The Undead

The report was compiled by special agent Romana Brooks of the Paradigm City cabal. It is not considered mandatory study.

Romana Brooks Special Agent Darkness Falls cabal

Overview
Undead. The word immediately conjures the idea of a shuffling zombie with arms outstretched in front of it, or the legendary Bela Lugosi as Dracula drifting in through an open window. Both of these images, while entertaining and sometimes delightfully chilling, are not depictions of true undead. The undead we will be discussing here are the real thing, the lifeless remains of animals or people that somehow remain ambulatory. It's the hope of the author that this report will clarify the true nature of the undead, the forms and shapes fellow agents may encounter, and how best to neutralize such creatures.

True undead differ from their portrayal in mass media in that the true undead is fueled by and derives its energy from The Dread. Where precisely this energy has its point of origin remains a mystery. The Darklight Society has pondered this question for millennia and of all of the theories and speculations two theories have been proposed that stand out above the rest.

1. The negative energy that initially fuels the undead into motion emanates from the parallel dimension of horrors termed The Nightward. This theory remains number one of all the theories rendered on the subject because a good 90% of all the true undead we've encountered were first encountered within The Nightward itself, or came through mystic vortexes accidentally connected to that dimension.

2. The energy that animates the undead emanates from a parallel dimension of entropic energy, likely the very same dimension that is speculated to provide the Fati'i Magickal Tradition with the energy to empower rotes. Studies made of captured undead show that they are bursting with this energy, which seems to ebb and flow in accordance with the survival needs of the undead. Unfortunately, it has been determined that the negative energy found within the Nightward has similar properties, and thus can't be ruled out.

Through a either a completely unknown process or a direct manifestation of Magickal will, when a creature dies the body is instantly infused with entropic energy. This energy allows the molecules of muscle masses within the body to transform from positive to negative. Once this process is complete, in most cases a matter of mere seconds, the muscle tissue of the body becomes reactive again, and the creature rises. In 50% of undead cases the negative energy obliterates the intellect of the individual, reducing brain function to basic primal needs: to find food and shelter.

In the remaining cases, however, the intellect, reasoning, and memory of the undead are retained. How this occurs is completely unknown but this possession means, of course, that the undead becomes an exceptionally dangerous creature as it is capable of logical thought and decision making. These intelligent undead pose a grave threat not only to the agents that may oppose it but society as a whole.

In almost every case, whether the newly created undead is intelligent or not, being fueled by the negative energy becomes a temporary thing. The energy fades as time goes on unless specific needs are met. These needs are usually dietary in nature: the undead refuels its negative energy reserve by consuming the blood and/or flesh of living creatures. In some rare cases the need may be fulfilled by some other means, such as consuming the flesh of corpses or performing specific Magickal rites but such cases are, sadly, extremely rare.

The negative energy also causes the undead creature other disabilities or disadvantages, which seem to be shared by the entire 'species' as a whole. Some burn when exposed to direct sunlight while others are only blinded; some are unable to cross running water or step onto hallowed ground, others are repelled by plants such as members of the nightshade family while others can touch or consume such plants without difficulty. In the listing of true undead below, the powers, disabilities, and boons granted by rising as an undead entity are stated clearly and concisely so there will be no confusion.

The True Undead
The information provided here about true undead is complete and accurate to the best of the author's knowledge. The astute gent will notice that the Master Vampire (q.v.) is not included anywhere in this dossier save here. That's intentional, as the Master Vampire is by no means a true undead. In fact, the Master Vampire is not an undead at all. Please see the corresponding report on The Vampire Intelligence for further information.

1. The Lich  The Lich is the nuclear bomb of undead. Most agents will go their entire career without ever encountering one of these. The Lich is the undead result of an exceptionally powerful ceremonial magician whom, at the end of his lifespan, chooses to surrender his remaining humanity in order to continue existing long after the body has not. We do know that this process is achieved through both human and animal sacrifice combined with an elaborate days long Magickal ritual that must all be performed exactly correct. If the magician's calculations are off by even one iota the rite fails and the magician dies. But if everything is done correctly, the magician still dies, but rises three days later with all of his faculties intact. The Lich has been born.

