| - | - | Footnotes | - | - |
| 1st Edition AD&D | - | - | - | Dragon magazine |
?As you can easily hear, Grainne, our
own crwth is much gentler in tone than
the quayteros of the worshipers of Ishtar
the Dancer. Now, compare my telyn with
this other harp called a kissar. It?s made
from the skull of a minotaur that has had
strings attached to its horns by??
?Look at Aidan! Look at Aidan!? cried
Fiona, interrupting the bard in midlesson.
?If you?re trying to look like a fool,
Aidan, you?re doing a good job of it,? muttered
the children?s older sister.
?I?m trying to get this horn to blow,
Grainne, but it just won?t work,?
?That ?horn? is actually a very rare instrument
in this country,? said the bard,
?for I found it in a land beyond the Imbran
Mountains and, indeed, beyond the deserts
on their nether side. It is a ?naganai.? ?
?A what?? asked the red-headed boy.
?A ?snake-flute,? in the language of a man
named Gawara Hawara.?
?It doesn?t look like a flute,? observed
Grainne.
?Or a snake,? added Fiona.
?And it doesn?t sound like either,? added
Aidan with a grin as he handed the tube of
wood and metal to its owner, who took it
in his right (and only) hand.
?That?s a part of its special magic,? said
the bard.
?Magic? Like in the stories??
?Yes, Fiona, magic like in the stories.?
?And was there magic when you got the
flute??
?Yes, Aidan, there was magic in the ?nai,
and there was magic all around it, and
there is magic in it still.?
?And will you please tell us about it, Mr.
Farwanderer??
?I wonder how it was that I knew what
the next question asked of me would be?
Yes, Grainne, I will tell you this story, but
only as I can see that otherwise our music
lesson will go no farther this day. Fiona,
bring me the other naganai, the polished
wooden one, from my instrument satchel.
Aidan, you get me a drink to wet my lips?
but only water, mind you; it?s hardly past
dusk. And Grainne, you merely make
yourself comfortable here while the others
are about their tasks, for you shall
have a task of your own?a musical task?
to perform later.?
There had been a sound, and from close
by. It was not a proper command and had
been nothing at all intelligible, but it was
the first time in untold years and miles
that there had been a sound. The listener
hesitated in the near darkness?then
moved in that direction. It was so close.
?Years ago when I was still earning the
title ?Farwanderer,? for I had yet to see
many of the faraway places that by now I
have, I arrived in the city of Mangala on
the banks of the Porah River. I was traveling
in those eastern lands looking for an
education of sorts and the means to sup
port myself until the education was
through. In Mangala I found what I
thought was a way to combine the two.
?The average person of that place is
much the same as those of Mardukan to
our south, but their magicians are of a
different sort entirely. While Mardukanian
spell-casters use their elaborate rituals to
ensure good harvests and to protect their
people from barbarian and monster attacks,
Mangalan wizards use their magicks
to fabricate items of power for their personal
profit. And I had heard of one such
magical creation, rumored to be unique in
the world.
?This thing, called the Light of Surya,
was a flawless diamond that had been
magically engraved with the words to a
number of spells of great power. Fortunately,
those spells could be cast only by
one strong of will and pure of heart, and
the mage who possessed the diamond,
Gawara Hawara, had neither, having
gained the periapt by way of a poisonous
snake, as he was both a coward and a
scoundrel. While I myself had not the . . .
magical aptitude to use such a device, I
thought that retrieving and returning it to
the rightful owners would be beneficial to
all involved?including myself,? he added
hastily before Aidan could say the same. ?I
was younger then, and willing to lay aside
my greatest talent for a bit of glory and a
chance at being killed.? He hefted the
strange flute in his hand.
?Did you sneak in and grab it?? asked
Fiona.
?Or did you break in and fight for it??
countered Aidan.
?Being not as rash as many another
young adventurer,? the bard continued
blithely, ?I did not present myself at the
mage?s door and demand the return of the
periapt. Instead, remembering such sage
phrases as ?ignorance breeds indigence?
and ?over hurried, soon buried,? I decided
to first learn as much as I could concerning
Gawara Hawara?s security measures.
