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Converting Forgotten Realms monsters

Burnbones

This animated skeleton is limned with dark flames. It bears the holy symbol of an evil, chaotic deity.

Burnbones are created when a chaotic evil deity infuses one of his favored priests with a portion of his dark essence. Even a small portion of the deity's power is so great to dissolve all flesh and sinew in the process, leaving only a walking pile of bones behind. This skeletal creature is continuously limned with dark fire.

The fanatical loyalty of the chosen priests becomes amplified and twisted during the transformation, leaving most burnbones half insane and highly paranoid. Burnbones continue their existence solely to serve the greater glory of their foul god, for the alternative is assured eternal pain or final destruction.

Burnbones speak any languages they knew in life.

Creating a Burnbones

“Burnbones” is an acquired template that can be added to any creature able to cast 6th-level divine spells with a chaotic evil patron deity (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

A burnbones has all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

Hit Dice: Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s.

Armor Class: A burnbones has a +2 natural armor bonus or the base creature’s natural armor bonus, whichever is better.

Attack: A burnbones has a searing touch attack that it can use once per round. If the base creature can use weapons, the burnbones retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A burnbones fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A burnbones armed with a weapon uses its touch or a weapon, as it desires.

Full Attack: A burnbones fighting without weapons uses either its searing touch attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a touch as a natural secondary attack, provided it has a way to make that attack (either a free hand or a natural weapon that it can use as a secondary attack).

Damage: A burnbones without natural weapons has a searing touch attack that deals 2d10 points of damage. The damage is not fire damage, but rather chaotic fire from the burnbones's dark deity, and is not subject to being reduced by resistance to fire-based attacks, such as that granted by protection from energy (fire), fire shield (chill shield), and similar magic. A burnbones with natural weapons can use its touch attack or its natural weaponry, as it prefers. If it chooses the latter, it deals burnbones points of extra damage on one natural weapon attack.

Special Attacks: A burnbones retains all the base creature’s special attacks and gains those described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 burnbones's HD + burnbones's Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.

Battle Casting (Ex): When making an attack or full attack, a burnbones may cast one spell each round as a swift action. It may not use this ability in tandem with casting another spell.

Fiery Aura (Ex): Anyone within 10 feet of a burnbones must succeed on a Fortitude save or take 1d3 points of fire damage per round from the intense heat.

Spells: A burnbones continues to prepare and cast divine spells as it did in life. However, as a gift from its dark deity, none of its spells require verbal, somatic, or material components.

Special Qualities: A burnbones retains all the base creature’s special qualities and gains those described below.

Damage Reduction (Su): A burnbones has damage reduction 10/bludgeoning and lawful. Its natural weapons are treated as chaotic weapons and evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Fiery Resolve (Ex): A burnbones is always considered to be casting defensively when using any of its spells.

Immunity to Fire (Ex): A burnbones has immunity to fire.

Limited Immunity to Holy Water (Ex): A burnbones is immune to damage from holy water, unless it was created by a lawful character.

Resistance to Cold (Ex): A burnbones has resistance to cold 10.

Spell Resistance: A burnbones has spell resistance equal to Hit Dice + 12.

Turn Resistance (Ex): A burnbones has +4 turn resistance against lawful good characters. Against all other character, a burnbones has turn immunity.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Int +4, Wis +4, Cha +4. Being undead, a burnbones has no Constitution score.

Environment: Any land or underground.
Organization: Solitary.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +3.
Treasure: None (except holy symbol).
Alignment: Always chaotic evil.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +6.

Sample Burnbones

Burnbones, 12th-level human cleric
Medium Undead (Augmented Humanoid)
Hit Dice: 12d12 (78 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares) in chainmail; base speed 30 ft.
Armor Class: 19 (-1 Dex, +2 natural, +8 chainmail, +3 magic vestment), touch 9, flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+10
Attack: +1 unholy longsword +12 melee (1d8+2/19-20 plus 2d6 vs. good-aligned creatures) or searing touch +10 melee (2d10)
Full Attack: +1 unholy longsword +12 melee (1d8+2/19-20 plus 2d6 vs. good-aligned creatures) or searing touch +10 melee (2d10)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Battle casting, fiery aura (DC 20), rebuke undead (+6, 2d6+16, 12th), spells
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/bludgeoning and lawful, darkvision 60 ft., fiery resolve, immunity to fire, limited immunity to holy water, resistance to cold 10, spell resistance 24, turn resistance/immunity, undead traits
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +10
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 22, Cha 18
Skills: Bluff +11, Concentration +11, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +4 (+6 acting), Intimidate +6, Knowledge (religion) +11, Spellcraft +9
Feats: Extend Spell, Martial Weapon Proficiency (longsword), Maximize Spell, Spell Penetration, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Environment: Any land or underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: Standard (includes +1 unholy longsword and chainmail)
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +6

Cleric Spells Prepared: (Caster level 12th, save DC = 14 + spell level)
6th—blade barrier, harm (D), planar ally;
5th—false vision (D), flame strike, righteous might;
4th—confusion (D), dimensional anchor, extended magic vestment*, freedom of movement, spell immunity;
3rd—animate dead, bestow curse, blindness/deafness, contagion (D), invisibility purge, speak with dead;
2nd—bull's strength, death knell, desecrate, extended shield of faith, hold person, invisibility (D), spiritual weapon;
1st—bane, cause fear, command, disguise self (D), doom (x2), entropic shield;
0—cure light wounds, detect magic, guidance, read magic, resistance (2);
(D) Domain spell. Deity: Cyric. Domains: Destruction, Trickery.
*Already cast.

In the Realms

After the Banedeath, Cyric granted a portion of his power to his most faithful priests. The power of the Dark Sun was so overwhelming that all that remained of these priests were their bones. Burnbones exist only to fulfill Cyric's will, although his very nature makes burnbones seem to work at cross purposes with the Prince of Lies at times. Initially two dozen in number, nearly half of the original burnbones were destroyed by Banites or the forces of good. Since then, Cyric has created only a handful of burnbones each year.

Originally appeared in Ruins of Zhentil Keep (1995).