Sky Eye (3.5e Monster)

= Sky Eye =

''A massive shadow blots out the sun briefly. It looks like a dragon is up there, but it has an unusual silver glint, and a very disc shaped body. It must be a mile high in the sky!''

Titanic clockwork beasts of the sky, the E14GD Sky Eyes resemble dragons while in flight. Their bodies are long thin snakes with six short legs, adorned with wheels instead of feet, and massive wings composed of stretched fabrics over a skeleton of silver masts. Upon the back of its spine, the body abruptly flattens out into a large disc shape, the underside alight with a thousand crystal eyes. The upper half is pitch black. The tail extends back a great distance, with dozens of control fins for flight.

During the Age of War, Sky Eyes were battlefield controllers, keeping generals informed of the entire battlefield from miles up. As information was power, they quickly became targets for other air units, and such the time began when a Sky Eye would be surrounded in a cloud of flying devices, airborne wizards, dragons, and more for defense of it's critical task: spying everything that goes on upon the ground.

Sky Eyes wingspans rarely land as their wheeled legs make certain terrains difficult, but do sometimes land in the water and are able swimmers. They speak Common, and tend to speak in terse military language. They are solar powered, the large black surface of their sensory disc taking in sunlight as they fly. As long as they gain 1 hour of sunlight per day, they can fly indefinitely, otherwise they are forced to land until they can get properly recharged. As this exposure often occurs while flying above the clouds, it is rarely noticed.

A Sky Eye has a +10 racial bonus on Spot and Search checks.

Combat
A Sky Eye should never get itself involved in combat. However, they were a major problem on the battlefields of Rhe during the Age of War, and so air combat units would be sent up to engage the Sky Eye, which often had protection of its own. It never enters a battle if possible, but when it does it has all the fierceness and number of attacks as a dragon of its size.

Death Throes (Ex): When a Sky Eye is destroyed, if it is still airborne and largely intact, such as not being disintegrated, and there are visible ground targets, it will aim its body on death to perform a Crush attack against its opponents. It may do this immediately upon death.

Crush (Ex): This attack deals 2d8+18 unless those subject to it succeed on a Reflex save (DC 25).

Sharp Eye (Ex): The sensor array, a massive array of eyes peering down on the ground at all times, and its normal forward mounted eyes have excellent vision. It can see four times as far as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as far in normal light. It also has darkvision out to 120 ft. and blindsight out to 60 ft.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): As communication platforms, they are equipped to do their task. A Sky Eye may cast sending at will, with a faster than normal casting time of 1 minute.

Construction
A sky eye’s body is assembled from 2,000 pounds of mithril, wood, and fabric, with gears, pistons, and rope worth 10,000 gp, one hundred eye-sized crystals worth 15,000, and washed with rare shadowy tinctures and admixtures costing at least 40,000 gp. Additional HD cost an extra 2000 gp (1000 gp and 80 xp if crafting yourself). Assembling the body requires a DC 15 Craft (woodworking) check, a DC 15 Craft (clockwork device) check, or a DC 15 Knowledge (architecture and engineering) check.

Sky Eye: CL 15th; Craft Construct, shadow conjuration, limited wish, overland flight, scrying, sending, caster must be at least 15th level; Price 65,000 gp; Cost 45,000 gp + 1600 XP.