Flameskull

Blazing green flames and mad, echoing laughter follow a disembodied skull as it patrols its demesne. When the Undead flameskull discovers trespassers, it blasts the intruders with fiery rays from its eyes and dreadful spells called up from the dark recesses of its memory. Dark spellcasters fashion flameskulls from the remains of dead Wizards. When the ritual is complete, green flames erupt from the skull to complete its ghastly transformation. A flameskull only dimly recalls its former life. Though it might speak in its old voice and recount key events from its past, it is but an echo of its former self. However, its undead transformation grants it full access to the magic it wielded in life, letting it cast spells while ignoring the material and somatic components it can no longer employ. Intelligent and vigilant, a flameskull serves its creator by protecting a hidden treasure hoard, a secret chamber, or a specific individual. A flameskull carries out the directives given to it when it was created, and it interprets those commands to the letter. A flameskull's master must craft its instructions with care to ensure that the creature carries out its tasks properly. The fire wreathing a flameskull burns continually, giving off bright light that the creature controls. It uses those flames as a weapon, focusing them to loose them as fiery rays from its eye sockets. A flameskull's shattered fragments reform unless they are splashed with holy water or subjected to a dispel magic or remove curse spell. If it can no longer fulfill its intended purpose, the re-formed flameskull is beholden to no one and becomes autonomous.

Genetic Ancestor(s)