Bonedrinker

The Vampire of Bone

An undead predator driven by insatiable hunger, Bonedrinkers are to bones what Vampires are to blood. Unlike Vampires, however, Bonedrinkers are not choosey when it comes to the type of bones they consume, and will take anything they can get, when they can get it.

Description

Bonedrinkers are Sapient in form, withered and frail with paper-thin white skin covered in pox-like lesions and foul-smelling pustules. Their limbs are long and spidery, with exceptionally long fingers and toes that end in pointed claws. Their heads are elongated, with hollow eye sockets that leak pus and fluids, and long, dagger-like teeth with exceptionally long canines. In addition, they possess a long, prehensile, proboscus-like tongue. They can vary in size depending on the size of the creature they were originally; the largest recorded Bonedrinker was that of a Goliath that reached twelve feet tall when stood upright from feet to the top of its head.

Behaviour and Abilities

Driven by insatiable hunger, Bonedrinkers are relentless hunters stimied only by bright sunlight, which tends to burn and blister their already pox-ridden skin. They become more desperate and aggressive the hungrier they become, and are more likely to consume their prey alive if they have been deprived of food for too long. They are capable of traversing walls and ceilings with ease, and possess a keen sense of smell and blindsight. Reasonably intelligent and capable of complex strategies, Bonedrinkers are incapable of Sapient speech, but some have shown themselves to be capable of understanding the living. They communicate with other Bonedrinkers through clicks, tongue rolls and screeches, and have been known to use stealth and the environment to their advantage.
While being vulnerable to sunlight and Radiant power, Bonedrinkers are immune to Necromantic power and resistant to cold, fire and sonic damage. They are also immune to spells that cause blindness and cannot be controlled by mind-altering spells. They do not require sleep, but will become increasingly more aggressive if they do not eat. Their claws can cause necrotic injuries, and their bite is capable of disolving bone.

Ecology

Habitat

Bonedrinkers prefer places with full or partial darkness, and will seek out such places to hide during the daytime. They can also be found in dense forests, using the trees as both cover and a means of stealthily stalking their prey. As they are immune to the cold, Bonedrinkers thrive in the frozen wastelands of the north and south, but find it more difficult to hunt and survive along the equator, where the sunlight is often most intense. Bonedrinkers will live in small groups, but if a group goes without feeding for too long they will turn on each other.

Diet and Feeding

Bonedrinkers consume the liquefied bones of their prey, turning them into a jelly-like substance using a venom injected with their teeth. They then insert their tongue into their prey and suck out the jellified bone using their tongue. Generally speaking, a Bonedrinker created from the corpse of a Sapient must consume at least the equivalent of its living form's worth of bone a day to maintain their intelligence, but Bonedrinkers are never sated and will continue to consume regardless of whether they are "full". Bonedrinkers will generally avoid consuming insects, creatures with an exoskeleton or vermin-like creatures unless they have no other choice, and will normally hunt creatures of cat size or larger.
These undead tend to stealthily hunt their prey, waiting in the shadows and dark corners before pouncing on their prey, dragging them away to their dens. Most Bonedrinkers will grapple and snap the neck of their victim before drinking their bones, though some desperate Bonedrinkers will consume their prey alive. Victims that have been fully drained by a Bonedrinker collapse into boneless piles of flesh, and those drained in this manner while still living run the risk of being turned into Boneless.

Reproduction

Bonedrinkers are created by dark, necromantic rituals using the corpses of Sapients. To date, no Bonedrinkers are known to have been made from a creature larger than a Goliath. Bonedrinkers cannot be made from the corpses of beasts or other like creatures.
While Bonedrinkers cannot create others of their kind, under the right circumstances their victims can become an undead creature known as a Boneless.

Taming, Harvesting and Taxidermy

Bonedrinkers cannot be tamed in the traditional sense, but they can be controlled to a minor degree by ensuring that they are kept contained and fed. Some instances of Bonedrinkers recognising a "master" have been recorded, but the details of how this was achieved are sparse.
Bonedrinker corpses can be harvested for their venom and necromantic claw excretions. These can be used in the creation of poisons and acids, but the remaining parts of the corpse are worthless.

Locations of Known Specimens

Schola Arcana, Sempervirentis, Curtana, W. Eirinn

A preserved specimen has been on display at the Schola Arcana's School of Necromancy for the last three hundred years. It was donated by an unknown patron.