Dragon Skeleton (5e Template)
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Dragon Skeleton[edit]
Dragons are some of the most powerful creatures in all of existence, but even they must eventually die. Some dragons forestall the inevitable by becoming undead, such as the fearsome dracolich. No dragon, however, chooses to become a dragon skeleton. In this decrepit state, the dragon's body and mind decay to a shadow of their former self. A dragon skeleton's attempts at using its breath weapon result in nothing more than harmless sparks or wisps of gas, but the magic which animates it allows it to fly.
Necromancers prize dragon skeletons as guardians, as they retain some of the qualities that made them so terrifying in life and like any other skeleton, they obey their orders without question. Some dracoliches use dragon skeletons as decoys, but the dragon skeleton's comparative weakness and lack of intellect mean such trickery usually serves to deceive only the most foolish of dragon hunters. Still, the decoy can soften up such adversaries or distract them long enough for the dracolich to enact other defensive strategies.
- Prerequisite
Any true dragon.
Statistics[edit]
Abilities. The dragon skeleton's Dexterity score increases by 2. The dragon skeleton's Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma decrease by 4, 2, and 1, respectively, to a minimum of 6, 8, and 5 (unless the base creature's Intelligence, Wisdom, and/or Charisma score is lower).
Type. The dragon skeleton's type changes to undead.
AC. The dragon skeleton's AC changes to 12 plus its Dexterity modifier (from natural armor). If the dragon skeleton is Large or larger, its AC increases by 1 for each size category larger than Medium it is.
Damage Immunities. The dragon skeleton is immune to poison damage.
Condition Immunities. The dragon skeleton is immune to exhaustion and the poisoned condition.
Damage Vulnerabilities. The dragon skeleton is vulnerable to bludgeoning damage.
Languages. The dragon skeleton understands all languages it knew in life but can't speak.
Skills. The dragon skeleton loses all skills.
Alignment. The dragon skeleton's alignment changes to lawful evil.
Traits[edit]
Undead Nature. A dragon skeleton doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Other Traits. The dragon skeleton loses any trait, such as Amphibious, that assumes a living physiology. The dragon skeleton loses all of its lair actions and breath weapons. The dragon skeleton also can't cast spells and loses any spells it knew.
CR Calculation[edit]
- Alter AC (from Dexterity increase and natural armor).
- Reduce damage-per-round (from removed breath weapon).
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