Reanimators Reanimators were produced in the Third Alacrian Era - a time when the Ancient Ones were torn apart by wars of infighting. With military losses mounting faster than could be compensated for by construct production, the Alacris sought a cheaper solution - a machine that could "recycle" the armor and weapons of a fallen soldier, restoring a unit's combat power without the full expense of an entire construct. The resulting invention spread throughout all thirteen ancient factions: a spindly machine that had little power on its own, but once inside a corpse, could leverage the skeletal structure to regain combat capabilities comparable to a living body.
Eventually, often to the disgust of the few living battalions that survived to the end-stages of the wars, the majority of ancient armies were comprised of reanimators, the Muse supercomputers who controlled them, and the Weavers that endlessly produced and restored them. According to the more disturbing ancient tales, the worst of the ancient factions even air-dropped fresh reanimators onto the hospitals and morgues of their enemies, preventing the other side from recovering their dead and wounded. Even without these stories, the grisly, corpse-dwelling war robots have long since gained a status as the most iconic symbol of the Third Era's depravity.
All reanimators have two hands and wield handheld weapons normally. Unless otherwise stated, they lack a natural armor range and wear normal armor; they are considered antecessoroids for the purpose of armor fitting, and wear armor sized 2 WGT larger than their listed WGT. All reanimators have shadow vision, seeing in any Low Light environment as if it was Medium Light.
A reanimator may leave its corpse as a slowing major action, abandoning any inventory in the process. In their "naked" form, reanimators resemble an undulating jumble of wires, spikes, and tendrils, along with two "eye stalks." Outside of a corpse, their STR and SPD are each set to 1, and their WGT reduced by 1. Their AWGT in that state is considered to be 1 for the purpose of narrow passage rules. If a reanimator reaches a dead, paralyzed, or incapacitated character in this state, it can install itself within the body over the course of 1 minute; the character must be an antecessoroid at least 2 WGT larger than the listed WGT for the reanimator, and is killed by this process if not already dead. Once complete, the reanimator regains its normal stats (with some modification if the corpse is not well-decayed; see below). While all reanimators retain the ability to "trim" a corpse to fit their capabilities, bound reanimators (as well as many less-organized unbound ones) no longer have the ability to adjust the WGT of armor. However, reanimators treat all armor types as Loose fit, provided they are indwelling a corpse for whom that particular armor suit was an appropriate fit. If the reanimator still cannot wear the armor, it will cut it off the body as part of the 1-minute installation process.
If a reanimator indwells a corpse that has not yet decayed to a skeletal state, it takes a penalty to DEX equal to 50% of its bDEX. Its WGT is increased by 4, and it receives an armor bonus of 4 due to the extra "padding." Its appropriate armor size remains unchanged, meaning that it wears armor sized 2 WGT smaller instead of larger.
Whenever a reanimator's WGT changes due to decay or to entering or leaving a corpse, any current damage is adjusted proportionally, keeping the same number of injury degrees; contrary to popular belief, reanimators do not "heal" by changing bodies. Because reanimators have the ability to preserve and maintain their skeleton, they are rarely seen using their corpse-switching ability. Still, both bound and unbound ones may occasionally get some use out of the ability if they need to fit through a narrow passage, or if the boost to armor from an undecayed corpse is worth the DEX loss.
Although reanimators cannot restore themselves by changing corpses, the compact machines are extremely efficient in their use of repair materials. A successful repair roll expends a pound amount of repair materials equal to the damage repaired divided by double the reanimator's current WGT (or a minimum of 1 pound). Despite being commonly viewed as the weakest of the three tech types, reanimators are appreciated by many necromancers for this quality, as well as for the many possibilities in their equipment and role.
Reanimators are powered by an insendite crystal in an internal housing (usually hidden deep within their skeleton's chest, or within their tangle of wires when outside of a corpse). Finding replacement insendite sometimes factors into the calculus that drives haywire techs out to scavenge supplies and menace the countryside. Still, for bound techs, their existing insendite is typically sufficient to last for an entire adventuring campaign.
