Wednesday, July 22, 2020

D20x5 Spooky Scary Skeletons

Click the button below for your own randomized skeleton:




For more skeleton-related material, please see: http://paperelemental.blogspot.com/2019/11/skeleton-post-2019.html
Follow the following link to find the automator for your own table: https://meanderingbanter.blogspot.com/2018/10/automatic-list-to-html-translator-v2.html

D20This skeleton has
1goat bones replacing some of its missing human ones.
2metal splints bolted on to reinforce its long bones.
3ghostly flaming viscera shuddering in its torso.
4a nest of cockroaches in its skull, scuttling in and out of its eye sockets.
5scorched black bones, with ash drifting from its clacking jaws.
6gnaw-marks on its bones.
7cobwebs dangling from its limbs.
8a rusty dagger embedded in its left scapula.
9a caved-in skull, a few shards still rattling within.
10delicate cranking gears replacing its ligaments.
11a gold-plated grin.
12packed dirt onto its bones in a facsimile of flesh.
13a shaggy carpet of moss clinging to it.
14burial scenes scrimshawed on its bones.
15old blood scabbed on it.
16incense sticks planted in its pelvis.
17its phalanges and metacarpals partially carved into chess pieces.
18cancerous bone deformities.
19a crooked spine.
20a fancy feathered cap it will not part with under any circumstances.
D20This skeleton’s special skeleton power
1is that only crushing its bones to pieces will put it down for good. Otherwise they’ll reassemble themselves.
2is that after it kills something with a skeleton it can peel off the nasty meat and reanimate a bony friend.
3is that it’s retained most of its intelligence and personality from life, though it’s gained an overpowering hatred for the living.
4is that it can push beyond the structural limits of its bones. By shattering an arm or leg it can deliver a terrible blow, or leap an incredible distance.
5is that it can instantly bury itself in soil to later burst out in ambush.
6is that its grim visage immediately provokes a morale check in hirelings.
7is that like a shark’s bones it is mostly cartilage, and so can flex and compress tremendously.
8is that if it’s damaged it can pull bones from the dead or unconscious to repair itself.
9is that its screaming spectral skull will haunt its killer, preventing restful sleep for 1d6 nights.
10is that it carries the quiet of the grave with it, silencing all sound within 10 feet.
11is that it brings the chill of the grave with it, extinguishing all flames within 10 feet.
12is that it can shroud itself with the illusion of its living appearance.
13is that it’s suffused with putrescent energies. Those it wounds must save or contract a random disease.
14is that it drank lots of milk in life so its bones are harder than normal. Increase its AC by 2 above the normal rating for a skeleton. The skeleton has a milky sheen to it.
15is that its undead essence will taint its killer, making them take on the vulnerabilities of the undead for a day.
16is its jaw strength. If it deals max damage with an attack it bites off 1d4 fingers.
17is that its bones are telescopic. It can extend its reach and/or height by up to 10 ft.
18is that its killer will become cursed as an enemy of the undead, and be preferentially targeted by the undead until the curse is cleansed.
19is that its sharp fingers and toes let it climb sheer walls and cling to ceilings.
20is that it can pinpoint the heartbeats of the living from 50 feet away.
D20This skeleton might be encountered
1silently performing funeral rites for itself.
2dancing wildly to the beat of dripping water.
3pretending to sleep in a bed made of rags and mushrooms.
4staring at its reflection in a dirty puddle.
5covering walls with handprints.
6assembling trash into vanitas tableaux.
7standing perfectly straight and still.
8chewing on a rat.
9playing its ribcage like it’s a xylophone.
10applying the paste of squashed bugs to its skull like cosmetics.
11wandering listlessly.
12rocking itself back and forth in the fetal position.
13shuddering as if it is weeping, though it sheds no tears and makes no sound.
14tapping its fingers rhythmically against its knees.
15poking its hands through the empty spaces of its ribs, jaw, arms, and pelvis.
16rapt in observation of a squirming worm.
17contorting itself into poses no living body could match.
18spinning around rapidly to enjoy its lack of dizziness.
19very, very slowly moving through the motions of its former daily life.
20making angels in the dust.
D20Something that might be looted from this skeleton is
1a treasure map scratched onto a slate.
2a polished obsidian mirror.
3a half-full skin of sour wine.
4a scroll tanned from the skeleton’s own skin, covered in scrawled invectives.
5a pair of lead coins lodged in its eye sockets.
6a moldering deed to a nearby plot of land.
7a turquoise death-mask.
8a doused torch.
9a bouquet of desiccated roses.
10a pouch of lamb-gut condoms.
11a clay jar of mummification spices.
12an ivory hairbrush.
13a filigreed scabbard.
14a corroded key.
15a cracked porcelain doll.
16a silver poesy ring.
17a ratty shawl.
18a sturdy and comfortable pair of leather boots.
19a bag of iron nails (which could be quite expensive back in the day when they had to be hammered out by hand).
20a wooden cross and rosary (or other setting-appropriate holy symbol).
D20This skeleton wound up in this dungeon
1because their murderer dumped them here to prevent discovery.
2because a necromancer raised it to guard their lair within. That necromancer was struck down by old age before they could reach a satisfactory immortality.
3after following a crunchy-looking bat.
4after being sealed up here to die like Fortunato.
5because the dungeon was used as a dump for corpses after a plague.
6seeking refuge from a storm outside, only to fall victim to the dungeon’s other inhabitants.
7because it was called from its repose by a cursed treasure within.
8because in life they were a resurrection man chasing corpses here, only to become a corpse themself.
9because in life they were an explorer who ended up in over their head.
10because while they were alive they were press-ganged into excavating part of this dungeon.
11because they committed suicide here to avoid troubling their loved ones.
12after being chased by bandits, only to find the inhabitants of the dungeon to be deadlier foes.
13because the necromancer that raised it sent it in to find valuable treasures.
14because the necromancer that raised it sent it to attack an enemy of theirs with bad directions.
15because a band of gnolls dragged it in to serve as a snack.
16because a noble ran them over with their carriage, and discreetly disposed of their corpse to avoid legal issues.
17as a sacrifice to mollify the monsters within.
18because during an old epidemic it was used to quarantine the sick. They died of their sickness huddled in the dark.
19because in an old war it was used as a holding ground for prisoners taken in battle. They starved before their family could collect enough ransom money.
20because their friends dared them to enter it. They didn’t make it out alive.

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