This eccentric contraption functions as a sort of anti-bard in combat, laying down de-buffs on its enemies with sonic effects. Not that it is helpless on its own, with two sword-like forelegs and a sonic breath weapon (no one is resistant to sonic damage!).
The genesis of this creature lies in my Graverobbers campaign (which I have not posted an update on in about 3 years, but it's still going). In one session, the players were fighting some constructs made by a creative witch whose chosen artistic medium was bone sculpture. Among the odd bone creations they fought was this arachnocalliope. I decided it worked pretty well as its own stand-alone monster, so I re-worked it a bit to be made out of normal materials and here we are. Some of those other bone creations, like the ballistocentaur and the triskeliettin may make an appearance here in the future, but for now you'll just have to use your imagination to wonder what those polysyllabic monstrosities might be.
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.
This construct looks like a cross between a
spider and an organ. Dozens of pipes protrude upward from its thorax,
unleashing a barrage of eerie music with every movement of its legs.
Arachnocalliope CR 4
XP 1,200
N Medium
construct
Init +5; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60
ft.; Perception +0
Aura doom pipe aura (60 ft.)
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+3
natural, +5 Dex)
hp 47 (5d10+20)
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +1
DR 5/adamantine; Immune sonic, construct traits
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 stabs +8 (2d4+3)
Special Attacks breath weapon (1/4
rounds, 40 ft. cone, 5d6 sonic damage, DC 15 Fortitude half)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th)
3/day – cause
fear (DC 14), chord of shards (DC
14), distracting cacophony
1/day – confusion
(DC 16)
STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 21, Con --, Int --, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 23
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Doom Pipe Aura (Su)
Each enemy
creature within 60 feet who can hear suffers a -2 penalty to attack and damage
rolls and skill checks. This is a sound-based mind-affecting ability.
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure none
Taking the
form of a giant spider made of wood, steel, and brass, this unusual pipe-organ
is powered by the mechanical action of the spider’s eight legs and a throbbing
billows-sac contained within the abdomen. The eerie, atonal piping that they
produce throws the minds of those who hear it into a disrupted state.
Lore-keepers trace the history of this musical construct back to an eccentric
travelling circus. When the arachnocalliope made its debut, its disturbing
music caused a series of deadly accidents and audience riots. While its appeal
as a musical attraction was short-lived, its potential as a weapon was realized
by more sinister minds.
Construction
An arachnocalliope
is made with 500 pounds of wood and brass, including dozens of meticulously
tuned and magically treated pipes.
Name
CL 10th; Price 10,000 gp
Requirements Craft Construct, chord of shards, confusion, distracting
cacophony, play instrument
Skill Craft (instrument) DC 17; Cost 5,000 gp
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Plot Hooks and Encounter Ideas
- The adventurers brought a mysterious cursed stone to the temple to have it studied by the priests there, but overnight it worked its corruptive magic. Now the cathedral is a twisted terror full of living gargoyles, demonic priests, and even a pipe organ with a mind of its own. Can the adventurers quell the evil, destroy the stone, and return the temple to normal before something even worse is summoned into this world?
- The lair of the evil bard is guarded by his musical minions, accompanied by a wicked arachnocalliope.
- All an eccentric noblewoman needs to complete her collection of rare musical instruments is a working arachnocalliope. She is willing to pay a grand sum of gold to any who can track down, secure, and return to her this rare and deadly musical 'instrument'.
-your calliaphonic d20 despot
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