?The first thing I was told by those I
approached was that he guarded himself
and his treasures with snakes?mind you,
not just any snakes, but magical creatures
with scales of steel and blood of oil. *1*
?These ?iron cobras,? for such were they
called, he constructed for himself in his
apartments and released to prowl the
courtyards and recesses of his mansion. It
was one such device as this that he sent to
slay the mage-priest of Surya to gain the
magical gemstone I sought, one of many
such stolen articles said to litter his quarters.
Many a prospective pilferer had died
in the clutches of these cobras, and only
one, Asman, called ?the Lucky? after his
one encounter with the snakes, had survived
their attacks to tell me of their
effectiveness.
?But the theft and subsequent protection
of his ill-gotten gains were not all for
which Gawara Hawara used the cobras.
He would sometimes hire them out as
relentless assassins, even offering them to
high officials for legitimate purposes if the
price tendered was exorbitant enough.
Whereas a man being hunted by another
man could hope to use trickery or speed
to escape his pursuer, or could hope to
defeat him in combat if finally cornered,
the same could not be said of the man
chased by the iron cobras. The iron serpents
were unceasing and never lost a
trail once they?d found it.*2* I was told that
they were invincible in combat. Worse
still, they often struck at night or when
their victim was unable to defend himself,
making maximum use of their stealth and
deadly poison.
?The cobras were not alive and did not
think for themselves. Instead, they followed
the commands given them by Gawara
Hawara. To ensure that the
commands could not be overheard and
then spoken by other men, he constructed
his serpents in such a way that they would
respond only to commands issued by way
of his flute, his naganai.*3* No one I spoke
with in Mangala knew. the songs he played
to command his snakes, as he refrained
from playing where he could be overheard,
unless the audience was not expected
to survive to pass on the tune.
?So,? said the bard, setting aside the
wood and metal ?nai and taking the plain
wooden one, ?I first had to learn how to
play this instrument. Luckily, it being one
of the more popular of those played in
Mangala, I had my choice of many capable
tutors, and I quickly mastered its techniques
of play. Aidan, you can try to play
this ?nai.?
Aidan took the proffered instrument and
proceeded to produce two or three audible
but painfully bad notes before passing
it back to the bard.
?Now, give it to Grainne and we?ll see
what sort of impression my chwibanogl
lessons have made on your sister.?
The older girl accepted the ?nai, took a
few seconds to nervously adjust her
finger-holds, then played a halting but
recognizable scale on it.
?That?s better, Grainne, especially as the
?nai can play notes quite different from the
chwibanogl you?re used to. You will both
get the chance to continue with your
lessons while I continue with this story.
You?ll play the tunes I show you, as it is not
easy for me,? he said, raising his left arm
but not letting the concealing folds of his
sleeve drop away from its stumped end.
?Grainne shall play on the audible ?nai,
while Aidan will follow along silently with
the other.?
Aidan?s expression fell for a moment as
he took the silent ?nai. Perhaps Mr.
Farwanderer had given him the quiet
instrument to keep him from playing
badly again. But the barest hint of a smirk
tickled the corners of the bards mouth,
and the boy realized that there might be
other reasons for the choice of instruments.
His usual smile resurfaced.
?Now, as I was saying,? the bard resumed,
his face regaining the serious
expression he wore during instruction,
?having learned to play the naganai, I next
went to discover the tunes Gawara Hawara
used. Mangala being a city of magicks,
I visited a guild of magicians and
asked if to borrow a scrying device.?
?Scrying?? asked Fiona.
"That's like spying," replied Aidan, looking
up from his fingering of the 'nai, "but
it's magic."
?By paying them a fair price, leaving the
rest of my instruments in their care as
collateral, and promising them further
payment if I was successful, I procured
the loan of a pair of magical eyepieces
known as ?eyes of the eagle.? Equipped
with these crystals, I rented a room on a
hill overlooking Gawara Hawara?s house.
