Boneforged Abomination. Boneforged Abominations are amalgams of various skeletons made into horrors that resemble taxidermical constructs and are typically outfitted with non-bone weapons and means of attack. These creatures are immune to critical hits, having no key vital points, and boast many more immunities. Further, Boneforged Abominations take the maximum possible hit points of each of its hit die. Boneforged abominations are treated as an aberration, construct, monstrosity, and undead for the sake of determining whether they are a favored enemy.
Control Talisman. This creature is commanded by a control talisman, the holder of which being designated its master. It understands any communication from the holder of its control talisman, and can be telepathically communicated with by the holder so long as they are within 1 mile of the siege crawler.
Explosive Munitions. This creature carries up to 20 burning oil casks inside of itself which are explosive in nature. If this creature is dealt 25 or more fire damage (after resistance calculation) or 50 or more bludgeoning or thunder damage from a single instance, or 50 total fire damage (after resistances) in a single round, all of this creature's burning oil casks detonate inside of it, dealing their cumulative damage over a 10 foot radius + 5 feet for every 4 burning oil casks it had remaining, centered on the middle of this creature. This creature automatically fails all saves from its own munitions detonating.
A loaded burning oil cask can be targeted by an attack or spell attack, or hit by area-of-effect attacks. Burning oil casks have an AC of 15 and 20 hit points, and resistance to all damage types other than acid, bludgeoning, fire, and thunder damage, and is immune to poison and psychic damage. If a burning oil cask is reduced to 0 hit points by an attack that deals bludgeoning, fire, piercing, slashing, thunder, or radiant damage, it detonates, dealing its fire damage centered on the sling of the mangonel. A critical hit that deals any of these damage types against a loaded burning oil cask will automatically cause it to detonate.
Magic Resistance. This creature has advantage on saving throws against spells.
Many Arcane Eyes. This creature has multiple arcane eyes that grant it vision in all directions of its body. It has advantage on all perception and investigation checks that rely on sight and cannot be blinded.
Siege Monster. This creature deals double damage to structures and fortifications with its melee attack and its siege weapon.
Sonic Receptors. This creature "hears" by virtue of interpreting vibrations rather than truly hearing. It is immune to being deafened.
Turn Immunity. This creature is immune to effects that turn undead.
Multiattack. The siege crawler makes three melee weapon attacks, able to make up to two bone scythe and/or kick attacks, or one tail attack. Alternatively, it may make 6 heavy repeating crossbow turret attacks.
Turret Volley. The siege crawler makes a heavy repeating crossbow turret attack against each 5-foot square (creatures that occupy multiple five foot squares are attacked once for each 5 foot square they occupy) within a 15 foot radius centered on one point within range of its heavy repeating crossbow turrets. Each attack is made individually, and long range penalties apply to all attacks if the center of this radius is in long range, but not if the center point is within short range. This attack targets all creatures in the radius whether they are allies or enemies. This attack is made at a high arc and ignores cover that is not above its targets.
Bone Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target that is not behind the siege crawler. Hit: 19 (2d12 + 6) slashing damage.
Kick. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage. If this attack hits a creature of large or smaller size, the creature must make a DC17 STR saving throw or be knocked back 10ft.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target that is not in front of the siege crawler. Hit: 26 (4d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage. If this attack hits a creature of huge or smaller size, the creature must make a DC17 STR saving throw or be knocked back 10ft.
Heavy Repeating Crossbow Turret. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d10 + 6) piercing damage.
The Siege Crawler may fire and reload their boneforged mangonel as a single action.
Mangonel Stone (x30). Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 200/800 ft., one target (can't hit targets within 60 feet of it). Hit: 33 (5d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage. A creature of huge or smaller size hit by this attack must make a DC17 CON save or be stunned until the end of its next turn. A creature of large or smaller size must make an additional DC17 STR saving throw or be knocked prone.
Burning Oil Cask (x20). Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 200/800 ft., one target and each target within a 10 foot radius (can't hit targets within 60 feet of it). Hit: 22 (3d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage. The target and each creature within 10 feet of the target must make a DC16 DEX Save, taking 11 (2d10) fire damage and being lit on fire on a failed save or taking half as much fire damage and not being lit on fire on a successful one. If the target was hit by the attack, it makes this save at disadvantage. Creatures and objects lit on fire by this attack take an additional 7 (2d6) fire damage at the start of each of their turns for 10 turns. A creature may use an action and half their movement to fall prone and extinguish these flames, ending the burning effect early.
Braced Volley. This creature may use its turret volley as a bonus action so long as it has deployed its siege brace.
Deploy Siege Brace. As a bonus action when ordered to, this creature will deploy various spikes and auxiliary digits to brace itself to the ground or retract them. While braced, this creature is [Tooltip Not Found], reducing its movement speed to 0, and it cannot use its kick attacks. However, it can still use its bone scythe, tail, and ranged attacks, and has advantage on all ranged attacks it makes. Further, while braced, it is immune to knockback, as well as being knocked prone, but loses its DEX mod to AC.
Collect Munitions. As a bonus action, the siege crawler may grab up to 4 mangonel stones or burning oil casks from a space within 10 feet of itself, loading them into its internal storage, or may compress enough dirt and stone to magically form 2 mangonel stones from the surrounding dirt, loading them into its internal storage. It cannot hold more than 50 pieces of ammunition.
Retaliatory Swing. As a reaction to being the target of a melee attack from a creature the siege crawler can see within its melee reach, it can make a bone scythe, kick, or tail attack. This creature cannot use its kick attack while its siege brace is deployed.
Point Defense. As a reaction when ordered to defend itself or another creature within its heavy repeating crossbow turret's range, it can make six heavy repeating crossbow turret attacks against any enemies it chooses, able to target each enemy with any number of these attacks.
Description
The boneforged siege crawler is an abomination created from the remains of huge dinosaurs, elephants, mammoths, or other such creatures, fashioned into an undead siege weapon. They typically have six legs, two large limbs equipped with scythes made of bones, a long skeletal tail, and multiple skulls of various creatures fashioned to house arcane eyes in strategic points across its body, but incapable of utilizing their jaws for bites. They are mounted with six repeating heavy crossbow turrets and a siege weapon that are manned by more skeletal remains of humanoids and monstrosities to form operating mechanisms and limbs solely purposed for the use of these weapons.
These necromantic abominations are practically solid bodies of bone, weighing multiple tons and the only hollows of notable size within them are occupied by whatever ammunition their mounted siege weaponry requires, the horrific construction of their insides working like an auto-loading machine for their siege weapon and their mounted crossbows.
Typical siege crawlers are mounted with a ballista or mangonel, but more industrious necromancers might outfit them with a double-ballista or cannon to improve their damage dealing potential.
Siege crawlers are commanded and controlled by a control talisman, which can be an accessory or mounted on another piece of equipment. Without this talisman being attuned to, the siege crawler will continue whatever its last order was to completion before falling dormant, not even defending itself against attacks. While following orders in this way, if it was not commanded to defend itself, it will single-mindedly pursue its objective, ignoring all obstacles or resistance, even if such would stop it from accomplishing its task. It has no problem solving abilities of its own, nor any ambitions or desires, and is powered exclusively by dark magics, the only echoes of souls within it being the bare minimum to operate its limbs and necromantic mechanisms.
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