Skeletons

CR 1/3
XP 135

NE Medium undead
Init + 6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception + 0

DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+ 2 armor, + 2 Dex, + 2 natural)
hp 4 (1d8)
Fort + 0, Ref + 2, Will + 2
DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee broken scimitar 0 (1d6), claw –3 (1d41) or 2 claws 2 (1d42)

STATISTICS
Str 15, Dex 14, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk + 0; CMB + 2; CMD 14
Feats Improved Initiative
Gear broken chain shirt, broken scimitar

ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization any
Treasure none

Skeletons are the animated bones of the dead, brought to unlife through foul magic. While most skeletons are mindless automatons, they still possess an evil cunning imparted to them by their animating force—a cunning that allows them to wield weapons and wear armor.

Variant Skeletons
Numerous variant skeletons exist, such as those whose bones burn with an unending fire and those who drip with gore and reassemble themselves over time. Both of these variant skeletons can be created using animate dead, but they count as twice their normal number of Hit Dice per casting. Once controlled, they count normally against the controller’s limit.

Perhaps the most dangerous variant skeleton, though, is the skeletal champion. This skeleton retains its intellect, and often any class levels it possessed in life. A skeletal champion cannot be created with animate dead—these potent undead only arise under rare conditions similar to those that cause the manifestation of ghosts or via rare and highly evil rituals.

Each of the following skeleton types modifies the base skeleton in a few key ways. Except as noted, these variations can be stacked with one another—it’s possible to have a bloody burning skeletal champion.

Bloody Skeleton
A bloody skeleton is coated in a slick layer of blood and gore infused with negative energy. This gore allows the skeleton to reform and heal itself. In addition to the changes for the skeleton template, make the following adjustments to the base creature.

Challenge Rating: As a normal skeleton + 1.

Fast Healing: A bloody skeleton has fast healing equal to 1 per 2 Hit Dice it possesses (minimum 1).

Saves: A bloody skeleton gains channel resistance +4.

Abilities: A bloody skeleton’s Charisma is 14.

Special Qualities: A bloody skeleton gains the deathless special quality.

Deathless (Su): A bloody skeleton is destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points, but it returns to unlife 1 hour later at 1 hit point, allowing its fast healing thereafter to resume healing it. A bloody skeleton can be permanently destroyed if it is destroyed by positive energy, if it is reduced to 0 hit points in the area of a bless or hallow spell, or if its remains are sprinkled with a vial of holy water.