It’s one thing to be attacked by undead and lycanthropes, but what if you were corrupted by them?

Your Immediate Fate

If you are bitten by a zombie, ghoul, or vampire and die, the next day, your corpse will rise as that type of creature. Those who die of a lycanthrope mauling remain dead.

If you are bitten by any of these creatures and survive, then at the end of the encounter, you might fight off the corruption. At this stage, a remove curse spell will save you and return you to normal. Wolfsbane (AKA monkshood) will allow another saving throw to stop lycanthropy if eaten before you sleep, but you become mildly ill for 1d10 hours.

The Next Day

The next morning, you feel slightly sick, feverish, and somewhat clouded in judgment; you get certain modifiers to ability scores:

• Zombie: -1 to intelligence and dexterity; +1 to strength
• Ghoul: -1 to intelligence, but +1 to strength
• Lycanthrope: -2 to wisdom; +1 to strength and constitution
• Vampire: -1 to wisdom and +1 to strength

The Following Day

One the second day following the bite, make a save vs poison.

• If successful, the modifiers go away the following day after a restless sleep and the chills, during which you experience visions that tell you your body has fought off the corruption (that is, the GM reveals it).
• On a failure, corruption is assured. The modifiers double (-1 becomes -2 and +1 becomes +2). At this point, Remove Curse must be cast by a 12th level or higher cleric to succeed in removing the corruption (per the spell).

Affects of Corruption

In addition to the ability score modifiers, you now get the following.

Lycanthrope

• You appear flushed and slightly hairier.
• Your speed increases by 10 feet.
• You take an extra +1d3 damage from silver weapons. If you are brought to zero hit points by a silver weapon, you die–no saving throw or chance for healing.
• At night, you must save vs poison or involuntarily transform into your animal form (wolf, bear, rat, boar…) and try to savage a human, demi-human, livestock, deer, etc. Once you succeed (become “blooded”) one time:
  • You can transform into your animal form at will (until moonset) at will but remain in control.
  • Each night, you now suffer nightmares about your corruption but only transform involuntarily on nights with a full moon (once per month).

Zombie

• You appear gaunt and pallid, quiet and listless.
• You sleep only a three hours a night but suffer nightmares about your corrupted condition and crave fresh brains.
• You gain +1 to constitution.
• Normal food tastes bland or even disgusting except for brains. If left alone with a human or demi-human corpse during the night, you will try to crack open its skull to eat its brains.

Ghoul

• You appear gaunt and pallid, and your nails grow sharper and harden like claws.
• You gain +1 to constitution.
• You gain the ability to disappear in deep shadows as if invisible until you move.
• You gain the ability to climb even sheer vertical surfaces as long as they’re not slippery.
• You suffer nightmares about your corrupted condition
• Normal food tastes bland or even disgusting. You crave fresh blood.
• If a creature dies a bloody death in your presence, you must save vs poison with advantage or go into a frenzy, tearing at it with your nails and teeth.

Vampire

• All the effects of becoming a ghoul, above, plus your canine teeth grow more prominent.
• Once each night, you may transform into a normal wolf for up to 1 hour.
• In sunlight, you suffer -1 to attack rolls and must cover up your skin or suffer 1 hp damage per hour.
• If a human or demi-human is bloodied (half hit points), you must save vs poison with advantage or try to bite and suck its blood.

Succumbing to Corruption

Each night, you must make a poison saving throw with advantage. If you succeed, you stave off the corruption and continue as you are. If you ever fail, you are beyond hope.

• For zombie, ghoul, or vampire, you die in your sleep and become an NPC creature of that sort. If you are killed (battle, fall, etc.), you will rise the next night as an NPC creature.
• For a lycanthrope, you succumb fully to the corruption and become an NPC creature of that sort.