| Frequency: |
Rare |
Original artwork © Jonathan Scott
|
| Frequency: |
Rare |
| Organization: |
Solitary |
| Activity Cycle: |
Any |
| Diet: |
Rotting flesh |
| Intelligence: |
Non (0) |
| Treasure: |
Nil |
| Alignment: |
Neutral |
| No. Appearing: |
1d20 |
| Armor Class: |
5 |
| Movement: |
3, Jump 12 |
| Hit Dice: |
4 |
| THACO: |
17 |
| No. of Attacks: |
1 |
| Damage/Attack: |
1d2 |
| Special Attacks: |
See below |
| Special Defenses: |
See below |
| Magic Resistance: |
Nil |
| Size: |
Tiny (1" long) |
| Morale: |
Fearless (20) |
| XP Value: |
275 |
Tau beetles are venomous insects native to Naal'Maz. They are a variety of beetle, with long, boring mandibles. Tau beetles survive on decay, feeding off of rotting carcasses and decaying vegetation.
They breed by injecting their larvae into still living hosts. Any successful requires the victim to save vs. Poison. Failure indicates a burning, searing pain, and requires a system shock roll to remain conscious.
Whether the save is successful or not, the tau beetle has injected its larva. If the save was successful, the host feels little pain, and can sense the creature squirming into its body (save vs. Paralysis or faint). If the save was unsuccessful, then the larva moved deep into the host's body without his knowledge. Larvae can be removed with a successful cure disease spell (the larvae may save vs. Spells to avoid the effect), or through the administrations of a physician.
Larvae mature in 1d6 days. At this point they erupt violently from the body, doing 2d10 hps of damage (host must save vs. Spells or pass out from the pain). The creature emerges as an adult tau beetle. Any Player Character who bears a tau beetle larva through to adulthood will permanently lose one Constitution point as a result of the creature's feeding.
Combat: Tau beetles have no special attack values, save the injection of their larvae. When killed, tau beetles spray an acrid cloud of blood, which coats all within 10 feet. The blood is highly caustic, and does 1 hp of damage per round, for 10 rounds. The blood is thick, and may not be washed off with water. Only a weak acid (such as vinegar) or alcohol can wash of the blood of a tau beetle.
Please note, the art work which appears on this page is copywrited by it's creator, and is used here by permission. You may not copy, use or distribute any art work from this page without the express prior consent of the artist. Basically, someone worked damned hard to create this stuff, so don't be a knob and steal it.
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