Medium monstrosity, neutral
Armor Class 22
Hit Points 65 (10d8 + 20)
Speed 60 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 (+1) | 22 (+6) | 14 (+2) | 10 (+0) | 12 (+1) | 13 (+1) |
Condition Immunities poisoned
Damage Immunities electricty, fire, poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages common
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Cold Vulnerability: Cold damage act as a Slow spell for 1 round.
Electricity Affinity: Electricity damage act as a Haste spell for 1 round.
Magic Resistance: The devil has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Shapechanger:Living steel’s most dangerous weapon is its ability to change shape at will. Although it cannot change its color and therefore is easily spotted, its form can include virtually anything.
It can become a coursing steel hound or a human with blades for its lower arms. However, the form it adopts does not confer the powers of that form. For example, it cannot fly in bird form, nor does it gain the sense of smell dogs have when it takes that form, nor would it gain poison or magical immunity should it take another shape.
Finally, it cannot assume the form of something with a larger or smaller mass. It must maintain its own body weight at all times. Thus, unless it was very large, the steel could not reproduce the form of a dragon, nor could it split to become a mosquito. However, it does gain the speed associated with the form it takes.
It also can fit through tiny cracks by reforming its body. This shapechange takes a round to accomplish, and the living steel can do it at will. During the time of shapechange, the steel cannot make any attacks, nor can it defend itself.
At this point its AC becomes 10 and it may be hit by ordinary weapons. For this reason, the steel rarely changes form during combat.
Actions
- Multiattack: The living steel makes two slam attacks.
- Slam: Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 8 (2d6 + 1) slashing, piercing or bludgeoning damage.
DESCRIPTION
Living steel usually appears as a humanoid mass of pure, shining steel, almost liquid in its motions. It reflects bright light and absorbs heat; to those with infravision, it appears as a cold blue lump. Although it is not normally an aggressive opponent, living steel can be ferocious when aroused, and it will track its enemies mercilessly until it or they are dead.
HABITAT / SOCIETY
Living steel has no known society. Solitary creatures all their lives, they reproduce asexually. If two living steels encounter one another, they battle to the death. The one with the most inventive and damaging shapes is usually the victor, consuming the loser and adding the vanquished creature to its own mass.
These creatures lair in small nooks in the rock, usually with only a thin crack as access. Only in their lairs do they relax the forms they have chosen, and here they appear as formless blobs of fine steel.
ECOLOGY
Living steel survives only through a diet of iron. It is therefore generally found only near veins of iron ore or in regions where iron is otherwise available in abundance. Most of the iron is burned off to power the creature’s movements, but the steel drops a small, refined portion of it in its lair at the end of each day.
This mass is an embryonic living steel, and it becomes sentient and mobile after one year of this refining, provided the steel has daily access to a vein of ore.
Living Steel is employed as material component to empower the following spells: