Greater Animate Skeleton (5e Spell)

Greater Animate Skeleton

8th-level Necromancy (ritual)
Casting time:	1 hour
Range:	touch
Components:	V, S, M (One clay pot filled with grave dirt, one clay pot filled with bone dust, and one 300 gp black onyx stone)
Duration:	Instantaneous

This spell creates an advanced undead skeleton servant. You must have a dry skeleton. You create an undead skeleton with a Challenge Rating 5.

This spell can be cast on a skeleton of any type of creature except Celestial, Construct, Elemental, Fiend, Ooze, or Plant. You animate an undead skeleton of that creature. If there isn't an undead version of that creature just use this template to update the creatures statistics, it is a Skeleton. The creature must have bones for it to become a Skeleton.

Undead Nature

It does not require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Blank Slate

It loses all skill proficiencies it had. It forgets everything it knew and no longer has a soul.

Unintelligent Endurance

It gains proficiency in Wisdom saving throws, if it wasn't already.

Senses

It gains darkvision out to a range of 60 feet, unless the base creature had superior darkvision which it uses.

Alignment

Its Alignment becomes one of the following: Neutral-Evil, Neutral-Neutral, Lawful-Evil, Lawful-Neutral, Chaotic-Evil, Chaotic-Neutral.

Languages

It knows the languages it knew in life, but cannot speak.

Damage Immunities

Poison

Condition Immunities

Exhaustion, Poisoned

Due to having much less weight than the fully fleshed original, it becomes faster though easier to break.

Ability Score Changes

Strength decreases by 4, to a minimum of 1. Dexterity increases by 2, to a maximum of 20 (Its AC increases accordingly). Constitution becomes 15 (Its HP increases or decreases accordingly). Intelligence becomes 6. Wisdom becomes 8. Charisma becomes 5.

Damage Vulnerabilities

Bludgeoning

Hard to Hit

Due to its lack of body mass to hit, it gains +2 to AC.

As a Bonus Action on each of your turns, you can mentally Command one creature you animated with this spell if the creature is within 240 feet of you. You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general Command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete, or you give it a new command.

• If you are a bone collector, you must collect one of the small bones of the skeleton, and keep it with you, to command it and keep it under your control.
• If you are a wizard, the skeleton is under your control for 24 hours, after which it stops obeying any command you've given it. To maintain control of the skeleton for another 24 hours, you must cast this spell on the skeleton again before the current 24-hour period ends.

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