Beetle, Stench

Family: Beetles

Small beast, unaligned

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 18 (4d6 + 4)
Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
11 (+0) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 1 (-5) 10 (+0) 6 (-2)

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Special Traits

  • Death Throes. When a stench beetle dies, it explodes in a rush of effluvium of nauseating fluids and gases in a 10-foot radius. Creatures within that radius must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned, the creature can only take one action or bonus action on its turn as it spends the rest of its turn retching. A poisoned creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

Actions

  • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (2d4 + 1) piercing damage.

About

This beetle is about the size of a small dog and has a mottled green carapace with darker legs fading to black near the ends. Its mandibles are dull brown.

Stench beetles are small, nocturnal hunters that sustain themselves on a diet of grains, fruits, vegetables, and leaves. In civilized lands, they are considered a nuisance for the damage they cause, especially in larger groups, to crops and farmlands and have acquired their moniker from the wretched stench emitted when killed. If faced with extreme hunger, stench beetles eat cattle, small game animals, and the occasional child that wanders too far into the forests.

Stench beetles make their lairs in large hollow logs and fallen trees.

A typical lair can contain almost twenty of these creatures with half that number in noncombatant young. Females lay up to a dozen eggs at a given time, usually once per year. Eggs are laid on leaves, and the female chews the ends of the leaves so they curl and fold around the eggs, concealing them from predators and protecting the eggs from the elements. Young go from larvae to adulthood in the span of a year. Most stench beetles leave the lair when they reach adulthood.

Stench beetles attack with their bite, seeking retreat if combat goes against them.

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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