Medium Undead, Neutral Evil
Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 16 (3d8 + 3)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
13 (+1)
DEX
10 (+0)
CON
12 (+1)
INT
5 (-3)
WIS
7 (-2)
CHA
3 (-4)
Saving Throws WIS +0
Damage Vulnerabilities Bludgeoning, Fire, Slashing
Damage Resistances Lightning, Poison
Damage Immunities Cold
Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Paralyzed
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 8
Languages understand Druidic, Sylvan but cannot speak
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

Pine Blood. Pine kindred count as both plant and undead for any effect related to type.

 

Actions
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) slashing damage.

Description

A resin-thrall is the lowliest of the Pine Kindred. Produced  by Thanes or their Jarl leader, these animated humanoid cadavers range from fresh zombie-like corpses to decrepit skeletons held together by roots and leaf mold depending on their age but always stink of rotting flesh and decomposing vegetation. Resin-thralls have pine needles, sap and rootlike tendrils breaking out from their flesh and bones as well as bodies stained with dried resin streaks. They have no use for clothing, but well-preserved resin-thralls may wear the ragged remains of whatever they wore when alive.

Dimwitted Minions. Only barely more intelligent than an undead skeleton or zombie, resin-thralls are only capable of completing the simplest of tasks without direct supervision. They usually work under the direction of a fircarl on labor intensive tasks such as digging ditches, pumping a forge bellows, and the like. While thralls can fight, fircarls make far more effective warriors. A resin-thrall militia may be armed with greatclubs and rocks, but most only attack with their moldy fists.

Buried Among the Pines. Resin-thralls are sustained by the soil and needles of the pine forest. They rest by burying themselves in such materials, and need the same amount of this "sleep" to replenish their energy as a living humanoid. A resin-thrall is usually stored in the earth when its pine kindred masters have no use for it; they can survive for many decades if covered with pine needles and moist humus. A few pine kindred tribes have entire armies of resin-thralls buried around their Grove of Death, ready to rise en masse in response to the Jarl's call to arms.

As Dead as Decaying Tree Stumps. A resin-thrall cannot regrow missing body parts like more potent pine kindred, even if infused with necrotic sap. They have a limited ability to recover from injury but it is no better than a living creature.

Evolution of the Lost. If all the true pine kindred and fircarls in a tribe are destroyed, any resin-thralls that survive will either continue whatever task they were assigned or sleep under the ground until they are destroyed by decay, accident or an enemy. When pine kindred decompose, their necrotic energies leech into the soil, poisoning nearby plants and pooling in unhallowed places such as an Unholy Grove. If nothing directs these malign forces, such as a hag coven or other pine kindred performing rituals, it may slowly seep into any resin-thralls buried nearby. Normally this just staves off decay for a few more decades before the thrall perishes, but in particularly favorable conditions a resin-thrall can metabolize accumulated necrotic energy into Gift of Nidhogg and transform into a fircarl. Rising from the soil, the newborn fircarl seeks more Gift in order to evolve into a full-blooded pine kindred and study the Dark Druidic Mysteries, with the ultimate aim of becoming a Jarl and founding a new tribe.

While it seems extraordinarily unlikely for a resin-thrall to achieve this deed, it explains accounts of cursed forests where the pine kindred were completely exterminated only to reappear a century or so later.

In theory, this suggests a spell or ritual could turn a resin-thrall into a fircarl or higher ranking pine kindred, but such magic would be of so little utility necromancers and pine kindred spellcasters haven't bothered researching it.

(Inspired by the Pine Kindred 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.)

 

Previous Versions

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Environment: ArcticForest

casliber

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