[365 Days of Monsters] 018/365 - Padre Nigramonte (Patreon)

The spiritual leaders of La Iglesia de Resurrección (the Church of Resurrection) are powerful Necromancer Priests known as Los Padres Nigramontes. As the heads of an extremist off-shoot of the Faith of Jesucristo, the Padres believe that Jesucristo's true power was found in his resurrection, and not in his martyrdom, and that the God was a spirit of vengeance instead of one of benevolence and forgiveness.

A padre nigramonte is a skeletal figure. They often dress like a central figure of the church, such as a cardinal or high-ranking priest. Truly wanting to be one with their god, the padres spend their lives working to unlock the secrets to resurrection and undeath. Those with the greatest mental fortitude retain most of their memories and abilities, even as their mortal bodies wither away to nothing. Powered by necrotic energies, the padres are vengeful, evil apparitions, hell-bent on spreading the teachings of Jesús Vengativo.

To retain its dark powers, the padres must regularly feed on the souls of the living, especially the faithless. What few they don't feed upon, they convert into mindless minions. Some of these minions become skeletal or zombified assistants that guard their tombs. Others, whose faith approaches their own, "join" the church, becoming fearsome monjas malvadas (death nuns) or espíritus de venganza (spirits of vengeance).

Undead Nature. The padre does not require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Another Revamp!

The original post for this goes back all the way to November 2018 when I was working on mesoamerican and Mexican flavored monsters and player options for my El Ocho campaign setting. The padre nigramonte was meant to be the Christian answer to liches. I saw them as people who read the scripture all wrong and got mixed messages. They battled the actual good priests of the setting.

You can see the original post here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/padres-for-fifth-22508277