Lebendtod, or Living Dead, are a believed to be a unique creation of the necromancer Meredoth on the island of Nebligtode within the Dread Domain of the Nocturnal Sea. Desiring a consistent supply of corpses to experiment on, the wizard created the lebendtod as undead thralls capable of masquerading as normal humanoids. However, it is possible that some individuals, and even the means of their creation, have spread to other Dread Domains and beyond.

Description

Through the dark magic that gives them a semblance of life, lebendtod appear as they did shortly prior to their death. However, their true form resembles a jaundiced and desiccated zombie. The illusion can be dispelled should the creature suffer any magical injury.

An uncanny trait of a lebendtod is the ability to detach and reattach any extremity. While detached, a lebendtod can still control their limb and can sense the environment around the detached limb. This is often useful as a way to spy on their master's enemies or terrify a hapless victim.

Behavior

Lebendtod are perhaps the most social of their undead brethren. They maintain the daily routines that they followed while alive: the blacksmith will work at the smithy, farmers will tend their crops, and children will play games. The routine is immediately dropped however once they receive orders from their master. Should their master be slain, lebendtod will simply begin to search for a new master to serve, often another necromancer or similar practioner of the dark arts. While intelligent enough to maintain the façade of living beings with free choice, they were created to serve and exist to be henchmen.

They are also capable of spawning more of themselves, potentially overrunning small villages if ordered to do so by their masters. Should a lebendtod find a dying person, they will give a 'kiss' to the victim as they breathe their last. This implants necrotic vapors into the fresh corpse that will cause them to rise as a new lebendtod within three days. Should the corpse be disturbed during this incubation period, it will likely rise as a ghast instead. Whatever rises will be in the service of the original lebendtod's master.

Lebendtod Template

Any humanoid creature can undergo the transformation to become a lebendtod. It retains its statistics, except those described below. It also loses any trait, such as Amphibious, that assumes a living physiology. It might also lose any or all of its lair actions or inherit new ones, as the DM sees fit.

Undead. The lebendtod's type changes from humanoid to undead, and it no longer requires air, food, drink, or sleep.

Alignment. Lebendtod are typically of a neutral evil alignment, often masquerading as true neutral to avoid suspicion.

Age. While not truly immortal, lebendtod can live for centuries. Their undead lifespan is roughly 10 times as long as that of their original natural lifespan.

Armor Class. The lebendtod has +2 AC due to natural armor.

Hit Dice. All hit dice increase to d12.

Ability Score. The lebendtod's ability scores receive +2 to Strength, +1 to Dexterity, and -1 to Intelligence.

Saving Throws. The lebendtod gains proficiency for Wisdom saving throws if it did not have proficiency already.

Skills. The lebendtod gains proficiency in the Deception skill if it did not already have proficiency.

Necrotic Resistance. The lebendtod is resistant to necrotic damage.

Detachable Limbs. The lebendtod can detach or reattach any limb or its head as an action. Any humanoid that can see this action must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the humanoid is frightened of the lebendtod until the start of the lebendtod's next turn. On a success, the humanoid is immune to the frightened effect of this trait for 24 hours.

• Save DC = 8 + the lebendtod's proficiency bonus + the lebendtod's Charisma modifier

As a bonus action, the lebendtod can control any and all of its detached limb(s) as follows:

• A detached leg is unable to attack and has a 5' movement speed.

• A detached arm has a speed of 5' and can make one claw attack.

• If the lebendtod detaches its head, humanoids have disadvantage on the saving throw against the frightened condition described above. A detached head has a speed of 0' and can make one bite attack, but only against a target in its space.

• Each detached limb has an AC equal to the lebendtod's and 6 (1d12)HP. The lebendtod magically shares its senses with any detached limb.

• The lebendtod's speed is halved if it's missing a leg. If it loses both legs, it falls prone. If it has both arms, it can crawl. With only one arm, it can still crawl, but its speed is halved. With no arms or legs, its speed is 0, and it can't benefit from bonuses to speed.

False Façade (2/Day). As an action, the lebendtod can magically alter its appearance to appear as it did prior to its death. The effect lasts for 24 hours, until the lebendtod dismisses it as a free action, or if it dies. If the lebendtod suffers any form of magical damage, it makes a concentration check as if concentrating on a spell. On a failure the lebendtod reverts to its true form.

Last Kiss. As an action, the lebendtod can touch the corpse of a humanoid that has died within the last round and give a 'kiss.' If the corpse remains intact and undisturbed it will rise as a lebendtod after 3 days that is under the control of the original lebendtod's master. If the corpse is significantly disturbed within those 3 days, it instead rises as a ghast.

The corpse can be prevented from rising as an undead by destroying it, such as with cremation or disintegration. The use of a spell like Remove Curse will also dispel the effect, while Gentle Repose can delay the effect. Any attempt to ressurect the corpse will automatically fail until the lebendtod's last kiss is dispelled.

Natural Weapons. The lebendtod gains claw and bite attack options instead of unarmed strikes if they did not have them originally. The lebendtod is considered proficient and can use either Strength or Dexterity modifier to make their attack rolls with this trait. A bite attack does 1d4 piercing damage and a claw attack does 1d6 slashing damage, plus the appropriate ability score modifier.

Lebendtod Sample NPC's

Given below are three of the likeliest encounters with lebendtod within the setting of the island of Nebligtode: the commoners that populate the island's village, the nobles that pretend to still rule the island, and the sailors that crew the ships that bring fresh(er) corpses to the island. All examples given were humans in their former lives, but the template can apply to other humanoid races. Simply adjust for the appropriate racial traits.