Friday, October 12, 2012

Monstrous Monday Addendum: Wax Mockery

WAX MOCKERY


Hit Dice: 30 hp (6)
Armor Class: 14
Attacks:  2 slams (1d8) or 1 weapon (1d8 + weapon modifier)
Saving Throw:  11
Special:  Mimic, immune to slashing / bludgeoning / piercing damage, immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities, speak any language
Movement:  12, Climb 12
Challenge Level/XP:  9/1100

Though the population of the city of Taltun is small, the Sages have seen fit to create special automatons, wax mockeries, to serve as their special guardians and secret police force.  In their natural state they appear as featureless humanoids made completely of beeswax, and smell of wax and honey.  They exist solely to blend in with the populace, which consists largely of mercenaries and scholars, and indeed can take on the appearance of any person they study for at least one hour.  Not only do they mimic the appearance of their subject, but they also mimic perfectly the clothing, gait, physical traits, voice, mannerisms, and habits of whoever they are studying.  After transformation, which is quite complete, even the odor of wax and honey being removed for the time the wax mockery spends in its new form, they are nearly identical to the person being imitated.  People who know the subject well must succeed at an Intelligence check with a -4 penalty in order to detect that the creature is not the person being mimicked.  They are magically imbued with the ability to speak all languages known to the Sages of Taltun, and this excludes very few - only the rarest of languages in Antediluvia will be an exception, and they even have record of the languages spoken on the moons Negalu and Nibiru as they have traffic with the beings there.

This ability has implications far beyond mere police work.  The Sages guard their knowledge jealously, and take great care to safeguard their secrets.  They have no qualms about sending a wax mockery to kill and replace an interloper in the city, and it is not unheard of for rival Sages to infiltrate each others' laboratories and libraries using a wax mockery as a spy, although it is strictly forbidden for one Sage to kill another, even by proxy.  They can climb, since they are naturally sticky as they are made of beeswax, and can do so alarmingly fast.

The wax mockery also has a few abilities beyond its ability to mimic.  It can reform its body when it is damaged - if a limb is separated, it simply has to hold it in place for 1d3 rounds and it is reattached.  It is immune to all mundane attacks of a piercing, slashing, or bludgeoning nature due to this.  Normal weapons do not harm it.  Magic and magical weapons will harm it as usual, and indeed, only magic can penetrate its physical defenses.  The only noticeable effect of normal weapons upon it is the release of the smell of wax and honey in a 10 foot radius.  Also, it can detect any magic spells or items in use within its range of vision, and the same goes for any invisible creature.  They are difficult to surprise, being surprised only on a 1.

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