Returned

Returned have escaped The Underworld and dwell among the living once more, but their second lives are rarely what they expected—not that they remember what it was they expected. As a result of having followed the Path of Phenax (see chapter 4), The Returned lose their identities, which manifest as separate beings known as Eidolons. The experience of escaping The Underworld also causes them to lose their faces, which become expressionless surfaces with Empty Eye sockets and gaping mouths. These blank surfaces they cover with distinctive golden masks. Returned reenter the world blank and Undead. No longer possessing the ability to form long-term memories, they generally can't build meaningful relationships or establish new lives. Instead, most experience fleeting emotions and follow hollow routines, their existences reduced to Shadow plays without weight or substance.

Returned Masks.

Adventurers who defeat Returned foes might marvel at their fortune in claiming such rich spoils after a battle. The mask of a Returned is worth approximately 100 gp, based on its composition and craftsmanship. However, selling a Returned mask isn't a simple matter of cashing it in for coin. Most people on Theros know the tales of The Returned and want nothing to do with such Cursed relics or with those who try to traffic in them. Finding an unscrupulous merchant willing to trade for Returned masks is rare, as the items are effectively another sapient being's face. Convincing a merchant to buy a Returned mask, or dealing with the ramifications of such a sale, might prove to be an adventure in itself.

Returned Nature.

The Returned are Undead. They need water and air but not food or sleep. They think and speak and even feel emotions based on their new experiences, but given their circumstances, those emotions tend to be muted.

Returned Drifter

Many Returned are pitiable souls who managed to Escape from The Underworld only to find themselves stripped of the passions that motivated their flight. Lacking Purpose and shunned by the living, these Returned typically seek places where they'll be left in peace, such as lonely tombs or the necropoleis of Asphodel and Odunos. There they go through half-hearted parodies of life, impeded by distraction and ennui. Despite this, even the most languorous Returned defend themselves if threatened and might be pressed into the service of their more willful brethren.

Variant: Returned Kakomantis

Although the dead typically recall little of their lives, some have an obsession with magic that survives both death and rebirth as a Returned. These Returned, called Kakomanteis, use their magical Prowess to control the energy that suffuses The Underworld.

Returned Palamnite

Even death and the loss of their identities can't erase the rage that inspires Returned Palamnites. These Returned led violent lives, existences filled with such pain and Hatred that violence now suffuses their deathless bodies. Such makes them exceptionally dangerous to the living, as these aimless killers know only suffering and seek to spread it whenever the opportunity arises. While Palamnites might wander the world as dangerous, lone murderers, many gravitate to Odunos, where they serve the Vicious will of Tymaret the Murder King

Returned Sentry

Most new or purposeless Returned are easily manipulated into serving their more forceful brethren. Having Purpose forced upon them, these Returned perform simple, artless tasks with middling efficiency. Their one virtue is their tirelessness, which makes them exceptional guards. In the necropoleis, this sees many Returned employed as sentries, though they might also be messengers or laborers. If threatened, groups of these Returned work well together, sharing the unified goals of overcoming their foes and getting back to the task at hand.