In my upcoming Castles & Crusades Aufstrag campaign (discussed here) I am introducing an undead playable race (Remnants) for my players. I am motivated by several sources and this post will discuss this new type of undead, the classes available to them, and the deities/patrons they may follow.

Remnants – What are They? What is the Remnant Backstory?
What happens when you wake up the morning after you died? Remnants are humans who after they died their souls never departed their bodies and they didn’t pass on to the afterlife. My original inspiration was honestly the Forsaken from World of Warcraft (back when I played WoW I mostly played Forsaken).

The next step in my thought process occurred when I discovered a Kickstarter in 2020 for a book called Corpus Malicious from Dream Realm Storytellers and I drew narrative ideas from an undead race they had called Remnants. Here is a description of the Remnant from Corpus Malicious:

“Their body has died, but their soul remains intact within their flesh, able to animate their body just as they did when they lived. The origins of remnants are unclear. Some scholars say they are cousins of revenants, who deny death and become undead for the sake of an ultimate goal before they finally pass. Others say they are the result of necromancy. Even remnants themselves do not know the source of their condition.”

Additionally, “your soul somehow did not abandon your body when you died…you think it is the will of your soul that holds your body, and your (un)life intact. You don’t know what this dread that you feel is; perhaps it is a side effect of what you[‘ve] become.”

“[As a result] remnants look very much like living creatures, as their corpse did not decompose, and were preserved by the power of their soul when they died. It is relatively easier for them to hide their true nature from others, but still, they have to hide it.”

As you can see, I have left explanations of what caused them to arise as free-willed undead uncertain. It will be a mystery that my players will pursue as the campaign progresses. I will be tying the explanation in with the region of my world where I have placed Aufstrag as well as with the larger narrative of my world as a whole as it continues to grow.

What Are Their Ancestral Abilities?
[Some of the following abilities were inspired/borrowed not only from the above-referenced Corpus Malicious, but also from a creatively designed Dhampir race made for Castles and Crusades. Although some things were tweaked for my homebrew, others were honestly just copied and pasted since it was exactly what I was seeking. Please refer to these other sources for more details and inspiration.]

Attribute Modifiers: -4 Charisma, +2 Constitution
Languages: Common, (Int modifier allows additional options): Celtic, Norse, Slavic, Germanic, Greek
Size: Medium.
Move: 30’
Age. Remnants can be of any age, however, they always look the same age at which they died.
Available Classes: PHB: Assassin, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Wizard
Other Sources: Archer, Haliruna (Dark Witch), Oracle, Thief, Vampire Hunter.
Multi-Class Options: Enhanced Class, Class Plus.
Ranger: +1 to abilities when tracking undead
Rogue or Assassin or Thief: +1 listen checks
Vampire Hunter: +1 to all class checks

Pantheons: Remnant Patrons, Patrons, plus Haliruna deities from the Norse, Slavic, German, Celtic, and Greek Pantheons.
Alignment: Remnants can be of any alignment, but more remnants lean towards neutral or evil since it is hard to remain good when you are an abomination rejected by society. Evil remnants accept their nature as monsters and act accordingly, thinking it is better to be feared than pitied or denied.

Special Abilities:  
Undead Nature:  You do not require food or water to survive. Remnants detect as undead (they receive a Charisma saving throw to resist). All magic that affects Undead affects Remnants. Similarly, Remnants are immune to all mind-affecting spells or spell-like abilities used by other Undead, such as Sleep, Charm, and other compulsions. 

Unbreathing: You do not have to breathe and thus do not have to hold your breath underwater and are unaffected by natural gasses.

Unburdened: You do not suffer from exhaustion unless it is brought about by magical means.

Resting by Distraction: You cannot fall asleep. You rest by distracting yourself enough so you don’t feel the dread. You do not sleep and distract yourself with anything you can, such as the sound of the campfire. While you are resting this way, you are very focused and the same rules apply to you as a sleeping creature.

See Undead: Remnants can see an Undead creature for what it really is (intelligent undead get a saving throw), regardless of whether the creature is polymorphed, invisible, or otherwise disguised.

Undead-Bodied: The unusual composition of a Remnant’s flesh and bones renders them resistant to blunt weapons. When attacked by blunt weapons (including pummeling and Slam attacks) subtract 1 point per die of damage.

Special Weaknesses: 
Unnatural Aura: Remnants are unnatural things, and they make all natural creatures and people uneasy. The CK should assume that any natural creature or person who first meets the Remnant is negatively inclined towards them. Continued positive interaction can change this attitude of course, but most Remnants are also hampered by very low Charisma.

