Seven Spooky Skeletons - The Hanged Archer

Seven Spooky Skeletons is a short series running until Halloween, showcasing a different unique skeletal villain each night.

Tonight's Spooky Skeleton is the Hanged Archer, a blind skeleton with a noose around its neck and a sack over its head who is a supernaturally excellent marksman. Once a poacher of the king's game, now he poaches man.

The following text is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.

This skeleton wears an old noose around its bony neck and a sack of burlap over its head. Despite its obscured vision, it bears a longbow, to which it nocks an arrow with practiced ease.

The Hanged Archer      CR 5

XP 1,600

Human skeletal champion ranger 7

CE Medium undead

Init +9; Senses blindsight 500 ft.; Perception +4

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 16, flat-footed 12 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural)

hp 72 (2d8+7d10+25)

Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +7; +4 channel resistance

DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits

Defensive Abilities vulnerability

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee mwk morningstar +12/+7 (1d8+3)

Ranged +1 composite longbow +15/+10 (1d8+4/x3) 100ft.

Special Attacks favored enemy (humans +4, animals +2)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9^th)

   1/day – quickened true strike

Spells Prepared (CL 4^th)

1   2^nd – acute senses

2   1^st – gravity bow, jump

STATISTICS

Str 16, Dex 20, Con --, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 14

Base Atk +8; CMB +11; CMD 26

Feats Deadly Aim, Dodge, Far Shot, Improved Initiative^B, Point-Blank Shot^B, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot^B, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (longbow)

Skills Climb +11, Craft (traps) +10, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (nature) +12, Perception +14, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +17, Survival +14

Languages Common

SQ favored terrain (forest +2), hunters bond (companions), track (+3 to follow tracks), wild empathy, woodland stride

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Blind Archer (Su)

The Hanged Archer is blind, but has access to supernatural senses that give him perfect blindsense out to 500 feet. From 500 to 1000 feet, his blindsense grows hazy (targets gain 20% concealment), and beyond 1000 feet he can see nothing. His supernatural senses also give him quickened true strike as a spell-like ability once per day.

Blinding Critical (Ex)

Whenever the Hanged Archer scores a critical hit against a favored enemy, in addition to the damage dealt by the crit, the target permanently blinded in one eye.

ECOLOGY

Treasure NPC gear (mwk morningstar, +1 composite longbow (+3 Str), 18 arrows, 2x +1 dwarf bane arrows, 2x +1 elf bane arrows, 2x +1 gnome bane arrows, 2x +1 halfling bane arrows, 2x +1 human bane arrows, 2x +1 orc bane arrows, masterwork quiver, other treasure)

The Hanged Archer bears the noose that he was hanged with around his neck, and the burlap sack from the hanging still covers his head. His bones are yellowed with age and smudged with dirt. In life, he was a poacher and an expert marksman. He delighted in demonstrating his prowess with the bow at every opportunity, and often embarrassed the king’s gamekeepers who pursued him. When he was finally captured, his eyes were gouged out before he was publicly hanged. In undeath, he has begun hunting man, and he has found that he is even better at it than he ever was at poaching deer.

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-your sixth spooky d20 despot