Immutable Form. The gray sqaarg is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The gray sqaarg has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The gray sqaarg's weapon attacks are magical.
Waxing Might. The power of a gray sqaarg's attacks increase as enemies fight it. This power is measured by the sqaarg's Might score. The gray sqaarg starts with a Might of 0 and can increase to a maximum of Might 8. For each creature that fights the sqaarg, the gray sqaarg gains Might equal to the highest ability bonus modifier that creature used in an attack against the sqaarg (including melee attacks, ranged attacks, or spells) with a minimum increase of 1 point of Might if the creature's attacks do not have positive ability modifiers. If the creature's attacks do not employ an ability score or its ability is undefined, use the Strength modifier of the creature.
A gray sqaarg's Might score resets to 0 if no creature attacks the sqaarg for 10 minutes.
Example: if a druid with STR 10 (+0), WIS 15 (+2) attacked a gray sqaarg with a quarterstaff and thunderwave spell, the sqaarg gains Might 2 from the +2 ability modifier of the druid's Wisdom spellcasting ability. Two goblins with STR 8 (–1) then join the fray; each adds 1 Might to the sqaarg for a total of Might 4. If another gray sqaarg then uses Power Building on the example sqaarg, it adds its STR 20's +5 ability bonus and boosts the example gray sqaarg to its maximum Might of 8.
Hold. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 10 plus the sqaarg's Might score). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the sqaarg can't make melee attacks on another target.
Crush. The gray sqaarg crushes a creature it is grappling. The target must make a Strength or Constitution saving throw (DC 10 plus the sqaarg's Might score), taking 14 to 30 (4d6 plus twice the sqaarg's Might score) bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Deadly Grasp. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 to 15 (2d6 plus the sqaarg's Might score) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 10 plus Might). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the sqaarg can't make melee attacks on another target.
Power Building. The gray sqaarg increase its Might score by 5 or increase the Might score of another gray sqaarg by 5 by applying its own Strength to the sqaarg's Waxing Might.
Reflexive Grip. If the gray sqaarg is hit by a melee attack, it can use its Reaction to make a Hold attack against the creature that struck it.
Description
A gray sqaarg is a golem like construct whose stocky humanoid form stands 5 feet tall. It appears to be crudely moulded out of clay but is actually made of solid stone. The creature is sculpted in the shape of naked sexless figure, bald and completely hairless, with broad shoulders and a heavily muscled physique that resembles an oversized beardless dwarf.
Gray sqaargs are capable of self-repair and effectively heal as quickly as a living dwarf.
Dwarven Guardians. Gray sqaargs were created by a long extinct dwarf dwarf culture. The objects and writings of these dwarves include unmistakable proof that they were evil creatures, who scholars speculate might be ancestors or relatives of the Duergar. Despite their creators' malevolence, the gray sqaargs are protective creatures designed to guard the territory and property of the dwarves by capturing intruders nonlethally.
There are unverified reports of more types of sqaarg than the grays, with other colors of sqaarg filling different roles in the ancient dwarf society: white sqaargs work as heavy laborers; red sqaargs are deadly warriors; black sqaargs can speak, read and write many languages and may flawlessly repeat anything they're taught, green sqaargs are implacable and deadly hunter-scouts, and so on.
A gray sqaarg is technically nearly mindless but capable of following complex orders. The specifics vary greatly depending on the duties performed by the sqaarg. Adventurers most commonly encounter gray sqaargs whose orders assign them a "beat" to patrol, such as the entrance to a mine and its surrounding paths. If the patrolling sqaarg encounters a creature it wasn't told to let pass, which may requires a password forgotten centuries ago, it tries to capture the intruder. The gray sqaarg then imprisons the intruder and awaits orders from a dwarf master, who are unfortunately all long dead. Captured intruders must escape or eventually die of hunger, thirst, or old age, since sqaargs rarely have instructions to give prisoners food or water and are tireless and unaging jailers. If an intruder fights back, the sqaarg uses the "Knocking a Creature Out" rule and tries to render its opponent unconscious. Gray sqaargs generally only uses lethal force as a final option triggered by preset conditions, such as being severely damaged (e.g. at 35 hit points or less) or if the intruder stole a sacred dwarven relic.
Gray sqaargs with other duties will follow different set of instructions. For example, a gray sqaarg bouncer in the ruins of an exclusive dwarven tavern might try to evict any non-dwarf it encounters on the premises. A gray sqaarg guarding the Dwarf Queen's boudoir could be ordered to kill anyone who enters who isn't dwarven royalty or a Queen's handmaiden.
(Originally created by Graham Head; appeared in White Dwarf Magazine #21 (Oct/Nov 1980) as part of the Fiend Factory mini-module "One-Eye Canyon", edited by Albie Fiore.)
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