Merchurion

Merchurions were rarely encountered, hulking humanoid-shaped living constructs of liquified metal.

Description
These constructs had well muscled, silvery forms that flowed and shifted like liquid and had a metallic sheen. On average they stood tall and weighed.

Personality
Merchurions were disdainful of all other creatures, but especially true giants, and thus tended to have a chaotic evil alignment. They were virtually impossible to negotiate with, granting no quarter in combat. They harbored a deep sense of shame of the failure and subsequent punishment that led to their creation.

Abilities
Merchurions possessed all the traits common of living constructs, though their eyes could see darkvision and low-light vision.

Merchurions had the ability to spontaneously generate weapons from their bodies. These weapons were always silvered and had a +3 enhancement. Whatever weapon they generated, a merchurion would be proficient in its use. If the weapon ever left their hands, it would melt away into a pool of silver liquid.

When struck by a magical weapon a merchurion would absorb all of its properties for a period of one hour. The weapon would lose these properties and in turn the merchurion could manifest them in its generated weapons, though the property had to be suitable to the weapon. They were also capable of giving up absorbed properties in order to allow themselves to absorb new ones.

When slain a merchurion's body collapsed and melted away into a pool of silvery liquid, much like their weapons. Some of their magical essence was retained by the liquid, thus any weapon dipped into it would be permanently imbued with some fraction of magic in addition to becoming silvered. After a period of twenty four hours this liquid would evaporate harmlessly.

Combat
Confident in their abilities, merchurions always charged head first into combat and was liable to even bull rush through opponents. Whenever possible they tried to target opponents wielding magical weapons. They typically generated two-handed weapons to keep their close-quarter combatants at a distance and smaller weapons to fight in confined spaces.

History
One legend surrounding the deity Surtur tells of him tasking a group of fire giants, masters at metalsmithing, to create a weapon that could surpass even the adamantine axes of dwarves. After laboring for decades they produced only a strange slag of quicksilver and an enraged Surtur threw them into the magma rift that held their creation. Instead of dying, those fire giants were said to have emerged as living constructs of that same metal.

Some time in the late-14 century DR, adventurers delving beneath the volcanic areas of Chult claimed to have encountered these same creatures. They further claimed that this group of creatures coveted metal and magic.

Society
Merchurions typically lived a solitary existence, shunning the company of other creatures. They sometimes formed bands, but these were no larger than six members.

Being living constructs they did not reproduce or produce progeny and thus were slowly dying out over time. Much of their lives centered around this, with merchurions obsessively striving to discover a way to create new generations of their kind.

Diet
Despite being living constructs and therefore not requiring nourishment, merchurions mysteriously had a craving to devour metal. With their most preferred type being silver.

Homelands
Merchurions preferred warm climates and typically inhabited either the interiors of volcanic mountains or deep underground. Where they wandered or settled down for a time was largely driven by their craving for metal.

Relationships
Merchurions viewed all races but fire giants as inferior to themselves, with the latter being seen enviously as the chosen of Surtur. Though because of the deep sense of shame they harbored, encounters with them generally turned to bloodshed.