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Chain Patrol

The miners died when The Split Seam collapsed. Something in the mine raised their bones and set them walking the routes they once worked. The skeletons do not remember their names, but still respond to the clank of chain and the rhythm of a shift bell.

Monsters
Medium undead · CR 1/4 per skeleton; a pair is 100 XP before encounter multipliers. · Common

Chain Patrol

A pair of human skeletons in ruined mining clothes patrol the old workings of The Split Seam, holding mining picks like spears.
AC13
HP13/13
CR1/4 per skeleton; a pair is 100 XP before encounter multipliers.
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 13 · HP 13 · CR 1/4 per skeleton; a pair is 100 XP before encounter multipliers.

Chain Patrol

Medium undead (skeleton), lawful evil
Armor Class13 (armor scraps)
Hit Points13 (2d8 + 4)
Speed
Walking 30 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Immunities
Poison damage,
Exhaustion,
Poisoned condition
Weaknesses
Vulnerability to bludgeoning damage.
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft.,
Passive Perception 9
Challenge1/4 per skeleton; a pair is 100 XP before encounter multipliers.
Proficiency Bonus+2
Undead Nature. The skeleton is vulnerable to bludgeoning damage and immune to poison damage, exhaustion, and the poisoned condition.

Actions

Mining Pick. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 3 () piercing damage. The pick can be thrown and has the light property.
Role
Patrolling melee minion
Built for
Any level; two Chain Patrol skeletons are a low-threat encounter for a typical 1st-level party.

Gear

  • Mining pick (Weapon, 1 sp)A chipped miner's pick used as a thrusting weapon. It is treated as a light thrown pick with a 20/60-foot range.
  • Mining clothes (Clothing, No resale value)Torn, dust-stained remnants of a miner's work clothes, too ruined to offer protection.
  • Patrol chain (Other, Negligible)Rusted links wound around the skeleton's ribs and belt. They rattle but do not restrain it.

Notes for the game master

This statblock represents one skeleton. The Chain Patrol is usually encountered as two skeletons.
The mining pick attack is a custom weapon treatment for this creature. It uses a simple thrusting attack rather than the statistics of a standard pick.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    The pair march in step along their route. They attack intruders they can see, trying to block the passage before their targets can move deeper into the mine.

  2. Mid-fight

    The skeletons use their reach of position rather than weapon reach, holding a narrow passage and taking turns attacking anyone who tries to push through.

  3. End of the fight

    If one skeleton is destroyed, the other keeps fighting until destroyed or its patrol route draws it out of sight.

  4. Retreat

    The skeletons do not retreat, bargain, or surrender. If targets flee, they pursue only as far as their assigned patrol route.

How it fights

March in formation and attack intruders who enter the patrol route.
Use narrow passages to limit how many enemies can engage at once.
Do not pursue far beyond the assigned patrol area.

Who it attacks first

Intruders blocking the patrol route.
The nearest creature within reach.

Works well with

The pair can support each other by holding a narrow tunnel, forcing opponents to approach one at a time.

How to beat it

Bludgeoning damage exploits the skeletons' vulnerability.
Ranged attacks can target the skeletons without entering their narrow passage.
A successful attempt to distract or bypass the patrol may avoid combat.

Ways to avoid a fight

A character who imitates the skeletons' marching rhythm or produces a convincing shift bell may distract them long enough to pass, at the GM's discretion.
The skeletons can be bypassed by finding a side passage or carefully crossing their route while they turn at its ends.

Ecology

A gaunt human skeleton in torn, dust-gray mining clothes. Rusted chain links loop around its ribs and belt. It carries a narrow mining pick in both hands, leveled like a spear, and its jaw clicks in time with its steps.

Behavior

They march back and forth along a fixed route, scraping their picks against stone at each turn. They react to nearby movement or noise, and attack anyone who enters their patrol space.

How it lives

The skeletons are animated remains, not living workers. They need no food, air, or rest, and continue their route until destroyed or magically released.

Lair

The Split Seam's abandoned mine tunnels, where the patrol follows a repetitive route between a collapsed worksite and a blocked passage.

Habitat
Dungeon, especially abandoned mines and cramped underground passages.

Signs that it is near

A steady clank of chain and tapping of picks on stone.
Parallel tracks of scraped bone and metal dust along the tunnel floor.
Torn scraps of mining clothes snagged on rough rock.

Tags

undead,
skeleton,
mine,
patrol

Lore

The miners died when The Split Seam collapsed. Something in the mine raised their bones and set them walking the routes they once worked. The skeletons do not remember their names, but still respond to the clank of chain and the rhythm of a shift bell.

What drives it

Continue its patrol and drive intruders out of its assigned stretch of the mine.

After the fight

When destroyed, each skeleton collapses into a heap of bones and torn work clothes. Its pick falls with a sharp clang, and the patrol chain goes slack.

“Something in the mine raised their bones and set them walking the routes they once worked.”
From its lore

Variants

One skeleton carries a cracked lantern and turns its head toward every sound, but otherwise uses the same statistics.

Hooks

Plot hooks

A missing surveyor's map shows the skeletons patrolling a route that ends at a sealed chamber.
The clanking patrol has begun straying beyond its usual tunnels, suggesting that the force animating it has changed.
A survivor claims the skeletons pause whenever someone calls out the name of their former foreman.

How to use it

Use two Chain Patrol skeletons as a straightforward low-threat encounter in a mine tunnel.
Let their clanking approach give alert characters a chance to hide, prepare, or find another route.
For a tougher scene, place them near a ledge or unstable mining supports, but make those hazards clear before combat.

Treasure

The rusted picks have little value, though a usable one may be salvaged.
A nearby miner's lunch tin may contain a personal trinket or an old shift token.

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