Numenera Discovery
This creature looks like a darkly armored humanoid with a swirling black hole in its chest—or perhaps the black hole is its chest. The rest of the creature is obscured by its armor and helmet. Part mechanical, part biological, a dark fathom is an engine of war and destruction from aeons past.
Motive: Destruction
Environment: Always solitary, found anywhere
Health: 40
Damage Inflicted: Major wound (8 points)
Armor: 4
Movement: Short
Modifications: Perception as level 6. Sees through deception as level 6.
Combat: At its heart, the dark fathom has a construct like a singularity, driving it as an eternal source of power as well as a terrible weapon. The singularity draws in all ranged attacks— matter and energy—and consumes them so the creature suffers no harm. The only ranged attacks that affect it are those that are mental, magnetic, or extradimensional. Further, characters who stand close enough to the dark fathom to touch it or make melee attacks against it must make a Might defense roll each round. Those who fail are drawn into the singularity (at least partially) and sustain 30 points of damage. Characters who die from this damage are consumed and utterly destroyed within the singularity.
As an action, a dark fathom can draw all creatures and objects within short range toward it so that they end up next to it. A Might defense action resists this as well. However, if the dark fathom draws too much, it can be overwhelmed and lose its next action (or more, if the GM feels it is appropriate).
Last, using the force of its singularity, a dark fathom can attempt to grab nearby matter or energy and consume it. It can consume anything smaller than itself.
A dark fathom is immune to poison, disease, and other attacks relying on physiology.
Interaction: A dark fathom is difficult to interact with. Although very intelligent, it doesn't seem to understand any language spoken in the Ninth World. However, a character can use mental communication to attempt to reason with the creature. A dark fathom can be bribed to move on instead of fighting, but it is interested only in exotic matter and energies (or information about where those things can be found). Some dark fathoms have their own agendas or interests as well.
Use: An encounter with a dark fathom is a terrible experience that is likely to kill characters. GMs might want to use the creature more as a threat than as a direct encounter unless the PCs are extremely powerful and resourceful.
Loot: A dark fathom has mechanical and biomechanical parts that produce 1d6 + 4 cyphers.
GM Intrusion: As matter and energy are drawn into the dark fathom's chest, characters topple over, lose important belongings, and lose turns while they simply try to keep to their feet.