M - Shambling Skeletal Warrior

"Dark evil sits beneath this soil. It soaks into the land and into the forgotten bones of our ancestors... and there - it festers into something corrupt and hollow"

There are few creatures on this side of the veil or the other that are as despised as the undead. While true necromancy has been banned for centuries, the occasional upstart spellcaster can still cause considerable damage with unchecked Necromancy before they can be accosted. Other times, the natural decay of the world can interact in twisted ways - especially in locations where The Arcanosphere flows more wildly. In any case, once the undead have been seeded in an area they can quickly become embedded; often taking decades for the The Collegiate Arcane and The Pantheon Of The Goddess to root them out completely.


Usually, the image most citizens of the Eternal Empire conjure up when they think of the Undead - Skeletal Warriors are usually the remnants of forsaken battlefields, corrupted tombs, or something even direct Necromancy. Most dangerous if caught unprepared or in large numbers, these undead have long stopped being a threat to most prepared explorers and soldiers (provided of course they know the correct way to deal with such abominations). Ungainly creatures with little thought left in them beyond primal rage and violence, Skeletal Warriors can be easily outmanoeuvred or even outrun (provided they aren't cornering you in a cramped tomb). Most carry rusted blades or axes, both others have been known to drag along the vestiges of old war bows that inexplicably are still able to fire.

(Minion) - Shambling Skeletal Warrior

BRN - 2 AGI - 2 INT - 0 CUN - 2 WIL - 1 PRE - 0

Silhouette - 1 DEF 0/0 Soak - 2 Wounds - 4
Weaknesses - Force, Sonic, Radiant Resistances - Slashing, Piercing, Silvered Slashing, Silvered Piercing, Lightning Immunities - Mental, Necrotic
Quick Initiative : 0.2 Prestige - N/A Identify: Lore 2

Primary Checks

Short Sword: Melee - Light dd b + Group Upgrade : Damage 5 (Slashing Critical 3; Range [Engaged]

Petrified Bow: Marskmanship dd b h + Group Upgrade : Damage 6 (Piercing Critical 3; Range [Medium]

Terrifying: At the start of an encounter with this adversary, all opponents must make a Hard (ddd) Fear Check as an Out-of-turn incidental.



Information

Skills (group only) : Melee - Light, Marksmanship, Resilience, Vigilance

Abilities

Undead: This adversary is Undead, and does not need to breathe, eat, or drink. It can survive underwater and is immune to poisons and toxins.

Blind Sight (Short): This adversary is immune to negative penalties that involve sight within Short range.

Reinforcements: In an encounter with this Minion, the GM may spend h h on checks made by a PC to add one minion of this type to an existing minion group, or d to add a brand new minion group consisting of three of these adversaries.

Lumbering : This adversary can never make more than a single Move maneuvre in a single turn.

Slow Reflexes : When this adversary is required to make a Coordination Saving Throw, it automatically increases the difficulty of the check by one.

Special Actions

Terrifying 3 : At the start of an encounter with this adversary, all opponents must make a Hard (ddd) Fear Check as an Out-of-turn incidental.

Equipment

Weapons
Rusty Blade : Melee - Light; Damage 5 (Slashing Critical 3; Range [Engaged]
Petrified Bow : Marksmanship: Damage 6 (Piercing Critical 3; Range [Medium]; Accurate 1, Inferior

Armour & Gear
None
Potential Sundries
1 Silver Standard
½ Silver Standard
¼ Silver Standard

Roleplaying Suggestions

General Behaviors

A newly created Shamling Skeletal Warrior will wander mindlessly towards whatever sound or sight nearby holds the undead's attention the most. With no mind towards tactics, stealth, or even hunting - the creatures are normally spotted right away and reported to the local authorities for elimination. Those that remain undetected will eventually go into a state of dormancy, oftentimes remaining that way for centuries. Once disturbed, however - they immediately go on the offensive regardless of who disrupted them. In areas with known undead infestations, it is generally advised to keep out of still waters, swamps, caverns - and of course tombs.

Combat Behaviors

Mindless creatures, once aware of a living being in their proximity the Skeletal Warrior will attack with a single-minded determination with no regard for its own self-preservation. The soul or spirit that once resided within the skeleton has been gone far too long for any hope to dissuade the creature from attacking through convincing or coercion. If the creature can hear, it simply chooses to ignore its victim's pleas for mercy. They will attack whatever target is closest to them with whatever means they have at their disposal. If disarmed they will instead crawl and scrap at their foes with osseous claws.

Surprisingly resistant to most attacks, their lack of organs or even blood make more blades useless against them. The recommended method of destroying any skeleton remains "bashing them to pieces with the heaviest object you have nearby". Those specializing in the removal of undead tend to prefer maces and warhammers for this very reason.