New Monsters: Undead Warriors
“The Queensguard have not abandoned their oaths to protect the ruined castle, even in death. They are still superb knights, and will not harm you if you display the Royal Insignia. But beware the undead butcher locked in the castle basement, for it has no such loyalties.”
PDF Link | D&D Beyond Links: Skeleton Knight, Zombie Berserker
Art Credits: Skeleton Knight (https://www.deviantart.com/sixfrid/art/The-Last-General-541447142), Zombie Berserker (https://www.artstation.com/artwork/AGkne)
Today’s preview is a simple exhibition of some of the less-exciting-but-more-useful monsters from The Impermissicon, the upcoming D&D Unleashed compendium focused on forbidden magic and lore, such as these advanced undead warriors, which combine the traits of classic undead monsters with the themes and abilities of specific classes or even subclasses. In this case, the zombie berserker is designed to be reminiscent of the barbarian, and especially the Path of the Berserker Barbarian (from the Player’s Handbook), while the skeleton knight is based on the fighter (specifically the Deathless Fighter)… as well as the official statistics for knights that haven’t died yet, from the basic rules.
The compendium’s undead warriors provide DMs with ready-to-use stat-blocks for some more powerful undead that can threaten higher-level characters while still being weak enough to be the minions alongside a stronger enemy in an encounter. They won’t die to a single fireball, but they aren’t going to eclipse a stronger boss monster. They also work well as minor bosses for lower-level characters: a lone skeleton knight guarding the party’s first magic sword or a ruthless zombie berserker prowling the halls of the first cultist dungeon they must defeat can be the perfect end to an adventure already themed around zombies or skeletons. For the rest of the undead warriors, such as the high-level ghost commander, you might have to wait for the release of The Impermissicon itself!
PDF Link | D&D Beyond Links: Skeleton Knight, Zombie Berserker
