Beetle, Assassin

Family: Beetles

Medium monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 11 (natural armor)
Hit Points 33 (6d8 +6)
Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	1 (-5)	8 (-1)	1 (-5)

Skills Deception +3, Stealth +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages –
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Toxic Demise. When the beetle dies, toxic green blood pools on all ground within 5 feet. Creatures that enter the area for the first time on a turn or start their turn there suffer 5 (2d4) acid damage.
• Translocate (Recharge 4-6). The beetle can take a bonus action to magically teleport, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 40 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The assassin beetle makes 2 claw attacks.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
• Claw Dance. The assassin beetle makes one claw attack against each creature within 5 feet.

ABOUT

Standing 5 feet tall, atop six spindly legs, assassin beetles represent the pinnacle in the evolution of ambush insects. These agile predators developed the ability to teleport short distances, striking rapidly with their needle-sharp legs before disappearing just as quickly. Whether this power comes from rogue magical experimentation or a steady diet of blink dogs and other magical beasts is hotly debated amongst arcane academic circles.

Sticky secretions emitted from pores on the shell of the assassin beetle aggregate ever-increasing layers of gore and viscera. The blood and corpses of its victims provide the beetle both visual and olfactory camouflage. The sight of this horrific mantle often panics prey ambushed by the assassin beetle as it materializes upon them.

The acidic blood coursing through the chitinous hide of the assassin beetle fuels its deadly speed and drives its insatiable hunger. Upon its death, the beetle’s exoskeleton cracks and rapidly dissolves, covering the area nearby in toxic ooze. Alchemists, assassins, and wizards place great value on the beetle’s blood, utilizing it to craft deadly poisons and reckless haste potions. Due to the short shelf-life of raw assassin beetle blood, the dangerous liquid must be acquired fresh and quickly preserved.

d6	Assassin Beetle Treasures
1	A pristine, needle-sharp assassin beetle leg. If used as a weapon, it deals 1d6 piercing damage and counts as magical for the purposes of bypassing damage resistance.
2	A skeletal hand is stuck to the beetle’s hide. A heavy silver signet ring worth 5 gp adorns one finger.
3	A pool of toxic blood yields a vial of acid worth 50 gp.
4	An undamaged chunk of shell provides a bucket full of sticky resin worth 15 gp.
5	Under layers of mud and leaves, assorted coins worth 10 (3d6) gp adhere to the beetle’s shell, along with several official-looking documents in various states of decay.
6	An intact section of exoskeleton faintly inscribed with conjuration runes. The fragment supplies 50 gp worth of material components when used to cast conjuration spells.)