal essence damage, but also deals an equal amount to the dragon born's essence.

This template can be added to any aberration, animal, beast, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or shapechanger. As they are synthetic, dragon born do not have a minimum ability requirement. The creature type changes to “undead”. It otherwise uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Note: X is ability in life

The most common class of zelengorsk that is both naturally occurring and corporeal. Retaining only the most influencing emotions and memories of their former lives, ghouls are either hotly driven or very melancholic. Which of these depends on what remnants of its life the ghoul still possesses; if a motivating set of emotions and memories the ghoul will work simplemindedly towards them, if not they will have a hard time brining themselves to do much of anything. Because of their corporeal nature these zelengorsk are vulnerable to physical assaults to some degree although they may have resilient defences. As they still possess some of their former knowledge they still possess much of their skills and language although these may be somewhat warped by their current state of being. As with most zelengorsk, ghouls do not have a living mind to generate emotions or thoughts and so are not very capable of leaning, but may still be apt problem solvers. All ghouls possess the capacity to strike and rend spirits much in the same way emulated by the chill touch spell, and thus care must be taken when attempting to engage them in combat.

The most common form of corporeal zelengorsk, the flesh ghoul can be recognized by its characteristic appearance. While the flesh of such ghouls is still very much intact and supple the skin has deteriorated into a thick, black, molasses-like slime that coats its body. The smell of this fluid is rather sour and reminiscent of vinegar, giving the flesh ghoul a tell-tale scent.

As with all ghouls the flesh variety possesses a strike that can fracture and shatter spirits allowing essence to esscape, and in this way they may feed upon living beings in the form of drain. They normally derive energies to maintain their weak existence by consuming the flesh of the dead and in so doing absorb the lingering life-force of the corpse, but they are also quite able to subsist on the essence taken from living spirits. Flesh ghouls prefer the flesh of its own species but will make do with the flesh of other if that is all that is available. The harm inflicted by their touch is d6 + Chr modifier, making those who possessed a strong sense of self the most dangerous. The black fluid, if introduced to the blood, is quite poisonous and is known to diminish the health of those who succumb. Those who are reduced to zero Constitution from this blood poisoning are doomed to rise as a flesh ghoul in d6 X 10 minutes so long as their Charisma is 5 or above once the template has been applied.. Flesh ghouls are well defended against physical assaults, taking no damage from piercing, half from slashing and normal from bludgeoning attacks. The outer black coating of a flesh ghoul grants it a measure of resistance to flame (5 points of fire resistance and +2 to saves), they take but half from lightning and are inherently not damaged by cold. Flesh ghouls have a vulnerability in addition to these defences, they can be fully harmed by weapons of any sort crafted of freshly cut wood (wood that still has running sap). This vulnerability is such that freshly cut wood will also bypass any damage reduction a flesh ghoul may have.

This template can be added to any aberration, animal, beast, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or shapechanger. The “base creature” must have a Charisma score of at least 5, thus having a strong enough sense of self to possess any fraction of its former self. The creature type changes to “undead”. It otherwise uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Somewhat more rare than flesh ghouls, bone ghouls form from corpses that have been dead long enough for their flesh to have been decomposed but in most other ways are just like flesh ghouls. It may be that bone ghouls are simply flesh ghouls that are late in waking, but whether this is so has not been openly disclosed.

Bone ghouls are not as strong as flesh ghouls but possess improved speed as a result of being freed from their meat. Normally appearing as somewhat mouldered skeletons, bone ghouls are distinguished from lesser artificial skeletons by the peculiar way in which they move. While the steps of a bone ghoul are rapid they are jerky, swiftly moving and then stopping in quick succession. The exception to this is when they are running, at which time they drop and move using all limbs taking distances in great strides.

