I was trying to find something to help me make skeletal creatures for my campaing. While looking at the Warhorse Skeleton and Minotaur Skeleton, and comparing them to their "living" counterparts I've found some similarities. This gave me the idea to make a template (like the good old days of 3.5). I couldn't find if anyone else had posted something similar so I figured I'd post my take on it.
Skeletal Creature Template
Whenever dark, magical energy fuses with the remains of a creature, there is a chance it is restored to a semblance of life as a skeletal version of itself. Though it retains no memory of its former self, there is a malicious intent even among the lowliest of such being. More often then not, evil spellcasters actively raise other beings as skeletal creatures to serve them.
Only a living creature with a solid skeleton can be turned into a skeletal creature. The original creature does not need to have an internal skeleton but it must have something that would count as a skeletal structure. Constructs, Oozes and Plants can't be transformed into skeletal creatures, and creatures that have been raised into undeath before also lack the spark of life required.
When a creature becomes a skeletal creature, it retains its statistics except as described below. The creature might retain or lose any or all of its lair actions (should it have any) or inherit new ones, as the DM sees fit.
Type: The creature's type changes to undead, and it no longer requires air, food, drink, or sleep.
Alignment: The creature's alignment changes to lawful evil
Abilities: The creature's Constitution score is set to 15. Their Intelligence score is set to 6 unless their original score is lower. Their Wisdom score is set to 8 and their Charisma score is set to 5.
Damage vulnerabilities: The skeletal creature has vulnerability to bludgeoning damage
Damage immunities: The skeletal creature has immunity to poison damage. It also retains any immunities it had prior to becoming a skeletal creature
Condition immunities: The skeletal creature can't be poisoned. It also doesn't suffer from exhaustion.
Languages: The skeletal creature understands all languages it knew in life but it can't speak
Actions: The skeletal creature loses any and all actions that require special anatomy that is not skeletal in nature. It also loses any abilities that require intelligent or rational thought.
I´ll have to make some as a test to see if this works for all creatures, and I may want to tweak some things, but so far I think it works. What do you guys think?
Sounds pretty solid to me! I recently compiled a list of templates myself, for making celestials, demons, devils, dracoliches, shadow dragons, half-dragons, lycanthropes, ghosts, spore servants, skeletals, vampires, zombies, and yugoloths.
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Check out my blog for homebrew D&D stuff and other projects!
Hey guys,
I was trying to find something to help me make skeletal creatures for my campaing. While looking at the Warhorse Skeleton and Minotaur Skeleton, and comparing them to their "living" counterparts I've found some similarities. This gave me the idea to make a template (like the good old days of 3.5). I couldn't find if anyone else had posted something similar so I figured I'd post my take on it.
Skeletal Creature Template
Whenever dark, magical energy fuses with the remains of a creature, there is a chance it is restored to a semblance of life as a skeletal version of itself. Though it retains no memory of its former self, there is a malicious intent even among the lowliest of such being. More often then not, evil spellcasters actively raise other beings as skeletal creatures to serve them.
Only a living creature with a solid skeleton can be turned into a skeletal creature. The original creature does not need to have an internal skeleton but it must have something that would count as a skeletal structure. Constructs, Oozes and Plants can't be transformed into skeletal creatures, and creatures that have been raised into undeath before also lack the spark of life required.
When a creature becomes a skeletal creature, it retains its statistics except as described below. The creature might retain or lose any or all of its lair actions (should it have any) or inherit new ones, as the DM sees fit.
Type: The creature's type changes to undead, and it no longer requires air, food, drink, or sleep.
Alignment: The creature's alignment changes to lawful evil
Abilities: The creature's Constitution score is set to 15. Their Intelligence score is set to 6 unless their original score is lower. Their Wisdom score is set to 8 and their Charisma score is set to 5.
Damage vulnerabilities: The skeletal creature has vulnerability to bludgeoning damage
Damage immunities: The skeletal creature has immunity to poison damage. It also retains any immunities it had prior to becoming a skeletal creature
Condition immunities: The skeletal creature can't be poisoned. It also doesn't suffer from exhaustion.
Languages: The skeletal creature understands all languages it knew in life but it can't speak
Actions: The skeletal creature loses any and all actions that require special anatomy that is not skeletal in nature. It also loses any abilities that require intelligent or rational thought.
I´ll have to make some as a test to see if this works for all creatures, and I may want to tweak some things, but so far I think it works. What do you guys think?
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
Sounds pretty solid to me! I recently compiled a list of templates myself, for making celestials, demons, devils, dracoliches, shadow dragons, half-dragons, lycanthropes, ghosts, spore servants, skeletals, vampires, zombies, and yugoloths.
Check out my blog for homebrew D&D stuff and other projects!
Darkvision of 60 feet. All of the skeletons I have seen in 5e have this.
Long time player and DM since 1992. I have played and run various, numerous games, many of them Table Top over the years.