D&D (2024) Skeleton Entry and Stat Blocks from New Monster Manual

Posted by Christian Hoffer on Twitter, here's a third stat block from 2025's Monster Manual!

Also don't forget check out the ancient green dragon and the kuo-toa.

 

[GiantBrainStudio]

The roll tables are great. But there is just too much text in the stat block. And that ability table is just hard to read.

 

[DivertedCircle]

The Flaming Skeletons 'Flame Scepter' confuses me. It looks like it uses Constitution or Wisdom for the attack roll, but Dexterity for the damage. Conversely, 'Hurl Flame' appears to use Wisdom for both.

 

[Quickleaf]

I thought all skeletons were vulnerable to dogs, and that they dropped bone clubs when destroyed that could be used to bludgeon other skeletons? What has this game come to?

Oh... oh... those weren't in any edition of D&D either? Uh... whistle

 

[Zaukrie]

The Flaming Skeletons 'Flame Scepter' confuses me. It looks like it uses Constitution or Wisdom for the attack roll, but Dexterity for the damage. Conversely, 'Hurl Flame' appears to use Wisdom for both.

This is where I think tying monsters to stats is a mistake. Just set fair numbers by level. I'm not trying to convince anyone....

 

[Shardstone]

Imma homebrew all enemies with weapons to use weapon masteries, making for very diverse combats.

 

[Chaosmancer]

So the "Con save to start pulling themselves back together" shtick sounds perfect for them. I'd just add a way to ensure a skeleton stays down once broken, other than relying on a crit. Unless the skeleton is effectively "paralyzed" when broken down, in which case all adjacent melee attacks are automatically crits, which would satisfy the condition.

Um, so.... this is kind of literally the zombie ability? Not sure we want zombies and skeletons sharing even more design space.

 

[Chaosmancer]

What is weird to me is that the Languages for most of the skeletons here have the "Understands all languages it knew in life but can't speak" but the minotaur skeleton has "Understands Abyssal but can't speak." This is something also in 2014 MM.

Edited to add: Ah. I see now. The base 2014 minotaur only speaks Abyssal. I never noticed that before.

Yep, that was a nod to all minotaurs being created in a ritual to Baphomet, which was some really cool lore.

 

[Chaosmancer]

The Flaming Skeletons 'Flame Scepter' confuses me. It looks like it uses Constitution or Wisdom for the attack roll, but Dexterity for the damage. Conversely, 'Hurl Flame' appears to use Wisdom for both.

Bet the attacks are wisdom to play into the magical leader vibe, but let the extra damage come from the 1d6 fire, instead of making it a wisdom. Kind of reminds me of Green Flame blade and similar spells with that design.

 

[Chaosmancer]

So, I am glad someone caught that the Minotuar skeleton was nerfed, but there are some small things here and there I want to point out.

Skeletons are deadlier in this. +1 to hit and to damage compared to 2014.

Skeleton Warhorses deal less damage (7 instead of 11) but gain the ability to knock prone on a charge. Additionally, the old entry didn't say anything about them, just gave us the statblock. While it isn't much, the inclusion of the lore bit that the skeletal warhorse is often ridden by its dead master tells us that the statblock should actually be used with the skeleton or another undead... and it is the first block next to the skeleton. Nice little design there.

Despite all the statblocks being evil, I appreciate that the lore doesn't say that they are inherently evil, and actually says that without orders, they sort of just bumble around. Like that.

For all those planning on giving skeletons a fear aura, reconstructing bones, clouds of choking dust, weapon masteries, six kobolds in a trench coat and a cherry topper... some of those are great ideas for making unique or scarier skeletons. But let us keep in mind that these guys are the least interesting and least powerful of the undead. Zombies have their fortitude, and after that you are mostly dealing with incorporeal undead and wights.

Nothing wrong with the armies of the BoneMonger having scarier abilities, but it is nice that jilted teen Janice who learned to animate some bones has some trash mobs for a low level party to smash through.

 

[pukunui]

Imma homebrew all enemies with weapons to use weapon masteries, making for very diverse combats.

I like that idea. I often give my 2014 monsters feats, which is something I will continue to do with the 2024 monsters, so why not give those proficient with weapons the corresponding weapon masteries as well?

As for skeletons, I reckon they should be resistant to piercing weapons. Stabbing a skeleton just doesn't seem like it would be all that effective. I like the idea that piercing weapons are ineffective, slashing weapons are OK, and bludgeoning weapons are the best.

Correspondingly, perhaps zombies should be vulnerable to slashing damage and resistant to piercing and bludgeoning.

I reckon this kind of stuff makes for more diverse combats too, as players will want to have a variety of weapons and switch between them depending on what they are fighting.