The hold a bone ghoul has upon the material world is not as strong as is required to remain there unaided, and like all ghouls, require some sort of sustenance to continue existing. As they have no “insides” they are unable to devour the flesh of corpses as flesh ghouls do and so bone ghouls steal the breath of the living, either in part or wholly. The result is the breath of the living being drawn away along with a portion of (or all) of that individuals essence. To do this the bone ghoul must get within a few inches of the victims face while preventing them from escaping, often meaning a grappling hold, and then drawing however much they wish. The victim losses a number of Constitution points equal to d4 + Chr bonus per round (or less if the bone ghoul wishes). Those that die as a result of this loss may rise as a flesh ghoul within d6 X 10 minutes or as a bone ghoul "at some later point" once their flesh has been lost, so long as the victim had a Charisma of 5 or better once the template is applied.. Bone ghouls prefer the essences of its own original species over the essence of other beings.

In combat a bone ghoul may employ its speed to inflict physical harm with a rapid succession of blows, as well as dealing the standard d6 + Chr life force damage that all ghouls share. Because they have no other protections other then their speed some bone ghouls will wear armour should they feel the need, sometimes sacrificing some of their speed for the more mundane protection of armour plates. Due to the fact that bone ghouls have little flesh, they are not harmed by piercing attacks and suffer only half weapon damage from slashing, while suffering fully from bludgeoning.

This template can be added to any aberration, animal, beast, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or shapechanger. The “base creature” must have a Charisma score of at least 5, thus having a strong enough sense of self to possess any fraction of its former self. The creature type changes to “undead”. It otherwise uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

A form of zelengorsk that may embrace either Pole, denoted by their colouration. Red are of the Positive while blue are of the negative, and both beings emerge from the recently dead. Blood ghouls typically form from the corpses of individuals who died without damage to their circulatory system, for example from suffocation, organ failure, some poisons, shock/fright, etc. If they form quickly, before their blood turns blue as oxygen is lost, are red in colour. Those that form from once most of the oxygen is gone or from individuals that die from suffocation tend to be blue.

Once active a blood ghoul will animate its original corpse, leaving once it becomes to damaged to use any longer. If it wishes to leave before this point of its own accord it may do so through any lesion, which it is not capable of causing from within. It may however, inflict such a wound by use of a sharp object by external means.

Free of its flesh and bone a blood ghoul retains the appearance of arteries, veins and capillaries, but without the actual structures, seeming to be a mesh of fluid vessels. This form may press itself through seams and cracks in order to pass most physical barriers but may also become solid enough to use tools and weapons. A blood ghoul may also collapse into a puddle of fluid if such a form is of advantage, still able to move at its full movement rate.

Blood ghouls may attack the living in order to obtain a body and/or nourishment. Both of these needs can be met by entering the body of the intended victim through a lesion. The blood ghoul itself has no sharp surfaces with which to cause deep wounds, being only able to physically bludgeon and smother. It is for this reason that a blood ghoul may wield weapons ranging from blades to sharp stones. To enter a wound a blood ghoul must be able to force its way through it, either by grappling its victim or otherwise catching it unaware (while its victim is sleeping, for example). The victim is allowed a Fortitude saving throw in any case, against a DC equal to 10 plus the blood ghouls Con modifier and HD/Level. If the save succeeds the blood ghoul is unable to enter that round, while failure means the blood ghoul has managed to at least partially enter causing d6 + Chr Constitution damage. The blood ghoul may make subsequent attacks in following rounds, doing the noted damage to Constitution with each failure to save. Once the victim drops to a Constitution of zero or less it dies and the blood ghoul takes its corpse.

Only blue blood ghouls consume the blood of the living, taking all of its victims essence once death occurs and absorbing their blood and body fluids. This leaves a material that resembles dried blood that has not clotted, a peculiar find to those familiar with dried blood, which is expelled through the entry wound. If not feeding, such as with the red blood ghoul, the original blood is simply expelled through the entry wound and occupies the body itself. Blood ghouls prefer the blood and bodies of its own species over those of others.

