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22 - Undead Templates

Death comes to all things, but not even death can keep a good monster down. You can easily create an undead variant of any monster simply by giving it the undead type and describing its undead appearance, letting the narrative feed the players' impression of fighting undead without requiring any mechanical changes. But for even more realistic undead, you can use any of the following templates to give a monster some of the properties and attributes of a specific type of undead creature.

Undead Templates

All creatures that take on one of these templates gain the following universal changes:

The creature's type becomes undead.
The creature has darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.
Any new trait of the creature's that requires a saving throw uses a DC of 12 + one-half the undead creature's challenge rating.

Then apply the traits and actions of any of the following specific templates.

Skeleton

Vulnerability to bludgeoning damage.
Immunity to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the poisoned condition.

Zombie

Immunity to poison damage and the poisoned condition.
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the creature drops to 1 hit point instead.

Ghoul

Immunity to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the charmed and poisoned conditions.
Paralyzing Touch. When this creature hits with a melee attack using a natural weapon, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Elves and undead are immune to this effect.

Wight

Resistance to necrotic and poison damage, and to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered.
Immunity to exhaustion and the poisoned condition.
Life Drain. When this creature hits with a melee attack using a natural weapon, the attack deals necrotic damage equal to 1d6 + one-half the creature's challenge rating, and the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or have its hit point maximum reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Wraith

Resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, and thunder damage, and to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered.
Immunity to necrotic and poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the charmed, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, and restrained conditions.
The creature has the wraith's Incorporeal Movement and Sunlight Sensitivity traits.
The creature gains the following trait: Life Drain. When this creature hits with a melee attack using a natural weapon, the attack deals necrotic damage equal to 1d6 + one-half the creature's challenge rating, and the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or have its hit point maximum reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Vampire Spawn

Resistance to necrotic, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
The creature has the vampire spawn's Spider Climb, Vampire Weaknesses, and Regeneration traits.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: 4 + one-half the creature's CR to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire spawn creature, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: piercing damage equal to 1d6 + one-half the creature's CR, plus necrotic damage equal to 1d6 per one- half the creature's CR (minimum 1d6). The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the templated creature regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.
The creature can grapple a target instead of dealing damage with any of its attacks. If it makes multiple attacks, it can replace one of those attacks with the Bite action.
If you want your vampire spawn creature to feel even more vampiric, give it the ability to cast the misty step, command, or hold person spells at will as a bonus action.

Powerful Undead Templates

To build variants of creatures modeled after more powerful undead, use the undead creature's stat block and add traits from the base creature. It's easier to apply the traits and actions of a stone giant to a lich or vampire stat block than it is to apply lich or vampire traits to a stone giant stat block.

Ability Modifications

Ability score modifications to undead creatures aren't covered in these templates. For example, skeletons might have reductions to Dexterity and Charisma, and vampire spawn might have boosted Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores. Most of the time, you can safely skip such changes, simply improvising adjustments to the baseline abilities of the monster when needed.