- For other types of destroyers, see Destroyer (disambiguation).
An obsidian destroyer is a creature made out of obsidian. It has the lower body resembling a powerfully built panther with a pair of great black wings protruding from its back. Almost twenty feet wide, these latter appendages appear carved from old, porous stone. The creature's upper body is humanoid. A pair of dazzling emerald eyes set within deep, cavernous sockets stand out in the midst of the creature's shriveled, skeletal face.[2]
Born from the mystical transformation of an obsidian statue, this strange magical beast is drawn to mana. Because of its appearance, an unmoving obsidian destroyer can easily pass itself off as a statue as long as it keeps its eyes closed. It can thus fool people into believing it is nothing more than a harmless piece of decoration. Most obsidian destroyers enjoy wearing crowns and other ostentatious headdresses that make them appear regal. An obsidian destroyer almost always has see invisibility active. Since it can always see the auras of spells and magic items as its enemies approach, the creature makes good use of its greater dispel magic ability, frequently using it on a target as its first offensive action. Though not a graceful flyer, an obsidian destroyer attacks from the air, targeting the weakest-looking opponents first. Once engaged in melee, it takes full advantage of its thunder strike ability. If its enemies flee before it gets a kill, an obsidian destroyer pursues the slowest target relentlessly until it renders him helpless.[2]
Appearance[]
Artwork of an obsidian destroyer
Some obsidian destroyers have the body of a six-legged winged horse. These obsidian destroyers have the lower body like a powerfully-built horse, with a pair of great black wings. Its upper body is humanoid with a shriveled, lich-like face containing lion characteristics. It wields a pair of unusual ebon morningstars in its foremost limbs. They are specially made out of obsidian. The flesh of an obsidian destroyer has the appearance of obsidian, hence its name. When an obsidian destroyer stands still, it fools people into believing it is nothing more than a large statue. An obsidian destroyer enjoys wearing crowns and other ostentatious headdresses. Though not a precise flyer, an obsidian destroyer attacks from the air when possible.[1]
Warcraft III[]
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This article or section contains lore taken from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the manuals, and official bonus maps.
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- Main article: Destroyer (Warcraft III)
The Destroyer in Warcraft III.
From Destroyer at Battle.net
- Large flying unit that must consume magic to sustain its mana. Breaking free of the obsidian stone that holds them, these monstrous creatures roar into battle, swallowing magic to feed their insatiable hunger as they move between battles and rain destruction down upon their foes. Has Spell Immunity. Attacks land and air units.
This description is the same as the description on page 14 of the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne manual.
History[]
The combined forces of the night elves had proven themselves a formidable enemy to the qiraji, but during the War of the Shifting Sands it was the bronze dragonflight that first taught the insect race the meaning of fear.
As the dragons slaughtered wave after wave of silithid, losing few of their own in the process, the Twin Emperors realized their forces were ill-equipped to deal with such powerful creatures of magic.
To combat this shortcoming, Emperor Vek'lor focused his efforts on designing a mechanism capable of fighting the ancient wyrms. These preliminary efforts, however, were wrought with failure.
Aided by whisperings from his ancient master, Vek'lor pressed on and developed a new kind of construct. Though pleased with his progress, even the qiraji emperor could not guess what dark purpose lay in store for the machines.
Little is known about how the first obsidian destroyers were created, but legends speak of Vek'lor himself hammering out the first statue in a molten forge beneath the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj. To Vek'lor's surprise, his inert creations were quickly imbued with limited sapience by his shadowy overseer, as well as a mysterious power — the ability to drain the magical energies of living creatures. In addition these energies could be stored and then released in a tremendous burst of incendiary mana, making Vek'lor's latest creations among the deadliest in the Qiraji arsenal.
The first destroyers proved extremely effective; the dragons were not accustomed to fighting enemies that were capable of retaliating from a distance, and they never found an effective way to counter the mana-draining powers of these obsidian statues. And so Anachronos, child of Nozdormu, sought the aid of the remaining dragonflights and history tells us that the qiraji were sealed behind the Scarab Wall shortly thereafter.
Those dragons who survived the war still dread the return of these magic-stealing monstrosities.[3]
Relationship with the Tol'vir[]
Obsidian destroyers are actually tol'vir that were enslaved by the insectoid Aqir. When the Aqir split into the Nerubian and Qiraji empires and retreated to Northrend and Silithus, the two factions found the tol'vir around Ulduar and Uldum and overthrew them. When the Scourge conquered Azjol-Nerub they took control of the destroyers and sent them all to the front lines, where they were presumably destroyed.
It is possible, however, that some obsidian destroyers still exist deep within Azjol-Nerub, or within the research facilities of Uldum.[4]
Known obsidian destroyers[]
Moam, an obsidian destroyer in World of Warcraft
References[]
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