Although it was some distance away, with
the crystal eyepieces I could see the mage
as if he were but feet away from me.
Every time he came into my sight, I
watched him in hopes that he would give
some command to his cobras.
?A few times a day, he did make rounds of
his yards, inquiring of his constructs if there
had been any disturbances, then replaying
their original orders or changing them if
anything noteworthy had occurred.
?It took me a fortnight and more before I
felt confident that I had learned all of the
tunes I would need. I watched closely and
mastered the fingerings for a half-dozen
different commands.? He reached for
Grainne with his one hand. ?This,? he said,
carefully raising and lowering her fingers
over the holes of the wooden naganai to a
simple beat, ?was the command to attack
intruders. And this,? he said, moving her
fingers through an identical pattern, ?was
the command to report to Gawara Hawara.?
?But they?re the same,? Grainne
complained.
?Ah, the fingerings are the same, but are
the songs??
?If they were loud or quiet . . . ? said
Grainne after a thoughtful pause.
?Or if they were notes with the same
fingerings but different sounds . . . ? pondered
Aidan.
?. . . with different pitches, then the
songs would differ,? finished the bard.
?Both good answers, and both correct. I
watched Gawara Hawara even more
closely for the next week to notice any
signs of intonation changes or octave
jumps. And by way of movements of his
cheeks and lips, the way he shifted his
head, and the way the muscles of his
throat and mouth tightened at certain
points, I was sure I had been able to determine
what all of the notes were and how
the songs were to be played. Now, try
blowing the tune the easiest way."
When Grainne played a passable version
of the song, giggling erupted from Fiona.
?I couldn?t help it, Mr. Farwand?rer,? the
child protested before the bard could
chastise her, ?Aidan was blowin?, too!?
?I thought you meant for both of us to
try it,? Aidan answered as his teacher
turned toward him, a look of purest mischief
belying his avowed innocence.
?Be that as it may, it would be to the
advantage of all involved if you merely
fingered along with your older sister and
left the cheek puffing to another time.
Now, Grainne,? the bard continued, ?if you
were to blow doubly hard when you reach
the third note, and only just whisper the
last, you will find that you can play notes
of different pitch at those two places, one
an octave above, and one an octave below
the normal pitch.?
Grainne now played a tune quite similar
to the first with only the two requested
modifications.
?Very good! That first tune you played,
that Aidan tried to echo, was ?attack,? and
the second was ?report.? Of course, even if
properly played on the naganai in Aidan?s
care, neither variation would be audible,
but the method would be the same, and I
assumed the result would be, too.?
Once in a great while, the naganai?s slave
would pass some of its smaller brethren
along its journey, lying damaged beyond
repair in the wastes of the desert or at the
bottom of mountain defiles, or even lying
rusted beneath the surfaces of still lakes
and slow rivers. All had tried to carry out
their last orders, and all had failed in their
attempts. But now the servant had a new
order, an order that would last until canceled.
*4* It moved quickly to fulfill its command,
iron fangs parting in anticipation.
?And then you got the thing?? asked
Fiona, attempting to steer the story firmly
away from the music lesson.
?Yes, dear, it was time to make my try
for the Light of Surya. I had watched
the
mage until I had determined just these
sorts of differences between the tunes he
played regularly. There were slight variations
to some tunes played on different
days or in different places that apparently
made the commands more precise, but I
was confident that the general commands
I?d learned were sufficient.
I readied myself in my least conspicuous
glothing, secured my all-important
naganai and a few other tools of value,
belted on my smallsword, and made my
way though the dark of the night to his
mansion's outer walls.
?As I began my ascent, I thought for a
moment that I spotted movement farther
along the garden wall. But when I paused
to look more intently, I saw nothing. I told
myself that it was just nervousness and
finished the climb. From the walls top, I
looked for any sign of cobras in the yard
but saw none. One of the reasons real
cobras are dangerous is that they can
disappear in the darkness and undergrowth
as effectively as a skilled thief;
apparently, this is one of the reasons cobras
were chosen to model for these
constructs.