Ghouls were the logistics and support "personnel" of the ancient
reanimator armies. Though programmed with basic combat functions, they
more often worked in the rear echelons, and were rarely seen on the
front lines except when delivering supplies. Today, logistical systems
once organized by the Muses have broken down, and ghouls scavenge
through ruins and villages just as often as their more advanced
counterparts. Always the largest in number of any reanimator type
regardless of Alacrian faction, ghouls are often a new adventurer's
first real "kill."
Throughout most of the Third Era, conventional vehicles remained the
domain of living personnel in Alacrian armies, with only purpose-made
Exsomnis being handed off to artificial intelligence. Eventually,
though, sentient drivers were removed from the service of reanimator
armies, often due to the mental stress associated with working with
them. Logistical vehicles were instead handed off to a ghoul variant
with modified programming. After the Fall, some "V-ghouls" have been
known to scavenge more dangerous vehicles.
Although ghouls are the most numerous overall, specters are the
reanimator type that dominated the frontline ranks of the ancient
armies. Programmed with both melee and ranged capabilities (though
tending more toward the former), they often represented an increase in
combat power when they indwelt the body of a common conscript. Though
easily outmatched by special forces (or the modern adventurer),
specters continue to be a danger to all but the most seasoned parties
when found in large numbers. And those large numbers are all too
frequent in ancient ruins and battlegrounds.
Often mistaken for the very similar (and more numerous) specters,
wraiths differ in their much greater tendency toward ranged combat.
While melee combat predominated in reanimator armies due to the many
countermeasures against ranged weapons, a total lack of ranged
capability was hardly advisable. Bows, Exuros, and rockets continue to
be brought to bear by wraiths today, much to the chagrin of those who
have come to adventure in ancient ruins without adequate defenses.
Ghasts are readily identified by the "shininess" of their skeletons, as
they coat their bones in polymer films for added durability. Of course,
their bones can sometimes be hard to see, given their preference for
hunkering behind their shields. They function as the "tanks" of
reanimator squads, often protecting more vulnerable units such as
wraiths, or distracting the enemy while more offense-focused techs move
in for the kill.
Wights are hated and feared by those who do not train wholeheartedly in
melee combat, as these individuals are the ones deliberately targeted
by wights. Typically eschewing armor for maximum mobility, wights are
programmed to bypass more difficult adversaries in order to attack
vulnerable marksmen, arcanists, or technologists. The sight of the
hunched, jittery, dual-wielding skeletons has often sent adventuring
parties into a frenzy to focus them down as soon as possible - chaos
that is sometimes exploited by other reanimators almost as easily as if
the wights had succeeded.
Easily identified by their glowing blue eyes (in contrast to the red
favored by other types), draogar typically indwell larger corpses with
heavier equipment. Prioritizing strength and power far more than other
reanimators, but not to the exclusion of agility like the later
amalgamators,
they are incredibly dangerous in close combat. Although all-draogar
units are sometimes seen (particularly in Diran ruins), when found in
mixed formations they often engage tougher fighters ignored by wights,
to distract them from interfering with the wights' efforts.
The height of both reanimator technology and disgust at it, drécavac
adapted amalgamator technology to remove the requirement for a strict
1-to-1 ratio between reanimators and corpses. Officially, they were
intended to utilize "minor enemy remains previously overlooked for
reanimation." Although this could mean incomplete skeletons, in actual
practice, drécavac typically assembled multiple corpses of children.
The horror was compounded by the techs' unbearable screeching, added by
designers who knew full well how disturbing the units already were to
any sane observer. Drécavac continue to be referenced as an example by
anyone who wishes to criticize the ethics of the Third Era Alacris; in
the ruins where they are found, adventuring parties will have a far
less philosophical problem to immediately deal with, as drécavac
usually copy the hated combat doctrine of wights.