2020-09-13

Fantasy Monster: Arachnificer

You can now support Shaper Of Worlds on Patreon.

Arachnificer
A four-legged spider made of glassy grey stone.

CR 1; XP 400
N Tiny Construct
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0

Defense

AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 size)
hp 11 (2d10)
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +0
DR 2/adamantine

Offense
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee bite +4 (1d3)
Ranged cutting beam +4 (1d4 fire)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks cutting beam

Statistics
Str 10, Dex 10, Con —, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 3
Base Atk +2; CMB +0; CMD 10 (14 vs. trip)
Feats Lightning Reflexes
Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +8, Craft (stonemasonry) +5, Knowledge (engineering) +5; Racial Modifier +10 Acrobatics
Languages understand Terran
SQ labor intelligence, mending resin, scuttle

Ecology
Environment ruins, urban
Organization solitary, pair, or work group (3-20)
Treasure standard

Cutting Beam (Ex) An arachnificer can produce a highly penetrating beam of concentrated heat that is a ranged attack with the range increment of 5 ft. and ignores hardness of wood, stone, and metal.

Labor Intelligence (Ex) An arachnificer is imbued with intellect dedicated to repairing and maintaining their surroundings. They treat Craft (stonemasonry) and Knowledge (engineering) as class skills.

Mending Resin (Ex) An arachnificer can exude a thick resin that fuses together wood, stone, and metal, repairing 1 point of damage to objects and constructs made of those materials per 1 minute of arachnificer's work. An arachnificier can repair each other but not themselves.

Scuttle (Ex) An arachnificer moves over earthy or stony difficult terrain without issues.


Adventurers going through ancient ruins are often surprised by their age and their comparative soundness. Sometimes it's old magic enhancing the structure, sometimes it's  long forgotten architectural techniques, and sometimes it's the result of more or less active maintenance by the denizens or more arcane parties. If there are signs of cobwebs around but no spiders, it could arachnificers doing the work. These spider-resembling constructs scrounge around consuming stone oil and organic leftovers turning them into grey resin that has surprising ability to hold stones and brick together.

Some arachnificers seem to like weaving cobweb-like patterns out of their resin, though unlike actual cobwebs they are not sticky once they dry and are unsuitable for capturing anyone (unless the potential victim happens to be lying incapacitated inside the structure being reconstructed). If there is no stone oils, coal, or organic leftovers available, arachnificers might hunt and consume organic beings to replace their resin supplies but it is thankfully rare.

Where do they come from? It is hard to say, though there are some rumors of similar but much bigger constructs resembling four-legged human-sized crabs and even larger four-legged scorpions that have been seen doing repairs to deeper and less known ruins under the surface of the Earth.


No comments:

Post a Comment