thecreaturecodex:

“Lich” © Anastasia Balakchina, accessed at her deviantArt page here

[The inspiration here derives from various Late Medieval and early Renaissance art tropes about death that aren’t represented in RPGs very well; Death holding a dart rather than a scythe, having a layer of leathery skin covering his bones, etc. The name is derived from the cadaver tomb, a tradition in which the deceased is represented as a rotting corpse or skeleton on their own tomb.]

Transi
This skeletal humanoid is little
more than decomposing skin stretched over bones. It carries itself with a regal
air and holds a sheaf of oversized darts in its thin hands.

A transi,
sometimes referred to as a memento mori, is an undead creature that exists to
torment and mock the living, reminding them of the omnipresence of death. They
are attracted to mortal suffering as a vulture is to a fresh corpse, and come
to lands already tormented by warfare, disease or famine in order to make
things worse for the survivors. Due to their fondness for suffering and death,
they get along well with outsiders such as divs and daemons, and frequently
work with these monsters.

In
combat, a transi focuses on the strongest opponent first, as it takes joy from
humbling the proud and laying low the mighty. Their javelins are infused with
potent negative energy and they are capable of stealing the life of their
enemies to add to their own power. Even those that escape an encounter with a
transi alive are not finished suffering, as its claws spread plague. Many
transis fight from the backs of monstrous steeds such as nightmares, hellcats
or other beasts—those that do not have the service or allegiance of one of
these monsters rely on a magically conjured phantom
steed to add to their mobility.

Keep reading

Transis were first recorded in Gladia during the war between the Kingdom of Kown-Dam and the city-states of Munab, preying on refugees. Another rash of sightings occurred in the aftermath of the fall of the Kingdom. It is thought that some of these creatures still exist, resting in a kind of dormancy until sufficient ambient suffering triggers their awakening.