Manacryst Matriarch

Adversary overview

A long, stone-skinned beast with a deathly gaze.

This adversary is HEAVILY inspired by the Basilisk in Archibalds Almanac of Adversaries, which I highly recommend. Since all Manacryst adversaries are tied to sucking and detecting magic, the nature of this adversary is tied to the absorption of a petrifying magic that turns people into stone. The nature of matriarchs abilities depends on what magic it consumed in its anchored Egg form. This is the true form of the Manacryst Matriarch after its done sucking all the ambient and other magic from its vicinity.

Stat block

Tier

1

Type

Solo

Difficulty

14

HP

7

Stress

4

Attack mod

+2

Damage thresholds

Minor

Mark 1 HP

9

Major

Mark 2 HP

17

Severe

Mark 3 HP

Standard attack

Bite

Range: Melee

Damage: 1d10+1

Attack Mod: +2

Damage Type: Physical

Features

Passives

Relentless (2)

The Matriarch can be spotlighted up to two times per GM turn. Spend Fear to spotlight it.
Chilling Aura

When Matriarch is spotlighted for the first time in a scene, every creature within Far range marks a Stress. Additionally every movement within Very Close range thereafter becomes difficult, unless there is a source of heat nearby.

Actions

Mother of All
fear 1

Spend 1 Fear, The Matriarch can use an action feature of any adversary from the Manacryst category for it's written cost.
Whirlwind
stress 1

Mark a Stress and make an attack against all creatures within Very Close range. The next time the Matriarch is spotlighted, the targets takes 2d10+1 physical damage and are knocked back to Close range. A target with an active petrification countdown takes double damage.

Reactions

Petrifying Gaze

When the Matriarch takes damage from an attacker within Very Close range, or makes a standard attack against a target that is looking at it, you can spend a Fear to force the target to make an Instinct Reaction Roll. On a failure, they begin to turn to stone, marking a Health Point and start the Petrification proccess. Countdown (4). The countdown ticks up when the Basilisk is attacked and it ticks down when the target rolls with Fear. When it triggers, the target becomes Petrified, being unable to do anything until the spell is broken. If the Matriarch is defeated, all petrification countdowns end.

Evolutions

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