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there are not that many pathfinder undead player races. we have dhampirs, but they are only half undead. For me, I want to create a undead that does not fall into the general area of skeleton or vampire type. Inspired by Sankarea and some of Tim Burton's more human looking undead(or non-mechanical constructs), I have decided to make an undead in the style of a zombie. This is the Stitched.
Stitched are Undead, born from the bodies of those reanimated while still barely alive(like extremely near death, heading into the light kind of deal). While they are undead, they lack the normal compulsions of zombies to feed on the flesh of the living, and have a vivid lust for life that might be explained as their minds coming so close to death that they learn to enjoy life to the fullest. Despite this, they are still undead, as is defined by the nature of their condition. Stitched are subject to decay, like all undead(save the vampire) and as such slowly begin to fall apart-physically and mentally.
This is extremely distressing, as most that decay too far become insane violent monsters, hell bent on gorging on living flesh, or eventually succumbing to rot and fading from life. To prevent this, all stitched have a compulsion- the need to have at least 2 pints of embalming fluid/preservative poisons daily to prevent the decay. In addition, most stitched will use various materials(including cloth, sawdust, Wood etc to patch up their forms and replace missing limbs(this is not neccesary for their survival, but most do it to keep up the image of continued life, and look presentable to other living creatures). Failure to do so will cause symptoms to develop(namely the stiffening of the body, the repressed instinct to feed on living flesh, insanity, the loss of inhibitions). If these symptoms persist for roughly 10 days, the stitched will succumb to the decay, becoming a violent monster under the control of the GM. 2 months later, they will die(if they are not killed already). These symptoms can be stopped with the missing dose of embalming fluid/preservative poison.
Most Stitched tend to live in specially built enclaves outside of cities and towns, or in abandoned, derelict buildings, often with the buildings other residents. Because of their existence, most are refused entry into the majority of temples, inns and other places of the living, though adventures of good repute are allowed in such establishment(normally after a detect alignment spell is cast on them, along with detect intent). Most enclaves are lead by a powerful necromancer, a skilled alchemist or a charismatic individual, who works to protect the enclave and help the stitched find a cure for their condition(namely the preventing of madness and death by the decay, rather than their own undeath). Life within the enclave is a life full of color and excitement, as most try to experience the wide array of sensations life has top offer.