Within a gilden, elven ribcage spins a core of razor-sharp gears, cogs with organic teeth, and a tangle of oil-dripping cables. It is suspended in the ghastly space by a hextet of rusted chains smeared with pilfered grease. This is what the construct truly is, as the limbs and head it wears are little more than accessories shed as easily as a mortal changes clothes. These extremities come from creatures foolish enough to entreat the Pedagogue by solving the Knot, pulled from the cooling corpses and fastened in place by wrapped chains, rusted nails, and crooked screws. The longer a stolen body part remains attached to the horror, the more gilded and bejeweled bone appears beneath rotting meat. Once an appendage becomes too damaged, or if Spurheart grows bored of it, it is carelessly discarded and a replacement attached.
Legend claims that Spurheart began as one of the first elven artificers in ages long forgotten. This elf prized knowledge above all other things. Even morality. It wasn’t long before its amoral experiments done just for the sake of knowing drew the ire of first heroes, then the monarch, and finally the gods themselves. Still, the brilliant monster stayed one step ahead of them all. When mortality eventually came knocking, the elf escaped that too. Save, the lichdom it entered was unlike any other. The black science used blasted away whatever shreds of personality remained and left cold logic behind. Its atrocities only grew worse.
Knotted Realities. Spurheart the Pedagogue travels myriad planes hunting every last scrap of knowledge it can find. Likewise, it ‘teaches’ the nature of reality to like-minded creatures it comes across. Though, it always finds such students wanting in the end and either converts them into servitors of one sort of another, kills them for parts, or employs other methods to ruin them.
Given the vastness of the planes, Spurheart constructed dozens of devices it calls Knots. These complex balls of cables, cogs, gears, and switches endlessly tick from within despite having no visible power source. Invariably, they fall into the hands of those driven to puzzle out how to open the device and uncover the mystery of its function. Once they get the Knot to untangle, it alerts the Pedagogue of this occurrence and opens a Planar Gateway for the construct to travel on. Then the real terror begins.
Spurheart the Pedagogue
Medium construct, lawful neutral
Str 13 Dex 17 Con 19 Int 20 Wis 16 Cha 12
Skills Arcana +10, History +10, Insight +8, Investigation +10, Medicine +8, Nature +10, Perception +8, Religion +10
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., truesight 10 ft., passive Perception 18
Absorb Arcana.
Any time Spurheart succeeds on a saving throw against a spell, it can cast that spell as if it had prepared it within the next 24 hours. Spurheart always casts these spells with the spellcasting stat of Intelligence (Saving throw DC 18 and +10 to hit with spells.)
Innate Spellcasting (1/Day).
Spurheart can innately cast Plane Shift, requiring no material components. Its innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence.
Magical Battery.
Any time Spurheart succeeds on a saving throw against a spell, it regains hit points equal to the spells' casted level.
Magic Resistance.
Spurheart has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons.
Spurheart's weapon attacks are magical.Actions
Multiattack.
Spurheart makes two attacks.
Chain.
Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage. In addition, if the target is a creature it must succeed on a DC 16 Intelligence save or take an additional 13 (4d6) psychic damage.
Legendary Actions
Spurheart can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Spurheart regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Attack (1 point). Spurheart makes 1 Chain attack.
The Agony of Ignorance (1 point). Spurheart targets a creature it can see with an Intelligence of 4 or greater that it can see within 120ft. It sucks knowledge from the creature's mind unless the creature succeeds on a DC 16 Wisdom save. On failure, the creature takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage and suffers disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn as it fumbles when trying to recall how to do anything.
If a creature fails this save by 5 or more, it still takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage and is paralyzed until the end of its next turn.
The Ecstasy of Knowing (1 point). Spurheart targets a creature it can see with an Intelligence of 4 or greater that it can see within 120ft. That creature's mind is bombarded with knowledge from across the planes to the point of bursting. The creature must succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence save or be overcome with painful bliss. The creature becomes Incapacitated for the next minute and takes 10 (3d6) psychic damage.
At the end of each of its turns, the affected creature may repeat this save with the effect ending on success. If a creature succeeds by 5 or more, it gains proficiency in one of the following skills: Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, or Religion. On failure, the effect continues and the creature suffers an additional 10 (3d6) psychic damage.
Cast Spell (2 Points). Spurheart casts one spell that it has gained via Absorb Arcana
Expunge Data (2 Points). Spurheart loses one spell it gained through Absorb Arcana and regains hit points equal to that spells level.
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