Thursday, May 10, 2012

Ice Skeletons

Undead come in many varieties, from flaming giants to just plain skeletons.  One I like are ice skeletons.

Looking like your normal, walking undead skeletons, (really, normal undead...I guess there isn't any "normal"), they are tinged blue and a cloud of cold hangs about them.  A layer of ice covers all their bones and creeps on to anything they touch (including player characters).  They move a little slower then other skeletons but their grips are paralyzing.  They usually have little armor, but the ice seems to give them some protection from normal hits.  Fire harms them at twice the normal rate but they take no damage from ice.

So in game terms they are human sized, attack like a 2nd level character (because I know some monsters and some systems work this way), but a minus to the initiative (normally 1 or 2 depends on your system).  Fire is doubled for damage (no saves) and cold does no damage.  (If your system has a Damage Reduction system make their DR 5 or 10 depending on how  hard you want to make them.)  You can adapt to higher levels by making them a higher character level, it just depends upon your need.   Your victim needs to save versus magic or be stunned/paralized for three rounds (or what you deem appropriate) if they are struck by the skeleton. They carry no treasure (except the weapon they are using) though some necromancers may want bones from these creatures.

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