Bodies taken by red blood ghouls will retain their living functions and will appear alive, and even the entry wound may heal with time. Bodies in this condition are able to do anything a normal living being is capable of, such as eating, sleeping and reproducing. Since the blood ghoul will continue to nourish the bodies tissues, flowing through the body even if the entire circulatory system is destroyed, a body inhabited by a red blood ghoul is immune to critical hits that do not strike the brain. Damage to other organs will tend to heal with time, even the heart, should the organ not be totally destroyed. Destruction of the brain will cause the death of the body soon as the blood ghoul is not able to properly regulate it. NOTE: Red blood ghouls cannot take the bodies of the dead for very long, as their own positive energies will cause the dead flesh to rot at an accelerated rate, decaying fully in a matter of hours.

Bodies taken by blue blood ghouls will die soon after being inhabited if not dead already. Lips appear black, blood vessels in the eyes have a dark blue tinge and any exposed skin will seem to be at least slightly bruised.. Suffice to say such an individual will look out of the ordinary to those that come across it. Most who wish to walk among the living will take to wearing the dark clothing and makeup of goths in order to explain away their morose appearance. While the body will not decay, it will tend to degrade to some degree, damage to the skin making it leathery and discoloration of both teeth and the eyes are most common. Fur and hair will tend to fade in colour, becoming brittle and frayed. Blue blood ghouls are truly undead, and as such are unaffected by critical hits both within and without a body.

Having no eyes, ears, tongue, nose or tactile tissues, blood ghouls must rely upon their ability to sense their environment (as most zelengorsk can) when outside of a body. Their sense is limited, extending only five feet plus one foot per point of Charisma bonus., the ability to sense a living being, however, is twice this distance.

What a blood ghoul does with its time can be just as diverse as for unfettered. While blue blood ghouls tend to settle into a pattern of feeing, red blood ghouls may not realize they are actually zelengorsk for quite some time after their formation. These uninformed ghouls may continue to live out their lives, until death finally takes their body, at which point it will decompose quickly and alarmingly, leaving the blood ghoul free to move about, even more alarmingly. Just how a blood ghoul deals with this is a personal matter, and so guidelines to their behaviour will depend upon how they lived.

This template can be added to any aberration, animal, beast, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or shapechanger. The “base creature” must have a Charisma score of at least 5, thus having a strong enough sense of self to possess any fraction of its former self. The creature type changes to “undead”. It otherwise uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Possessing a lust for slaughter that is as innate as heat is to flame, the reaver is feared for its capacity to inflict massive injury and devour the essence of the living. Typically born of those who make killing their reason for living, reavers are the result of such individuals continuing their joyous work after their breath has left them. Sustained only by a desire to kill, reavers are one of the most spiritually weak zelengorsk known, bleeding away their essence and seeking more from the living to replenish it in order to survive. Unlike many zelengorsk, reavers do not possess the capacity to shatter spirits or drain essence until a creature dies and is vulnerable to reaping.

Reavers prefer physical combat to the death over all else and so will happily engage just about anyone and anything in melee. They are not, however, above striking from the shadows or when their victims are unaware or helpless; they are in it for the kill. Employing their natural weapons or employing one, such as a scythe, reavers enter battle swinging at whatever creature is closest, slaying it, devouring its essence and then moving to its next victim, and so on. Their straightforwardness in battle and predictability is perhaps their only exploitable weakness as physical confrontation is almost certainly fatal, and thus might be used to outsmart them. The more intelligent reavers may be far more difficult to handle, however, so caution is advised.

The essence of reavers fade at a rate of one point every day, collapsing from starvation should their supply ever run out. This form of “death” is the most common one to end a reaver, either because it has already slain every living thing within range around it, or it has been sealed away by those trying to protect themselves from it.

This template can be added to any being intelligent enough to kill only for the sake of killing, and taking some joy in the act. The creature type changes to “undead”. It otherwise uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Rather bizarre entities even by the standards of a necrologist, wayward remnants are “portions” of bodies that have developed a spirit cohesive enough to animate before leaving the rest of the corpse they were part of. These beings obtain their existence from an outside source, typically from botched rituals or locations rich in death and spilled essence nearby. Once they have the ability to move these beings will make their way towards the source of their creation in order to be nearer to the energies that brought them into being.

