Armor Class
13
(armor scraps)
Hit Points
13
(2d8 + 4)
Speed
30 ft.
STR
10
(+0)
DEX
14
(+2)
CON
15
(+2)
INT
6
(-2)
WIS
8
(-1)
CHA
5
(-3)
Damage Vulnerabilities
Bludgeoning
Damage Immunities
Poison
Condition Immunities
Exhaustion, Poisoned
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 9
Languages
Understands all languages it knew in life but can't speak
Challenge
1/4 (50 XP)
Proficiency Bonus
+2
Actions
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Describe the following to your players to provide better immersion - (show, don't tell during their first encounter):
This medium creature appears to be nothing but a set of bones. Pinpoints of red light smolder in its empty eye sockets. The bones animate together while grabbing a weapon and it deftly heads in your direction.
In addition, you might want to allow them an Intelligence - Religion check to know the following (accumulated - a roll of 25 or above would know all):
DC5 (very easy): attacks with a weapon
DC10 (easy): necromantic power compels them to attack the living and fight until destroyed or until you leave their domain
DC15 (medium): vulnerable to damage from bludgeoning weapons and does not have any damage resistances
DC20 (hard): attacking the creature with poison has no effect
DC25 (very hard): immune to exhaustion, and poisoned - additionally that it has darkvision out to 60'
Ah the classic skeleton enemy that can only harm you in numbers *goes an puts 200 in his boss battle which already included 2 demon lords, one really ******* angry evil dude, and three undead version of previous characters who were in previous campaigns and were level 20*. Only in numbers
The tag for most the undead is "Undead" with a capital 'U', but the tag for the undead added with Mordenkainen's is "undead" without a capital 'U'. This means that when you use the advanced filter option and search for "undead" you ONLY see the undead from Mordenkainen's and when you search with "Undead" you do not see the undead from Mordenkainen's. Can this be fixed please?
Skeletal fingers a appear in the crack of the door and pull outward
Now, through the gap a skull stares back at you. Not gleaning white, but dirty and yellow with bits of old flesh and fiber handing from it
The scraps of armor it wears are aged and mismatched. An odor of decay emanates from it.
It moves in lurching, uncalculated steps, driven by unknown force
ive noticed a necromancers hoard can easily be destroyed by a fireball or 2 the best way to combat this is give your necromancers a item that lets them create a undead golem that's power is based on the amount of undead in it
that's why you hire some mages to cause said fireballs to fizzle away into nothingness
So I'm looking to make a necromantic character and I want to get a few things straight. First, could you give a skeleton magic armor and weapons and it be able to use them? Secondly, if so, am I right in calculating that it has a proficiency bonus of +2 and its armor scraps are 11+Dex?
I believe those figures are correct, yes. I think some magical equipment is okay, but I don’t think a skeleton could attune to magic items that require that since they don’t have souls or any true life in them. That would, of course, be ultimately up to the DM as they could decide, though, so it's worth a conversation.
I'm creating an adventure, and wanting to include skeletons in a dwarven tomb. I want to include dwarf skeletons, do I just use normal skeletons from the monster manual or are there specifics I need to adhere to?
(Assuming a homebrew campaign) You are the DM. Use your imagination. It's always good to give your monsters some twists that players won't know from reading the MM. Players will enjoy it and so will you. Just be careful not to imbalance things or pose a quandry the party isn't capable of solving or surviving. I'd maybe do dwarf skeletons with 16 CON and 12 STR, that wear more complete armor (AC 14 or 15). They'd carry dwarf weapons like the mace, battle axe, warhammer, doing 1d8 +3 instead of 1d6 + 2 damage. Approximately three of them would be roughly equivalent to four book skeletons, so CR 1/2 rather than 1/4. For a different twist, suppose that there is a special brand of necromancy at work in this particular tomb or your whole campaign that has origins in divine lore (perhaps the necromancer at work here worships a particular deity that has granted it limited powers to imbue undead with some divine spell casting power), and select individuals of the dwarf skeletons can cast one or two cleric cantrips. That might bump their CR to 1. Alternately, you could cause them to glow with an ethereal sickly purple light, granting them +1 to AC. They could be animated by spiritual focus, which also radiates a dreadful presence in a 60' or 90' radius. DC 10 or 12 Wis save for characters or they suffer -1 or -2 on attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks in the area (depending how dreadful you want to make it); new save to avoid for 24 hrs at the start of each of their turns.
"As the door swings away into an inky black crypt, a sudden chill runs up your spines, and you sense something deeper even than the darkness lies within the chamber. Even the tiniest sound echoes eerily, and the floor covered in a layer of thick dust causes a puff of hazy dust to rise into the air as the door swings open As your eyes adjust and your (torchlight/darkvision/light spell, etc.) penetrates the gloom, you heard a faint, almost imperceptible rattling sound, like dominoes scattering on a tabletop. The sound lasts only for a second, and you now see a line of coffins/sarcophagi etc. spaced evenly across the crypt. You can faintly make out an uneven domed ceiling, which appears to have dangling, dust-laden cobwebs in places. A few mirror-like rock crystals glint in the light from the walls and ceiling. As soon as (lead party member) steps into the crypt, the rattling sound resumes, louder now, coming from several directions. Through the gloomy haze of dusty air, you can make out four pairs of glowing purplish points of light, side by side, located in four separate locations in the crypt. Each pair is close together, probably several inches apart and they seem to dance in an odd, jerky fashion. Then, you can just make out through the dusty air what appear to be bones, skulls with deep sockets lit by the pair of lights, and then hands and arm bones, gripping a mace, a warhammer, a battle axe, and finally four sets composed of an entire body of bones, weirdly attached at the joints although there is only patchy dried and decayed vestiges of skin and hair remaining on the bones, advancing robotically toward you. They are wearing armor and bearing shields, and seem intent on your presence, as they advance in jerky, mechanical steps."
This is great, thank you so much
You can give skeletons magic weapons and armor. How much you can get away with is going to depend on the DM.
That is why us necromancers tend to pick up this beautiful thing called counterspell
That is why us necromancers tend to pick up this beautiful thing called counterspell
Regarding it's proficiency and armor values, you are correct. As to whether or not they can wield magic armor or weapons, that would be entirely up to your DM.
If it were me I would say no to any item that requires attunement, because they lack the ability to attune to the Item.
I love damage vulnerabilities, and think they should be applied to as many monsters possible.
Skeletal Champion
AC: 15 (Armor scraps, Shield)
HP: 32 (5d8 + 10)
CR: 1 (200 XP)
INT: 10 (+0)
Multiattack. The skeleton makes two weapon attacks.
Do you guys think they're better than zombies?
I'm using this as an entry level " scary encounter" for my daughter. Just a single skeleton floating in a pile of sewer water that animates when/if she or her NPC friends fall in the water.
IF the characters look into the water while walking they will see bobbing bones in the water some humanoid and others animals. The characters need to make DC15 Dex checks every 15 feet if they chose to walk along the side walkways due to the slippery nature of the stone floor. If they fail they fall into the sewer water ( No damage) which is approx 3 feet deep. As they navigate the tunnel and the intersecting roundabout keep rolling for the DC checks every 15 feet traveled. If anyone falls into the sewer water while in the roundabout they will awaken the dormant Skeleton warrior floating in the water. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " As if awakened by your disturbance the bones bobbing in the water begin to click and clack against each other and reveal themselves to be a part of a human skeleton dressed in tattered and soaked clothes wielding a rusted long sword . A lopsided metal helmet sits atop his skull offering no protection anymore but giving you insight into his previous life as a soldier or adventurer
hello