MONSTERS; Statue Spy

author: Marcin Turkot (Martinez)
email: marturk@o2.pl
date: 2004-05-21
status: finished

Statue Spy, Putto (alabaster form)

Small Construct

Advanced Statue Spy, Maiden (marble form)

Medium Construct

Advanced Statue Spy, Warrior (bronze form)

Large Construct

This marble statue looks like regular piece of art, placed here for esthetical reasons. But wait! It turned it's face in your direction and fixed its eyes upon you.

Actually, first statue spies were created as sentries and guides to watch the gardens and museums. But in the course of years it has turned out that they can be much more useful, especially for the rulers and military. Since then they have been used mainly as spies and killers, but many patricians still use them as the guardians of mansions and gardens.

At first sight statue spy can be mistaken (and, in fact, mostly is) for typical stone or metal figure of humanoid - blind, deaf, non-sentient. But actually these constructs can see and hear everything what's going around them and are absolutely aware of the surroundings.

Newly crafted statue spies come in three sizes: small (called putto), medium-size and large. All these shapes are androgynous and lack hair. They are naked (with no visible sexual organs) and have pleasant but unremarkable  appearance. They are made of alabaster, bronze and pieces of marble mixed together. They have limited ability to move these compounds within their bodies.

Brains made of precious crystals give the statue spies the ability of limited thinking and grant them perfect, inerasable memory. These crystals are the secret which is said to have been stolen from Slarecians. They are carefully grown in ponds filled with alchemical compounds. The growing process of the brain of small statue spy takes three months (medium-six months; large-nine months).

The main task of the statue spy is to mimic other, "normal" sculptures within its surroundings. A wide range of chameleonic abilities allows it to do that perfectly. It can easily change its appearance along with the exterior material layer (the amount of alabaster, marble or bronze in it). The ability of changing any item (pieces of clothing, armor, weapons and other props) into this dominating material (i.e. alabaster, marble or bronze) is also useful.

Everything what is said in presence of statue spy is remembered and can be later retold by statue spy without any errors. The master can pick the time of day when the "recording" was made or may listen to every dialogue which the statue heard during the day, week, month and so on. Once remembered dialogue stays in statue's memory forever. The oldest statues can retell the dialogues from decades ago. Often the statue is the only living witness of crime or betrayal. The problem is that it can never retell the dialogue at it's own will - it must be ordered by master.

Statue spies seem to be something between gargoyles and stone golems or marble sentinels. Technically they are constructs, but move more swiftly and gracefully than golems do. These constructs have limited consciousness - they can follow strict orders of their masters and act as servants performing the most simple task like answering the door or carrying messages.

Combat

The statue spy rarely enters the combat, but when it does so (either by its master's order or to defend itself), it is likely to attack from ambush, swiftly changing worn and carried, altered items into normally functioning ones. When it has time, it changes the external material layer into the hardest one - bronze.

Armor and Weapon Proficiency (Ex): Statue spy is proficient with any weapon and armor it is carrying and wearing.

Change Looks (Su): Statue spy can make slight changes in its facial features as well as in body built - it can change its general looks in a way resembling disguise self spell, but the effect is not illusion - it is reshaping itself for real. Change looks takes 1 standard action to perform and lasts until next use of this ability. Statue spy cannot use this ability to create clothing or items, but is allowed to create hair, wings, horns and claws (although it cannot use them for flying or as weapons) and change sex.

Etomorphing (Su): Statue spy can change the external layers of its body to better blend with its surroundings, matching the material of the nearby statues. Apart from mimicry, the choose of material affects the hardness of the statue spy.

There are following possibilities: alabaster - basic (5 natural armor, damage reduction 5/blugeoning), marble (+20 temporary HP, 10 natural armor, damage reduction 10/blugeoning), and bronze (+40 temporary HP, 15 natural armor, damage reduction 10/adamantine). All the modifiers replace the basic ones. The ectomorphing ability takes 1 minute to perform.

Hampered Movement (Ex): Since statue spy is extremely heavy (even in comparison with stone golems), every surface different from metal or stone slows the movement of the creature. Statue spy treat every terrain different from solid stone or metal as difficult terrain for purposes of moving, charging etc.

Immunity to Magic (Ex): A statue spy is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.

Transmute metal to wood cancels ectomorphing into bronze form (cancels all the bonuses) and prevents statue spy from further ectomorphing into bronze form. This effect lasts until statue spy is able to absorb 10 cubic inches of bronze.

Transmute rock to mud slows the creature (as the slow spell) until it is able to absorb 20 cubic inches of alabaster or marble.

Spike stones causes spikes to appear on the body of the statue spy which function like armor spikes of the corresponding size (statue spell is proficient with this weapon).

Stone to flesh reverts statue spy to its original, smooth, androgynous form.

Stone tell allows caster to retrieve information from the statue spy as he was its master.

Material Absorption (Su): The statue spy can incorporate specific materials into its body to heal itself. The materials (alabaster, marble, or bronze) can be obtained from other figures (not being constructs) or from edifices. Statue spy has to touch the surface of an object. Materials cannot be extracted from earth and the like with use of this ability. The process of material absorption takes 1 round per one cubic inch. Every cubic inch of absorbed material heals 5 HP to the statue spy. The material absorption leaves the structure of touched object eroded.

Memory Storage (Ex): Statue spy remembers literally everything what has been said in its presence and everything what it has seen. It can report it to its master when ordered to. It cannot tell anything deliberately. It cannot also forget anything, even at order from master. The description of the scene seen are very precise (all the dimensions are given perfectly), but the descriptions of persons are not very specific - statue can only tell the species, gender, color of clothing of the creature seen. Everything is told in slow, emotionless speech. The master can choose the time of day from which he wants to hear the record.

Sneak Attack (Ex): Statue spy can perform sneak attacks as rouge (treat Hit Dice like level for estimating number of dice).

Stillness (Su): Statue spy can freeze in any pose at will. When in this state, a statue spy is indistinguishable from any other typical garden or indoor statue. The person who has seen the place where statue is standing when there wasn't one, is allowed to make Spot check (DC 30) to notice the appearing of the statue. Even then the person needs to make Knowledge (Arcana) DC 20 to notice that the statue is not sculpture but a construct.

Stillness ability also changes any non-magical item which the statue is touching (including clothing and armor) into an item made of corresponding material (alabaster, marble or bronze). The biggest item altered can be of size one category larger than the statue spy (i.e. medium-sized statue spy can change large and smaller items). This effect lasts until statue spy moves. Statue spy cannot petrify any creatures with its touch. The statue spy can use and wield magic items but cannot change them into metal or mineral when standing still.

Skills: The statue spy has a +13 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks.

Spells (Sp): True seeing 3/day.

Construction

To make statue spy, its creator needs to collect alabaster, marble, bronze, and grow crystals for producing the brain. All these ingredients have to be meld together and shaped into desired form afterwards. Length of time for growing the brains depends on the size of the construct (small-3 months, medium-6 months, large-9 months). The maker must make a DC 19 Craft (Sculpting) check.

The prices, as well as XP cost, of statue spies bigger than the basic small ones are determined in the same way as the prices of golems are (see MM).

CL 13, Craft Construct (see MM, Chapter 6), alter self, animate objects, major creation, statue, stone shape, true seeing, geas/quest, creator must be 13th level;

Small statue spy: Price 60 000 gp; Cost 30 000 gp + 1600 XP.

Medium statue spy: Price 130 000 gp; Cost 65 000 gp + 2600 XP.

Large statue spy: Price 195 000 gp; Cost 100 000 gp + 3800 XP.