A Good Book [Lore Training]

[Coal]

Lore, Undead
Rank: "E"
Skill: Academia Skill
Effect: The user with this skill can identify the undead. The user can identify inscriptions on crypts, coffins and other undead haunts as well.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Relevant Abilities: Intelligence Skill. Die Rolls: 5 Die Rolls. Check Requirement: Described. A person versed in the lore of the undead understands the basic principles behind souls, spirits, the afterlife, and godly vengeance against unworthy mortal upstarts. User can recognize markings related to spirits and undead, though the user does not gain any automatic understanding of it, and the user knows how certain Jutsus interact with the realm of the undead. The user can identify inscriptions on crypts, coffins and other undead haunts as well. The user only needs to learn this skill once to encompass all regions. Each Undead has an Identification Difficulty found in their description. User must beat their Difficulty in order to identify the Undead. If the user succeeds they know what the undead is and what yields they can produce. If the user fails by 20 or less they do not gain any knowledge of the undead and are unable to try again. If the user fails by 21 or more they will gain false information, like a different undead.
Limit: Must learn from Skills. Must know Chakra Lore or Divine Lore.

[0/5 TP]
[0/125 SP]

Not all battlefield knowledge is gained on the battlefield, at least that is what Ma Gunba would say to him when they would talk strategy and field knowledge, and Ma Gunba was Daimyo and a General; also his father. So, here was Kyuushu now, opening a book on the undead and where to find them, along with their anatomy and how to kill them. The first pages contained the Ghoul, an annoying little creature for sure, created by the undead killing a living human. Apparently, Ghouls would come out of the cemetery and feast on the rotted flesh therein, only venturing into town to maim humans once there was no more easily dug up food to be had. They would take down wary humans that entered their cemetery layers as well.

Creation of a Ghoul was quite simple. You merely needed to die with a strong desire to live, a powerful hate, and blood still in your system that was not properly drained before your burial. A lot of people had those first two in abundance. I’ll have to remember to be cremated when I die. Ghoul anatomy was simple, however, in that it was the exact same as when dead; you just looked a little grayer. Untreated scratches or bites could become infected as well, which could equally prove fatal to those that survive the encounter, thus producing another Ghoul.

[Coal]

Flipping the page to a diagram that was mentioned, he began to study the outer and inner workings of a ghoul. Apparently, they all would get the flesh of undeath, the grayish decaying look to them much like a zombie. Typically, they had jagged nails, normally from clawing their way out of the earth, making improvised claws that they did not have on death. Elongated teeth for biting through and tearing flesh, better for consumption, much like a predator, and elongated features that make their heads almost like cones and their ears pointed. Their eyes hold that tale tell sign of Darkvision, a slight sheen to them, and a bit of an elongation of the pupil to funnel the light better.

Often these ghouls continue to wear what their living counterpart died in, running around with a semblance of humanity, which is also effective at times in the capture of less intelligent human prey. Another interesting fact about Ghouls is their ability to communicate with others. This can only be accomplished after eating carrion flesh, or at least the flesh of something they recently killed, but more than likely cannot be negotiated with in any means. However, Ghouls were very easy to kill, easy to make as well, and so they were nothing to really fear in the least. I learned a good amount!

[Cadoc]

+10tp, let me know if you want the rolls or if you are going for auto mastery

[Coal]

There were Ghast as well, along with the Lacedon Ghoul, but both of those only had subtle differences. The Ghast for example smelled heavily of carrion, much more so than the Ghoul itself, but no real difference beyond that. The Lacedon Ghoul still appeared as a Ghoul; however, it was aquatic and stayed near rivers and in the shallows to hunt the unwary there. Backtracking a couple pages that he had missed in his hast, he found the Apparition, a different type of undead entirely. According to this book, this particular undead was very rare indeed, created by odd circumstances as far as Kyuushu could tell.

The Apparition was created through fright and fright alone, whether a single person, a group, or even an entire family; even though that was the rarest case there was for a whole family to die of fright. In appearance, the Apparition was a skeleton in a sheet it would seem like, floating when it moves, nearly submerged in the realm of the Ethereal. But there was a strange property to the Apparition in the fact that one could not strike at it until it was striking itself, meaning that the creature could only be countered, never struck down preemptively.

[Coal]

A bit more on the Apparition was the method of its attack, which was equally as strange, along with the way it tracked. Notable firstly is the method of its tracking, feeling the lifeforce of those near enough to it some thirty meters or so distance. While not overly large in range, it can do this through walls and solid ground, not to mention pass through solid objects to stalk its target. Surviving victims that have seen the death of comrades claim that an icy hand attempts to clamp around your throat, choking the life from you when the Apparition is near. If your will is strong enough though, you can resist that clamped hand.

Once it is upon you however, you have a small chance of survival through the body, when the mind proves to be too weak to stand up to the deadly touch. Those that do not resist that icy grip die instantly, returning as Apparitions of themselves a few hours later, hunting after their own comrades. According to the book, the icy had will touch another part of the body if your will is strong enough, making you immune to the Apparitions touch. Those that feel it on their throat and survive become horrified, fleeing screaming until they can get themselves under control sometime later. It seems their essence is worth quite a bit of cash too.

