Nightwalkers are the rarest of monsters, and only a handful have been seen in the last few centuries since the dragons were defeated. The damage they can do, and the terror that spreads before them, has left an indelible mark on the stories and tales of Calibran, however. When travelers gather round the fire to exchange stories, the scariest and most horrible always feature the deadly nightwalkers. Rumor of a nightwalker attack is enough to spread panic throughout the kingdom.
To most, they are simply the dead brought back to life by malevolent magic, enraged into attacking the living by the disruption of their rest. The more knowledgeable understand that their creation is at once more complex, and, if possible, more horrible than simply animating corpses.
Creation[]
Wanting to create a nightwalker is enough to bring anyone's sanity into question. The ability and resolve to do so places anyone foolish enough to try firmly into the ranks of the mad. The power required to succeed means that the wizard who raises a nightwalker is not only insane, but dangerous beyond imagining.
The reason is simple: raising a nightwalker requires the combination of the darkest magic with the strange power of Chaos. The result is a nightmarish monster that can take on many forms. Some take the form of the men and women they once were, only twisted and dark. Others are unrecognizable as anything human.
In the past, some have been created by accident, or by the use of magic without understanding its consequences. Some were created intentionally by the insane or vengeful. In every case, the creator died at the hand of their creation. A wizard with the skill to raise a host of nightwalkers, and survive doing so, is a problem most have not dared even think of.
Traits and Abilities[]
As the essence of chaos infuses nightwalkers, their abilities are never quite the same twice. Most are made preternaturally strong and quick. Some are given a vast, inhuman intelligence, while most are reduced to a bestial need to eat. As magic is a part of their essence, many have some sort of innate magical powers. A few are intelligent and powerful enough to control other nightwalkers. These 'master' nightwalkers are usually the most powerful of their kind, with abilities the others do not possess. Nightwalkers remain a mysterious and poorly understood danger to even the most knowledgeable scholars of Calibran.