A Clockwork Horror is a mechanical construct from the Spelljammer campaign setting.[1][2][3][4]
Overview[]
Clockwork horrors are a race of genocidal constructs who have only one overriding goal: the survival of their race. As they've slowly spread from crystal sphere to crystal sphere, they've plundered every world they have come across, stripping each of all resources, and eradicating all living things, all in an effort to create more of their own kind. If one views the Known Worlds as single cells in the body of the multiverse, then the clockwork horrors are a virus that destroy those cells to propogate themselves.
Description[]
A clockwork horror resembles a mechanical spider with four legs. While the construct's body is only about two feet in diameter, the legs give the creature an overall diameter of about four feet. Mounted in the front of the body is a crystal that enables the horror to see. Two depressions on either side of the crystal lens serve as the horror's hearing organs. Two limbs located below the hearing dishes are used for a number of purposes, but are usually used as manipulator arms.
The body of a clockwork horror is always cast as a single piece from some type of metal. The most common type of horror is created from copper, but others may be cast from silver, electrum, gold, platinum or even adamantite. The surface of the body is always highly polished and covered with pulsating runes of mystical power.
Clockwork horrors communicate with each other by means of clicks, whirs, and similar mechanical sounds. The exact nature of this language is unknown, but is believed to be a type of dot-and-dash code similar to that employed by sailors when they signal each other with lights.[2][1]
Combat[]
All clockwork horrors have the same special defenses. As constructs they are immune to all spells that depend on biological functions for their effects, mind-affecting spells, and psionics. They can only be affected by magical attacks that have some direct affect over non-living objects. A shatter spell directed at a horror's crystal eye will blind it for a few minutes, depending on the caster's experience, and a dispel magic spell cast on a single horror will paralyze the construct for a similar duration.
All clockwork horrors are immune to electricity-based attacks of any type. Heat and cold affect them normally, as do all other types of spells not specifically excluded.[2][1]
Society[]
Clockwork horror society, if one can call it that, is rigid, almost militaristic. Horrors have no individual identities. Rather, they are ruled by a single imperative: the race must survive. Once clockwork horrors have established a foothold on a world, they see all living things on that world as a threat. Logically, to the horrors, such cultures must be removed – and the removal of living things is something clockwork horrors are expert at.
Clockwork horrors sometimes enslave intelligent races, instilling within them the hope that they can come to some accommodation with the horror's - that is until the horrors achieve total control. They have also been known to occasional take prisoners, to study and analyze their specific weaknesses.
Once a clockwork horror fleet has gained complete control over a world, the planet is strip-mined of all its mineral resources, living things are removed or eradicated as useless and troublesome, and everything that can be exploited is drained away. This process may take as much as two or three centuries, allowing the clockwork horrors to create whole new generations of their own kind and to construct a fleet of ships to transport them to the next crystal sphere.[2][1]
Types of Clockwork horror[]
Copper horror[]
Copper horrors serve as manual labourers and workers, and are the most commonly encountered type of clockwork horror. While the other types of horrors have a built-in weapon of some kind, copper horror are instead equipped with whatever tool-like appendages are required for their daily tasks: however, copper horrors can usually employ these tools in combat with some success.[2][1]
Silver horror[]
Silver horrors serve as the warrior caste, and while they are somewhat less common than copper horrors, they are far more dangerous. Silver horrors can usually be encountered on patrol or guarding a work site or in horror-dominated regions. A silver horror's right manipulator arm is fashioned to serve a dual purpose. Besides enabling the silver horror to grasp and handle items similar to a human hand, the manipulators can be extended, forming sharp blades, which then spin at high-speed forming a deadly rotary-saw for use in combat.
A silver horror is also equipped with a missile weapon. Where a copper horror has a secondary manipulator arm, a silver horror has a hollow black tube. This weapon, called a spring caster, is a clockwork-driven device that ejects a barbed dart at high velocity. The dart has a range of up to 120 feet and can be fired once per minute.[1]
Electrum horror[]
Electrum horrors serve as commanding officers or as overseers. An electrum horror will often lead a patrol of silver horrors or direct the operations of a large number of copper horrors. An electrum horror is equipped with the same multi-purpose manipulator/razor-saw found on a silver horror. However, the electrum razor-saw is sharper and more dangerous.
