Universal Key (Fine Construct Swarm) with Rudimentary Intelligence (ab)uses?

[Jowgen]

The Universal Key (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cw/20061106a) is a really nifty yet cheap construct (2400 gp marketprice) with the following stats:

Universal Key CR 2
Always N Fine Construct (Swarm)
Init +5; Senses blindsense 30 ft.
Languages None

AC 23, touch 23, flat-footed 18
(+5 Dex, +8 size)
hp 16 (4 HD)
Immune mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, necromantic effects, critical hits, flanking, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, any effect that requires a Fort save (unless it affects objects), weapon damage, spells or effects that target creatures, cannot be tripped or grappled or bull rushed
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +0
Weakness vulnerable to area effect spells and effects, cannot grapple

Speed 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 10 ft.
Space 5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Base Atk +3; Grp -
Special Actions: Unbind

Abilities Str 1, Dex 20, Con --, Int --, Wis 10, Cha 2
SQ construct traits, swarm traits
Feats Combat Expertise, Dodge

Unbind (Ex) When released, a universal key immediately fills its space and proceeds to unlock, unravel, and otherwise take apart every composite object not made of masonry in the square. If there are none, it seeks such objects in adjacent squares until it finds some. Objects are rendered into piles of their separate components. Unbinding objects is a full-round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A successful Reflex save (DC 12) allows creatures and their carried equipment to avoid the effect by moving immediately to an adjacent clear square (if there are no clear adjacent squares, the creature cannot avoid the effect).

Now with the Rudimentary Intelligence upgrade (Dragon 327) the market price goes up to 10400 gp, but this nonintelligent Swarm construct now gains half you CL in Int and feats/skills appropriate to your level, which should be completely customizeable.

Now this seems like a combination that should be rather interesting in terms of (ab)uses, but I can't quite put my finger on where to take this. Also, I have no idea whether the Intelligent Universal Key (IUK) would get a Hivemind like intelligent swarms do.

Thoughts?


EDIT: inb4 a feasible way to make actual stargate replicators

[Inevitability]

A use-activated item of Stone to Flesh (using the Healer version) is 90000 GP without caster level cheese, and getting a CL 1 Sanctum version somehow would lower that to 8000 GP.

If the key carries it with them, it automatically turns nearby masonry into flesh, making it a valid target for Unbind. This gets rid of their one weakness.

[icefractal]

Am I reading that right? Get dropped in a pit with one and lose all your equipment, no save?

Obvious upgrade - give it Darkstalker and that collar that gives the Dark template. With Fine size, it should be able to sneak up on just about anyone and disassemble their stuff.

Also, methods of swift action movement like Sudden Leap or Hustle are good, as it can then move and disassemble in the same round.

Defensively, it is pretty fragile. Burrowing would be ideal, but failing that then Evasion and Lightning Reflexes would help somewhat.

Unanswered question - does disassembly work on portions of larger objects? I would assume not, else it would eat away any non-masonry walls and floors.

[Inevitability]

Unanswered question - does disassembly work on portions of larger objects? I would assume not, else it would eat away any non-masonry walls and floors.

Seems to me like it'd actually work better. The entire object is taken apart as long as it's in the space, so something taking up multiple spaces would be fully disassembled as long as one of it's squares is occupied by the swarm.

Say goodbye to Rockburst, Universal Keys are the new way to destroy the earth crust at level 5.

[Darrin]

Is Unbind (Ex) a special attack or a special quality? I can't tell. If the former, then a PC can get access to it via metamorphosis? Is that correct?

[Jowgen]

I just realized that the statblock has a dysfunction, in that it has Dodge and Combat Expertise as feats. Even ignoring that mindless creatures get no feats (so lets assume that they're weird bonus feats given despite no meet prerequesites), it doesn't have THE ABILITY to make attacks for the purposes of combat expertise, and arguing that it can choose a creature as a dodge target while mindless is a rather big stretch.

