Wondrous Guardian Automaton
- Armor Class
- 2 [17]
- Hit Dice
- 4
- Attacks
- Weapon (1d6)
- Special
- steam cone (1d6+2, save half; alpha 2d6+2; primus 3d6), silver weapons to hit
- Move
- 12
- HDE/XP
- 5/240
Description
Wondrous Guardian Automatons are seven-foot tall steel humanoid skeletons plated in steel or bronze and animated by means of clockwork, steam, and magic. The original wondrous automatons were constructed by a mad wizard whose name has been lost to history. The wondrous constructs are often found guarding libraries of magical tomes and scrolls, or treasure vaults. Guardian automatons range in appearance, from nothing more than a drab but intimidating gray steel clockwork automaton, to resplendent gleaming brass and copper. Its inner workings are usually covered by metal plates, which depending on how ornate the automaton is can be plain steel plates or ornately- engraved and decorated brass.
Though the original wondrous guardian automatons were created by knowledgeable wizards and artificers, the vast majority of the ones existing now have been created by an Automaton Primus (as described below). Groups discovered in the wild are often either book- collecting parties, or more rarely groups that have left a library-fortress to found a new one.
Wondrous guardian automatons can wield almost any weapons, but prefer crossbows and axes. In combat, it can either attack with any weapons it is equipped with, or expel a cone of hot steam from its mouth in a 10- foot cone that does 1d6+2 points of damage, with a saving throw allowed for half damage. However, it takes 5 rounds after it breathes its steam attack before it can build enough pressure to use this attack again.
Every tenth automaton will be an Automaton Alpha (555 XP); these stand 9 feet tall and are decorated with silver embellishments. Alphas can breathe steam every 3 rounds for 2d6+2 points of damage, have 6 HD, save as a 6th-level Fighter, and are more heavily-armored (AC 0 [19]). Every group of 50 will be lead by an Automaton Primus (1,390 XP). These towering 12-foot tall automatons are decorated with gold, have 10 HD, save as a 10th-level Fighter, can breathe flame-infused steam for 3d6 points of damage every two rounds, and are even more heavily-protected, having AC -2 [21], and are capable of creating new wondrous guardian automatons. They will often be found in a workshop with several incomplete automatons.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.