The Hungry Dead

The Scrivener holds to an old Daoist view of the soul in that it is split into 10 parts. The various souls that compose a person travel to different destinations depending on their actions in life. The things she summons by use of this spell calls the fragmentary 'Po' souls of wicked mortals that have yet to be purged of sin. They often seem 'incomplete' and corpselike, with bits of skin or flesh or hair missing. The Hungry Dead will also sometimes bare inhuman marks that hint to the sins still staining their being.  

Though they lack the higher 'Hun' soul to provide thought and reflection, the Po is the seat of instinct and worldly awareness. They are intensely cunning, able to apply an animal-like cunning to situations. They also possess an incredible strength and tenacity, able to perform physical feats no human body should be capable of.  In addition, the effects of the spell causes a few strange quirks which can result in them being far more dangerous.


Welcome to the Apocalypse
The spell the Scrivener uses to summon her servants floods an area with her Edict, causing the fabric between realities to be come permeable. Though it is far easier and swifter to possess dead remains, the Hungry Dead can also manifest 'corpse-shadows' to allow them to walk the world once more.  Because it is a weakening of dimensional borders rather than a gateway, the manifestations can appear even in the most unlikely places...

System:  They are Everywhere!  They are in the floor, the ceiling, the walls!  A street empty of corpses an hour ago may suddenly be flooded with a tide of shambling corpses.  Note that the space must be large enough for the corpse-shadow to form, or have an existing corpse to possess.  They also cannot manifest in well lit areas or within the immediate presence of mortals.  They can, however, lay in wait...

Strength of the Corpse Body
Those that walk the world in the garb of the dead do so with might unrivaled. Placed beyond mortal frailty, the dead can impose a terrible strength upon the world.  Inured to the frailties of flesh, they march on the living with uncanny puissance.  

System: Super Strength/Durability/Endurance.  The Hungry Dead are both strong and incredibly durable, though this comes with a number of flaws due to their nature.  

The Touch of Death
Suffused with Yin energies, the corpse bodies of the Hungry Dead are intensely dangerous to mortal life. A scratch or bite delivered by one of them will case a human to be infected by the polluted Yin energies they house.  Injury caused directly by one of the Hungry Dead will begin to necrotize, slowly corrupting the internal energies of the victim and poisoning them from within...

System:  Proper hygiene is important when fighting dead people.  Direct injury by the Hungry Dead or internal exposure to their humors will cause a victim to sicken.  Though it resists treatment by modern medicine, amputation or excising the corrupted flesh can halt the spread.  Healing powers or mortal spiritual purification can also prevent the need to remove limbs.


Bestial Soul
The Po Souls, sometimes derogatorily known as the 'Beast Souls', are most closely tied to the body.  While it is the source of intuition and instinct, it is also the seat of hunger and desire.  It lacks the ability to govern itself, and requires the Hun soul to provide direction and discipline.  Thus, the Hungry Dead are creatures of desire, seeking to fulfill their desires without the insight of a higher soul.

System:  The Hungry Dead are cunning, but not intelligent.  They are unable to formulate complex plans or strategies.  

Enslaved to Desire
The Po, being the seat of earthly desire, will act on its urges unless given direction otherwise. This usually manifests as 'mindlessly attack the living', but can also be more benign. Some will seek to eat all the food available, or horde something they found precious in life, or protect some random bit of floor they have decided is 'theirs'.  Even while following orders, some will do strange little things such as cackle menacingly or adjust misaligned furniture.  

System: Unless given specific direction, the Hungry Dead act erratically. Though they are prone to lash out jealously against the living, they often also fulfill strange desires left over from their mortal lives.

Ashes to Ashes
Fire, suffused with the chaotic brilliance of Yang energies, is anathema to the Hungry Dead. Purging wicked ghosts with fire is an effective way to disperse or slay them. Unless given a specific order, the Hungry Dead will shy away from flame, avoiding it at all costs.  

System: Fire bad!  Fear of Fire, which also bypasses their Durability.  

Dust to Dust
Items infused with strong sources of Yang energy, such as as peachwood, are allow one to bypass the protections provided by the corpse-shadow. Though the rotting shells of corrupted Yin energy protect them from sources such as sunlight, direct application of such tools to their body will overcome their resistance.

System:  Powers based around Fire, Light, Holy, or Life themes are very effective against the Hungry Dead.

Seat of the Soul
Though the Hungry Dead are technically wicked spirits possessing corpses or creating corpselike avatars, they are vulnerable to the 'architecture' of their vessels.  Destroying or disrupting the brain will cause a corpse or corpse-shadow to de-animate, and thus be unsuitable for use.  This will leave a husk behind as the Hungry Dead seek to re-manifest itself elsewhere.

System: Shoot for the head; if the skull is pierced, trauma to the brain can bypass the protection of the corpse-body and slay the creature.

In Accordance with Ritual
Being unclean souls manifesting in the mortal plane, the Hungry Dead are subject to rituals and signs affecting the dead. Rituals or gestures meant to abjure or protect against evil spirits can rebuke them, so long as those gestures are made with intension.  So long as the ward, symbol, or gesture persists, the Hungry Dead may not approach.

System:  Simple wards or gestures made to ward off the dead or wicked spirits will prevent the dead from approaching or harming anyone protected by them. Unless directed otherwise, the dead will often wander off and not challenge those who are warded after being so rebuked. Jia's servants must be directly ordered to contest them.


The Hungry Dead will have whatever trappings of a corpse they possess.  When manifesting a corpse-body, they will manifest tattered clothing and items of symbolic or emotional importance to them.  Especially important or intelligent undead may also be given or carry weapons with them.