Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

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
Free download pdf