Shambling Dead

Shambling dead, called by almost innumerable names across every land, are slow and mindless undead. They are corpses animated by demonic mockeries of true souls.

Much of this article is taken from excerpts of Vita Mortis by Grigore Summers.

Appearance

Shambling dead are raised from corpses in any point of decay. Some may be fleshless skeletons. Others may be newly dead. Others may be old and brittle dead raised from a graveyard or crypt that still bear some rotting flesh. Unlike their revenant counterparts, the flesh that shambling dead desire to consume does not actually regenerate their bodies, so their appearance does not change regardless of their actions.

Nature

The shambling dead are abominations of dark magic and do not possess a true soul. They are animated only by demonic creations that mock souls and thus lack any of their power or intellect. Thus, shambling dead are slow moving and have no minds. They are so thoughtless that they will batter themselves to pieces upon a wall if they cannot reach their prey. They exist only to crave flesh and to follow the commands of their master that animated them. Only mortal flesh, such as those of Men and animals, can become undead. Animation of inanimate matter can only be achieved through ancient runic magic to create golems. Elves have never been known to become any form of undead, and their bodies cannot be reanimated using soul mockeries.

However, despite having no soul, shambling dead are strong and almost impossible to stop through any conventional means. Dear reader, if you have somehow encountered the animated dead, please contact the Knights Templar or the Venatori immediately to excise the area. Do not attempt to defeat such creatures on your own, or you will surely perish.