?I crept toward the manse across the
compound, headed for a small door that
I?d seen Gawara Hawara use but rarely?
and I was almost discovered. One of his
mechanical minions approached me along
the path, but apparently I saw it before it
saw me. I immediately stopped and attempted
to blend silently into the same
shadows the cobras were using for concealment,
as I did not want to betray my
presence by playing my ?nai too soon. The
silvery snake-stopped short of my concealment
and spread its hood out about its
head, turning in all directions as a human
would turn with a hand cupped to his ear.*5*
Luckily, although it looked directly at me
for a time that felt like hours, it finally
refolded its hood and glided swiftly past.
Evidently, it was intent on finding something
or someone else.
?Shaken but not unnerved by this good
fortune, I waited until the iron serpent
was well gone, then made for the door. It
had been locked, but the device was a
simple one, the mage putting trust in the
abilities of his iron guardians to protect
him. I left the door ajar behind me, in case
I had no time later for a leisurely exit, and
I proceeded cautiously forward.
?It was not dark inside, for the mage had
attached some small globes to the ceiling
at intervals that cast magical light bright
enough to allow navigation of the corridors
without fear of bumping against
walls or breaking crockery. I had no sure
idea where the periapt was secured, but I
assumed that it would be in the center of
the building, away from entrances as
vulnerable as the one I had come through,
and that it would be close to the rooms
Gawara Hawara occupied, mages and
misers often surrounding themselves with
their treasures. So, I made my way upward
and inward.
?Stealing through the mage?s apartments
was a nerve-wracking experience, as I
paused and hid at every imagined sound.
Although everything was sized for humans,
there were small holes cut into the walls and
doors to allow easy access for the snakes, a
fact demonstrated when another inattentive
iron sentinel emerged from one of these
channels a short distance ahead of me and
departed across the hall.
?I eventually ascended a flight of stairs
and arrived at a room that appeared to be
Gawara Hawara?s personal quarters, and
hopefully of the Light of Surya. Gathering
my courage, I opened the last door and
entered the chamber. As I?d guessed, the
room contained a mass of treasure; silver,
gold, gems, jewelled arms and armor, and
beautiful works of art, all illuminated by
the magical light-globes fixed in the doubly
high ceiling. And nowhere could a cobra
be seen. Made bold by this wealth of
wealth and dearth of protection, I stepped
in and made for an alabaster pedestal in
the room?s center, upon which shone the
gem I sought.
?And it was at this moment I learned
that it is never wise to assume the unlikely.
For there I was in the most important
room of the mage?s lair, and it did not
enter my mind that he would have
guarded that room more effectively than
the rest of his demesne. Before I could
traverse half the distance to my goal,
something that I had previously taken to
be a rolled carpet*6* unfurled, showing itself
to be a shockingly huge iron cobra that
raised its head more than my own height
above the floor.*7*
?Guessing that it would not be wise to
attempt to bluff this monster, I grabbed
my naganai and played the command song
for it to ?stand fast and report,? the tune I
was most sure of. Now, Grainne, if you
remember it. . . .? he said expectantly.
Grainne raised the ?nai to her lips and
complied, and the bard returned to his
narration when she had completed a halting
rendition of the command. ?To my
chagrin, the monstrous snake failed to
pause, continuing its measured advance.
Thinking that I?d mistaken the tune, I
played another song? ?at which point
Grainne played ?return to patrols?
unbidden? ?but it did me no better. The
cobra approached still.
?Realizing that there had somehow been
an error in my preparations, I drew my
smallsword and took a defensive stance.
Much faster than its stately stalking of me,
the automaton lashed out. Desperation
more than skill enabled me to jump aside
at the last possible moment. As I dodged, I
stabbed my blade at the automation, only
to have the weapon clang and shatter
against a surface stronger than my
swords cheap steel.*8* That action was my
last against the periapt?s final warder.
Before I could even think of another attack
to make, it reared up once more and,
with,a lightning lunge, thrust its fangs into
my shoulder and poisoned me.?
