Stonewall Sentinel

Size/Type: Large Construct (Good, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 12d10+30 (96 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 24 (-1 size, +15 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 24
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+22
Attack: Slam +17 melee (2d8+9)
Full Attack: 2 slams +17 melee (2d8+9)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Aura of solidarity, interposing bulwark, shatter tyranny, rally the fearful
Special Qualities: Construct traits, damage reduction 10/adamantine, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, immunity to fear, immunity to compulsion, memory of the fallen, spell resistance 22, steadfast presence
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +8
Abilities: Str 28, Dex 10, Con —, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 20
Skills: Diplomacy +10, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (history) +15, Knowledge (religion) +15, Listen +19, Sense Motive +19, Spot +19
Feats: Awesome Blow, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Iron Will, Power Attack
Environment: Any land or urban
Organization: Solitary or accompanied by a community in need (special)
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral Good
Advancement: 13-18 HD (Large); 19-24 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: —

Special Attacks

Aura of Solidarity (Su): A Stonewall Sentinel radiates a 30-foot aura of courage and mutual support. Allies within the aura gain a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear, charm and compulsion effects. Any ally who succeeds on such a saving throw may immediately grant another affected ally within the aura a new saving throw against the same effect as a free action.

Interposing Bulwark (Su): Once per round as an immediate action, the Sentinel may move up to 10 feet to place itself between an ally and an incoming attack, spell or ranged effect. The attack is resolved against the Sentinel instead. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Shatter Tyranny (Su): Three times per day, a Sentinel may strike the ground with a slam attack as a standard action. All hostile creatures within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 21 Will save or lose any morale bonuses, fear-inducing effects and command-based supernatural abilities for 1d4 rounds. Creatures with the lawful subtype take 4d6 points of sonic damage from the shockwave. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Rally the Fearful (Su): Once per day, the Sentinel may emit a resonant call audible for 300 feet. All allies who can hear it immediately end any fear effect affecting them and gain 15 temporary hit points for 10 minutes.

Special Qualities

Memory of the Fallen (Su): The Sentinel bears countless names, symbols and inscriptions carved into its stone form. Whenever an ally within 60 feet is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, the Sentinel gains a cumulative +1 sacred bonus to attack rolls, Armor Class and saving throws for the remainder of the encounter (maximum +5).

Steadfast Presence (Su): Allies within 30 feet are treated as if under the effects of protection from evil against attempts to magically compel them to act against their beliefs or loyalties.

Spell Resistance (Ex): A Stonewall Sentinel possesses SR 22.

Description

The Stonewall Sentinel appears as a towering figure fashioned from weathered gray masonry blocks mortared together by faintly luminous silver seams. Across every surface are thousands of carved names, handprints, prayers, poems and memorial inscriptions. Some are ancient and worn smooth by centuries of rain, while others appear freshly etched despite no hand ever touching the stone.

Its face lacks distinct features, consisting instead of a smooth stone mask illuminated from within by soft rainbow-hued light. When it speaks, its voice emerges not from a mouth but from every stone simultaneously, carrying the weight of countless remembered voices. Flowers often bloom in cracks between its stones regardless of season, and lantern-like lights flicker around it during moments of great danger.

A Stonewall Sentinel is not a soldier, conqueror or executioner. It exists solely to stand between oppression and those who suffer beneath it. Communities under threat sometimes report seeing the Sentinel appear silently at the edge of town, standing motionless for days before vanishing once the danger has passed.

Lore

Legends claim the first Stonewall Sentinel was not built by kings, churches or archmages, but by ordinary people who refused to abandon one another. According to the oldest stories, every stone in its body once belonged to a different wall - prison walls, city walls, barriers, fortifications and boundaries erected to separate one group of people from another. Through forgotten divine intervention, those stones were gathered and transformed into something entirely new: a guardian dedicated not to division, but protection.

The carvings upon its body change over time. Scholars have documented names appearing that correspond to individuals who died defending their communities, while others seem to belong to people who have not yet been born. Priests argue endlessly about whether the Sentinel is a construct, an angel or something entirely unique. The Sentinel itself offers no answer, merely stating that "memory survives where stone endures."

Unlike most divine servants, the Stonewall Sentinel does not concern itself with alignment in the abstract. It is drawn specifically to persecution, cruelty and abuse of power. It has appeared in defense of peasants against tyrannical nobles, refugees fleeing conquest, falsely accused prisoners and isolated communities targeted by monsters or zealots. The Sentinel shows no interest in politics or ideology beyond a simple principle: those who wield power bear responsibility for how it is used.

Stories consistently describe a peculiar phenomenon surrounding its appearances. Individuals standing near the Sentinel often find themselves capable of acts of courage they previously believed impossible. Cowards become defenders. Bystanders become protectors. Grief becomes determination. Many who survive such events later insist that the Sentinel's greatest power was never its immense strength, but its ability to remind people that they were never as alone as they feared.

Among celestial beings, the Stonewall Sentinel is regarded with a mixture of admiration and mystery. It answers to no known deity, appears without summons and vanishes without explanation. Yet wherever its footprints are found, hope tends to endure long after the giant guardian itself has departed. Some theologians therefore teach that the Sentinel is not merely a creature, but a manifestation of a universal truth: that when enough people stand together against fear, even stone itself may learn to walk.