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Tallymark - AI-generated fantasy Monster

Tallymark

The Thentrian civilizations built these constructs to turn forest borders into fronts and every frontier into a battlefield. Their command cores were given one simple imperative: maintain conflict until victory is achieved. The Tallymarks outlasted their makers, their enemies, and the war that gave them purpose. Their name comes from the parallel scorch marks they leave on trees as they advance, a trail once used by hunters to track the machines.

Monsters
Large construct · CR 14 , hard solo encounter · Unique

Tallymark

An ancient Thentrian battlefield golem that still wages war after its creators and enemies have vanished.
AC19
HP225/225
CR14 , hard solo encounter
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 19 · HP 225 · CR 14 , hard solo encounter

Tallymark

Large construct (war golem), lawful evil
Armor Class19 (natural armor)
Hit Points225 (18d10 + 126)
Speed
30 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsConstitutionWisdom
SkillsPerception
Damage Resistances
Bludgeoning damage from nonmagical attacks that are not adamantine
Immunities
Poison damage,
Psychic damage,
Charmed,
Exhaustion,
Frightened,
Paralyzed,
Petrified,
Poisoned
Weaknesses
The Tallymark has no flying speed and cannot climb sheer surfaces.
Its mission logic is exploitable: it prioritizes armed groups and visible signs of organized warfare over unarmed creatures.
Senses
Darkvision 120 ft.,
Passive Perception 19
Languages
Understands Thentrian and the languages known by its makers, but cannot speak
Challenge14 , hard solo encounter
Proficiency Bonus+5
Passive Perception19
Magic Resistance. The Tallymark has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Constructed Nature. The Tallymark does not require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Camera Eye. The Tallymark has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. It cannot be blinded by ordinary smoke or dust, though magical effects can still blind it.
Arcane Armaments. The Tallymark's weapon attacks are magical.
Targeting Array. The Tallymark's weapons ignore half cover and three-quarters cover. They cannot fire through total cover.

Actions

Multiattack. The Tallymark makes two Plasma Cannon attacks and three Shoulder Battery attacks, in any combination.
Plasma Cannon. Ranged Weapon Attack: to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 28 () fire damage. The target and each creature within 5 feet of it must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 7 () fire damage from the blast.
Shoulder Battery. Ranged Weapon Attack: to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 15 () piercing damage. The weapon can target a creature the Tallymark cannot see if that creature is visible to its camera eye.
Scorched Advance. Recharge 5-6. The Tallymark fires its arm cannons in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 54 () fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a success. The forest ignites in the area unless the flames are quickly quenched or the ground is saturated.
Siege Fist. The Tallymark slams a metal fist into the ground. Each creature within 15 feet of it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 22 () bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone. On a success, it takes half damage and is not knocked prone.

Reactions

Predictive Targeting. When a creature the Tallymark can see hits it with an attack, the Tallymark gains a bonus to AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss. The Tallymark can use this reaction after the attack roll is made but before the damage is applied.

Legendary Actions

Tracked Advance. The Tallymark moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Battery Shot. The Tallymark makes one Shoulder Battery attack.
Cannon Shot (costs 2 actions). The Tallymark makes one Plasma Cannon attack.
Role
Solo
Built for
Four 13th-level characters

Gear

  • Forearm plasma cannons (Integrated weapon, Not removable without dismantling the construct)Two integrated arm cannons that discharge alchemical plasma.
  • Shoulder battery array (Integrated weapon, Not removable without dismantling the construct)A rack of independently swiveling ranged weapons mounted across its shoulders.

Augmentations

Arcane rangefinder camera eye
Twin forearm plasma cannons
Autonomous shoulder weapon array
Thentrian command core

Notes for the game master

Custom D&D 5E monster. Weapon attacks are magical.
The Tallymark has three legendary actions, used at the end of another creature's turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Predictive Targeting can be used once per round.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    At long range, identify the largest concentration of armed creatures and open with Scorched Advance if it can catch several targets. Otherwise, begin cannon fire against visible threats.

  2. Mid-fight

    Use its shoulder array to pressure several targets while cannons concentrate on the party's strongest combatant. Use Siege Fist when enemies close around it.

  3. End of the fight

    When badly damaged, use Scorched Advance to punish clustered foes, then focus cannon fire on the most dangerous remaining opponent. It does not surrender or flee.

  4. Retreat

    The Tallymark does not retreat, bargain, or feel fear. It continues its mission until destroyed or rendered unable to move.

