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Skeleton

Skeleton adventurers were usually skilled and powerful in their former lives. Through unremitting force of will or extraordinary circumstances, their ego and ideals persist even in death. However, the very act of rising as a skeletal undead is traumatic. Memories of one’s former life are usually fractured or hazy, if anything can be remembered at all. For some, these memories return with time; for others, they’re gone forever. For the most part, this comes down to how the skeleton views themself: either as a continuation of the person they once were, or an entirely new being.

Skeleton adventurers often set themselves apart from other skeletons by dressing as flamboyantly as their station allows. Large, feathered caps, ornate armor, embroidered silks, or glittering jewelry are likely staples of their wardrobe. Some carve intricate “tattoos” into their bones or paint their skulls to maintain a sense of self that simple skeletons lack, and to signal to the living they’re not like other undead.

Skeleton adventurers must come to terms with their new identity. They aren’t bound by the limitations of the living and are often underestimated.

Rarity Rare

Hit Points 6

Size Medium

Speed 25 feet

Ability Boosts Dexterity, Charisma, Free

Ability Flaw Intelligence

Languages Common, Necril, and additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). Choose from Aklo, Dwarven, Elven, Infernal, Orcish, Undercommon, and any other languages to which you have access (such as languages prevalent in your region).

Traits Skeleton Undead

Undeath You have the basic undead benefits. For your undead hunger, you don’t eat flesh like ghouls or drink blood like vampires, but you do collect bones you can use to help yourself mend.

You might…

  • Work harder than most to prove you’re a capable and distinct individual.
  • Wade into danger with little regard for the safety of your undead body.
  • Desperately seek the acceptance of the society you once moved through with ease.

Others Probably…

  • Assume you’re the servant of a necromancer, working to advance their agenda.
  • Have difficulty empathizing with you.
  • Regard your undeath with either pity or envy.

Physical Description

Aside from their complete lack of flesh and organs, skeletons vary widely in appearance, reflecting the broad diversity of all living beings. They can be tall, short, or anywhere in between. Skeletons of creatures with horns, wings, or tails retain them, although they are usually useless in their skeletal state. Skeletons raised from fresh remains tend to have stark white bones, while older ones tend to be gray or yellowed. Skeletons who adventure for a while often possess faint lines crisscrossing their bones like scars, indicating where they were injured in previous battles.

Society

Across the world, intelligent skeletons rarely gather in large enough numbers to constitute any kind of settlement. Even in places where necromancy is an accepted practice, they typically mingle with other undead rather than band together. Many skeletons would rather keep company with those who remind them of their former life (although such reminders can just as easily lead to revulsion derived by the negative energy infused within them). In necromancer societies, skeletons are usually treated as members of the servant class and rarely have any upward social mobility.

Apart from such societies, skeletons are far more solitary. Some might hide on the outskirts of society or move about in disguise, but it’s difficult for them to find acceptance among the living. While they may not be feared in places that condone necromancy, they’re also not likely to be respected.

Alignment and Religion

While undead are almost always evil, some intelligent skeletons manage to stave off the corruption of the negative energy that powers them. Other than the tendency to become twisted toward evil over time, skeletons typically lean toward the alignments of their creators or their former selves. Skeletons without any particular loyalty or allegiance trend toward neutral evil alignment, or neutral if they can stave off evil.

Skeletons who embrace their undeath often worship gods of death, while those who resent it typically look toward gods of life and redemption. Accepting deities without particularly zealous anti-undead dogma, are popular among those who wish to fight against their destructive influences and become something greater than the purpose for which they were created.

Names

No widespread naming convention exists for skeletons. When necromancers bother to name skeletons they’ve raised, they typically choose names that suit their own tastes, the way one would name a pet. Others might be named for their role or job. Skeletons with their memories intact might choose to keep their name from when they were alive, but others might choose new names based on their undead experiences.

Sample Names

Clatterjaw, Creaker, Doorstop, Final Sacrifice, Gochiyo, Lectern, Macefodder, Sixth Lancer, Skulldyr, Xelim

Skeleton Heritages

Any creature that has bones in its body can potentially be raised as a skeleton, so skeleton adventurers reflect the full diversity of living beings in the world. Choose one of the following skeleton heritages at 1st level.

Fodder Skeleton

Humans, and those who are physically closest to them, are the favored material of necromancers. They are readily available, and their physiology has been studied the most extensively, so these skeletons can be easily mass-produced. Despite their name, fodder skeletons make rather mobile foot soldiers due to how efficiently they transfer necromantic energy within their bodies. You have a base Speed of 30 feet, instead of 25 feet.

Compact Skeleton

For tasks that require a lighter touch, gnome, goblin, and halfling remains are more suitable than a larger creature’s. These smaller, nimbler skeletons fit well in a traveling chest, can be forced through tight spaces, and more easily avoid detection. Your size is Small instead of Medium. You gain the Quick Squeeze feat, even if you aren’t trained in Acrobatics. Tight spaces not tight enough to require the Squeeze activity aren’t difficult terrain for you.

Sturdy Skeleton

Certain hazardous conditions are not suitable for the average skeleton, so a necromancer might choose to reanimate the bones of a dwarf, orc, or other creature with a reputation for sturdiness. You have 10 Hit Points instead of 6 and gain the Diehard feat.

Monstrous Skeleton

Inhuman skeletons are often created for both their deadly physical attacks and their terrifying appearances. Beasts and monstrous humanoids with the strangest skeletons tend to be the centerpiece of the collection of a necromancer skilled enough to raise one. You gain a claw, horn, tail, or wing unarmed attack that deals 1d6 damage. A claw deals slashing damage, a horn deals piercing damage, and a tail or wing deals bludgeoning damage. This unarmed attack is in the brawling group and has the finesse and unarmed traits.

Ancestry Feats

The following ancestry feats are available to skeletons.

1st Level

5th Level

9th Level

13th Level

17th Level

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Book of the Dead © 2022, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Brian Bauman, Tineke Bolleman. Logan Bonner, Jason Bulmahn, Jessica Catalan, John Compton, Chris Eng, Logan Harper, Michelle Jones, Jason Keeley, Luis Loza, Ron Lundeen, Liane Merciel, Patchen Mortimer, Quinn Murphy, Jessica Redekop, Mikhail Rekun, Solomon St. John, Michael Sayre, Mark Seifter, Sen.H.H.S., Kendra Leigh Speedling, Jason Tondro, Andrew White.

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