Summary
With the release of the 2025Dungeons & DragonsMonster Manual comes the consideration of which monsters are worth putting in your campaign. Some of them are really cool and some of them are just kind of okay. They make for good background monsters or things that are scuttling around to be unsettling, more than they are to be a genuine threat.
Considering what the best undead monsters and creatures are in Dungeons & Dragons is important if you want to make a fun and engaging campaign. Just make sure you pay attention to those challenge ratings and add or remove monsters from encounters as necessary.
10Warhorse Skeleton
Challenge Rating 0.5
To be completely honest, the Warhorse Skeleton isn’t one of the best undead in the 2024 Monster Manual because it’s terrifying or horrifically dangerous. No, the Warhorse Skeleton is one of the best undead in Dungeons and Dragons because of how cool it is and how cool it could be to have one.
Sure, it’s alignment is technically Lawful Evil, but how much evil could a horse really do? (Don’t answer that - the answer is probably a lot but if it likes you that’s not much of a problem).
9Shadow
Shadows are not undead creatures that work on their own, especially given that one alone, while unsettling, isn’t much of a threat. Instead, these creatures hunt in packs, varying in silhouettes and haunting their victims right up until they drag them into their ranks.
They’re, frankly, quite terrifying things. Seeing one following you is about as much warning as you get that you’re soon to be cursed to join them unless you can rid yourself of them first. Unfortunately for you, where there is light there will be a shadow, which makes these undeadparticularly terrifying and perfect for a horror campaign.
8Poltergeist
Challenge Rating 2
A Poltergeist just another one of Dungeons & Dragon’s many ghosts, but there’s something that makes this one of the better undead. Tricksters and tormenters, Poltergeists can prove to be incredibly fun for players to interact with outside of a battle.
Some may not have come to terms with their death and still fully believe that they’re alive, while others are just outright malicious in taking out their deaths on others. Some of them simply require help piecing their consciousness back together, which is something your party could definitely do to avoid a fight, should they will it.
7Bone Naga
Challenge Rating 4
The Bone Naga is probably one of the coolest looking undead that you can find in Dungeons & Dragons, which automatically makes it one of the best undead. Sure, it’s not the most challenging if you have an adept magic weilder in the party, but it’s one of the most loyal and, perhaps, threatening-looking things.
However, with this undead, perhaps you should convince your players to befriend it, rather than fight it. Bone Naga’s can be excellent sources of lore details and wonderful guardians, when the time comes. Just be aware that it’s primary loyalties are probably with whoever resurrected it.
6Beholder Zombie
Challenge Rating 5
Beholder Zombies aren’t as bad as your typical Beholder, but that doesn’t make them any less terrifying. These zombies are probably going to be some of the undead that you find floating through the Underdark,albeit uncommon and perhaps a bit concerningfor what their presence might entail awaits your party.
Likely, they’ll be performing tasks for the Beholders that bested them in battle and subsequently raised them as undead servants - and what a cruel fate that is. Not only did they die to another Beholder, but now they’ve been forced to spend their unlife in that Beholder’s service.
5Graveyard Revenant
Challenge Rating 7
Graveyard Revenants are probably one of the ultimate undead creatures in Dungeons & Dragons because not only are they undead, but they are basically made of other undead. Graveyard Revenants are grotesque abominations and undulating masses formed with other undead bodies.
They rip them from their graves to serve the purpose of hunting their killers or forcing those responsible for mass deaths to take responsibility for their negligence or nefariousness. Graveyard Revenants are either avengers or your worst nightmare as walking beacons of “the consequences of your actions.”
4Vampires
Challenge Rating 13 To Challenge Rating 15
Who doesn’t love a good Vampire? you may have something (or someone) like Strahd, or you can have a more helpful vampiric ally like Alucard. Whatever the case may be, most people are going to be inclined to like vampires, which makes them one of the best undead monsters in Dungeons & Dragons.
Your average vampire can blend in with living society relatively easily, so long as they don’t get caught in the sun. And, if you make them a Vampire Umbral Lord, you not only make your vampire more dangerous, but you also give them access to terrifying magic.
3Mummy Lord
Challenge Rating 15
Why have a normal mummy when you may have a Mummy Lord, who commands legions of mummies to do their bidding? Of course, it does make you kind of question just how many mummies have been made, given that it was typically only done to those who were important enough to warrant it, or if Mummy Lords are just that skilled at making their own mummies.
What makes a Mummy Lord one of the best Dungeons & Dragons undead, however, is that it can easily restore itself to full capacity, so long as its heart remains intact.
2Death Knight
Challenge Rating 17
If your party sees a Death Knight, you should consider running or immediately warning any nearby towns that they’re about to die, because these champions of evil and undeath are nigh unstoppable. Usually, they spent their lives as feared commanders on the battlefield and while some simply seek the means to break their curse.
Other times, Death Knights seek out timeless domination wherever they roam. If you’re really unlucky, they’ll have an entire undead army with them, which means you’re able to easily get caught in a war you never wanted any part of.
1Lich
Challenge Rating 21
Lichs are some of the most notorious undead in Dungeons & Dragons, and it makes sense that they would carry over to the 2025 monster manual. This is not the best undead to pitch a brand-new party up against, but if you have well-seasoned adventurers who are no longer in need oftips and hints when facing off against powerful enemies, you might want to consider this one of the best undead to face.
Of course, hoards will always be challenging, but sometimes you just need one, single, imposing figure. Sometimes all you need is a mortal who tried to beat death - to ascend to something beyond, if not into godhood - and the Lich is the best undead for the job.
