Undead creatures are a fantasy classic across the entire genre, but especially so inDungeons & Dragons. Whether it’s fighting zombies and skeletons or clashing with some of the biggest villains in the game like Vecna or Strahd, Undead play a key part in many campaigns.
The only problem is that after the tenth fight with zombies and skeletons, your players might start getting a little bored. To help prevent that, we’ve put together a list of some of the most shocking Undead monsters in D&D to help keep things fresh for everyone at your table.
9Alhoon
Not A Zombie But Still Eats Brains
Mind Flayers are one of the most iconic D&D monsters, brain-eating creatures with psychic powers. Some Illithids abandon their colonies and seek out eternal life, achieving a state not especially dissimilar to a Lich.
An Alhoon makes a great central villain for your campaign, combining elements of the fear that both Mind Flayers and Liches strike in players. The best part is that Alhoon work in small groups, providing you an instant Undead cabal to build a story around.
8Beholder Zombie
The Beholder is possibly the first monster that springs to mind when thinking about D&D, but it’s usually not something you get to set against your players until later in a campaign.They’re incredibly dangerous, often leading to a TPK.
Enter the Beholder Zombie, an Undead version with significantly reduced stats and no anti-magic cone. With a Challenge Rating of 5, unlike a regular Beholder’s 13, you’re able to use this much earlier in a campaign.
You don’t have to reveal immediately to your lower-level party that the Beholder is Undead. Drop clues throughout the encounter by gradually describing the cracked flesh and milky, blind eye. If you let your players assume this is a regular Beholder, the reaction will be memorable.
7Boneless
Skin In The Game
If a skeleton is the bones of a person raised to be Undead, the Boneless is what happens when just the flesh is raised. It’s a truly horrific creature, guaranteed to illicit cringes, screams, and horrified laughter from your players in equal measure.
A Boneless isn’t as dangerous as other Undead, but it can wrap itself around characters to smother them and is able to squeeze through small gaps. If your players try to barricade themselves in a building against a horde of Undead, have a Boneless slither under the door to raise the stakes.
6Coldlight Walker
Chill Of The Grave
If your player’s characters have trekked somewhere cold and you need an Undead to suit the mood, the Coldlight Walker is the way to go. They’re the souls of those who died in the frigid cold, furious at those who still live.
A Coldlight Walker emits bright light, giving them a different visual than most Undead. You can use this to lure your players to them as they struggle through a blizzard and spot a bright light through the snow. Assuming it’s a sign of safety, they’ll walk right to it and save you the trouble of arranging the encounter.
5Firegaunt
Think Big
Sometimes a Fire Giant is just too angry to die. That doesn’t keep it alive, of course, but it does cause it to rise as an Undead called a Firegaunt. These charred creatures are burning with rage, seeking only to destroy whatever they can.
Even if you have players hardened against the appearance of Undead,one of this size is sure to shake them up. If that doesn’t do it, the Firegaunt blasting them with beams of heat from its face will probably do the trick.
4Kobold Vampire Spawn
Perfect Minions
If you’re using a vampire as your main villain, a choice that is almost always a hit with players, they’ll need some minions to round out their ranks. That’s where the Kobold Vampire Spawn comes into play, a Kobold transformed into a weak vampire.
These bloodthirsty little guys are dangerous enough that they have to be taken seriously but come with the expected weaknesses to running water, stakes, and sunlight. They’re a great way to give your vampires some variety from just transformed Humans.
3Mirror Shade
Man In The Mirror
Ghosts are well and good, but ghosts with a theme are undeniably better. Mirror Shades are the spirits of tricksters and rogues who can travel via and emerge from reflective surfaces, making them ideal creatures to catch the party by surprise.
Although you could spring a Mirror Shade on your players at any time, keep them in reserve until a rogue the players know passes away. Whether they were friend or foe will alter the Mirror Shades' attitude towards the party, but that makes their appearance all the more meaningful.
2Soul Shaker
Give It A Hand
Not all Undead have to be humanoid in appearance, as evidenced by the handful of a creature that is the Soul Shaker. Formed when enough Crawling Claws come together, the Soul Shaker seeks to crush the life from others.
What helps make it so interesting is that it can enthrall people, using them to bring more victims to it. Not only that, but once defeated, it explodes into a group of Crawling Claws. They all have to be destroyed, or the Soul Shaker regenerates, making a second tier to the combat with high stakes.
1Zombie Clot
As much as the zombie is the old reliable of the Undead monster roster, sometimes it just isn’t up to snuff. They aren’t very strong, and running an entire horde of them can cause combat to drag on so much that it might as well have stopped. That’s why you need the Zombie Clot.
It’s a Huge-sized creature that is made up entirely of regular-sized zombies mashed together. Not only is that horrific, but it makes for a perfect centerpiece monster amongst other Undead. This is one to make sure you show your players the artwork of to help drive home just how gruesome it is.
