Atma Weapon (3.5e Monster)



''The air is rich with magic and a thick arcane miasma obscures a clear view, but you can still make out the pair of glowing eyes and mouth through the mist. With a bellow, the mist retreats, revealing the massive quadraped shaped like an over-muscled bull, twisted curled horns of brass, silver, and gold intermingled with ivory scales and tough tan leathery skin. Strange clockwork gears jut out in parts of its body, although the beast is otherwise entirely organic. It steps forward and in a booming proud voice it challenges you to battle!''

It is said during a great conflict known as the War of the Magi, the greatest of spellcasters came together and forged two powerful weapons out of raw essence of magic, psionics, and life. One was a tremendous beast whose power was unmatched, and the other was a living sword which transformed strong spirits into a powerful blade. This was the former.

A living bio-weapon of a long-lost time, its original purpose has become unclear. What is known is that the atma weapon is impossible to kill for good, for it seems the universe itself demands its presence. Fortunately there is only one atma weapon ever in existance, and even when alive their presence is rarely known until the next adventurer digs it up by accident, for it is by some strange quirk in their nature that the atma weapon is an obsessive guardian.

Atma weapon will roam the land searching for a place or treasure of great magical power, and upon finding it it will make a lair and guard its treasures with great fierceness. Some nations have, with various success, been able to use the atma weapon as the ultimate safe deposit box for rare and exotic magical items, assuming they can forge a deal to have their property eventually returned. The atma weapon is only interested in magical items, often artifacts, and an important or expensive mundane item has less worth to it than a simple but magically charged mage's toy.

Atma weapon is native to the astral plane, but is not effected by banishment while on the material plane. It speaks Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, and Infernal, stands 60 feet long, and weighs nearly 100 tons.

Combat
Atma weapon is an intelligent fighter, but also a proad and boastful creature. If it has time to plan, it shall, but when encountered face to face is shows off a fearless bravado and unfathomable arrogance. It typically relies on magical attacks, unless its spells per day begin running low or magic proves ineffective, before switching to powerful physical blows. It purposefully targets spellcasters first, shutting down their opponents and seperating them, then handling small groups at a time cut off from their comrades. Rarely does it flee, and it knows it will always return. However for all its aggression, atma weapon does not seem to hold grudges, and a lost fight and lost treasure simply sends the creature searching for a new roost.

Atma weapon often keeps scrolls on hand (or forepaw as it would be) for the occational utilitarian spell it may need at the time. Typical spells include tongues, shrink item, and dimension door.

Draw Magic (Su): As a standard action, atma weapon may make a touch attack and duplicate the effects of a targeted greater dispel magic at caster level 20. If it successfully dispeled an ongoing spell effect, it refreshes a number of spells per day equal in value to the spell removed. For example, if atma weapon dispelled a PC's displacement spell, atma weapon may restore a 3rd level spell per day of its own, three 1st level spells, a 1st and a 2nd level spell, or any combination equally up to 3 levels of spells.

Exceptional Sight (Ex): Atma Weapon sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light. It also has darkvision out to 120 feet, and is constantly under the effects of an extraordinary true seeing effect.

Magic Lifeforce (Ex): A being of utter raw magic, it is actually vital to the creature's existance. If atma weapon ever runs out of spells per day of 1st level or higher, it immediately perishes, disintergrating into magical aether. Rarely will this happen as atma weapon is loath to simply commit suicide, but in times of duress atma weapon can exhaust its spell supply if it thinks doing so will destroy the enemy and its treasure will remain safe until it respawns. Any remaining cantrips do not count as spells remaining for the purposes of magic lifeforce.

The reliance on magic makes atma weapon unusually weak to certain abjurations. Dispel attempts, in addition to dispelling spell effects as normal, deal an additional 1d6 points of damage per caster level, no SR, with a Will saving throw for half damage. An antimagic field places atma weapon under the effect of slow and it takes 2d6 damage per round spent in its effect.

Mana Breath (Su): As a standard action atma can breath a 60 ft. cone of raw magical energy, once every 1d4 rounds. It deals 1d6 damage per 2 HD (20d6 for the example monster) with a Reflex save DC 40 for half. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Quick Cast (Ex): Atma weapon can quicken spells from his spellcasting ability by sacrificing a spell per day of equal or greater value than the spell to be quickened. For example, atma weapon can cast a quickened feeblemind spell by sacrificing a 5th level or greater spell slot.

Regeneration (Ex): Very few forms of attack deals lethal damage to atma weapon, and even if slain it will eventually respawn elsewhere in the universe 1d10 weeks later. Atma weapon regenerates even if it fails a saving throw against a disintegrate spell or a death effect. If atma weapon fails its save against a spell or effect that would kill it instantly (such as those mentioned above), the spell or effect instead deals nonlethal damage equal to the creature’s full normal hit points +10 (or 720 hp). Atma weapon is immune to effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as mummy rot, a sword with the wounding special ability, or a clay golem’s cursed wound ability.

Atma weapon can be slain only by raising its nonlethal damage total to its full normal hit points +10 (or 720 hit points) and using a wish or miracle spell to keep it dead, slaying it within an area of antimagic, having it lose all its spell slots (see magic lifeforce), or casting mage's disjunction on its corpse before it recovers, or attacking it with the atma weapon sword which deals normal lethal damage against it.

If atma weapon loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows in 1d6 minutes (the detached piece dies and decays normally). The creature can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.

Spellcasting (Su): Atma weapon casts spontaneous arcane spells as a 20th level sorcerer.

''Typical Sorcerer Spells Known (6/9/8/8/8/8/8/7/7/7, save DC 20 + spell level) 0—acid splash, dancing lights, detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, ghost sound, mage hand, read magic, resistance; 1st—grease, magic missile, protection from any alignment, ray of enfeeblement, shield; 2nd—detect thoughts, glitterdust, gust of wind, invisibility, resist energy; 3rd—fly, major image, sleet storm, slow; 4th—black tentacles, dimensional anchor, enervation, resilient sphere; 5th—feeblemind, hold monster, telekinesis, wall of force; 6th—disintegrate, shadow walk], summon monster VI; 7th—ethereal jaunt, grasping hand, prismatic spray; 8th—greater shadow evocation, maze, summon monster VIII; 9th—meteor swarm, shades, time stop.''

Spell Eater (Ex): Spells which are blocked by atma weapon's spell resistance feed the creature, recovering twice the spell level of the blocked spell as hp. In a pinch, atma weapon can heal itself by casting its own magic upon it and purposefully failing to penetrate its own spell resistance, though this is rather inefficient.

Tail Sweep (Ex): This special attack allows atma weapon to sweep with its tail as a standard action. The sweep affects a half-circle with a radius of 30 feet (or 40 feet for a colossal atma weapon), extending from an intersection on the edge of it’s space in any direction. Creatures within the swept area are affected if they are four or more size categories smaller than atma weapon. A tail sweep automatically deals the 2d6 damage plus 1½ times the atma weapon’s Strength bonus (round down). Affected creatures can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage (DC equal to that of the breath weapon, DC 40).