Finishing Off the Mimics

[Cleon]

Juggernaut (Variant Stone Golem, Monstrous Manual)

Juggernaut
Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Nil
Intelligence: Non- (0)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 2
Movement: 3-12
Hit Dice: 10-13
THAC0: 10 HD: 11, 11-12 HD: 9, 13 HD: 7
No. of Attacks: Up to 6
Damage/Attack: 2-12
Special Attacks: Crushing
Special Defenses: Immune to fire
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: L to H (8' to 20')
Morale: Elite to champion (13-16)
XP Value: 10 HD: 3,000 + 1,000 per additional Hit Die

These variant golems are close relatives of the dreadful stone golems. They are generally created by powerful wizards and employed as guards or servants in a wide variety of settings.

Juggernaut
The juggernaut generally appears as a huge, powerful stone vehicle of some sort, with wheels or rollers for locomotion.

A juggernaut is clumsy and slow moving, but it makes up for these handicaps by rolling right over opponents in a deadly crushing attack. A juggernaut has a movement rate of 3 in its first round of animation. This increases by 3 each round to a maximum of 12. A juggernaut is slow to turn, and can change direction only 90 degrees for every 30 feet of movement.

Anyone caught in the path of a juggernaut charge is run over by the thundering behemoth, though the juggernaut must make a normal attack roll if the victim can avoid the charge. A hit indicates that the victim is crushed, suffering 10d10 points of damage. In addition, every item carried by the victim must roll a saving throw vs. crushing blow to avoid destruction. A successful saving throw vs. death magic entitles the victim to only half damage, but it does not protect his equipment.

Some juggernauts are a unique crossbreed of stone golem and mimic. Once animated, these juggernauts can alter their shape as the mimics do. They can grow up to six limbs, each designed for current needs. For example, if it wishes to sound a warning, a limb may grow into a trumpet or horn. In combat, its limbs become maces or hammers that inflict 2d6 points of damage each, due to its great strength. A juggernaut can rarely bring more than two limbs to bear on a single opponent.

 

[Shade]

I've used juggernauts to great effect in my campaigns.

Here's the MM2 version...

Juggernaut
Huge Construct
Hit Dice: 18d10+40 (139 hp)
Initiative: -4
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares)
Armor Class: 29 (-2 size, -4 Dex, +25 natural), touch 4, flat-footed 29
Base Attack/Grapple: +13/31
Attack: Slam +21 melee (2d6+10)
Full Attack: 6 slams +21 melee (2d6+10)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, spell-like abilities, squash 10d10+20
Special Qualities: All-around vision, construct traits, damage reduction 10/adamantine, fast healing 10, immunity to acid, electricity, and fire, spell resistance 36
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +8
Abilities: Str 31, Dex 3, Con --, Int --, Wis 15, Cha 16
Skills: --
Feats: --
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement Range: 19-32 HD (Huge); 33-54 HD (Gargantuan)

Improved Grab (Ex): If a juggernaut hits an opponent that is at least one size category smaller than itself with a slam attack, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity (grapple bonus +31). If it gets a hold, it can attempt to thrust the opponent under its rollers in the next round, dealing automatic squash damage. Alternatively, the juggernaut has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its hand to hold the opponent (-20 penalty on grapple check, but the juggernaut is not considered grappled). In either case, each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals slam damage.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will--forcecage, grease, hold monster, magic missile, slow, wall of force, web. Caster level 18th, save DC 13 + spell level.

Squash (Ex): As a full-round action, a juggernaut can move up to twice its speed and literally run over any opponents at least one size category smaller than itself. The creature merely has to move over the opponents in its path; any creature whose space is completely covered by the squashing creature's space is subject to the squashattack.

If a target's space is larger than 5 feet, it is only considered squashed if the juggernaut moves over all the squares it occupies. If the juggernaut moves over only some of a target's space, the target can make an attack of opportunity against the juggernaut at a -4 penalty. A juggernaut that accidentally ends its movement in an illegal space returns to the last legal position it occupied, or the closest legal position, if there's a legal position that's closer.

A squash attack deals 10d10+20 points of bludgeoning damage. A squashed opponent can attempt either an attack of opportunity at a -4 penalty or a Reflex save (DC 29) for half damage. A successful saving throw indicates that the target has been pushed back or aside (target's choice) as the juggernaut moves forward.

 

[Cleon]

Thanks Shade, I've since dug out the relevant info, but you've saved me having to post it.

For the benefit of those who don't have Monster Manual II, the stats Shade posted are not the ones actually published in that book, which was D&D 3.0, but have been updated for 3.5.

The Official Monster Manual II Update for 3.5 that wizard published on their website also changed its Squash special attack to a standard trample attack (10d10+20 damage and DC29), and added some text to its Construction, which would become:

CONSTRUCTION
Since a juggernaut is constructed from massive blocks of granite and other dense stone, a typical specimen weighs at least 50,000 pounds. It costs 70,000 gp to create, including 5,000 gp for the body. Assembling the body requires a successful Craft (sculpting) or Profession (mason) check (DC 18).

