Train Tuesday P12: Beautification Project

Boy, do we have a treat for you on this fine Train Tuesday! The Forgotten Rails wants to ensure its passengers enjoy rolling majestic views, so it created a couple of new Constructs to help get the job done.

Allow us to explain the premise here. The Realm is a big and dangerous place, and as you all know, it can get pretty messy out there with good continuing to battle evil.

And Waterdeep’s Omin Dran doesn’t want his Forgotten Rails passengers to see the aftermath of ferocious combat in plain view. So, he’s sanctioned the building of two new secondary Constructs so travelers can enjoy stunning scenery along the way to their final destination.

First up is The Collector. This Construct’s sole purpose is to continually roam the hovertrain routes and quickly remove any fallen foes from view. As we’ve previously explained, Constructs draw their power from the hovertrain and its infrastructure, so their range is limited.

This Greater Cadaver Collector miniature is a free download by mz4250 and was colored by resident painter Kimmy Utah. We love, love this 3D-printed mini and the brush job she did on it.

Sometimes, The Collectors are so committed that they can become a tad aggressive and wander into an existing combat just to grab a corpse. They won’t openly attack an adventurer unless struck first. Naturally, your players won’t be thrilled with them inadvertently walking off with one of their slain victim’s valuables, but that’s the way the armor crumbles sometimes.

For this mighty mechanical’s DnD 5e stats, we’re going to use the Iron Golem. An AC 20 with 62 HP and two slam attacks (+5; 6d6+5 damage) is perfect. The only tweak is its Monster Hunter ability will cover all dead creatures.

Low-intelligent adventurers will quickly realize that attacking a Construct Collector is a very bad idea (and also against the law).

The Forgotten Rails is committed to a traveling experience that is all sunshine and rainbows for its rail riders. For example, folks love to see animals peacefully meandering about as they look out their hovertrain windows. One small problem – Waterdeep is filled with monsters who love to snack on said beasties.

So that’s where these wind-up cattle come into play! Rails cofounder and brilliant tinkerer Collin Strut came up with a Construct that, from behind, makes them look like any other cuddly cow. These spotted secondaries are often intentionally positioned with their backs to the hovertrain, tails periodically wisping away (flies not included).

However, these “moo-vers” don’t have heads; instead, they have a wind-up sensor that communicates preprogrammed movements to their bodies.

What Waterdeep’s citizens don’t know is that these metal moos actually play a critical monitoring role. They utilize their high-definition camera and radar to ensure vital railway data is continually collected and transmuted. This vital intel is then sent to both the hovertrain itself and its masterminds back at HQ.

The Forgotten Rails doesn’t like surprises, so these innovative moo-vers can spot encroaching Rail Runners (e.g., train robbers), upcoming track debris, and other undesirable events in advance. It’s ingenious. Think of these guys as disguised roving cell towers. 😉

This “protocattle” is another free download by the talented DutchMogul. We just love his stuff and encourage y’all to check him out!

And before anyone asks, cow-tipping these mechanical marvels is absolutely a thing…but more on that in a future DnD post! 😉