If Skeletor from He-Man appeared in a D&D campaign, what sort of creature would he be

[Tom Kalbfus]

Would he be a lich? He can cast spells and he is a skeleton, so some sort of undead creature, so would he be a lich?

[hamishspence]

His face is skeletal-looking - but it's not clear if he's actually undead, or if it's just extreme disfiguration. Early versions of him were "a demon from another dimension" - late versions had "an acid-splashed face". I don't recall ever reading that he died and was raised from the dead though.

[Durkoala]

There was a thread asking what Skeletor was (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?332762-So-what-is-Skeletor-anyway) a few years ago. The general consensous was something like 'Human Warlock, who had his face burned off by acid', and I don't remember anything about him being undead mentioned in it. I'm a long way from an expert on Masters of the Universe though, so I can't comment further.

[LibraryOgre]

Notably, while his face is skeletal, his body is not, making it less likely he is a lich.

https://he-man.fandom.com/wiki/Skeletor

It's hinted that he may be King Randorr's brother, which they carried forward into some other interpretations.

[No brains]

What interpretation of Skeletor are we going with? 80s or 00s?

He's definitely got some magic, but maybe is not specialized in it. He's supposedly decently physically strong too.

If you want the quickest fix imaginable, pulling a Death Knight from the MM ought to cut it. Sure there are debates as to whether or not he's actually undead, but most people would probably understand if you cast a Death Knight as Skeletor.

If you want to go deeper into customization, probably some form of charisma caster would be best. Paladin or even Bard could work pretty well thematically. Paladin might work better if you want him to be dangerous since one smite could down a player. Bard might be a good choice if you want to put mechanical oomph behind all his 'Nyeh, He-Man!'s.

If he's an NPC, you really don't need to worry about emulating everything he was shown to be able to do in the show since magic items, lackeys, magical locations, or 'plot' can help him lazerblast, summon demons, or what have you.

[Blackhawk748]

I'd say some sort of Sorcadin, probably human with Vile Disfiguration, or whatever that feat is called.

[Traab]

Iirc, he is known to use both spells and swords, so a duskblade might be a good choice.

[LibraryOgre]

I think Death Knight is a pretty good suggestion, just to get an idea of level of power and abilities.