Decimator Beetle
A massive scarab with a shining black shell, the decimator beetle is a terrifying challenge for even seasoned veterans, let alone the unfortunate Crop Initiates who might have to face one during a trial. While their size alone makes them an intimidating foe, the beetle’s true danger comes from its infectious bite, full of a powerful toxin capable of rendering otherwise healthy warriors totally unable to defend themselves.
Multiplying Infection As with many of the insects which live in the deserts of Amonkhet, the decimator beetle is an omnivore, living on a mixed diet of meat and plant matter, showing no preference for one over the other. But in the wastes of the desert, plants are an uncommon sight, and many creatures must have a way of subduing others in the struggle to survive. The decimator beetle makes do with a powerful poison, created by an organ similar to the venom sac found in snakes and serpopards. Unlike a serpent however, the decimator beetle is capable of removing poison from other creatures as well, using its proboscis to suck the poison back into its poison sac. After it does so, before the poison has entirely left the proboscis, the beetle can bite another creature to inject them with a double-dose of the poison, making it twice as effective.
Representatives of a Lost God The origin of the decimator beetles is unclear, given the lack of other beetles the same size. Scarabs are a common sight in the deserts of Amonkhet, but none grow even a fraction the size of the decimator beetle. Ancient stories, whispered in secret by wizened viziers and ancient sages, tell of legend in which the decimator beetles were made by one of the gods in their own image, a display of the grandeur of their power. This story seems unlikely to be true, as none of the five gods bear the head of a scarab, and none currently lay claim to the origin of the beast. But then the question remains, where did the decimator beetles come from? Why are they used in the trials as a challenge for initiates? And why are they only found near Naktamun, in the deserts just at the edge of the city, and no further? What reason could such creatures have to stick near to the city, when they are regularly hunted and captured?
Decimator Beetle
A massive scarab with a shining black shell, the decimator beetle is a terrifying challenge for even seasoned veterans, let alone the unfortunate Crop Initiates who might have to face one during a trial. While their size alone makes them an intimidating foe, the beetle’s true danger comes from its infectious bite, full of a powerful toxin capable of rendering otherwise healthy warriors totally unable to defend themselves.
| Armor Class | 13 (natural armor) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hit Points | 13d10+26 | ||
| Speed | 30 ft. | Fly 15 ft. | |
| Strength | 17 (+3) | ||
| Dexterity | 10 (+0) | ||
| Constitution | 14 (+2) | ||
| Intelligence | 1 (-5) | ||
| Wisdom | 12 (+1) | ||
| Charisma | 3 (-4) | ||
| Damage Immunities | Poison | ||
| Condition Immunities | Poisoned | ||
| Senses | Blindsight 30 ft. | Passive Perception 11 | |
| Languages | --- | ||
| Challenge | 7 (2900 XP) | ||
| Special 1 | Charge | If the beetle moves at least 20 ft., straight towards a target, | and then hits it with a gore attack on the same turn, |
| the target takes an extra 2d10 piercing damage. | If the target is a creature, | it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone | |
| Special 2 | Pack Tactics | The beetle has an advantage on an attack roll against a creature | if at least one of the beetle's allies is |
| within 5 ft. of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated | |||
| Action 1 | Multiattack | The beetle makes one gore attack and one bite attack | |
| Action 2 | Bite | Melee Weapon Attack | d20+5 to hit |
| Reach 5 ft., one target | Hit 2d6+3 piercing damage | plus 4d4 poison damage and the target must | make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned. |
| If the target was hit by the beetle's gore attack this turn, | it has a disadvantage on the saving throw | ||
| Action 3 | Gore | Melee Weapon Attack | d20+5 to hit |
| Reach 10 ft., one target | Hit 2d10+3 piercing damage | ||
| Action 4 | Transfer Poison | The beetle can use an action to suck the poison out of a creature, | ending the poisoned condition for one creature within 5 ft. of the beetle. |
| A creature can attempt a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw to avoid this. | When the beetle ends the poisoned condition for a creature, | the next time the beetle hits any creature with | its bite attack before the end of its next urn, |
| it deals 8d4 poison damage instead of the normal poison damage, | and the target has disadvantage on | the saving throw made to resist being poisoned |
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments