Mohrgs were vile undead creatures that took the form of skeletons containing only their animated viscera, including a tongue-like organ with a paralyzing touch. They arose from the bodies of unrepentant mass murderers and were driven by a desire to continue their killing and by a hatred for the living.[1][2][3]
Creation[]
They were the risen corpses of mass murderers and others who'd committed similar crimes,[1][2][3][4] such as serial killers,[5] villainous rulers who'd caused genocides, and cruel generals who'd left countless slain before falling in battle themselves—these were no common killers,[6] but shockingly wicked even in life.[3] They must have never atoned or repented before they died[1][2][3][4] and must be fully committed to taking more lives at the time of death. Their killing sprees cut short, they rose again to continue the task. Oddly, those executed by hanging were more likely to rise as mohrgs than by any other means of death; sages had no idea why, but some supposed it was because hanging was often seen as the most dishonorable form of execution.[4][7] Moreover, of the so-called civilized races, human and half-orc murderers were more likely to rise as mohrgs than any other, for they had both the capability and the capacity for murderous rage required.[3] They would return in a state of undeath of their own volition,[8] from mere minutes after death[4] to at least three days.[5][7]
A mohrg could also be animated using the create undead spell, but only by the most powerful casters.[9] In this case, any corpse could be used, not just a mass murderer.[4]
Description[]
A section of mohrg viscera in a jar.
A mohrg appeared as a gaunt, even skeletal corpse with a ribcage stuffed with its internal organs, which writhed sickeningly. Most notably, the tongue was long, cartilaginous, and ended in claws. Typically, mohrgs stood 5–6 feet (1.5–1.8 meters) tall as they had in life, and weighed around 120 pounds (54 kilograms).[1][2] They were easily mistaken for particularly gruesome zombies or ghouls.[1] The viscera were bloated and foul and carried an unholy stink of death. The stench clung for hours to the hands of those who dared touch them, making it difficult to eat.[10]
Personality[]
Morhgs had an overriding hatred of all life,[1][2][3] one that tortured them through their eternal existence, seemingly as a curse, punishment, or damnation for the killings they'd committed in life.[3][10] Yet, tormented by it, they yearned to live again themselves.[1][2] They seldom associated with religion or deities, regardless of their nature. They were most often creatures of chaos and evil; a good mohrg was almost unthinkable.[3]
Activities[]
They might continue to lurk in the place where they felt wronged[8] or were slain, such as a former ruler in his ruined keep or a general on their last battlefield.[6] Some exceptional mohrgs might travel and adventure, most only to kill and advance some dark goal, but others, just perhaps, to seek atonement.[3]
Abilities[]
The very touch of their grisly tongues could cause a being to be paralyzed for one to four minutes if they lacked the fortitude to resist.[1][2][3]
Those slain by a mohrg rose from the dead a day to four days later as zombies in all respects, lacking whatever gifts they'd had when alive. Such zombies were controlled by the mohrg.[1][2][3]
Though appearing similar to zombies themselves, mohrgs moved much faster, as fast as a living human. They had fast reflexes, could move quickly around a battlefield, and had great skills in stealth.[1][2][3] They also had exceptionally strength and agility.[3]
Unlike some undead, mohrgs had no particular hunger or craving.[11]
Tactics[]
A hapless sorcerer paralyzed by a mohrg licking his nipple and no doubt wishing he'd worn a shirt.
In battle, morhgs struck their prey with their bony fists and grabbed hold with ease, or else lashed them with their paralyzing tongues.[1][2][3] Those who mistook them for slow-moving zombies were often taken unawares.[1][2] They favored stealth and fast reflexes to take their targets by surprise[12] and preferred to first swiftly disable a foe through paralysis or grappling, then slam them with their limbs to slay them.[3][12] When facing greater numbers, a mohrg tried to paralyze as many as it could before grabbing and it would slip through ranks of well-armored foes to get at the more vulnerable.[12]
Society[]
She's got guts: a mohrg barbarian, ghoul ranger, and mummy sorcerer go adventuring.
