Skeleton as PC "Ancestry"

[Dragonsonthemap]

In a campaign I DM I stole the skeletal alchemist from Ghosts of Saltmarsh as an excuse for a set of encounters, a former Indiana Jones type who grabbed the wrong thing and made himself into an animate skeleton to maintain the seals on stuff he shouldn't have brought back. Unexpectedly, the players became really attached to this repentant antihero, so much so that they put work into recruiting him and even asked that I run him as a DM PC. I don't normally use DM PCs, but I'm not particularly opposed to them, as I've avoided the bad experiences that many people talk about, and I've run temporary NPC allies alongside the PCs in battle several times in this campaign.

My question is how to stat this guy out. The players seem to want someone roughly on par with them, so he'd be a 6th level character, and probably an artificer, from what I'd established he can do. That's all fine, but how do I make "intelligent skeleton" into something roughly equivalent to an elf or dwarf mechanically? He was an orc in life, but orc doesn't really seem to transfer to "skeleton with an inexplicably preserved mustache and a prosthetic arm?"

[Sigreid]

I would use the UA sidekick rules to build him. From there it would be pretty straight forward. He wouldn't really be on par with them, but close enough to be useful.

[kazaryu]

In a campaign I DM I stole the skeletal alchemist from Ghosts of Saltmarsh as an excuse for a set of encounters, a former Indiana Jones type who grabbed the wrong thing and made himself into an animate skeleton to maintain the seals on stuff he shouldn't have brought back. Unexpectedly, the players became really attached to this repentant antihero, so much so that they put work into recruiting him and even asked that I run him as a DM PC. I don't normally use DM PCs, but I'm not particularly opposed to them, as I've avoided the bad experiences that many people talk about, and I've run temporary NPC allies alongside the PCs in battle several times in this campaign.

My question is how to stat this guy out. The players seem to want someone roughly on par with them, so he'd be a 6th level character, and probably an artificer, from what I'd established he can do. That's all fine, but how do I make "intelligent skeleton" into something roughly equivalent to an elf or dwarf mechanically? He was an orc in life, but orc doesn't really seem to transfer to "skeleton with an inexplicably preserved mustache and a prosthetic arm?"

i mean, the simplest way is..direct transfer. you just give him the mechanics you like from a race and recontextualize everything.

as an example: elf: well, skeletons don't typically *need* to sleep. and while this dude isn't your typical skeleton, there's no reason you can't say that he needs 'rest' without sleeping. sort of a halfway between being alive (and therefore needing actual sleep) and being undead (needing 0 sleep). the only time it'd get really wonky (imo) is if you decided to make him a lightfoot halfling....because then he'd need a large creature to hide behind. (and also he isn't small). So i'd say look at the mechanics you want and just...put them on him. realistically you could even do halfling, the 'lucky' and 'brave' aspects of them epitomize the indiana jones archetype. just make him a medium sized halfling. could even leave the 25 speed as a nod to him being a skeleton. but you don't need to, halflings aren't a crazy powerful race regardless.

i rambled, sorry. TLDR: just do it. pick a race, and slap the mechanics of there. don't call him that race, he's a skeleton now. But there's nothing wrong with just copying a different races mechanics if they suit the character.

[Unoriginal]

I would use the UA sidekick rules to build him. From there it would be pretty straight forward. He wouldn't really be on par with them, but close enough to be useful.

I second this, but would advise to switch to the Tasha's sidekick rules when they become available.

The Skeleton Alchemist's CR 100% fits the Sidekick rules, and any supplemental abilities you added likely won't make the NPC overshadow the PCs.

[Amnestic]

Warforged make a good template for a skeleton player character if you just port the mechanics over.

Maybe trade out the Integrated Protection feature for something else, maybe a feature from the skeleton's original race before it became skeleton?

[Mikal]

1) just because the players want him at a certain level doesn’t mean you have to make him that level. If he should, based on your concept for him be either stronger or weaker then make him such.

2) upcoming sidekick rules might be a good idea, with a class that fits the concept. Racially speaking make him whatever race you had him originally, with skeleton strengths and weaknesses attached

3) just make up an npc/monster block of appropriate CR you want him to be. that you like if the sidekick rules don’t fulfill your wants

[Unoriginal]

2) upcoming sidekick rules might be a good idea, with a class that fits the concept. Racially speaking make him whatever race you had him originally, with skeleton strengths and weaknesses attached

Sidekick rules take a NPC statblock and add a class progression to it, OP doesn't have to give the NPC a race beyond that.

[Mikal]

Sidekick rules take a NPC statblock and add a class progression to it, OP doesn't have to give the NPC a race beyond that.

But if he wants to he can, to make it more than a standard skeleton.

[Samayu]

What sorts of things are the players expecting him to do?

[WaroftheCrans]

You could do the custom lineage from Tashas as well, and maybe throw on that forged ability from theros that gives the warforged immunities if you want to stat out this skeleton as a raw legal DM pc.
Custom lineage states that you can start as any race and get 2 to a stat and darkvision and a feat.