Where a silver horror is equipped with a spring caster, an electrum horror is armed with a steam caster which uses a jet of high pressure steam to fire its missiles. A steam caster's dart has a range of up to 240 feet and can be fired one per minute.[1]
Gold horror[]
Gold horrors are high-ranking members of the clockwork horror social structure. As a rule, there will only be one gold horror on a planet, where it will be responsible for all horror operations on that world. Besides its keen intelligence, a gold horror's combat abilities make it more than able to carry out its mission.
A gold horror's razor-saw is one of the sharpest cutting implements in the Known Worlds, and inflicts a great deal of damage in combat. A gold horror's ranged weapon is a black tube known as a lightning rod, which can unleash a stroke of lightning (similar to a lightning bolt spell) once every other combat round.[1]
Platinum horror[]
There will seldom be more than one platinum horror in any given crystal sphere, where it will direct and coordinate the actions of all gold horrors. A platinum horror is equipped with the same array of weapons as a gold horror; however, both the platinum razor-saw and lightning rod inflict greater damage than that of a gold horror.[1]
Adamantite horror[]
The adamantite horror is the progenitor of the clockwork horror race, and as such there is only one known to exist. A cold and calculating entity, the adamantite horror is fond of intricate strategies and devious planning. Rarely, when drawn into physical combat, the adamantite horror relies on its trusty razor-saw - and since it is made of adamantite, its razor-saw is significantly more dangerous than that of a platinum horror.
The adamantite horror is not equipped with a lightning rod; instead it wields a weapon known as the nightmare stick which unleashes an effect similar to a disintegrate spell with a range up to 150 feet.[1]
Notable Clockwork horrors[]
- A Gold horror, accompanied by three electrum overseers and a force of silver guards and copper workers, was assigned to oversee a creation facility located on an isolated asteroid. At the core of the asteroid, in its exact center, was an octagonal arcane device, 15 feet by 15 feet, that utilised all of the asteroid's mineral resources to create new clockwork horrors.[3]
Signature Spelljammers[]
A clockwork horror fleet nearly always numbers between 10 and 100 vessels powered by lifejammers, and are similar in design to captured neogi spiderships, in particular the deathspider.[2][1]
History of the Clockwork Horrors[]
Tales speak of an ancient humanoid race, known only as the “Lost Ones”. Records of their origin have long since faded, but frightening tales are told of their demise. The Lost Ones were fond of mechanisms. The more subtle and clever the devices, the better they liked them. In the end, however, their own love of such toys brought them down. One of their most brilliant artificers built a magnificent adamantite machine with workings so advanced that none but he could fathom its operation. In addition, he wove powerful spells about the contraption, bestowing upon it intelligence and mystical abilities. In gratitude for its creation, the adamantite machine destroyed him.
Over the course of the next few decades, the adamantite horror built an army of mechanical followers, each in its own image, but of lesser quality. As the horrors slowly rose to dominance in their sphere, they eliminated all biological life. In the end, they tore apart the worlds in their sphere and used the raw materials they obtained to build more and more of their kind.
Centuries passed, and the clockwork horrors would have been doomed to remain within the sphere of the Lost Ones if they hadn't been visited by a fleet of neogi deathspiders. The neogi had come looking for slaves and "cattle" to feast upon; instead they found death. One by one their ships were taken from them, and one by one they and their umber hulk slaves were forced into the lifejammers.[2] The clockwork horrors managed to reverse engineer the spelljamming technology, allowing them to ply the spacelanes. Some believe their first act was to locate the neogi's lost homeworld and consume it utterly.[5]
Now that they were able to journey between crystal spheres, the clockwork horrors began to spread. Each crystal sphere they entered was violated and the worlds within were plundered. For those living in these doomed spheres, there was no escape.[1]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Clockwork horror article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Clockwork horror article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.
- Clockwork horror article at the Villains Wiki, a database of villains or villainous creatures from all media.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Editor Jon Pickens, Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four, 1998, (TSR, Inc), ISBN: 0-7869-1212-X, pages 17-18
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 William W. Connors, MC7 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Clockwork Horror entry
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nicky Rea and Wes Nicholson, SJR8 Space Lairs, 1993, (TSR Inc.), The Iron Hive chapter, pages 23-25
- ↑ TSR Trading Cards #222, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Clockwork Horror
- ↑ Eric Cagle, "The Ecology of the Clockwork Horror", Dragon Magazine #350, 2006, (Paizo Publishing), page 59