Deathknight Armsman

Deathknight Armsman (CR 17)

Lawful Evil - Medium - Undead (Skeleton)

Lore:	Know (Religion)
32		52
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

31

Perception:
38	+28
Passive	Active

Ambush:

13+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Darkvision 120 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 50 ft.
• Greater Climb 50 ft.
• Brachiating 50 ft.
• Lesser Swim 30 ft.

Defense

AC

41

Man Def

41

Monster Health
611	305	32
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+14
Refl:	+19
Will:	+19

Strong Against:

• DR 17/Common (Bludgeoning,  Crushing,  Piercing,  Slashing,  Slime), bypassed by bludgeoning (physical, common)

• ER 17/Common (Acid,  Cold,  Fire,  Lightning,  Sonic)

• (Undead 1) Immune (no effect): diseases (infected, diseased, blighted), poisons (tainted, poisoned, blighted), ability damage (dilution, damage, drain), and essence damage (suppression, omission, destruction)
• (Undead 2) Immune (no effect): bleeds (bruised, bleed, ruptured), fatigued, exhausted
• (Undead 3) Immune (no effect): magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned
• (Undead 4) Immune (no effect): any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless)

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Medium
5 ft.		5 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+26

Man Off

+29

Action

0

Points

• Maneuver Offense Notes: +3 on Feints

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Deathless Blade +26 (4d8+22/18-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Deathless Blade +26 (4d8+22/18-20 x2)
  as slashing (physical, common)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Nighted Strike +30 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (4d8+17/19-20 x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 50 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Nighted Strike +30 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) (4d8+17/19-20 x2)
  as negative (energy, uncommon)
  (Increment: 50 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

24

STR

20

DEX

—

CON

10

INT

14

WIS

18

CHA

Skills:

• Bluff: 30
• Diplomacy: 28
• Knowledge (Nobility): 30
• Perception: 28
• All other skills: 23 (no ranks)

Languages: All languages known in life, Stilth

Feats:

Special Abilities

Quick Feint (Ex) Swift Action

As a swift action, the Deathknight can use Bluff to feint in combat, causing its opponent to be flat-footed against the skeleton's next attack. The DC of this check is the target's Maneuver Defense, or 10 + the target's Sense Motive bonus, whichever is higher.

Step In and Strike (Su) Free Action prior to any attack

Prior to making any attack, whether melee or ranged, a skeleton can take a free 5-foot step. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity, is not limited by having already moved, and does not cost them any actions.

Damage Resistance (Ex) Always On

Skeletons are highly resistant to all common physical damage except bludgeoning (physical, common). In addition, Deathknights are resistant to all common forms of energy damage.

Dark Breath (Su) Swift Action 1/Enc

Once per encounter as a swift action, a Deathknight may breathe forth a dark, incorporeal puff of distilled misery. This breath affects all creatures in a 5x5 square area adjacent to the Deathknight's space (cone area of effect). All living enemies caught in the Dark Breath take 4d8+17 points of negative (energy, uncommon) damage, and suffer the Withered condition. Affected enemies are allowed to make a Will save against a DC of 27. If they are successful, the Withered condition is reduced to Weakened and the damage inflicted is halved.

Deathknight Armsman

Through dark necromantic power, a corpse can be transformed into a skeleton, shedding its flesh and becoming inhabited by the captured soul of a fallen warrior. Skeletons are nearly always mindless, but surprisingly, this is rarely much of a disadvantage for them. The warrior spirit inhabiting the body moves by reflex, demonstrating an ingrained martial prowess that makes skeletons notoriously effective combatants.

Skeletons are motivated by an intense hatred and jealously towards living things. They yearn only to crush that spark of life from everything they can reach.

A Deathknight is a truly potent skeleton, and is nearly always sentient, even if it is not a mental giant of the acuity of a Lich. That said, unlike lesser skeletons that are cored-out things driven only by the deadly murderous warrior spirit that animates it, a Deathknight always has some recollection of the person whose bony frame it now animates.

Depending upon the Deathknight, this recollection may be dim or keen, and indeed, some Deathknights are basically the same person they once were, only animated with an unending, atrocious desire to destroy the living. If a Deathknight is formed from a person who had living family, the resulting monstrosity is a rare delicacy of suffering, as the new monster both loves their family...and exists only to murder them horribly. Such a rare and awful state is surely a delight to the worst sorts of Demons, Devils, and Gods.

Deathknights who only dimly recall the person they once were are basically vastly powerful and dangerous Skeletons, as dangerous as all that breed with the additional unholy powers of the Deathknight, the Dark Breath, the Nighted Strike, and of course the Deathless Blade.

Deathknights who are full copies of who they once were, only with the unholy desire for murder of all life grafted on?

Such dark, woeful creatures are the source of many a shivering tale indeed...

Combat Tactics

Deathknights are dangerous and skilled warriors, and must be handled with care.

At range, a Deathknight will extend their bony hands and send a torrent of dark energy blasts at their foes. They will take full attacks and use their Step in and Strike ability to close the distance with startling speed, given that they are making full attacks at the same time. Against foes in heavy armor, or against whom they miss with any ranged attack, they will use their swift action to make a feint check (Bluff skill based) and then try their luck against the flatfooted AC instead.

When they close to melee, they will make full attacks, using Step In and Strike to maneuver around. They will use Dark Breath early, and will seek to spread out the effects among the delicate foes they face, to try and kill them outright, and the heavily armored, to inflict Weakness and thus mitigate their damage.

If they have trouble hitting a foe and have used their Dark Breath, they will begin to use swift actions to Feint and attack with unrelenting fury. Once in melee, they will use their five foot steps and their Step in and Strike abilities to set up flanks for themselves and avoid flanks from their foes, if possible. During combat, Deathknights, like most Skeletons, are tremendously mobile and utterly fearless, switching seamlessly between Deathless Blade and Nighted Strike attacks to move nearly at-will about the battlefield. If a Deathknight chooses to make a fighting retreat, killing one can turn into a long, brutal slog.

Like all undead, Deathknights will never retreat unless they have a reason, and will fight to destruction without hesitation.

Out of Combat

Unlike most skeletons, Deathknights are actually...PEOPLE. They have personality and memories, they have goals and desires, even though they are utterly, unrelentingly evil. If they had a goal in life, they will often try to fulfill that even after their death, albeit in a terrible and twisted fashion.

Immortality
Many undead creatures, such as this one, cannot be killed by normal means. However, it will lie shattered and dormant after being defeated for up to a century before rising again to seek to rid the world of life. Casting either Sanctify Corpse (Cleric Spell) or Gentle Repose (Cleric Spell) on the defeated corpse of the creature will add an additional one hundred years to the time it takes for it to re-compose. Laying the defeated corpse on consecrated ground for a full day will prevent it from ever rising again, as will casting Rest Eternal (Cleric Spell) on it. Applying Raise Dead (Cleric Spell), Resurrection (Cleric Spell), or using similar life-giving abilities will restore the original soul back to the corpse, bringing that person back to life and permanently destroying the necromantic animus that had possessed the body previously. This creature's body will never decay (further than it already has) nor age due to time or neglect.

Rewards

XP: 102,400

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 51,444 gp.

Weight: 170 lbs.     Volume: 6.8 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)