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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 9435889" data-attributes="member: 6915329">And now the last of the guardians for this article. This time it’s the rope guardian. You really can make a golem or guardian out of anything, can’t you? Rope guardians are surprisingly powerful for being made out of glorified string.Like the previous mud guardian, this one can be altered a tiny bit to create a whole new type of creature. This time, I turned it into a proper variant, since it needs more than just a change of typing: it's the hangman, an undead created out of a person who was hanged to death.[ATTACH=full]376684[/ATTACH]Rope GuardianThe Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #302Creature by Eric Cagle; art by Marc SassoMade entirely out of twisted and braided coils of rope, these guardians normally have a form that looks vaguely humanoid, although they sometimes create a “tail” to move on rather than “legs.” Inside the loops of rope that form their heads, a pair of uneven balls of white energy float, serving as eyes. Rope guardians are often used as assassins, for they have the ability to unravel and re-bundle themselves so they look like coils of completely normal and unremarkable rope.Rope Guardian EncountersChallenge Rating 5-10 Rope guardianTreasure: Use the treasure under Guardian Encounters in Monstrous Menagerie.Challenge Rating 11-16 Hangman and zombie knightRope GuardianSize type; Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)AC 14 (natural armor)HP 147 (14d10+70; bloodied 73)Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.STR 22 (+6) DEX 14 (+2) CON 20 (+5)INT 5 (-3) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 2 (-4)Proficiency +4; Maneuver DC 18Damage Vulnerabilities fireDamage Resistances magical bludgeoning and piercing damageDamage Immunities poison, psychic; damage from nonmagical, non-adamantine weaponsCondition Immunities charmed, fatigue, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisonedSenses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10Languages understands the languages of its creator but can’t speakImmutable Form. The guardian is immune to any effect that would alter its form.Magic Resistance. The guardian has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.Rope Form. While the guardian is motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal rope.Unravel. As an action, the guardian can become a heap of tangled ropes that fills a 10-foot square. While in this form, it can’t move or take any actions or bonus actions, other than to spend 1 round to return to its normal form. If it remains in tangled rope form for 10 minutes, it regains all lost hit points.ActionsMultiattack. The guardian attacks twice with its slam.Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10+6) bludgeoning damage.Strangle. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one Medium or smaller creature. Hit: 22 (3d10+6) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 18. Until this grapple ends, the guardian automatically hits the target with its strangle attack, can only make one slam attack, and the target can’t breathe.Bonus ActionsRope Whirlwind (1/Day; When Bloodied). The guardian extends a number of ropes and spins rapidly making a Slam attack against each creature within 10 feet of it.Variant: HangmanIn many cultures, condemned criminals are executed by hanging, and angry lynch mobs have hanged many people. Sometimes, the hanged person’s spirit remains trapped in the rope, animating it as a hangman in order to get revenge on those who are responsible for their death.In some cases, the hangman’s original corpse animates as a zombie knight and the two work in concert to achieve their revenge. If the original creature had a CR higher than 3, use the zombie template on the original creature instead of the zombie knight. This zombie’s Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores are equal to the hangman’s.The hangman is undead, has a fly speed of 20 ft., has Intelligence 8 (-1) and Charisma 14 (+2), and has the following new traits:Unquiet Spirit. If reduced to 0 hit points, the hangman returns after one month. It can be put to rest permanently only by burning the rope into ash and casting remove curse on it or by resolving the unfinished business that keeps it from journeying to the afterlife.Turn Resistance. The hangman has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.</blockquote>

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