Statistics
| Creature type | Gargantuan construct, unaligned environmental guardian |
|---|---|
| Armor Class | Not targetable as a conventional creature |
| Hit Points | Resolved through the caldera’s sluices and encounter objectives |
| Speed | Acts through platforms, hands, and causeways |
| Ability Scores | STR 30 (+10), DEX 5 (-3), CON 30 (+10), INT 8 (-1), WIS 18 (+4), CHA 12 (+1) |
| Saves and Skills | Cannot be affected by ordinary attacks, spells, or conditions; Insight +8, Perception +8 |
| Senses | tremorsense throughout the Hollow Caldera, passive Perception 18 |
| Languages | understands Primordial and the crown’s commands; communicates through stone movement |
| Challenge | Encounter hazard |
Traits
City-Bound. Kharad is the foundation of the inner city, not a hit-point obstacle. It responds to magical instability and exposed shards. Operating all three sluices or safely unmaking the crown calms it.
Actions
Caldera Action (initiative count 20). Kharad moves one platform, closes one route, or drops stone in a 15-foot area; creatures there make a DC 15 Dexterity save or take 9 (2d8) bludgeoning and move 10 feet. Guardian Causeway. Crossing its moving fingers requires the adventure’s four-success challenge.
Tactics and Roleplaying
Signal every movement before it resolves so players can react. Kharad never targets morality, only instability. When calmed, it lowers the city and opens the escape route rather than fighting to destruction.