You probably shouldn’t read this. It’s technical information that no character has reason to know.

All undead that are animated with soul-stuff (all undead with minds) are subject to an effect called withering, which affects any soul not tied to a living body or whose lifespan is extended beyond reasonable means (~1000 years). Spellcasters and manifesters regenerate mana more slowly each year, until they can only recover points by taking mana from the environment. Those undead with no spell points slowly lose attribute points unless they feed regularly from the energies (or flesh) of the living. Once an attribute falls to zero, the undead being is destroyed (if it’s a physical attribute) or becomes mindless (if it’s a mental attribute). Spellcasting undead typically sacrifice physical attributes, and others lose mental attributes. Ghosts with fetters, and any undead under the protection of a deity, are not subject to withering.

Undead without fetters or divine protection regenerate one less spell point per month (or power point per year), until regeneration stops. If they had no spell points in life, they get a grace period of [CHA] years. After that point, each month of existence costs them a point from their spell/ power pools. If they are unable to pay this monthly cost, they suffer no obvious ill effects at first, but twelve such failures (not necessarily consecutive) cost them a point from one of their attributes. Once all physical stats are zero, the subject dies forever. This degeneration can be halted by stealing mana or essence from an outside source, and reversed by rending a place of power, devouring a divine being, or obtaining divine patronage. As long as an undead being has spell points or power points, its physical stats will not wither… but the “clock” for withering does not reset, it only stops. The only way to avoid the withering is to obtain divine patronage. Few gods would sponsor a wayward undead being, and even then only at great cost. Sponsored undead are almost exclusively clerics or blackguards chained in service to a god of death.

Once they start withering, incorporeal undead must make an attribute check to interact with the material world when they have no spell points. This, of course, makes it increasingly harder for them to regain points. Once any of their attributes are exhausted, they expire. Many incorporeal undead seek passage to the Shadowlands once withering becomes a problem.

All intelligent undead have one nasty trick up their sleeves: cannibalism. If they have begun to wither, they may voluntarily sacrifice an attribute point to yield their character level in hit points, spell points, or power points. It may cost them in the long run, but the quick flush of power can pull them out of a bind, and give adventurers a nasty surprise.

Furthermore, all unsponsored undead benefit from eating fresh brains. A brain will yield one spell/ power point per point of mental attributes the host had. Undead with energy drain effects may also choose to gain a spell/ power point instead of the 5 hit points normally gained from a drain attack (attribute drains can be traded for mana on a point-per-point basis). In this way, clever undead can carve a bloodsoaked empire for themselves, and keep themselves sated and strong for many centuries, until someone knocks them from their perches. Once fallen and starved for spell points, few ever return to prominence.

Those who would exert long-term control of intelligent undead may choose to “feed” their servants from their personal energy reserves, or just give them a steady stream of victims.

The reserve of spell points/ power points is analogous to the soul. Thus, undead who still regenerate points are eligible for powerful resurrection magics. Once their souls are scoured away, no mortal magic can return them to life (or undeath). Several once-powerful undead linger in eternal fever-dreams, hovering on the brink of oblivion in elaborate mana-cachement devices that eke just enough energy from the world to keep them “alive” (minimum stats = 1).

Most of these notes apply equally to those non-undead who leave the ranks of the living (consciousness transfers, etc.). Suspended animation techniques follow a similar withering scheme, but they generally re-connect to the world-mind and regenerate once they emerge from suspension. In addition to the withering, most suspended animation techniques will slowly cannibalize their subject, devouring a nominal amount of experience (often 1XP per year). This “leakage” is due to the connection to the world-mind, and thus cannot be avoided while the subject has a soul. Undead placed in suspension will suffer this XP loss until their souls have been scoured away, after which point they suffer no further ill effects. Living subjects placed in a “perfect” suspension will die, and remain perfectly preserved (and may be restored to life via true resurrection or similar effects).

If an undead or similar being reconnects (through divine sponsorship or similar means of soul induction or supplementation), all withering immediately halts. Their power pools rebuild at the rate of one point per month, and all their withered attributes convert one point of attribute loss to attribute damage per month (which can be healed/ repaired normally).