SICC (Self-Improving Combat Construct

## History

The creature known as SICC possesses a history as bare as the faceplate beneath his mask, with its willingness to share its past with any who ask spurred on by its desire to create a strategic web of powerful warriors it can rely on as assets. Years ago before the Imperial war waged by Darrien Verk, a mad wizard with a flair for technology sought to create powerful minions to carry out his will. They would be the perfect servants; strong, dexterous and intelligent with a sense of undying loyalty to their master. Limited by his low-tech surroundings, the wizard could not create a true AI from scratch. Instead, he built numerous unintelligent constructs, possessing very simple minds and bodies.

Eventually, he had created a total of 108 of the creatures. When the 108th was finished, the mad mage extracted what little minds they had and funneled them into a prototype wyrwood body. There in the construct, the minds combined, meshed into a form of gestalt consciousness; incredibly intelligent and possessed of a physical shell with the strength of a minotaur. Unfortunately for the wizard, word had gotten out of his sinister experiments. Soon, a band of adventurers laid siege to his lair and struck him down, with most of his work burning to the ground in the struggle. SICC's body however, survived the fire and soon 'woke up' to an ashen ruin.

After attempting to salvage what purposes it may have been made for, SICC's minds decided a simple goal: destroy all opponents, and improve its ability to do so however it could. Before it could go about rampaging however, its self-preservation programming also kicked in. It reasoned that by following local laws and and limiting its targets to those whose death would be socially acceptable, it would stay 'alive' long enough to improve itself to the pinnacle of killing prowess. With its minds made up, SICC went on his wandering journey.

## Appearance

SICC's artificial body and mind may lend it many advantages, but integration with organics is not one of them. Thus, in order to blend in with normal society, it wears very concealing clothing; its current outfit changes from time to time, but one persistent element is its mask. Beneath its clothing is what appears to be a human sized and shaped doll, a wooden body with plate armor bolted to its frame, with no trace of organic appearances, including a face. To assist in interacting with organics, SICC dons masks to hide its blank 'face' complete with a minor cantrip to darken its eye-holes save for pinpoints of light. These lights often change color depending on SICC's mood (or rather the mood it wishes to convey) and automatically follow its focus.

## Personality

The unique cerebral structure of SICC combined with its artificial nature make for an odd entity. In the first place, SICC does not identify nor is it technically an individual being. Rather it is a collection of over a hundred basic minds whose intelligence are boosted with each others' presence. SICC's every action is the result of these minds constantly debating, but never fighting, with each second occupied by dozens of propositions, replies, and counter arguments. While an organic may struggle with coming to so many decisions within such a short time, SICC's computer 'brain' (as it possesses no physical nervous system) enables it to think lightning-fast with amazing clarity. This does not equate to a superhuman intelligence however, it simply speeds up its thinking. If misinformed, SICC can make dozens of bad decisions in seconds. When interacting with organics, SICC will often adjust its personality to whatever may lead to a desired result. When wanting to strike a conversation with a good-hearted adventurer, SICC will come off as innocent, even soft. When it wants to induce frustration in a target, it will become a taunting and merciless bully, tossing insults with every blow. With every permutation of its personality, SICC always gives a strange feeling, with the occasional reminder of its artificial nature showing through. When it has its small measures of free time, SICC shows an affinity for tinkering, constantly seeking to improves its design or simply construct minor gadgets to further its mechanical knowledge.

## Combat Style

If a creature like SICC could take genuine pride, it would likely do so in its proficiency in taking lives. The construct is capable of many different fighting styles to go with the veritable arsenal it carries everywhere it goes. For defensive combat, SICC may deploy its collapsible shield in different configurations. For targets at a distance, it may deploy a rope dart to drag it into melee range or fling chakrams at its opponent. It also carries a dragoon pistol loaded with grey-dust rounds for mages as well as a concealable karambit knife for secure locations. Despite all these tools, SICC often displays a preference for two-weapon fighting. When utilizing this style, it will often pair a sawtooth saber with either a swordbreaker dagger or spiked chain depending on the situation. Whichever weapons it uses, SICC's commando programming ensures it will excel. The construct often relies on its immunity to many different effects to charge into battle, using specially charged metal rods in its limbs to boost it to blinding speeds for a few seconds in order to catch opponents off guard. As SICC improves itself and delves further into technological enhancements, it may wield even more weapons; electrically charged palms, arm-mounted lasers, explosive launchers, all are within the realm of possibility.