Short Circuit. If this creature suffers damage from a critical hit from a melee attack, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 10 + the attackers Proficiency Modifier) or be stunned until that player's next turn.
Shutdown. If targeted by dispel magic, the horror must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster’s spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
Unusual Nature. The horror doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d8) piercing damage.
Rotating Saw. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) slashing damage.
Lightning Jolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +2 to hit, range 40 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d10) lightning damage.
Spelljamming Helm Interface. The horror attaches to a spelljamming helm it can see within 5 feet of itself and attunes to the helm instantly. If another creature is already attuned to the helm, that creature’s attunement to the helm ends when the horror’s attunement begins. The horror can operate the helm even though it isn’t a spellcaster. The horror can detach from the helm as a bonus action, which ends its attunement to the helm.
Description
Clockwork horrors are ruthless insectile automatons— eldritch machines encased in adamantine or some other precious metal. When they don't have access to precious metals they make Prototype variants out of whatever they can. They roam Wildspace in commandeered spelljamming ships, gathering the precious metals and crystals they need to build more of their kind. If found on a planet that lacks proper materials they scavenge what they can get so they can retreat back into Wildspace. Clockwork horrors have no goal beyond replication and will stop at nothing to create new clockwork horrors. The time it takes for a clockwork horror to build another of its kind, assuming it has the requisite materials, is approximately ten days. In the case of stranded units they can cut the time of production depending on the materials they use. The more common the material the faster they can replicate at the cost of the units original strengths.
The body of a clockwork horror is about two feet in diameter, but the legs give it an overall diameter of four feet. Embedded in the front of its head is a crystal that enables the clockwork horror to see.
Clockwork horrors communicate with each other by means of clicks, whirs, and similar mechanical sounds that imitate the Thri-kreen language perfectly, leading some to speculate the first clockwork horror was the brainchild of a thri-kreen artificer. A horror can also emit light from its crystal eye, issuing dot-and-dash messages to other creatures that can see the light. Creatures besides clockwork horrors can learn this blinking light code, which is called Ziklight.
When another creature gets in its way, a clockwork horror attacks that creature with its razor-sharp mandibles and two tiny rotating saws mounted at the tips of its forelimbs. A horror can also discharge bolts of lightning from a short lightning rod embedded in its body.
When a clockwork horror dies, the magic that created it consumes it over a period of 1 minute. Its metallic body and crystal eye degrade rapidly until nothing is left but a small heap of glittering dust.
Lair and Lair Actions
If found inside places with raw material available (Spelljammer, mines, factories, etc.) They can mend and repair some damage on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties). The healing is based on what materials they are made of.
Copper or equivalent (1d4+1)
Iron or equivalent (1d6+2) (Acid damage prevents this)
Gold or equivalent (1d8+3) (Fire damage prevents this)
Adamantine or equivalent (1d10+4)
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Posted Jun 23, 2022These guys are super cool but I thought they might be too strong to toss at my group of fledgling players who are hyped about spelljammers. So I wanted to tweak them in my spare time. Since Spelljammer isn't released yet I had the idea of a small group of these constructs crashing into the planet Roswell style and start to harvest whatever raw materials they can get so they could return to space. I used Terraria ores as a basic reference and did a bit of research on the chosen metals to alter the original creature. If you have any recommendations please let me know. I was going to make the other variants in my spare time.