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Half-Undead

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
ravenloftlover347
Oct 04, 2006 11:45:25 Okay, everyone knows that vampires can spawn dhampir children. But what about other intelligent undead? Can someone give me a good reason (beside that it's horriblely wrong and much closer to necrophilia than being with a vampire) that a lich could make a half-lich? If Strahd can have a bunch of bastard dhampir children running around, why can't Azalin have any horrible abominations? From what I've read of Azalin, even if it weren't naturally occurring, he would still probablely have half-liches created. Aren't there other undead that would make half-breed spawn?
#2
Myst_the_Moonscout
Oct 04, 2006 17:11:06 Don't you need to become a lich through a ritual or something? I'm not sure that's something that could be passed along through genes or blood.

An issue of Dragon (can't remember which, will have to check at home) had an article about half-undead and how they might come to be. They had the half-ghost (Fetch), half-vampire (kitane, I think), half-ghoul and half-ghast if I recall correctly. Usually it involves a pregnant woman being turned into an undead, ressurection gone wrong, or possibly divine intervention. The article lists the fetch as possibly being created when the gods allow a woman to carry her dead lover's child.
#3
zombiegleemax
Oct 04, 2006 18:45:15 Azalin does have 'children'. They might not be obviously half-undead, though.

There's a tidbit on them in the novel Lord of the Necropolis, as well as some more in-detail info in the Ravenloft Gazetteer.

One of his children has become Death, Darklord of Necropolis, after being subjected to an experiment to test the effects of an artifact that Azalin thought would induce apotheosis.
#4
Myst_the_Moonscout
Oct 05, 2006 14:11:32 apotheosis?
#5
bob_the_efreet
Oct 05, 2006 15:14:13
apotheosis?

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=apotheosis
#6
zombiegleemax
Oct 06, 2006 17:15:38
Okay, everyone knows that vampires can spawn dhampir children. But what about other intelligent undead? Can someone give me a good reason (beside that it's horriblely wrong and much closer to necrophilia than being with a vampire) that a lich could make a half-lich? If Strahd can have a bunch of bastard dhampir children running around, why can't Azalin have any horrible abominations? From what I've read of Azalin, even if it weren't naturally occurring, he would still probablely have half-liches created. Aren't there other undead that would make half-breed spawn?

I don't think that a lich can produce children biologically. Their body's are not what I would consider intact enough for that.
As for other types of undead, I suppose it would depend on what the type was.
#7
Myst_the_Moonscout
Oct 06, 2006 18:00:04 An incredibly gruesome yet valid point.

They're in Dragon 313 by the way, Half vampires, ghosts, zombies, and ghoul/ghast/flesh-eaty things. They are considered 'alive' but have some quirks, like sensitivity to turning or something, can't really remember, been a while since I've looked at the article. I actually use a Fetch in a Ravenloft adventure I am makeing.
#8
zombiegleemax
Oct 11, 2006 20:06:19
Azalin does have 'children'. They might not be obviously half-undead, though.

There's a tidbit on them in the novel Lord of the Necropolis, as well as some more in-detail info in the Ravenloft Gazetteer.

One of his children has become Death, Darklord of Necropolis, after being subjected to an experiment to test the effects of an artifact that Azalin thought would induce apotheosis.

It's been a while since I read that one - a LONG while - and I didn't exactly STUDY it when I was reading, but the idea of having Az refer to anything as his "child" other than Irik seems HUGELY character-contrary. I may be sticking on semantics again, but Azalin's child was a huge, glaring, bright star of a failed experiment for him, and his disgust and contempt for that failed attempt at creating a legacy of a strong line of kings (and the acts he performed to correct that mistake) is ultimately what caused him to be imprisoned in Ravenloft to begin with.
#9
rotipher
Oct 12, 2006 7:43:28 I think the other post is a reference to Azalin's clones, of which he created a bunch, to see if he could learn new magic by absorbing the knowledge from them. He never considered these to be his "children", although some of the clones -- who don't know that's what they are -- mistakenly think of him as their "father".

Being undead, the usual Clone spell wouldn't work on the Big A, so he had to use a variant-process that made living women pregnant with his genetic duplicates. Most were born as calibans or worse, due to the mystic energies and inherent 'ickiness' of the spells employed, but a few turned out human ... and were still a bitter disappointment to Azalin, since he found he couldn't learn new magic through them, after all. The Lich-King gave up the experiment in disgust, but its few surviving products (including the one who got turned into Death) are still hanging around in Darkon.

