Clockwork Beetle

Family: Clockwork

Tiny construct, unaligned

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 20 (8d4)
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
8 (-1) 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 4 (-3) 12 (+1) 7 (-2)

Saving Throws Dex +5
Skills Stealth +5
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages understands the languages of its creator but can’t speak
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Construct Nature. The clockwork beetle doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
  • Immutable Form. The clockwork beetle is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
  • Limited Telepathy. The clockwork beetle can magically transmit simple messages and images to its owner, provided the owner is within 100 feet of it.
  • Magic Resistance. The clockwork beetle has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

ABOUT

Gleaming metal and whirring gears make up the form of this elaborate mechanical insect the size of a housecat.

Bejeweled Familiars. Forged by talented jewelers and sold to gear-mages and aristocrats, clockwork beetles are highly prized as familiars.

Although normally created in the form of metal beetles, their appearance can vary greatly. Some resemble incandescent ladybugs while others have razor-sharp horns reminiscent of deadly stag beetles.

Some are fashioned as darkling beetles with prehensile antennae, and even weevil-like designs have been spotted. In the southern deserts, scarab beetle patterns are particularly prized.

Hidden Timers. The most talented gear-mages occasionally design a clockwork beetle with a hidden countdown clock that silently ticks down over years or even decades. When the counter expires, it triggers a mechanical metamorphosis, causing the beetle to rapidly transform into a completely different clockwork creature—a wondrous surprise known only to the original designer.

Freed But Foolish. Clockwork beetle swarms form when several of the creatures break free of their creators and bond together in a noisy mass of clattering, mechanical parts. Severed from the bonds of their creators, the swarm lacks the telepathy of singular clockwork beetles and has a reduced mental capacity.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Beasts 1 ©2023 Open Design LLC; Authors: Daniel Kahn, Jeff Lee, and Mike Welham.

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