Manikin
Constructs are rarely good at doing the many normal things people do. Since they can only really do what you specifically teach them to do, they’re usually only able to do a few tasks properly.
Our latest creation, then, is a construct built to do one thing extremely well: whatever you just did to it. Manikins are machines of spite, and their trick is turning your own strength back against you. Should be a fun challenge for the rogues and paladins in your party, don’t you think? Suddenly burst damage doesn’t taste so good…
Manikin
Those who lead long careers as bards, politicians, generals, inventors, and adventurers are made to compare themselves to their peers. This constant contrast and criticism can lead many to foment a seed of spite and loathing in their soul for their peers, competitors, or their own allies. Such a foul seed can fester, sown in the sanctum where a public figure retreats to enact the finer parts of their craft; the objects of their beloved work can become the host of such spite, animated by their owner’s great talent and imbued with hatred for those who judge them.
Manikins are disturbing constructs created from the loathing, jealousy, envy, or hatred of influential figures. They most often take the form of a vaguely humanoid shape, such as an armor stand, wooden model, or sculpture. They are found in the places their creators spent most of their time working, such as art studios, laboratories, places of political control, and personal abodes.
These malicious creations hide amongst inanimate objects, laying in wait for intruders whom they stalk, seeming to find a sadistic pleasure in pantomiming their prey’s behavior in an exaggerated, mocking, and uncanny way. Manikins relish the distress that their unsettling appearance and behavior causes before striking with brutal violence, bludgeoning the object of their mockery into a bloody pulp in eerie silence.
Manikin
Medium Construct, typically evil
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 102 (12d8 + 48)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 16 (+3)
DEX 11 (+0)
CON 18 (+4)
INT 1 (-5)
WIS 15 (+2)
CHA 1 (-5)
Skills Stealth +4
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 12
Languages understands Common but can't speak
Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus: +2
False Appearance. If the manikin remains motionless at the start of combat, it has advantage on its initiative roll. Moreover, if a creature hasn’t observed the manikin move or act, that creature must succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation) check to discern that the manikin is animate.
Actions
Multiattack. The manikin makes two Slam attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
Reactions
Pantomime. When the manikin takes damage, it can make a Slam attack against a creature within 5 feet. On a hit, that attack deals additional bludgeoning damage equal to the damage that the manikin took.
If this delightful creature inspires you to want to help us fill other machines with things, for instance fill a refrigerating machine with nutritious treats, then the best way you can help us is to subscribe to our Patreon. For as little as 3 dollars a month, you get tons of homebrew, and we get that much closer to making rent. And, if you have a machine you want us to load up with something specific, tell us on Discord, and if it’s funny or evil enough, we might just do it!
