Skeleton

Skeletons are undead animated corpses similar to zombies, but are completely devoid of flesh and do not feed on the living. They can made from virtual any solid creature, and as such their size and power varies widely. In addition to the basic humanoid skeleton, there are also skeletons created from wolves, trolls, ettins, even giants. Animated skeletons are immune to mind affecting spells; they cannot be rendered unconscious and cannot tire. Clerics often have the ability to repel or destroy undead creatures, of which animated skeletons are usually the weakest such adversaries.

Edged and piercing weapons, such as swords and arrows, are mostly ineffective against skeletons; only blunt weapons, such as warhammers, are effective at knocking the bones apart.

The necromantic spell animate dead allows the caster to conjure the undead, most often skeletons or zombies.

Variants

 * Baneguard : First developed by priests of Bane, these skeletons can phase in and out and hurl bolts of magical energy.
 * Blazing Bones : Fiery skeletal undead created when a spellcaster's contingency spell goes wrong, these rare undead can be found in Myth Drannor
 * Direguard : Baneguards improved by the Red Wizards of Thay, these skeletons are wreathed in a shadowy field of force that functions as armor. They can also see invisible foes.
 * Fiery Skeleton : Burns with never-ending flames and it is immune to fire.
 * Nimble Skeleton : More agile than standard skeletons and able to climb as fast as it can walk.
 * Skeleton Warrior : Powerful skeletons created from great warriors and whom retain all of their fighting skill. Highly resistant to magic and difficult to command, skeleton warriors are rarely found in groups greater than two or three.
 * Skeletal Dragon : Created from a dragon and retains some of their deadly abilities. Not to be confused with a dracolich.