During their migration wayward remnants are usually harmless, only attacking a living being that is directly in their path or those that wander to close, focused as they are on reaching their destination. Upon arriving at their goal, wayward remnants cycle between lying still and patrolling about the area seemingly at random. Any living being that enters their area are attacked with intent to kill so that their essences might be added to the ambient energies.

As the remnants must be able to move in order to migrate only body portions inherently able to move with some success tend to be found. The three most common forms known are arms, torsos and abdomens. If parts from several corpses develop wayward remnants in the same immediate area, these may fuse into a larger being, producing a grotesque creature composed of parts from several bodies.

This category includes all zelengorsk that are capable of existence without a material body or form. As incorporeal beings, they are free to move about in all directions, passing though solid materials that do not block ethereal travel. This inability to interact with the physical world also makes them utterly silent and immune to assaults by anything but other ethereal beings, magic (force and life force attacks) and magical weapons.

Ghosts tend to be spirits without a body, so to those who can perceive them they appear as shimmering silhouette appearing much as they did in life but coloured the hue of their aura. These zelengorsk are notably the most powerful, as the strength needed to exist free of a body is great in itself and all those who do exist thus must be powerful. Ghosts created by magical means may be less powerful, as their existence is maintained by mystic qualities more than by innate strength. The impetus that forms a ghost may be the incessant need to complete a goal, the refusal to simply fade away, magical aid or simply the will of a being with a strong sense of self to remain a cohesive entity.

Ghosts must face the fact that without bodies, their essence is vulnerable both to attack and simple drain over time. The weakest ghosts often fade away after a time if they do not steal the essence from other sources. Some may fade minutes, hours, days, years or even decades and centuries after their formation without bothering to take essence, depending upon their ability to hold onto what essence they start with. All ghosts face the loss of essence approximately equal to 10 - Chr modifier every twelve hours or so. This loss is halted while they reside within a body; a living body for positively aligned ghosts, or dead ones for negatively aligned ghosts. To take a body, it must not resist them (willing to accept or dead) or the ghost must resort to possession. Ghosts may also attack the essence of creatures to feed themselves and prolong their existence. Some areas also help to slow the loss of essence by their spiritual nature, such as graveyards and battlefields, where large amounts of essence has been bleed off into the area which acts as a buffer to the loss a ghost experiences. Such places may slow the loss down by a percentage or halt it altogether while the ghost is present. These places are well known for their tendency to be haunted, often thought to be by those who were buried or died there. This has some merit, but is not always the case as wanderers may also take up residence.

While ghosts have free movement through the physical world there are some instances in which they find themselves impeded. Ghosts may not pass barriers or effects with the force descriptor, just as such magics may harm ghosts. Materials such as mystic, mist metal, and whitestone all act as if solid to ghosts, in some cases allowing them to pick such things up if strong enough (by their Strength score). Conversely, these materials are also able to harm these incorporeal beings and have been used for eons to fend off hostile ghosts.

Spectre

Poltergeist

The nature of phantom has been under dispute since their existence has been recorded. They are often born in direct relation to the death of a creature but do not react as one would expect for any sort of zelengorsk, nor do they have any detectable spirit. As phantoms to occur where there has been death they may be accompanied by the presence of corpsefire, which has a tendency to temporarily vanish whenever the phantom is active.

The term phantom is used to describe any sensory stimuli that persist in relation to a sudden, unexpected or traumatic death. Often visual with some sound or other sensation, phantoms will most commonly re-play the events of or leading to the death of the creature that gave rise to them. What is displayed may also be something that was of great importance to the deceased creature, such as a visual re-play if its murderer, a pressing goal or vision of something or someone cherished. Although a phantom can be perceived they cannot be interacted with or even communicated with. Phantoms are uniformly mindless and can do nothing more than re-enact the same event over and over. While this does not seem to be anything to worry about there are dangers inherent with phantoms.

