Undead Character Help

How would you pull off a "friendly" undead PC?

I was thinking about having something different as a pc. But how about a skeleton that is not a "evil" Lich?

I was thinking about a cursed Barbarian. Who loved drinking and feasting and is now a bit sad because people don't want to socialize with him anymore.

Also, post Skeletons.

So basically his Character will be a bit like a 90s Cartoon Hero who thirsts for Glory and Adventure. His only problem is the peoples intolerance against the Undead.

Skeletons are the way to go for making "good" undead guys. Basically, it's not your fault that you're now a bag of bones, and with your flesh gone most of the uncanniness inherent to being undead has rotted away, so to speak. More people fear sharing your fate than they actually fear you.

I've done the cursed with undeath route before - a character seeking out the thing which will actually kill them for GOOD.

That was my idea. The character himself should have a light hearted personality. (Think of Brave & the Bold Aquaman.Or any old cartoon hero) except he looks like your every day dark Overlord.

Tragic. I like it.

I don't have the screencap, but someone once posted a undead character he roleplayed.

Basically a skeleton always completely armored, pulling off a "my horrible scars are too hideous to gaze upon" persona.

And he spent the entire campaign making bony puns. When the party finally figured out he was a skeleton, they trusted him anyways, got the puns and started laughing about the whole thing.

Sorry, but that's all I remember.

There's no reason for a given undead to totally surrender appearances, either. They may just go about it differently, bleaching their bones, applying lotion to mummified leather skin, stuffing themselves with fragrant, pure spices, deluding themselves at all opportunities...

Delousing, not deluding, but both work.

The BBEG killed you, and to add insult to injury, had your body cast into a nearby bog, to be swallowed by the muck.

The BBEG has done this to many of his enemies, and their souls still linger in the mire. These disgraced souls have had enough, and have pooled all their remaining strength into your body. The power engulfs you, charges you, raises you up-

You awaken many years after your death, rising from the bog as a terrible revenant. The BBEG is still at large, and your goal is clear.

Vengeance.

Something I did for a purely background element of a barbarian culture in my game was that the elders/wisdoms were ritualistic ally mummified alive (this has historical precedent in Buddhism, look it up). Additionally, this culture did not write down anything of religious or spiritual existence, since they believed those Truths could only be spoken, or else they would become a hollow mantra. Thus, preserving the wise also served to preserve their understanding of the true nature of reality and pass it on to more students.

The purpose was to let the clans gain insight to the world beyond the veil. In time, these lurkers on the threshold became more obtuse, dreamed more, talked lrss, until eventually they entered an interminable twilight, not dead but also not alive. It was considered a supreme honor but also a terrible aacrifice.

Whatever you do, don't play an ebin joke man skeleton, it's been done to death and isn't funny any more.

I have that screencap. A more perfect example of spooky shenanigans you will not find.

>skeleton jokes have been done to death

Tleilaxu ghola. Just rip off the search for memories of previous life.

>People whine when a player always plays the same race each game
>But it's okay when that race is humans

>don't play an ebin joke man skeleton
>it's been done to death
>done to death
This tickled my funny bone

High priest and prime demagogue of a people displaced and driven into inhospitable salt plains. Disease and famine poised to kill the tribes to a man when their high priest declared that he would go alone into the salt flats, commune with the heavens, and return with the answer to their salvation. Days later, when his desiccated form reappeared on the horizon he announced the discovery of a divine solution to their plight. He appealed to the medicine men to conduct a drastic form of trepanation on him. A large hole was cut into the top of his skull as his third eye with which he would commune with the heavens. After a day and night of mantras a holy pillar of light descended from the sky into the priest’s pate and burst forth from his face, removing much of it in the process. This beam of light acted as a guide to lead his people to a land of plenty. Once safe and settled, the priest announced that he was leaving, much to the lamentation of the saved tribes. It was blasphemy for him to dwell amongst them any further, he explained, for he had died on the first night he ventured forth into the flats to find his answer.

>Liche, Keith Thompson

Hol up user, he didn't specify which race's skeleton. Could be an Elf skeleton for all we know.

>Done to the death

You can't escape it. And I have yet to actually meet a "Mr. Funny Bones", so I wouldn't mind.

>You join a session, you've already established your character with the gm and set up rules for it.
>You sit at the table under the guise of "spectating"
>The pcs enter the crypt as dicussed with the gm.
>As they fight their way through they would notice a knight has joined them.
>His heraldry is tattered and his armor has lost it's luster.
>You assist your fellow pcs through the dungeon saying nothing.
>When you leave you simply accompany them, the horrid truth known only to you.

>Is this a fucking joke to you? Do you find this fucking humerus?

Wears full plate all the time, doesn't sleep

Duane himself is a pretty interesting example of an undead PC.

Bump

The campaign fell apart before they reached it, but I had an alzheimers suffering Demi-lich. The party had already encountered flaming skulls so knew undead could be just floating skulls, and I wouldn't explicitly state it was a Demilich. Instead they'd come across a skull floating through a library that for some reason was in a tomb, humming to itself before it cheerfully greeted them. If they attacked it it would hide and beg them to leave. If they talked to it, it would be confused but pleasant, and help them find knowledge in the library as long as they promised not to remove any books.

I imagine it would have gone badly (they were level 8 or so), but if they for some reason grew fond of the crazy, polite floating skull next time they visited I'd have them spy some hostile creatures trying to break in. They go in and fight them, but one escapes deeper and they arrive to find the dessicated husk of the beast on the floor as the skull says "Oh hello! I hope that wasn't a friend of yours. He tried to hit me. Rude of him."

So 343 Guilty Spark?

tim burton's corpse bride helped me a lot.

>liking meme burton