Playing Undead Question?

[Sohisohi]

Besides vampires, what other undead races/R.C.Cs can I utilize in character creation?

I remember reading somewhere that zombies are always considered mindless creatures,
just checking to see if there are any exceptions to the rule.

[boring7]

Not always mindless, nearly always slaves.

Vampires are not even really undead, except possibly the ones created by a specific necromancy ritual (which means you become a Master Vampire and have to have been a caster with good-level necromancy spells). Call of the Grave or something, I first saw it in the Mystic Russia book (WB 18).

Undead Juicers in WB 10 (it's about juicers, surprise!) are mindly (minded?) but under the complete control of their evil necromancer masters. If I recall they're a mix of psi-stalker (gotta eat PPE) and juicer.

I think there's some actual undead in psyscape since it's about a freaking necromancy god, but I still haven't gotten around to reading the whole thing. There's also a lot of necromancy in the Africa book, or so I've been told.

Thing is, most traditional intelligent undead types aren't even undead. They're just mutated monsters of one sort or another. And frankly, that's probably your best bet anyway. Just take a dark and spook-tastic RCC you like and declare it undead with new backstory. In a truly infinite megaverse, who's to say such a thing doesn't exist anyway and just squirted out of a rift a few days before the adventure starts?

With that in mind, what traits do you *want* in an undead and why? If you just want skilled slaves, zombies are actually pretty good. They're "mindless" in that they have no will, but they still have mental score and skills from their former life. Order a zombie who was a mechanic to change your oil and he'll do it, order him to change the oil on a car he's never seen before and he'll probably get confused and fail.

[dragonfett]

Cold Blooded from Mercenary Adventures is undead iirc.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Cold Blooded from Mercenary Adventures is undead iirc.

The Cold Blooded and the Wampyr (from NB/NS) are the only two undead CCs that are PC CC's that I know of (that are not labeled ""optional"" i.o.w. not recommended and have the same status as Rifter CC's). All others are intended as NPC CC's.

[eliakon]

One of the problems here is best explained by pointing out that The Cold Blood is not an undead (well its not alive either, but it says its not undead either. Its... umm... Something Else I guess). But it is probably close enough for the original posters questions. Palladium tends to avoid actual Undead for some reason, and when those Undead do appear they, as a rule, tend to be either mindless, feral, vastly powerful, or inherently destructively anti-living...
...all of which tend to make them rather unsuitable as player characters

If you go outside of Rifts...
HU has some options such as both the undead variant of the Mega-Hero, and the Undead Immortal
As Drew mentioned there is the Wampyre in Nightbane (though that is basically a vampire variant so may or may not be what the OP is looking for)
There are some other 'close but not quite' things out there. The Half Living from Dead Reign comes to mind.

[ShadowLogan]

Cold Blooded from Mercenary Adventures is undead iirc.

The Cold Blooded and the Wampyr (from NB/NS) are the only two undead CCs that are PC CC's that I know of (that are not labeled ""optional"" i.o.w. not recommended and have the same status as Rifter CC's). All others are intended as NPC CC's.

Well depending on what one is looking for, megaversally speaking (as you brought up NB/NS)...

Paladium Fantasy Land of the Damned 2, one of the curses the region can inflict can turn you into a one of the undead in the book, and you still retain control (and one of the big NPC players is a dragon cursed into a skeletal undead form...) and skills (just not powers/abilities). That might not be the easiest to get, though IIRC the book allows for it via deific curse (and/or high level practitioner of magic)

Megapower from HU2 (pg182 last option discussed on the random roll), though it wouldn't surprise me to learn other options exist (regular Minor/Major super power or combination of, or aliens) from later supplements. In theory Super Powers are available in Rifts (RCB1r), though not Megas (but then Megas could still be introduced)

While not in the book on the table(s), I suppose you could have someone think they are undead (via insanity), but one would have to work it out on their own. One might also consider some method of essence transfer into an undead body (like a Zombie or Mummy) modelled after the TI 'bot RCC or just possession of an undead body.

[Axelmania]

Vampires are not even really undead

What's this based on? Could've sworn there were many references to them being undead.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Vampires are not even really undead

What's this based on? Could've sworn there were many references to them being undead.

What I think she means is that those Vamipers that are linked to a Vamp Intel are just bodies animated by the VI. Which in the core of it, that is what they are. And the animation is just using the biological hardwired software, which has the side effect of making the vamp seam to be undead because of the memories and personaity traits the bleed over into the actions of the meat puppet.

But this is all supposition based on what boring said in her post.

[eliakon]

Vampires are not even really undead

What's this based on? Could've sworn there were many references to them being undead.

What I think she means is that those Vamipers that are linked to a Vamp Intel are just bodies animated by the VI. Which in the core of it, that is what they are. And the animation is just using the biological hardwired software, which has the side effect of making the vamp seam to be undead because of the memories and personaity traits the bleed over into the actions of the meat puppet.

But this is all supposition based on what boring said in her post.

They are still undead though.
It's just that the animating force that animates them is provided by the VI.
They are still called undead all over the place.
It may not be what some people think of personally when they think 'undead' but this isn't D&D where you define undead via your connection to the negative energy plane...

[Killer Cyborg]

Vampires are not even really undead

What's this based on? Could've sworn there were many references to them being undead.

What I think she means is that those Vamipers that are linked to a Vamp Intel are just bodies animated by the VI. Which in the core of it, that is what they are. And the animation is just using the biological hardwired software, which has the side effect of making the vamp seam to be undead because of the memories and personaity traits the bleed over into the actions of the meat puppet.

But this is all supposition based on what boring said in her post.

They are still undead though.
It's just that the animating force that animates them is provided by the VI.
They are still called undead all over the place.
It may not be what some people think of personally when they think 'undead' but this isn't D&D where you define undead via your connection to the negative energy plane...

Exactly.

[Axelmania]

I'm trying to figure out what example would be 'more undead' than a vampire. Mummies/Zombies animated through ritual magic instead of alien intelligence essence?

[Library Ogre]

The Mummy Immortalus from PF might be an option, but it's not designed as a PC race.