Crypt Concubine
"Alfonsine" © Jakub Jagoda, accessed at his ArtStation here
[The European fascination with the undead has always had a sexual component. The first vampire fiction, "The Vampyre" by John Polidori, posits the vampire as a rake who seduces women and murders them after marriage. So many ghost stories are about tragedies befalling beautiful women. Mummy fiction started as an erotic fantasy about "exotic" princesses returning from death; the image of mummy as shambling murderer was a Code-Era Hollywood creation. And speaking of Hollywood, both the first voodoo zombie movie (White Zombie) and the best (I Walked With a Zombie) take the premise of "what if a pretty white lady got turned into a zombie?"
So the lack of any seductive or even just beautiful undead in original D&D is a little strange in light of greater trends. I suspect Gary Gygax himself didn't like the trope: for all the succubi and weretiger sideboob in the Monster Manuals, even the vampire is profoundly chaste (note that classic D&D vampires punch people to drain their life, and blood drinking is decidedly secondary). On the other hand, casual sexualization of the undead is common in modern pop culture; I'm thinking of the female forsaken in Warcraft, who are gray to purple and maybe have some cosmetic rot on their faces, but universally have great cleavage. So I wanted to course correct; write an undead about sex rather than sexy-as-default and I wanted to take it seriously.
The name "crypt concubine" has been rattling around in my head for a while, inspired by tales of women immured with their husbands on death that are found throughout the world. They're part of my recent push to make monsters linked to their living selves in an explicit and horrific way. The mechanics are inspired by Legend of the Eight Samurai, a Japanese fantasy movie I saw recently thanks to @bowelfly. I can't fully recommend it (our "heroic" lead tries to rape our heroine multiple times before they become love interests), but the many monsters and sword fights are fun. The villains of the piece are an undead empress who stays young by bathing in blood, and her undead son who stays young by grafting skin to his own. Once they're done with the parts, they animate their victims as undead vishkanya, who despite having being bled and skinned just look like pretty women. Incidentally, the normal appearance and severe toxicity, plus the connection to royal malfeasance, makes the crypt concubine a more legend accurate vishkanya than Pathfinder's snake people. The idea that they enhance the senses of the undead comes from @coolclaytony, who suggested it on the Patreon.
Speaking of... if you want to support smart writing about monsters, come check out the Creature Codex Patreon! If you're interested in the stuff mentioned in the first paragraph, might I suggest the essay I wrote for Halloween: Strahd, Vampires and the Reincarnated Love Trope]
Crypt Concubine
CR 5 LE Undead
This woman is beautiful and voluptuous; the only sign of anything unusual is in her blank eyes and the black stains under her pale skin.
One of the most infamous cruelties inflicted by tyrants is taking their household with them when they die. Slaves, servants, wives and concubines are ritually killed to serve their lord in the afterlife, or worse left alive to slowly die of suffocation or thirst. In lands where necromancy is common and tyrants rule beyond the grave, an even worse fate awaits some of their “favorite” lovers—animation into a crypt concubine, an undead creature that combines eternal beauty with dark and deadly powers. Crypt concubines are rarely found alone, instead serving a mummy lord, lich or other powerful undead. A crypt concubine's very presence enriches the senses of the undead, allowing them to experience smell, taste and touch as if they were alive.
A crypt concubine radiates unholy power—other undead are invigorated just by staying near her. Crypt concubines can attack with their bare hands, but usually carry small weapons that are easily concealed, such as daggers or darts. Her saliva and other fluids contain a lethal toxin derived from black lotus extract, and even a kiss from a crypt concubine can cause severe internal bleeding. Crypt concubines typically lick their weapons between uses. When a crypt concubine is slain, the crypt lotus poison is released in a burst, rupturing from beneath her skin for one last deadly surprise.
To all appearances, a crypt concubine is still a vital living person, usually but not always female. Only by touching her does the chill of death and the necrotic energy flowing in her veins instead of blood become apparent. Crypt concubines are charming and deceptive, and may claim to be living prisoners or sacrifices in order to lure enemies into a sense of false security. They may even leave the crypts of their masters as diplomats, spies or assassins. The status of a crypt concubine within an undead court depends on her master; some are trusted lieutenants, whereas others are little more than animate decorations. Most crypt concubines are unflinchingly loyal, as devoted as the most faithful spouse or lover could be. If their master is especially cruel or neglectful, however, crypt concubines have been known to turn on them, even recruiting adventurers into doing the dirty work.
A crypt concubine can be created with a create undead spell at caster level 15th, but a dose of black lotus extract must be used as an additional material component.
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