Killer Fractal Of The First Iteration

Never let it be said I do not provide actual content anymore, as opposed to long rants about how I changed +2 to +1 and then back to +2 again. In the course of my Earth Delta development work, I realized I was really shy of 1st level monsters not too tightly bound to Cataclysm Cults. So in addition to everything else, I’ve been buffing up the monster lists, and somehow the phrase “killer fractal” got stuck in my head. Possibly due to listening to too much Coulton. Anyway, for once, the leap from “idea” to “implementation” was not particularly painful.

With a small amount of reflavoring, this can easily be a creature from the Far Realm for those of you playing “standard” Fourth Edition D&D.

Actual stat block and description after the break!

One of the most ubiquitous technologies of the Ancestors was the nanocloud, a swarm of microscopic robots which would respond to properly worded commands or to appropriate signals. Such clouds existed everywhere in the world, and were such a part of life that they fell almost below the level of awareness. A fairly common cloud structure was the display cloud — upon command, thousands of light-emitting nanobots would assemble themselves into a display surface to show anything from next month’s sales projection to the latest fad in genetically engineered porn. Many such swarms were also used to provide transient art or decoration, and this is how the killer fractal was born. After the Cataclysm, or perhaps during it, many hostile programs were loosed into the infosphere, and one such infected many display clouds, causing them to constantly show patterns designed to resonate at the deepest levels of consciousness. These transformed display clouds vary in size, self-awareness, and intent, and are graded (by those few who care about such things) in terms of their iteration.

The Killer Fractal Of The First Iteration is the smallest and weakest form of killer fractal, possessing a limited sense of self-awareness but a wholly alien thought pattern. Some are random floaters, drifting through the world, while others are bound to specific locations. The “programming” which created them seem to have intended them to be guardians or distractions, and that is the function they fulfill. Communication with them is possible, but difficult, as they think and react in ways that are nearly incomprehensible.