Caster Level: 18th; Prerequisites: Craft Construct, bull's strength, geas/quest, limited wish, polymorph any object, forcecage, grease, hold monster, magic missile, slow, wall of force, and web; Market Price: 140,000 gp; Cost to Create: 75,000 gp + 5,400 XP.

So, we've got two initial questions.

Firstly, are we adapting the MM2 version to a Mimic version or should we design the thing from scratch? As far as I can see, modifying the official Juggernaut is the best (or at least the easiest) way to go.

Secondly, what type shall we make the Mimic Juggernaut - Aberration like a Mimic or Construct like a Juggernaut? I currently favour a Living Construct.

 

[Shade]

I'd prefer aberration, for I don't feel a living construct is enough of a departure to warrant a separate creature.

 

[Cleon]

I'd prefer aberration, for I don't feel a living construct is enough of a departure to warrant a separate creature.

That's OK by me, I'm not that dedicated to Construct.

How about we give it the same physical stats as the Greater Mimic we just did (since that already has Str 31) and the 10 Intelligence of a Common Mimic?

I'll start a working draft with that and the MM2 version of the Juggernaut (with a NA tweak to keep the armour class the same) and see where we go from there.

 

[Cleon]

Juggernaut Mimic Working Draft

Mimic, Juggernaut
Huge Aberration
Hit Dice: 18d8+108 (189 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 29 (-2 size, +21 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 29
Base Attack/Grapple: +13/+31
Attack: Slam +22 melee (2d6+10/19-20)
Full Attack: 6 slams +22 melee (2d6+10/19-20)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Adhesive, crush, trample 10d10+20
Special Qualities: All-around vision, damage reduction 10/magic and bludgeoning, fast healing 15, immunity to acid, mimic shape, spell resistance 36
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +13
Abilities: Str 31, Dex 10, Con 23, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 14
Skills: Disguise +24, Listen +16, Spot +16
Feats: Fleet of Foot (B), Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Run, Stand Still, Weapon Focus (slam)
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 19-32 HD (Huge); 33-54 HD (Gargantuan)

A house-sized block of stone thunders forward on solid granite rollers, a half dozen boneless limbs writhing from its sides.

Juggernaut mimics are bizarre carnivores of uncertain provenance, although they are clearly related to mimics. Most sages believe they are a relative of the greater mimic that has developed rollers to become more mobile, or possibly a "final stage" in the life cycle of the house hunter mimic. Another explanation, given little account by scholars, is that they are half-golem, half-mimic creatures created by wizards, who combine a huge living mimic with parts of a stone juggernaut into an unnatural hybrid. Regardless of their origins, juggernaut mimics are living creatures, not constructs. The secret of their origin and reproduction are unknown, no juggernaut mimic young have ever been recorded.

These monsters prefer living in firm, flat terrain, since they risk being bogged down by soft ground or tipped over by slopes. They can go for years without eating so long as they remain inactive, so can survive in wastelands with little prey.

Juggernaut mimics sometimes serve other creatures in return for treasure and abundant food. They are most commonly employed by armies as living engines of destruction, but can also be used to carry or drag massive loads. A few tyrants have used them as weapons of terror to (literally) crush rebellious villages and perform gory mass executions. The most curious example is a juggernaut mimic who worked as a trumpet musician and a foghorn.

A typical juggernaut mimic can change its shape to occupy a volume between 1,000 and 2,000 cubic feet (e.g. a 10 ft. cube or a block 14 ft. by 12 ft. by 12 ft.), it weighs about 50,000 pounds regardless of its shape.

Juggernaut mimics can speak Common and can form their pseudopods into trumpets that produce roars, whistles and musical notes. These trumpets can be heard over great distances.

Combat
juggernaut mimics pretend to be a nondescript piece of scenery, such as a stone hut or huge boulder, then wait for victims to wander nearby. They then rise up on their rollers and tries to trample them. If its opponents prove too maneuverable to easily trample, the juggernaut tries to grab them with its pseudopods and then stick them to its crushing rollers using its natural adhesive.

Adhesive (Ex): A juggernaut mimic exudes a thick slime that acts as a powerful adhesive, holding fast any creatures or items that touch it. An adhesive-covered mimic automatically grapples any creature it hits with its slam attack. Opponents so grappled cannot get free while the mimic is alive without removing the adhesive first.

A juggernaut mimic can attempt to transfer a grappled opponent from its slam attack to its trample attack. The opponent must succeed at a DC 29 Fortitude check or become stuck to the juggernaut mimic's rollers instead of a pseudopod. See the juggernaut mimic's trample attack for more details.

A weapon that strikes an adhesive-coated juggernaut mimic is stuck fast unless the wielder succeeds on a DC 25 Reflex save. A successful DC 25 Strength check is needed to pry it off. These DCs are Constitution-based.

