Dust Guardian

From Monsterbook

Current revision as of 23:07, 22 November 2006

The dust on the floor suddenly churns as if disturbed by a gust of wind. Instead of scattering, the dust coalesces into a large, almost humanoid shape. Dark hollow pits create two vague eyes within the writhing dust.

DUST GUARDIAN (CR 7)

• Always N Large construct
• Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +0, Spot +11
• Languages: none

• AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 13; insubstantial
  • (-1 size, +7 Dex, +4 deflection)
• hp 44 (8 HD) evasion
• Immune: construct immunities
• SR 14
• Fort +2, Ref +11, Will +2

• Speed 50 ft.
• Melee +13 slam (1d6+2, plus improved grab and engulf)
• Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
• Base Atk +6; Grp +17
• Special Actions disintegrate

• Abilities Str 15, Dex 25, Con --, Int --, Wis 11, Cha 11
• SQ construct traits, insubstantial, whirlwind
• Feats grapple finesse, lightning reflexes, weapon finesse
• Skills Spot 11(+11)
• Advancement 9-12 HD (Large), 13-18 HD (Huge), 19-24 HD (Gargantuan)

Insubstantial (Ex): Because of the insubstantial nature of its body, all physical weapons striking the dust guardian have a 50% miss chance. Weapons with energy effect special abilities (such as flaming or icy burst) will still inflict their energy damage.

Improved Grab: A dust guardian that hits with its slam attack can begin a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Grapple Finesse (Ex): A dust guardian uses its dexterity score for grapple checks instead of strength.

Engulf (Ex): A target that has been successfully grappled by the dust guardian is trapped in the swirling dust that composes its body. The engulfed victim must make a Constitution check (DC 10, plus 1 for each round engulfed). Failure means they are incapacitated from choking. Two consecutive failures means the victim takes 1d6 points of subdual damage.

Disintegrate (Sp): As a full-round action, a dust guardian can attempt to coup de grace any dying, or helpless being that it engulfs. If the coup de grace attack kills the creature, then it is disintegrated, and the remaining dust is consumed by the dust guardian (it gains 5 hit points, up to its maximum). A dust guardian can automatically disintegrate without a saving throw any already dead being it engulfs as a full-round action.

Whirlwind (Su): A slain dust guardian transforms into a violent whirlwind. Immediately after it is slain it covers a 5-foot radius. It expands to a 10-foot radius the following round, then to 15-feet, after which it collapses in on itself leaving nothing behind but its inanimate dust. All beings within the whirlwind are treated as if they have been engulfed although they may leave the area of effect by making a successful Strength check (DC 20).

A Dust Guardian is a construct composed of magically-enchanted dust or ash, and usually created for the purpose of guarding some enclosed crypt or chamber. While inactive, they usually exist as a layer of fine dust that covers the entire area they protect. Anyone disturbing any bit of the dust in the chamber will alert the golem.

Strategies and Tactics

A dust guardian will attack anything that enters its area totally heedless of anything like strategy or caution. Slam, grab, engulf, repeat. It will usually attack the one that managed to inflict the most damage on it that round.

Adventure Hooks

A powerful cleric enlists the aid of adventurers to recover her husbands ashes so that she can perform a resurrection. The husband was killed by a dust guardian and his ashes are somewhere in its body.

A dust guardian has gained a semblance of intelligence and has been roaming across desert regions destroying its residents and gaining in mass and power.

A necromancer enlists the aid of adventurers to bring her the dust from ten dead vampires. She is planning to create a very special dust guardian with vampiric abilities. But can she control it?

Ecology and Society

A typical dust guardian remains at rest as a thin layer of dust, usually in an underground or enclosed area. While in its dispersed state, it can cover an area roughly ten times its normal size (so a standard large dust guardian that occupies a 10-foot space, could lie across a hallway that is 100-feet long by 10-feet wide. It automatically detects anything that touches it or otherwise disturbs it, such as a gust of wind from a door being opened. It can form its body anywhere within its rest area, usually adjacent to intruders, then it will attack without relenting. It lacks the intelligence to obey all but the simplest commands. A standard dust guardian is composed of 1000 pounds of ash or dust.

Dust Guardian Lore

Knowledge (Arcana)

DC 15: This creature is some kind of magical construct. This result reveals all construct traits.

DC 18: It is difficult to damage with physical weapons because of its insubstantial body.

DC 23: If you fall within its grasp, it can disintegrate you into dust, then swallow you into its body.

Construction

The dust guardian is created from precious stones that are ground to powder and mixed with roughly one thousand pounds of ash, soot, dust, and/or dirt. Some guardians that are created to protect a tomb or crypt are made with the ashes of the dead.

CL 10th; Craft Construct, fabricate, geas/quest, gust of wind, limited wish, permanency, caster must be at least 10th level; Price 50,000 gp; Cost 25,000 + 1000 XP.