[Deleted]

Aug 24, 2019 2:08:05 GMT -7 Cadoc said:

+10tp, let me know if you want the rolls or if you are going for auto mastery

[Coal]

I'm going for auto.

[Coal]

Next were the Banshees, powerful undead creatures with voices that can kill. The Banshee is the spirit of a woman who died, typically from a horrific type of death, one that would cause wailing in some fashion. According to the book, these creatures always have death following in their wake, weeping for those about to die perhaps? Their voices are the power behind them however, used with deadly efficiency, just hearing the voice can cause immense terror. If one is too close though, they have the potential to instantly die from the shock of it, their features twisted in their death. Fortunately, they can only create such a cry once per night. All other violence from a Banshee is through touch, which bypasses all armors worn, chilling right to the bone with their negative evil spirit.

Sunlight is a sure way to be safe from the Banshee, but a Dispel Evil could banish them as well. However, that was only if it was your normal Banshee. Sivian Banshees, or Noonwraiths, seemed to function in the Sunlight, but never during the night. Easy enough to distinguish which was which, if you fought them during a certain time of day, since one cannot exist at the same time as the other. Both types of Banshee seemed to be heavily resistant to Chakra types and could sense a living being within five miles, which means that you are not anywhere near safe from them. As it stood now, he could not handle fighting a Banshee, at least not very well, since he could only use chakra against one. Caution with these undead would be needed at all times.

[Coal]

The Green Hag and the Sea Hag, the former being much more rare than the later, are rather dangerous and cunning foes. The Green Hag will hide near grave sites or in marshes, using the environment to her advantage, striking prey from hidden areas or from the mud itself. According to the book, their strikes can weaken a man, lessening his ability to strike efficiently if he succumbs to a type of weakness those claws produce. It would seem the hold a property to sap the strength from your very body. Each possess a deadly array of abilities but have a proponent for eating the flesh of the young and innocent, but they will eat any flesh just the same if it’s human. The gaze of a Green Hag can place one into a comatose state if their will is weak, making the kill very easy for them. Dangerous indeed.

Cousin of the Green Hag is the Sea Hag, dwelling in rivers, lakes, streams, marshes, and shore shallows. They seem to share many similarities with the Green Hag, like the gaze and the claws, along with the ability to swim through mud or water with ease and remain completely undetectable. Both wear the clothing of peasants, and both are bulkier than most old women. A major difference is that they do not weaken their prey with claw attacks, showing that they are the inferior of the two, but they come up with different ways of defeating their foes. These Hags will often lay traps for their victims, immobilizing them for an easier kill, although the book did not specify what the traps might look like.

[Coal]

The last pages of the book detail the five different types of zombies that are known in the world, although it does state that there could certainly be others, and to keep your eyes peeled for a volume 2. In any case, the first zombie mentioned is your atypical zombie from any Zelos Wilder film. These are the zombies that like to eat brains. Those films obviously took their direction from a copy of this book, depicting shambling forms in tattered clothing, grabbing victims and biting their skulls. Burning them is the only sure way to kill them, although chopping off the appendages and head will slow them for days, however the cloud produced from the burned flesh smells awful and can infect anyone that is too close. Flesh eating zombies are the same, except they will eat any part of the body and not just the brain, and they smell terrible.

Giant Zombies are another plague in the world of the undead, created when a giant becomes a zombie, or constructed from parts found to make one giant. Necromancers can create these types of zombies, although it is rather costly, and they are usually made with a very specific purpose because of it. Of course, the only thing special about these types of undead are that they are large, everything else they do is exactly in line with their smaller counterparts previously mentioned. Fortunately, none of these types of zombies are swift movers, so a light jog will typically see you to safety, unless you’re foolish and get yourself cornered.

[Coal]

Juju Zombies are a cut above the previous three, possessing large claws and an resistance to fire, electricity, and chakra missiles in addition to their other immunities. According to the book before him, these zombies only want to end all life, and they revel in destruction, destroying the area as much as attacking the target. Points of red light in the pupil indicate the type of zombie that they are, along with the larger claws, but there was a portion that was unclear. Either they have a smell, or they don’t, but the book could not clarify that. The creation of these creatures is through energy draining, leaving a husk of a corpse that becomes a Juju Zombie bent on death.

Finally, there is the most powerful of the undead creatures so far, at least in the zombie category, and that is the Talking Zombie. These creatures are restless and need vengeance, always seeking out those that cursed and then murdered them, becoming truly dead once their task is completed. Something frightening is that these Zombies can use Chakra Items as well as Jutsu that don’t require handseals not to mention the fact that they can hold a conversation and are of average intelligence to boot. These are certainly the apex zombies of the group. I thought there would be more, but I suppose people have not found the rest of them yet. In any case, this book is complete. Turning the final page, he found himself in the appendix, so he finally closed the book, having learned all he needed to know about the undead. Time to hunt them.

[󠀐󠀐󠀐󠀐Y]

+40