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The Joined Vows - AI-generated fantasy Monster

The Joined Vows

The Joined Vows formed when two lovers, one a paladin and the other a keeper of the shrine, died defending the sanctuary. Their hands were found clasped together. A grieving sculptor carved their likenesses into a single memorial, and the shrine's old magic bound their spirits to it. The guardian's fragrance is the memory of the flowers laid at their altar.

Monsters
Large undead · CR 3 , 700 XP · Unique

The Joined Vows

Two devoted spirits bound into a single stone guardian, protecting the shrine where their vows were broken.
AC14
HP60/60
CR3 , 700 XP
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 14 · HP 60 · CR 3 , 700 XP

The Joined Vows

Large undead (bound spirits), neutral
Armor Class14 (natural armor)
Hit Points60 (8d10 + 16)
Speed
Walk 20 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsConstitution
SkillsInsightPerception
Damage Resistances
Cold
Immunities
Poison damage,
Poisoned condition
Weaknesses
It cannot leave the shrine.,
It cannot be convinced to abandon the altar while it remains intact.
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft.,
Passive Perception 11
Languages
Understands Common and Celestial but cannot speak
Challenge3 , 700 XP
Proficiency Bonus+2
Passive Perception11
Bound to the Shrine. The Joined Vows does not need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep.
Shared Resolve. The Joined Vows has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, and magic cannot put it to sleep.

Actions

Stonebound Embrace. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 () bludgeoning damage plus 3 () cold damage.
Multiattack. The Joined Vows makes two Stonebound Embrace attacks. It can replace one attack with a Vowchain against a creature it has grappled.
Vowchain. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 10 ft., one Large or smaller creature. Hit: 7 () bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape ) if the Joined Vows is not already grappling a creature. Until the grapple ends, the target is restrained. The Joined Vows can grapple only one creature this way.
Funeral Perfume (Recharge 5-6). The Joined Vows releases a wave of cloying, crushed-flower perfume in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 10 () psychic damage and cannot take reactions until the end of its next turn. On a success, it takes half damage and suffers no other effect. A creature that succeeds is immune to this perfume for 24 hours. The Joined Vows can use this action once, regaining its use when it finishes a short or long rest.

Reactions

Shared Burden. When a creature the Joined Vows can see within 5 feet hits it with a melee attack, the guardian reduces the damage by 4 (after resistances). The attacker hears two voices whisper, "Not them."
Role
Guardian and grappler
Built for
A party of four 3rd-level characters

Gear

  • Carved shield (Integrated ornament, No monetary value)A cracked stone shield motif remains carved across one fused shoulder. It is part of the creature and cannot be removed as usable equipment.

Notes for the game master

Custom creature designed for D&D 5e, calibrated as a CR 3 encounter.
Its grapple escape DC and Funeral Perfume save DC are both 13.
The Joined Vows is a single creature, despite its paired appearance.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    It remains motionless among the statues until a creature approaches the altar or tries the northern door. It then warns intruders in a shared, echoing voice before attacking.

  2. Mid-fight

    It uses Vowchain to restrain a dangerous melee combatant and Stonebound Embrace against nearby threats. It uses Funeral Perfume when two or more intruders are clustered.

  3. End of the fight

    If reduced below 20 hit points, it focuses on the creature it has grappled, trying to hold it while its remaining allies escape or intervene. It does not pursue creatures beyond the shrine.

  4. Retreat

    The Joined Vows cannot leave the shrine. It fights until destroyed or until intruders withdraw from the altar and northern door for at least 1 minute.

How it fights

Position it between intruders and the altar or northern door.
Use Vowchain to restrain a character who tries to rush past.
Avoid attacking characters who respect the shrine or focus on defending one another.

Who it attacks first

A creature damaging the statues or altar.
A creature attempting to force or unlock the northern door.
A nearby opponent threatening a grappled target.

