Skeletons

 

I: Regular Skeletons

Regular skeletons are simply the remains of regular human-like beings, be they intact skeleton structures or fragments of typical skeletal remains. Even though basic, they can retain their human abilities even in their undead form. Basic skeletons also have the innate ability to attack using bone formations that are ripped from their very own structure.

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Basic Skeletons
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Skeletons make up the greater part of the dark lord's army. Risen from their graves, they now serve under the dark rule of Dracula. These basic skeletons serve two purposes: (1) They march back and forth, clogging up platforms, or (2) they jump high, sometimes in erratic patterns, and throw bones, loopingly. They're usually easy to kill, however, despite their abilities. Their real strength comes in their stronger forms, which you'll find by reading these first two pages.

 Alternate Names/Forms: White Skeleon, Skeleton Glass, Yorick & Waiter Skeleton

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Ghost Dancer
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Some skeletons were dancers in their former lives. Now undead, these odd skeletons will try to impress (and kill) the enemy by showing off their speed, stopping to lunge about acrobatically. They're quick in that respect, so it's tough to outrun them.

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Hanged Skeletons
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Hanged skeletons, like skeledragons and white dragons, have been grown spine-first into solid structures. From their respective perches, they swing back and forth to act as either obstacles or uncooperative platforms. There are two known species: Hanged bones, which while they swing periodically spew deadly flames, and the more tame skeleton trees, which are tougher but more peaceful.

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Jack o' Bones
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These skeletons tie their dislodged bones together to form their own version of the Belmont boomerang. When they throw the crossed bones onto the ground, they'll begin rebounding around the room repeatedly until destroyed. While you're dodging one bone formation, Jack will begin throwing more to keep you busy. Stronger versions can throw speedier, bouncier bones.
Alternate Names/Forms: Bone Thrower

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Paranthropus
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These are the skeletons of otherwise enormous human beings; they carry around their equally gigantic bones. A paranthropus has a predictable pattern of attack: (1) It chucks a bone forward in an arcing motion. (2) It'll gather itself and swing a bone overhead, crashing it into the ground. And (3) it'll dive into the air, trying to land on your head, and then slide along the ground.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Big Skeleton

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Skeleton Ahtletes
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If you're going to enlist skeletons, former athletes may be the best way to go. These skeletons retain the athletic ability from their living days, and they'll use their superior attributes to dazzle you with their speed. Without warning, they'll just dash at you quickly. The supreme athlete is a skeleton medalist, a taunting foe that quickly speeds away on sight.

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Skull Bartender
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This rare member of skeleton family rests behind a bar and reacts to its "customers" by sliding along the bar's surface special drinks straight from the tap. The bad news is that heroes may not like the concoctions, which are laced with liquids that cause damage plus poison, curse and other troubling states.

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Skull Head
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These are the skulls of the unfortunate Transylvanians (those of whom you can often seen piled together in certain areas of the castle) that fell victim to a guillotine. Even without bodies, they stalk the living by floating through the air in patterns designed to make you think and attack quickly.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Phantom Skull & Flying Skull

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Skull Lord
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These monstrosities are much larger than their skull head counterparts, and their plight is different: Phantom skulls are executed soldiers that now seek eternal revenge. They mostly follow you around and use their size to create a large obstacle. Maybe they're just ticked about having gone through life with a huge head?

 Alternate Names/Forms: Large Ghost, Giant Ghost & Great Ghost

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Slinger
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This particular type of skeleton throws up to three rib bones forward in succession, which can damage you repeatedly. Their shields are useless, however, and offer them no protection. If you simply duck under the bones, their efforts will be for naught. They are effective, though, when paired with regular skeletons that throw bones in arcs.

Alternate Names/Forms: Skeleton Rib

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Spine
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It's just your average dislodged skull head with attached spine--a more persistent phantom skull, I'd say. They're a greater danger, though, because there's more of them to make contact with as they surround you in circling patterns. It doesn't help that spines attack in groups at an endless rate.

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Stone Skull
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These are petrified skull heads that bob up and down, rotating all the while. They have no attacks, as their sole purpose is to create an obstacle that's difficult to work around; they can't be defeated, either, because of their stony nature--all attacks will repel off of them. Some of them show up in the form of a minotaur/bull skull head.

 

II: Armed Skeletons

Armed skeletons have been equipped with certain types of armor that make them tougher to destroy. More importantly, they command deadly weaponry for a greater threat; some have mastered a given weapon to the point where they have increased ability.

