[Creatures] The Pit and the Pendulum...

[The Glyphstone]

Chroniker Guard

Large Construct
Hit Dice: 15d10+30 (112 HP)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 30 (-1 size, +21 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 30
Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+22
Attack: Scything arm +16 melee (1d10+6)
Full Attack: 2 scything arms +16 melee (1d10+6)
Space/Reach: 10ft./15ft.
Special Abilities: Mighty Swing, Circular Strike, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Construct traits, damage reduction 10/adamantine, darkvision 60ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +5
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 10, Con -, Int -. Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills: -
Feats: -
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary or Poem (1 plus 1 Nihilitous Spread)
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: 16-24 HD (Large), 25-45 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -

Lumbering out of the darkness, a tall, spindly automaton of steel and bronze approaches you. As it nears, its two hanging arms rise and begin to swing from side to side with a hollow whoosh, the sound of the massive crescent-shaped blades at the end of each limb.

Chroniker guard are typically 9 feet tall, and weighs roughly 1,400 pounds or more.

Combat: Being mindless, a chroniker guard normally has no ability to adapt to combat situations. However, its default programming directs it to maximize the number of potential enemies affected by its scything arms, so it will reposition itself to do so if necessary.

Extended Reach: (Ex): Chroniker guard have rather elongated arms, giving them a reach 5ft. longer than a normal creature of their size. This is included in the stat block above.

Mighty Swing (Ex): When a chroniker guard attacks with a scything arm attack, its attack threatens three contiguous squares in a straight line that are all within its reach. Make individual attack rolls against each opponent in these squares, including separate critical threat rolls if necessary.

Circular Strike: As a special full-round action, a chroniker guide can extend its arms and spin in a devastating circle. This attack targets all opponents a fixed distance from the chroniker guard and within its reach (for a normal chroniker guard, this will be 5ft., 10ft., or 15ft.). Make one attack roll for each affected opponent, including separate critical rolls if necessary.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day – Ring of Blades; 1/day – Blade Barrier.




Nihilitous Spread

Large Ooze
Hit Dice: 9d10+72 (122 HP)
Speed: 15ft. (3 squares)
Armor Class: 8 (-1 size, -1 Dex), touch 8, flat-footed 8
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+12
Attack: +7 melee (1d6+2, slam)
Full Attack: +7 melee (1d6+2, slam)
Space/Reach: 10ft./5ft.
Special Abilities: Improved grab, engulf, spectral storage
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60ft., ooze traits
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +2, Will -2
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 8, Con 26, Int -. Wis 1, Cha 1
Skills: -
Feats: -
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary or Poem (1 plus 1 Chroniker Guard)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: 10-15 HD (Large); 16-22 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -

As the pendulum-armed golem menaces you, you barely even notice as a large patch of the nearby shadows detach themselves and flow along the ground, closer and closer…until they creep under the feet of an ally, and he sinks into the “ground” and vanishes utterly.

A nihilitous spread in only a few inches thick, but up to 10ft. in diameter and weigts several hundred pounds. Nihilitous spreads never speak.

Combat: Nobody understands exactly what causes these mysterious oozes to occasionally bond with chroniker guard, and as both creatures involved are mindless, it is doubtful that either will shed light on the subject. Either alone or paired with a chroniker guard, their tactics are the same: Attempt to “swallow” as many opponents as possible, separating them from their allies where they can inflict no further harm, and will likely suffocate.

Improved Grab (Ex): If a nihilitous spread hits with its slam attack, it can attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can absorb the held opponent into its spectral storage “compartment” next round.

Engulf (Ex): As a standard action, a nihilitous spread can simply mow over (er – under) Large or smaller opponents. It cannot make a slam attack in the same round it engulfs. The spread merely has to move under the opponents, affecting as many as it can. Opponents can make attacks of opportunity against the spread, but if they do so they are not eligible for a saving throw. Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity must succeed on a DC18 Reflex save or be engulfed. The save DC is Strength-based and includes a +2 racial bonus. On a successful save, they are pushed back or aside (opponent’s choice). Engulfed creatures are considered to be trapped inside the spread’s spectral storage “compartment”.

Spectral Storage (Su): An enemy engulfed by a nihilitous spread or grappled by it can be trapped inside an extradimensional storage pocket, linked to the nihilitous spread. This pocket is similar to the inside of a portable hole, except that it expands to fit any opponent consumed. Despite this, the amount of air does not increase, and it expires within an hour for a single Medium creature, or proportionately less for large or more numerous creatures. If a spread is killed, any contents of its pocket are regurgitated. It can also expel anything within its pocket at will, being able to sense the life status of anything within its pocket – suffocated prey are slowly digested, while anything non-organic is rejected. If a bag of holding or portable is engulfed by the spread, the spread is instantly slain and anything within 10ft. of the spread is sucked into the Astral Plane, destroying the object in question. Nihilitous spreads can instinctively sense the presence of such items, and will not willingly absorb them or any creature carrying one.

Skills: A Nihilitous Spread receives a +15 racial bonus on Hide checks in shadowy or dimly lit areas. In total darkness, this increases to +25.

[Elrosth]

Did you get the Nihilitous Spread off of Evangelion?

These both look pretty cool. Good job!

[The Glyphstone]

No....they wre both inspired by the Edgar Allen Poe poem..."The Pit and the Pendulum"? It was sort of a random spring to mind kinda thing.

[The Glyphstone]

Comeon, someone...any feedback at all? I might turn this into an entire series of critter based on famous literature...

[Winged One]

So, basicly, a Chroniker Guard is The Slowly Moving, Easily Avoidable Death Trap?

[The Glyphstone]

It doesn't move any slower than 90% of the monsters out there - and is fairly brutal when it catches you in reach. Mainly designed to guard corridors and such, where its uberdeadly reach serves good purpose.

The Spread is slow, sure...but so is a Gelatinous Cube. But that reminds me - I meant to give it a big racial boost to Hide and Move Silently checks in shadowy or dimly lit areas. More the Walking Portable Hole That Eats You.

[SlaadLord]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...

Edgar Allen Poe's monstrosities brought to life...

I like it!

[I_Got_This_Name]

I can just imagine what a Chroniker Guard would do in a 10' wide hallway.

However, you should have some creation info for it. What spells do you need to make it?

Also, where is the Ring of Blades spell?

[Death_McMuffin]

I personally like them and think that the classical literature vein is a great idea. An entire series would be cool. (Lovecraft?)

[The Glyphstone]

I'll add some creation info.

Ring of Blades is printed in Complete Arcane - maybe in the Spell Compendium too, but I work off the CArc version.

Lovecraft's been waaaaaaaaaaay overdone for d20 - I'm not even going to try. ;D

[I_Got_This_Name]

Complete Arcane, thanks. I have that book, I just didn't memorize the spell list in it.

Also, if wizards are supposed to create this thing, I'd put Limited Wish in as a prerequisite, instead of Blade Barrier, to give it its SLAs; possibly give the option to use either. Of course, you might have already thought of this. I suppose you technically could create it with the former if it required the latter, but that would cost 300 EXP per day.

[The Glyphstone]

Oh....Blade Barrier's a cleric spell, isn't it...looks like Limited Wish is the only option.