Salutations all!
Welcome to the first Monster Monday to be created by random number generation!
Using my super high-tech ultimate spreadsheet of destiny and doom1, I randomly generated a combination of two of 1600 monsters I have listed out! This was done in Saturday’s Scrying, and honestly, I doubt I could expect a better or more terrifying combination to start things off than this:
Wait, no, not that one…
There we go!
Let’s throw some descriptors around as to what this absolute beast is going to be.
What is a Myrmidon?
A Myrmidon is an elemental which has been bound into a specially created suit of armour, to be used for war.
What is a Warforged Titan?
A Warforged titan is basically the D&D equivalent of a Warmachine Warjack, or a Warhammer 40,000 Dreadnought. Honestly, this couldn’t be a better combination!
Let’s pick a Challenge Rating
This is going to be a fairly powerful monster, likely for tier 3-4 gaming. It’s going to hit like a train, and to be able to take a beating like one too. The Warforged Titan is CR 8, and the Air Elemental Myrmidon is CR 7, so by their powers combined, we may expect somewhere around CR10-12.
Let’s Talk Abilities
Before we can lock down a CR, we need to look at the abilities. If both of these have the same abilities, it will reduce how much the CR has to increase, whereas if their abilities stack up, it’ll have to increase accordingly.
By Filip Burburan
Key Air Elemental Mymidon Traits:
Damage Resistance to Lightning, Thunder; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from nonmagical attacks.
Damage Immunity to Poison
Condition Immunity to Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone
Multiattack 3; 1d8+4 damage apiece
Lightning strike: 5d8 damage on one melee attack.
Size: Medium
HP: 117
AC: 18
Speed: 30ft. Fly Speed, 30ft., hover.
So it can fly, it does lots of small attacks or one big attack, and is resistant to a few damage types and some conditions.
Let’s look at the Titan:
Art by Wayne Reynolds
Key Warforged Titan Traits:
Damage Immunity: Poison, Psychic.
Condition Immunity: Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned.
Platforms for people to ride it to war.
Siege monster, for double-damage to structures.
2 Big attacks that synergise - one knocks you prone, the other deals more damage if you’re prone.
Big sweeping attack for cutting through hordes.
Size Huge
HP: 125
AC: 20
Speed: 40ft.
Similar HP, higher AC, and more focussed on high damage attacks.
By their Powers Combined…
Let’s mush these already quite scary monsters together, shall we?
The concept is that instead of using the magic typically used to animate a Worforged Titan, someone made the decision2 to instead capture an Air Elemental within the shell of the Titan. In essence, the titan replaces the armour usually created for the Myrmidon.
In order to fit the Titan, we have two options - the first is that it is a larger Air Elemental, which I am less keen for, and the other is that the Air Elemental is suffusing smaller gaps in the construct; spread over a larger area, but occupying the same volume. This I prefer.
I am imagining this to be along the lines of some sort of boss fight, and as such, I need to add interesting mechanics. I am imagining sections of the Titan detaching, held together by the Elemental within, to give greater reach. I can also imagine the titan almost shutting down as the elemental rushes out to deal with a surrounding horde, forming a whirlwind about the titan. I suspect it can perform short jumps - I cannot expect it to fly indefinitely - and it will probably have only one platform, which is likely for a spellcaster to use more than for a spear-wielder.
Let’s make the statblock.
For making statblocks, my go-to is the Tetra-Cube Stat-Block Maker, because it can be coded to adapt to stat changes, and then exported into Markdown, which I use in Homebrewery to make it look like a real D&D publication. None of these are adverts; it’s just what I use!
Let’s start with the basics: a working title, size, type, and alignment, AC, hit-points, speed, and Stats, as well as the immunities, resistances, and basic abilities:
I don’t anticipate this having a consistent flying speed - I’m envisioning more of a short jump than a sustained flight, so I might make this a bonus action.
Next I need to add some actions, reactions, and bonus actions. Recently, I’ve been trying to give everything at least one option for each of these, as I feel “multiattack” is quite uninteresting, even if it’s mechanically sound, so I’ll give it something more interesting to work with - this is unlikely to be a rank-and-file soldier after all, so the DM can have some fun running it!
Here’s the final product:
Warforged Air Myrmidon
The Warforged Myrmidon is a towering example of the cold fusion of conjuration and creation; the cold, uncaring chassis of a warforged titan, powered and piloted not by the unthinking magics of animation or mechanics, but by the dark intelligence of a bound elemental.
Each segment of a Warforged Myrmidon is separate from the rest, bound together by the elemental which suffuses the construct. In the case of those using Air Elementals, this leaves their motions fluid, and their reach flexible. Spears can be driven at joints in the mechanisms, but fiind nothing but air as the two parts dodge in opposite ways. Perhaps most terrifying of all is the Warforged Air Myrmidon’s capacity to fly short distances, and then come plummeting into battle like a lightning bolt loosed from the clouds above.
How I’d Use it
This would work amazingly for a combat in a craggy mountain area, with lots of multi-level areas to really take advantage of the flight speed and the Lightning Slam attack. It could also become very atmospheric if the weather was particularly stormy, adding to the encounter.
To enhance the encounter further, I would present them with a goal, for which fighting the Titan would be unhelpful, and some narrow natural tunnels in the rock, with holes to look out of, which they can use to try and get past. The Myrmidon would start breaking the walls, to show off it’s power, and then they can run or fight, as they see fit!
I am imagining it a lot like fighting a Gundam3, with the jumping & flying and slamming aspects.
Please let me know in the comments what you think of this monster, and whether you like this format of combining things into unearthly abominations! I know I do!
Furthermore, if you’d like to draw this wonderful creation, I would love to see it! I might even buy it, if my Ko-Fi tin ever fills up!
If you enjoy reading my articles, and want to see more, then hit subscribe.
If you’ve got ideas for monsters or articles, then let me know in the comments!
And if you’ve something for me to review for Third-Party Thursdays, then definitely message me!
And if you like what you’re reading and want to help me afford professional artists to illustrate my work for publication (and fight against the terror of AI Artwork), consider buying me a Ko-Fi!
Finally, if you love TTRPG content, then head over to DrivethruRPG - it’s packed with thrid party D&D content, unique TTRPGs, Pathfinder supplements - pretty much anything you could want for TTRPGs!
or “SHTUSDD” for short, which sounds like onomatopoeia for when an elderly gentleman is trying to sneeze quitely.
a very wise one, which I can see no negative consequences for at all.
My knowledge of this subject is poor at best, and I may be entirely wrong about how Gundams work. I think I’m fairly close though!