Automalich

The power and virtual immortality that lichdom provides is an enticing idea to most mortals, but very few have the magical might to survive the transformation, the knowledge of how to initiate the process, or the amorality to regularly devour the souls of others to lengthen one's own existence. Long ago, gnomish wizards and artificers who wished to work on their experiments for all time devised to obtain this state of being without the vile consequences attached to it. The automalich was the perfect combination of undead and construct; the undead form of a master artificer attached to a shifting mass of metal that can form to the creature's will. So long as the automalich continuously creates enchanted construct parts to replace the parts of its form that deteriorate, it will maintain its unlife without the need to devour souls.

However, there was a flaw in the magics that create it. After years in this state, the mind of the artificer fades. It's great intelligence remains, but the automalich devolves into insanity. It forgets the purpose of its creations, its obsessions magnify a hundredfold, and thoughts of the well-being of other creatures cease. Automaliches will eventually destroy any settlements near their lairs; both to prevent the residents from stealing its research and to collect necessary biomass for its twisted experiments.

The only remains of the artificer are its skull and spine. The eye-sockets glow with an manic light and the spine is welded to its metal body. The mechanical form is a chaotic combination of interlocking parts that very few could assemble. The pieces shift at the whim of the automalich, becoming anything from delicate limbs to massive drills.

An Automalich’s Lair

An automalich resides in the remains of its laboratory, often hidden in a remote location. The heart of an abandoned city, within a mountain, or beneath the ocean floor are all locations that an automalich may have set up its laboratory while it was alive.

The interiors of the lair is cluttered by the remains of unfinished or destroyed projects. Some of the projects may be intact enough to be dangerous to unwary intruders. The automalich often creates constructs, undead, or horrific hybrids that wander the corridors of its laboratory and protect it against intruders. 

An automalich encountered in its lair has a challenge rating of 22 (41,000 XP).

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the automalich can take a lair action to cause one of the following magical effects; the automalich can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• The automalich rolls a d8 and regains a spell slot of that level or lower. If it has no spent spell slots of that level or lower, nothing happens.
• The unstable experiments in the lair malfunction. A bolt of electricity strikes across the lair covering a 100 ft line from a point within 20 feet of the automalich point and in a direction decided chosen by it. Creatures in this line must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 52 (15d6) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success.
• A 20 ft circle in the lair is flooded in chemicals from the pipes that run along the floor. Creatures that begin their turn within this radius must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success. The pool drains and disappears at the end of the turn order.
• One of the automalich's experiments is released from its containment to follow its commands. This creature uses the statistics of a zombie with 35 feet of movement, and is considered either an undead or a construct (the automalich's choice). The creature takes its turn immediately, and, if it is still alive at the beginning of the next round, dies at the beginning of its next turn.