4e_Monster_Manual_2 - Free

DWEOMER EATERSOME RUST MONSTERS DEVELOP A TASTE FOR MAGIC andeat items infused with arcane energy in order to growlarger and stronger.Dweomer EaterLarge natural beastInitiative +13HP 110; Bloodied 55AC 25; Fortitude 20, Reflex 25, Will 23Level 11 SkirmisherXP600Senses Perception +9; low-light visionSpeed 8© Bite (standard; at-will) j|l_fi+16 vs. AC; 2d6 + 6 damage, and if the target is wearing magicarmor, the armor is decaying until the end of the encounter.While the armor is decaying, the armor's enhancement bonustakes a cumulative -1 penalty, to the maximum of the armor'senhancement bonus.4 Dissolve Item (standard; recharge (Ii)) • ReliableTargets a creature wearing or wielding a decaying magic item of15th level or lower; +14 vs. Reflex; the decaying magic item isdestroyed.Magic Consumption (when the dweomer eater is hit by an attackthat uses a magic implement or weapon; at-will)The implement or weapon used in the triggering attack isdecaying until the end of the encounter. While the implementor weapon is decaying, the target takes a cumulative -1 penaltyto that implement's or weapon's enhancement bonus, to amaximum penalty equal to the item's enhancement bonus.Residuum RecoveryA dweomer eater consumes any item it destroys. The residuumfrom any magic items the dweomer eater has destroyed can beretrieved from its stomach. The residuum is worth the marketvalue of the item (not one-fifth the value).Alignment Unaligned Languages -Str 12 (+6) Dex 2 3 (+11) Wis 18 (+9)Con14(+7) Int2(+1) Cha 13 (+6)Nature DC 14: Rust monsters devour metals tosurvive. Most spend their lives leaching mineralsfrom stone, but purer manufactured metals drawNature DC 19: A rust monster that feeds on resid­RUST MONSTER LOREthem like blood draws sharks.uum retains it within its body. The residuumamount of residuum,for more magic.ENCOUNTER GROUPSthe odds against well-armed enemies.Level 6 Encounter (XP 1,250)MM 179)troller, MM 179)• 2 rust monsters (level 6 skirmisher)Level 8 Encounter (XP 1,750)>Since their food is scarce, rust monsters typicallyhave only one or two young per brood. In places wherefood is plentiful, such as near a lode of metal ore, a pairof rust monsters can have dozens of offspring.can beretrieved after its death. Those that have eaten a largecalled dweomer eaters, eventuallyabsorb it, growing in size and becoming hungryRust monsters are creatures of opportunity, so theirallies often avoid using metal tools or weapons.Lizardfolk sometimes use rust monsters to help even• 2 blackscale bruiser lizardfolk (level 6 brute,• 1 greenscale marsh mystic lizardfolk (level 6 con­• 1 dweomer eater (level 11 skirmisher)• 1 spriggan witherer (level 8 artillery)• 2 young rust monster swarms (level 9 soldier)D^A GUIDE TO USING RUSTMONSTERSFor a PC, the threat of losing gear can be greater than thethreat of being reduced to 0 hp. Because of this fact, rustmonsters can be more terrifying for players to face thana rampaging red dragon. A character who loses his or herarmor becomes extremely vulnerable, and a characterwho has lost a magic weapon won't be as effective inlater encounters. When a rust monster consumes a PC'sweapon, it effectively gives that PC a significant penaltyon attack and damage rolls until he or she can find asuitable replacement weapon. A PC who loses armor toa rust monster suffers an even more dramatic reduction inAC unless replacement armor can be found.The possibility of recovering residuum from a rustmonster or a dweomer eater alleviates this disadvantageto some degree, but the PCs will still need to find timeto rest and use the Create Magic Item ritual, and theymight even need to "head back to town" to find a wayto replace the item. But you don't want an encounterwith a rust monster to be one that forces the PCs tostop adventuring. When you include a rust monster inan encounter, think about ways to allow the PCs to carryon, with perhaps less optimal gear. For example, thePCs might have had a previous encounter that providedarmor or weapons that they wouldn't normally use, orthe PCs might be able to fashion clubs or other simpleweapons out of nearby materials.Eventually, though, the PCs should have an opportunityto regain their lost equipment by using the residuumfound in the monster. Although a PC might lose an item,it is intended that the loss be only temporary, which iswhy the residuum recovered from a rust monster is equalto the full value of the destroyed item. How the PCs dealwith the loss is what makes the rust monster fun. Be waryof PCs who try to abuse a rust monster's powers to theiradvantage by using rust monsters to consume items thePCs would otherwise sell for one-fifth value. In such cases,you should reduce the resulting residuum to one-fifth value,effectively making the rust monster a free DisenchantMagic Item ritual.