mordenkainens tome of foes

BONECLAW

A wizard who tries

to b ecome a lich but fails might

become a boneclaw

instead. These hideous, cackling

undead share a few

of the lich's attributes-but where

liches are immortal masters of the

a rcane, boneclaws

are slaves to darkness, hatred, and

pain.

The most important part of the

transformation ritual

occurs wh

en the soul of the aspiring lich migrates

to a

prepared

phylactery. If the spellcaster is too physic

a lly

or magically weak to compel

the soul into its prison,

the soul instead seeks out

a new master-a humanoid

within a few miles who ha

s an unusually hate-filled

heart. The soul bonds itself

to the foul essence it finds in

that

person, and the boneclaw becomes forever

enslaved

to its new master's wishes and subconscio

us whims. It

forms near its maste

r, sometimes appearing before that

individual to receive

orders and oth er times simply set-

ting about the fulfillment

of its master's desires.

Limited Immortality. A boneclaw

can' t be destroyed

while its maste
r lives. No matter what happens to a

boneclaw's body

, it re-forms within hours and returns to

whatever duty its master assigned.

The boneclaw

can serve only evil. If its master finds

redemption or sincerely turns away

from the path of evil,

the boneclaw

is permanently destroyed.

Cacklins

Slayers. Boneclaws delight in murder,

and

nothing

pleases them more than causing horrific pain.

They lurk
like spiders in shadowy recesses, waiting

for victim
s to approach within reach of their long
, bony

limbs. Once speared, a creatur

e is pulled into the dark-

ness to be sliced apart

or teleported elsewhere to be

tortur

ed to death.

Dark Reflections. A boneclaw's master

might not

want such a servant or even know it has

one. Boneclaws

bind to petty criminals,

bullies, and even particularly

cruel children. Even

if the master is unaware of its new,

horrid bodyguard, its local area will

be plagued by disap-

pearances and grisly murders, tied together

by the com-

mon thread of the master's envy or

hunger for revenge.

Undead Nature. A boneclaw doesn't

require air, food,

drink, or sl

eep.

BONE CLAW

Large undead, chaotic evil

Armor Class

16 (natural armor)

Hit Point

s 127 (17dl0 + 34)

Speed 40 ft.

STR

19 (+4)

DEX

16 (+3)

CON

15 (+2)

INT

13 (+l)

WIS

15

(+2)

Saving Throws Dex +7, Con +6, Wis +6

• •

Skills Perception +6, Stealth +7

CHA

9 (-1)

Damage Re

sistances cold, necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing,

and

s lashing

from nonmagical attacks

Cond

ition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened

,

paralyzed, poisoned

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception

16

Languages Common

plus the main language of its master

Challenge 12

(8, 400 XP)

Rejuvenation.

While its master lives, a destroyed boneclaw

gains a new body in ldlO hours,

with all its hit points. The new

body

appears within l mile of the boneclaw's master.

Shadow Stealth.

While in dim light or darkness, the boneclaw

can take the Hide action as a bonus

action.

ACTIONS

Multiatta

ck. The boneclaw makes two claw attacks.

Piercing Claw.

Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach l S ft., one

target. Hit: 20 (3dl0 + 4) piercing damage.

If the target is a

creature, the boneclaw can pull the

target up to 10 feet toward

itself, and

the target is grappled (escape DC 14). The

boneclaw

has two claws. While a claw

grapples a target, the claw can at-

tack

only that target.

Shadow jump. If the boneclaw is in

dim light or darkness,

each creature

of the boneclaw's choice within 5 feet of it

must

succeed on a DC 14 Constitution

saving throw or take 34 (5dl2

+ 2)

necrotic damage.

The boneclaw then magically

teleports up to 60 feet to an

unoccupied space it can see. It can bring one

creature it's

grappling, teleporting

that creature to an unoccupied space it

can see within 5 feet of its destination.

The destination spaces

of this te leportation must be in dim ligh

t or darkness.

REACTIONS

Deadly Reach. In response to a visible

enemy moving into its

reach,

the boneclaw makes one claw attack against th

at enemy.

If the attack hits, the boneclaw

can make a second claw attack

against

the target.

CHAPTER 6 I

BESTIARY