Years of silence had been broken less
than an hour before by meaningless noise,
then again minutes later by an actual
command: the command to attack all but
the holder of the naganai. It should have
made no difference to the serpent, but it
seemed to move a trifle faster through the
darkness than it had before, as if to fulfil
this latest order before the holder of the
naganai could pick up and move away It
was the greatest of its kind. It would not
fail now.
?But you couldn?t have been poisoned!
You?re still alive! ?
?The sting of a bee needn?t kill to
frighten away a curious boy, Aidan, and
not all poisons need be fatal in order to be
effective.*9* In this case, it was enough for
the venom to leave me paralyzed, lying on
the flagstones until Gawara Hawara could
investigate the clamor we had made; after
that, my death would be assured.
?I was too distraught to judge the interval,
but I imagine Gawara Hawara was not
long in coming. He was a tall man with a
shaven pate, and he was wrapped entirely
in many-layered green robes. A jewelled
dagger hung at his hip, and he had in his
hand the same silvered naganai that Aidan
now holds. With a most evil look on his
face, he approached to question me before
having me disposed of. But before he
could ask his first question, we both heard
a clinking sound from somewhere across
the room.
?Whirling about, Gawara Hawara saw
nothing. Only momentarily puzzled, he
lifted the naganai to his lips and began to
play. At first I thought the poison of the
cobra had deafened me, for I heard no
sound from the ?nai, but I soon realized
that it must be something else for I could
still hear the rustling of his robes. Immediately
after this realization, a normal-size
iron cobra appeared from one of the perforations
in the walls. Moments later,
another appeared, then a third. When
they?d halted before him, Gawara Hawara
played another silent tune and they
opened their fans, ?looking? for the unseen
intruder. I discovered then that part of the
magic of this naganai was that it could be
heard only by his iron legions.
?Of a sudden, one of the snakes ceased
its rotations and a whispering sound like
wind through dry leaves came from it.*10*
Hearing this, Gawara Hawara played yet
another soundless song. Immediately, all of
his small charges made for the shadows
behind one treasure pile.
?Realizing that he?d been found out, a
man dressed all in black leapt from behind
an urn of coins and landed beside the
leading snake. Swinging downward with a
glowing sword, he struck its head off with
one blow, then grabbed its fallen body and
slung it about him, spraying the floor
between himself and the other snakes
with its ichor. Then, with extraordinary
calm, he took a handful of slim darts from
his belt and dipped their tips in the venom
dripping from the downed cobra?s fangs.
?Not at all dismayed by this apparently
senseless act, the other snakes continued
forward, but once they arrived at the pool
of fluid their progress stopped. Writhe and
twitch as they might, they could neither
move forward nor retreat from the blood
of the fallen one.*11* That being the case, the
brazen thief walked up to the plinth and
plucked the Light of Surya that sat there.
?This I thought was the man?s only mistake,
for he?d apparently forgotten about
the enraged Gawara Hawara. After the
mage recovered from his shock at the
scene, he uttered an oath in his foreign
tongue and desperately played the command
to attack once more.
?At this last command, the immense
serpent whose head had hung over me
now started after the thief. Audacious and
unafraid to the end, the man in black
stood his ground, selected an envenomed
dart, and calmly blew it through his darttube
at the mage. Not being interested in
watching his adversary fall dead to the
floor, he turned to where I lay on the floor
and removed the scarves he had worn to
hide his face.
?To my surprise, the man was familiar,
but it was not until he spoke that I recognized
him. ?Thank you,? Asman the Lucky
said, ?for showing me the way into Gawara
Hawara?s lair, and for showing me the
Light that I have sought all these years.?
Then he turned and ran down the stairs,
barely eluding the monstrous cobra that
followed in slow but determined pursuit.
?It took me some while to get up from
where I lay. Surprisingly, I was not attacked
in that time. The snakes that had
been stranded in the oily puddle had evidently
escaped and joined the pursuit of
Asman, and unless they caught him,
they?re probably pursuing to this day. Only
the gods know where they?ve all gone
now.?
