Bone Bearer

Several seasoned adventurers have whispered, gripping tankards of ale to hide shaking hands, that new horrors await in the deepest regions of the Ruins. The repulsive ranks of the malignant skeletons therein are said to rally around banner-bearers of extreme decrepitude. Theirs is a blasphemous and ensorceled flag whose presence in battle lends great strength and other unspeakable assistance to their damnable kin. These chittering fiends are even said to tap into the hoarish energies that animate the long-decayed corpses! A new threat whose grinding teeth and shuffling steps echo endlessly in the shadowy arcades of the ruined battlements…

In life the Bone Bearer was a Banner Bearer whose sole purpose was to carry the war flag with the sigil of your family’s house into battle. Carrying the Banner high for all to see, inspire and uplift moral of the troops. The Necromancer however has little use for a Banner Bearer, for the dead don’t need moral support nor do they need to be inspired to fight. However the Banner that the skeleton still is carrying bears the family’s sigil of the One who killed Him and then brought Him back from dead. Just like he was turned into a mockery of the dead and the living so shall he turn our family’s sigil into such a mockery. Infuse the flag with fragment of it terrible will and power, granting the Bone Bearer with the power reanimate fallen and empower its unholy allies with terrible strength.

Behavior
The Bone Bearer is a new champion-level monster that serves as a commander for groups of lesser skeletons. He has absolutely no offensive potential whatsoever, but he is nonetheless a formidable threat due to his ability to bolster and defend his squadmates. His mere presence will boost their offense power by 25%, and he will routinely use his Wicked Surge ability to boost his allies' offense even further by 20% a tick!

His most dangerous ability is Unholy Rally; this ability allows him to revive any enemy that has been killed provided it left a corpse - and with full HP, to boot. Killing a skeleton with a critical hit, an attack that pulverizes corpses (Daemon's Pull, Purge) will prevent him from animating their remains, as will killing them with bleed/blight. As such, killing the Bone Bearer is an immediate priority; if left to his own devices, he will bolster his allies considerably and his ability to revive the dead will make fights drag out even longer.

If forced to the front row, he will waste turns by using Defend the Icon, a relatively weak attack that will return him to the back rows.

Spawning
The Bone Bearer will only spawn in Champion level dungeons in the Ruins.

Abilities
While the Bone Bearer is alive, all enemies except itself receive +25% DMG.

* Wicked Surge cannot target the Bone Bearer itself.

** Unholy Rally is an Auto-Action used at the end of every round there is a corpse.

Trivia

 * Defend the Icon was originally called "Hide in the Ranks"
 * The eye on the Bone Bearer's Banner is very similar to the symbol on the Antiquarian's pouch.