The undead were once living creatures, returned to a horrific second life. Undead can be created through necromantic spells, profane curses, or even sometimes through divine decree. Such creatures are rarely bothered by the needs of their former life, instead craving something unique to their new form.
The Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault has twenty-three undead in its arsenal to pair with the multitude of monsters ready for conversion from the Creature Codex and Tomes of Beasts 1, 2, and 3. All these monsters are more narratively interesting and tactically dynamic than their counterparts in similar games.
The Need to Feed
While the lore for many undead speak to a certain craving, there are few mechanical implications for their hunger. By adding game mechanics to these undead, the Tales of the Valiant framework offers more nuanced foes to challenge the players—but all the more so, to tell more interesting tales for their valiant heroes.
Ossified Bones, Fractured Arms
Ripped from the pages of Tome of Beasts 2, the swordbreaker skeleton puts fear into the hearts of all who’ve faced it while wielding metal or wooden piercing or slashing weapons. Its bones are fossilized and stony. Weapons shatter against it thanks to its Fossilized Bones trait. In many ways, this monster is a mixture of skeleton and rust monster.
The fossilization process is painful for the swordbreaker skeleton, who hungers for weapons to be destroyed upon its frame to justify the difficult transmogrification. It takes joy in breaking weapons, but it can temporarily lose its special nature until it experiences the joy of destroying a weapon.
This version of the swordbreaker skeleton is the swordbreaker template applied to the scout NPC from the Appendix of the Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault.
Swordbreaker Skeleton (Scout) CR 1
Medium Undead
Armor Class 13
Hit Points 25
Speed 30 ft.
Perception 9 Stealth 16
Vulnerable thunder
Resistant Undead Resilience
Immune Undead Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages understands the languages it knew in life but can’t speak
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| +0 | +2 | +1 | −2 | −1 | −3 |
Fossilized Bones. Any nonmagical slashing or piercing weapon made of metal or wood that hits the swordbreaker skeleton cracks. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to damage rolls. If its penalty drops to −5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal or wood that hits the swordbreaker skeleton is destroyed after dealing damage.
Hunger for Swords. Immediately after destroying a weapon using its Fossilized Bones ability, a swordbreaker skeleton gains 10 temporary hit points. Ten minutes after destroying a weapon, it transforms into a champion swordbreaker skeleton (the sated version) for 1 month, reverting to a regular swordbreaker skeleton after that time. If the skeleton hasn’t broken a weapon using this ability in at least 1 year, it turns into a swordcraver skeleton (the hungry version) until it destroys a weapon using its Fossilized Bones feature.
Thunder Vulnerability. The scout swordbreaker skeleton is vulnerable to thunder damage.
Undead Nature. The scout swordbreaker skeleton doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Undead Resilience. The scout swordbreaker skeleton is immune to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the petrified and poisoned conditions. The scout swordbreaker skeleton is resistant to piercing and slashing damage.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The scout makes two Shortsword or Shortbow attacks.
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
BONUS ACTIONS
Escape to Report. The scout swordbreaker skeleton takes the Dash or Disengage action.
The necromantic energies that ossified the swordbreaker skeleton demand a sacrifice of weapons upon its bony frame. A failure to renew these sacrifices causes the swordbreaker skeleton to crave battle, depriving it of better judgment and many of its abilities.
Swordcraver Skeleton (Scout) CR 1/2
Medium Undead
Armor Class 13
Hit Points 25
Speed 30 ft.
Perception 9 Stealth 16
Vulnerable thunder
Resistant Undead Resilience
Immune Undead Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages understands the languages it knew in life but can’t speak
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| +0 | +2 | +1 | −2 | −1 | −3 |
Fossilized Bones. Any nonmagical slashing or piercing weapon made of metal or wood that hits the swordcraver skeleton cracks. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to damage rolls. If its penalty drops to −5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal or wood that hits the swordcraver skeleton is destroyed after dealing damage.
Hunger for Swords. Immediately after destroying a weapon using its Fossilized Bones ability, a swordcraver skeleton gains 10 temporary hit points. Ten minutes after destroying a weapon, it transforms into a champion swordbreaker skeleton for 1 month, reverting to a normal swordbreaker skeleton after that time.
Heedless Attack. The swordcraver skeleton has advantage on all melee weapon attack rolls, but attack rolls against it also have advantage.
Thunder Vulnerability. The swordcraver skeleton is vulnerable to thunder damage.
Undead Nature. The swordcraver skeleton doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Undead Resilience. The swordcraver skeleton is immune to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the petrified and poisoned conditions. The scout swordbreaker skeleton is resistant to piercing and slashing damage.
ACTIONS
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
After destroying a weapon with its Fossilized Bones ability, the swordbreaker skeleton is infused with the certainty of purpose. As a result, its AC increases, and it becomes harder to destroy because of its increased hit points and lack of thunder vulnerability.
Champion Swordbreaker Skeleton (Scout) CR 2
Medium Undead
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 35
Speed 30 ft.
Perception 9 Stealth 16
Resistant Undead Resilience
Immune Undead Resilience
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages understands the languages it knew in life but can’t speak
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| +0 | +2 | +1 | −2 | −1 | −3 |
Fossilized Bones. Any nonmagical slashing or piercing weapon made of metal or wood that hits the swordbreaker skeleton cracks. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to damage rolls. If its penalty drops to -5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal or wood that hits the swordbreaker skeleton is destroyed after dealing damage.
Undead Nature. The scout swordbreaker skeleton doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Undead Resilience. The scout swordbreaker skeleton is immune to poison damage, to exhaustion, and to the petrified and poisoned conditions. The scout swordbreaker skeleton is resistant to piercing and slashing damage.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The scout makes three Shortsword or two Shortbow attacks.
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
BONUS ACTIONS
Escape to Report. The scout swordbreaker skeleton takes the Dash or Disengage action.
Love this post. I can build an adventure from this alone. Purchased all of the tov materials but didn’t know of this hidden gem in the tome of beast books! I need to collect them all now.