Creatures of the Labyrinth

The Jiangshi of my dreams are similar to the Jiangshi of Chinese folklore, the “hopping vampire”, except the Jiangshi of my dreams aren’t actually undead humans, they just appear to be.

The Jiangshi are, in actuality, a species of sapient clothing. Elaborate sets of robes that possess a sinister soul within them. It is rumored that by donning one of these magic robes you will gain spectacular powers and become a powerful undead creature, but that is just a rumor created by the Jiangshi themselves. In actuality, when you wear a Jiangshi, your own soul is cast out of your body, replaced with the soul of the Jiangshi. The wearer’s original soul is cast into their old, discarded clothes, where it will survive for a time before fading away, and the Jiangshi obtains a new body.

The Jiangshi rumor is designed to lure in those seeking power, trick them into wearing a Jiangshi, and provide a new body to bodyless Jiangshi. This trickery is essentially how they reproduce. They seclude themselves in an undead-haunted bog, luring the power-hungry to themselves and quietly amassing an army.