Flameskull

Flameskulls were fiery undead guardians fashioned from the skulls of dead spellcasters. Stronger varieties were known as great flameskulls.

Creation
A flameskull was created from the head of a humanoid (usually human) spellcaster shortly after he or she had died. It needed to be fresh. The creator was typically a cleric or wizard using a create undead spell, but the precise rituals for creating them were very old and even long-forgotten. They could choose whether or not the resulting flameskull could cast additional spells. Flameskulls obviously could not reproduce or replicate themselves.

Description
Flameskulls were disembodied floating human skulls, jawbone included, wreathed in an eerie green flame. Their light could illuminate an area as brightly as a torch, though a flameskull could choose to suppress its fiery aura to a faint, pale-green flicker. On some specimens, the bone was inscribed with strange and disturbing runes. In their eye sockets flickered gleaming emerald lights filled with malice. As they flew, small jets of flame trailed after them. They moved in total silence, and were heard only when they spoke, cast spells, or screamed for intimidation or just for effect.

Abilities
If allowed by its creator, a flameskull could cast spells. Initially, flameskulls were restricted to spells with only verbal components and they could not cast mind-control spells. Most knew up to three spells, usually magic missile, flame strike, and a long-since-forgotten incantation known as spell reflection. After the, flameskulls were reported to have a greater arsenal of spells at their disposal: detect magic, mage hand, and ray of frost at will; blur, magic missile, and ray of exhaustion each thrice a day; and even fireball and mirror image each once a day. Flameskulls after the Spellplague by 1479 DR were capable only of mage hand at will and a fireball, with great flameskulls producing a much greater firestorm instead. After the Second Sundering of the 1480s DR, a flameskull retained full access to the magic it wielded in life, letting it cast spells while ignoring the material and somatic components it could no longer employ.

A flameskull could also simply vomit fire from their mouths in two gouts of up to  or  in long in a straight line, together or in quick succession. If forced to try, their bite could burn their victims.

Flameskulls had all the same immunities as other undead, and were also unaffected by cold-, fire-, heat-, and electrical-based magic and attacks. They had high resistance to spells, protecting them against what they could not reflect. They were also harder than expected for a cleric to turn.

Though they could be struck by any kind of weapon, only blunt weapons damaged them effectively. Furthermore, flameskulls steadily regenerated all damage taken and could even reassemble themselves in a few days after being completely shattered.

Notably, they could fly, swiftly and with good maneuverability.

They were vigilant and alert, and reacted swiftly. Being good at hiding and moving quietly, they were also quite stealthy.

Combat
When initiating combat against intruders, flameskulls would speak aloud and lure them into traps, or else lie to them about other dangers in the area. Those with mage hand used it open and close doors, trigger and reset traps, and manipulate other objects as needed to suit their tactics. They took pains to avoid melee and missile attacks, and focused on flying to a high place and safely hurling fire and spells down at trespassers. Nevertheless, confident in their ability to reform, they had no fear of destruction and would attack fearlessly if they must.

Activities
Flameskulls simply guarded whatever their creator compelled them to guard, such as concealed treasure hoards and secret rooms. However, for these undying creatures, their watches could go for years or centuries after their living creators passed away. They were usually only found in ancient places left long-untouched by the outside world.

Personality
Keeping their intelligence but left quite, quite bored and very lonely by their long watches, flameskulls typically went insane and could display strange behaviors. At all times, they wanted to be entertained by whatever was going on around them and sought for some form of companionship.

They had no purpose in death but to guard that which they were created to protect. If it should be destroyed or stolen despite their efforts, they were released from their guardianship. However, rather than attack the one responsible or seek their own destruction and escape from undeath, they would exhibit a form of gratitude and thereafter accompany the one responsible, floating just out of reach and making smart comments. And, to see if there was anything interesting happening, they would follow them everywhere—no quiet study, secret meeting, private matter, or romantic tryst was safe from the new, bright burning flameskull friends.

Society
Although quite rare in the world, flameskulls that were encountered were solitary guardians, but they could on occasion be found in groups of up to six and even companies of up to twelve. Otherwise, they were found in the company of those capable of creating or commanding such undead.

Flameskulls could speak Common and any languages they knew in life, such as Draconic and Infernal and one or two dead languages such as Loross and Thorass. One star elf flameskull only spoke Elven. They could know up to fifteen languages, but typically only knew two.

Whenever they got the opportunity, wizards, priests, and alchemists studied flameskulls to determine how to create them or copy their powers or to identify the unique properties of their flames, though with no known successes. Due to their great age, flameskulls were apt to possess old and little-known lore and historical secrets.

Destruction
If destroyed, a flameskull's shattered fragments would reform unless they were splashed with holy water (a majority of the bone fragments needed to be doused) or subjected to a dispel evil, dispel magic, exorcise, or remove curse spell.

Notable Locations
In the tunnels below the city of Myratma in Tethyr, the mummy sorceress Kalloch built an army of undead, including flameskulls, ghasts, ghouls, and others, by the mid–14 century DR.

Notable Flameskulls

 * Brainburn
 * A flameskull—once a star elf apprentice of Mourel Duskwalker—guarded Mourel's Tomb in the Night Realm.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * The Twilight Tomb
 * Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave
 * Expedition to Undermountain
 * Lost Mine of Phandelver
 * Curse of Strahd
 * Tomb of Annihilation


 * Fiction:
 * Crypt of the Moaning Diamond
 * Circle of Skulls