Skeletons are a recurring monster in all three of the Diablo games. Often among the most common enemies in the game, Skeletons are counted among the lowest forms of undead along with Zombies. They are generally fragile, but often appear in large groups.

Contents 1 Lore 1.1 Diablo I 1.2 Diablo II 1.3 Diablo III 2 Diablo I 2.1 Stats 2.2 Unique Skeletons 2.2.1 Skeletons 2.2.2 Skeleton Captains 3 Diablo II 3.1 Stats 3.1.1 Skeleton 3.1.2 Returned 3.1.3 Bone Warrior 3.1.4 Burning Dead 3.1.5 Horror 3.2 Unique Skeletons 4 Diablo III

LoreEdit

Diablo IEdit

SKELETONS (Ossium Animatum)

These are the skeletal remains of warriors who either died as soldiers in some dark campaign, or were betrayed by those they most trusted. Now aniated by unnatural forces, these troops of the Damned forever seek new recruits to join their ranks. If our greatest fears do prove to be true, the skeletal warriors that are rumored to haunt the town of Tristram might well be the corrupted remains of the valiant Horadrim monks laid to rest in the catacombs beneath the church. Only an incredibly potent evil could have disturbed the peaceful slumber of these enemies.

Diablo IIEdit

Fierce undead warriors, skeletons do not seek to consume the flesh of the living, but only to extinguish the life of their victims. Skeletons, unrelenting in their goal, move faster than zombies and have some spark of intelligence as demonstrated by their use of weapons. These bony undead have been observed wielding swords, clubs, bows, and even armor and shields, and are often equipped in the same armament in which they fell. Even more terrifying are the animated skeletal remains of expired magic wielders, who prove that even the dead can wield the forces of magic.

Diablo IIIEdit

The official Diablo III website features a note by Abd al-Hazir on the subject of skeletons:

Despite the fact that skeletons seem mischievous or imbecilic, they are nothing to scoff at. We should neither dismiss them from our consideration, nor ignore the problem they represent. It is far past the time for serious inquiry into their exact nature. Since I am overly qualified on many subjects pertinent to this area of inquiry, apparently it falls to me to rectify this lack of understanding. After completing many months of long, arduous study, I now present the information I have gleaned from my research into these unholy monstrosities.Contrary to what I had assumed, a reanimated skeleton is actually constructed from bits and pieces of any number of different skeletons, not a single one. Their diverse composition gives them the ability to form and reform, and makes them easily summoned, permitted there is adequate raw material at hand. Still, this is not to say that a skilled necromancer could not call forth a cadre of skeletal warriors to do his bidding anywhere he chooses. He merely requires less effort to construct a skeleton army in a graveyard than in the middle of a forest. Furthermore, I have come to believe that a skeleton's intelligence is limited by the power and scope of the spell used in the creature's creation. Theoretically one could have a single astute skeleton servant or a rather dense army of a hundred for the same expenditure of magical energy. I am at a loss to explain the average skeleton's somewhat ludicrous mental predisposition, however. Perhaps the implausibility of its own existence makes the skeleton think it hilarious to hide in a barrel, cackling intermittently for some three hundred years until a victim happens by?

Diablo IEdit

Skeletons are commonly found throughout the cathedral section of the labyrinth, and some appear in the upper catacombs as well.

There are several types of skeletons. Some use swords, another group wields axes, while others still are archers. Later on, players will also encounter skeletal officers named Skeleton Captains ; these monsters wield shields in addition to one handed swords. Along with zombies, skeletons share a resistance to magic. There are three other variants: Corpse Axes, Burning Dead, and Horrors, along with their corresponding Captains.

StatsEdit

Skeletons

Name	Image	Level	Damage	HP	Resistance	Immunity
Skeleton		1	1-4	1-2	None	Magic
		16	6-12	53-56	None	None
		31	10-22	104-108	None	Magic
Corpse Axe		2	3-5	2-3	None	Magic
		17	10-14	56-59	None	None
		32	18-26	108-112	None	Magic
Burning Dead		4	3-7	4-6	Fire	Magic
		19	10-18	62-68	None	None
		34	18-34	116-124	None	Magic, Fire
Horror		6	4-9	6-10	Lightning	Magic
		21	12-22	68-80	None	None
		36	22-42	124-140	Lightning	Magic

Skeleton Captains

Name	Image	Level	Damage	HP	Resistance	Immunity
Skeleton Captain		4	3-9	6-10	None	Magic
		19	10-22	68-80	None	None
		32	14-34	104-112	None	Magic
Corpse Captain		4	3-9	6-10	None	Magic
		19	10-22	68-80	None	None
		34	18-42	124-140	None	Fire, Magic
Burning Dead Captain		6	5-10	8-15	Fire	Magic
		21	12-24	74-95	None	None
		36	22-26	132-160	None	Magic, Fire
Horror Captain		8	5-14	17-25	Lightning	Magic
		23	14-32	101-125	None	None
		38	26-62	168-200	Lightning	Magic

Unique SkeletonsEdit

SkeletonsEdit

• Boneripper - Dungeon Level 2
• Bonehead Keenaxe - Dungeon Level 2
• Madeye the Dead - Dungeon Level 4

Skeleton CaptainsEdit

• Brokenhead Bangshield - Dungeon Level 3
• Shadowdrinker - Dungeon Level 5

Diablo IIEdit

Skeletons return in Diablo II, still one of the most common enemies found throughout the game. They wield numerous types of weapons including Swords, Axes, Military Picks, Flails, Maces, and Shields. Skeletons also have several differences in appearance, some completely naked though others can be seen wearing Helms, shoulderpads, ripped pants and Kamas.

