Homebrew Awakened Skeleton Species Details
Perhaps you were once a mighty Orc in a barren land and you met your fateful end at the hands of your tribe's nemesis leader, leaving your body to rot in the mountain terrain; or maybe you were a jolly dwarf enjoying life's pleasantries until your greatest work was stolen from you, and in your journey to retreiving it from those who robbed you, a rogue trap that you failed to detect unwound and left your body trapped in chains and spikes until your flesh was eaten from your bones.
From whatever origins you may have been, that is now in the past, and time has since moved on without you. Somehow, whether you know exactly how or not, your consciousness is back and it's inhabiting a dry, skeletal body. Now your path is undetermined, uncertain, and wild - do you continue to search after the quest you were undertaking before death, or do you forge your own path trying to fit in with the world as it now stands? Either way, being an awakened skeleton has it's challenges and its benefits.
Awakened Skeleton Traits
Being a living skeleton, you have unusual abilitiesAbility Score Increase
Your Constitution increases by 2 and your Strength or Dexterity increases by 1.
Age
As an undead entity raised by magic, your skeletal structure is as old as your DM/you decide from the point at which your skeletal body was raised. After that, your bones no longer decay from elements, however the magic doesn't last forever and you will eventually simply cease to be. Typically, your lifespan can be up to 500 years.
Size
Skeletons are all sorts of shapes and sizes, though generally due to necromantic or deity-induced raising, your skeleton frame will be that of a humanoid or animal, ranging between 3 and 7 feet tall. Your size is Small or Medium. Work with your Dungeon Master to find a suitable fit for the campaign.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision
Though fairly obvious, you don't have eyeballs to see through, and thus your sight is deemed magical. You can see in the dark within 30ft of you as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darkness, only shades of gray.
Disembodied Awareness
Thanks to the magic that anchors your consciousness and soul to your skeletal frame, any member of your body is detachable and you can move the bone limb in any way that is natural for the limb. You can only do so as categories, for example: dismembering your arm will include the hand, the wrist, and the femur bones. Additionally, if your head is dismembered this way, you can choose to perceive through it as you normally would, however you cannot control the rest of your body during the time it is detached and will fall to a pile of magical bones.
You cannot dismember and control more than 1 limb this way at any time, and if the limb takes damage or suffers from an effect/spell such as Fireball you will take that damage as if you were hit directly. Limbs being severed due to damage does not activate this feature, it must be a willing removal.
Undead
Though awakened and technically living, you count as an undead creature for the purposes of spells and effects such as Turn Undead. You are able to be healed as normal, and your Hit Dice function as normal.
Magical Bones
With magic coursing through your frame, it embues you with some minor magical ability. You know the Spare the Dying and Chill Touch cantrips.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language depending on your previous life.
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