Making Skeletons unturnable

[trentonjoe]

I just bought some really cool painted skeletons and I want to use them in my game.

Here is the situation: The party averages out to a 8th level group but they have a 10th level cleric that is pretty good at turning.

To make it a fair fight I wanted to make the skeletons something like a 5th level fighter.

I don't want my new skeletal army turned round one but I don't want to deny the cleric the use of a special ability that he has earned and payed for.

here is the problem: If I give the skeletons turn resistance (+2 or +4) would I have to bump up their CR? I figure medium sized skeletons that are 5th level fighters w/ very limited equiptment are probably CR 5s. If I give then turn resistance should I make them 6s?

Any other ideas?

What about a very large area unhallow spell?

 

[coyote6]

Have the skeletons be in a desecrated (-3 or -6 to turn checks, plus extra hp for 'em) or unhallowed area.

You can also use the skeleton template from WotC's website.

One of the WotC modules features undead that get turn resistance bonuses from a particular magic item; they don't seem to have increased CR because of it. That said, you might reward an extra 25% or so XP.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Other ideas? Have the party swarmed by normal skeletons (1-5 HD each) to force the cleric to use up turning attempts.

I'm not sure what the CR change of +4 turn resistance would be, but it surely wouldn't stop the cleric from tuening them - only from turning as many.

 

[Wolf72]

didn't someone at WoTC do a skeleton template? ... bah, it was probably a zombie template.

you could use unhallow created larger skeletons?

I think theres a few other spells that can make it harder to turn undead.

oooh ... how about give each a simple medallion of faith (from the cleric that raised them) that makes them harder to turn?

... give the skeletons some rusted armor (chain?) too?

[edit: sweet! thanks coyote6 ... I actually remembered something ... and NJ-Joe, sorry ... my post came in last and I said about the same thing as everyone else ]

 

[trentonjoe]

the skeleton template makes them loses all their class levels, I am trying to avoid that, thanks though

Did the Skeletal warrior make it to 3E? Maybe I can use that as an idea?

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Geoff Watson]

Get an Evil Cleric to bloster them, just before the fight.
Desecrate will also help.

Geoff.

 

[Deadguy]

When is a Skeleton Not a Skeleton?

I had a similar situation, Joe, where I wanted to make skeletons a real threat to a party of level 8 characters. I achieved this two ways. One was, as Charles Greathouse pointed out, was to swarm the PCs with many normal skeletons. But you can always have them under the command of something smarter so they do use tactics.

I then added a few 'special' skeletons. These were only apparent because their eyes had a violet cast to them rather than being dark and hollow. These skeletons were much tougher, and had the power to shoot forth magic missiles from their eyes (even though this used up their hit points to power them). When the party examined them after the battle they found a tiny shard of violet crystal wired into their skulls or breastbones.

In other words, just because the figures look like skeletons doesn't mean that they have to be run-of-the-mill CR 1/3 skeletons from the Monster Manual! Let the PCs find out the hard way that they're not!

 

[Dingleberry]

I don't remember the CR, but the baneguard in Monsters of Faerun are skeletons that can cast magic missile and blink.

 

[Xahn'Tyr]

An evil cleric may also bolster undead combatants against
turning in advance. He makes a turning check as if attempting to
rebuke the undead, but the Hit Dice result becomes the undead
combatants' effective Hit Dice as far as turning is concerned
(provided the result is higher than the undeads' actual Hit
Dice). The bolstering lasts 10 rounds.

"Bolster" them with an NPC (or worn item?) and have the area Unhallowed. There are also various MoF spells that make Undead tougher (Iron Bones and the like). And as mentioned above, check out the Bane Guard from Monster of Faerun. They look like normal skeletons but are much more interesting. Take a few of those and advance them to whatever level you need (if they can sneak attack, or have combat reflexes, that innate Blink would be very nice).

Also consider having them show up over a couple of rounds, and from different directions. That could confuse the turning as well.

 

[SpikeyFreak]

Make them doppelgangers!

Or maybe make them real fighters that have been made to look different by an illusion.

--Worthless Spikey