Aptrgangr Mage (Undead)

Not all cowardice is born from fear. Some learn early that it is safer to make others suffer in their place.

Aptrgangr Mages were schemers, manipulators, and petty tyrants in life, souls who discovered that cruelty required little courage when practised from a comfortable distance. Death has only refined the lesson. They linger behind the shambling ranks, drawing power from the terror and agony around them and shaping it into foul sorcery.

As their power swells, so too do their bodies, stretching into gaunt, unnatural forms as though death itself were pulling them upward. The skulls they carry are more than trophies. Each is a vessel for stolen suffering, hoarded against the moment it might be useful. Through them the Mage can turn one creature's torment upon another, ensuring that misery is never wasted.