On a chilly night like this, a human
would call the light streaming from the
windows of the two-storied building
friendly. To the long, sinuous figure in the
black street outside, the light was merely a
signpost that its mission was coming to a
close. With mechanical precision unhampered
by the dents and scratches it had
collected on its years-long journey, the
serpentine machine advanced on the inn?s
front door to carry out the first order it
had received since it had left the tower in
Mangala. Its head lowered to serve as a
ram. The door would not hold beyond the
first blow.
?I was too weak from the lingering effects
of the poison to make much use of
the treasures piled around me, so I selected
a few choice and expensive pieces
to make up for the loss of the prime treasure
and limped out of the room. As I
passed the body that had been Gawara
Hawara, a cautious thought struck me and
I took from his hands the magical naganai
with which he had commanded his crawling
weapons. Then, knowing full well that
the rest of the booty would be long pillaged
before I could heal and return, I
painfully made my way back to my room
on the other side of Mangala. Through all
the intervening years, I have kept the
naganai here, just in case I should happen
to meet one of his iron snakes, still intent
on punishing the thief and I.?
?Mr. Farwanderer, you can?t play the ?nai
anymore, so why do you still keep it
around??
?Ah, Aidan, while no one can play a song
on it, nor can I play many of the cobra?s
commands, it might still be useful.? He
took the instrument from the boy and
quickly, almost carelessly, fingering a short
flurry of soundless notes. ?In an emergency,
I need only remember that the tune
to make the snakes resume their normal
patrols, as if no enemy had been encountered,
needs but a single hand to play.?
The serpent paused, head drawn back
and flattened for the blow. Yet another
new command had been given: ?Resume
patrols in the compound in Mangala.?
Clockwork eyes gleamed in the moonlight
as it appeared to considered the order and
reach a decision Then, in unhurried silence,
the cobra turned its 18? of iron
power from its target and began the return
trip across the mountains, the deserts,
and the rivers to home.
Footnotes
Iron cobras are described
in the AD&D®
1st Edition FIEND FOLIO® tome, pages
52-53. It is assumed herein that these
creations can be made by high-level wizards,
and that they are more common
than generally believed (they are certainly
far less powerful than iron golems). Iron
cobras have a 50% chance to hide in
shadows (the FIEND FOLIO tome says they
hide as well as 8th-level thieves, but this
chance is 49%).
1. While they exhibit some signs of life,
iron cobras are merely cunningly designed
magical constructs. Rare and expensive
materials, powerful spells, and secret
crafting techniques are required to build
them, with different combinations of these
creating iron cobras with different capabilities,
Still, many components are held in
common by all such devices: mithral,
adamantite, or meteoritic iron; a vial of oil
of slipperiness; and many gemstones
crafted into gears and bits of machinery.
The cost of constructing even the smallest
of these automatons is 2,000 gp.
A mage owning a manual describing the
methods of constructing iron cobras will
protect it dearly, as it can fetch a price in
the hundreds of gold pieces?thousands if
it contains special directions such as those
for creating giant iron cobras.
As an aside, while these constructs are
the sort of thing that the tinker
gnomes of
Krynn might manufacture, an iron cobra
appearing in a DRAGONLANCE setting
would likely have come from some other
universe, as the cost for tinkers to make
an iron cobra would be well above 20,000
steel pieces. But if confronted with an iron
cobra or the remains of one, a tinker
would have to make a check vs. wisdom
on 2d12 in order to tear himself away
from the fascinating device.
2. Iron cobras are not alive, so they do not
need food, water, or sleep, nor will they ever
forget a command or be distracted from a
task. Thus they make excellent servitors
and, because of their combination of tracking
and lethal combat capabilities, are sometimes
used by bounty hunters or even
respectable legal authorities.
3. Iron cobras can be commanded in
many ways, the means being decided upon
during creation. While most iron cobras
obey voice commands, some respond only
to coded messages, hand signals, nonverbal
sounds (such as musical instruments)
or other exotic or long-range modes of
communications. The manual used to
create an iron cobra includes a list of
possible command devices, so that a person
possessing a deactivated iron cobra
and the manual from which it was created
could, through trial and error, determine
the one method of controlling it.
