Skeleton Characteristics

Skeletons, like the name would suggest, are animated skeletons of deceased humanoids, almost always brought back to life for some nefarious purpose. They appear in many variations, sizes and shapes, usually depending on what they had been in life, but sometimes even further altered by horrid magics. The practice of animating a corpse into a skeleton strips the body of all flesh and organs, leaving behind a hollow shell. That shell is then awakened with an active intelligence and personality, that sometimes vaguely remembers its past life and reflects its former mannerisms.

History

An Awakened Skeleton is the result of bone bound not only by necromancy, but by lingering spirit. Where most skeletons are hollow and mindless, an awakened one carries fragments of thought within its marrow. Such beings arise when death is marked by fierce will, an unbroken oath, or the weight of powerful magic. Necromancers have sought to craft them through runes and ritual, though success is rare.

Records describe Awakened Skeletons as guardians who keep watch over tombs, or as soldiers who rise again to continue their cause. In rare instances, entire companies have stirred, bones rattling with loyalty that refuses to fade. Such accounts are spoken of as legend, yet they remain a reminder of how purpose can endure even when flesh is long gone.

Culture

The culture of the Awakened Skeleton is shaped as much by command as by memory. Many serve necromancers, adopting the practices or disciplines forced upon them. Yet echoes of former lives remain: a prayer whispered without meaning, the stance of a seasoned warrior, or the voice of a language long forgotten. These fragments lend them individuality, however fractured.

They seldom gather of their own will. When they do, it is often for mutual survival, forming grim bands that preserve the shards of identity that remain. They are rarely accepted among the living, and so their culture is inward-looking, built around endurance, memory, and the paradox of life that walks in bones alone.

The Bleak Academy harbors many Awakened Skeletons, who are often employed as tireless staff or even tutors in subjects requiring discipline and precision. The ambient magic of the Academy fosters awakenings more commonly than elsewhere; skeletons tasked with tending its gardens or maintaining its archives sometimes gain awareness without warning. Necromantic failures also contribute, with miscast rituals intended for greater undead occasionally giving rise to an Awakened Skeleton instead. Within the Academy, they are regarded as curious but useful peers, their unique condition embraced as part of the institution’s culture of experimentation and scholarship.

Size Modifications

Humanoid Skeletons come in many different sizes, based on size of the original humanoid that was animated. The stats to the right are based on Medium Sized skeleton, but can be adjusted for other humanoid skeletons according to the chart below.

Humanoid Skeleton Types