Certainly, the clones are alive, not "half-undead". Lichdom is not hereditary.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 ravenloftlover347 Oct 04, 2006 11:45:25	Okay, everyone knows that vampires can spawn dhampir children. But what about other intelligent undead? Can someone give me a good reason (beside that it's horriblely wrong and much closer to necrophilia than being with a vampire) that a lich could make a half-lich? If Strahd can have a bunch of bastard dhampir children running around, why can't Azalin have any horrible abominations? From what I've read of Azalin, even if it weren't naturally occurring, he would still probablely have half-liches created. Aren't there other undead that would make half-breed spawn?
#2 Myst_the_Moonscout Oct 04, 2006 17:11:06	Don't you need to become a lich through a ritual or something? I'm not sure that's something that could be passed along through genes or blood. An issue of Dragon (can't remember which, will have to check at home) had an article about half-undead and how they might come to be. They had the half-ghost (Fetch), half-vampire (kitane, I think), half-ghoul and half-ghast if I recall correctly. Usually it involves a pregnant woman being turned into an undead, ressurection gone wrong, or possibly divine intervention. The article lists the fetch as possibly being created when the gods allow a woman to carry her dead lover's child.
#3 zombiegleemax Oct 04, 2006 18:45:15	Azalin does have 'children'. They might not be obviously half-undead, though. There's a tidbit on them in the novel Lord of the Necropolis, as well as some more in-detail info in the Ravenloft Gazetteer. One of his children has become Death, Darklord of Necropolis, after being subjected to an experiment to test the effects of an artifact that Azalin thought would induce apotheosis.
#4 Myst_the_Moonscout Oct 05, 2006 14:11:32	apotheosis?
#5 bob_the_efreet Oct 05, 2006 15:14:13	apotheosis? http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=apotheosis
#6 zombiegleemax Oct 06, 2006 17:15:38	Okay, everyone knows that vampires can spawn dhampir children. But what about other intelligent undead? Can someone give me a good reason (beside that it's horriblely wrong and much closer to necrophilia than being with a vampire) that a lich could make a half-lich? If Strahd can have a bunch of bastard dhampir children running around, why can't Azalin have any horrible abominations? From what I've read of Azalin, even if it weren't naturally occurring, he would still probablely have half-liches created. Aren't there other undead that would make half-breed spawn? I don't think that a lich can produce children biologically. Their body's are not what I would consider intact enough for that. As for other types of undead, I suppose it would depend on what the type was.
#7 Myst_the_Moonscout Oct 06, 2006 18:00:04	An incredibly gruesome yet valid point. They're in Dragon 313 by the way, Half vampires, ghosts, zombies, and ghoul/ghast/flesh-eaty things. They are considered 'alive' but have some quirks, like sensitivity to turning or something, can't really remember, been a while since I've looked at the article. I actually use a Fetch in a Ravenloft adventure I am makeing.
#8 zombiegleemax Oct 11, 2006 20:06:19	Azalin does have 'children'. They might not be obviously half-undead, though. There's a tidbit on them in the novel Lord of the Necropolis, as well as some more in-detail info in the Ravenloft Gazetteer. One of his children has become Death, Darklord of Necropolis, after being subjected to an experiment to test the effects of an artifact that Azalin thought would induce apotheosis. It's been a while since I read that one - a LONG while - and I didn't exactly STUDY it when I was reading, but the idea of having Az refer to anything as his "child" other than Irik seems HUGELY character-contrary. I may be sticking on semantics again, but Azalin's child was a huge, glaring, bright star of a failed experiment for him, and his disgust and contempt for that failed attempt at creating a legacy of a strong line of kings (and the acts he performed to correct that mistake) is ultimately what caused him to be imprisoned in Ravenloft to begin with.
#9 rotipher Oct 12, 2006 7:43:28	I think the other post is a reference to Azalin's clones, of which he created a bunch, to see if he could learn new magic by absorbing the knowledge from them. He never considered these to be his "children", although some of the clones -- who don't know that's what they are -- mistakenly think of him as their "father". Being undead, the usual Clone spell wouldn't work on the Big A, so he had to use a variant-process that made living women pregnant with his genetic duplicates. Most were born as calibans or worse, due to the mystic energies and inherent 'ickiness' of the spells employed, but a few turned out human ... and were still a bitter disappointment to Azalin, since he found he couldn't learn new magic through them, after all. The Lich-King gave up the experiment in disgust, but its few surviving products (including the one who got turned into Death) are still hanging around in Darkon. Certainly, the clones are alive, not "half-undead". Lichdom is not hereditary.