9274
| Climate/Terrain: | Any/Outdoors |
|---|---|
| Frequency: | Rare |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle: | Any |
| Diet: | None |
| Intelligence: | Non- (0) |
| Treasure: | Nil |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| No. Appearing: | 1 |
| Armor Class: | 2 |
| Movement: | 12 |
| Hit Dice: | 22 (100 hp) |
| THAC0: | 5 |
| No. of Attacks: | 1 |
| Damage/Attack: | 3-30 |
| Special Attacks: | Fear |
| Special Defenses: | See below |
| Magic Resistance: | See below |
| Size: | H (18’ diameter sphere) |
| Morale: | Fearless (19-20) |
| XP Value: | 18,000 |
Long before the coming of the lizard folk, a race of giants walked the Realms. They were destroyed by a great plague, but during their days of glory they built many magical marvels, among which were magical warriors that fought their battles for them. These warriors would defend their monuments, of which they were extremely proud, so that no creature who came after them could destroy the memory of their race.
Of the magical warriors, the only ones that survive are the Statues-That-Walk, also known as stone colossi. Each colossus is really an extremely powerful stone golem.
Combat: The colossus is similar to a stone golem, except that it is larger and cannot cast a slow spell. A colossus is programmed only to attack with its fists; it never uses a weapon. It has a Strength of 23 for the purposes of breaking or throwing things. A + 2 or better weapon is needed to harm a colossus. A rock to mud spell slows them for 2d6 rounds. Its reverse, mud to rock, heals all damage inflicted upon the colossus. A flesh to stone spell does not harm a colossus, but it render the colossus vulnerable to normal attacks in the following round. All other magic has no effect against it.
The stone colossus has one special attack form. Its march is so terrifying that all creatures of less than 3 Hit Dice immediately flee for 2d6 rounds, dropping whatever they have in their hands, while those between 3 Hit Dice and 5 Hit Dice must roll successful saving throws vs. wand to resist this fear. Any creature above 5 Hit Dice (or levels) is automatically immune.
Habitat/Society: A colossus is an automaton, artificially created and under the direct control of whomever is able to manipulate the runes of its creation. Once it is activated, a colossus tries to destroy any edifices it discovers that were not constructed by its creators; this is part of its programming. Its programming may be altered, but none have discovered the ritual as yet. To stop it when it is on a rampage requires a ritual that takes days to perform and glyphs to be drawn on every single colossus, active or inactive.
Ecology: Colossi are not natural creatures. Thus they play no part in the ecology of the world. They neither eat, sleep, nor really live. They perform their assigned tasks until they are destroyed, deactivated, or the tasks are completed.
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