What type of undead is Jaethal?

[Uzkin]

See title.

- vampire?
- zombie?
- ghoul?
- lich?
- some other, previously-known type of undead?
- a new kind of undead?

[InEffect]

pretty sure she's technically an urgathoa avatar or something along the lines.

[Uzkin]

Yeah, that's probably the case.

There's an Urgathoa-specific type of undead:
https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Daughter_of_Urgathoa

Some features of a "daughter of Urgathoa" indeed match with Jaethal, but most do not. Then again, the description also says that "No two daughters look alike, as the goddess' transformation is unique to each individual". So I guess Jaethal is a very special case of a Daughter.

[InEffect]

Don't think it's exactly that. What happened with jaethal is Urgathoa gave her a miracle resurrection with her own flavor attached. And since jaethal has no life power of her own at this point it technically makes her an avatar since all she is would be urgathoa divine essence. Pretty sure she'd be an avatar cleric sub if it was in the game.

[Corridian]

She is a special vessel of the goddess. Not defined per se by the Pathfinder rules. You can't play her race as a PC. She is a tool of the story. If I were guessing, she is something like a banshee wraith lich combo embodiment of the goddess.

[Pedrogm]

I would say a lich honestly, she found and performed ancient forbidden Urgathoa rituals and was granted undeath as reward.

[thorsson64]

Originally posted by Page:

I would say a lich honestly, she found and performed ancient forbidden Urgathoa rituals and was granted undeath as reward.

But she has no lich characteristics, does she?

[InEffect]

Yeah, she is definitely not a lich.

[[TGC] MadGod]

There is no undead template I know of that fits Jaethal.

She is sure as heck no Avatar of Urgathoa and there is only one known Herald of Urgathoa. And a Daughter of Urgathoa is -- apart from that fact that she misses most things that make that undead -- nearly impossible, she would need to be a real devoted priestess to be bestowed that "honor".

Not to mention, if she were such a high ranking creature of the goddess, she would only stick with you if you are of an evil alignment or worship one of her allies. Urgathoa has a strained relationship with most deities. And no way an avatar/herald of this deity would be a different Alignment from NE and not real nasty to boot.

She also is missing nearly all the things that define a lich, vampire or any other "greater" undead apart from immunities.

There is a precious few undead creatures that cannot be truely killed and which have no way to get that immortality disrupted. A lich has a phylactery, regenerating creatures usually a weakness. I cannot remember the name, but there is an incorporeal undead you cannot really kill unless you deal a certain percentage of hp in positive energy...

So it is highly likely that Corridian is right...she most likely has no true template background, but is simply a story hook. A bad one to boot, but a hook nevertheless.

But who knows what odd desires drive the pallid princess. ;)

[InEffect]

She could be a death knight. Not sure how that behaves in PF, but in dnd there are precedents of immortal ones(till you'd lift the curse, that is). Jaethal fits the bill, except for alignment and you actually can do exactly that.

[Corridian]

Definitely not a death knight.. doesn't fit. I kind of stand by what my initial assessment was, they didn't try to actually fit her to a true archtype. She is a special case, and is a story driven character, which allows the player to make some NE/NN choices which are vile, and or redeem certain aspects of her which frankly she would never want redeemed, and certainly the goddess wouldn't allow.... She is the candy you can't have, don't really want, but has been advertised as tasty...

[Uzkin]

Thanks for the replies, all. So, she is likely a unique plot character without an in-lore precedent or classification. A bit like Tom Bombadil in LotR.