Skeletal horror

Beta

The Skeletal horror is a monster which may be killed once a week after completing Rag and Bone Man wish list and Fur 'n' Seek wishlist. While fighting it, both hands and the tail will come off, and its combat level will go down. Pick them up and bury these to make its level stay down. After the parts are buried you can kill it and talk to the Odd Old Man for your reward. The first fight will reward you with 10,000 Slayer experience and 7,000 Prayer experience. To fight the Skeletal Horror again you must first talk to the Odd Old Man and ask him to rebuild the creature for you (he will then rebuild the creature every week for you to fight it). Every subsequent fight after will reward you with 1,250 Slayer experience and 1,000 Prayer experience.

Habitat
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Strategy
The Skeletal Horror can be very dangerous for anyone not prepared. Wear high melee defence armour such as Barrows or Dragon and use the Protect from Magic prayer, as the magic attack appears to be faster than his melee and much more accurate. The Skeletal Horror will not attack you with the attack style that you are praying against (ie if praying against mage, it will use melee, and vice versa), so high healing food such as sharks or rocktails is recommended. After both arms have fallen off, it seems to lose its magic attack, at which point it is safe to switch to Protect from Melee.

Because killing a mithril dragon is a requirement for completing the second bone wish-list, players who have unlocked the ability to fight the Skeletal Horror should be well prepared to fight it.

An excellent way to kill this monster is to use Ranged, as it is very weak to ranged attacks. Start with Ruby Bolts(e) and switch to Diamond bolts(e) when it becomes its lowest level. Optionally, use Runite bolts (p+) to poison it, and then switch to the other bolts. Also, keep in mind, if the fight is still too hard, you are able to use a dwarf multicannon. A less expensive alternative is to use broad bolts with a Rune Crossbow, as they are inexpensive and have the attack strength of Adamant Bolts.

If using melee, crushing weapons, such as the Chaotic maul, Barrelchest anchor, or Zamorakian spear (on 'pound') are preferable to slash or stab weapons. A Bandos godsword is useful too, as its special can reduce the defence of the Skeletal horror greatly. A good set-up would be to have armour like barrows, a Bandos godsword (crush) and a bunyip. To boost the defence-draining ability of the bandos godsword, it is recommended to activate strength and attack boosting prayers (Ultimate Strength, Piety, Turmoil, etc.) as well as drink a dose of the best strength potion available at your level before using the special attack. One can also use the Guthan's set with the spear on crush, which, depending on combat stats, should heal most or all damage that you take so long as you pray against magic until both arms are removed (prayer after both arms are removed isn't needed).

The only familiars that are useful here are healing familiars such as the Unicorn stallion or beasts of burden such as the Spirit terrorbird, as this area is not multi-way combat.

If you die fighting the Skeletal Horror, your tombstone will appear outside the entrance to the stairs leading to the battle, so you can get your lost items back safely if you can make it back in time.

NOTE: At times during the fight the Skeletal Horror's limbs and tail will fall off and be thrown to the other side of the battlefield. First the right hand will fall off, then the left hand, and finally his tail. When this happens, the Skeletal Horror will be weakened, which will lower its combat level and hence max hit, accuracy, etc. The combat levels are as follows: 320, 260, 180, and lastly, 100. Take the time to pick up these limbs and bury them, as leaving them on the ground or in your inventory will cause them to return to their master, healing it considerably and returning its combat level; however, it is possible, albeit difficult to kill it without burying any of its limbs.

Drops

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Trivia

 * In the old diary, it is suggested that the Skeletal horror's skull was the model for the black mask.
 * The Skeletal Horror is supposed to be an ancient beast yet most of its bones are from other creatures. Some, such as the skull, are presumably the original bones of the ancient beast that the Odd Old Man found.
 * The Skeletal horror has one of the 'non-chafing manacles' that was on the Odd Old Man's wishlist after completing the Rag and Bone Man quest and the first wishlist. It appears that the Golden Fleece is what makes it non-chafing.
 * All the bones retrieved from Rag and Bone Man, Rag and Bone Man wishlist and the Fur 'n' Seek wishlist can be all found on the Skeletal horror.
 * The Skeletal Horror drops elite clue scrolls as of the update on 4 August 2010.
 * The Skeletal Horror is currently the only Elite clue dropping monster that does not drop Hard clues.
 * Although the skeletal horror is partly made out of dragon tail-bones it still takes damage from the dragonfire shield's special attack.
 * Despite being a monster made from the bones of dead creatures, it is not considered undead, therefore is uneffected by the Salve Amulet (e) and Crumble Undead.