"We don't put stock in the opinions of peasants and shopkeepers, dear sister." Gavish adjusted the buttons on his red velvet sleeve. "The small-minded have no appreciation for real science."
"But what if they find out you intend to continue his work? What if the mob comes knocking down our door with torches and hay forks?"
"Unlike Grandfather, I won't be taking subjects from the village. At least not often. Goblins, travelers, and the like should nicely make up the difference. And besides, this manor is heavily warded. We can sleep in safety and luxury."
Juvenia looked uneasily around the large bedroom, with its massive four-poster bed, leaded glass windows, centuries-old armoire, and towering oak doors. The furniture was too big for her, and too small for the room. "Luxurious but lonely. The story of my life."
"Hush now, you won't be lonely. I'll be just in the next room." He started walking toward the smaller of the bedroom's two doors. "The house will seem more alive in the morning, when the servants arrive. You'll see." He stepped through the door into his adjoining bedroom and vanished with the click of a latch.
Juvenia changed into her night clothes, spoke the command word to extinguish the candles, and wrapped herself in the bed's voluminous blankets. She tried not to think of all the suffering that had taken place in this house. All the death. "For the greater good," she thought to herself. "Grandfather's research... all for the advancement of knowledge."
She awoke with a start, not remembering having fallen asleep. Gavish was knocking at their shared door. She got up slowly, spoke a word that set the candles alight, and called out, "What do you want, Gavish? Why do you disturb me at this hour?"
The response from the other side of the door was muffled.
"Say again?" she threw open the door, only to be greeted by a towering iron figure rather similar to a mummy's sarcophagus. Something about its unmoving, emotionless face froze Juvenia to her core.
"Blood will pay for blood," it said. A seam opened up down its center, opening to reveal a shriveled corpse in red velvet, impaled on hundreds of iron spikes. Only when Gavish's bloodless husk slid out and flopped onto the rug did Juvenia muster up the breath to scream. She bolted across the room, threw open the main door to the hallway, and slammed it shut behind her. Up and down the long, dusty hall, candles flickered to dim life.
Two wickedly spiked chains burst through the door behind her and tore it off its hinges. Juvenia sped barefoot through the unfamiliar house, the iron maiden relentlessly scraping along the floor behind her, chains flailing madly against the walls. "Blood will pay for blood!" it called after her.
She spotted her escape. A flight of stairs up to the third floor. That thing had to weigh a ton, and there was no way it could climb up steps. She pounded up the flagstone steps, pausing at the top to catch her breath. In a burst of curling purple smoke, the iron maiden appeared before her. She shrieked and fell backwards down the stairs, knocking her head hard against a step. Her vision blurred and darkened. A spiked chain dug into her bare leg and began to drag her back up the stairs. Another wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her upright. All she could see was a chamber lined with of eager spikes.
"Blood will pay for blood!"
~~~~~~
Today's Monster Monday is the iron maiden, a magically animated torture device that grabs its victims with chains and shoves them into its spiked chamber where it drains their blood. This monster will fit easily into any mid-level dungeon, but it is especially suited to gothic horror castles and the lairs of mad wizards.
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.
Iron Maiden CR 8
XP 4,800
N Medium construct
Init -1; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60
ft.; Perception +1
DEFENSE
AC 21, touch 9, flat-footed 21 (-1 Dex,
+12 natural)
hp 75 (10d10+20)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +4
DR 15/adamantine; Immune electricity, construct traits
Resist cold 30, fire 30
OFFENSE
Speed 15 ft.
Melee 2 spiked chains +16/+16 (2d8+6
plus grab)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (20 ft. with spiked chains)
Special Attacks blood drain, entrap
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th)
3/day – teleport
(100 ft., self only plus entrapped creature)
STATISTICS
Str 23, Dex 8, Con --, Int --, Wis 13, Cha 1
Base Atk +10; CMB +16 CMD 25
SQ conductor
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Entrap (Ex)
If the iron
maiden begins its turn with a Medium or Small humanoid opponent grappled in its
spiked chains, it can attempt a new combat maneuver check (as though attempting
to pin the opponent). If it succeeds, it
drags the opponent into its spiked chamber and shuts the doors. The trapped opponent immediately takes 10d6
points of damage as it is pierced by the dozens of sharp spikes that line the
iron maiden’s interior, and 2d6 bleed damage on each subsequent round until
they are extracted from the iron maiden and administered magical healing. The trapped creature is subject to the iron
maiden’s blood drain ability each round it remains inside the iron maiden. The trapped creature also keeps the grappled
condition, while the iron maiden does not.
A trapped creature can only be freed by destroying the iron maiden or
prying open its doors (from within or without), the latter requiring a successful
opposed grapple check.
Blood Drain (Ex)
Each round
the iron maiden keeps a bleeding creature trapped within its spiked chamber, it
drains 1d2 points of Constitution from them and gains 10 bonus hit points per
each point of Constitution so drained.
Conductor (Ex)
An iron
maiden is immune to electricity damage, but any creature trapped within the
iron maiden takes half damage from any electricity attack targeting the iron
maiden (no save).
ECOLOGY
Environment underground or urban
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental
This is a
magically animated version of a truly depraved torture device. It consists of a man-sized iron chamber with
a hinged lid. It is usually fashioned in
a roughly humanoid shape, often surmounted with a stylized or ironically serene
face. The hinged lid and interior of the
chamber are lined with spikes. The
construct uses a pair of wicked barbed chains running from ports in its side to
attack and grab its victims, pulling them into its spiked chamber where it can
drain them of blood. The iron maiden
does not walk – it slides across the floor with a low grating sound, and if it
needs to move quickly or go somewhere otherwise inaccessible it can teleport
itself.
Some iron maidens are animated by sadistic
wizards as living torture devices and particularly cruel guardians. Others are possessed by tortured spirit fragments
of the hundreds of victims who perished within them, and driven by an
insatiable need to inflict pain and suffering on others. There are rumors of more powerful variants of
this construct that use the energy drained from their victims to empower innate
magical abilities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is October, the month of Halloween! As decorations go up across everyone's neighborhoods and seasonally attuned gaming groups everywhere prepare for a suitably spooky adventure (like maybe Horrors of the Floating Gardens), monsters are on everyone's mind. That's why this October is Monster Month over at the d20 Despot Patreon page. All this month I will be posting two Monsters each week: one for the $5+ patrons as usual, and one bonus monster for the $1+ patrons. Today, the monsters are the spindle - a monstrous human-like creature with an unhinging jaw and a bottomless stomach - and the Haietlik - a lightning-breathing knife-headed sea serpent from Native American folklore.
-your sarcophagal d20 despot
No comments:
Post a Comment