Inevitables were lawful intelligent constructs whose single purpose was to enforce the fundamental laws of nature and morality and punish those who violated them.[1][2]
Description[]
Inevitables varied in form according to their purpose, yet one feature they had in common was a clockwork nature, with gears and pistons in place of muscles. Their bodies and armor were gold and silver and their eyes shone with a golden light.[1][2]
Personality[]
In contrast to the majority of constructs, inevitables were intelligent beings capable of thought, memory, and learning. But not a lot—their sole purpose was to enforce whatever fundamental law of nature for which they were programmed and they had a one-track mind in its pursuit and oblivious to other matters. They were resolute and patient in the extreme. Despite this, individual inevitables could have or develop certain idiosyncrasies in their programming, producing slight variations in their behavior and responses. For this reason, they were regularly recalled for reprogramming, no matter how effective they were.[1][2]
Abilities[]
While inevitables varied in their design and powers, all could regenerate to repair damage sustained, provided they were still functional. However, chaotic weapons and the natural attacks of beings of chaos overcame their natural resilience and could not be regenerated.[1][2]
Similarly, as beings of law, inevitables' weapons and natural attacks overcame the natural resilience of beings of chaos.[1][2]
Combat[]
In battle, an inevitable focused entirely on the target transgressor and completely ignoring others. They were programmed to avoid innocent beings, but not their accomplices and agents, which could occasionally cause conflicts in their programming. It might attack a creature that got in its way, but would delay no longer than necessary before it engaged with the transgressor again. Despite this, it did not neglect self-defense at all: if an inevitable was attacked with what it viewed as deadly force, it would respond in kind, and an inevitable would act to preserve its existence. It would only willingly sacrifice itself if it would achieve its mission in the process. If defeat and failure were certain, it would withdraw to find a different approach.[1][2]
Ecology[]
Locations[]
In the Great Wheel cosmology, inevitables could normally be found on their home plane of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus,[1][2][4] as well as the similarly lawful planes of the Nine Hells and Mount Celestia.[5] However, they could appear anywhere when in pursuit of their quarry.[1] In particular, inevitables were active at the Hall of Concordance, an embassy of Mechanus in Sigil.[4]
In the World Tree cosmology, the inevitables were found in Dweomerheart, the realm of Mystra.[6]
Activities[]
A contract marut of the House of Concordance.
They sought out and punished those who broke fundamental laws of nature, such as "Bargains should be kept", "The guilty should be punished", or "Everyone dies eventually". Each type of inevitable would target specific infringements, but all would act without emotion, punishing those found guilty in the proper manner.[1][2] They cared only for the letter of the law or a contract, not its spirit.[4]
Upon creation, an inevitable was given its first mission and programmed with the native language of the transgressor. From then on, it was dedicated entirely to its mission and tracking down the transgressor. It would seek them out, no matter how long and how far it must go, no matter how much time had passed or impossible the quest. Accounts told of inevitables who, unable to cross an ocean, simply walked into the sea and across the ocean floor, emerging months later on the opposite shore.[1][2]
When the inevitable caught the transgressor, it would mete out whatever punishment had been deemed appropriate, but this was typically execution. On some occasions, however, it chose some form of compensation to whomever the transgressor had wronged and used their geas or mark of justice powers to guarantee the transgressor carried out the necessary actions.[1][2]
Afterward, however, the inevitable would wander the land, quietly watching whatever transpired around it while being heedless of all the attention it attracted. But as soon as it witnessed a transgression of its fundamental law, it would take on a new mission. Some people might learn of the idle inevitable, track it down, and alert it to some crime and argue for it to take it on as a new mission, but whether it accepted or not depended on its personal programming.[1][2]
Certain maruts were tasked with ensuring the fulfillment of contracts signed within the Hall of Concordance. Here, any two parties of any kind in the planes, even yugoloths, could choose to enter into a binding agreement with one another that the maruts would enforce the terms of. There, once paid the required amount of gold, a unique inevitable known as the Kolyarut engraved the contract between the two agreeing parties onto a gold plaque and installed it within the chest of a marut. It then became bound to ensure that contract's fulfillment—to the letter, not the spirit—and to punish any party who broke it. However, these maruts only entered combat to resolve a dispute or in self-defense, and only used lethal force when a contract called for it or if necessary to ensure their own survival. [4]
Relations[]
A zelekhut giving a dwarf cleric a ride.
If necessary, inevitables would gather allies to help them against challenging foes. However, such alliances fell apart before too long, as their allies quickly realized the inevitable would not hesitate to sacrifice them to achieve its goal. Otherwise, inevitables operated alone, without others of their kind.[1][2]
A priest or mage could specifically summon an inevitable via a call marut, call kolyarut, or call zekekhut spell, but only for a task in line with the respective inevitable's duty.[7][8]
History[]
The inevitables were created by Mystra, as she was guardian of the laws of magic and they were tasked with enforcing the fundamental laws of the universe.[6]
However, others reported that Primus, the One and the Prime, ruler of Mechanus and the modrons, was responsible for creating inevitables with the purpose of establishing order in the dealings between inhabitants of the planes.[4]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
Inevitable 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 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Jeff Grubb, Bruce R. Cordell, David Noonan (September 2001). Manual of the Planes 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 176–179. ISBN 0-7869-1850-8.
- ↑ 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 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 158–160. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 152. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (May 29, 2018). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 213. ISBN 978-0786966240.
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, Bruce R. Cordell, David Noonan (September 2001). Manual of the Planes 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 151, 152. ISBN 0-7869-1850-8.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 152. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel (July 2004). Planar Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 89–90, 92, 96. ISBN 0-7869-3429-8.
- ↑ Matthew Sernett, Jeff Grubb, Mike McArtor (Dec 2005). Spell Compendium. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 42, 252–253, 267, 269, 270, 285. ISBN 0-7869-3702-5.