Varculak

Varculak

(Creature)

Type

Undead

CR

By class level

Environment

Any

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Alien Archive 3, pg(s). 126

Varculaks, also known as soul wights, are undead humanoids who cling to life after death through sheer force of will, but lose most memories from their old lives.

Appearance

Upon their transformation, varculaks lose any limbs and sensory organs that humans do not have (like a kasatha's extra arms or a lashunta's antennae). Their eyes are but points of cold light, which can be of any colour. Varculaks who recently ate or slept might look almost alive, but between these periods (especially when sleeping), they become pale like a corpse. Living members of a varculak's species tend to find them disturbing to look at.

Ecology

When a humanoid dies with a sufficiently strong anger and desire to continue living, their soul might not enter the River of Souls for judgement by Pharasma. Instead, only a portion of mortal essence passes away, leaving behind a grim, determined, angry soul with most of its memories missing inside a varculak's undead body. Occult scholars call this state the Curse of Varcul, after Varcul, the fabled first varculak who supposedly existed millennia before the Gap. Some say that varculaks still make a deal with him to continue living (something that they immediately forget), and he in turn requires his 'children' to sacrifice their limbs and sensory organs to emulate his erstwhile humanity.

Varculaks are immune to disease and do not need to breathe, but still have to eat, drink and sleep.

Society

Most varculaks view life as fleeting and passionately seek to experience what it can offer and give it purpose. Having died once, they are usually obsessive, rarely idle, and less risk-averse than the living. A rare few lucky ones remember an unfinished business in life, make that their purpose and return to their old society.

A few varculaks only remember their death, causing them to seek vengeance with extreme prejudice. These varculaks become obsessed with blame, condemning not just those responsible but almost everyone with the slightest connection to their death, something which tends to quickly lead them to their second, final death.