Ruin Bruiser

Medium construct, unaligned

Armor Class 18 (natural armor, shield)
Hit Points 85 (10d8 + 40)
Speed 25 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	12 (+1)	18 (+4)	3 (-4)	14 (+2)	1 (-5)

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t adamantine
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages –
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +3

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Constructed Nature. The bruiser doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
• Siege Monster. The bruiser deals double damage to objects and structures.
• Weight of Ages. A creature that starts its turn within 20 feet of the bruiser has its speed halved until the end of its turn.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The bruiser uses Ruinous March. It then makes two attacks: one with its decaying fist and one with its shield.
• Decaying Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. Until the end of the bruiser’s next turn, the target gains vulnerability to necrotic damage unless it is immune to necrotic damage.
• Shield. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
• Ruinous March. The bruiser moves up to its speed. It can attempt to enter another creature’s space during this movement. When it does so, the creature must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a failure, the creature is pushed 5 feet away from the bruiser and takes 4 (1d8) bludgeoning damage. On a success, the creature is not pushed and the bruiser’s Ruinous March ends.

REACTIONS

• Shield Block. The bruiser adds 3 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the bruiser must see the attacker and be using a shield.

ABOUT

Ruin bruisers are stony agents of entropy-stout constructs made of heavy marble inlaid with bands of bronze, whose sole aims are to expedite the natural deterioration of architecture and items in ancient and abandoned castles, dungeons, and vaults. They are patient and methodical in this goal, as it can take a group of ruin bruisers months or years to erode and erase the last specks of a particular fortress or stronghold.

Ruin bruisers resemble suits of animated ceremonial full plate armor made of marble, inlaid with bronze. The ornate designs are caked with grime and worn with age. A dull red glow emanates from within the joints of the armor, and large, ovular eyes glow golden from beneath the full helm. They carry marble shields, banded with iron and bearing symbols of forgotten meaning.

Ruin bruisers typically appear in groups of up to a half dozen in old underground locations, such as remote dungeons and forgotten tombs. They use their decaying touch to crumble worked stone and wood, destroy traps and passages, and cause tools and weapons to rust away. Any magical items or artifacts which resist ruin bruisers’ powers wind up in deep holes the bruisers dig under the place’s foundation specifically to hide such things. Many adventurers have spent their entire lives scouring locations effaced by ruin bruisers in the hopes of finding one of these treasure-filled chasms. For their part, ruin bruisers tend to ignore living creatures, only attacking in self-defense or as necessary to continue their mission. Canny treasure hunters can take advantage of a site being dismantled by ruin bruisers, as traps may no longer function, guardians creatures may have been dealt with, and treasure may already be consolidated into a neat pile.

The first ruin bruisers were created by a group of vile dwarven witches who, tired of living on the outskirts of civilization, sought to integrate themselves into nearby towns and cities. They created ruin bruisers to systematically destroy their former hideouts, fortresses, and dungeons, which had become too numerous to remember and contained equally innumerable evidence tying the witches to their foul deeds.

That was long ago, however; since then, ruin bruisers have spread far beyond the mountains from which they originated.