This week for Monsters for Free, it's the Steamwork Henchman, a simple autonomaton that is readily available.
Steamwork Henchman
This humanoid has brown clay instead of skin and flesh, with 2 large smokestacks extending from its back, one above each shoulder. A smell of coal surrounds it, while its unmoving features scan the area.
Steamwork Henchman CR 4
XP 1,200
N Medium construct
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +4
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 37 (5d10+20)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +3
DR 5/magic; Immune construct traits;
Weaknesses fire (see below)
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.,
Melee short sword +9 (1d6+4/x2)
Ranged shortbow +7 (1d6/x3)
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 14, Con —, Int —, Wis 15, Cha 7
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 21
Featsx3 Alertness, Armor Proficiency Light, Power Attack,
SQ unrelenting
ECOLOGY
Environment any urban
Organization any
Treasure arrows (20), leather armor, short yari, shortbow, otherwise none.
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Fire Weakness (Su)
A steamwork henchman that fails a saving throw against a spell and takes fire damage undergoes a temporary change. Its “flesh” goes from being soft clay to being hard-baked, and it loses its damage reduction for 1d6 rounds. In that same time period, however, its speed increases to 40 feet and it gains a +2 bonus to damage rolls, as its flesh toughens. After the 1d6 rounds, its “flesh” returns to normal.
Smog (Ex)
Once per day as a standard action, a steamwork henchman can stoke its internal fires, causing smokes to boil from the stacks on its back. This functions as a fog cloud spell cast as 5th level caster, but any breathing creature caught within 10 feet of the steamwork henchman must make a Fortitude save DC 15 or be sickened. This ability is Wisdom-based.
Unrelenting (Ex)
Once a steamwork henchman has injured an opponent, it unerringly seeks out that opponent, trying to destroy it before moving on to the next target. When attacking the opponent that it has injured, it gains a second attack (both in melee and ranged) against that opponent only. It ignores any other opponent to the exclusion of the injured opponent unless they try to prevent the henchman from reaching its target. This effect persists for 1 hour, or until the opponent is dead.
Originally created to serve as workers for the Steam Rail Authority, the Steamwork Henchmen (designated SH-O1 by the ClockWorkshop, the original designers) were for a time extremely popular among the wealthy as personal bodyguards. They quickly went out of style, however, due to their old-fashioned appearance.
An SH-O1 is a steamwork construct covered in a clay outer skin, giving it a superficial appearance similar to a normal human (or the race of the owner), but while it resembles a person at long range, up close, the clay-skin becomes evident, as it is unpainted and 2 large smokestacks extend from its back.
The SH-O1are incredibly strong, and quite perceptive and make for excellent guards with their bows and short swords, but they are also mindless and can only follow simple instructions, so they are often used as enforcers, especially in the seedy underworld, where many crime bosses picked up the nobles “leftovers” and put them to good use.
While the SH-O1 are usually seen armed with bow and short swords, and clad in leather armor, some owners have chosen to arm their constructs differently, with imitation samurai being especially popular.
Known Variants: Some SH-O1 have been disarmed and given to peasants to work in the fields of farms, where their unceasing toil makes them popular. These SH-O1 do not carry any weapons and instead only have a slam attack (causing 1d4+4 points of damage). To use this variant, reduce the SH-O1to CR 3 and apply the young simple template.
Construction
A steamwork henchman’s body must be sculpted from a single block of clay weighing at least 400 pounds, as well as an assortment of clockwork mechanics, worth a total of 1,000 gp, plus the cost of its weapons and armor. (these costs are included below).
CL 8th; Price 25,042 gp
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Cost 12,542 gp
Craft Construct, fog cloud, lesser geas/quest, resist energy, creator must be caster level 8th; Skill Craft (clockwork) or Craft (pottery) DC 16
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