The commands themselves can be of any
sort the creator desires, from such simple
things as ?attack,? to complicated orders
such as ?attack, targeting spell-casters
first, followed by elves, then by all others.?
Whatever the commands, they must be
selected at the time of the cobra?s creation;
it will answer to no commands not built
into it after that.
Whatever the commands and command
method decided upon, they must be individually
programmed into each iron cobra
created. Thus the creator could use similar
but subtly different commands for
each of his constructs, so that determining
the commands for one might not help an
attacker use them against others. This
would also allow the controller greater
subtlety in issuing commands.
4. Many iron cobras are created with a
built-in ?fail-safe? command that comes
into effect if the cobra spends a considerable
length of time without receiving orders.
Typical fail-safes include commands
to return to the cobra?s creator, to its
owner, or to a specific place after a period
of time has elapsed (up to one year). Iron
cobras designed to be left alone for unlimited
periods of time, such as guardians of a
tomb, sometimes use other fail-safes, such
as commands to slay all intruders, to prevent
the theft of the treasures in the lair,
or to hide and await further instructions.
5. Every iron cobra can detect a single
specific property by spreading its hood
and orienting it on that quality. Typical
properties detected for are covered by
existing divination spells (e.g., good, evil,
magic, undead, invisibility, etc.); the ranges
and areas of effects are as if those spells
were cast by a 12th-level human mage,
with the divinatory ability being usable as
many times each day as desired. Other
divinatory properties can be used, but the
mage must have cast on the nearcompleted
construction a spell designed by
him for this purpose (for example:, a spell
that detects those who worship a particular
god, for one who plans to use his iron
cobra against the worshipers of an opposed
deity).
The iron cobra?s construction manual
will list specific materials that must be
varied according to the detection spell
bestowed on the serpent (e.g., an iron
cobra designed to detect poison would
include eyes glazed with celadon, pur
ported to locate such substances, while
one designed to detect magic might replace
those eyes with eyes of magicsensing
star sapphires).
While an iron cobra is almost infallible
at detecting the property for which it was
constructed, it cannot serve every purpose.
If a mage built an iron cobra to
detect evil, for use as a guardian of his
treasures, a neutral-good thief would
elude his precautions. Thus, owners of
more than one iron cobra often have them
constructed to detect different properties
such as evil, magic, and poison, in hopes
that intruders and victims will be revealed
by at least one of these traits.
Without its outspread hood, an iron
cobra is incapable of sensing anything
beyond that which is mundanely presented
to it by way of sight, sound, or
touch (unlike a real snake, it has no sense
of taste or smell). The hood has the same
armor class as the rest of the cobra, but
attacks specifically aimed at the hood can
damage it without destroying the cobra
itself. The hood has the equivalent of onefifth
of the cobra?s normal hit points
(never less than one point), but these
points are in addition to those listed for
the iron cobra and are not calculated into
its hit-point total for purposes of destroying
the machine or for experience-point
calculations.
6. The normal construction of an iron
cobra is such that it obviously appears to
be a machine. If its creator adds 10% to its
cost and construction time, the cobra can
be made to have some other outward
appearance, the most common of these
being the appearance of an actual cobra
(or other type of snake, if the hood and its
detection abilities are eliminated).
7. Most iron cobras are of the small and
inexpensive sort, but some are giants as
large as six times standard size. The cost
of manufacturing huge cobras is considerably
more than six times that needed to
make normal iron cobras, running as high
as 50,000 gp depending on what ?special
features? are included. Some mages would
spend those thousands on having many
normal iron cobras, but some consider it a
fair price for a huge serpent?s capabilities
and its effect on enemy morale.
The giant iron cobra is identical in all
ways with the smaller version of the same
monster except as shown in the Iron Cobra
Table and in other notes here. Both
are unaffected by spells such as snake
charm. Although some think that cold or
lightning spells should have a special effect
on them, they are insulated so that they
suffer no more than any living creature
caught in one of these spells. Thus, an ice
storm cast on one would still do damage,
but it would have no extra effects due to
the nature of the target.
