Spirits & Undead

Overview
''"In this world, there is no guarantee that death will be the end for the body, nor the spirit." -Gwenra Languveg''

The phenomena of undeath is a grim wonder as old as human legend. In ancient history it was brought about by terrible curses, but in the modern era of Magic, raising bodies and bones to life isn't as rare as it once was, though the methods of how to do so are strictly guarded by the Spaurian Mages Association.

Undeath is classified by mages as "the process by which, through means of magic or alchemy, an aspect of a deceased creature, either in body or in spirit, defies death and continues to exist in the physical world." However, as the understanding of negative energy and the undead broadened, undeath was split into two categories: autonomous and spiritual.

Autonomous undeath refers to the resurrection of a deceased body without the return of the creature's soul, whereas spiritual undeath involves the return of the soul without the body. Autonomous undeath can be managed through magic and/or alchemy, whereas spiritual undeath is nearly impossible without the will of the soul in question.

Physical Undeath
Examples of physical undead include zombies, skeletons, ghouls and the like. While such undead can occur naturally in places of abnormal negative energy levels, it is more common for these creatures to be created artificially by magic and used as mindless servants.

Spiritual Undeath
When an unwilling soul leaves the Prime Material plane, the spirit may, if it's will is strong enough, refuse to pass on. This creates the rare and disturbing phenomena of spiritual undead, who find themselves lingering in familiar places, and phasing between the Ethereal Plane and the Prime Material. These lost spirits are often confused, frustrated, and full of negative emotion. Most phantoms desire to complete unfinished business from their former lives, and such spirits may not even believe nor remember that they died at all.

Known methods by which to safely send ghosts into the afterlife are by either slaying the spirit with magical weapons, or satisfying their need to cling to the Prime Material. However, darker and more evil spirits such as wraiths or wights are much more difficult, if not impossible, to reason with in this way.

Zombies/Skeletons
Mindless remnants of former humanoids, possessed by life-consuming negative energy, or animated by magic. Left unchecked, these undead drones will slowly destroy all living things in their vicinity, including plants, animals and people.

In places where violent or unexpected death occurs on a large scale, such as a battlefield, negative energy will linger even after the dead are taken away. In places such as this, it is customary for Spaurian clerics and paladins to sprinkle holy water over the site and offer prayers to deities of good, in order to ward off negative energy and prevent future undeath.

Shadows
Silent, formless beings that haunt places of negativity, and are powerful enough not to require an undead body. Shadows are stronger varieties of the same negative energy spirits that inhabit naturally occurring zombies and skeletons.

Specters
Spirits of slain humanoids, bound to the service of a spellcaster or greater undead entity. They have a hatred for all living things, but retain their ability to think.

Crawling Claws
Severed hands given new and often malicious life. Like zombies and skeletons, crawling claws are results of lingering negative energy, or magical reanimation.

Ghouls
Pale-skinned, flesh-eating zombies that were once elves. Unlike human zombies, ghouls are unusually quick, and are equipped with a deadly paralyzing touch.

Ghosts
Ghosts are deceased souls who are unwilling to depart from their former lives, either because of sheer disbelief, or unfinished business. Most often their reasons for staying are fueled by negative emotions, making these phantoms emotional, hostile, and dangerous.

Wraiths
Wraiths are phantoms of pure rage and malice; spirits who died violently in life, and have come back from beyond death to enact their revenge on the living.

Wights
Similar to wraiths, wights are evil souls that have screamed out from the void of death, and been answered. Unlike wraiths or ghosts, however, their form is physical.

Common Abilities & Weaknesses
Spirits such as ghosts, wraiths and specters are incorporeal, and can move through most matter with relative ease, and some can fully immerse themselves in the Ethereal plane. However, all spirits have difficulty moving through solid stone, as well as lead, gold, and adamantine. Magical weapons and holy water are also harmful to them, the latter affecting their forms much like acid would on a human body.