Firstly, as phantoms are generated by death it stands to reason that whatever caused that death might still be around. To the observant this may serve as a warning and aid to avoid a similar fait. Voices carrying the last words of those who died, the sound of explosions and other such events are common warnings.

Some phantoms will add to their sensory repertoire an element of what caused the death that gave rise to them. This may include sudden and deadly rises or drops in temperature, wounds being inflicted upon observes with no apparent cause, poisonous gases and feelings of being crushed. The most common and one of the most deadly of these effects stems from those killed by fright. Those who witness the phantom experience a jolt of heart-stopping terror at the same moment the deceased did at its time of death. Those not strong enough often succumb to this fright and die.

As phantoms cannot be interacted with they can be exceedingly difficult to get rid of, even without some of the risks involved just being near one. As they seem composed of psychic residues waiting until they fade away works well, if one has the time. Some phantoms may persist eternally as their strength is replenished by the emanations released upon the death of others in the area of the phantom. Any method that can remove or deplete the psychic energies will likewise dissipate the phantom.

Because of its positively charged nature this ghost is not able to drain experiences from the living, however, it is one of the most feared forms none the less. The unfettered are just that, spirits that are free of a physical form of its own, set to wander as it wills. As it is positively charged the unfettered still has an affinity for living creatures, and this is its most loathed trait.

The unfettered has a talent for commandeering the bodies of the living, either forcing the resident spirit into submission, expelling it or absorbing it. Those spirits that are forced into a submissive state may regain control of its own body at any time that the unfettered leaves. Those sprits that are expelled must find a new form, linger or dissipate and while outside a body they are considered "dead". Spirits that are absorbed are effectively destroyed, having their energies and residual experiences given to the unfettered. Once a physical form is acquired the unfettered takes up any activities that drove it to obtain the form in the first place, be it a want to taste a favourite food again or just know what it is like to sleep again. The unfettered are able to drift along in the ethereal, watching the events of the material world, at times inhabiting a form with which to interact with it. It may adopt and discard these physical forms as it likes suffering no ill effects and in this way can sow a lot of chaos.

This template can be added to any aberration, animal, beast, dragon, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or shapechanger. The base creature must have a Wisdom score of at least 16, and a Charisma score of at least 30. The creature type changes to “undead”. It otherwise uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

A form of weak ghost which may be either positively or negatively charged. Typically harmless, quiet and oblivious to the physical world they may be coaxed into some service by skilled necrologists. A common use is to set the whisper in the spirit of living being in order to benefit from the whisper's small but still useful power. This most often either add or subtract from the hosts attributes, often affecting Strength or Wisdom.

Whispers are also taken from time to time as familiars, since their unliving state may afford their master unique qualities. A whisper familiar will drink one point of essence from its master each day, effectively reducing the master's essence total by one so long as he keeps the familiar. Such familiars grant their master the ability to see through their aura sight to see the colours and strengths of spirits. They may also deal a touch attack for one point of essence damage as stated below at their masters direction. Furthermore, the master may experience an improvement to his ability scores, often a point or two in a stat reflecting the nature of the whisper.

Although whispers have the ability to energy drain as most ghosts do, their Charisma is normally far to low to allow them to actually carry the act out. Stronger whispers or those mystically aided might have this capacity fully active, however.

Carrion Corrosive Touch (Ex): This ability simply reflects the surprisingly vicious way in which gleeah corrodes lifeless flesh. By means of a good, solid touch, the dragon born can apply the corrosive nature of the gleeah that composes them to their target, dealing 2d12 damage to lifeless animal matter, be it a simple corpse or a form of undead. This attack is ineffective against living creatures, non-living creatures or positively charged zelengorsk.

