Fantasy Monster: Needle Swarm

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Needle Swarm

A cloud of needles, pins, and an occasional nail whirls through the air, carried by invisible force.

CR 3; XP 800
N Fine Construct (swarm)

Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0

Defense
AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 18 (+8 size)
hp 33 (6d10)
Fort +2; Ref +2; Will +2

Immune construct traits, weapon damage

Weakness susceptible to rust

Offense
Speed fly 20 ft. (perfect)

Melee swarm (2d6)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Statistics
Str 1, Dex 10, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
Base Atk +6; CMB —; CMD —

Skills Craft (tailoring) +10, Fly +16; Perception +0; Racial Modifiers +10 Craft (tailoring)

SQ lightning work

Ecology
Environment urban, ruins, plains (near fields of cotton or similar fiber-producing plants), hills and mountains (where sheep wool is processed)
Organization solitary, pair, or manufacture (3–6)
Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Lightning Work (Ex and Su) A needle swarm ordered to craft an item of clothing can work tirelessly without stopping, and does it over twice as fast as a mundane worker, effectively producing a week of work in 24 hours, or a day of work in approximately four hours.

Susceptible To Rust (Ex) A needle swarm can be affected by rust effects, even if the effect normally would only affect a single creature.

Needle swarm was designed by a wizard obsessed with fine clothing and the art of tailoring, desiring new attires at the moment's notice. He devised a number of spells for conjuring splendid raiments, but after an unfortunate incident with a poorly aimed greater dispel magic at a ball, he vouched to resort to physically-made garments from then on, at least in public.

While he had extensive theoretical knowledge of apparels, fabrics, and threads, his practical skills were less than stellar, and the tailors he kept on retainer could not keep up with his demands, especially with his constant interference and input. Finally, he decided to make his own magical outfitter, distilling the mastery of the craft and imbuing it into swarm of needles that could work faster than any mundane artisan.

His creation was a true masterpiece. And of course it ended being copied by others, though imperfectly—the inferior knockoffs lack the supreme skill of the original, and usually are restricted to a limited number of design that they keep producing out of available materials. They are also prone to malfunctions or even go rogue, trying to process wrong materials, reworking the same piece of material over and over and over again, or flee their designated facilities looking for fabric and threads to sew into their preprogrammed design all over the world. Some even end attacking those who would take the output of their work.

Still, many owners of textile mills think the risks are worth the investment in long term.

The original needle swarm has Intelligence 15, Charisma 13, Alertness, Hover, Skill Focus, Craft (tailoring) +21, Knowledge (nobility), Perception, and Sense Motive bonuses of +8, and a rather quirky personality of a self-perceived artistic genius who seeks novel challenges and hates repetition.

Constructing needle swarm

The creation process requires etching thousands of high quality needles with arcane markings that adds 1,000 gp to the total cost of the creation.

CL 12th; Price 6,000 gp

Requirements Craft Construct, fabricate, make whole, unseen servant, 10 ranks of Craft (tailoring); Skill Craft (etching) or Spellcraft DC 20; Cost 3,500 gp.