Custodian Sentinel¶
[!quote] "It paused before it fired. I swear it paused. Like it was checking a list we weren't on."
The frontline guardian of the Custodian host — the machine the colony meets most, first as a lethal obstacle and later, once the grid is turned, as an ally at its side.
Role¶
Disciplined guardian infantry-analogue. Precise, patient, and coordinated by the oversoul — the Custodians fight like a system, not a mob. Enemy for most of Act 1; recruitable as the colony sways the grid (see The Custodians).
Fiction-driven kit¶
Design intent
The Sentinel should feel lawful — it defends, it does not rage. Its menace is that it's doing its job perfectly on a target it has misidentified. When it flips to your side, that same discipline is a comfort.
| Ability | Fiction | Design note |
|---|---|---|
| Energy lance | Clean Progenitor directed-energy | Accurate ranged attack; ignores some cover |
| Guardian stance | Built to hold a line, not take ground | Overwatch / defensive reaction |
| Grid-link | Coordinated by Aranya | Buffs when near other Custodians / Choir-nodes |
| Salvage yield | What it leaves when it falls | Downing one feeds the salvage progression |
[!note] The Sentinel is the primary source of humanity's exotic tech in Act 1 — and the primary reinforcement once turned. Its dual life (loot, then ally) is the Custodian arc in a single unit.