Turn Vulnerability: You can be affected by turn undead, but cannot be destroyed by it.

What Classes Can They Be and What Gods Can They Worship?
First, in my game, not all ancestries can choose all classes (e.g. dwarves cannot be wizards, and only humans can be paladins). Second, ancestries can only access certain pantheons (e.g. dwarves can only choose gods from the Dwarven, Norse, and Slavic pantheons, and elves can only choose gods from the Elven, Faerie, and Celtic pantheons). Third, I use an AD&D 2nd ed. specialty priest approach to the gods in that the classes that make up their priesthood may come from a variety of classes (e.g. Apollo’s priesthood is composed of archers, bards, clerics, oracles, pacers, rogues, and wizards).

I listed above three Remnant Pantheons Remnants can access. What does that mean?

The Remnant Patrons are not so much gods (according to the Remnants), but Remnants that found ways to ascend to demi-god status. The abilities these Remnant Patrons bestow on their followers were abilities and spells largely drawn from the AD&D 2nd. ed. Complete Book of Necromancers.

For example, the Remnant Patron named Stanwick Keetes (Lawful Neutral) is known as the Doomscribe. His portfolio is: Fatalism, Order in Death, Burial Practices, Judge of the Damned. The classes that make up his priesthood are bards, clerics, fighters, monks, nekuomantis (prophets of the dead), oracles, and wizards. The abilities he bestows on his priesthood are (the level at which they are gained is in parentheses): Netherworld Lore checks +2 (1), Invisibility to Undead (1), Somnolent Gaze (3) (Cha save or opponent is slowed from the unearthly stare), Spawn Screen (5) (prevents a slain friend from rising as undead for 1hour/level), Bind Undead (9) (an undead is bound, sentient undead get a saving throw), Age Creature (11) (Con save or touched creature ages 1 year per caster level). This is just one of six Remnant Patrons.

The more general Patron Pantheon is made up of (alleged) mortals that found ways to ascend to demi-god status. These patrons represent alchemy, astrology, sorcery, and warlocks. I happen to like the idea of sorcerers and warlocks but I think they are so much more than a particular and restrictive character class like we’ve seen in D&D 3E and 5E. In my view, sorcerers and warlocks are more of an attitude or a worldview that draws upon a variety of classes to achieve their end.

For example, one warlock patron is Viktor Quint. (Chaotic Neutral). His portfolio is Destruction, Hellfire, and Arcane Mysteries. The classes that make up his priesthood are arcane thief, fighter, illusionist, oracle, rune mark, and wizard. The abilities he bestows on his priesthood are (the level at which they are gained is in parentheses): Fire Resistance (1), Immolate (1), Hellfire (3), Flamestrike (9), Soulfire (11), Meteor Storm (17). People who have played WoW may have noticed I drew upon the Destruction Warlock. The other Warlock Patrons I’ve created draw inspiration from the WoW Demonology and Affliction warlock builds, as well as other non-WoW influences (such as the Warlock class from Hyperborea).

As for the gods from other pantheons that accept Haliruna (a Dark Witch class taken from the Codex Germania), these will be goddesses of witches. In my pantheons, these would include the goddesses, Hecate, Baba Yaga, Frau Hölle, Morana, The Cailleach, Sinthgunt, etc.).

By setting up patrons and classes this way I could have two players make a Remnant who both chose Viktor Quint as their patron, but one may have chosen Wizard as their class, whereas the other player may have chosen Fighter as their principle class and selected Arcane Thief as their Expanded Class (the concept of expanded class can be found in the Players Archive), and the result will be some overlapping fire destruction abilities from their Patron, but their contribution to their warlock circle based on their class abilities will be substantially different. This allows for a very diverse and versatile organization and players have a lot more permutations and combinations to play with for each God/Patron.

From what you have seen from the very brief snippets of the Remnant gods/patrons, Remnants will be made up of mostly sorcerers, warlocks, witches, and alchemists. When you awaken after death as an undead with no place to go, unable to reunite with your friends or family (for they would view you as an abomination), many pursue the occult and the patrons of the lost, neglected, and rejected.

What Might Remnants Look Like?
I have found some great art by Tomas Duchek which I think represents Remnants well. Remnants may get away with not looking or smelling dead (if they can find a way to hide it), but they will frequently be mistaken for ill or sick people and will be unsettling to many they meet.