Shield guardian

A shield guardian was a powerful construct created to defend arcane spellcasters. They were called aegiskeryn in Elven.

Description
Shield guardians could be made with various sizes and strengths, but the simplest and cheapest to make stood about tall and weighed over. They looked something like a large stick figure made of wood with rocky appendages and metal parts.

Behavior
Each shield guardian was keyed to a special magical amulet. If the amulet were destroyed, the guardian would cease to function until keyed to a replacement amulet. A replacement amulet could cost 1,000 to 20,000 gold pieces depending on materials and the crafter, and took seven days to construct. Whoever wore the amulet could control the shield guardian, and if the last wearer died, the guardian would obey its final orders to the best of its ability.

A shield guardian could not speak, but it could magically understand the commands of anyone controlling it through the amulet, no matter the speaker's language. Moreover, the wearer of the amulet could summon the shield guardian magically from anywhere within the same plane. Though the guardian might have some difficulty making the journey, it would always know the location of its amulet.

The default behavior of a shield guardian was to follow its master everywhere and protect him or her. If given other orders, it would do its best to obey, though it was not adept at solving problems. One could be programmed to perform certain tasks at certain times or in response to certain stimuli.

Abilities
A shield guardian protected its master with great speed and agility, attempting to deflect blows and attacks. If commanded to, a shield guardian could generate a magical shield that would partially defend its master from harm, provided the master remained within 100 feet (30 meters) of the guardian. A shield guardian also acted similar to a ring of spell storing, being able to store a single spell that was cast upon and recast the same spell at a later time, provided it was commanded to do so.

Construction
A shield guardian was constructed from at least 5,000-gold pieces-worth of bronze, stone, steel, and wood and required skill in blacksmithing and carpentry. The magical amulet through which the construct was controlled usually cost between 1,000 and 20,000 gold pieces. The shield guardian could only be animated in the presence of the amulet, and the process required a special laboratory, knowledge of the art of crafting constructs, and an extended ritual that involved the casting of the spells discern location, limited wish, shield, and shield other.

Notable Shield Guardians
After the war between the elves of Evereska and the phaerimms, shield guardians were used to guard the houses and mansions from intruders. Likewise, the lake surrounding Herald's Hall was patrolled by shield guardians.

Notable Owners

 * Drannin Splitshield, an evil dwarf of Mithral Hall
 * Ixusaxa Terrorsong, an evil wizardess of the Cult of the Dragon
 * Khelben Arunsun, the famous Chosen of Mystra
 * Zelraun Roaringhorn, a Harper archmage

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Princes of the Apocalypse • Out of the Abyss • Curse of Strahd • Tomb of Annihilation • Waterdeep: Dragon Heist • Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage • Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
 * Novels
 * Blackstaff
 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide • Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone • Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms • Neverwinter Nights: Tyrants of the Moonsea • Warriors of Waterdeep
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * Tyranny in Phlan • It's All in the Blood • Turn Back the Endless Night