Fantasy Monster: Ghost Cube

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Ghost Cube

An enormous cube made of translucent, flickering force fields spins and whirls in the air.

CR 16; XP 76,800
N Colossal Construct

Init +10; Senses blindsight 120 ft.; Perception +24

Defense
AC 32, touch 32, flat-footed 32 (+10 deflection, +10 Dex, +10 dodge, –8 size)
hp 245 (30d10+80); fast healing 20
Fort +10; Ref +20; Will +14

Defensive Abilities all-around vision, evasion, hardness 30; Immune construct traits

Weakness susceptible to disintegration

Offense
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)

Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft.

Special Attacks absorb spirits, ether anchoring, ether arcs (4d6, DC 25), ether pulse (20d6, DC 25)

Statistics
Str —, Dex 30, Con —, Int —, Wis 19, Cha 19
Base Atk +30; CMB +38; CMD —

Feats Hover^B

Skills Fly +10, Knowledge (religion) +0 (incorporeal undead +20), Perception +24; Racial Modifiers +20 Knowledge (religion) pertaining to incorporeal undead, +20 Perception

Ecology
Environment urban, ruins
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Absorb Spirits (Su) An incorporeal or gaseous creature that is pulled or moves inside the ghost cube space is absorbed and trapped within the overlapping manifold force fields that form the construct's interior. A ghost cube can retain any number of incorporeal or gaseous creatures of any size inside, as long as their total HD doesn't exceed four times the ghost cube's HD (advanced ghost cubes can hold six times their HD of absorbed ghosts). Absorbed spirits are compressed and frozen in (imperfect) stasis, incapable of action and having only the faintest awareness of passing time and events taking place outside. If a ghost cube absorbs more spirits than it can hold, it will release excess entities, with creatures whose HD is closest to the overflow being vented, chosen randomly between creatures of the same HD.

Ether Anchoring (Su) An incorporeal or gaseous creature that was struck by either ether arcs or ether pulse has its speed halved until end of its following turn. If the saving throw against either ability was failed, the creature has its speed reduced to 0 instead.

Ether Arcs (Su) Ghost cube can emit up to six arcs of glimmering force as a standard action, with each arc dealing 4d6 points of force damage to a single target within ghost cube's reach, and moving them by 5 feet (a successful Will saving throw against DC 25 halves the damage and negates the forced move). Generally, incorporeal and gaseous targets are pulled toward the ghost cube, while fully corporeal targets are pushed away from the cube. Ghost cube can direct ether arcs against the same target or split them, as needed. The saving throw DC is Strength-based.

Ether Pulse (Su) As a standard action, ghost cube can emit a wide pulse of etheric force, affecting all creatures within the cube's reach, dealing 20d6 points of force damage and pushing them away (fully corporeal creatures) or pulling them toward the cube (incorporeal and gaseous beings) by 5 feet. A successful Will saving throw (DC 25) halves the damage and negates the forced movement. Ghost cube cannot use ether pulse again for 1d4+1 rounds. The saving throw DC is Strength-based.

Susceptible To Disintegration (Su) Disintegration spells and effects ignore ghost cube's hardness and disrupt the complex interaction of force fields that compose the construct. In addition to suffering damage, on a successful saving throw, the ghost cube is staggered for 1 round, and one random incorporeal or gaseous being trapped inside flees. On a failed saving throw, the ghost cube becomes confused (results 51–75 causes the ghost cube to move its speed in a random direction) for 1d4+1 rounds, with one trapped being fleeing each round. Either way, on a confirmed critical hit, 1d3 creatures flee instead of one.

Ghost cubes were created by a cabal of not-quite-sane occult researchers, obsessed with studying bodiless vestiges of the dead. Somehow, they managed to combine multiple intricately overlapping forcefields into a functional permanent construct, a seemingly impossible feat of artifice.

The cabal created at least a few of those themselves, sending most of them to procure incorporeal specimens for the cabal's research. Ghost cubes are supposed to return to their masters once their storage are full, to transfers the captured samples into permanent storage, though they can get lost on their way, their bases of operation might get destroyed, or they might fall into a loop of trying to absorb too many entities, venting the excess leaving a storage space for a few more, attempt to absorb more, getting overfull, venting, and trying to fill again, and again.

Constructing ghost cube

The creation process requires expenditure of 12,500 gp in material components suitable for making wall of force permanent as well as complex math needed to design the internal geometry.

CL 12th; Price 142,500 gp

Requirements Craft Construct, geas, maze, permanency, wall of force; Skill Profession (mathematician) DC 40; Cost 77,500 gp