Inhabitants of dark pine forests, pine kindred resemble dried corpses with gnarly skin like the bark of a pine tree. Their hair is matted into spikes that match the pine needles on their forest's trees, including the color. They have pine sap for blood and smell strongly of fresh conifers and decaying wood. The wounds of an injured pine kindred will ooze trails of sap or be scabbed over with dried resin.

Undead with strange plant-like traits, pine kindred are created by gruesome humanoid sacrifices in a forest grove. They use weapons and equipment like humanoids. A novice or low ranking pine kindred will possess the ragged remains of garb and gear it had when alive, but seasoned pine kindred acquire equipment made by the kindred. Pine kindred have no need of clothing for warmth or modesty, but wear harnesses for weapons and equipment plus personal possessions. Important kindred will have raiment and ornaments to display their status and accomplishments.

The Gift of Nidhogg. In the bowels of Hell on the shore of corpses dwells Nidhogg, a terrible dragon of the serpentine type known as a linnorm. Niddhog regularly gnaws upon the roots of Yggdrasil the World Tree, seeking to spread malice and ruin across the Cosmos. Divine sap leaks from the tree where Nidhogg gnawed it, mixed with necrotic venom from the linnorm's corpse-biting teeth. According to pine kindred myth, the first of their kind was created when corpses were filled with this sap, so they call the necrotic energy of the pine sap that animates them The Gift of Nidhogg. Skilled pine kindred spellcasters can transfer this gift to others with Necrotic Sap Infusion (see Thane for details) and use it in various acts of necromancy.

Kindred of the Pines. Pine kindred are created in a rite that drains living humanoids of blood and replaces it with pine sap infuses with Gift of Nidhogg. Only a pine kindred jarl can perform this Pine Kindred Initiation (see Jarl for details). Pine kindred will go to considerable length to capture living humanoids to propagate their kind. A newly risen pine kindred has no memories from the life of its humanoid body, but has the skills and languages of a kindred. A former lover or hated enemy of the person it used to be will be treated no differently to a complete stranger – just a humanoid to be captured for sacrifice.

Pine kindred are cruel, cunning and evil, but consider other pine kindred as relatives worthy of respect. Kindred created by the same jarl treat each other as siblings of the same bloodline (or rather sapline), calling each other "brothers" or "sisters of the pines." Traditionally, they use the gender of their jarl, so if a jarl was female when alive it will have "sisters" for pine kindred. The gender of the humanoids these undead were created from is irrelevant, since sex means nothing to a kindred.

A pine kindred community always has a Pine Kindred Jarl at its head, and larger communities add one Pine Kindred Thane for every twenty or so regular kindred. In addition to these full-blooded pine kindred, some communities include lesser pine kindred in roles similar to armed servants (see Fircarl), slaves (see Resin-thrall) or trained beasts (see Resin-hound). A few jarls know the secrets to creating a powerful but brutish lesser pine kindred (such as the Tree-Jotun or Tree-Vargr). True pine kindred do not consider these creatures "brothers of the pines" and treat them accordingly.

Dark Druidic Mysteries. All true pine kindred are spellcasters who cast spells like a druid. The kindred know ancient and horrible secrets of nature forgotten by living druids. These include cantrips and spells from other spellcasting classes such as the bard, cleric, sorcerer, and warlock, as well as strange and horrible magic peculiar to these resinous undead. Examples include the ray of frost cantrip, the spells misty step, silent image, and animate dead, and the ritual spell pine kindred initiation known by all pine kindred jarls. Particularly masterful pine kindred may invent their own spells. A skilled pine kindred spellcaster like a thane or jarl can prepare any spell from the druid spell list and often knows a few druidic mystery spells and cantrips. Regular pine kindred are novice spellcasters who can only prepare a single spell from a limited range of spells, an average pine kindred knows three to six spells (1d4 + 2) and one or two cantrips (1d2), but exceptionally favored kindred may know more spells or possess a single mystery spell or cantrip. The spells a kindred knows varies from kindred to kindred. Kindred with particularly useful spells guard them jealously and only willingly share them with trusted sap-siblings or their jarl.

Nourished Like Trees. A pine kindred derives sustenance from the earth of a pine forest. It can either eat soil (a pound of earth per day) or absorb its nutrients by standing or lying upon the ground (6 hours per day). Pine kindred also drink or absorb water, but only need a few mouthfuls a day to stop their woody flesh drying out. Instead of soil and water, it can also meet its dietary needs by drinking sap or turpentine, eating resin or rotten pine wood, or by receiving the Gift of Nidhogg; a dose of Necrotic Sap Infusion will give a pine kindred who's at full hit points a day's worth of sustenance. Kindred who fail to nourish themselves will suffer hunger or thirst and eventually die if they can't acquire sustenance. Pine kindred can taste food and drink, and often do so just for pleasure. They can get drunk on alcohol or turpentine. Mead made from honey and pine sap is the preferred drink for pine kindred feasts, but some communities can brew or distil stronger spirits. The most decadent may even drink liquors made from the necrotic sap of enemy pine kindred.

 Pine kindred have no need for sunlight. They do not photosynthesize like living plants and are just as active in winter as in spring. While bright sunlight does not harm them, kindred prefer the dark shade of thick forests. Being undead they do not need to breathe carbon dioxide like a plant or oxygen like an animal.

Regrowth. If a pine kindred loses part of its body and survives, it can regrow the lost portion much as a tree can grow a new branch. This is a very slow process. It takes a few weeks to regrow a finger or ear, a season or so to regrow a hand or jaw, and a year to regrow an arm or leg. The kindred must be properly nourished while regrowing (see Nourished Like Trees). The regrown part is fully functional but looks different from the original. As a pine kindred regrows from damage and age it becomes gnarled, bark-like and twiggy, appearing more like an ancient fir in human shape.

Unseelie Allegiances. Pine kindred treat humanoids with no compassion or honor, and will use any disgraceful ploy to capture them for sacrifice. They are not innately hostile towards all life like some undead, and even value trees and sylvan creatures that they find useful. Trees are cut for wood, fuel and sap, while animals (plus other creatures) may be hunted for leather and bone. Woodland creatures of no threat or usefulness are generally just ignored. Pine kindred sometimes treat with wicked sylvan creatures, usually evil fey or plant monsters such as green hags and blights. For example, they might sell weapons to buy captured humanoids with the cash, trade turpentine for ore, or cooperate against a common enemy. On rare occasions, pine kindred work with other intelligent undead. Undead allies are usually types who are not driven to kill humanoids, since that ruins potential pine kindred initiates, nor will they be indiscriminately destructive undead who threaten the forest. A banshee or bone naga is a more likely undead ally than a pack of corpse-eating ghouls or a pyromaniac flameskull.

(Originally created by Julian Lawrence; appeared in White Dwarf Magazine #21 (Oct/Nov 1980) as part of the Fiend Factory mini-module "One-Eye Canyon", edited by Albie Fiore.)​