Amber and Blood - Margaret Weis [116]
Since mindless rage does little to serve the Chemosh’s purpose, however, a Bone Warrior will almost always be under the control of one of his living servants—either a powerful dark cleric or a Bone Acolyte.
Bone Warrior Powers
Like other undead, a Bone Warrior remains unaffected by many physical and magical attacks. These include: sleep, poison, paralysis, disease, or spells that affect the mind. A Bone Warrior’s bone armor has the hardness of Solamnic plate mail, and it covers the entire body—with only the smallest openings to allow the flesh to move underneath the bone. Swords and arrows do little damage to a Bone Warrior’s armor. The rare weapon that manages to pierce it causes no more pain than the undead warrior already endures.
The pain-fueled anger is the key which grants the Bone Warrior supernatural strength. It is significantly stronger in death than it was in life, though any magical spells or abilities it once possessed are lost in the transformation, and it is incapable of taking any actions that require much in the way of focus or concentration.
Though it does not understand complex strategies, it does retain the warrior’s mind it possessed in life and can utilize battlefield tactics with cunning. Many enemies assume Bone Warriors to be mindless, a mistake a Bone Warrior gladly uses to its advantage. A Bone Warrior follows the orders of the person to whom it is bound, though it will constantly struggle against the will of those who control it, blaming them for keeping it bound to this terrible existence. If a Bone Warrior breaks free, it will first attempt to slay its master.
3 For more information on the Beloved, refer to the Appendix in Amber and Iron, Volume 2, Dark Disciple.
Bone Acolyte
The Bone Acolyte is a living disciple of the Lord of Death. Protected by unholy skeletal armor, the Bone Acolyte possesses a number of powers granted by Chemosh.
Bone Acolytes were known during the Age of Dreams, and there was a brief (though largely forgotten) time in which they were among the most feared servants of any evil god. Only the Plague Knights of Morgion rivaled the Bone Acolytes in the dark tales spun by the bards of that age. So feared were they that warriors and wizards and clerics devoted themselves to destroying them. Chemosh determined they were not worth the time and effort, and moved on to other schemes. After all these ages have passed, however, the tales of the Bone Warriors are known to only a few wizards and historians. The Lord of Death believes that the time is right for these fearsome undead to return to work his will among the living.
Creation
A Bone Acolyte is a powerful servant of Chemosh. Though he or she might be a dark cleric who calls upon the Death Lord for greater power, the Bone Acolyte is often a warrior of Darkness willing to trade his soul for the power granted to him by Chemosh. The unholy bone armor grants special abilities, though unlike that of the Bone Warrior, the bone armor allows the Acolyte to still enjoy the pleasures of the living.
Typically, one who wants to gain the power of a Bone Acolyte must perform a profane ritual that involves the sacrifice of an elf, an ogre, and a human. The flesh is boiled from these victims to retrieve the true goal—the bone. A terrible craft is required to magically shape the skeletal remains into armor made specifically to fit the Bone Acolyte.
With the armor in place, the initiate must offer his life and his soul to Chemosh and adjure the Lord of Death to grant to him the powers of the Bone Acolyte. If Chemosh deems the candidate unworthy, the best that can be hoped for is a swift, yet painful death. Those who are deemed worthy are granted both dark secrets and divine magical abilities.
Chemosh might, however, grant a warrior in his direct service, such as Ausric Krell, the gifts of a Bone Acolyte without the need of special ritual and craft. But there is a price for anything, and the Lord of Death will claim his servant