Another thing, in the construction entry for making them it specifies caster level 5. Are constructs, like magic items, considered to have the caster level used in their creation? If so, all we need is a 3rd feat on it so it can take crafting feats up to craft construct... and... replicate.


A use-activated item of Stone to Flesh (using the Healer version) is 90000 GP without caster level cheese, and getting a CL 1 Sanctum version somehow would lower that to 8000 GP.

If the key carries it with them, it automatically turns nearby masonry into flesh, making it a valid target for Unbind. This gets rid of their one weakness.

Hmmm... there seems to be quite a few conditions that need to be cleared for this. First the flesh musn't count as living matter (I think that one's cleared by RAW), secondly the affected masonry must remain a composite object (might turn into a cohesive mass of flesh), and lastly the big question whether the "buildings are too big for it" part comes into play.

Maybe the intelligent version would know how to get around the size issue (it at the very least wouldn't mistake it for natural terrain), but the composite object thing seems to still be a big hurdle, considering that flesh to stone affects the cylinder of stone in its area uniformly. Is there an alternative to flesh to stone that would allow for de-masonry-fying stuff?


Am I reading that right? Get dropped in a pit with one and lose all your equipment, no save?

Obvious upgrade - give it Darkstalker and that collar that gives the Dark template. With Fine size, it should be able to sneak up on just about anyone and disassemble their stuff.

Also, methods of swift action movement like Sudden Leap or Hustle are good, as it can then move and disassemble in the same round.

Defensively, it is pretty fragile. Burrowing would be ideal, but failing that then Evasion and Lightning Reflexes would help somewhat.

Unanswered question - does disassembly work on portions of larger objects? I would assume not, else it would eat away any non-masonry walls and floors.

Provided one doesn't have sufficiently good flight, yeah, these things are right out nasty in a pit-trap; although if you beat their initiative you should have a round to leave their square, as they need to spend a full-round action disassembling. One work around would be to stick to equipment made out of living metal, living wood, and non-composite objects.

I had not considered specking them for stealth, which certainly is an interesting idea. Now I'm not sure myself whether the size bonus applies to swarms, but if you say so I shall trust that. Add that +16 to it's +5 Dex and the 7 max ranks you can give it, that's an easy +28 modifier. Now the dark template collar... can swarms actually wear items? :smallconfused:

Immediate movement would be quite good indeed now that you mention it. At the very least, getting it to somehow successfully UMD a Sparring Dummy of the Master for 10 ft step skills would be good; but with their low HD and -4 Cha that seems a tall order. If items can be worn, then an Anklet of Translocation might do in a pinch, but that's far from ideal.

I don't think optimizing them for combat is going to be very fruitful. Again, if items are on the table, ring of evasion or Dungeonscape boots of side-stepping might help for anti-area defense. And the swarm-based immunity to non-magical weapons and single-target spells are rather respectable defenses in themselves. Still, I think the stealth approach, as to make something to inflitrate enemy camps and do away with gear (which one should be able to re-assemble/fix as they're not actually sundered/broken), is the better idea still.

I think an Intelligent one would be able to not mistake a building for natural terrain, and at the very least be able to disassemble a building from the top down. Giving it ranks in architecture and engineering would probably be wise here, so it can make informed decisions on how to take down a bigger structure.


Seems to me like it'd actually work better. The entire object is taken apart as long as it's in the space, so something taking up multiple spaces would be fully disassembled as long as one of it's squares is occupied by the swarm.

Say goodbye to Rockburst, Universal Keys are the new way to destroy the earth crust at level 5.

Interesting reading; though I think that at best it'll default to the 10 by 10 rule for big objects. Though it is quite weird that this swarm, despite being published 2006, disregards the 10 ft space rule for swarms.

I don't think the earth's crust counts as a composite object :smalltongue:


Is Unbind (Ex) a special attack or a special quality? I can't tell. If the former, then a PC can get access to it via metamorphosis? Is that correct?

It's a "special action". Certainly not a special attack, as it doesn't have an attack entry in its statblock. Also, isn't metamorphosis explcity non-construct?