Zombie Skin Shield

Armor (shield), rare (requires attunement)

This +1 shield is wrapped in a layer of bleached skin, stretched into a a distorted face.

As an action, you can command the skin to slough off of the shield and cover your flesh, causing you to appear as a ragged, rotting corpse for 1 hour. This functions as disguise self, and a creature can see through your disguise with a successful DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check. Undead creatures have disadvantage on this check.

You can instead cause the skin to animate as a common zombie that serves you for up to 1 hour or until destroyed. You must use a bonus action each round to actively directing its actions; if not commanded, it remains stationary and attacks any creature other than you that comes within its reach. You can instead give it a general command, such as to guard a location or carry an item and follow you, in which case it follows that command until the task is complete. You can absorb this zombie back into the shield by touching it as an action.

After using one of the zombie skin shield’s powers, you cannot use either ability again until you complete a long rest. If the created zombie is destroyed, the shield loses its powers (other than its +1 bonus to AC) for 1d6 days, though its powers are restored if animate dead is cast upon it.