Dwarf Crusher

The dwarf crusher is a specialized version of the stone golem specifically created to defeat dwarves, though any group of warriors would find it formidable.

At first glance, the dwarf crusher looks like a statue of a squat, ugly dwarf, crudely done. The head seems small for the massive body, and features two faces (one on each side) with ropy beards, slack jaws, beady eyes, jug ears, cob noses, and sloping brows. The chunky torso is made up of several flat, rotatable discs. The construct has sausageshaped arms that hang down past its knees, and the legs are thick and stumpy. All the joints look bulbous, as though inflamed or arthritic. In fact, the joints allow the limbs to swivel in any direction.

The dwarf crusher seems to move with a ponderous waddle, but its swiveling joints make it surprisingly agile

The creature's outer skin seems stony, but actually consists of very dense clay laid over a stone core.

Combat: The dwarf crusher is mindless and unrelenting in combat. It strikes at opponents with its massive fists. The construct's two faces and swivel joints allow it to attack in any direction; it has no rear. The dwarf crusher's all-around vision gives it a +2 bonus to its own surprise rolls. Once a turn, the dwarf crusher can send forth a wave of volcanic heat. The effect is equivalent to a heat metal spell from a 12th level caster. The construct can generate heat and make a physical attack. It always favors creatures engaged in melee against it to any other target. The dwarf crusher gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls when fighting dwarves of any type.

The construct is immune to all weapons except those of +2 or better enchantment. There is a 25% chance that any edged weapon (type P or S) used to attack the dwarf crusher will become lodged in the construct. Roll ld4 along with the attack die; if the d4 shows a 1, the edged weapon is stuck in the dwarf crusher even if the attack missed (the weapon struck the construct, but inflicted no damage). When a weapon sticks in the dwarf crusher, the body part where the weapon is trapped immediately swivels, automatically wrenching the weapon from the wielder's hand. (A weapon such as a cestus or natural weapon cannot be dropped; the attacker suffers 3d8 points of damage instead of being disarmed and cannot attack with the affected member for ld6 rounds.) To recover a stuck weapon, a character must make an attack roll vs. Armor Class 0 to seize the weapon, followed by a successful Bend Bars roll. If the Bend Bars roll is a 91 or higher, the weapon breaks (unless it is an artifact). If the dwarf crusher is destroyed, stuck weapons can be loosened in one turn with no risk of breaking them.

Most spells have no effect on the dwarf crusher. A transmute rock to mud spell slows the dwarf crusher for 2d6 rounds. Its reverse, transmute mud to rock, heals the construct, restoring all lost hit points. A stone to flesh spell does not actually change the dwarf crusher's structure, but the effect renders the construct vulnerable to normal weapons during the following round. This does not include spells, except for those that cause direct damage. When the dwarf crusher is thus vulnerable, weapons cannot become stuck in it, and trapped weapons fall out.

Habitat/Society: The dwarf crusher is the brainchild of the evil wizard Tairdo, whose hatred of dwarves borders on the pathological. To date, Tairdo has created only a few dwarf crushers, and they guard his subterranean lair.

Ecology: Like all golems, the dwarf crusher does not eat, sleep, breathe, or reproduce. Barring destruction in combat, it is undying. Creating a dwarf crusher would require access to Tairdo's notes on its construction, 85,000 gold pieces for materials, and three months of work. The creator must be a wizard of at least 16th level, and must cast the following spells: wish, polymorph any object, geas, and wall of fire.