Beetle, Cave

Family: Beetles

Small beast, unaligned

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 31 (7d6 + 7)
Speed 20 ft., fly 30 ft., burrow 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12 (+1) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) 1 (-5) 11 (+0) 2 (-4)

Skills Perception +2
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), tremorsense 120 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Special Traits

  • Death Throes. When a giant cave beetle reaches 0 hit points, it releases a strong acidic cloud in a 5-foot radius. Creatures within this area must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) acid damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful saving throw. Every giant cave beetle in 500 feet is capable of detecting the smell of this acid.

Actions

  • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage.

About

These large subterranean blind beetles are long and thin. Lacking any capacity for visual stimuli the giant cave beetles have adapted to the deep, permanent night underground.

Lightless Troglofauna. This species of giant beetle lives only underground, in the deepest caves where light does not shine. Their carapace is a dull white color, and they tend to reach over 4 feet in length over their thin body. They communicate via pheromones and by vibrating their thorax against the rock beneath them, which, due to their sensitive tympanal organs, they are able to hear through many hundreds of feet of stone.

Armored Hive Insect. This specific variety also have very hard carapaces, often equivalent to iron armor, that make it difficult for underground predators to bite through to damage the insect; should one fall, as well, their death releases strong pheromones that are irritating to most creatures and serve the additional purpose of warning the remaining population of a dangerous predator in their vicinity.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Horrors © 2018, Frog God Games, LLC; Authors: Kevin Baase, Erica Balsley, John “Pexx” Barnhouse, Christopher Bishop, Casey Christofferson, Jim Collura, Andrea Costantini, Jayson ‘Rocky' Gardner, Zach Glazar, Meghan Greene, Scott Greene, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Ian S. Johnston, Bill Kenower, Patrick Lawinger, Rhiannon Louve, Ian McGarty, Edwin Nagy, James Patterson, Nathan Paul, Patrick N. Pilgrim, Clark Peterson, Anthony Pryor, Greg Ragland, Robert Schwalb, G. Scott Swift, Greg A. Vaughan, and Bill Webb

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