Bone Claw
Type: Undead — failed lich transformation Role: Caretaker of the Umbral Essence Winery estate, Evernight outskirts Status (latest): Alive (undead). Still at the winery as of Session 054. Under Mithraides' nominal employ. First Appearance: Session 054
What the Party Knows
- He is a failed lich. A Bone Claw is a wizard who attempted lichdom and did not complete the phylactery process correctly, or whose ritual was disrupted. The result is a creature locked in undeath — oversized claws, exposed bone structure, residual intelligence and spellcasting ability — but without the full power of a true lich.
- He is the caretaker of the Umbral Essence winery. He manages the estate's grounds and its famous dark-grape wine operation. He has an attachment to the winery itself — whether for sentimental reasons, contractual obligation, or simply inertia from decades of habit.
- He serves an "old master" who is "still around, in a way." He was installed here by a previous estate owner, whose fate is ambiguous. He implies the old master has not fully departed.
- His current employer is Mithraides (The Engineer). The gnolls occupying the barn are guests of Mithraides; the Bone Claw cannot evict them and clearly resents their presence (they are trashing the wine operation).
- He provided intelligence willingly. He confirmed: ~5,000 gnolls total have staged through the winery area; most are already through the Evernight city portal to the Dessarin Valley. Mithraides returned to the Brookside Abyssal pocket plane to try to intercept the party (and missed them).