Minecraft Mobestiary/Wither Skeletons

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Wither Skeleton

Wither Skeletons, the strong backbone of the Wither's massive army of undead. Before I get into their physiology, I will have to give some background on them, so do forgive me for breaking formatting. It's pretty difficult to discuss the Wither Skeletons without discussing a little about their leader, after all.

Background, and The Wither

As mentioned earlier, this mob serves one master: the Wither. It is the physical embodiment of a force better known as death, and therefore, is practically one and the same to the eyes of many. Although it has more in common with the Grim Reaper than a force of nature, it is still one to fear.

While the Wither might be analogous to the Grim Reaper of common myth, it still has a mind of it's own, much like it's soldiers. To it, death is the natural state of all life, and therefore, as it is the agent of death, it must bring everything to this point. As a result, it is hellbent on destroying all life, through any means necessary. I'll divulge more on the Wither itself at a later point in time, but for now, I leave you with that.

But how does this all tie back to the skeletons at hand? Well, these skeletons are actually people who have sworn complete allegiance to the Wither, and thus, fight for it's desired "natural state". By joining the Wither's cause, these people have become basically immortal, continuing to live for centuries after they join, though evidently anything other than their bones have lasted so long. And so, the army of death marches on, bringing ruin to anything and everything they come across, and rendering the land the conquer dead for eternity.

Physiology

I've yabbered on about this mob's history, though, so how's about I get to what I really wanted to talk about? Wither Skeletons, as their name implies, are skeletons. Being blessed by the Wither, they continue to march on, even after they logically should not be able to move. Many bones bear cuts and fractures, very clearly damage from the numerous campaigns they've been on. While their black coloration may at first seem to be from the fires of their home dimension, it actually just comes from the permanent withering they're afflicted with by being the Wither's soldiers. Additionally, their height also comes from this allegiance. An odd benefit, but it seems to make them stronger, so it (somehow) works.

Behavior

Being soldiers, they typically march around their posts, patrolling to make sure it's as strong as it can be. The "intruders" include anything not allied with the Wither, such as Piglins or Magma Cubes, though any "undead" mob is fine by them. Occasionally, two Wither Skeletons may start a friendly sparring match, which usually ends with the winning skeleton knocking the sword of the loser's out of their hands, though it may have the loser's head be knocked off instead (a minor inconvenience for any skeleton).

Once an "intruder" is spotted, they'll begin an unrelenting assault on them, sprinting at full speed to catch them. Once within successful striking range, they'll initiate combat with this "intruder," swinging their sword with little to no time for the opponent to retaliate. These strikes, if not successfully blocked or dodged, will cause the opponent to not only face the force of the blow, but also be afflicted with withering of their own, draining their life. This makes Wither Skeletons a handful on their own, and a massive issue in groups. You can really tell these are the best of the best the Wither has to offer, honestly.

Where to Find

Despite carvings of the Wither appearing on chiseled red sandstone, suggesting a presence of those who at the very least worship it in Mesas or other red sandstone rich areas, Wither Skeletons do not appear in those biomes. Instead, they appear exclusively in Nether Fortresses, a rare structure found anywhere in the Nether. They share this space with Blazes, who they share an uneasy alliance with.

Spoils of Combat

If you manage to defeat one, they can give a wide variety of items. They commonly give bones and coal, which can be used to make bone meal and coal-related things, respectively. They also rarely give their stone swords, which is a nice trophy, and even more rarely their own skull, which makes for a nicer trophy. Getting three Wither Skeleton skulls and four soul sand allows one to summon the wither, but I'll get into that later.

Final Comments

Wither Skeletons have an undoubtedly rich history, though it's likely more from the Wither itself rather than the skeletons. They're also quite strong foes, but unfortunately very lacking in terms of biological insight. I'm not a paleontologist, so I can't look at bones and say much other than "it's bones." Hopefully you learned a bit about these pitch-colored from this entry, as that's all I have. So long, and farewell! -The Biologist