8. As iron cobras are made of exotic and
strong metals, laced together by powerful
enchantments, normal weapons used
against them do only half damage on a hit.
In the case of giant iron cobras, the metals
used are as much as six times as thick, and
the enchantments similarly stronger. Because
of this, the giant iron cobra?s skin is
much tougher than that of the small version
and a nonmagical weapon (which will
do the giant cobra no harm) has a possibility
of breaking against it. If the attacker
misses with a roll high enough to have hit
armor class 10, his weapon has struck the
snake?s skin and, if it fails a saving throw
vs. crushing blow, it will shatter. Additionally,
for every bonus point of damage done
due to the attacker?s strength, the saving
throw for the weapon will be one point
worse because such forceful blows are
more likely to break the weapon. Thus, if
the sword of a character with a 16
strength was forced to make a save, it
would have a worse chance of making its
save than the weapon of a weaker character
due to the stronger?s +1 damage
bonus.
9. Just as the iron cobra can have any
sort of detection spell centered on its
hood, it also can be equipped with any
type of poison in its fangs. Poison can be
changed by the controller of the cobra
whenever desired by merely draining out
the old poison and replacing it with a new
one. Typical toxins include those that
cause damage or death, those causing
special effects such as paralysis, sleep, or
various discomforts (disease, allergies,
rashes, etc), and other, more exotic, substances
that can incapacitate or cause
insanity in victims.
Whatever the substance injected into the
victim on a successful hit, an iron cobra is
equipped with only 3-8 (1d6 +2) doses of it,
and they cannot withhold poison at will;
whenever they bite, if they still contain
poison, it will be delivered into their victim.
While giant iron cobras would appear to
have capacity for more poison than normal
ones, they still carry only 3-8 doses of
their poison, but have larger and more
potent doses. Thus, if the same poison is
used by both small and giant iron cobras,
that of the larger mechanism is 10% more
effective (save vs. poison at -2 beyond
any adjustments vs. the poison of the
smaller machine).
10. While iron cobras are usually given
instructions that preclude the need for
return communication (?kill all intruders?),
some mages consider it useful to allow
their charges to communicate information
as well as perform other tasks. The most
common method of doing this is to program
certain movements of the cobra?s
body to correspond to specific reports it is
likely to make. If this is done, a reporting
iron cobra will look very much like a live
snake as it sways its body and bobs its
head to convey a message to its master.
Although they are not normally constructed
for it, iron cobras can also be
built that have the capacity for rudimentary
speech. Without lungs, lips, and other
sound-generating devices, they can be
made to ?speak? by rasping together some
of the gears in their mouths and the plates
on their backs or hoods in code (so a short
mouth rasp might mean ?intruders have
been detected,? while a repeated scraping
sound might mean something as mundane
as ?tea is being served in the library?). In
no case can an untrained person interpret
these noises or movements,
11. Most of the iron cobra?s components
are reduced to useless scrap if it is destroyed,
making its resale value after
destruction less than 10% of its intact
value, but some substances within it retain
their use if separated quickly from the
rest to prevent contamination. These
include the oil of slipperiness lubricating
its gears, which acts as described in the
Dungeon Master?s Guide for 1-4 hours
after being removed from the cobra; and
its poison, which maintains its full effects
for 1-4 turns after removal.
Normal Iron Cobra
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: None
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Non (0)
TREASURE TYPE: 2000+ gp
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1(1-6)
ARMOR CLASS: 0
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 1
THACO: 19
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See text
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: Small (3' long)
MORALE: 20
XP VALUE: 270
Giant Iron Cobra
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: None
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Non (0)
TREASURE TYPE: 25,00 gp
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -2
MOVEMENT: 9
HIT DICE: 5
THACO: 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See text
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: Huge (18' long)
MORALE: 20
XP VALUE: 1,400
DECEMBER 1990