The word Lich comes from the Old Scots dialect of Gaelic Lyhan, originally pronounced Lye-cheen. How the entomology became the current word lich is unknown. In addition to all of the Magickal knowledge the magician retains, it also now has a greatly feared ability to drain the life essence of others simply by touch. Previous victims of the lich, we found three whom survived the encounter, all describe being gripped by the creature and immediately being overcome by a feeling of intense, freezing cold. The victims then reported a brutal sense of confusion and disorientation, an inability to speak or remain standing, and severe physical pain until the lich let go.

The Lich is also endowed with a preternatural sense of sight. The creature clearly exhibits the ability to see perfectly in absolute darkness, and may be able to view the infrared specturm. It likewise exhibits an ability to see ghosts and other astral entities as if it were a psychic. As it is truly a dead creature, attacks made on its physical form which would be fatal to any living human being are absolutely fruitless when utilized against a lich.

Apparently, the lich's only disadvantage is its physical form itself. Like all dead things, the lich undergoes a process of decomposition. The levels of decomposition displayed is an easy method of determining the lich's age and general power. A lich that has relatively few signs of decomposition hasn't existed very long and thus has yet to reach its full potential. A fully realized lich will appear to be a simple, if well-dressed-skeleton. A lich of this age usually requires an entire cabal to confront.

Thankfully, the vast majority of lich around the world are motivated only by their desire to collect and increase their Magickal knowledge, and can rarely trouble themselves to cause problems for society. Of all the documents and witness reports have throughout the centuries, the lich prefers to remain in isolation and undetected. We have evidentiary proof that a lich was active in Darkness Falls as late as 2017 but appears to have moved on or gone into hiding again since.

2. The Wraith  Unlike the lich, the wraith is almost always dangerous to human civilization and takes active steps to corrupt and destroy it. According to unsubstantiated folklore, the wraith concept was used by author J. R. R. Tolkien after he himself was witness to a wraith attack on a family in his home estate.

Like the lich, the wraith is almost always a powerful practitioner of sorcery whom willingly makes a self-sacrifice in order to become a true undead. In this case, the self-sacrifice it makes is its own body. Once the Magickal ritual it utilizes is complete, the sorcerer's physical form is destroyed, leaving only an invisible force to retain its facilities and allow it to terrorize the area it haunts.

Wraiths are creatures of pure hatred. Some will only target specific individual households or individuals whilst others deem it fit to attack entire communities. Among the undead they have the ability to utilize that power we have come to call the Entropy Grip as the lich can but to a much lesser extent: where the lich's grip is fatal if maintained, the grip of the wraith can only render the victim unconscious at its longest use.

The wraith possesses a boon not seen among other undead in that it is capable of generating an empathic terror that can affect entire crowds of people. The sight of most undead will frighten an average person, but with the wraith as there is no body to view the emotion is triggered artificially but with tremendous strength; affected individuals will flee in blind terror or curl up in the fetal position where they are standing. This wave of fear is the greatest weapon in the wraith's arsenal.

Like other true undead, most forms of assault against a wraith that would be fatal to a living individual have no effect on wraiths. After all, shooting a wraith through the spot where a heart would normally be is pointless, as there is no heart there. But unlike a ghost, the wraith is not wholly immaterial. It remains solid, able to manipulate objects normally. Its natural state of being invisible provides the wraith enough of a fear factor to send most people fleeing. The wraith is extremely resistant to Magickal or psychic banishment, in almost every case only a cabal performing such rites in unison can hope to invoke a strong enough effect.

The wraith also suffers the greatest disabilities from being undead. Sunlight and bright lights blinds it. Holy water or blessed oil sprinkled along household entry points can stop the creature getting in or, alternately, prevent them getting out. Reading holy scripture with true faith in divine power and authority has a profound effect on the wraith, forcing them to flee their haunting space and, in most cases, not return.

Given the disabilities of being a wraith in exchange for so little power may seem to be a poor choice but the wise agent will recall that the wraith is a very powerful sorcerer whom is invisible and can manipulate the emotional states of others.

3. The Wight  The popular undead that appears in many tabletop, video, and MMO games is nothing compared to the perfect cocktail blends of power, strength, and fury of the real thing. Unlike the lich and the wraith, the Wight is not any kind of magician whom trades in its humanity for power and eternal existence. Rather, it is a creature created by pure willpower. That willpower burns in an exceptionally strong individual, motivated by hate and revenge, whom refuses to let death stop it's personal mission. Also called a revenant in popular slang, the wight is an undead that returns to right a wrong commited on itself, usually as the result of both he murder of a loved one and itself.