Details below the cut
Floating, immobile obelisks of stone, each astraphin monolith stands a bit taller than a human and has a single crystalline eye. Infamously, this eye emits beams of deadly force that cause some explorers to suspect that something supernatural, willful, and diabolical is at work. However, the stones are neither living nor sentient, but rather extensions of a hidden intelligence.
Ages past, someone or something altered the sun to save the Earth from its increasing radiance. The process introduced an unknown energy that changed some of the plantlife that fed on sunlight. Over time, these alterations gave way to real intelligence, like that of the innocuous-appearing astraphin, a leafy, flowering—and occasionally carnivorous—plant found in mountainous regions.
The astraphin can bond to stone it reaches through its roots and vines, making subtle changes in the stone’s molecular structure. In this way, the plant can form a monolith over vast amounts of time. A fully formed monolith springs from the ground to float 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.6 m) in the air. The plant controls the crystalline eye’s destructive beams, striking prey and feeding on the bodies through its extensive root system.
Motive: Hungers for flesh
Environment: Rocky, mountainous regions
Health: 30
Damage Inflicted: 6 points
Armor: 4
Movement: None
Combat: A fight with an astraphin monolith is strange because it does not move.
Simply fleeing out of its range is an obvious and viable tactic. Some choose to stay, however, to get at the crystal eye (see below).
The only action a monolith can take is to fire a beam of energy at foes within a
range of 200 feet (61 m), but it can vary the type of beam based on the situation:
- A blast of raw force that inflicts 6 points of damage on one target
- A ray of psychic energy that inflicts 4 points of Intellect damage on one target (and ignores Armor)
- A beam of nerve-targeting energy that paralyzes one target if she fails a Might defense roll. Each round, the paralyzed victim can attempt another Might defense roll to shrug off the effect.
- A burst of heat that inflicts 3 points of damage on all creatures within immediate range (rather than its normal range)
Of course, destroying the monolith is not death for the plant—only a setback. Destroying the astraphin is difficult, for its leafy vines and roots can stretch for hundreds of feet around the
monolith.
Interaction: Meaningful interaction with the monolith or the controlling plant is impossible.
Use: A monolith can be a surprising encounter in the wilderness, but it is also hunted by those desiring its eye, which a skilled tinkerer can use as the energy source for a very large and powerful machine.
Loot: The monolith’s crystalline eye is prized because it can be used as a power source for a depleted artifact. It can also serve as a weapon, firing a blast of force that inflicts 6 points of damage with a range of 200 feet (61 m). Depletion: 1–3 in 1d100.
This thing RULES! Look at it! It looks like a flesh monolith with a fuckin' crystal orb eye, but it's BETTER! It's covered in like leathery plant material! It's a plant-constructed monolith because it has the ability to manipulate the stone and form the crystal itself! It made it's own defense mechanism and if it breaks, whatever, as long as the roots are fine it can make another!
*BONUS
Random Oddity of the Whenever
Cosmetic Case - Small leather case of cosmetics that never seem to run out.
Projection Rod - Rod that projects the two-dimensional image of an unknown creature on any flat surface