Crimson Rift (Su): This property is normally only open to reavers. Any physical attacks made have their threat range increased by one, and by an additional one for every two Hit Dice/Levels past first. This property stacks with the Improved Critical feat as found on page 95 of the Players Handbook, as well as with any other means of increasing critical threat ranges (See the Players Handbook, Appendix, “Multiplying”.) In addition, starting at Hit Die/Level three and each three thereafter, the damage multiplier of attacks is increased by one.

The taint of this ability is such that a portion of it may stay with any weapon held long enough, even should the reaver be destroyed. There is a ten-percent chance that each point of increase in both critical threat range and damage multiplier will remain permanent with the weapon after leaving the reavers possession.

Corpsepyre (Su): The spirit of the zelengorsk has become afflicted with corpsefire tainted by their very essence, which it now burns like wood before a flame. As their essence is consumed these beings are driven to avoid being destroyed by taking the essence of others to stave off the gutting burn. Each day such creatures suffer d6+HD loss of essence to the consuming flame and will be utterly annihilated should their essence be lost completely.

The strike of such a being upon a victim possessing a spirit causes them to contract this very same affliction unless a Fortitude save against DC 10+HD+Chr is made. Even if this save is made the victim still takes d4+Chr temporary Constitution damage as the corpsefire ravages their body for an instant. This same consuming property deals d4+Chr damage to objects touched.

Ghost zelengorsk inflicted with corpsepyre will tend to be visible as their location is lit and their very form outlined and defined by the flames that burn within them. The colour tends to correspond to the aura of the victim and can be a dazzling yet frightening display.

Any effect that protects from spiritual damage will ward against this attack.

Detect Spirit (Su): This ability works in much the same respects as the detect magic spell, but functions in the detection of nearby spiritual beings (living beings, zelengorsk and some constructs). The user must concentrate without distraction to learn the following:

Energy Drain (Su): This ability is normally only possessed by ghost zelengorsk. With but a touch they can strip a being of their experience, draining (d4 + Charisma Modifier) X 10 experience. The drain is permanent and no save is allowed.

Energy Resistance (Ex): A 5 to 20 point resistance to an energy type (fire, lightning, cold, acid, sonic).

Final Fright (Su): This quality is usually only possessed by phantoms. Those viewing the phantom are subjected to an empathetic re-creation of the fright that killed the phantom's progenitor. The victim is allowed a Will saving throw DC 10 + the Wisdom bonus of the creature that gave rise to the phantom. Success means the effects are avoided. If the save fails creatures suffers death from heart failure and shock.

Gleeahtic Form (Ex): A trait of those taken by zamonudi and born into the world anew. Flesh consumed and life taken, only to have her spirit placed back upon her bones, a dragon born may willingly cause the gleeah that now comprises her body to flow. This allows her to draw life from others, avoid harm (damage reduction 5/+1) and to some degree control her appearance.

Making a Concentration check against DC 9 +1 per feature changed, the dragon born may make minor alterations in her appearance. Common changes are in fur, hair or eye colour and even ear length to suit a situation. The changes remain so long as she is able to maintain concentration, any situation that might cause her to lose it forces another Concentration check to hold the alterations. While she may change her personal form, she is unable to affect her clothing. In situations where it would be advantageous to change both personal appearance and clothing, the option is there to forgo clothing and instead form ones self to appear clothed using this ability (DC dependant upon the complexity of the clothing). This method allows her to change her appearance and clothing style, looking like different individuals from moment to moment as the need arises. Should her concentration be broken, however, she will be left looking rather ‘vulnerable’ until she can summon up the will to renew her disguise.

This ability sees use in a range of situations. It finds important use for when the dragon born hunts, allowing her to take several identities when stalking prey or eluding detection if hunted herself. As dragon born are predominantly female hares, this ability also finds very frequent use, if somewhat shallowly, as a way to skip paying for cosmetics or pricey ‘must have‘ outfits. It should be noted that use of reflective surfaces such as mirrors can greatly aid the use of this ability. A small hand mirror could grant +1 while a full body mirror as much as +6 to the Concentration check initially made to instate the changes. If attempting to copy an article of clothing a sample at hand will also make the task easier.

