Doorwarden
Level 5Attacks
Abilities
Trigger An enemy hits the doorwarden with a melee Strike.
Effect The doorwarden can Raise its Shield and gain its shield's benefit to AC against the triggering attack.
When the doorwarden uses Shield Block against a melee attack from a creature within 5 feet, it can also push the creature 5 feet.
Until the next time it acts, the doorwarden appears to be a door. It has an automatic result of 31 on Deception checks and DCs to pass as a door.
The door opens and slams its doors, making two door Strikes against one creature. If both hit, the creature is Grabbed-stuck between the doors. The doorwarden's multiple attack penalty doesn't increase until it has finished both attacks.
Doorwardens are constructs originally invented by elves. Upon first glance, these guardians resemble ornate doors made entirely of steel or even dawnsilver, but when trespassers try to force their way past, the doorwarden transforms into a skilled and sturdy soldier bearing its "door" like a towering shield.
Perceptive travelers can sometimes spot a door warden before its magic becomes obvious. The door often bears a round disk or similar embossment that resembles a shield boss designed for bashing, and the bar that can be lowered to block entry resembles an arm clasping a longsword by the hilt. The original doorwardens crafted by the elves included a motif of elven armor and a metal mask in the style of Alseta's own, though other cultures embellish their own doorwardens with their own themes and sometimes even their own ancestral weapons, such as axes for dwarven doorwardens.
Doorwardens sometimes know about the chambers they guard, and they have been known to speak to trespassers, especially elves. But a doorwarden cannot be persuaded to stand aside; it is bound to the portal where it has been placed and will defend it until destroyed.