Works well with

Stone statues and narrow passages make it easier for the guardian to block routes and isolate one intruder.
A second creature that threatens grappled targets can make the guardian's restraint more dangerous.

How to beat it

Its speed is only 20 feet, so mobile characters can keep their distance.
It has no ranged attack and cannot leave the shrine.
A successful DC 13 Strength check by the grappled creature or an adjacent ally ends Vowchain's grapple and restraint.
The perfume's effect can be avoided with a successful Constitution save, and a successful target is immune for 24 hours.

Ways to avoid a fight

A character who succeeds on a DC 13 Religion or History check recognizes the guardian's paired imagery as a memorial to lovers who died defending the shrine.
If the party places fresh flowers on the altar and speaks a sincere vow of protection, the guardian pauses for 1 minute, allowing respectful visitors to approach the northern door.
A character can try to calm it with a DC 14 Persuasion check, provided the party has not damaged the statues or altar.

Ecology

A towering pair of stone figures fused shoulder to shoulder, one wearing a paladin's sculpted armor and the other a simple lover's mantle. Their joined hands form a single heavy fist. Frost rims their faces, while crushed-flower petals drift from cracks in their marble skin.

Behavior

It stands among the statues with its joined hands lowered, mistaking intruders for grave robbers or oathbreakers. It speaks only to demand that the altar be left undisturbed. It attacks those who deface the statues or force the northern door, but may allow respectful visitors to pass.

How it lives

The Joined Vows is a supernatural guardian rather than a breeding creature. It draws strength from the shrine's preserved vows and the unresolved grief of the spirits within it.

Lair

A large shrine in Veyr Keep, crowded with statues of paladins and their lovers standing hand in hand. The northern door is locked. Despite the room's cold, a fragrance like crushed flowers hangs over the altar.

Habitat
Dungeon, especially a sealed shrine or memorial chamber.

Signs that it is near

A lingering fragrance of crushed flowers in a room cold enough to frost exposed metal.
Paired footprints in dust leading to the altar, though no living visitors are present.
Fine cracks in the statues shaped like clasped fingers.

Tags

undead,
guardian,
grappler,
shrine

Lore

The Joined Vows formed when two lovers, one a paladin and the other a keeper of the shrine, died defending the sanctuary. Their hands were found clasped together. A grieving sculptor carved their likenesses into a single memorial, and the shrine's old magic bound their spirits to it. The guardian's fragrance is the memory of the flowers laid at their altar.

What drives it

Protect the altar, the statues, and the northern door from desecration while preserving the memory of the lovers' vow.

After the fight

When the Joined Vows is destroyed, its stone shell cracks and two pale figures briefly emerge, hand in hand. The flower fragrance fades, the room's unnatural cold lifts, and the northern door unlocks with a quiet click. If the spirits were treated with respect or their history uncovered, they depart peacefully.

“A grieving sculptor carved their likenesses into a single memorial, and the shrine's old magic bound their spirits to it.”
From its lore

Variants

A mourning variant uses a veil of funeral petals that obscure its form but has the same statistics.
A guardian variant might defend a different memorial and carry the memory of another pair's broken vow.

Hooks

Plot hooks

The paladin among the statues once carried a key to the northern door, but its resting place is hidden beneath a memorial plaque.
One statue's face has recently been chipped away, and the guardian believes the party is responsible.
The lovers' vow concerned a promise to protect someone still alive elsewhere in Veyr Keep.

How to use it

Use it as the guardian of the northern door in Veyr Keep's statue-filled shrine.
Let players notice the unnatural cold and crushed-flower fragrance before the guardian moves.
Make the statues and altar meaningful terrain, with narrow lanes between plinths and space to maneuver around the guardian.
The creature may be calmed or bypassed if the party uncovers and honors the lovers' story.

Treasure

A silver vow ring worth 50 gp, hidden beneath the altar stone.
The northern door may conceal a shrine treasury or a passage deeper into Veyr Keep.

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