Boneclaw

Description

(from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes - 2018):

A wizard who tries to become a lich but fails might become a boneclaw instead. These hideous, cackling undead share a few of the lich’s attributes — but where liches are immortal masters of the arcane, boneclaws are slaves to darkness, hatred, and pain.

The most important part of the transformation ritual occurs when the soul of the aspiring lich migrates to a prepared phylactery. If the spellcaster is too physically or magically weak to compel the soul into its prison, the soul instead seeks out a new master — a humanoid within a few miles who has an unusually hate-filled heart. The soul bonds itself to the foul essence it finds in that person, and the boneclaw becomes forever enslaved to its new master’s wishes and subconscious whims. It forms near its master, sometimes appearing before that individual to receive orders and other times simply setting about the fulfillment of its master’s desires.

Limited Immortality. A boneclaw can’t be destroyed while its master lives. No matter what happens to a boneclaw’s body, it re-forms within hours and returns to whatever duty its master assigned.

The boneclaw can serve only evil. If its master finds redemption or sincerely turns away from the path of evil, the boneclaw is permanently destroyed.

Cackling Slayers. Boneclaws delight in murder, and nothing pleases them more than causing horrific pain. They lurk like spiders in shadowy recesses, waiting for victims to approach within reach of their long, bony limbs. Once speared, a creature is pulled into the darkness to be sliced apart or teleported elsewhere to be tortured to death.

Dark Reflections. A boneclaw’s master might not want such a servant or even know it has one. Boneclaws bind to petty criminals, bullies, and even particularly cruel children. Even if the master is unaware of its new, horrid bodyguard, its local area will be plagued by disappearances and grisly murders, tied together by the common thread of the master’s envy or hunger for revenge.

Undead Nature. A boneclaw doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

(from 3rd Edition Monster Manual III - 2004):

This large skeletal humanoid’s clawlike fingers are at least two feet long. Worse, the slender, knife-sharp claws contract and extend in length from moment to moment, sometimes instantly reaching a length of 10 or

more feet, before slowly contracting.

Boneclaws are bloodthirsty undead that enjoy using their extendable claws to bring death to the living. The lore of the dead

does not reveal from what dark necromancer’s laboratory or fell nether plane boneclaws entered the world. Perhaps they merely “evolved” from lesser forms.

The boneclaw is an intelligent skeletal undead that possesses exceptional control over the length of its claws. At will, a boneclaw can extend one or two of its finger-claws out toa distance of 20 feet, neatly skewering fleshy creatures that stand in the way.

A boneclaw stands about 8 feet tall and weighs about 300 pounds. Boneclaws speak Common and Abyssal.

Combat: A boneclaw likes to get the drop on its enemies, especially when its foes are still at range, surprising them with an attack of opportunity by extending its claws as its enemies close to melee range. With its Combat Reflexes, this can occur often within the same

fight. A boneclaw normally attacks using its Power Attack feat, taking a —2 penalty on its attack rolls and gaining a +2 bonus on damage rolls. Reaching Claws (Ex): A boneclaw can make melee attacks with its bone claws, instantly extending them as part of an attack to a distance of up to 20 \, feet (thereby allowing the boneclaw to threaten more squares than even its Large size 4 would otherwise indicate). i Unholy Toughness (Ex): A boneclaw gains a bonus to its hit points equal to its Charisma modifier x its Hit Dice.

Boneclaws in Eberron: Droaamite necromancers working for the Daughters of Sora Kell have learned how to transform ogre magi skeletons into boneclaws. During the Last War, spies from Karrnath failed to steal the secrets of boneclaw construction from a cabal of necromancers operating within the Great Crag (Droaam’s capital). Through careful negotiation, however, Emerald Claw agents have succeeded where the Karrns failed and have begun creating their own boneclaw killers.

Boneclaws in Faerûn: Rumors persist that Szass Tam, the zulkir of necromancy in Thay, created the first boneclaws to protect Thayan enclaves. However, boneclaws have been encountered in the service of various liches and necromancers across Faertin. Some necromancers speak of a night hag who visits them in their dark dreams, trading the secrets of boneclaw creation for some “gift” to be named later.