Animated Armor

Animated Armors are eternally patient relics, left behind to guard designated spaces. They spring to life with a dim awareness granted to them by permanent dweomers made from ectoplasmic residue or magic from the school of artifice. They are hollow in form—lacking breath, emotion, or conscience. Their perception is as sharp as their armaments, but their instincts are not; their movements are precise, but plodding; they execute their preordained orders with a chilling lack of hesitation, existing solely to fulfill the commands of their creator. Animated Armors can only perceive intruders within a melee space, but lack object permanence and will not pursue victims who escape their line of sight.

An Animated Armor is best used against the PCs as a hazard, anchored to an exploration scene where its presence turns a secure location into a deadly trap. Such creatures do not improvise, but they also do not relent—their only motivation is to act in accordance with their command encoded in their dweomer. Leverage its false appearance to surprise the party, especially in places filled with debris, rusted wargear, or other funerary displays. Though it cannot chase its prey far, its immense durability and resistances allow it to withstand prolonged combat. An Animated Armor is particularly vulnerable to antimagic: if its dweomer is dispelled, the Animated Armor becomes permanently inert and mundane.