Some of the skeletons encountered in Act 1 even wear the remnants of a feminine chest armor, revealing that they are the skeletal remains of long dead Rogues, and that at least some skeletons may be female.

Paladins excel in dealing with large flocks of Skeletons especially, due to their ability to utilize Holy Bolt, Fist of the Heavens, Sanctuary and other similar abilities to full effect. While Skeletons are vulnerable to most attacks, Poison elements are not effective against them and take extra damage from blunt weapons such as Clubs, Maces and Flails. Ranged weapons have less effect on Skeletons.

There are four other variations besides basic Skeletons: Returned, Bone Warriors, Burning Dead and Horrors.

StatsEdit

Skeleton
Property	Normal	Nightmare	Hell
Type	Undead	Undead	Undead
Act(s) found in	1	1	1
Monster Level	2	37	68
Experience	34	2333	23878
Health points	7-11	391-559	2219-4227
Damage 1	1-3	12-31	31-78
Attack Rating 1	12	907	3314
Damage 2	1-3	12-32	31-81
Attack Rating 2	12	945	3452
Defense	10	540	1352
% to Block	10	10	10
Damage Resist	0	0	33
Magic Resist	0	0	0
Fire Resist	0	0	0
Cold Resist	0	0	0
Lightning Resist	0	0	100
Poison Resist	50	75	75
Drain Effectiveness	0	0	0
Immunities	-	-	Lightning
Chill Effectiveness	50	40	25

Returned
Property	Normal	Nightmare	Hell
Type	Undead	Undead	Undead
Act(s) found in	1	1	1
Monster Level	6	38	69
Experience	68	2498	25033
Health points	17-25	415-593	2279-4342
Damage 1	2-5	12-32	32-80
Attack Rating 1	41	928	3360
Damage 2	2-5	12-33	32-84
Attack Rating 2	41	967	3500
Defense	30	552	1370
% to Block	15	15	15
Damage Resist	0	0	33
Magic Resist	0	0	0
Fire Resist	0	0	0
Cold Resist	0	0	0
Lightning Resist	0	0	0
Poison Resist	50	75	100
Drain Effectiveness	0	0	0
Immunities	-	-	Poison
Chill Effectiveness	50	40	25

Bone Warrior
Property	Normal	Nightmare	Hell
Type	Undead	Undead	Undead
Act(s) found in	1	1	1
Monster Level	14	61	83
Experience	143	10778	41205
Health points	45-62	965-1379	3124-5952
Damage 1	4-10	20-51	37-94
Attack Rating 1	125	1425	3998
Damage 2	3-10	20-53	37-98
Attack Rating 2	125	1485	4165
Defense	70	828	1616
% to Block	30	30	30
Damage Resist	0	0	33
Magic Resist	20	40	70
Fire Resist	0	25	50
Cold Resist	0	0	25
Lightning Resist	25	80	100
Poison Resist	50	75	105
Drain Effectiveness	0	0	0
Immunities	-	-	Lit, Poison
Chill Effectiveness	50	40	25

Burning Dead
Property	Normal	Nightmare	Hell
Type	Undead	Undead	Undead
Act(s) found in	2	2	1
Monster Level	13	43	74
Experience	130	3502	30809
Health points	40-58	534-764	2681-4917
Damage 1	4-9	14-36	34-76
Attack Rating 1	113	1036	3289
Damage 2	3-9	14-37	34-89
Attack Rating 2	113	1080	3737
Defense	65	520	612
% to Block	25	25	25
Damage Resist	0	0	33
Magic Resist	0	0	0
Fire Resist	50	75	100
Cold Resist	0	0	0
Lightning Resist	60	0	0
Poison Resist	50	75	75
Drain Effectiveness	0	0	0
Immunities	-	-	Fire
Chill Effectiveness	50	40	25

Horror
Property	Normal	Nightmare	Hell
Type	Undead	Undead	Undead
Act(s) found in	2	2	2
Monster Level	14	44	78
Experience	143	3747	35429
Health points	45-62	557-797	2823-5377
Damage 1	4-10	14-37	35-89
Attack Rating 1	125	1058	3770
Damage 2	3-10	14-38	35-84
Attack Rating 2	125	1102	3613
Defense	70	624	1528
% to Block	30	30	30
Damage Resist	0	0	33
Magic Resist	20	40	70
Fire Resist	0	0	0
Cold Resist	0	0	0
Lightning Resist	60	80	120
Poison Resist	50	75	75
Drain Effectiveness	0	0	0
Immunities	-	-	Lightning
Chill Effectiveness	50	40	25

• Skeletons are Undead and are vulnerable to Undead-specific spells and abilities (e.g., the Paladin's Sanctuary).
• Items with "Life Stolen Per Hit" or "Mana Stolen Per Hit" do not work on Skeletons. A Paladin can use Redemption on their "corpses," though, and the Necromancer skill Life Tap does work.
• Bone Warriors have a chance to deal Lightning and Cold damage.
• Burning Dead have a chance to deal Fire damage.
• Horrors have a chance to deal Lightning damage.

Unique SkeletonsEdit

• Bonebreaker - A blue skeleton found in The Crypt. Bonebreaker is extra strong and magic resistant.

Diablo IIIEdit

In Diablo III, plain skeleton warriors are joined by Skeletal Summoners, Skeletal Archers, Skeletal Shieldmen and Skeletal Executioners. Also, there might be other types not yet revealed. These skeletons spawn in mixed packs and work together with much better AI than they have shown in the previous games in the series.

Skeleton
Skeleton • Skeleton Archer • Skeleton Mage • Skeletal Shieldman • Skeletal Summoner • Skeletal Executioner