Guardian

Guardians are large, towering creatures that can only be found in the Depths.

Description
These entities are the protectors of the Depths subregion, barring what lies beyond from those who are not worthy. They appear as tall black statues with multiple swaying arms carrying strings of beads. In place of a face, these creatures have an X inscribed in a circle (the symbol for the max karma level). They appear to be somehow manipulating the symbols above themselves.

These creatures exist entirely within the background of the screen, the exception being their heads, much like the legs of Rain Deer. Most Guardians are non-hostile, but the final two encountered in the Depths can attack the slugcat indirectly. Their behavior towards the slugcat depends on your current karma level. At karma level X, they will ignore the slugcat even as you walk past them. However, if you have any other karma level, their X symbols will glow red and they will force the slugcat back to the entrance of the room. If you repeat this three times, they will kill you by blunt force.

Trivia

 * There are currently 4 known exploits for bypassing guardians at any karma level, commonly used in speedruns:
 * 1) Eating a mushroom and throwing two flashbangs to blind the guardians temporarily.
 * 2) Manipulating the guardians to throw you straight up and then throw objects to reach the pipe.
 * 3) Distracting the guardians with another living creature, such as a vulture grub or hazer.
 * 4) Abusing load times and areas to despawn the guardians.