Undead Thralls

Necromancer Accessory

Necromancers use the following creatures as their thralls: Bloodlurks, Bone Beasts, Gorgers, Skeletons, Spirits, Deadnaughts, and Zombies. A Small or Medium Humanoid corpse can be animated into any of these Undead. Other than having a different size, your thralls’ statistics are unchanged. If you animate a deadnaught thrall, you can’t control other thralls.

Unless otherwise stated, no other Undead creatures can be animated as thralls. Furthermore, your thralls only have proficiency in items listed in their Gear entries.

Variant Thralls
With the GM’s permission, you can use the Animate Thralls ritual to animate creatures other than Humanoids that have Undead statblocks, such as animating a Warhorse into a Warhorse Skeleton. Such thralls may use different statistics or carry different gear.

The Undead Thralls table can be used as a quick reference for thrall statistics.

Undead Thralls

Name	CR	AC	HP	Speed	Details and Traits
Bloodlurk	2	10	75	20 ft., Climb 20 ft.	Amorphous, Spider Climb
Bone Beast	1	14	27	40 ft.	Pack Tactics
Deadnaught	1	16	45*	30 ft.	Necromantic Bond, Regeneration, Proficiencies
Gorger	1	8	36	30 ft.	—
Skeleton	1/4	14	13	30 ft.	—
Spirit	1/4	15	9	30 ft., Fly 30 ft. (hover)	Incorporeal Movement, Physical Resistances
Zombie	1/4	8	15	20 ft.	Undead Fortitude

Skeleton

The reanimated remains of humanoids long since dead, skeletons are puppets of bone held aloft by strings of magic.

Skeleton Medium Undead, Lawful Evil
AC 14 Initiative +3 (13) HP 13 (2d8 + 4) Speed 30 ft.
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	10	+0	+0	DEX	16	+3	+3	CON	15	+2	+2
INT	6	−2	−2	WIS	8	−1	−1	CHA	5	−3	−3
Vulnerabilities Bludgeoning Immunities Poison; Exhaustion, Poisoned Gear Shortbow, Shortsword Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 9 Languages Understands Common plus one other language but can’t speak CR 1/4 (XP 50; PB +2)
Actions
Shortsword. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) Piercing damage.Shortbow. Ranged Attack Roll: +5, range 80/320 ft. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) Piercing damage.

Spirit

A spirit is the scarcely tangible echo of humanoid, a soul bound to the mortal realm by necromantic magic.

Spirit Medium Undead, Chaotic Evil
AC 15 Initiative −1 (9) HP 9 (2d8) Speed 30 ft., Fly 30 ft. (hover)
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	1	−5	−5	DEX	14	+2	+2	CON	10	+0	+0
INT	10	+0	+0	WIS	10	+0	+0	CHA	16	+3	+3
Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing Immunities Necrotic, Poison; Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 10 Languages Understands Common plus one other language but can’t speak CR 1/4 (XP 50; PB +2)
Traits
Incorporeal Movement. The spirit can move through other creatures and objects as if they were Difficult Terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) Force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Actions
Grave Touch. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) Necrotic damage.

Zombie

A zombie is the rotting remains of the once living, held together and driven by dark magic.

Zombie Medium Undead, Neutral Evil
AC 8 Initiative −2 (8) HP 15 (2d8 + 6) Speed 20 ft.
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	13	+1	+1	DEX	6	−2	−2	CON	16	+3	+3
INT	3	−4	−4	WIS	6	−2	−2	CHA	5	−3	−3
Immunities Poison; Exhaustion, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 8 Languages Understands Common plus one other  language but can’t speak CR 1/4 (XP 50; PB +2)
Traits
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the zombie to 0 Hit Points, it makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 5 plus the damage taken) unless the damage is Radiant or from a Critical Hit. On a successful save, the zombie drops to 1 Hit Point instead.
Actions
Slam. Melee Attack Roll: +3, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) Bludgeoning damage.

Bone Beast

Constructed of haphazardly assembled humanoid bones, a bone beast looks nothing like a man. Lumbering about on four legs with great boney fangs, the beast can run as fast as a bear and strike as viciously as a lion.

