Dubbed the 'sailors of
Jalat', Drowned Ones are waterlogged zombies, animated corpses of those who's not so final resting place was the bottom of the sea. Often sighted in various stages of decomposition from slightly off color, to bare bones with only the slightest traces of flesh remaining. Drowned ones can be distinguished from other forms of undead by the pinpoints blue-green bale fire that burns in their lifeless eye sockets, and it is said that those meeting the gaze of a drowned one will hear the roar of the ocean breakers in their ears for days.
Originally thought to be an isolated creation of a necromancer, but given the time span and range of sightings, that seems unlikely. Quite who or what is the power behind this watery legion of undead is unknown.
Several 'hot-spots' of activity for drowned ones are known, one of which is said to lie somewhere within the
Eunesia province. Legend has it that an entire island was lost beneath the waves in a storm, and now the whole population slips ashore, but only under the cover of fog, seemingly for no purpose other than to cause misery and death for the living. Fishermen warn of areas in which you should not cast your nets, less you pull up a less then lifeless corpse. If these cautionary tales are genuine warnings, or simply intended to scare others from a good fishing spot is best left to interpretation. In other parts, sailors claim there are ghost ships, crewed by drowned ones, silently shambling about the deck, carrying out the tasks of their living counterparts, with no apparent purpose or reason, as the rotten ships cruise slowly on their never ending voyages.
Abstract
Mindless, animated corpses of those lost at sea. Also known as sea zombies, their waterlogged state gives them a resistance to fire and heat based attacks. For some unknown reason, something about the creation of sea zombies makes them stronger and faster than their common land based contemporaries. Weather this is a preservative effect of the salt water or if some other power is at work is unknown.
Physical Appearance
Drowned ones carry all the traits commonly associated with dead corpses, plaid gray flesh, sunken eyes, gaping wounds and occasionally missing limbs. Evidence of their watery origin is apparent in the seaweeds and slime draping their forms, and the various crustaceans inhabiting their hair, wounds and body orifices.
Climate/Terrain
Shallows, coastlines near inhabited areas. Usually encountered raiding coastal settlements and clambering up anchor ropes to attack moored ships, but may also be discovered in undersea caves and aboard ghost ships.
Organization
Roam about in large packs of 10-50 individuals.
Combat
Drowned ones attack in what would pass for an unorganized shambles. They swarm their enemies bludgeoning, clawing and biting those that stand before them, in preference to using any weapons they might carry.
Resistances
Resistant to: Fire and fire based attacks.
Immune to: Mind affecting spells.
Linear Mode
