"What-ophore?"
"Mastigophore; an automaton that look like a human and commonly found guarding things in old world ruins. They consume biomatter to power themselves and can subsist on plant matter, but prefer living creatures. Usually found in pairs."
"So it eats by eating? And prefers meat to plants?"
Panamax shakes his head.
"I think I'm missing something in the translation."
Kilo glances towards Panamax with mild confusion, "It wants us out. Or to kill and eat us. What am I missing?"
"..." Panamax frowns briefly.
"I thought there was a nuance that I missed."
Panamax shrugs apologetically. "I can deal with It wants us to leave or it will kill and eat us."
"Great, now I'm lost," Anson says facetiously.
The machine man has no more words for any of you, but is not quite as quick to act as the group. Anyone paying attention would notice the source of light in the room is now laying on the floor, and Jarris seems to have disappeared.
Tavene and Kilo form the traditional if you want to get to them you have to go through us wall between the mastigophore and the rest of the room. Kilo's first attack glances off the monster, but the second one strikes and deeply. It reels back slightly, but makes no noise in response. Tavene follows up with a quick double-slice of her own. Her first attack sinks into near the same area as Kilo's, while her second sword skitters off its whip-like arm.
Panamax will be pleased to note that the creature does appear to be fleshy.
Anson draws his crossbow, looking for a good moment between the glaive's bobbing and weaving to sink a bolt into the crypt's defender.
The mastigophore responds to these attacks by lashing out with both whip arms, catching both glaives across the face with them.
Tavene:
Mastigophore:
Mastigophore - 7/15
Might pl:13-4=9
Speed pl:14
Dazed and Stunned: Characters can be dazed
when struck hard on the head, exposed to extremely
loud sounds, or affected by a mental attack. When
this happens, for the duration of the daze effect
(usually one round), the difficulty of all tasks
attempted by the character increases by one step.
Similar but more severe attacks can stun characters.
Stunned characters lose their turn (but can still
defend against attacks normally).
Panamax sighs. "I almost made it. Reset the counter, Anson."
"Bad flesh machine," Panamax says sadly. He gestures at the machine and closes his fist.
* The creature's skin bubbles and a dozen thin filaments extend out through cracks in the bubbles, wrapping tightly around the creature's torso, extending and retracting, extending and retracting, giving it the worst case of flesh-on-flesh rug burn that it is ever likely to experience.
* The mastigophore's head begins to grow asymmetrically, the right side expanding at about three times the rate of the left. The right side of the mouth hangs limply, large and loose.
* Furrows appear as the creature's body reconfigures itself into the shape of the inside of Panamax's fist. It ends up much taller, slightly thinner, and very lopsided.
(if needed for R2)