Resources on undeads and their creation

Question

I'm searching for resources on undeads in general and their creation, as I want to develop a new realm for my homebrew setting, in which necromancy and magical-alchemical research on undeads, diseases, death, decay, ghosts... is the main cultural aspect. Those necromancers would create undead monsters by magical devices, alchemical potions, dark rituals, simply stitching several corpses together or conjuring demons to animate the corpses (which would be in different states of decay). (As an example, take a look at the Scourge / Undead faction of World of Warcraft)

Right now I found some references on "Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead" by the WotC. But I'm not limited on D&D, I only need the fluff, not really the rules.

My question then is: Do you know any other material on this topic? Which books can you recommend?

Regards Martin

Answer 1

I would suggest the book Undead by AEG games. It was printed for 3.0 DnD and while it does have crunchy-rules bits for DnD in there, it also has a lot about creating "ecologies" around undead. This would be how they come into being and how long they last afterwards (some rot away and some don't).

Sardathrion gave some really good options, I would also suggest looking at the mummification process of Egypt. They also have some really interesting myths about death and rebirth that can give you all kinds of ideas for undead/living dead. A good book for this would be: Egyptian Mythology A to Z. This text is simple to use and form a spring board into more specific research.

Answer 2

In real life, one society that may help you is Haitian Voodoo -- particularly the bokors sound like your necromancers. Wade Davis's The Serpent And The Rainbow is a must read. You will even learn how to make zombie powder.

The film of the same name, while a good horror story, is not that accurate.

On a side note, look at legends of ghost around the world. There are many that are good, strange, and would make wonderful additions: Yurei, Draugr, Jiang Shi, Fext ... Of course, different book of the dead (Egyptian, Tibetan, to name just two) are a good read.

Answer 3

Have you looked into Libris Mortis: the Book of the Undead. It's a D&D book, but I don't run D&D myself. I use it as a resource/fluff guide book.

Anther resource is Dragon Tavern. It is actually a simple, solo rpg online. There is a class in there for "good" necromancers, I guess you would call them. It lists equipment for them, starting with "old grave clothes" and a bone flute, and goes on up from there. Granted, you would have to play the game for a bit to see the various equipment, but I find their wide variety inspiring myself.