Bone Beast Medium Undead, Neutral Evil
AC 14 Initiative +5 (15) HP 27 (5d8 + 5) Speed 40 ft.
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	12	+1	+1	DEX	16	+3	+3	CON	13	+1	+1
INT	5	−3	−3	WIS	10	+0	+0	CHA	5	−3	−3
Vulnerabilities Bludgeoning Immunities Poison; Exhaustion, Poisoned Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 10 Languages Understands Common plus one other language but can’t speak CR 1 (XP 200; PB +2)
Traits
Pack Tactics. The beast has Advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the beast’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally doesn’t have the Incapacitated condition.
Actions
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) Piercing damage, and the target has the Prone condition if it is Large or smaller

Gorger

An unholy tangling of flesh, the gorger still vaguely resembles a humanoid in profile, except for the gaping, toothed maw in its chest. Its colossal teeth are little more than sharpened ribs, but its monstrous bite can easily decapitate.

Gorger Medium Undead, Neutral Evil
AC 8 Initiative −2 (8) HP 36 (8d8) Speed 30 ft.
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	16	+3	+3	DEX	7	−2	−2	CON	10	+0	+0
INT	7	−2	−2	WIS	10	+0	+0	CHA	6	−2	−2
Immunities Poison; Exhaustion, Poisoned Senses Blindsight 10 ft., Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 10 Languages Understands Common plus one other language but can’t speak CR 1 (XP 200; PB +2)
Actions
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) Piercing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it has the Grappled condition (escape DC 13).

Deadnaught

An Undead hulk clad in heavy armor, a deadnaught is a Necromancer’s most fearsome ally.

Proficiencies. The Proficiencies entry in a stat block lists its weapon proficiencies and armor training. The monster can equip any gear for which it has proficiency or training.

Deadnaught Medium Undead, Lawful Evil
AC 16 Initiative +2 (12) HP 10 plus five times your Necromancer level (the deadnaught has a number of Hit Dice [d8s] equal to your Necromancer level) Speed 30 ft.
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	19	+4	+4	DEX	14	+2	+2	CON	16	+3	+3
INT	7	−2	−2	WIS	10	+0	+0	CHA	6	−2	−2
Immunities Poison; Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Poisoned Proficiencies Simple and Martial weapons; Light, Medium, and Heavy armor, Shields Gear Warhammer and Chain Mail Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 10 Languages Understands the languages you know but can’t speak CR 1 (XP 0; PB equals your Proficiency Bonus)
Traits
Necromantic Bond. You can only animate and control a deadnaught once you reach Necromancer level 7. While you control a deadnaught, you can’t control other thralls. Regeneration. The deadnaught regains 5 Hit Points at the start of each of its turns if it has at least 1 Hit Point.
Actions
Multiattack. The deadnaught makes two attacks. It makes three attacks when you reach Necromancer level 13, and four attacks when you reach Necromancer level 17. Warhammer. Melee Attack Roll: Bonus equals your spell attack modifier, reach 5 ft. Hit: 1d10 + 4 Bludgeoning damage.

Bloodlurk

An awful hybrid of Undead and Ooze, a bloodlurk is animated from the coagulated blood of the dead and bubbles with necromantic malice.

Bloodlurk Medium Undead, Neutral Evil
AC 10 Initiative −1 (9) HP 75 (10d8 + 30) Speed 20 ft., Climb 20 ft
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	16	+3	+3	DEX	8	−1	−1	CON	17	+3	+3
INT	1	−5	−5	WIS	6	−2	−2	CHA	2	−4	−4
Skills Stealth +3 Immunities Necrotic, Poison; Blinded, Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained Senses Blindsight 60 ft.; Passive Perception 8 Languages None CR 2 (XP 450; PB +2)
Traits
Amorphous. The bloodlurk can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch without expending extra movement to do so. Spider Climb. The bloodlurk can climb difficult surfaces, including along ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Actions
Blood Splash. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 13, each creature of the bloodlurk’s choice in a 5-foot Emanation origination from the lurker. Failure: 17 (5d6) Necrotic damage. Success: Half damage.

 

Streamlining Combat
When you have two or more thralls under your command of the same type, you can roll a single attack on a particular target for all your thralls, instead of rolling attacks separately. If this attack hits, you treat all your thralls as having hit; if this misses, all your thralls’ attacks miss. Different thralls and those that attack separate targets must roll separately.

Return to the Necromancer base class

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