An undead-worshipping cult has broken into the ancient history museum and conjured stolen necromancies upon the dinosaur displays. Adventurous meddlers must set the bad bones right and excise the cultists!

Here are three new monsters to assemble a tier 2 adventure full of bone-crunching combat. Throw them into a Halloween one-shot you’ve already got brewing, or design something around these bone chillers. To flesh it out, you might use:

• an interior map of a museum, manor, or temple
• creatures to represent the cultists, such as cult fanatics, mages, or even just nobles.
• rewards to bequeath upon your PCs if they survivesucceed.

Keep in mind that the cultists created these skeletons to do what they cannot: be big, dangerous monsters. Without the huge skeletons present, they fall over or run away pretty quickly. Although you could have one or more cultists ride one of these creatures to direct it or enter the fray themselves!

Note: These monsters use new, streamlined Tales of the Valiant RPG stat blocks.
See the Alpha Release for more on using them to their fullest,
but they’re compatible with 5E D&D, so play through!

Pteron Deathwing

This nightmare of flesh and bone appears like a skeletal pterosaur, devoid of a head. Despite its large size, the creature has an elegant grace in its wings of razor-tipped bone webbed by flaps of flayed flesh. Within its exposed ribcage are the bulging sacks of too many organs, bloated and ready to burst.

The deathwing is a winged predator from another age reanimated to terrorize everything in its path. While the creature lacks a head, it has no shortage of options. The deathwing prefers to taunt foes by flying out of reach, only coming into the range to engage in chemical warfare and cut them down with sharp wings. Stuffed full of innards and extra guts, the deathwing rains toxic hell, bombing anyone beneath it with necrosed flesh and poisonous bile.

PTERON DEATHWING                  CR 2

Large Undead
Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (6d10 + 12)
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft.
Perception 12                        Stealth 15
Immunities necrotic, poison | blinded, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages understands Common and Darakhul but can’t speak

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
+5	+5	+2	−4	+0	−4

Flyby. The deathwing doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.

Turn Resistance. The deathwing has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.

Undead Nature. The deathwing doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

ACTIONS

Wing Slice. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) slashing damage.

Viscera Bombing Run (Recharge 6). The deathwing releases its organs bloated with viscera and bile to pepper a surface area as it flies overhead. All creatures within a 10-foot by 30-foot line originating on a point beneath where the deathwing flies must make a DC 13 CON save. On a failure, a creature takes 7 (3d4) poison damage and 7 (3d4) necrotic damage and has the poisoned condition for 1 minute. On a success, the creature takes half damage and is not poisoned. A poisoned creature can repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a successful save.

Triceran Bonespur

An amalgam of fossils, beast bones, and viscera formed into an unholy facsimile of a triceratops and fortified with broken bones and grafted-on bits of armor.

The bonespur is an abomination built on a bull-like skeletal frame, animated and augmented with necromancy. Larger than a covered wagon and with three horns and a protective skull ridge, the bonespur can crash through barricades, crush terrain features, and bowl over the opposition.

TRICERAN BONESPUR                 CR 4

Large Undead
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 85 (10d10 + 30)
Speed 50 ft.
Perception 9              Stealth 9
Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Immunities necrotic, poison | blinded, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages understands Common and Darakhul but can’t speak

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
+6	−1	+5	−3	−1	−3

Siege Monster. The bonespur deals double damage to objects and structures.

Turn Resistance. The bonespur has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.

Undead Nature. The bonespur doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Broken Bone Charge. If the bonespur moves at least 15 feet straight toward a target, and then hits the target with a Trihorn Slam, it deals an extra 11 (2d10) piercing damage and the target has disadvantage on the save against being knocked prone.

ACTIONS

Trihorn Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage. The target must succeed on a DC 15 STR save or be knocked prone.

REACTIONS

Spurring Retaliation. When the bonespur is hit with a melee attack, the attacker takes 5 (1d10) piercing damage and the bonespur can make an additional Trihorn Slam attack during its next turn.

Osteosaurus Rex

A skeletal tyrannosaur bellows and stomps forward, releasing gouts of the bones and bowels used in its profane animation. A clubbed tail and bone ridges across its back offer no purchase for those seeking to master it.

The osteosaurus rex is a necrocrafted monstrosity of bone and fury. Though its jaws fail to exhibit the crushing power it exhibited in life, the osteosaurus makes up for it with an ear-splitting scream punctuated by a spew of broken bones and teeth. Failing that, it throws its immense bulk around, slamming anything in its path flat with its clubbed tail and sturdy legs.

OSTEOSAURUS REX          CR 7

Large Undead
Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 157 (15d12 + 60)
Speed 50 ft.
Perception 9                                      Stealth 9
Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Immunities necrotic, poison | blinded, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft.
Languages understands Common and Darakhul but can’t speak

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
+8	+0	+4	−4	−1	−1

Siege Monster. The osteosaurus rex deals double damage to objects and structures.

Turn Resistance. The osteosaurus rex has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.

Undead Nature. The osteosaurus rex doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Plates and Scales. The osteosaurus rex is covered in knife-edged spikes and plates of jagged bone. Any Small or larger creature riding the osteosaurus rex takes 7 (2d6) slashing damage at the start of its turn.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The osteosaurus rex uses its Bone Rattling Roar if it is available, then makes one Clubbed Tail or Stomping Claw attack.

Clubbed Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage and the target must succeed on a DC 16 STR save or be knocked prone.

Stomping Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (4d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage and the target must make a DC 16 DEX save or it is grappled (escape DC 16). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained. The osteosaurus rex can only grapple two targets at the same time.

Bone Rattling Roar (Recharge 5–6). The osteosaurus rex bellows, releasing a torrent of loose teeth and shattered bone. Every creature in a 30-foot cone centered on the osteosaurus rex must make a DC 16 CON save. On a failure, a creature takes 22 (4d10) piercing and 22 (4d10) thunder damage or half as much on a success. A creature that fails its save by 5 or move is deafened until the end of their its turn.