Alchemical Laboratory Assistant

Tiny construct, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 14 (4d4+4)
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (-2)	15 (+2)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)	3 (-4)

Skills Stealth +4, Perception +4
Tools Alchemist’s Supplies +4
Damage Resistances Acid, fire
Damage Immunities poison
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages —
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Spider Climb. The construct can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

ACTIONS

• Injection. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 1 piercing damage, and the target must make any saving throw the injected substance requires.

ABOUT

This monster is a spider-like construct that has been designed to function as a helper to an Alchemist, support the various tasks they need to perform, and accomplish any number of chores on its own. A mechanical creature of this sort has a bronze body upon which is mounted a fluid-filled glass tank that has a single eye floating in it and is equipped with an articulated arm that has a syringe mounted on the end. It also has within its body four small vial-sized reservoirs that can be filled with potions or alchemical substances.

Earnest and Useful. If an alchemical laboratory assistant is helping someone using alchemical supplies then that person will make all related ability checks at advantage. If it is not supervised it can follow standing instructions to do things like monitor experiments, keep an area clean and organized, eliminate vermin, and even perform simple processes (e.g., distilling).

A construct of this sort is not aggressive and will only attack to defend itself or if it is directed to or someone violates orders it has been given (e.g., to prevent theft of materials from a lab). In melee it will attack with its syringe, injecting poison by default but possibly something loaded into one of its four reservoirs.

An alchemical laboratory assistant can also be instructed to inject beneficial potions into willing recipients. If it does so, its needle inflicts no damage, variable effects are maximized, and it can give partial doses that are divided up either by duration or the dice associated with them (e.g., one-sixth of a potion of gaseous form that lasts 10 minutes instead of an hour, half of a potion of greater healing that cures 10 (2d4+2) rather than 14 (4d4+4) hit points).

An alchemical laboratory assistant’s eye once belonged to the spellcaster that created it, who then established a link with it and controlled it using a magical crystalline eye that he placed in his own socket (this magical sphere is now in one of the sepulchers in the crypt near the Earth Door).

If someone places this eye in their own empty socket and attunes to it, they will be able to see through the Alchemical Laboratory Assistant’s eye and control the construct. If someone casts any divination spell on the eye, however, they will become temporarily attuned to it and enjoy its benefits for an hour per level of the spell used without needing to insert it into their socket.