Residual 1 (3)

Planar Bestiary

Residuals are undead, but only just. They are the animated partial or incomplete remains of bodies torn apart by an Abyssal assailant. Specifically, residuals appear as the tragic consequence of a successful demon attack on an innocent. The remaining skin, severed limb, upper torso, head, or even just a single loose eye, under the proper circumstances, regains animation born of the brutality of its previous owner's death.

If a residual successfully eliminates enough living prey, they can stitch themself into a fully realized undead form.

Motive: Hunger for life force, regain full form

Environment: Anywhere demons have killed mortals, usually in groups of up to a dozen (some of which were originally part of the same victim)

Health: 5

Damage Inflicted: Minor wound (2 points)

Movement: Immediate

Modifications: Speed defense as level 3 due to size; necromantically perceives environment as level 4

Combat: Residuals' forms include disembodied claws, skulls, and flayed skin. Groups of three or more can attack as a single level 3 entity inflicting 5 points of damage on a hit, in addition to any specific options related to the residual's form, which vary as follows. If a group with a skull and/or flayed skin successfully attacks a target, then the skull and/or flayed skin become attached to the target as well.

• Skull: The skull bites, inflicting damage and attaching to a target. An attached skull automatically inflicts damage each round until it is removed with a successful level 3 Might task.
• Claw: The claw slashes, inflicting damage and on a failed level 3 Might defense task, inflicts an additional 2 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) from necrotic energy.
• Flayed Skin: The skin doesn't deal damage on a hit but instead wraps tightly around its target's neck and squeezes. Each round the victim fails to remove the skin with a successful level 3 Might task, the victim automatically takes 2 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) from strangulation.
• Unsocketed eye: A target in short range that fails a Speed defense task is hit with an enervating ray that inflicts 2 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) from necrotic energy.
• Upper torso: With one or both claws, a skull, and perhaps even an eye, an upper torso attacks twice each round with a bite, claw, or enervating ray. An upper torso residual's Speed defense is level 2.

Residuals are hard to finish off. If an attack would reduce a residual's health to 0, it does so only if the number rolled in the attack was an even number; otherwise, the residual is reduced to 1 point of health instead.

Interaction: Residuals do not reason, cannot speak, and never stop pursuing something they've identified as a potential kill, unless something else living comes closer.

Use: A defeated necromancer's or undead creature's dismembered head, forearm, or lost eye shudders and reanimates as one or more residuals. A necromancer's "arms" are disembodied claws they can unleash as allies in combat.

GM Intrusion: When a character destroys the residual, they release a burst of necrotic energy that, on a failed Intellect defense task, gives the character a craving to consume living flesh that intensifies over time (this craving can be ended by magic that removes curses).