Relic-4 — The Moss-Bound Gravekeeper

Ability Scores

STR

14

+2

DEX

12

+1

CON

16

+3

INT

14

+2

WIS

18

+4

CHA

10

+0

Combat

Armor Class: 16; Integrated Protection & Shield
Hit Points: 83; Hit Dice: 10d8+30
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft.
Proficiency: +4
Passive Perception: 18

Attacks

Fungal-Encrusted Staff+81d6+4 bludgeoning

Primal Savagery (Cantrip)+82d10 acid

Personality

Relic-4 speaks with the sound of grinding tectonic plates and wet, crushing leaves. They are unnervingly still, moving only with the slow, deliberate pace of growing roots. They treat all living beings with a polite, clinical detachment, often measuring them for their 'mulch potential.'

Ideal

The Great Order. True peace is the absolute stillness of the grave, where all life is finally organized into uniform soil.

Bond

The Sallow-Mire Mycelium. The fungal network within their chest is their mother, their god, and their only friend.

Flaw

They find 'unorganized life'—such as laughter or art—offensive to the natural order and feel a compulsive need to 'tidy' it away.

Backstory

Relic-4 was forged in the heat of the Cinder-Wars as a 'Breaker-Unit,' designed to crush stone and bone with systematic efficiency. When the war ended in a tactical apocalypse, the unit was left abandoned in the Sallow-Mire. For three centuries, they stood locked in a rusted salute while the swamp claimed them. It began with rust, then moss, and finally, the Great Mycelium. Fungal hyphae wove through their iron chassis, replacing copper wiring with organic neural paths, transforming a dead machine into a living garden of rot.

A freak lightning strike didn't just restart their core; it bridged the gap between machine logic and the pitiless math of the forest floor. Relic-4 awoke with a new directive. They no longer serve a king, but the Cycle of Decay. To Relic-4, every city is a blemish of 'unprocessed matter' and every living soul is a 'premature compost pile' waiting for its inevitable appointment with the soil. They trade in secrets because they are the only ones who listen to the whispers of the buried, treating the downfall of empires as merely the first stage of fertilization.

Abilities & Actions

The Last Lullaby (Recharge 5–6)

As an action, Relic-4 cranks the rusted music box in their hand. A 20-foot-radius sphere of neon-purple spores erupts from the device. Each creature in that area must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. If a creature dies from this damage, its body immediately sprouts bioluminescent fungi that grant Relic-4 one secret the creature knew in life.

Symbiotic Entity (2/Short Rest)

Relic-4 gains 40 temporary hit points. While this feature is active, their melee weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage. Additionally, the Halo of Spores damage is doubled. This state lasts for 10 minutes or until the temporary hit points are lost.

Mulch-Memory Whisperer

Relic-4 can cast 'Speak with Dead' at will, but only on corpses that are in contact with the ground or fungi. Instead of a ghost appearing, the fungal spores enter the corpse's mouth and manipulate its jaw to speak the answers in a wet, rasping tone.

Halo of Spores

Relic-4 is surrounded by invisible, necrotic spores. When a creature Relic-4 can see moves into a space within 10 feet of them or starts its turn there, Relic-4 can use their reaction to deal 1d8 necrotic damage to that creature unless it succeeds on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw.

DM Notes

Relic-4 does not initiate combat with a roar, but with a sigh of 'it is time for your rest.' They often tilt their head at a 90-degree angle when listening. Sample dialogue: 'Your heart beats with such... inefficient noise. Would you not prefer the quiet of the loam?' Reaction pattern: If threatened, they remain seated, letting their spores do the work, only standing up if the intruder proves to be 'persistent litter.'