"The perfection of a pointless mile-high crystal pyramid in the middle of the desert."
The Crystal Pyramid of Thozer (#24/30, #267/365)
"Dominating the surrounding desert for miles around is an immense pyramid, apparently made completely out of glass or crystal. As you get closer, you can see inside the pyramid appears to be a green-jungle like paradise, completely unlike the red sands outside. In the centre of the pyramid, surrounded by greenery is a strange white domed building, like a geodesic puffball. At the centre of each side of the pyramid is some sort of gatehouse structure, apparently allowing access."
Contents:
This edifice is an immense tropical greenhouse, containing the Rust Demon scholar Tth-Yy-Zz-Rr or "Thozer the Collector", a former colleague of the lost Machine Mage, whose obsession is to study the plants and fungi of the rainforests and jungles of Titan, raising many specimens here within the pyramid from seeds.
The pyramid's internal gardens are split into four quadrants, which are further divided into three zones. Each zone has 2-12 CLONES working as gardeners among the vegetation. To determine what plants and fungi are in each zone, roll on the following table.
1-2 Allansian Jungles: Roll 3 times on the Jungles (Allansia) plant distribution tables (see The Titan Herbal, p. 77).
3-4 Khulian Jungles: Roll 3 times on the Jungles (Khul) plant distribution tables (see The Titan Herbal, p. 80).
5-6 Islands of Titan: Roll 3 times on the Islands plant distribution tables (see The Titan Herbal, p. 80).
The four gatehouses each house 6 CLONE WARRIORS as guards; in the event of trouble, five guards will deal with intruders, while the sixth raises the alarm, warning Thozer. The guards are not overly aggressive - the pyramid they guard is full of carnivorous plants! - and will let in visitors who appear to be herbalists or mushroom-sellers (of course, the pyramid is often visited by Qagdin caravans). The upper surfaces of the pyramid are home to 3-18 SALTSUCKERS, which periodically clear the crystal of dust and sand after one of the region's many storms.
The central dome contains an outer ring of small chambers storing gardening tools and implements, spears, and spare leather armour. The inner chamber is an enormous hemisphere where resides Thozer and his spore-library of plant lore. If the alarm goes off, Thozer will begin producing 2-7 Mould Zombies at the rate of 1 per Attack Round by dousing several pre-prepared cadavers on iron slabs with spore-clouds.
If confronted within the room, Thozer will alternate between Mindsteal, Hallucinate and Choke spores to attack, trying to salvage the bodies of those it slays so it can interrogate their dying minds. If dealing with traders, Thozer will reconfigure one of its puffballs into a face-like shape with which to converse, offering double usual prices in GP for any Titan plant samples the traders may have, and triple prices for those from jungles and rainforests.
Stats:
CLONES, SKILL 0 STAMINA 2. Defenceless.
CLONE WARRIORS, SKILL 6 STAMINA 5, Spear, Leather Cuirass.
SALTSUCKERS, SKILL 4 STAMINA 5, Small Bite
"The RUST DEMON is one of those few Demonic creatures that are completely sessile. For centuries it will remain in one place, accruing knowledge from the Macrocosmos, sprouting weird fungal creatures and exhaling spore-clouds in equal measure, their only task to defend and gather information. The Rust Demon is thus a creature of decay, a cataloguer of collapse, a herald of inevitable decline."
Vade Mecum Infernum by Aughm Lightchaser (p. 24)
RUST DEMON, SKILL 0 STAMINA 24, Spore Cloud attack (see Rough Guide to the Pit, p. 25). Normal weapons instantly destroyed when hit Rust Demon, magical weapons destroyed on a 6 on one die. Magic fire does double damage, regular fire has no effect.
Thozer's spore library is inaccessible to all but other Rust Demons; the Demon is interested however in working on a translated version. In a side-chamber is the pyramid's treasury - an iron chest unlocked, but trapped with Decayer spores! Inside the chest are 373GP, 76 Obsidian chips (worth 1GP each), 11 Red Jewels worth 20GP each, a Sandworm's Tooth, a book "The Herbal of Titan" by Agurrien Wrialto (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 50), an Amulet of Plant Control, a Witherwell Potion, a Hewing Axe, and an Oak Leaf Amulet.
MOULD ZOMBIE, SKILL 6 STAMINA 6, Small Claw. Vulnerable to fire but explode when slain (opponents must Test for Luck or become Mould Zombies).
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/453554/Heroes-of-Titan
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