Hook Horror

Overview

A hook horror (also known as a vulture beak, hacker, or cave dweller) was a large, bipedal subterranean abberation that looked like a vulture-like humanoid with bony hooks in place of hands. It was an invertebrate arthropod. A hook horror stood about 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall and weighed around 400 pounds (181 kilograms), with a head like a vulture, a neck of crested feathers, and the body of a beetle, whose mottled gray, chitinous exoskeleton was extremely thick and dense and covered with sharp studs. The exoskeleton could be removed from a hook horror and transformed into tough armor. Instead of hands, paws, or claws, its front limbs ended in 12-inch-long (30 centimeters) razor-sharp, blade-like gray metallic hooks, surrounded by red feathers. These hooks were the hook horror's primary method of combat. Its legs were similar to those of a bird, and its head was shaped like that of a vulture, including the hooked beak. Its eyes were multifaceted like those of an insect.  

Combat

  Hook horrors preferred to ambush their prey from above. They would work together as a group, and if necessary, retreat using their ability to climb. In a fight, a hook horror would use its clawed arms to trip its opponents.  

Behavior

  Hook horrors liked to live as families (no more than a dozen) in subterranean caverns, led by the eldest male, and they caught their food by hunting those areas. They slept around half of the time, moving sluggishly when not under threat, meaning that they could survive on relatively little food for their size. Hook horrors did not see well at all, but their hearing was extremely acute and they had a keen sense of smell. In a cave, hook horrors could produce a high-pitched sound that could not be heard by most other creatures. It enabled them to use echolocation, much like the sonar of a bat, to "see" nearby objects and environments without the need for light. Hook horrors were sensitive to bright light.