[Unfathomable Terrors] Backbones (Patreon)

Backbones

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

Component: undead undying heart

Each time the skeleton on your back comes to life, you can’t help but think that will be you one day. No more than a useless pile of bones and meat, rotting away in a wooden prison underneath the earth… Deprived of everyone you once held dear, your only company the fat maggots eating away at what remains of your flesh… Try not to dwell on it too much.

Portable Reaper. This item is worn as a backpack and can store your belongings in addition to the skeleton residing within. While wearing it, you can speak one of its command words to cause the skeleton to animate and strike at your foes in one of the ways described below. The skeleton doesn’t deal any damage to constructs and undead.

Skeletal Strike. As a bonus action, you order the skeleton to strike at one creature within 5 feet of you. The skeleton makes a melee attack with its scythe (+7 to hit), which deals 1d8 slashing damage and 1d8 necrotic damage on a hit. If it rolls a 20 on the attack roll or reduces the creature to 0 hit points, you are assailed by a painful realisation of your own mortality, taking 3d6 psychic damage, and this option can’t be used again until the next dawn.

Reaper’s Sweeper. As an action, you order the skeleton to make a wide sweep with its scythe, catching all creatures within 10 feet of you with its blade. Each creature in the area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d8 slashing damage and 3d8 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature killed by this property rises as a skeleton under your control at the start of its next turn. It maintains its initiative, is friendly to your and your companions, and obeys your verbal commands (no action required by you). After 1 minute, it crumbles to dust. Once this property of the item has been used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn.

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Uncommon variant: Reduce the attack modifier to +5, the necrotic and slashing damage to 1d6 each, and the psychic damage to 2d6. Remove the Reaper’s Sweeper option.

Very rare variant: Increase the attack modifier to +8, the slashing and necrotic damage of the Skeletal Strike option to 1d10 each, the psychic damage to 4d6, the DC to 16, and the slashing and necrotic damage of the Reaper’s Sweeper option to 4d8 each. The Skeletal Strike option can be used against a creature within 10 feet of you.

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