Image © Joe Sparrow, accessed at Dungeons and Drawings here
[Commissioned by @justicegundam82, who asked me to reduce the CR from 15 to 12-13. That suited my purposes just fine–I have a place in mind for this critter in my current campaign. I did want to keep the “one SLA per spell level” from the original, but that might make some fights with these guys hit hard, especially since 8th and 9th level spells can mess lower level characters right up. So watch out–consider their spell selection carefully before incorporating one in your campaign.]
Grisgol
CR 13 NE Construct
This figure stands twice the height of a man, and is lean and limber. Its body is wrapped from head to toe in paper, covered with arcane glyphs and symbols. Bits and pieces of wood, glass and cloth fill its seemingly hollow form, sticking out at haphazard places.
A grisgol is a strange arcane construct created from scraps of broken and expended magic items, and powered by the life essence of a lich. The final touch required to activate a grisgol is a phylactery containing the soul of a lich—some crafters make grisgols to imprison a lich whose phylactery they cannot destroy, whereas others enjoy humiliating and punishing a lich in this fashion. While the grisgol exists, the lich cannot build itself a new body and exists in a sort of limbo. Liches do not remember the actions of the grisgol they are inside of while the construct is animate, but their presence infuses a grisgol with a faint, malevolent intelligence.
Grisgols are infused with a variety of spell-like abilities, chosen by their creator as they are building the construct. As such, no two grisgols are exactly alike, and fights with them can be very different depending on the choices of their maker. A grisgol is not a creative combatant, but typically has something of a tactical sense imbued in it—use area of effect spells on groups, grant itself flight if enemies are highly mobile, or the like. In addition to its spells, a grisgol’s touch channels the paralyzing power of a lich, and it can release puffs of choking dust to debilitate nearby foes.
When a grisgol is slain, its body collapses into magical junk—the lich’s phylactery appears as just another piece of broken wands, enhanced jewelry, spent scrolls or other leavings, unless specifically identified. The wrappings of a grisgol can be used as scrolls of all ten of its spell-like abilities at CL 17th, but trying to read or decipher these exposes the investigator to a spiteful curse, sapping their senses and forcing them to become obsessed with the other, less useful, writings.
Constructing a Grisgol
Making a grisgol involves binding together 1,000 gp worth of minor magical items with the remains of expended scrolls. The phylactery of a destroyed lich must be incorporated into the body when the construction is finished, but the grisgol can be mostly created ahead of time and the phylactery incorporated with the final day of work. If the spell-like abilities to be incorporated into the grisgol have costly material or focus components, these must also be provided in the construction, as if scribing a scroll of that spell.
Grisgol
CL 17th; Price 151,000 gp
Requirements Craft Construct, Scribe Scroll, bestow curse, cloudkill, limited wish, make whole, each spell to be granted via the enscribe ability, the phylactery of a lich; Skill Craft (bookbinding) DC 20; Cost 76,000 gp.
snowghoul
titsay
gummygunk
origamiaround
romaincrisis
jacobvanloon
