---
type: npc
role: "Gate Guardian"
location: "[[Ashpeak Caldera]]"
alignment: True Neutral
race: Earth Elemental Myrmidon (enhanced)
---

# Stonewarden

## Overview

An ancient earth elemental bound by the First Sages to guard the [[Gate of Stone]]. It does not sleep, eat, or tire. It has tested every being that has sought passage through the gate for 3,200 years. It speaks in slow, grinding Common — each word like rocks tumbling down a slope.

## The Three Trials

| Trial | Type | DC | Description |
|-------|------|-----|-------------|
| Strength | Athletics | 18 | Hold open a collapsing stone passage for your companions to pass |
| Wisdom | Perception / Insight | 16 | Navigate a maze of shifting stone illusions; see the true path |
| Sacrifice | Roleplay | — | Give up something of genuine personal value (gold doesn't count). The Stonewarden knows a lie. |

If all three are passed, the gate opens peacefully. If any are failed by violence (attacking the Stonewarden, destroying the trial mechanisms), the Stonewarden fights:

- **HP:** 200 | **AC:** 20 | **CR:** 14
- Use **earth elemental myrmidon** (MToF p. 202) with max HP and lair actions (stone spikes, cave-ins, grasping stone hands)

## Aftermath

The gate opens regardless of method — but if the Stonewarden is killed, the [[The Hand of Ruin|Hand of Ruin]] is alerted by the magical backlash. The party loses the element of surprise for Arc 3.