AC 15 (armor scraps)
HP 58 (9d8 + 18; bloodied 29)
Speed 30 ft.
Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 13
Saving Throws Str +5, Dex +5, Con +4
Damage Vulnerabilities bludgeoning
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities fatigue , poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
Languages understands the languages it knew in life but can’t speak
Undead Nature. A skeleton doesn’t require air, sustenance, or sleep.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The skeleton makes two melee attacks.
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage.
Heavy Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage.
REACTIONS
Shielding Riposte. When a creature within the skeleton’s reach misses with a melee attack against the skeleton or a creature within 5 feet, the skeleton makes a longsword attack against the attacker. The skeleton must be wielding a longsword to use this reaction.
Combat
Skeletons follow the last order given them by their creator: defend the gates, attack trespassers, etc. Without orders, they attack any creatures that approach them. Skeletons don’t retreat unless commanded to do so.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or Religion check, characters can learn the following:
DC 10 Necromancy imbues skeletons with a semblance of life, although some skeletons rise spontaneously on cursed battlefields or in cities ravaged by plague.
DC 15 Nearly anything with bones can be reanimated as a skeleton. Like most undead, skeletons are immune to poison, but their brittle bones can be easily smashed.
DC 20 Skeletons generally follow the orders given to them by their creator. Without such orders, skeletons may revert to activities they performed in life.
Skeletons are fleshless corpses imbued by necromantic energies with a mockery of life. Most often, spellcasters create skeletons to act as guards and servants, but it’s not unheard of for skeletons to arise from cursed grounds where the living are outnumbered by the unburied dead.
Following Orders. Skeletons follow their creators’ instructions to the best of their limited ability. They understand language and can follow detailed instructions, but their ability to think independently is limited. If ordered to cross a dangerous river, a skeleton may take a detour to use a bridge. In the absence of a bridge, however, it will risk a dangerous swim rather than build a raft or search for a safe place to cross.
Shreds of Memory. If left to its own devices, a skeleton without orders may mimic habitual activities from its previous life. In a tavern, one skeleton may shuffle a handful of faded playing cards, while another stands behind the bar to polish mugs. A skeleton will abandon such pursuits to attack living creatures, unless it has been specifically ordered otherwise.
Humanoid Skeleton Behavior
1 Standing guard
2 Lying motionless on the ground; leaps up to attack if approached
3 Patrolling a path worn into the floor
4 Miming everyday activities such as drinking and dicing; attacks if approached
5 Attacks anyone who engages in a forbidden activity, such as examining a specific item
6 Sharpening a sword down to the nub
7 With Intelligence 10, speaks Common
8 Luring trespassers into pit traps, or throwing levers to open pit traps under their feet
Beast Skeleton Behavior
1 In a cage or shackled to a wall
2 Follows any command it hears
3 Attacks on sight
4 Hunting, raising silent jaws to the sky as if to roar
1 Broken bones
2 Inanimate skeletons
3 Smashed sarcophagi or coffins, or defiled tombs
4 DC 12 Perception check: distant clattering
Skeletons patrol arcane laboratories, march across ancient battlefields, and extend bony hands from crumbling sarcophagi.
CR 0–2 1d4 skeletons ; 1 or 2 skeletons riding skeletal warhorses
Treasure 30 gp, 100 ep (coins minted in a long-forgotten era)
CR 3–4 skeletal champion ; skeleton horde ; 1d4 + 4 skeletons
Treasure 120 gp, silver-chased hunting horn (75 gp), 8 +1 arrows (make a screaming sound when fired)
CR 5–10 skeletal champion with skeleton horde ; skeletal tyrannosaurus rex ; 2 skeletal champions riding skeletal warhorses
Treasure 200 gp, twisted steel crown set with garnets (250 gp), ceremonial gold-encrusted sword (250 gp), winged boots