Stone watcher

A stone watcher is a type of stone keeper. It resembles a massive humanoid statue and has a nondescript, featureless face, and is emotionless. It raises its arms to strike with stony fists. A stone watcher is 15 feet tall and weighs 6,000 pounds. The stone that makes up the watcher's body is unnatural, and no stone like it exists on Azeroth except in the construction of these constructs and the related stone keepers. This creation is incredibly swift; it relies on time magic to move with a devastating purpose. Much like the enigmatic black iron golems, there is a similarity in the apparent design of these constructs. Most stone watchers lurk over ancient ruins, guarding entrances to long-lost halls and crumbled stone constructions of immense size. The constructs are obviously guardians of some sort, left to watch over long-abandoned sites that once probably held great significance. These creatures sometimes guard ancient roads or remote wilderness areas waiting for intruders to attempt to pass. Stone watchers served as guardians of the titans' property, while stone keepers often served as companions.
These relics of an ancient race can still prove a deadly and final menace to the unwary. A stone watcher exists in a bubble of time that is slightly out of phase with the normal world. The effect is similar to a haste spell, but the effect cannot be dispelled. The spell makes the stone watcher appear to be moving faster than its normal speed. Finally, a stone watcher is able to make even larger shifts through time, and seemingly move from one place to another almost instantly. Time seems to cease for everyone but the stone watcher when this ability is used. The stone watcher cannot interact with the material world while it is in this special state, shifting through time. After making a large shift, a stone watcher's energy reserves must recharge; and it cannot make another shift for a while. A transmute rock to mud spell strips a stone watcher of its time distortion ability, while transmute mud to rock fully heals the watcher. A stone to flesh spell does not actually change the watcher's structure.
The secrets of constructing a stone watcher were lost long ago with the titans. Today, those who have located and studied stone watchers attempt to duplicate the stone watcher's superior techniques, but invariably fall short. Anyone wishing to construct a stone watcher only succeeds in creating a stone golem instead.Magic & Mayhem, pg. 205-206.
==Gallery==
Image:Archaedas.png|Stone watcher (Stonekeeper model)
Image:Archavon the Stone Watcher.jpg|Stone watcher (stone giant model)
==Notable stone watchers==
* Archaedas <Ancient Stone Watcher>
* Archavon the Stone Watcher
* FozrukBreaking the Keystone
* Lore Keeper of NorgannonThe Platinum Discs (neutral)
* Stone Watcher of Norgannon
These creatures seem to have been renamed as just watchers.
==Notes==
Stone watchers have been represented in WoW using the "stonekeeper" and "stone giant" models, among others.
==References==
 
Category:Magic & Mayhem