Francis, the Flameskull

Tiny undead

• Armor Class 13
• Hit Points 40 (9d4 + 18)
• Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)

• Skills Arcana +7, Perception +2
• Damage Resistances Lightning, Necrotic, Piercing
• Damage Immunities Cold, Fire, Poison
• Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned, Prone
• Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
• Languages Common
• Proficiency Bonus +2

Actions#

• Multiattack. The flameskull uses Fire Ray twice.
• Fire Ray. Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit, range 30 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (3d6) fire damage.

Special Abilities#

• Illumination. The flameskull sheds either dim light in a 15-foot radius, or bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet. It can switch between the options as an action.
• Magic Resistance. The flameskull has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• Rejuvenation. If the flameskull is destroyed, it regains all its hit points in 1 hour unless holy water is sprinkled on its remains or a Dispel Magic or Remove Curse spell is cast on them.
• Spellcasting. The flameskull is a 5th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). It requires no somatic or material components to cast its spells. The flameskull has the following wizard spells prepared:
  • Cantrip (at will): mage hand
  • 1st level (3 slots): magic missile, shield
  • 2nd level (2 slots): blur, flaming sphere
  • 3rd level (1 slot): fireball

Spells#

Magic Missile#

1st-level evocation

• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Instantaneous

You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range. A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit one creature or several.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the spell creates one more dart for each slot level above 1st.

Fireball#

3rd-level evocation

• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 150 feet
• Components: V, S, M (a tiny ball of bat guano and sulfur)
• Duration: Instantaneous

A bright streak flashes from your pointing finger to a point you choose within range and then blossoms with a low roar into an explosion of flame. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

The fire spreads around corners. It ignites flammable objects in the area that aren’t being worn or carried.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.

Blur#

2nd-level illusion

• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: Self
• Components: V
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Your body becomes blurred, shifting and wavering to all who can see you. For the duration, any creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against you. An attacker is immune to this effect if it doesn’t rely on sight, as with blindsight, or can see through illusions, as with truesight.

Flaming Sphere#

2nd-level conjuration

• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V, S, M (a bit of tallow, a pinch of brimstone, and a dusting of powdered iron)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

A 5-foot-diameter sphere of fire appears in an unoccupied space of your choice within range and lasts for the duration. Any creature that ends its turn within 5 feet of the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw. The creature takes 2d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

As a bonus action, you can move the sphere up to 30 feet. If you ram the sphere into a creature, that creature must make the saving throw against the sphere’s damage, and the sphere stops moving this turn.

When you move the sphere, you can direct it over barriers up to 5 feet tall and jump it across pits up to 10 feet wide. The sphere ignites flammable objects not being worn or carried, and it sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet.

Description#

Blazing green flames and mad, echoing laughter surround an undead flameskull. This disembodied skull blasts foes with fiery rays from its eyes and dreadful spells called up from the dark recesses of its memory.

Dark spellcasters fashion flameskulls from the remains of dead wizards. When the ritual is complete, green flames erupt from the skull to complete its ghastly transformation.

Legacy of Life. A flameskull only dimly recalls its former life. Though it might speak in its old voice and recount key events from its past, it is but an echo of its former self. However, its undead transformation grants it full access to the magic it wielded in life, letting it cast spells while ignoring the material and somatic components it can no longer employ.

Eternally Bound. Intelligent and vigilant, a flameskull serves its creator by protecting a hidden treasure hoard, a secret chamber, or a specific individual. A flameskull carries out the directives given to it when it was created, and it interprets those commands to the letter. A flameskull’s master must craft its instructions with care to ensure that the creature carries out its tasks properly.

Wreathed in Flame. The fire wreathing a flameskull burns continually, giving off bright light that the creature controls. It uses those flames as a weapon, focusing them to loose them as fiery rays from its eye sockets.

Eldritch Rejuvenation. A flameskull’s shattered fragments reform unless they are splashed with holy water or subjected to a dispel magic or remove curse spell. If it can no longer fulfill its intended purpose, the re-formed flameskull is beholden to no one and becomes autonomous.

Undead Nature. A flameskull doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.