Deathknight Armsman

Deathknight Armsman (CR 17)

Lawful Good - 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

Movement Types:

Defense

AC

41

Man Def

41

Monster Health
611	305	32
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

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

Strong Against:

• DR17/bludgeoning, ER17/-
• (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

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Deathless Blade +26 (0/18-20 x2)
  as undefined damage type

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Deathless Blade +26 (0/18-20 x2)
  as undefined damage type

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Nighted Strike +26 (4d8+17/19-20 x2)
  as undefined damage type
  (Increment: 50 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)
  as negative energy

Full Attack (Ranged):

• 3x Nighted Strike +26 (4d8+17/19-20 x2)
  as undefined damage type
  (Increment: 50 ft.; Max Range: 150 ft.)
  as negative energy

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

24

STR

20

DEX

—

CON

10

INT

14

WIS

18

CHA

Skills:

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

Languages: All languages known in life, Stilth

Feats:

• Feint, Improved (EFFECT: Feint, Improved (Feat))

Special Abilities

Improved Feint (Ex)

As a move action, a Deathknight can use Bluff to feint in combat, causing its opponent to be denied his Dexterity bonus to his AC against the skeleton's next attack. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the target's base attack bonus + the target's Wisdom modifier. If the target is trained in Sense Motive, the DC is instead equal to 10 + the target's Sense Motive bonus, if higher.

Step In and Strike (Su)

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)

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

Dark Breath (Su)

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. All living enemies caught in the Dark Breath take 4d10+26 points of Negative Energy damage, and suffers the Withered condition. Affected enemies are allowed to make a Will save against a DC of 27. If they are successul, 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 move 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 use move 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.

Like all undead, Deathknights will never retreat 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 (Su)

Skeletons cannot be killed by normal means. However, low-level skeletons like these may lie shattered and dormant after being defeated for decades or even centuries before rising again to seek to rid the world of life. A Sanctify Corpse (Spell), Consecrate (Spell) or Gentle Repose (Spell) spell will add ten years and a day to the time it takes for a skeleton to re-compose. A Resurrection (Spell) spell will bring the person associated with the skeleton back to life, destroying the necromantic bond on its corpse.

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)