Skeleton
| Skeleton
| Animal
| Monster
|
Climate/Terrain:
| Any
| Any
| Any
|
Frequency:
| Rare
| Very rare
| Very rare
|
Organization:
| Band
| Band
| Band
|
Activity Cycle:
| Any
| Any
| Any
|
Diet:
| Nil
| Nil
| Nil
|
Intelligence:
| Non- (0)
| Non- (0)
| Non- (0)
|
Treasure:
| Nil
| See below
| Nil
|
Alignment:
| Neutral
| Neutral
| Neutral
|
No. Appearing:
| 3-30 (3d10)
| 2-20 (2d10)
| 1-6
|
Armor Class:
| 7
| 8
| 6
|
Movement:
| 12
| 6
| 12
|
Hit Dice:
| 1
| 1-1
| 6
|
THAC0:
| 19
| 20
| 15
|
No. of Attacks:
| 1
| 1
| 1
|
Damage/Attack:
| 1-6 (weapon)
| 1- 4
| Special
|
Special Attacks:
| Nil
| Nil
| Nil
|
Special Defenses:
| See below
| See below
| See below
|
Magic Resistance:
| See below
| See below
| See below
|
Size:
| M (6' tall)
| S-M (3'- 5')
| L-H (7'-15')
|
Morale:
| Special
| Special
| Special
|
XP Value:
| 65
| 65
| 650
|
All skeletons are magically animated undead monsters, created as guardians or
warriors by powerful evil wizards and priests.
Skeletons appear to have no ligaments or musculature which would allow
movement. Instead, the bones are magically joined together during the casting of an
animate dead spell. Skeletons have no eyes or internal organs.
Skeletons can be made from the bones of humans and demihumans, animals of
human size or smaller, or giant humanoids like bugbears and giants.
Combat: Man-sized humanoid skeletons always fight with weapons, usually a rusty sword
or spear. Because of their magical nature, they do not fight as well as living
beings and inflict only 1-6 points of damage when they hit. Animal skeletons
almost always bite for 1-4 points of damage, unless they would obviously inflict
less (i.e., skeletal rats should inflict only 1-2 points, etc.). Monster
skeletons, always constructed from humanoid creatures, use giant-sized weapons which
inflict the same damage as their living counterparts but without any Strength
bonuses.
Skeletons are immune to all
sleep, charm, and
hold spells. Because they are assembled from bones, cold-based attacks also do
skeletons no harm. The fact that they are mostly empty means that edged or
piercing weapons (like swords, daggers, and spears) inflict only half damage when
employed against skeletons. Blunt weapons, with larger heads designed to break and
crush bones, cause normal damage against skeletons. Fire also does normal
damage against skeletons. Holy water inflicts 2-8 points of damage per vial striking
the skeleton.
Skeletons are immune to
fear spells and need never check morale, usually being magically commanded to
fight to the death. When a skeleton dies, it falls to pieces with loud clunks and
rattles.
Habitat/Society: Skeletons have no social life or interesting habits. They can be found
anywhere there is a wizard or priest powerful enough to make them. Note that some
neutral priests of deities of the dead or dying often raise whole armies of
animated followers in times of trouble. Good clerics can make skeletons only if the
dead being has granted permission (either before or after death) and if the
cleric's deity has given express permission to do so. Otherwise, violating the
eternal rest of any being or animal is something most good deities disapprove of
highly.
Skeletons have almost no minds whatsoever, and can obey only the simplest one-
or two-phrase orders from their creators. Skeletons fight in unorganized
masses and tend to botch complex orders disastrously. It is not unheard of to find
more than one type of skeleton (monsters with animals, animals with humans)
working together to protect their master's dungeon or tower.
Ecology: Unless the skeleton's remains are destroyed or scattered far apart, the
skeleton can be created anew with the application of another
animate dead spell. Rumors of high-level
animate dead spells which create skeletons capable of reforming themselves to continue
fighting after being destroyed have not been reliably comfirmed.