Creature Classes/Skeleton

Hit Die: d10

Type: Creature(Undead)

Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Requirements: Must be a living creature capable of being raised as undead.

An undead is usually a creature raised by a necromancer, but some environments or circumstances may result in a creature returning as a skeleton.

Class Features
The following are class features of a Skeleton.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
A skeleton gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Undeath
When a living creature gains levels in an undead class they gain the undead type in addition to their previous creature type. Any features of the undead that conflict with the creature’s base type (such as being alive, requiring to eat/sleep/ect..) are overwritten by the undead type, but the creature retains their base type for the purposes of continuing to meet qualifications for their creature type (as long as those qualifications do not conflict with the undead type such as needing to be alive).

Mindless Undead
This type of undead class is a mindless undead, gaining immunity to all mind-affecting and illusion keyword spells. This creature has no intelligence modifier, gaining minimum skill ranks per level. Skill ranks gained from this class while they remain mindless must be used in physical-based skills (strength, dex, constitution), except for concentration. In addition the creature cannot take levels in other classes until the creature gains an intelligence score; the creature retains all classes, feats, and class features from its time alive. Feats the undead would no longer qualify for due to lacking an intelligence score cease to function (as well as any feats using that feat as a prerequisite) until the undead regains the prerequisite intelligence again.

A mindless undead must retrain all skill ranks they possess if this adjustment in intelligence would cause them to no longer have enough skill ranks for the skills they already possess.

Due to this the undead recall none of their past life and function through a combination of instinct and whatever force returned them as an undead. A GM may declare an undead to remain intelligent rather than requiring a different ability to later regain it.

Skeletal Body
At 1st level, the skeleton’s form grants them bonuses and resistances in addition to the normal benefits of the undead creature type. The skeleton gains DR 5/Bludgeoning, Resist 2 against Fire and Cold elemental damage. At 4th level this DR improves to DR 10/Bludgeoning, and their elemental resistances against Fire and Cold improves to Resist 3.

If the skeletal creature possessed a fly speed through wings, it loses the ability to fly due to their now skeletal form; in addition the skeleton automatically fails all swim checks and immediately begins to sink to the bottom of any body of water they enter. This does not affect fly or swim speeds granted by magical or supernatural forces.

Finally, the creature’s weight becomes 1/10th of their original weight and it is treated as one size category smaller for the purposes of determining the smallest space it can squeeze through; the skeleton still must squeeze through spaces a creature of its size normally would have to.

Skeletal Trait
At 1st level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the skeleton gains one of the following traits as they become more than a simple skeleton.


 * Reinforced Bones: The skeleton gains toughness as a bonus feat, if the skeleton already possesses this feat or later gains it, they instead gain an additional 2 hit points per level of skeleton. The skeleton may select this trait more than once.
 * Bone Spikes: The skeleton’s body forms jagged and spiky protrusions. Creatures grappling the skeleton take 1d4 points of piercing damage each time the skeleton succeeds at, or a creature grappling the skeleton succeeds at, a grapple combat maneuver to start or maintain a grapple.
 * Bone Claws: The skeleton’s hands begin to sharpen to a point granting the skeleton two claws that deal 1d4 damage each. This cannot be selected if the skeleton’s base creature already possessed claws.

Skeletal Swiftness
At 2nd level, the skeleton’s much lighter body and empowering magic grants them an enhancement bonus to their initiative equal to their charisma modifier, to a maximum of their skeleton level. At 4th level this bonus is no longer limited by the skeleton’s level.

In addition, the skeleton gains a +2 class bonus to their dexterity ability score, at 4th level this bonus improves to +4.

Undead Durability
At 2nd level, the undead creature gains a +1 bonus to their natural armor. Your existing bonus natural armor bonus increases by 1 every 5 levels of undead creature classes the creature possesses.

Reassembly
At 3rd level, the magic sustaining the skeleton’s structure can extend itself further to quickly reattach lost parts. The undead becomes immune to dismemberment as long as the effect would not completely destroy the affected limb. If a bone would be fractured or splintered the skeleton is fully capable of fusing the pieces back together (provided it is at least above half its maximum health), doing so does not restore HP but ensures the skeleton’s overall shape and structural integrity is not compromised. In addition, the skeleton can disassemble itself into a pile of bones as a free action, rather than retaining its original shape; doing so grants the skeleton a +20 bonus on disguise checks made to look like an unassuming pile of bones. Reassembling itself from a pile of bones requires a full-round action.

At 4th level, once per day when a skeleton would be reduced to 0 points, it may make a fortitude save to not be immediately destroyed. The DC of this fortitude save is 15 + the amount of damage beyond the amount required to bring the skeleton to 0 hit points the attack dealt. If the skeleton succeeds this fortitude save it instead retains a single hit point and immediately goes into a disassembled state, allowing for an immediate disguise check to fool nearby creatures that it has been slain.

Greater Skeleton
At 4th level the skeleton gains enough power to become intelligent again, regaining the intelligence score from before they became undead. The creature has a 50% chance of regaining the memories of their past life when this occurs; if the creature regains their memories they have a 25% chance to only regain a porton of their memories, determined by the GM. Due to this regaining of intelligence the undead may now begin to take levels in classes besides skeleton.

The magics empowering the skeleton allow the creature to also regain any fly or swim speed they may have possessed before becoming a skeleton. If the skeleton possessed a swim speed before becoming a skeleton it no longer automatically fails all swim checks and may swim as normal; skeletons without a swim speed still fail swim checks as normal.