Morhgs might be encountered alone or in gangs of up to four, and these gangs might have from five to ten zombies with them.[1][2]
Mohrgs favored being fighters and barbarians. In undead forces, mohrgs served well as front-line combatants or as behind-the-lines assassins or scouts, if they could keep from killing long enough to complete a mission.[3] Advanced mohrgs often became the stealthy killers known as lurking terrors.[13]
Relations[]
Ghouls respected mohrgs for their power and "vision", whatever that was,[14] but mohrgs saw them as no more than foot-soldiers in their war against the living.[3] Similarly, mohrgs and wights respected one another for their shared hatred of all life, though wights found mohrgs too savage even for them.[15][3] Meanwhile, mummies had little patience for mohrgs, as they did most other undead,[16] and mohrgs thought them to be dullards and brutes.[3] Finally, mohrgs respected vampire spawn for their own vision, but felt they were too dependent on the living,[3] while vampire spawn thought themselves superior to all other undead, including mohrgs, but would take them on in a bodyguard role.[17]
Usage[]
Undead grafts: zombie arm, mohrg tongue, and bodak eye.
An undead graft of a mohrg's tongue, created with a ghoul touch spell and valued at 24,000 gp, could give even a living creature the mohrg's paralyzing touch, thankfully without replacing their own tongue.[18]
Domains[]
Mohrgs were encountered in the domains of Barovia,[19] Hazlan,[20] Darkon,[21] Falkovnia,[22] Invidia,[23] and Sithicus.[24]
History[]
In the kitchen of Castle Ravenloft, a mohrg once concealed itself inside a boiling cooking pot in order to ambush adventurers, but when it tried to get out, a Strahd zombie tried to stuff it back in. Once the zombie was distracted, the mohrg escaped and tried to drown the adventurers in the pot instead.[25]
Appendix[]
Background[]
In Polyhedron #146, the article "H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer" discusses ideas for using H. H. Holmes as a villain in Masque of the Red Death campaigns. One of these suggests he turn into a mohrg following his execution by hanging.
Appearances[]
Adventures
External Links[]
- Mohrg article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Mohrg article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.
- Mohrg (Undead) article at Mistipedia, a wiki for the Ravenloft campaign setting run by The Fraternity of Shadows.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet and Monte Cook (October 2000). Monster Manual 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 137–138. ISBN 0-7869-1552-1.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 189–190. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Ari Marmell (October 2005). “Birth of the Dead”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #336 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 44.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mark A. Hart (June 2006). “Funeral Procession”. In Erik Mona ed. Dungeon #336 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 19, 20, 23, 24, 32.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 D. Noonan, W. McDermott, S. Schubert (May 2005). Heroes of Battle. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 39, 41. ISBN 0-7869-3686-X.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 134. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Monte Cook (October 2002). Book of Vile Darkness. Edited by David Noonan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 35. ISBN 0-7869-3136-1.
- ↑ Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams (July 2003). Player's Handbook v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 185, 186, 195, 215. ISBN 0-7869-2886-7.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Jim Bishop & F. Wesley Schneider (March 2004). “Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog: Using Power Components”. In Matthew Sernett ed. Dragon #317 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 48.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 9. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 136, 139. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 54–55. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 40. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 38. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 39. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (October 2004). Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 80. ISBN 0-7869-3433-6.
- ↑ Andrew Cermak, John W. Mangrum, Ryan Naylor, Chris Nichols, Andrew Wyatt (2002). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I. (White Wolf Publishing), p. 15. ISBN 1-58846-080-0.
- ↑ Andrew Cermak, John W. Mangrum, Ryan Naylor, Chris Nichols, Andrew Wyatt (2002). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume I. (White Wolf Publishing), p. 46. ISBN 1-58846-080-0.
- ↑ John W. Mangrum, Ryan Naylor, Chris Nichols, Andrew Wyatt (2003). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume II. (TSR, Inc.), p. 18. ISBN 1-58846-830-5.
- ↑ John W. Mangrum, Ryan Naylor, Chris Nichols, Andrew Wyatt (2003). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume II. (TSR, Inc.), p. 91. ISBN 1-58846-830-5.
- ↑ James Lowder, John W. Mangrum, Ryan Naylor, Anthony Pryor, Voronica Whitney-Robinson, Andrew Wyatt (2004). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume IV. (White Wolf Publishing), p. 44. ISBN 1-58846-087-8.
- ↑ John W. Mangrum, Ryan Naylor, Chris Nichols, Andrew Wyatt (2003). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume II. (TSR, Inc.), p. 111. ISBN 1-58846-830-5.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, James Wyatt (2006). Expedition to Castle Ravenloft. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 110, 166–167. ISBN 978-0-7869-3946-6.