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Blade Master
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These are skeletons trained in advanced combat, especially with twin-bladed swords. They employ a surprise attack that involves slide kicks and acrobatic leaps leading to jump kicks and down-thrusts; they'll catch you off guard soon after with dashing and flying stab attacks. The stronger versions are better defensively and prefer to attack when they find an opening.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Skeleton Blaze & Blaze Master

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Blade Soldier
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These are the weaker, less disciplined versions of the Blade Masters. They attack in two ways: They dash toward you with their sword extended forward, or they'll lunge at you with a down-thrust. For variety, different forms are skilled with either one great sword or two smaller lances. Despite their training, though, they don't have the acrobatic abilities of Blade Masters.

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Bone Archer
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These slithery skeletons are armed with a bow and arrows. The majority of these are well-postioned and stationary, while others prefer to prance around and stalk their target. When you're within range, they'll fire away, high and low, only stopping to reach for a new supply of arrows.

Alternate Names/Forms: Skull Archer & Skeleton Archer

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Bone Halberd
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These skeleton are trained in the use of a naginate spear. All of their attacks involve swinging the spears wildly at great range, which will be a problem since the majority of them show up in narrow halls and passages. As such, it's difficult to get in close enough to initiate your own offense because they react very quickly.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Skeleton Spear

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Bone Musket
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This is the first form of skeleton in Dracula's army to be equipped with a rifle. Their mobility is nothing to fear, since they're always stationed to only one position, but the speed at which they fire and reload is something to consider when trying a jumping whip attack. They're at their most dangerous when among other Bone Muskets or hordes of other lesser enemies.

Alternate Names/Forms: Skeleton Gunman

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Bone Scimitar
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These are described as "ferocious skeleton warriors equipped with a sword." A scimitar will always try to lull you to sleep by staying at a distance relative to your own. When you come close, they'll surprise you with a quick sword-swipe; due to lack of speed in other areas, they leave themselves open for an attack if they miss. The Simon's Quest versions are the only out-of-the-ordinary form, since most of them can jump and throw bones.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Skeleton Soldier, Skeleton Knight, Dead Crusader, Bone Soldier & Skeleton Mirror

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Dhuron
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Dhurons were beheaded during their living days, whence they sailed the seas as pirates, so they carry their own heads around as emblems of their battles. Even then, the heads still have working ocular functions, which helps a dhuron to function as a normal fighter, to execute sudden, lunging stabs with their rapiers. If perturbed, some can raise their swords into the air and conduct into it lightning; after doing so, they can fire bolts out of their swords' tips.

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Flail Guard
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This is a fairly armored skeleton equipped with a mace-like staff (flail). When you get close, it'll stand upright, hold the flail overhead, back up to create enough space, and then unleash a vicous swipe; therein, it'll swing the flail wildly and dangle the steel ball to hold you off. Though tougher to figure than normal skeletons, they're pretty weak when compared to the rest.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Skeleton Flail

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Mace Skeleton
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Because of the size of their weapon, skeletons that are armed with maces remain stationary. When you come near, they'll swing their maces overhead three times, each rotation progressively farther outward than the last. Afterwards, they'll pull the spiked ball back and rest for a short period.

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Skelerang
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These skilled skeletons stand arms crossed, leaning against the wall and coolly waiting for intruders to come near. When they sense a foe nearby, they'll spring into attack position and throw two large boomerangs over a long distance, each traveling at opposite range but upon return eventually crisscrossing. Many skelerangs placed in proximity can result in a hero trapped within a storm of twisting wood. A skelerang's brevity comes in short supply, however, as crowding one into a corner will cause it to cower in fear.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Skeleton Boomerang

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Skeleton Guardian
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These shadowy skeletons are armed with battle gear, a protective shield and other special equipment. Guardians will slowly trek forward with their shields held outward to block most straightforward attacks (in riot-control fashion). They'll only let their guard down to swing the spear overhead once close; otherwise, the guardians will point their spears forward and come at you with a surprise dash.

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Skeleton Spear
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Skeletons armed with spears stay grounded and create a considerable obstacle by erratically stabbing the spears forward. As with scimitars, you'll want to stay at a distance and attack at the right time. The most dangerous form of spear skeleton are those that ride on logs and chase you via the sea; if you slip up even once, they can hastily send you to a watery grave.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Spear Skeleton

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Whip-Toting Skeletons
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The more tricky skeletons are armed with whips--perhaps as a little psychological ploy. Because the whips aren't weighty, the skeletons are able to retain their high-jumping ability, able to swing the whip at any time, at long range. Advanced whip skeletons stay grounded and instead rely on pure speed and an ability to brandish their whips.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Simon Wraith

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Wight
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A skeleton wight's pattern of attack can best be described as "lazy," which may be the perfect setup. Wights slowly tread over a platform until they sense a hero, wherein they slash their swords in what will seem like a mistimed reaction; to the contrary, you'll immediately find that this has a fiery and lengthy result. In order to defeat the tough wights, you must prevent their attacks and continue to knock them back, off balance, until they eventually keel over.

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