Cadaver collectors were massive constructs that searched battlefields to collect the corpses of those who had fallen.[1][2][3]
Description[]
Cadaver collectors were 12‑foot-tall (3.7‑meter) humanoid constructs built of stone and metal that weighed 2 tons (1,800 kilograms).[2][3] Their long, armored arms nearly dragged along the ground owing to their hunched posture. They possessed a featureless, oblong head with glowing green eye sockets. Spikes of various lengths, some barbed and some not, jutted out from the collector from all sides and along its limbs.[3] In some cases, the cadaver collector would scavenge and embed weapons into its armor to provide it with even more spikes.[1] These spikes were often crusted with gore, and as the collector searched for and found bodies of fallen fighters, it adorned these various spikes with the corpses.[3]
Cadaver collectors possessed both low-light vision and darkvision.[3] They required no rest, no air, and no sustenance, and were unaffected by diseases or toxins.[1][2] They were said to be resistant if not immune to the effects of the River Styx.[4]
There was said to exist larger and mightier variations of the cadaver collector, some reaching heights of 30 feet (9.1 meters) and weighing 15 tons (14,000 kilograms).[3]
Personality[]
Cadaver collectors existed with the sole directive of harvesting bodies from battlefields, and desired to complete this task.[3] A cadaver collector without orders would simply collect bodies mindlessly in whatever battlefield was the site of its last mission.[2] Once it ran out of bodies, it would deactivate, usually waiting in a nearby secluded location until given a new set of orders either by its old master or someone new. Those who wished to become a cadaver collector's new master usually had to convince it that they in turn served its old master.[2][3]
While they generally operated under the complete control of a master, cadaver collectors possessed rudimentary minds such that masterless collectors might venture out on their own to seek corpses, especially if they had gone for a long enough time without a mission that their minds started to breakdown. Some even developed the perverse logic to instigate conflicts to create corpses if there were none to be found, and in extreme cases, a damaged or malfunctioning cadaver collector might lose the ability to distinguish between a living and dead body, leading it to attack people directly.[2][3]
They did not speak but could generally understand one language (determined by their creator, but usually Common),[3] however it was also possible for them to have the ability to comprehend all languages.[1]
Combat[]
A cadaver collector boasted a large and durable armored frame (which was capable of reducing if not negating incoming damage), superhuman strength, and an especially potent but unusual resistance to magic.[1][3] They were immune to a wide array of spells, weaker magics would often simply rebound off them and back onto the caster,[3] and they were resistant to any effects of electricity (and in some cases, such spells would be absorbed and revitalize a cadaver collector).[2][3] Notable exceptions to their resistances included any spells which caused metal to rust or which altered the nature of their stone components, as well as spells which attacked with sound waves.[3] Even mundane very loud noises could interfere with their locomotion and cause them to slow down, and so explosions were a favored means of disorienting them.[2]
Cadaver collectors lacked the intelligence to execute even moderately complex battle plans.[2] In combat, they attempted to use their spikes to impale enemies, both alive and dead, and were adept at both grabbing their foes and trampling them underneath their feet. Collectors could emit a paralyzing gas in a 30‑foot (9.1‑meter) cone in front of them, which helped to subdue any bodies that still had some life within them. They usually initiated combat with this gas.[3]
Some cadaver collectors possessed the unnerving ability to enslave the very souls of any beings who died by being impaled upon their spikes, and could summon these captive spirits as berserk specters to attack their foes. They could not summon the spirit of a creature that they had not killed directly, and a spirit could be freed by slaying either it or the cadaver collector.[1]
Society[]
Cadaver collectors were designed to collect bodies from battlefields, regardless of the allegiance of the fallen, and were despised by any armies who saw them harvesting their comrades.[2][3] They were generally released onto the battlefield as the fighting was starting to end,[2] going forth alone or in squads of up to 5.[3] They would collect as many bodies as they could carry and then bring this cargo to a prearranged drop-off site before heading back into the battlefield for more.[2] Given their relatively narrow function, most cadaver collectors found themselves idle during peacetime.[3]
Most often, cadaver collectors served necromancers seeking to turn the harvested bodies into undead minions, however some were instead dispatched by military leaders—who wished to collect information about their enemies from the corpses—or by medical researchers—who needed bodies for study.[3] Some evil warlords, particularly among hobgoblins, favored the use of cadaver collectors not as scavengers but as fearsome weapons in their own right that marched alongside their armies.[1]
The origin of cadaver collectors was disputed, with some scholars believing they were built by mortals[3] but that the method of their creation was lost long ago,[2] while others argued that they were native to the plane of Acheron (where they could indeed be found wandering aimlessly).[1] Either way, they were ancient, and whenever a new cadaver collector appeared, it was not clear whether someone had rediscovered the means to make one[2] or had summoned it from Acheron.[1]
History[]
As of the late 15th century DR, cadaver collectors could be encountered in the city of Evernight in the Shadowfell.[5]
In the course of the Blood War, a nalfeshnee in service to Yeenoghu named Bertheraan used a team of four cadaver collectors to build and maintain his House of Gore, an ambulatory fortress made of corpses that shambled across Avernus.[6]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Adventures
Miniatures
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
External Links[]
Cadaver collector article at the Eberron Wiki, a wiki for the Eberron campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (May 29, 2018). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 122. ISBN 978-0786966240.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 Brian R. James, Matt James, Sterling Hershey, Steve Townshend (December 2011). Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-0-7869-5838-2.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 Andrew Finch, Gwendolyn Kestrel, Chris Perkins (August 2004). Monster Manual III. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 22–23. ISBN 0-7869-3430-1.
- ↑ Jason Bradley Thompson (2018-08). Six Faces of Death (PDF). In Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Matt Chapman, Bart Carroll eds. Dragon+ #21. Wizards of the Coast. p. 16. Archived from the original on 2020-07-13. Retrieved on 2021-01-07.
- ↑ Matt Sernett, Erik Scott de Bie, Ari Marmell (August 2011). Neverwinter Campaign Setting. Edited by Tanis O'Connor. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 209. ISBN 0-7869-5814-6.
- ↑ Will Doyle (2020). Fang and Claw (DDAL09-19) (PDF). D&D Adventurers League: Avernus Rising (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 5–7.