Clockwork Scarab

Description:

Clockwork scarabs are wind-up or engine-powered machines that act as the low level repair and maintenance systems for Forsaken Ruins. About the size of an ordinary pond turtle, clockwork scarabs plug themselves into small docks that are found almost everywhere in gnomic ruins. These docks see their machinery wound-up, and seem to activate them when there is damage, maintenance or a disturbance to be attended to.

Clockwork scarabs will not typically attack intruders on sight, but anything or anyone perceived as a general threat may cause them to be dispatched as a defence. Given that virtually every room and corridor in a typical gnomic ruin will have at least one scarab dock, troublesome adventurers might find themselves being overrun by dozens of clockwork scarabs if they are not careful.

Special:

Essentially machines, clockwork scarabs are immune to most magical effects including any spells or skills that affect the mind or the emotions, or any magic that drains or buffs Stats, Attributes or Derivatives. They take half damage from Shock or Frost, and are immune to Fire as well as poison, disease or any other physiological effects.

An attack with the acid of an Iron Ant, or the Decay spell (if not resisted using Stability) will always disable a clockwork scarab, turning it into a pile of rust in one shot. Depending on whether the Director defines the creature as magical or purely mechanical, it may or may not be possible to disable it using the Dispel spell.

Clockwork scarabs can enter other clockwork automata through special hatches, in order to repair them from the inside. For every clockwork scarab operating inside a clockwork automaton, the automaton with recover 1 point of Health each hour. Sixty clockwork scarabs would therefore restore 1 each minute and 720 of them would restore 1 Health per turn.