Undead

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Undead in NetHack are a group of unliving monsters. They include the following monster classes:

Common traits

Undead monsters are represented internally by the monster attribute M2_UNDEAD. Undead take an extra d4 of damage from blessed items. Contact with holy water (including quaffing) also harms them, including the player if polymorphed into an undead form; however, unholy water actually exercises constitution. Undead deal double damage in the hour of midnight.

Priests and knights can turn undead, which can scare undead or even destroy lower-level ones completely. A wand of undead turning or spell of turn undead can also damage and scare them.

Undead are immune to level drain, such as from the Staff of Aesculapius. They are also all immune to sleep, poison, and death rays; with the exception of vampires, they are also immune to cold.

Reading the Book of the Dead while cursed will summon hostile undead. The blessed book will pacify all undead, and then tame co-aligned undead if possible (the covetous master and arch-liches cannot be tamed). All undead are chaotic except for shades and skeletons, which are neutral. The shapeshifted forms of vampires (fog cloud, vampire bat, and wolf) are also neutral.

Sunsword does double damage against undead monsters.

Undead and garlic

All undead dislike garlic and will avoid it where they can.

A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:

"Further elaborate on their traits"