Jixx Plague (Ex): Only found in corporeal undead., the jixx plague is not so much an ability as an affliction. Its body has become overwhelmingly infested with jixx that are left in its wake and come into contact with any object or creature the zelengorsk touches. Anyone struck by or striking the zelengorsk with natural weapons must make a Fortitude save vs. DC 10 + HD or become infected by one patch of jixx. This quality may be found in more severe forms, adding +2 to the save and infecting the victim with an additional patch each time this quality is stacked.

Lethal Recall (Su): A quality normally only possessed by phantoms. During the re-enactment of its death, the phantom generates a quality similar to that which caused its death to which all those witnessing the phantom are subjected. The effects are identical to the original source except in that they occur without physical reason; temperatures change, flesh rips as if slashed by unseen blades, etc. Likewise the victim suffers such results as normal likely leading to death in much the same way as the original cause of the phantom unless the victim is strong enough to simply withstand it. Any saving throws normally allowed for the re-created quality are given to avoid or lessen the effects.

Life Force Damage (Su): A very common ability, this allows a zelengorsk to fracture a spirit enough to sip away some essence before it reseals. Normally d6 + Charisma bonus essence is taken per touch. The essence taken is applied to the essence of the zelengorsk.

Possession (Su): This ability is a common trait among ghosts which allows them to interact directly with living creatures. Possession grants a ghost the capacity to force themselves to some degree into a creatures body for a number of purposes.

The first and most often used purpose by weaker ghosts is to gain a foothold in a host body. This allows them to exist within flesh so that their essence ceases to fade. Once established the ghost may also leisurely drain life from the host at a rate equal to their Charisma modifier over eight hours out of a day, normally done while the host sleeps. To gain a foothold the host makes an attack against the victim’s spirit forcing a Will save against DC 10 + Chr modifier + HD. Failure means the ghost is now within the body and may act as stated above. Success means the ghost is fought off and the victim is aware of an attack against their very being. The ghost may not attempt this attack again on the same victim for a number of days equal to the victim’s Chr modifier, minimum of one day.

The second purpose is to gain a body. This may be performed upon a living or dead body, but dead bodies seldom resist the intrusion. The victim of such an assault must make a Will save against DC 5 + Charisma modifier + HD. Success means the ghost is fought off and the victim is aware of a frightful attack against their very being. The ghost may not attempt this attack again on the same victim for a number of days equal to the victim’s Chr modifier, minimum of one day. Failure means the ghost has entered the body rather fully and may now take control of it as the host is helpless but aware of whatever actions the ghost takes. The essence of the ghost does not fade while in the body, and it may draw essence from its host very forcefully, automatically dealing a Life force damage attack each round at will. The ghost may also opt to Life drain the host instead each round, with normal saves allowed.

Reaper (Su): This ability allows you to absorb all the essence from a creature you killed within three round by using a full round action. The spirit of the slain receives no saving throw unless it is of ghost type, at which point its more experienced spirit may defend with a successful Charisma check against DC 10 + HD and Charisma modifier of the attacker. Those slain and then reaped cannot be raised by normal means short of wish and miracle, or similar effects.

Sunder Spirit (Su): Each successful touch attack forces the target to make a Fortitude save against DC 10 + HD + Chr modifier - Drain Reduction or have their aura colour worsened one level. This aura damage lasts until treated. If the target does not have an aura level rating, then it loses 25% of its current essence total.

Vulnerability, alcohol (Ex): A most peculiar vulnerability found almost exclusively in dragon born. Such creatures are harmed by alcohol as if it were a powerful acid, suffering d6 points of damage per flask of ale, d8 per flask of wine and d12 for stronger distillations.

Vulnerability, wood (Ex): Most corporeal zelengorsk, such as ghouls, have an innate damage reduction. This reduction may be overcome by use of magic or weapons made of wood fresh enough that the sap still runs.