Strong alcohol dissolves the adhesive, but the juggernaut mimic still can grapple normally. A mimic can dissolve its adhesive at will, and the substance breaks down 5 rounds after the creature dies.

Crush (Ex): A juggernaut mimic can deal 2d6+10 points of damage with a successful grapple check against any opponent it is grappling with a slam attack.

Mimic Shape (Ex): A Huge-sized juggernaut mimic can assume the shape of any solid object that fills roughly 1000 cubic feet (10 feet by 10 feet by 10 feet), such as a massive statue, a buttress, or a small gatehouse. The creature can double its volume by opening chambers within its body, which it uses to store prey, cargo or allies. While a juggernaut mimic can form pseudopod appendages fast enough to use in combat, it takes a full minute to change the shape of its body. It can conceal its rollers simply by lowering its body over them. A juggernaut mimic's body is hard and has a rough texture, no matter what appearance it might present. Anyone who examines the juggernaut mimic can detect the ruse with a successful Spot check opposed by the mimic's Disguise check. Of course, by this time it is generally far too late.

Trample (Ex): A juggernaut mimic can trample creatures of up to Large size for 10d10+20 damage. Opponents may make an attack of opportunity or attempt to leap out of the way (DC 29 Reflex save for half damage). If they do not successfully leap out of the way, they must also succeed at a DC 29 Fortitude save or become stuck to the juggernaut's rollers by its adhesive special attack (see above).

Opponents that are stuck to a juggernaut mimic's rollers automatically take trampling damage on any round the juggernaut takes a move action. The juggernaut does not need to make a full-round trample attack to trample opponents stuck to its rollers.

Skills
A juggernaut mimic has a +8 racial bonus on Disguise checks.

 

[Shade]

I'd recommend dropping the spell-like abilities to differentiate further. I picture these things as mimicing a true juggernaut, not nearly cloning them.

 

[Cleon]

I'd recommend dropping the spell-like abilities to differentiate further. I picture these things as mimicing a true juggernaut, not nearly cloning them.

I was going to propose dropping the SLAs too. The AD&D version of the Juggernaut (standard or Mimic) lacked them.

That would mean it doesn't have any ranged attacks at all, so I was thinking we could give it six ballista (Huge crossbows) to return fire if adventurers play "keep-away".

Shall we give them Adhesive instead of Improved Grab?

Oh, another thing I though of - it could use Adhesive to stick victims to its rollers.

Squelch! Squelch!! Squelch!!!

 

[Shade]

I love the adhesive idea (because I'm a rat bastard).

I'd rather them lack ranged attacks, like the majority of mimics. How's it going to mimic a ballista bolt?

I think adding adhesive to its formidable melee attacks should suffice.

Squelch indeed!

 

[Cleon]

I love the adhesive idea (because I'm a rat bastard).

I'd rather them lack ranged attacks, like the majority of mimics. How's it going to mimic a ballista bolt?

Well I was thinking more it just carries around six regular Ballistae (with bolts) that it shoots with its pseudopods.

If it mimics the ballista I guess it could just grow its own bolts - with fast healing it presumable can replace missing flesh pretty quickly.

I think adding adhesive to its formidable melee attacks should suffice.

Squelch indeed!

Well that we can agree on.

How about this:

Adhesive (Ex): A juggernaut mimic exudes a thick slime that acts as a powerful adhesive, holding fast any creatures or items that touch it. An adhesive-covered mimic automatically grapples any creature it hits with its slam attack. Opponents so grappled cannot get free while the mimic is alive without removing the adhesive first.

A juggernaut mimic can attempt to transfer a grappled opponent from its slam attack to its trample attack. The opponent must succeed at a DC 29 Fortitude check or become stuck to the juggernaut mimic's rollers instead of a pseudopod. See the juggernaut mimic's trample attack for more details.

A weapon that strikes an adhesive-coated juggernaut mimic is stuck fast unless the wielder succeeds on a DC 25 Reflex save. A successful DC 25 Strength check is needed to pry it off. These DCs are Constitution-based.

Strong alcohol dissolves the adhesive, but the juggernaut mimic still can grapple normally. A mimic can dissolve its adhesive at will, and the substance breaks down 5 rounds after the creature dies.

Crush (Ex): A juggernaut mimic can deal 2d6+10 points of damage with a successful grapple check against any opponent it is grappling with a slam attack.

Trample (Ex): A juggernaut mimic can trample creatures of up to Large size for 10d10+20 damage. Opponents may make an attack of opportunity or attempt to leap out of the way (DC 29 Reflex save for half damage). If they do not successfully leap out of the way, they must also succeed at a DC 29 Fortitude save or become stuck to the juggernaut's rollers by its adhesive special attack (see above).

Opponents that are stuck to a juggernaut mimic's rollers automatically take trampling damage on any round the juggernaut takes a move action. The juggernaut does not need to make a full-round trample attack to trample opponents stuck to its rollers.