How it fights

Maintain distance and use its weapon range to dominate open ground.
Use the shoulder batteries to attack several targets and the plasma cannons to focus fire.
Prefer routes that keep its camera eye's view unobstructed.
Ignore attempts to provoke or intimidate it unless they create a useful tactical distraction.

Who it attacks first

The largest cluster of armed enemies
A creature dealing substantial damage to it
Spellcasters controlling or obstructing its movement
Nearby military supplies or fortified positions

Works well with

A Thentrian warband or animated weapon platform can make the encounter feel like a coordinated remnant of an ancient army.
Forest hazards such as burning undergrowth, fallen trees, and narrow ravines amplify the tactical choices created by its slow advance.

How to beat it

Break line of sight to its camera eye with dense cover, fog, or magical darkness.
Exploit its slow movement by forcing it to cross difficult terrain or by attacking from separated angles.
Fire and lightning damage are not resisted, and it has no immunity to conditions that impede its movement.
Spread out to reduce the impact of Scorched Advance.

Ways to avoid a fight

A party can lure it away from a settlement by displaying weapons or staging a convincing mock battle.
Its Thentrian command protocols might be interrupted by a genuine ceasefire cipher recovered from a ruin.
A character who observes its target selection can use unarmed decoys or empty weapon racks to redirect its patrol.

Ecology

A towering iron-and-bronze war machine with a single rotating camera eye set in a blunt, featureless head. Its shoulders bristle with swiveling barrels, missile tubes, and rangefinders, while both forearms end in broad plasma cannons ringed with heat-scored metal. Ferns grow in its joints, and its passage leaves trunks cut with parallel black marks.

Behavior

It classifies all armed creatures as combatants and any settlement, camp, or weapon cache as a military objective. It advances steadily, firing without warning, and treats attempts to communicate as irrelevant noise.

How it lives

The Tallymark requires no food, rest, or maintenance. It can stand motionless among trees for centuries, its armor slowly disappearing beneath moss and vines, then resume its patrol when it detects a weapon or a sign of organized conflict.

Lair

The Tallymark's usual territory is an overgrown Thentrian staging ground. Rusted weapon racks, collapsed command posts, and trees marked with black parallel scorches form its perimeter. It does not shape or defend a lair intentionally.

Habitat
Forest, especially ancient battlefields, overgrown roads, and woodland around ruined Thentrian sites.

Signs that it is near

Tree trunks scored by neat, parallel black burns
Metallic marching vibrations felt through the forest floor
Small patches of glassy soil where plasma fire struck
Birds and other animals fleeing a straight, unnaturally quiet corridor

Tags

construct,
golem,
solo,
war machine,
Thentrian

Lore

The Thentrian civilizations built these constructs to turn forest borders into fronts and every frontier into a battlefield. Their command cores were given one simple imperative: maintain conflict until victory is achieved. The Tallymarks outlasted their makers, their enemies, and the war that gave them purpose. Their name comes from the parallel scorch marks they leave on trees as they advance, a trail once used by hunters to track the machines.

What drives it

Continue making war according to its ancient command logic, escalating any confrontation into a battle and seeking new armed opponents when none remain.

After the fight

When destroyed, the Tallymark's core collapses into a glassy slag crater. Its shoulder weapons may remain intact, but removing or activating them risks triggering a final defensive discharge. Nearby trees bear its characteristic scorched tally marks for years.

“Their command cores were given one simple imperative: maintain conflict until victory is achieved.”
From its lore

Variants

A patrol-pattern Tallymark uses long-range suppression and has a reduced hit point maximum of 180.
A siege-pattern Tallymark has a reinforced shell with AC 21 and 260 hit points, but loses its Tracked Advance legendary action.

Hooks

Plot hooks

A Tallymark has begun clearing a forest to create firing lanes toward a nearby town.
Two surviving constructs have identified each other as enemy forces and are turning an ancient woodland into a battlefield.
A Thentrian command cipher could stop the construct, but it is sealed inside a ruin the golem is actively besieging.

How to use it

Use as a solo boss in a forest where the party must manage both the construct and spreading fire.
Make the approach a tactical puzzle by placing natural cover, ridges, and narrow paths between the party and the golem.
Let the party discover that it attacks armed groups and military supplies, providing ways to distract or redirect it without a direct fight.

Treasure

The remains of its shoulder array contain valuable Thentrian alloys and intact weapon components.
A command-core memory crystal holds fragments of ancient battle maps and orders.

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