Rust Skeleton (Skeleton Variant)


Homebrew and House Rules


The rust skeleton variant is created using the animate dead spell, but counts as twice its normal number of Hit Dice per casting. Once controlled, they count normally against the controller's limit.

With sections of rusted armor still clinging to its bones, the skeleton of a dead soldier draws near. Trapped in its grisly framework, the weapon that slew it, now rusted firmly in place.

In addition to the changes for the skeleton template, make the following adjustments to the base creature:

Challenge Rating: As a normal skeleton + 1.

Natural Armor +1

Charisma is raised to 14.

Rusting Claws: A rust skeleton's claws cause any metal object they attack to swiftly rust and corrode. The object attacked takes half its maximum hp in damage and gains the broken condition—a second hit destroys the item. A rust skeleton never provokes attacks of opportunity by attempting to strike a weapon with its claws. Against creatures made of metal, a rust skeleton's claws deal 3d6+5 points of damage. When attacking metal objects, the rust skeleton ignores the object's hardness. An attended object, any magic object, or a metal creature can attempt a DC 12 Reflex save to negate this effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Embedded Curse: Removing the rusted weapon from the skeleton's bones automatically destroys the creature. To do so requires a successful grapple check, followed by a successful strength check DC 16 +1 per 2 hit die of the creature. There is a %1 chance per hit die that the removed weapon is a masterwork weapon that allows the wielder to cast rusting grasp 1 time per day as if it had the spell storing enhancement. Otherwise, the weapon crumbles to useless dust.


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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

Destroying a PC's stuff is not cool. Maybe the rusting claws could give a metal item only the broken condition (which is removed once the rust skeleton is slain)?

Are rusting claws a touch attack, similar to the rust monster's antennae?

Save DC should be HD-related (since it is a template). For the same reason, Charisma should be a bonus, not a static score.


Amanuensis wrote:

Destroying a PC's stuff is not cool. Maybe the rusting claws could give a metal item only the broken condition (which is removed once the rust skeleton is slain)?

Are rusting claws a touch attack, similar to the rust monster's antennae?

Save DC should be HD-related (since it is a template). For the same reason, Charisma should be a bonus, not a static score.

-Agreed. Good idea.

-Rusting claws counts as a normal attack roll. Making them touch attacks would make things too easy for the monster.

-Agreed. I just do not know how to stat that out. I'm more of an idea person than a mechanics wiz.

Thank you, Amanuensis!


I disagree for the Charisma as a bonus. Mindless undead always have a static Charisma score. None of the former mental ability score of the creature are used with zombies or skeletons. Replacing this for a +4 Charisma bonus would make rust skeletons created from «charismatic» creatures stronger...even if the undead is mindless and doesn't have any remnant of a personality. On the other hand, an Ogre rust skeleton would be worse than most similar HD creatures because of its racial Charisma penalty.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

Kelazan wrote:
I disagree for the Charisma as a bonus. Mindless undead always have a static Charisma score. None of the former mental ability score of the creature are used with zombies or skeletons. Replacing this for a +4 Charisma bonus would make rust skeletons created from «charismatic» creatures stronger...even if the undead is mindless and doesn't have any remnant of a personality. On the other hand, an Ogre rust skeleton would be worse than most similar HD creatures because of its racial Charisma penalty.

Correct, I missed that. Skeletons indeed have a static charisma bonus (and the skeleton templates have one as well).

Still, the DC should be 10 + 1/2 the skeleton's Hit Dice + the skeleton's Cha bonus.

RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

From the title, I assumed this was going to be an undead template for androids and Numerian robots.

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