Medium
Beast
CR 5
neutral
Ferrugivore
Arcane Rustling
The Ferrugivore is a grotesque, centipede-like vermin that hungers for the hum of enchantment. It glides over armor and weapons with uncanny purpose, its segmented carapace exuding a whine like metal on stone. When it finds a magic blade or warded plate, it anchors dancing tendrils into the item and sulks its glow into blackened flakes; allies who watch their prized arms darken and fail feel a colder terror than any wound.
Armour
15
natural armor
Hit points
113
15d8+45
Speed
30ft
Challenge
5
1,800 XP
STR
16
+3
DEX
12
+1
CON
16
+3
INT
6
-2
WIS
12
+1
CHA
6
-2
Saving throws
DEX +4
Skills
Stealth +4
Senses
darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages
understands Common but can't speak
Multiattack. The Ferrugivore makes two Tendril attacks.
Tendril. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) piercing damage. If the target is wielding or wearing metal armor or a metal weapon, the item must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or begin to lose its enchantment: for 24 hours it functions as a mundane item (magical properties suppressed). A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each long rest; a successful save restores the item's magic immediately. Nonmagical metal items take 3 (1d6) acid damage on a failed save.
Arcane Siphon (Recharge 5-6). The Ferrugivore lashes both tendrils at a single metal weapon or suit of armor within 15 feet. The object must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be rendered nonmagical for 24 hours as the Ferrugivore siphons the bound enchantment; on a failed save, the Ferrugivore regains 30 hit points (up to its hit point maximum) and the object is stained and pitted (repairing the object's appearance requires a successful mending or smithing check). If the object was a spellcasting focus charged with castable spells, those spells are lost and may require costly restoration.
Scholars believe Ferrugivores evolved from common rust beetles that scavenged slag in old forges near ley lines, where ambient magic altered their metabolism. Over generations they developed the ability to metabolize arcane energies bound in metal, rewiring magical enchantments into sustenance. Folktales call them 'the smith's secret famine'—a curse that comes when a town's forge forgets to feed the wards. Ferrugivores favor abandoned forges, ruined armories, watchtowers, and the lower levels of arcane workshops where discarded spell-smithed gear accumulates. They are solitary hunters but congregate where a cache of enchanted items sits unguarded. The Tinkerers' Consortium of Halverin keeps a thin file on them; its field notes, compiled by Marrek Sootwright, advise travelers to never leave a weapon or plated mail unattended and to carry a shard of silvered glass, which Ferrugivores find distasteful. Legends say the cult called the Iron Covenant once attempted to harness Ferrugivores to neutralize an enemy's enchanted arms — a plan that ended when the beasts consumed the Covenant's reliquaries instead.
A Ferrugivore is roughly the length of a large dog (about 5–6 ft. long) with a flattened, many-segmented body. Each segment bears a pair of jointed, clawed legs that click like clockwork. The head is a low, armored prow with a ring of probing antennae and a maw of rasping plates rather than teeth. Its dorsal plates are pitted and stained with iridescent rust and soot; when it feeds, fine flakes of blackened metal dust fall from gaps in its carapace. The feeding tendrils are long, prehensile barbs that exude a corrosive oily sheen and twitch with an almost electric light when near enchanted metal. The textures are mixed: chitinous segments like oxidized copper, sinewy muscle bands between plates, and twin rows of black, hooked feet. Small vents along its sides pulse faintly as it digests arcane energies.
Made with the free LoreKeeper Monster Generator · D&D 5e-compatible stat block · Free to use at your table · Licence
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