Fantasy Monsters: Dead Men's Chest

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Dead Men's Chest

A chest made of bones fused together walks on skeletal arms and legs. Skulls adorn the corners, with their jaws acting as hinges for the lid.

CR 5; XP 1,600

NE Medium Undead

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., treasure sense; Perception +14

Defense
AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+2 deflection, +2 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 55 (10d8+10)
Fort +4; Ref +5; Will +8

Defensive Qualities all-around vision, channel resistance +2; Immune undead traits

Offense
Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

Melee 4 slams +9 (1d4+2)

Statistics
Str 14, Dex 15, Con —, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 13
Base Atk +7; CMB +9; CMD 24 (30 vs. trip)

Feats Acrobatic Step, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Combat Training, Improved Initiative, Nimble Moves

Skills Climb +10, Perception +14, Profession (navigator) +11, Stealth +15

Language understands Common, can't speak

Ecology
Environment warm aquatic, ruins
Organization solitary, pair, or trove (3–5)
Treasure double

Special Abilities

Treasure Sense (Su) A dead men's chest detects presence of coins, discarded pieces of jewelry, and precious gems within 60 ft. radius, even when concealed or buried. It can sense a general direction and distance toward any coin, piece of jewelry, or precious gem that was taken away from it unless concealed with magic of 4th or higher spell level.

Dead men's chest occasionally spawns when a buried treasure is surround by bodies of greedy individuals who were killed to hide those riches. The bones meld and fuse around the valuables forming a grotesque chest, they memories splinter and mix, and a singular will emerges, driven and torn between skittishness—desiring to preserve its wealth, equating its booty with itself, avarice—fill itself with more valuables than it can contain, and vengefulness—lashing at anyone who would try to steal from it and those who wronged the individuals whose memories the dead men's chest shares.

The dead men's chest is particularly unpredictable when it faces the person or people who personally killed the individuals from which it spawned—it fears and hates them immensely.

A dead men's chest often goes dormant for long periods of time, when it finds a spot it considers safe, at least until disturbed in some way. Some dead men's chest regularly relocate between multiple hiding spots, others, driven by half remembered circumstances of their creation, try to remove markers leading to their resting place, or leave misleading traces. A few particularly intelligent ones even go as far as create false hiding places, and set a few booby traps, though they rarely have patience and focus to create a really complex set up.