Ravenous Crawling Claw

Ravenous crawling claws are the severed hands of cannibals, reanimated through foul necromancy and driven to continue their grisly appetites beyond death. Unlike common crawling claws, these horrors bear a gnashing mouth in the center of the palm - a cursed remnant of their former hunger - which writhes and snaps in search of humanoid flesh.

Evil wizards and warlocks often use them as obedient extra hands, kept faithful with the promise of human flesh to feast upon.

Magical Origins. A ritual binds a cannibal’s lingering life force to their severed hand, animating it. The ritual fails if the spirit already exists as undead, has been resurrected, or has passed on. Freshly severed hands work best, leading ritualists to collect them from executions for cannibalism or through dealings with cannibal killers.

Ravenous crawling claws cannot be turned or controlled by typical undead magic. They are bound solely to their creator, who can mentally command any claw within sight. Without direction, a claw follows its last order.

Commands must be simple — they cannot track specific individuals but can be ordered to kill all creatures in an area. Despite blindness and low intelligence, they can manipulate objects like keys and door handles.

Malign Intelligence. A crawling claw retains little memory, but the murderous emotions that fueled its crimes endure and intensify. Left alone, it reenacts violent behavior.

Living Claws. If created from a living cannibal’s hand, the claw remains tied to their soul. It can reattach seamlessly, leaving no trace. When separated again, the murderer falls into a coma. Destroying the claw kills the murderer, but killing the murderer does not destroy the claw.

Undead Nature. Crawling claws do not need air, food, drink, or sleep.